The Detective Jake Tanner Organised Crime Thriller Series Books 1-3 (DC Jake Tanner Crime Thriller Series Boxsets)

by Jack Probyn

  ‘Can you remember her name?’

  ‘Nancy.’

  ‘Just a first name?’

  ‘Unfortunately. Nancy B… Her surname began with B. Do you have access to school records and things like that?’

  ‘We can do. What years were you there between?’

  ‘Ninety-one and ninety-six.’

  Jake pulled out his pocketbook and made a note of Nancy’s name and the years he was looking for.

  ‘And the name of the school?’

  Hannah told him. Jake scribbled it down.

  ‘Is there anything else you need to tell me? If I can find evidence against DS Richmond for this, then I might be able to look into Nancy.’

  Hannah shook her head.

  ‘Well, if you can think of anything, you have my number. Please, be patient. I’ll do everything I can. But right now you need to leave DS Richmond to me.’

  CHAPTER 75

  LOBSTER

  Drew struggled for breath. Fat fuck. He’d only sprinted across the car park to his car. What would he be like if he needed to outrun a car or The Farmer? An onslaught of adrenaline combined with fear pulsed its way through his body, shaking him. He fumbled in his pocket for his phone and, in his haste, dropped it into the footwell.

  He was a mess.

  Seeing Hannah Bryant had awoken a fear in him he’d suppressed for a long time – the feeling he’d had the first time Hannah had made rape allegations against him. And this time was no different. She was there for the same reason she had been fifteen years ago, he was sure of it. Except this time there was a slight change – Jake instead of Garrison. A straight cop instead of a bent one. It was then that Drew realised he’d been kidding himself into believing that Jake would keep his mouth shut, even with the money he’d attempted to bribe him with. No, Jake had continued the investigation into the rape, and he was getting closer to finding the evidence.

  The evidence. There was none. Garrison had assured him that it was removed and taken care of. But Garrison had already proven that he couldn’t be trusted. What if that was a lie as well? Shit. He wished he’d had a chance to find out before putting his colleague into a coma.

  Drew reached down and grabbed the phone by his feet. He unlocked the device, found Liam’s mobile number and dialled.

  His chest heaved as he waited, his senses alert. His gaze darted left and right as he watched uniformed officers and police vehicles move past his windscreen.

  ‘This better be important,’ Liam said in Drew’s ear. He’d half been paying attention, half focused on what was happening outside so he didn’t register Liam’s voice at first.

  ‘It is. I… we… we’ve got an issue.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘Heading back to the station.’

  ‘You need to turn around. Quickly.’

  ‘Why?’ Liam asked, unimpressed. Drew sensed the resentment in his voice.

  ‘I fucked up. I made a mistake. I’m sorry.’

  ‘What have you done?’

  ‘I dropped some cigarettes in the car last night. In Garrison’s car and on the tarmac by the bush.’

  ‘Are you joking?’

  ‘I wish I—’

  ‘Fucking idiot!’ Liam shouted. Drew heard his boss slam his hand on the steering wheel, brake hard and floor the accelerator. ‘How can you be so stupid? You are inept. You are a fucking joke. If we get caught for any of this, I’m blaming you. This is all on you.’

  ‘Liam, I’m sorry. I don’t know… I… I panicked. I wasn’t thinking straight.’

  ‘Were you high?’

  Drew paused and swallowed hard. ‘You need to hurry. Charlotte’s on her way down to the accident scene now. I think she knows about the cigarettes. You need to find them before she does.’

  ‘Where’d you hear that?’

  ‘Tanner,’ Drew responded, glancing up at Bow Green – where Jake was now talking to Hannah Bryant. ‘He said she’d left the office to go and check something out.’

  ‘Son of a bitch. They’re working together. You need to keep them apart. I’ll take care of the cigarettes and you keep an eye on Jake. If he doesn’t lay off, let me know. I’ll find a way to make him listen.’

