do not own Midsomer Murders or Inspector Lewis
Author note: DCI Alan Banks makes an appearance in this story
Chapter One
Detective Sergeant Ben Jones watched as a PC brought a short thin man with red hair and blue eyes into the interview room. Paul Sims did not look very happy. Two minutes later Detective Inspector Robert (Robbie) Lewis and Detective Sergeant James Hathaway came into the room and sat down across from Sims. Mr Sims crossed his arms and glared at the two detectives across from him.
"I told you I am done talking to you" Mr Sims snapped.
"I told you Mr Sims that we are not finished with you" Lewis said firmly "We want some answers"
"I told you all I know"
"No you have not Mr Sims. We believe you know more then you let on"
"I do not believe this. I will complain to your superiors about this harassment"
"We want answers Mr Sims. You knew that Peterson was a target and that he stole money from the Blake family"
Mr Sims gave the detectives an evil smile.
"You really do not know who you are dealing with do you. You can not touch me"
"Talk Mr Sims" Lewis said.
"Okay so I knew Peterson was a target so what?"
"Why did Peterson take that money?"
"How should I know? All I know is he deserved what he got"
Ben spoke up.
"Did you know he was a suspect in the murder of a police officer in Midsomer Mr Sims?" he asked.
Mr Sims turned and noticed the sergeant for the first time.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"Detective Sergeant Ben Jones Causton CID" Ben said.
"I do not know about any murder of any police officer," Mr Sims said biting his lip "All I know was that Peterson was a thief"
"You knew Peterson killed that officer. I bet you got a call about it. You are on the Blake's payroll am I right?"
"No. I do not know what the hell you are talking about"
"Come on Mr Sims. If you knew that Peterson took the money you knew about the murder in Midsomer"
"I am telling you I did not. The Blake's called me"
"Why would they call you if you were not employed by the family?"
"Please I said all I should have. I want to go now please"
"All right Mr Sims" Lewis said, "You can go but we are not finished yet"
Sims ran out of the interview room like the devil was after him.
"James" Lewis said "Have a couple of PC`s trail his every move. I want to know where he goes and who he talks to"
"Yes sir" James said.
Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby stood in the Western Area Major Crimes squad room. There were several DC`s, DS`s and PC`s sitting on various desks and leaning against the wall. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks had just told his team about the death of DC Williams in Midsomer. The room fell silent for several minutes before Banks spoke again.
"DC Williams was killed by Peterson who is believed to have stolen a briefcase full of money which is now missing"
"How was Williams killed sir?" a PC asked.
Barnaby turned to the PC.
"Williams was stabbed to death in a bed and breakfast," he said.
"Where is Peterson now?"
"He was killed in Oxford. The authorities in Oxford believe Peterson was targeted because he stolen that money"
"What do we do now?"
"We dig until we find evidence to finally nail that bastard Stefano" Banks said, "Peterson knew something and we need to find out what it is"
"Everyone is expected to work around the clock so no slacking" Barnaby said firmly "Am I making myself clear?"
"Yes sir" was heard around the room.
"Okay so lets get to it," Banks said "Barnaby we can talk privately in my office"
Chapter Two
Ben and James sat in the office both working on the computer. All morning they looked for any information on Paul Sims to tie him to the Blake family. So far they had found nothing. Inspector Lewis had gone to Chief Superintendent Innocent's office to update her on their progress. Ben gritted his teeth in frustration.
"This is getting no where James" he said "If Sims does have a connection to the Blake family he made sure no one found out about it"
"I may have some information to cheer you up Ben" James said looking up from his computer.
"I do not think anything will cheer me up right now"
"I think I found Paul Sims sister. She lives right here in Oxford"
"And how is that going to cheer me up?"
"I was thinking we could go and talk to her. She may know something about her brother"
Ben sighed.
"You really think his sister will tell us anything James?" he asked.
"It is worth a try Ben" James said "Come on. We both need to get out of this office"
Caroline Sims had red hair and blue eyes like her brother. The only difference was she was a little bit rounder. Caroline was surprised to find two men on her doorstep. Her blue eyes grew huge with fear.
"Who are you?" she demanded "Why are you here? What is this about?"
"Please do not be alarmed Miss Sims" Ben said, "I am DS Jones and this is DS Hathaway. We just have a few questions to ask you"
"Why do you want to ask me questions?" Caroline asked her voice filled with fear "I do not know what you want?"
