Copyright
HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Copyright © Luke Delaney 2016
Luke Delaney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Cover design by Dominic Forbes © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016
Cover photograph © Paul Thomas Gooney/Arcangel Images (main scene);
Shutterstock.com (back jacket and texture)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This is entirely a work of fiction. Any references to real people, living or dead, real events, businesses, organizations and localities are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. All names, characters and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books
Source ISBN: 9780007585724
Ebook Edition © JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780007585748
Version 2017-03-28
Dedication
I dedicate this book to all the police officers, the length and breadth of the country, regardless of rank, who work tirelessly under difficult and often dangerous circumstances so the rest of us can live our lives much as we please. Imagine a country without a strong and reliable police service and think how much that would damage the quality of all our lives no matter how wealthy or powerful we may be.
Having done the job for many years, I know how testing how physically and mentally hard it can be, not just on the individual, but on their families and friends. It often demands complete commitment to the cause to the exclusion of everything else. Its simply whats required to get the job done, but it makes it a very demanding job indeed. We should all be very grateful there are still thousands of police officers serving their communities with such dedication and diligence, despite increasingly poor working conditions and pay. Without them there would be no society as we know it.
Some people will misunderstand this book and maybe even see it as an attack on the police, but I can assure you it is anything but. It is a warning the character of Jack King representing an entire police service within one man. If we do not treasure and care for the things we value most, then its only ever a matter of time before we lose them. Not everything can be pulled back from the brink. It is a very dangerous thing indeed to give people great power, as each officer has, yet through such poor pay place them perilously close to poverty. Desperate people will sooner or later take desperate actions.
Remember the old saying a society ultimately gets the police it deserves.
So, to every cop out there looking after all of us, I say thank you and dedicate this book to you.
LD
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Acknowledgements
Keep Reading
About the Author
Also by Luke Delaney
About the Publisher
1
Chief Superintendent Brian Gerrard looked down at the open file on his desk and nodded approvingly before looking up and smiling at the expressionless PC Jack King who sat in front of him.
An excellent end of probation report, Gerrard beamed, his shining blue eyes magnified by his spectacles as he sat straight-backed in his chair, trying to stretch his five-foot-eight body as far as he could. Wouldnt you agree, Inspector? he asked Inspector Joanne Johnston who was prowling around the office like a caged leopard.
Very impressive, Johnston agreed.
King forced a smile onto his handsome face and continued to wish the meeting would be over and he could be free from the two senior officers he barely knew. Hed passed them in the corridor from time to time, respectfully said hello in deference to their rank, but this was the first time either had actually spoken properly to him. He didnt mind about that. He just wanted the meeting to be over so he could get back out on the streets. Like Johnston before him, he was on the Metropolitan Polices accelerated promotion scheme and knew his working life would soon be dominated by endless meetings and coordinating. Whatever time he had left on the front line was already precious to him. If it hadnt been for his parents, he may have even considered giving up his accelerated promotion to stay in the action indefinitely. Already he understood that the police was one organization that could only be truly understood by standing at the bottom looking up not peering down at it from a glass tower.
His appearance was the opposite of Gerrards, who looked grey and weak, albeit slim and tidy; whereas King was almost six foot tall and muscular, his short brown hair framing deep brown eyes, high cheekbones and a square jaw, and his skin a deep olive, the colour of someone who laboured hard outside. Johnston was undeniably attractive, but she looked like a lawyer in a police uniform. As he listened to their congratulations he imagined them avoiding as much real police work as they could spending most of their time on courses and safe attachments, keeping themselves out of harms way while also protecting their squeaky clean records, ensuring there would be no skeletons in their closets that could bar them from the dizzy heights of becoming Assistant Commissioners or perhaps even more. Whereas he had won the respect of his peers through hard work and a willingness to get his hands dirty overcoming their natural mistrust of anyone on accelerated promotion.
Thank you, he answered through his forced smile. I really enjoyed the work.
Well thats all behind you now, Gerrard spluttered a little. Onwards and upwards for you, Jack. First youll need to complete your sergeants course and then youll have to go back to Bramshill for additional training. Then of course youll serve the minimum amount of time possible as a sergeant before becoming an inspector and then, so long as you pass the exams and keep away from anything controversial who knows what heights you could reach? The key is not having any skeletons in your cupboard, if you understand what Im saying.
