‘What do you think made the loud bang you heard?’
Abby shrugged and put Daniel in the pram.
‘I don’t know... Can I go now?’
‘I’ll need to speak to you again to take a more detailed statement, which you’ll need to sign. Can you give me your home phone number, please, then I can call you to arrange an appointment time?’
Abby looked apprehensive. ‘Will I have to go to court and give evidence?’
‘Possibly, if we catch the men responsible for the robbery.’
‘No, I’m sorry, no way, I’m not giving evidence against people like that. My life and Daniel’s would never be safe.’
‘There’s ways we can protect you and make sure your details are not revealed. I’ll come and see you tomorrow, but in the meantime would you like me to get someone to contact your parents?’
‘No, I need to take Daniel to the doctor’s now.’
‘Are you sure you’ll be all right on your own?’
‘Yeah... I hope those two policemen that were in the police car are all right.’
‘I’m sure they will be, Abby. You can call me at work any time if you want to talk.’
Abby frowned. ‘I won’t change my mind about making a statement.’
‘If you did, would you contact me if I give you my office number?’
‘I’ll think about it,’ she replied with a big sigh.
Jane was about to write it down on a bit of paper when she realized she didn’t know her new office number.
‘Can you hang on a minute and I’ll just get the number from one of my colleagues...?’
‘No, I gotta go to the doctor’s now,’ Abby said as she walked off without looking back.
Chapter Three
As Jane watched the ambulance leave with the injured officers, she thought about the loud bang Abby had heard; if it wasn’t the sound of a shotgun, it had to be something else near the scene of the incident. As she walked towards the damaged house she noticed skid marks and bits of shredded car tire on the road. It reminded her of the time she was driving on the motorway and a tire on the car in front of her burst, leaving shredded bits all over the road. It struck her as unlikely that a tire on a police car would suddenly blow out, especially as the vehicles were checked daily by a civilian garage hand, but she suspected a bullet penetrating a tire could cause a blowout.
About eight meters past the crash site Jane saw a distinct skid mark veering from right to left across the road, which stopped just short of a parked car. She realized, from what Abby had told her, that the skid mark might have been caused when the getaway driver braked hard and came to an abrupt halt. She decided to inspect the area more closely and was walking towards it when she heard Kingston’s voice.
‘What are you doing, Tennison?’
She turned around. ‘I was just following up on something a witness to the incident told me.’
‘As the DI in charge of this case I’d prefer it if you consulted me first, then I’ll decide what action should or should not be taken by my officers.’
‘Sorry, sir. I thought I might find some evidence for the investigation.’
‘Are you a forensics expert?’
‘No, but I’ve dealt with a number of murders and rapes during my service and have a good knowledge of major crime scenes—’
‘But no real experience with armed robbery scenes, firearms or GSR.’
‘No, sir.’
She didn’t know what GSR was but didn’t want to appear uninformed by asking.
‘What did the woman you spoke to have to say?’
Jane told him the woman was a young mother called Abby who had just turned seventeen. She got out her pocket notebook and started to brief Kingston on what Abby had told her, but he interrupted her again.
‘Did the girl see their faces?’
‘No, she saw two armed men get out of the car, but both were wearing masks. She’s a bright young girl and saw everything—’
He interrupted again. ‘Is she willing to make a statement and give evidence in court.’
‘Not at the moment, but—’
‘Then she’s not a lot of use to us, is she?’
‘I think I could persuade her to make a statement, and we could always consider witness protection.’
Kingston shook his head. ‘I’m not gonna waste time wet-nursing some kid with a baby. Move on and see if you can find an adult who saw what happened.’ He started to walk off.
‘Something she said about the two men with guns was interesting...’
Kingston spun around. ‘What part of move on don’t you understand, Tennison?’
‘Sorry, sir, I’ll see if there’s any adults who got a closer look than Abby did.’
‘Don’t be flippant, Tennison. I’ve heard a few stories about you — some good, some not so good. I don’t doubt your enthusiasm, or abilities as a divisional detective investigating murders — but when it comes to the Flying Squad you’ve a lot to learn. We’re a specialized close-knit unit, not just because of the work we do, but also the dangers we face together. As you can see from the carnage of this morning’s events, the villains we deal with don’t play games and they hate the police with a vengeance — to them the only good cop is a dead cop.’
‘I’m a quick learner and I believe I can be a positive addition to the squad, sir,’ she said in her defense.
‘That remains to be seen. Everyone of sergeant rank and above served on the Flying Squad as a DC prior to promotion... unlike you. Right now, you’re the rookie, not to mention the first female officer we’ve ever had.’
‘I appreciate that, sir, but I don’t see my gender as a hindrance—’
‘Take my advice — if you want to fit in and get on, then best to just look, listen and learn for now.’
Jane suspected he was being polite, and what he really wanted to say was to keep her eyes and ears open and her mouth shut.
‘Yes, sir, and thank you for the advice.’
He forced a smile. ‘Good, and cut the “sir” crap, please. It’s “guv” or “guvnor” when we’re on duty and “Stu” in the pub.’
The Colonel came over and spoke to Kingston.
‘Stanley just radioed in — no one’s been able to find the Cortina. Looks like the robbers have gone to ground.’
Kingston sighed. ‘Any of the Woodville residents see anything?’
‘Uniform lads have knocked on all the doors and spoken to the people who gathered in the street. No one saw what happened here, though some heard the crash and bangs before it, which was probably the guns going off.’
Jane wanted to say that Abby was the only witness, so trying to get her to make a statement would be beneficial, but she didn’t want to incur Kingston’s displeasure again. Kingston looked frustrated.
‘They probably had a changeover vehicle nearby. Get on the radio and instruct the uniform cars and foot patrol officers to check the local estates and back roads for the Cortina. Call Stanley as well and tell him to drop Dabs off here to deal with this scene.’
‘Shall I call a SOCO out to the bank scene if Dabs is coming here?’
Kingston nodded and told the Colonel to make sure it was a senior SOCO who had experience of examining armed robbery scenes. Jane assumed the nickname ‘Dabs’ must have originated from the police slang for fingerprints. She asked Kingston if she would be going to the bank with him and the Colonel to take statements, but he said no as he wanted her to help Dabs.
‘I take it you know how to fill in an exhibits book?’ Kingston asked her.
‘I’ve done it a few times, but on big cases like murders the Lab liaison sergeant did everything.’
‘Well, we work differently on the Flying Squad, as time is of the essence at a crime scene. Dabs, our SOCO, is permanently attached to the team and one of our DCs always works alongside him at a robbery scene, helping to gather evidence and listing the exhibits. Even though you’re a DS it would be beneficial for you to assist Dabs on this case.’