Hell to Pay Read online

  ‘Will they talk?’

  A glint appeared in Tavender’s eyes. ‘Millard has a six-year-old girl at school in Gravesend. Hudson’s girlfriend is pregnant. No, they won’t talk, I can assure you.’

  ‘They’d better not.’ Demiri narrowed his eyes, his instincts alert. ‘Was that all?’

  Tavender’s gaze shifted to the carpet, then back.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Powers called. Hunter turned up at his place with another detective, Ian Barnes.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘This morning.’

  ‘How the hell did they work that out?’

  ‘They must’ve traced the vehicle back to him.’

  Demiri fought to keep his voice calm. ‘He has clear instructions what to do with the vehicles he provides, does he not?’

  ‘Yes, Mr Demiri.’

  ‘He’s getting lazy. Is this the first time?’

  Tavender looked away.

  Demiri cleared the space between them in three paces, and slapped the man’s face. ‘Answer me! Don’t you dare look away from me when I’m speaking to you.’

  The man rubbed his cheek, but met Demiri’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Demiri.’

  Millard and Hudson were expendable. He had no doubt they’d maintain their silence for fear of what Tavender would do to their families, but Powers was an unfortunate case.

  The man had no family, no commitments, and would therefore be unresponsive to any threats Tavender could make.

  As it was, they had already arranged for the burglary six weeks ago to take care of some extracurricular business Powers had taken upon himself to run from the small garage.

  Demiri had left the man in no doubt about his responsibilities to the organisation, and Powers had quickly acquiesced after Tavender had threatened to take a blowtorch to his balls.

  If it had been anyone else, there would have been nothing left to salvage, but the garage owner had his uses – disposable vehicles were a rarity with all the rigorous controls exerted by the UK authorities, and finding another dealer would have been problematic at short notice.

  Demiri drained his glass.

  Unfortunately, it seemed Powers hadn’t learned his lesson.

  It was time he was taught a permanent one.

  ‘End his engagement with us. Use him as an example to show our other suppliers that when I give them instructions, they do as they’re told.’

  ‘Yes, Mr Demiri.’

  ‘What about Stokes?’

  ‘No more news. I’m monitoring the situation. If there’s an opportunity to deal with him, we will.’

  Demiri tapped his finger against the empty crystal glass, the soft chime from the gold ring on his right hand filling the air. ‘We don’t need these sorts of distractions. You should have dealt with him at the same time as the girl.’

  The other man lowered his gaze. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Demiri.’

  ‘Don’t get sloppy in your work, Tavender. I’m relying on you.’

  The other man nodded, and straightened. ‘I have some news regarding Detective Hunter.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘It appears the vet has left home for a while – he was seen getting into a taxi with a large suitcase.’

  ‘Interesting.’ Demiri rubbed his chin, then waved the other man away. ‘Go now.’

  Demiri waited until Tavender had closed the door behind him, then sank back into his armchair and ran his hand over his eyes.

  A new shipment was due to arrive in days, the customers expectant, and the necessary arrangements in place to ensure a smooth transition. And yet, the organisation seemed frayed at the edges.

  He ground his teeth.

  Stokes’s complacency could ruin it all, and Demiri only had himself to blame.

  Tavender had come to him two months ago to say he’d been concerned about the driver; that he’d been spending too much time with one of the girls instead of minding his own business.

  Demiri had dismissed it as a passing fancy – Stokes had been his driver for over a year, and he’d had no other reason to doubt the man.

  Until now.

  As for the shipment, they would have to use the vehicles they’d already kept under close watch, ready to meet his suppliers and transport the packages across the county.

  His mind turned to the detective and her superior.

  He had no doubt he’d be seeing more of her, and he ran his tongue over his lips with anticipation. The fact that she was at home alone excited him.

  He closed his eyes, and exhaled.

  Seven more days, and he could relax.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kay flicked through the document in her hands, then tossed it onto her desk in disgust and sighed.