Doesnt sound like Im going to get much of a chance to do any real police work, he teased them.
As you travel through the ranks, Gerrard smiled, youll realize that making policy and providing a general umbrella of supervision is the true backbone of the service. Anyone can charge around in a police car arresting people, but adhering to government targets of crime reduction and managing the borough budget is an entirely different matter. In many ways now is the time for you to put away such childish things and accept the responsibilities that come with having been selected for accelerated promotion.
Of course, King smiled through gritted teeth. I understand.
Good, Gerrard beamed.
Excellent, Johnston added through her assassins smile.
Well if thats everything, sir, King stated more than asked, rising from his chair, I should be getting back to my duties.
Of course, Gerrard agreed. Of course.
But I would like to say that Im very much looking forward to returning to the borough as a sergeant, King added, before immediately regretting it.
Return? Gerrard asked, the smile dead on his face.
Here? Johnston added. To Newham?
Yes, maam, King confirmed.
Well, thats your choice entirely, Gerrard took over, but there are easier boroughs in which to complete the rank of sergeant. Ones in which you could say youre less likely to be tarnished with anything unsavoury or unpleasant that for example the media could exploit later on in your career when youre of a suitably high rank. These are the sorts of things that a potential future Commissioner already has to start thinking about. You take my point?
Of course, King nodded and tried to look serious, but I like it here. Newham will do me fine.
Well, Gerrard recovered his smile, maybe after a few weeks at Bramshill youll change your mind.
Maybe, King lied and pointed at the door. Is it all right if I ? he let his words trail away.
Keen to make the most of your last few hours as a constable, eh? Gerrard asked, pretending that he could understand what that might mean to someone like King.
Yes, sir, he answered, heading for the door as quickly as he could, turning the handle, only seconds from freedom before Gerrard stopped him.
And remember, Jack, he told him, the likes of you and I and Inspector Johnston here have been selected to rule over this organization of ours. We carry on our shoulders the heavy burden of responsibility.
Ill bear that in mind, King answered before escaping through the door, blowing through puffed-out cheeks with relief as he closed it behind him. Thank fuck thats over, he whispered under his breath and headed towards the station yard to hitch a lift back to his beat in an area of Newham he doubted either Gerrard or Johnston had ever seen.
Two hours later
King walked along Central Park Road in East Ham cursing the body armour and traditional-style helmet that made the intense heat of a London summer almost unbearable. He listened to every call that came out over his personal radio, determined to end his constable career with yet another decent arrest and maintain his reputation as a thief-taker, something that had surprised his peers and seniors alike, unaccustomed as they were to seeing anyone on accelerated promotion showing any street skills. But he felt born to be a street cop his law degree nothing more than something hed obtained to please his parents. Although they still expressed their deep displeasure at his chosen career, the accelerated promotion programme hed been offered as a graduate had mollified them. Hed accepted the deal to keep the peace, but doubted hed stick to it. Maybe hed even join the CID proper not just on an attachment as a future senior officer passing through, but as a trained and qualified detective. It would kill off his chances of ever being anything more than a detective inspector or at best a detective chief inspector, but at least he wouldnt be permanently trapped behind a desk.
Finally a call came out over his personal radio that interested him and that he could get to on foot within the acceptable response time: suspected domestic disturbance at 15 Gillett Avenue sounds of a disturbance in the background.
Ill take that, 914 over, he said into his radio.
You sure, 914? the female voice from Control came back to him. Itll be your last shout as a constable. Sure you want to end on a domestic?
Why not? he answered, knowing that domestic disputes were always good for an arrest. Im just round the corner. ETA two minutes.
OK, 914, the female voice told him. Ill sort some back-up out and send them to your location.
Fine, he agreed and picked up his pace, determined not to let a mobile unit beat him to the shout and any possible arrests. But as he turned into Gillett Avenue and began to walk past the rows of neat terraced houses, a feeling quite unlike anything he had experienced before began to wrap itself around him an unpleasant feeling of something terrible happening close by. The street was deathly quiet, only the sound of the leaves in the small trees moving in the faintest of breezes disturbing the stillness. The birds had stopped singing.
When he reached number 15 his sense of dread only increased as he found the house in complete silence with none of the usual reassuring sounds of screaming and shouting coming from inside the small house looked somehow foreboding and threatening.