City on Fire, page 28
‘What the hell is going on?’ said Dr Blaketon, as a dark wet patch ballooned across the front of his trousers.
‘I’m just trying to help you understand what your job here is. Sir Ben has made a couple of simple requests and it seems you need some encouragement grasping that.’ Tony thrust the gun into Dr Blaketon’s right kidney.
Sir Ben needed to get this back under his control, while keeping up the illusion that he and Tony were working in consort. ‘It’s really simple, Trevor. My mum is going to fly to the US today. You’re going to sign the necessary papers and prepare her. In the meantime, I’m going to free up the funds, book the air ambulance and confirm the procedure with the doctors at the other end, then we give my mum her life back.’
‘But …’
The gunshot silenced the doctor and Sir Ben was sure he’d lost his hearing for ever.
47
It had taken twenty minutes for Jo to get through to the hospital and another five to assure the ward clerk she was who she said she was. Only then did she learn that the boys were still critical but stable. She wasn’t sure whether to take heart from that or be terrified it meant they weren’t going to recover.
By the time she’d finished the call, Spanners had arrived and was talking to Saira up the road. Jo risked flashing her headlights and the two walked briskly to the car. Saira got in the front, and Spanners in the back.
‘Hi. I’m Jo. We’ve met before,’ she said over her shoulder.
‘Yeah, I remember. I heard it was you who got me arrested, so this better be good.’
‘No, you did that. Forget about it though. Can you help save two boys’ lives?’
‘Your boys. Sorry to hear that.’
Jo turned to Saira. ‘I see you’ve brought him up to speed?’
‘I thought it would save time.’
Jo nodded. ‘Shown him the photo?’
‘Yep.’
‘And can we trust him?’
Spanners interrupted. ‘I am here you know. Yes, you can. Despite you getting me nicked, I need help to get out of this shitstorm I’m in so, for now, I’m all yours.’
‘Do you know the guy?’ Jo showed him the picture.
‘I’ve seen him about. Not sure I’ve ever spoken to him. Not properly like, but we are on nodding terms.’
‘Good, good. So, do you think you can get in there and coax him out?’
‘What, so you can nick him? I’m not happy about that. I’d be known as a grass for ever.’
‘No, we’re not going to nick him,’ said Jo, leaving ‘yet’ off the end of the sentence.
‘What are you going to do then?’
‘We need to speak to him. Urgently.’
Spanners didn’t reply, then, as if a lightbulb had appeared above his head, he smiled. ‘I’ve got an idea.’
Jo and Saira exchanged glances. ‘Go on.’
‘Well, from what Saira told me, this bloke has come to Brighton on the same terms as the rest of us. He’s completed his task, so now he should be looking over his shoulder as it won’t be long until they deal with him like they have everyone else. I’m on borrowed time too, you know.’
‘And not just from them,’ added Jo. ‘What’s your idea?’
‘He needs a reason to come with me. I’ll make him think the time is up for both of us but that I’ve found someone to get us away.’
‘What if he’s not in there?’ said Saira.
‘Let’s worry about that later,’ said Jo. ‘Off you go then and don’t be long. We may not have much time.’
Spanners got out of the car and walked across the square. Jo could only see him standing at the door, not how he managed to get in, but in a second he was out of sight.
‘You reckon he’ll do it?’ said Jo.
Saira shrugged. ‘He’s our best chance.’
Jo said nothing but bit her lip, watching the car clock tick over.
Eight minutes later, two figures darted from the squat door, and in thirty seconds were sat behind Jo and Saira.
‘This is Terry,’ said Spanners. ‘I’ve told him you’re going to save his life.’
As Dr Blaketon fell, Sir Ben glared at Tony then went to the medic, checking for wounds.
‘Trevor, are you OK?’
‘He’s OK,’ said Tony, ‘which is more than I can say for your bathroom tiles.’
‘Boys. Has one of you dropped something?’ came Audrey’s voice from the bedroom.
‘It’s OK, Mum, nothing to worry about.’ Sir Ben turned to Tony. ‘What the fuck are you playing at?’
