The George Elms Trilogy Box Set

by Charlie Gallagher

  ‘Sounds grand.’

  It isn’t. Third floor. I’ll put the kettle on.’

  * * *

  George’s office was small and the furnishings were a mishmash of whatever the property team could find. He’d stopped apologising about the broken chair on the visitor side almost immediately.

  ‘So, what about the intel approach?’ George asked. Do you think he’ll talk to you?’ He tipped milk into two cups from a flask. Emily perched gingerly on the chair opposite.

  ‘I’m not convinced. I’ve had a look at him on our systems. He first came to our attention ten years ago. He’s twenty-eight now and he’s been arrested twelve times in those ten years. Eight of those arrests were in London. That means they will have intelligence on him too — I’ve already requested it. As long as they don’t demand a guv’nor to sign off the request it won’t be a problem.’

  ‘Are you expecting that?’

  ‘No. A month ago and it would have been a different story. Now I’ve been on Op Vapour a while, I’ve got a contact or two in the Met. They shouldn’t even blink. I’ve also put in requests with the European Liaison Unit. You can bet he’s got form in Poland too but that might be much slower in coming.’

  ‘You mean you don’t have an ELU contact? Is that a first, Ryker?’

  ‘Yet. I bet they’ve heard of me though,’ she joked. ‘I would certainly bet they’ve heard of you!’

  ‘Yeah, my name is the last one you should drop, though, Ryker. Seems everything I do is destined to be questioned forever.’

  ‘Means you need me, George. So you have to be nice.’ George felt her lingering gaze as he turned to finish the drinks.

  ‘So what sort of thing is Nowak known for?’

  Emily cleared her throat. ‘Robbery and theft from person to start with. Drugs more recently — only ever possession. He’s on the watch list for Vapour because he has links to the T Line, him and his brother.’

  ‘What’s the link?’

  ‘A combination. First he was found at warrant on a house full of Eastern European workers employed by a salad factory. They were thought to be dealing Pico to other Polish and Slovakian workers from the premises. Nowak wasn’t named personally, he was just noted as living there with his brother.’

  ‘Did they find anything?’

  ‘Some evidence of Pico preparation. But nothing that would stick — they didn’t get lucky with the timing.’

  ‘Pico? That’s like crystal meth, right?’

  ‘Yeah. Just a cruder version. Nasty. It’s the same stuff they gave Nazi soldiers to keep them awake. It had a wonderful side effect too — it meant they could kill indiscriminately. It’s still big in Eastern Europe. Since that raid there’s been more specific intelligence around Nowak personally — he’s supposed to be involved in the supply of crack cocaine. Source information names him and his brother as using a local supplier to be the go-between to the Eastern European community. His brother is believed to be the primary.’

  ‘Was.’

  ‘Well, yeah, assuming we believe him.’

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘Yeah, actually. The basic outline of events he has supplied are plausible, right?’

  ‘They are. And you think that explains how he could have upset someone?’

  ‘It could, yeah. Let’s be honest, supplying to our European friends is a growing market. Maybe they betrayed that trust?’

  ‘What do we know about this Tee Line?’

  ‘Not so much. It’s well established. Originates from London but first sprung up down here a few years back. Margate now seems to be where the line is run from. We’re getting this more and more . . . drug lines initially look to branch out from London but they reach an untapped market and realise that there’s more profit to be had from basing themselves there, rather than staying in the capital. Most of the drugs in the coastal towns are controlled this way now. The local supply was all a bit amateurish, I think the established lines couldn’t believe their luck. Our methods were amateurish, too, George — these lines are well run and they have incredible business models. We’re not even close to understanding them. The MET are better. We need what they know. The Tee Line have one consistency it seems . . . they like to use extreme violence.’

  ‘Enforcement?’

  ‘Debt enforcement, yeah. You wouldn’t want to owe these people money. But claiming and defending territory as well. I’m sure these people wouldn’t take too kindly to a dealer letting them down.’

  ‘He’s definitely not one of ours, Ryker? We’re not running Nowak, are we?’

