DI Lorne Simpkins 08 - Hostile Justice

by M A Comley

  “So, you’re telling me these boys were selling fake merchandise. Brand names sold at affordable prices, that sort of thing?”

  “That’s right. You’re not going to arrest me, are you?” The boy’s hands clenched tighter to prevent them shaking.

  “Good lord, no. Of course not. Get that thought out of your head immediately. You hear me?” She waited until Damon nodded. She reminded him gently, “These boys need to be stopped before someone else dies. You do understand that, don’t you?”

  “I guess.” His expression was thoughtful for a moment then suspicious the next. “What if I grass them up and they come after me?”

  “There’s always that risk, but you have my word that I’ll do everything possible for that not to happen. Do you have a name for me?”

  “No. I only recognised them on the market.”

  “Okay, were they actually running the stall themselves?”

  Shaking his head, he said, “No, they were standing there, watching the man run the stall.”

  “As if they were learning from the man, picking up ideas?”

  “Yes. They were behind the tables though. It wasn’t like they were watching the man from afar.”

  “Did the stall owner give you a receipt with your purchase?”

  “No. I should’ve asked for one, shouldn’t I? I’m such a div.”

  “Don’t be silly. These things happen. You’ve obviously spoken to the rest of the people invited to the party. Did any of them mention if they knew these boys?”

  “Not that I know of. I wouldn’t either, if I hadn’t bought those blasted trainers.”

  “Where was the market stall?”

  He sighed as he thought. “Near the cricket ground. Maybe I should have said it was more of a car boot sale than a market.”

  Lorne nodded, that snippet of information made everything much clearer. These kinds of chancers very rarely paid to be part of a council run market, whereas the same couldn’t be said regarding privately run car boot sales. Over the years they’d had so many complaints about non-legitimate traders at car boots that it would take an entire police force to man them thoroughly to catch the dodgy dealers. There was no way on earth that would be happening anytime soon, not with the force already stretched to its limit.

  “That makes sense. Do you attend the car boot regularly?”

  “No. That was my first time.”

  “You did well to recognise the boys. Is there anything else you can think of that might help this investigation? For instance, can you remember the name of the stall?”

  “Sorry, no. Can I go now? I have football training.”

  “Of course. If we manage to track down these boys, will you come in to identify them in a line-up?”

  The boy’s eyes bulged, and he shook his head. “I couldn’t.”

  “There’s really no need to be concerned. The people in question won’t be able to see you. I can assure you of that.”

  “I’ll think about it, is that all right?”

  “Of course. Thanks for your help today, Damon. Good luck with your training. We’ll be in touch should we need to question you further.”

  “Can I go now?”

  She smiled broadly. “You’re free to go. That wasn’t so painful, was it?”

  “I guess not. I hope you get the boys who killed Wendy soon.”

  “So do I.” Lorne showed the young man back through to reception then tapped on the door to where Katy was questioning another teenager. They both glanced at Lorne when she pushed open the door.

  Katy waved her in. “We’re done here, Sergeant. Come in. Josh was just leaving.” She turned to Josh and thanked him. “The information you’ve just given me should contribute a long way to finding Wendy’s killers. I appreciate your help.”

  “Okay, sure. Will I learn about any arrests on the news or will you ring me?” Josh asked.

  “I’ll make sure I personally ring you once we have the culprits banged up.”

  Katy saw the confident young man out of the room and returned moments later. “Thank goodness that’s finished. Let’s grab a coffee and compare notes.”

  Back upstairs in the incident room, they compared what the last two boys had to say and found similarities that they both were excited about—mainly, the fact that both boys said they knew the gate-crashers through a car boot sale. It was an angle they’d be following up first thing the next day.

  “Let’s go home, eh?” Katy said, letting out a long sigh.

  “I won’t object to that. My head’s pounding right now.”

