Jane looked down the landing and saw Bradfield at the far end waving for her to come forward, so she ran the entire way and followed him to his room. He opened the door quickly, ushered her inside and as she turned to face him he embraced her in his arms and kissed her passionately. He lifted her up, gently laid her down on his single bed and positioned himself beside her, gently brushing her hair from her face.
‘I didn’t think you would come... you smell lovely.’
She gave a soft laugh. ‘I’m scared stiff, especially as the crabby section-house sergeant is on the prowl.’
Bradfield was very gentle, kissing her tenderly before he pulled off his T-shirt, and then unbuttoned her blouse. She had been in such a hurry to get dressed she hadn’t put a bra on and he sighed staring at her breasts before he bent down to kiss each nipple. Aroused, she pulled his head closer, moaning with pleasure. He looked up and grinned.
‘Shushhh!’ He put his hand over her lips. ‘You are so lovely... have you any idea how much I’ve wanted to hold you?’
He kept on kissing her and Jane felt as if she was flying. Then he took off her jeans, undressed himself and lay naked next to her. He remained so quiet and so loving that she gave herself to him, whispering that she loved kissing his cheeks, his eyes and his mouth. Jane was not completely sexually naive. She had been involved with a boy from college and had had a short relationship with one of the class instructors at training college. But she had never felt this way, or been so adored and cared for so tenderly. It had just been plain sex before, but this was different. After making love to her once he became rougher and more sexually explicit, whispering what he wanted her to do and how he wanted her to touch him. She found his sexual confidence encouraging and it made her lose all her inhibitions so that she enjoyed the sex and was satisfied in a way she had never believed possible.
Two hours later Jane watched as Bradfield opened the door and took a look up and down the corridor.
‘OK, it’s all clear. Goodnight...’
He tilted her chin up and kissed her as she eased past him and hurried towards the stairs to go to her room. She had just passed through the double doors when Gibbs stepped out of the lift and headed along the corridor and rapped on Bradfield’s door. Bradfield opened it fast with a beaming smile thinking it was Jane, but seeing Gibbs he reacted quickly to cover himself.
‘Christ, you woke me up.’ He yawned.
‘I just finished typing up my report — you want to go for a drink? The pub’s still open and I want to give you an update.’
‘Yeah sure, let me get my trousers on.’ Bradfield closed the door. He didn’t want to let Gibbs in in case he smelt Jane’s perfume.
Unaware of how close she had been to being discovered by Gibbs, Jane flung herself onto her bed. She felt happier and more contented than she could remember.
As they sat at a table drinking their pints, Gibbs explained to Bradfield what had taken place at the Greek café.
‘Although no one was working in the basement and no van was there I’m dead certain we’ve got the right café and bank, Len. The guy Silas was sweating and talking non-stop, making this and that excuse about having builders in, then having to give up on a rebuild in the cellar. The vault of the fucking bank is literally adjacent to his back-yard wall, he’s that close. There were loose bricks and soil bags in the yard — I reckon the bricks are from a hole they’ve made through a wall in the cellar and the plasterboard is used to conceal it when they ain’t working. The soil must have come from digging a hole under the vault. I’m bloody sure of it.’
Bradfield could feel his guts churning.
‘What about tools in the basement?’
Gibbs shrugged and said he didn’t see any spades or pickaxes, but they could be in the tunnel or hidden upstairs: he hadn’t wanted to spook Silas by asking to look up there. However, he was excited about what he had seen in the basement.
‘Although it looked like it was being done up, there was a gas cutting rig hidden under a dust sheet. It’s an extreme heat-cutting torch, and no way does a basic renovation need something like that. I checked it out — it can cut through metal and steel and it is real dangerous equipment if you don’t know what you’re doing.’
‘Fuck me,’ Bradfield said, draining his pint.
Gibbs picked up their empty glasses to get a refill but Bradfield stood up.
‘No, I want to get some shut-eye as it’s gonna be all systems go tomorrow. They’re definitely not through into the vault yet, and for some reason they’ve been having a rest day.’
‘Do you think they sussed the surveillance and called it off?’
‘No, otherwise Silas would have got rid of the gas tanks. Was he suspicious of you and Harris?’
‘Nervous, yes, but I reckon he believed me about the break-in. Besides, you primed Mannie Charles to say it was true if he was asked. Silas hasn’t got a pot to piss in and needs the money so I don’t even think he’ll tell Bentley we paid a visit as he was shitting himself.’
Bradfield patted Gibbs’s shoulder. ‘Good work, Spence. You get off home for some shut-eye. We beef up the surveillance from tomorrow, twenty-four hours non-stop for as long as it takes, if necessary.’
‘It was a good night, boss, huh?’ Gibbs said.
Bradfield smiled. ‘You have no idea just how good it was.’
Chapter twenty-six
Detective Chief Superintendent Shaun Metcalf arrived at Hackney at 8 a.m. in a dour mood. Bradfield was in his office going over the reports and surveillance logs and the entire team was on tenterhooks. The DCS wanted a full update of the situation before agreeing to any further course of action.
Bradfield went over everything calmly and succinctly, detailing all the new information and evidence. The DCS remained tight-lipped and listened with his head slightly lowered, making it difficult to gauge whether or not he was going to sanction ‘Operation Hawk’. Metcalf looked over all the reports himself to make sure Bradfield was not exaggerating his case. Eventually he pulled at his nose, sniffed and slowly laid down the papers before getting up and pacing around the room deep in thought, leaving Bradfield still wondering what his decision would be. He stood by the window looking down onto the street below and eventually turned to face Bradfield.
‘You’ve got a green light, Len, but on one condition — I don’t want individual arrests made for a conspiracy to rob the bank. I don’t want a cock-up like that Lloyds Bank job where they never got the ringleader... I want those bastards caught on the job, inside, shovels in hand, while their lookout is in position as well. You nick them all together and the case is strong. Plus one or two of them might turn Queen’s Evidence against each other, especially the Greek as he seems likely to talk.’
‘Thank you, sir. It was always my intention to get them all bang to rights on the plot, and I’m very grateful you agree,’ Bradfield said as he stood up and shook Metcalf’s hand.
‘You haul in whatever extra manpower you need. Do whatever is necessary, but don’t jump the gun as this will be a big press plus for the Met if you succeed.’
Bradfield had to take deep breaths to control his excitement. This could be a major step forward in his career and he was not about to mess it up.
‘I’ve still got surveillance on all the suspected team, so if there is any movement to or from their individual addresses we’ll be on it right away.’
‘Good. I know your station CID people are helping out with the surveillance, but wherever possible get it done by the unit from the Yard. They’re much more experienced and blend in with the surroundings more easily.’