The Last Big Job by Nick Oldham Read Free Book Online Page B

was working well. All three crew lived in the South
Manchester area and were eager to get home as soon as
possible.
    They slotted into the approach to Manchester and began their
descent. The undercarriage was lowered. On the port side, the
wheels dropped and clicked into position correctly. On the
starboard side, no undercarriage came out of the wing at all. It
refused to drop.
    The plane was going to have to land with only one set of
undercarriage down.
    ‘ Manchester,’ the pilot said coolly, ‘we have a
problem.’
     
     
    ‘ Shove him back in his cell,’ Danny said stonily to the
Custody Sergeant. ‘He’s made no admissions in interview. I’m going
to make further enquiries with the victim and see if I can root out
any other witnesses.’ It was just after midday. ‘And I’m going to
get some lunch first.’
    ‘ OK.’ The Sergeant addressed the detainee. ‘Anything to say?’
There was no response. The Sergeant indicated to the PC gaoler to
take Mr Mickey Mouse away. He began to scribble an entry into the
custody record, translating what Danny had said into the
appropriate jargon and abbreviation, which she signed.
    ‘ He’s done himself no favours in interview.’ Danny leaned on
the desk. ‘Not least because he won’t admit who he is.’
    ‘ If it comes to it, we’ll ID him through his prints. He can be
as awkward as he wants. We’ve got all the time in the
world.’
    Danny nodded. ‘I aim to be back by three. Will you try to get
him to have a solicitor for the next interview? It would be better
for all concerned.’
    ‘ Will do, Danny.’
    Ten minutes later Danny was tucking into a large tuna salad in
the dining room, a mug of tea and several slices of white,
unhealthy bread. It tasted wonderful. She found she was famished.
She rounded off the meal by indulging in an Eccles cake which
seemed to add a centimetre to her waistline as she digested
it.
    Her pager bleeped: The message read, Phone Comms. She reached for the
phone. ‘DS Furness. I was paged.’
    ‘ Danny.’ It was the Comms Room Sergeant. ‘Just got a message
via Control Room for Manchester Airport. They’ve had to redirect a
holiday charter flight from Tenerife into Blackpool Airport because
of an incident on the runway at Manchester. Apparently a plane’s
landed without wheels and the runway’s going to be blocked for an
hour or two. They’re redirecting incoming flights all over the
place.’
    Danny waited. Very interesting, she thought. But what the hell
was it to do with her?
    ‘ Two of the passengers have been causing a disturbance and
have been restrained by the crew. They want the cops to be there
when it lands. I’ve got a couple of uniformed PCs on their way, but
no supervision. The Patrol Sergeant’s busy and so is the
Inspector.’
    And I’m not? Danny thought.
    ‘ I wondered if you’d nip across, It’s a bit different, isn’t
it - aviation law and all that?’ he sounded hopeful.
    ‘ When is the plane due in?’
    ‘ About ten minutes.’
    ‘ OK, I’ll have a look.’ She hung up,
checked her watch and made a few mental calculations. She could go
to the airport on the way up to the hospital to see the
knife-attack victim. Though she had to admit it was a fairly
interesting and unusual occurrence and she was curious, she doubted
if there would be anything for the CID. A couple of drunks on a
plane, a bit of air rage - the trend of the moment ... but so
what?
     
     
    Blackpool Airport is not very big. A few holiday companies use
it as a starting point for package tours to Spain, but its main
real source of revenue is from business flights to other UK
destinations, in particular the Isle of Man. Having a jet the size
of a 767 land presented no problem, fortunately. The airport
controllers and emergency services could easily hand such a
flight.
    Danny and the two Constables watched the plane descend,
painfully slowly it appeared; suddenly it grew large and was there,
touching down perfectly, the merest hint of