  Drew hesitated. He steadied his breath until it returned to a natural rhythm. ‘That’s not everything either, guv,’ he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

  ‘How much worse can it get?’

  ‘I bumped into Hannah Bryant at the station. She’s talking with Jake now.’

  ‘About the rape?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘But I thought you said Jake stepped off that? Thought that’s what the bribe was for.’

  ‘I did. He did. It was.’

  ‘But he’s still investigating?’

  ‘Why else would she be here?’

  ‘Jesus…’

  ‘What if he finds out about the others?’ Drew said accidentally, meaning to think it rather than say it aloud.

  ‘Others? Thought you said it was just her.’

  ‘I did. It was. But… there was another one.’

  Another four.

  Liam sighed. ‘And what about her? Same situation?’

  Drew nodded, even though Liam wasn’t there to see it. ‘Garrison was in control of it all.’

  ‘Like we can trust anything that prick’s ever done.’

  ‘It’s not exactly like we can fucking wake him up and ask him!’

  They both fell silent. Drew’s chest continued to heave, while Liam’s car engine sounded in his ears.

  ‘Give me some time,’ Liam said. ‘I need to think. But honestly, unless you can get rid of any and all evidence before Jake gets to it, there’s nothing I can do.’

  ‘Let me go after him,’ Drew said. ‘I can convince him to stop. If money won’t work then I can get creative.’

  ‘No. Don’t go anywhere near him.’

  ‘Why are you still defending him?’

  ‘For reasons you won’t understand. Just be grateful I’m still putting you before him.’

  Drew gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. ‘Fine. Princess Tanner will remain untouched.’

  Drew clicked off, furious. Now the fear had been eaten and swallowed by fury and anger. He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white and then repeatedly brought it down onto his thigh. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Until the pain swelled in his knee and the muscles of his quadriceps turned numb. It was a softer alternative to beating the inside of the car door, or the steering wheel, or the dashboard, or a brick wall – but it still hurt as much.

  For the next few minutes, he sat still and contemplated his options. The way he saw it, there were none. Liam wasn’t going to help him. Like fuck he was; he’d just made that abundantly clear. And what if Tanner was close to the evidence – or already had it? His days as a police officer were numbered. And if he wasn’t allowed to go after Tanner himself then what was he to do? If it wasn’t Liam coming after him, then it sure as hell would be The Farmer and The Cabal, and Drew knew first-hand what these people were capable of – how easily they could dispose of someone like a piece of shit on a shoe. He couldn’t defend himself against that. He wasn’t about to become another of The Cabal’s deadly statistics.

  Drew reached across the passenger seat, unlocked the glove compartment and grabbed at the mobile phone.

  A sticker on the back of the device read emergency use only.

  He called the only number in the address book.

  ‘Good afternoon, Clam Shell’s restaurant,’ the voice on the other end said. ‘How may I help you?’

  ‘I was wondering if I could book a table for one at seven o’clock?’

  ‘For one?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And would you like the lobster or salmon?’

  ‘Lobster.’

  ‘We’ve made a note of your reservation. Goodbye.’

  The line went dead.

  Drew took the phone away from his ear, slid open the case, pulled o
ut the battery and removed the SIM card underneath. He snapped the SIM in two and burnt the golden chip with his lighter before returning to the office and throwing the remains in the bin.

  CHAPTER 76

  PAPER BILLS

  Jake exited the interview room and headed towards the evidence lock-up unit in the basement of the SOCO lab. From memory, he recalled that according to the internal notes on Hannah’s case, Garrison had accidentally misplaced the evidence and all the files on his desk. One night they were there; the next morning they weren’t. Done and dusted. No further action required because Garrison was the one in charge of the investigation. All charges dropped. You’re free to go. Simple.

  But Jake didn’t believe it at all.