  A sense of frustration had crawled through her veins as she’d sifted through the updated reports about Jozef Demiri’s business interests. She knew most of them by rote; she’d memorised the facts and figures during the last investigation into the man, and only had to cast her eye over the additional facts for the past twelve months.

  Yet, nothing had changed.

  The man still maintained an impeccable façade while being responsible for most of the drug problems in the south-east corner of England.

  Carys looked up from her computer. ‘Nothing?’

  ‘No.’ Kay ran her hand through her hair and collapsed into her chair. ‘Not on the official accounts, anyway. What about you?’

  The younger detective shrugged, her eyes flickering over the screen in front of her. She wrinkled her nose. ‘Nothing that’s going to get us a search warrant for his offices, that’s for sure. Couple of council notices relating to some signage being put up on the outside of the building that had to be taken down – it was against town planning laws, apparently. That’s it.’

  ‘Shame,’ said Gavin from his position next to Barnes’s desk.

  Kay murmured her agreement, then glanced up as Sharp entered the incident room.

  ‘Okay, you lot. Gather round. Let’s get this briefing underway.’

  Kay stretched her back as she made her way over to where the whiteboard had been set up, then perched on the corner of Debbie’s desk.

  The police officer smiled and passed a packet of biscuits to Kay, who grinned and took one.

  ‘Thanks, Debs.’

  Sharp turned his attention to Kay and Barnes once everyone had settled. ‘How did you get on with the garage owner?’

  ‘He was hard work,’ said Kay. ‘We suspect he’s hiding something but I didn’t want to press it too hard today and frighten him off. He says he can’t remember who he sold the car to, and that he purchased it at the Sittingbourne auctions. However, he had a break-in a few months ago and all the documentation was stolen.’

  ‘Too convenient,’ added Barnes.

  ‘Covering for someone?’ said Carys.

  ‘He didn’t sound scared,’ said Barnes. ‘He was cocky; arrogant.’

  ‘Protected by someone, maybe?’ said Kay. ‘Maybe by someone who’d be prepared to stage a break-in to remove documentary evidence of a vehicle sale?’

  ‘Do you think he’s dealing in stolen vehicles?’ said Gavin.

  ‘There’s nothing in the system, but that’s probably because he hasn’t been caught – yet.’

  ‘All right, keep digging,’ said Sharp. ‘There’s got to be something there.’ He peered down at his notebook on the desk beside him, and then turned back to the team.

  ‘We have had one major development,’ he said. ‘Lucas sent over the results of the post mortem on our female victim an hour ago. Given the content of that report, I’ve spoken to him on the phone, but he maintains his position. She was alive when she was placed in the back of the car.’

  A shockwave emanated from the team sat before him, and Kay’s jaw dropped.

  ‘Alive?’

  Sharp nodded. ‘That’s what Lucas says. She was killed when the side of her head struck the metalwork of the car when it overturned – he says instantly. The base of her skull was cave
d in with the force of the impact.’

  ‘So, she was conscious all the time she was in the boot of the car, wrapped in plastic?’ said Gavin. ‘I’m surprised she didn’t suffocate.’

  ‘I checked that with Harriet,’ said Sharp. ‘When we arrived on scene, the plastic had already been torn open by the impact – that’s how we spotted her limbs, but Harriet says some small perforations had been made in the wrapping, near the woman’s mouth. The post mortem results support this – whoever she is, she didn’t die from asphyxiation because she managed to get enough air into her lungs to stay alive.’

  ‘You’d have thought he’d have checked for that,’ said Carys.

  ‘True. Why wouldn’t he?’ said Kay.

  ‘Could’ve had another kill site in mind to finish her off,’ said Barnes, his face grim. ‘It was only our assumption that he’d already killed her and was preparing to dump the body.’

