NEARLY DEAD: the prequel to The Child Taker (Detective Alec Ramsay Series Book 0)

by Conrad Jones

‘Thanks for the heads up, Jaz,’ he muttered beneath his breath. ‘Say hello to Big Ron for me. I miss him.’

  Charlie took the silencer off the gun and put it in his pocket. He leaned over the desk and opened the top drawer. A shiny Smith and Wesson was sitting on top of an iPad. Charlie took the revolver and stuffed it into his sock and then rummaged through the drawers for something long and thin. He found a screwdriver set in the bottom drawer and took the Phillips from the box. He pushed it into the barrel of the Beretta, scratching the rifling and scoring deep grooves into the metal. After a few minutes work, he wiped all the prints from it and carefully put the gun into his jacket. He checked his watch and headed for the door.

  As he reached the office door, his mobile rang. He looked at the screen and then answered it.

  ‘Charlie it’s Justin. We’ve got a problem at Chris’s place.’

  ‘I’m having a few problems myself, Justin,’ Charlie said, leaning against the door. The wood vibrated with the baseline from the club. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Chris’s missus has locked herself in the attic. We can’t get to her. I reckon the coppers will be here in no time!’

  ‘Fucking hell,’ Charlie moaned. ‘How hard can it be?’ he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. ‘Use your imagination will you. If you can’t get her down, make sure you’re not around when the coppers get there.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Justin.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m going to have to disappear for a while. I need that collection list sorted tomorrow. I want every penny owed, understand?’

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter, just collect what’s owed, okay?’

  ‘Yes, boss. Leave it with me.’

  Charlie hung up and took a deep breath. He opened the door and snapped on the lock. If the door was locked, they may think Jaz had slipped out early and gone home. Charlie stepped out onto the landing, closing the door behind him. The music became louder as he descended. He pushed through the double doors into the club and looked around. The dance floor was packed with gyrating bodies. There was an empty cider bottle on a shelf to his right. He picked it up and hurled it high towards the middle of the dance floor and then tossed an empty pint glass into the crowd for good measure. Two revellers went down bleeding and the dance floor erupted into a melee.

  Charlie went back through the doors and reached the reception area. The sound of screaming was becoming audible, even over the music.

  ‘It’s kicked right off in there,’ Charlie said to the bouncers. ‘I’d get in there sharpish if I were you!’

  The doormen sprinted in the direction of the dance floor. The blond didn’t even look up as he walked out of the nightclub. He knew that it would take hours to sort out the trouble, closing time at least. Jaz wouldn’t be disturbed for a long time, probably the next night. Charlie intended to take his advice and be a long way away by then. He jogged down the steps onto the street and saw what he was looking for. Rainwater was running like tiny rivers along the gutters and disappearing down a grid. Charlie took the Beretta from his pocket and dropped it through the metal bars and then followed suit with the silencer. They sunk quickly, spiralling towards the thick sludge at the bottom of the drain. Charlie checked around, looking up and down the street. There was no one around. He jogged along the soaking cobbles towards his vehicle. Charlie reached his car and opened the door with his remote. The rain became more intense and water trickled down his neck, making him hunch. The sound of footsteps behind him made him turn quickly. Standing in front of him was Del Makin. He was holding a sawn-off Remington with both hands. Charlie was about to speak when Del pulled the triggers and the shotgun roared. Both barrels hit Charlie in the chest and blew him backwards off his feet. He slammed into his vehicle and slid down onto the soaking cobbles. The sound of the music began to fade and darkness flooded his mind.

  CHAPTER 9

  DI Jo West sat back in her chair while Alec went through the legalities. Brian Selby had stopped looking at his feet and he wasn’t muttering. Jo had wondered if he had mental health issues but now he seemed calmer and more aware. There was intelligence in his eyes where before they had been blank. Jo thought about what Alec had said. Maybe he was playing a game. If he was, she would give him ten out of ten for acting. She glanced at Alec. The older he got, the more like the chef with the same name he looked. His language was on a par to be fair. Selby’s brief looked annoyed at the fact that he had been called back so soon and couldn’t go home to his bed.

