by BILL KITSON
‘That’s settled, then.’
‘By the time we come back from his holiday, he’ll probably be looking forward to the change, seeing it as a new adventure.’
The traffic division of the local force had recently taken delivery of a new piece of equipment that they hoped would help crack down on vehicle theft, the evasion of excise duty and uninsured drivers. The kit was known by the acronym ANPR, which stood for automatic number plate recognition. The device was installed in an unmarked car and two of the area’s most experienced traffic officers were charged with trialling it.
The ANPR had already proved valuable on their first day’s patrol, bringing to book two vehicles that had no current tax disc, plus one driver whose insurance had lapsed. It was on the second day, though, that they really hit gold. As the officers were driving through the Carthill estate in Netherdale, the ANPR pinged a motorcycle as it turned into the drive of a house. Rather than alert the rider at this stage, the police driver cruised past whilst his colleague retrieved the information from the on-board computer.
The operator whistled as he read the details. ‘I think we’d better park up and contact CID. I don’t fancy tackling this bloke if the info on here is correct.’
He repeated the message to the driver. ‘Quite right, let the suits deal with it.’
Fleming ordered the house to be put under surveillance until an ARU unit could be assembled. When the armed officers were in place, she supervised the raid personally, flanked by Mironova, Pearce and DC Andrews. ‘Viv, stick by me. You’re the only one who has actually seen this Freeman character. That’ll make identification easier.’
The raid took the occupants of the house by surprise. In addition to Freeman, two other men were detained, and the detectives discovered a suitcase in the bottom of a wardrobe containing over two-hundred-thousand pounds in cash. Significantly, a considerable amount of the money was inside cash bags emblazoned with the name and logo of Good Buys supermarket. On searching Freeman, they found a paying-in book along with seven-thousand-five-hundred pounds in cash.
‘You must have been doing a roaring trade in posters,’ Fleming told Freeman, who maintained a surly silence. ‘The trouble with money-laundering from the criminals’ point of view is that it has to be done gradually, a bit at a time, to avoid arousing suspicion. Banks have instructions to report suspiciously large transactions. That’s obviously what our Easy Rider friend here was in the process of doing.’
Six weeks later, Nash stood by the rail of the cross-Channel ferry, watching the Kent coastline appear through the slight mist. Alongside him, Daniel was prey to mixed emotions as they neared the English shore. News of the loss of their flat, the only home he’d shared with his beloved papa, had at first been traumatic. Now, the idea of the two of them finding a new place to live excited the small boy.
It would be their house. One which held no conflict of memory for either of them. Not that Daniel viewed it that way. He saw it merely as a great new adventure.
During their absence, the British press and media had been full of the identification and death of the notorious serial killer known as the Cremator. Despite that, Nash felt uncomfortable, dissatisfied.
His feeling had nothing to do with the injuries he’d suffered or the destruction of his home. Although the media had hailed the unmasking of the Cremator as a great triumph, Nash knew that the truth was that it had been down to pure luck rather than good detection. They had gone to interview Dawson about one crime, only to find evidence that linked him to a far worse one.
On top of that, although media and public alike were unconcerned by the inquest findings, which recorded a verdict of murder, Nash felt frustrated that this too remained unsolved. His only solace, at what he knew to be a low point in his career, was that women would feel marginally safer knowing that with Dawson’s death, the Cremator no longer prowled the streets. The media would talk about closure for the families of the Cremator’s victims. Nash didn’t believe there was such a thing as closure. It was the sort of glib phrase used by those who were not closely involved with violent crimes and who didn’t witness at first hand the anguish they caused.
Nor had their efforts in the other cases proved much more successful. Although they had arrested three potential suspects in the van hijack and bank robbery, and recovered a substantial amount of money, the rest of the gang remained at large. They had no idea who the other men were: hardly Nash’s finest hour.
Before leaving England, Nash had bought a laptop, one of his main aims being to search for properties suitable for purchase. Shortly before he and Daniel were due to return, he had received a long e-mail from Clara containing an item of good news. Viv Pearce had asked Lianne Ford to marry him. ‘The girl must be an idiot,’ Clara wrote, ‘because she said yes. Can you believe it? Viv setting up home and playing happy families? He’s already talking about the wedding.’
Her message also contained an item of far less welcome news. It had been decided that the police presence in Bishopton was to end with immediate effect. The small team headed by Fleming and Nash would be responsible for crime prevention and detection over an area that had just doubled in size. It was somewhat ironic that Nash had left the Met in search of a quieter, less stressful existence. Well, that hadn’t worked.
Nash looked at his son. He thought briefly of the boy’s mother, wondering how much of a struggle it had been for her to raise him alone. Now, Daniel’s future lay in Nash’s hands. He wasn’t one to shirk a challenge, but this would be like no other he had faced before. And perhaps it would be an adventure for him too.
As they turned to walk towards the car deck, Daniel reached out and took his Papa’s hand. Nash looked down and smiled. Whatever the challenges, he thought the future was going to be that much brighter, for both of them.
‘Papa,’ Daniel said. ‘When we buy a new house, could we get one with a lawn big enough to play cricket on?’
THE END
The D.I. Mike Nash Series
Book 1: WHAT LIES BENEATH
Book 2: VANISH WITHOUT TRACE
Book 3: PLAYING WITH FIRE
Book 4: KILLING CHRISTMAS
Book 5: SLASH KILLER
Book 6: ALONE WITH A KILLER
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Glossary of English Slang for US readers
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organisation
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: a truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop
Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie
MOD: ministry of defence
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer
Naff: lame, not good
Naff all: none
National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s
Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain
NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt: nothing
Nutter: insane person
Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
Old bag: old woman (insulting)
Old Bill: police
OTT: over the top
Owt: anything
Pants: noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible
Para: paratrooper
Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance
PC: police constable
Pear-shaped: go wrong
Petrol: gasoline
Pictures: movie
Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence
