She had set off after the van without thinking it through, and by the time it occurred to her to use her phone, it had unhelpfully slid off the seat during a turn and was sliding around in the passenger footwell.
With her only means of communication out of reach until she could stop and retrieve it, she had trailed the van through unfamiliar streets, becoming increasingly lost.
Now that the van had stopped, she needed to phone in and summon the cavalry – but first, she needed to find a street name and get her bearings.
She switched off the car’s internal light and then opened the door, slipping out of the Escort as quietly as she could. Kelly padded past the turning the killer had driven into, looking for road signs.
There were none.
SHIT!
The van was parked about one hundred and fifty yards in, against a narrow path that led down to an abandoned looking warehouse on the quay. The layout made the footpath difficult to spot from the road.
She scanned the road, hoping to see a pedestrian; anyone would do as long as they could tell her where she was, but it was like being stranded in a ghost town. A thin mist was creeping in from the river, making the air damp.
Kelly jogged further along the street until she reached the main road. There, at last, was a sign: WAPPING HIGH STREET, E1.
Relief flooded over her as she reached into her pocket, fumbling for her mobile phone, which she had recovered from underneath the front passenger seat before leaving the car. Now that she had a road name, she could get some much-needed help. Kelly unlocked the keypad and dialled Tyler’s mobile from memory.
Nothing happened. “What the…?” She looked down in horror, to see that the signal strength read zero bars. “You have got to be joking,” she said to the phone, moving it around to get a signal.
Still nothing.
She began to jog back towards her car, hoping to pick up a signal along the way. Once inside, she checked it again. One bar was showing; a weak signal, but hopefully it would be enough. Kelly pressed redial. “Please work,” she begged it. She immediately heard a ringtone, thank God, but why wasn’t Tyler answering his bloody phone?
◆◆◆
Tyler felt strangely redundant as he stood beside the police carrier, watching in silence as the TSG lads dealt with the accident with practised ease. Two traffic cars had also arrived, one containing a scowling Traffic Sergeant. Hopefully, no blame would be attached to the carrier’s driver when the mean faced Traffic Sergeant had finished his investigation.
They had stumbled across the vicinity only POLACC purely by chance, on their way to RVP with Kelly. Upon arrival, both detectives had expected to find the Sherpa at the epicentre of the crash, its driver safely detained. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been the case.
Jack showed his warrant card to one of the TSG lads, a bald-headed man with a droopy ginger moustache, and asked what was going on, only to be informed that the van had been lost and that numerous units were scouring the area for it.
Jack described Kelly Flowers to him, asking if he could shed any light on her whereabouts. PC Reeve scratched his bald head thoughtfully and then said that he hadn’t seen anyone matching that description.
Grim-faced, Jack hurriedly returned to the pool car, where his partner waited impatiently.
“Give her another ring, will you, Dill,” Tyler instructed as he climbed in. He was seriously worried about Kelly. They had been trying to call her back for ages, but all they could get was her damned voice mail service, and until the road was cleared, they couldn’t get to the agreed RVP to meet her.
The only pool car that had been available was a diesel Astra that was ready for the scrap yard. It didn’t have a Main-Set, and neither of them had thought to bring along a portable.
As they were walking back to their ride, Tyler’s Nokia suddenly rang, making him jump. “Hopefully, this is Kelly,” he said.
“It could be.” Dillon agreed, holding up his own phone. “I’m still getting her bloody answer machine.”
When he finally managed to pull his cell phone out of his pocket, Jack keyed the green button with gusto. “Tyler speaking…”
“Guv, it’s me, Kelly. Just listen, I haven’t got a very good signal. I’m in Wapping High Street, E1. I’ve followed the van here. It’s parked up but I need some –” The line went dead.
“Damn!” Tyler cursed, trying to get his bearings. Where was Wapping High Street in relation to their present location? And what did she think she was doing following the van on her own? “Get in the car,” he ordered, unlocking the doors as he spoke. “I think Kelly needs our help on the hurry up.” He turned the ignition, and the car started clunking like the unrefined beast it was. Fighting the lumpy gear stick, he eventually managed to find first and gunned the accelerator. “Plot me the fastest route to Wapping High Street,” he instructed as the car surged forward and stalled.
◆◆◆
Oh no! The signal had gone again. Had he heard her? Had he managed to get her location? What was she going to do now? It was decision time. She didn’t dare wait any longer. If she was following the Ripper, as seemed likely, he could be in the back of that van now, cutting up his next victim. She couldn’t just sit there and do nothing simply because she had no backup. She was a police officer, after all. This was what she was paid to do.
With trembling hands, she reached into her bag