  ‘Hell of a risk,’ said Gavin. ‘If he’d been pulled over for erratic driving instead of crashing—’

  Sharp rose from the desk and pinned two more photographs to the board, then took a step back so the team could see. He pointed to the first one, to the body of a skinny brunette woman, eyes closed, her skin bloated in death.

  ‘This woman was found on the banks of the artificial lakes at Aylesford a year ago,’ he said.

  ‘I remember that,’ said Barnes. ‘No identification, and no-one had reported her missing.’

  Sharp nodded. ‘Signs of drug usage, too. No-one’s ever been charged with her murder.’ He tapped the second photograph, showing another young woman, this time with short blonde hair, a bruise covering her left cheek.

  ‘This woman was found at the opposite end of the lake five months later. She didn’t appear on any of the databases but the post mortem results showed she was severely malnourished, and probably living rough for a number of months leading up to her death. Both women were found wrapped in plastic. Those details were never released to the public, and the investigating officers have had no new leads to follow.’

  Kay swallowed, the remnants of dry biscuit sticking in her throat. ‘Were they alive when they were submerged?’

  ‘The post mortem results confirm that they were, yes.’

  ‘He’s been lucky, if it’s the same man responsible for all three deaths,’ said Kay. ‘That’s a busy area to be dumping bodies.’

  Sharp rubbed his chin. ‘Or, he heard that these two bodies were found, and relocated,’ he said. ‘But to where?’

  ‘You think there are more?’ said Carys.

  Sharp folded his arms across his chest and nodded. ‘I do, yes. Everything points to someone who’s had plenty of practice at this.’

  ‘Bastard,’ said Barnes. ‘He’d bloody better survive surgery.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sharp lifted his gaze at a knock on the door to the incident room, and Kay glanced over her shoulder.

  A nervous-looking young police constable stood on the threshold, his eyes scanning the room until he located Sharp.

  ‘What is it, Constable?’

  ‘The Chief Superintendent, sir. Wants a word with you and Detective Sergeant Hunter at headquarters. Said “immediately”.’

  All eyes turned to Kay, the hubbub of the briefing dying on the air as a shocked silence swept through the room.

  Sharp’s eyes narrowed as he glanced towards his office. ‘I didn’t hear my phone ring.’

  ‘Message came through the switchboard,’ said the constable. ‘I explained you were probably in the middle of a briefing.’

  ‘All right. We’ll be right there.’

  The constable nodded, and left the room in a hurry.

  ‘Kay? My office. The rest of you, we’ve still got a murder investigation to manage, so don’t let this interruption keep you from your work.’ When no-one moved, he glared at them. ‘That means now.’

  Admin staff and detectives scurried to their desks as Kay grabbed her suit jacket from the back of her chair and followed Sharp into his office, closing the door behind her.

  ‘Any idea what this is about?’

  ‘No – do you?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Well, unless Mr Demiri has filed a complaint – which I very much doubt – I’m as much in the dark as you, so let’s go and see what the Chief Super has to say.’

  He swung his jacket over his shoulders and they made their way back out through the incident room and down a flight of stairs.

  Signing out for a pool car, Sharp drove the short distance to Kent Police Headquarters in record time, and led the way to the Chief Superintendent’s office.

  Kay rubbed her eye while Sharp stood at the office door, his hand poised and ready to knock.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her.

  ‘Ready?’

  ‘Not really.’ Kay swallowed. She’d never been summoned to the Chief Superintendent’s office before.

  Memories of standing outside a headmaster’s office after the rare occasion of a detention set by an impatient teacher sprang to mind.

  She took a deep breath, let it out, and then nodded at Sharp.

  There was a brief pause after he knocked, and then the Chief Superintendent’s voice rang out.

  ‘Come in.’

  Kay brushed an errant loose hair off the shoulder of her jacket and followed Sharp into the room.

  Susan Greensmith, Chief Superintendent for West Kent Division, rose from her seat as they entered, smiled and shook hands with Sharp, and then held out her hand to Kay.

