Ultimate Justice (20 page)

“Good idea,” Tony said. He started the engine, reversed up, and drove down the next road.

Weir suggested, “Drive past, Tony, so we can suss it out first.”

There was no convenient opening in the fence that they could get through as far as Tony could see. He pulled the car in and the three of them left the vehicle. Taylor was right; this road appeared to be the final one to the estate and was indeed far quieter than any of the others.

“How are we going to handle this?” Weir glanced down at Tony’s false leg to emphasise his meaning.

Tony slapped his thigh. “Don’t go worrying about this guy, he’s capable of doing anything yours can do and then some.”

“Right,” Weir said, seemingly taking charge of the situation. “I’ll give you a leg up. Er…‌excuse the pun.”

Tony tutted good-naturedly and thrust his good leg into Weir’s linked hands. He climbed up the spiked fence, thankfully clearing the top without causing any damage to either himself or his clothes. Tony snuck up behind the warehouse and waited for the other two men to join him.

“It looks deserted to me,” Taylor said. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a crowbar. “Let’s go.”

Taylor went first. He pried the door open and beckoned the others to follow him.

Tony’s nose wrinkled in repulsion. “Jesus! What’s that smell?”

“He’s definitely been out of the game too long,” Weir said as he moved further into the building. “That, my dear friend, is the smell of fear, mixed with the smell of sex.”

Tony felt his stomach lurch and the colour drain from his face.
Hold it together, man.

Taylor gave him a dig in the ribs. “You all right? Don’t you go cracking up on us.”

Tony sucked in a breath to calm himself and regretted it. He spat out the bile that burned his throat and nodded at Taylor. “I’m all right. Let’s do this.”

They searched the caged area first and found discarded, torn female clothes. Thankfully, Tony didn’t recognise any belonging to his wife. The stench coming off the thin mattresses lying on the floor had intensified to the extent that none of them stayed in the area long.

Taylor pointed to another section of the warehouse near the rear and the three of them went over to investigate. Fresh blood pooled on the floor alongside a thin white blouse that had been shredded to pieces and a black pair of women’s trousers in the same state. “This looks as if it took place recently,” Taylor said, wincing as he spoke.

Tony kicked out at a nearby crate. “Shit! Where the fuck is she? The specifics we have on the case so far are that any girls shipped into the country are brought here and then dispatched around the country. We haven’t found any concrete evidence as yet to where these girls end up. We know an agency is involved, but the owner is being uncooperative. She got beat up by an associate only this morning; to me, that could mean that their partnership has altered in some way, and she wasn’t keen to dish the dirt. Who’s to say where these women would end up next? Or, more to the point, where Lorne and Katy will end up.”

Weir shrugged. “I don’t know what to say, mate. We can hunt around here for hours, but I doubt if we’re going to come up with anything new. I’m not sure what to suggest.”

Taylor nodded. “He’s right. Our hands are tied right now, Tony. Until something else surfaces, that is.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Tony said, his shoulders slouching despondently.

Weir shoved him in the back as he followed him to the door. “Hey, where’s that stiff upper lip gone? From what I’ve seen of her, Lorne will have her wits about her. Keep the faith, mate.”

After climbing the fence and dropping the two agents back at their car, Tony headed back home. There was nothing else he could do.

•     •     •

Lorne struggled to keep
upright in the back of the van. The driver had his foot down and didn’t seem to be taking the other people in the vehicle into consideration as he swerved around the corners of the narrow lanes. Even North shouted and cussed at him to slow down from his seat in the back.

Another corner, and Lorne crushed Jai San yet again. Fighting to sit back up, she smiled an apology at the young woman. The woman’s face was blank, devoid of all emotion. Lorne noticed how dead her eyes looked since her ordeal. Her heart went out to her.

Once the men had finished with Jai San, they had thrust her into the cage. She’d landed at Lorne’s feet, naked and trembling. Lorne sat on the floor and using her feet had tried to put one of the smelly blankets around Jai San’s quivering shoulders. With Lorne distracted, the men had seized their opportunity to grab Katy and pull her out of the cage. Amidst perverse laughter, they had dragged the screaming and kicking Katy over to the other side of the warehouse. However, before either of the men could hurt her, North had received a call on his mobile. The call had angered North, he threw some soiled clothes at Jai San and ordered her to get dressed before the three women had been roughly loaded back in the van once more.

