Recompense

by Alan Richards

  “Let me show you the lounge. You can sit in there while I make this drink and then we can talk.”

  Letitia beckoned Alexa to follow her and walked across the hallway, through the door opposite the kitchen and into a lounge. Alexa sat on the sofa as Letitia returned to the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with two large mugs of tea.

  “So Alexa, talk to me.”

  “Where do you want me to start?”

  “I don’t know. I want to know everything leading up to why you were in that room, about to kill Mrs Fenner.”

  Alexa looked Letitia in the eyes. She suddenly realised she was actually having feelings for her, did she want her to know what she had turned into.

  “Are you sure about that? You may not like what you hear,” Alexa asked.

  “Like I said, I want to be here for you. So tell me.”

  “Okay then. Firstly I am a police officer, Detective Inspector.”

  Letitia just listened intently as she told her about what she had done on Friday and why she was prepared to kill Mrs Fenner to protect her from being identified. Alexa explained in detail who Martin Fenner was and what sort of person he was. Letitia just listened.

  Twenty Two

  Alexa stopped talking. She waited for Letitia to say something. The wait seemed to last for an eternity.

  “Do you feel justified in what you did?” Letitia asked.

  “Yes I do. I know its wrong in the eyes of the law, which I should uphold, but I can live with it if one evil person is off the streets. If it means it saves at least one of his girls from the hell he puts them through then yes, I can live with it.”

  “So you did what you did to save people. And did it work?”

  “No it didn’t.”

  “Why?”

  Alexa paused, took a drink from her mug of tea and then proceeded to explain how one of her officers had discovered that Fenner had an alibi for the time of the shootings and so now the Police were of the mind that it was a setup job to frame Fenner.

  “It all seems a lot of effort to go to just because you wanted to lock him up.”

  Alexa realised that Letitia was right. She had gone to a lot of effort and changed as a person just to lock up Martin Fenner

  “I had other reasons as well,” Alexa responded.

  “What reasons are they? I need to know everything.”

  “Fenner killed a young woman who I had gotten close to.”

  “You mentioned that in the room, who was she?”

  “She was an informant. She had worked for Fenner for years since she was a child. She had run away from her parents and ended up on the game.”

  Alexa paused to take a breath, she could feel herself getting emotional. Letitia reached over from her chair and took her hand.

  “Keep going, I really do want to know everything. I haven’t thrown you out yet have I.”

  Alexa went on to explain how the informant had been arrested and to get out of going to jail had offered information to the Police on locations of brothels where Fenner was keeping his girls. The information had been good and they had raided the houses and found girls as young as eleven working in filthy rooms with just mattresses to sleep on in between entertaining the perverts that came to the brothels. As she explained Alexa could feel the emotions she had felt at the murder returning and it made her realise that what she was doing needed to be done. She carried on to explain that the informant had offered more and more information until she had offered to find out the location of the next delivery of girls. She had explained to them that Fenner always met the deliveries to check the merchandise as he put it. She continued to explain that it was at that point that she had been brought in to work with her. She worked closely with her, spending a lot of time with her outside of the Police Station and really getting to know her as a person. She had discovered her real name as well.

  “Sounds like you got really close to this woman,” Letitia said.

  “Yes, she reminded me of my sister. She was the same age that my sister would have been if she had survived cancer.”

  “You cared for her?”

  “Yes I did. And for her to give me her real name meant she trusted me and I let her down.”

  “How did you let her down?”

  “She had offered to tell us the information but it meant she had to spy on Fenner. We lost contact, she didn’t show up for two meetings and then we found her in the Thames with her tongue removed as a warning to others not to cross Fenner.”

  “And thats the real reason you went after him?”

  “Yes. He murdered her and he needed to pay.”

  “You said she gave you her real name, so could you return her body to her family.”

  “No we are still trying to find family. We knew her full name but no history and her surname matches so many in the UK. We had no idea where she came from and you cant go knocking on everyones door just to see if they are missing a daughter. She is still sat in the morgue waiting for that moment we can find her family.”

  “What was her name.”

