Ultimate Justice

by M A Comley

  “It doesn’t look good, I’m afraid. Charlie appears to have no feeling in her legs at all. Whether that will change over the coming weeks, we have no idea. The X-rays didn’t really show us anything, either.”

  “Could it be a trapped nerve?” Lorne asked more out of hope than anything else.

  “It could be. I’m sorry, but it’s going to be a waiting game over the next few weeks. A physiotherapist will get to work on Charlie tomorrow. It’s surprising what results can be obtained from manipulating the muscles, joints, and limbs.”

  “I see,” she mumbled, downhearted by the news.

  “Don’t give up—we won’t. Is her father around?” the doctor asked with a slight smile.

  “We’re divorced. Actually, Charlie lives with him.”

  “In my experience, the burden of keeping her spirits up shouldn’t be down to one person. Can you take it in turns to visit? I wouldn’t advise being here all the time; she should have different people around her—it’ll aid in her recovery in the long run.”

  Lorne cringed at the thought of asking Tom to share in the role of visiting and encouraging Charlie. It was going to be a tough enough task for her, let alone him. He wasn’t blessed with an abundance of patience, and he was in the process of expanding his mechanics business after buying a second garage. She knew his time at present was limited. But hey, so is mine. If I can visit our one and only child, then I’m sure he can do his share, too.

  “I’ll have a word with him. I’m sure we can come up with some kind of workable schedule.”

  “Excellent. If you ever need to chat, the sister or her staff can page me. I’m always around—during the day, at least.”

  “Thank you. I’ll call Tom—her father—straight away.”

  Lorne had a brief chat with Charlie and Katy, then drew in a deep breath and wandered outside the unit to locate a public telephone.

  When Tom answered, thankfully, she informed him of their daughter’s prognosis without the usual interruptions; in fact, he was at a loss for words once she had finished running through everything the doctor had told her.

  “Tom, are you still there?” she asked quietly.

  He snuffled and then replied, “I’m here. Shit, Lorne, what are we going to do?”

  “Be there for her. I won’t be able to do this alone, Tom.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to. What kind of person do you take me for?” he snapped.

  “I’m sorry. I know you’re very busy; I am too, do you think we can work something out for Charlie’s sake?”

  “Of course. I can come down and spend the day with her today, if it’ll help.”

  Relief filled her. “That’d be great, Tom. How long will you be?”

  “I’ll be there in an hour. We’ll have a chat then.”

  For the next hour, Lorne and Katy did an excellent job of keeping Charlie’s mind off her injuries. Charlie insisted they tell her about some of the cases they had worked on in the past. Lorne was careful not to divulge too much about the more gruesome cases she’d worked on, and Katy took her lead to do the same. Approximately an hour later, Tom walked through the doors to the ICU. He looked as if he hadn’t slept or shaved for weeks. Lorne felt guilty for calling him, but then he had a right to know what was going on with Charlie, and it had been his decision to come to the hospital to be with his daughter, not hers.

  Lorne and Katy left approximately thirty minutes later. Charlie seemed happy to be left alone with her dad. “I’ll call you this afternoon,” Lorne told her daughter before leaving.

  Once they were settled in the car and on the way home, Katy said, “You haven’t asked how things went with Croft.”

  Lorne glanced sideways as she navigated the bollards at road works in the road. “Umm…‌I’ve been a little preoccupied, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I’ve been dying to tell you. He’s had contact with his informant.”

  “What? In the hospital?”

  Katy shrugged. “Maybe they rang up pretending to be a family member.”

  “Perhaps. Go on.”

  “There’s another delivery due tonight.”

  “Shit! Where?”

  “Apparently the same place as before, around nine o’clock, give or take,” Katy told her.

  Lorne was quiet for a few seconds as things slotted into place in her mind. “If I get Tom to stay with Charlie for the rest of the day, we could go down there this evening.”

  “We? Meaning who?”

  “You, me, and Tony. I don’t think it would be wise for us two going down there alone, do you?”

