Chapter 8

The trip back to Walton was taken in high spirits, every girl feeling extra special. When they got there, they found that Terry had organised pizza to be delivered, along with some chicken meals. Everyone made sure that they didn’t soil their clothes as they ate.

The team had transported the arrested men to Burton station, to be kept until they could be taken into the city. The diners had all been interviewed, and had shown identification, in case there were any repercussions. They still didn’t know why the raid had taken place, and some even asked if their future bookings would be honoured.

The chefs and the waitresses were back inside, with the chefs making them all some normal food. Most of them realised that it was the last time they would be working there, and Sue looked the other way as cases of drinks were carried out to the carpark.

They were joined by the Internal Affairs guys, looking resplendent in good suits. They told Sue that they wanted to act as barman and wine waiter, seeing that both of them had good experience in bar work, even if it was from the customer perspective. They were sent to have a look around, and to look at the journal which would underpin their case against Nicholas.

The plan was for the main dining room to operate, as normal, with Terry and Lean acting as barmen to make sure there was no trouble. The chefs would produce the meals as ordered from the menu, and there was hope that what happened upstairs, would stay upstairs.

Andy and Sally were to be at the main entry, to direct the guests to the dining room or to the lift. Andy had a clipboard with the list of Decadent Diners. One of the other girls manned the lift. Sue, Maria, and Super Henderson were going to stay in the, now empty, kitchen, waiting for Andy to tell them that everyone had arrived. Jack and Porky were also going to wait, with the uniformed men, in a side room at the top of the stairs. They had one of the hostesses at the bottom of the stairs in case anyone wanted to go up, who wasn’t on the list.

With the IA men working the bar, and the rest of the hostesses working the tables with drinks, they thought that they had everything covered. Sue had organised two more coaches, to take those diners who were arrested into the city. These were now waiting behind the Swan. Nicholas would be going with the IA officers.

When the first of the normal diners started arriving, they were directed to the main room and sat at tables, with the usual staff serving them. If any asked where Quincey or Parks were, they were told that they were very busy, with a special event, upstairs in the function room. As the special guests arrived, they were directed to the lift where they went up, to be seated at designated places. If they asked where Quincey and Parks were, they were told that they were downstairs with some special diners but would join them later.

When Nicholas arrived, with his wife and his friends, the partner in the business insisted that he wanted to see Quincey, but Andy was able to assure him that, although Quincey wasn’t immediately available, due to pressing business in the basement, he would join them shortly.

As Andy ticked off the names, he was staggered at the sort of people who would pay good money to eat human flesh, especially as there were a few that he knew had high-profile positions. Finally, all the booked diners had arrived. Andy went into the main dining room and told Terry and Lean that the main event could now go ahead. Terry stood at the entrance to the kitchen and called for some quiet.

“Ladies and gentlemen. It is my sad duty to have to tell you that this is the last meal to be served at Hyp-Nouvelle. As such, it will not cost you a penny. I am Detective Inspector Gardiner, of the CID, and we have arrested the owner, manager, and head chef. You will, no doubt, be able to read why in the newspapers over the coming week. Now, seeing that the meal is free, please make sure that you eat well. I have put a bowl on the bar so that you can donate the cost of your meal to the excellent chefs, and other staff, who will not have a job tomorrow.”

Leaving Lean to keep the peace, he then joined Andy to go up the staircase, to be there when the main business of the night takes place. On the way he spoke quietly.

“I didn’t tell those fat cats that we’ve put a booze bus on the motorway into the city. There’s a few in there that’ll be paying a lot more than they expected for tonight’s meal.”

They walked into the function room and Andy went to the kitchen to tell the others that everything downstairs was set. The men from the side room were now gathered by the entrance, out of sight. The diners were all talking among themselves, only Nicholas looking around, as if he suspected that something wasn’t right. He was proved correct when Sue led Maria and Andy out of the kitchen. The two IA men came out from behind the bar and walked towards his table. The blood drained from his face as he realised what was about to happen.

