Snared by Ed James Read Free Book Online

thought as the officers broke off and returned to their desks.
    “Penny for them.” MacDonald stood there, hands in pockets, eyebrow raised.
    She got to her feet, smoothing down her black skirt. “Just trying to process everything, that’s all.”
    “Looks tough, this. Hard to tell which way’s up. Weird how nobody’s taking credit for it, though.”
    “Agreed.”
    “Sorry I’ve not introduced myself yet. Got time for a coffee?”
    “Definitely.” Vicky felt the nerve twanging again. “Not today, though. Sorry.”
    “Sure, sure. Forrester’s shoved me right into the thick of things.”
    “Better that than being bored, right?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Catch you later.” Vicky went back to her desk, face flushed. Diet Coke time.
    Considine wheeled his chair over. “You’ll love this, Sarge. Your mate Jenny Morgan’s just got back to me.”
    “What is it?”
    “She’s found Paul’s phone.”

Chapter Eleven
    H ere.” Karen pointed across the road, slicing through the Dryburgh Industrial Estate, a variety of units either side.
    Vicky pulled in at the end of a line of four cars.
    MacDonald and Forrester stood by a burger van, Mac handing some money over.
    Vicky got out. “Doesn’t look obvious, does it?”
    Karen darted around, still clutching her mobile. “Agreed.”
    Vicky headed over. The van had a decent view of the units across the road. “Sir.”
    Forrester was squinting at the building. “Which one is it again?”
    Karen pointed down the street. “That blue one. Number seventeen .”
    A warehouse, reasonably narrow but taller than most others on the estate, save the Jewson round the corner, and surrounded by a heavy-duty fence, currently padlocked shut.
    Forrester thumbed behind them. “Got some bolt-cutters on the way.”
    Vicky frowned. “You’ve got approval for entry?”
    “Aye. Raven gave us the all-clear. Warrant’s been agreed.” Forrester frowned at Karen. “Is his phone still on?”
    Karen checked her mobile. “It is. I’m monitoring the tracker web page on my phone now. It’s not moved in the last hour since it was switched on.”
    MacDonald handed Forrester a coffee cup from the burger van. “How do you want to play this, sir?”
    “Okay.” Forrester took a slurp of coffee, the breeze rippling the surface. “We’ve got no idea what’s in there. I want grid searches done on each floor. MacDonald, you take ground. Vicky, you take the first.”
    MacDonald tore the lid off his coffee. “We should be arme d, s ir.”
    Forrester took a sip of coffee, screwing up his face. “Got an Armed Response Unit on standby but I don’t want to use it until we know we need to.”
    A meat wagon ploughed along the road, stopping just outside the building, officers piling out, all in full riot gear.
    Forrester replaced the lid and dumped his coffee on top of a bin before leading them across the road, the padlock already being cut open. “Vicky, you take DC Woods and four of the uniform upstairs. Mac, you’re with me, we’ll get downstairs secured. I want two officers guarding the exits and the van’s engine on continually.” He surveyed the group, splitting them in three with chops of his hand — four, four, two. “Let’s go.”
    The officer with the bolt-cutters ran up to the front door, the padlock taking longer to open than the one on the gate. It snapped open and another officer pushed inside, holding the door open for the rest of them.
    Forrester pointed at them in turn. “You pair stay here, okay?”
    Vicky followed him inside, her team close behind. The floor was open, with rows of ceiling-height shelves now sitting empty, some forklifts left in the middle of the aisles. She made for a set of stairs to the left, waving her team to follow. As she climbed, she mentally divided the floor into six based on the layout of the ground floor. One each.
    Stopping at the top of the stairs, she signalled for her team to wait and stay quiet.
    The only sound was a tap dripping