  ‘I’ve checked as far as I can without upsetting anyone. I don’t think he’s the source for any of the information we have on the Tee Line. To be honest it isn’t really good enough for me to think we’ve got anyone in among them.’

  ‘That is a shame. It would all be rather convenient if he was already a source. We wouldn’t even need to lean on him.’

  ‘The problem we have now is that I don’t think there’s any desire to lean on him straight off. They’re already talking about treating him as a witness. His story about his brother is plausible. He can’t tell us where the site is but he’s willing to show us. Major Crime are already planning a drive-out.’

  ‘Makes sense.’

  ‘Either way, George, I can’t see us getting much from this today. He might show us the site, but he’s made it clear that he won’t talk about who was behind his brother’s murder. Not until he knows he’s safe. It’ll take a couple of days to get him into the witness protection scheme. He might talk then, but I don’t think we have a couple of days.’

  ‘I agree. We’re all out of lines of enquiry here. Help me out, Ryker. How do I get to speak to him?’

  ‘I don’t think you do. Unless you can convince Whittaker that you have some sort of special power that might make him talk, you’ve got no chance. And even if you did, you’d have a Major Crime chaperone.’

  ‘And I certainly don’t want one of them.’

  ‘Are you in touch with Shaun?’

  ‘I will be. I’ll give him a call and we’ll talk about where we are.’

  ‘It might be that we have to wait. They’re going to pop their heads up to speak to Shaun soon, right? That has to give us something. It might even give us the man’s family back. Then we can all back away and let Shaun reveal all.’

  George was unconvinced. ‘It bothers me, Ryker, sitting on our hands and waiting for them to get in contact. You know me, I’m never comfortable to let the criminal have control of the timetable. You have to disrupt them, even if it just pisses them off or keeps them on their toes. You can’t let them think they are getting it all their own way. Kidnap is all about absolute control.’

  ‘I’m all ears if you can think of something.’

  ‘I’ll go back through the material we have. Will you get an update after the interview?’

  ‘I will make sure of it.’

  ‘You never know your luck. Something might come out of that.’

  ‘Something might.’

  ‘You don’t sound convinced.’

  ‘Nor did you.’

  * * *

  Shaun Carter looked a little brighter than he had at 6 a.m. Maybe it was because he was in the surroundings of his own flat, Ian Brown playing softly over a Bose speaker system. He had changed into shorts and flip-flops, a tight-fitting t-shirt with a zip-up top hanging open. His flat was impeccable: everything perfectly in place, the carpet swept in fan-shaped patterns.

  ‘You didn’t need to tidy up for me, Shaun!’ George joked but he watched closely for reactions. Ever the suspicious detective, someone reacting to his ex-wife being kidnapped by cleaning his home was always something to be considered.

  ‘I’ve been pretty restless. I couldn’t sit down, so I hoovered.’

  ‘You look a little better. Did you get some rest?’ It was just before 11 a.m. He was pretty sure Shaun wouldn’t have had time to sleep.

  ‘No, it’s a lot of coffee and a lot of ner
ves. Did you want a drink?’

  ‘No thanks. But feel free if you’re making yourself one.’

  ‘What’s the update then? Take a seat, George.’

  Shaun led through to a large living room at the front of the flat. He had the middle floor of what would once have been a large manor house. It looked out over council maintained parkland. From the living room George could make out a kids’ play area that was busy with excited movement and the River Stour beyond. The house was central in the city of Canterbury. George guessed that it would be an expensive place to live.

  ‘We aren’t much further, Shaun. I’ve given that update many times in my career, but it’s hard to say today. I know how desperate you must be feeling about the whole thing but we still have options.’

  Shaun had remained standing but now slumped into the chair opposite. ‘I can’t see any options, George. I can’t see anything clearly right now.’

  ‘Nowak is being interviewed as we speak, I would imagine — or very soon. They were fussing over an interpreter and it was holding things up. Ryker is poised to get the update from that the second it’s available. He might tell us something in that we can use.’

  ‘Is that likely?’