  ‘I’m sorry that we have had to resume so quickly. We know that it is very late, Brian,’ Jo sighed. ‘We’re all tired but we have new information that we need to discuss with you as a matter of urgency.’ She saw something in his expression change. He seemed to steel himself against what was coming. A light came on behind his eyes. ‘We’ve found a body in the woods where you were arrested.’

  ‘A body?’ his brief asked, open mouthed. ‘Wait a minute. I need to speak to my client in private.’

  ‘I didn’t shoot him,’ Brian said, matter-of-factly. He folded his arms. The detectives and the lawyer looked stunned. ‘I didn’t kill him. It was Charlie McGee that killed him. He made me bury him.’

  ‘Brian, don’t say anything else at this stage,’ his brief tried to interrupt him.

  ‘I’m not stupid,’ Brian said, glancing at him. ‘I know what I’m saying.’

  ‘I’m advising you to say nothing further until we’ve spoken in private.’

  ‘Noted.’ Brian said, folding his hands together on the table. ‘I’m choosing to ignore your advice.’ He looked Jo in the eyes. ‘Charlie McGee killed him and he made me help bury him. He said that he would kill my mum if I didn’t help. Look what he did to my face,’ he added, pointing to his scar.

  ‘Charlie McGee?’ Jo said, writing the name down. She looked at her DI. They both realised that their Matrix operation may have been compromised. ‘He’s a big guy with a shaven head and tattoos, always wears a suit?’

  ‘That’s him,’ Brian said, excited. ‘Do you know him?’

  ‘Our paths have crossed once or twice.’ Jo said, nodding. A knot tightened in her stomach. The information they had gleaned from the men inside McGee’s outfit had been priceless. ‘Who is the victim, Brian?’

  ‘Stuart,’ Brian said, sitting forward. ‘Stuart Radcliffe. Charlie said he was a grass.’

  ‘Stuart Radcliffe,’ Jo said, writing the name down. She passed the note to the uniformed officer, who was standing outside the door. She whispered in his ear, ‘Get this to Matrix. Chris Cornell may have been exposed too. They need to move on this ASAP.’ She tucked her hair behind her ears and sat down. Brian was gawping at her breasts. She noticed his stare and closed her jacket. Brain blushed and looked away. She cleared her throat and looked at Alec. He nodded to continue.

  ‘Tell me what happened in the woods, Brian.’ Jo carried on with her questioning.

  ‘I was digging the hole and I thought he was going to kill me right there and then but Charlie started asking how much the information was worth and he mentioned something about the Drug Squad.’ Brian wiped sweat from his brow as if recanting the story was traumatic. ‘I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. I thought he was asking me about the Drug Squad, you see but then he shot Stuart twice in the chest. Stuart collapsed and then Charlie made me help bury him.’

  ‘Why did you think he was going to shoot you?’

  ‘Well, he was pointing the gun at me, you see. I had to dig a big hole first,’ Brian said, talking at a hundred miles an hour. ‘I thought it was my grave. I thought he was going to shoot me, you see. Stuart must have thought that he was going to shoot me too or he wouldn’t have hung around, would he?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have thought so,’ Jo agreed. She couldn’t make sense of Brian’s rambling. ‘What were you doing there in the first place?’

  ‘I went to dig up my drone.’

  ‘Your drone was buried in the woods?’


  ‘Yes. I buried it to keep it safe.’

  ‘And why was your drone buried in the woods?’

  ‘No comment,’ Brian said with a confident nod. He nudged his brief and smiled. ‘You see. I know when to shut up and when not to.’ The brief and Jo looked at each other baffled. Brian was a mixture of innocent child and naïve adult. ‘No comment,’ he repeated.

  ‘Okay. We can come back to that,’ Jo said. ‘You said that Charlie shot him twice.’

  ‘Yes. I thought he was going to shoot me but he didn’t. He shot Stuart. Twice.’

  ‘Stuart also has deep lacerations to his face and neck, Brian.’

  ‘Does he?’

  ‘Yes, he does. How did he get them?’ Jo asked. Brain hesitated. ‘Tell me what happened?’

  ‘Oh, yes. I remember. We were burying him but he wasn’t dead. He was only nearly dead,’ Brian said. His eyes flickered upwards just for a second. Jo knew a lie was coming. ‘He wasn’t dead and he tried to get out, you see? He put his hand out of the soil and grabbed Charlie by the ankle. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Charlie was shocked too and he said the f-word and hit him with the entrenching tool. Three times. One, two, three.’ Brian demonstrated a stabbing motion with his hands.

