DC Angel turned to the paramedic who'd just arrived; a woman with a short dark bob. 'That man there, arguing with the chief super? He's sustained a head injury. Now might be a good time to carry out an assessment.'
The paramedic walked briskly away.
Meanwhile, Haines broke free and got a toe onto the bumper of the van. He levered himself up. Luckily the vehicle was an old LDV with a proper bonnet and he was able to jump up onto it. He wavered slightly and reached out for the top of the windscreen to steady himself.
'Can I have your attention?' A few faces turned to look but not many. He pressed on regardless. 'I'd just like to thank you for all your work today. And over the last few weeks, leading up to this operation.' He paused, looking at the paramedics who closed in on either side of him. 'So, um.' He reached out and a paramedic held his hand, steadying him. 'Sorry, bang on the head. Bit dizzy.' He took a deep breath. 'I'd just like to thank you all for your work today. And over the last few weeks, leading up to this operation.' He frowned again and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He struggled to keep his grip on the bonnet and in an ungainly move he scrabbled down from the bonnet. Once back on the ground, he leant over, bent double as if he was trying to catch his breath.
The paramedics carefully guided him onto a waiting stretcher.
With this last distraction dealt with, very slowly the chaos was contained. DC Angel was treated to the sight of DI Hargreaves being roughly shoved into the back of an unmarked car in handcuffs. The rest of the team were handing over warrant cards and being led to a van.
She turned to go and winced – she'd landed heavily on her knee. With all the arrests being made and Professional Standards rounding up the police, there was no point in her being here any further. She limped a few steps down the alley towards her car.
The two men she'd fought were being seen to by paramedics, with burly policemen watching over them. DS Jones left this group of people and came towards DC Angel. 'Leaving so soon? The party's just getting started!'
'Yeah, I thought I ought to swing by the hospital. Get checked out.' DC Angel started to edge away.
'Wait here, I need to find a uniform to escort you.'
'That won't be necessary, I'll make my own way. I'll be all right.'
Jones looked around at the officers and paramedics who were in earshot. 'Oh no, I'm not letting you walk away from this. As of right now, you're suspended from duty.' Angel looked shocked. 'I should chuck you in the back of the van with the other members of your team. Just look at the situation I've got here. One senior officer going to the hospital in the back of an ambulance, one man dead, and another two seriously injured. And in the middle of it all, there's little old you, the last one standing. So you are suspended and will be given a formal interview. Is that okay or shall I break out the cuffs?'
DC Angel weighed her options. Reluctantly she handed over her warrant card. 'Fine! He can drive me home then. I'll take some painkillers and see about the hospital in the morning.' She caught Jones leaning to see past her to where the paramedics were tending to the two bodyguards. She frowned and nodded in that direction, an unspoken question for DC Angel. She answered, 'I'll tell you if you let me know what happened to Hargreaves.'
'I am the investigating officer here and your superior. You should be answering questions and that's all there is to it.' Her expression softened. 'But he was going to be your boss, and I need your co-operation. We caught DI Hargreaves leaving through a convenient gap in their cordon. He was escorting Garoza off the site to a BMW that was parked up. We found cash on Hargreaves and a brick of cocaine on Garoza. Now, what happened to you?'
DC Angel quickly relayed what had happened to DCI Haines and the unfortunate demise of King.
Michelle Jones frowned. 'Is there anything more you'd like to say about the relationship between DCI Haines and Billy King?'
'I still haven't figured it all out. Haines said that he didn't trust Hargreaves, he thought that he was up to something. He wasn't happy that Billy King turned up here to watch the operation. Apart from that I have no idea what was going on.' DC Angel offered up a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening – please protect me while I'm lying to Professional Standards.
'Right then.' DS Jones didn't look impressed. 'Well, be at your desk at nine am. I'll have an officer waiting for you. We'll take your statement and see where we go from there. And don't contact any of your team before you've given your statement.'
She turned and left her with a plain clothes officer from Professional Standards. She chucked him the keys and headed off to her car. Leaning on the roof before she got in the passenger side, she looked down the alleyway.
Haines was on his way to hospital in an ambulance. Hargreaves was handcuffed in the back of a car on his way to a cell. She could see Billy King's body, already covered by a blanket. Scene of crimes officers had diverted from the warehouse and were already laying out yellow markers and taking photos. She supposed she'd have to bag up her clothes and bring them in tomorrow. Gregory Watts was still out there in his big house with his teenage girlfriend and fancy coffee machine. She made a mental vow that however this all shook out, she'd see him behind bars, one way or another.
'You ready?' the plain clothes PSD officer asked.
'Yeah, take me home,' she answered. Home, a shower, and bed. And no thinking what tomorrow might bring.
Thank you to Rosie Crane-Higgs for her valuable insights as a check reader and to Melanie Underwood for her skills as an editor.
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Wootenshire
The Retirement Party is the first novel set in the fictional county of Wootenshire which is in the UK, just south of Bristol and north of Somerset. It is the first instance of a new concept in writing - a Shared Word where many authors can write stories in different genres but all set in the same world.
Please visit www.wootenshire.co.uk for more details.
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