Hot Blood (Bloodwords Book 1) (52 page)

‘HQ
dreamed up the conference policing project that kept Frank out of circulation.
Don worked it so that Frank was in the office when we had a briefing. That was
weird actually because after Frank had left for a meeting with the Chief, Don
changed all the details of the operation. Apparently the Chief gave Frank the
afternoon off – that gave him the opportunity to muster his troops and
start to get the cars away. In the first briefing Don had said we would hit the
farm but the actual operation was centred on the
Scarisbrick
warehouse.’

‘That
was cunning Debbie.’

‘Frank
was being watched all the time and once everything was running, Handley called
him back in, kept him out of circulation in the office then sent him to the
Ramada. He thought that he was meeting with two Home Office officials and two
HQ guys but all four were from HQ, keeping him out of circulation and away from
his car long enough for CSI to check it over. As well as the forged V5
documents from the warehouse at
Scarisbrick
, they
found Peter Archer’s wallet and other items that linked him not just with all
three of the dead bodies but with Bradshaw-Smith as well. Then when all of the
drivers identified both Frank and Bradshaw-Smith it was really sewn up.’

‘So
what happened to the cars, where have they disappeared to? And has it been
established who was actually responsible for the three deaths?’

‘Frank
and Brian Bradshaw-Smith. Frank had the forensics knowledge and almost got away
with it. Actually, he covered their tracks pretty well, but once things started
to come unstuck, CSI found lots of evidence. They always used their pseudonyms
within the group so the others only knew Frank as Fraser Downing and Brian as
Edward. Frank was clever in not ever touching any of the cars they nicked, but
Don had been watching him throughout the hit on the college car store and there
were prints in the college in places he knew that Frank hadn’t been. Two
officers were inside the
Scarisbrick
warehouse and
photographed him directing the operation and part of a car VIN plate was found
in his boot that matched another piece picked up by DS Fraser in the caravan
park workshop.

‘When
Rick Worth came round he spilled the beans. He had been dragged in because he
wanted to raise some quick cash to set up home with his girlfriend. He used to
doctor the car
idents
at Peter Archer’s workshop.
When Archer found out what was happening he tried to get money from Frank
– although he didn’t know who he really was of course – to keep his
mouth shut. Frank offered him big money if he would change some chassis numbers
and then put the lift down on him when he was doing it. Hey presto, blackmailer
out of the way.’

‘Bloody
hell, that’s brutal.’

‘Very.
Rick himself tried to get out a couple of times but was threatened and carried
on reluctantly. The last straw came when Bradshaw-Smith expected him to doctor
Councillor Ashworth’s Bentley – that was the car we chased from the
MotorFest
, remember?’

‘Do
I? I’ll never forget that day. It was Frank in the Scooby holding us up wasn’t
it?’

‘It
was. Rick’s girlfriend was the councillor’s daughter so that put him in quite a
spot. Bradshaw-Smith knocked off
Krawiec
and set up
the fake car crash then Frank did
Lewinelsky
. It was
quite a slick operation actually. On that last day they were observed and
photographed all the way through from moving the cars out of the
Scarisbrick
warehouse, loading them into the containers and
then the trucks driving to the port. The drivers and Bradshaw-Smith were all
picked up once the trucks had left but Frank was left to drop himself further
in the mire. The transport company was all legit so HQ and dock security just waited
until the containers had been checked in and the trucks were on their way back
to Yorkshire before they moved in. The containers had been declared as
household effects bound for Famagusta, the Northern Cyprus port, and when they
were opened that’s what it looked like. The first few feet were packed to the
top with boxes but when they were removed, behind them were cars. There were
six containers altogether, all packed the same way. The authorities in Cyprus
have been alerted, so with a bit of luck the Cyprus end will also be nabbed.’

‘I
wouldn’t have thought that there would be enough buyers on such a small
island.’

‘Well,
we won’t know for sure until the whole thing is complete, but from what we can
see, the household effects and a couple of cars are likely to be offloaded but
the rest of the cars will be re-exported as legitimate car exports. We don’t
yet know where to. Cyprus is just the place where they get a new legality. The
north of the island is known as TRNC and is not in the EU so the systems are
quite different. Frank and Brian seem to have made it work quite profitably.’

‘So
where does all that leave you then? You used to work with Frank so you’ve no
boss, no partner. And has your job security changed? I hope that it has because
I feel awfully responsible.’

Looking
out over the fields she shivered. They had been talking for ages and the sun
had already disappeared behind a hill, the temperature dropping appreciably.
Simon put his arm around her shoulders protectively and she leaned in to him, welcoming
his warmth.

‘You
were responsible in a way, but you were also responsible for some of the leads.
At first I was a bit miffed when the Chief put Sean with Frank, although I
didn’t want to be put on the conference thing either. It was a bit confusing.
Then when Don briefed us I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t see Frank doing
any of that at all. But as it all came together it became a challenge.
Actually, I admire the way Don handled it all. He saw it through and managed to
protect me as well.’

‘Tucking
her legs under her and leaning her head on his shoulder she continued. ‘What
the future will bring I don’t know. I have to go through to Liverpool next week
for an interview. Don and the Chief both say I’ve nothing to worry about but
I’m not confident.’

‘But
surely all the good work you did and the leads we gave them must count for
something? Won’t that overshadow your little indiscretion checking the DVLA for
me?’

‘If
only,’ she replied. ‘Doing that isn’t just a little indiscretion; it’s a
sackable
offence with no questions asked. The Chief said
that with a little care he could possibly have hidden it but that if he had,
then for the rest of my career I would have been looking over my shoulder. If
anyone brought it out of the woodwork it would have spelled big trouble. I
don’t know what he’s done about it, just that I have an interview at HQ next
week. Nobody at my level has interviews at HQ; a DI or DCI always sees us at
our own stations so I am expecting some sort of wrap on the knuckles. I could get
pushed back to DC, thrown back to uniforms – or out of the Force
completely.’

‘Well
I don’t think they can do anything like that if they’ve a heart at all. But in
any case, if it’s not till next week then for now you will just have to do what
you can to put it all out of your mind,’ he said, looking at his watch.
‘Heavens, have you seen the time? We still haven’t eaten. I’ll go and get
cooking.’ He stood up, looking at her in the dusk. ‘How much time have we got?
What time do you need to go?’

‘Oh,
there’s no rush Simon. Actually, I’m very happy here.’

Acknowledgements

Without
the support of more people than could be mentioned here, or the marvellous
technology that has made eBook publishing possible, this novel would never have
seen the light of day, so I would like to thank all my numerous supporters
collectively, as well as Amazon Kindle, Apple
iBooks
,
Kobo and Palm.

  
But some must be identified. My
major debt is to my wife. By necessity, intensive research and the writing of
any novel takes time and impacts greatly on day-to-day life. As ever, Janet
coped with constant irregularity throughout. Thanks also to our son, Martin, a
CSI with the police (though not in the area in which my book is set), who
looked over my shoulder to ensure that I did not drop a forensic hot potato.

  
Peter Jones and Kevin Groom were also
ever present crutches as the story developed; I hope that this final version
meets the expectations they clearly expressed through the reading of numerous
ever changing draft stages and I thank them for their words of support along
the way.