by Karen Clow
“You’ll get used to it Sergei and next time it will be easier, today was worse because you were sober.”
Sergei just looked at him, his eyes welling with tears as Davy passed him a towel.
CHAPTER 74
George had arrived at the station at half five that Monday morning. Jeff Black had got there just minutes before him. When he spotted George walking towards his office, he poured him a coffee. They went over all the details regarding the possible kidnapping. Jeff had two back up cars parked in the girl’s street and one parked near where the abduction would supposedly happen. There would be no actual police presence visible as everyone would be in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles. All the officers would be in place by seven o’clock. George would travel with the officers who would be waiting in the street where the abduction was to take place. Jeff had managed to find out that the two suspects would probably be driving a small blue van. If the information they had was correct, the two men would park in the street at just after half seven. George was confident that everything would go to plan and the two suspects would be in custody by mid-morning. The two friends had another coffee before leaving for the rendezvous.
Forty minutes later, George was in position and watching as a blue van pulled in up the street. Instantly, he noticed that the driver was wearing white overalls, which appeared to have paint on them. They were obviously trying not to look suspicious by pretending to be painters and decorators. Although George noticed that the passenger looked to be wearing a dark coloured top. A call came through to his car; it was from the other officers who were parked in the girl’s street. They told George and the others that the driver had just pulled away from the house and that he would be approaching the van in approximately three minutes.
“This is it lads” said George, “it’s going down any minute. Just remember the girl’s safety is paramount.”
They could see the girl’s car pulling into the street. George noticed one of the abductors get out of the van, he also noticed the van’s engine was still running and the driver moved the van slightly out into the road. George watched as the passenger lay down in the road in front of the van, just as the girl’s car pulled out into the street. To the driver of the car, it would have looked as though someone had just been knocked down.
As the car neared the van, Pinky jumped out and rushed to the front of it. The girl’s driver slowed right down and told the little girl to lock her door; his instinct was telling him to be cautious. Then Pinky stepped out in front of the car, frantically waving his arms and shouting for someone to call an ambulance!
The driver could see Jake lying on the ground near the front wheels. Pinky banged on the side window and shouted for the driver to help him. The little girl Mercedes asked if the man was alright and that they should help him.
“I’ll check it out Mercedes. You stay in the car do not get out and keep your door locked.”
As he opened the door Pinky lunged at him with a stun gun, hitting him in the shoulder. The driver struggled to close the door as Pinky zapped him again, this time in the neck. Mercedes was screaming as Pinky put his arm through the open door and unlocked hers. Jake was ready to grab her, the driver was lying across the two front seats barely conscious when Jake grabbed the terrified child. Placing one hand over her mouth; he started to drag her from the car.
George signalled to the others to go. With the other officers from his car, he rushed towards the van, while the other officers in the car pulled up in front of the van blocking its exit. Within minutes, Pinky and Jake were face down on the pavement being handcuffed. Neither one of them put up much of a struggle; they obviously knew they couldn’t get away.
Jeff Black was relieved to hear no one had been hurt. The girl’s driver had been treated by paramedics at the scene, but he was fine and along with the little girl, he had been taken home. George had left two officers at the house, more to reassure the mother than anything else. He had arranged for some officers to interview them later that day when the little girl had calmed down.
Back at the station, George told Jeff that he would like to interview Pinky and Jake. They buzzed through to the holding cells for Jake to be brought to an interview room.
Five minutes later they were sitting opposite him. Jake had been appointed a duty solicitor who George was familiar with, having met him several times before. At first Jake wouldn’t say anything.
“We know the abduction was orchestrated by Davy Sheridan” said George, “I expect he’s a bit worried now that you haven’t called, but no doubt he’ll come up with something so that you and your friend take the fall. How old are you Jake, you look quite young, do you really want to waste twenty years of your life in prison for kidnapping?”
Jake turned and whispered something to his solicitor. A few moments later his solicitor said his client would only be prepared to talk if the tape is switched off. Jeff nodded at George, who immediately pressed the button to stop the recording.
“Whatever you say Jake will at some point need to be documented,” said George “do you understand that?”
“If I talk to you, the same will happen to me that happened to Danny Monk. I’d rather spend twenty years in nick.”
“What if we placed you in another station under watch? We’re well aware that Davy Sheridan has people everywhere, but I give you my word we can protect you from him.”
“What about all the coppers that are on his payroll, can you protect me from them?”
“I give you my word you’ll be safe” interrupted Jeff, “do you know who these people are?”
Jake shook his head. George talked about the kidnapping and asked why they picked that particular girl.
“It wasn’t a kidnapping; we were only supposed to hold her for a couple of days. Just until her dad pays the money.”
“Is that what Davy Sheridan told you?”
Jake nodded.
“Christ, are you and your mate that thick? Her dad doesn’t owe anyone money, its Davy who owes money. Does the name Rodney Hopper mean anything to you?”
