Passion Patrol 2 - a Sexy Police Romance Suspense Novel With a Touch of Humor: Hot Cops. Hot Crime. Hot Romance. (25 page)

“You looking for me? I’m Gary Woods.”

She looked into the face of a slim, wiry guy with dark hair. His eyes were deep-set and his cheekbones high. For sure he had some gypsy wildness in him. He wasn’t classically handsome. His nose had taken a few punches and his brows were scarred. He was bright and tough. In different circumstances he would definitely have interested her. She could tell by his look and smile that he had a weakness for women.

“I’m Shannon Aguerri.”

“Jesus, I’ve no idea what you want but I’m sure it’s interesting.”

His accent was pure South London.

“You know my name?” she asked.

“Yeah, you came up in conversation recently. We can’t talk here. Do you fancy a drink after?”

“This hadn’t better be some scam to get a date.”

“Nah, not that I wouldn’t ask, mind ... but we’ve got to talk. I was wondering how to find you as it happens. I think we’re on the same side.”

Her mind raced around all kinds of twists and corners. What on earth was this guy talking about?

“You’re confusing me to be honest. I wanted to check out a case of a kid you nicked for possession. I only wanted to get a bit more detail.”

“Yeah, I know who you mean. Ben wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Just how the hell...?”

“Look, wait until this meeting ends and we’ll slip off and have a chat, OK? It’s a right old mess to be honest. I’ll find you in a while. I’ll be straight with you and take a chance on trusting you, OK,” he said.

He re-mixed himself in with a crowd of other V-district officers. Obviously he wasn’t going to open up here. This was the strangest of encounters. Just what was she going to find out?

The briefing ran on for another hour. There was nothing to affect her. As the room emptied Gary Woods found her. She felt happy to be with him. She had known no one all day. Loneliness had been part of her life. Spencer had opened her but at the same time left her empty when she was alone. She’d missed him so much over the weekend. For now Gary Woods was an intriguing companion. They walked outside and he hailed a cab.

“Royal Festival Hall, mate,” he said.

“We going to a show?” she asked.

“Nah. It’s art and culture along there ain’t it. No chance of running into any bonehead coppers, eh?”

She grinned. He was canny. His hand gripped and ungripped the handle of his briefcase. He was nervous.

“You’re a Peckham girl, ain’t ya?”

“Yeah.”

“Streatham boy, me. We South Londoners gotta stick together right?”

“Right.”

She could tell he didn’t want to talk in the cab. Cops don’t talk in cabs.

They stepped out into the brutalist statement of the Royal Festival Hall. Then he began to talk.

“When you said your name, I knew what this was about. I’ve been a bloody idiot and made mistakes. I can’t claim it ain’t my own fault. Something tells me I can trust you.”

“Never trust anyone who says you can trust them. So I won’t ask you to trust me. Look mate, I’ve pulled some stunts myself and I’m not looking to give you trouble.”

“First, and I know this question must be in your mind, I didn’t plant the kid up with that stuff. I’m saying that cos that’s what I’d think.”

She nodded, grateful to clear that hurdle of diplomacy. He was a sound bloke, she was sure.

They picked up a couple of coffees and sat in the outdoor cafe, looking out onto the Thames.

“I’m married. Got a little babe. Can’t say I planned it, can’t say it’s perfect. She’s a good-hearted girl and I love the little one. Many men would die to be as lucky as me. I used to be a mountie—one of those horseback cops that do all the demos and crowd stuff. I’ve had to go back to regular duty for a year to get promoted.”

Shannon encouraged him with some eye contact. His tone had stiffened a little as he approached the real meat of his tale.

“How old is your baby?”

“Just eight months. Little lad and bright as a button. Well, I missed the horses. Long story but my dad was a circus performer. He was one of the Cavalli Zingari. I was riding bareback when I was two.”

She could tell he was disappointed at her not knowing of his father’s circus fame. She smiled. She didn’t want him to jam up.

