Chapter 3.
Chief Superintendent Gordon Spikings's official car was a metallic light blue Ford Granada Mark 3, which was presently undergoing a routine service and some repairs.
For the time being, he was now using a black, two year old Rover Vitesse, one of the last of the SD1 models and one of the fastest, given it's tweaked V8 engine. It looked the business too, with cross spoke alloy wheels, lowered suspension and a deep front spoiler.
Although the Granada was roomy and comfortable, Mrs Spikings liked the Rover more and remarked upon it when they were returning from the weekly shop at the supermarket that Saturday morning.
"Can't you keep this car now?" she asked, looking around the plush, yet sporty interior.
"I thought you liked the Ford, dear." replied Spikings, glancing across at her, somewhat surprised she was actually taking an interest in something as mundane as the car he drove.
"I do Gordon." she replied. "But it's rather old mannish, a bit like you, whereas this is sportier and sexier."
He looked across at her again, not altogether sure how to take that last remark. They'd been married for nearly twenty years, but their relationship had slipped into normality and routine.
One of the old school, Spikings was upright, honest and didn't suffer fools gladly, his irascibility becoming legendary. If he came into contact with those he considered idiots, he gave them short shrift. Except for Dempsey, and perhaps Harry who was more respectful anyway, most of his colleagues walked on eggshells around him, but his compassion was never far from the surface and his understanding of what made people tick, garnered respect from those he worked with.
Mrs Spikings, however, was oblivious to all of that. She wore the trousers in their relationship and he was happy to defer to her.
He'd fallen for her on sight, but she'd proven elusive, his pursuance of her testing, but he'd won her heart in the end. Never having had children, they'd always just had each other and for all the frostiness that sometimes pervaded their marriage, they still loved one another.
As he drove, he reflected on that last remark now.
When he'd courted her, he'd been slim and fit with a lighter personality, the tough years working his way up the police ranks having taken their toll on all of that. Now he was somewhat portly and often bad tempered when arriving home, so perhaps he was in need of a makeover and if the car was going to be the catalyst, then he'd attempt to replace the Granada with it.
"Well dear, if you like it that much I'll see what I can do." he said finally, smiling at her.
"Really Gordon?" she replied, looking surprised, yet pleased. "Maybe you're not so much an old stick in the mud after all."
Located next to the underground parking area, SI-10 had its own bespoke workshop for the fleet of cars it operated.
Jerry Cahill had been a mechanic in the police force since a teenager. Now in his fifties and still a batchelor, cars were the love of his life and he knew his way around them blindfolded. Fords were easy to work on and he'd completed the service on Spikings's Granada relatively quickly that Monday morning.
However, during the course of a chase, it had hit a few kerbs, damaging a track rod end and knocking the steering out of kilter. Having now replaced all the damaged parts and realigned the tracking, he jumped into the car to give it a final test drive before handing it back to the Chief Super.
It was late afternoon, getting dark and beginning to rain as he emerged out of the garage onto the wet, slippery tarmac and set off on his regular test route which included main roads, side streets and a dual carriageway, all three designed to put the car through its paces in different ways, thus highlighting its steering, brakes, suspension and performance.
Slipping into the traffic a few cars behind him was a green Range Rover, complete with a bull bar bolted to its front end. Nev, an accomplished driver, was at the wheel, Jason beside him, Davey and Chang in the back seat. In the murkiness of the wet, wintry afternoon, they hadn't noticed it was someone other than Spikings, driving the Ford.
"Don' get too close." instructed Jason. "Wait 'til the traffic dies down a bit. We wanna a clear run at 'im, knock 'im off the road an' grab the bastard!"
Hanging back a fair way, but keeping the car in plain sight, they followed Jerry as he traversed some back streets, then onto a main road before gunning the car onto a dual carriageway and unleashing the 2.8 litre, six cylinder engine. Given the filthy weather, the traffic was light and kicking up clouds of spray behind him, he didn't notice the ever looming Range Rover as it closed the gap to the Ford.
Glancing in his rear view mirror, Jerry cursed the following driver for having his headlights on full beam and, as he reached for the dimmer switch a sudden bang from the back sent the car fishtailing along the road.
"Jesus!" shouted Jerry, not believing for a moment what had just happened.
As he fought to bring the car under control, another head jerking slam caused the rear end to lose grip, Jerry trying frantically to deploy all his experience in countering the slide, turning the front wheels in the direction of the drift and just catching it before the car went into a one eighty pirouette.
As it straightened up, however, Nev accelerated and caught the rear flank another blow, this time putting the car into an opposite spin. There was nothing Jerry could do now, so he just held on and waited for the inevitable impact.
As the car spun out of control, it careened onto the verge and flipped over, rolling several times before finally landing on its wheels up against the bank, steam hissing through the radiator grill from the engine bay, petrol spilling out of the ruptured tank, glass splintered everywhere, the Range Rover's bull bar having crumpled the Ford's rear end severely.