  Katy shook her head vigorously. “Not after what happened to Croft, no. Will Tony be up for it?”

  “You bet. He wants this stopped as much as we do, even more so since that four-by-four drove us off the road. That reminds me, I must sort dad’s car out—I’m not sure I can drive around in the van much longer.” She tapped the steering wheel with her fist. “I should’ve asked Tom if he would repair it.”

  “I wouldn’t, if I were in your shoes.”

  Puzzled, Lorne asked, “Why?”

  “It might highlight how dangerous the P.I. business can be, and he might think twice about letting Charlie stay with you at the weekends.”

  “Good point. It’s not been much of a birthday for you so far, has it?”

  “Will you stop it! I’m having the time of my life.”

  Lorne laughed and shook her head. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Nonsense. Really, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  • • •

  Tension hung heavy in the air as darkness fell around them like an ominous warning.

  Between them, they had agreed that Tony should take charge of the covert operation—he was the expert, after all. At the scene, he coordinated their positions with few words and plenty of pointing. Once or twice, Lorne and Katy glanced at each other with a look that said ‘he’s in his element, we better do as we’re told or else.’

  By the time the lorry pulled up at the yard, they had been in position for a full fifteen minutes. Two men opened the large gates while the driver steered the vehicle through the opening. The gates shut behind the lorry and then Lorne, Katy, and Tony moved into their second allocated positions. Tony had sourced good viewing spots for them all. Once the gates were opened again, they would have to sprint back to their original positions before the gang spotted them. From this angle, they could observe what was happening and would be able to decide when to make the appropriate move back to safety.

  Lorne crouched down by a spy hole in the tin fence. She saw the three men move to the rear of the lorry, laughing and sharing dirty jokes as they unlatched the back of the truck. Her heart rate escalated when she heard the frightened squeals of several young women. Straining, she could faintly hear what sounded like frightened jabbering in a language that sounded Asian. She heard some form of scraping on the floor of the lorry, as if containers or boxes were being moved, then one of the men shouted at whoever was inside to “get a move on.”

  Katy waved to get Lorne’s attention. “Can you see anything?” Katy mouthed.

  “Not a lot. You?” Lorne mouthed back.

  Katy shook her head in frustration. Lorne held a finger up, telling Katy to wait a moment as she watched a line of girls leave the lorry and walk towards the huge warehouse. She counted until the last person was shoved through the door and it slammed shut behind them. Twenty-five scared, frantic young girls, clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it, disappeared into the warehouse and out of sight. Lorne looked over at Tony, his face set like stone. He held a hand up, ordering her to remain in place. She wanted to dive in and rescue the girls when the men punched each other in the arm before they entered the warehouse. The gesture sickened her; it wasn’t difficult to understand what their deviant intentions were.

  The second the warehouse door shut, Tony made his move. He did his best; however, his prosthetic leg hampered his ability to
run in a crouched position. There was a window to the right of the door just in front of where Lorne and Katy were positioned. With his back pressed against the wall, Tony slowly craned his neck to look inside the warehouse.

  Lorne was on tenterhooks. What if the men changed their minds and came barging out of there and caught him? What then? Without realising she had done it, she crossed her fingers on both hands.

  “Hey! Don’t worry—he’ll be fine,” Katy called over in a hushed voice.

  “It’s natural, I’m a born worrier,” she replied, not taking her eyes off her husband.

  Tony ducked under the window and positioned himself on the other side. Lorne suspected it was to gain a better view. She saw him wince on more than one occasion, and looked down at his hands, his fists were continually clenching open and shut.

  She saw Tony wave a hand, motioning Katy and her to duck just before one of the overweight men threw open the warehouse door. The man zipped up the fly on his jeans and took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. Lighting one up, he leaned back against the door and blew out a satisfied smoke ring.