‘He just needed a reminder that he’s not in charge.’
Sir Ben stood up, then dragged the quaking doctor to his feet. ‘He’s a nutter, a fucking nutter,’ said Dr Blaketon, his eyes streaming and his whole body still shaking as he supported himself against the shower cubicle, rubbing his ears.
Sir Ben stared Tony down, then said to Blaketon, ‘You need to learn to do as you’re told, when you’re told. Next time it’ll be more than the decor with a hole in it. Now are you going to do what you’re here to do or what?’
Not for the first time, Sir Ben could have punched Tony’s lights out as he caught a glimpse of his smirk out of the corner of his eye.
‘Do I have any choice?’
‘That’s the spirit. Now what do you need to do?’
The doctor ran his hands through his hair. ‘Is there somewhere we can go?’ he said as he scanned round the dust-covered bathroom.
Sir Ben led them into the bedroom and back out the door to the landing. ‘Won’t be long, Mum,’ he said as they left.
Once they were downstairs, they assembled around the office table.
Dr Blaketon still looked as white as milk as he sat opposite Sir Ben, whose eardrums screamed still. Now was not the time to ask for a medical opinion. ‘As I say, what do you need to do?’
‘The first thing is to issue a fit to fly certificate?’
Tony piped up for the first time. ‘Fit to fly? She’s not going easyJet, you know.’
Trevor kept his sights on Sir Ben. ‘Fit to fly is not a blanket declaration. I need to consider the facilities and support she will get in the air ambulance and certify her according to her health and their ability to look after her. You say you have an air ambulance on standby.’
‘Yes, CareFly. They specialise in long-haul medical evacuations. The CEO is a chum of mine.’
‘Of course he is,’ muttered Tony.
Trevor and Sir Ben snapped their heads round. ‘Tony, stick to what you’re good at and keep quiet while we sort this out.’ Sir Ben turned back to Trevor, who looked terrified. ‘So, issue the certificate and get her ready, I’ll put in the call to CareFly.’
‘It’s not as simple as that.’
Tony twitched but Sir Ben’s reproachful glare settled him back down. ‘What do you need?’
‘I need to examine her, then speak with the lead physician who’ll be accompanying her to discuss how they will care for her for, what, eight, nine hours in the sky? That really is the bare minimum for me to issue the certificate.’
‘Great. Get on with it then.’
‘I need to warn you of something first …’
Sir Ben stood up. ‘No, no more warnings.’
Dr Blaketon remained seated, the only one of the three who did. ‘I’m sorry, I do need to spell this out to you, and your mother too.’
Sir Ben sat back down. ‘My mother? You have seen her this morning. She has no idea whether it’s breakfast time or Christmas Day.’
‘I’m sorry, Ben, but capacity fluctuates. If we can speak to her in a lucid moment, I have to find out how she is and whether she consents to the journey.’
‘I’ve had enough of this,’ said Tony as he pulled the gun out again, raising his aim to Trevor.
‘Put it down and disappear,’ said Sir Ben just as it looked like Trevor was about to empty his bowels.
Tony flounced out of the room.
‘Just say she consents. We haven’t got time.’
‘I won’t do that. I need to prepare her for the flight in any case and I can hardly do that without talking to her.’
Sir Ben realised that arguing would only prolong things. ‘Just do what you have to but, whatever she says, you will certify her and you will make sure she’s ready to go as soon as the road ambulance arrives. And, before you get any other ideas in your head, I will be there when you speak to her. Wait here while I put the call in.’
Sir Ben stepped outside and saw Tony pacing the hallway. ‘Not everything has to be a fight, you know,’ he said as he walked past.
‘Maybe not, but my way does focus minds.’
Sir Ben ignored the backchat and headed for the kitchen.
