The Retirement Party

by Graham Miller

  Haines swore under his breath. 'Yes, we do take off some money and pass some of the product over to King. But listen, the police service has no budget. I'd rather have officers who don't do painting and decorating at weekends, who don't drive their brother-in-law's taxi, who don't have an Uber account. How much better are they going to work if their wife isn't picking up extra shifts and relying on them to do the school run? It makes better policemen.'

  DC Angel was silent in the face of these enormous revelations so DCI Haines ploughed on.

  'After tonight and what happened to Reg, I realised that I, we as a team, couldn't keep this secret from you. One day you would have found out. So now the ball is in your court. Go home and sleep on it. Tomorrow, we'll raid the warehouse. When we've made the arrests and the dealers are all being carted off to the cells, I'll assemble an evidence team to start bagging and tagging. If you want in, if you can see the sense in what I've said, then you volunteer to join that team and I'll see that you get your cut.'

  Those last three words resonated through DC Angel. Get your cut. Could she become a corrupt officer? Receiving money from known criminals. But the alternative would be reactionary policing – spending all their time and effort arriving after crimes had been committed and mopping up the mess.

  She still hadn't answered DCI Haines when he gestured at the lounge window. 'I think we're needed up there. Judging by the number of people milling around doing nothing I'd say they're pretty much done and now need to take some statements. Angel, give them a brief statement, just the facts, nothing more. We've got a big day tomorrow and it's getting late already. I'll get them to basically lock down this site. Nothing's going to happen on this case now. We can do all the paperwork and sort it out over the weekend and into Monday. Now our focus must be on the raid tomorrow. Don't come in too early tomorrow either, I need everyone on top form in the evening.'

  He gave DC Angel a curt nod as his only acknowledgement of his previous conversation.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  DC Angel didn't remember her drive home through the dark streets of Bradwick. Her head was turning over the events of the evening. From the hammer blow of discovering who the killer of the girls was, straight to the suicide, and then before she could draw breath, DCI Haines dropped his bombshell.

  She had guessed, of course. She had been excluded from conversations in the office, voices had fallen silent one time too often when she entered a room. She had tried to put it down to being new and being the only woman on the team. But, deep down, Haines' revelation hadn't been a huge surprise – it had been a confirmation of the truth that she had been working to uncover.

  When she got home, she made herself a strong coffee and sat on the sofa to think. Haines had told her to take it easy but she knew there was no point going to bed.

  On the one hand, Haines was a father figure to her. He was fiercely loyal to his team, and that included her. He respected her and if she kept him onside, she would have a senior officer as a guardian angel looking after her career. In some ways he had been more supportive of her than her own father.

  On the other hand, if she didn't deliver Haines and his team to Professional Standards, they would get the result eventually. They already had the CID team in their sights. It might take them a few more years and not be quite as complete, but she was sure they'd get there in the end. The rumours wouldn't go away, that much was sure. Haines might have risen high enough to be above the trouble when that happened, but Angel knew that she was far more vulnerable. In all likelihood she would still be in CID when they struck. And when they did, she was sure that PSD would single her out for special treatment as they had failed to turn her. Whether or not she was on the take, she had knowledge of the conspiracy so she'd be guilty by association.

  But, did she want Haines as an enemy? She'd been to his aunt's house for a barbecue, seen the extensive network that he had built up over a professional lifetime in Bradwick. He had smoothed over trouble with Traffic. He might survive this attempt by Professional Standards or he might not. But whatever happened, he would seek vengeance.

  Florence the cat sensed a weakness and came to sit on her. In her own unique way she sat half on her lap and half off, sprawled on the sofa. Emma started stroking and rubbing her head without really thinking about it. She responded by purring and kneading with her paws.

  Unable to see a way through the thicket of her problems, Angel thought about her parents, her upbringing. The one thing she had never liked about her family was the justifications. Her mother was clever and quick with words. In any family discussion, both her parents were agile debaters and arguments often ran on deep into the night.

  The drawback to this was that it gave rise to a sense of moral ambiguity. Any wrongdoing, any transgression could be talked out of, explained, excused. Her father had been more rigid. In his world, there was a right way and a wrong way to do things. He was left wing and would always side with the workers. Pickets, strikes, and unions were sacrosanct, the workers' fundamental rights.

  One of the reasons she'd turned her back on them had been to join a more black and white world of right and wrong. That is what she'd hoped for from the police service – clear rules, ranks, and structure. However now she didn't know. Should she betray her immediate team for the greater good? Would she be a scab or a whistle-blower?

  By half two in the morning, she had reached her decision. She'd known she would get to this point, the moment she understood what Haines was offering. She'd just needed the time to reconcile it with herself.

  She sent a simple text, "I fancy a McDs – wanna join me". She didn't know why she was being all cloak and dagger. If Haines had any suspicion, then he wouldn't have opened up to her. She shouldn't be nervous about Professional Standards following her, as she was arranging to meet them.

  Within minutes she got a text back. "Ring road 30 mins."

  She parked in the car park of McDonald's. At three in the morning it seemed more empty and the street lights made the litter stand out. She crossed the car park and was amazed to see Lukas coming towards her.