“Everyone knows the name Rodney Hopper, he’s bad news.”
“Davy is in debt to him, that’s why he wanted the girl her father is very wealthy. Ironic really when you think about it, you do all his dirty work for him for what I expect is a few grand?”
“Do you really believe Davy Sheridan would allow you to live once he got his money?” said George “why do you think he didn’t use his regular blokes? I’ll tell you why, because you two wouldn’t be missed.”
“Can I speak to my solicitor privately?” said Jake.
“You have five minutes and then we will be charging you with attempted kidnapping.”
Jeff left the room with George. Five minutes later they returned.
“Providing you can move my client to somewhere safe,” said Jakes solicitor “he will tell you everything, on the condition that it was known that he believed to be simply taking the child as a favour to one of Davy’s friends and that he never knew it was an actual kidnapping, which would involve any type of ransom for the girl’s life.”
“We agree,” said Jeff “we have collaborating evidence to back up your version of events.”
From that moment on Jake told them everything. When the interview finished, Jake was taken back to his cell. Jeff sent an officer he knew was trustworthy to watch him until he could be moved.
As soon as the room was empty, Jeff looked at George.
“We’ve got the bastard this time George, kidnapping is a very serious crime.”
“Shall I go and arrest Mr Sheridan?”
“Please do George, I wish I could come with you, but I need to interview the other one.”
George drove towards Davy Sheridan’s residence, accompanied by two other officers. As they pulled into Davy’s driveway, George noticed an Audi parked behind Davy’s car. After making a note of the registration number, he knocked on the door. To his surprise, Davy answered it. George had expected it to be his new
minder or at the very least his house keeper. Davy immediately recognised them and asked what they wanted. At that moment, George moved nearer to him and grabbed his arm as he said he was arresting him for attempted kidnapping. Davy didn’t resist.
“Call Oscar Gelding,” said Davy “you’re going to pay for this. I might even sue for police harassment.”
When one of the other officers asked him who was in the house, Davy arrogantly said he had a friend staying, or was it against the law to have friends.
“That would depend on who your friends are Mr Sheridan,” replied George sarcastically.
He told one of the officers to handcuff Davy and wait in the car. Along with the other officer they made their way into the house.
Davy was shouting at them that it was private property and that they were trespassing if they didn’t have a warrant. Ignoring him they walked towards the lounge, they could hear someone talking. The moment they entered the room, George could sense that something was very wrong. The young boy was only wearing boxer shorts and it was obvious that he was afraid of the man standing in front of him. When George asked the boy his name, Ivan answered for him and said he was his nephew Sergei.
George wasn’t happy with the situation; looking at the boy again he asked where he lived. Before Ivan could answer for him again, George told him to be quiet he wanted the boy to answer. Without warning, Ivan rushed at them, knocking the other officer off balance and getting past George. The officer sprang to his feet and gave chase out through the front door, shouting at the officer in the car to call for back up. Davy just watched from the back of the car as Ivan jumped the garden wall and ran down the street followed by the officer.
Inside, George was trying to talk to Sergei, but the boy was clearly terrified. George knew he probably wouldn’t say anything to him because he was too afraid, so he decided to take him back to the station. Seeing the boy’s clothes hanging over the back of the sofa, he passed them to him. Immediately Sergei dressed. All George managed to get out of him was that he was from the Ukraine. There was a WPC that George was friendly with who spoke Polish, he would ask her to speak to the boy in the hope that maybe he would understand and talk to her.
CHAPTER 75
Maria had taken Mickey a drink into the study. He noticed as she passed it to him she seemed to stare at him.
“Everything alright babe, are the kids asleep?”
“I don’t know Mickey you tell me, is everything alright?”
“Of course babe, why do you ask?”
“Don’t lie to me Mickey; I heard what you said to Shaun and Billy when they left with the girls this morning.”
“What did I say babe?”
She was just about to answer when his phone rang. It was Lenny.
“Sorry babe, I should take this it could be important.”
She knew by him saying that he was trying to get rid of her, so defiantly she sat on the edge of his desk. Knowing she wasn’t going to leave, he answered the call.
“Alright Lenny, what’s up?”
“Well let’s just say, I’ve got some very good news for you Mickey. Your mate George caught the fuckers red handed. I’ve just left the nick where a little bird has just told me the two idiots who tried to pull the job off are going to give Davy up.”
“That’s great Lenny, but will it stick this time?”
“Like fucking shit to a blanket, their moving them so Davy can’t get to them. I reckon it’s in the bag this time, even fucking Davy can’t talk his way out of this one.”
“Keep me informed Lenny and you’re right mate that’s great news, catch you later.”
“That was Lenny babe.”
“I know.”
Realising she wasn’t going to leave it; he told her what had gone down that morning and believed he’d satisfied her curiosity.
“Do you think I’m so stupid Mickey that I would believe you’ve only just learnt about this? You knew this morning, didn’t you?”