  ‘Thanks for coming, DS Hunter. Please, take a seat.’

  She gestured to the chairs in front of the wide desk, and resumed her position behind it, pushing a pile of cardboard folders out of the way and clasping her hands in front of her.

  ‘I understand you have a development in the case of the woman killed in the road traffic accident three nights ago, and that you suspect Jozef Demiri to be involved. What’s the current status of your enquiries, Devon?’

  Kay listened as Sharp provided a précis of their investigation while the chief superintendent interjected with questions and clarifications from time to time, and wondered why a face-to-face meeting had been requested when Sharp was already submitting daily reports.

  Sharp finished speaking, and leaned back in his chair.

  Greensmith pursed her lips. ‘It certainly sounds like you and your team are doing everything possible with what information you have to hand, Devon.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘However, I’m guessing that the pair of you are wondering why I’ve dragged you over here.’

  Kay bit her lip as Sharp made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat.

  Greensmith unfolded her hands and gestured to the topmost file in her tray.

  ‘I don’t need to tell you both that the arrest and subsequent prosecution of Jozef Demiri have been high on our agenda, especially after what happened to you, Hunter.’

  Heat rushed to Kay’s cheeks, but she held her tongue.

  Greensmith’s tone was matter-of-fact rather than accusatory, and she continued as if oblivious to Kay’s discomfort.

  ‘The thing is,’ the chief superintendent continued, ‘our Serious and Organised Crimes Unit has never given up on Demiri, and in an attempt to draw on every resource I have available to me, recent events in your investigation lead me to one conclusion. SOCU should be leading all investigations into Jozef Demiri’s business.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘I’m sorry, Detective Hunter, but SOCU are better equipped to deal with whatever Demiri can throw at us.’

  ‘What does DCI Larch think of this?’ said Kay, then bit her lip, realising she was pushing her luck.

  Greensmith raised an eyebrow before responding. ‘Not that it’s any of your business, detective, but DCI Larch is currently leading another aspect of the investigation.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘That’s all I’m prepared to tell you, Hunter.’

  ‘Ma’am,
if I could make a suggestion?’ said Sharp.

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘Both Hunter and I are well versed in how dangerous Demiri can be. Rather than cut our team loose completely, perhaps we could be seconded to the SOCU investigation?’

  ‘I did say you wouldn’t hand this over without a fight, Devon.’ She held up her hand to stop him interrupting. ‘I understand the time and effort you put into pursuing this man over the years.’

  She leaned forward and press the button on her phone. ‘Louise? Send in DCI Harrison, please.’

  Kay heard Sharp swear under his breath, and raised her eyebrow.

  He shook his head, and they both stood as the door opened and a man entered the room, his height leaving scant room as he ducked instinctively under the door frame.

  ‘DS Hunter, this is Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harrison. Sharp, I believe you and Harrison know each other?’

  ‘We’ve met before.’

  Greensmith waited until the introductions were complete, and then locked her computer screen and picked up her mobile phone from her desk.

  ‘I’ll leave it to the three of you to work out the arrangements. Keep it civil. I want my office back in one piece when I return in thirty minutes.’

  Kay moved back to her chair but didn’t sit down as the door closed behind Greensmith. Instead, she watched with interest as Sharp stood to one side to let Harrison cross to the window.

  The tension between the two men was palpable, and she wondered what the history was between them. It was evident the outcome had left each with unresolved issues.

  Harrison turned to face them, his hands clasped behind his back and a tight smile on his face.

  ‘Well, Sharp, I didn’t think our paths would cross again. Not like this.’

  ‘You’re looking well, Simon. How’s Gravesend suiting you?’

  Harrison grimaced, but recovered quickly. ‘It gives me scope to monitor the bigger issues in Kent. I much prefer being involved on the frontline though.’

  ‘We understand your SOCU team might want some assistance in putting together a case against Jozef Demiri,’ said Kay.

  Harrison turned his attention to her, his eyes sparkling.