  ‘They killed his brother. That’s normally the sort of thing that could prompt a man to tell all that he knows. Ryker’s pretty sure that he has no choice but to help us now. Not only for his brother’s sake — he’s in a lot of danger. If we were to release him he wouldn’t last the day. He’ll know that. The problem is that he knows the system and he’ll use it to his advantage.’

  ‘He knows that we won’t just kick him out to fend for himself all the while he says he is in trouble?’

  ‘Exactly. And I don’t see him talking to us until he knows he’s safe. Or at least feels like he is.’

  ‘Witness protection?’

  ‘It’ll have to be.’

  ‘That’ll take days.’

  ‘It will. I’ve had some experience with them. They’re a funny bunch. They do things a set way, but there’s method to their madness. Nowak’s safe in custody, so they’ll be able to take a few days to get everything sorted out before he’s released. They won’t move him until that’s all done.’

  ‘And he won’t talk until he’s moved.’

  George shrugged. ‘We’ll get an update from Ryker soon.’

  ‘You said we had options. Is that it? Wait and see if the impossible happens?’

  ‘No. The other option comes when they make contact with you. The longer they keep your wife and boy, the more the risk of someone else missing them. They won’t want anyone looking for them. I think they’ll be in touch soon.’

  ‘But then we’re at their mercy. It’s all on their terms. You said right from the start that you wanted to avoid that.’

  ‘I did. I do. It’s not my first choice, but it’ll give us an opportunity. It’ll give us something at least.’

  ‘They’re not just going to give my family back, George, are they?’

  ‘When they call, we’ll see what they want.’

  ‘I won’t do anything to risk their lives.’

  ‘This is why you were right not to involve the police as a whole. Nobody will do anything without you saying so. When it comes down to getting your family back, it will be you calling the shots. I’m not here to put them at risk.’

  ‘Or to be at fault when it all goes wrong and they end up hurt. Or worse.’

  George stood to leave. ‘Stay positive, Shaun and stay available. And stay in touch.’

  George was shown out without another word.

  Chapter 15

  ‘Jesus, Becks! What the fuck has he done to you now? We’ve got to do something about this!’ Alice’s pulse had quickened from the moment she had received the text from her sister. It had just said I need to see you. I’m at the back of Subway. Alice knew where she meant, the Subway restaurant just off the A256 between Sandwich and Thanet. It had been a regular meeting point for them previously. This was the first time Alice had seen her sister for almost two months.

  ‘I’m taking you to the police!’

  ‘No Alice.’ Becky even sounded different where her face was so swollen. Her bottom lip was split, too, and she kept rubbing spittle away as if it was numb. Her nose was red, shadows had already started under each eye and she had dried blood above her top lip.

  ‘I can’t go to the police.’

  ‘It was Jake, right? Jeez, Becks, what the fuck did he do this for?’

  ‘He was different, Alice. He’s not normally like this.’

  ‘You expect me to believe that?’ Alice scanned the interior of the Vauxhall Corsa. Becky had owned it for a couple of years and every time Alice had been in it, the little car had been a clutter of makeup items, wet-wipes, CD cases and food wrappers. Today it was spotless.

  ‘Do you have anything I can clean you up with?’

  Becks shook her head. ‘No, I checked. I was going to go into the garage but I didn’t want to get out of the car looking like this.’

  ‘What about Subway’s toilets?’

  ‘It’s shut.’

  ‘Okay, hang on.’ Alice pushed open the passenger door.

  ‘Alice! Don’t call the police! Where are you going?’

  Alice leant back into the car. ‘Calm down Becks, I’m just getting my bag.’

  Alice walked just a few paces to where she had parked her Renault Clio and retrieved her bag. By the time she climbed back into the Vauxhall, her sister was crying. It was a silent cry and she was attempting to conceal it behind her hand. Alice grabbed her sister firmly in a hug. ‘Christ, Becks! Look what he did to you! I’ve never seen you cry. We got to go to the police.’

  ‘No, Alice. I said no. I can’t do that.’

