by M A Comley
The conversation dried up, and the radio chatter took over. Katy assessed and reassessed the likelihood of capturing the gang alive, allowing her to question them. Finding out what their motive was for the brutal murders they had committed over the past week. What had triggered their plans?
Graham’s voice broke into her thoughts. “The van has pulled up outside a warehouse at the end of the estate. We’ve held back and switched off our lights.”
“Are there any other vehicles there, Graham?”
“Yes, the Audi and a BMW. The lights are on inside the building.”
“Okay. Stay where you are, we’re right behind you. See you soon, and we’ll decide what to do next.”
“Okay, boss.”
“This is it, Charlie. Take a few deep breaths to calm your nerves. If—no, I’ll correct that—when we get inside, stick to me like glue, you hear me? The last thing I need right now is Lorne coming down heavily on me for not watching over you.”
Charlie chuckled. “God forbid. Don’t worry about me, do what you need to do, I don’t want you being distracted, looking out for me.”
“Okay. Wherever I go, you go.”
“I hear you loud and clear. Don’t stress about me. I need you to bear in mind I have a major survival instinct that has always seen me through tight situations in the past.”
Katy pulled up behind the ART vehicle, switched off the engine and patted her partner on the knee. “How could I ever forget?”
Charlie laughed. “I won’t allow you to.”
“You definitely have your mother’s genes in that respect. Come on, I need to have a word with the commanding officer.”
“Good luck.”
Katy nodded. It was always a daunting task speaking with the ART leader. He had his orders, and it was up to Katy to relinquish her tight hold on a case she was working when it came down to a possible shootout with the criminals. However, that undertaking was quite often hard to achieve.
“Hi, I’m DI Katy Foster, SIO on this investigation.”
“Commander Walker. I’ll take over control of the situation now. What can you tell me about what’s going on?”
“We’ve been tracking a dangerous gang. To our knowledge there are at least five members—there might be more we’re not aware of, though. They’ve killed four men this week. We also believe they are holding a woman and her child and another man, a journalist, hostage. We’re unsure where the three are being held. If I had to guess, I would say it was at this location. I just need you to be aware of that element.”
“Noted. We’ll get the place surrounded and try to negotiate with them first. If we sense the tension rising, we’ll have no hesitation making our final move. I need you and your colleagues to remain here, is that understood, Inspector?”
“Yes, your instructions are perfectly clear, and we’ll adhere to them.”
“Good. Right, as time is of the essence, if you’ll excuse me, I have a rescue attempt to organise.”
Katy nodded and took a step back, allowing the commander to pass and speak with his team. She gestured for Patrick and Charlie to join her, and together, they hopped in the back of Graham’s car at the head of the convoy. “Right, team, we’ve been instructed to let the ART get on with it. We’ll sit back for now and observe. If I sense things aren’t going according to plan, I will have no qualms about getting in there. Are you with me?”
“Is that wise?” Patrick asked and winced at the same time.
“I won’t know until it’s occurred. We’ll sit back and see how things progress for now.” Katy lowered her window the second she saw the commander pick up his megaphone.
He gave the criminals the option to surrender and waited for their response. None was forthcoming. He then warned those inside the building what would happen if they didn’t surrender. Still no response. Katy watched the men surrounding the building close in. An explosive device was attached to the main entrance and detonated on the commander’s instructions. Shots were fired inside the building. Katy stepped outside the car. She strained an ear and heard a baby crying and a woman screaming. It was enough to make her run towards the building. Footsteps sounded behind her, and without turning, she knew her team were in hot pursuit.
Katy’s ears pricked up to what was going on inside. It sounded like the armed police had the situation under control. Panicked shouts from the gang members, a barrage of swearing, more shots. What sounded like metal clanging as it hit the ground, and then the woman screamed again and the baby started crying. What a bloody mess. We have to get in there.
The commander was calling out her name. She chose to ignore it. Yes, no doubt she’d be disciplined for going against strict instructions, but this was her case and too many good men had already lost their lives this week to this abominable gang. “Taser up, team. We’re going in.”
She led the onslaught and, with Charlie by her side, they stormed the warehouse. Katy’s eyes darted in every conceivable direction, swiftly taking in her surroundings and interpreting what was happening. Four of the gang members were in the hands of the response team, and a couple of them were kicking out and mouthing off at the officers, but Katy felt it was all for show. Her main concern lay with the leader of the gang, Joe Rice, who was nowhere to be seen.
She marched up to the tallest gang member and demanded, “Where’s Rice?”
The man leered at her, chewed on his gum and blew a bubble in her face. Katy couldn’t resist popping it with a finger and then poking him in the eye. Childish, yes, but boy, it made me feel good.
A woman’s scream followed by a baby’s cry came from a room over to the right.
“We’ve got this,” Katy announced to the irritated commander. “Come on, team.” She set off, passing a chair with blood spatter all around it on the dusty concrete floor. In the corner was the body of a man. She was in two minds whether to stop and check to see if he was alive; instead, she ordered Patrick to carry out the task. She was on a mission to rescue Gillian and her baby, and nothing was going to stand in her way, their way, as a team.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch! I’m warning you, scream again and I’ll slice the kid’s throat.” What she assumed was Rice’s angry voice filtered through the open doorway.
