Justice at Christmas Read online

  JUSTICE AT CHRISTMAS

  M A COMLEY

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Acknowledgments

  JUSTICE AT CHRISTMAS | CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  EPILOGUE

  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to Mary Endersbe, a Facebook friend for over five years whom I finally met in real life in October this year. Thank you for your input into this story, dear friend.

  Special thanks as always to Karri Klawiter for her superb cover design expertise.

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author M A Comley Published by Jeamel Publishing limited Copyright © 2016 M A Comley

  Digital Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the site and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  OTHER BOOKS BY

  M A COMLEY

  Blind Justice (novella)

  Cruel Justice

  Mortal Justice (novella)

  Impeding Justice

  Final Justice

  Foul Justice

  Guaranteed Justice

  Ultimate Justice

  Virtual Justice

  Hostile Justice

  Tortured Justice

  Rough Justice

  Dubious Justice

  Calculated Justice

  Twisted Justice

  Prime Justice (available Jan 2017) Clever Deception – co-authored by Linda S Prather Tragic Deception – co-authored by Linda S Prather Sinful Deception – co-authored by Linda S Prather (Available Ist Jan 2017) Forever Watching You (DI Miranda Carr thriller) Wrong Place (DI Sally Parker thriller) No Hiding Place (DI Sally Parker thriller) Web of Deceit (DI Sally Parker Novella with Tara Lyons) The Caller (co-written with Tara Lyons) Evil In Disguise – a novel based on True events Deadly Act (Hero series novella) Torn Apart (Hero Series #1)

  End Result (Hero Series #2)

  Hero books 3 and 4 published by Bloodhound Books coming in 2017

  Sole Intention (Intention Series #1) Grave Intention (Intention Series #2) Devious Intention (Intention Series #3) Merry Widow (A Lorne Simpkins short story) It’s A Dog’s Life (A Lorne Simpkins short story) A Time To Heal (A Sweet Romance) A Time For Change (A Sweet Romance) High Spirits

  The Temptation Series (Romantic Suspense/New Adult Novellas) Past Temptation (available now) Lost Temptation (available now) Keep in touch with the author at http://melcomley.blogspot.com

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  JUSTICE AT CHRISTMAS

  CHAPTER ONE

  “You’re such an unbelievable tight bugger, Pete,” Lorne chastised her partner for his lack of Christmas spirit the week before the big day.

  “My wage packet doesn’t bulge like yours, boss. I can’t afford to keep dipping into my pocket every time some guy or gal wants my dosh. You know what they say, charity begins at home and all that.”

  Lorne sighed frustratedly at him. “You’re a lost cause.”

  “Ha! That’s a bit ironic given the case we’re working at present. The supposed charitable donations are going where exactly?”

  “All right, you’ve made your point. Not only are you tight but you’re sceptical of all things charitable.”

  “Not all things, but mostly, yeah. Have you seen the homes some of these heads of charities live in and the toffs they employ? ‘Lady De Winter requests your company for the ball at Highcombe House in aid of all the suffering children of Lapland.’”

  Lorne shook her head and tutted. “There’s no such charity, numpty.”

  “I know. I’m saying look at the amount of charity balls there are and how much of that money actually goes to the kids who really need it? Instead most of the money lines the pockets of the people involved in arranging these balls, you know, the catering and bar staff et cetera.”

  She raised her hands. “All right, you’ve made your point, big man.”

  “I ain’t even started. Then you’ve got all these Santas on the streets with their begging buckets and when they’re not doing that they’re out, knocking off all these businesses, pubs and hairdressers. You know, the types of businesses that are chocka at this time of year. It galls me, that’s all.”

  “I can see that, matey, chill, ‘tis the season to be jolly.”

  There was a knock at the door and AJ poked his head into the room. “Sorry to disturb you, boss. You told me to let you know if anything cropped up re Santagate.”

  Lorne cringed. “The Santa case,” she corrected her detective sergeant.

  “Sorry, yes. Well, it looks like another one has struck again. This time in Oxford Street.”

  “Great, there must be thousands of punters down there with bulging wallets,” Peter groaned.

  “Has he been arrested, AJ?” Lorne asked.

  “Yes, boss. He’s on his way in with uniform now.”

  “Let me know when he arrives and I’ll interview him.” AJ left the room and Lorne punched the air. “This could be the break we’re looking for, Pete.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t share your enthusiasm. We’ve been here a number of times before, I seem to remember. The previous ten Santas all convinced you they weren’t part of an organised crime team. This one will probably tell you the same.”

  “We’ll see. I’d hate for you to be right, for a change.”

  A few minutes later, Lorne received the call that Ted Beaumont had arrived and was waiting for her in Interview Room One. She took her time, choosing to finish her cup of coffee before she ventured downstairs. Pete joined her for the interview, he ran through the usual blurb for the tape and then sat back while Lorne began asking, the now disrobed Santa, the questions. “Ted, sorry, is it all right if I call you, Ted?”

  The man shrugged. “It’s my name.”

  “Good. Why don’t you tell us what happened, in your own words?”

