Toxic Justice Page 2

  “Enough about me. I think I know which way I’m leaning. What’s going on with Tony?”

  Lorne turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

  “Why wasn’t he at breakfast this morning? He’s not ill, is he?”

  “No, far from it. He’s been out on surveillance all night with Joe. That reminds me, he should have checked in with me around seven. I bet they both fell asleep and forgot the time.” Lorne sniggered and placed a call via the Bluetooth connection through the car stereo. “Hey, you didn’t ring me. Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine. We’re just leaving the hotel now. Sorry, I know I promised, but certain things we were eager to keep on top of developed around that time.”

  “Could you be any more cryptic, Tony?”

  “Not intentional, I promise. The couple we are staking out came down for breakfast. We were busy watching their every move, and the time just slipped away from me. Are you on your way into work?”

  “I am. Charlie’s with me. She has some exciting news to share with you later.”

  “Later? Why not now? Go on, Charlie, don’t keep me in suspense?”

  Charlie laughed. “I’ll tell you this evening. I have a bit of research I need to carry out during the day before I truly decide what to do for the best.”

  “Bloody hell! You’re getting more and more like your damn mother every day. That’s the type of teasing comment she would dish out.”

  “I’ve taught her well. Are you going straight home?” Lorne asked, pulling up at a red light not far from the station.

  “Yep, I’ll grab something to eat and then crash for a few hours. We need to report back to the husband with what we found out. He ain’t gonna be too thrilled when he finds out who his wife is having an affair with.”

  “Who?” Lorne and Charlie asked at the same time.

  “Ah, wouldn’t you like to know? You’re not the only ones who can keep their cards close to their chests.”

  “Touché,” Lorne said, smiling at her daughter while keeping one eye on the road ahead of her.

  Tony roared and said, “Laters.”

  Lorne blew a kiss and ended the call then stuck her foot down on the accelerator when the lights changed.

  “Why do people bother getting married if they can’t stay faithful, Mum?”

  “Different people have different priorities in life, I suppose. I’ve been tempted over the years when I was married to your father, but I’d fallen out of love with him long before our marriage ended.”

  “Are you talking about Jacques?” Charlie asked sadly.

  Lorne sighed heavily. “Yes. Still, there’s no point going over old ground. I’m not saying we could have made a success of a relationship—no one can say that in all honesty once someone has passed over.” She sighed a second time. “Looking on the bright side, if Jacques hadn’t died, then I doubt things would have developed between me and Tony, meaning I would have missed out on a lot of very happy times. I regard him as my true soulmate. Of course, the very first time I met him, I hated him, but things soon changed when we had The Unicorn in our sight.”

  Charlie shuddered beside her. “What a bastard he was. I know you often feel guilty for putting me in danger, Mum, but I have to tell you this. I’ve never once blamed you for…well, what he did to me. He was warped with a capital W. The truth is, that’s why I’d relish the chance of working in vice, so I could bring bastards like him down when the opportunity arises. There must be hundreds of men of that ilk out there, smugly parading their wares in the organised crime world.”

  “There is, love. That episode happened years ago now. I’m betting that the people who took over The Unicorn’s crown are a different breed entirely. Far nastier than he ever was. A sign of the times, I guess.”

  “He was bad enough. Crikey, you think that’s possible, Mum?”

  “Yep, guaranteed, lovely. I’d be far happier if you went down the K9 route. Even then, I think you’ll be thrust into challenging situations; however, at least you’ll have a highly trained attack buddy beside you, watching over you. Giving me peace of mind.”

  “You worry too much about me. You forget whose genes I have running through me.”

  “Only part are mine, the others you inherited from your father. The less said about that, the better.”

  “Leave him alone,” Charlie replied, slapping her mother’s wrist. “He’s going through a tough enough time as it is.”

  “Another divorce looming. My heart bleeds for him,” she replied sarcastically, which put an end to their conversation.