  “Can’t say I was overjoyed questioning a bunch of hormonal teenagers either.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Lorne pushed open the back door of the house to find her old friend Carol sitting at the kitchen table, holding Charlie’s hand. Her daughter looked up, and Lorne could see instantly that Charlie had been crying. She walked over to give her daughter a hug. Charlie squeezed her tight in return.

  “Hello, Carol. What brings you here?”

  “I thought Charlie needed a chat, so I came over.”

  “That was kind of you. Is Tony out back with the dogs?”

  “Nope, I’m right here,” Tony appeared in the doorway.

  “As you’re all here, I have something to tell you.” Lorne sank into the empty chair next to her daughter.

  “Have you found them, Mum?” Charlie asked, her eyes widening expectantly.

  “Not yet, sweetie. However, some of your friends came to the station today, and what they told us in their statements, I’m pretty confident will lead to an arrest or two soon.”

  Carol coughed slightly and nodded at Lorne.

  “They will, you think, Carol?”

  “They will.”

  Lorne sensed the psychic had chosen her words carefully, not wishing to raise Charlie’s hopes falsely. “It’s good to know Katy and I are on the right track.”

  “That’s great news. Call me when dinner’s ready, I’ll be in my room.” Charlie left the table, kissed Carol and Lorne both on the cheek, and ran upstairs to her room.

  “I didn’t want to say too much in front of her. I needed to come over and tell you what I’ve been picking up in the last few days. It’s all rather muddled. I’ll leave you to put it into some sort of order.”

  Lorne watched as Carol drifted into one of her trances. It took her a few seconds to start firing out words.

  “Warehouse, body, female. Drink, clothing, stall, suited man. Names that sound foreign, I can’t quite get a grip of them. Does any of this make any sense?”

  “All of it. Unfortunately, I believe you’re getting the two cases I’m working on confused.”

  Carol tutted. “Well, that’s nothing new, is it? Just take out the relevant parts and piece them together. I’ll keep trying to sort the references out. If I get anything else, on either case, I’ll let you know right away. Hold on…” She closed her eyes and drifted off again. “Large house, nice car. By nice I mean expensive, a sporty car, like a Porsche or something of that ilk.”

  Lorne reached for the shopping list pad she kept on the kitchen table and wrote Carol’s vision down.

  “A public house, it’s a town pub, not a country one. I keep seeing this suited man, his face is hidden. I can’t tell if he’s old or young. I’m guessing on the younger side, I believe the car, belongs to him.”

  “Could it be the victim’s husband, do you think, Carol?”

  “I wouldn’t like to say. I’m not getting the impression that he’s upset at all. Maybe I’ve picked up someone to do with your other case on the young girl, Wendy. Just bear it in mind for now.”

  “Will do. Anything else?”

  Carol remained silent for a few more minutes. Lorne winked at Tony, smiled, and mouthed I love you to him.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Carol opened her eyes and said to Lorne.

  “What?”

  “I’m glad you still love Tony.”

  They all laughed, it was a blessed release after
the fraught day she’d had.

  “Will you stay for dinner, Carol?” Tony asked, making his way over to the fridge.

  “No, I won’t, if you don’t mind. I’ve been invited out to the theatre tonight by a man friend.”

  “Ooo…‌someone we know?” Lorne asked. Carol had been alone for years, and Lorne got the impression she preferred it that way, and enjoyed not being at someone’s beck and call twenty-four hours a day.

  “No. I met him the other day at the theatre. We turned up to see the same show alone and got chatting. Don’t look at me like that—we’ll be going out as friends I made that very clear when I accepted the invitation. If we both appreciate going to see a fine stage show then why not go together?”

  “Why not, indeed?”

  She rose from her seat. “Well, I better toodle off home now. Ring me if Charlie gets depressed at all. We had a nice little chat earlier about those she has lost looking over her from heaven. Something you know all about, Lorne, of course.”

