Scream, You Die (26 page)

On the phone Scarlett arranged to meet her DCI in the same coffee shop on the Strand where they had been earlier. She told Diane Harris very little, other than she had found a couple of crucial witnesses in the case and asked her to come alone.

Then she contacted her partner Tarn and told him the same.

After that, Scarlett, Rose, Alex and Grazyna left the squat and made their way back to the train, where they travelled back to Charing Cross station, and then headed up the Strand.

Once they were settled around a table in the coffee shop and had ordered drinks, Alex said his goodbyes, informing Scarlett that he thought it would be best if he wasn’t around when her boss arrived, that it would only complicate things further. Then he left.

Tarn arrived within minutes of Alex leaving and pulled himself up a seat.

Scarlett introduced him to Rose and Grazyna and gave him a quick resume of everything that had gone on over the last few days and informed him that the DCI was also going to join them.

His face bore an incredulous look once she had finished. He said, “Bloody hell, Scarlett. No wonder you’ve been so secretive. Does the boss know all this?”

Shaking her head and pursing her lips she responded, “No. I’m going to tell her I tracked Rose down last night, otherwise I’m in for the high jump, but I’m going to tell her the truth about finding Grazyna this morning, and I want you to pretend you were with me when we found Grazyna. Now you know everything, I want you to just go along with me when I tell the boss.”

Tarn shook his head. “You’re certainly not giving me much option in this are you?”

“What do they tell you at training school? Always obey an order from a supervisor, even if you don’t like what you’re being asked to do?”

“I don’t think covering up a lie is included.”

Scarlett laughed. “Oh, Tarn Scarr! I happen to know you’ve told a few porkies in your time. Just think of your loyalties here. Anyway I’m going to make you a hero.” She reached across the table, tapped his sleeve and gave him a wink. “Now let me get you a coffee. You look like you need one.”

****

Diane Harris arrived ten minutes later wrapped up against the elements. The wind and the rain had picked up since Scarlett and the group had entered the coffee shop and she remembered the weather warning on the news the night before.

Pulling away a spare chair from another table and issuing a greeting smile Diane Harris unwound her scarf from around her neck, unbuttoned her coat and squeezed herself in between Tarn and Rose.

She looked at Scarlett first. “This is all very mysterious. I know I said we have a leak in the office but I wouldn’t have thought this was necessary.”

“I think it might be when I tell you what I’ve got,” Scarlett replied.

As the DCI shook off her coat Scarlett poured out her story. While she talked the DCI repeatedly switched her gaze between Rose and Grazyna.

They both shied away their eyes, diverting them to their cups of coffee.

Upon Scarlett finishing, DCI Harris clasped her hands together and clamped her eyes upon her. “You say you tracked your sister down yesterday?”

Scarlett nodded.

“So why couldn’t you tell me this, this morning, in my office, once briefing was done, if you didn’t want it leaking out?”

Scarlett could feel her neck flushing.

Rose snapped up her head and interjected, “Because I told her not to. I told her if she told you I would disappear again and this time no one would find me.”

Scarlett met her sister’s eyes. Inside she was thanking her. She returned her gaze to her DCI. “Rose is still circulated as wanted in connection with our parents’ murders. If I’d have brought her in, even though I knew she’d not done it, she would still have to go through the process of being arrested and interviewed and so on. It would just have slowed everything down, and she was the one person who could support Grazyna and fill in all the blanks as to who the two Albanians are. And be able to persuade her that she could trust us.” When she finished she pushed herself back and heaved a sigh.
Most of that was true
, she told herself.

The DCI was silent for a while. Her face took on a thoughtful look. She unclasped her hands and laid them palm flat on the table. “Right, plan of action. We need to protect Rose and Grazyna until these Albanian’s are under lock and key. Scarlett, you’re right when you say they’re crucial witnesses, and you’ve rightly pointed out that while we have a leak in our department we can’t afford for these two to be compromised. This Skender guy and  Arjan have already murdered four people to our knowledge. What I’m going to do is go back to the office with Tarn and make some phone calls. You go nowhere near it. You go home with Rose and Grazyna, pack up some things for a few days and wait for me there. I’ll phone you and then come by and pick you up.”

Scarlett asked, “Where are we going?”

“You, Rose and Grazyna are going to a safe house until this is all ended.”

The safe house was a three-bedroom detached house in a quiet street in Ham, backing onto woodland. DCI Diane Harris helped Scarlett in with her bags, checked over every room with her, ensured her personal radio was working, and that she had a spare battery and confirmed there was enough charge in her BlackBerry. Then she handed over a set of keys.

She said to Scarlett, “Right, you three are to remain here, and you only leave on my say so. You do not answer the door to anyone but me, is that clear?”

Tight-lipped, Scarlett nodded, roaming her eyes around the room. The furnishings were basic, but it was comfortable, and eyeing a TV in the corner, she thought they at least had that to see them through the boredom.

“I am the only person who knows you three are here. I’ve used this house before, and I’ve managed to pull a few strings with the Yard to get it. You’ll be okay here.” She opened the front door and an icy blast came in. She shot a glance over her shoulder. “The weather’s picking up out there, they’ve forecast ninety-miles-an-hour winds over the next twenty-four hours. Once I’ve gone lock everything up and keep yourselves tucked up. I’m going back to the office to pull together the operation to get Skender and Arjan off the streets, once and for all. I’ll try and keep you in the loop, but I’m going to be pretty busy over the next day or two so just hang in there until you hear from me.”

Scarlett gave her a nod, holding onto the door, which bucked in the wind as the DCI walked to her car. She watched her leaning into the gusts thinking that she didn’t envy her having to go back into work on a night like this. She was in a much better place right now, she told herself. As the DCI pulled off the drive Scarlett shut the door, locked it, put the two security bolts in place and then returned to the open-plan kitchen-cum-lounge.

