Trafficking (Powell Book 1)

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Trafficking (Powell Book 1) Page 5

by Bill Ward


  Despite Brian’s privileged background, Powell had found him very down to earth and they became firm friends. Brian had the sharper mind but Powell definitely had the edge in Fieldcraft. Later in their careers they made a good team.

  “Brian, thanks for calling back so quickly.”

  “You mentioned Bella. She is my goddaughter you know, even though I haven’t seen her for almost twenty years.” There was a hint of accusation in Brian’s voice.

  “It was best that way,” Powell replied. “I’m afraid I have bad news, Brian. Bella’s dead.”

  Powell could sense the shock at the other end of the line.

  “What happened?”

  “She joined the police a year ago and was stabbed a couple of days ago while out on patrol.”

  “Oh my God! Was she the young constable I heard was killed in Brighton?”

  “Yes. Seems she was caught up in a domestic of some sort. The police have a picture of the killer but haven’t found him yet.”

  “And you want me to help you find him? Powell, I know how you must be feeling but I can’t be party to you murdering someone.”

  “I am not looking to kill him. That wouldn’t be Bella’s way.”

  “But it is your way, Powell. After what happened with Vanessa, I can’t be party to anything similar.”

  “That was a long time ago. I’m not the same man. I just want to help the police find this scum. I swear on Bella’s life I will not harm this man if humanly possible.” Even as Powell said the words he wasn’t sure it was the truth. He didn’t know if he confronted Bella’s killer whether he would be able to control his rage.

  “I’ll take a look at the reports and see what I can find out. Then I’ll give you a call and an update on police progress,” Brian promised. “Give me a few hours.”

  “Thanks, Brian. We should meet for a drink so you can update me in person. I’ll come up to town.”

  “That would be good. I’m really sorry about Bella, Powell. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

  “Not right now, thanks. Let’s just make sure everything possible is being done to find her killer.”

  “Speak soon,” Brian said and ended the call.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Afina called her mama to give her the phone number of the new mobile she had purchased. It had been the cheapest they sell and she had added only the minimum credit of ten pounds but it was a lifeline to home in an emergency.

  As soon as her mama answered, Afina could tell there was a problem. By the end of the call, Afina realised she was facing a terrible dilemma. It was go back to Stefan and let men use her body or see her teenage sister taken and be raped, maybe even worse. There really was no choice. She loved Adriana far too much to put her through the ordeal she had endured. At least she had been with quite a few boys before she encountered Stefan and Dimitry. He was pretty sure Adriana was still a virgin and she may never recover from such an experience.

  There was also her mama to consider. She would never survive something terrible happening to her baby girl. Afina had needed to be grown up at a young age and her mother often relied on her to babysit her little sister. Adriana was spoilt but Afina was in no way jealous. She had always felt protective towards Adriana.

  Afina had taken down Stefan’s number and sworn to her mama that there would be no more visits to her home. She would call Stefan immediately and that would be the end of the problem. Her mama wasn’t entirely convinced and wanted to know why this Stefan needed Afina to call so urgently. What had Afina done? Her mama was sure she had done something wrong but Afina simply said it was all a misunderstanding. She had stayed with him and left without paying for her room when her bag was stolen. Now she had her mama’s money she could repay him and the problem would go away.

  After the call, Afina went to her bedroom and cried, not for herself but for Adriana and her mama. She could only imagine the fear Adriana had felt when the man came to the apartment. She would have been terrified. Afina had recently experienced similar fear and been lucky enough to escape but Adriana would not be able to run away. There was nowhere for her to go.

  Afina knew she had to be strong and to act quickly. It had been her decision alone to come to England, which meant everything that had happened since was her responsibility. Her mama had never wanted her to leave home. Therefore it was up to her to put matters right. At the very least she needed to buy some time and ensure her family were no longer in danger. She knew what she must do but still hesitated to call Stefan. She went over all the possibilities in her mind one more time. Finally, she knew she must waste no further time, summoned up her courage and dialled the number for Stefan.

  After the call to Stefan, Afina told the girls she wanted to go shopping for a few new clothes. She couldn’t be sure the clothes she left at Stefan’s would still be there when she returned and anyway, she wanted to treat herself to something, it was the least she deserved. The girls knew all the best places to shop in Brighton and would take her to the stylish but not too expensive shops. Afina needed to both look and sound confident when she met Stefan.

  Powell took the train from Brighton to Victoria and then walked the ten minutes to the Thai restaurant in nearby Belgravia, which Brian had chosen, saying it served a great value business lunch. Powell had looked up the restaurant on the internet before leaving home and it was definitely very upmarket and quite different to the pubs and restaurants they frequented twenty years earlier.

  Powell arrived first and shortly after he recognised Brian enter. Powell realised people could change in twenty years but he was surprised by how much Brian had changed. He had put on several stone in weight and the once slim figure was now decidedly rotund.

  “Good to see you, Brian,” Powell said, standing and shaking hands.

