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Kate’s eyes skimmed over the content of the envelope. There wasn’t much in there... a small square of paper with a few words written on it, and a tiny plastic case containing a mini SD card. She could feel herself starting to breath faster as the adrenaline poured into her body. This could only be one thing, she thought, as she grabbed her handheld photo viewer from the desk and, with the envelope still in hand, raced to the darkroom. It probably wasn’t the best place to go, and Kate hoped that no one else had photos hanging that could be damaged by the light from the handheld. A quick look at the empty lines and trays told her that she wouldn’t have to worry... Not surprising, as many of her co-workers eschewed the traditional film technique in favor of purely digital images.
She locked the door behind her and made one more check of the pans before turning on the overhead lights. The contents of the envelope were soon dumped on the cleared counter, and Kate could see that, indeed, there were only two things in the envelope... the note and the SD card. She turned to the note...
It was, indeed, from Georgia. Brief and to the point, she indicated her intention to go north to her family home in Yorkshire, and to remain there until it was safe...
You’ll understand what I mean, Kate read, when you see... It’s one of two copies, and I’ve kept the other with me for insurance, but I know you’ll make more. Use it as you can. Be safe. Georgia Bradshaw.
Kate exhaled a whoosh of air and immediately popped the case on the SD memory card and slipping it into the handheld viewer. Seconds later, the footage began to play, and Kate nearly dropped the device in shock... She’d only seen the blond detective one time... and that was zipped in a coroner’s bag in the mortuary at Lambeth...
“Today is the twenty-ninth of December 2011. My name is Joshua Newcastle, I am a detective sergeant with the Metropolitan Police department, and I am assigned to the Drug Squad unit located at New Scotland Yard.
“Two months ago, I received a phone call from a man named Rado Boskovic. Mister Boskovic served as a guide and interpreter during the conflict in the Balkans, in which I served. We had a great deal of contact with each other during that time, and I came to call him ‘friend’. During that time, I had occasion to play an instrumental role in saving Mister Boskovic’s life. He owed me a life debt, something that is taken more seriously in other locales and cultures than it is in our own. And that is part of the reason why I’m making this recorded statement... to ensure that he does not become a victim of what may happen...
“Mister Boskovic contacted me because he had discovered that a man who works for him was embezzling money from his transport business. Because his business often transports things of an illegal nature, including narcotics, Boskovic felt he could not go to the police. He also could not go to the police for another reason... the man who was embezzling from him was working directly with a police officer, and the police officer was benefitting financially from the situation.
“I agreed to investigate the situation from my end, and I discovered that the police officer involved was a member of my own Drug Squad unit, Detective Sergeant Heath Marshall.”
Kate gasped, not because it was any big shock to her, but because she’d been so engrossed in what Newcastle was saying to her, seemingly from beyond the grave, that she had evidently been holding her breath.
“When I discovered this information, and confirmed it independently through financial information and statements from an informant who corroborated Boskovic’s evidence, I proceeded to go to my superior officer, Detective Superintendent Calvin Wilcox. I did not present him with my evidence. I did, however, request to be assigned to a specific operation involving Marshall. According to Boskovic, Marshall has requested to meet him in person to resolve the embezzlement issue. Boskovic is reluctant to agree, but I told him to do so and I would be there to arrest Marshall before anything occurs. Wilcox has agreed to put me on the operation because of my previous connection to Boskovic, and has also agreed to my request for Detective Sergeant Richard Pierce, Murder Squad, to be on scene. Detective Sergeant Pierce also served with me in the Balkans, knows Boskovic, and has an exemplary grasp of at least a dozen dialects of the Balkan languages. He is also one of the most accurate shots I’ve ever met... However, Wilcox would not agree to his being armed. None of us will, in fact, be armed.
“The meeting is scheduled for the sixth of January 2012... early morning, to ensure that residents of the estate in South Acton will, for the most part, still be in bed or in their flats. I...hope... that it all goes smoothly.”