The first call was to his director of finance. The tax-free threshold for a director’s loan was £10,000, so the amount Sir Ben was demanding would require not only shrouding in labyrinthine accounting measures but a potentially eye-watering debt to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. That was for the future and others to sort out. His only concern now was to get his mother on the plane and to doctors who had the skills and bottle to make her last few years worth living. This was in her best interests. Thankfully, the director was well used to Sir Ben’s demands, and only too aware that he’d pulled so many financial strokes in the past that if Sir Ben went down, he went too.
The money sorted, he now had the leverage to mobilise the road and air ambulances. The end of his nightmares was on the horizon.
48
At least Terry Murphy had the decency to look shell-shocked as he sat bolt upright behind Saira. His film-star looks had vanished, in their place pale terror.
‘Do you know why you’re here?’ said Jo, clicking a switch on the door.
‘I, er, I think you’re going to make me disappear before that lot catch up with me.’ The soft Irish burr was incongruous for a man who’d tried to murder her children.
‘Get you out of here?’
‘That’s what he said,’ replied Murphy.
‘Yeah, sorry about that. I might have told you a little white lie,’ said Spanners, with an insincere shrug. ‘Still, you’re here now.’
‘You fuckers,’ Murphy shouted as he grabbed the door handle. Saira twisted round to seize an arm but Spanners already had the man in a headlock.
‘You can let him go,’ said Jo. ‘Child locks. Now, listen to me. You’re here because you defrauded your way into a school to poison two little boys. Correct?’
‘Fuck you. Ouch, get the fuck off.’
Jo looked again at Spanners who was squeezing Murphy’s testicles. ‘Thanks, Spanners, but maybe you can leave the questioning to us.’ She faced Murphy. ‘Now, usually I’d want to find out a bit about you, establish any common ground, that sort of thing, but we don’t have the time.’
‘Who the fuck are you?’
‘The combination of your worst fears. I am both the boys’ mother, and my friend and I are police officers. No one else knows we are here, and it doesn’t much matter as I’m the boss, so if I unleash Spanners on you again, who’s to know?’
‘You fucking grass,’ Murphy yelled as he launched himself at Spanners but the ex-soldier was too strong.
‘Pack that in,’ said Jo. ‘Tell me what you did to my boys, what you used and who paid you.’ Murphy just glared at her. Jo pointed a finger between Murphy’s eyes. ‘Tell me now because if they die, what we’ll do to you is far worse than whoever you’re running from will.’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. Spanners looked between Jo and Saira as if begging for permission to give Murphy a dig. Jo gave the faintest shake of her head.
‘I know how you got in there and what you did. What you’re going to tell me is what you used and who’s the brains behind this, ’cos that certainly isn’t you.’
‘Fuck off.’
‘Right, we’re running out of time here. Saira and I are going to take a walk for a few minutes.’
The PC looked confused.
‘Spanners, are you OK staying here with Mr Murphy?’
‘My pleasure,’ replied Spanners. ‘Fancy attacking kids.’
Jo and Saira walked slowly down to the seafront.
‘Is this wise, ma’am?’
‘Eh? He’s not under arrest and we’ve just left two like-minded chaps to have a chat. That said, we’ll only give them five minutes.’
Saira shrugged and they ambled along the promenade in silence.
Four minutes later, Saira took out her phone and read the message.
‘What is it?’ said Jo.
‘Looks like they might not be playing nicely. Shall we go back?’
When she reached the car, even though the windows were shut, she could hear the screaming. She opened the door and got in as quickly as she could. Saira did likewise. If it wasn’t Ciaran and Liam’s tiny lives at stake, she’d never have risked this – but seeing the fingers on Murphy’s right hand pointing in all the wrong directions, she had no regrets.
‘Oh, that looks nasty. Ready to talk?’ she said.
‘Fucking yes, just keep this animal away.’
‘Good. Leave nothing out.’
Murphy spoke full and fast, not least because Spanners kept a tight grip on his left hand should he have second thoughts. Jo remained twisted round so she could look this would-be killer in the eyes.
His route to Brighton had been the same as Spanners’ and his way into the school was as Jo had already worked out, exploiting the school’s impatient clause in the advert which declared DBS check required in due course, but will not be a barrier to the right candidate starting early. ‘I just had to wait to be told what to do,’ he added. It was obvious really but hearing it from his mouth made it all the more sinister.