  “Tracey Hind.”

  Letitia let go of Alexa’s hand and sat back in her chair. “Tracey Hind?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Alexa was intrigued by the tone in Letitia’s voice.

  “Describe her to me.”

  “Why?”

  “Just tell me.” Letitia’s voiced was raised now and that worried Alexa.

  “She was about five feet, six inches tall. Slim. Black hair.”

  “Did she have any identifying marks.”

  Alexa thought the question was a strange one but she answered anyway.

  “Yes she had a crescent shaped birth mark at the top of her right leg.”

  Letitia stood from the chair and went over to a set of drawers in the corner of the room, she opened the top drawer and pulled out a photo album. She sat down next to Alexa and opened the album to a photo towards the end.

  “This is one of the last photos of my sister.”

  Alexa looked at the photo.

  “Her name was Tracey,” added Letitia.

  Alexa didn’t like where this was going. Letitia took the photo album again and turned to another picture.

  “This is of Tracey on one of our last holidays.”

  The picture was of a young girl on a beach wearing a swimming costume. She was on her hands and knees digging in the sand smiling at the camera. Alexa looked closely. There it was, a crescent shaped birth mark at the top of the right leg of the girl in the picture. She looked up from the photo and could see the tears starting to run down Letitia’s cheeks. She softly wiped them from her face.

  “I am so sorry. I didn’t know your surname.”

  Letitia stared at Alexa, the tears now streaming down her face. Her voice broken as she spoke.

  “My name is Letitia Hind. My sisters name was Tracey, when she was fifteen she ran away from home after an argument with my Father and we never saw her again.”

  “She never mentioned a sister.”

  “Our parents split up when Tracey was only five years old. She lived with our mum and I went with our father. We always spent a family holiday together every year. They were the only times I ever saw her.”

  Alexa pulled her closer in an attempt to comfort her. After a few minutes of silence Letitia pulled away from Alexa and looked her straight in the eyes.

  “How do we finish what you started?”

  Twenty Three

  Trainer arrived at the Intensive Care Unit to find the Constable at the door.

  “Was there a fire then last night?”

  “No sir, they said someone broke the alarm panel in the corridor around the corner and set the alarm off.”

  “I assume that as you didn’t ring me last night Mrs Fenner is fine.”

  “Yes sir, she was fast asleep, although...” he paused as he was about to finish the sentence.

  “Although what?” Trainer was getting annoyed now.

  “Her monitoring machine was turned off an
d the nurses all say it was on before the fire alarm.

  It was obvious to Trainer that someone had come back to finish what they started with Mrs Fenner. He pressed on the intercom button for the unit. Flashed his badge at the video screen and the door buzzed to let him in. He looked around the unit and found the nurses station.

  “Detective Sergeant Frank Trainer.”

  “Yes Detective Sergeant how can I help you?”

  “I believe you had a fire alarm in the early hours of this morning.”

  “Yes we did, although according to security, it had been set off deliberately. Probably some drunk found their way up here from Accident and Emergency.”

  “The constable also said that you found Mrs Fenner’s monitoring machine turned off.”

  “Yes we did. We went to check on her after the alarm had gone off along with the constable and found the machine turned off. No one here can remember turning it off and we would have no reason to either.”

  “Can I take a look at the room?”

  “Sure, its down the corridor on the right.”

  Trainer walked into the room to find two doctors at the bedside of Felicia. They were talking among themselves about reducing the sedative that they had given her to keep her asleep. One of the doctors turned to Trainer as he entered the room.

  “Who are you?”

  “Detective Sergeant Frank Trainer. I am investigating Mrs Fenner’s shooting and the events of last night.”

  “Okay, we are nearly done.”

  “Will Mrs Fenner be able to talk today,” Trainer asked.

  “We are about to reduce her sedative so she should start waking up over the next few hours.”

  “Thank you doctor. Given the events of last night I will wait and try and talk to her as she wakes up.”

  “Thats fine.”

  The doctor who had been doing all the talking pointed to his colleague.

