THE GUILTY MAN an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detectives Lennox & Wilde Thrillers Book 1)

by HELEN H. DURRANT

  “Course not — not the traffickers anyway. I’m not at liberty to say more.”

  “That’s why they tried to kill you, isn’t it? Bring them in, that’s my advice, before they succeed.”

  Jess was right, though it wouldn’t please Edge. But should that still be a consideration? After all, Edge had done him no favours.

  “You’re making a mistake,” Jess warned him. “You need to consider your career, Lennox, let alone your life. You’re taking too many risks.”

  He smiled. “That’s me all over.”

  “And you’ve nowhere to live! What are you doing about that?” Jess asked. “They’ve trashed the camper van and you can’t live on the street. Perhaps you should get a flat, somewhere pleasant and then you can save up for a house.”

  He grinned. “Not my style. I prefer living at the sharp end.”

  “You’re an idiot, d’you know that? Harry Lennox, there are times when I think I don’t know you at all.”

  Harry gave an enigmatic little smile. Well, if this case didn’t end neatly, she might find out. Collar Mungo Salton and he’d talk. But would anyone believe him? After all, it would be a villain’s word against a cop’s. Was it a risk he wanted to take?

  Jess was staring into space. Suddenly, she flung her pen down on the desk. “We can’t just leave those people out there. Kamal and his sister should be brought in, regardless of what you’ve been told. They’re killers, the pair of them.”

  Jess was right to be worried. He was too, if truth be told. Kamal was violent and far too eager to please his boss. It was all very well for Marcus Edge to give out orders, but he and Jess had to live with the mayhem.

  “Okay, I’ll have another word with my contact,” he said.

  “Want to tell your partner who that is?” she asked.

  “Better you don’t know.”

  A uniformed PC put his head around the office door. “Sir, there’s a body in the park. It was found draped over the roundabout, face down. Scared the kids half to death.”

  “Do we have an ID?”

  “No, there was nothing useful on her. Her face is a bit of a mess too. Looks like she was shot in the head.”

  Harry saw the expression on Jess’s face. This was where he got the blame for not acting sooner.

  “Do we have any idea when it happened?” Harry asked, pulling his jacket off the back of the chair.

  “Can’t be long, the roundabout was still moving.”

  “We’ll go and take a look. We’ll ring the Reid on the way.”

  “Already done, sir.”

  * * *

  “She’s been dead a matter of minutes,” Melanie said. “The place was empty but those kids over there heard the shot and came running.”

  Harry looked over to the group of young teenage boys standing with one of the uniformed officers. “They didn’t see the killer, did they?”

  “No, they say not, but he can’t have gone far. There’s a squad car out looking for him and several officers on foot.”

  “I’ll have a word with the lads.”

  Harry approached the group. “Well, that must have given you a right shock.”

  “We heard the gun,” one of them said. “Is she dead?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Harry said gently. “Did you approach her at all, to see what had happened?”

  “Jack did,” another one of them said. “But the sight of her face made him throw up. One of your lot has taken him home.”

  A uniformed officer hurried over to them. “A woman’s spotted a man running towards the town centre, sir. Along the path over there.”

  “I’ll take a look at the body and then take a wander.” Harry went over to the body. She was face down, but he didn’t need to see more. It was Emira. He knew from the long, lustrous black hair. She’d been right about Kamal. Brother or not, he’d killed her, and it was his, Harry’s, fault. She wanted out. She’d asked him for help, and he’d ignored her.

  He walked over to the officer with the group of lads. “Make sure they get home,” he said, “and that they’re not left alone. Have a word with the parents.”

  Jess came marching towards him, furious. “He’s on the rampage, with a gun. He should have been in custody, now she’s dead. Who’ll be next, Harry? You need to decide where your loyalties lie, because this is getting out of hand. Who does this Kamal work with and what’s his problem?”

  Harry had to give her something. “The trafficked women — he wants them back. His own life depends on it. The dead woman is his sister, Emira. That’s a measure of how desperate he is. Whoever is controlling Kamal will not like how this has turned out.”

