Dubious Justice (15 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Questions bombarded her mind all night long. Finally, at five thirty, Lorne carefully got out of bed, hoping not to wake her sleeping husband, and went downstairs. After making a cup of coffee, she opened the back door and walked across the drive to the freshly dug mound of dirt. “Hello, boy.” Tears filled her eyes the moment Henry’s face filtered into her mind. A lump the size of an orange lodged in her throat, preventing her from saying more. Caring owners always found it hard to lose their beloved pets, but Henry had been so much more than a pet to her. He had been a constant companion that had seen her through some extremely rough times over the years, and she felt truly empty without him.

A hand gently touched her shoulder. “Mum? Are you all right?”

With tears streaming down her face, Lorne gathered her daughter in her arms and kissed the top of her head. “I will be, one day. It’s still very raw. That’s all, sweetie.”

“I know, Mum. I still cry myself to sleep at night. I know we’ve opened our hearts to Sheba now, but she’ll never take Henry’s place. No dog could ever do that.”

Lorne pushed Charlie away from her then wiped the tears from her eyes with her thumbs. “I’m so proud of you, Charlie. I don’t say it nearly enough.”

“You don’t have to say it, Mum—I know. I’m proud of you, too. I always have been. One day, when I’m not so involved in this place, I’d still like to follow in your footsteps and become a copper.”

Lorne’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? I thought you’d bypassed that plan when you took over here. I’m not sure how I feel about that, love. Criminals are getting harder to catch and using more and more dangerous ways to commit their crimes. There is one thing in our favour now, though…”

Charlie tilted her head. “What’s that, Mum?”

“You know I’ve been supporting that coppers in the UK should be armed? Well, I’m going to get my chance soon enough.”

“You’re going to carry a gun?” Charlie asked, shocked.

“Not quite that far. I’m going to have Taser training, starting next week. Hey, it looks like we’ve just wrapped up another case, so there shouldn’t be anything standing in the way of my proposed training.”

“Wowza! Aren’t those things supposed to be dangerous?”

“If used incorrectly, any weapon can be deadly in the wrong hands, Charlie. I think the aim is to use the Tasers more as a deterrent than to actually fire the damn things. The latest statistics seem to back that up, too. Most criminals are giving themselves up once the officers draw their Tasers out, ready to use.”

Charlie shuddered. “I’m not surprised. I wouldn’t fancy having fifty thousand volts going through me like that.”

“You’re well-informed on the subject. How did you know how many thousand volts it discharges?”

“I can’t remember. I think I heard it recently on one of the forensic shows or something like that. How do you feel about being in charge of a Taser?”

“I’m not sure really. I’ve supported the right to carry guns for years. I suppose I have to feel a little responsible for Tasers coming into circulation. Apparently, thirty thousand officers have been authorised to use them at a cost of eight million pounds. It would be foolish to turn the opportunity down now.”

“Good luck with the training. Let me know how it works out. Right, I have dogs to feed and exercise.” She kissed Lorne on the cheek and hugged her. “Chin up, Mum.”

“I’ll get there, sweetie.”

Lorne went back inside the house to get ready for work. She cooked a full English breakfast for Charlie and Tony then drove to the station early that morning. When she arrived, AJ was at his desk, as usual. “Are you sleeping here at the moment, young man?”

He laughed. “Not exactly, Lorne. I might as well be here rather than sitting in an empty flat.”

“Have you heard from Katy? I should have rung her last night, but I was too exhausted when I got home. It’s no excuse; I know.”

“She understands that, Lorne. The doctor gave her some hopeful news yesterday. They’re going to put her father on a revolutionary drug they’re trialling that is supposed to repair the damage to his heart.”

“Okay. How does Katy feel about that?”

He hitched up a shoulder. “Anything is better than nothing at this point. He’s not responded to any other treatment they’ve tried, so why not?”

“Not sure how I’d feel if they told me my father was going to be a pioneering guinea pig.”

“I hear you. Looking at it the other way—they’ve tried everything else except a heart transplant, so what choice do they have?”

“Still a tough decision to make. Is her mum holding up okay?”