  You sick bastard! If that is the only way you can get your fucking kicks. Lorne shook her head in disgust before the seriousness of the situation hit home. Tony was about five feet from the guy; one tiny movement could alert him, and that would be game over. Another couple of puffs, and fatman disappeared inside again. Lorne frantically urged Tony to get out of there before another of the criminals came outside for a fag.

  Tony rejoined them. “We’d better move back before they shift the truck out.”

  “What’s going on?” Katy naïvely asked.

  Neither of them filled her in until they were safely back in the van. “Katy, I can’t believe you’d ask such a thing. What do you think those guys were doing in there?” Even in the dim interior light, Lorne could see a tinge of colour seeping into Katy’s embarrassed face.

  “Sorry, I didn’t make myself very clear. It doesn’t take much imagination to know what was going on in there. What I should have said was, ‘could you make out anything else?’ The layout of the warehouse, for instance. Whether the girls were kept there for long, or shipped out immediately,” Katy said, giving Lorne the evil eye.

  Tony let out an exasperated breath. “At the back of the warehouse, I could just make out some form of…‌cage, I suppose, for want of a better word. It looked like there were some very thin mattresses in the cage, but I couldn’t be certain.”

  “How could they keep the girls here, even for a day or two? Maybe we should make a call to the council, see what they have to say about this, I’m sure they aren’t aware of what’s going on here.” Lorne said, although she had a feeling that getting in touch with the authorities would alter nothing. She sensed that a few backhanders were possibly flying around, it wouldn’t be the first time, as Lorne was all too aware.

  Tony shrugged. “It’s worth a try, but I sense it will be a pointless exercise. You wouldn’t treat animals like that.” Tony thumbed behind him. “All right, I didn’t expect these girls to be treated like princesses; still, at the moment, after travelling for probably two to three weeks, they’re lined up, and those three guys are screwing them every which way.”

  “Please stop! Tony, I don’t want to know,” Lorne said, pushing down the bile burning her throat.

  The van remained silent all the way back to the house, each of them lost in their own individual thoughts.

  * * *

  When they got back, they found Lorne’s father sitting at the table with Jade, who seemed worried about something.

  Lorne gave her a quick hug and introduced Katy to her. “I remember Katy from your wedding. Hi, nice to see you again.”

  “Likewise,” Katy said before she left the room.

  “What’s up, Jade?” Lorne asked. She switched the kettle on then bent down to have a cuddle with her dog. A cuddle with Henry always put life back into perspective.

  “Apart from being concerned about Dad? I wanted to see how you got on at Angie’s the other day.”

  Lorne noticed sadness in her sister’s eyes. She stood up and made the five of them a drink. “Didn’t I ring you the day I visited her?” She wracked her brain. “I’m sure I did.”

  Irritated, Jade flung her arms in the air. “All right, you rang me.”

  Lorne walked over to the table and placed a mug of coffee in front of her father and Jade, then returned to fetch Tony’s and her own. She sat in the chair next to her sister and gave her a puzzled look. “Let’s have it.”

  Jade inhaled deeply and then released a heavy breath. “It’s Angie.” She looked down at the table and started turning her mug in her hand.

  “Jade, honey, has something happened to her?” The words were hard to get out as Lorne fought the unwanted images rifling through her head. She knew the type of people she was dealing with by now, and anyone who spoke out against them in any way usually found themselves on the wrong end of a beating.

  Tears erupted in Jade’s eyes and tumbled down her pale cheeks. “I called her and she didn’t really want to talk to me. She cut the conversation short, which is unusual for Angie. So I jumped in my car and went over to see her. The butler tried his hardest to prevent me from seeing her, but I shoved past him. Lorne, she was in an absolutely terrible state. She was sitting in her chair—unable to stand, I’m guessing…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Why? Why couldn’t she stand up, Jade?”

  “She was in dreadful pain—she must have been.”

  Typical Jade, going around the houses as usual instead of getting directly to the point. Lorne prompted her gently. “Jade, can you describe what was wrong with her?”