  Garrison was a workhorse. Despite his shortcomings, the man was methodical and thorough. Which meant that the evidence certainly did exist and that the paperwork lived and breathed somewhere, but was hidden –somewhere he thought nobody would find it. Either that or it was in the most obvious place, the place nobody would think to look, brushed to one side, forgotten. Jake would never forgive himself if he didn’t check there first.

  After speaking with the same man behind the desk – who Jake now believed was a permanent fixture of the building – he slipped through the double doors, made a right turn into the stairwell and bounced down the stairs two at a time. Following their trip to Sandy’s office the other day, the DPS had given him permission to get through certain doors that required particular levels of access. Right in front of him was one of them – on the other side were the evidence archives. Jake scanned his key card on the door and entered into the small square room. The first thing he noticed was the temperature – cold, the air still. No windows and no air-conditioning unit or air vents inside. Shelves ran along the perimeter of the walls at Jake’s shoulder height, and underneath them was a row of filing cabinets interspersed around the room. Twelve in total, organised in crime category and date order.

  Jake moved to the left of the room where he found the filing cabinet titled Rapes and Sexual Assaults. He pulled the top drawer open and sifted through the files, flicking through history until he found 1997.

  Twenty cases in total. One of them was Hannah Bryant’s.

  ‘Gotcha!’ Jake exclaimed as he pulled out the file.

  He opened the thin manila folder and read through the contents as quickly as he could. The report was extensive and, in Jake’s opinion, conclusive. It comprised a list of items given as evidence against the attacker – ones that had never surfaced again – with their corresponding evidence numbers. Things like saliva and semen deposits found on Hannah Bryant’s clothes and hair. Bruises found on Hannah Bryant’s body. DNA from her fingernails.

  The evidence was there. Stark. As clear as day. Indisputable. And it had been discarded as though it was nothing. Jake couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But he also couldn’t believe how easy it had been to find. Like they’d been waiting for someone to stumble upon them. But there was a problem. Some of the contents were redacted – in particular the section of the report that stated who the DNA belonged to.

  Garrison’s middle finger.

  Jake slammed the filing cabinet shut and left the evidence room with the folder firmly parked under his armpit. On the way back to the office, he made a quick call.

  ‘Sandy?’ Jake said as he climbed the stairs again.

  ‘Is that Jake?’

  ‘How did you know?’

  ‘The inflection in your voice. Fortunately for you, you don’t sound like the others. I’m sorry to hear about, Pete, by the way.’

  ‘Yeah… So am I…’

  ‘It’s tragic,’ Sandy added. When he didn’t respond, she continued, ‘What can I do for you?’

  Jake stopped as he reached the third-floor landing. There was a small horizontal window that looked out upon the street. In the distance, there was a pelican crossing and he watched as someone crossed the road.

  ‘Jake?’

  ‘Evidence,’ he said. ‘I need some evidence. And the original forensic reports. Wondered if you still had it in storage somewhere.’

  ‘What’s it for?’

  ‘CS/7163949/E.’

  There was a moment’s pause. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll pass it to Jemimah. She’ll get back to you when she’s got something.’

  ‘Please,’ Jake said and then hung up.

  He placed the phone in his pocket, turned, and climbed the final few steps into the office. As he returned to his desk, Jake shuffled past Drew and placed the folder beside his mouse and keyboard.

  ‘What was that about?’ Drew asked.

  Jake ignored the question as he scanned the desk for a black sleeve but couldn’t find one.

  ‘Jake? I’m talking to you. What did she have to say for herself?’

  They locked eyes for a moment, and then Drew’s flicked to the folder.

  Jake shrugged. ‘Why don’t you just worry about your own problems.’ As he said it, he pulled open his desk drawer. His breathing stopped as his eyes fell over what was in there: a wad of money. Paper bills stacked on paper bills. This time there was more than the chunk Drew had given him. And on top of it, a note.

  Jake leant forward to read it, avoiding touching it – he didn’t want to incriminate himself by getting his fingerprints on it.

  Here’s the money from the last drug shipment. More soon.