  “Is Auntie Jade and the gang coming over on Sunday?”

  Lorne turned to face Charlie. “That’s the plan. I thought we’d have a barbecue out in the paddock. She’s still feeling slightly weak from her spell in hospital. Hey, we could invite all the dogs in the kennels to come along, too.”

  Charlie sniggered. “You are funny. I’m sure they’ll enjoy being let out of their cages for the occasion.”

  “You make it sound as if they never get any exercise at all. You know that isn’t the case.”

  “I know. Forget I mentioned it. So glad Cindy is working out well as the kennel manager and she wasn’t put off by the fire we had.”

  Lorne blew out a breath. “I’m relieved, too. She’s an excellent worker. Thanks for the tip-off—one less thing for me to worry about knowing that the rescue centre is in good hands on a daily basis. She treats all dogs as if they were her own.”

  “Glad she’s fitted in well and is enjoying her new role. Maybe we could ask her to join us on Sunday?”

  “Good idea. I’ll mention it in passing; I don’t want her to feel obliged to come.” Lorne drove into her designated parking space, and the pair of them left the vehicle. “You go on ahead, I’ll see you later,” she said when she spotted her partner pulling in.

  “Thanks for the lift. Hi, Katy, how’s Georgina doing? We’re having a barbecue on Sunday, if you want to join us,” Charlie shouted across the car park.

  “Scram, Charlie!” Lorne shouted in mock annoyance.

  Katy waved at Charlie and gave her the thumbs-up. “I take it Charlie spoke out of turn then, right?”

  “Morning. No, not at all. I would’ve rather been given the opportunity to invite you myself, that’s all. You look tired. Is Georgina still teething?”

  “Yep. What’s that saying about sleep being overrated? I’d like to arrest the person who first said that and bang them up in a cell. Jesus, who knew parenthood could be so tough? I’m so glad AJ is the one who opted to stay at home all day. To be honest with you, I don’t think I’d be able to cope if the chore had landed in my lap.”

  Lorne rubbed her arm, and they headed for the station’s entrance. “Poor you. I’d like to tell you it gets easier, except it doesn’t. If you think she’s a little terror at this age, God help you when she reaches her teens. Look how Charlie went off the rails.”

  Katy ran her hand over her face. “Don’t. I remember you telling me about that. She’s a fabulous character now, though. You must be super proud of her.”

  “I am. All that worry and angst over the years is in the past now she’s working for a living. She’s been offered a couple of positions which she’s considering.”

  “Sounds intriguing. Are you going to tell me what they are?”

  Lorne filled Katy in while they ascended the stairs to the incident room. She neglected to acknowledge DCI Roberts standing at the top, his arms folded, wearing a stern expression. He coughed to gain their attention.

  “Hello, sir. Something wrong?”

  “I need to see you in my office right away, Inspector.”

  Lorne smiled cautiously at Katy. “I won’t be long.”

  Katy nodded and upped her pace, and they split up at the top. DCI Roberts marched towards his office, which meant Lorne had to trot to keep up with him. She knew it would be a waste of time asking him what was bugging him while they walked, so she opted to keep schtum.

  They st
rode through his outer office. Lorne smiled at Trisha, Roberts’s PA, and entered his office. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Lorne asked, “Have I done something wrong, sir?”

  Roberts motioned for her to take a seat opposite him. “Why is that the first question you always ask me?”

  “Have you looked in the mirror? Your face says it all. You’re ticked off about something. I can only hazard a guess that I’m the cause of your foul mood.” Although he was her boss, they had been friends for years, even lovers at one time, so she never held back when they were alone.

  He glared at her. “You think you know me inside and out, don’t you? This time you’re mistaken. Now, if you’ll just wind your neck in and keep your trap shut for a moment, I’ll tell you why I’ve invited you into my office, Inspector Warner.”

  Lorne’s jaw dropped open for a second or two.

