by Jack Probyn
‘And did he?’
Jake shook his head. ‘He wouldn’t tell me anything.’
‘Then what happened. Why are you here?’
‘I was just about to leave when a couple of uniformed officers picked him up. They rushed in and threw him into the back of their car. I thought it was odd, so I decided to follow them and then they were run off the road. The uniforms were killed instantly, but Michael was alive. I tried to save him, but then some guys came down and beat him to death,’ Jake finished. He breathed heavily, hoping they believed every word. What he hadn’t realised was that, because Charlotte was there, he needed to make everything look above board – like it was a fresh case and there was no history behind any of it.
‘And you followed the attackers here?’ Liam asked.
Jake sighed in relief. ‘Yes, guv.’
‘How many of them did you say?’
‘Two.’
‘And you couldn’t identify them?’
‘No. They were wearing black face masks.’
Drew folded his arms across his chest. ‘It’s highly possible this is Jermaine Gordon again, guv. Sending some of his boys to finish off the entire Cipriano family in Richard’s memory.’
‘Don’t discount that thought, Drew. Very possible indeed,’ Liam responded.
After he’d finished feeding Drew’s ego, he turned his attention back to Jake. ‘You seen anyone come in or out of the warehouse since you’ve been here?’
Jake shook his head. ‘The attackers left in separate vehicles and headed in opposite directions. But the black van they travelled in’s still inside the factory.’
Liam’s gaze moved from Jake over to the building. He said, ‘I think… maybe they’ve left it there for a reason, right. Which means they’ll be coming back. Instead of storming the place with firearms teams and the forensic team, I think we should set up surveillance on this place. Wait for them to return.’
‘And if they don’t come back?’ Garrison asked. ‘What do we do then?’
‘Give it twenty-four hours. If they don’t come back for it, we’ll investigate the van. Search it for evidence. The risks are bigger if we investigate the warehouse now. Which is why we should leave it. Play the long game. The tortoise beats the hare, remember?’
Liam clapped his hands; the sound echoed off the structure in the distance and bounced back to the group.
‘Drew,’ Liam began again. ‘I want you to stay here while I get it all approved. You’re on first watch. Someone else will swap with you later on.’
CHAPTER 53
CHOP-CHOP!
Liam called an immediate meeting in the briefing room as soon as they returned from the factory. The whole team had turned out – nearly fifteen of them sat in the room, paying attention. The majority of the ranks in the office were detective constables, with the addition of a few sergeants, leaving Charlotte as the most senior officer in there after Liam. But it raised the question of why Liam had called them all in. He never usually did – or, at least, infrequently. The rest of the team were the foot soldiers who picked up all the stuff that filtered down from the chain of command. It was Liam’s preferred method of working, and it was the reason the team was a revolving door of new faces.
‘Thank you all for being here,’ Liam began. ‘I thought it would be worth calling this meeting as I need to check up on where we are with things, so I can re-evaluate and refocus your priorities if necessary. This case seems to be getting slightly out of hand at the moment, and I need to rein it in. For those of you who don’t know, Michael Cipriano has just been killed. We’re going to be working closely with Essex Police on this, but there will be some things that we can do – and the majority of you will be doing that.’
Liam scanned the room, silently selecting the members of the team he was referring to with a curt nod. Jake was grateful he wasn’t one of them.
‘But for now, run me through what we know.’
The room fell silent. Nobody wanted to be the first to answer. Jake was certain it was partly due to the fact that almost everyone in the team was afraid of Liam in one way or another, as if he had something against them and they didn’t want to speak at all for fear of reprisal.
Jake chose to go first.
‘Danny Cipriano, dead. Buried alive in cement. Construction site worker, Richard Maddison, main suspect. Motive – Danny Cipriano put him in jail. Evidence found in Maddison’s flat implicated him in the murder, but he couldn’t have been working alone. He needed someone else, at least.’
