by Jack Probyn
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
By The Same Author
Join The Mailing List
Foreword
Meet Jake Tanner
Quote
Previously On: The Conspiracy
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
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Also in The CID Case Series
About the Author
—————————————————————————————————
EPISODE 3
By Jack Probyn
Copyright © 2020 Jack Probyn. All rights reserved.
The right of Jack Probyn to be identified as the authors of the Work had been asserted him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by: Cliff Edge Press, Essex.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying form without written permission of the author, Jack Probyn, or the publisher, Cliff Edge Press.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-912628-23-0
First Edition
Visit Jack Probyn’s website at www.jackprobynbooks.com.
For Nana.
By The Same Author
The CID Case Series
The Conspiracy
The Community
The Confession
The Cadre
The Company
The Cabal
The SO15 Files Series
The Wolf (coming 2021)
Dark Christmas (coming 2021)
London Eye (coming 2021)
St Paul’s (coming 2021)
Power Station (coming 2021)
School Attack (coming 2021)
Mile 17 (coming 2021)
Royal Wedding (coming 2021)
Arena (coming 2021)
The Terror Thriller Series
Standstill
Floor 68
The Jake Tanner Terror Thriller Series Boxset 1 (Contains Standstill & Floor 68)
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Foreword
THE CID CASE SERIES: HOW IT WORKs
This is no ordinary series…
… it’s so much more that.
Before you begin reading The Conspiracy, there’s something you need to understand.
The Conspiracy, and the rest of The CID Case Series, is modelled on television. The story is split into six different episodes, and each episode is intricately plotted, and follows the same storyline right up to the end. Think of your favourite programmes like Line of Duty, Stranger Things, Peaky Blinders, Breaking Bad.
I wanted to bring that experience to your e-reader. One story, but edge-of-your-seat pacing.
Just keep that model in mind as you begin reading. You won’t want to flip the channel.
Episodes are released every Monday from the 8th June 2020.
MEET JAKE TANNER
Born: 28.03.1985
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 190lbs/86kg/13.5 stone
Physical Description: Brown hair, close shaven beard, brown eyes, slim athletic build, scar on his cheek
Education: Upper Second Class Honours in Psychology from the University College London (UCL)
Interests: When Jake isn’t protecting lives and finding those responsible for taking them, Jake enjoys motorsports — particularly F1
Family: Mother, older sister, younger brother. His father died in a car accident when Jake was fifteen
Relationship Status: Currently in a relationship with Elizabeth Tanner, and he doesn’t see that changing, ever
“He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world’s believing him.” - [Thomas Jefferson, 1785]
PREVIOUSLY ON…
THE CONSPIRACY: EPISODE 2
The Cipriano brothers are still on the run, heading further and further south. With tensions running high, Luke convinces Danny to pull into the nearest petrol station on the A3 for a quick pitstop. When he returns, the three of them commandeer an unoccupied Audi, leaving one wounded victim behind.
Meanwhile, Jake convinces Pemberton to allow himself and Bridger access to Candice’s mansion. Together, Jake and the DS locate the first key and, using the clue on the back of it, they find the second in the middle of the local golf green.
And now, The Conspiracy: Episode 3…
| EPISODE 3 |
CHAPTER ONE
OLD FRIEND
The cumbersome metal doors opened. On the other side was Freddy Miller, the former leader of The Crimsons. The man who’d held Jake hostage inside the HSBC branch in Oxford just over two years ago. The man who had been responsible for inspiring Jake to enter the police service. From that point onwards, Jake knew that he wanted to fight against evil, like he was some sort of modern-day superhero dressed in a suit and tie.
Freddy’s face remained impassive as they locked eyes on one another. The bald man was ushered into the room by a prison officer and then allowed to walk the small distance to the desk in the middle where Jake was seated.
‘I was wondering when you’d visit,’ Freddy said, pulling the chair opposite from beneath the table. ‘And in what capacity,’ he added. ‘I hear you bat for the other team now.’
Jake dipped his head slightly, glancing down at his suit. He straightened his tie and adjusted the metal clip. ‘I’ve got a lot to thank you for.’
Freddy leant forward on the table, his face shining under the light. The man Jake had encountered during The Crimsons’ last hit was completely different to the one in front of him now. There was no energy left in his face. No life. No vigour. The colour had gone from every aspect: his cheeks, his eyes, even his lips. His facial hair was messy and unkempt, and he looked as though he’d only just woken up. And he’d lost a lot of weight, too. So much so, in fact, that the prison-issue tracksuit drowned him, hanging from his shoulders and revealing half his chest hair. Jake reckoned he wouldn’t have noticed Freddy if he’d passed him on the street.
