Soft Target (Major Crimes Unit Book 2) (20 page)

Sarah folded her arms.  The
girl sounded just like Al-Sharir.  They still didn
’
t
know if the man was involved in this.
 
“
And you think the way to make people respect life is through violence? 
Don
’
t you find that a little
hypocritical?  I think your whole argument falls apart when you get to the
indiscriminate killing part.
”

“
Sometimes
death is the only way to ensure life.  What time is it?
”

Sarah shook her head in
disgust. 
“
Why are you involved
in this, Ashley?  What did your mother and father die for?  This can
’
t all be because the Government bulldozed
your house and moved your brother
’
s body.
”

Ashley
’
s face crinkled up in anger. 
“
You
’
re damn right it
’
s not.  Taking the home where I grew up,
where my little brother played before he died, was just the first thing they
did to us.  I asked what time it is.
”

Sarah checked her watch
irritably. 
“
It
’
s 12:30PM.  What do you mean?  What did the
Government do to you?
”

“
When
my dad put up a fight and started a petition to stop the HS2 link, the
government blacklisted his construction company.  All of a sudden, my father
lost all of his civil contracts.  No more new-build homes, no more municipal
structures, no more maintenance contracts.  Suddenly the taxman wanted to
investigate his every movement, too.  They ground my father
’
s business to a halt with red tape
–
his livelihood of more than thirty years gone almost overnight.  If
the Government are willing to do that to a hardworking, law-abiding family man,
they
’
ve lost their right to be
in charge.
”

“
Looked
like you were doing alright to me,
”
Howard said. 
“
Your new
home was a pretty nice place to live.  Did you buy it with the fair settlement
you got from the Government?
”

“
Fair
settlement?  Are you kidding?  We got half what the house was worth.  They
screwed the figures and valued it based on what it cost my dad to build it
thirty years ago.  It was nowhere near what the house was worth on the current
market.  The house we moved to is rented.  My father
’
s company is due to go bankrupt within the month.  They took
everything from us, just so people can get to London a few minutes faster on
the train.  Business and shopping; that
’
s what my family
’
s
entire life was destroyed for.
”
 

Ashley
’
s sob story didn
’
t
excuse what she
’
d done. 
“
Where is Hesbani?
”
Sarah demanded again.
 
“
I heard his goddamn voice on
your father
’
s answering
machine, so don
’
t lie to me. 
Where do I find him?
”

“
He
’
ll find you.  What you people need to worry
about now is the next suicide bomb.  There
’
s going to be an explosion in less than two hours.
”

“
Where?
”
Palu asked, still perching on the bed.
 
“
Ashley, this is important.  This is your chance to undo some of what
you
’
ve done.  We can help you,
if you help us.
”

Ashley looked as if she were
about to cry, but then she surprised them all by laughing hysterically. 
“
I don
’
t want to help you.  I want you all to burn.
”

Palu
’
s caring demeanour disappeared.  He stood from the bed, turned his
back on Ashley, and straightened his tie.  Then he spun around and smashed his
fist down on the bed sheets, right where Ashley
’
s wounded foot lay.

Ashley bellowed.

Palu ripped off the sheets and
grabbed the girl
’
s wounded hand. He squeezed.
 
“
Tell me where the next target is!
”

Ashley screamed.

Dr Bennett gasped. 
“
Director Palu!
”

“
What
is the next target?  Tell me, or I
’
ll start taking fingers.
”

Ashley wailed in agony.  Palu
slapped her, then gave her a chance to speak. 

“
T-the
answering machine.  It
’
s
…
it
’
s orders for the next target.
”

Palu eased up. 
“
What do you mean?  Sarah, what did you say
about an answer message?
”

Sarah thought back. 
“
It was Hesbani.  He said that two freedom
fighters had been killed in Syria by the British.
”

“
What
does it mean?
”
Palu demanded of
Ashley.