  “I knew I was asking the impossible. I saw a wasp in here earlier. You might want to shut your mouth in case you swallow it.”

  Lorne pursed her lips and scanned the room for the black-and-yellow creature.

  Sean cracked his face and let out a raucous laugh.

  “You can be such a bastard at times, you know that, right?”

  “I do. Okay, back to business. I do have a serious matter to discuss with you, and no, you haven’t done anything wrong, for a change.”

  Lorne relaxed into her chair and crossed one leg over the other. “That’s a relief. How can I help?”

  He handed a file across the desk. “I need you to take over this case as a personal favour to me.”

  “What? Another of your friends in trouble? While I feel sorry for them, sir, surely I can’t be seen just investigating cases personal to you. What on earth will the super say if he finds out?”

  “Did I say it was another personal case? Why do you always have to jump to conclusions? Can’t you be like other inspectors and listen attentively to all the facts before jumping in?”

  Lorne’s eyes widened, and she mumbled an apology.

  “Cast your eye over the file before making any assumptions.”

  She flipped open the file and read the first sentence. Her jaw hung open again as she read the terrifying facts before her. “That’s awful.”

  “Isn’t it? I want us to take this issue to task and deal with it once and for all.” He passed her a second folder.

  She opened it to find a photo of a teenage lad, quite handsome with extremely sad eyes. She read the document attached to the photo with an ache in her heart. “Oh my! He killed himself? Why? Because of this?” she asked, holding up the statistics she’d briefly read in the first file.

  “Yes. Bloody bullying. That data is from the Office for National Statistics. Two hundred and thirty-one youngsters committed suicide, and the number is rising year on year. Thirty-seven percent of young suicide victims are either bullied or have been sexually abused. I want you to investigate this poor lad’s case, leaving no stone unturned. I hate having such a statistic showing up on our yearly report.”

  “In all honesty, while I believe this to be an abhorrent crime, I’m really not sure what we can do about it, sir.”

  “It’s a hate crime. I want you to delve into it and bring these bullies to justice. I’m not sure what your problem is, Inspector.”

  “But they’re kids. What can we do about them except warning them what the consequences will be if they continue their brutish behaviour?”

  “I’m going to get on to the Crown Prosecution office today and ask their advice on how we can proceed. To me, these bullies have to be stopped. These unnecessary deaths have to end, and I want us, this department, to be the ones to tackle this issue on our patch. I’m only asking you to do this because I know you won’t let me down, Lorne.”

  “Crikey, I think there’s a compliment hidden in there somewhere. It’s still a lot you’re asking, sir. What about all the knife crimes going on in London at present? Surely those should be at the forefront of our attention before this, shouldn’t they?”

  Sean inhaled and exhaled a few times and then nodded. “You’re right, that’s yet another area we need to tackle, but you know what? Other departments are dealing with those issues at present. No one is dealing with this, however. I want to be the one to change that. I hope you’re not telling me that you don’t feel you’re up to the job, Lorne?”

  “No, I’m not saying that in the slightest. My team will give the case our all as usual, if that’s what you expect from us.”

  “Good, because as it stands, Jonathon Giles’s death will go down as a suicide and be forgotten about unless we take up the case.”

  “Okay, you’ve ground me down. I’ll begin the investigation immediately. This happened a few days ago. Are the parents up to speaking about their son’s death yet?”

  “That I don’t know. I don’t have to tell you to be careful, do I?”

  “No, you don’t. Okay, I’m on it now. Is that all?”

  “Thank you. I appreciate you not fighting me on this one, Lorne. I know what a terror you can be when you get a bee in your bonnet about some things.”

  “What is it with you and black-and-yellow insects today?”

  Sean smiled and shrugged. “It must be summer.”

  “Not for long. We’re going to have our final barbecue this weekend, I think.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “And no, that wasn’t an invite. I don’t think Jade will be up to mixing with strangers right now.”