When she entered Rose was rifling through the carrier bags on the work surface. Earlier while packing she had had the foresight to empty the fridge and freezer. Watching her sister picking out the salad stuff she was glad she had – she was famished.

Between them they put together a salad, microwaved a jacket potato each and oven-cooked three chicken fillets.

Rose brought to the table a bottle of wine she had smuggled into a bag. She poured herself and Grazyna a glass but Scarlett resisted. Although she would have loved to have had a glass with her meal she knew she had to keep a clear head and remain focussed until this was all over. Scarlett made herself a coffee instead.

After the meal they all cleared the table and while Rose and Grazyna hand-washed the dirty pots she made a phone call to Alex. Although she didn’t tell him where she was she explained that they were in a safe house and would be staying there until the Albanians were arrested. Before ending the call, Alex asked her to ring him tomorrow morning and to take care, and as she finished speaking she found herself staring into space and musing. It had been a long time since Alex had said anything affectionate to her – since they’d split up seven months ago, in fact. She wondered if he was telling her something. Before she could dwell on it further her phone rang again. It was Tarn. She took it. He told he was just checking in and said that the DCI had just called it a day. He said, “We’re all in at half six tomorrow morning. We’re doing a number of raids. The boss has informed everybody about the two witnesses you found, but she hasn’t mentioned Rose and Grazyna by name. And she’s also named Skender and Arjan as our suspects.” He paused and continued, “Hey and guess what?”

“What?” she asked.

“We’ve actually got a hit on the Skender guy! His full name is Skender Dosti, he’s forty-two and he is Albanian. Came here fifteen years ago. He was arrested in Soho seven years ago for assaulting a woman but for some reason the case never went to court. We’ve got a couple of addresses for him, from back then, so we’re hitting them tomorrow morning first thing. I’ll let you know once he’s under arrest.”

Scarlett thanked him and asked him if the boss had questioned him about her story about Rose.

“Never raised it, Scarlett. She thinks it is as it is. She’s none the wiser.”

“Good. Thanks for backing me up. Again!”

“No problem, Scarlett, that’s what partners are for.” Then he said, “Speak tomorrow. Sleep tight,” and ended the call.

She had just put down her phone when it rang again. She picked it up – DS Gary Ashdown. She took the call.

“Hi Gaz, what’s up?”

“Nothing. The DCI just asked me to check in with you –see if everything is okay. See if the witnesses are comfortable.”

Scarlett flashed a look at Rose and Grazyna. They were just putting away the pots and cutlery. “They are, thank you. Everything is fine.”

“Good, glad you’re all okay. Oh and by the way, good job finding them. Commendation coming your way when this is done. I’m envious.”

“It’s a team effort at the end of the day, Gaz. I’ve just got lucky.”

“Well you ought to have seen Taylor-Butler’s face when the DCI told us all at briefing. You’ve really put his nose out of joint.”

“Oh God, that’s me tip-toeing around the office on broken glass for a while.”

“And we’ve also got a hit on one of the suspects.”

“Yes, Tarn’s just rung me and told me.”

“Oh, Okay. Anyway, just to say, don’t worry, everything is going smoothly this end. You can relax and someone will contact you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Gaz, much appreciated.”

“Goodnight Scarlett.”

Scarlett disconnected the line, and thinking how thoughtful some members of the squad were, put down her phone. If only Taylor-Butler could be the same, she said to herself. It would make her job so much easier.

Still in contemplative mood she glanced up and saw that Rose and Grazyna had finished the pots and were pouring themselves another drink. She said, “I’m going to get myself some fresh air and check everything’s okay outside before I settle down.”

Rose raised her glass of wine. “Okay, Scarl, I’m going to put on the TV.”

With that Scarlett unlocked the kitchen door and stepped out onto the wooden decking that spanned the width of the house. The sharpness of the cold instantly hit her, although she was surprised not to feel the gushing winds from the raging storm – the position of the house had to be shielding her. For that she was grateful; standing out here, in a strange kind of  way, was refreshing. In the few hours they had been there the heating had kicked in, and although it had chased away the fusty smell she had noticed when they had first arrived, it had now made the place unbearably hot and stuffy.

Pulling closed the back door Scarlett took in a lungful of fresh air and stared out over the garden. At first the darkness of the night was impenetrable, but as her sight adapted she began to pick out bits of her surroundings. She could make out that the garden was mainly lawn. It stretched before her for approximately fifty feet and then it met a bank of trees that was the beginning of woodland. She could see and hear that the line of trees were taking the brunt of the fierce wind – the skeletal treetops whipping to and fro, their boughs creaking and groaning against the wind. She shivered and listened.

She had been standing like that for a good few minutes when another noise grabbed her attention. It was coming from the road at the front. It sounded like the noise of tyres hissing on wet tarmac. She remembered the DCI telling her that she wouldn’t be visiting her until tomorrow, and that she would ring her first. Scarlett had an uncomfortable feeling about that noise. She hurried back into the house and at a smart clip took the stairs to the front bedroom overlooking the street. Not turning on the light, she went to the window and eased back one side of the closed curtains and peered through the gap. Her eyes were drawn to the brake lights of a silver car stopped ten yards away on the opposite side of the road. The rain battering the bedroom window was creating a red halo effect around the brake lights. She caught her breath and stared. For the best part of two minutes nothing happened, then the brake lights went off, the interior light came on and both front doors opened. As the two men in dark clothing stepped out onto the rain-sodden tarmac her heart missed a beat. Both of them had shaven heads and while one was tall and looked well made the other was overweight – Skender and Arjan.

Scarlett let go of the curtains and raced back downstairs.