Impeding Justice (16 page)

Lorne couldn’t remember when she’d seen Sean
so shocked.

‘
Jesus! The implications
just keep multiplying in this bloody case. Sorry, Sam, you were
saying…’

‘
It was about seven years
ago, Chief. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it where you were
stationed at the time. A drugs case went drastically wrong. A
couple of detectives were killed and the finger pointed in his
direction. No hard proof substantiated what we all knew and it
looked like he’d get away with it, but a few good men under me were
so incensed, they tried resigning. Word soon got around. Quite a
few high ranking officers put their foot down. All of them ready to
throw away years of built up pension. In the end, the powers that
be shipped Waverley out. As far as I know he hasn’t put a foot
wrong since.’

‘
I just can’t believe what
I’m hearing. Is this all about money or what?’

‘
Money, power, who the hell
knows, Lorne. Do you mind if I make a suggestion,
Chief?’

‘
By all means,
Sam.’

Because of the deadline involved, I think we
should consider rounding these guys up, bring them in for
questioning.’

‘
But, Dad, we haven’t got
time for that…’ Lorne glanced at her watch. ‘It’s almost eight
o’clock.’

The Chief nodded his acquiescence.

‘
Split the team up. You’ve got a bigger team now than I ever
had,
use
them!’

‘
But they’re stretched to
capacity as it is, Dad.’

‘
Prioritise the
investigation, go with the information you have, stop looking for
things that you may never find.’

‘
Your father’s right, Lorne. What are the guys wrapped up in
at the moment? They’re busy searching for The Unicorn, looking in
places we don’t even know he’s been. We
know
he was at
this party. Maybe some of the dignitaries at that party can shed
some light on him. Let’s face it, as things stand we’re getting
nowhere fast. I agree, let’s haul them in. By the testicles if we
have to.’

‘
At this time of day are you
kidding? They won’t like that.’

‘
Tough shit! Get things
organised, Lorne, I’m going to have a word with the
Superintendent.’

‘
Chief, I’d hold fire on that call if I were you. We don’t
know how far all this goes or
who’s
involved!’

‘
I
can’t do that, Sam. I know you and the Superintendent have never
really seen eye to eye but if I keep him out of the loop…well,
that’s unthinkable. God, my life as a DCI wouldn’t be worth living
if, or more likely,
when
he found
out.’

Chapter Thirty-Four.

‘
What is going on, Chief
Inspector? I think an explanation is warranted. Your office,
now!’

The Superintendent marched through to the
DCI’s office. Roberts followed, cursing the bad timing of his
appearance just as the partygoers had started to arrive with their
briefs.

‘
Well? I’m warning you
Roberts, you had better have a good reason for not keeping me in
the loop, when I specifically told you to. Why wasn’t I consulted
about this mass hauling in of some the most highly placed men and
dignitaries known in the city? Why did I have to hear about it from
the Commissioner?’

Roberts looked in alarm at the Superintendent. His face,
purple with rage, began to look like the
blackcurrant-
Ribena
man on the TV advert.

‘
Sorry, sir, I know I should
have contacted you, but I didn’t have time.’

‘
What? You didn’t have
time
to make a
thirty-second phone call? What kind of fool do you take me for,
Roberts?’

A
leading question…
‘You’re
aware of the time restraints we are under, sir.’

‘
Oh, the bloody deadline. A
figment of Simpkins’ imagination, which hasn’t been verified and
hasn’t an ounce of hard evidence to support it. Didn’t I inform you
about the Houses of Parliament having been swept and given the all
clear? This Unicorn character is doing what he does best. Making a
fool out of the Met and you! He’s got no intention of carrying
through this threat.’

‘
Is that what you truly
believe, sir?’

‘
Unless you can provide
evidence to the contrary…’

‘
Well, let us not forget the
fact this man is holding Inspector Simpkins’ daughter hostage as
part of the deal. What do you propose we do about that?’

‘
I
admit that is unfortunate, but you know as well as I do, that it is
our government’s policy
never
to bargain with
terrorists.’

‘
Let me get this right, sir,
you know
there is no
intention whatsoever of paying the £30 million.’

‘
That’s right. Of course, that decision is not really down
to
me,
but no, there is and never has been any intention to
pay out a penny. And, before you question the fact you weren’t told
of this, it was thought it best to leave it on a need to know
basis.’

The distinct nervousness of the
Superintendent worried Roberts. But, at this moment keeping his
anger in check to even think clearly about a reason for it wasn’t
easy.

‘
And, as the leading investigator on the case you didn’t
deem it necessary to tell
me?
’

Who the hell did this guy think he was?
Perhaps Lorne and her father had been right about him all
along!

‘
The right time didn’t
present itself. I have a busy schedule as well you know,
Roberts.’

‘
Ditto, don’t we all! You are aware of the breaking news
this morning concerning a bomb exploding in the vicinity of the
Houses of Parliament, I take it? Surely, this gives some credence
to our taking The Unicorn’s threats seriously or, are you inclined
to think
that
is a coincidence, sir?’

The Superintendent’s eyes opened wide and his
tongue slipped out, lizard like, to moisten his dry lips.

‘
A bomb…! Well… Possibly,
yes! Do you have any evidence to say otherwise? Do you know who
carried out the attack?’

‘
No, sir.’
Dumb Prick,
what was the point in arguing with the man?
‘But, we did think we should act on an assumption it
is connected to our investigations. It is too big an event to
ignore.’