  “It’s been a long time,” Brian responded with a firm shake. “I’m so sorry about Bella.”

  They both took their seats and almost immediately a pretty waitress appeared wearing a traditional Thai dress. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

  “Fancy some wine?” Brian asked, looking at Powell.

  “Fine with me, I came on the train.”

  “A bottle of the Pinot Grigio, please,” Brian requested, turning back to the waitress.

  Sat opposite Brian, Powell could observe the signs of aging in his old friend. The hair was grey and thinning on top, the skin lined and wrinkled. He hadn’t worn particularly well.

  “You’re looking very fit,” Brian continued, when the waitress had left.

  “I took up Kick Boxing a few years ago. I’m a second Dan black belt.”

  “As you can probably guess from looking at me, I’ve had a desk job for the last ten years.”

  “You have put on a bit of weight,” Powell acknowledged with a smile. “So can you tell me what you actually do nowadays?”

  “Believe it or not, I’m Director of Training. I’m responsible for churning out more of the likes of you and me of thirty years ago.”

  “That’s quite a change from what we used to do.”

  “You can’t go running around undercover for ever. Irish operations were scaled down and I had the opportunity to share my experience with the new recruits. It was a lot safer and after what happened to you, I realised it was probably just a matter of time before my luck ran out, so it was quit the service or change job. Now I have a decent pension to look forward to and Linda knows I will be home on time every day.”

  “How is Linda?”

  “She’s well. She was shocked to hear about Bella. She sends her love.”

  “And the kids?”

  “They’re both doing well.”

  Powell couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy for his friend’s happy family life. It was part of the reason why he had lost contact. After losing Vanessa, he wanted to sever ties with the past and the job which had caused the death of the woman he loved. Brian and his family life would have been a permanent reminder of what might have been.

&nb
sp; The waitress reappeared with the wine and took their orders. Powell was happy to see prawn red curry on the set menu and Brian chose the chicken green curry, suggesting they could share.

  “So what have you been able to find out?” Powell asked.

  “The local police have had a tip off that the killer in the photo is a Romanian called Dimitry. They think it probably came from the girl he was chasing but they haven’t so far been able to find either of them.”

  “A photo and a name. Surely he shouldn’t be too hard to locate.”

  “They think he might have already skipped the country. By the time the police checked CCTV cameras and circulated a picture, twenty four hours had elapsed. They checked flights from Gatwick and there were five men called Dimitry left in that period for Romania but of course he may have been using a different name. The police are looking at the airport cameras to try and identify whether our man was one of the five.”

  “Shit! Have the Romanian police been asked to check out the five suspects.”

  “Yes but it won’t be top of their priorities and frankly, based on previous experience, expectations aren’t high for a good result. It’s a poor country and a little money goes a long way. And one of them paid cash for his ticket so we have no address from a credit card. If he gave a false address when buying the ticket, he will simply disappear.”

  Powell was thoughtful for a minute. “So we need to find where he was living in England. If he had to get out so quickly, he may have left behind something we can use to track him down.”

  “The local police are thinking he might have been involved with prostitution. Since they joined the EU, there has been quite an influx of Romanian working girls and their pimps. It’s possible the girl he was chasing was working for him. It’s even possible she had been tricked into entering the country with the promise of a false job and put to work as a sex slave.”

  “And this goes on in Brighton?”

  “Sadly, it goes on everywhere. I’ve looked at the reports and the police have been around all the known brothels but found zero. I think we have to assume that even if someone knew something they would be too scared to talk.”

  “So you’re telling me the police have hit a dead end?”

  “They have a name and a picture. I would guess they will issue a European Arrest Warrant for Dimitry and hope if he has gone back home that an honest cop will spot him. There is also the girl to be found. She is an eye witness and they will need her to testify when they do find Dimitry.”

  “Why haven’t I seen the photos all over the news?”

  “I assume the police don’t want Dimitry to know they have his photo. Now they know his name and the fact he’s Romanian, they are probably worried if they make a big splash of what they know, he’ll go to ground. This way he may think he’s safe.”

  Their food was delivered and Powell digested what he had heard as he filled his plate. He had lost his initial confidence the police would find this Dimitry and bring him to justice.

  “The food’s good,” Powell said. He hadn’t eaten a proper meal since receiving the news about Bella.

  “Best Thai in London.”

  “I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” Powell said after a while.

  “I know but neither can you go looking for revenge the way you did after Vanessa. The Service won’t cover for you this time. I don’t want to see you end up rotting in jail.”

  “Don’t worry, I don’t fancy living out my retirement in a prison cell. Anything I discover I’ll share with the police. I want justice not revenge and I won’t dishonour Bella’s memory and choice of career by becoming a vigilante.”

  “Glad to hear it, but I think you said something similar twenty years ago,” Brian said unconvinced. “Then all hell was let loose.”