Katy turned to her colleagues and placed a finger to her lips. “We’re going to have to be careful, we’re only going to get one shot at this. We go in there and aim our Tasers at Rice. Fire if he attempts to hurt either Gillian or the baby.”
“What if we miss and hit either of the hostages?” Charlie asked.
“Don’t!” Katy replied, deadly serious. “Don’t screw up.” In her mind, she pushed aside Carol’s stark warning about one of her team possibly getting hurt.
Gillian’s pleas came next. “Please, don’t hurt us. I don’t know what you want from me. I have nothing left to give.” Her voice teetered on the verge of tears.
“You and I are going to take a trip. You’re my ticket out of here. You and the sprog. Only, if it keeps crying, my patience is going to get thin pretty damn quickly, got that? So shut it up or else…”
Katy gave the signal while Rice was lecturing Gillian. The team piled into the room, surprising the kidnapper. Katy was the first to fire. In the end, it was enough for Rice to let go of the woman. Charlie rushed to sweep Gillian and the baby out of harm’s way. Katy joined them, relieved that everything had gone according to plan without any unnecessary injuries to either the woman or her infant.
“Oh God! I can’t believe you came. Jamillia, I need to get her checked out at the hospital. They’ve treated us abysmally.”
Katy wrapped an arm around Gillian’s shoulders. “You’re safe. They can no longer harm you. Do you need to see a doctor yourself?”
Gillian’s gaze bore into hers, and she nodded. It didn’t take Katy long to deduce from the grim look in her eyes that Gillian had been violated by the men. Is that the reason they’ve held her here? What about the baby? Surely, they didn’t… they’d have to be even sicker i
n the head to consider doing that, wouldn’t they?
Next, she crossed the warehouse to find out what had happened to the journalist. Patrick was still with the man.
“How is he?” Katy whispered.
Koffi stared up at her and rubbed the bump on his temple. “I’m fine, thanks to your intervention. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, well… let’s just say, I’m presuming I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”
“That’s great news. I’m going to call an ambulance, they’ll check you over.”
“There’s no need. The woman needs help, not me.”
“She’s been through a terrible ordeal, but then so have you. I’d feel happier if you went to hospital. Is there anyone I can call, your wife, girlfriend or family member perhaps?”
“No, I’m alone here in the UK, although I have good friends around me.”
“Okay. Patrick, I’ll leave you to call for an ambulance. I’ll ring the station and request a police van to come and collect the gang.” She walked away from the two men and ran a cursory glance over the gang members secured by the rest of her team, then Katy turned her attention to the commander of the ART. “Thanks for all your assistance in this matter.”
“You’re welcome. This time the outcome was a good one. It’s not always the case, I can assure you, especially when the SIO goes against my orders. Orders that were put in place as a preventative measure.”
Despite his stern tone, Katy saw a twinkle in his eye and smiled at him. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you would have done the same if the tables were turned and an opportunity opened up in front of you.”
He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I can see I’m not going to win this battle so I’ll step away now and leave you to it.”
Katy held out her hand to shake his. He squeezed her hand tightly in a firm grasp.
“Thank you again,” she said.
He gave a quick nod and walked away.
Sirens sounded a few minutes later, and the police van arrived. The gang members were loaded into the back. The convoy, with the van at the helm, returned to the station from where Katy sent her team home. “I’ll handle getting them booked in. See you in the morning, guys.”
Charlie was the only one who refused to go. Partners to the end. “I’m staying, you can’t get rid of me that easy.”
“Okay, do me a favour, though.”
“You’ve got it.”
“Go and tell Karen to go home.”
“Gosh, I forgot about her.”
“Luckily, I hadn’t.”
Charlie left the area. Katy had a word with the custody sergeant, then she stepped back and waited while the gang were processed and read their rights.
An hour later, Katy and Charlie finally threw in the towel and called it a day.
Katy drove home, her eyelids drooping dangerously throughout the journey. It had been a hell of a week, and she’d barely seen her family. However, she knew that the following day was going to be an exceedingly challenging one from the word go, when she’d have the dreaded interviews to contend with.
She tiptoed around the house, in dire need of a warm drink. She made a coffee and chose to drink it in the comfort of the lounge on the couch.
That’s where she woke the following morning. She sensed someone watching her and eased open her eye to find AJ towering over her. Katy stretched, gripped the neckline of his towelling robe and pulled him in for a kiss.
“I can’t believe you slept here all night. What time did you get in?”
She stifled a yawn and kissed him again. “Must have been at around two-fifteen. What’s the time now?”
“Six-thirty. Why don’t you come up to bed for a cuddle for five minutes at least?”
“As tempting as that may sound, I’m going to need to get my arse into gear, have a shower and trundle back to the station.”
“I take it you made an arrest last night.”
“We did. It was a team effort, we arrested all the gang and rescued the woman and her baby and the journalist. They’re all safe, thank God.”