  “One of your lot manhandled me just for trying to raise money for charity.”

  Lorne tilted her head and frowned. “Really? That’s not how I understood things. Do you want to try that again?”

  The man kept his focus on the centre of the table, his hands tightly clenched together. Sweat lined his top lip. “No comment.”

  Lorne bashed the table with her fist, scaring the crap not only out of Beaumont but Pete as well. She could feel her partner’s eyes boring into her as she spoke to the interviewee again. “Come now, don’t be shy. What if I put a deal on the table for you? Will that loosen your tongue?”

  Beaumont’s head slowly lifted and his lips parted to show crooked yellow teeth. “Now you’re talking.”

  “Why don’t you tell me your side of events and we’ll discuss a deal afterwards?”

  “Ha, I might look stupid, love, but I ain’t that daft.”

  “Inspector. Don’t disrespect her, you hear me?” Pete demanded, springing to her defence.

  Lorne smiled inside at her partner’s gallant behaviour. “Okay, what if I tell you that we’ll drop all the charges against you if you give us a name, the name, the man at the top.”

  Beaumont weighed up Lorne’
s suggestion for a nanosecond before he accepted the deal. He reached across the table to shake her hand. Lorne gave it the briefest of touches. “Deal. Can I get it in writing?”

  Lorne frowned. “What? Isn’t my word good enough?”

  “Sort of, but I need more than that. You’ve got no idea what you’ll be dealing with, nasty piece of shit he is.”

  “All right, I’ll get something drawn up. You have it on tape, that should be enough proof for you to continue. I want to know the name of the boss and where you meet up.”

  “It’s Lionel Tartt, yeah, don’t laugh, he don’t appreciate that. We meet up in a warehouse of his. Well, it’s a kind of storage unit really. He owns the place, down in the Docklands area.”

  “Interesting. How long have you worked for him?”

  “About three weeks; it’s seasonal work.”

  “So, I’m intrigued to know how many Santas he has on his books?”

  “There’s eight of us right now. He’s just put an ad in the Evening Standard wanting to recruit more Santas with the big day almost upon us.”

  “More? Why?” Beaumont dropped his head onto his chest. “You’ll need to give me more details than that to achieve the deal.”

  “Ha, bloody typical of you coppers, always going back on your word.”

  “I’m not going back on anything. Why the necessity for your boss to recruit more staff?”

  He fell silent. The expressions on his face changing slightly as he thought over her question. “Here’s the deal. What if I tell you I want some kind of witness protection, ’cause him and his crew are nasty feckers?”

  “I can definitely look into that for you.”

  “You’ve gotta do better than that. I’m risking my life telling you this.”

  “You have my word.”

  “He’s organising a mass gathering of Santas to congregate outside a main jeweller’s on Bond Street.”

  “Is he now? This jeweller’s, does it have a name?”

  “Give me a bloody chance. I’m thinking. You might need to check it up, the memory is not what it used to be. I think it’s called Elegance or something along those lines. He told us briefly last week but I’ve slept since then and downed a number of pints so I might be wrong. It’s not far off that anyway.”

  “Google it for me, Pete?”

  Pete withdrew his mobile phone from his pocket and tapped in the name. “He’s right, Elegance it is.”

  “Phew, glad I got that right. I’ve heard how nasty you lot can be when you receive the wrong information.”

  Lorne frowned. “I don’t think so, not my team.”

  “Whatever.”

  “When did the call go out for extra Santas?”

  “At the weekend. I think Lionel’s wanting all the recruits to be in place within the next day or two.”

  Lorne thought over the idea that was formulating in her mind as she chewed the inside of her lip. “Hmm... okay. Right, I think we have enough to be going on with for now. I’ll arrange for you to stay here the night. Hopefully we’ll get you more comfortable accommodation within the next few days.”

  “Great! I get to spend time in a cell. That’s the bloody thanks I get for helping you guys out.”

  Lorne shrugged. “Okay, we’ll let you go back to your own accommodation then. You better hope your boss doesn’t hear about us picking you up.”

  “Wait, all right, you win. He ain’t a man to be messed with.”

  “Yeah, so we gather. Anything else you want to tell us about your boss? Does he have a second in command?”

  “That’ll be Bruiser Brown, you can guess what he gets up to in his spare time.” Beaumont laughed.

  “Right. This interview is now ended at thirteen ten.” Lorne asked the uniformed constable standing at the door to accompany Beaumont back to his cell. “Give him a decent meal tonight for being so cooperative. Tell the desk sergeant I’ll pay.” Lorne and Pete left the room. “You go up. I’ll be there in a second.”

  She watched Pete begin his weary climb up the stairs. Once he rounded the corner, Lorne pulled the desk sergeant to one side and asked, “Beaumont came in wearing a suit, didn’t he?”

  “He did, ma’am.”

  “Let me have it.” Lorne smiled at the puzzled look on the desk sergeant’s face.

  He held up a hand. “I don’t even want to know, ma’am.”

  “That’s good because I had no intention of sharing what’s on my mind, not just yet.”

