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

he smiled as well. After a full twenty-four hours of constant fear and tension, to sit with friends was something he sorely needed.

‘No Billy or Davey?’ he asked. Doctor Marcos shook her head.

‘Billy is with Frost and Sutcliffe,’ she replied. ‘And Davey is working on something.’

Declan nodded. He’d expected that. ‘How long do we have?’

‘Not long,’ Monroe replied. ‘So let’s get down to it. What do we have? Declan?’

‘Rattlestone was created back in 2010,’ Declan started. ‘I think it was Malcolm Gladwell who created and named it, and seemed to have the most to gain from it. Over the years he brought on board Francine Pearce, Charles Baker and Will Harrison. Later, Donna Baker, Charles’ wife, was placed on the public board, but didn’t seem to know what was going on there. In 2015, Rattlestone gained its first Ministry Of Defence contract after a UN Peacekeeping force was attacked in the Balkans, killing four soldiers.’

‘The Ministry of Defence leaked that,’ Anjli interjected. ‘We thought Will Harrison, perhaps.’

Declan shook his head. ‘I found files showing that Malcolm Gladwell did it. At the time he was Baker’s boss, of sorts. He arranged it to look like it came from Baker’s office, though.’

‘Why kick off about it now, though?’ Bullman asked. ‘I mean, that was years ago. What tipped the apple barrel?’

‘We did,’ Declan explained. ‘We brought Baker’s past into the limelight. Kendis did more digging. She’d been there in 2015, and this gave her the opportunity to move in on Baker. She got to know Donna, intending to use her as an unwilling source. The problem was that Donna wasn’t aware of this and then took this to Baker.’

‘It might have been more than that,’ Anjli replied as her phone beeped. ‘We spoke to Laurie Hooper, Donna’s PA, and although she didn’t say much, she said that on the night Donna died, she had heated arguments with both Will Harrison and Malcolm Gladwell, who she was with the night that you met with Kendis at The Horse and Guard. We think she was the whistle-blower and spoke to Kendis that night.’

Declan shook his head. ‘She met with the whistle-blower, but I don’t think it was Laurie,’ he replied as he showed the image of Kendis and Gladwell on his phone. ‘She met with Gladwell after meeting with me.’

He stopped.

‘Gladwell didn’t want people to know that he was meeting Laurie there,’ he said, thinking. ‘It didn’t fit his narrative. People might question his motives. That’s why The Horse and Guard was destroyed; not to remove the CCTV footage of us, but of them.’

‘Possible,’ mused Anjli.

‘Who took this?’ Bullman was examining the image now.

‘Nasir Gill,’ Declan replied. ‘I took it from his camera’s SD card after he died. He was following Kendis for Rattlestone.’

‘Who then killed him.’

‘Pretty much,’ Declan replied.

‘I’d hate to see their retirement package,’ Monroe smiled.

Anjli had been reading her phone’s message and now looked up. ‘I might have something,’ she said. ‘From the Harrison murder.’

‘The what?’ Declan asked in surprise.

‘Laurie Hooper and Will Harrison killed each other this morning,’ Bullman explained. ‘Well, we’re meant to believe so, anyway. Harrison was stabbed with the same letter opener that Kendis was killed with, and there was a receipt found with the box that proved that he’d bought it on his credit card.’

‘How did Laurie die?’ Declan leaned forward.

‘Some kind of taser torch, held in Harrison’s hand,’ Bullman replied. ‘Why?’

‘Kendis Taylor was killed in Malcolm Gladwell’s mausoleum,’ Declan looked to the table, remembering. ‘I found a ceramic vase that had broken, there were bloodstains on the floor and taser marks on the walls from a scuffle.’

‘Why was she in Gladwell’s mausoleum?’ Monroe frowned at this. ‘Especially if he was the whistle-blower?’

‘Because he had a secret safe in it,’ Declan’s tone darkened. ‘And I think Kendis didn’t fully believe him. He had a motion detector on the mausoleum, and he would have been alerted that she’d broken in.’

‘So Gladwell arrives, they fight and he stabs her with Will Harrison’s letter opener? How does that work?’ Doctor Marcos asked. Anjli held a hand up at this.

‘I know that one,’ she said, showing her phone. ‘Anthony Farringdon just came back to me. Parliamentary members must reveal all gifts they receive, yeah? The same week that Will Harrison bought the Montblanc letter opener on his card, Farringdon remembers Malcolm Gladwell registering the same thing as a gift.’

‘Thank god for photographic memories,’ Monroe whispered to himself.

‘So how did it get back to Harrison?’ Bullman asked. ‘Unless…’

‘Unless Gladwell gave it to Laurie Hooper to kill Harrison with. Maybe even returned with her, and zapped her to ensure that the ends were all tied up,’ Anjli replied. ‘And the whole whistle-blower thing? Maybe she told him she was going to tell Kendis about Donna’s death and Gladwell saw an opportunity to remove Harrison and Baker.’

Bullman nodded. ‘He agrees to speak to Taylor on her behalf, then pretends to be the source, so that when this all eventually comes out, he’s seen as the hero while Baker’s department is shown the door, and removed from Rattlestone.’

‘You shoot at the king, you’d better not miss,’ Anjli mused. ‘Harrison did both.’

Declan nodded. ‘But how do we prove this?’ he asked.

Monroe stroked at his white beard.

‘I think we need to be a little more biblical,’ he replied.

Billy looked at his phone and cursed softly.

‘What now?’ Frost asked. Billy looked up, his expression sheepish.

‘We’re at the wrong pub,’ he said, showing the screen of the phone. ‘I was worried, so I googled. It’s not The Fitzrovia Pub, but The Fitzroy Tavern, just down the street.’

‘Christ!’ Frost grabbed his radio as he bounded from the car. ‘All units! Get to the Fitzroy Tavern! Now!’ He looked to Billy, now next to him. ‘You’re an idiot!’ he snapped. ‘How could you screw this up!’

‘Hey, I fixed it!’ Billy exclaimed as they ran. ‘That has to account for something!’

In The Fitzroy Tavern, Declan patted Monroe on the arm.

‘I’m glad you’re doing okay, Guv,’ he said.