“She appears to be. She’s grateful that Katy is there with her to deal with the doctors
et cetera.
”

“At times like this, families should always stick together and support each other.” Lorne mentally kicked herself for not ringing her sister, Jade, lately, and she promised herself to do that either during the week or at the weekend when Charlie was away.

“I agree. What’s on the agenda today, now that we’ve caught the criminals?”

The phone on Lorne’s desk rang, and she rushed to answer it. “Hello, DS Warner,” she said, hastily forgetting her new title.

“It’s the desk sergeant, ma’am. I suppose I better ask if you’re sitting down?”

“Get on with it, Sergeant?”

“Ma’am, we’ve been told that Courtney Platt has escaped.”

“My God! This is a sick joke, isn’t it?” She glanced over at AJ, her free arm slapping her thigh out of despair.

“No, ma’am. The reports are that the van hit another vehicle and ended up in the hedgerow. They’re blaming it on the fog we had last night.”

“Sod the weather report. What the effing hell is being done to catch the bastard?” Lorne collapsed into her chair. AJ left his desk and sat in the spare chair opposite her. Lorne covered the phone and filled him in on the drama. “Platt has gone missing.”

“Shit!” AJ responded.

The desk sergeant calling said that an alert had been issued immediately, but nothing had materialised regarding the escaped convict as yet.

“What a bloody mess. When did this happen?”

“Um… at eleven last night, ma’am.”

“What? And I’m just learning about this now because?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. I’ve not long come on duty myself.”

“Okay, we’re wasting time, and I have a dangerous bloody criminal to catch. Where did the accident happen?”

The sergeant gave Lorne the location. She jotted it down then slammed the phone into the cradle. “Pull up a map, AJ. Let’s see if we can work out where he’s heading.”

They both rushed to AJ’s computer screen. “It’s in the middle of nowhere, in the midst of a forest, Lorne.”

“Shit and double shit. I better let the chief know.” Lorne pulled out her mobile, aware that Sean wouldn’t be at work yet, and rang his mobile. “Sean, it’s Lorne. Platt’s escaped.”

“He’s
what
? Jesus, when?”

“I’m bloody furious. It happened at eleven o’clock last night, and I’ve just found out. AJ and I have located the area on the map. It’s thick forest. We’ll never catch the bastard.”

“Okay, I’m ten minutes from the station. Let me pull in some favours when I get there. We can organise a search team. He won’t get away from us, Lorne. Get onto the ports
et cetera.
”

“On my to-do list. Can we go to the scene ourselves first thing?”

“Of course. I’ll see you soon—and Lorne?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll catch him. He can’t have gone far.”

Lorne disconnected the call and shook her head. Then an idea struck her. She grabbed her mobile again and dialled a number she obtained from flicking through her notebook. “Hi, Denis. This is Lorne Warner.”

“Hello, Lorne. Are you ringing to tell me social services have changed their mind?”

“No. I’m sorry. I’ll get onto that later on today. Denis, I have some bad news for you.”

She heard the man humph as if he’d dropped into a chair. “Go on.”

“It’s your father. He’s escaped. I wanted to warn you in case he turns up there.”

“Fuck! How did this happen?”

“There was an accident. I need to get on and try to find him but wanted you to be aware of the situation first. Do you have any idea where he would go, Denis?”

Denis exhaled. “I can’t think of anywhere. Not off the top of my head. Can I have a think about it and get back to you, Lorne?”

“Sure. We need to act swiftly, Denis. Try to think of places you went during your childhood—a favourite holiday spot, anything along those lines.”

The man stayed silent, then said, “Nothing is coming to mind right now. I’ll think about it and call you if I remember anything. Please, hurry up and find him. There’s every chance he could come after me.”

Baffled, Lorne asked, “Why, Denis?”

“Just take my word for it, Lorne. I’ll get back to you soon.”

“Denis, before you go, I’ll organise a squad car to sit outside your property. Will that help?”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Lorne spent the next ten minutes making a series of urgent calls whilst tugging her hair from its roots during some of them. Sean barged through the incident room doors as she was hanging up from her final call.

“Any news?”

“Not yet. I’ve rung Denis to warn him, just in case his father decides to show up there.”

“You’ve alerted the ports and airports?”

