‘Good. Was there a girl with you?’
‘Si… She my sister, Regina. They say if we no help them then they hurt us.’
Jane pulled up a chair to sit next to Miguel.
‘We can help you and your sister, but in return you have to help us.’
It wasn’t long before Miguel revealed that he and his fifteen-year-old sister, Regina, had been brought to London by their uncle, Andres Hernandez, on the promise of employment and somewhere to live. Andres had subsequently taken all their money, and their passports, and was now forcing them to steal for him.
After further lengthy, and tedious, interrogation, Miguel was put into a cell whilst DCI Church was given an update. As he listened to them and glanced through their notes he looked up at Jane.
‘Well, that was a right fuck-up this afternoon, wasn’t it, Tennison? On your first day you nearly get swept under a train and we lose our number one suspect! Have we got an address for this uncle?’ Church asked Stanley.
‘Yes, it’s in the interview notes. Miguel said that the uncle owned the house they were living in. It’s in Shepherd’s Bush, not far from the flyover and near Portobello Road. If these guys are professional dippers, then Portobello Market would be the perfect location to offload their stolen goods. When we ran a check on the uncle, Andres Hernandez, it turns out he’s wanted for aggravated burglary and a brutal sexual assault eighteen months ago. So, we’ve already got a file on him… he’s a nasty customer. Miguel is terrified about his uncle finding out that he’s talking to us… he’s very concerned for his young sister’s safety.’
‘I don’t believe a word these dagos say. That girl’s probably not even his sister,’ Maynard retorted.
‘I disagree,’ Jane replied. ‘I think Miguel is telling the truth, and if his sister is only fifteen then she’s vulnerable and we need to find her.’
Church interjected. ‘We’ve now got grounds to get a search warrant, and find this girl… as well as a shedload of nicked stuff. This is sounding much more promising. Perhaps your first day hasn’t been such a total disaster after all, Tennison.’
‘Thank you, sir…’
‘Don’t thank me yet. Go back to your boyfriend and get him to give us a diagram of the floorplan of the house in Shepherd’s Bush. Then he can show us where it is.’
Church turned to Dunston and handed him the interview notes.
‘Blondie, get over to Bow Street Court and get a search warrant from the magistrate for the address Miguel Hernandez gave us… then we’ll pay this uncle a surprise visit.’
Chapter Two
By early evening the whole team were in Shepherd’s Bush. Miguel’s information had brought them to a rundown premises situated above a seedy Moroccan café. From where she stood across the road with the rest of the Dip Squad, Jane could see it was lit inside by red paper lanterns and decorated with a garish Middle Eastern carpet. The charity shop next door had been boarded up. A notice hanging on the graffiti-daubed boards read ‘NO JUNK MAIL — OPEN AT WEEKENDS ONLY’.
Two patrol cars pulled up by the group. Handcuffed, Miguel sat fretfully in the back seat of the front car looking out at his uncle’s building.
Stanley leant through the front passenger window to talk to Church. ‘According to my Moroccan friend who runs the café there, an older man entered the premises at around 4.30 p.m. As you can see, there are lights on in the first and second floors. There’s a back yard, but it belongs to this junk shop… and is full of junk. Fire safety would have a field day here… there’s no fire escape or back exit. The only way in and out is through the front door.’
Church turned around to look at Miguel in the back seat. ‘When you open the main front door and go up the stairs, is there another door at the top of the stairs?’
Miguel looked blankly back at him.
‘Front door… stairs…’ Church mimed a stair-climbing action with his fingers. ‘Second door?’
‘No… only front door,’ Miguel replied.
Church opened the passenger door and climbed out of the patrol car.
‘Stanley, see if you can gain entry. Jane, Blondie, Maynard… I want you to follow me.’
He instructed the other Dip Squad officers to wait in place outside until the first group had gone in. Stanley jemmied open the front door. The threadbare brown carpet on the steep wooden stairs muffled the sound of their steps as they moved upwards. When they reached the top of the staircase they could hear the muted sound of a television set.
Church shouted: ‘Go, go, go! This is the police! Stay where you are! I have a search warrant for these premises.’
A startled man appeared in the doorway of a room at the end of the corridor and quickly retreated as Stanley, Church and Maynard rushed towards him. Dunston pushed open the nearest bedroom door, with Jane behind him. The scene that confronted them shocked Jane to the core. Regina was tied to a bed, naked and gagged, her hands bound together to the metal bedstead and her legs tied apart so they were open. The man who had escaped from them in the Underground was having sex with Regina. He quickly rolled off her, hampered by his trousers and underpants, still halfway down his legs.
Jane was sickened by what she saw. Enraged, she ran at the semi-dressed man, kicking him as hard as she could in the groin. He collapsed in agony onto his knees, raising one hand in a plea for her to stop, but she kicked him again. Dunston pulled Jane to one side.
‘That’s enough, Jane. He’s scum and ain’t worth getting in trouble over.’
Dunston quickly handcuffed the suspect, dragging him out of the room. Jane went swiftly over to the bed to untie Regina, who was writhing in terror and attempting to scream through her gag.
‘Bloody hell — it’s all going on in here,’ Maynard said. He and Stanley were standing in the doorway, taking in the scene. ‘Church has just arrested Andres Hernandez at the end of the corridor.’
‘Get out… Get out!’ Jane screamed, still struggling with Regina’s bonds. Released from her gag, the girl was in floods of tears.
‘Back off, you two!’ Church said sternly behind Maynard and Stanley.
When Jane released her, Regina didn’t move; she was clearly in a state of shock. Jane sat on the bed next to her and gently wrapped a blanket around the young girl’s shoulders.
‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘Está bien, Regina. You’re safe now. We are police officers… policía, somos la policía. Those men won’t ever touch you again… Esos hombres no te tocarán nunca más.’
Regina was in no condition to speak, but Jane could tell from the way she clung to her that the girl knew she was safe in Jane’s arms.
Back at Vine Street, Church wanted everything done by the book. He, like Jane, had been shocked by what Regina had been subjected too. He was not a man who revealed his emotions easily, but he took time to talk to Miguel and reassure him that his sister was safe.
Jane took Regina to the medical examination room and called for a female police doctor to examine her. She made the girl a hot cup of coffee and left her safely with a uniformed WPC whilst she returned to the Dip Squad office to start making out her report.
Church was sitting at his desk and glanced towards her.
‘You all right? Dunston told me you lost it in there.’
‘Yes, sir… I just… She’s only fifteen years old, sir… I shouldn’t have reacted like I did.’
‘No, you shouldn’t have. But the offender hasn’t complained; it’s done and forgotten as far as I’m concerned. Anyways, I had a word with the Deputy Assistant Commissioner to ask him to personally contact the Colombian Embassy. They are going to send an embassy official to the station to speak with Miguel Hernandez and see if we can secure temporary safe accommodation for her with the family of a resident diplomat.’