William sprinted towards the three men, but they had chosen their spot next to an exit carefully, and by the time he reached the escalator they were already approaching the top step, barging their way past several startled passengers. He charged on, taking two steps at a time, but by the time he reached the top, they were almost at the exit.
The older man was gasping for breath in an attempt to keep up with the younger, fitter bodyguards. William had nearly caught up with him, and was about to pounce when he felt two arms encircle him and he was tackled before reaching the try line. His arms were thrust behind his back by one man while another handcuffed him.
‘You’re under arrest,’ said a voice.
When William arrived back at the Yard, he immediately briefed the commander on the violent and premeditated murder of Assem Rashidi, and how he’d ended up being arrested by mistake.
‘At least that solves one of our problems,’ said the Hawk, taking William by surprise. ‘Rashidi can no longer harm you. But what I want to know, detective inspector, is did you recognize the man he shook hands with?’
‘Yes, sir. It was Tony Roberts, the owner of eleven newsagents, who claimed at the trial he’d been living in Rashidi’s apartment for the past ten years. He must have been running Rashidi’s empire in his absence, and clearly decided he wanted to take over the business with a sleeping partner.’
‘Foolish mistake,’ said the Hawk. ‘Roberts is only at best a number two, and by killing his paymaster, he’s made it far easier for us to bring down the entire empire.’
‘What do you want me to do next, sir?’
‘Go home, inspector, and leave me to get a Murder Team mobilized.’
William was disappointed not to be the officer who would arrest Roberts. He hoped it would be Paul, so the sprained ankle would be relegated to folklore.
As William sat on the Tube back to Fulham Broadway, he knew the Hawk would already have dispatched a Murder Team to Brixton, with the drugs unit not far behind. By the time he’d written up his report and handed it over to the Hawk’s secretary, it would not only be out of date, but ancient history. He would have to wait for the team meeting in the morning to find out what had happened next.
When he arrived home, he found Beth and the twins in the bathroom, almost as much water on the floor as in the bath. ‘Have you heard about Rashidi?’ were Beth’s first words. His silence told her everything she needed to know.
‘I’ll fill in the details later,’ he said. ‘Not least how I ended up being arrested for the murder,’ he whispered as the phone began to ring. William left Beth with the children splashing around in the bath, and picked up the phone on the landing.
No greeting, no name, no small talk. But he knew who was on the other end of the line.
‘I’ve spoken to the family, and we’re willing to go ahead with your plan. But there’s a condition.’
William didn’t need to be told what that condition was. He could only wonder how the Hawk would react. He returned to the bathroom to find Beth drying the children before putting on their pyjamas.
‘Who was it?’ she asked.
‘I’m going to have to make a phone call,’ William said, not answering her question. He picked up the twins, one under each arm, and carried them giggling to their bedroom, where he tucked them up and turned out the light. He returned to the landing, picked up the phone, and dialled an unlisted number.
‘Commander Hawksby speaking.’
23
The Hawk glanced at the front page of the Daily Mail before tossing it aside.
‘Yesterday’s news,’ he declared. ‘Tony Roberts and his two sidekicks were arrested last night, and all three will be charged with Rashidi’s murder later today. As a bonus, the drugs squad moved in and were able to shut down another slaughter in a different part of Brixton that looked as if it had recently been set up in preparation for Rashidi’s return.’
‘Can’t wait to read the headlines in tomorrow’s papers,’ said Jackie.
‘I’ve already briefed the commissioner on what to expect, and taken all the credit. None of you got a mention.’
Laughter broke out among the team, as they banged the palms of their hands on the table in approval.
‘As you were responsible for arresting Roberts, DS Adaja, perhaps you could bring us all up to date.’
‘A murder team moved in immediately after the senior investigating officer’s call,’ began Paul. ‘The eleven newsagents purportedly owned by Roberts were, as you always suspected, sir, nothing more than an elaborate front to launder Rashidi’s drugs money. Although most of Roberts’s employees kept shtum, one of them broke down when it was suggested she might be charged with assisting an offender. Her information led us to a local brothel, where we found Roberts on the job. He made no attempt to resist arrest. The young woman who was with him, well, on top of him, was a fount of information once we’d promised to keep her name out of the papers. It seems her mother is chairman of the local Conservative Association.’
‘Everyone has their price,’ said the Hawk. ‘What about Roberts’s two accomplices?’
‘Not the sharpest tools in the box, sir. They were found celebrating in a local pub. They put up a fight, but not much of one. They’ll be appearing in front of the magistrate this morning along with Roberts, all three of them will be charged with murder.’
‘I hear you had an equally worthwhile evening, DS Roycroft,’ said the Hawk, switching his attention to Jackie.
‘As Paul pointed out, sir, Roberts is no Rashidi. Once he’d been charged with murder he broke down, blamed it on the two thugs, and even told us where Rashidi’s latest drug factory was. Claimed he was nothing more than a fall guy who’d been paid to say he lived in Rashidi’s flat. When I mentioned the words life imprisonment, he offered to turn Queen’s evidence in return for the possibility of a shorter sentence.’
‘I’m sure we can get a couple of years knocked off,’ said the Hawk, ‘so that he’s released in time to go straight in to an old people’s home.’
More banging of palms on the table.
‘Following Roberts’s revelations,’ said the Hawk, ‘I can report that Superintendent Watts and sixty of his men swept through Brixton last night and netted a shoal of minnows, a dozen runners and more important, a couple of leading dealers who we’ve been after for years. Second only to Trojan Horse, is how I described it to the commissioner.’
‘Did they find enough evidence to back up their charges?’ asked Paul.
‘Seven kilos of coke, three of heroin, and countless bags of marijuana,’ said the Hawk. ‘I’ll be issuing photographs of the haul to the press later today.’
‘However,’ said Jackie, ‘Superintendent Watts is convinced this was only a small part of a larger consignment that was recently shipped in from Colombia, and the rest of the haul has already been distributed across London.’
‘Has any of it turned up in Romford?’ asked the Hawk, looking across the table at PC Bailey.
‘Not that I’m aware of, sir,’ said Nicky. ‘There’s nothing in Book 66 to suggest it has, no significant drugs arrests have been made during the past week and nothing’s been handed in.’
‘Remind me,’ said the Hawk. ‘Isn’t it the Turner family who would be the most likely recipients of any drugs being distributed in Romford?’
‘No, sir, the Paynes. The Turners haven’t been causing any trouble lately.’
Either she’s lying, thought Rebecca, or Summers doesn’t trust her enough to tell her what he’s up to. The detective in her suspected the first, while the friend wanted to believe the second.