Mark Pearson - Hard Evidence

'He's pouring petrol all over the boat.'

'Shit.'

Candy took Delaney's arm and swung him round. 'You've got to let me go and get her.'

Delaney shook his head. 'That's not going to happen, Candy.'

'You can't leave her in there.'

'I don't intend to.'

Bonner stepped in front of her. 'What are we going to do, Jack?'

Delaney looked back at the boat, Morgan was still swinging the petrol can. 'I guess someone has to go and talk to him.'

Sally shook her head. 'We should wait here, boss. Wait for SO19 and the hostage negotiating team.'

'Haven't got time for that. I'm going over.' Delaney kept his eyes fixed on Morgan as he moved about the boat.

'He killed his father, probably killed his mother and God knows who else. You should wait for armed response.'

Delaney looked back at Sally. 'And what about the girl if he torches the boat?'

'He's not going to do that, is he? Not with him on board too.'

'From what we've heard, we know he's capable of pretty much anything.'

Candy stood in front of Delaney. 'If you don't go and get her, then I will.'

Delaney moved her firmly out of the way. 'You stay here. I'm going.' He looked back at Sally. 'When SO19 arrive, you tell them to take no shot unless I signal it.' He looked back at the sergeant. 'We clear on that, Eddie?'

Bonner nodded his head.

Sally stepped forward. 'I'm coming with you.'

'Absolutely no way.'

'Think about it. Someone needs to be there for the girl.'

'That's why I'm going.'

'If you have to deal with Morgan, then someone has to get her safe. You can see that, can't you?'

Delaney considered for a moment. She was right. If Morgan lost it, then someone had to get the girl off.

Candy stepped up. 'Then it should be me.'

Delaney dismissed the idea. 'Absolutely not. He's unbalanced as it is; seeing you might tip him over the edge.' Delaney gestured at Sally. 'Come on then. You concentrate on the girl and follow my lead on everything, okay?'

'Sir.'

'I mean it, Constable. This is no time for heroics.'

They walked slowly over to the path and moved towards the boat.

Inside the barge, Morgan shook the last drops of the gasoline from the container and looked through the window at Delaney and Sally approaching. 'Stay away!'

'It's Inspector Delaney and Detective Constable Cartwright. We're coming in.'

As they came down the steps into the cabin, Morgan took a lighter from his pocket and held it up in his left hand.

'I'll use it.'

Jenny, huddled in the corner of bench and table, screamed as Delaney stepped quickly on to the small deck on the front of the boat and held his hands up.

'We're not armed, Howard. How about you put down the lighter?'

'You've seen what I've done with the petrol. You try and follow us, I'll torch it.'

Delaney stepped forward, down a couple of steps into the cabin. He cast his eyes quickly around the room. A narrow living space with a galley kitchen and a wood-burning stove, the wraparound bench and table that Jenny was sitting at. A small TV on a built-in sideboard. A DVD player with some films. Delaney recognised one of the titles from somewhere but put the thought aside. He slid his eyes back to Morgan as Sally came slowly down the steps behind him. 'This isn't what you want, Howard.'

'You don't know what I want.'

'We found her for you; you can trust us. You don't want Jenny to get hurt, do you?'

'That's why you have to let us go.'

'And how's that going to work?'

'We've done nothing wrong.'

'She's your daughter, Howard. Of course you've done nothing wrong.'

Morgan nodded. 'It was Candy. She took her. I'm keeping her away from her, so she can't hurt her. I'm her dad. She should be with me.'

Sally smiled reassuringly at Jenny, who was still huddled terrified in the corner.

'You're scaring Jenny. Why don't you let her come to me? I'll take her somewhere safe.'

Morgan shook his head and looked back at his daughter. 'Jenny, stay where you are.'

Sally took a step forward and held her hand out to Jenny. 'Come on, Howard, let me take her out of here. The petrol is making her eyes sting.'

As she took another step forward, Howard shouted at her, holding up the lighter and flicking the flint wheel a little with his left hand. 'Stay where you are.'

Delaney gripped Sally's arm with steel fingers, holding her in place.

'It's okay, Howard. Nobody's going anywhere. We just want to talk.'

'Everyone wants to talk, but what good does it ever do?'

Delaney paused, not sure he had an answer. 'Just put the lighter down. And let Jenny come to us.'

Morgan was emphatic. 'She stays with me.'

'Nobody's saying we will be taking her away from you, Howard. We just need to sort everything out.'

'You're lying.'

Sally moved a step forward and Morgan raised the lighter again. She stopped. 'You're her father. Of course she'll stay with you.'

'Candy took her away. You're going to let her keep her, aren't you?'

'She shouldn't have taken her. That was wrong.'

'Are you going to send her back to prison?'

'We all need to sit down and talk about things. We need to sort everything out.'

'She told you, didn't she? Candy told you everything.'

Delaney kept his eyes flat, neutral, but Sally couldn't meet his gaze and Morgan nodded, vindicated.

'That's why you're here.'

'Just come off the boat, Howard.'

'Dad, please…'

Morgan looked over at his terrified daughter. 'Don't worry, sweetheart. This is all going to be for the best.'

He held the lighter out again and flicked it a couple of times, the sparks darting out and licking the air.

Chief Inspector Campbell slammed her car door shut behind her and walked angrily over to where Bonner stood with his binoculars held to his eyes. Beside him a couple of SO19 officers were prostrate on the ground with their rifles trained on Morgan as he moved in and out of shot in the window.

'What the hell's he doing in there, Bonner?'

Bonner lowered the field glasses and smiled apologetically at his boss. 'He went in to get the girl out.'

'He didn't wait for armed back-up? He didn't wait for the trained hostage professionals?'

'He evaluated the situation and assessed that there wasn't time to wait, ma'am.'

Campbell glared at him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 'He evaluated the situation, did he?'

'That's right, ma'am. That was his assessment.'

Campbell took the binoculars from Bonner and trained them on the boat. 'He should never have let the girl go in the first place.'

'That was my assessment too, ma'am.'

Campbell glared at him. 'Shut it, Bonner.'

'Morgan has poured petrol all over the boat. Threatening to torch it. That's why he went in. To protect the girl.'

Campbell nodded at the SO19 snipers. What's their position?'

'They're waiting for the word.'

Campbell turned to a sniper. 'You take a shot, is it going to set the petrol off?'

'Shouldn't do, ma'am.'

'Delaney said he'd signal if it was looking like Morgan was going to do anything and it was safe to take him down.'

Campbell looked at the prone officer who was watching her. 'You don't do anything without my say-so. Those are my officers out there.'

The rifleman nodded his head. 'Ma'am.'

Morgan flicked the lighter once again, the sparks more visible as the sun set lower.

Delaney held his voice calm. 'Let's get off the boat and talk, Howard. You want something, we know that. And we want something too. And you know what? It's the same thing. We both want Jenny safe. We're singing from the same hymn sheet here. Can you see that?'

Morgan snaked his tongue between his lips and licked the corner of his mouth. He tried to swallow some saliva but he had to strain his throat muscles. His eyes stung with the salt of the sweat dripping into his eyes and the petrol vapour that was hanging like a fine mist of poison in the overheated air of the barge.