  “We shouldn’t have let this happen. You knew about him, and he’s been named often enough in this case.”

  Harry knew she was right. But why kill Emira? Did he plan to run? Was Kamal getting rid of the evidence, making sure there was no one left to point the finger? But if that was so, what about him? He knew more than anyone what Kamal had done and who was behind it all.

  “Give me a minute,” he told Jess. Harry moved out of earshot and rang Marcus Edge. “Emira is dead,” he said angrily. “Shot by her brother. This is where our agreement ends. I’ve had enough. I need the freedom to do my job properly and working with you doesn’t give me that.” He cut the call and went back to join Jess.

  “I need to ensure that Martha and her clan are safe. I’ll get them some protection.”

  “You’re with me on this now, are you? We bring this lunatic in?”

  “Yes, Jessie, we do.”

  Chapter Fifty-one

  “I’m bleary eyed with it,” PC Carter complained. “I’ll see this stretch of road in my sleep. I know practically every inch of the roads around Stamford Park.”

  “Anything helpful?” Colin Vance asked.

  “I don’t know what I’m looking for. I haven’t seen anyone I recognise. But on the plus side, I have found the film from the morning in question, all four hours of it. So, if the DI cares to take a look, he might spot something himself.”

  “You can leave it with me now if you like. I’ll pass it on,” Vance said.

  “I know what this is,” PC Carter said. “I do the work and you take all the glory. You want on his team, don’t you? You always were an ambitious sod. I remember you at school, right little teacher’s pet, you were.”

  “So, I’m ambitious. Where’s the harm in that? I like working with DI Lennox and Jess, and there’s only two of them which means their team is light on bodies.”

  “Okay, I give in. I just hope it does you some good.” PC Carter stomped out of the office.

  Colin Vance sat down at the computer and took a look for himself. Carter hadn’t been joking when he said there was nothing much to see, just a stream of cars. It was possible to make out who was driving some of them but not all. Hopefully, something would catch the DI’s eye.

  Carter was right. Colin was keen to make a name for himself and he saw working with Lennox as a definite plus. He was younger than DI Maxwell and had a good clear up record. It would do his career prospects no harm to be one of Lennox’s team.

  Angela called across the office. “Where is everyone?”

  “There’s been a murder in the park. A woman. Something to do with the trafficking case.”

  “Poor thing,” she said. “Oh, and word of advice. You might have to suggest joining Harry’s team yourself. He’s a bit slow on the uptake at times.”

  “How do I do that? He might think I’m being pushy.”

  “You have to be pushy, Colin, if you want to get on. Harry appreciates ambition, he’ll think all the more of you for it.”

  Colin phoned Harry to tell him about the CCTV footage. “We’ve got it down to four hours, sir. There’s not a lot of traffic, it was early, but I don’t recognise anyone. It struck me that you might, you being more involved with the case.”

  “Good work, Colin. I’ll come in soon and take a look.”

  * * *

  “Colin’s wh
ittled down the CCTV from the park to something I can look at,” Harry told Jess.

  “Can’t that wait? We’ve got Kamal to find, and now Hettie wants you.” She pointed to the figure waving at them from a distance.

  “Kamal could be anywhere. Uniform will check Babs Milton’s place and Martha’s, plus anywhere else that’s been connected with the case. There’s not much we can do.”

  Harry went to have a word with Hettie and Melanie.

  “One shot to the back of the head, exiting via the face,” Melanie said with a grimace. “She didn’t suffer, it’d have been quick. The same shotgun as killed the others, I reckon. I picked this up off the grass.” It was a spent cartridge.

  “Check it, will you?” Emira was dead and he, Harry, was to blame. He hadn’t taken her seriously. But if she was that afraid, why not contact him?

  “Are we going for that walk round town or what?” Jess asked.