  “That was kind of you, Carol. I’m sure she’s just feeling a little raw right now. She’s much stronger than she used to be. Have a great time and keep me informed if anything develops between you and this mystery man. I’ll ring you during the week. I want to arrange a family barbecue in the next week or two. Hey, why don’t you bring your man friend along? We’d love to meet him.”

  Carol shook her head and did her best to suppress a smile. “Ring me when you decide on a date. Er…‌I mean a day for the barbecue.” She pecked Lorne and Tony both on the cheek and left via the back door.

  “Did she have a little sparkle in her eye or was it my imagination?” Lorne asked.

  “Stop playing matchmaker and interfering in people’s love lives and give me a kiss.”

  She sauntered up to him, and they shared a passionate embrace and lingering kiss. Looking into his eyes, she smiled sexily and asked, “What’s on the menu tonight? I’m starving.”

  “Steak and chips.”

  She pushed away from him. “Yum. I’ll get changed and nip out and see the dogs before we eat.”

  Lorne contemplated her day while she greeted the dogs who either boarded with them or were just there until they found a forever home. Her old dog Henry accompanied her and sniffed each dog through the kennel door. She missed dealing with the dogs on a daily basis, but the pull to return back to the force had been too powerful to resist.

  After dinner, Lorne and Tony spent the rest of the evening consuming a bottle of wine while watching a TV movie.

  • • •

  Lorne set off to work early the next day, eager to get started on the information she and Katy had been given by the boys. When she arrived, the other team members were already at their desks preparing to tackle the day ahead. “Couldn’t you all sleep either?” she called out.

  Katy came out of the office. “Right. Now that we’re all assembled, I say we spend the next half hour going over what we have so far.”

  Her partner moved closer to the whiteboard. At the top were photos of the victim from the warehouse and very little else up until now. Katy took the marker pen off the shelf and held it poised, ready to jot down anything noteworthy the team could offer.

  Lorne called out several angles to what Marcin had told them the previous day. “We’ve got two unnamed people who rode in the car with Marcin. According to him, the men beat up and subsequently killed the woman.”

  “Lorne, can you chase Patti up today? See if she’s had a chance to examine the bagged head AJ dropped off to her yet?”

  “Will do. I think we should get AJ started on the CCTV footage surrounding the bus station, although I have a feeling it’s more likely to be a coach station that Marcin was referring to.”

  Katy nodded. “Can you do that, AJ?”

  “Leave it with me. If the woman is on there, I’ll find her.”

  “I’m going to ring the police divers this morning, see if they’ve located the murder weapon.” Katy drew a line and added a circle then placed the word weapon inside the circle.

  “Can we start drawing a few conclusions or assumptions as to why the woman was killed?” Katy asked, scanning the team.

  “I started making a list of possibilities yesterday. Where is it? Ah, here it is. Human-trafficking, domestic violence, some kind of organised crime, gang related perhaps? That’s as far as I got before I had to stop to interview the boys on the other case yesterday.”

  “Can anyone else add to the probable list?”

  No one offered anything further.

  Katy tapped the pen against her forehead. “Okay, what are the facts we’re definite about? The car…‌we know its plates had been changed before the woman was abducted. What else?”

  Lorne thought over her interview with Marcin. “Immigrants, illegal immigrants, maybe that’s the angle we should be looking at?”

  “Yep, I agree on that. Come on, guys, we’re all involved in this case.” Katy’s frustration was beginning to show.

  Silence answered Katy’s plea until Graham piped up, “What about getting in touch with the press?”

  “We’ve just run a TV appeal, Graham. Did you not see it?” Katy asked, her temple pulled into a frown of disappointment.

  “No, sorry, ma’am. Yes, I saw it. What I meant to say was that sometimes journalists get wind of something. They might hear something they think is inconsequential that turns out to be a key part of the investigation. Does anyone have a reliable press contact?”

  “Actually I do. You might be on to something there, Graham…‌good thinking. I’ll ring a contact of mine, if that’s all right?” Lorne asked Katy, not wishing to go over her partner’s head.

