Ultimate Justice

by M A Comley

  “Sold you!” Angela cried out.

  Lorne had suspected as much, so she wasn’t as surprised as Angela by the revelation. She turned to see Angela shaking her head a look of disgust on her face. Lorne gave her a warning glance, hoping that Angela would restrain her emotions.

  Jai San took a little coaxing to continue her woeful tale. Lorne felt the young girl was just on the edge of divulging valuable information when they heard a noise out in the hallway.

  “Get out of my way, old man.” The door to the lounge swung open, and in stomped Roger.

  On a Thursday! Angela has already told me that Roger never comes home during the week. How odd, Lorne thought. The instant Jai San heard his voice out in the hallway, her grip tightened on Lorne’s hand. Was that out of fear?

  Angela bolted out of the chair and ran to greet him. “Roger! What are you doing here? Not that it isn’t lovely to see you, of course, but you’re not due home until tomorrow.”

  He gave his wife a half-smile and kissed her briefly on the lips before he walked over to where Lorne and Jai San were sitting. He held out his hand and introduced himself. “Roger North, and you are?”

  Lorne shook his hand and noticed his shake was firm but clammy. Her father had drummed into her at the beginning of her police career that you could tell a lot from a man’s handshake.

  “Now, Roger, you naughty man, you know very well who this is; I told you Lorne was coming.”

  Lorne rose from her seat so he wasn’t towering over her, and their gazes locked. She felt his eyes burning their way through hers. She was determined not to look away, to hold his stare until he broke contact.

  Eventually, he turned to his wife. “That’s right—I totally forgot. I had an appointment in the area and thought I’d drop in to surprise you, sweetheart.”

  Well, your gullible wife might believe that story, mate, but I’m afraid I don’t. What have you got to hide? Lorne dropped down in her seat again and automatically reached for Jai San’s hand, but the girl fought to pull her hand away, Lorne refused to give up, and eventually, the young girl let out an exasperated sigh and stopped struggling.

  She watched Roger’s reaction to the incident with interest. His eyes narrowed, but a slight smile remained on his face. Lorne glanced sideways and saw Jai San’s head bowed, her focus lingering on a spot on the carpet in front of her. There’s something dodgy going on here, and I’m not liking it.

  “Please don’t let me interrupt your conversation,” Roger said.

  Lorne, ever the suspicious type, regarded his tone as taunting.

  It was Jai San who spoke next, in the quietest of voices. “I finished now.”

  Lorne felt the girl stiffen beside her, and she sensed that a barrier had been erected and it would be pointless to continue. Thinking she had enough information to go on already, Lorne decided to end the meeting. Roger was making her feel uncomfortable, anyway, and she sensed that Jai San was dying to get away from him, too. It bothered her that Angela didn’t seem to pick up on the strain that had developed in the room the minute her husband had walked into it. Was love really that blind?

  Lorne gently squeezed Jai San’s hand before she released it. “Thank you for being so brave, Jai San. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. You have my word that I will get the people concerned and take great pleasure in seeing them locked away for many years to come.”

  Roger made a noise in his throat, and Lorne immediately looked up at him. His eyebrows shot up questioningly. She bit back the sarcastic retort that was balancing precariously on the tip of her tongue and issued him a taut smile, instead. It irked Lorne that he seemed somehow triumphant that he’d interrupted their meeting.

  “Jai San, you may go now,” Roger said, dismissing the young girl. She left the room without making eye contact with anyone and closed the door gently behind her.

  “Well, that was a revelation,” Angela said as she flopped down in her chair.

  Lorne refused to go over the details Jai San had confided in her in front of Roger and stood up, her intentions obvious. She was disappointed their meeting had been drawn to a close early, either intentionally or otherwise, by Angela’s husband. To wipe the smug smile off his face she tried to bluff her way out of a frustrating and awkward situation. “She’s given me some valuable information that will go a long way to solving this case. Thank you for your hospitality, Angela. It was a pleasure meeting you both. I’ll be in touch with good news soon, I hope.”

  “You’re not leaving on my account, are you?” Roger asked, a little too slyly for Lorne’s liking.

  “People to see and places to go, I’m afraid.” Lorne held her hand out first to Angela and then to her husband before she left the room. She let out a huge sigh when she walked through the hallway toward the front door. Out of the corner of her eye, standing in an alcove, she saw Jai San. Lorne rushed over to her. The girl had tears streaming from her eyes. “Please help me get out of here. Please.”

  The words shocked Lorne. “I’ll do everything in my power, Jai San. Hang in there. I’ll be back for you soon.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Katy will be here soon,” Tony said. He approached her chair from behind, hooked an arm around under her chin, and kissed the top of her head. “I hate it when you’re so quiet.”

  Lorne sighed. “I hate being quiet. It’s nothing you’ve done, hon. I’m just thinking about the case. It’s so frustrating.”

  “I know, but you know what they say about a problem shared. You know it’s going to take a little time for things to slot into place on this one. Let’s see what Katy has for us before we start getting downhearted and frustrated, huh?”

