One Man Crusade : DCI Miller 1: The Serial Killer Nobody Wants Caught

by Steven Suttie

  “Mrs Robertson.”

  “Miss.”

  “Miss, Robertson, then. Let me assure you that all of the issues that you have just raised will be dealt with by us. We are not planning on turning a dilapidated block of flats into the Ritz. We simply need a large area where we can house upwards of the three hundred people who have already approached us. We have to be seen to execute our duty of care requirements. We will throw a few mattresses in each flat and tell them to stay in the building until the all clear is given. My dear, I couldn’t give a tinkers cuss if they are eaten by rats while they sleep. We have been given a total budget for this project of six hundred thousand. We need to move on this immediately, I’m talking about getting some of our clients in there as early as tonight. I think that we would be in a position to pay around ten per cent of our budget to your department, simply to postpone demolition indefinitely. I think that that’s the best bit of rent you’ve ever had!”

  Anita didn’t know what to do, she knew that her boss would snatch Dawes’ hand off for that cheque, but then her boss was almost as contemptible as this man.

  “Sir, there are one hundred and forty flats in that building. The gross weekly rent on those would be in excess of ten grand a week, so please, don’t imagine that your sixty thousand is of significant interest. I’ll get on to my superiors and I’ll get back to you in due course. If that’s all?”

  Geoff Dawes looked at his associates who had said nothing, and looked quite bored. Anita suspected that they found him just as unpleasant as she did.

  “I would appreciate your finding out right away, if that’s okay?” he pressed.

  “No Mr Dawes, that is not okay. It is my responsibility to run the precinct - therefore I will make a measured judgement regarding your request. I will then speak to my superiors, voicing any concerns I may have…”

  The look of contempt in Dawes’ eyes was unmistakable. He interrupted Anita as though she was merely a nuisance.

  “Like what? What reservations can you possibly have against us taking over one of your condemned blocks? You’re only a bloody housing officer. God have mercy!” Dawes slapped his hand against his briefcase - Anita hadn’t realised that she had got his back up. The realisation brought her a warm feeling of satisfaction.

  “Well Sir, I may have reservations regarding the fact that three hundred plus paedophiles would be brought together to discuss their nasty little perversions about fifty yards away from Broadwalk Primary School. Leave me your contact details and I will get back to you, like I said. Now can you please get on your way?” She stood and opened the door, much to Dawes’ obvious distaste.

  The other two, the policeman and the social worker remained completely silent as they left. Dawes however bent down slightly as he neared Anita, and spoke quietly into her ear.

  “You silly bitch. I’ll have your job for this,” and then stood tall again, as he smirked and left Anita wondering who the hell the man thought he was.

  She rang Edwards, her line manager. It was no secret that he was without Anita’s passion for the area. If he had his way, he would get his sweaty little hands on that thirty million pound redevelopment grant from Re-Action North West and bulldoze the whole area.

  Anita explained the situation, putting an extremely negative slant on the already unappealing sounding idea. She neglected to mention the cash, which worked in manipulating Edwards’ response.

  “So they want us to just hand the block over and fill it with scared paedophiles? Why us? I mean, why have they chosen the Precinct?” Edwards was being naïve, thought Anita as she explained.

  “That’s just Salford’s perverts. They are going around every authority. He said, this Dawes monstrosity, he said that it’s the bloody paedophiles that are begging them to help. They have to be seen to care, he said. Oh, and he threatened me with my job, so if you could put it on record that I mentioned that?”

  Edwards sighed. “Who do these pricks think they are? Leave it with me chuck.” He hung up. He always did that, just plonked the phone down as though he was some high-powered executive. It used to irritate Anita, but now it kind of made her laugh.

  Anita was validating a huge pile of housing applications that had built up over the past week when the phone rang, about thirty minutes after Edwards had hung up. It was him again.

  “Anita, I’ve just spoken to this Dawes. I think you’ve made an enemy there.” Anita laughed.

  “Good. What did he say?” she asked out of curiosity rather than genuine concern.

  “Well, he said that you are an unhelpful, power-crazed little madam who needs to be taught some manners.” Anita pulled a face of amusement as Edwards continued.

  “Anyway, you didn’t mention the fact that he was willing to pay for the privilege of using the block…”

  Anita decided to act forgetful. “Did I not? Sorry. He said that he had sixty grand available. It’s hardly a King’s ransom though is it? Besides, it wouldn’t matter if it was ten times that! We can’t have the estate over-run with paedophiles. It’s out of the question.” Anita suspected what was coming and she didn’t fancy hearing it.

  “Well, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, I mean, he has assured me that none of the clients will be allowed to leave the block until it’s all over, under any circumstances. I think we’d be mad not to.” Anita had to voice her objections.

  “It’s out of the question. Jesus, if it got out…”

  Edwards interrupted, “it wouldn’t get out Anita. It couldn’t. There’d be me, you and the relevant authorities who knew about it.”

  “Oh, whatever. I know you’re not going to listen, do what you want.” With that she hung up, beating her boss to it.

  She tried to return her attention to the application forms but her mind wasn’t on them. This Dawes character had really got under her skin, thinking that he could just waltz into her office uninvited and snap his fingers to get what he wanted. How Anita wished that that was how life worked.

  She decided to get out of the office for a while, maybe taking an early lunch when the phone began to ring again. She stared at it for a few seconds before deciding to leave it. She reasoned that if it were Edwards, or Dawes even, it would just wind her up more. She left her answer machine to take the call, while she went to the shops.

  Anita would have been glad that she’d not taken the call, as it would have spoiled the lunch break that she spent in a café on the Precinct shopping centre.

  It was Edwards, ringing to let her know that for £100,000, he’d negotiated a mutually advantageous deal. Walter Greenwood Court was to be used for Dawes’ purpose, and he was handing over the keys later that afternoon.

  Chapter Nineteen

  1p.m. MCP Headquarters

  The planned demonstrations that Miller had spoken of when Ellis called round, had become the main talking point on today’s Sky News output. The “Pop” situation was becoming quite a thin story in itself, nothing new had developed over the past four days, and the sensation surrounding last Thursday’s twelve murders had started to die down.

  The expectancy for Pop’s next move was almost too much to tolerate, but the meantime had to filled by the media. This was perfect. It was a nice angle for all of the news agencies, it meant that the debate would stay around even if Pop had apparently disappeared. It was also a nice situation for the various action groups, the “groundwork” of making the subject so high profile had been done for them. They just had to capitalise on the massive outpouring of public feeling which was evident all around, and capitalise they intended to do.

  The child protection charities, along with the rape and sexual abuse support groups made absolutely no apologies for supporting the aims of Pop’s crusade one hundred per cent. They’d dominated airtime and newspaper columns non-stop during these last few days. The organisations involved had come together to capitalise on the public mood and organise a massive public rally. They had worked extremely hard for years for something of this nature to be made possible
and now, finally, thanks exclusively to Pop and his admirable, innovative attitude, the opportunity was far too good to miss. The various media organisations had received the press statement that morning. It told of the plans for massive public presence in every major city in the UK, suggesting that hundreds of thousands of people were expected to turn out to show unprecedented support for Pop and all of the aims that he had announced. The march was being organised with the children that everybody wanted to protect, firmly in the limelight.

  All of the media departments that had received the press release mail-shot, reported the event with ardent support. It sounded like the perfect opportunity for the electorate to send the message unequivocally to the government, “we have had enough - it’s time for you to put a stop to this.”

  So London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Newcastle, and Edinburgh were the initial cities that were destined to hold the marches. It was expected that other cities would be announced in the coming hours and days.