Watching it all as if in slow motion, Nev eventually slid to a halt, Jason, Davey and Chang leaping out and running to the car. When they reached the drivers side, they stopped in their tracks.
"That ain't Spikin's!" yelled Jason, through the rain, now lashing down, the wind gathering strength too. "Shit me, we've done the wrong bloke! Get outta here quick!"
As the Range Rover screamed away, a few cars were sliding to a halt at the sight of the stricken Granada. It wasn't long before a patrol car roared up, having called the fire and ambulance services too. Jerry, still alive but badly injured, remained in the car until the fire fighters arrived and, using cutting equipment, they peeled back the part flattened roof and winched him carefully out, subsequently the paramedics rushing him to Casualty.
The carriageway was shut to allow the smashed up car to be recovered, long queues developing as rush hour approached, even making the evening news at six o'clock.
At five thirty, Dempsey and Harry were in SI-10 when Spikings' telephone rang, Chas going in to his office to answer it for him.
"Right, I see." said Chas. "One moment, I'd better get him. Guv?"
"Yes Chas, what is it?" snapped Spikings, as ever annoyed that someone was interrupting what he was doing.
"I think you'd better take this, sir." said Chas, a look of concern clear on his face for all to see.
Harry and Dempsey followed Spikings to his office, but didn't go in, Dempsey leaning against the door jam, Harry resting against the coffee machine, positioned just outside the door and watching Dempsey's face for any sign of what may have occurred.
Spikings had swung his chair round and had his back to them, his conversation low and inaudible.
"What is it?" whispered Harry, Dempsey shaking his head slightly and putting a finger to his lips. Chas was in the office and caught Dempsey's eye, rolling his to the ceiling.
Eventually Spikings replaced his receiver and spun his chair to face them.
"Come in you two." he said, Dempsey taking his usual stance against the window, Harry taking hers on a chair in front of the desk, next to a now seated Chas.
"Jerry Cahill has been involved in a bad accident." said Spikings. "He's in intensive care."
"Oh my God." said Harry, her hand flying to her mouth, and who, like everyone at SI-10 knew, and was very fond of, the affable mechanic. "Why sir? What's happened?"
"He was out road testing my car." said Spikings. "That's a complete write-off, incidentally."
"How in the hell did he manage that, Chief?" asked Dempsey, knowing how good a driver Jerry was. " I mean the guy was expert behind the wheel."
"No-one knows exactly, Dempsey." answered Spikings. "The weather was pretty foul, getting dark and he was found beside the dual carriageway so he may have been travelling too fast and aquaplaned off the road."
"How is he exactly?" asked Harry, her brow furrowed with worry.
"The air bag saved him to an extent, but he's concussed, has a punctured lung and broken his right leg plus several ribs." answered Spikings.
"When can we visit him?" asked Harry.
"I don't know, Sergeant." replied Spikings. "But I'll keep you posted."
"Where's the car?" asked Chas.
"In the compound waiting for an insurance report before being scrapped." replied Spikings.
"Be an idea to look it over first, boss." suggested Dempsey. "Hopefully, Jerry'll pull through an' be able to tell us exactly what happened, but we might get some clues jus' lookin' at it."
"Yes, you're right Lieutenant. Can you see to that please Chas?" asked Spikings, then glanced at Dempsey and Harry. "Meet me at the compound tomorrow morning - you too Chas."
Harry noticed how downcast he looked and made sure she was the last to get up and leave before turning to him.
"Are you alright, sir?" she asked, after Chas and Dempsey had returned to the main office. "I'm sure Jerry will be okay."
"Yes, hopefully he'll be back with us very soon." he replied, then, for once, wore his heart on his sleeve. "I don't know, Harry, Mrs Spikings was only saying this very weekend how much she preferred this Rover I'm driving at present to the Granada. And I said I'd see if I could make it permanent. Looks as though it might be now, but God knows I'd rather have arranged it differently."
"Yes sir, of course you would." said Harry. "But there's no point in dwelling on it, is there."
Spikings looked at her. "No, no you're right." he replied. "See you tomorrow, goodnight Harry."
"Goodnight sir." she said and joined Dempsey as he finished clearing up his desk.
"What was all that about?" he asked, quietly.
"Tell you later." whispered Harry. "I'm ready for home."
"Yeah, me too." he said, grabbing her hand. "Come on princess, let's go."
The next morning they joined Chas and Spikings at the compound, immediately suspecting foul play when they saw the smashed rear end of the Granada.
"Could that damage have been done in the accident?" asked Harry, cautiously.
"No, not according to the accident expert whose studied the position of the car and its damage." replied Spikings. "He called me last night and explained."
"Ya know what this means, huh Chief?" said Dempsey.
"Yes, Dempsey, the accident was deliberate." replied Spikings. "Someone's put out a contract on me! And it could be any number of low life's I've had the pleasure of putting away."