Jake paused to gauge Liam’s reaction; his boss gave him a gentle nod to continue. ‘Enter Jermaine Gordon, renowned drug kingpin from East London. Also a convicted murderer. Has a history with Richard Maddison from when they shared jail time. And now we’ve got Michael Cipriano dead.’
‘You’re missing one important fact here, Jake,’ Charlotte said. ‘DNA samples were found at Richard Maddison’s address, suggesting that he could have been murdered and his death made to look like a suicide. DS Richmond and I have been looking into it.’
‘And where are we up to with that, Charlotte?’ Liam asked.
‘Still waiting on the results, guv.’
Liam nodded. ‘Right now we need to look at the possibility that this is a revenge killing. Richard and Jermaine set out to kill Danny Cipriano. We have CCTV footage and mobile phone data locating Richard at Jermaine’s estate the same night that Drew interviewed him as a witness. It’s very possible that they argued about something – perhaps Richard threatened to come clean to us and then left. As we know, Richard suffered from mental health issues, so he could have become paranoid. Jermaine couldn’t have that, so he had him silenced for good.’
As soon as he said it, silence invaded the room and wrapped itself around them while everyone absorbed what was being said. Even though Jake knew it was all a load of bullshit, he had to admit that it was convincing. Between the four of them – Liam, Drew, himself and Garrison – they’d made it look like a solid case against Richard Maddison and now Jermaine Gordon. If he didn’t know any better, he would have believed it.
‘But how does Michael’s death fit into all of this, guv?’ a confident voice from the back called.
Liam pushed himself off the edge of the table and wiggled his finger around in the air.
‘I’m glad you asked, DC Cotton. That’s precisely what we need to focus on now, with the help of Essex Police. We need to find a link between Michael’s, Richard’s and Danny’s deaths. But first, we need to know everything about his movements and activities since he’s been in the witness protection scheme.’ Liam hesitated a moment, then looked at the ground. ‘Meanwhile, Garrison, I’d like you to pick up where Drew left off with looking into Jermaine Gordon.’
‘Is that the same Jermaine Gordon that’s just been tried and acquitted for a double homicide?’ another voice called from the back.
Liam nodded. ‘The very same.’
‘How’d he get away with that one?’ Jake asked, his curiosity suddenly getting the better of him.
‘It all comes down to who you know and how much money you have,’ Liam explained. ‘And in this particular example, our suspect – one of the biggest drug dealers in the whole of East London – happens to know the equally formidable and infamous lawyer Rupert Haversham and has a shit tonne of money to be able to afford him.’
‘Are we not risking the same thing here?’
‘Which is why we need to make the evidence watertight.’ Liam shot a small sideways glance at Garrison. ‘And I mean it. Water. Tight. Pete, like I said, you’re in charge of that part of the investigation. As for DC Tanner and DI Grayson, DC Garrison will delegate tasks to you.’
Charlotte raised her hand. ‘Forgive me, sir… and no offence to DC Garrison or anything, but how does that work? Shouldn’t I be the one to manage the investigation as Deputy SIO? I’m a senior rank.’
‘Granted. But in this particular case, Garrison has more experience. He’s been dealing with Jermaine Gordon
and people of his ilk since way before you were born. Garrison has the experience, and in my view, that trumps all, regardless of what epaulette – and chip – you wear on your shoulder.’
Charlotte opened her mouth to speak but was instantly cut off.
‘The longer we sit around here, the less time we have to find evidence. Chop-chop!’
Liam clapped his hands, adjourning the meeting. Everybody rose from their seats and started towards the door.
‘Wait!’ Charlotte said, calling everyone back into the room. In her hand, she held her phone aloft. The tiny screen illuminated her face. ‘You’re going to want to see this.’
‘What is it?’ Liam asked.
‘The forensic report on Danny Cipriano’s body’s just come in. They found something on Danny amidst all the concrete.’
‘What?’ Liam asked, a hint of fear and uncertainty in his voice.