He kissed her and crushed her against him. “I’m so proud of you. I don’t tell you enough, not these days.”
Katy pulled back to see tears glistening in his eyes. “Hey, that works both ways. You’re doing so well as an entrepreneur, neither of us could envisage that when you presented me with what appeared to be a hare-brained scheme to begin with.”
AJ tipped his head back and laughed. “The truth emerges, finally.”
“Sorry, I thought it better to support you, rather than put obstacles in your way at the beginning of your venture.”
“Anyway, it’s all working out for the best now. Hey, maybe, if things progress as I expect them to, you might consider joining me in the business.”
Katy was taken aback by his suggestion. “I’m a copper, a damn good one, what do I know about running a kids’ party business?”
“As much as I did when I started out.” His head dipped, and his smile receded. “It was just a thought. Maybe I can sense that criminals are upping their game nowadays and I’m shielding you from anything bad that could happen when you’re on the hunt for one of the nastier crims.”
“You’re adorable, but I’ve had exceptional training and I never put myself in danger, you know that.” She reflected on doing just that a few hours earlier but pushed the thought aside. She had no intention of ever revealing the level of danger she’d thrust upon herself and her team on this mission.
“I know. It was just a thought. One day, perhaps?”
“Never rule it out, AJ. I never thought Lorne Warner would retire, and look at her now. By the way, did I mention she was back in the city?”
“No, you didn’t. Visiting Charlie?”
“Yes, but I can’t help sensing her trip is far more than just that. I’m sure all will be revealed when she’s ready. Until then, I need to get to work. I have five suspects in custody. I’m sensing another long day ahead of me.”
“You should learn to delegate more. There’s no need for you to question all the suspects, just the main ones.”
“You know I prefer to be in control.”
He laughed. “Yeah, don’t I know it? I’ll cook you a fry-up to set you up for the day.”
“You’re a treasure. Give me ten minutes.”
“Take your time.”
11
Refreshed and ready to go, Katy relinquished her reins on the team and instructed Graham and Stephen to help with the interviews, as per AJ’s proposal. They would interview Tobias Bennett and Casey Johnson, while at the same time, she and Charlie would question Otis Cole, Wesley Sanders and finally, Joseph Rice.
In between each interview, Katy decided they would take a ten-minute break to compare notes. Happy with their plan, the interviews began at nine-thirty. Two on-duty solicitors attended the interviews, one in each room.
Mr Lord sat in with Katy and Charlie. Otis Cole was the first interviewee. Charlie said the usual verbiage for the recorder, and Katy began firing questions at Cole. He remained silent throughout the interview, only voicing two words, “No comment”, the entire time. As frustrating as that was, Katy had expected it to go that way. It didn’t matter, not really. They had the men by the short and curlies anyway. They’d been caught red-handed at the scene, and there was lots of DNA evidence being gathered at the warehouse by SOCO; it was only a matter of time before they got a break there. They completed the first round of questioning and met up with Graham and Stephen to compare notes. Frustratingly, they had come up against the same ‘no comment’ response from Tobias Bennett.
Katy rallied her colleagues who all appeared downhearted by the events so far. “Come on, keep those chins up. Let’s get on with the next one.”
They returned to their respective interview rooms to question the third and fourth members of the gang. Wesley Sanders turned out to be more forthcoming with vital information than the others. Katy could tell by the way he fidgeted in his seat that he was about to
tell all.
“So, Wesley, or is it Wes? Which do you prefer?” Katy asked, smiling.
“You can call me Wes. I didn’t want to be a part of this,” he mumbled. “They forced me to do it.”
“Forced you to kidnap the woman and child or to kill the four victims?”
He sniffled and shook his head, his gaze cast downwards at the desk. “All of it. I wanted out, but they forced me to continue, said I was in too deep to back out.”
Katy sensed there was more to it than that. “Forced you? What did they have over you?”
He sat there, not moving, just contemplating her question for a few moments until he began wringing his hands together. Finally, he broke down and told them everything. “They told me if I didn’t continue, they’d go round my flat and kill my wife and child. I regret ever getting involved with them.”
“How well do you know the other men?”
“Not well, not really.”
Confused, Katy probed some more. “How did you connect with them?”
“Online. Joe set up a group through Facebook, asking for like-minded people to join him. The four of us applied. Speaking personally, I’m sick of bloody immigrants invading this country, latching on to all our jobs. I wasn’t prepared to sit back and take it any longer.”
Katy rubbed at her temples. “So the idea was to form a group and rid the country of innocent black men, is that correct?”
He nodded.
“For the recording, Mr Sanders is nodding his agreement. Why did you proceed with the plan after the first murder if it clearly affected you so much?”
“I’ve told you, the second I started to want out, they threatened to kill my wife and child. This was my shit, it had nothing to do with them, I was determined to keep them out of it, safe if you like, so I agreed to go along with Joe’s warped plans.”
“And went on to kill three further men?” Katy sighed, annoyed at the man for his lack of balls to stand up to the other members of the gang, especially if he was so against killing innocent men. “What about Gillian, did you have a hand in raping her, too?”
