Hidden

by Roger A Price

  ‘So, why haven’t you cautioned me, and where’s my brief?’

  ‘I will caution you if you start to admit something, and you can have a brief at any time. We were told you didn’t want one,’ Vinnie said.

  Sadiq paused, and shifted in his seat before replying, ‘Well, if you are after fitting me up with more stuff I haven’t done then I want one now. In fact, scratch that, I want to go back to my cell.’

  Vinnie could hear the prison officer start to move, so quickly added, ‘OK Mohammed, but if we have to go to the trouble of obtaining a production order to get you to the police station, simply to talk to you, we won’t be writing off any offences as “detected, no proceedings”; we’ll charge you with everything we can. So, last chance.’

  Sadiq was on his feet now and he glanced down at Vinnie and said, ‘I’ll take my chances,’ before he looked past them at the approaching prison officer and declared, ‘I’m done here boss, can I go back to my cell please.’

  The prison officer didn’t speak, he just led Sadiq towards the door and told Vinnie and Harry to wait where they were; someone would be along shortly to escort them out. Neither man spoke until both Sadiq and his escort had gone.

  ‘Well done,’ Harry said, adding, ‘You clicked onto that straight away.’

  ‘Cheers, Harry, but let’s save it until we get outside.’

  Harry nodded and Vinnie added, ‘Anyway, it looks like we have a production order to arrange.’

  Ten minutes later they were walking through the main gate into Ribbleton Lane, Preston, just outside the city centre. Vinnie and Harry crossed the road and waited until they were into the Ringway and well away from the prison before they spoke. Harry broke the silence.

  ‘Well, what do you reckon all that was about, apart from the fact he didn’t want to speak?’

  ‘Didn’t want to speak in front of the prison officer,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘That’s the bit that confused me.’

  ‘How so?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘Well, if he hadn’t wanted the prison officer to remain inside the room, it was his choice. Just ask him to leave. In fact, the screw asked him if he wanted him to remain and he said yes.’

  ‘Which can only mean that he did want to speak in front of the prison officer,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘What, you mean it was all a charade.’

  ‘What if that screw is bent? It would make perfect sense for Sadiq to blank us the way he did so that the fact that he is “not a grass” would get back to the other crims on the wing.’

  ‘Hence the attitude. I played along with you as something was clearly wrong, but I just hadn’t worked out what exactly.’

  ‘Me neither, if I’m honest, but it fits. I guess we’ll have to wait until we can get him produced to the nick to ask him. Will a production order take long?’ Vinnie said.

  ‘Longer than we have, considering we potentially have a kidnap victim under threat. But what can we do? As soon as we get back will you sort the paperwork out?’ Harry finished.

  Vinnie nodded and then both men picked up their pace, they’d be back in the office in a further ten minutes.

  *

  An hour later and things were coming together. Vinnie had earlier put a call into Christine confirming their need for a press conference. A further call on arriving back from the prison confirmed that it was all arranged for midday. Harry was going to front it; it was time to go public in their efforts to trace Babik and identify any potential kidnap victim. Babik was also a danger to the public and they had a duty of care issue which meant they couldn’t sit on things too much longer. Christine had said that she was going to be busy today as she started to follow up on what the two Romanian women had told her. Vinnie again told her to tread carefully, and added that he’d hopefully be able to meet up with her later for a drink and a proper chat. He’d have to go back to his home in Manchester tonight regardless, as he needed some clean clothes.

  He’d just put his desk phone down when Harry walked back into their office.

  ‘Any luck?’ Harry asked.

  ‘The paperwork has been done, a prison service order, to give it its full title, and it is about to be faxed direct to the governor.’

  ‘What rationale have you put down?’ Harry asked.

  ‘There are some quite wide categories apart from suspecting the prisoner of an offence. In fact, if the offence we are investigating is a serious arrestable offence as defined in law, we can ask for production of Sadiq simply as part of our ‘investigation into the serious arrestable offence.’ The phrase may lead some to presume that we suspect him of involvement, but without saying so.’