"We just want to ask questions about your brother Miss Sims" James said kindly.
"My brother? Why do you want to ask about my brother for? I have not seen him in ten years"
"We believe that your brother may have gotten himself caught up in a bad situation"
"What are you talking about?"
"We think your brother is working for the Blake family," Ben said.
"Is this some kind of joke?" Caroline snapped, "My brother lives in Canada. He moved there ten years ago"
The two DS`s exchanged looks. If Caroline was telling the truth then the man who ran the hotel was not Paul Sims.
"Sorry" Ben said "We must have gotten confused. There is a man who runs a hotel in Oxford by the name of Paul Sims"
"What?" Caroline gasped, "You think something has happened to my brother?"
"If what you are saying is true Miss Sims then I am afraid so" James said.
Caroline Sims clasped her chest and fell into Ben's arms.
Later James and Ben told Inspector Lewis what they had found out. Lewis looked from one DS to the other in disbelief.
"This is really just great" Lewis said "The man who claims to be Paul Sims is not Paul Sims"
"I do not think Caroline Sims is lying sir" James said "She seemed shocked when we told her we thought her brother was part of the Blake family"
"So who is the man who is running that hotel and what happened to the real Paul Sims?"
"I suspect that the real Paul Sims found out something and this man killed him and took his identity sir" Ben said.
"What could Paul Sims have found out and why was he killed for it?"
"It is possible that both Sims and Peterson both found out the same thing," James said.
"You think they could have been working together?" Ben asked.
"One major question is what was this big family secret that got both Sims and Peterson killed" Lewis said.
"I will talk to Barnaby and find out how things are going in Yorkshire sir" Ben said "Maybe they know the answer to that question"
Chapter Three
Barnaby sat in Bank's office drinking coffee and going over the information the department had on the Blake family. There was not much that was useful. Barnaby sighed as he tossed a document aside.
"Well this has been a waste of time," he snapped.
Banks looked up and gave the other DCI a sympathetic smile.
"I am sorry Chief Inspector but that is all we have" he said, "Williams went to Midsomer hoping to get information out of Peterson"
"What good did that do? Williams was killed"
Barnaby got up and walked out of the office.
"I need some air," Barnaby said.
Once he was outside Barnaby leaned against the wall with a sigh. He hated dead ends. There had to be something that they were missing. Suddenly his phone rang and when he saw it was his sergeant calling he walked around the corner to answer it.
"I hope you have good news Jones," he said rather harshly.
"I take it by your tone that things are not going well in Yorkshire sir" Jones said.
"There was hardly anything in the files. I am hoping that we can find something. What do you have for me? I hope it is good news because I could use some right now"
"We interviewed the owner of the hotel"
"Go on"
"He knew that Peterson stole that money and was a target"
Barnaby gritted his teeth impatiently.
"What else Jones" he snapped.
Jones ignored his boss's harsh tone that time.
"We did some digging around and found out that his real name is not Paul Sims" Jones said.
The Chief Inspector suddenly became alert.
"Interesting Jones" he said.
"We talked to Paul Sims sister and she told us her brother moved to Canada ten years ago"
"So whoever this man is they stole Paul Sims identity"
"It looks like it sir. We are working on the theory that Paul Sims knew the same secret Peterson knew and that they could have been working together"
Barnaby smiled with relief. It might not be much but there was now a breakthrough in the case.
"Keep me posted Jones" Barnaby said.
"I will" Jones said "James and I are going to get a search warrant and we are going to that hotel and have a look around. Maybe we will find something"
"Okay but be careful Jones. If the Blake family finds out you survived that bomb they will not hesitate to try again"
"I will be careful sir"
Chapter Four
Ben, James and several PC`s entered the hotel. The man who claimed to be Mr Sims watched as PC`s went to the elevator while the two detectives went into his office.
"Look" he said following the detectives "I do not want police officers running all over my hotel"
"We are sorry to do this but you have been lying to us since we first talked to you" James said.
"I told you everything," Mr Sims said.
"Not everything. You lied to us about who you are"
"What are you talking about?"
"Your real name is not Mr Sims. The real Mr Sims is living in Canada"
The man paled.
"How did you find out?" he asked feeling a little sick
"We talked to Paul Sims sister" Ben said as he opened the desk.
"Oh god" the man said.
"We are going to search this hotel from top to bottom and if we find out that you are involved and that you killed Paul Sims we are going to charge you with first degree murder" James said softly "Do you understand me?"
