THE FOLLOWER: SAS hero turns Manchester hitman (A Rick Fuller Thriller Book 4)(16)

Mitch nodded.

“Okay, but Todd has different ideas and gives your boys the run around, making their job impossible. Your words, not mine. The lead agent reports this fact to Daddy. Now, I reckon that Mr Blackman Snr. would be very pissed at the news that little Todd was misbehaving, correct?

“Correct, Ma’am”.

“I thought so. And would I be wrong to suggest that Daddy wanted his son back in Kentucky, away from the bright lights and temptations of Manchester, where he could keep an eye on him?”

“I believe that he had that conversation with his son, Ma’am, yes.”

“And Todd told Daddy to go fuck himself?”

Mitch almost smiled at Lauren’s use of language. “Maybe not in so many…”

“But he did, yes?”

“Yes.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Almost five months ago, Ma’am.”

“And Daddy then pulled the plug on the surveillance?”

“He did, Ma’am.”

“So, you and your buddies, haven’t seen Todd in those five months?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“No surveillance at all?”

Mitch shook his head.

Lauren jutted her chin towards the pile of field reports.

“And you say there is nothing in those that might shed any light on what happened in the following days or weeks, or what may have got our little rich kid tortured and killed?”

Mitch rubbed his face with his palms.

“To sum up, Ma’am, during our operation, on most days Todd went to school and came home as expected. It was his night time activities that proved difficult to assess. You see, soon after our assignment started, it became apparent that he had discovered that he was the subject of protective surveillance. Being the son of J. E. Blackman meant that Todd had been used to bodyguards all his life. He hated the lack of privacy this gave and it was one of the reasons he’d been so determined to come to England to study. He considered he would be both anonymous and safe here in the UK. Finding out his father had surreptitiously informed both the FBI and CIA of his plans did not go well between them.”

Mitch raised his eyebrows. “The boy began to use anti-surveillance techniques as a matter of course. He’d been forced to learn these as a child. Growing up as the only son of the ninth richest man in the world, it came with the territory. We did our best with the resources we had, but when Todd went out into the city at night, more often than not, we would lose him.”

Lauren met the American’s gaze. “And definitely no evidence of hard drugs?”

Mitch shook his head. “If there was any drug use going on, Ma’am, we had no way of assessing the extent of it. However, to our knowledge, Todd had always been a clean living boy.”

“And all this was reported to Daddy?” asked Lauren.

“Of course.”

“And Daddy wasn’t happy.”

“An understatement. J.E. ordered Todd home and, as you so delicately put it Ms North, Todd of course, refused.”

“Would you say that Senator Blackman was a vindictive man, Mitch?”

“I don’t think the Senator would do anything to endanger his own son, Ma’am, if that’s what you mean.”

“But he ordered the plug pulled and just accepted that his son was a spoiled brat who wouldn’t do as he was told?”

“Are you a parent, Ma’am?”

Lauren darkened. “I think, that as Sgt Willis was party to my bra size, you already know the answer to that one.”

“My apologies, Ma’am, I was merely trying to point out that even if you are rich and powerful, you can’t always control your kids.”

Lauren recovered her mood.

“So, what got young Todd killed, Mitch? And why do you believe the cops are being so tight lipped?”

“Well, Ma’am, we were kind of hoping that you would be able to help us out there.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I believe you know the senior offer in charge of the investigation personally.” Mitch leafed through a report in front of him. “… One Detective Chief Inspector Larry Simpson.”

You should’ve seen the look on Rick’s coupon when he heard that little gem.





Rick Fuller’s Story:

Lauren gave me the longest look. I knew what she wanted to say, so there was no need to say it.

No need to worry.

No need for jealousy.

All part of the job.

I wasn’t so sure.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Simpson was the head of Manchester’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, SOCU.

He first appeared in Lauren’s life when he’d posed as her boyfriend attempting to infiltrate our operation. Even though the bogus relationship had been in its early stages, once Lauren had discovered Larry’s true motives, she had felt horribly betrayed. From that day, Lauren always considered that the Detective owed her for his deception. As a result, some months later, she secretly met him to obtain information we desperately sought in our investigation into the murder of Spiros Makris. Just before we left for Albania, Larry had visited Lauren again at her home. This time, telling her that his feelings were genuine. He begged her to leave the team and start a new life with him.