  'Angel! Got the munchies?' He chuckled to himself.

  'No, just work, all the time.' She paused as he floated past her. He had warned her. He had told her not to let the job change her. With new resolve she went into the restaurant to do the deal.

  She was sat across a table from Maxine Jones. Angel's usual calming technique was to pick any small flaw in her adversary, reassure herself that they weren't perfect either. The trouble was that, even at three in the morning under harsh fluorescent lights, DS Jones looked like a model. DC Angel squinted, detected a slightly caked bit of concealer below her left eye and relaxed slightly.

  'You okay, love?' Jones asked. 'This is a bit early. Or late. Although in this job you can be up at all hours.'

  'I think I've got what you need.'

  'You think? How certain is this?'

  'Well Haines has been planning this big operation that's going to happen tomorrow.'

  'Yes, we know.' DS Jones nodded. 'We've been keeping an eye on him, and whatever he's been planning. This one has been kept well under wraps but we know the plan. It's one of the nearly dead industrial estates out to the north of town isn't it?'

  'You are good.' DC Angel paused and thought. 'But we've got a couple of vans full of uniform, plus an ARV, entry teams, and Border Force so I doubt we could keep it that quiet. As long as Garoza doesn't get wind of it we should all be okay.'

  An awkward silence fell between the two women. Finally, Jones continued her softly-softly approach. 'Why should we be particularly interested in tomorrow's raid?'

  Angel stared out of the window, still wrestling with herself.

  'Come on, DC Angel.' Jones started to let some of her exasperation show. 'You've made your decision already. Otherwise you wouldn't be here.'

  Without looking at the other woman, Angel spoke. 'I've been offered a cut of the take on the night. It sounds like a big sale, so there'll be plenty o
f ready cash around. If I stay to bag up the evidence, then that'll be a signal that I'm in and they'll give me some of the money.'

  DS Jones stared out of the window, her brow furrowed in thought. 'You have a serious choice to make.' Angel looked at her and nodded. 'If you don't take the money and we nick the rest of them, all eyes will be on you as the informant.'

  DC Angel thought of her treatment at the hands of the Traffic department. The last thing she wanted was a reputation as a grass following her around. 'What's the alternative then?'

  'Well, as a department, we can't advocate that you break the law. But, if you were going to join the conspiracy, then we could scoop you up with the rest of them. Your reputation would be intact.'

  'And what would happen to me?'

  'Well, short term, we'd put you back into uniform. As a first offence, there shouldn't be much more than a reprimand on your record. Long term we should be able to have a quiet word in some senior ears. It might put your career back a few years, but nothing serious.' There was an ominous pause. 'Like I say, the decision is yours and it's a serious one.'

  DC Angel pursed her lips and picked away at her apple pie. The centre was still too hot but she could pick away at the pastry and eat small flakes. It was the devil's choice. The obvious thing to do was to take the fall and trust DS Jones that her career would rebound.

  But, if Jones didn't come through then where would she be? Out in the cold, with a blot on her record and no chance of promotion. It wasn't even that she had trouble trusting people, she knew that. DC Angel also had a problem trusting life and fate. What if DS Jones moved forces, or had an accident, or left for any reason? This whole operation had the feel of something that was word of mouth; you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. A deal that neither side would want committed to paper.

  It wasn't as if she could ask anyone if Jones from Professional Standards was reliable. She'd known, as soon as she saw the choice, that she would take the hit. This is what she had signed up for – to make the force better. But also, ingrained in her DNA, was the fear of being a scab – loyalty to the workers had been drummed into her. She supposed that the best she could do was arrange things so she didn't appear to be disloyal.

  Her minor infidelity would be bearable because it would remove a major corruption in the force. 'Well, I think, given what you've said--'

  'Hold it right there!' Jones held up her hand. 'In my line of work knowing someone's planning to break the law is nearly as bad as advising them what to do. I really don't need to know your plans.' There was a slight pause. 'It might help you to know ours though. We've got access to the operational planning and we'll put our own cordon around and outside your exclusion zone. We'll be a bit careful to let the uniforms with the bodies through then we'll stop your lot and see who's got the cash on them. I presume they lift the cash first and then sort it out later?'

  'I can't see how else they'd do it. I presume that if I bite, then I'll learn more about how the whole set-up works.'

  'Well, your boss Haines is off to pastures new in a week or so. This is our last chance to catch him with his hand in the till.' There was a pause, where DC Angel considered the mixed metaphors. 'Tell me something, do you know what the scam is? How is he connected to Billy King? We've been looking for an inappropriate relationship there for years. But King insists he's the owner of a taxi firm so no matter how many times he meets Haines, we can't pin it on him. Do you know?'

  Angel saw Haines in her mind's eye. The look on his face when he realised Patterson was gone. And the hollow tones when he'd explained the whole system to Angel. It seemed grubby to expose her boss's weakest moment in front of this woman. 'I think his friendship with King means that King passes quality information to Haines. That's how the crime numbers have stayed so low, how Haines was always one step ahead of the dealers.'

