Raven

by Heather Atkinson

  “I am not touching your head. Constable, you do it.”

  Marcus thought he was referring to the very attractive blond police woman, but instead a heavy-handed gorilla with massive eyebrows rested a thick knuckled hand on the back of his head, almost knocking him over. “Yeah, he’s got a lump.”

  “That’s his head.”

  “Another lump, a smaller one.”

  “Look at his pupils Sir,” said the pretty female constable. “They’re unevenly dilated.”

  “He’s probably taken some of his own product.”

  “I don’t think so Sir. He looks really dazed.”

  “He always looks like that.”

  “Sir,” said a plain clothes officer. “Is it worth taking the risk? If we don’t get him checked out he could wriggle off the hook.”

  The DI’s jaw tensed with fury. “You’re right. Get the gargoyle checked out.”

  “Gargoyle?” said Marcus in a dreamy, faraway voice, gazing into the policewoman’s pretty, hazy face.

  With that he passed out, missing the moment a police officer returned down the stairs leading to the attic, triumphantly clutching a set of needles and vials.

  “Worked like a charm,” smiled Aidan as they watched Marcus being led out in handcuffs, stumbling over his own feet.

  “It would seem so and it looks like he hasn’t recovered from being hit by you.”

  “I have that effect,” he said, starting the engine. “What now?”

  “Marcus shouldn’t be giving us any trouble for a while, Dexter’s permanently gone and Pitbull and his gang have been tamed. Now we tackle Jeremy.”

  “I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said darkly. “How?”

  She regarded him with a sideways smile. “You’re being very good letting me lead on this.”

  “I made you a promise.”

  “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like your input.”

  “You getting edgy now we’re approaching the grand finale?”

  “I don’t get edgy but I do still value your opinion. Besides, I think it’s time we threw in the cautious approach.”

  His eyes danced with mischief. “You do?”

  She nodded. “It’s time for chaos and mayhem, which is your speciality. So come on mayhem-maker, what are we going to do?”

  As he thought, his mouth broadened into a grin, so wide it almost split his face in two. Usually that grin would fill her with foreboding but on the contrary, she thought whatever diabolical scheme he was cooking up was just the thing to put this nightmare to bed once and for all.

  “I don’t know,” she said once he’d finished relating his idea. “There’s a lot of flaws, so many unpredictable quantities.”

  “You’re right but it isn’t a Gallagher plan without flaws. Plus it’ll drive him fucking nuts. He thinks being a copper makes him invincible and it does provide him with some protection. But it also makes him vulnerable and we’re going to exploit that to drive him insane.”

  “I like that part of the plan.”

  “Me too and it’s always a good idea not to plan everything down to the tiniest detail, which I know you like to do. Going with the flow gives you space to adapt should something unexpected occur.”

  “That might not be a bad idea on this occasion as I get the feeling there’s something we don’t know yet and it’s going to affect the final outcome.”

  “Me too but it only adds to the excitement.”

  “Excitement?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

  “You know danger gets my juices flowing, you’ve known it for years. It does the same to you, which is why we’re so great together.”

  Her eyes filled with sadness. “And why we can only spend short amounts of time together.”

  He took her hand. “This time, let’s make it work for us.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Raven found Cerise standing on her usual corner in the centre of the city, a busy main road with a row of tatty, rundown shops, the majority of which were vacant. Tall and leggy, she could have been a model had it not been for her heroin addiction, which had prematurely lined her face and loosened her teeth.

  “Alright Raven?” grinned Cerise, revealing the gaps in her teeth. “You on for a quickie?” Her eyes flicked to Aidan and widened with interest. “Or a threesome, I’m always up for that.”

  He took a step back. “No thanks.”

  “Oh. Gay are you?”

  “He’s my husband,” said Raven, amused by his annoyed look. “There’s something else we want you to do.”

  “You name it gorgeous, I’ve done it all - anywhere, anyhow, that’s my motto,” she said before barking with laughter and lighting up a cigarette.

