by Jack Steele
‘Sophisticated hacking like this is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and cyber-crime is becoming the most popular way of extorting money from businesses who are compromised. In this instance the whole network has been shut down.’
‘You mean to say that there is no way of finding out who has escaped unless we pay a ransom demand?’
‘That’s right. Looking at the pictures on the BBC website the rioting at the hospital has been stepped up with even more fires breaking out. At this time I don’t think anyone can possibly perform a head count of those missing and that’s why no one has yet stormed the hospital. They simply cannot see what is around the next corner. It would be far quicker if the ransom was paid to know who escaped, who remained and whether they have abducted any Broadmoor staff to use as hostages.’
The word abducted resonated every time it was mentioned. First Gemma, then Miranda and now possibly nursing staff had been abducted. Their families would go through the same issues and pain that I felt for over a year using different coping mechanisms to get through the ordeal. My way was to bury myself in work whilst searching for answers during various investigations. I relived the exact moment I was told of her disappearance as her Border Patrol entered the building looking for illegal immigrants. The London Mafia owned that building so I made it my mission to find out more about them but then just a few days ago, I discovered it was the ‘family’ hit man Marcos Viletta that had returned Gemma to the sanctuary.
‘You ok Joe?’ Graham snapped me from my thoughts.
‘Sorry Graham. Keep up the good work. Oh and the Commissioner asked me to mention that your meeting tomorrow with the CIA has been cancelled indefinitely.’ I sensed his relief by the brief pause then a big sigh.
‘Thanks Boss.’
‘No worries Graham. Keep up the good work.’
Carl smiled at me.
‘What?’
‘Did he just call you…Boss?’
I hadn’t picked up on that initially but yes he had. I was reluctantly filling our commander’s shoes while he recovered in hospital but obviously my priority was to keep the SIU running effectively in his absence. The way to show that was to lead by example. That made me focus on the most important issue of our investigation namely, finding Geb Blood and ultimately Miranda. So our first priority was to interview his secondary school teacher and make sure she wouldn’t end up yet again in his van.
That same van had just pulled up outside her home.
Chapter 13
Carl pulled up outside the terraced house of Johanne Julious. The young Constable who was waiting outside the property updated us with the house to house enquiries. They had drawn a blank. Most households had refused to even open their doors. London is densely populated but like so many cities people living next door to each other don’t even know one another’s names.
I left Carl chatting to the officer while I had a look around. The small front gardens were mainly decorative pots sitting on pea shingle. It appeared to me that whoever had the original idea had it copied.
The net curtains covering Johanne’s windows made it difficult to see if anyone was at home but it was obvious that she wasn’t at home so we knocked on a few doors.
It took several attempts to get a door to open to us and then it was pure luck that she knew Johanne.
A pang of guilt hit me like a sniper’s bullet because of the delay in coming here. I feared that the Chameleon may have already struck. This became more evident when we spoke to the elderly lady called Doreen. She had witnessed a white van pull up earlier belonging to what seemed a garage mechanic. He proceeded to knock on Johanne’s door and left just before the police arrived. I showed her the picture of Geb Blood we had on file but she couldn’t be sure it was him. We thanked her for her time and left our contact details if either he or Johanne returned. Then Carl and I went back to his car.
‘Geb Blood once again had one of his better disguises. Everyone these days might see an AA or RAC van parked outside someone’s home so it wasn’t unusual to see a garage mechanic knocking on someone’s door.’
‘Thank goodness no one was answering. He would have had a quick check through the front door letterbox and peered through the windows before realising, like us, it was a wasted journey.’
I thought about Blood and his profile. Despite being unable to speak, having lost his voice at a young age, I imagined the fury brewing inside him and he would attempt to roar in frustration. He would have been so fired up with the expectation of resuming his sick experiments that this delay wasn’t acceptable. I bet the anger boiled up like lava exploding from a volcano, punching his steering wheel in rapid succession with such ferocity that he drew blood on the knuckles of his clenched fist.
Carl drove off and I messaged Graham to contact Johanne’s school. Doreen believed that Johanne was on holiday so we had to find out where and when she was due to return. We had to locate at which airport she would be landing, ensuring we would intercept her arrival before Blood. Carl then offered an idea.
‘If she is on holiday and somehow he knows when she returns, what is stopping us from catching him in the act?’
I thought about his suggestion but all the airports in London get so busy and to risk such an operation in a location where there is a danger to the public could be seen as reckless.
‘Keep that on the back burner Carl. If things get desperate we may have to consider it.’
Chapter 14
Our next trip was to the brickworks near St Alban’s. The building held a lot of clues to his sick and twisted mind and it was possible, if unlikely, that he had returned there to carry on where he left off. Stella had contacted me as we were on our way there. She needed to get out of headquarters to be more hands on physically and jumped at the chance to join us.
We only had a few more hours of daylight so I was pleased that Stella arrived just a few minutes after we had. A metal fence had been erected around the site with barbed wire along the top of it.
