Jack nudged his friend with an elbow. “It wasn’t his fault. Was it, Daz?”
Darren stopped chewing momentarily. “Nah. I was stitched up.”
“There was something in his locker someone had put there and it looked like he had stolen it,” Jack said hurriedly.
Darren resumed the not-so-quiet consumption of his fries.
Pippa gingerly pushed her untouched burger to one side, looking from Darren to Jack. “What someone and what something?”
“Jeez, Pip,” Red jumped in. “I thought I was supposed to be the detective? Give the kid a break.”
“I most certainly will not. I have a right to know if my son is hanging around with petty criminals.” She cast a disparaging glance around the restaurant, eyes lingering on potential co-conspirators. “Just what it is that you have been accused of, Darren?”
An angry shade of crimson crept up Jack’s neck, blooming on his cheeks. He dropped his head and studied the table.
“I sort of borrowed a digital camera from the media suite,” Darren said sheepishly.
“You mean you stole it?”
“No, borrowed. I was gonna return it straight after, but when I got back the room was locked, so |I stuck it in with my bits.”
“Footy match,” Red explained. “Inter-school qualifiers. Darren wants to be a sports journalist. He needed some shots for the school’s website.”
“So he stole the school’s camera?”
Darren glared at Pippa. “No. I borrowed it. I just forgot to ask first.”
“I think you will find, Darren, that taking something without the owner’s permission qualifies as theft under the provisions of the –”
“Pip, cool it.” Red kicked her partner beneath the table. “It’s all sorted.”
Pippa turned on Red. “You seem to be very well acquainted with the facts, Inspector. Is there something I should know?”
Red winced. “There’s lots you should know, Pip, but your constant holier than thou attitude means that sometimes we just keep quiet.”
“Excuse me, Cassandra. I do not have a holier than thou attitude.” Pippa looked across at her son. “Do I, Jack?”
Jack stuffed the remainder of his burger into his mouth, hiding behind the cardboard Coke beaker.
Pippa looked from Jack to Darren, then back to Red. “So is someone going to enlighten me?”
“Three votes to one,” Red grinned. “Holier than thou.”
Pippa forced a smile. “Very funny, Cassandra. So how is it you know so much about all this?” A look of sheer horror fell over her features as realization dawned. “Oh my God, is this a Police matter?”
“Terri was called to the school, yes.”
Pippa stared at Darren. “Were you arrested?”
Darren looked to Red.
“It was all sorted amicably,” Red assured her.
“You mean a deal was done?” Pippa glared at Red. “Two weeks exclusion? For stealing a camera?”
“Mum, you don’t understand…” Jack began, giving way to his mother’s icy glare.
“I understand perfectly, Jack. My son is friends with a hardened criminal, and my partner has deliberately chosen not to tell me.”
Darren halted the trajectory of a fistful of fries en-route to his mouth. “Partner?” A smile spread slowly across his face. “So it is true!”
Jack’s eyes bulged, his face colouring again.
Red cleared her throat, looking at Darren. “What Jack’s mum meant was…”
“You two? Together? For real?” Darren nudged Jack triumphantly under the table. “Proper lezzers and all that?”
Pippa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, glancing anxiously around the restaurant to see who else was listening. She looked at Red, unsure how to react. Red held her breath, looking from Jack to Darren.
“Your mum’s got a girlfriend?” Darren grinned from ear to ear, revealing a mouthful of half-chewed fries.
Jack nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“Do they…” Darren leaned over and dropped his voice to a loud whisper. “You know, sleep together?”
“Yes, Darren, for your information Jack’s mother and I,” Red improvised air quotes with her fingers, “sleep together.”
Darren punching Jack on the arm, “Dude, that is so cool.”
Jack beamed.
Red exhaled, sinking back in her chair, throwing a smile at Pippa.
Pippa didn’t reciprocate. “I’m so glad you approve of our personal arrangements, Darren. “However, I’m not sure I approve of yours.”
Darren looked mystified. “What? I ain’t no lezzer.”