  The desk sergeant handed her the suit and Lorne returned to the incident room, chuckling as she walked up the concrete staircase.

  Pete was standing at the whiteboard, filling in the few facts they had managed to gather on the crime so far. He turned to look at her. “Intending to use that at home for some kinky sex, boss? I’m sure Tom will appreciate that. I can just imagine him saying, ‘Ho ho ho’, it’s time for me to do my duty by coming once a year.”

  The rest of the team burst out laughing while Lorne shook her head. “Ever the comedian, Pete, eh? Nope, this is a present for you, partner, you’re going undercover.”

  “What the fuck? Are you mad?”

  “Deadly serious. Go try it on. I’m sure it’ll be a perfect fit,” she said, glancing down at his protruding stomach.

  He snatched the outfit from her hand and stormed out of the room towards the gent’s toilet. The team waited in heightened anticipation for him to re-join them. He kept them waiting for a long ten minutes before he marched back into the room. Lorne’s heart melted on the spot. He looked the perfect Santa to her. It reminded her of the day when she was four, when she had caught her father placing several presents under the tree on Christmas Eve before eating the two mince pies her mother had left out for Santa. Lorne hadn’t been fooled; she’d recognised her father’s chubby face and smiling eyes even at that very young age.

  “Pete, you look fantastic. Doesn’t he gang?”

  “Whatever. I still think AJ should be the one going undercover.”

  “What? That wouldn’t work. His physique doesn’t come close to yours,” Lorne argued, without hesitation.

  “We could pad him out. There are loads of skinny Santas out there. Why do I have to be the one going undercover?”

  Lorne knew that she couldn’t keep using his ideal shape as an excuse so swiftly changed tact. “Come on, you know the answer to that. Your experience is the key to this exercise. AJ has only just joined the force and has a lot to learn.” She turned to face AJ and winked.

  “I’d willingly do it, Pete, but like the boss said, it’ll be your experience that will crack this case.”

  Pete sighed heavily and shook his head. “All right, you two, I know when I’m being stitched up. I’m getting out of this before I bloody melt. Now I know what a Bernard Matthews turkey feels like.”

  The team’s laughter filled the room. Pete turned to leave the room just as DCI Roberts walked through the door.

  “Ho ho ho, what’s all this then, Pete?”

  “It’s the boss’s idea of a wind-up, gov. I’d be obliged if you would point out the error of her ways.”

  “Go change, Pete. Shame there wasn’t a Scrooge’s outfit on offer. That’s more fitting for you when you’re in this mood. I’ll fill the chief in.”

  Pete stomped out of the room. “I’m dying to hear all about it,” Roberts asked.

  “Over a coffee in the office, sir?”

  “Sounds good to me. My treat.” Roberts reached the vending machine before Lorne and popped in the coins. He handed her the first cup and followed her into the office once he’d bought his own cup of coffee.

  Lorne sat behind her desk and filled Roberts in. “So, I thought it would be a good idea to send Pete in there undercover. What do you think?”

  “Sounds a great plan. He certainly looks the part,” Roberts admitted, laughing. “He doesn’t seem too keen about it, or was that just my imagination?”

  “That’s just Pete being Pete, always whinging about something. He’s easily b
ought. I’ll invite him round for a home cooked meal and to watch a spot of footie on the telly with Tom.”

  “You have him wrapped around your little finger, Lorne. So, what’s the next step?”

  “We need to track down the advert first and get Pete in that way.”

  “Or, you could say that something happened to Beaumont, perhaps he was in an accident and sent Pete in as a replacement.”

  Lorne sat back in her chair. “Not just a pretty face, are you, Sean? Sounds like a corker of a plan to me.”

  Pete poked his head into the room. “Anything specific you want me to do, boss?”

  “Look into this Lionel Tartt’s background and business dealings, check the database and see if he’s been arrested in the past. Thanks, Pete. Oh and the chief has come up with a great plan of how we can embed you into the gang.”

  Pete rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “Can’t wait to hear it.”

  Lorne chewed on her lip, suppressing the smile as Roberts spun around to face Pete. “We’ll make out Beaumont had an accident and has suggested you as a substitute. Do you think he’ll call his boss?”

  “Only one way of finding out. Can I just register my discomfort one final time for this bizarre plan?”

  “Noted,” Roberts said. “Now hop to it. Time isn’t really on our side on this one.”

  Pete slammed the door shut behind him and Lorne and Roberts laughed. “He’s really not happy about this. Are you sure it won’t jeopardise the project?”

  “He’ll be fine, leave him to me. Was there something you wanted to see me about?”

  “Not really. I was just walking by and heard the laughter. Call me nosey if you like.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Over the course of the next twenty-four hours the team delved into both Beaumont’s past and that of his boss, Tartt. Beaumont’s record was full of petty theft misdemeanours while his boss came out squeaky clean.

  Beaumont had agreed to place the call and made arrangements for Pete to visit Tartt at the storage facilities at five that afternoon.

  Pete pulled up outside the huge warehouse. “I’m going in,” he said quietly, letting the team know back at base through the wire he was wearing.