The man sat down in a chair in the corner of the office, put his face in his hands and began to weep. James glared at the man not feeling the least bit sorry for him. Ben looked through the desk and found a huge envelope.
"Well what do we have here?" Ben said as he placed the envelope on the desk.
"I think sir you have a lot of explaining to do" James said firmly to the man who looked like his whole world ended.
Two PC`s came down the elevator carrying a bag full of clothes, disguises and passports and ID`s and another bag with a handgun.
"Look what we found upstairs in his private bedroom sir" the female PC said handing James the bags.
"I think we have more then enough to charge him," James said.
James walked over to the man who was posing as Mr Sims and said:
"Sir you have to come to the station with us. Ben would you do the honers"
Ben slapped handcuffs on the man's wrists.
Chapter Five
Inspector Lewis, James and Ben all sat in the interview room. The man who was trying to pass himself off as Paul Sims looked around the room nervously. Unlike the last time the man looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Lewis placed the bag full of disguises, pass ports and ID`s in on the table.
"Can you explain this?" he asked.
"I do not know anything about these," the man said trying to play dumb.
"These were found in your private bedroom"
"I never seen it in my life"
"Of come off it" James said firmly "They were discovered in your private bedroom. How can you explain it?"
"Someone must have planted those things," the man said.
"Why would anyone do that?"
The man remained silent.
"You work for the Blake family am I right?" Lewis said.
"No" the man said, "I do not work for anyone. I am what they call a gun for hire"
"So the Blake family hired you to kill Paul Sims"
"He found out some information the family did not want to get out"
"Were you hired to kill Peterson as well?" Ben asked.
"No" the man said "The Blake's did not know Peterson had been working with Sims until he stole that money"
"Why did you steal Paul Sims identity?"
"I did not want to be recognized and I thought if I posed as Paul Sims no one would know what happened"
The three detectives were silent for a few minutes and then Lewis said:
"We are going to hold you in our cells. We may need your help again"
Caroline Sims walked into the station and up to the desk sergeant. She asked if she could talk to the two DS`s who came to talk to her. A PC took her to Lewis's office.
"There is a Caroline Sims to see sergeants Hathaway and Jones sir," she told Lewis.
Ben and James looked up from what they were doing.
"Do you two know Miss Sims?" Lewis asked the two sergeants.
"Yes sir" James said, "Ben and I interviewed her"
"What is this about?" Lewis asked Caroline.
"I remembered something after the sergeants left" Caroline said.
"Sir can we use the office to talk to Caroline in private?" James said.
Lewis nodded and left the office. Once the DI was gone Ben pulled up a chair for Caroline.
"Have a seat Miss Sims," he said.
"Please call me Caroline" Caroline said sitting down.
"As you wish" James said "You say you remember something about your brother?"
"Yes" Caroline said "After you two left I suddenly remembered a telephone conversation I received from Paul a few months ago"
"What was the conversation about?" Ben asked.
"It was rather odd" Caroline said, "He seemed frightened about something"
"What did he seem scared of?"
"He told me he found out that someone he thought he knew worked for the Blake crime family and he discovered some questionable documents"
"Did he tell you what was in those documents?" James asked.
"He did not say" Caroline said "All he said was they referred to someone who lives in Yorkshire"
"Can you give us a name?"
"Paul told me the name in the documents was a Mike Regan"
"Thank you Caroline" Ben said, "You can go now"
Caroline left the office. After she was gone Ben said:
"I will put in a call to the Yorkshire police department. They can look into this Mike Regan"
Chapter Six
Caroline Sims hurried down the road. As soon as she left the police department she thought she saw a man standing watching her from across the street. As she walked down the street she noticed the man start to follow her. Caroline began to walk faster hoping she could lose the man. Just as she turned the corner another man suddenly grabbed her and took her into an alley. Caroline tried to scream but the other man put something over her mouth and then there was darkness.
Ben was worried about Caroline Sims. After he called the Yorkshire police department he walked out of the station and went to look for Caroline. He felt she would be a target because of what she knew. He hoped he was not too late. Ben turned the corner and suddenly saw what looked like a lump in an alley. As the sergeant got closer he noticed it was a body. He gently turned the body over. It was Caroline Sims and her throat and been savagely slit. The sight made Ben feel a little dizzy and light- headed. He felt the contents of his stomach start to come up but he managed to keep it down. He could not afford to get sick. Just as he pulled out his cell phone to report the murder he noticed a man. When the man saw that Ben had seen him he took off.
