The Taken (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 3)

by Claire Merrington

  “Something smells good. What’s for breakfast?”

  “Omelettes. Eat up and enjoy. It’s my turn to get in the shower.”

  “Well it smells delicious. Thanks Perry.”

  With that Perry planted a tender kiss to Jane’s forehead and plodded past to go take his shower.

  “Come on kiddo finish up time for you to get dressed ready for school.”

  “Ok. Are you and dad taking me to school?”

  “We sure are and your Nan is going to be picking you up after football practice.”

  With that Parker scampered off, with an excited yay, and went to get dressed ready for school. Jane had to laugh at his enthusiasm, not many kids would be that pleased and excited at having to go to school. Jane continued sitting at the breakfast bar to eat her omelette and found that as much as the now peace was lovely it once again left her alone with nothing but her brain. Jane decided to use the time to think on her wedding plans. They had their wedding booked for the following may. They had the venue and the menu all sorted. The guest list and all the invites had been sent out. The DJ was booked and they had managed a compromise the night before on wedding favours. The main thing that Jane needed to get a handle on now was her own dress. Jane had seen one that she had fallen in love with and wanted but was still undecided whether it was age appropriate for a forty plus bride. Jane believed it was but when you have fallen in love with the look of a dress it makes it harder to be unbiased. It was very much an elegant dress with a tulle full skirt with a lace overlay to the top. The lace overlay just gave it that extra coverage on the top that for a bride of Jane’s age just gave the extra touch of class. Add to that the three quarter length sleeves the lace overlay had and Jane was left feeling like it was perfect. All she was left with was to get the maiden of honour approval from Amy and she was all set to tick another job off the list.

  Jane must have been sitting there in quite a far off daydream as Perry had to come over and tap her on the shoulder to regain her attention.

  “Earth to Jane. You ok? I’ve been calling you.”

  “Sorry. Yeah I’m all good just was daydreaming about a wedding dress. We all set to go?”

  “Ready when you are. And you will look gorgeous no matter what dress you pick.”

  Jane tried to seem happy and excited to be going back to work. But in all honesty she wasn’t. Yes she missed the people she had on her team. They weren’t just colleagues to her they were friends. But the last two years with Thaddeus had been exhausting. The amount of betrayal that they had suffered at the hands of their own Superintendent, the loss of colleagues the station had suffered was too much. Jane was beginning to loose sight, hope and belief in the police force. Jane just hoped it was a bad phase and put it down to being tired. As long as the job went back to the normal crazies and none of the personal attacks, Jane was sure she would pull focus once more. Perry dropped Jane off at the station door with a good luck and a tender kiss. Jane thought that perhaps maybe he would check in with Frank this morning but Perry wished her well and off he left. Jane knew her first port of call when she walked through the door would be to go meet with her new Superintendent. Jane had met him once before, she had come down to the station to discuss her return to work date after her sick leave. Now Jane was here, having to talk with Superintendent Steve Barrow once again, in regards to what duties she would be doing. After what had transpired with the last Superintendent it would take a while for this one to be able to gain Jane’s trust. She just hoped he understood that. As Jane walked into the station Ian and Eric greeted her enthusiastically. They introduced the new member of their team to her PC Joanne Wilkinson.

  “It’s nice to meet you Joanne. I hope my boys here have been taking care of you.”

  “Immensely so but it will be nice to have some female blood. I didn’t get the chance to work with Amy before she left on maternity leave.”

  “Oh that’s a shame. I need to go upstairs and check in with the Superintendent. But once I’m done we can grab a coffee, have a gossip, and you can all catch me back up to speed.”

  “Sure thing Boss.”

  Jane trudged on up the stairs that led to where the Superintendents office sat. Jane was always so shocked to find that nothing about the station had changed when it felt like she had been away forever. Even the reception area, that had to be redecorated after Thaddeus blew it up, still looked no different than when Jane had started. It was eerie in a way but to Jane comforting. So it was to no surprise to Jane that even though the man behind the desk looked different the office certainly wasn’t. Jane was shocked to find that she was greeted by an open door and thankfully the sick, sweetly stench of her old Superintendent cheap aftershave was no where to be found. Jane was also taken aback to find that her Superintendent was not waiting for her alone. Already inside his small office space sat Frank, from the drug department, Perry’s boss, and a man that Jane recognised to be from the organised crime department, but she was unaware of his name.

  “Detective Jane Sparrow. Come in we just want a quick informal chat and then you can get back to work.”

  “Thank you Sir. What do you mean by a quick informal chat? Can I ask about what exactly Sir? I thought I was just coming up to discuss my duties?”