Sue stood by the bar and called out, in a loud voice.

“All right, you lot, be quiet! I have something to tell you that is going to change your lives, and not for the better. You have booked in for this meal, expecting to eat various parts of a human. Some, if not all of you, have been at affairs like this before. Maximillian Quincey kept good records, including pictures, of the other nine times he had hosted his special dinner. Now, there is a loophole in committing cannibalism, but that only works with stranded sailors. I don’t see a ship anywhere close, so that won’t save you. What we’re going to do is formally arrest each and every one of you with suspicion of being an accessory after the fact to nine murders. You will all be taken to the city, where you will spend your night in cells. The property, here, will be fenced off and guarded so that you will be able to collect your cars later. Should you be able to prove that you were not at any of the previous dinners, you will still be charged with intended cannibalism and released, on bail.”

The IA officers charged Nicholas, leading him out to their car in cuffs. His wife fainted as she realised that the high life was over. Andy and Maria charged the partner with being an accessory before, and after, the murders. Passing him to the uniformed officers who were now guarding the entrance. Amid demands that they were innocent, in raised voices, each of the other diners were arrested and cuffed, to be taken out to the coaches, now waiting outside.

When the room was cleared, Sue suggested that they had a very fine champagne behind the bar and that it was time for a celebratory drink, but just the one. As they all left the building, a contingent of nightshift uniformed were arriving. Terry told them to make sure that all of the remaining diners in the main room got away, safely, and that the building was cleared of the staff. The FSI would be around, on Sunday, with a team to go through the whole place.

The coach for the Burton girls had arrived and they all boarded to be taken home. Sue and Maria regained their bags with the mornings outfits. The men from the city would be going back with the prisoners, in the other two coaches. The team stood in the carpark and Sue told them that there would be a meeting, on Monday morning. As the rest of them walked to their cars, she turned to Andy.

“The evening is still young. I think that we can go and see how Sky is doing. Then you can take me home, young Andy. You youngsters did well, today. I can see commendations coming down from on high. My own reward was to watch Butt as his face went white. I don’t think that IA will go easy on him, now they’ve seen the basement and read the case that you two put together.”

Andy drove them to the Queens Hospital, where they were given special dispensation to visit Sky Walker. Sky was awake but hooked up to several machines. He still managed a smile when they went into his room.

“Well, look who the cat dragged in!” He wheezed. “How did it go, boss? I’m sorry that I didn’t make the big show. The doc has told me that I wasn’t far from making it at all. It was thanks to Andy and that lass from Burton who got me here in time to stop me drowning in my own blood.”

“We got them all, Sky, including Butt and his pal. The victim was saved, unharmed and bit fatter than he had been before he was taken. The only downside was that his girlfriend was there and had been abused by Parks. Like you, though, they will live. We’ve been told that we only have a few minutes, but I’ll be back to see you through the week. Make sure that you see the morning papers. I rang old Jackson to tell him to pitch a tent outside the station, to see a couple of coachloads of highly placed felons arrive. We arrested them all with accessory to murder. None of them can say that they didn’t know what they were about to eat.”

As she stepped back, Sky beckoned to Andy to come closer. He took Andy’s hand in both of his and used the last bit of his strength to grip the hand tightly.

“Thank you, Andy, and thank your dad for that car. The doc told me that if we had been five minutes late, I would have been DOA. It was a hell of a trip, especially with that girl holding me steady.”

“Sorry to tell you, Sky, but she’s married with a kid.”

They all smiled, and Sky fell back on the pillow to sleep. The three of them left the hospital and were back on the motorway, going south. On the way they passed a traffic stop where the breathalyser boys were doing a roaring trade. After that, Sue, from the back seat, laughed.

“Andy, why don’t you show me a little of what this mild-looking car can do? Just for a couple of miles, though.”

Andy flicked the switches and planted his foot to the floor, throwing Sue back in her seat with the acceleration. At a hundred and twenty, he slowed down and turned off the lights and siren. Sue was in the back seat, laughing fit to bust.

