She saw a coffee shop on the other side of the road. A youngish man in black trousers and a white shirt was stacking chairs outside. Emily made her way towards him.
‘Are you closed?’
The man gave her a warm smile. ‘Not quite. You can have anything I can make in ten minutes.’
‘How long does a latte take you?’
‘Ten minutes.’
She grinned. ‘I knew you were going to say that!’
The coffee was good. The man finished packing up the tables, leaving a single chair for Emily. The sun was in her eyes, so she shifted the chair into the shade.
Emily noticed a black Audi crawling alongside the kerb. The occupants were obviously looking for something — or someone. A silver Vauxhall, like the sort on a hire car fleet, approached from the opposite direction. The drivers of the two vehicles spoke through their open windows. Emily hid behind the stack of chairs. She could just about make out the words.
The driver of the Audi began to shout. ‘She dropped her minutes ago! She’s here somewhere! Find her!’
The Audi accelerated away. The silver Vauxhall carried on kerb crawling. Emily breathed in. They were looking for her.
‘You okay?’
Emily jumped. She hadn’t seen the waiter. He was still smiling, but it was slightly guarded.
‘Yeah, I’m fine thanks.’ She turned back to the road. The Vauxhall had come to a halt. Suddenly it began to reverse.
Emily stood up. ‘Is there a back way out?’
The man nodded. The smile had disappeared completely.
‘Thanks. Sorry about this.’
With a squeal of tyres, the Vauxhall drew to a halt, level with the café. Emily hurried inside, followed by the waiter.
He opened the rear door for her. ‘Can I help?’ He looked genuinely concerned.
Emily hesitated. ‘Well, yes. If anyone comes and asks, you’ve just closed and no one was here. And when they’ve gone, call 999.’
‘And say what?’
Emily took the waiter’s order pad and pen out of his top pocket. She scribbled a few words and pushed it back. ‘There’s a name and a place.’ She pointed at the name. ‘Tell them this person is waiting at the place I’ve written. Tell them to send someone immediately.’
‘Okay.’
‘I can’t tell you how important it is.’
The waiter nodded. ‘Maybe one day you’ll explain?’
‘I will, yeah. It will take longer than ten minutes though.’
Emily heard footsteps approaching the café. Their eyes met, and the man picked up his broom. Emily pulled the door quietly shut behind her.
* * *
‘Helen Webb! You’re quite a legend, you know.’
‘I’m sure you can think of a better label than that.’ Helen stared unabashed at the speaker. The woman wore jeans, hiking boots and a fleece top. Her ‘walking on the cliffs’ outfit, thought Helen. The two strongly built men either side of her eyeballed Helen.
‘I’m sure the press will do all of that for me,’ said the woman. ‘I’m DCI Lisa Jones. I have been called in to assist with the clean-up after the recent debacle down here.’
‘I wouldn’t fancy your job,’ Helen said.
‘I’m sure. The pressure can really get to some people.’
‘Are you also going to be sorting out Mick?’ Helen gestured at the empty space Mick had occupied before two other men led him away. Helen assumed it was for his own debrief.
‘Not my remit, fortunately.’
‘Let’s get this over with then. The sooner I get through custody, the sooner I can start making myself comfortable in prison.’
Lisa didn’t move. The two men stood firm.
‘We can’t put you in custody, ma’am.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re a bit of an embarrassment, see. So far we’ve been able to keep it pretty quiet. We’ve managed to deflect the media with the hunt for our cop killer. That will be resolved very soon, and it will be a big story. The papers and news channels will be full of it. Meanwhile, no one will even notice the discovery of a former senior officer, found at the foot of the cliffs at a well-known suicide spot.’
‘Suicide . . . ?’ Helen stammered. Her legs felt weak, and her heart began to pound.
‘Suicide. We got a call from the Alcanis. Seems you sailed in there and offered them a deal, but it had no real leverage. So they called us and we were able to come up with a much more attractive offer. The Alcanis would deliver you, and we would have another look at the case against Alcani senior. Maybe we would notice a few holes in the case, enough for him to be released and sent back to Albania.’
‘Deliver me? So here I am. You have to take me in!’
‘We’ve learnt something from you, Helen. You’ve taught us that we don’t have to do anything. We know all about what you offered as your bargaining chip, Helen. That information would have got officers killed, and you knew it. The Alcanis were supposed to deliver that too, but our Mick stepped in before they could get it from you. So now you have to do the right thing. You have to tell us where it is, and then you have to die.’
Helen looked around, wildly. ‘This isn’t happening. Tell me this isn’t happening. I was desperate, I wasn’t thinking straight.’
‘Just think about what would happen if everyone got to know what you did. Your children would be able to read all about it when they got older. Meanwhile, you rot in a prison cell and spend the rest of your miserable life looking out. Is that what you really want? This is your best option, Helen.’
