A Shot In The Night (John Harper Series Book 2) (11 page)

I
walked out into the winter morning sunlight and inhaled as much of the cold air
as possible feeling the bite on my teeth.  Grimacing, I let out the breath in a
long column of condensation.  I was sore and feeling slightly out of my depth
in the investigation.

When
I worked on the force I had resources at my disposal to try and ensure a
successful resolution to cases.  Now I didn’t have those benefits, I was
relying solely on my own investigative and deductive powers.  It was difficult
to accept the new challenge and it could be overwhelming knowing that the fate
of a young man rested on my shoulders but I was morally obliged to help and if
the person who had shot Boulton was the same gunman who had attacked the
football game then my investigation was even more important.

I
stood there for a long moment and just appreciated being outside in the cold. 
The reverie was broken by my phone ringing.  A quick look at the caller
identification stopped my automatic inclination to respond.  Inhaling sharply I
then answered, “Spencer, I wasn’t expecting a reply so soon. Calling to thank
me?”

“Not
exactly.  You’re just causing me more problems.”

“Really?
I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Well
this Leo Ambrose character you had me looking at appears to be something of a
nutter.”

I
tilted my head a little, “Why, what’s up?”

“For
one I don’t know how the hell they haven’t taken away his license.  He’s been
flirting with the law for the past couple of years.”

I
bit my lip so as not to laugh or make a joke at the thought of flirting with
Lady Justice.  In my defence it was still relatively early in the morning and I
was having a brief spell of mischievousness which seemed to happen a lot around
Spencer, “What we looking at?”

“He’s
been around a couple of altercations, some disturbance calls to his residence
as well but the one that stands out is threatening a neighbour with a rifle. 
In the end the complaint was dropped but it has drawn the attention of our
investigation now especially since the weapon in question uses the same calibre
of bullet as the one used in the football massacre.  We’re going to pick him up
at work for a spot of questioning now.  If it pays off I’ll owe you again.  I
just thought it best to thank you now so you don’t hold it over me.”

“Would
I ever do such a thing?”

“Bye
Harper.”

A
smile crossed my face and I quickly rang Rich to tell him the good news.  He
answered with a cheery, “Good morning my friend, what’s the word?”

“Morning
Rich, I’ve just got off the phone with the local plod and they’re going to pick
up Ambrose as we speak.”

“Have
they got anything new on him?”

“Not
really just he has a little bit of a record which is enough for them to want to
have a chat about his rifles.”

“So
they’re going to his house now?”

“No,
he’s at work,” I mentioned and then immediately regretted it.

I
could hear Richard on the other end moving, “Right, where are you?”

“I’m
in Elsworth at the community centre,” I said with a little trepidation in my
voice and praying I was wrong about what he wanted to do.

“Ok,
I’m just getting in my car and will pick you up and we can go have a look
around Ambrose’s house.”

“Rich,
we don’t need to do that,” I replied with a slight laugh in my voice to try and
encourage him to stop but I knew it would do me no good.

“It
can’t hurt, see you in ten.”

I
wanted to tell him it could most definitely hinder my investigation and could
make it very difficult for the police to close a case on Leo Ambrose if we did
something wrong in his house.  The problem was he knew that and didn’t care
which made things more dangerous for me.  I wasn’t used to being the
responsible one.

Rich
picked me up in his car and quickly sped off.  I sat there for a moment in
silence collecting my thoughts to prepare my argument, “Mate you know this
isn’t a good idea right?”

“As
you know there needs to be evidence that he was involved in the Boulton
shooting and I’m here to help you,” he said his eyes never leaving the road as
he accelerated following the satellite navigation in his car.

“Rich,
I can’t thank you enough for the help you have given me on this but I can’t
ruin the investigation of the locals by doing something illegal.”

He
smiled ever so slightly, “John, we both know you’re no boy scout by any stretch
of the imagination.  Hell, in that investigation in Hollingswood you would’ve
had to get information somehow and I’ll lay odds that you went some places you
shouldn’t have been.”

I
was left shaking my head, “That’s not the point, here it is different.”

“How
so?  It was worse then because you were a police officer breaking into houses. 
Now you’re just a civilian who may have found a house open.  We’ll be as quick
and as discrete as possible.”

It
was the way he said it that convinced me not to bother questioning him any
further on the topic, so I changed the subject slightly, “Are you in a rush?”

“I
don’t think we have that much time before your old boys decide to go to his
house.  The other thing is I’ve got to leave you unfortunately.  Some work has
come up and I’ll have to leave the country in a day or so.  I do want to help
though which is why I rang the rifle club and got the address for us.  This
whole experience has been rather fun if I do say so myself and when I’m back
I’d love to help out you again.”

Rich
had been useful and with his connections I could see him being a brilliant
addition to my detective agency in the future.  I was disappointed that I
wouldn’t be able to utilise his expertise much longer but I understood his time
was in demand, “To be honest mate I wish you were staying around but I know
that if you are leaving it must be important.  When you get back if I have
anything interesting I’ll let you know as soon as it reaches my desk.”

