Mortal Crimes 2

by Various Authors

  “Several contributing factors, I suspect. You were relaxed, several glasses of wine, and good company. Oh, and I suspect that’s the first time in months you haven’t had any stress to deal with, either.” Lorne glanced sideways and saw the grin on Katy’s face. “What’s that look for?”

  “You know me so well.”

  “Well enough to know when something major is troubling you. Is that ex hanging around again?” Katy turned to gaze out the window at the open fields whizzing past. “Katy?”

  “Okay, you asked. Yesterday, I was suspended.”

  Lorne’s head snapped around. The blast of a horn made her promptly turn back to face the road ahead. “What? Why? I can’t believe Roberts would do such a thing!”

  “He had little choice, really. I decked a suspect when I brought him in for questioning.”

  “You decked him?”

  “The bloody toe-rag touched me up when I took him through to the holding cell. I smacked him in the mouth and he cried out, turned ’round, and slammed his face into the wall to maximize the damage.”

  “Compo claim, you reckon?”

  “Yeah, he’s an old hand at it, or so the desk sergeant said. It doesn’t alter the fact that I struck him. That part was caught on the camera, but him flinging himself at the wall wasn’t. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Damn bastard had no right copping a feel like that. Yuck! It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. What about my rights in all this? Roberts said he had little option but to suspend me until the enquiry takes place in a few weeks.”

  “You’re on full pay, though, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  Lorne smiled. “Come work with us. At least see how things work out during your suspension. I’d love to team up with you again. The only thing is, we couldn’t afford to pay you much.”

  Katy twisted in her seat to face her. “Really? To be honest, I don’t give a shit about the money side of things. Though, thinking logically about this, I have rent to pay on my crappy flat.”

  “No problem on that front, either—move in with us.”

  “Whoa! Slow down a minute. Is Tony all right with this? Is your father?”

  “They will be,” Lorne mumbled sheepishly.

  Katy remained quiet for a good few minutes, mulling over the plan. “If the others are agreeable, I’d love to do it. Can we have an honest and open discussion about it this evening?”

  Lorne’s hand left the steering wheel and found Katy’s. “You’re on. God, it’s going to be so cool working with you again.”

  “It’ll be like old times. The only thing that’ll be different is I’ll be a year older,” Katy grumbled under her breath.

  Lorne laughed as she pulled up outside the block of flats where Croft lived. She and Katy got out of the car, and Lorne scanned the area for Croft’s vehicle. “As I suspected, it’s probably in the garage for repair.”

  Katy raised a questioning eyebrow. “Meaning?”

  “Sorry, I was going to fill you in on what happened outside the wine bar the other night, but our conversation veered off in a whole different direction. I’ll tell you on the way back. Tony and I had the scare of our lives.”

  Lorne led the way up the narrow path and into the reception area, which was surprisingly open to the public. Graffiti lined the walls and the stench of urine filled their nostrils as they made their way up two flights of stairs to the next level. “Ah, number three, here it is.” Lorne gave the door four sharp knocks and waited. When there was no response, she crouched down and peeped through the letterbox. Looking along the tiny dark hallway didn’t give any clues as to whether Croft was at home or not. She stood up and knocked again, then turned back to Katy. “I couldn’t see anything. If the lounge is at the end of the hallway, the door is shut. If he doesn’t answer this time, we’ll leave.”

  “Can you call his mobile?” Katy glanced around, seemingly uncomfortable.

  “Good idea.” Lorne took out her mobile and the slip of paper she’d written Croft’s address and phone number down on and punched in the number.

  Katy bent down to the letterbox and placed her ear up against it. “The phone’s ringing inside.”

  “It is? That’s strange.” Lorne watched as Katy stood up, took three steps back towards the half brick wall that formed the balcony, and ran at the front door. “Katy, what the f—”

  “Help me get in there. I’m sure I just heard a groan.”

