Impeding Justice (28 page)

‘
Do it you, numbskull. Stop
wasting bloody time.’

Ramon left the room and returned with a
camcorder within a couple of minutes. ‘Boss, something’s happened.
I need to see you in the hallway…’

‘
What is it? Spit it out. I
don’t have time for one of your infantile games.’

‘
The kid’s gone…’

‘
What? What the hell do you mean,
he’s
gone
? Escaped you
mean?’ Anger curled his head round. ‘You fucking let him out,
didn’t you?’ Before the guard could react The Unicorn grabbed his
testicles. Then let them go changing his mind. ‘Count yourself
lucky, you’re going to need them, otherwise I’d have twisted them
off and stuffed them into your cowardly mouth. But, don’t
underestimate me, Greg. I’ll give you to the count of five to tell
me where the boy is. One…two…three…four…’

‘
All right… all right. He’s
in the garden near the gatehouse. Have you any idea whose son he
is?’

‘
You useless bag of shit,
why the fuck do you think we have him? I’ve had enough of you. I
haven’t got time for this crap. Get down on your knees.’

Greg surprised him by refusing to comply with
the instruction, appearing to have found some guts from somewhere.
Either that or he’d accepted his fate. A flick of his finger and
Ramon and Giorgio stepped forward to force the man to his
knees.

‘
Start wanking.’

‘
WHAT?’

‘
Is that the only word in
your vocabulary? Now, don’t tell me you’ve never had a wank before,
Greg? Get on with it!’

The guard played with his flaccid member
until it sprang to life.

‘
That’s enough. Now shuffle
your way over to your boss. Ramon, start filming. Go on, Greg, do
it, or I’ll kill you right now.’

The guard hesitated, but then the truth of
what he’d said to him sunk in and he obeyed.

‘
Now fuck her. Go on bang
her like your life depended on it, which, by the way, Greg, it
does!’

He stopped the laugh before it took hold.
Something inside him held a fear of the madness he heard in his own
mirth when about to perpetrate a heinous crime, or watch one he’d
instigated.

Greg positioned himself behind the woman.
Another laugh threatened as he watched the guard struggle to lift
the body on to its knees and then, try to insert his almost
drooping penis inside the dead vagina. He managed it at last, his
erection coming back, probably from the pleasure of the bizarre
sexual encounter, The Unicorn thought.

‘
Right, now pump away and
open your eyes, Greg, at least look as if you’re enjoying it. Don’t
tell me you’ve never wanted to screw your mistress before. Go,
Greg, pump her hard. Pump her like there’s no tomorrow, does she
feel good, Greg, warm and welcoming or cold and hostile like your
Mrs?’

Greg remained quiet, his rhythm slow and
deliberate.

‘
Go on, Greg ride her. Ride
her as if you were the leading jockey in the Grand
National.’

Enjoying the spectacle he allowed his
laughter to have some rein. But, the sickening sound had an effect
opposite to what he’d intended, Greg vomited all over Sondra
Winwood’s torso, before pulling out and collapsing in a heap. Sobs
wracked his body making his words sound like those of a child, ‘Go
on, kill me, you bastard. Get it over and done with, I won’t do
what you want anymore.’

The Unicorn felt a moment of disappointment
line his stomach and a disgust he’d allowed his henchmen to witness
the moment of him letting go and that thing inside having control.
He barked at them to go and find the fucking boy and not to come
back without him before pulling out his gun.

Chapter Fifty-Six.

The lock would give, he knew it would, it
just proved harder to pick than any he’d tackled before. Simon
tried again, twisting the bit of metal he’d found in the gravel,
this way and that. God, if only he could stop shaking. A shot
stopped him in his tracks.

Slumping to his knees terror clawed his
insides, and sadness descended him as the realisation the final
bullet probably had Greg’s name on it. He’d never felt so alone. A
click of the front door echoed towards him, pulling him out of his
reverie. Needing to keep his wits about him, he glanced along the
drive; there were two of them. So where was the boss? He had no
time to speculate, the men had a sense of direction about the way
they ran and that direction brought them nearer to him! Greg, under
duress had obviously divulged his whereabouts.