  Jake sat back in his chair, squinting into the distance. Then he turned around. Faced Drew. ‘Do you know anything about this?’

  A smirk grew on Drew’s face. He stood up and placed a hand on Jake’s back.

  ‘Why don’t you just worry about your own problems, eh?’

  CHAPTER 77

  RECORDS

  Jake felt like a snake was wrapping itself around his oesophagus as he watched Drew head off towards the kitchen. Somebody was playing games with him. Somebody was trying to frame him for something he didn’t do. Somebody was trying to make it look like he’d done something illegal, corrupt, morally reprehensible.

  The words on the note were testament to that.

  But who? Drew? Liam? Garrison before his accident?

  Jake’s mobile rang, tearing him away from his thoughts.

  He answered without checking the caller ID.

  ‘It’s me,’ Charlotte said.

  Jake blew out his cheeks. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘It’s not looking good, Jake,’ she said. She sounded out of breath, and in the background, Jake could hear birds singing.

  ‘What’s happened?’ He slowly pushed the drawer shut with his foot.

  ‘The cigarettes. They’re not here. They’ve been moved.’

  Jake clenched his fist and tensed his whole right arm. ‘You think they got there before us?’

  ‘It was either the person behind Garrison’s accident… or Liam… or Drew.’

  Jake watched his moving about in the kitchen. ‘It wasn’t Drew – he’s been here all day. What about Liam? I’ve not seen him come back since this morning.’

  ‘Do you even know where he is?’

  ‘No idea.’

  ‘We need to find him. He’s the key that unlocks all of this, Jake.’

  There was a brief shock of disturbance on the line, and Jake waited for Charlotte to continue.

  ‘I’m going to speak with my handler – I’ll request a search warrant for both Drew and Liam’s vehicles and properties. They might have evidence in there connecting them all to this.’

  Jake was about to speak, but she cut him off.

  ‘I’ve also put in a request to trace and tap all of Liam and Drew’s personal numbers. Their calls, their text messages – they’ll soon be ours. We’ll know what they’re saying and who they’re been saying it to,’ Charlotte explained.

  ‘Jermaine Gordon…’ Jake whispered, thinking aloud. ‘They’re going to make it look like Jermaine Gordon is the one who ordered the hit on Garrison and Clayton. They’re going to put absolutely everything on him.’

  But
why Jermaine? Jake asked himself. What was their interest in him? It can’t have just been because he had a connection with Richard Maddison. There must be another angle, an ulterior motive. Amongst all the rubble, there was a clue that they needed to unearth, decipher, analyse, interpret.

  ‘Listen,’ Charlotte started, ‘we’ll get to the bottom of this. Trust me. We’ve got a team in the background working on it for us too. This is why they brought me in. But first I need you to find Liam. If he’s been to pick up the cigarettes, I want you to wait for him and find them.’

  CHAPTER 78

  SELF-INCRIMINATION

  The dashboard absorbed the heat from the beaming October sun like a sponge, warming the inside of the car. Pressed against the leather seat, his back was beginning to sweat, as were his neck, arms, legs and arse. It didn’t help that the fear of being seen and having his cover blown worsened things.

  It was past lunchtime and he was hungry. The espresso and croissant had done little to satisfy him, and he wanted another snack. But he couldn’t afford to leave the area. He was in the perfect vantage point, hidden, discreet – stationed in the car park at the foot of Roundshaw Park, just east of South Croydon. The field was large, stretching across several acres of green, and it was surprisingly busy. The schools had broken up for the day, and all the mums and dads had decided to take their kids to the park for the afternoon. Some played on the swings and roundabout in the playground. Some played with a ball at their feet. Some skipped and hopped and jumped, while others sat on the grass and shovelled handfuls of it into their mouths.

  But there was one family in particular that commanded Liam’s attention. He’d followed them from their house in Croydon, watched them board a bus and driven behind them, keeping his distance at all times.