‘They found DNA on the body and they’ve had a confirmed match. It belongs to a convicted criminal… Nigel Clayton.’
CHAPTER 54
CURVEBALLS
Jesus fucking Christ.
Just as he thought he was getting a grip on the investigation and keeping it on the track he wanted it on, he’d been thrown another curveball. How could Nigel Clayton have slipped up so stupidly? Liam knew the name from a long time ago. The man was a fraudster. A bent accountant who’d helped launder millions of pounds out of the country during the mid to late nineties, who’d been caught after one of his clients got arrested for drug dealing and subsequently threw him under the bus. And now it seemed he’d ditched the accounting and got himself involved with The Farmer.
But that wasn’t the most important thing for him to focus on right now. He needed to deal with this before anyone else got a chance to blow it out of proportion. Jake. Charlotte. Garrison. The list was growing.
Before storming into his office, he’d ordered the team to focus the bulk of their efforts and resources on Jermaine Gordon and push Nigel Clayton to one side for now. It wouldn’t take long for certain people in the office to realise that was wrong and start raising flags. He doubted he’d given himself much time to prepare, but it was time nonetheless.
Liam poured himself another glass of whiskey and downed it in one sitting. Something to take the edge off. Nothing like a little bit of Dutch courage in preparation for calling a Russian hitman.
He left the message about the funeral flowers, followed the same pattern and finally got through to him.
‘What you want?’
‘You have a problem,’ Liam responded as he moved over to his window. The blinds were pulled, but the slats were half open.
‘What?’
‘Nigel’s DNA has just been found on Danny Cipriano’s body.’
There was a pause. A long one. And for a moment Liam wondered whether he’d lost the connection.
‘You joke?’ came the eventual, monotonous response.
‘I wish, but this fucks things up for us all. You especially.’
‘Yes.’
‘Where is Nigel at the moment?’
‘In hiding after he kill Michael Cipriano.’
The seed of an idea popped into his head.
‘Who was there at Maddison’s house?’ he asked.
‘What you talk about?’
‘Maddison. I know you wanted it to look like a Russian suicide, but it didn’t work. There was extra DNA evidence found on the walls and the carpet, George. Who from your team was there?’
‘All of us.’
Thank God for that.
‘Then I think we can make this work. It’s not going to be easy. But you have to be on board with it.’
‘You no give me orders.’
Liam chuckled at the audacity and confidence the man had. ‘You don’t understand. I’m not asking, I’m telling. You forget that we own you. You’re our bitch. And we can call upon you any time we want. Now you either agree to it, or you wait for us to come and arrest Nigel – and yourselves – for the murders.’
‘I can’t. He my accountant.’
‘You can find another one. All it takes is for this information to go to the wrong person, and they’ll investigate you and find you.’
‘How his details on system? Thought they deleted when he leave prison?’
‘I wish that were the case, mate. They’re on there for life, and they’ll soon be connected to these deaths. I don’t want to do it this way, but I have no choice. He’s made a mistake. More importantly, he’s let you down. He needs to be punished for that. And what will our mutual employer say when they find out that one of their most trusted contract killers has got a rotten apple amidst the ranks. I don’t think it’s going to be a happy ending, do you?’ Liam hesitated as he waited for a response.
‘What you need me to do?’
A smirk grew on Liam’s face just as a car screeched to a halt outside his office window, narrowly avoiding a group of children failing to pay attention as they crossed the road.
‘Let me make a few calls. I’ve got just the thing in mind.’
Liam hung up, and as soon as the call was disconnected, he reached inside the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet and called Drew on the burner phone.
Come on. Come on. Come on. Pick up.
Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, Drew did.
‘Everything all right, guv?’ he asked. ‘My arse is killing me sitting here.’
‘We’ve got a situation. Do you have your work laptop with you in the car?’
‘You don’t wanna know what sort of things I’ve got in the car,’ Drew replied.