  “Do what you have to do, Lorne. Urge him to keep it discreet. We don’t want any unnecessary headlines in the evening paper, do we?”

  “He’s very discreet, as you know, ma’am.” Katy frowned until she understood who Lorne was talking about. Then she smiled and nodded her approval. The journalist in question, Derek Croft, had become a good friend of Lorne’s since Tony and she had made his acquaintance whilst investigating a human-trafficking case around eighteen months ago. His input had proved invaluable in rescuing Lorne and Katy from the clutches of a man importing Asian girls under the pretence of offering them jobs as nannies. The girls had been forced into situations out of their control and were treated as nothing more than slaves by the people who’d supposedly “bought their services.” Lorne assured the group, “I’ll get onto him straight after we’re finished here.”

  “Okay, what else, peeps?” There was silence again, so Katy moved on. “All right, what do we have on the other case we’re working on then?”

  “Again, I’ll be getting in touch with trading standards this morning about the dubious stall holders the boys referred to yesterday,” Lorne offered.

  “Delegate that call if you would, Lorne. I’d prefer you dealing with the warehouse case.”

  Lorne nodded in full agreement and made a note to pass over what she wanted to find out to her colleague Karen.

  “Final call for anything else?” Katy asked the team. “Nothing? Right, so let’s get to work.” She clapped and brought the meeting to a close.

  Lorne went straight to her desk picked up the phone and punched in a number. “Hi, Derek, how are you?”

  “Lorne Warner, long time no hear. If you’re calling me, you must need my help on something, right? What is it this time?”

  She chuckled. “You have such a low opinion of me. Can’t I ring up a friend now and again to see how they’re diddling without needing their help?”

  “You might with your other friends, but I think you make an exception as far as I’m concerned, dear lady.”

  “Damn, you got me bang to rights. Seriously, how are you?”

  “Seriously? Still pissed off with this place and having to kiss my boss’s arse…‌but nothing new there. What can I do for you? What do you and Tony need my help on this time? How is he by the way? Last time we met, that guy had shot him
in his prosthetic leg. It still cracks me up when the image crosses my mind.”

  “And I thought I was bad at firing off questions. Let’s start backwards, shall we? Tony’s fine, he and Charlie are running the dog sanctuary—”

  “Well, that can only mean one thing…‌you’ve wormed your way back into the Met.”

  She laughed. “Er…‌I wouldn’t quite put it that way myself. Yes, you’re right, I am back on the force. No more PI work for me, for now anyway. That might all change in the future though. Never say never and all that.”

  “I always thought your talents were wasted as a PI, but that was just my opinion. Go on then, let me have it. What do you need?”

  “Thanks for your confidence in my abilities. When I need an ego boost I’ll be sure to give you a ring. Did you see the Crimewatch programme that aired the other day?”

  “Yeah, which case are you working?”

  “The body found in the warehouse. Do you know anything about it?”

  “Not really. My colleague is working it. When I say working it, I mean he reported it, but hasn’t managed to find out anything else to take it further.”

  “That’s a shame, I was hoping as we’d come to a grinding halt that you might be able to give us a helping hand.”

  “Let me have a word with Zac and get back to you, all right?”

  Before Lorne could respond Derek hung up. She took the opportunity to speak to Karen and requested she contact the trading standards office about the stall holder, and to enquire where they stood legally with regard to car-boot-sale stall holders.

  The phone rang on her desk a few minutes later. It was Derek. “Hi, Lorne. Zac couldn’t really add anything. He’s made a few enquiries, but they didn’t produce any extra info.” His voice lowered when he said, “Of course, he ain’t as thorough as me about this type of thing. So I can’t really help you any further, except to say, I’ll pass on any info that comes his way.”

  “That’s a start. Thanks, Derek. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  Hanging up, Lorne left her desk and headed over to AJ. “How’s it going?”