The Hard Way by Duncan Brockwell (most popular ebook readers txt) 📕

When he looked up, his eyes widened. “I’m being set up. They’re going to plant pictures in my computers. Help!” He tried to find the window controls.

Hayes tried to open the door. It was locked.

“You! Take your hand off the car!” A suit’s walk turned into a run towards them. “Just what do you think you’re doing? Get away from the car.”

Miller looked past the two suits at the police officers carrying items from the workshop. She pulled out her identification, not looking at them. “Detective Sergeant Rachel Miller, and my partner, Detective Inspector Amanda Hayes, Metropolitan Police.”

“I’m afraid you’ll need to hand Mr Fisher over to us,” Hayes added. “He’s a witness in a triple murder. So please, go on about your business and we’ll take Fisher to our station and interview him, okay?”

She had to grin at Hayes’ bravado, at the suits’ faces turning redder with each word she said. Miller thought the taller suit was about to explode. He puffed out his chest, produced his ID. Reading it, she grinned at her partner.

“National Crime Agency? Why, I must apologise most profusely. Had I known it was you…” Hayes even curtsied at them, like they were royalty, the sarcasm draped over every word. “Now, if you’ll open up, we’ll be on our way.”

The taller suit stepped up to her partner, looking down on her. “The only place you’ll be going is our holding cell for obstructing justice, Detective Inspector Hayes.” He grinned at the shorter suit. “Fisher may be a witness in your case, but he’s one of the prime suspects in our child exploitation case. We’ll be sure to let you interview him after we’re done with him, okay? We’ll call you.”

“I’m not sure he’ll be of much use to you by the time we’re done with him, mind,” the shorter suit said, laughing with his partner. “I’ll drive.”

“We’ll be sure to take it up with your supervisor,” Miller shouted, as the suits got in the front, with Fisher cuffed in the back. “Corrupt pieces of shit. How many kiddy porn pictures are you going to plant on this poor bastard’s computers, huh?”

Hayes put her hand on Miller’s shoulder, pulling her back. “Leave it, he’s not worth it. We’ll go over their heads at the agency. You’ll be at the Job Centre by this time tomorrow.”

“You have a great day now, ladies.” The taller suit laughed, closing the door as their car attempted to get through the throng of panda cars.

“Let’s take a look around the workshop, shall we?” Miller watched the uniforms faff about trying to move their cars for the NCA officers’ car.

“Yeah, you never know, we might get lucky. The rest of his staff might be inside. It’s about time we had some luck on this case.”

Waiting outside the front door, a couple of uniforms carried computers and monitors. The last officer to leave told his sergeant that there was nothing left. Miller waited for him to step out of the way, poking her head around the door frame, spotting the blue Ford Fiesta in the middle of the workshop, and feeling a hand on her shoulder.

“We’re locking up now, detective.” A uniformed sergeant stared at her. “Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”

“Detective Hayes, you need to move your car, the NCA officers can’t get out,” a female constable said apologetically.

Miller stayed put while Hayes ran off to move their car. She regarded the sergeant. “What do you make of all this? It’s a bit suspect, isn’t it? Did the NCA get an anonymous tip-off about Fisher, or what?”

He checked there was no one listening. “I don’t know for sure, but I think so. At the briefing this morning, that taller NCA officer said they’d been investigating Fisher for months, as part of an ongoing child exploitation investigation, but I don’t know. When I pressed him for more info he was hesitant. The shorter officer didn’t even know where the offices were for Fisher Valves, like he’d only just heard of Fisher. I didn’t tell you this.”

“Of course not. Goes without saying. Fisher told me he’s being set up, that the NCA are going to plant pictures inside his computers.”

“Nothing would surprise me with these guys. Anyway, I’ve got to go. Remember what I said, we didn’t speak about this, okay?” He gave her a stern look, then took off towards the main road.

Miller cursed when she tried the locked door. Walking back to the car, she noticed Hayes across the road talking to someone in a car in front of their Peugeot. Her partner leaned on the open window. Intrigued, she double timed it, made sure the road was clear and ran across, arriving at the car in front of theirs. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Look who it is,” Hayes said, leaning back and letting her see.

“Mrs Edwards? What’re you doing here?” It might be a stupid question, Miller thought, when Fisher’s sister stared at her.

“She received a text from her brother just before he was arrested. He’s left something in there,” Hayes informed her, pointing to the building.

“What is it? What’s he left you?”

“He said it’s a key, but he hasn’t told me what it’s for. He said he left it in a drain in the workshop, said it’s important.”

Miller opened the passenger door and sat, while Hayes leaned in. “We spoke to the receptionist at his other site, and she told us he’s working on a groundbreaking new product that’s going to change the world. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“Anything you know, no matter how small, will help, Mrs Edwards. Please, your brother needs us to work together.”

“I don’t know anything about it. All I know is I heard Richard telling Henry that something was ready, then when I entered the room he clammed up, wouldn’t say anything about it. I came by here on Friday and spoke to some woman working