Doors Without Numbers Read Free Page B

shifted his attention to the file on the table in front of them.
    “I understand that the evidence on the arson case has been rendered useless.” Hammond kept his voice level but the team around him knew he was angry, Hammond’s temper tantrums were well known in the Major Crime Unit and sometimes not completely justified.
    Edwards spoke first. “The witness can’t provide a positive id as she led us to originally believe, but to be fair she was accurate in her statement about the clothing they wore, there was enough detail for us to find the lads. One of the victims woke up for a few minutes in hospital and gave us a statement that we have recorded on video. It was enough to make an arrest.”
    Hammond looked at his team with impatience. The sooner this case was solved, the paperwork examined and ticked off, the more chance the perpetrators would be given the sentences they deserved. A gang of local youths, ranging from fifteen to twenty five, had trapped boys in a disused warehouse and set it alight. Although the two victims were alive, both were in critical care with burns and smoke inhalation. It was important to Hammond that the arsonists not only be identified but apprehended. One mistake could cost a conviction and he had no intention of allowing the injured parties go forgotten whilst their potential murderers got off scot free on some misdemeanour. There was a knock on the door and DS Lois Dunn stuck her head in. “Inspector. Detective Superintendent Beech wants to talk to you.”
    Hammond acknowledged her with a raised hand then left the office in search of Beech.
    Twenty minutes later, Hammond’s raised voice could still be heard from Beech’s office. Superintendent Philip Beech, despite being Hammond’s superior officer, was sitting at his desk whilst Hammond shouted at him. He seemed unperturbed by the role reversal, he had worked with Hammond for seven years following Hammond’s transfer from Maidstone, if he had learnt anything from Hammond’s explosive temper, it was because he cared about his job. After receiving numerous commendations for acts of bravery and professionalism over the years, Hammond was a respected colleague. But now Beech’s patience was wearing thin. He shouldn’t have to justify himself to anyone, least of all his subordinate.
    “Wallace, this is being taken out of your hands. That is final, I am not prepared to negotiate this matter further and I certainly shouldn’t be expected to justify it.”
    Hammond was pacing Beech’s office, his blistered feet were not appreciating his burst of activity but Hammond’s temper was not allowing him to be reasonable to his superior officer or his own physical comfort. “Fair enough, the witness statement is compromised but it was good enough to help find the boys seen running from the warehouse. We have another video statement from one of the boys in hospital. That is your evidence! Those hooligans deliberately trapped those boys in a warehouse; they doused the building in petrol, stood back and lit a match. You are telling me that it is not in my control to charge them!”
    Beech stood up and walked round his desk, he motioned for Hammond to sit down. Hammond hesitated and then, obeying his sore feet rather than his boss, did so.
    “You’re a good Detective Wallace. But you are a crap police officer if you can’t be objective after thirty years in the profession. I am not justifying their actions Wallace, but it isn’t just about those boys who lit the match, it is about whether we have enough evidence to prosecute them, and the CPS does not believe that we do. The only evidence we have is that an accelerant was used to set the warehouse alight. Despite claiming that the attack was in revenge for stolen drugs, No drugs were found at the warehouse or on any of the victims. The witness who claimed seeing the boys running from the scene is short sighted and needs prescription glasses which she was not wearing that day. No canister