  ‘I like it, let them think we suspect him, which would be a natural assumption. It will enhance his reputation in prison, and we haven’t had to lie. Have we?’

  ‘Don’t worry, Harry I’ve chosen my words carefully.’ Then a thought hit him. ‘Harry, why don’t we restrict the press conference to an appeal about witnesses to the three addresses, and information about anyone local who is unaccounted for or deemed missing not already reported to the police?’

  ‘What, leave a request to locate Babik out of it?’ Harry said.

  ‘Until we can get Sadiq over here and find out what he really knows. We can always call a second press conference.’

  Harry didn’t answer straight away as he was obviously considering what Vinnie had said. Probably wrestling with the public safety issue. So Vinnie said, ‘We’ve no evidence that Babik is an actual threat to the general public.’

  ‘I guess not,’ Harry said. ‘He can’t get through any port, so apart from missing out on possible sightings, I guess a 24 hour postponement could be justified.’

  ‘Plus, if he has the woman with him, we don’t want to spook him into a knee-jerk reaction which could put her in danger,’ Vinnie added.

  Vinnie knew it was one of those fluid situations with no absolute right or wrong answer, always tricky.

  ‘I guess if we just appeal for knowledge of anyone who is missing as a separate appeal to witnesses around the addresses. It doesn’t actually link the two, although Babik will suspect so,’ Harry said.

  ‘Our best chance is to leave Grady in play and hope Babik makes contact with her so we can get him that way. Though I’m still not convinced about her,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘Me neither. If what she says is true about Babik putting her back into us as a double agent, I find it hard to believe that she has no way of contacting him,’ Harry said.

  ‘We know he is careful, but I know what you mean. That said, after the raid on the addresses you’d think he’d be desperate to make contact with her to find out what we know.’

  ‘Though, trying to be balanced about it, she did give us the lead that Bonehead, as she calls him, had touched the ammo used to kill Watson,’ Harry added.

  ‘A lead which is now worthless, as the suspect directly linked to that ammo is now dead,’ Vinnie said.

  The door to the SIO’s office shut behind them. Both men turned around to see DS Susan Grady standing there. Vinnie wondered if she had picked up on anything he and Harry had just said. He soon got his answer.

  ‘And that, gentlemen, is no doubt why Bonehead is dead. The proof starts and ends with him.’

  ‘Physical proof,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘What do you mean, sir, if I can ask for your balanced view,’ Grady said.

  Vinnie felt a flash of anger at her sarcasm, and then composed himself. If she was on the level, it was understandable. Calmly, he answered, ‘Your witness evidence. All the conversations and discussions that you have been a party to. Crucial stuff. We haven’t had time to go through any of that with you yet.’

  ‘None of which is corroborated,’ she said.

  ‘What, you mean you weren’t wearing a wire?’ Harry asked.

  ‘Too dangerous,’ she answered.

  ‘At first, granted, but once you had his trust, you must have worn a wire?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘Always too dangerous with the like
s of Babik,’ she answered.

  ‘Who the hell was running you?’ Harry asked.

  ‘You know I can’t tell you that, sir.’

  Vinnie was even more suspicious of her now, and Harry slumped into his chair and began to rub his head in his usual over the top manner. It always looked almost ape-like to Vinnie, and he had often thought about asking Harry why he did it. Surely, if he needed to rub his head it would be easier to use the hand from the same side as that to be rubbed? Grady brought his pointless observation to an end.

  ‘Anyway, I don’t know whose idea it was to place a car outside my address, but it worked,’ she said.

  The professional standards officer — damn! Vinnie thought. He then explained that the officer was there for her own safety, not mentioning which department he was from. He wasn’t sure that Grady believed him, but she said that Babik had clocked it and arranged a distraction. The fact that the firm was keeping a watch on her, for whatever reason, actually added to her security. Harry asked her to explain.

  ‘A pedestrian was knocked over further down my road, which drew the attention of the officer sitting outside. It was obviously a ruse.’