“There had been some talk about Davy snatching that kid, but we didn’t know for definite. Anyway according to Lenny, George caught them in the act so Davy will be going down after all.”
In her heart she knew there was far more to it than he’d told her, but for the time being she was just happy that Davy was locked up again. Although she hoped he was right about Davy serving hard prison time this time.
Standing up she moved towards the door, but he held her then put his arms around her waist. When she turned to face him, he kissed her.
“I know you’ve not been totally honest with me Mickey, but on this one occasion I’m going to let it go. However, don’t think that you can win me over with a kiss, because you can’t!”
Still holding her he leaned past her and locked the door.
“What are you doing Mickey?”
“This,” he replied as he began unbuttoning her dress “God you’re so sexy.” Then he kissed her passionately as he fondled her breasts.
“Stop it Mickey the others are only in the next room.”
“You best not scream too loud when you come then babe, or they’ll hear us!”
The more she tried to control him, the more aroused he became, as did she. Finally he laid her face down across his desk and made love to her. In her excitement, she knocked some papers onto the floor. When they finished, he sat on his desk chair and pulled her onto his lap.
“Babe you’ve got to stop wanting sex with me every time I’m in here, I need to work!”
She began tickling him. Almost an hour had passed by the time she left the study. She just hoped no one asked her what she’d been doing.
CHAPTER 76
Over the next few days, Oscar Gelding visited Davy several times as it was clear that there was enough evidence to charge him. To Davy it was less clear and he demanded that Oscar find a loophole. It was when Oscar told him it wasn’t that simple as Jake and Pinky were prepared to give evidence.
It was then Davy began to take it seriously. The first thing he’d asked Oscar was where the lads were being held. Oscar was no fool, he was well aware that Davy could have them silenced even from inside. When Oscar told him they had been moved to a secret location, Davy told him to find out and then speak to Matt. He would know the right people to call.
“Only the detectives in charge of the case know where they are Davy.”
“Well they have fucking families don’t they! Tell Matt I need to speak with him!”
Oscar was well aware what Davy had in mind, but he would have no part in it. Bending the law was one thing; knowing peoples’ families were being put at risk was another.
“The young boy, who was at your house Davy, is now in the care of child services. I should tell you, the authorities are looking into the possibility of sex trafficking.”
“Was the man at my house arrested?”
“No the police have so far been unable to apprehend him, but they’re taking his actions very seriously.”
“Find out where the boy is.”
“No I can’t do that.”
Davy became aggressive. Oscar tried to reason with him but he was ranting and raving like a madman.
“Get out of here you piece of shit, you’re no longer representing me. You’re fired!”
Oscar actually felt quite relieved, he didn’t like Davy and he certainly didn’t like the way he did things. He hoped that Davy would go down for a long time because he deserved it.
When Oscar left the station, he bumped into George.
“As I’m no longer Mr Sheridan’s solicitor, could you speak privately with me for a moment Detective Davage?”
More through curiosity than anything else George nodded and took him to his office.
When George offered him a coffee, Oscar declined.
“I only want a few minutes of your time Detective.”
“So what do you want to talk about Mr Gelding?”
“What I’m about to say is off the record detective, should it ever be mentioned I will deny ever hav
ing this conversation. Do we understand one another?”
“Yes, what is it you want to say?”
“Well as I’m no longer representing Mr Sheridan, I feel that certain things should be said. In my opinion he is dangerous, which could be nothing more than an act to try to intimidate me. However, his threats could be genuine. During our last meeting, Mr Sheridan was very keen to find out where the two accused are being held. Which in view of what happened to Mr Monk, I felt I should tell you. Davy also made reference to finding out about some individuals families. I presume he may intend to use their families to get to them. You may be one of those individuals detective. Now it’s probably nothing more than an idle threat, I just felt it was my duty to mention it. There is just one last issue. He also seems keen to learn of the whereabouts of the young boy who was taken from his house.”
“As all this is off the record, I need to ask you, do you think he was serious when he made these threats?”
“Do you think I would be having this conversation if I didn’t? Now I must be going. No doubt Mr Sheridan will appoint another representative this afternoon, I wish him luck!”
George stood up, shook his hand and thanked him. Then Oscar left.
George spoke to Jeff about what Oscar had told him. He had never really thought about the dangers that went with being a detective, but things were different now. He had a family to consider.
They talked about Sergei. The more the boy had talked about how he came to Britain, the more it sounded like sex trafficking.
According to the boy some English men and women had gone to the Ukraine on the pretence of recruiting young factory workers. The package they were offering was seen as a winning lottery ticket. They were told they could live together in a large house, which would be cheap. They would be able to send at least one hundred and fifty pounds a month home to their families. The traffickers had photos of houses and factories. They made it sound like the land of milk and honey, only once the kids got here their nightmare began. They were taken to a large house with a guard, locked in, beaten and barely fed. Then they would be taken to places to be used as sex objects for perverts. Davy Sheridan had sex with the boy and told him he would buy him.