‘You would have thought that it would have all been pulled down and built on by now’
The three of us stood looking at the buildings which had become notorious for all the wrong reasons. I had to agree with Stella as it was obvious that for some reason the demolition work had been halted. Yet there had been some progress here. Several buildings had been pulled down, already reduced to rubble but the main building, which must have been the factory, appeared mainly intact.
The wind whistled around the site and lifted corrugated sheets of metal and wood that lay on the ground. It added to the unease I was feeling of this eerie place.
We ventured forward towards the large metal gates. Multiple signs were hanging on the large fencing to warn people to keep out.
In one of the buildings the glass windows that were still intact had a cross of tape on each pane which looked eerie as the sun began to sink lower in the sky. Visibility would be poor in a couple of hours so if we were going in then we needed to get a move on.
Then Carl made a startling discovery.
‘Look at this!’ Carl exclaimed holding the large heavy padlock on the main gate. It had been tampered with and it was open.
Chapter 15
We could have found Blood and maybe the others that escaped with him. It made sense for him to make his way back to his lair and begin where he left off a couple of years ago. My heart raced at the prospect as we made our way inside the compound and with our guns firmly gripped by our sides. We were mentally prepared for an attack.
The detritus on the ground made for an unsteady approach with Carl stumbling a few times on the uneven surface. We had to negotiate bricks, splintered wood and twisted metal. Stella was forging ahead towards the main building; desperate as we all were to find Miranda.
Blocking the main entrance was a rusty old crane, the cabin’s bodywork dented and left to the elements, the buckled boom mangled with twisted metal on the ground. There had to be another way inside.
The thought of madme
n watching and waiting as we drew nearer ready to spring their trap made me feel uneasy. It felt like we could be picked off by a sniper’s bullet at any second. It wouldn’t be the first time that we had been attacked in that way.
We continued around the corner and it was then that Stella pointed to a metal ladder propped up against an open window.
‘Should we call for backup?’ Carl asked as his eyes scanned the building.
‘The Met should have already been here today but check in with Graham while I see what is inside.’ My heart rate increased as I climbed up and slowly scanned the interior. The large warehouse appeared completely empty so I decided to clamber inside and step down onto an old mattress. It could have been deliberately placed underneath the window to ensure a safe entry. As the other two joined me I studied the possible exits. The building appeared deserted with graffiti all over the walls. Water was in large puddles on the floor obviously entering via a large hole in the roof. Over to the right there were two doors leading into what I presumed to be office blocks and as we headed over to them I heard noises from inside.
Stella’s eyes grew wide with anticipation and Carl nodded to me that he was ready. We were mentally prepared for whoever lay in wait behind the door as I put my hand on the handle.
Chapter 16
For a split second there were screams and shouts as we stormed the room. Panic was all over the faces of a group of teenagers who immediately dropped their spray cans and raised their hands in the air.
‘Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!’ shouted the tallest one of the four, ‘we didn’t mean any harm.’
‘You idiots!’ screamed Stella still mortified that she could have fired on them. I guessed she was as disappointed as I was that we hadn’t captured Blood and his associates.
‘Ok lads time to go.’ Carl ordered. He kept the door open for them to leave and they didn’t hang around. They knew we could have arrested them for trespassing and vandalising property so they ran to the open window.
‘How are your heart rates?’ Carl chuckled and promptly received a thump on the arm by Stella and a few expletives for good measure.
Graham was repeatedly shouting my name until I answered that it was a false alarm and that we were all fine if not a little shaken up.
We checked the next room but it was clear that Blood hadn’t returned here. Stella pointed to the far wall then recounted the last time she was here.
‘In this room we found two survivors waiting for Geb Blood to end their lives. They were so traumatised by what they had witnessed. Joe, we need to protect them as well.’
I agreed and got onto Graham to locate their whereabouts but he had already re-familiarised himself with the case and as a result had bad news.
‘One has taken her own life and the other was admitted to a psychiatric hospital well away from here. She won’t be of much use I’m afraid.’
Clearly the ordeal was too much for them to handle so our priority had to be his teacher who returned from holiday tomorrow. We could protect her but at the same time be ready to arrest him when he came to abduct her.
We were glad to get out of that building and back to our cars. Stella was showing signs of stress. It was etched on her face, all the lines in her furrowed brow and the look as if she was about to cry. I decided to extend our search for a little longer in the hope that we could locate our colleague Miranda.
When Graham had sent me the location of the Blood family home I saw Stella nod her appreciation.
‘I will follow you and let’s pray we can get this creep by the end of tonight.’
If luck was on our side then it was possible although highly unlikely. As we headed off to Epping Forest and their last known address we were unaware of the surprise waiting there in the woods.
Chapter 17
We passed the sign for Epping Forest and three hundred yards on the right was a dirt track that led from the main road to the Blood residence. Surrounded by trees and cut off from civilisation it was an ideal place for those wishing to disconnect from society.
