Gone Too Far : DCI Miller 4: Britain's Most Hated Celebrity Has Disappeared

by Steven Suttie

  “Aw stop it. You mustn’t speak a word of this to anybody!” Grant smiled flirtatiously and took a huge gulp of her wine. She had an unmistakable “stop-it, I like-it” look in her eyes as she placed the glass down. Saunders smiled widely, as he realised that things were going extremely well. But then his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He reached to get it out, and looked down discreetly at the screen. It read “MILLER” and Saunders’ heart sank. It was almost half-seven for fucks sake, thought the DI.

  “What’s up?” asked Grant, she noticed the sudden mood change.

  “What, oh nowt. Phone call off the boss.” Saunders put the phone back in his pocket, reminding himself of the technique that Miller uses when Saunders tries to contact him, and he can’t be arsed. But it started vibrating again.

  “Soz,” said Saunders to Grant. He answered the phone.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in town Sir, what’s up?”

  “It’s all getting going. We’re going to London – air support are just fuelling up and organising a landing and refuelling spot for India Nine Nine in the capital. We’ll be going in the next thirty minutes, so get your arse to HQ. Where’s Grant?”

  “She’s sat directly across the table from me, Sir.”

  “Tell her. It’ll do her good to come along.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Lots. I’ll tell you in the helicopter. Get your skates on, we need to be in the air.”

  Chapter 44

  “Okay, listen closely everybody, we’ve got an extremely big case on our hands here, and this Kathy Hopkirk thing has turned very dark, very quickly.” It was 9pm, and DCI Martin Paxman was briefing his officers at the start of Friday’s night-shift. His team of twenty-seven detectives were staring straight back at him, eager to learn more.

  “This case has been fraught with difficulties, due to the fact that she is a London resident, who went missing in Manchester. We had, as many of you know, handed the case over to Manchester police. When the fake video surfaced on Tuesday lunchtime, Manchester handed the file back to us.” Paxman checked his watch. “However, due to a number of issues, Manchester are now running the bulk of this enquiry – here in London.”

  There was a loud groan from the detectives. They knew that life was hard enough having to contend with the red-tape and procedure that accompanied ordinary, every-day detective work. Working in tandem with another force was going to make it even-more, unbearably frustrating, especially if it was going to be with people from up north.

  “Now listen, let’s give our colleagues a chance. You all remember that at the start of this week, I put DS Robinson and DC Hussain on this case – and I told them that I wanted Manchester to take over the reigns, just to give us an easier life. Well, they did, and it’s back-fired for us. I’ll apologise now for that. But DCI Miller is going to be landing with his team anytime now. This case is so important to Manchester that they are flying their team in on their helicopter.

  One of the detectives couldn’t resist a wise-crack. “Bloody hell, didn’t know they had helicopters up north yet!”

  The room erupted in sarcastic laughter as the old rivalry between the south and the north was brought up as standard.

  “Okay, okay. Calm down. Now, on a serious note, I want a full and professional response to this enquiry, and I want you to show the Manchester lot how polite, helpful and smart you all are. Don’t give them a chance to complain about us. The pressure is on full power tonight, across both of our police forces, and I want you all to make me proud of your professionalism. Okay?”

  There was a chorus of “Sir!” and “Yes, Sir!” It was an awkward position to be in, but they were in it now, and it made sense to just get on with things and try and make the best of a bad job.

  “Thank you all. Okay, while we wait for DCI Miller and his team, I’ll give you an overview of today’s eventualities…”

  * * *

  DCI Miller wasted no time in explaining the situation to the unknown team of detectives that sat before him. The atmosphere in the huge conference room was electric. If Miller was nervous, talking to all of these people that he had never met before, he didn’t show it.

  “So, I know it’s a lot to take in, but let me explain the situation as we understand it, in a nutshell. We’ve discovered that in the days before she vanished, Kathy was planning to out Bob Francis as a sex offender. Yes, THE Bob Francis, as a sex abuser who systematically abused a fifteen year old girl in the seventies. This was a prolonged campaign of sexual abuse and rape that took place over a three-year period.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath amongst the team in the room. That was a shock. Asking people to think of Bob Francis in that way was a very big ask. It was like asking people to imagine David Attenborough punching a penguin. Or to imagine Robbie Williams standing quietly in a queue. It was a very, very surreal suggestion.

  Miller could see that the Met detectives weren’t convinced on the idea.

  “You’re looking at me as though I’m crackers. Fair enough…I totally understand. I struggled to get my head around this myself earlier on. But, let’s think about this objectively, with an open mind. If there’s nothing in any of this, then we must put it down to a shit miracle that Kathy disappeared just before she could announce her scoop to the public. It must be another shit miracle that the individual that Bob Francis allegedly abused has today been found dead.”

  There was an audible, collective intake of breath. Miller could see that his audience were beginning to see that there could well be something in this unbelievable scenario.

  “The girl who was abused forty years ago, who only just announced it a matter of weeks ago, to Kathy Hopkirk, and Kathy Hopkirk alone, has been found dead. I’ve seen some bizarre coincidences in my time – but this one is off the radar.”