  *****

  Ellis was reading about the proposals in the Manchester Evening News as she waited outside Dixon’s office. Her first impression of the idea was concern. She wondered whether such a massive demonstration would manage to pass off peacefully, bearing in mind that the subject matter was so raw with emotion at the present time.

  Eventually, Dixon called her in after what seemed like an absolute age. She entered his office cautiously, worried that her disappearing trick that morning might provoke a stern reprimand. He looked uncompromising as she entered and sat down before him. The familiar dusty smell that she always found reminiscent of her old headmaster’s study seemed stronger today. Dixon was staring right at her as she made herself comfortable on the chair.

  “What happened this morning, then?” The usual pleasantries were scrapped. Dixon’s predictable flirting was seemingly a thing of the past. He didn’t look like he was in any mood for playing around, but Ellis decided to play around anyway. She summoned a look of confusion to her face as she responded.

  “Sir?” she asked, making the word into a question. Dixon was straight in with his reply.

  “This morning. I told you that I would be down to formally announce your new role in the investigation. When I arrived about five minutes later, you were nowhere in sight.” Dixon looked wearied - the usual, kind look was missing from his friendly Grandpa face. Ellis managed to skirt around the issue.

  “Sir. I’m really sorry. I had no idea that you needed me there, I had an urgent appointment with a witness.” Ellis surprised herself in managing to persuade the Detective Chief Superintendent that she had made a genuine mistake.

  Dixon huffed. He stared awkwardly at his desk for a moment.

  “Well, maybe I should have made it a little clearer. I’ve told them anyway, for the record.” Dixon mellowed slightly, leaving Ellis a little more relaxed.

  “Thank you, Sir. Have you seen this?” She held out the newspaper, which Dixon took. He glanced over the details for a few moments.

  “Yes. It’s nothing to do with us. Operations will be dealing with the relevant bodies. It shouldn’t affect our business in any way.” He folded the paper and handed it back across the huge mahogany desk.

  “Sir. I hate this case. I don’t think that I want to take this thing on in the knowledge that I’m not actually expected to make an arrest. Getting back to what we discussed this morning, about career suicide, I honestly don’t see this case being of any advantage to me whatsoever. I can only visualise failure. I guess that this thing on Saturday will probably cost in excess of a million pounds to police, and yet we still haven’t got replacements for Jo or Peter.” Ellis was talking about two of the team’s staff who were off due to healing stab wounds in Jo’s case, hernia recovery in Peter’s.

  “Karen, I told Andy, in strictest confidence, and I’ll tell you. Even if this guy ends up killing all of the thirteen thousand convicted paedophiles in Greater Manchester, it will never, at any time reflect badly on any of the senior officers. You lot seem to forget what my role is here. I don’t think you appreciate the pressure that I am under while you lot are trying to catch the baddies. If there was any chance of you wrecking your career on this investigation Karen, I think you should know by now that I wouldn’t have had you anywhere near it, nor Andy for that matter. Trust me, everything is going brilliantly. You are all doing a marvellous job in spite of the poor resources.” His eyes were locked on Ellis’s, his manner seemed utterly genuine as he spoke slowly and reassuringly. “Believe you me, Karen, I’m not about to let down my best detectives. I just wish Andy could have been a little more relaxed about it.”

  Dixon was offering his gleaming, “trust me I’m an absolute saint” smile to Ellis, who was already feeling much better about the situation just from Dixon’s encouraging words. She still had reservations, but Dixon’s excellent people-management skills were being employed to full effect.

  “So, just carry on as we are doing?” Ellis was still confused.

  “Yes, just keep everything ticking over nicely the way you have been until further notice. Follow leads, interview witnesses, keep compiling and checking your lists of potentials. Just stop bloody trying to kill yourselves to make the arrest.”

  Ellis found this attitude too ominous. If she was to go along with all of this, surely she was worthy of some kind of explanation, or even a clue as to what the bloody hell this was all about.