“The camera you stole?”
“But I didn’t steal it.”
“Then why are you suspended?”
“Excluded.”
“Don’t be obtuse, child. The school found you guilty, and you have been sentenced accordingly.”
“Hold on, Pip. You’re jumping to conclusions. As usual.” Red put a restraining hand on Pippa’s arm. “Sometimes, partner, it helps to know the whole story?”
Pippa glared at Red. “Well?”
“Terri gave me a full report. And I must say she handled it rather well.”
Darren looked up at Red. “Who’s Terry?”
“Terri Miller, the officer who liaised with your Head.”
“What, that blonde American?” Darren beamed. “She works with you?” He nudged Jack with his elbow. “Hey, you kept that quiet, Jack.”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know her.”
Darren grinned. “You don’t know what you’re missing, mate. My mum’s boyfriend couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Said he’d give her one any day of the week.”
“Yes, thank you Darren,” Red said quietly.
Darren ignored her, turning to Jack. “Honestly, mate, she’s a dead ringer for Jessica Alba. Well tasty!”
Pippa addressed a wary eye at Red. “Jessica Alba?”
Red shrugged. “Some film actress or other.”
“You know,” said Darren. “The one with the big –”
Pippa cut across the boy’s explanation. “I know exactly who Jessica Alba is, Darren, thank you very much. I just didn’t realize my partner was working with her.”
“No, it’s not the real one,” Darren said. “I meant she looks just like her.”
“Yes. I understood perfectly. I’m just wondering why my,” Pippa theatrically imitated Red’s air quotes with her fingers, “partner omitted to mention it.”
Chapter 47.
“And how did madam cope?” DCI Andrews pushed a white wine across the table.
A lop-sided grin illuminated Red’s face. “Don’t ask. Honestly, I sometimes wonder what I see in her. She could embarrass me anywhere.” Red sighed, then rubbed her hands together gleefully. “Anyway, forget about Pip. I’m here for the low-down on Southgate and the pomme-rouge. Every little detail.”
Bill Andrews looked up from his beer, pinching the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger, choosing his words. “You’re a great detective, Cass. One day, you’ll be a brilliant detective, but in order to get there, you have to lose a few along the way. Southgate was one of mine that got away.”
“I read some of the archive reports and press coverage this afternoon. Great picture of you, by the way. Sergeant Bill Andrews.” Red grinned. “You had hair back then, too.”
Andrews gave an embarrassed cough. “Don’t remind me. Fifteen bloody years. Never thought I’d still be in the job now. I should have taken the money and quit while I was ahead.”
“Money?”
“The compensation package. For the hands.” Andrews pulled back his cuffs, exposing scar tissue across his hands and wrists.
Red winced. She’d seen them countless times, but still needed to look away. “Why didn’t you?”
“It was take the money and quit, or take promotion and stay. Nowadays I could probably sue the Met for millions and retire happily ever after. But back then... A different world.”
�
�Not that you would have quit then anyway, Guv. Be honest.”
Andrews emptied his glass. “Same again? No, you’re right. Becoming a DI was reward enough. But if I can get the apple back a second time, that would let me retire a happy man.”
“And Southgate?”
“That would be the icing on the cake. But we don’t know for sure he’s directly involved. Didn’t even realize he was back in the country.”
“Isn’t he flagged?”
“Of course, but that only kicks in if he comes through an electronic point of entry. I’m guessing he either came by boat or small aircraft.”
“There’s nothing outstanding on him, presumably?”
“Nothing. Legally he’s a free man. The Courts totally exonerated him. But what chance coincidence him turning up in London just as the apple goes missing again?”
“So how did you find out he was here?”
“The Soho team investigating the Mickey Finn murder turned his name up.”
“Finn was working for Southgate?”
“No, some Soho club owner.” Andrews supped his beer. “And another tenuous link with this Queenie character, in so far as she owns the property. But here’s the thing: Peter Blake read about Finn’s murder in the papers. Recognized the photo. Told the Super he knew him.”