His head swivelled round in all directions,
behind him a clump of trees offered him his only option. The pine
trees branches joined together as if they were ready to do a line
dance, forming a dark tunnel beneath them. He scrambled into it
knowing their shadow hid him, but once the men arrived this would
be the first place they’d look. Going as fast as his could in his
bent position, he made his way through. Sweat trickled into his
eyes. His mouth felt like cardboard and his throat ached with
fear.

A shaft of light ahead told him he’d reached
the other side of the thicket. Brushing the branches aside he
emerged into a clearing. A 9ft high wall bordered the ground to his
left. Ahead lay an ornate, well- kept garden, and to his right, at
a distance of around 200m stood the imposing house. In between him
and house and a little way off centre he saw what might be his
salvation. A maze.

A rustle behind him alerted him to the
nearness of his pursuers. A yell told him they’d seen him. Urged
into action, he ran across the lawn at a speed worthy of a gold
medallist making it to the dense green hedges in seconds. He
hurried in and immersed himself into the concealing depths. Having
negotiated several passageways Simon stood still. The men stood on
the edge of the maze debating what they should do. They sounded so
near.

‘
Should we follow him in
there, or should we head back and tell the boss?’

‘
Are you insane? You heard
what he said. We can’t go back without him. Come on, he couldn’t
have got far!’

Simon swallowed, willing himself not to move.
He needed to judge which way they were heading. Their feet crunched
the pebbled path. But then, they stopped. They didn’t speak, but
Simon knew by the change in sound, they had separated.

Once more his small frame helped him. Grass
trailed a narrow path around the hedges. If he kept to this it
would silence his tread. Ahead he spotted a flaw in the otherwise
perfect symmetrical hedge. Some of it had been hacked away.
Probably diseased, but whatever, it afforded him a place he could
climb and check for the exit.

There it is just a couple of right turns and
he’d be there!

Once outside he listened a moment trying to
judge the men’s progress. He heard them call out to each other.
Their voices sounding anguished.

‘
Ramon, where are
you?’

‘
How the fuck should I
know?’

‘
Christ! He’ll kill us for
this, we’re dead men!’

Simon chuckled. Dumb pieces of Shit!

He
made his way over to the Volvo, hoping the keys would still be
sitting in the ignition. But, the third man, he guessed to be the
boss stood leaning against the bonnet.
Thank God, he hadn’t noticed him.
He changed direction and skirted around the back
of the house.
Shit what the
hell do I do now?

Then, he spotted the open French doors. He
ran towards them and leapt inside. He backed across the room, his
hands out behind him feeling for any obstructions. Suddenly his
feet hit something. He stumbled and couldn’t right himself. He
landed on his back the object he’d fallen over cushioning his fall.
Turning his head, he looked into the bloody mess of Greg’s dead
face. Sightless eyes stared back at him. With vomit caught in his
throat threatening to choke him, he pushed himself up and spat out
the vile tasting liquid.

The horror of three dead bodies surrounding
him caused him to snivel like a baby. His fear turned to despair.
But then, a new courage took hold, this may indeed turn out to be
his last day on earth, but he’d give these guys a good fight.
Struggling to his feet he ordered himself to think logically. First
he must slow them down in their pursuit of him. Close and lock
doors behind him. He rushed through to the hall. The adjoining door
had a key dangling from an old fashioned brass lock. He shut and
locked it. Looking around he saw a door at the end of the hall
which had to be the entrance door, which means the car and the boss
man were just outside! He needed to lock it, but not with the key
that would make too much noise and as it wasn’t in the lock would
take too much time to locate. He’d have to push the bolts in place
without making a noise. He managed it. Turning back the way he’d
come he looked around for a phone. Saw one on a carved table
halfway along the hall, but changed his mind about using it. If
they got in through the French windows, how long would it take them
to break the inner door down? He looked towards the stairs. There
would be tons of phones up there surely? He ran up jumping two
steps at a time.