  “Sir, is Pop an MI6 agent, or something like that? Is this just some grand experiment that the government want to keep under wraps?” Ellis was being utterly serious, but Dixon’s hysterical laughter made her feel ludicrous. He had been genuinely amused by the thought, he hadn’t meant to be so rude, but the suggestion just tickled him. He eventually calmed himself, as Ellis had finally turned as crimson as she could.

  “My dear Karen, oh, honestly! I can promise you that there is nothing quite as sinister as that going on. Pop is genuine, he exists and you are going to capture him, I know you are. That’s why I have given you the job, and not given it to any one of the thirteen possible replacements that have been waiting for years for Andy’s job. Go on, and show me that I was right in choosing you.” Ellis’s face was beginning to flush out the vivid embarrassment and her natural skin tone was returning. She stood to leave and brushed down her skirt, feeling anxious about the reaction she might expect from the others at the news of her promotion.

  “Oh, and one more thing Karen. I’ve lined up a press conference for tomorrow morning, eleven a.m. I’ll introduce you as the leading investigator. Acting Detective Chief Inspector, sounds alright doesn’t it? If you can come and see me about nine thirty, we’ll go over the points.”

  This information gave Ellis a strange feeling. Straight away, Dixon’s words terrified her, yet the terror gave way to a nervous excitement.

  Ellis had never done a press conference before, though if she was brutally honest, she had wished that Miller had let her do one, on more than one occasion. The electricity in her head was obvious to Dixon. She was about to speak, but he knew what she would say. He pre-empted her.

  “You’ll be fine, don’t worry about it, it’s a piece of cake,” he said, knowingly as he leaned back comfortably in his chair.

  “Thanks, Sir.” She left the office feeling as though she had just got off a giant roller coaster. As she descended the stair way, her mind returned to coping with the heckling and abuse that was only too likely to be fired at her in the office. She stopped before she entered, trying to bring out her confident attitude. She took a couple of deep breaths, and reassured herself that this new position within the team was completely justified, that this new responsibility was totally deserved. She pushed the door, and breezed through into the large open-space office. There wasn’t any more reaction to her appearance than usual, which pleased her, although initially it felt like a joke with no punch-line.

  But then Saunders turned around from his desk. He was communicating in the usual manner, though he began with the word Guv.
That was a strange feeling for Ellis. Guv. She’d considered that should she ever be in a position to be addressed “Guv,” then she would have to change the tradition. But somehow, as Saunders said it, to her - it seemed just right.

  “Guv, remember Melanie Turner? That awful fat scrubber from the house opposite Mr Greaves?” He was buzzing, as though he was about to deliver great news.

  “Yeah, I got an emergency care order put on the kids, Jordan and Ronand wasn’t it?” She remembered the woman well, it was difficult not to. Saunders was nodding.

  “Well, she’s downstairs, says she has something to talk to you about. She’s been here since ten, not moved out of reception.”

  “She’s come to whinge about her kids being taken off her? It’s all my fault, nothing to do with her?” Ellis was far too busy to be dealing with inconsequence of this kind. She shook her head, as she began leafing through the paperwork on Saunders’ desk.

  “I don’t know, but if it’s of any interest, she’s put some deodorant on and brushed her hair. I almost asked her out!” Ellis laughed loudly. The thought of finding Melanie Turner attractive, even with deodorant on, had really tickled her.

  “Right, I suppose I’d better sort this out then.” Ellis wasn’t exactly motivated by the thought of an angry confrontation, but it would be better to just get it out of the way so she could get on with some proper work. She turned and left the office, went downstairs to the reception area and saw Melanie sitting in the chair directly opposite the door.

  “Hiya,” she said, before Ellis had recognised her. Her manner surprised Ellis who was expecting shouting and swearing, possibly even wrestling. It dawned on Ellis that she wasn’t such an offending sight with her pubic hair safely hidden away, and her great fat belly not sliding down over the front of her knickers.