The Watchers by John Reid

Author:John Reid [Reid, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Published: 2022-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

***

The team watching Sophia Marr had been in position since 22.00. The constable in the car was dozing on and off and struggling to stay awake. His colleague positioned in the doorway with a view of Sophia Marr’s front door was struggling to stay warm. He and his colleague had swapped positions each hour on the hour. He looked at his watch. It was 03.06 a.m. on Friday the 21st of October. He thought only another fifty-four minutes before he could return to the warmth of the car. He noted his feet had already started to feel as though they were blocks of ice and his hands despite being encased in warm fur-lined gloves were beginning to scream for more heat. The constable stamped his feet to maintain circulation and consoled himself with the thought of his overtime payment.

A taxi turned into the mews at exactly 03.56 a.m. The watcher in the car was still floating between consciousness and sleep. His colleague was about to call him on his mobile to confirm his stint at being away from the car was over. Instead, he quickly alerted his partner. “Get the car ready, something’s up. A black cab has just arrived, and it’s stopped outside our target’s house.” There was a pause before the watcher continued. “I can’t see any lights on inside the house but the cab driver’s knocking on the door.” Another pause lasted several minutes. The watcher was back and excited. “Right, we’re on, bring the car. She’s just climbed into the taxi with a large suitcase.” The watcher noted the taxi registration number and slid deeper into the doorway to avoid being seen. As the taxi approached the end of the mews, it turned right. The unmarked police car collected the officer at the mouth of the mews and followed the black cab.

After a debate as to what they should do, they triggered a series of events by calling their designated team leader Detective Sergeant Matt Conway. DS Conway in turn called Detective Inspector Abul Ishmal who decided to wait and elected to get constant updates as to where the target might be going. Once the taxi entered the M4 heading west out of London and with the evidence of the suitcase, everyone agreed she was headed for Heathrow.

The followers wanted to know what to do if this woman entered one of the terminals at Heathrow. DS Conway couldn’t answer so asked DI Ishmal who also couldn’t answer. Reluctantly he called DCI Burt at 04.22 a.m. on the morning of the Friday 21st of October.

Once Steve had regained his thoughts and shaken himself awake, The Cap gave him the facts. “And she’s definitely heading for Heathrow?”

“Looks like it, Steve. The boys said she has a large suitcase with her.”

The DCI was fully awake despite having had only six hours’ sleep. “Keep the watchers on her. Tell them to follow her into the terminal and find out what flight she’s on. It should be simple enough if she’s checking in that suitcase, but you’d better explain it to them.

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