  “This is Mrs Fenner’s Doctor. She will be around all day in the Intensive Care Unit. If you need anything please let her know.”

  “Thank you.”

  Trainer stood in the corner as the doctors removed one of the drips that was in Felicia’s arm, he assumed this was the sedative.

  “She should start waking up over the next hours and get more lucid as the day goes on.”

  “Thank you Doctor.”

  One of the doctors left the room leaving only Trainer and what he assumed was the junior Doctor in the room.

  “So who do I ask for if I need anything?” Trainer asked of the Doctor.

  “I am around all day in the unit. I look after everyone in here so you should be able to get one of the nurses to find me.”

  “And if they can’t. Who do I get them to hunt down?”

  “Just get them to page Doctor Hind.”

  Letitia turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. There was something familiar about the name Hind, but Trainer couldn’t place it. Frank sat in the chair next to the bed and got the paper out of his jacket that he had picked up on the way into the hospital.

  Where had he heard the name Hind before?

  Why was it so familiar?

  Then it came to him. The murdered informants name was Tracey Hind. Was it a coincidence that a Doctor with the same name worked here or was she part of last nights events and possibly even Fridays murder.

  Twenty Four

  Trainer had been sat in the chair for over two hours now and Felicia hadn’t stirred. He had read the paper he had brought with him and was getting bored. He decided enough was enough and he couldn’t wait any longer, he would go and get a coffee and then get back to the station. He needed to look at that CCTV footage again, there was something in that footage that was playing on his mind and he couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe another look would enlighten him. He rose from the chair, he really had been sat there too long, his old bones ached and creaked as he got up. He took one last look at Felicia to make sure she wasn’t about to wake up and left the room and walked out of the Intensive Care Unit. As he walked down the corridor he turned his phone back on, you weren’t allowed to have mobile phones turned on in the unit. The phone connected to the mobile network and he saw two missed calls from Alexa and a text message.

  Ring me when you get this.

  He swiped through his contacts and selected the contact named DI Blake.

  “Blake,” came the response as the call was answered.

  “Its Frank. I got your text message.”

  “Has Mrs Fenner woken up yet?”

  “No. I sat with her for a couple of hours and she hasn’t stirred.”

  “I am on my way to the hospital. Should be there in about thirty minutes. I will meet you at her room.”

  “Yes Ma’am.”

  The line went dead. Trainer continued on to the canteen, got a coffee and walked back to the Intensive Care Unit. He pressed the intercom and flashed his badge to gain entry. He made his way down the corridor to Felicia’s room. He opened the door and entered the room to find Felicia awake.

  “Mrs Fenner. How are you feeling?” he asked. In the few minutes he had been gone, Felicia had woken.

  “Like someone shot me. How the fuck do you think I feel,” she replied sarcastically.

  Trainer couldn’t respond, there wasn’t much he could say.

  “Have you caught the bitch that did this to me.”

  “No. You know who it was?”

  “It was a woman. She said she was going to frame Martin.”

  “Do you know the woman?”

  “No. But when I find her she is dead.”

  “Is that a wise idea?”

  “Frank. I don’t pay you to tell me what to do. I pay you to keep me out of trouble, to warn me when your lot are getting close.”

  “I know and I think you get your monies worth.”

  “I didn’t get my monies worth this time did I. Your on my payroll, do your fucking job.”

  * * *

  Alexa pressed the intercom button, flashed her badge and gained entry to the Intensive care unit. She made her way down the corridor that she had last seen with flashing red lights as she had set off the fire alarm as part of her plan to kill Felicia. She opened the door to the room to find Felicia awake and Trainer standing next to her bed, it looked like they had been in conversation and stopped as soon as she walked in.

  “Hello, Mrs Fenner. How are you feeling?”

  As Felicia turned from Trainer to look at Alexa, she could sense that she had recognised her.

  “I have felt better,” Felicia replied.

  “Well at least you survived. Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thank you. Do you have any idea who would want to kill you and the woman you were with?”

  “Oh yes. I have perfect recollection of the afternoon up until the point you drugged me and then shot me.”