“Don’t ever do that again, without an official reason. You’re a real chip off your dads block. Thank you for the dress, by the way. Collette told me that it was on your account. You’ll find that such gifts won’t bring you special favour in the office, it will only be your future work that will bring you that. You cemented your places in the team, both of you. When I see good detectives, I hang on to you with everything I have. I’m sure that the Chief Super will want a word, or two, next week. After you drop me off, go somewhere that you can enjoy those glad rags. I’ll see you both on Monday morning.”

After they had dropped her off, at her home, they went to a night club where they knew that they could get a reasonable meal, even though it was late. They ate, and they danced, until they decided that there was a bed, calling them to it.

Sunday morning, Sue was eating a late breakfast when her phone rang.

“Good morning, Susan Cousins here.”

“Susan, lovely lady. It’s Jacksom. Thanks for the heads-up for last night. We got some pictures of some very well-known people being led into the station in cuffs. One of them is a sub-editor at my paper. I have a photographer camped outside there, today. What I’d like to know is what all these high-profile folks were up to, illegal gambling, perhaps?”

“No, Jacko, old pal. It’s a lot more serious than that. My boss is likely to call a press conference on Monday, but to whet your appetite, I suggest that you go and look into your records for nine cases where a young man had been found, naked, about every three months, with the first being at the woods near the Police College. All of those that we arrested were at a restaurant called Hyp-Nouvelle, in Walton. The manager, owner, and the head chef are in the Burton nick until we bring them to the city, later today. One of my team, Sky Walker, is in the Queens, recovering from being stabbed. There was another that has been arrested, but you’ll have to wait for the briefing to find out more. I think that you have enough to get something out for Monday morning.”

“Thanks, Sue, sweetheart. I’ll get on to it straight away. Thanks for the scoop with the Singh case, that made a good story, especially when your lot arrested the wife. There’s a lot of back-story there. It will be in the paper for some time to come. Can’t you just give me a pointer on these from Saturday night?”

“I’ll give you one clue, which you should treat carefully. You should look in your records for the trial of Dudley and Stephens. That’s all you’re getting, now go and do your homework. I’ll see you at the briefing.”

Across town, Andy and Maria were also at breakfast, decidedly a lot wearier than Sue. They were both feeling a little let down after all of the excitement. Andy was berating himself for not being able to protect Sky from the knife. Maria had to bolster his spirits.

“Andy, love. You couldn’t do anything. I spoke to the other WPC who was with you. She told me that you hit the Algerian like greased lightning once he’d stabbed Sky. She reckoned that she could see the bruise on his forehead starting as she cuffed him. She was in awe of you and asked me if we were a couple. When I told her that we were, she called me a ‘lucky beggar’ and I know that’s what I am; lucky that we met, and lucky you are my lover.”

“They were a good bunch, those girls. Efficient and hard working. Burton are lucky to have such a good team at the station. Sally was a rock, when she guided me to the hospital, steady and calm. I only got the shakes when we were waiting to see if Sky had made it. I didn’t have time to be scared as we took him in, just after as I relived some of the other cars getting out of my way. I now see what made my dad the man he was. When you hit those switches, you have no idea whether you’ll be safe at the end of the chase. He lived life to the full, and when you’re standing next to your car, afterwards, it’s a whole new life, waiting to be enjoyed.”

“You did him proud, yesterday. It was a long, but good day. I almost felt sorry for old Nicholas as his face went white. He’s had a lot of years as the top man in that office. Now his team are going to get interrogated. I expect that IA will need to talk to me and Jenny. Speaking of Jenny, I’ll give her a call, down south, we might be able to take a quiet drive and treat them to lunch, and a little hint on what has happened. Jenny will be amazed at how it ended, and her husband will keep it quiet. Let’s see if they’re home.”