  “Damn.” Lorne shouldered the door while Katy ran at it again and kicked it. The door flew open, splintering the doorframe in the process. They both ran down the narrow hall to the door at the end. Lorne stood in the doorway and stared at Croft groaning and wriggling around on the frayed carpet in the lounge. Katy quickly rushed past her to get to Croft.

  “Keep still. We’ll get an ambulance.” Katy looked up at Lorne, expecting her to place the call, then began checking Croft’s injuries.

  Lorne stepped outside the flat and rang 9-9-9. After giving the woman the address, she pleaded, “Please hurry. We urgently need an ambulance—a man has been badly beaten. Yes…I’d say his life is in imminent danger. Okay, quick as you can.” She hung up and ran back inside.

  “They’ll be here in around five minutes. How’s he looking, Katy?”

  “I’ve tried to stop the bleeding from his stomach, but he’s already lost a significant amount of blood.”

  Lorne winced and gagged a little when she noticed that half the fingers of Croft’s right hand had been cut off and were lying on the carpet beside him. “Derek, why didn’t you listen to me?” she said under her breath, not expecting him to hear her. Lorne asked Katy, “Is there anything I can do?”

  Lorne was thankful that Katy had taken control of the situation. She would have struggled to remember her first aid training.

  “Get me some towels to help stop the bleeding to his stomach, and maybe a tea towel or a small towel to wrap around his hand. Also, try to find some ice or a bag of peas and a plastic bag to put his fingers in; maybe the hospital will be able to sew them back on.”

  Lorne left the room and returned a few seconds later, she gave Katy two hand towels. Katy bent down and gently bandaged Croft’s bloody, mutilated hand in the tea towel.

  Thankfully, in the distance, they heard the ambulance’s siren growing louder. Lorne rushed back outside and leaned over the wall. As the ambulance turned into the road, she waved frantically at the driver, who flashed his lights letting her know he’d seen her. She remained on the landing and watched the paramedics open up the rear of their vehicle and extract a stretcher. Both men joined her on the balcony outside Croft’s flat a few moments later, sounding out of breath.

  “He’s through here.” She showed them into the lounge. When the two paramedics marched into the room, Katy left Croft’s side.

  “You’ve done a good job, miss. Well done,” the younger, dark haired paramedic said, smiling at Katy.

  Katy appeared shell-shocked, as if sapped of all her energy, and merely nodded in return. Lorne threw an arm around her shoulder and hugged her. “You all right?”

  “I think so. Poor bloke. This could go either way, Lorne, with the amount of blood he’s lost. I’d better call it in.”

  “Crap, how can you? You’re supposed to be suspended, remember? I’ll do it.” Lorne rang the station directly. They assured her that two officers would be sent to the address ASAP. “You’d better wait in the car. I don’t want them seeing you here. I have a legitimate reason for being here, but you haven’t.” She handed Katy the keys to her father’s Nova. The paramedics hoisted Croft gently onto the stretcher, and when they strapped him in, he cried out in pain. The younger paramedic gave him an injection that instantly calmed him down. I could do with a shot of that, myself. Lorne held the front door open and watched the group head down the stairs to the ambulance. She ran back in the lounge and started hunting around, looking for any clues as to who had attacked Croft, but found nothing. She had an inkling of who had carried out the assault, but
it would have simplified things if she had found a print or two.

  While she waited for the police to arrive, Lorne rang Tony to tell him what had happened.

  “Jesus. I want you out of there this instant, no arguments. Just get out and come home.”

  “Tony, calm down! You know full well I’m not about to do that. Once the police have taken a statement, Katy and I will be heading over to the hospital to see what Croft’s prognosis is. Then I’m going to drop in on the agency, and then we’ll come home.”

  “Your stubbornness is going to get you into serious trouble one of these days, oh wife of mine,” he growled uncharacteristically down the phone.

  Suitably chastised, Lorne hung up just as someone knocked on the front door.

  Two plain clothed CID officers looked quizzically at her when she opened the door to let them in. “Lorne? What are you doing here?” asked Des Taylor, whom she had known for years.