  Once again, the room was filled with the sound of restlessness and surprise. The detectives were becoming more and more engaged in this extraordinary turn of events, and were also finding Miller’s confident, straight-to-the-point and honest style very endearing.

  The CID boss DCI Martin Paxman was standing beside Miller, listening intently. He raised a hand to speak.

  “Yes Sir?” asked Miller.

  “This is gripping stuff DCI Miller, but how have we suddenly arrived at such an enormous amount of information today?”

  ”Good point. We’ve been messed about all week on this, especially by Kathy’s husband, Jack Greenwood. He’s been a pain in the fucking arse all the way through this to be honest. But today, whether it’s because the gravity of the situation has hit-home at last, or maybe he’s just shit-scared of being the next person to vanish… whatever it is, Kathy’s husband has finally started talking…”

  Once again there was a restlessness amongst the detectives, they were finding this a very compelling briefing.

  “…but only after we promised him a place on the witness protection scheme. But now, as I have alluded, things are becoming very, very sinister.” The detectives were silent, and totally engaged in Miller’s briefing. They were desperate to hear the next detail in this enthralling investigation. “The woman who Bob Francis allegedly abused was called Janet Croft. She approached Kathy Hopkirk about the matter a few weeks ago, and was found dead earlier this evening at her home on the Boundary Estate, Tower Hamlets. Time of death looks remarkably similar to the time that Kathy Hopkirk went missing from Manchester, last Thursday evening.”

  Miller ignored the inevitable whispers and surprised glances as they spread throughout the room. Miller allowed a few seconds grace, this was, after all, quite an extraordinary situation – and the detectives needed to get their heads around the sheer magnitude of what was being suggested.

  “Now, I know that this is a very live case – and we need to get cracking if we want to get to the bottom of it. However, there’s a slight problem standing in our way now. Can anybody guess what that is?”

  Miller stood
and looked at the faces before him. None of them volunteered a suggestion.

  “Well, put simply – we’ve all been in a lot of trouble for the way we have handled sex complaints against celebrities over the past five years. The public are sick to death of it now, they have been disgusted by the way that we have treated a lot of stars. Stars who had no case to answer. There is no appetite left for these kind of revelations. Just look at the reaction that you lot gave me when I suggested that Bob Francis was a wrong ‘un! Five minutes ago you were all thinking that this was bullshit.”

  Miller took a drink from his can of Coke. “So we find ourselves in a very delicate position in this regard. I’m sure you are all aware of the damage our investigations have caused to the reputations of innocent celebrities. Paul Gambaccini, Doctor Fox, Jim Davidson, Jimmy Tarbuck, and many others have been dragged through the gutters by the press, and guess who got the blame when it turned out they were innocent? That’s right, us.” There was another moment of informality as the team looked around and nodded their agreement with Miller’s assessment of the way that the press play their games.

  “However, there is a chance that Kathy Hopkirk is out there, being held against her will. Its an absolute priority that we act immediately – even though the Cliff investigation made us all look like muppets, particularly when it transpired that the poor guy had no case to answer… I’m going to have to ignore the advice of treading carefully. I want Bob Francis arrested, right now, and I want to know who else was told about this.” A wave of restless excitement washed over the group, manifesting itself as wriggling, fidgeting and frantic doodling onto pads. This was an exhilarating conclusion for all of the detectives in attendance.

  “DCI Paxman, can you organise your officers to investigate Bob Francis’ closest working circle please? His manager, his PA, his security manager, his driver, his cook, his cleaner, his butler. We need to bring them all in, at the very same time. It’s now…” Miller looked at his watch. “Half past ten. I want the top tier of people around Bob Francis inside police vans by four AM, and this is obviously a very, very secretive investigation. No press releases please, formal or informal. Okay, DCI Paxman, I’ll leave this part of the investigation to you. I’m now going to interview Sally King, Kathy’s manager, to try and learn what she knew, and who else may have learnt about the Bob Francis situation. Jack Greenwood has insisted that Kathy kept very tight-lipped about it, and the only person he knows that Kathy spoke to about it was Sally King. The reason I’m telling you this… is because the people that you bring in tonight will know where Kathy is. At least, one or two of them will anyway. Good luck, and thank you.”

  Chapter 45

  “OMFG… I’ve got the biggest exclusive of the decade. Twenty-five grand and it’s yours.”

  The text message was sent from the staff toilets of Shepherd’s Bush police station. A minute passed before the text message received a reply.

  “Must be good for that much. Provisional yes… but depends on story.”

  “Fuck that. Put 25k in my account in the next five minutes and you will want to double it. Hurry up.”

  A few minutes passed before the next text message pinged.

  “Okay. It’s in.”

  “I’ll just check my internet banking, two mins.”

  Another short delay passed before the next message was sent.

  “Great stuff okay. First of all, you need to get your paps round to Bob Francis’ house. There’s going to be a dawn raid, 4am. Him and all his staff in relation to paedo sex offences, murder and the disappearance of Kathy.”

  A few seconds passed before the reply came. “Fuck!”

  “Make sure the paps are discreet.”

  “Sure. That’s a mind blowing story.”

  “Want to double the 25k now?”

  “Yes. But not doing. Cheers.”

