LITMIR.BIZ

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       Chapter 20

      They drove at increasing speed along the A57, swinging south down the A5063 and crossing the Ship Canal at the swing-bridge. Trafford, the next borough, was a massive complex of industrial estates and lorry parks, so there was a bit of a slowdown there. But they finally got out of it via the A518, and headed south again, steadily picking up speed. It was now mid-morning so the traffic was at low tide and, by the time they entered Sale, they were belting along.

      ‘Where’s the fire?’ Lauren asked.

      ‘Behind us,’ Heck replied. ‘You mean you hadn’t noticed?’

      ‘We got away.’

      ‘Yeah … for how long?’ They hurtled into Altrincham, where the M56 motorway would hook them up with the M6. ‘We’ve got to get back to London pronto. At least then we’ll be on home turf. And I can ditch the car.’

      ‘Why do you want to ditch the car?’

      ‘Because Salford CID will have the registration mark by midday today.’ She shook her head, clearly not believing him, but he was adamant. ‘From this point on, Lauren, don’t use your mobile. In fact, keep it switched off. Mine is. If you must make a call, use a landline, a payphone.’

      ‘Heck, much as you applaud your own craft, you’re surely not serious that your lot are going to be onto us so quickly?’

      ‘I’m certain of it. An expert has created this fit-up. Someone who won’t have left anything to chance. If the police don’t draw the correct conclusions from what they’ve already got, he’ll just drop them another clue.’

      She checked the dashboard clock. It was ten-thirty; on a good day they’d be back in London by two. But Heck now stated that he didn’t intend to stay on the motorway for long. If an APB was put out, there’d be traffic patrols on the bridges, looking out for them. South of Birmingham, he intended to use the back roads.

      Lauren groaned. ‘This is a serious overreaction.’

      ‘Have I been wrong once so far?’

      ‘I’m not sure you’ve been right once.’

      ‘You think people like Ron O’Hoorigan get killed that way every day?’

      She had no immediate answer for that. It was probable that scrotes like O’Hoorigan got bumped off more regularly than normal people. But in that particular fashion? It seemed unlikely.

      ‘And doesn’t it seem a hell of a coincidence that it happened as soon as we made contact with him?’ Heck added.

      Lauren had to admit that it did.

      ‘On the subject of which,’ Heck said, ‘you mentioned something about seeing a similar murder in Iraq.’

      ‘That’s true.’

      ‘So?’

      ‘I’m breaking the Official Secrets Act, if I tell you.’

      ‘It’s about time you justified your presence on this enquiry, so bloody break it!’

      She glanced uneasily at him, though this was more to do with the memory of the incident than the breach in protocol. ‘Three guys had been killed, all in identical fashion to the one we saw this morning. They’d been hung upside down and gutted while they were still alive. I was in the patrol that found them …’

      She hesitated to continue. Even now, several years later, the stench re-assailed her. It had been much worse than that at Gallows Hill because southern Iraq’s oven-like heat had commenced the putrefaction process more quickly. The buzzing of flies had been so loud as to deafen even ears like hers, which had become accustomed to the roar of artillery. Just thinking about it again made her gorge rise.

      ‘It was in a ruined town on the outskirts of Basra. Initially, it was assumed to be the work of sectarian Iraqis. But later on evidence suggested the victims were insurgents and that occupation forces might be responsible. Like I said, no one was ever prosecuted.’

      They drove on in silence, both wondering how these things might be connected. To Heck it seemed doubtful. Exemplary punishments were enacted in criminal circles in every corner of the globe. There were numerous overlaps in style and method.

      ‘Why did you refer to him as an expert?’ Lauren asked.

      ‘Who?’

      ‘Whoever’s supposed to have set us up.’

      ‘Because he clearly knows what he’s doing.’

      ‘You think he could be ex-military?’

      ‘What are you driving at?’

      She sat up straight, a new idea taking root. ‘You think this guy Deke is the one, yeah?’

      ‘For the moment. He certainly fought in that bar as though he’d been trained.’

      ‘You noticed he was wearing leather wrist-bands?’

      ‘Sure.’

      ‘Were they an affectation, do you think, or to cover something up? Because when I was in Iraq, there was this shadowy group we used to hear about. A British commando outfit called the Special Desert Reconnaissance unit. They carried out covert operations, sabotage, counter-terrorism, that sort of thing. They also had a rep for being ultra-ruthless. I mean – these hanging-disembowelments, they’d have been typical of the SDR.’

      ‘Were they investigated over the Iraq killings?’

      ‘I don’t know. That would have been classified. But the main thing is … their nickname was “Scorpion Company”.’

      ‘Cool. But how does that help us?’

      ‘It was vanity on their part, a kind of tradition of the outfit since World War Two. SDR troops always had a scorpion tattooed on the inside of each wrist.’

      ‘And that’s what the wrist-bands were concealing?’ Heck said.

      ‘They could have been.’

      They were now passing through Bowdon, two or three minutes from the motorway junction. Heck eased his foot off the pedal, pulling away down a narrow side street.

      ‘What’re we doing now?’ Lauren asked.

      ‘Just a quick diversion.’

      ‘What happened to us getting back to London?’

      ‘We will do. But you can’t beat good intel.’

      They parked in a lot attached to a small, prefabricated building, which looked like an annexe to a suburban infant school but was actually the local library.

      ‘You want me to come in with you?’ Lauren asked.

      ‘Best if you don’t.’

      ‘Danger round every corner here as well, hey?’

      ‘No, but local plod will be looking for you too by now.’

      ‘Me?’ she said, surprised.

      ‘You’re ex-services, Lauren. They’ll have your prints on file.’

      ‘I didn’t leave any prints at that crime scene. I made sure of it.’

      ‘But you might have done during the bar fight.’

      ‘Heck, this is ridiculous …’

      He opened his door. ‘Don’t underestimate cops, Lauren. It’s easy these days to read the newspapers and believe they’re a bunch of politically correct do-gooders, who spend every shift at diversity seminars rather than fighting crime. But that isn’t the case. They’re as smart and efficient as they ever were. If they’re looking for me, they’ll very likely be looking for the black chick who’s with me. Better if you stay here.’

      ‘Alright.’

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