"What about witnesses?" asked Harry. "Surely there were some. The road couldn't have been entirely empty!"
"Believe it or not, no-one has reported actually seeing the accident." said Chas. "Although a trucker did call in early this morning, having heard the report on the news and said he was sure a Range Rover was tailing the car very closely. But he was on the opposite carriageway so it all happened fleetingly as he passed by."
"And he's the only one?" asked Harry, incredulously. "Surely not."
"The patrol car officers said several cars had stopped to help when they arrived." said Spikings. "And when asked, one or two drivers said they saw a green Range Rover leaving in a hurry, but no-one got its reg number."
"An' none of 'em saw the accident?" asked Dempsey, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Nope" said Chas. "It was raining in torrents apparently, visibility pretty bad, nearly dark anyway so perhaps it isn't surprising no-one saw it happening."
In 'The Kentuckian' the four villains were hunched around their usual table once more, each smoking cigarettes and drinking beer.
"That was a waste of bleedin' time!" snarled Jason, blowing smoke out through his nose. "The pigs're bound to twig we were after Spikin's when they see the car all banged up from behind."
"I dunno 'bout that, Jase." offered Davey, swigging a gulp of beer. "The motor was pretty smashed up on all sides by the time it'd stopped rollin'."
"Yeah, p'raps ya right there son." agreed Jason. "We'll just 'ave to 'ave anuvver fink about it, now."
"You gonna tell the Guvnor, Jason?" asked Chang.
"Don' be a twat!" he replied. "That's the last thing I'm gonna bleedin' do. He'd go friggin' bonkers!"
"So what are we gonna do?" asked Nev, taking several draughts of beer in one go.
"I dunno. I'm workin' on it." replied Jason.
Whilst driving back from the compound to SI-10, Harry turned to Dempsey.
"Who do you think has put a contract out on Spikings, Dempsey?"
"Jeez, I dunno, princess." he replied, glancing across at her. "Could be anyone. You heard the man, he must've banged up dozens of badass mothers in his time."
"Do you think there might be word on the street?" she asked.
"Worth askin', tiger." he replied. "Someone might know somethin' I guess. Say honey, that reminds me, you were gonna tell me what you two were whisperin' 'bout yesterday."
"Oh yes." she replied. "He was a bit upset really."
"Yeah? Spikings upset? In front of you?" he said, clearly surprised at what could only be considered a one-off.
"Yes Dempsey!" replied Harry, somewhat irritated by Mr Macho next to her. "You so called tough men do have hearts you know!"
"Yeah, you melt mine, angel." he grinned, knowing instantly it would head her off at the pass, so to speak.
She couldn't help but giggle at him, knowing full well what he was up to. She side stepped the trap and cleared her throat.
"Anyway, as I said, he was upset."
"Okay why?"
"Apparently Mrs Spikings had only recently asked if he could keep that Rover he's driving because she preferred it to the Ford."
"Wow!" said Dempsey. "Talk about gettin' ya own way!"
"Dempsey!" thundered Harry, utterly annoyed with him. "That's not very nice! Jerry's fighting for his life in hospital and Spikings was upset that his wife's wish has come true through his near fatal accident!"
"Okay I take that back." he said, sheepishly, instantly thinking of Jerry. "I wasn't thinkin' of Jerry, jus' Mrs Spikings gettin' what she wanted."
"Well okay then. Honestly, you're bloody impossible at times!" she said, looking at him, her eyes still betraying some annoyance.
"But you love me though." he said, looking back at her, grinning.
"No, not right then I didn't." she said, just a hint of reluctance in her voice, since she knew she was incapable of staying angry with him for very long.
"But now you do." he said, still grinning at her, then putting his left hand up, his fore finger a smidgen away from his thumb. "Jus' a teeny bit?"
Still somewhat annoyed with him, for once she wasn't going to allow him to placate her that easily.
"Stop the car!" she ordered, taking him completely by surprise.
"What!? Why!?" he asked, thoroughly taken aback by her sudden mood change.
"Stop the car, I said!" she commanded again.
He pulled to the side of the road and stopped.
She turned to look at him, trying hard to convey anger in her eyes, but found her heart melting at the sight of the worried, shocked expression on his face. Before he knew it, she'd scrambled over the central console and deposited herself directly into his lap, her back against the steering wheel and flung her arms around his neck, clasping her hands together behind him.
"Now, what were you saying about loving you?" she asked, eyes twinkling and mischievous now.
"Hell's teeth you minx!" he said, as their lips met. "You're full of goddam surprises!"
"I might just have one or two more by the time we're home tonight." she teased, before letting go of him and clambering back into her seat.
Grinning broadly and more in love with her than ever, he started the car and floored the throttle, the rear tyres scrabbling for grip on the slippery surface as the big 5 litre V8 transferred its power to them.