  “Your duties as a Detective never change. It’s up to you, you can take it easy on desk duty for a while, or throw yourself straight back in. You are the only one who knows how you are feeling. You will need to do a return to work interview with a team psychologist just to check your mental state after an on the job trauma like the one you suffered. But otherwise your duties and where you start is your own prerogative Detective.”

  “Throw myself straight back in then.”

  “Excellent now take a seat. Now you know Frank and this is Detective Inspector George Reynolds. He works within our organised crime department. How much are you aware of the situation with Perry Fierce. We are all in the knowledge that you two are in a relationship together.”

  “Yes we are. We are engaged, to be married with our wedding booked for next May. Now the situation I believe you to be referring to is the one where his head is envisioned on a spike by several people.”

  “Yes that would be the grim analysis of the situation.”

  “Well aware? Yes I am. But the extent of the situation, not as aware as I should be Perry has tried to keep me in the dark as much as possible. So not to cause me alarm or concern. Are you here to tell me how much of a concern I need to have?”

  “Unfortunately Detective we are highly concerned by the unusual behaviour that this situation has stirred up. And the effect and risk that it posses to you and the police force.”

  “I’m not sure I follow Superintendent.”

  “Ok let me ask another question first and it should make it easier for us to know how to proceed. How much do you know of Mr Fierce business past?”

  “He was a drug dealer. I know he did other wheeling’s and dealings. He was and I state WAS a major player in the area.”

  “Ok this is difficult. I ask for you patience and co-operation. Just listen and then were discuss. Detective Inspector Reynolds will fill you in on what organised crime know.”

  “Perry Fierce was a major player in the area and that is keeping it at an underestimate of his involvement. He had his hand in literally every single pie you can imagine. He owns several legitimate businesses that act as fronts, each one has a certain amount and a certain type of illegal trade ran through it. He owns one strip club, which operates as a front for a prostitution ring and escort service. He owns one casino type gambling establishment. Like I said it is a legitimate business, so it can’t be touched, he has all the right licences and permits. But it is just another front for an illegal business in loan sharking. He owns two security firms, which gives us racketeering; he owns one garage that operates as a chop shop for stolen cars and parts, and three restaurants that he funnels his drugs and booze through. Which is how and why he acts as just a low life drug dealer, he pe
ddles his own supply on the market.”

  “His legitimate businesses he told me he was cleaning them up. That within the next few months to a year that they would be stand alone and self sufficient.”

  “That we can confirm.”

  “Yes which is why as your Superintendent and the police force as a whole is still supportive of your relationship choice. Just to make that clear. That isn’t what is in question here Detective.”

  “We have reason to believe that the strip club has been sold. Perry no longer has any ownership or controlling stakes in that. So he can’t be affiliated with any illegal trade that still goes on through there. The casino establishment has been quiet on the loan sharking front for the past six months, as has the garage for accepting stolen parts and goods. It seems to be operating as a normal car garage, MOT, services the whole works. We have not been able to detect any illegal activity through them for that whole time. So we believe that they have been legitimised as freestanding companies completely. However the security firms and the restaurants not so much.”

  “But Perry is heading in the right direction. He has helped my department immensely. I certainly wouldn’t want to be without him now Detective. We have made so many arrests and caught so many illegal shipments of drugs before they have made it on to the streets. It has made a real difference to cleaning up this area. And it is all thanks to Perry. So I believe Perry and yourself when you say he is doing the work he needs to clean up his front.”

  “Thank you Frank. I know your support will mean the world to Perry.”

  “Jane you will have to forgive me and George. It’s not that we don’t want to believe you. You are a valued Detective. And I know it’s hard after what happened with the last Superintendent but you need to trust me to. I only want to help. But I am new here, and George has never had much to do with this unit. So we don’t know the full extent of the story. Why don’t you explain the full story of how you came to know Perry? And how Perry came to help from the beginning?”

  “ Well a history lesson of this department and my team is perhaps in order. Where to start?”

  Chapter 3

  Jane had to sit in quiet reflection for a moment. She hadn’t prepared herself to have to talk about all of this. But if it gave her answers and a way to help Perry she was willing and able. Right?

  “Ok. It all started with our first major investigation with Thaddeus. It began with our first victim here in Essex. Jennifer York. A seventeen-year-old girl that was brutally tortured and murdered. She was found disposed of and posed in a local park. A form of communication followed this from the killer in a letter. It claimed that he could smell the stench of sin on her, he bragged as to how easy it was to slip her some drugs. Jennifer disappeared from a party; he claimed she was up for trying anything. When we got her toxicology results we learnt that she had been slipped rohypnol. The same could be said for our second victim Valerie Brooks. She was at a pub lunch with friends when she came over feeling unwell. She stepped outside to get some fresh air and her friends became concerned after about ten minutes when she hadn’t returned. She was snatched from the car park. We looked into tracing the drug purchase. We liaised with Frank to find the likeliest of dealers. We found Perry.”