  “I don’t see the point. He’s alone, armed and desperate to get those women back. He is one dangerous man and we do nothing without backup. There’s a team on it, we’d just be superfluous.”

  The phone Emira had given him buzzed in his pocket. Unknown number. Kamal! Had to be.

  “You should hand yourself in,” Harry said.

  “You will do as I tell you. Refuse and more people will die, starting with that woman I have been living with.”

  “Babs? Why would you hurt her? She’s helped you, looked after the factory.”

  “I have just killed my own sister. Babs is nothing to me. I have her here. She will die, I promise you. Meet me and we will talk. Then you will do as you are told.”

  “Just let me think a second.” He covered the handset. “Is anyone with Babs? Is she safe?” Harry mouthed at Jess. He watched her get her mobile and make a brief call. She shook her head.

  “Okay,” Harry said to Kamal. “Where?”

  “The factory. And come alone.” He ended the call.

  “Kamal wants to meet me at the factory. He’s holding Babs and he’s threatening to kill her if I don’t agree.”

  “You cannot walk into this on your own, Lennox. No way. You will organise backup or I’ll do it for you.”

  “The merest whiff of police and who knows what he’ll do.”

  “Rubbish, you’re not invincible. A bullet will kill you as easily as anyone else.”

  “Okay, we’ll get back to the office and sort it.”

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Within the hour, armed response had been mobilised, and Harry was preparing for the meeting with Kamal.

  “I hate these things,” he said, fiddling with the bulletproof vest he was wearing.

  “You’ve no choice,” Jess said.

  “We get a clear shot, we’ll take him out,” the armed response commander told Harry.

  “I’d prefer him alive, and I think the NCA would too.”

  “What have they got to do with this?” Jess asked. Why had Harry said nothing to her, and why had he been singled out?

  “I’ve been working with a Marcus Edge, one of their investigators.” He looked at the armed response commander. “You might contact him, let him know what’s about to happen.”

  “Any more secrets I should know about?” Jess asked.

  “Yes, but they aren’t for sharing, not yet.”

  * * *

  They were about ready to leave for the factory when the office phone rang. It was Gregor Laing for Jess. “I have to take this,” she said. “I’ll catch you up.”

  The others left and Jess sat down ready to make notes. What Laing had to say could be important, sort Harry’s head.

  “I have some news for you. Might not be what you want to hear, but here goes,” he began. “We were given information about an impending drug deal. A large amount of heroin was to change hands at a location up in the hills above Glasgow. We intercepted, some of the dealers were arrested and during the interviews we were given information about two murders. We checked the alleged burial site and right enough we found the bodies. One of them is Callum McBain, there’s no doubt about it. This man is known to Harry and I know he has been asking about him. Reassure Harry that we did DNA, dental records, the lot. There is no mistake. McBain is dead. There is no doubt he was murdered. Information received puts this down to him crossing a man called Kamal Mehmed. He wanted to recruit McBain, but the villain refused.”

  That made sense. They knew Mehmed and what had happened to Sutton and Marsh. Jess was also aware that the man in charge was Scottish, so it made sense that known villains were preferred for the Ryebridge operation.

  “What about Salton? Anything on him?” Jess asked. “We believe he’s behind what is happening on our patch.”

  “Quite possibly. He is still alive and active, I’m afraid. The man has been holed up on the Isle of Barra these last months, orchestrating something no doubt. I know Harry was hoping he was dead, but that’s not the case. We have recent evidence to the contrary.”

  “Thanks for the information. Do you know what Salton has on Harry?”

  “No, and I’d let it drop if I was you. Harry Lennox deserves some peace.”

  Jess opened her mouth to ask more but Laing had gone.

  * * *

  From outside, the factory looked closed. Harry pulled into the car park and waited. Looking up, he could see the armed officers making their way across the roof.

  His mobile rang, it was the armed response commander.

  “We’re in position. Word of warning, don’t go inside. Wait for him to come out to you. We want a clean shot.”