  “Twenty years is a long time. Believe it or not I’ve spent the time trying to be sociable with customers in my bar and I haven’t spiked anyone’s drink in all that time.”

  “Sorry to doubt you. I guess I’ve spent too long in this business, it’s really difficult to believe anything you hear nowadays.”

  “I can’t say I’ve missed it.” Powell hated to think what sort of father he would have been to Bella if he hadn’t left the service. He had given everything to his job and paid a heavy price for his commitment.

  “It really is good to see you again,” Brian said with a smile, lightening the moment.

  “And you,” Powell replied and meant it. “I’ll let you know the arrangements for Bella’s funeral. It’ll be in the next couple of weeks. They have to do an autopsy first.” Powell didn’t like the idea of Bella being cut open but in a murder case it was unavoidable.

  Brian refilled their wine glasses. “I don’t know how you manage to own a bar and not be an alcoholic!”

  “It was a problem in the early years but then I took up kickboxing and sorted myself out.”

  “And is the bar doing well?”

  “I bought a nice house a few years back, drive a new BMW and the bar pretty much runs itself so I can’t complain.”

  “Those days we spent skulking about in the shadows must seem a long way off.”

  “In some ways they do but as Bella was growing up, every time I looked at her I was reminded of the past. Unfortunately, I’ve never really been able to escape my past despite the veneer of success because I would always be willing to give it all up to be back with Vanessa… And now Bella is gone as well.”

  “We’ll find him, Powell,” Brian said with conviction. “I promise you we’ll find this Dimitry.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  It was time to say goodbye to Emma and Becky. Afina kissed them both and then handed Emma an envelope.

  “What’s this?” Emma asked.

  “If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow evening, I want you to hand it to the police.”

  “Afina, you’re not going back to him, are you?” Emma was eyeing the envelope suspiciously. “You can’t go back to a man who tried to rape you.”

  “Look, stop worrying,” Afina said, trying to sound light hearted. “I’m not going near that particular person. In fact, I hear he’s left the country. I’m going to be staying with a friend from Romania.”

  “So what is in this letter?” Becky asked.

  “It’s just a precaution. If I am run over by one of your buses while trying to cross the street and looking the wrong way, I want the police to know what happened to me.” Afina was struggling with the idea of cars driving on the wrong side of the road.

  The girls didn’t look convinced. “So where will you be staying?” Becky asked. “Give us your address.”

  “I can’t do that but it’s actually not far from here. The person I’m staying with is very private. I Promise we’ll all go for a drink soon. I just need to sort some things out.”

  “Can we at least call you?” Emma asked.

  “Of course you can, you have my number. Call me anytime you want and I promise I will call you as well.”

  The girls relaxed a little.

  “I have to be going now, my friend is expecting me.” Afina hugged and kissed each girl one more time. “I will never forget what you have done for me.” She turned and hurried away so they wouldn’t see her cry.

  The girls waved goodbye as they watched her walk away.

  Afina definitely wasn’t feeling as confident as she had portrayed to the girls. She had seven hundred pounds left from the money her mama had sent but only one hundred on her, which was hidden inside her bra. She had left the remainder of the money in Emma’s account. She reasoned it would be a potential lifeline if things didn’t work out as planned.

  Afina had arranged to meet Stefan in a coffee house on Western Road, close to where she had seen Dimitry murder the young policewoman. As she walked past, there were flowers on the side of the road marking the spot. She couldn’t suppress the flashback of that night’s events, said a small prayer for the girl who had been killed and increased her pace.

  It took her a
bout fifteen minutes to walk to the cafe and she arrived intentionally early. She wanted to be already seated when Stefan arrived. She ordered a latte and treated herself to a cake.

  Stefan entered twenty minutes later and spotted her sitting at the table. He approached the table with a smile. “Afina, it is good to see you again,” he said, as if they were the best of friends.

  “I’ll have another latte, please,” she requested. “We need to talk before I come back with you.”

  Stefan seemed surprised by her confidence and stood for a moment uncertain whether to agree before realising he had no choice. It was a busy café and he didn’t want to create a scene. He returned with her coffee and an espresso for himself.

  “I have some rules,” Afina said, once Stefan was seated.

  “I think you misunderstand our arrangement,” Stefan interjected sharply. “I am the one who makes the rules.”

  Afina ignored Stefan’s interruption. “I will come back to you and fuck all the men you want, with a smile on my face. I will be so good they will all come back for more. I will literally be a fucking goldmine for you. But I will not let anyone beat me again. Neither Victor nor Dimitry are to come near me. If either of them ever puts their cock in my mouth again, I swear I will bite it off. Finally, I need some time off each week and I need to earn some money.”

  “And why should I agree to any of your demands?”

  “Because you will make lots of money from me. I am pretty and I know what men like. You should also know that I have taken out some insurance. I have written down every detail of what has happened to me and if I ever go more than three days without contact, the letter will be given to the police. I think you understand how bad that would be for your business.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Stefan said angrily.

 

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