‘Cut the crap and pay attention. Do you have it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. I need you to log on to every database that you can and find everything on Nigel Clayton. Rewrite the man’s history.’
‘Rewrite it to what, guv? I’ll have to check my permissions are still the same.’
‘Jermaine Gordon. Richard Maddison. That sort of thing. Make it suit our needs. And do it quick. I want it done before the rest of the team sink their teeth into Clayton. Understood?’
‘Understood.’
Liam held his finger down on the red button until the phone turned off, then removed the battery and chucked both objects into the filing cabinet. He returned to his seat and eased into the leather. He needed a fix. Another drink. A cigarette. A joint. Something that would take the edge off a little more than the alcohol. Fuck it, alcohol would do for now.
He poured himself another drink – this time from a secret bottle of Captain Morgan’s rum that he kept for emergency situations – and started drinking. The liquor wasn’t his favourite, but it would suffice. He knew that, soon, he’d want more. And more. And some more after that.
He pulled the burner phone he’d used to call The Farmer from his pocket and placed it on the table, staring at it as though it were a gun he was considering using to end his life. In a way, the phone call he was about to make would have the same effect. If his plan went wrong then his days in MIT, and on earth, would be numbered.
Good, he thought. He didn’t have that long left anyway if his body started to reject the treatment.
Like a true captain, it was his job to steer the ship to safety. And he was going to do just that. Commandeering the wheel, he reached for the phone and dialled.
‘Yes…’
‘Listen to me and listen very carefully. This plan will only work if you do exactly as I tell you. Understood?’
‘Understood.’
‘Right. Now here’s what I want you to do…’
The seas were looking nice and calm from here on out.
CHAPTER 55
CONDUCT
The news that Nigel Clayton’s DNA had been found on Danny Cipriano’s body elated Jake. Liam’s cover-up of the investigation was crumbling like one of Garrison’s chocolate digestives. And, right now, he couldn’t be more grateful for having Charlotte with him. If she’d arrived any later, then he feared it would have been too lat
e. Richard Maddison’s death would have been ruled a suicide, Michael’s death would have been forgotten about and Nigel’s DNA on Danny would have been thrown in the bin. Things were finally beginning to fall into place for them.
Soon he hoped to be able to have enough evidence to convict all three of his colleagues for their crimes. And the surprising part of it was, he felt no remorse. These people had once been his friends, but they were breaking procedure, the rules and the law. They were playing with people’s lives for their own financial and personal gain. It was unforgivable, reprehensible, inexplicable and they deserved to be imprisoned.
Just after he’d adjourned the briefing, Liam had ordered them all to focus on the Jermaine Gordon side of the investigation while he disappeared off to his office to ‘make some calls’. Neither Charlotte nor Jake had any intention of following his instruction.
After he’d changed into a fresh set of clothes that he kept in his locker, Jake loaded the databases he had access to and entered Nigel Clayton’s name into the search bar.
The results were interesting.
Jake perused each one, his eyes falling heavily over the words and their meaning. According to the reports, Nigel Clayton had been arrested in the late nineties for money laundering, perverting the course of justice and fraud. He used to work for an infamous crime syndicate family called the Hampton Brothers, renowned for being one of London’s largest and most violent gangs. He’d heard rumours that they ran the city – stretching from the council-estate kids who would deliver and sell their drugs for them, right up to the higher echelons of the British government. Corruption was deeply rooted in Nigel’s history, and there was never any mention of Jermaine Gordon. In fact, it was almost virtually impossible for Nigel to be acquainted with either Jermaine or Richard.
After being arrested for money laundering the Hampton Brothers’ money, Nigel had rolled over and grassed on everyone in the family in a final act of betrayal. If he was going down, they all were. And, as a result, he was registered as an informant and subsequently entered into the witness protection scheme. It wasn’t until the final member of the Hampton family died – and the threat to his life with it – that Nigel eventually became a free man again. Many of the charges against him were dropped and he was free to go.