Helen shook her head. ‘But there’s so much that people don’t know. I was just trying to protect the force!’
‘Shit sticks though, Helen. Pretty soon no one’s going to care what you did or why you did it. Where’s the USB device you stole, Helen?’
Helen was silent. She looked out over the cliffs, her mind a whirl. It was a long way down.
‘At least make some of it right, Helen. One of the people on that list was murdered in their own home just a few days ago, along with his wife. Because of you. Now. Tell us what you did with those files, Helen.’
The cliff face was uneven. A single rope marked the edge. Helen couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Lisa stepped forward. ‘This is your chance to repair some of the damage you did.’
‘And if I tell you, you take me into custody. Is that the deal?’
Lisa shook her head. ‘I think we’re long past making any deals, Helen. No matter what you say you finish at the bottom of that cliff. But you will finally have done something honourable. You have my word that your memory will be treated with the greatest respect. Your daughters will grow up believing that you were something. Which is about the best someone in your situation could hope for.’
‘That’s not a deal. It’s not anything.’
‘We’re running out of time, Helen. Make your choice.’
‘This is murder.’ Helen forced the words out. ‘It will have to be, I’m not making it easy for you.’
Lisa shrugged. ‘Then murder it will be.’
The two men stepped forward.
* * *
Mick had heard the sirens draw nearer. Two cars piled into the car park with their blue lights flashing. Flanked by his two male chaperones, Mick faced them. The first car seemed to be heading straight towards them. Suddenly Mick’s two escorts broke away and ran in opposite directions.
Mick waited. The car door burst open.
‘Are you Mick?’ Another officer appeared above the car roof, looking around, apparently for the men who had fled.
‘Well, yeah. What’s the matter?’
‘We got a call to say you were up here with Helen Webb. She’s a wanted criminal, sir. Do you know where she is?’ Mick was suddenly aware that the crew from the other car had circled around him. He was being penned in.
‘You know Helen’s here. I reported it. Your DCI is down there with her now.’
Two of the officers exchange
d looks. ‘What DCI?’
‘Lisa Jones, I think she said. Is there a problem?’
‘No. A misunderstanding, I’m sure.’
‘Who’s your informant?’
‘Emily. That’s the only name I have. Is there anyone here by that name?’
‘Emily?’ Why would his handler send an emergency response team? Mick didn’t understand what was happening but he felt a sudden sense of urgency. ‘They’re down there.’
Mick ran. Three of the officers followed him. The ground was uneven, and he nearly lost his footing on the loose stones. It was a short sprint. Mick burst round a corner to see Helen Webb standing on the cliff edge. Two men stood with her. They had a lock on an arm each. She was pitched forward, her hands free of cuffs. She was sobbing, begging them to stop. A kitchen knife lay on the ground by her feet.
‘What the fuck is going on?’
The two men turned and pulled Helen back from the edge.
‘She tried to jump! Said she wanted to end it all.’ Lisa Jones stepped forward. She sounded upset.
A uniform officer stepped past and took a firm hold of Helen.
‘Helen Webb, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to murder.’
Helen looked Lisa Jones in the eye. ‘Shit sticks,’ she said.
They led Helen away. She was smiling.
Chapter 44
‘George, we have to stop meeting like this.’ Sarah smiled at her husband and rested her hand on his forehead. George opened his eyes.
‘You’re in hospital, George. You’re going to be okay.’
George’s eyes moved round the room. His words were muffled by the oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. Sarah pulled off the mask and laid it on the table beside his bed.
‘Charley?’
‘She’s fine, George. She’s here. I said she could come and see you when you woke up. I’ll go and get her in a minute. Do you remember what happened?’
George struggled to sit up. ‘There was a bomb. Kane, he—’
‘Don’t try and move, George.’ Sarah stroked his forehead. ‘Luckily, you were far enough away. The trailer exploded and you got a clout from the shockwave. You got a few bits of shrapnel too, the trailer broke up pretty bad. They pulled some pieces of plastic out of your side and your leg. Nothing that won’t heal up okay.’
George moved his right hand and flinched. ‘My hand?’
‘Your wrist is broken. You were in handcuffs when you got knocked off your feet. Your wrist must have taken all your weight. It will heal, George. It will all heal.’
‘What about you?’
‘I’m okay. A bit traumatised. The side of the trailer was all bent in — you should see it — but nothing got through. It shook me off my feet and I banged my head, but it’s nothing.’
‘What happened to Kane? I hurt him bad.’
‘Dead. They don’t know when, whether it was before or after the explosion, but I get the impression they don’t care too much.’
George sighed. He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’m in a lot of trouble.’