  “It’s nothing sexual.”

  Cerise’s grin dropped. “I’m not a fucking bleeding heart. You want to talk about your feelings, sod off to Jeremy Kyle.”

  “It’s not that either,” said Raven. “We just want you to make a complaint, that’s all.”

  “A complaint, about what? The fucking weather?” she sniggered.

  While Aidan huffed beside her, Raven was the picture of patience. “No Cerise, not the weather. About a certain police officer’s conduct.”

  “Now hold on a sec love. I piss off a copper and they keep hassling me for working my patch.”

  “Not if you put on such a show that their superior orders them not to go anywhere near you.”

  “You mean, make out he’s been getting heavy?”

  Raven nodded. “We’ll make it worth your while.”

  “How much?” she said, pound signs practically shining in her eyes.

  “Two grand.”

  “A measly two grand to risk my livelihood?”

  Anticipating she’d barter, Raven had deliberately gone in with a price lower than she was willing to pay. “Fine, three grand.”

  “Four.”

  “Three and a half.”

  “Four.”

  Raven made a show of sighing and considering her offer before nodding. “Deal. Four.”

  “And I want it now.”

  Aidan glanced up and down the street. As it was almost midnight, there was barely a car on the road. “All clear.”

  Raven pulled a thick envelope out of the depths of her coat pocket and held it out to Cerise, who peeked inside, eyes lighting up. “You knew I’d up the ante?”

  “Yes,” said Raven. “I just didn’t want you upping it more than I wanted it to go.”

  “Always were a slippery cow.”

  “Always will be. So, when will you do it?”

  “Might as well do it now, seeing how I’m taking the rest of the night off. In fact I’m taking the rest of the week off, getting out of the city for a while and not shagging any stinky old men. Bliss.” She stuffed the envelope into her handbag and hitched it over her shoulder. “Go on then, whack me one and make it look convincing.”

  Raven raised her fist then hastily lowered it when a car rolled to a halt at the kerb. A greasy, wrinkled head popped out of the driver’s side. “Alright Cerise? You up for some fun tonight?”

  “Yeah I am Raymond and that’s not with you. I’m having an early night for once, alone. So bugger off. I’ll see you next week.”

  “But you always do me,” he whined.

  “Talulah’s just down the street. She’ll sort you out.”

  “But her tits aren’t as nice as yours. They’re nearly down to her knees.”

  “If you don’t do one,” said Aidan. “I’ll cut off your cock so you can shag yourself.”

  The man frowned at him while hastily winding up his window and setting off down the street.

  “Nice one,” chuckled Cerise. “Thank fuck I don’t have to shag that smelly bastard tonight. Ow,” she cried, staggering backwards when Raven punched her in the face.

  “Sorry about that,” said Raven. “But I thought if I took you by surprise it wouldn’t look staged.”

  “Jesus, I would have appreciated some warning. I’m going to have a bastard of a
headache for days.”

  When Cerise moved to walk away, Raven grabbed her arm. “Don’t even think of reneging on our deal. You know what I do to people who do that.”

  “Yeah, alright love,” said Cerise, her left eye rapidly swelling, attempting to back away from her and failing, Raven’s grip on her arm too tight. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Good,” said Raven, releasing her.

  “Yeah, well,” said Cerise, massaging her arm. “I’ll see you around.”

  Aidan and Raven watched her totter down the street on her heels, keeping a tight hold on her handbag.

  “Do you think she’ll do it?” said Aidan.

  “Yes. After she saw me cut the balls off a man who attacked her, she knows full well what I’m capable of.”

  “You are so hot,” he breathed, pressing his face into her hair.

  “Oy,” called a voice.

  They both turned to see a gleaming silver BMW at the kerb, in contrast to the last punter a smartly dressed man in an expensive suit in the driver’s seat, a child seat in the back.