“
It
’
s an eye for an eye,
”
said Bradley. 
“
In the second videotape, Hesbani warned that for every life taken on
foreign soil, we would lose just as many back home.
”

“
What
does that tell us?
”
Howard
asked. 
“
Two freedom fighters
are going to be killed in the UK?
”

“
Law
enforcement,
”
Sarah said. 
“
They
’
re going to hit our police officers.
”

Ashley grinned. 
“
Tick tock, bitches.
”

Sarah struck Ashely with a
backhand blow.  Blood trickled from the corner of the girl
’
s mouth, but she continued grinning.  Sarah
pulled the SIG from her waistband and pressed it against Ashley
’
s forehead. 
“
Tick tock, bitch.  Three seconds
‘
till I smear your brains on the pillow.  Where is the bomb?
”

Ashley closed her eyes and
waited.  Three seconds passed and Sarah didn
’
t pull the trigger.  The bluff hadn
’
t worked.  Ashley was prepared to die.  Sarah lowered her weapon and
sighed. 
“
There
’
s nothing left in you but hate, is there?
”

Ashley opened her eyes
slowly. 
“
You want to kill me,
then do it.  I
’
ll never help
you, and you
’
ll never stop
Hesbani.  His plan is too far in motion.  I set the latest bomb myself.  You
’
ll never find it.
”

Sarah put her gun away and
wiped the sweat from her forehead.  The group moved far enough away from Ashley
that they could speak in private. 
“
We need to go back to the Foster
’
s residence.  If Ashley made the bomb herself, that might be where
she did it.
”

Howard agreed. 
“
Especially if it was recently.  We found
her hiding out there this morning.  Come on, let
’
s go.
”

“
You
sure you can manage with the arm?
”
Sarah asked.

Howard held up his cast. 
“
You can sign it once we stop Hesbani.
”

“
Deal.
”

“
Okay,
”
Palu said. 
“
Sarah, Howard, get back to the Foster
’
s home.  I
’
ll have
Mattock meet you there.
”

“
What
about Mandy?
”
Howard said.

“
Mattock
will leave one of his men at the hospital.  I
’
ll keep working the leads, try to figure out where the likeliest
target will be.
”
 
Palu
pointed a finger at Ashley. 
“
Bradley,
you and Dr Bennet stay here and get what you can from her.
”

Everyone agreed on the plan and
got going.  Before Sarah left the room, Ashley grinned and said,
“
Tick tock, tick tock.
”

D
espite Sarah breaking
every speed limit on the way to the Foster
’
s
home, Mattock was still there before her and Howard.  His Range Rover,
identical to the ones back at MCU, was parked up on the curb waiting for them.

Mattock joined them on the
driveway once they were ready. 
“
Neighbours have eyes
on us,
”
he said.

“
They were woken by gunshots this morning.  I
’
m
not surprised,
”
Howard said.

Sarah nodded at the police
tape across the property
’
s front door. 
“
Are the police still here?
”

Mattock stared up the
driveway. 
“
No, I had them called off for a couple hours.
”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. 
“
We can do that?
”

“
Not often, but we have some clout when we need it.  We get
authorisation through the Home Office directly.
”

Sarah and Howard followed
Mattock inside the house.  Leanne Foster
’
s
body had been removed, but her blood remained on the tiles and spattered the
kitchen cupboards.  Sarah felt sick by the sight of it.

“
What are we looking for?
”
Mattock asked,
unaffected by the scene.

Sarah opened drawers, looking
for paperwork, IDs, anything. 
“
There
’
s another suicide bomb and it
’
s
going to go off soon.  Ashley isn
’
t talking, so we need
to figure this out ourselves.  We
’
re searching for
clues, anything that might tell us who or what
’
s
involved.
”

Mattock clenched his jaw. 
“
Bleeding nutcases, the lot of
‘
em. 
Ain
’
t never seen anything like this, normal families turning to
terrorism.
”

“
We can figure out the whys later,
”
Howard said. 
“
We need to turn this place over quickly.
”

Mattock nodded. 
“
I
’
ll check upstairs.
”

Sarah and Howard took the back
of the house first.  The kitchen and study were a bust.  That left the lounge
and dining room at the front of the house.