  Alexa could feel Trainers eyes on her. She turned to look at him.

  What would he do?

  Would he arrest her on the spot or assume that Felicia was trying to frame a police officer?

  “There’s no point looking at him,” Felicia said, nodding towards Trainer. “You see. The reason your lot never get close to the business is that Frank keeps me very well informed.”

  Alexa stared at Trainer. She had no idea that he was on the take, he was the reason Fenner was always one step in front of them.

  “Frank. Is this true?” Alexa asked.

  “Yes. I have a gambling problem and I owed money to some very bad people.”

  “And I bought his debt,” interjected Felicia.

  Alexa was struggling to make sense of everything that was happening. Felicia could identify her and Trainer was on the take, feeding information to Fenner. She turned to look at Felicia again.

  “So what are you going to do about me?” she asked.

  “There are a few things you need to realise,” Felicia replied. “When you came into my house you said you were goin
g to frame Martin for my murder. I guess because you thought he ran the business.”

  “Yes.”

  “You couldn’t be further from the truth. Martin is a lovely man and I love him dearly, but he has no head for business plus the problem is, men in this line of work don’t like taking orders from women so he had to be the face of the business.”

  Alexa started to realise. Felicia was the brains behind the trafficking, prostitution and drugs business. She had targeted the wrong person.

  “I can see from your expression you are starting to get it. I am the boss. I run the business and now I need to decide what to do with you.”

  Alexa turned to Trainer.

  “Did you feed her information about Tracey Hind?”

  Felicia didn’t give Trainer a chance to answer.

  “Oh yes. The little tart that thought she could cross me. She had to be made an example of. I quite enjoyed cutting her tongue out and watching her face as the blood seeped down her throat. No one crosses me. As you will soon find out.”

  Alexa dived towards the bed. That was the last straw. She lost all control. Trainer jumped in between them before Alexa could reach the bed. Felicia smiled at Alexa and turned to Trainer.

  “Frank. I think its time I made a statement about those terrible events on Friday.”

  “I can get that done,” he replied.

  “As for you my dear. I am going to make sure you end up in prison alongside plenty of people who would like to get to you.”

  Alexa’s stomach dropped, she couldn’t do prison. She would die in there.

  “Oh dear. Has it just hit home my dear. You will die in prison. So I get to kill you but without lifting a finger.”

  Trainer turned to Alexa.

  “Ma’am. I am going to have to take you in.”

  Trainer took his cuffs from his jacket pocket and placed them around Alexa’s wrists and guided her to the door and out of the Intensive Care Unit.

  Twenty Five

  Alexa’s Monday was starting from where Sunday had left off... badly. She had never spent very much time in a cell. A twelve foot square box was going to be her home for a long time or maybe a very short time if Felicia got her way and she probably would. She was waiting for her turn in front of the judge. Her day hadn’t gone well yesterday. Her plan had gone completely wrong and turned on her so she was now the one accused of the incidents of Friday. To make it worse she had found out that her colleague was corrupt and had been feeding information to the Fenner’s for years. She had been paraded by Trainer in front of all her colleagues who had gathered in the custody suite to see her brought in. She wasn’t exactly popular among her colleagues, too young and too pretty to be their boss and now a murderer. Trainer had made sure there would be plenty of people to see her brought in. He had radioed in for someone to take Felicia’s statement and then went into a full explanation of how he had caught a bent officer who had tried to frame Martin Fenner. Now she was sat in a cell in the basement of the court waiting for her remand hearing, where she would no doubt be remanded to prison awaiting her trial. She doubted she would make a trial though if Felicia had anything to do with it. There wasn’t much to do in a cell, its not like it had a TV or they gave you papers and magazines, her mind started to wander. She smiled as she thought about her twin sister, Sarah, they had been inseparable as young children, but that had all changed when she was diagnosed with cancer. They were only thirteen when Sarah had been diagnosed and she had fought it but eventually it had taken her sister away from her. Her parents took it badly especially her Father, he had tried to cope like most men do. He had tried to stay strong for the family but eventually he succumbed.