"Hey you" Ben called.
Before the sergeant could give chase the man disappeared around a corner.
Chapter Seven
Barnaby nodded as he listened on the phone. He had just gotten word from Causton that the man who had put the bomb in his sergeant's car had been caught and was being held at the station. The Chief Inspector felt his teeth grind. If he saw the man face to face he knew he would not be able to control himself. His sergeant and friend had nearly died by a car bomb.
"What does the bastard have to say for himself?" he asked the PC on the other end.
"He is not talking sir" the PC said glad she was not there to see the anger in her boss's eyes.
"You keep him locked up. I will return to Midsomer. Maybe I can get the little rat to talk"
"We could not get answers from him sir. What makes you think you can?"
"I will get him to talk. Believe me he will talk to me"
Barnaby hung up and went in search of Banks. He found the other DCI in his office.
"Alan" Barnaby said "I just got word that the man who put the bomb in my sergeant's car has been found"
"Really" Banks said, "Is he talking John?"
"No. No one has been able to get answers from him. I have to return to Midsomer"
Banks got to his feet.
"Do you want me to come along?" he asked.
"Thank you Alan" Barnaby said.
Banks called DI Annie Cabbot into his office.
"Annie I will be going with DCI Barnaby to Midsomer" he said, "Can you handle things here"
"Sure" DI Cabbot said, "Before you two go there is something we need to check out first"
"What Annie"
"We just got a call from DS Jones. We may have a big lead in this case. A Caroline Sims came to the Oxford station and told them that she got a call from her brother a few months ago. She said he mentioned a Mike Regan who lives here in Yorkshire. This Mike might be connected to the Blake's somehow. He may even know what the secret was that got Peterson and Sims killed"
"Okay Annie. You and DCI Barnaby go talk to him. I hope this is not a dead end"
Mike Regan was outside working in his yard when Barnaby and DI Cabbot came walking through the gate. The man's brown eyes grow huge as DCI Barnaby and DI Cabbot showed their ID`s.
"You are the police" Mike said surprised "What is this about?"
"We got a tip that you were mentioned by Paul Sims" Barnaby said, "It is believed you know something about the Blake family"
"What has Paul told you?"
"He did not tell us anything. We got the information from his sister"
"His sister?"
"Yes I am afraid that Paul Sims is dead"
Mike collapsed in a deck chair.
"Dead?" Mike cried, "How can he be dead? I do not understand?"
"How did you know Paul Sims?" DI Cabbot asked.
"We met in Canada and became good friends. We shared an apartment in Toronto while I was going to school there"
"Were you working for the Blake family?"
"No. Paul discovered that the Blake's were blackmailing me"
"Why were they blackmailing you?"
"They knew my father was in prison and they told me if I wrote any newspaper stories about them they would expose the truth about my father and make sure I did not get a job anywhere. I was forced to pay the family millions to keep my father's reputation safe"
Barnaby and Cabbot exchanged looks.
So that explains the money Peterson stole. It was blackmail money the two detectives thought.
"When was the last time you spoke to Paul?" Barnaby asked.
"A few months ago" Mike said.
"Thank you Mike" DI Cabbot said.
As they walked back to the car DI Cabbot turned to Barnaby and said:
"Paul must have been killed after he talked to Mike and his sister"
"We need to find out about what happened to Paul and we need to know more about Mike's father and why he was in prison," Barnaby said.
"Yes sir" Cabbot said.
Chapter Eight
Stefano paced up and down in the parlour. He was fuming. This had gone from bad to worse. The police were getting closer to the truth and if the truth was discovered then he was done for. Carl his most trusted right hand man came into the parlour.
"Stefano calm down" Carl said pouring himself a drink.
"How can I calm down Carl when my whole world is falling apart" Stefano snapped.
"Come on it can not be that bad"
"It is. I got a bunch of idiots working for me. I just found out that Sergeant Jones survived the bomb and is in Oxford. To make matters worse Barnaby is working with the Yorkshire police. I do not need Alan Banks breathing down my neck"
"Sir you got to calm down. You know what the doctors said about your heart"
Stefano slipped into a chair.
"You are the only one I can trust Carl" Stefano said "I need you to take care of the situation for me"
"How?" Carl asked.