On the way to a destination unknown, Lorne had surmised one thing from the call North had received: he was taking orders from someone else. Bang went her theory of thinking he was the man in charge of this gang. At that moment, Lorne’s fear for their safety escalated to a new level. Fear of the unknown had always been her downfall.
Please, Tony, help us!

Lorne eyed Katy with concern; Katy, too, had been quiet since her near-miss ordeal. She nudged her foot with her own to get her attention, but Katy refused to look at her.
Is she blaming me for getting her involved in this case?
She tried again, harder this time, but Katy still averted her eyes.

North caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. “I told you to keep still,” he said and struck Lorne hard across the face.

Blood instantly filled her mouth, Lorne spat it out and he laughed. Defiantly, she said, “Your bullying won’t wash with me, North. I’m biding my time.”

“Your pathetic threats won’t wash with me, Warner.” He hit her again for good measure on the other side of her face. “There—now you have a matching pair.” He threw his head back and laughed.

Lorne glanced over at Katy, who was shaking her head in disappointment. Lorne’s chin dropped to her chest as the realisation dawned on her that she might be meeting up with Pete sooner than she had anticipated.
Anytime you feel like lending a hand, buddy, feel free to contribute.
Something tickled the palm of her hand, which was still tied up behind her back. She turned, expecting to see a mouse or something, but saw nothing. Was that Pete letting her know he was there?

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

T
ony heaved a frustrated
sigh when he sat down at the kitchen table. Carol Lang placed a cup of coffee in front of him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her soon, love,” she said, sitting down beside him.

Tony gave her a brief smile, but then shot out of his chair. “My God—Charlie! Has anyone thought to ring the hospital to see how she is?”

“Sit down. It’s all taken care of; don’t worry. Jade and Tom are with her,” Sam informed him. “They’re aware of the situation with Lorne, but they’re not going to tell Charlie anything. As far as she knows, her mother is tucked up in bed with a fever.”

Tony slumped back into the chair, which creaked under the sudden movement. He hadn’t told Sam everything he’d seen at the warehouse. What was there to tell him really, anyway, except that the place stank of sex?

“So what’s next, Tony?” Sam asked. His hands were squeezing the life out of his mug.

“I’m not sure, really. Weir and Taylor are going to do some asking around for me, but I don’t hold out much hope of them finding anything. I’m wondering if Sean Roberts would be willing to question Angela North for us—is it worth asking him?”

Sam nodded. “What have we got to lose from asking him? She’s in custody, anyway.”

Tony left the table and dashed into the lounge to ring Roberts. “Sean, it’s Tony.” He explained what had happened to Lorne and North’s part in it, and then asked, “Any chance you can question the wife for me? She looked pretty shaken up, and it’s obvious her husband beats her, but she still might know more than she’s letting on. Maybe they have a holiday home somewhere or something like that; he might use that to hide Lorne.”

“I’ll question her myself once I’ve located her and get back to you. And Tony?”

“Yep?”

“Lorne will come out of this unscathed—she usually does. Have faith in her abilities—and Katy’s, for that matter. They’re both strong women,” Sean said quietly.

“I know you’re right, Sean. It doesn’t make it any easier or less worrying, though. Speak to you soon, hopefully.”

Tony hung up and went back through to the kitchen to find Carol sitting at the table with her eyes closed, rocking back and forth in her chair. Tony gave Sam a questioning look. Sam shrugged his shoulders.

“I see,” Lang said after a few more rocks.

“What is it, Carol? What do you see?” Tony asked anxiously.

“Pete’s coming through again. He’s worried about Lorne…” Carol said before drifting off again.

Tony’s patience was being tested to the maximum. However, he knew from past experience that he would have to wait until Carol had finished conversing with the spirits before he found out any information.

“Thank you. Right, Pete said two men have Lorne, Katy, and another woman tied up in the back of some kind of van. He doesn’t know in which direction they’re heading, but he says that Lorne is remaining strong despite everything.”

“Christ, that’s bloody cryptic. Despite what?” Tony asked the psychic.

