Saffina Desforges' ROSE RED Crime Thriller Boxed Set

by Saffina Desforges

  “It’s not everyone. Just two or three. But they just never shut up about it. And you being a copper makes it even worse.”

  Red raised an eyebrow. “It does?”

  “Same old jokes day after day. What does Jack’s other mum say when she arrests someone? Lesbian Avenue. It wasn’t even funny the first time.”

  Red rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. If it’s any consolation I get that shit at work too. Every day.”

  Jack raised his eyes to Red’s. “You do?”

  “Every bloody day. Sorry, don’t tell Mum I said that.” Red smiled reassuringly at Jack. “Some days I dread going in to work, because I know one of them will have put some stupid picture on the wall, or written some snide comment on the white board. And it’s always the same two. Cretins, both of them.”

  “So why don’t you do something about it? Tell your boss?”

  Red shrugged. “It will just make them worse.”

  “But it’s okay to go making a fuss at my school…” Jack flopped back in his seat, draining his glass. “It’s just like Ella says. One rule for us kids, and another for you adults.”

  “That’s rubbish, Jack. That’s…” Red paused, letting a smile of acknowledgement cross her face. “You know, Jack, actually you’re absolutely right. It is double standards, pure and simple. And the funny thing is, when I was a kid I used to think exactly the same thing. One rule for children, another for grown-ups.”

  “Yeah, but as soon as you got to be an adult the power went to your head.”

  Red suppressed a smile. She thought, No, that was when I got my DI badge and could lord it over that bastard Taylor. She said, “Adults have responsibilities, Jack. Sometimes we have to make decisions kids don’t like, for their own good.”

  Jack nodded. “Yeah, I get all that. Obviously little children like Ruby have to go to bed early and can’t go out on their own. But I’m ten. I’m not a little kid anymore.” He stared wistfully through the window. “But Mum still treats me like one.”

  Red leaned across the table. “Get used to it. You’ll always be her little boy, even when you’re married and have children of your own.”

  “Who says I want to get married and have children?”

  “You will. Everyone does.”

  “You didn’t. And now you’re with Mum you never will.”

  Red raised a restraining palm. “Hey, that’s another conversation for another time. Let’s stick with today’s problem. Which is your mum accepting Darren.”

  “And the bullying at school.”

  “And the bullying at school.”

  “And equal rights for kids.”

  “And equal rights for… Hold on, hold on. I didn’t go that far.”

  “So you didn’t mean that bit about double standards?” Jack stared hard at Red, awaiting a response.

  Red pondered briefly. “I’ve an idea. Leave it with me.”

  “What are you gonna do?”

  “Get you kids. the respect you deserve. Get Darren invited to tea again. And help you nail these toe-rags at school.”

  Jack’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Well, I’ll do my best. No promises on results. But in return I want you to show me how to do this business with camera phones and transferring photos. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 44.

  Red slipped into the briefing room early, checking for the usual little treats. Sure enough The Sun was on her desk, spread open at Page Three. Harris was nothing if not reliable.

  Red retrieved the internet print-off from her case and cut it to size, gluing it over the page three model. Probably one of Richard’s clients anyway.

  An inspection of the whiteboard, which had been conveniently turned to face the wall, revealed the usual selection of top-shelf magazine clippings. Red set to work on those too.

  She was playing with her smartphone when the crew began to file in, acknowledging them with a nod, pretending to be distracted. Taylor and Harris came in together and took their usual seats by the water-cooler, sharing smirks.

  Harris piped up on cue, “Is that my paper on your desk, Guv? I lent it to someone earlier and asked them to leave it here for me.”

  “Again?” Red picked up the paper, looking at her watch. “Three minutes, Jez. Do you think you’ll have managed to read the headline by then?”

  Jez Harris glared at her.

  Taylor grinned. “It won’t take him that long, Guv. He only wants to look at page three. Two minutes is plenty. Sixty seconds for each one.”

  Harris grinned inanely, stifling a laugh as it dawned on him he was the butt of the joke.

