Hidden by Roger A. Price

Author:Roger A. Price [Price, Roger A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2019-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Three

Babik was glad Susan had come through, she was a serious asset and he hoped they could get more personal at some stage, down the line, when immediate business had been taken care of. Plus, having her on board again would take some of the grief from his shoulders, which he was starting to feel; from one individual in particular. He also had a plan for Susan; he needed to be able to put her back into the cops. They left the pub by taxi and were dropped off around the corner from a row of lock-ups in the Frenchwood area, south of the city centre. Not a million miles from where he’d surfaced from the river. He toyed with the idea of going to the lock-up alone first, but knew Susan was aware of it, so he took her with him. Babik needed to convince himself of her loyalty before he wandered into a further ambush. He kept her close. Human shield if needed, but no one approached them.

Inside the garage was an old, nondescript, 10-year-old blue Vauxhall saloon. Bonehead used to drive it around the block once a week to keep it ticking over; it was his emergency set of wheels. No one had ever seen him in it and it was registered to a local scrapyard mate of Bonehead’s. And now that he was gone, the trail ended. Clean wheels; a rarity.

Once away from the garage, he told Susan where they were going, it was another emergency asset, but this time it was an address. One that even Susan wasn’t aware of. It was an end terrace at the close of a short cul-de-sac off London Road in Walton–le-Dale, just south of the River Ribble. It was next door to a boarded-up address and opposite a further two boarded-up houses of the same appearance. It wasn’t just the cops who had safe houses.

It only took five minutes to drive there and once inside — via the back door — Babik nodded at the large, middle-aged man with a prison inmate’s complexion seated in the kitchen. Another emergency asset that Susan knew nothing of. Babik introduced Susan without explanation or informing her of Bob’s name. Then asked, ‘How’s she been?’

‘Fed, watered and re-gagged. No dramas, boss,’ Bob answered.

‘Watch out the back while we have a chat. Susan, follow me,’ he said.

In the upstairs bedroom he had to wait for a couple of seconds, for his eyes to attune to the darkness. Cardboard covered the window and he had no intention of turning the electric light on. Laid on a filthy mattress on the floor was the woman. Her hands were tied in front on her and her ankles were also tied, but with some slack. Bob was all heart.

Babik ripped the gaffer tape from her mouth and the woman yelped, before spitting, ‘Bastard!’

‘It’s the least painful way of removing the tape, believe me,’ he said. He realised that Susan was standing, almost hiding, behind him. He wasn’t sure what she thought he was about to do.

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