  ‘You’re not going back, though, right? You can’t go back. Not now he’s done this.’ Alice had backed away, she gestured at Becks’s bruising. Her sister grimaced a little as she turned to face forwards.

  ‘Are you hurt anywhere else?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Becks! Are you hurt anywhere else?’

  ‘Jesus, Alice, I called you so I wouldn’t get the third degree.’

  Alice snatched at her t-shirt and jerked it up over her black bra. Becks was just as quick to pull it back down, but Alice had already seen a flash of angry red on her ribs. She gave Becks a look that said resisting was futile and she reached out, pulling the t-shirt up again, slower this time. Becks just cried in response.

  Alice resisted the urge to shout, fought back her emotions. She waited for her sister to start talking.

  ‘He was so angry. I promise I have never seen him like that before. He’s aggressive, but it’s always just intimidating. He doesn’t threaten me straight out, he just says things in a way so I know I have to do what he says.’

  ‘What was he angry about?’

  ‘I don’t know. He got in late. The second I saw him I could tell he was stressed out. He was pale and sweaty, he looked like he’d seen a ghost! He woke me up coming in and I lay awake for ages. He didn’t come up, so I started to get curious — then worried. He didn’t turn on the telly, didn’t make a drink and he didn’t even turn a light on. So I went downstairs after a while. I turned on the light and straight away I could see he was in a state. I was worried about him, Alice. I asked him if he was all right and he just dismissed me. He said he needed to wash his clothes — he felt dirty. He told me to go away.’

  ‘Was he drunk?’

  ‘No, he doesn’t even drink. I think he uses sometimes. A white powder. He says it’s called spice and that it’s legal, but it makes him different. Angrier. He was terrified of something, though, Alice. I’ve never seen him so scared. You know Jake . . . he’s always full of himself. But all that was missing.’

  ‘Spice? That ain’t legal, Becks. Just Google it for a second. When did you become so naïve?’ Alice was furious, but she took a moment to collect herself. ‘Sorry, Becks, this isn’t your fault. I’m just angry you got hurt.’
r />   ‘It’s okay. I have been naïve, Alice. Fucking stupid more like.’

  ‘Stop it, Becks. So he was dirty then? What had he been doing?’

  ‘I don’t ever ask — I know it makes him angry. But I had to ask last night and that’s what made him flip out. I think he thought I’d left the room. He took his jacket off and his t-shirt underneath had blood on it — loads of it. I thought it was his, Alice!’

  ‘It wasn’t his?’

  ‘No. I asked him if he was all right and he said that one of his mates got into a fight and he helped clean him up. There was a lot of blood. I asked what he had been doing and how his mate got so badly hurt. He just hit me. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t even know what hit me. I took one to my face and the next thing I knew I was on my back looking up. Jake stood over me and he hit me a few times again. Then he kicked me — that’s when my ribs got hurt, I think.’

  ‘Fuck, Becks! He can’t get away with this, babe! You’re the one with all the brains — he can’t get away with this, can he?’

  ‘No, you’re right. He can’t. This is it for us — I’m not going back.’

  ‘And you need to call the police. You need to report it.’

  ‘No, Alice. Please stop saying that. I told you I don’t want to. I just want all this over. I’m not going back. I called you because I need somewhere to stay. I can’t go to mum and dad’s while I look like this. I’ll just stay with you until it’s all gone down. Is that okay? I promise I won’t be a bother, I’ll stay out of—’

  Alice cut her sister off with a fierce hug. ‘Of course, Becks, you don’t even need to ask.’ She pulled back to assess her sister’s face again. She couldn’t stop looking at the angry bruising, the swelling and the streams on her face where tears had fallen. Becks was her older sister. It was Becks who had always looked out for her. She’d never needed her help for anything before.

  ‘Thanks. I won’t be a pain, I promise. If you need to go to work or whatever, just do what you need to do.’

  ‘I’m due on a late shift this afternoon, Becks. I’ll call in sick.’

  ‘You don’t need to do that.’

  ‘I want to look after you. I don’t think you should be on your own at the moment. Just in case he comes looking.’