  Good call, but would it solve anything? With Kamal dead, they’d get no answers, no one to point the finger at Salton. His mobile rang again. This time it was Jess.

  “Good luck, idiot, and remember, don’t take any risks.”

  He heard the fear in her voice. Jess was worried for his safety.

  “I have news, whether you like it or not you need to know,” she said. “I’ve had Gregor Laing on from Glasgow. Mungo Salton is very much alive. Your instincts could be right, it’s possible Salton is the man behind this operation. McBain is dead, he has been for a few months. They’ve found the grave, done tests, the lot. It’s definitely him, so whatever it is between the two of you, he’s no longer a problem.”

  Salton still alive? On the personal front, not good news. But where the case was concerned, it fitted with his theory. Harry had him earmarked as the head man in the north of England. Who else could it be but Salton?

  Harry’s head was all over the place as he tried to work it out. He’d been sure all along, and Sandy had backed him up. What he had to do now was get the evidence to nail the bastard, put him away for life for what he’d done. If only the prospect of jousting with his old enemy didn’t fill him with so much dread. He stared at the factory windows — someone was watching him through a chink in the blinds. Kamal? Had to be. Sod armed response, this was getting them nowhere. He got out of the car and took a few steps forwards.

  Babs appeared at the main door. She looked terrified.

  “He’s lost it,” she screamed at him. “He’s cut my arm. He wants to kill me.”

  He could see the blood dripping onto the ground. Babs Milton needed help.

  “Kamal!” he shouted. “Come out and we’ll talk.”

  “He wants you in here,” Babs shouted back. “If you don’t come in, he’ll hurt me more.”

  Harry didn’t want that. She might have helped Kamal in the past, but Babs had had no idea what she was dealing with.

  Up on the roof, one of the armed response officers was waving frantically, indicating for him to back off. But leave Kamal to appear and Babs would be dead. Harry couldn’t live with another dead woman on his conscience.

  “I’m coming in!” he shouted so everyone could hear. “Tell Kamal I want to cut a deal.”

  Chapter Fifty-three

  “What’re you up to?” Jess asked Colin Vance. “You’ve had your face glued to that screen for hours.”

&n
bsp; “It’s the CCTV. I’ve got the right period of time but it’s all meaningless to me. I did spot an SUV, but I didn’t recognise the driver. Probably just someone passing by.”

  “Let me have a look,” Jess said.

  She spent a few minutes painstakingly going through each frame of video. “There. That’s a likely contender. The tyre tracks we took could have come from something similar.” She tried to enlarge the image of the driver but could only get the back of his head. “He’s got grey hair,” she announced. “Is there any chance we could pick this vehicle up further down the road? We might get his face then.”

  “I’ve got the film from the next camera along. Let me try.” Colin Vance sat down and stopped the film as the SUV got within range of the camera. “Got him. Look, it’s pretty clear, but I still don’t know him.”

  Jess did though. She stared at the image, wondering what it meant, how it was possible. She needed an urgent word with Harry. He had to know about this at once.

  * * *

  “You are a fool,” Kamal sneered. “They would have given you money, made you rich.”

  “Well, money isn’t everything. I like my job, thanks, and I fancy hanging onto it.”

  “You are going to die,” Kamal said.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all before. Tougher men than you have tried to kill me, Kamal, and I’m still here.”

  “Ah yes, I heard something about that. A fire, wasn’t it? Like the other night. Shame you were out.”

  “I was with your sister.” Harry was deliberately taunting him now. “She liked me. She told me all about you and how badly you treated her.”

  “She was using you.”

  “So why kill her then?”

  “Emira was too independent, liked to do things her way. The boss doesn’t like that in anyone. I was told to kill her.”

  “Orders, eh. Shame that, and her being your sister too. Do everything the boss says, do you? Not got a mind of your own? That’s a pity, because if you could think for yourself, you’d see that there’s no way out of this for you.” Harry went to the window and pulled up the blind. “Have you looked outside, Kamal? Spotted the troops yet?”