“Thanks,
it’s nice to be appreciated sometimes.”

“Do
you mind me asking where you are going?”

“I
don’t mind but other people might.  Just keep an eye on the news in the New
Year and you can guess where I’m off to.”

Nodding
I just looked out of the window till we arrived at our destination wondering
where in the world Rich was off to.  One of my flaws, and I will openly admit
it, is geography which, added to my lack of knowledge on current world affairs,
made it a struggle to deduce a possible destination for my friend.  I made a
mental note to do some actual research when the case was over and not just
slink back into my comfortable world of mystery and thriller novels but I’d
made similar promises to myself in the past so I held out little hope.

We
pulled up on cul-de-sac surrounded by bungalows built in the Fifties.  Nice
well kept gardens lined the street and it was a quiet and frozen in the middle
of winter.  I noticed a number of people staring out from the windows of their
houses at us but no one bothered us.  Rich was dressed like I was but in a
black suit and white shirt so they probably thought us salesmen or officials of
some sort.  This was a much nicer suburb than I had been in visiting the last
couple of days.

I
followed as the former soldier strode towards the front door, taking out a pair
of white surgical gloves and snapping them on his hands.  My leather gloves
served the same purpose of protecting my fingerprints.  The front door was new
and I didn’t think I would be able to open it with my lock picking skills. 
Rich just nodded at it and I shook my head to which he indicated the backdoor
with his thumb.  Biting my lip, I shrugged and walked around the back simply
opening the gate at the side.

The
creosoted fencing on my right hiding my actions from view of the house next
door, but as I walked towards the rear entrance I stopped at the sight of an open
window.  I was surprised that someone would leave anything open in this weather
but it was safer than picking a lock.  There was a silver set of blinds so I
couldn’t see into the house but when I put my hands inside on the window it was
a lot warmer.  Before I could lift the window however Rich grabbed my arm.

“Hold
on,” he said as he pushed me out of the way.  Standing there with my arms
crossed I wondered why he wanted to open the window himself I watched him feel
the inside of the window.  Rich nodded to himself and turned to me as he put
his back to the wall, “Stand back.”

Rich
lifted the window as best he could with one hand and the next moment we were
greeted by a rattling sound and then a whoosh as an arrow flew out of the
window and imbedded itself in the fence.  I turned towards it as nonchalantly
as possible so as but my friend had seen the surprise on my face.  He smiled
before saying, “I had a feeling that he might booby trap his house.”

“And
you didn’t tell me?” I replied keeping my voice low since we were still
breaking into Ambrose’s home.

“It
was a hunch.  When I spoke to the rifle club members this morning to get the
address it was mentioned in passing that Ambrose was very pro defence of his
home, you know like that fella who shot those burglars,” Rich told me as he
pulled the arrow from the fence and in move that suggested to me that he was
showing off, sniffed the point.  He then used the arrow shaft to lift the
bottom of the blinds to reveal a crossbow.  The weapon was propped up on a set
of books facing the window with string attached to the trigger mechanism. 
Having seen it in action I knew the workings of the pulley system Ambrose had
used.

“I’m
pretty sure Tony Martin didn’t rig crossbows to his windows.”

Rich
looked at me with the sardonic grin on his face before climbing delicately into
the room having inspected the area for anymore traps.  From inside he replied,
“You’re probably right and I’m sure Martin didn’t put rat poison on his traps
either.”

I
clambered inside the house, happy to be out of the cold, “Is that what you
smelt on the arrow?”

“Technically
this isn’t an arrow,” Rich said holding the projectile up and placing it back
on the crossbow which he had rearmed, “It is known as a bolt.”

“Ok
Mister Pedantic,” I quipped.

“But
yes you’re right.  Ambrose put anti-coagulant on the end of the bolt.  If it
had hit an intended body part then it would have prevented blood clotting and
you could have a pretty serious bleed on your hands.  Not a very nice way to
go.”

I
looked at the crossbow again, “I think I’m beginning to see how bad this guy
could be.  Also I’m a little surprised he doesn’t have a woman in his life.”

Rich
laughed and we split up to investigate the small domicile.  The room we had
entered was once a bedroom, with a mattress propped up against the wall and an
open empty wooden wardrobe opposite it.  Rich went to the left towards the back
of the building and I went right to the entrance.  On my left was another
bedroom that was bigger than the first.  The windows were covered in old
newspaper letting in very little light to the dusty room.  There was nothing of
interest there other than an old fashioned bear trap on the floor beneath the
window.  Ambrose’s paranoia was impressive.

I
walked back into the hall and then directly across to the living room.  It
lived up to the name as it was evidently where Ambrose spent most of his time. 
He wasn’t the cleanest of fellows with pizza and fried chicken boxes scattered
over the couch, table and chairs.  Mixed in with the takeaway wrappings were
empty beer bottles and magazines all facing towards a plasma screen television.

