‘The Queen Elizabeth?’ Ruby said, staring up at the looming derelict building. Like many properties in Hackney, it had been earmarked for redevelopment and was currently stalled at the planning application stage. Surrounded by panels of high wire fencing, it was clearly marked with ‘no trespassing’ signs. The hospital was one of the first properties Ruby had recommended for a visit by uniformed patrol. ‘This area’s already been checked,’ she said. She’d read the report herself. Having tracked down the caretaker, uniformed officers had gained entry, declaring the building devoid of life.
‘I’d like to have another look around,’ DC Ash Baker said, pulling up the handbrake as the car came to a halt on Hackney Road ‘It won’t take me a minute. If you want to wait in the car. . .’
The words had barely left his lips before Ruby interrupted him. ‘Ash, I know you, and most of the time it’s an effort to get you to get out of your chair to briefing, so I’m not buying that you’ve suddenly decided to walk around a derelict building on your own.’
‘Like I said, I. . .’ he sighed, wilting under the pressure of Ruby’s stare. ‘I might have had a tip-off.’
‘As in a tip-off to the killer’s whereabouts? Why didn’t you say?’
‘It’s going to sound daft. That’s why I didn’t call it in.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that. Where did you get your information?’
‘From a dead man,’ Ash said, giving her a furtive glance. ‘Nicky Ellis, to be exact, with the help of a bag of frozen chips.’
‘You’ve lost me,’ Ruby said, wondering if Ash had finally lost the plot.
‘He left a message written out on the floor. He must have done it when he realised he wasn’t going to make it. I guess it was his way of telling us where he’d been.’
Ruby arched both eyebrows. ‘With the help of a bag of chips?’ A black cab rumbled past – ordinary people going about their business, on this, the strangest of days.
Ash gave a hollow laugh. ‘As unlikely as it seems. I found the words “Queen Liz” spelt out on the floor.’
‘This is all very Sherlock Holmes,’ Ruby said. ‘Are you sure?’
Ash nodded. ‘I messed them up when I leant over to look at the body, sorry. I didn’t mean to, but I figured I was in enough trouble, and I’d check it out myself.’
‘“Queen Liz” might not refer to the hospital, it could mean anything.’ Ruby tried to contain her annoyance. He was right. It was too far-fetched, and she wasn’t buying his explanation. Besides, if he had stumbled across the doctor’s lair, then why did he want to keep it to himself? Regardless of her reservations, she wasn’t leaving without checking it out. ‘Right. Well, we can’t take any chances. Wait here until I call it in. You’re not to go in there without backup. Look at you,’ she said, casting an eye over his expansive belly. ‘You haven’t even got a stab vest on.’
‘I won’t need it,’ Ash said quietly. But there was something about his demeanour that gave Ruby cause for concern. ‘Are you alri—’ Her words were interrupted as Ash slammed on the brakes.
‘Oops, sorry,’ he said, pulling up at the pedestrian traffic lights as a woman with a pram walked across. Ruby watched him as he leant towards the car window, his eyes darting from left to right as he stared at the windows of the upper floors overhead.
Ruby followed his gaze to the hospital building looming over them. The tree-lined street that harboured it was bustling with activity. Was it possible that such abhorrent acts were taking place right under people’s noses? Ruby stiffened as she caught his gaze, her heart picking up a beat. ‘Seen something?’
‘What? No, nothing. There’s probably nobody there,’ he said, releasing his foot from the clutch as the lights turned green.
Ruby took note of the name of the road as Ash turned into Coate Street. They parked down the quiet road, which gave access to the rear of the hospital building. Her attention to street names was a valuable lesson ingrained early in her career. You never knew when backup was urgently needed, and in those days they were not afforded the luxury of GPS.
‘Tell you what,’ Ash said, pulling up the handbrake. ‘Why don’t you call it in, and I’ll have a look around. . . make sure nobody comes out the back doors?’
Ruby threw him a mistrusting look, wishing she could read his mind. ‘Only if you promise not to go inside. If you see anyone just make a note of their direction of travel. I mean it, Ash. I don’t want you taking stupid risks.’
‘Of course not,’ Ash said, delivering another forced chuckle. ‘Look at me, I couldn’t squeeze through that fence if I tried. I’m just gonna check the perimeter, that’s all.’ Giving her one last smile, he got out of the car, hands deep in pockets as he walked briskly past the panelled fencing.
But Ruby had barely called for backup when she realised Ash was out of sight. She peered into the distance, cursing herself for leaving her glasses at work. Had he deliberately disobeyed her orders and gone inside? Stretching over, she pulled the keys from the ignition before getting out and locking the car behind her.
‘Ash,’ she called in a raspy whisper, following his direction of travel. She bit her bottom lip as a crash of glass shattered the silence. Surely not? To go in unarmed to confront such a dangerous killer would be suicide. Unless. . . Raising her radio, she pressed his number to reach him directly on a point-to-point call. No answer. She prodded the mainstream channel and spoke to control. ‘Can I request those units on the hurry up? I’m unable to locate DC Ash Baker by point-to-point. He may have entered the building against my wishes. I’m going in to locate him, over.’
There was no time to waste. Patting her shoulder harness beneath her jacket, she checked her gas, handcuffs and baton were in place. She would have offered to loan it to Ash, but such a thing would have been an invitation to investigate. That was the last thing she’d wanted him to do. Ash was overweight, unfit, and suffering from depression. What the hell was he thinking going in there alone?
‘Shit!’ she exclaimed, when she came to a gap in the fencing big enough for Ash to squeeze through. She listened for guard dogs, which were sometimes posted in potential building sites, but all that was returned was an icy breeze and a strong sense of dread. Stepping through the fencing, she made her way through the uneven path. Ash was nowhere to be seen. ‘Ash,’ Ruby whispered, ‘where are you?’
Grasping her police issue ASP, she gave it a firm flick, extending it to full length. It always came down to a choice: her baton or her CS incapacitant spray. But the weight of her baton felt comforting in her grip. Raising it over her shoulder, she peered through the broken glass of the back window. There was no time to waste; she had to go inside.