"We need to destroy those lousy cops one by one starting with Barnaby"
"How are we going to that?"
"By hurting the people closest to him. We are going to start with the sergeant that means so much to him and then we are going after his family"
"Are you sure that is such a good idea Stefano?"
"Are you questioning my judgment Carl?"
"No sir"
"Good. We need to do this a quickly as possible before the truth gets out"
Chapter Nine
Ben could not believe how many people stood behind the police tape watching the officers in action. It seemed that murder really brought out all the weirdoes. He was sure these people had better things to do then watching a police murder investigation. DI Lewis was talking to the local pathologist while James was talking with a PC. Ben was the only one who noticed a man standing a few feet away. It was the same man that the sergeant saw after he discovered Caroline's body.
"Hey" he shouted and began to give chase. The man took off as soon as he saw that Ben had seen him. Ben heard James call his name but he pretended he did not hear the other DS. He put his full focus on the man he was chasing. Suddenly the man stopped and turned around and pulled a knife.
"Get back you stupid copper," he snarled.
Ben stood his ground and he and the man began circling. Out if the corner of his eye he saw James come running up.
"Ben be careful" James called.
"Come on" Ben said, "Do not make this harder then it has to be. If would be a lot better if you just put the knife down and just come quietly"
"You stay away from me you pig! the man cried.
"Do not be stupid" James said slowly walking up "Drop the knife"
The man turned nervously towards James.
"Get away from me" he yelled "Both of you or I will kill you!"
The man took a swing at James just as Ben grabbed his wrist.
"Ben!" James said when he saw the man get the upper hand.
Ben gasped as the blade went into his gut. The man took off as Ben fell to his knees. James hurried to his fellow DS`s side.
"Ben" James said softly "What in the world were you thinking?"
"Do not ask" Ben said before he passed out.
A few hours later Ben woke up in the hospital. There were two nurses and a doctor standing in his hospital room. The doctors looked at him and shock his head.
"You were very lucky Sergeant that it was not any worse," the doctor said.
Ben almost laughed but he knew that doctor was right. It could have been worse.
"How is he doing doc?" a voice asked.
Ben noticed DI Lewis and James come into the room. The DI gave the sergeant a look that said:
"How could you have been so careless?"
"He was very lucky" the doctor said, "If I were you I would make sure he does not do anything else stupid"
"Do not worry doc" Lewis said, "Sergeant Jones will be careful. Right Sergeant?"
"I promise I will be careful in the future doc," Ben said.
"Good" the doctor said "I do not want to see you in the ER again"
With that the doctor and the nurses left.
Ben noticed the looks he got from both DI Lewis and James.
"What?" he asked.
"We did not want to have to explain to Barnaby that his sergeant was dead," Lewis said.
"Well I am not dead so would you two relax"
"I don't think Barnaby would be too pleased to hear you were stabbed either Ben" James said.
"Well" Ben said "We do not have to tell him do we? It will be our little secret"
"No Sergeant" Lewis snapped, "DCI Barnaby has to be told about this"
"Sir if Barnaby hears about what happened I would not hear the end of it"
"Well Sergeant you should have thought of that before you went and chased that suspect without thinking"
Ben groaned as he thought about what Barnaby was going to say.
Chapter Ten
Later that morning Lewis, James and Ben were putting up pictures from the latest crime scene. The wound was horrible. The cut went from ear to ear.
"Why her?" Lewis asked, "She did not deserve this"
"She must have been killed because she talked to her brother and then came to us sir" Ben said sadly.
"We have to find these bastards. It was not Caroline's fault that she knew what she knew. She tried to do the right thing"
"I do not think they care sir" James said, "They will kill anyone who they see as a threat"
"Including us" Ben said.
The three detectives turned around when they heard the footsteps of DCS Innocent.
"Poor girl" she said, "What do you have for me?"
"Laura thinks the killer surprised Caroline and dragged her into that alley and drugged her unconscious before they slit her throat" Lewis said.
"So they were waiting for her?"
"Yes ma`m"
"I talked to a witness who noticed someone watching Caroline as she left the station" James said, "Caroline noticed them and seemed to get nervous"
"So there were two of them," Innocent said.
"Yes Ma`m"
"She took a risk when she came to talk to us ma`m" Ben said, "She might have known she would be killed"
"You followed her Sergeant" Innocent said "Why?"