“John
you probably want to see this,” Rich called out.

I
retraced my steps till I found him in another bedroom in the room next to where
we had made our entrance.  There was a bed that was well made and a wardrobe
that Rich stood in front of.  It doubled as a gun cabinet with three rifles and
two shotguns stacked inside.  Hung on the door was a black tactical vest and at
the bottom of the cabinet a bag of the same durable black fabric.  I let out a
low whistle at the armoury, “Impressive.”

“Yeah
it is,” Rich said as he picked out a green camouflaged rifle and held it up for
inspection.  He then did the same with the AK-47 which I recognised before
placing them both on the bed, “That’s the CZ rifle.  The scope is former Soviet
military spec.  This guy has spent some serious money on his weapons.”

“Nothing
that surprising really, anything that helps us?”

Rich
walked over to the cabinet at the side of the bed and opened the drawers, “I’ve
tried not to move things around too much but I have found some interesting. 
Ambrose has a set of night vision goggles here and two pistols here.”

“We’re
not saying he used a pistol.”

“True
but it does mean that Ambrose has been messing around with some very naughty
people.  You know pistols are illegal and these ones are converted CO2
weapons.  Other than that though I’ve not found anything that ties him to the
Boulton shooting but I’ll keep looking.”

“Let’s
not linger though,” I said and walked to the bathroom.  I checked the cupboards
for medication and found nothing.  The last room of the house was the kitchen
which was surprisingly clean compared to the living room.  Yes there were
plates in the sink but for a bachelor it was rather good.  That being said, my
home was spotless compared to this one.  The microwave seemed the most used
appliance with stains around it.  There was no dishwasher but a washing machine
was full and resting after a full cycle.  I found nothing in the cupboards in
the way of medication or food other than instant noodles.  The fridge however
had been recently stocked with ready meals, and meat lining the shelves.  On
the kitchen table however was something interesting.

Recent
newspapers lay open with stories about the shootings, next to a switched off
laptop and a cold cup of coffee in a chipped white mug, stained with years of
use.  A laminated map rested on top off the papers with the location of the
murders marked in red pen, “Ok, now that is a bad sign.”

Before
I could call Rich he was in the kitchen with me with a finger on his lip before
pointing to the front of the house, he then indicated the back door and mimed
opening it.  I raised my eyebrows but moved quickly at his behest.  When
breaking into someone’s home with a partner who is now being silent it usual
pays to do as instructed.  As if to punctuate the point the sound of keys
entering a lock came from the front door.

The
door was locked and there was no key in sight.  I looked around as much as possible
without making a noise before the door opened.  The amount of time it took
suggested to me that the person opening it was rushing and nervous.  With time
running out I went to my pocket and removed the lock pick set I carried.  I
wasn’t as practiced as I had been in my youth but quickly went to work.

“Who
the hell do they think they are messing with?!” came from the front of the
house and Rich moved to the kitchen door slowly closing it but keeping an eye
on the small slit he had left as an early warning.  The door from the living
room was shut tight.

Loud
banging noises came from the rest of the house and more shouting, “I’ll show
them.  They think I’m a bad guy.  I’ll show them bad.  Moat has nothing on me. 
I’m trained, I’ve got a plan.  No way they’ll find me.”

Rich
moved away from the door and I could hear him at the kitchen counter and the
sound of a knife sliding out of a block.  The rasp of metal was comforting but
also petrifying when right behind you.  I didn’t bother turning around but I
was struggling to open the lock.  Like I said I was out of practice doing such
a thing.

The
banging got louder and the yelling as Ambrose smashed around his room, “I’ve
done nothing wrong.  I knew the corrupt bastards would come for me one day
though.  Well I’ll show them.”

I’d
watched enough films to know the sound of a gun being loaded.  This situation
was getting out of hand.  I was beginning to sweat and my usual calm fingers
began to shake.  It was a stupid thing to do but I turned around and looked at
my friend.  He was calm stood by the door with a large kitchen knife in his
hand the back of the blade resting on his forearm.  Rich didn’t look at me but
kept peering out of the small gap in the door, with his free hand he motioned
to hurry up.

“Right
what do I need?  Toothbrush!  Won’t need deodorant, it will give me away in the
wild,” the voice said from beyond as Ambrose spoke aloud his checklist.  His
voice was loud and angry but was more measured than when he first arrived in
the house, “I’ve got ration packs in my bag but it would be a waste leaving the
food I bought.”

Our
time was up and I stood up and looked at Rich who took a deep breath ready for
contact.  I on the other hand turned to the lock and took out a spare key from
my set after judging the size.  I was right and slotted it into the lock but
not all the way.  Motioning to Rich he crossed the kitchen, leaving the knife
on the side and was somehow silent on the sticky linoleum flooring. I placed
the palm of my hand on the key and banged it hard upwards and turned it
slightly.  The lock clicked open and I swung it wide enough for the two of us
to make our escape sliding the key out with me.