Chapter 10

 

There was little to be gained by driving about guided by traffic cam reports of their prey, and it played on Cassie’s tired nerves. They were alone following it, as another incident had drawn away resources. A robbery with a shooting.

‘Related to the Mayweather robbery?’ she wondered aloud.

‘I hope not,’ said Harry. ‘You want more shit dumped on our plate?’

‘I thought you didn’t care?’

‘I’m not obsessed with performance reports like some people,’ he said. ‘Doesn’t mean I want extra attention from senior officers. I’d prefer to keep my head down, get on with the job, not give them an excuse to shift me to a less suitable role. I like Vice.’

‘Don’t give me a set-up line like that,’ said Cassie. ‘I don’t need your charity.’

‘Everybody likes some vice. I’m just open about mine.’

‘Are you open with IA about them?’

‘Course not. I’m louche, not stupid.’

She couldn’t help a tired laugh at that. ‘I think you mean a douche.’

‘That’s nice. Here I am, sharing with my partner, and this is what I get back.’

‘I’d prefer you didn’t share your vices,’ said Cassie. ‘I don’t want to have to arrest you.’

‘Might get you out of Vice.’

‘If I wanted to go to Internal Affairs.’

‘I don’t know, you might fit in there.’

She stared at him. ‘That’s nasty. All I did was call you a douche.’

‘I’m sorry, you’re right. Even for Vice, IA’s a downward move.’

‘That’s the part you’re sorry about?’

He grinned.

Another report came in, directing them towards the clump of derelict warehouses off of Fairmont.

‘That’s in no way a bad area to go into alone after unknown criminal types,’ said Harry.

She didn’t disagree. ‘Take it slow and call for backup as soon as we see anything?’

He grumbled, but they had little choice.

The area had some street lights, but on average, only one in every three was operational and undamaged.

A glow ahead was visible soon after they started into the maze of buildings, and the flicker of the light left no doubt as to its source. It wasn’t hard to guess what was on fire.

They waited until they were in sight of the burning van before she put in a call to the fire department. They then sat in the car, engine running, a way back from the burning vehicle. There was no sign of anyone about, and they had no reason to suspect an ambush. The operation had been careful to avoid being seen at the morgue, let alone dropping bodies - preferring the opposite. They didn’t worry about being followed by traffic cameras because they only needed time to get here and burn the evidence. They’d achieved their likely objectives. Still, there was no point taking chances.

The van had been dumped out back of a couple of factories. They could maybe drive by on either side, but not without getting close to the flames.

‘We should have a look around, make sure the area is secure,’ said Cassie.

Harry grunted with little enthusiasm. ‘You wanna walk around?’

She studied how close the walls were to the fire. ‘Maybe we drive around to the far side. This is the direction the fire engine will come in, so we should keep it clear.’

Harry reversed out, and they circled around a building, staying alert for trouble.

They found none, and were back in sight of the van soon enough. The rear doors were open, anything inside obscured by flames.

Harry pulled up, engine still running, and took out his phone. ‘You seen any cameras since we left the road?’

‘None that looked functional.’

‘I’ll have tech check local surveillance for anything leaving the area.’

Cassie said nothing. From his tone, he had as little hope as she did of them finding anything. The operation had been entirely too smart so far, and the location had been selected for its isolation.

The fire truck came into view beyond the burning wreck. They got out of the car to watch. As first on the scene, they’d have to hang around. She hoped she’d get a chance to at least pop into her apartment before her next shift.

She caught a faint sharp scent of charred flesh amid the burning. She glanced at Harry.

He nodded. ‘Bodies are still in there.’

They stared at the van, waiting for the firemen to find the water source they needed and get to it.

‘Why not burn the bodies in the morgue?’ asked Harry.

‘Sprinklers?’ suggested Cassie. ‘And time to make sure they’re properly burnt.’

‘Perhaps,’ said Harry. ‘Or perhaps they had something on them.’

‘Or in them,’ said Cassie. ‘They’d have been stripped for the exam and their clothes passed to forensics. We should check they’re still secure.’

He shrugged.

She called in to get the evidence checked on.

There were too many questions, either way, and new evidence from the bodies was now unlikely.

‘Could it have been to obscure the cause of the odd death?’ Cassie asked after she’d hung up. ‘Though that wouldn’t explain why the other two were taken.’

‘Had he been cut open?’ asked Harry.

‘Elaine said they were planning to go in. Got the impression they hadn’t, but she might have meant go in deeper. Why?’

‘Wondered if the examination had obscured which one was killed that way, as only one came to us without recent holes in it.’

It was possible. The only thing they could be certain of was another long night ahead.