CXVI The Beginning of the End (Book 1): A Gripping Murder Mystery and Suspense Thriller (CXVI BOOK 1) (16 page)

Jacobs and West appeared. “The paramedics are on
their way,” West shouted.

“Go get the defibrillator,” Barnes screamed at
Dudley, as her mind focused on the coffee carton on Woods’ desk.

“Where is it?”

“It’s in the Custody Suite.”

Dudley vanished.

“Sharron, go find out how long the paramedics are
going to be,” Barnes yelled.

“What can I do?” Jacobs asked.

“Run upstairs and tell Foster.”

Jacobs sprinted off.

Barnes quickly collected the carton from the desk,
scooping a small amount of spilt coffee into it. Then she slipped it in her
jacket pocket unseen by McLean, who was busy with the CPR. “Is he going to be
alright?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Find out where the paramedics are.”

Barnes went back out to the Incident Room and over
to her desk. She placed the carton in her bottom drawer and locked it, just as
Dudley returned with the defibrillator. He looked at her as she made her way
over to West. “Where are they, Sharron?” she asked, then, looking at Dudley,
“Take it in there, you imbecile,” she ordered, pointing at Woods’ office.

Pauline Crean’s private
protection was being provided by John Inwood and Christine Simonstone; both
were former Royalty Protection Officers who were extremely competent and
professional in their duties. Inwood was six-foot tall, dark haired and well
built, whereas Simonstone was five-foot-six, with long blond curly hair and a
slender, but muscular build. Pauline had given them complete access to the
farmhouse and grounds, but both held concerns about the safety of their charge,
which they’d shared with her. Consequently she’d become a self-imposed prisoner
in her own home, which was neither conducive nor beneficial to her previously
improving state of mind.

Luckily Pauline recognised this and, after
discussing it with her Psychologist, Dr Rosco, she had decided to become
proactive and therefore called a meeting with the two Protection Officers.

“The problems here are the grounds: the open
undulating fields, the lake, the dry stone walls and the woods all add to the
difficulty we have in securing the area around the farmhouse,” Inwood said.

“What about the police surveillance - isn’t that
helping?” Pauline asked.

“Not as much as you might think,” Simonstone said. “Yes
they’re a visible deterrent, but there aren’t enough of them. And because
they’re so conspicuous they’re easily avoided. Not only that, but now Gerrard
has been linked to the crimes we’ve also got the paparazzi taking an interest
in you.”

Inwood leaned forward. “Look, Pauline, there’re also
some other people, who we haven’t managed to identify, watching the farmhouse
from a distance. That’s why we’ve asked you to remain indoors as much as
possible. The farmhouse is your safe haven; it’s surrounded by CCTV, motion
sensors and security lights and we can easily lock it down.”

“How many additional people would it take to secure
the stables, barns, paddocks, courtyards and the areas near to the farmhouse,
like the sun-terraces, patios and balconies?” Pauline asked.

Inwood looked at Simonstone. “What do you think,
Christine - six, possibly seven?”

“I would say at least six,” she replied.

“Right, I’ll ring and ask for additional resources.
I want to be able to exercise the horses and dogs, and to get some fresh air,
without the fear of being attacked.”

“Don’t worry, Pauline,” Simonstone said, taking out
her mobile. “We’ll ring them, we know the good people there and we’re choosey
who we work with.”

It was 2.25 p.m. when Barnes was
sitting outside the Coronary Care Unit at Pinderfields Hospital. She’d arrived
at two o’clock expecting to be allowed to see Woods, but instead she’d been
instructed to wait while the cardiologists assessed his condition. She’d been
told his wife and two daughters were currently with him. It had taken the
paramedics twenty-eight minutes to attend the Incident Room; way outside their
target arrival time, and it had been McLean’s sheer tenacity with the CPR that
had saved Woods.

As she waited her mind raced with thoughts about
what had happened and the cause thereof. The level of trauma Woods had suffered
was clear to everyone who witnessed it, as was the fact that he was going to be
out of action for some time. Talk in the Incident Room had been about who might
replace him, and both McLean and Jacobs made it clear they had no wish to step
into his shoes, even on a temporary basis.

Out of sight of everyone, Barnes had placed the
coffee carton in an evidence bag, labelled it up, taken it to the laboratory
testing facility on the outskirts of Bradford and asked for it to be analysed
for any unusual substances. She currently had the overwhelming feeling of
impending doom and was fearful of Woods’ diagnosis.

The doors to the unit opened and three people whom she
assumed to be his wife and daughters appeared.

The woman approached her. “Hello, Maria. I’m Pamela,
Greg’s wife. I recognise you from the TV, and this is Laura, and Holly.”

Barnes jumped up and greeted the trio. “How is he?”

“He’s been really lucky, although he doesn’t
remember much about it. The doctors say he was fortunate to have such good
colleagues who acted promptly to help keep him alive. He wanted me to thank
both you and Pete.”

“I didn’t do much, except order people about and
shout at everyone; it was McLean who saved his life. What have they said caused
it?”

“They’re not sure, but working long hours, stress,
tension and poor diet haven’t helped. You’ll know what he’s like, he won’t
listen to anyone.”

Barnes smiled. “Is he allowed visitors?”

“Yes, of course he is, but he’s quite sleepy, so
don’t stay too long.”

“I won’t,” she replied; then thinking, added, “It’s
lovely to meet you. He talks about you all the time, and I know he’s so proud
of you two.” She looked at Holly and Laura, who smiled back.

“He speaks very highly of you too,” Pamela said.
“He’s in Room 22,” she mouthed, as Barnes went to the doors.

She walked along the corridor checking the door
numbers, finally arriving at 22. She knocked quietly and heard Woods say come
in. Slowly, she opened the door and tentatively put her head in.