Howard checked the dining room
while Sarah took the lounge.  Each wall held multiple pictures of the Fosters
holding hands, hugging, and otherwise posing for the camera.  They looked
happy.  Sarah also noticed that the home in most of the pictures was not the
one she was standing in.  A picture on a side table showed a quaint, extended
cottage with timber beams and white walls.  It had a double garage and a giant
front lawn.  On the front lawn was a bouncy castle with a grinning infant that
must have been Ashley
’
s brother. 

Other than the photographs,
the living room was bare and fashionable, with few knickknacks or surfaces to
accumulate dust.  An LCD television hung on the wall in front of a leather sofa
that had two small tables on either side.

There was a chest of drawers
against the back wall, which was the only place left to search, but before
Sarah got chance, Mattock rushed into the room looking concerned. 
“
You need to see this,
”
he said.

Sarah grabbed Howard and they
went upstairs, following after Mattock. 
“
I
think it
’
s the girl
’
s room,
”
he told them. 
“
It
’
s a mess.
”

Sarah walked into Ashley
’
s bedroom and the coppery smell of blood hit her immediately.  There
was too much of it to all belong to Dr Cartwright, who was slumped against the
far wall beside the bed.  A bullet hole marked his temple.

Howard knelt in front of the
body. 
“
Why did they take out the doc after having rescued him?
”

“
Maybe he had cold feet after what happened at the clinic,
”
Sarah suggested. 
“
He seemed to have doubts about what they were doing.  Maybe his
conscience finally kicked in.
”

Mattock nodded to the bed. 
“
Or maybe Ashley had one last job for Cartwright before he became
expendable.
”

Ashley
’
s
double bed was caked with dried blood.  Crumpled towels and bowls of bloody
water sat on the bedside tables.  At the foot of the bed was an open medical
kit.

“
Cartwright was a surgeon before he was a therapist,
”
Sarah noted.

“
He must have fixed Ashley
’
s wounds after the
shootout,
”
Howard said. 
“
Bradley shot her.
”

Sarah shook her head. 
“
No, this is more than that.  There
’
s
too much blood for just a hand wound.
”

“
What are you thinking?
”
Mattock asked.

“
I
’
m not sure yet.
”
  Sarah knelt over the medical kit and started rooting through the
contents.  There were bandages and gauze, as well as a bloody scalpel and
sutures.  There was also an empty vial of iodine.  The strangest things inside
the bag was an empty box of condoms.

“
What have you got?
”
Howard asked.

Sarah sighed and tried to make
sense of things. 
“
I think Cartwright cut Ashley open.
”

Howard frowned. 
“
But why?
”

Mattock picked up a coil of
bloodstained electrical wire from the windowsill. 
“
I
think maybe this has something to do with it.
”

Sarah
’
s
stomach ached as she finally placed it all together.
“
It
’
s inside of her!  Dr Cartwright cut Ashley open and placed a goddamn
bomb inside of her.
”

“
No way,
”
Howard said.

“
Sounds a bit far-fetched, luv,
”
Mattock agreed.

But Sarah was certain. 
“
Ashley must
’
ve killed the doctor after he was through, making sure he wouldn
’
t get a chance to feel guilty and talk.  They rigged a bomb
together, something small and compact like C4, and then Ashley wrapped it in
condoms while Cartwright inserted it in her.  Ashley is the suicide bomber, I
’
m certain of it.
”
 

Sarah leapt to her feet and
yanked out her mob-sat. 
“
Palu?  Ashley is the suicide bomber.  The bomb is inside her.  You
need to
—”

Sarah
’
s
mouth dropped open and the mob-sat slipped from her grasp, landing amongst the
bloody bandages on the floor.

Mattock and Howard stared at
her, waiting for her to speak.

“
We need to get back,
”
she said. 
“
I think the Earthworm just exploded.
”