“So, like I said, I missed the horses. One day I was in court at the Old Bailey. I had to give evidence in a trial about some demonstrators. It was all about fox hunting. One of ’em was a famous actress-protester and had a big lawyer. I was answering questions about the use of police horses. I did my bit and the court stopped for the day.”

A slight tingle had started in Shannon’s spine. Her hair was getting ready to stand up, maybe.

“As I was on the steps, the lawyer comes up to me and tells me how she loves horses and would like to know more about being a mountie. To be honest, I knew that what she really wanted was a bloke mounting her.”

“Her?”

“Yeah, Christ I didn’t say did I? It was a woman, Jasmine de Montfort.”

If a cruise missile had just flown past and landed on St Paul’s cathedral it would have had less impact on Shannon.

“Well, at first she was real nice. A very physically demanding woman I might add since you are a worldly colleague. She let me ride her horses in Hyde Park and then, you know, ride her after. It was quite uncomplicated. She has a huge wedge of cash and a penthouse and Christ knows what else.”

“Gary, we all get involved now and then. I don’t blame you,” she said disingenuously. She wanted to keep him so, so sweet. She’d get him a bloody Derby winner if she could. “So how did this kid Ben come into the story?”

“Jasmine was always going on about a family she was kinda counseling and helping. The bloke was on his own and the wife had died in an accident. She was very worried about the boy. She told me he had a major drug issue but that his dad just wouldn’t face up to it. She reckoned that any time the police stopped him he’d have drugs. According to her he was snorting a line of coke and mainlining heroin before he could go out and score some crystal meth. She was desperate to get to grips with the problem. She’d covered up for him once when he’d overdosed but she feared the nipper was soon gonna croak.”

“Heart of gold,” said Shannon.

He took a long breath.

“Now look, I did what I did in good faith. Jesus Christ, she’s a fuckin’ barrister lined up to be a judge.”

“I can see that, Gary.”

“So, she tells me this lad’s gonna be in Kingston this particular day. She phoned me in the morning and I was on patrol duty. She tells me what he’s wearing and all the rest. She tells me he’s definitely got some stuff. Well, I believed her, and it’s a bloody crime, ain’t it?”

“Where was she?”

“That I don’t know. She called me and told me exactly where he was. I suspect she was watching him and guided me in. She didn’t like do an air traffic control job but she knew just where I’d find him.”

“So you spot the target?”

“Yeah. This is where the wheel starts coming off and I did wrong. I saw them straight away and I could see they were just young lads. Even if one of ’em had a bit of blow I’d probably have just scared the shit out of ’em and told ’em to fuck off.”

“That’s my sort of police work, Gary. What did you do that was wrong?”

“First I phoned her and told her I wasn’t looking at some injecting addict with a coke habit and that I had no heart in stopping them. Then it was like some black beast had come out of the swamp. In a nutshell she told me if I didn’t do it, she’d be straight round my house to see the missus. She’d only just had the babe. She was a bit depressed and bloody hell, I couldn’t face that.”

“So you did it.”

“Yeah, I pulled him over and sure enough he had a bit of resin in tin foil. The kid didn’t have a clue what it was. He fuckin’ well asked me what it was cos it smelled funny. I told him it was drugs and he just laughed because he thought I was joking. He had no baccy, no papers and you could tell he didn’t smoke. I had a look at his arms and he had no marks. Nix—absolutely nix.”

“So you did what you had to do?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t proud and it got worse.”

“Worse?”

“His father. It was like the poor geezer had lost everything. He was like broken with shame. He was a lord, a right posh gent. The boy was in a cell. The father asked what had happened. The kid cried and cried and swore he didn’t know about the drugs. Then his dad was crying too and he’s a big proud man. His dreams of the boy in the regiment were all fucked up or something like that. I felt like a piece of shit.”

“At the end of the day, he had the drugs,” she said.