“Hello, Maria, come in and sit down,” Woods said
smiling. “It’s good to see you… I want to thank you for what you did. I won’t
forget that.”

Barnes blushed. “You don’t need to thank me; you’d
have done the same thing if it was me who needed help. Listen, I won’t stay
long, I wanted to see you and know you’re okay. You scared the shit out of me,”
she said, sitting on the chair at the side of the bed.

Woods laughed and then grimaced. “Don’t make me
laugh, it hurts like hell. Do you know that’s the first time I’ve heard you
swear?”

“Do you remember any of it?”

“Bits. You were there. I’d just got back from seeing
Holden and Faulkner-Brown.”

“Who’s Faulkner-Brown?”

Woods explained.

“They’re tipping Dudley to be in charge of the
investigation while you’re recovering.”

Woods sighed. “The doctors are talking about at
least three months off work. I’m not having that, I’ll be back well before
then.”

“Have you any idea what caused this?”

Woods twitched his face. “I’m not sure… But I
suspect it wasn’t health related.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s obvious they wanted me off the investigation; Faulkner-Brown
admitted they’d made a grave mistake and underestimated me. I saw him nod at
Dudley as though he was signalling to him. I totally misjudged their intentions.
I should’ve watched my back, just as you’d warned, but I’d intended playing
along and keeping the cards close to my chest. I wasn’t going to be helpful.”

“Who got the coffees?”

Woods scowled. “Dudley, from the machine on the top
floor… Why?”

“Mmm, do you think he put something in it?”

“Ahhh… well, I wouldn’t bet against it. There’s so
much that doesn’t add up, for example, if all they’re interested in is
capturing Freddy Williams. . .”

“Who’s he?”

Woods clarified. “Anyhow, if all they’re interested
in is capturing Williams, then why are they tampering with evidence,
withholding information, bugging my office, and desperately trying to get to
the crime scene before us? If you ask me they don’t want him captured, they
want him dead. Oh, and by the way, Dudley carries a gun.”

“Then you’re better off out of it. If they’ve
attempted to kill you there’s nothing they would stop at to achieve their
goal.”

Woods was silent.

Barnes pondered. She was in two minds as whether to
mention the laboratory tests. Eventually she said, “I might have some evidence
for you.” She gave an explanation about the coffee carton. “The way Dudley was
desperately trying to find it after you’d been taken to hospital leads me to
believe there was more than coffee in it.”

“Well done, Maria, but they’ll see the report,
destroy it and then you’ll be in danger.”

“O ye of little faith. They won’t see the report,
because I know one of the lab technicians and he’s doing the analysis on the quiet.
Only you and I will see it.”

Woods laughed again and then groaned in pain. “What
would I do without you?”

“Not get yourself killed…” she looked thoughtfully
at him. “I feel responsible for this; if I hadn’t come to you with the footage
of Dudley, none of this would have happened.”

“No, they’d have happily been eavesdropping on every
conversation in my office and doing as they pleased, while we ran round like
silly beggars trying to catch someone they already know a great deal about. You
did the right thing. Now we’ve to decide how we turn this to our advantage.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Our job is to bring the criminals to justice, not
assist in their murder, no matter how heinous their crimes. So, what if I play
along and stay off work, while you become Miss Congeniality and appear to be
doing everything you can to assist with the inquiry. Meanwhile, under the
radar, I’ll be conducting my own investigation, helped by you keeping me up to
speed with what’s happening at work.”

“That sounds good to me, but are you sure you feel
up to it?”

Woods nodded. “Sure; we’ll communicate using
unregistered mobiles, switched on in discreet locations at set times of the day.
As long as you don’t place yourself in danger the risk will remain with me.”

“Don’t worry, I can look after myself. I could
interrogate the system and let you have the information as and when you need
it.”

Woods looked uneasy. “I don’t want you endangering
yourself, Maria.”

“Listen, I’m not the one stupid enough to accept a
coffee from Dudley, and wonder why I’ve ended up in hospital.”

“Okay, good point well made.”

“What will Pamela think about all this?”

Woods gave her a quizzical look.

“I met her outside, and Laura and Holly. I said you
were always talking about them and were very proud.”

“I see,” he said, appearing embarrassed. “Why did
you say that?”

“Would you have preferred me to say you’ve never
mentioned them and until today I didn’t even know they existed?”

“No, of course not.”

“Why don’t you ever discuss them? Pamela’s lovely
and your daughters are a credit to you both.”

“Thank you,” he said, looking uncomfortable. “I
suppose I like to keep my private life private. And besides, you don’t discuss your
home life; I don’t know much about you outside work, other than you go out
running, keep fit and eat like a horse. Have you got a boyfriend?”

She smiled. Her normal response would be, ‘What the
hell has that got to do with you?’ but Woods was different; he never pried into
her private life and that’s one of the reasons she liked him. “No, I don’t have
a boyfriend; I live with my cat Felix in a one bedroom flat overlooking the
park.”

Woods nodded. “Do you have any siblings?”

She smiled again. “I have a younger brother who’s
studying at Oxford for an MSc in Russian and East European Studies. My parents
live in Wales and I try to see them as much as possible, but as you’ll know
work pressures come first.”

“Don’t do what I did and neglect your parents.
Life’s too short; make the most of it while you can and before it’s too late.”

“You haven’t answered my question; I asked what
Pamela would think to you working under the radar?”

“She won’t mind; I’ll drive her crazy if I don’t
have anything to do.”

Barnes refrained from commenting. She looked at her
watch, “I’d better get back to work and see if Dudley has been put in charge.
I’ll sort out a couple of unregistered mobiles and call to see you in a few
days. Hopefully by then I’ll have the laboratory report. Take care and stay
safe - and don’t drink any more coffee.”