  ‘Then what happened?’

  ‘Stuart stopped trying to get out. He was dead this time.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘He said that he had to go and that I had to finish burying Stuart and that if I didn’t do it properly he would kill my mum. So, I did it. I had no choice.’

  ‘Okay. Go on.’

  ‘That is it really,’ Brian said with a shrug. ‘When I had finished, I left the woods and that’s when I was arrested.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell us all this before?’

  ‘I was scared.’

  ‘You were only scared until we found the body,’ Jo mused. ‘Did you think that we might not find it?’

  ‘I was waiting.’

  ‘Were you waiting for us to find the body?’

  ‘Charlie McGee is a very dangerous man. I couldn’t tell you what he did until I was sure.’

  ‘He is dangerous. What is your connection to him, Brian?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Why were you in the woods with men like Charlie McGee and Stuart Radcliffe?’

  ‘They made me go there.’

  ‘Why?

  ‘I told you. I went to dig up the drone.’

  ‘Why did you bury a drone in the woods?’

  ‘No comment.’

  ‘Did you travel there with them?’

  ‘No. I went alone and they followed me.’

  ‘They followed you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why did they follow you?’

  ‘To make sure that I dug it up.’

  ‘So, they were concerned about the drone being buried there?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I think you do know.’

  ‘They made me go there. I don’t know why.’

  ‘I think you built the drone,’ Jo said, smiling. Brian blushed. ‘We have officers at your home. I think we’ll find incriminating evidence linked to that drone. When we do, your part in all this changes. You become complicit in all this.’ Jo made a big circle in the air with her finger. ‘You will become part of their circle. You understand that don’t you?’

  ‘I haven’t done anything wrong. Charlie McGee shot Stuart and made me bury him.’

  ‘I think you’re lying to me,’ Jo lowered her voice. ‘I think you waited for us to find the body and then you came up with the Charlie McGee story. If I was going to pass the blame I would use someone with a track record for violence. Charlie McGee fits the bill perfectly.’

  ‘I didn’t shoot Stuart,’ Brian said, offended. He blew air from his lips like a child in a huff. ‘As if I could shoot anybody! Where would I get a gun?’

  ‘It isn’t hard to get hold of a gun these days.’

  ‘You’ll find his footprints there in the woods. It was pouring with rain and the ground was soft and muddy.’

  ‘The rain can destroy more evidence than it creates, Brian but if he was there we will find traces.’

  ‘He was there. I’m not lying.’ He folded his arms across his chest, sulkily.

  ‘So, you say.’

  ‘He smoked a cigarette. I took the butt away from the scene.’ Brian said, looking smug. In his mind, he had placed his ace card. ‘There will be DNA on it.’

  ‘Where is it?’ Jo asked.

  ‘It is in a plastic water bottle in my bag.’

  ‘So, it isn’t at the scene any longer, is it?’ Jo said, raising her eyebrows. ‘You removed a vital piece of evidence.’

  ‘Where else would I have got it from?’ Brian mumbled. He hadn’t been quite as clever as he thought he had.

  ‘Okay we’ll check that too. Your bag is in the lab.’

  ‘And there is a garage across the road,’ he added, excitedly.

  ‘And what?’

  ‘There is a CCTV camera there. Stuart and Charlie were waiting for me near the garage. If it was on, it will show you that I’m telling the truth.’

  ‘Okay, let’s leave that there for now,’ she said, staring at his neck. ‘Where did all the scratches come from, Brian?’ Jo pointed to his neck. ‘You look like you’ve been in a scuffle. Who scratched you?’

  ‘Stuart roughed me up.’

  ‘You haven’t mentioned anything about that.’

  ‘Haven’t I?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘When they made me dig the hole,’ Brian said, blushing red. ‘I was asking Charlie not to kill me and Stuart got mad. He grabbed me by the throat. I think.’

  ‘You think?’

  ‘I was scared. It is all a bit of blur to be honest. Can I see my mum?’

  ‘Not tonight, Brian,’ Jo said, standing. ‘We’ll be keeping you in here overnight while we check what you’re saying. We’ll talk again in the morning. Interview terminated.’ She switched off the recorder.