  “Make sure it can never get back to me.”

  “Usual rules apply. Cheers.”

  * * *

  As the night wore on, DCI Paxman was left in charge of organising the police raid. This was going to be a significant operation, involving three separate addresses, in two separate police force areas. It was going to involve over forty uniform officers, twelve operational vehicles; which mainly consisted of police vans for the purpose of removing the detainees from the addresses, and keeping them separated.

  Such spontaneous demand for uniformed staff and their vehicles was always unpopular. It was highly likely to cause a headache for the various neighbouring borough forces that would inevitably pick up the knock-on effect. But regardless of the bitching and moaning that DCI Paxman’s requests were causing, the procurement of the resources was non-negotiable. Frustratingly for the inspectors and duty sergeants who were signing off the resource requests, it was all top secret too. None of the officers could know anything about the operation until it was getting under-way.

  DCI Paxman’s team were putting in a superb shift. After an initial “brain-storm” session, followed by some intensive research via Google, the Inland Revenue and Companies House, the CID team identified the key members of Bob Francis’ team. It had quickly become apparent that Bob Francis was not just an internationally famous entertainer who was loved by millions. Bob Francis Ltd was also an industry, consisting of dozens of close staff members who looked after the star’s daily routines, and dozens of arms length staff who worked at his television and radio production companies. Besides these significant numbers of staff, there were even more regional freelancers who worked on Bob’s tours and public appearances, employed casually as and when required. All in all, the Shepherd’s Bush CID team found that in total, Bob Francis employed almost one hundred people.

  The “A team” of employees was the list that the detectives really wanted. They needed to refine a definitive list of those staff members who were closest to Bob Francis – and those who were paid significant sums of money. It didn’t take long to arrive at eight names. Eight key people who were employed to protect all of their bosses interests. It was absolutely crucial that every single one of the team were rounded up and brought into custody at the same time. This aspect of the planning was causing the most difficulties, and DCI Miller wasn’t available to communicate with at the present time – a fact that DCI Paxman found most frustrating.

  * * *

  Miller was in an interview room at Shepherd’s Bush police station. Joining him were DI Keith Saunders and Sally King.

  Over the previous hour, Sally King had been as open and honest about Kathy’s disappearance as she possibly could. Miller and Saunders were extremely impressed by how helpful she was being. After all, she could have kept herself out of this. But now that she had volunteered herself onto the witness protection scheme, she seemed eager to cleanse her conscience and offer a full and frank account of everything that she knew. Miller and Saunders had sat there in relative silence, allowing Sally King to speak at her own pace, and offering encouraging gestures of smiles and nods when the pace slowed slightly. They had resisted several opportunities to burst into her version of events and ask questions. Now, Sally had neared the end of her story.

  “So what happened when you told Kathy that you didn’t want to be involved?” asked Miller.

  “Well, she looked hurt, and angry. And, well I guess she felt betrayed too. That’s how I would describe the look in her eyes.”

  “What did she say?”

  “Nothing much. I told her that there could be no formal agreement between what she was planning, and my company. I told her that it wasn’t in my name.”

  “And what made you say that?” asked Saunders. It didn’t make any sense to him. Sally King looked a little embarrassed, maybe a little bit ashamed too, as she spoke.

  “I told her that it was dangerous. I said that it was going to be more trouble than it was worth.”

  “What did you mean by dangerous?” asked Saunders.

  Sally exhaled loudly. “I suppose that sounds quite sinister
. I didn’t mean it in that way, I mean even at that point, I had no idea that it could be dangerous from a physical perspective. By dangerous, I was talking about the knock-on effect for Kathy’s work… and my own too, I guess.”

  “But, what Kathy was telling you, what she was saying was that a crime had taken place, a crime which had scarred this woman so badly that she’s been a drunken, outcast, prisoner in her own home for, what forty years. Did you not think that Kathy was doing something good?” Miller wasn’t bollocking Sally, he was just trying to understand the mentality.

  Sally thought about the question for a few moments before replying. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke. “Okay, okay, hands up, I didn’t care about the same thing as Kathy. I just saw this as a mess, and it was a mess that I didn’t want any part in cleaning up. So, okay, I admit, I’m not a very good person. I wish Kathy had never told me.”

  Saunders was about to speak, but Sally King had a little more to add. ”You see, maybe I’m a little bit dehumanised, or whatever by the industry I work in. I have to ignore a lot of things that are morally questionable on a daily basis.”

  “Such as?” asked Miller with an eyebrow raised.

  “Oh my God, there are millions of things. One of my top clients has a thing for cocaine which is going to destroy him, his family and his career. But I cannot say anything about it, because he is very highly strung, and he’ll leave my agency, and subsequently I’d lose my twenty per cent. He earned five million last year. That’s a million pounds which I would have lost, if I had stood up and done the right thing, which would be to check him into the Priory and save his life. Now, what I’m saying is, that’s morally indefensible. But it’s the way it works in show-business. We are all two-faced, lying, cheating beasts who are just out for ourselves and our careers. Anything real, anything like emotions and morality, they come second. I’m not apologising for it, it’s just the way it works in a superficial industry.”