  Clearing her throat, she invited them in and showed them into the lounge. “I’m a private investigator now, Des. I’ve been working on a case with the gentleman who owns this flat. I hadn’t heard from him for a day or two. I was worried, and decided to call ’round to see if everything was all right. When I arrived, I rang the bell, but Croft didn’t answer. I called his mobile and heard it ringing, so I presumed he was inside the flat. I looked through the letterbox and heard Croft moaning. I thought he needed help, so I broke down the door to gain access.”

  The other copper looked back over his shoulder at the front door and then turned to face Lorne again. “I’m impressed that you did that all by yourself wearing those heels.” His tone was one of condescension.

  She had never liked the idiot. She’d tolerated him during her time on the force, but had never liked him. “That’s right, Miller. I might have left the Met, but I haven’t lost my touch.”

  He looked at her, shook his head in disbelief, and took out his notebook. Before the idiot copper could ask a question, Des said, “So, what happened, Lorne?”

  “After I broke down the door, I found Derek Croft lying in here on the floor.” She pointed to the patch of blood which she hoped would back up her statement. “The paramedics whisked him away.”

  “Which hospital?” Miller asked, getting ready to write her answer down.

  “St. Thomas’s.”

  Des surveyed the bloody area and then looked up at Lorne. “He was in pretty bad shape, I take it. Did he manage to tell you what went on?”

  “No. He’d lost a lot of blood by the time I’d got here. He had an open wound in his stomach, and the fingers on his right hand had been cut off.”

  “Why?” Miller demanded.

  Lorne eyed him with displeasure. “Why what?”

  Miller tutted. “Why were his fingers cut off?”

  “Er…I don’t know, let me think.” She placed her finger on her chin, much to Des’s amusement. Then she sarcastically told Miller, “Maybe it’s because he’s a journalist. You want me to do your job for you?”

  “I’m not with you,” Miller looked confused.

  Lorne turned to Des for help. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “You see what I have to put up with? Miller, get a grip. If he ain’t got any fingers, he can’t write his damn stories, can he? Leave your brains at home today, did you?”

  “All right, Des, there’s no need for that.” He held the side of his face. “You know my wisdom tooth is playing up.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I gave you sympathy in the car on the way over here, there’s no need to milk it.”

  Lorne had to stifle a chuckle at the comedy double act, and was reminded of her days working alongside Pete. Boy, did she miss him. She glanced at her watch. “You boys mind hurrying things along?”

  Miller nodded his head in her direction. “Get her, Mrs. I’m Very Busy P.I.”

  “Shut up, Miller. Sorry, Lorne. Anything else you can tell us?”

  “Not much, really. I want to get over to the hospital to see how Derek is. I think you’ll find that the case is already being investigated by your lot. Not that you’ve come up with much yet.”

  “We’ll look into it when we get back. No point asking if you found any prints or a weapon while you were waiting for us, I suppose.”

  “Nope, nothing. Whoever attacked Derek was thorough. I’d even go as far to say they were pros.”

  “A professional hit man?” Miller asked.

  “Yep, looked that way to me. Here’s my card. Can you do me a favour and give me a call if you find out anything?” She handed the card to Des.

  He took it and nodded. “Sure thing. Thanks for hanging around. We’ll get the Scene of Crime Officers to go over the place. If they find anything, I’ll let you know.”

  Miller turned his head sharply in his partner’s direction. “We will?”

  “Yeah, Miller, we will. Lorne’s one of the good guys. You see, we help out the good guys because you never know when you might need them.”

  Lorne bid the two of them farewell and contemplated as she made her way down to the car to join Katy. Getting in the car, she told Katy, “Sometimes—just sometimes—I find myself shaking my head, wondering how some guys get into the Met. There are some real dickheads chasing down criminals nowadays.” She hit the steering wheel with the heel of her hand. “Christ, it’s no wonder crime is escalating in the London area.”

  Katy chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll tell you why that is, Ms. Simpkins—’cause you’re no longer with the Met. There was a time, not too long ago, when as soon as a criminal heard your name mentioned, they knew their number was up.”