  “Strangers? Is that how she sees me?” he said, his tone high-pitched.

  “All right, I admit that came out the wrong way. It would be better if she was surrounded by family members, people for whom she doesn’t have to put on a brave face. Is that better?”

  “Okay. But she’s free of cancer, yes?”

  “Yes, but the illness has taken its toll on her over the last few months. It must be hard bringing up two young boys when all you want to do is put your feet up to recover fully.”

  “I hear you. All right, I need to get on. Send her my love and tell her I’m thinking of her.”

  “I will, thanks, Sean. Let me know how you get on with the CPS when you can.” She stood and left the office. “How’s things, Trisha?”

  The fair-haired woman smiled warmly. “Fair to middling, Lorne. What about you?”

  “About the same.” She waved the two files in her hand. “I better crack on, I have my orders.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I think I’m going to need a heap of that for this case.”

  Lorne joined the rest of her team in the incident room, thankful to see two cups of coffee sitting on Katy’s desk. “Is one of those for me?”

  “Yep. I see you survived his mauling.”

  “Only just. Give me five minutes to read through this file in my office and then I’ll bring you all up to date. I’m warning you now, I think this is going to be a tough one for us to get our heads around.”

  “Great. That sounds ominous,” Katy replied.

  Lorne rolled her eyes and walked into her office, her cup of hot coffee warming her hand. She paused in the doorway and closed her eyes when she smelt the faint waft of her dead partner Pete’s aftershave. He was never very far from her, she knew that. She closed the door, made her way around her desk and opened the file to study. While she read the information, her gaze constantly drifted towards the young man’s photo. His eyes bothered her. She felt her own eyes water as his sadness resonated with her. Over the years, she had known great sorrow, embedded in a loveless marriage and suffering the loss of not only her best friend and partner, but also of Jacques Arnaud at the very start of their relationship. However, looking at the boy’s age, which was only fifteen, she found it impossible to comprehend what he must have gone through at such a young age.

  It took someone dealing with immense inner turmoil and anguish to pluck up enough courage to end their life. Fortunately, no matter the depths of her own unhappiness, Lorne had never been driven to en
d her life. Those who said that only cowards committed suicide, truly had no idea what they were talking about. She knew that the case would be a challenging one, but if it brought Jonathon’s family a sense of closure, then she would do her very best to bring that to them.

  She drank the rest of her coffee then left the office, ignoring the post lying in her in-tray for a change.

  “Okay, why don’t you gather around, folks? I’ll jot down a few details on the whiteboard until you’re all settled.” She picked up a ball of Blu-Tack, tore off a piece the size of a pea and stuck it on the back of Jonathon’s photo. After placing it at the top of the board, she reached for the black marker pen and wrote the unfortunate victim’s name and his age. Silence filled the room behind her as the team read the information. When she’d finished, she turned to see her usually buoyant shit-hot team looking down in the mouth. “I know. I felt the same way when the chief told me. We need to get past this quickly, guys. Okay?”

  The group nodded, and several of them shifted in their chairs, straightening their backs.

  “Right. I’ll run through the few details I have on the victim before Katy and I set off to visit the parents. Jonathon Giles was fifteen. Apparently, his father found him hanging in his bedroom on Monday of this week.”

  “Wait, are you saying this is a suicide, boss?” Katy asked, a frown pulling at her temple.

  “That’s right. Hear me out, if you will. The national statistics are telling us that the kids who are committing suicide are doing it mainly because of the bullying or abuse they are forced to endure. The chief has had enough of these statistics showing up at the end of the year on our patch and has given us the task to see if we can bring that figure down, to make a difference. To put an end to such misery and abhorrent crimes.”

  “But bullying? What can we do about that? Nothing, the last time I heard,” Katy replied.

  “I raised the same point with the chief. He’s going to ring the CPS and get back to me. My take is we track down the bullies and give them a stiff talking to—if nothing else, we frighten the shit out of them.”