Carol’s eyes rose to the ceiling. “That’s all he said. We need to locate that van, Tony.”

“It’s not that simple, Carol. Without a registration number or rough idea of location, the task will be impossible. Have you any idea how many vans are travelling around the London area at any given time? Thousands!”

“Is Pete still here?” Sam asked tentatively, as if he felt foolish asking such a stupid question.

Carol shook her head. “He’s gone back to be with Lorne. He’ll watch over her, like he always has in the past.”

Tony exhaled a short, sharp breath. “That’s good to know, at least. Are you sure there’s nothing else? Can you visualise the surrounding area, any significant landmarks to help us?”

“I’m sorry, Tony, I wish there was.”

The room remained silent for the next few minutes until the phone rang in the lounge. Tony ran through and answered it. “Sean?”

“Sorry, mate. Is Lorne there?”

“Who is this?” Tony snapped at the caller.

“It’s Derek Croft. Just get her on the phone, big man. I’ve got some heavy news for her.”

“I’ll pass on a message. What’s up?” Tony asked, not wishing to tell anyone else that Lorne was missing.

“Lorne or no one,” Croft insisted.

Tony picked up the excitement in Croft’s voice. “Croft, she ain’t here. You can tell me your news and I’ll see that she gets it.”

“Okay, I guess you are
partners
. My snitch called me to say another shipment of girls is due in today.”

“Shit! Where? When?” Tony slammed his clenched fist against his thigh.

“Here’s the thing: they’re coming in by ship again. It’s due to dock at Herne Bay around six o’clock this evening. It’s discreet there. Obviously far enough away from the customs at Folkstone.”

“Fuck! That’s two hours from now. Do you know how many are on board? Crew and girls?”

“Are you kidding me? Do you think my snitches go into details like that? Either you work with what I give you, or I’ll find someone else willing to trust my contacts.”

“All right, all right, keep your bloody hair on. Thanks for the information. How’re the injuries coming along?” Tony wasn’t that concerned, but he thought he’d better ask to keep the journalist on his side.

“Actually, the doc’s pretty pleased with my progress, and there’s even talk of me getting out of here tonight. Might even give me the all clear on his rounds this evening. Hey, I might even make it in time to see you and Lorne bring down the bad guys.” He laughed, but Tony didn’t. “You’re supposed to give me some reaction there, bud. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but…‌the so-called bad guys have abducted Lorne.”

“What the fuck? When?” Croft suddenly sounded agitated, and Tony could hear the sound of what appeared to be bed springs squeaking on the other end of the line.

“A few hours ago. What are you doing?” Tony demanded.

“I’m getting dressed. What do you think I’m doing, playing with my snake?”

Tony grinned and shook his head. “I don’t suppose I can talk you out of leaving the hospital, can I?”

“Nope. Where do you want to meet? At the harbour?”

“I guess. It’s about an hour from here. Thanks for this, Croft,” Tony said. He meant it, too. There were not many folks who would leave their sickbed in hospital to help out a fellow human being, especially one they barely knew. But then, the person in need was someone special who tended to bring out the good in people. Tony wondered if Lorne would be able to work her people skills magic on the men holding her. Then he chastised himself for thinking such a dumb thought.

“No worries. I’ll ring a friend to pick me up.”

“No, don’t do that. I don’t want anyone else involved in this.”

“I can understand that, but you’re forgetting one thing, big man: I’m carless right now.”

“Shit, of course you are. Can you get a taxi to a friend’s house and maybe borrow their car? That would be better.”

“Yeah, makes sense. You better give me your mobile number just in case.”

Tony gave Croft his number and then hung up. He walked back into the kitchen to find Sam and Carol looking up at him expectantly. “It was Croft. There’s another shipment coming in today.”

“Whoa! Hang on a minute—I know that look. You can’t possibly be thinking of going down there, Tony. What about Lorne?” Sam asked, frowning.

Tony sat down heavily in the chair alongside him. “I’m not deserting Lorne, Sam—far from it. At the moment she’s in a van on the move to who knows where. What if she’s actually on her way to the port? If the tables were turned, I know Lorne would follow the leads that came her way. I have to do the same. You understand that, don’t you?”