Over My Dead Body (Detective William Warwick #4)(87)
‘Good. Stay on the line. There may well be a change of plan.’
? ? ?
Sleeman slipped out of his office soon after Verenich had left to make his final call. He would be passing through Swindon by the time the body was buried.
He walked for a couple of blocks before hailing a taxi and climbing into the back. ‘Euston,’ was all he said.
Once he’d been dropped off outside the station, he joined a queue in the booking hall and purchased a first-class sleeper to Edinburgh. Before he paid, he asked the woman behind the counter in a loud voice how she had the nerve to charge sixty-three pounds.
The man standing behind him witnessed the unpleasant altercation, but said nothing. Sleeman then made his way across to Platform 7, and was about to board the train when two police officers blocked his path and arrested him.
‘On what charge?’ he demanded.
‘Threatening a railway employee will be enough to be going on with, although I have a feeling there will be more to follow,’ said the commander, who couldn’t remember when he’d last arrested someone.
He reported back to DCI Warwick.
? ? ?
Two lines were going at once.
‘It’s DC Pankhurst, sir. There’s a recently dug grave at the back of the cemetery, which the chief gravedigger tells me he didn’t authorize.’
‘Stay out of sight,’ said William. ‘We’ll be with you shortly. Danny, where are you?’
‘Verenich has just turned up outside a house in Chiswick and is knocking on the door.’
‘Keep me briefed,’ said William. ‘The rest of you head for Brompton Cemetery in Kensington. Once you get there, make sure you keep out of sight, because Verenich won’t be far behind.’ He switched off the radio and said, ‘Let’s get moving.’
Jackie eased the gear lever into first and accelerated away.
‘I presume you know where you’re going,’ said William.
‘No, sir. But I’m hoping you do.’
? ? ?
Hiding ten plainclothes detectives in a cemetery didn’t prove difficult, especially when they were aided and abetted by the chief gravedigger. There were more than enough monuments, private vaults and large memorial piles to hide an army.
Once everyone was in place, the more difficult challenge was to remain silent. A sneeze at that time of night would have sounded like a volcano erupting. The silence was broken only when Danny called in.
‘Verenich has just come out of the house in Chiswick and right now he’s shoving a protesting client into the back of the Toyota. They should be with you in about twenty minutes. Just say the word, chief, and I’ll ram the bastard and then the boys can move in and arrest him.’
‘No,’ said William. ‘Stay put. If he spots you, the whole operation will be scuppered,’ he added as Jackie drove into the cemetery, turned off the headlights and tucked the car behind a clump of trees.
‘But if you’re wrong about where they’re taking him …’
‘That’s a risk I’m going to have to take,’ said William, reminding Danny why he’d never wanted to be promoted.
‘Maintain radio silence,’ was William’s next order.
As the minutes passed, William kept glancing at his watch. He still wasn’t certain if Ross was on the side of the angels who were currently surrounding him, or if he was somewhere else the other side of London, preparing a different burial of his own. Either way, he wouldn’t be satisfied with making an arrest while explaining to Verenich his right to remain silent.
William let out a long sigh of relief when he spotted a black Toyota entering the north end of the cemetery. No lights to guide the driver on a moonless night, but then he knew where he was going. Ten testosterone-filled young officers awaited his command, but William didn’t move until he saw the car pulling to a halt.
The back door was opened by the driver, while Verenich pulled his whimpering victim out and began dragging him towards an open grave.
‘Oh my God,’ said Jackie, ‘they’re going to bury him alive.’
William leapt out of the car and began running towards the grave, while ten officers appeared from every direction.
DS Adaja quickly overtook DCI Warwick and crash-tackled the driver, who’d dropped his spade and tried to make a run for it. Paul held him down long enough for two other officers to pin him to the ground, while DS Roycroft handcuffed him.
William kept heading towards Verenich, who hurled his screaming victim to one side and defiantly stood his ground.
Just as William was about to launch himself at Verenich a spade appeared out of the grave, and with a practised golfer’s swing it came crashing into Verenich’s ankles, causing him to drop on his knees. As he tried to get up, a second blow hit him full on the side of his face, and he toppled forward and fell head first into the grave. Ross raised the spade high above his head to administer the final blow, but William grabbed its shaft with both hands and was pulled into the grave, landing on top of Verenich.
Ross could only look on as a couple of officers unceremoniously yanked Verenich back out, laid him flat on the ground and handcuffed him. William then clambered out, still clutching the spade. He looked down at the prostrate body, relieved to see Verenich’s eyes flicker open and stare blankly back up at him.
DS Adaja informed the two prisoners that they were under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and cautioned them before they were led away. As Rebecca tried to calm the traumatized victim, Ross drew William’s attention to three unmarked graves.