Hunter Hunted, Jack Gatland [good story books to read .txt] 📗

last thing he wanted was Doctor Marcos shouting at him again.

3

Visiting Hours

It took another hour for Billy to get Monroe’s laptop working again; and when he did, the document was no longer there.

‘Maybe we can at least learn where it came from?’ Declan asked from his own desk, where he was currently working through the Temple Inn CCTV files to no avail. ‘Was it emailed? Did he find it on the internal network?’

‘There’s nothing on any internal networks,’ Billy leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling in frustration. Doctor Marcos had allowed them to sit at their desks once more, as long as they promised not to move around too much. ‘I’ve searched everywhere. If that document was real, then it was created by someone outside of the police.’ He stared at his own laptop where an image of Monroe’s screen, a screenshot from before the document had disappeared, was displayed. The image of Kendis, walking and taken from a distance was visible.

‘You think it could have been MI5? Or worse?’ Declan asked. Billy made a noncommittal face as he shrugged. ‘They’d be my first guesses. Or maybe it’s another agency. An external one, or someone private. Another country, Interpol perhaps?’

‘This is an old school friend,’ Declan muttered, omitting the recent change in developments. ‘I can’t believe she’s some kind of terrorist sleeper.’

‘She’s also a journalist who tried to take down ex-politicians, and was the first to contact you about Derek Salmon murdering Angela Martin,’ Billy replied. ‘She seemed remarkably well connected.’

‘Says the guy who had a breakfast meeting with a source who stated that Baker’s office was targeting us,’ Declan added. Billy nodded.

‘True,’ he replied. ‘But then I don’t trust my source as far as I can throw them. How much do you trust yours?’

Declan went to reply but then stopped. Billy was right. How much did he know about Kendis, other than that she was having a bad time with Peter? Was that even true? Had Declan been an alibi for the night before?

‘Okay, let’s look at this,’ Declan continued. ‘Kendis is a terrorist. Let’s just say that for the moment. She’s being watched. Monroe has a dossier on her on his laptop when he’s attacked. Why does he have this and why does she want him killed?’

Billy stretched. ‘No idea,’ he admitted. ‘But let’s be honest, he was never a fan of hers. I heard him shout Kendis bloody Taylor at you on multiple occasions.’

‘You think he might have been doing his own, off the books investigation?’ Declan looked over to the office.

‘Makes sense,’ Billy said. ‘As I said, this could be some kind of private security company’s dossier. There’s a watermark I can’t quite make out, but that could give us an idea. Monroe may have…’ he trailed off as he examined the screenshot.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘This could have been a private security file. That would explain why nobody has it.’

‘And you can get that off a photo on a screen?’

Billy smiled. ‘I’ve done more with less,’ he said. ‘The watermark uses a particular font. That gives me a comparison search. Give me an hour. Let me see what I can work out.’

Declan looked to his watch. It was almost lunchtime. ‘I should go back to the hospital, check up on Monroe and Anjli,’ he said.

‘Is she still guarding him?’ Billy was already typing on his laptop as he spoke.

‘Wouldn’t you?’ Declan rose from the chair. Billy turned to face him.

‘For what it’s worth, I don’t think that Kendis is a terrorist,’ he said. ‘However, Monroe was looking at her file, so there’s a fair chance that she’s involved somehow. Be careful.’

Declan nodded, very aware of the burner phone in his pocket. It was the second burner phone he’d had in as many days.

He hoped it wouldn’t become a habit.

By the time Declan arrived back at the ACCU unit at The Royal London Hospital, this time using the far easier entrance on Stepney Way, normality seemed to have returned, with the multitude of police that were there earlier now visible by their absence. Even Ch Supt Bradbury and his entourage were missing. Anjli was still there though, sitting on a chair in Monroe’s side room, alone, and seemingly asleep.

She jerked awake when Declan walked into the room. He waved her back down and passed her a coffee he’d picked up downstairs.

‘Any change?’ he looked at Monroe, still unconscious as Anjli shook her head.

‘He’s in a coma,’ she replied. ‘Something about blood on the brain and pressure and hell, Declan, I’ve got no bloody clue what they were talking about. All I know is that he’s got a fifty fifty chance of dying right now.’

‘Why don’t you go home, freshen up?’ Declan asked. ‘I can take on guard duty for a while.’

‘You need to be finding his attacker,’ Anjli sipped at the coffee.

‘We’ll both find the attacker,’ Declan suggested. ‘Billy’s already in the laptop and Marcos is examining every inch of floor. Currently, our prime suspect is a single male who looks like me. Height and clothing wise, at least.’

‘So a badly dressed divorcee,’ Anjli forced a smile. ‘That could be anyone in London.’

They sat in silence for a moment.

‘When they called me yesterday, when Monroe was found missing in Birmingham, I thought he was dead for sure,’ she eventually said. ‘When Billy and me, when we drove to Beachampton, I was already writing his eulogy out in my head. And then he was fine.’

She looked at the bed.

‘He wasn’t supposed to do this,’ she muttered.

‘He means a lot to you, doesn’t he?’ Declan asked. ‘I mean, I knew him all my life thanks to dad, but you…’

‘He met me when I was in Hendon,’ Anjli whispered. ‘Like a thousand years ago. I didn’t remember it at all, but he reminded me of this when he took me in.’ She took another sip. ‘After Mile End, I thought I was gone for good. I mean, I know I worked for