  “You’re right, as usual. I thought I’d make a lasagne for dinner—what do you think?”

  He loosened his grip and sat at the table next to her. His eyes sparkled with delight. “I’d say I’ve died and gone to heaven. I love your lasagnes. Anything I can do to help?”

  Knowing what her husband’s knife skills and cooking abilities were like, she shook her head vigorously. “I’ll be fine messing about in here on my own. If you’re looking for a job, you could ring that agency for me. I forgot to ring them earlier and got distracted when the new arrivals turned up. See what you can find out about Jai San—discreetly, of course.”

  “On my way, if my efficient cooking skills aren’t wanted around here,” he said, pretending to be hurt.

  Lorne watched him leave the room with a broad smile on her face. She really was the luckiest girl alive to have such a wonderful man by her side. She thought back to her life with her ex and an involuntary shudder coursed through her. Enough of this. Get your arse in gear, girl.

  She was chopping the onions, tears spilling from her eyes, when Tony came back into the kitchen almost ten minutes later. “Any good?” She asked, pressing the tea towel into her eyes, hoping it would ease the stinging. It didn’t; if anything, it only made things worse.

  “Forget your own tip, did you?”

  She poked her tongue out at him. “Go on.”

  “The owner was really cagey. She refused to answer any questions over the phone and repeatedly told me that she ran a legitimate business.”

  “Oh, did she now? Well, when people start ramming that down your throat, in my experience, the opposite is usually true. I’ll see if Katy wants to pay the agency a visit with me over the weekend—an unofficial kind of visit if you like.”

  “Why don’t you leave it until Monday, and we’ll both go. Katy will be looking forward to her weekend off.”

  The back door opened midway through Tony’s sentence. “Too bloody right I am.”

  Although Katy smiled when she spoke, Lorne noticed an angry glint in her eyes. She stepped forward and kissed Katy on both cheeks. “How lovely to see you. Tony, will you get Katy’s bags for her, please?”

  “Bags? That’ll be one bag. I’m only staying the weekend, in case you’ve forgotten.” Katy handed Tony the keys to her car. He gave her a welcome peck on the chee
k and walked out the back door.

  “Something wrong, love?” Lorne asked.

  Her former partner sat down at the kitchen table and clenched her hands together in front of her. “I’ve had better days. I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend.”

  “Anything you want to talk about? I’m a good listener.”

  Katy smiled. “Correct that; you’re the best listener around, Lorne. When I’m ready. Is that okay?”

  “Of course it is—no pressure, you know that. Want to make yourself a coffee while I finish preparing the dinner?”

  Tony stormed through the back door, carrying Katy’s overnight bag in one hand and angrily waving the evening paper in the other. “Bloody idiot is going to get himself killed.”

  “What? Oh crap, is that Croft’s story?”

  “I only scanned through it, but the fool has named names and places. It’s only a small story, but shit, it’s going to do a hell of a lot of damage. Especially to him.” Tony shook his head in disbelief.

  “Do you think I should give him a ring?” Lorne asked, her mind racing.

  “I’d leave it for today. We’ll get in touch tomorrow.”

  “You’re probably right—let things calm down a bit first. Okay, no more shop talk. We have a guest, and it’s her birthday weekend.”

  Katy screwed up her nose. “Now, don’t go treating me like royalty or anything. I’m just another year older, that’s all.”

  Tony sniggered and went over to cuddle his wife. “Yeah, when you get to Lorne’s age, you stop wanting to be reminded.”

  Lorne swiped him around the head. “I think you’re forgetting one thing, matey: you’re a couple of years older than me.”

  Katy laughed at the banter between them, and Lorne could sense the relief emanating from her. Maybe she’ll open up later and tell me what’s going on. I hope her damn ex isn’t causing her any grief.

  The evening ended up being a blast. Her father joined them and started to regale them with numerous funny incidents that had happened during his time as a DCI in the Met. They washed down Lorne’s sumptuous lasagne with three bottles of special red that eagle-eyed Tony had seen in the bargain bin at Oddbins in the High Street.

  At the end of the evening, Lorne showed Katy to her room. Before closing the door, she asked, “Feel up to talking yet?”

  “Thanks for a wonderful evening, Lorne. I’d rather not spoil it, if you don’t mind. I promise I’ll tell you tomorrow. What do you have planned?”

  Lorne shuffled her feet. “Umm…‌well, I thought we’d pay a few people a visit, if that’s all right with you. I’ll fill you in on what I’ve found out this week on the way.”

  “Yep, sounds great to me. Thanks again for tonight; I appreciated it. You all really made me feel part of the family.”

  “Never doubt that, Katy. You are—and always will be—part of our family. Goodnight, hon.”

  “Goodnight.”

  • • •

  First thing the following morning, Lorne tried to ring Croft but couldn’t get a reply. Worried, she hurriedly threw a breakfast together for all of them, then jumped in the car with Katy and set off for Croft’s flat.

  “Did you sleep well, Katy?”

  “Like a log. Why is that? I haven’t slept well in months now, and yet one night at your place, and I’m down for the count all night.”

  “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 do
orway 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.