  “Come on, Jez, share page three with the guv,” Taylor persisted. He turned to Red. “I had a look earlier. Top totty. That’s what we like about you, Guv. You’re just as pleased to see a pair of tits as we are.”

  Red smiled sweetly. “Just as well. I’m staring at a couple right now.”

  The rest of the room burst into exaggerated laughter and table thumping, led by Anna and Mackenzie. Taylor glared at Anna, while Harris looked around sheepishly, unsure whether to join in or not.

  “Barry’s right, of course,” Red said. “Anything that boosts morale is worth doing.” She passed the paper to her DS. “Anna, would you kindly display page three for the benefit of the lads.”

  Taylor spotted the wink. “No need, Guv. Me and Jez looked at it earlier.”

  “Nice?”

  “You can have too much of a good thing,” Taylor ventured warily. “Don’t worry about it, Anna. Let’s get on with the briefing.”

  Anna ignored Taylor’s protest, holding the newspaper up, opened to page three. The room fell silent as their eyes took in the image of the naked male model Red had pasted in place.

  Terri was the first to recover. “Nice one, Barry. So it’s true what they say about you. I wondered why you and Jez always go to the washroom together.”

  Taylor bit his bottom lip, a foot kicking Harris, warning him not to respond.

  Red cast her gaze across the team. “A bit flat-chested for my tastes, Barry. And the meat and two veg doesn’t do much for me either. But if it’s what turns you and Jez on then that’s fine by me. Like Terri, I hadn’t realised you swung that way.”

  Mackenzie laughed. “Nice one, Guv.”

  Red said, “For the benefit of Anna and Terri, who do not prefer girls, perhaps you two would care to remember how uncomfortable you’re feeling now before you next cover the walls in your juvenile fashion?” Red almost felt sorry for Harris as she directed her gaze at him. “Jez, you’re closest. Do me a favour and turn the whiteboard around, will you? The cleaners must have put it back that way.”

  Taylor and Harris exchanged glances. Taylor shrunk back in his chair and found the report on his desk suddenly of keen interest. Harris shuffled nervously in his seat, suddenly abandoned by his co-conspirator.

  “Jez?” Red smiled sweetly, gesturing with her eyes. “The whiteboard?”

  “Anna’s pretty close too, Guv.”

  “She is, but I think I asked you.”

  “Guv.”

  Harris slowly got up and meandered to the board, grasping it with both hands. He paused, an anxious glance on Taylor’s direction deliberately ignored.

  “I’m waiting to start the briefing, Jez.” Red casually selected the dry-erase markers from her desk, savouring her DC’s dilemma. “Turn the board around, please.”

  Harris stood paralyzed, unsure what to do.

  “That’s an order, DC Harris.”

  As the board turned to reveal Red’s selection of male gay porn images Harris fled back to his chair, hiding himself behind the newspaper. Taylor stared out of the window.

  “Bet you wish you were half as big at those, tubs,” Terri taunted Taylor.

  “Eff off, Texas,” Taylor grunted. “That ain’t funny.” To Red, “You know that’s sexual harassment, Guv. I could report you.”

  “For giving you a taste of your own medicine? Feel free.” Red gl
anced at the clock. “Okay, play time over.” She ripped the pictures from the whiteboard. “Let that be an end to it. Barry? Jez? Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Guv.”

  Chapter 45.

  DCI Andrews looked up from the screen as Red came in, a bemused expression on his face. “You look like the cat that got the cream, Cass. Did I miss something?”

  “Just playing Taylor and Harris at their own game. You don’t want to know, Guv.”

  “The mind boggles,” Andrews winced. “Sounds like a fun morning.”

  “That’s just for starters. The real fun comes next. The kids and I are meeting Pippa for lunch. At MacDonald’s.”

  “Now that’s something I would pay to see!” A puzzled expression crossed his face. “No school?”

  “Inset day.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Teacher training. The teachers need teaching so the kids are sent home.”

  Andrews chortled, “Can you imagine if we shut the country’s police stations every time we needed a training update?” He finished typing a sentence then looked up again. “So what brings you into the lion’s den at this time of morning?”

  “Had fifteen minutes to spare before burgers. Nothing new with the Mickey Finn blood business?”

  “Other than that we now have a nickname for his killer, no. But given I only told you about that last night it’s hardly surprising. So what really brings you here?”

  “Just wondering what’s the latest with the Super’s grandson?” Red looked out through the window.

  Andrews held the silence. Then, “Go on.”

  Red shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s it.”

  “Well, Peter Blake has been bailed pending further investigation. We couldn’t hold him any longer on what we had. But you knew that anyway.” Andrews looked directly at Red. “So why not come right out and say it?”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Coffee? I’ve only got whitener. My little fridge is on the blink again.” Andrews moved to the percolator. “So how is Anna, anyway?”

  Red let out a deep sigh. “There are strict rules about reporting firearms finds.”

  Andrews passed her a steaming mug. “Which I’ve asked you both to ignore.”

  “Not asked, Guv. Ordered.”

  “And now you think there’s some sort of cover-up going on.”

  Red raised a defensive palm, nearly spilling her coffee. “I didn’t say that.”

  “I should hope not, Cass! How long have we worked together now?”

  “But you can see Anna’s point of view.”

  “Of course. I don’t blame her one bit. I’d hate to be in her shoes right now. But all I can do is ask you both to trust me on this.”

  “I do trust you, Guv.”

  Andrews reached out to touch Red’s forearm. “I know. And I’m really sorry you’re being put in this position with Anna.”

  “If you could just tell me something that could reassure her.”

  Andrews raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Orders from above.”

  “But that’s just the point, Guv. Orders from someone who just happens to be related to the suspect.”

  “Actually it’s higher than that. This wasn’t the Super’s decision.”

  “It wasn’t? So who? The Chief Super?”

  “Sorry.” Andrews sipped his coffee thoughtfully. “But I can tell you forensics have now examined the weapon.”

  “Forensics have it?”

  “You didn’t seriously think it was locked in a drawer somewhere here?”

  Red found the view of the yard suddenly interesting.

  Andrews let a smile play on his lips. “Or that I’d thrown it in the Thames?”

  “But you said –”

  “And I’ve said I’m sorry, Cass. I have to follow orders I don’t like too. Which is why I still can’t tell you as much as I want.”

  “Jesus, Guv.”

  “But I can tell you enough to hopefully put Anna’s mind at rest. How’s this for starters. The firearm you brought in is the same one used to kill Mickey Finn.”

  “Jesus. The Super’s grandkid could be facing a murder charge?”

  “Thankfully that’s unlikely. We have the packages from this so-called Huntsman. I’ve checked and Peter Blake was at school when the pig’s heart was delivered, and of course he was here in custody when the mirror appeared.”

  “So he’s in the clear?”

  “Hardly. But there is light at the end of that particular tunnel. Also, we’ve liaised with the Royal Navy. The firearm is not the Commander’s. That is, Peter Blake did not acquire it from his father, nor from his family home.”

  “Is that good or bad news?”

  “My thoughts exactly. Obviously it’s a huge relief to the Super. Colin was worried sick his grandson had stolen the weapon from his father’s study. That could have seriously harmed the Commander’s standing in the forces.”

  “But it still leaves the Super’s grandson in possession of an illegal firearm that has been used in a murder.”

  “That’s where it gets interesting.”

  “Guv?”

  “Well consider. The kids hauled in with Peter Blake are local jack-the-lads. More buying than selling. We had nothing to hold them on.”

  “But Peter Blake was selling.”

  “Was he?”

  “He was caught in the act. And he admitted it.”

  “I’m not so sure, Cass. Saying and doing are not necessarily the same thing. My impression is Peter’s on some sort of teen-rebellion kick that has blown up in his face. You interviewed him. Did he look like a crack-head to you?”

  “Dealers know better.”

