The Wirral Killings: The multi-million selling Snowdonia Murder Mystery series (A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller Book 20) by Simon McCleave

Author:Simon McCleave [McCleave, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stamford Publishing
Published: 2024-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 32

An hour later, Ruth had called her contact in the Crown Prosecution Service to tell her what Huw Williams had told her. Even though it was a formality at this stage, Ruth needed to run putting the Williams family into protective custody past the CPS before talking to the Witness Protection Unit. The CPS gave her the go-ahead. She then called Gorski to tell her about Huw’s confession and the links to the gang in Birkenhead. Ruth and Nick were due to meet with her at Arrowe Park nick in thirty minutes.

They parked up on Price Street to the north of Birkenhead. The area was run down, with some huge container warehouses for the docks that were only spitting distance from where they were sitting. Birkenhead was one of the poorest areas in the UK with a very high crime rate. People from Liverpool often referred to those across the water in Birkenhead as Jedis. It was said that it was because all the ‘scallies’ from Birkenhead were from the dark side and walked around with their hoods up.

As Ruth got out of the car, she stamped out her cigarette on the pavement and looked across at the Hastings Scrap Yard. When she had worked in the Met, anyone owning a scrap metal yard was synonymous with being ‘a villain’. In fact, Eddie and Charlie Richardson, the most notorious gangsters from South London in the 1950s and 1960s, had worked out of their scrap metal yard in Camberwell. The Richardson gang ended up in a turf war with the Kray twins in the late 60s.

Nick gave Ruth a look, and they crossed the road to see if they could see anything. They weren’t expecting to see any stolen equipment, but Ruth wanted to give the place the once-over before meeting with Gorski.

Looking around at the fence, Ruth saw that there was razor wire all the way around the top. There were also some very sophisticated CCTV cameras over the main office block and workshops.

‘Pretty heavy security for a place like this?’ Nick remarked.

‘Yeah,’ Ruth agreed sardonically. ‘Maybe they’re worried someone’s going to run off with a tonne of scrap metal.’

Nick laughed. ‘The last place I saw like this was a front for a lot of washing.’

Ruth knew what he meant. Yards like this were the perfect front for drug gangs wanting to launder their illegal money.

As they wandered across the yard, there was an eerie stillness. The only sound was the metallic crusher in the distance.

There didn’t seem to be anyone around.

Suddenly, there was the thunderous sound of barking that made Ruth jump out of her skin.

About twenty yards away, two American XL bully dogs jumped up at the wire mesh of their enclosure, their mouths snapping and foaming.

‘Afternoon officers,’ said a chirpy voice in a Scouse accent.

Looking around, Ruth saw a tall man, 40s, shaved head, jewellery, tattoos and a Stone Island jacket. He was munching on what looked like a kebab.

‘That obvious, is it?’ Ruth asked dryly.

‘It is to me, love,’ he replied with a smirk before taking an enormous bite from the kebab.

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