Red leant in. “The Super’s grandson knew Mickey Finn?”
“Knew as in, had seen him about, with the heavy collecting the money.” Andrews dropped his voice conspiratorially. “The kid also said he’d heard the names Southgate, and... And another name I’m not at liberty to divulge.”
“Orders from above?”
Andrews smiled. “Orders from above.”
“And you think Southgate has the pomme-rouge?”
“Why else would he come back? He’s being tracked day and night now. If he so much as breaks wind we’ll know about it. If he does have the apple and tries to move it, we’ll know.”
Red slumped back in her chair. “That’s just great.”
“Cass?”
“I’m struggling to get enough manpower to put the Burns boys away for almost murdering an old lady, and you just click your fingers and have half the Met at your disposal to chase the friggin’ Pink Panther.”
Andrews nodded. “I share your frustration, Cass. Much as I want to nail Southgate, I agree your case is more deserving. But there’s also the matter of a threat against a senior police officer, namely yours truly, by the person who killed Mickey Finn.”
“I’m all for sorting that, Guv, obviously. But with respect, these resources were flooding in well before we knew the threat against you was for real.”
“This is about politics, not just policing,” Andrews sighed. “The loss of the pomme-rouge is an international incident. The manpower decisions are being made way above my head, Cass. Sorry.”
Red chinked her glass against her DCI’s. “I know. I’m not having a go at you, Guv. It’s just... We seem to have our priorities all wrong.” She reached a finger out and stroked Andrews’ wrist, tracing the scar tissue on a patchwork of skin grafts. “So what really happened? I know you don’t like to talk about it, but this is surely a timely moment to make an exception?”
Andrews took a long drink, his free hand twirling a beer mat in circles on the table as he brought up old memories. “We were flying squad back then. Not the Sweeney. The transition model. The Met was just beginning to join the modern world. Colin Blake was just an inspector. I was a lowly sergeant. Both armed, in pursuit of Southgate and Ronnie McQueen.”
“You carried arms routinely?”
“A different world, Cass. All the flying squad carried arms, and God help any unsuspecting member of the public who got in the way. Banks and post offices were really insecure in those days, and armed robberies an almost daily event. Those old Sweeney weren’t so far removed from the truth.”
“So what happened?”
“We knew Ronnie McQueen was the mastermind behind the heist, and we knew he had the apple. And all credit to him. Mastermind was the right word. He was running rings around us. But we assumed he would try and sell it. We didn’t bargain on him wanting to give it to Bernie Southgate.”
“Give it?”
“They were lovers, Cass. At least, McQueen loved him. Apparently Southgate only went along with it for the rewards.”
“Rewards?”
“You have to understand, McQueen was in a different league from Southgate. Bernie was into motors. High-value vehicles stolen to order. He had his own little factory in Bermondsey. Strip down, re-sprayed, refurbished and a new identity in less than twenty-four hours, and on a ship out of Tilbury to a cash buyer overseas. Hence the acid bath. McQueen was into art and antiques. He wouldn’t get out of bed of a morning for less than a million.”
Red nodded her encouragement. “Sounds a bit like me and Pip!”
Andrews chuckled quietly. “Let’s hope your relationship doesn’t end the same way.”
“So how did it end, exactly?”
“We burst in on them following a tip-off. Caught the two of them in the middle of a lover’s tiff. McQueen had given Southgate the apple as a love token. Southgate wanted to break it up and spend the cash. They were at one another’s throats on the gantry when we came in. Neither had weapons. We did. So Southgate did the only thing he could in the circumstances. He grabbed McQueen by the throat with a claw hammer, using him as a shield.”
“Pleasant chap.”
“Southgate later argued in Court, successfully, that he didn’t know we were cops. He claimed he thought McQueen had set him up and we were McQueen’s men.”
“And the jury believed him?”