‘Have you really come all this way just to thank me. Or are you asking for help?’ Freddy asked.
‘Can it be both?’ Jake said. He had never come face to face with a criminal in a situation like this. He couldn’t believe he’d been allowed to speak with Freddy alone, but he had known it was the right thing to do. And, more importantly, so had Pemberton, which was all the authority he needed.
A smirk grew on Freddy’s face. ‘I know what this is about. They’ve done it again, and they’ve got you right where they want you, haven’t they?’
‘You’ve heard what’s happened?’ Jake asked. He had to be careful how to play it – give away too much and he would risk losing his hand to Freddy
who, in fact, had Jake right where he wanted him: begging on his knees.
Freddy shrugged. ‘I’ve heard things.’
‘Where from?’
‘The walls. You spend a lot of time in this place, they start talking to you. Begins to get quite scary after a while.’
‘Perhaps you should see a doctor?’
‘Shrinks aren’t my friends.’
‘I’m sure I could do an evaluation – I’ve got a degree in psychology.’
‘You clever boy. I’m sure your parents were very proud.’
‘My mum was.’
‘And your dad?’
‘Dead.’
Freddy leant back in the chair, folding his arms. He bounced on the plastic and placed his entire weight on it. He commanded Jake’s attention in one move. ‘How’s that girlfriend of yours? What was her name?’ Freddy touched his temples with his index and middle finger. ‘Alice? Alicia? Eliza? Elizabeth! That’s it. How’s she doing? She still stuck around with a little shitbag like you?’
To Jake’s surprise, he found himself chuckling at the remark. ‘Yes. She’s still with me, by some miracle. We’ve even got a beautiful little daughter together.’
Freddy clapped. ‘You don’t hang about, do you? Did you conceive her on the night we had our little foray? Testosterone levels running high. Ego through the roof. You really had a lot going for you that night, didn’t you?’
‘If only that were the case,’ Jake said.
‘Is the baby healthy?’
Jake nodded. ‘Come down with something minor today, but Elizabeth’s coping with it.’
‘I’m pleased for you.’
Jake shifted the dynamic of the conversation away from him to focus it more on Freddy. ‘What about your little boy? Have you spoken to him?’
‘Don’t be fucking ridiculous. He’s not allowed anywhere near here. I’ve written letter after letter, sent it to his mum’s last known address, but have I heard anything? Fuck no.’ Freddy made a zero gesture with his fingers. ‘His mum wants nothing to do with me, so by default that means Sammy doesn’t want anything to do with me either.’
Jake didn’t know what to say. Now that he was a father, he could think of nothing worse than having Maisie ripped from him. Not seeing her every day, holding her, stroking her hair, kissing her goodnight at bedtime or when he got in late and she was already asleep. She was his everything – his entire world. And he would permit nothing to hurt her. Especially after he and Elizabeth had been told they wouldn’t be able to become parents by a multitude of professionals in the first place.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Jake said eventually, finding the courage to say the words. ‘It must be horrible.’
‘It is.’ Freddy paused a beat. ‘You know who I blame? You. You’re the reason I’m in here. At least before I was able to watch my son grow up from the outskirts of his life. Now I have nothing, and no way of contacting him. He’ll never know I existed, and there’s fuck all I can do about it.’
There was an emotion in Freddy’s voice that Jake hadn’t heard before. When they’d first met, Freddy had told him about his son, but he hadn’t expressed as much passion and adoration as he did just now. Jake was sure he saw the corners of the man’s eyes glisten in the light.
‘I don’t know anything about what they’ve done,’ Freddy said. ‘This is all on them. Their heist. Their job.’
‘I’m not here to ask you whether you know anything about this one.’
‘What do you need from me then?’ There was no expression on his face and no energy left in Freddy’s tone, as if their previous topic of conversation had vacuumed it out of him.
‘I need to know everything about the brothers. Their past. Their present. Their future. This job’s different, Fred. This one’s… more evil.’
Freddy stroked his stubble and smiled. It was clear who had all the power; Jake would have to change that.
‘You don’t ask for a lot, do you? And what do I get out of this little arrangement?’