  “How much for her?” said the man, nodding at Raven. “Tasty piece, looks like she needs breaking in.” His eyes flicked to Aidan and his grin widened. “Actually, how much for you both for the whole night? I pay well. I want you to whip her while I watch. Jesus,” he exclaimed when Aidan pulled a large knife.

  “Aidan,” called Raven when he began to chase the car down the street.

  He stopped and turned. “But…”

  “Put it away.”

  He glared at the retreating car, eyes flashing before replacing the knife in his jacket.

  “We have to keep our priorities straight,” she said. “We can’t allow idiots like that to distract us.”

  He took a deep breath, determined to rein in his wilder side. “You’re right.”

  “Well done,” she said, fully aware of his inner struggle. “I’m impressed.”

  “It’s taking me a lot,” he said shakily.

  She took his hand and kissed him. “I know.”

  The chaos in his eyes softened. “That was an interesting idea of his though, the whipping.”

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  “You whipping me I mean. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  “No,” she said before turning on her heel and stalking off down the street.

  “What did I say?” he called after her.

  When Jeremy went to the police station to start his shift, he was surprised to be called into the Chief Inspector’s office. He surmised it was to do with the Needle Killer case. With a bit of luck they’d tracked down that bastard Aidan Gallagher and were wanting to give him another commendation.

  “Come in,” called a deep bass voice when he knocked on the Inspector’s door.

  Jeremy took a moment to run his fingers through his hair, ensuring it was neat before walking in. When he saw the Chief Inspector’s grim face, Tom’s equally grim face beside him, his smile fell.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Take a seat Constable Elias,” said the Chief Inspector.

  He sat before them, butterflies flitting about his stomach. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

  “A very serious allegation has been made against you PC Elias,” began the Chief Inspector.

  A small crumb of whatever he’d had for lunch clung to the Inspector’s steel grey moustache and Jeremy struggled not to stare. “Allegation?”

  “A prostitute, Cerise Williams, claims you attacked her.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous.”

  The Inspector tossed three photos onto his desk - two side shots of Cerise’s swollen face and one straight on, her right eye blackened and swollen.

  “I didn’t do that,” exclaimed Jeremy.

  “You know Cerise?” said the Inspector.

  He nodded. “She’s a local tom who plies her trade on a corner of my beat.”

  “Has there ever been any unpleasantness between you?”

  “Unpleasantness?”

  The Inspector just nodded.

  “Well, I have arrested her twice.”

  “For what?”

  “Assault on a younger rival and being drunk and disorderly.”

  “And what was the outcome of those arrests?”

  “She was let off the assault as it was just the victim’s word against hers and the second time she was allowed to cool off in the cells before being released the following morning.”

  “So she’s no reason to hold a grudge against you?”

  “No. Apart from those two times we’ve hardly interacted.”

  “Have you ever used Ms Williams’s services?”

  “Services?” Realisation dawned. “No Sir, I wouldn’t touch her or any of those girls with a barge pole.”

  “You wouldn’t be the first officer to avail yourself of what the local girls have to offer. Sometimes they’ll give freebies so you’ll turn a blind eye to their activities.”

  Jeremy couldn’t believe his superior was speaking to him like this. “I swear Sir, I haven’t.”

  “Allegedly you approached her just before midnight last night demanding sex for free and when she refused you got angry.”

  “Urgh, I did not.”

  “Her story was very specific and if she’s making it up then she’s a very good actress.”

  “Of course she’s a good actress, she’s a prostitute. She has to put on a show for the skanky bastards she shags.”

  “Please moderate your language PC Elias.”

  “Sorry Sir but I can’t believe this. I’ve not done anything wrong. You can check my body camera. You’ll see I never went near her.”

  “Ms Williams’s alleges the attack took place at midnight last night, when you were off duty.”

  “I’m sure PC Elias can produce a witness to testify he wasn’t anywhere near Ms Williams at the time?” said Tom hopefully.