“Why not? It was plausible. We weren’t in uniform. Just two characters in cheap suits who suddenly appeared with guns. Obviously we shouted out we were police, several times. But given McQueen didn’t survive, it was Southgate’s word against ours. He had a good brief. The best money could buy.”
Red nodded her encouragement. “And? What happened next?”
“Not something I shall ever forget. Colin followed McQueen and Southgate onto the gantry and I tried to edge round behind them. Southgate saw he was being trapped and decided to make a run for it. He shoved McQueen against the barrier and leapt off the gantry, heading for the exit. McQueen went over the side. Straight into a vat of sulphuric acid.”
Red turned away, closing her eyes. “And like an idiot you tried to pull him out.”
Andrews nodded. “Like an idiot. It was instinct. I just plunged my hands in, yanking him out. Had I had time to think about it maybe I would have held him under, just to be sure.”
Red looked around furtively. In a loud whisper, “Jesus, Guv, you can’t say that!”
Andrews shook his head, leaning forward and making a steeple of his fingers under his chin. His features crinkled, lines of worry creasing his forehead. “Can’t I? You didn’t see McQueen’s video collection, Cass. VHS cassettes as then were. We knew he was into young boys, of course. We just couldn’t get any of them to testify.”
Red shuddered at the thought.
“What we didn’t realize, until afterwards, was why there were so few victims coming forward. He used them and abused them until they reached puberty. And I mean abused, in ways you just don’t want to know. Then they became the little stars of their own snuff videos. They even filmed what they did to the bodies afterwards.” Andrews swilled his beer. “At the time my youngest was the same age as some of those kids. If I’d known then what we’d find I would never have tried to pull him out.”
“Jesus,” Red said beneath her breath.
“Not that it mattered. He never pulled through.”
Red took Andrews’ free hand. “You did the right thing, Guv. Our job is just to put the bastards before a Court, not to act as judge, jury and executioner. No matter what they’ve done.”
Andrews smiled. “You’ll make a good replacement for me, Cass, when I retire.”
“When they carry you out, you mean.�
��
“Don’t underestimate the powers of persuasion of the other half, Cass. I’ve already told her that if I can nail Southgate and get the apple back, I’ll call it a day.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Chapter 48.
“OMG!” Red looked over her shoulder from the doorway. “Pip, there’s some waifs and strays wanting to come in. Only they all look like drowned rats!”
Ella shot a disparaging glance at Red, screwing her nose up. “No shit, Sherlock. It’s pissing down out here, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Ella Crichton-Ward!” Pippa’s voice boomed out full blast from the lounge. “You will not use that kind of language under my roof. Nor anywhere else come to that.”
Red winked at Ella. “Now you’ve done it! Come on, Rubes. In you come, babe. How were they, Deimante?”
“Fine, as always, Miss Cass.”
“Please don’t call me miss!”
“Sorry, Miss Cass.”
Ella’s laughter ended abruptly as Pippa appeared in the hallway, eyes firmly on her daughter. “I’m warning you, young lady. If Ruby starts repeating your foul language I shall personally...” Pippa’s voice faded as she failed to conjure up a suitable penalty.
“But, mum…” Ella’s protest wavered under Pippa’s glare. “Anyway, Ruby would never say anything like that,” she finished lamely.
“What, pissing down?” Ruby asked innocently.
Red dramatically grabbed Ruby, a playful hand over the child’s mouth. “Come on you, before you get your sister in even more trouble.” Red grabbed Ella with the other hand. “And you, Els. Let’s get you both out of those wet clothes and out of mum’s way. How was your grandmother?”
“Hold on, Detective. I haven’t finished with the suspect yet.”
Red stopped at the bottom of the stairs, glancing anxiously from Pip to Ella and back.
“I’ll sort the girls out,” Pippa said. “You can run Deimante home. We cannot expect her to wait for a bus in that downpour.”
Red shrugged helplessly at Ella. “Sorry, gal. Looks like you’re on your own. Just take your punishment like a man.”
Saffina Desforges' ROSE RED Crime Thriller Boxed Set Page 13