‘Who?’ Jo demanded. ‘Who put you up to it?’
Murphy glanced at Spanners. ‘Gorby, we call him. Squat, bald fella with a huge birthmark on his head.’
‘That’s the same bloke who told me to distribute the smack,’ Spanners said.
His openness in front of Murphy surprised Jo, but she pressed on. ‘And how did you poison them? I’m guessing you tampered with their lunchboxes, but what did you put in them?’
‘I don’t know.’ With this Spanners gripped Murphy’s left thumb.
‘Hold on,’ said Jo. ‘Why don’t you know?’
‘’Cos the fella, he just gave me this spray bottle and told me to squirt four shots into whatever might absorb it in their lunchboxes. He didn’t tell me what it was and I didn’t ask.’
Spanners looked across at Jo. She shook her head and carried on. ‘Where were you when he gave you the bottle?’
‘He messaged me and told me to meet him outside the school this morning.’ A surge of adrenaline washed through Jo. Just as Mrs Brakespear the receptionist had said. Where was that CCTV she’d asked for?
‘Anything else?’
Murphy shook his head. ‘No, I swear.’
‘Where’s the bottle?’
‘Dumped.’
Jo could have pushed it but the clock was against her. ‘Spanners, get him to the hospital. Stay with him until you hear from us.’ She turned to Murphy. ‘Listen to me. You tell the hospital you were jumped and these guys you’ve never seen before broke your fingers. You do not tell them why and, when the police arrive, which they will, you point-blank refuse to talk to them. They’ll push it to a degree but not for long. When you’re fixed, you stay with Spanners and we’ll be in touch with the next steps. Understood?’
He nodded. Spanners added, ‘If he needs reminding then I’m happy to help.’
‘Just be careful. Now off, the pair of you.’ She released the child locks and the two men exited the car.
When they were gone and out of sight, Jo called the hospital. More than once she bellowed at the unanswered ringtone to ‘Fucking answer’, and eventually she was put through to the HDU. After a hurried update it was clear that the doctors, like her, were none the wiser regarding the source of the symptoms. They were screening for everything imaginable but nothing was coming up positive. The vomiting was being held back by anti-emetics and their temperatures kept at bay by paracetamol, but both boys’ condition seemed to be in stasis.
For now, she had to block it from her mind while she made a couple of calls. First to the school to find out where the external CCTV had got to. Next came a trickier call but one that she had to make.
When he answered, he still sounded offended.
‘Bob, look I’m sorry but I’m terrified,’ she said, ‘and I need to update you.’ She ran through everything, except the broken fingers, and tried her best to differentiate the certainties from the inferences, of which there were many. ‘It’s essential we locate this Gorby bloke – it has to be Evans – and find out what was in those bottles.’
‘Finished?’
‘For now.’
‘Right,’ said Bob. Jo could tell he was struggling to remain civil. ‘It might surprise you but I’ve not been idle myself. My lot have been digging into Evans and he’s been remarkably busy over the last few weeks. Usually he keeps out of the way but he’s been getting his hands dirty, meeting with people he’d usually avoid like a month-old kofta.’
‘Such as?’
‘Few you’d know specifically, but loads of them have been linked to the anti-Op Eradicate activity and most have gone missing.’
‘Well done.’
‘Mmm. Anyway, here’s the jackpot ball. Despite what he thought were Soviet-standard counter-surveillance techniques, guess who he’s visited regularly?’
‘I haven’t got time for guessing games, just tell me,’ she said as a dog walker allowed his mutt to cock a leg against her tyre. She couldn’t help but bang on the window, which terrified the owner and set the terrier off into a cacophony of yelps.
‘Sir Ben Parsons.’
‘Say that again.’
‘You heard me. Some of his phones and several of the cars linked to him have been tracked to Sir Ben’s house, and on occasions both of their phones have been together away from the address.’