“Yep. Did you manage to call in any favours?” Lorne asked.

“Not yet. All my contact details are at my desk. I’ll get on it straight away. Let’s hit this hard and fast for the next half an hour. It’s not too late. If he’s still in the vicinity, we can pick him up before he has a chance to get too far away.”

Lorne shook her head. “We’re talking ten hours since the incident occurred, Sean. I very much doubt that he’ll still be in the area. I’m going to get the dog tracking team out there. Hopefully, they’ll pick up a scent at least.”

“Good idea. Let me get onto my contacts. I’ll be right back.”

True to his word, Sean pulled a few strings and arranged several teams to join them at the scene of the accident. Lorne got out of the car and ran to inspect the van for herself. She walked all around it, trying to find any clues as to why the vehicle left the road. It wasn’t until she reached the back of the van that she noticed a dent in the bumper. She pointed out the twisted metal to Sean. “I wonder if that was there before the accident. I need to find out what has happened to the police driver, too.”

Sean took out his phone and made a call to the station to ask if the vehicle had any damage to its rear before it was used to transport the prisoner. He shook his head at Lorne and hung up. “Nope, it was in good nick. You’re thinking this was no accident?”

“Yep. What if there’s a third person involved in this that we know nothing about? What if they took the risk and forced the vehicle off the road to help him escape?” Lorne looked over her shoulder and saw one of the police dog handlers at the rear of his vehicle unloading one of his dogs. “Hey, over here,” she called.

The officer and his German shepherd dog trotted across the road to join them.

“Hi, I’m Acting Detective Inspector Warner. Can you try and pick up the suspect’s scent from here? I want to know if he set off into the woods on foot or if there was another car waiting for him.”

While the officer and the dog worked the area, Lorne again cursed herself for calling Denis.
What if he’s involved? What if he’s the third person? I’ve just warned him that we’re aware of his dad’s escape! Shit! Me and my big mouth.
But then her other inner voice reprimanded her and told her she’d done the right thing by ringing Denis. That voice was absolutely adamant that Denis was innocent.

Sean nudged her elbow and asked, “What are you thinking?”

“Where, why, who… you know, the usual stuff. You don’t suppose the son was part of this elaborate plan, do you?”

“I wouldn’t like to say. You’re the one who usually has a sixth sense about folks.”

“Yeah, I know at this moment in time, my inner voice is having an almighty argument with itself. No!” she stated definitively. “It can’t be him. I’m going to ring AJ, get him to do further checks, see if there’s another member of the family that has escaped our radar so far.” Lorne took a few steps then pulled her mobile from her jacket pocket. “AJ, it’s me. Do me a favour and start delving into the family tree. See if we’ve missed out a relative who could have been involved in the murders and helped Platt escape.”

“Right. So you don’t think it was just an accident then, boss?”

“No. The rear bumper has evidence of being struck. Can you also check if Mrs. Platt made it to the remand centre?”

“I’ll get on it right away. Hopefully, get back to you soon.”

“Wait, AJ! Can you also find out where the driver is? If he’s in a hospital, which one? When you find out, ask either Stephen or Graham to chase it up, see if the driver has made a statement of the events. If he hasn’t, get one.”

“Will do.”

Lorne ended the call. She rejoined Sean and the dog handler. “Anything?”

“Yes, the scent disappeared about here.” He pointed to a spot in the middle of the road.

“So, it’s as we expected. He had a bloody accomplice.”

“Looks that way. We might as well call off the search of the area in that case. We can utilise the men to form a wider search, yes?” Sean asked.

“Agreed. We need to go and see Denis, I think.”

“As a suspect?” Sean asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, not really. For information about where his father is likely to head for. I asked him on the phone earlier, but he couldn’t think of anywhere. I’m not happy about leaving it there, though. We should show up in person, see if the pressure of seeing us jolts a memory or something.”

They pulled up outside Denis and Sam’s flat. Lorne nodded to the uniformed officer sitting in his squad car across the road from the flat. Sam opened the door the second the bell rang. She seemed upset and jittery.

“Is Denis in, Sam?”

“He is. Can I have a word before you see him?”

“Of course. About what?” Lorne replied, glancing sideways at Sean.