Contents (83)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- Acknowledgements
- OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Neither Michael nor Levy responded immediately. The theory made sense to Michael. Hirst was exactly the kind of psychopath who could think things through that coldly.
‘That rings true,’ he said hesitantly, ‘except for one thing. Hirst was released three years ago. Why would he have waited so long? With Longman old enough to have died any day, and with Blunt practically at death’s door? If Hirst was so desperate to get to us that he allowed himself to be beaten and abused in prison, why wait and risk them dying before he got to them? Hell, Derek was a heart-attack risk, the size of him.’
‘That’s what we couldn’t work out,’ Sarah admitted. ‘We couldn’t come up with an answer for that one.’
‘Shit.’ Levy was speaking more to herself than to the others as she swore. That changed when she spoke again. ‘I think I might know the reason.’
Both Michael and Sarah turned. The intervention – the deduction – seemed to have come from nowhere. Levy continued.
‘Sarah, do you know the name of the prisoner in Wandsworth? The one with the guards on his payroll?’
Sarah did not need to think. The name had been in the parole report, which she had read just minutes before Michael’s call.
‘He’s called Leon Ferris.’
‘Shit,’ Levy said again.
‘What is it?’ Michael asked.
Levy looked him in the eye and answered.
‘Karl Hirst has killed a lot more people than we thought.’
FIFTY-SEVEN
‘Show Mr Hale the file, Nathan.’
Sarah indicated towards Detective Inspector Steven Hale with a nod of the head. Nathan Benson’s eyes followed. Summoned from the ITV News offices on nearby Grays Inn Road, Benson had travelled to Lonsdale Square with one task. To deliver the confidential parole report of Karl Hirst.
Benson picked up the slim manila folder, walked across the now much busier kitchen and handed it to Hale.
Hale flicked through the file’s pages. Too quickly. He could not have been reading the content. Just checking its authenticity.
‘Where the hell did you get this?’ Hale’s voice was sharp, his question directed at Sarah.
The file had passed the test.
Sarah glanced towards Levy.
‘We’ve decided that isn’t important right now, Steve,’ said Levy. ‘That can wait.’
Hale met his DCI’s gaze and held it long enough to register his disagreement. Done, he returned to the file. This time he studied the detail.
‘It’s all there,’ he finally said. The room had been silent in anticipation. ‘Seems Ferris made Karl Hirst’s life hell in every imaginable way when they were in Wandsworth together. And the prison did nothing about it. Unbelievable.’
He stared at the file in silence for a moment while he considered the theory, not quite sure he was convinced yet.
‘And you think this makes Hirst good for Ferris and his guys?’ he asked, making no attempt to disguise the disbelief in his voice. ‘You think that Hirst could have been Ferris’s bitch for that long, then suddenly take out a crew of four like it was nothing?’