‘It’s as remote as it can be isn’t it?’ Carl mumbled as the tyres negotiated the uneven surface. The car rocked from side to side like a ship caught in a sea storm. The ideal vehicle to negotiate this track would be a white transit van and as we approached a bend in the road I wondered if we would meet it coming the opposite way. Out here in the secluded woodland it would be an even contest as the three of us battled against the psychopath and his fellow fugitives. Oh how I wished they would be there.
As we turned the final bend to the right there was no van and the road just ended. All that remained in front of us lit by the headlights was a large dilapidated wooden gate. On which was a handwritten sign ‘Trespassers Keep Out’. It had been hand painted in red and the letters had drips running to the base of the sign as if some macabre warning of certain death if we continued past this point.
‘Should we call for back up?’ Carl muttered with eyes transfixed on the sign.
‘There’s already been a visit today from the Met. They reckon no one is around. Let’s just do our own sweep of the building to settle our minds and take it from there.’
We stepped out of the car and Stella joined us.
‘Nice!’ she exclaimed looking at the warning.
The thought that we could find Miranda kept us going as we clambered over the gate and made our way through the trees.
We had to use a torch to avoid tripping over raised roots or other objects on the leafy path. It probably would have been better to visit in daylight but the urgency of finding her was an overriding factor of our being there. Progress was slow due to the many low branches that had to be negotiated as we edged nearer to the outline of a building.
A clearing allowed the full moon to light up the ramshackle property; the circling trees conjured up weird shadows through the bare branches, making an eerie setting.
There was another gate which was cruder than the first. It leaned forward due to the posts were rotted through neglect. The only thing holding it up was cheap orange webbing that acted as a barrier. It was only about four feet high and appeared to circle the Blood’s residence. To the left was a dilapidated carport with an asbestos roof broken in half. Tyres of all sizes were piled up next to it alongside a water butt that no longer gathered the rainwater.
Carl pushed the gate open causing it to fall flat on the wet earth. He turned to face us with a shrug of his shoulders and assisted Stella over the rotten gate.
The home of Geb Blood stood before us. The corrugated metal roofing shone in the moonlight acting as additional lighting. It revealed the front garden which resembled a scrap merchant’s property. Rusted old bicycles, tangled hosepipes, buckets and garden tools discarded among the weeds. A battered brown suitcase was half buried under the tangled metalwork. It was in one such case that Geb had dumped his father, chopping him up into small pieces to enable him to close the lid. There was no sign of his brother or mother, both it was assumed had met the same grisly end. It felt like his presence was behind every tree and waiting to pounce should we lower our guard.
The building itself had the blue and white ‘POLICE DO NOT CROSS tape across the front door of the residence.
Stella ploughed on towards a large window which surprisingly still had the glass intact. She cautiously peered inside but a grey net curtain obscured the view.
We circled around the single level property and met up by the locked back door which had more police tape attached to it.
‘If anyone is inside then either they have successfully been hiding from the police visit today or there is another way in.’ Stella deduced.
I suddenly shivered, sensing that someone was watching us. It made me feel nervous and then Carl surprised the both of us.
Chapter 18
Carl ran at the door with his shoulder making short work of the lock. The wood splintered and the door gave way under his immense strength. Stella looked at me then shrugged as she followed me inside. When we ente
red our senses were on high alert. The overpowering musty smell of damp filled my nostrils as I looked around the sitting room.
The light from our torches revealed dusty furniture, cobwebs and the signs of neglect. The old settee had seen better days with stuffing hanging out of large rips in the material.
Over the fireplace hung a painting of a dog, the glass cracked and gold paint was flaking off the frame. It was apparently obvious that no one had lived here in a long time; either that or someone had tried to give that impression. The carpet was thread bare revealing original wooden floorboards that led into the kitchen.
Pots and pans were piled up in the enamel sink with thick mould covering the remnants of the last meal. I spotted a large meat cleaver on the draining board. This wasn’t the one used by Geb Blood to dismember his father in a moment of madness but it did make me wonder what had caused him to snap. The foul stench emanating from the sink became so overpowering that I couldn’t stay in there.
The next room was the bathroom with a discoloured bath stained by a leaking tap. I didn’t even look at the toilet judging by what I had already seen in this hovel. Two bedrooms were the final rooms to search. Both appeared in reasonably good condition albeit cobwebs were strewn from their windows to the pendant lights hanging down from the ceiling. The smallest bedroom had a single bed and a gap where once stood a wardrobe. I thought it strange that every item of furniture was still in place throughout the building except for that.
I shivered as an unsettling feeling of being watched made me feel uneasy. This dilapidated residence had been home to one of the most savage and unhinged minds of present times and the fact he was still out there somewhere made me nervous.
We regrouped in the lounge and I knew by my colleagues dejected faces that we were all at a low point. I was searching for the right words to say but there were none forthcoming.