* * *

‘
Right, listen
up.’

DCI Roberts silenced the room. His command
had an urgency to it. Lorne straightened herself. She had finished
her briefing giving the team all the new information gleaned from
Reynolds and they had worked out strategies as to their next moves.
She had a feeling it had all been to no avail.

Roberts looked around at the occupants of the
room. ‘We have a definite on where our hostage is. The lad managed
to escape his captors, but remains in grave danger as he is still
in the same location as them. However, he managed to telephone his
father and told him he is being held at the house of Judge
Winwood…’

In answer to her gasp and that of most of the
others, he said, ‘Yes, I know. The implications are wider, given
that we released the judge half an hour ago and he is probably
making his way home and, very nearly there by now. We have tried
contacting him on the mobile number he gave us, but he’s not
answering. I had it scanned and he received and answered a call
just after he left here, and, wait for this. The call came from his
wife! Therefore, he knows he has guests. I have circulated his
plates to all units and we can only hope one of them intercepts
him. Also I have activated an ART and they are en route to the
house.’

‘
Have we missed something?
Is the judge more involved in this than we thought?’ Lorne
asked.

‘
Could be, or, he owes a few
favours. Nothing in his interview suggested he had any deeper
involvement, other than using the services offered to satisfy his
lust for sex with young girls. But there’s something else. The
Unicorn hasn’t just called in favours and holed up at the judge’s
home. Simon Clovelly reported three murders.’ He outlined the
supposed identities of the victims. ‘At this moment in time we
don’t know how safe Simon is. He could have found a hiding place.
We can only hope, if they’ve caught him, they think of him as a
ticket out of that place once we surround it.’

‘
Sounds like you have it all
under control, sir.’ Lorne hoped her tone admonished him, he’d put
a fucking lot into place before briefing her. Roberts had the good
grace to look shamefaced, but then, she regretted the inference
she’d put into her voice and asked, ‘Why hasn’t the case been taken
off us? Surely MI5 would be the PM’s first port of call for
help?’

Roberts looked relieved. It was enough for
Lorne that he realised he’d stepped on her toes and made her feel
like a team member rather than the lead of the investigation.
‘Maybe the Superintendent put in a good word for you, for us. Who
knows?’

‘
Yeah right, is that a pig
flying past your window? All you ever hear from him is “you’ve been
chasing this criminal for eight years and you haven’t even got
within striking distance of arresting him”. Anyway,’ she addressed
the whole room, ‘the case is still ours, so let’s take up this new
challenge. We’ve dug deep on the judge as we have on all those
involved with the party, but then, he had a classification of a bit
player. His profile in the game just lifted, so I want everything
we have on him mapping out. Don’t miss a thing. Look into his
recent cases, his lifestyle, his bank accounts, anything. The
information is all there. Go through it with a fine tooth comb and
highlight the smallest thing if you think it has relevance.’ She
stopped and looked around. Bleary, bloodshot eyes looked back at
her. ‘We’re on the final lap, guys. I can feel it. We know where
The Unicorn is, and within minutes now, thanks to DCI’s prompt
action, we’ll have him trapped in a small enclosed area. Just one
more push, eh?’

The room buzzed into life. Energised officers
scrambled for computers and files. They had the same fire in their
belly as she had. And, the same objective, nail the bastard, once
and for all!

‘
There is something worth
noting,’ AJ shouted over. He sifted through a file. ‘Judge Winwood
recently presided over a high profile terrorist case, that of one,
Abdul Mansaud, the man behind the attempted bombing of an American
Airline passenger jet departing from Heathrow heading for the
States in May of last year. Despite a good dossier of evidence the
case against Mansaud wasn’t proven and he went free.’

‘
Yes, I vaguely remember the
case. It’s got to be the connection we’ve been looking
for.’