  ‘I’m hungry,’ Brian said, stretching and yawning. ‘Can I have something to eat?’

  Jo opened the door and beckoned a uniformed officer into the room. ‘It’s late, Brian. The kitchen is closed for the night. You’ll be fed in the morning.’

  ‘That isn’t fair,’ Brian moaned.

  Jo looked at him and bit her bottom lip.

  ‘Brian,’ Alec interrupted, standing up from the table. ‘I can’t decide whether this spoilt little boy act is really you or if you’re playing a game but let me get one thing straight in your head.’ Alec paused and locked eyes with Brian. He looked away immediately. ‘You were arrested with blood on you near a murder victim and your explanation as to why you were there is sketchy at best.’

  ‘It is the truth …’

  ‘Shut up!’ Alec snapped. ‘I haven’t finished.’ Brian blushed. ‘Your explanation implicates one of the city’s most dangerous criminals as the murderer. If you’re lying to us, you’re fucked. You’ll go down for a very long time. If you’re telling us the truth, McGee will come after you and you’re fucked. Either way you’re fucked, Brian.’ Brian looked at Alec, fear in his eyes. ‘Good. I can see you’ve got the message. I suggest that you sleep on what I’ve said. If you want us to believe you, then you need to come clean on what you were doing in the woods in the first place. Cut the crap, stop the games, and understand how much shit you are in.’ Alec put his palms flat on the table and leaned towards him. ‘Do you understand me?’

  ‘Yes,’ Brian answered, sulkily.

  ‘Good,’ Alec said, nodding. He glared at him once more and then turned and left the room in a hurry. Jo walked with him. They knew that Matrix, the Drug Squad, and Alec’s Major Investigation Team would already be reacting to the news that a key informer had been murdered. Stuart Radcliffe was one of two working together and Jo shuddered as she wondered where the other one was.

  ‘I’m going to call a briefing,’ Alec
said, turning to her. ‘I want you to go and call ACC Carlton. I know it’s late but he’ll blow a fuse if we move on this without his say so.’ Jo nodded and peeled away.

  ‘I’ll use this office and meet you shortly.’

  chapter 10

  Rachel Cornell put the phone to her ear and waited for the emergency services to answer. It rang once and then went silent. She looked at the screen, her heart in her mouth as she watched the battery icon flash and the phone died.

  ‘Oh fuck!’ she hissed.

  ‘That’s a bad word, Mummy,’ Claire said, innocently.

  ‘I know it is, baby,’ Rachel said, hugging her daughter tightly. ‘Sometimes grown-ups say bad words.’

  ‘I know. Daddy says it all the time.’

  ‘Most daddies do, angel.’ Rachel said, looking around. Chris had built a man cave. He had a sixty-inch screen attached to a Play Station and a gaming chair. His laptop was on his desk to her left and a small beer fridge hummed quietly to her right. The roof structure was hidden. The rafters and tiles were covered with plasterboard that he had painted white, the floor was oak laminate. She couldn’t see anything that could help them out of the situation they were in. They were trapped. The men who had come for them couldn’t get into the attic. All she had to do was wait for them to leave. She couldn’t call the police but they didn’t know that, did they? For all that[EM13] they knew, they could be on their way already. They would have expected her to call the police.

  There was no sound from below. The plaster boarding and insulation nullified everything. She was blind to whatever they were doing downstairs. They may have gone already. If they had any sense, they would be well on their way by now. It would be obvious that they could not reach her in the attic. They would realise that and leave.

  Rachel went over to the desk, opened the top drawer and looked inside. A packet of menthol cigarettes and a zippo lighter told her what she already knew. He hadn’t stopped smoking. She fumbled through a stack of papers, pens and spare cables. A packet of triple-A batteries had split and they rolled around the drawer as she searched for something useful. She closed the drawer and got the whiff of petrol. Was it from the zippo? She opened the drawer again and flicked the lid on the lighter. Thumbing the wheel three times, she knew it was dry. There was no fuel in it. The smell had become stronger. Her heart began to beat faster as she approached the hatch. Tendrils of smoke, tinged grey blue, were climbing between the hinges and the laminate floor. She didn’t need to open the hatch to know that they had set fire to their home.