‘I don’t think so. I spoke to someone in charge. They said it’s pretty clear what happened. You’ll just need to give them some more details.’
‘I shot at a sergeant on police premises. They’ll definitely have the hump about that.’
‘Did you hit him?’
‘No. I was only sending a message.’
‘Whatever you did, it was because you had to. I was certainly very happy to see you when you turned up.’
George was silent for a while trying to piece together what had happened.
‘Barry? And his wife?’
‘Both gone. They would have taken the full force.
‘Jesus.’ George grimaced.
‘You knew, didn’t you, George?’
George had his eyes tightly closed. ‘Knew what?’
‘The explosion. You knew it would be that poor woman’s trailer. That they would both die if he opened that door.’
‘I couldn’t know.’
‘You did. I still remember the way you looked at me when you told me everything was going to be fine. You knew Kane had lied to me about the bomb.’
‘I couldn’t be certain.’
‘But you had a pretty good idea.’
George opened his eyes. ‘He told me. When he was on the floor and I had my foot on his leg. I’m good at reading people, and I didn’t think he was lying.’
Sarah looked into his eyes. ‘You let them die.’
‘I tried to talk to him.’
‘Why didn’t you tell them? There might have been something we — you — could have done.’
‘Like what?’
‘Anything. Anything but letting them blow themselves to smithereens. You let them die.’ Sarah raised her voice.
‘I let us live.’
‘Why couldn’t we all have lived?’
‘The device was on a timer. I couldn’t stop it going off. Kane meant for her to die. He wanted me to live with that for the rest of my life.’
‘But her husband! He could have been a hundred metres away when it went off.’
‘He wouldn’t have been though, Sarah. He would have been standing right with her, just like I was with you.’
‘Why not tell him?’
‘Because he was terrified. He had a high-powered rifle, and it was a hopeless situation. As he saw it, I was the whole reason he was there in the first place. And . . . and because I thought that if I just held your hand as tight as I could, it would all be over, either way. And I was right.’
‘I don’t recognise you sometimes, George, I really don’t.’
‘I don’t recognise me either, Sarah. I will do anything for you and for our daughter, for us to be a family again. I want what we had. I don’t mean for people to get hurt, Sarah, that’s the last thing I want.’
George reached out and they clasped their hands together.
‘A lot of people have got hurt around me,. I never intended for any of it. I was just trying to protect you. And Charley.’
Sarah managed an exhausted smile. ‘I’ll go get her. She’s been dying to see you.’
THE END
CHARLIE GALLAGHER’S LANGTHORNE SERIES
Book 1: BODILY HARM
Book 2: PANIC BUTTON
Book 3: BLOOD MONEY
Book 4: END GAME
Book 1: BODILY HARM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BODILY-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01MR94IP5/
https://www.amazon.com/BODILY-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01MR94IP5/
An edge-of-your-seat crime thriller starts with a vicious stabbing of a pretty teenage girl and her boyfriend on a local bus. She happens to be the mayor’s niece. It’s the final straw for the community. The police are desperate to get results and decide on a risky course of action involving undercover infiltration of the notorious Effingell Estate.
Detective George Elms knows this hellish place extremely well, and his sharp investigative mind is put to work to solve the crime. The police are under immense media pressure and conveniently a local lowlife confesses to the attack. But George is not convinced. There are many layers of criminal and police motivation, and few people are what they seem.
BOOK 2: PANIC BUTTON
https://www.amazon.co.uk/PANIC-BUTTON-gripping-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01N4WATRV/
https://www.amazon.com/PANIC-BUTTON-gripping-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01N4WATRV/
Someone is killing the officers of the Langthorne Police one by one. And in a sadistic twist he makes each victim push their radio panic button before they die, thus broadcasting their last moments to the entire force.
Book 3: BLOOD MONEY
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLOOD-MONEY-gripping-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B06XYNY624/
https://www.amazon.com/BLOOD-MONEY-gripping-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B06XYNY624/
What would you do to save your dying son? Imagine the doctors told you there was a cure, but only if you had the money.
What would you do to get the money to save your son’s life?
FROM CHARLIE GALLAGHER
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Thanks so much for reading, Charlie.
VOCABULARY
A & E: accident and emergency department in a hospital
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Aggro: violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Belt and braces: using two means to the same end, i.e. thorough
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Board: as part of the promotion process in the police you will face a ‘board’ or an interview panel.
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Breach of Licence: in a lot of cases, UK prisoners can be released early — sometimes having served only half their sentence. In this case the person released is on licence for the time he/she still has to serve and this will have good behaviour conditions. If these conditions are not met then the licence is breached and the person will be returned to prison to serve the rest of their sentence
END GAME a gripping crime thriller full of breathtaking twists Page 18
