Mel Sherratt - Hush Hush

Grace had known a fair few bent cops in her years, so, in a way, she couldn’t blame the DCI for thinking like that. But she was loyal to her colleagues and to the uniform, something they would only find out in time. If she had been working there longer than four weeks, people might have trusted her more. As it stood now, she’d have to work doubly hard at everything. Still, she was up for the challenge.

‘What are Eddie and Leon like together?’ she asked Perry, as she took a break from the list she was working her way down.

Perry leaned back in his chair as he spoke to her. ‘From what I can gather, Leon seems to think he should be an equal to Eddie. But with Josh as Eddie’s right-hand man, he’s never stood a chance. I think he saw Parker as muscling in on his territory.’

‘Like kids fighting over a girl,’ she said.

‘Pretty much. Leon thought Eddie gave Josh too much power. He obviously felt as if he was second rate. It was all childish. I’m not sure it’s relevant though?’

‘Oh?’

‘This doesn’t have the mark of anything Leon would do. I doubt he would leave a body to be found. And he’s more into fast and furious if he does anything. He’s known for using his fists to teach people lessons, not necessarily murder.’

‘Most murders are born from attacks that go too far,’ Sam said, as she looked over her notes in her notepad. ‘Assaults that come from an argument when tempers are raised. And if he was known for murder, he’d be inside.’

Perry flicked an elastic band at her. ‘You know what I mean, shortie.’

The band flew over Sam’s head as Perry had intended. Sam rolled her eyes at him.

‘What about the alarm codes?’ Grace asked. ‘Do we know who has access to the building?’

‘There are five people.’ Perry counted them off using his fingers. ‘Eddie, Leon, Jade, Josh and Trent Gibson.’

Trent Gibson was the man in the red tracksuit who had reported finding Josh Parker that morning. He’d been interviewed and a record of his account taken. He’d been working at Steele’s Gym for five years and had been on the alarm rota for the past two.

Grace nodded in recognition. ‘So, do we know yet who was the last of them to leave the building, other than Josh? Did their times tally with what they told me?’

‘Trent Gibson and Jade Steele weren’t there that day. CCTV footage of the entrance and the car park we can see confirms this. Eddie left at six thirty. Leon was the last to see the victim.’ Sam checked her notes. ‘He left at 8.12 p.m. Cameras show both brothers leaving through the front entrance at those times, and then getting into their cars and driving away.’

Grace gnawed at her lip while she pondered. ‘Do we have other ideas about what his death could be linked to, outside of the gym?’

‘Apart from the ongoing investigations into racketeering, importing of illegal steroids and theft of anything they can lay their hands on, there’s been a spate of cash-and-grabs increasing over the past few months. It’s possible Josh was involved. Alex can tell you more about that.’ Perry held up his hand as his colleague came back from a cigarette break. ‘Grace wants to know about the cash-and-grabs.’

‘Public being robbed at cash machines.’ Alex perched on the end of Grace’s desk. ‘Either someone behind grabs their money after they’ve withdrawn it from the ATM, with force if necessary, or someone rides past on a scooter and grabs it.’

‘What a pleasant bunch they are in Stoke,’ Grace muttered. ‘Almost the same as the lot I left back in Salford. So, you’re saying that the Steeles run this operation?’

Perry shook his head. ‘We think it’s likely to be Trent Gibson. He’ll be working for Leon, who doesn’t get his hands dirty.’

‘Oh!’ Grace said. ‘Does that put a different perspective on things?’

‘Possibly.’ Alex nodded. ‘Of course, we don’t have enough proof yet. But it seems likely Trent pays them a percentage of what his boys bring back. He also doesn’t like anyone who thinks they can steal the money and not give him his fair cut. We’ve questioned two members from the boxing gym over the recent months after their parents complained they’d been beaten up, but they wouldn’t press charges, and there wasn’t enough for us to put forward to the CPS.’

‘So how does Trent keep tabs on that?’ Grace asked.

‘Who knows? He doesn’t act like he can count past how many fingers and toes he has,’ Alex explained. ‘We think his girlfriend might be the brains behind it.’

‘Name of?’

‘Clara Emery. She works at the gym too, on reception. We don’t think Eddie has anything to do with it, and we reckon he’d be pissed off about it, in fact. He’s always having to bail Leon out of trouble. But this is small fry compared to other things we hope to one day get them on once the evidence is stacked up. So, although we’re looking into it, it’s on the back burner.’

‘They can’t be making that much money from it.’ Grace shook her head. ‘Wouldn’t their hit rate be so high that people would be on the lookout? And cameras on ATM machines would pick them up?’

‘Not necessarily,’ Alex said. ‘Often, they watch where the money is put and then they steal bags, phones and wallets. Sometimes they’re shifting larger things too. It’s lucrative.’

‘In a city this size?’ Grace shook her head.

‘You’re a bit quick to dismiss our local knowledge, aren’t you?’ Perry raised his eyebrows in disbelief. ‘You’re doubting us already?’

‘No, I was merely saying—’

‘You want to learn about this patch then I suggest you listen to us. We’ve been here a long time before you. We know the people and what they get up to.’

‘I wasn’t suggesting otherwise, but—’

‘If you’re that amazing , Grace,’ Perry butted in, ‘you would have researched all this before you came here.’

‘I don’t have to know everything. That’s why I manage a team, so that I can delegate.’

Silence fell amongst them.

‘We’re supposed to be on the same side,’ she added. ‘I’d appreciate it if you’d work with me, rather than against me.’

As Alex went back to his desk and all heads went down again, Grace held in her annoyance. Inside she was shaking, unaccustomed to raising her voice, but she had to show them she was boss. She wouldn’t be walked over by Perry, nor anyone else for that matter.

Alone that evening in his office, while everyone else raised a glass to a fallen friend in the Windmill pub, Eddie rested his head on the desk and let out his emotion. Here on his own he felt he could. Once he got home, there would be questions from his wife, Georgina, who had come to the gym for most of the day until picking up Harry, their youngest son who was twelve, from school. Thankfully, Harry would be in bed when he did eventually get home, and sixteen-year-old Charlie would most likely be out with his friends, so the house would be quiet.

He leaned back in his chair and sipped at his whisky. It was the only one he’d have. He wasn’t a drinker, not after he’d seen what it did to his father, and then Jade. He wanted to keep his wits about him rather than be taken by surprise by anyone. In his line of business there was always someone ready to pounce. This time it happened to be Josh who had suffered.

They’d managed to get back into certain parts of the building once the car park had been cordoned off, but the death of his friend meant that the gym had been shut, so their takings would be down. The gym membership was fine; most regulars paid monthly and the few who paid per visit wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But it was more than that. He hadn’t been able to do any of the regular behind-the-scenes stuff. There had been no money loaned, no stolen goods coming through the doors. Some of the boys had phoned to see what the score was, but he’d told them to steer clear. The blues being here was bad for trade in every respect. People would go elsewhere.