  ‘How can you be sure?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘The driver failed to stop and the pedestrian, who was uninjured, refused to give his details, said he was OK and didn’t need any police help, and anyway, he hadn’t seen what make of car had hit him and couldn’t describe the driver.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’ Harry asked.

  ‘Because the guy who knocked at my door told me.’

  ‘What guy?’ Vinnie and Harry said in unison.

  ‘Just some geezer who had been paid 50 quid to pass a message.’

  ‘What message?’ Vinnie let Harry ask alone.

  ‘That Mr B wants to see me at noon in Avenham Park in the city centre.’

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Christine felt a little fuzzy when she awoke, but a hot shower and two cups of coffee had helped to nullify the effects of the previous evening’s Merlot. Both Bob-A and Shoulder-B were already up and dressed and seemed excited to be going home at last. Christine put a call in to June to set up space for Vinnie’s press conference and June agreed, no problems, in fact it was a poor news morning so she said that she was glad of it. She’d liaise directly with Vinnie or Harry as she knew Christine had a busy morning.

  That done, it was just after eight so Christine suggested the two women start to get ready. She had planned to go to the airport with them and see them off, but DS Mathews rang late the previous evening to warn Christine that, as there were no direct flights to Bucharest from Manchester or Liverpool, they would have to take the women to Birmingham International Airport. DS Mathews and someone from social services would escort them. Once ready, both women thanked Christine for all she had done, not least for saving them from the men who had tried to get hold of them in Liverpool. That was Christine’s cue.

  ‘Don’t take this the wrong way,’ she started, aiming her comments at both women, but making eye contact with Bob-A. ‘Are you sure you have no idea who those two men were? I know that’s what you told DS Mathews.’

  ‘Never seen them before,’ Shoulder-B answered.

  ‘Why you ask again?’ Bob-A answered the question with one of her own.

  It was why Christine had waited until now to probe. They’d be gone in five minutes. Turning to face Bob-A full on, she continued, ‘Look, I’m on your side, you know that, but I need all you can give me if my investigation is to succeed. I just think you recognised the first man over the fence.’

  ‘Why you say that?’ Bob-A asked.

  ‘I saw it in your eyes.’

  ‘What, what did you think you see?’

  ‘You recognised him.’

  ‘You not think I not tell police lady if I knew one of those blatnoys?’

  ‘Blatnoy mean thug, old Slavic word of Russian origin,’ Shoulder-B said, and added, ‘lots of Slavic and Russian words in Romanian.’

  Bob-A then spoke hurriedly to Shoulder-B in what Christine guessed was Romanian, because of her fluidity, but this time Shoulder-B did not translate, she just looked away without comment.

  ‘You know you can trust me?’ Christine said.

  Bob-A didn’t answer, but just stood in contemplation for what seemed liked ages, before a knock at the door made them all jump. ‘This will be your escort,’ Christine said.

  ‘Ok,’ Bob-A said. ‘He same man who recruited me for job in England in first place. I not know his name but I will try to find out when I get home. I’ll ring you, I promise.’

  Christine smiled, she knew that time was up and she would have to trust Bob-A.

  Once the two women were safely away, Christine decided on a further coffee before heading out for the day. Her first call would be on Iqbal Mamood junior, at the family farm on the moors east of Manchester. She didn’t have high hopes.

  *

  Vinnie shuddered when Grady said ‘Avenham Park’. He’d not been there since his fatal showdown with the escaped psychopath, Daniel Moxley; he hadn’t planned to return. Putting that aside, he turned to face Grady. ‘Whereabouts in Avenham Park?’ he asked.

  ‘Down by the river, at the bottom — near to a pub, so that it’s all out in the open, I told you that he’s a careful man,’ Grady answered.

  Vinnie felt relieved that he didn’t have to go anywhere near the pavilion at the top of the park. That was where he’d had to shoot Moxley to save another’s life, and as justified as his action was adjudged to be, it was not a place physically or mentally he wanted to see again.

  ‘Does that mean he suspects you?’ Harry asked, breaking Vinnie’s train of thought.

  ‘He’ll want to satisfy himself, and will be cautious until he has,’ she answered.