  “Wait Perry was a drug dealer that you met through the case?”

  “Yes. Not really any other way that I would meet a former drug dealer.”

  “Fair point Detective. Continue.”

  “Once we learnt that Perry was the most probable seller of the rohypnol we brought him in. We made a deal that we wouldn’t charge him with any illegal supply charges or possession with intent to sell if he gave us the information we needed to find our suspect. Unfortunately Perry had the same false name that we did. So he couldn’t be of as much assistance as we hoped. But Perry professed at the time his want to get clean and out of the game. He was just unsure as to how to go about it. So I gave him some contact numbers and put him in touch with Frank. Perry turning his life around started from then on. He assisted us on the rest of the case. He helped us track all of Thaddeus associates and friends to try and help catch him. Which, I might add we did and Perry helped. Thaddeus and all the fathers were sentenced and put away and we started to relax. Which is when myself and Perry’s relationship began.”

  “Ok so how did that lead to Perry getting so much heat from old work colleagues?”

  “The trouble for Perry started when Thaddeus escaped from prison. Once Thaddeus had escaped we got our first victim Helen Moore. He hung her from a tree. Meanwhile Layla Brown who survived from the first time round was placed into protective custody just in case and I was put under protective watch. Helen Moore’s body was delivered to my old apartment doorstep and was rigged to explode. During this time one of my team members separated from the rest of us to go liaise with the bomb unit as they turned up and he was killed by Thaddeus. That’s how we lost PC Jack Collins. We then got a second victim Lucy Wilson whom he burned at the stake. He then sent a package to the station that contained an explosive device that caused the loss of PC Alan Henchman. We suspected that someone within the station was helping Thaddeus. As it transpired it was my old Superintendent. So your forgive me for any lack of trust I may show.”

  “Understandable Detective but I will prove myself worthy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Sorry I’m not following how this led to Perry getting in trouble and stirring all our unusual activity?”

  “Well that’s the next bit. We started looking into all the old friends and associates of Thaddeus. We believed someone must have been helping him to hide. That was when I learned how high up the chain that Perry went. The order had come down from all top bosses that Thaddeus was a no go area for help and that any means necessary could be used against him to apprehend him. Everyone by this point was aware of Perry’s relationship and mine. Which meant people learned that the order for Thaddeus came from Perry and how much of an influence Perry had on people. It showed how high up the chain he sat to all the wrong people. Thaddeus bothered nobody within Perry’s little industry either way. It made no difference to them whether he was in custody or not. He was not their concern before Perry put the order out. Add to that by this point Perry was a fully-fledged consultant for the police force including Frank’s department that could have a serious affect on people that Perry doesn’t like. Thaddeus was obviously shot in his apprehension and that period was over. But instead we have been left with a witch hunt for Perry.”

  “Ok the fact that Perry’s trouble has come off the back burner for helping the police. I feel we are more duty bound to help him. So you have my full support Detective to do what we can to resolve this situation. Detective Inspector Reynolds why don’t you explain the full extent of the situation?”

  “Well I hate to be the one to have to tell you how dire the situation is. But I feel you need to know. Your partner has gone and started a turf war.”

  “A turf war. What exactly do you mean? A turf war between who?”

  “Well you have the people that Perry has on his side. The ones that is willing to change with him as he changes the companies. They are still standing with him as one side in the turf war. The people on the other side of it happen to be the ones that Perry is leaving behind and handing over to the likes of Frank. They are all in uproar and have banded together. The word on the street is that they feel that Perry wouldn’t be where he is now, in the position he is in now, without the support and help of some of them. And it’s like he has taken a major dump in their face.”

  “He has angered a lot of the wrong people Detective. Don’t get me wrong all for the right reasons. But we are unsure how to progress to calm the situation.”

  “Ok I understand. I suppose each time Frank picks someone up that Perry named it doesn’t help. It just angers someone else. Adding more fuel to an already burning fire.”

  “Exactly. The only way we would be able to control the reaction would be to piece together a major operation with all
three of our departments. Arrest all of them at the same time. That way Perry would be free from any repercussions.”

  “That sounds like the perfect plan. But I am sensing a but?”

  “It is the perfect and most logical plan of action to resolve the situation. However the problem is an operation as large as this with as many arrests involved as what this one will have will take months to organise. To get all the warrants alone will be hard. And I am not one hundred per cent convinced that Perry has that kind of time.”