"I was scared for her ma`m"
"You found Caroline after she was killed am I right?"
"Yes ma`m"
"And you saw a man a few feet away. It was the same man you chased at the crime scene"
"Yes ma`m"
"You were lucky Sergeant Jones. By the way we got a call from DCI Barnaby. He wants you to call him back"
"Oh great"
Ben felt nervous as he picked up the phone to call Barnaby. His boss knew him so well that he could sense when his sergeant was holding something back from him or that he was not being totally honest.
"Jones" Barnaby said "I want to tell you that the man who put the bomb in your car has been found and DCI Banks and I are going to Midsomer. How are things going in Oxford?"
"We questioned the man who has been posing as Paul Sims sir" Ben said.
"Did you find anything when you searched the hotel?"
"Yes sir. We found a whole bunch of passports and fake ID`s as well as a hand gun"
"So he works for the Blake's then?"
"No sir. He told as he was a gun for hire"
"Did he kill Peterson?"
"No sir but he did kill the real Paul Sims"
"Why?"
"It is because of what he knew"
Ben bit his lip trying not to show his nervousness. However Barnaby seemed to pick up on the fact that Ben was nervous about something.
"What is it that you are keeping from me Jones?" Barnaby demanded.
"Nothing sir" Ben said hoping he sounded convincing "It just that Caroline Sims has been killed and I found the body"
"God Jones. How was she killed?"
"Her throat had been slit"
Barnaby was silent for a few minutes before he said:
"And?"
"It is nothing sir" Ben said.
"There is more am I right?"
"It is nothing sir"
"Jones"
Ben sighed.
"There was someone watching when I found the body and they were watching again at the crime scene. I gave chase and he had a knife," Ben explained.
He heard Barnaby`s sharp intake of breath.
"I know where this is going," he said.
"I was stabbed sir"
"Jones!"
"The wound is not so bad" Ben said trying to laugh it off.
"You should have been more careful especially after that bomb" Barnaby said.
"Sir I do not need a lecture"
"Okay I will not lecture you but promise you will not take anymore risks Jones"
"Yes sir"
"This case is becoming really dangerous my friend. We all need to watch our backs"
Chapter Eleven
Carl parked down the street from the police station. The plan was he was going to grab Sergeant Jones as soon as he walked out of the police station. Stefano had instructed him to kidnap the sergeant and bring him to the mansion. The plan was that they were going to use Jones to torture Barnaby and once they had killed the sergeant they would go after the Chief Inspector's family. The next targets after that would be DI Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway and then DCI Alan Banks. Carl hoped Stefano knew what he was doing because he felt going after DS Jones and the rest of them would be a big mistake.
Ben walked out of the station and towards the crime scene. He was going to see if they missed anything. He heard Barnaby`s warning in his head and looked over his shoulder to see if there were suspicious characters following him. All he saw was a car packed near the station and did not think much of it, which turned out to be a big mistake.
A door opened and a man got out and grabbed the sergeant who tried to struggle but soon lost consciousness. Ben was dragged around the car and the man opened the trunk and tossed the sergeant in. The man looked around to see if anyone noticed then got in and drove off. What the man did not know was a young man walking down the street had noticed everything and he hurried to the station to report the sergeant's kidnapping.
Chapter Twelve
Lewis and James were working on reports in their office when they heard a commotion. Jumping to their feet the two detectives hurried into the hall and noticed several PC`s trying to hold a young man back.
"What is going on here?" Lewis demanded.
"I need to see someone" the young man said, "I want to report a kidnapping"
"You can let him go" James said.
The officers let go of the young man who glared at them before turning his attention to the DI and sergeant.
"You want to report a kidnapping?" Lewis asked, "When did this take place?"
"Just a few minutes ago" the young man said, "The man who was taken was one of your officers"
"One of our officers? Who?"
"He had dark hair and dark eyes"
Lewis and James exchanged a look of panic.
"Sergeant Jones" they said together.
Lewis thanked the young man and two PC`s led the young man back outside. The two detectives returned to their office.
"This is not good James" Lewis said, "Who knows what they will do to the sergeant"
"I do not want to know" James said.
"We need to tell Barnaby"
"The Chief Inspector is going to have a hides sir"
"That can not be avoided. Sergeant Jones life is now in very serious danger"
"We may be in danger too sir"
"I know James I know"
The detectives felt a cold chill go down their spins. Things had suddenly had become personal.
END OF PART TWO