  Back from his self-indulgence, Vinnie started to feel elated. This was indeed a great breakthrough. They could finally get their hands on Babik and have the pleasure of throwing him into a cell. ‘Do you want me to organise the firearms side straightaway? We haven’t got long,’ he asked Harry.

  ‘Yes… and maybe no.’ Before Vinnie could speak, Harry went on to explain. ‘We’ll have them with us of course, but maybe not to jump on him as soon as he turns up.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Vinnie said, but it hit him as soon as Harry started to speak. The hostage. If they simply jumped on Babik and locked him up, he may say nothing of the hostage’s location, because to do so would be to admit he had actually abducted someone. Harry voiced Vinnie’s thoughts. ‘And if it all kicks off and he draws a weapon and the armed cops have to respond…’

  ‘Exactly, dead men don’t talk.’

  ‘So you want me to get back in with Babik and let him think his bluff has worked?’ Grady asked.

  ‘What do you think, Vinnie?’ said Harry.

  ‘Yes and no,’ Vinnie said. It was his turn to appear vague. ‘Yes, with restrictions, but with some control added.’ He didn’t want to say more in front of Grady, but did say, ‘If we take you at your word, Susan, you’ll have to do exactly as we brief you and wear some kit.’

  ‘I’ve told you, I can’t wear a wire. He’ll know, he’ll check.’

  ‘Not a wire; a tracker, that’ll give us control. If we can electronically track where you are, then we’ll know where Babik is, and once you can confirm the location of the hostage for us, we can look to save her, and then nick him as well, preferably once they are separate. It’ll be easier that way.’

  Grady said she was happy with that, and seemed relieved that she wasn’t going to wear a wire. Vinnie told her to get up to police headquarters at Hutton straightaway, and collect a mobile phone with a covert tracker built in. Not one with an obvious app, like a smartphone, but one of the new Nokia retro phones which had no internet — until their police technical staff had hacked them. Most villains had become suspicious of phones since the invention of the smartphone, but Nokia had recently brought out a phone that was based on their models of yesteryear; phones that simp
ly made and received telephone calls. It was a godsend for the technical boys and girls.

  Grady hurried off, and as soon as she had left the office Harry asked, not for the first time, ‘Do you trust her?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Me neither, yet, but I guess we’ll have to run with her for now.’

  ‘No choice.’

  ‘The tracker will help.’

  ‘But will it give us enough control?’

  ‘Possibly, but it won’t hurt to have a full surveillance team follow them away from the park — if we can get one in time,’ Vinnie added.

  ‘And she doesn’t need to know about that.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘Come on Vinnie we’ve got a lot to arrange. I’ll start by ringing the chief, if you speak to the surveillance unit.’

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It took Christine over an hour to find the isolated homestead where the Mamood family lived — thank God for sat navs. She had travelled east from Manchester over the infamous Saddleworth Moor beyond Rochdale where the Moors Murderers, Brady and Hindley, had interred their victims. It was a vast area of moorland, which still had an eerie feel to it.

  Once over the moors, Christine passed a small village, to which she guessed Iqbal Mamood junior had escorted the women during their monthly trips out from their incarceration. Her sat nav said she was five miles from her destination, as she left the village and started to climb towards the Pennine Hills in the foreground. But when her navigation device announced that she was at her destination, all she could see was a vast vista of open hilly grassland to both sides of the single track road. She had to change down into second gear as the gradient became more acute. No wonder Bob-A and Shoulder-B had felt totally isolated.

  She then noticed a narrow break in the hedge to her right and could see that a rough track led from it. Worth a try.

  A bumpy five minutes later, the track came to an end beside an old stone built farmhouse that was surrounded by several outbuildings. The place had obviously been a working farm but she guessed that was a very long time ago. Christine was just glad she wasn’t a postman around here. She pulled up next to an old battered Ford Mondeo saloon, which was a good sign. As she walked past it towards the farmhouse’s solid wooden front door, she noticed that the car had several Asian-looking trinkets hanging from the driver’s mirror. Another good sign.