She picked up her phone and made the call. By lunchtime, they were well south of the city, sitting in a country pub that Jenny had suggested. As Maria laid out the case, and what she had been doing since she moved to Aston, Jenny became more amazed. Her husband said very little until they got to the nub of the matter, the matter of serial cannibalism, in a popular, and expensive, restaurant. He then put out his hand to shake Andy’s, and then Maria’s.

“That is a great piece of detective work that you and your team have done. What’s going to happen to the team from the other station?”

“We expect that they’ll get grilled by IA. Nicholas is over and done with, as far as his career goes, considering that he was one of those arrested last night. He must have known what they were doing, considering that he shuffled all the cases to Jenny and me, then not allowing us to do any actual detecting. It’s only when we started the dives that we started finding the clues we needed. He might get done for accessory to murder, times eight, if he was sucked in by being a guest at the first dinner. Then there’s the two girls, the Swede and Mary. Parks is going to get a long stretch for rape and murder with those.”

“I’m going to make sure I read the papers, over the next few weeks. Is there going to be a briefing?”

“Yes, I think that the higher-ups will call one for Monday. It should be interesting when we reveal the reason for the arrests.”

“Were there any problems with the operation?”

“Just the one, when the head chef stabbed one of our team with a kitchen knife. Andy hit him with a karate strike and then taped Sky’s wounds with blue chefs tape, before getting him to the Queens at Burton. They say that it was touch and go. We had paramedics, but they were in the basement with the intended victim and his girlfriend. If we had waited for them, Sky wouldn’t have made it; he would have drowned in his own blood.”

“Looks like you earned your place in that team, Andy. How long have you been a copper?”

“I think it might be three, or is it four, weeks. Time goes by so fast when you’re having fun!”

“Tell me more.”

“I was at the police college when I found the first victim in the woods. It hit me, hard, and the psychiatrist wouldn’t let me join the force as a working copper. I spent two years as a ‘special’ doing clerical work and shuffling papers until Sue called me up to her office. She thought that my first-hand knowledge would help with the case.”

They had a good, long, lunch. When they got home, they were tired, as the events of the previous day were catching up with them. That evening, they had a light tea and went to bed, this time to sleep.

Monday morning, at the office, Sue called them all to be quiet as she outlined the events of the day.

“We have a press briefing at eleven. I want you all there, looking positively intelligent. The CS will lead it off, but there may be questions. If we don’t want to answer any, Terry or I will interrupt. Before that, we have a little housekeeping to do. During Sunday, IA interrogated Nicholas and are, as we speak, at Harborne talking seriously to his team. Maria, I expect that they’ll need to see you sometime later. When they talk to you, be open and tell them everything. I can tell you that all of the arrested diners were released, on bail, but their photos are likely to be in the paper, tomorrow. There is a small coverage of them being pulled in, gracing today’s paper, but the wet stuff will hit the blades after this morning. We should be getting the reports of the interviews later today, so that we can go through them to see how many are in the scrapbook, once FSI have done with it.”

“Who did we keep, boss?”

‘Well, there are the three main players that are still at Burton. Terry, take Andy and Lean, with three cars and three uniforms, up there this morning, and bring them back. That should give the press another photo opportunity. Nicholas is at headquarters, in solitary, unless he’s somewhere with a bright light shining in his face. The business partner is also being kept, seeing that he must have known what they were eating with the first dinner, so that he could blackmail Nicholas. OK, it was a good operation, team. Let’s get to it and enjoy the day.”

Terry, Lean and Andy left the office, to go downstairs and get three cars, with drivers. They were driven to the station at Burton, where they signed for the three felons, taking them, one at a time, to the cars, with hands cuffed behind them. They drove back, in convoy, to Aston, where the expected crowd was waiting for them, the arrested men unable to shield their faces.

After handing their charges over to the duty sergeant to be put into cells, they joined the rest of the team to go into the briefing. It was, as expected, a packed conference room. The CS called for quiet and asked them to stay quiet as there would be an opportunity for questions, after. He then left the floor to Susan, who shocked the reporters with her first words.