  “No, I live alone,” he replied.

  “Oh,” said Tom.

  “But that doesn’t mean I attacked Ms Williams,” said Jeremy.

  “No it doesn’t,” replied the Inspector. “We’ll look into these allegations further and if they are false we will get to the bottom of it.”

  “Is that it?” he said when the Inspector went silent.

  “For now. You will continue with your duties as usual, just stay away from Ms Williams.”

  “Have no worries on that score Sir.”

  “Good. Well get to it.”

  “Yes Sir,” said Jeremy, getting to his feet and hurrying out of the room before they could change their minds. What the fuck was that about? He hadn’t gone near Cerise bloody Williams. She was a nut job and the last person in the world he’d want to have sex with. She was lying, but why? Had he inadvertently done something to piss her off? He couldn’t think what, he’d last arrested her eight months ago, so why wait so long for revenge? And why need revenge anyway? It didn’t make sense. That left only one explanation. Someone had put her up to it and he thought he might know who. That feathered bitch. Since he’d last seen her at the police ball he hadn’t had time to fuck with her life again as he’d been so busy with work. But now it seemed the time had come. However that would have to wait. He was already late for the start of his shift.

  CHAPTER 31

  Thanks to a police contact of Patrick’s - who was very grateful to Raven for setting up someone else to take the fall for the Needle Killer murders - Raven got hold of Jeremy’s shift pattern, which would be very useful in their plan to drive him up the wall. Hopefully they’d push him into doing something stupid.

  “That’s him,” said Raven as she and Aidan watched Jeremy walking through the shopping centre.

  “Yes, I remember him now,” said Aidan. “He was good but he was too up his own arse. When we practiced unarmed combat he threw a hissy fit if someone beat him. That didn’t go down too well with the bunch of mercenary bastards we were training.”

  “Maybe that’ll teach you to be more choosy a
bout who you pass your skills onto.”

  “I didn’t have any choice, I needed the money. I’ve had to do a lot of things I didn’t like to survive.”

  Raven wanted to tell him that he wouldn’t have to do those things if he just stayed at home but she’d said the words so many times they’d lost all meaning. Neither did she want to end up having an argument in the middle of a shopping centre.

  They retreated into a shop when Jeremy walked by, heading into the shop opposite to speak to the manager, who’d reported a case of shoplifting, thanks to a talented young thief Raven had paid to steal from them. Her accomplice had long escaped, after being careful to let the manager see him in the act. He was far too smart to get caught on camera, so she had no worries about the police catching up with him.

  They watched as the managers from three other stores accosted Jeremy in the first shop, demanding he find the little sod who stole from them. He took a step back from them all, a little overwhelmed by the angry faces crowding round him. The managers were all telling him in very loud voices about how they’d made repeated complaints to the police about shoplifting and they’d done sod all about it. Jeremy was bearing the brunt of their rage and frustration.

  “How has this tool caused you so much hassle?” said Aidan. “He looks like he’s going to cry.”

  “Let’s make our move, while he’s occupied.”

  They slipped out of the shop, heading for the exit, unable to see Jeremy at all as he was completely surrounded by angry shop owners. They walked around the corner to the rear of the building to find the police car parked at the kerb.

  “Be subtle,” Raven told Aidan.

  He winked at her from beneath the baseball cap he wore before crouching down behind the car, hidden from view by a wall while Raven acted as lookout, running her fingers through the long blond wig she wore, cringing when she heard the slight pop followed by a hiss.

  “Can’t you do it any quieter?” she said, keeping her eyes on the passing shoppers at the end of the street.

  “Not without breaking the laws of physics,” he said, this statement followed by another pop and hiss. He straightened up. “Let’s go.”

  They hurried down the street, rejoining the stream of shoppers, walking against them, away from the shopping centre, taking a series of turns through the back streets so they couldn’t be followed on any CCTV footage, getting into the Landrover they’d left on a quiet backstreet.