  Lorne shook her head vehemently. “Don’t be daft. Hey, with guys like Miller guarding our streets, I’ll tell you this: the bloody criminals are rubbing their hands every second of every day. Five minutes in a room with him, and I’m very confident of that. What an arsehole! I feel sorry for Des; the weight of responsibility on his shoulders at the end of the day must be horrendous.”

  “We all have our crosses to bear. Where to now?”

  “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to go to the hospital, maybe hang around a while until Croft is able to talk to us.”

  Katy shrugged. “Whatever, I’ve got nothing else planned.”

  Lorne winced at the undeniable dig. “Ouch! Sorry, Katy. I know it’s your birthday tomorrow, and this is the last thing you want to be doing this weekend, but…”

  “It was a joke, Lorne, lighten up. Sometimes you’re too serious for words.”

  Lorne glanced at her and decided that Katy was upset about the situation, but like a true friend, she was willing to put her feelings aside for the sake of the case.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I’m watching them now, boss.”

  “Take a photo on your phone and get back here ASAP. I wanna know who this bitch is. What car is she driving?” Sly Sansom asked.

  The guy in the black four-by-four sniggered. “A roller skate of a car. Think it’s a Nova or something like that. I could finish the job now, if you like. This baby would crush that piece of shite in no time at all.”

  “Hold tight, big man. Let’s see what she knows first. You did a good job on Croft. It might serve as a warning for her to keep her nose out.”

  “Righto, boss. I got a pic of her before she got in the roller skate. I’m on my way back to base now.”

  Sansom ended the call and instantly dialled another number.

  “It’s me. My boys have silenced that reporter once and for all.”

  “What? They’ve killed him?”

  Sansom cringed at the anger in the other man’s voice. Maybe he’d misunderstood his instructions. ‘Shut Croft up’ was what he’d said. Tentatively, he told his boss, “Not quite. They sliced a few of his fingers off and knocked him around a little.” He listened in dread as his boss let out a long sigh.

  “I’m working with fucking idiots. If he didn’t have the police involved in this already, they will be now, you prick. Suspicious injuries are always reported when some
one is admitted to hospital. Don’t you know that? How fucking long have you been in this game? Two fucking minutes, by the look of things.”

  “Sorry, boss. I didn’t think of that,” Sansom mumbled in response.

  “That’s blatantly obvious, dickhead. When’s the next shipment due? Let’s hope there’s no cock-ups with this one, eh?”

  He brightened up and smiled. “Because of the ship going down, I’ve arranged another shipment as soon as poss, the next one is due in tomorrow evening. Thirty girls will be arriving to replace the others.”

  “Good, glad to hear that you’re capable of doing something right.”

  *

  Accident and Emergency was fairly quiet when Lorne and Katy arrived. Lorne walked up to the chubby blonde girl at reception. “Hi, I’d like to be kept informed of Mr. Croft’s status, if that’s all right?”

  The blonde smiled up at her and then looked down at the paperwork on her desk. “Are you family?”

  Lorne’s mouth turned down. “He has no family; they were all killed in a plane crash last year. I’m the closest thing he’s got now. I’m a family friend. We’re very close.”

  “Oh, that’s such a shame. Of course. Why don’t you take a seat over there? I’ll get word to the doctor as soon as I can.”

  Katy was already sitting where the receptionist had pointed, and Lorne joined her. “I think we could be in for a long wait.”

  “That figures. Are they going to tell you how he’s getting on?” Katy sounded surprised.

  “Yeah, I told her a white lie. I said his relatives were killed last year and I’m the closest thing he’s got to family now.”

  “You little minx.”

  “Not really. There’s method to my madness. For all I know, he’s probably got family, but the last thing I want to do is put them in any kind of danger. I’m sure Derek would feel the same way. I doubt he’d want his family mixed up in this; that’s my guess, anyway.”

  “You’re right. I know I wouldn’t want anyone I loved anywhere near this. You think whoever did this is going to come back and finish the job?” Katy asked, lowering her voice so the people opposite couldn’t hear their conversation.