“Most of you would have, by now, found out who we arrested on Saturday evening. They were, undoubtedly, the cream of society. Every one of them have been charged with being an accessory to a number of murders, as well as being also charged with cannibalism.”

At that, there was no holding back. She was able, eventually, to outline the particular victims and the fact that parts of them had been served at expensive dinners at Hyp-Nouvelle. She also alluded to two other murders, of young girls, who had been in the wrong place, at the wrong time, as their boyfriends had been taken. She congratulated her team on exemplary work in taking these cases from another team and solving them.

“We believe that these murderers got away with the deeds because one of those arrested was a serving police officer, in charge of the team given the cases to solve. One of the others was the sub-editor of one of the local newspapers, who made sure that all the reports of the discovery of the victims was kept low-key. They only made one mistake, that led us to the right conclusion, and that was someone wanting to scare some people who had upset them. It will all be revealed as the cases go to court.”

When they were out of the room, the team kept out of the limelight. Back in their office it was difficult to start anything else, so Sue told them to just go to the canteen and get some lunch, while she had a meeting to attend to. She went upstairs to the Chief Super’s office, wondering what he wanted to talk about. She thought that everything that needed to be said, had been said, this morning. She was told to go straight in, finding more than the CS inside.

“Come on in and sit down, Cousins. I think you’ve met the Assistant Commissioner before; he came up from London after he found out about the job your team has done, and to make sure that none of the high rollers try to browbeat us. He’ll be here a week or so.”

“Quite so! I have met several of those who you had in your cells, and they are not to be toyed with. They do have friends in very high places. This stain might not last as long as you think it will. Mind you, between us, you’ve given them a hell of a fright!”

“Thank you, sir. Is that all?”

“Not quite. There are a few commendations coming down from on high. Have your team in the conference room tomorrow afternoon, about two. There’ll be a commendation for Walker once he gets out of hospital. Nearly dying on duty is always rewarded, although not dying can be reward of its own. Tell him that, when you see him, next. That’s all, Susan; that was a slick operation, overall, a real credit to the force.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you, tomorrow, with my team. Thank you for your help, Assistant Commissioner.”

The AC nodded and Sue left the room. Back down in the office, she sat at her desk and thought about what sort of future Andy and Maria were going to have, as it looked, to her, to be a serious affair. When the others came back from their lunch, she told them that they had a meeting, the next day, in the conference room. She gave them all the rest of the day off, and to front up, bright and ready for work, in the morning.

Andy and Maria went off to see Sky, finding him a lot brighter and able to talk for a bit longer.

“That nice girl, Sally Brown, came to see me this morning. She was such a strong person in the ride here. She told me a lot about the operation after she had got back. It was such a different experience for her. She is in awe of the work that detectives do, and how we get to the answers. We had quite a discussion. I also had a short talk with a spook. You can tell them from a mile away. He wanted to talk about you two, to get my thoughts on how much you put into this case. I told him that it was all down to you, with the rest of us just acting as back-up.”

“Never! You know that it wouldn’t have been solved without the whole team. We had the briefing this morning, it was a hoot. Sue hit them between the eyes with the news that all the high rollers were charged with accessory, with cannibalism as a fall-back. The press went into a frenzy. We’ve been told that there’s another meeting, tomorrow.”

“That will be when they hand out the commendations, with a promotion sometimes thrown in. Enjoy it, while you can. You’ll have to excuse me now, kids, I need to get some sleep.”

Andy gripped his hand, and Maria gave him a kiss on his forehead before they left. They stayed in Burton for an early tea and the went home. That night, they slowly undressed. Andy stood, in more ways than one, and looked at Maria.

“You’re beautiful, my love, you look almost good enough to eat.”

“Bloody hell, Andy. A month in the job and you’ve already learned how to use black humour! I want the entrée, first; then you can have mains, hopefully with a second helping. Then, my love, we shall both enjoy dessert, as long as you have recovered by then.”

Andy just smiled and went to hold her. It was going to be a good night.

Marianne Gregory © 2023