“Well it’s backfired hasn’t it? Do you know we’ve wasted time tracking down the owner of a VW Golf for weeks as a potential witness and all this time it was you. Now I’d be very careful how I’d answer this next question. Did you see the two men dump Samia’s body in the lake?”
The doctor shook his head vigorously. “Christ no! I didn’t spot them until they’d cut us up in the car park. When I saw who was in the van I thought they were after me again. You know because of my past fling with Samia. I thought they’d followed me there and I was going to get another hiding. When they just drove away I couldn’t fathom it out. Then of course when I saw it all on the news I put two-and-two together and realised what I had seen.” He paused and dropped his gaze again. “I’m sorry. If it hadn’t been for the prostitute I would have told you all this.”
“You might be able to save some face here Doc. Can you definitely say you recognise the two people in the white van as Samia’s cousins who previously beat you up?”
Chris Woolfe nodded. “Yes it was definitely them.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
DAY THIRTY: 22nd September.
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“These are our targets,” announced Detective Superintendent Michael Robshaw, holding aloft a pair of A4 size colour photographs to his audience of detectives; they were blown up head and shoulders mug shots of two Asian men, holding in front of them custody reference boards, which indicated to the team that at some stage they had both been arrested and charged.
“Ari and Pervez Arshad, twenty-nine and twenty-seven years old respectively, from the Attercliffe area,” he continued. “These photographs were taken just over five months ago when they were arrested and charged with witness intimidation after an assault on a young man at a taxi rank. Three witnesses stated that Ari and Pervez pushed in on a queue and when a twenty-two year old man challenged them they both set about him. They punched him to the ground and statements from the witnesses state that Ari jumped several times on his head — with both feet. That young man is now permanently brain damaged and the three witnesses who initially came forward have now refused to give evidence in court after being visited by the pair.” The SIO turned and pressed the images onto the incident white boards directly beneath the two earlier e-fits joining the blown up CCTV image of the two Asian men caught on camera driving away from Meadowhall in the white Renault van.
All could now see that there was no disputing the likeness.
The Detective Superintendent returned his gaze back into the room. “These two are well known to the Sheffield police and also to Drug Squad. They have been strongly suspected of knocking out cocaine and heroin to the clubbers for some time but subsequent raids have only found enough gear for possession charges. Ari has also been arrested twice for assault and aggravated burglary when it’s believed he went round to collect drug debts owed to him — though once again victims and witnesses refused to give evidence in court.” Michael Robshaw paused and scanned the room. “However their luck has finally run out. We now have clear identification which places these two at the scene on the night Samia’s body was dumped, by our witness Christopher Woolfe, who had previously been assaulted by the pair — and he is willing to testify in court. So not only do we have CCTV footage of these two abducting Samia, we can also now place them on the night her body was dumped in the lake. What we don’t have at present is their precise address. I have already learned that they no longer live at the flat they were at when they were arrested five months ago. That has been let to another couple and was occupied by them on the date of Samia’s abduction. Detectives from Sheffield have paid this couple a visit and given the place the once over. There is no suggestion that these two people have any links to our targets or to the Hassans and therefore our priority now is to identify where they are currently living and bring them in. Tasks today relate to their known associates with a view to tracking them down.”
DC Mike Sampson half raised his arm. “What about bringing Mohammed Hassan back in now that we know about Ari’s number being on his mobile?”
“Not yet. I don’t want him to know just how much we’ve got from the technicians until we have Ari and his brother Pervez in custody.” The Detective Superintendent reached behind him tapping the incident board. “All our efforts now are focussed on these two. Good hunting everyone.”
* * * * *
Prompted by an early finish from work; they still hadn’t discovered the Arshad’s address, Hunter had made a last minute decision to make a detour on his way home and call into his father’s gym for a quick training session to unwind.
Might even get some time with dad!
Removing his training bag from the boot he took a casual look around the grit surfaced car park. He noticed there were a good dozen cars at least — more than usual at this time of day.
Must be a few in. It occurred to him that he might be able to get in a bit of sparring for a change.
As he set his bag down to close his boot, out of the corner of one eye, he spotted movement in one of the parked cars. A grey Mondeo, with its engine revving, was parked at the end of the row. It looked out of place here; not the type of car he normally saw in the car park — most of the trainees who used his dad’s gym were young men using age old ‘bangers’ — the best of them done up with body kits, which shouted ‘boy racer.’
After everything which had gone off he had a sense of anguish about this; something didn’t appear to be quite right. And weren’t they looking for a grey Mondeo, in relation to the attack on PC Marcus Hill.
He slammed the boot shut and slipped down the side of his car to get a better look at the parked Mondeo and especially to view the driver and passenger. From where he was, his initial impression was that the two men in it seemed to be concentrating their stare upon the entrance doors to his father’s gym.
He dropped his stance and shifted for a better angle. The passenger was the nearest. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with long straggly greying hair and a salt and pepper neatly trimmed beard. Unfortunately he was too far away to pick out any other features. The driver, also middle-aged, had thinning crew-cut sandy hair. He had his head pushed back against the headrest, and there was something about him he recognised, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.
As Hunter took another step towards the front of his car he saw the passenger sit bolt upright and stare in his direction — he had been eyeballed.
He was given no time to react as the Mondeo roared into life, its front wheels whipping up gravel as it jolted forward, fish-tailing for a split second before straightening up and shooting out of the exit onto the side-street.
He had just enough time to log its number in his head.
As he listened to the squeal of tyres disappear into the distant estate he felt his hackles raise. It had been the look the passenger had thrown him — a cold-bloodied granite stare — an animal-like expression he had seen only a few times in his career — usually when someone had expressed their wish to kill him.
He knew those two meant business and he had disturbed them.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
DAY THIRTY ONE: 23rd September.
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Billy Wallace looked up to the heavens to see if there was a break in the clouds as more drizzle floated from a murky blue, cloudy sky, adding to the shiny black wetness of the tarmac surface around him. He gave off an involuntary shudder as he felt the droplets run down his neck and trickle onto his back.