  'Apart from King's network, of course,' Jones said darkly. 'It's the oldest trick in the book. Inform on your competition and clear the marketplace so you end up being the only seller in town. Devil's own job to prove, especially when, despite all the town knowing what Billy King is, we can't pin anything on him.'

  Unspoken thoughts bubbled through DC Angel's head. Was Haines actually doing a good thing? Bradwick was a safer, cleaner town with him at the helm. Then the truth hit her. She had made her choice; the wheels were in motion. Within twenty-four hours, her boss, who had become mentor and friend would be in handcuffs. And she would have put him there.

  The silence stretched a bit longer, then Angel simply nodded at Jones, pushed back from the table and left into the night.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Haines stood at the front of the lecture theatre. People were slowly filing in and chatting quietly among themselves. Like a lecturer at the beginning of a class he was being left alone to collect his thoughts.

  Those thoughts were chasing each other around his head. His memory recalled random events with Patterson from the past twenty-five years. Each one was reassessed in the light of the new information. Not only was Patterson the Dark Car Man, but Haines had trouble painting him as someone who'd kill himself, take the easy way out.

  When he managed to tame those thoughts, DC Angel crept in instead. This was the point, the crunch time. Not only was he going to hand over his team, the whole operation to Hargreaves, it was time to see which way she would jump. This wasn't a binary decision either – if she didn't join in with the scheme then how would she react?

  His team filed in, some of them catching his eye, others like Hargreaves keeping their heads down. Was he about to take the team down? Last night, when he was hollowed out by the discovery of Patterson's body, it had seemed like a good time to bring DC Angel into the conspiracy. But when he had got home, he had stayed up half the night reliving the conversation, seeing where he had gone wrong, how he could have phrased things better. Maybe he should have edged up to it closely instead of blundering straight in and possibly blowing the whole thing.

  And now he'd left it so that DC Angel could go running to Professional Standards and blow the whole lot. He stopped himself for a second. Well, she might but she'd have to make contact and he'd kept his eye on her all day. She'd had no chance to phone them and it would then take ages to arrange, by which time he'd have his promotion. He'd see what she did tonight, even though she might just be taking the cash to gather evidence.

  He shook his head to clear the thoughts out of it. He had to trust his instinct – she was someone he could trust, someone he could work with. And someone who would soon be under Hargreaves' command. He had the angles covered. The worst outcome would be that she wouldn't join in at all. In that case, she wouldn't last six months before she requested a transfer to a different department. It would be messy but survivable.

  * * *

  DC Angel sat in the front row of the lecture theatre with the rest of her CID team. She'd watched Haines carefully before the briefing but could see nothing of the broken man from last night.

  The preparation for the raid passed both agonisingly slowly for DC Angel and also sped past, accelerating her towards the point where she'd have to decide and that decision would affect her whole career.

  She still had misgivings and fervently hoped that when the time came, she would find a way to divert DCI Haines before the PSD raid. She'd have to see what the situation was on the ground.

  She realised with a start that she had been drifting and not paying attention to Haines. But she knew the plan. There was a large warehouse at Brookbank Industrial Estate, to the north of Bradwick. There was a large roller door so the cars could be driven in. Once inside the deals would take place away from prying eyes and the cars could then leave.

  The plan was to watch the whole site. The first trigger was when the boat arrived. It was an unimpressive squat vessel, once blue, now rust stained and diesel dirty. DC Angel could see the wisdom of the drug dealers plan when a van reversed right up to the ship. It was almost impossible, even through telephoto lenses to see what was bei
ng loaded.

  They were under strict instructions to wait until a decent number of the mid-level dealers had parked up inside the warehouse, then seal off the whole area and start the raid, using multiple points of entry. They wanted to move before the vehicles started leaving, otherwise they'd be into car chases. Everyone was aware that the M5 was less than half an hour away.

  At the same time, Border Force would go straight for the ship and make sure the crew were detained and the ship immobilised.

  DC Angel imagined that a smaller, more private briefing would be underway at Professional Standards. She looked around the room and saw that pretty much every branch of the police was in the room. Traffic were there to manage the vehicles on site – expected to be high powered SUVs like Range Rovers and Mercedes. There was going to be a heavy armed presence supporting specialist entry teams. There were uniformed officers in riot gear ready to act as the foot soldiers to subdue, arrest, and transport the criminals as they were found. And finally there was the CID team that sat at the top of the whole pyramid, overseeing the whole operation.

  'Right, we have sixty minutes to get into position. Surveillance are already on site and the operation is a go.' DCI Haines clapped his hands theatrically and all the different teams made their own way to the warehouses.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Angel and Haines were sat in brooding silence in the car as he drove. She was desperate for an opening to confess her sins to him, to warn him to get away before PSD could catch him. She had also noticed that he hadn't let her out of his sight since she'd arrived at work. Makes sense, she thought. At the moment she had the information but hadn't been tainted. She was dangerous.

  Haines was aware of what he had said the night before and needed to know which way she would jump. But he wanted her to reach her own decision, not be pressured by him. He would know soon enough, he thought.