“Nah. Look Shannon, she planted him up. When I got to her I went ballistic. She’s so fuckin’ arrogant she admitted it. She did it to get him sent away. She told me she’d plant me up or frame me with something. I reckon she would. She’s ruthless and selfish beyond belief. She won’t let go of my life. When she wants some male attention I attend to it or else. I play her along and do the business but I hate her.”

“Gary, I respect you mate. You’re over a barrel. Will you help me fix her for good?”

“How?”

“I’ll work out a plan. If it came to it would you give me a statement?”

“Yeah. We’re cops and that’s a bond. One way or another, I’ve got to finish it.”

“Good man. Tell me why you knew my name.”

“Jasmine suddenly mentioned you. She said she had some information from a criminal client that you’re a bent cop taking bribes. She asked me to check you out to see if there was any dirt on your record or gossip. I thought it was bollocks and that it was personal.”

“That was nice of her.”

“What’s your connection to her?”

“My man is Ben’s father....”

“Right, now I see. I tell you Shannon, she’s on your case. She even hinted that she’d got rid of that bloke’s wife.”

“What?” Shannon’s heart was pounding.

“She said it as a kind of joke. She just said how easily little accidents could happen. She’s cold and sly. Don’t give her any mercy or any shot at you. I’ll do anything to get her out of my life.”

“I’ll hold you to that. When are you due to see her?”

“Usually on a Wednesday. She rides herself up to a bit of a lather then needs a rub down. We go to her penthouse in Canary Wharf. It’s definitely on for this week.”

“We’re gonna be friends forever, Gary. I won’t let you down,” she said.

They walked to Waterloo station, exchanged phone numbers and said goodbye. As she boarded the train, she knew something very difficult lay ahead of her. This was supposed to be the big chat with Spencer. How she hated Jasmine. How could such cold hatred boil in her soul? She wanted to be thinking of love. He was a wonderful man. His wife had been murdered. His son had been framed and left with a criminal record. The world flocked to him because in the swamp of business and greed, he was a lighthouse on a rock. If you had his trust he would never fail you. One obstacle stood between her and the rest of her life. Not the police force, not Jasmine, but Spencer himself. He was as innocent as the day he was born. Many a time she’d gone to the home of a man or woman who had never known true sorrow or loss. She would bring news that a partner or child was dead in an accident or unexpected medical emergency. This was routine in a cop’s career. Some could accept the unthinkable. Some could not. This wasn’t a job she could pass on to the day shift. A night was coming in. Whatever was to unfold, she—Shannon Aguerri, would be that bringer of news from a different world. And she was breaking every rule in the cop’s book of common sense. She was involved.

She’d arranged for him to meet her at East Croydon. As the train slowed she almost dreaded the moment when she would walk out of the station and see him. She longed for his love and assurance. She wanted to run joyfully and carelessly to him as his woman. He deserved that. Of course he was there, bouquet of flowers in hand. He was beaming and handsome. She splashed a smile on her face as if it were cold water on top of a hangover. He was telling her he loved her. His arm was around her waist as the Bentley pulled in at the kerbside. She was sliding inside and he was beside her. They were moving off into the traffic. Soft lights and some gentle music created the ambiance. He was serving her a drink. She could feel the overflowing love in him. She was putting nothing into this mix. He seemed so happy.

“Thanks so much for picking me up,” she said.

“I couldn’t wait.”

“I need to talk to you. There’s something you must know. I can’t go forward unless I get this out of the way.”

She could feel she’d chilled his mood.

“Before we kiss or talk about things I need to deal with something. I can’t have us flying high and then bring you down.”

“What on earth is the problem?” he said, his brow troubled, his jaw tense.

“Is there an intercom on this car? I must talk privately.”

“No, you can talk.”

She took his hand.

“I must tell you something I’ve found out about Ben.”

“Oh no. Please, Shannon, it’s drugs isn’t it?”

“No, it’s the opposite. He was completely innocent of that offense. He’s always told the truth. The drugs were planted.”