  “Sure, but they at least try the clean stuff. Nothing about Peter Blake suggests he had ever tried anything stronger than an aspirin.”

  Red nodded her agreement. “Anna said the same thing, as it happens. The kid wasn’t even sure if it was cocaine or heroin. But he was still caught in possession. And then there’s the school locker haul.”

  “My theory is the boy deliberately set out to do something illegal, as some sort of statement against his family background. I honestly think the stuff you picked up from the locker were there for show, nothing more. To impress his school-friends.”

  “They certainly made an impression on the Head. And Guv, it’s all very plausible, I agree. Until we bring the firearm into the equation.”

  “That was the fly in the ointment, yes.”

  “Was?”

  “After Peter was released on bail last night he went straight to the Super’s home.”

  Red sipped on her coffee. “Go on.”

  “Apparently it was all very emotional. The kid turned up in tears, saying how sorry he was.”

  Red looked impatiently at her watch. “And?”

  “The lad will be making a formal statement later today, but the upshot is we have a description of the heavy supervising the dealers. Now that may or may not be the same person as this Huntsman character, but it’s a start. Peter’s story is he stole the weapon from the heavy, to impress the other kids.”

  “Stole it? The flaming idiot. He could have got himself killed!”

  “That occurred to Peter afterwards, in the cold light of day, which is why it stayed in his school locker. He didn’t dare move it.”

  “But Peter went back on the streets again, obviously, or he wouldn’t have been picked up.”

  “Exactly so. He had to show his face again or they would have realised it was he who had taken the gun. Of course, the next night he was arrested, and had been here since.”

  “So why didn’t he say anything before?”

  Andrews shrugged. “Too frightened? Advised by his brief? Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, the lad will be here this afternoon to put together an e-fit.”

  “No chance it’s tied in with the Burns brothers?” Hope flashed in Red’s eyes. “What I wouldn’t give to pin this on them.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a turn u
p? But no connection whatsoever, sorry. However...”

  “However?”

  Andrews’ eyes sparkled. “Young Peter came up with two names. “One’s a name I’ve heard mentioned a few times in passing, but never paid any attention to. Queenie?”

  Red nodded. “Behind some of the seedier joints in Soho. A connection with Mickey Finn’s murder, maybe?”

  “It’s possible. But so far as I can gather she’s just a throwback from the eighties sex clubs. I spoke to our colleagues in the West End earlier. They say she’s a total recluse and hasn’t been on their radar for years. She makes her money renting key properties like casinos, but doesn’t involve in anything underhand.”

  “Sounds like a non-runner then.”

  “Exactly. She doesn’t concern me in the least. But the other name Peter came up with is dynamite.” Andrews put his cup down, the better to add impact to his announcement. He beamed at Red.

  “Guv, I’ve got to get back. The kids are expecting me. Spill!”

  “You’re ready for this?” Andrews paused again for effect. “Southgate.”

  Red’s jaw dropped. “Bernie Southgate? The Bernie Southgate?”

  “Exactly. As in the pomme-rouge.”

  Chapter 46.

  Red stole a glance at Pippa’s horrified face as Darren demolished a Big Mac.

  “Hungry, Darren?” Red grinned. “You look like you haven’t eaten in days.”

  Darren grinned back, a blob of ketchup sticking to his chin as he crammed fries into his mouth. “Starving. Ain’t had nuffink since breakfast.”

  “You’ll live. Are you due back at school tomorrow?”

  The boy slurped noisily on his Coke. “Another week off for me.”

  Pippa grimaced as she sipped her coffee, pushing it away. She turned to Darren, a hint of concern on her face. “Have you been unwell?”

  “What, sick? Nah. Excluded, ‘n’ I.”

  Pippa sucked in a breath, frantically shredding a paper napkin. “Excluded?”

  “Yeah, you know, like suspended. Two weeks.”

  Pippa exchanged anxious glances with Red and Jack. “Yes, I understand the meaning, Darren. Might I ask on what grounds?”