Jake swallowed before replying. This was it. His ace card.
‘I can get you to see your son. I can make that happen. I’ll just need some time.’
| EPISODE 3 |
CHAPTER TWO
GOOD EGG
Dumf-dumf. Dumf-dumf. Dumf-dumf. Danika’s beating heart thumped in her ears and drowned out the sounds of furious typing and chatter and laughter that surrounded her. The investigation was gearing up a notch. News and updates from Candice Strachan’s mansion had begun to filter into the rest of the office; that the device connected to her neck was live and required a set of keys to defuse it; that DS Bridger and DC Tanner had already found two keys; that there were still a couple more, and that this was the most ingenious and difficult device for the explosives team to encounter.
But Danika already knew that. She had her informant telling her everything on the go. Jake. They had started the application for detective constable at the same time, and they had found themselves working in the same borough, developing their skills with one another, growing together. But something about today had made her feel uncertain about him. Uneasy. And she couldn’t explain what it was.
Perhaps it was jealousy. The fact that she was stuck inside the office, working behind the scenes, filing all the paperwork away while he was out on the front line, rolling with the Detective Sergeant and Chief Inspector. Not to mention that, for their first-ever case together, it was fortuitous that Jake had had direct experience with The Crimsons before. Of course, he’d given her that bullshit sob story of wanting her to be there with him when the original call came in earlier in the morning, and she had pretended to believe it. But she didn’t. He knew what he was doing. Giving her tasks to throw her off the scent. But she wasn’t doing it for Jake. No, she was doing it for the good of the investigation, the good of her standing within the team. She needed to stick out, draw attention to herself, make people aware that she existed.
It was time to look out for number one.
Danika propelled herself away from her desk, hurried to the printer and grabbed her documents. They were still warm. She paced across the room and stopped beside DI Murphy. Steam from his freshly brewed cup of tea floated in the air.
‘Excuse me, Mark,’ she said hesitantly. The smell of tobacco still lingered on his clothes.
He peered up at her. ‘Ah, Oblak, what can I do you for?’
‘I… I have the suspectology report on Luke Cipriano you asked for.’ She handed him the pages she’d just printed out. Mark took them, and as he leafed his way through, Danika gave him the condensed version. ‘His fingerprints appeared on Ident1 for several crimes when he was younger. He has two brothers – Danny and Michael – and they were also arrested for anti-social behaviour when they were younger. They were abandoned as children and, from what I could see, they jumped from foster home to foster home.’
A smirk grew on Mark’s face. ‘Excellent. Stellar work, Danika,’ he said.
His words filled her with pride. It wasn’t often she was appreciated – either at home or in the job (policing was a thankless job at the best of times) – but whenever she was, she always stood there awkwardly, uncertain how to accept it.
In the end, she settled on, ‘Thank you, sir.’
Mark turned his back on her momentarily, handed the documents to a female officer beside him and instructed her to write the information on whiteboards in the Horseshoe. Returning his attention to Danika, he said, ‘I’m impressed. We’ll make a good copper out of you yet. What else have you found?’
‘Nothing at the moment, sir.’ She hesitated, glancing back at her desk. ‘DC Tanner asked whether someone in the team could investigate CCTV footage found at Farnham Golf Club? He believes a suspect may have handed in a key there.’
Mark’s face illuminated. ‘Yes… please… send the details to me… and I’ll make sure somebody gets on it immediately.’
‘Of course, sir. Is there anything else you need me to do?’
‘
No, that’s everything for now.’
Danika nodded and thanked him once again. As she started away, Mark called her name and waved her back.
‘Actually,’ he began, keeping his voice low. ‘There is something. It’s about Tanner… if he’s not following the chain of command, I want to know about it. Information should be coming through either myself or DCI Pemberton. I want you to keep me up to date with everything he’s telling you.’
‘Of course, sir. No problem.’
There was a pause. Mark glanced down at her feet and then back into her eyes. ‘Is he asking you to do anything else for him?’
Danika opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her mind turned completely blank. Then she stuttered, ‘He… yes… he wanted me to… to… Candice! He asked me to develop the victimology report on Candice.’
‘What about her?’ Mark asked, deadpan.
‘He said that she was acting strangely – that there was something a bit off about her.’
Mark nodded approvingly. ‘Right. Make that your next project. Anything you find, I want you to tell me about it, all right? I’ll need to sign off on any information you choose to share. Can you do that for me?’