Monroe ( 7)

The Traffic Warden was still there when Frank and Mark reappeared from Doctor Jeremiah's luxury house. Frank pressed a five-pound note into his hand.

“Cheers mate, buy yourself a beer or something.”

Before he could even realise he’d been given a tip, Frank pulled away and headed for Limehouse.

Mark couldn’t wait to ask the obvious question.

“So come on then guv, what did the note say?”

Frank gave him the paper. Mark read it out loud.

“Jackson. 88457 389820.”

Mark was confused.

“That’s it? Just a name and a number? Doesn’t even look like a phone number to me.”

Frank had a hunch about the number but kept it to himself for now.

“Me neither. Give Sandra a call, give her the info and ask her to find out what she can before we get back. But tell her not to ring it!”

Mark did as he was told. Fifteen minutes later Frank and Mark were back at Limehouse with the rest of the team. It was time for the six o’clock meeting. Frank told them what happened in Forest Gate with Doctor Jeremiah Matthews. He looked at the team.

“So, questions?”

Terry was first.

“Doctor Jeremiah, suspect?”

Both Frank and Mark shook their heads. Mark replied.

“Definitely not, when the guvnor told him that Sago was dead, he was genuinely shocked. Right guv?”

Frank nodded, then looked over at Sandra.

“So what can you tell me about the number?”

Sandra had a confused look on her face.

“Well to be honest guv, it doesn’t exist as a phone number. There are NO numbers that begin with 88. Unless of course it’s on a secret network. And those DO exist. Best thing to do is try and call it?”

Frank smiled.

“Exactly what I was about to do.”

He dialled the number. It rang. He looked at the team.

“It’s ringing!”

A male voice answered.

“Who is this?”

Frank replied.

“Is that Jackson?”

There was a pause. Frank thought he could hear the sound of keys on a computer being tapped. The voice continued.

“What can I do for you Detective Inspector?”

Frank was impressed and slightly taken aback by that. But didn’t react.

“It’s about Thomas Sago.”

Again a pause. Then a denial.

“Never heard of him.”

“That’s not what Doctor Jeremiah says. He said I should call you.”

“Why?”

“Because Thomas Sago was brutally murdered at his home this morning.”

This last comment made the voice react more openly.

“Listen Frank, put a lid on this till I get to you tomorrow. I’ll be with you at Limehouse at 8.30. Okay?”

Frank never was good at taking orders, especially from someone he didn’t know.

“And why would I want to do that?”

The voice was firm and direct.

“Because I’m a lot further up the food chain than you Frank. So I’m asking you nicely. If you say no, I guarantee in five minutes your phone will ring and It’ll be your boss taking you off the case. Now do you understand?”

As much as Frank wanted to tell this guy to stick it up his arse, he was intrigued, he played along.

“Okay, I’ll do what I can. See you in the morning.”

The call ended, both hanging up at the same time. The team were anxious for Frank to give up the information. Again he looked at Sandra.

“How long was that call?”

As always, Sandra knew the answer. “No more than forty seconds.”

“How is it possible that the voice on the other end knew my name, my rank and my location in that short space of time?”

Now they all looked at Sandra.

“It isn’t guv. Even if you were expecting the call you’d have to have certain things in place first.”

Frank nodded. “That’s what I thought. Well, whoever this Jackson guy is, he’s coming to see me tomorrow. Let’s hope that throws up some answers. But enough for one day, time to get over to the Sports Bar and watch the mighty Hammers. I don’t know about you lot but I could do with a Beer and a Burger.”

West Ham lost 2-0 away to Fulham. Frank paid the tab at the end of the night and was back in his flat by 10 pm. He couldn’t sleep, his brain was trying to process too much information. Thomas Sago had been dead for twenty-four hours and all he had was hunches. Tomorrow morning he was meeting someone called Jackson, obviously not his real name, and Frank was already convinced he wouldn’t like him.