Newcastle paused a moment, and Kate’s sensitive empathy told her that, based on his manner and the expression in his eyes, he was not truly hopeful. He was, in fact, very worried. He cleared his throat, swiping at his scruff of a beard a couple of times with his fingers before continuing.
“If you are watching this video... that means the operation failed... and that I am either currently in hospital, unable to provide this information myself... or I am dead. If Robbie... Detective Sergeant Robson Corbett is also incapacitated or deceased, it needs to be known he had no guilt in Marshall’s scheme... If he is gone, I can only say how sorry I am, to his family and to his girlfriend, Georgia.
“Now, if you’re watching this video... you’re likely with the Met, or maybe even Lambeth. If so, you need to know two things:
“One, I have all the evidence you need to convict Marshall of embezzlement and murder... Yes, murder, because if we’re dead now, he had it done, no question... All the evidence is in a file cabinet in my home office. My wife will know the one.
“Two...” Newcastle sighed, he eyes moistening. “Boskovic, Georgia, my wife and sons... Marshall is unstable, and an event like this operation going badly will break him... Please... whoever you are watching this right now... You must keep them safe... Get him off the street, before it’s too late...”
Newcastle seemed about to be overcome with emotion, and he abruptly reached forward, turning off the camera and ending the video.
Kate sat for a moment, to stunned by all the information and emotion the recording had just imparted. This was huge... huger than huge... and she wasn’t entirely sure even what to do next. She needed fresh air and a cigarette to help her calm and focus. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her she could get both right now... It was already nearly eight o’clock, and if she didn’t get right on it, she would be late to the Newcastle home. Kate started to lock the SD card in the desk drawer, but stopped herself, slipping it into an interior pocket of her vest instead. She slipped the vest on, then grabbed her bag and made sure the lock-picking kit was inside.
Minutes later, Kate was jogging down the steps of FSS Lambeth and heading for the nearest Tube Station. She would be late by a few minutes unless the train was super-fast, but Pierce would already be there by then. She decided not to say anything about the recording until they were alone, perhaps after she opened this file cabinet... the file cabinet. As she tossed her cigarette before descending into the underground, Kate hoped whatever Newcastle had put in this file cabinet was as damning for Marshall as he thought it was... and that they could get him off the street before anything happened to the Newcastle family.
*****
THE WALK TO THE NEWCASTLE home was a bit longer than Kate had anticipated, and it was closer to eight-fifteen when she arrived. She hadn’t seen Pierce’s black Jetta anywhere on the street outside and wondered what was delaying him.
She jogged up the few steps and knocked on the front door. The house seemed a bit dim, but she chalked it up to the time of night... Perhaps they were in a back room or something.
Kate heard the click of the door, and it slowly opened a crack, then a bit farther. She smiled as a dark-eyed woman peeked around the corner. The woman was small and clearly of an East Asian background, and Kate momentarily thought of Jimi... until she saw the fear in the woman’s eyes.
“Um, hi,” Kate began, hoping her manner would assuage the woman’s fear, though she had a nagging feeling in her stomach that something wasn’t right here. “My name is Kate Gardener. Detective Sergeant Richard Pierce invited me over, said I might be able to help you open a file cabinet.”
The woman’s eyes went wide as the door swung open. Kate found herself looking at the barrel of a shotgun, and behind that barrel a very agitated Heath Marshall.
“You, eh?” Marshall waved the barrel as he motioned for her to step in. “Better than calling a locksmith. Get in here!”
Kate glanced at the frightened woman, wondering if she dared to turn and run. She was nimbler than he was, and he would have to be a very good shot to get her. Better than Pierce... Pierce... Kate flicked her eyes around quickly... Where the hell was he? She looked back into the house, and a small movement in the hallway caught her eye. Instantly, she concluded that running was no longer an option. Heartless as it may sound, she could leave a fully-grown woman there to fend off this monster...
But she couldn’t leave a child.