‘
Yes, put like that, but
let’s get back to the reason I’ve come down here. Explain why on
earth you have pulled in these people and on whose
authority?’

After expelling an impatient breath Roberts
told him the reasons behind the questioning.

‘
As far as I know, DCI Roberts, it is
not
an
offence to attend a party.’

‘
As I said, sir, it may have been billed as a party, but it
ended up as a despicable auction. A sale of
human
flesh!
We believe
illegal immigrants are involved and we're investigating whether
they are here willingly or part of a human trafficking ring. Not to
mention the obvious connection with our ongoing case and the
involvement of the same people.’

‘
You can’t suspect these
people had anything to do with the core business going on, surely?
Yes, they were misguided in going to such an event and…’

‘
Misguided? They knew what they were up to and, knew it was
illegal activity. You seem over eager to protect them, if you don’t
mind me saying so, sir. Is there something
you’re
not
telling me?’

‘
Such as?’

‘
Oh, I don’t know. Like, did you
know
about this
party for instance or were you aware that these parties are taking
place?’

‘
Are you interrogating me,
Roberts?’

‘
No, sir. It just seems as
if none of this has come as a shock to you, so I wondered if you
were already aware of their existence.’

Maybe he was a good friend of the infamous,
Chief Superintendent, Glen Waverley?

‘
I don’t know why I’m
entertaining you, but NO, I had no prior knowledge of this party.
Does that satisfy your curiosity, Roberts?’

It didn’t, something wasn’t right, but for
now he thought it may be better to leave it and appease the
Superintendent, ‘I’m sorry, sir, blame it on lack of sleep and over
zealousness to crack the case.’

‘
Apology accepted. However,
I do think you’re going about this investigation the wrong way.
Carry on doing what you are doing and you’re going to piss off a
lot of people in power and for what? Information on a guy who has
been on the run for eight years! What could these people possibly
tell you about him that you don’t already know?’

‘
Until I interview them, I
can’t say, but I do know it is important we follow every line of
enquiry which presents itself, no matter how obscure it may seem.
With respect, sir, I take his threat seriously and as SOI, I am not
prepared to leave anything to chance. Now, I’m afraid I have to cut
this meeting short. Sergei Abromovski, is due any moment
now.’

Feeling uncomfortably unsure of his
Superintendent, Roberts led the way out of the office.

* * *

They arrived back at the squad room just as
Lorne and her father were coming out of her office.

A silence fell over the room. Shock
registered on the Superintendent's face.

‘
Hello, Superintendent
Greenfall, how nice to see you again.’ Sam said extending his
hand.

Lorne held her breath. It seemed an eternity
before the Superintendent recovered from the surprise and found his
missing voice, ‘Sam? Err…what brings you here?’

While the two men’s focus remained firmly on
each other, Lorne looked at Sean and silently pleaded with him for
help.

‘
I called him in, sir. I
thought we could use his valuable experience and of course, he is a
support to DI Simpkins, as well as the fact he is the grandfather
of her daughter…’

‘
DI Simpkins should not be
on the case…’

‘
I needed to be, sir. I am
not in charge and not causing a hindrance. In fact, I am able to
contribute a great deal under the leadership of DCI
Roberts.’

Lorne could feel her dad tensing beside her
and prayed the Superintendent would accept the situation. Now a
civilian and hating this man, there’s no telling what he would do
if pushed.

‘
I hope you know what you
are doing, Chief Inspector…’

‘
Now look, here…’

Before her father could say another word
Roberts stepped in between the two men.

‘
Sam, let me handle
this…’

Lorne dragged her father by the arm and led
him back to her office.

‘
That wasn’t helpful,
Dad.’

‘
I’m sorry, sweetheart. That little prick just rubs me up
the wrong way. He couldn’t investigate a hole in his lawn, let
alone a big case like this, and yet he has the audacity to act as
if
I
am dirt under his feet. God, the little weasel makes
my blood boil.’

‘
Which reminds me, have you
been taking your tablets, Dad?’

The sheepish look he offered told her he
hadn’t.

‘
Dad! You can’t stop taking
blood pressure tablets whenever you feel like it. I’ll see if the
Police Doctor is around and ask him if he can come and check you
over. If he says you need your medication, then I’ll get someone to
take you home to get them.’

‘
Now don’t fuss, Lorne,
we’ve got work to do.’

‘
Who’s the child around
here? I’ll be right back.’

She left her office as the Chief and the
Superintendent were going through the swing doors out of the squad
room.

‘
What happened, John, did it
calm down?’

‘
Yes. I think the
Superintendent came to think the Chief had done the right
thing…’

‘
Where are they going now,
do you know?’

‘
The Chief’s on his way to
interview Abromovski. As for the Superintendent I don’t
know…’

‘
Shit!’

The last thing Lorne wanted was to bump into
the Superintendent whilst seeking out the doctor.

By the time she reached the reception she
breathed a sigh of relief, so far so good. Sergeant Burt Harris
stood behind the desk his face etched with worry and fear. He
dropped the call he was about to make, ‘Oh, there you are, ma’am, I
was just going to contact you…’

‘
Right, perhaps we can help
each other? I’m looking for the Doc…’

‘
He’s with Crane in
interview room two…’

‘
Interview room… Crane? But
why? What’s happened?’

‘
Her brief came in to see
her… He was only with her a few minutes…’

‘
Her brief? Oh, my
God!’

Turning on her heel, Lorne bolted down the
hallway of interview rooms. Sergeant Harris followed.

‘
They’re in number two…the
last but one…’