  “Not in a month of Sundays. Covered in bruises, from what I could see. She wore winter clothes, most unusual for Angie. You know, a polo neck and trousers. This time of year, with the weather warming up, she should be wearing her summer clothes.”

  “Did you ask her what happened?”

  “Of course, I did. What do you take me for?”

  “All right, Jade, there’s no need to snap. I’m only trying to find out what went on.”

  Their father interjected, “Jade, just tell Lorne what was said.” He sounded tired, and having a go at Jade was totally out of character for him.

  Jade bristled and grudgingly gave the information. “I asked her what happened and she told me she’d been in a car accident. I know she was lying, though, because I walked past her car in the drive and there wasn’t a scratch on it.”

  “Could she have been driving her husband’s car, perhaps?” Lorne asked, perplexed.

  “I asked her that; she definitely said it was her car involved in the accident.”

  “Did you ask if she’d been to hospital?” Tony asked his brow furrowed as he sipped at his coffee.

  “I asked, she said she hadn’t. That’s what I thought was strange. Well, that, and her car not being damaged. Then…” Jade paused for dramatic effect until Lorne urged her to continue.

  “Yes?”

  “Then, her maid brought us a pot of coffee, and she had bruises, too.”

  “Jai San?” Lorne asked incredulously.

  “What’s going on?” Katy asked as she retrieved her coffee off the worktop and joined them at the table.

  Lorne filled her in quickly before Jade responded, “If anything, the maid or au pair—whatever she’s called—was in a worse state than Angie.”

  “Shit. We have to do something.” Lorne’s hand crashed down on the table and her coffee sloshed out of the cup.

  “Lorne, we can’t. Not yet.” Tony looked at her father for support.

  “Tony’s right. It would be foolish to intervene now.”

  “What do you suggest then, Dad?” Lorne asked.

  “Let’s consider your options. You could go down the police route, which so far has drawn a massive blank. You could stick with Croft and his informants—it seems to be bringing some results, though tiny results, admittedly. Nonetheless, it’s sti
ll delivering possibilities we should be able to work with eventually. Or you could go to the source of the problem. In my opinion, that’s the agency. Go and throw your weight around down there.”

  “You’re right! Actually, that was going to be our next stop, wasn’t it, Katy?”

  Katy gave an assertive nod. “Definitely our number one stop.”

  “That’s settled, then. Katy and I will go to the agency. Tony, can you drop an anonymous call to the council about the warehouse first thing?”

  “Yep, already on my extensive to-do list. I’m going to get in touch with MI5, too, see what I can dig up.”

  “Hang on,” Jade said, “What warehouse?”

  Not wishing to upset her sister any more than was necessary, Lorne made up something. “Oh, it’s another case we’re working on.” She winked at Tony and her father to back her up.

  “That’s right, a drugs case. The business is really picking up,” her father said with a smile.

  “Hey, if ever you need a hand with the kennel side of things—you know, until Charlie gets better—I can help out for a couple of hours during the week. My God, I forgot to ask—how is Charlie?”

  Lorne left the others to explain about Charlie while she rang the hospital and spoke to Tom.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lorne and Katy set off before it was light the next morning.

  “Are you sure Tony didn’t mind doing the chores this morning? He looked pissed off to me,” Katy asked with a grin.

  Lorne stifled a yawn. It had been a long, sleepless night for her, as she’d been unable to shut out the images of the girls in jeopardy. “He doesn’t mind. He probably didn’t get much sleep last night. I kept him awake for most of the night.”

  Katy coughed slightly. “Umm…‌too much information. You’ll be making me blush soon.”

  “Idiot! Not like that. I just couldn’t prevent this case from playing out in my mind. All the old memories came flooding back, which then led me to feel guilty about Charlie and her latest disastrous escapade. Why does life have to be so cruel?”

  “Life is always hard. It’s how we deal with the scenarios it throws up that counts. Charlie knows that you love her. She’ll pull through this latest scrape, I’m sure. She has her mother’s determined genes.”