Costa Crew 3: Make or Break

Chapter 14 - Revelations

Goodman paced back and forth. He could hear Rebecca and Paul arguing outside, but he wasn't paying much attention. Lindsey hadn't called in a while, and there was the possibility that her cover had been blown somehow. They were rapidly losing control of the situation.

His thought process was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Probably Charlotte and Hannah, but there was no way to be sure any more. Every time that door opened it could be Amelia Murphy, here to kill every last one of them.

John gave a sigh of relief as he heard Charlotte's voice in the hallway. "We were right, Erica's involved. From the sounds of things she's not doing it willingly."

"Then she'll help us," Paul replied. "If we offer her protection."

"There's some people there's no protection from," Becky said darkly. Paul sighed.

"Becky's decided to leave the safehouse to find Amelia alone."

"Becky, what the hell?" exclaimed Charlotte. "We talked about this!"

Becky shook her head. "I know. But that was before Amelia was alive and Lisa Beck was dead. She will-"

"Kill every last one of us to get to you," finished Hannah. "We know. And we're still here. Becky, you and I have been in this together since Operation Godfather started. You were my only friend in MI5, and during my undercover operation you were the only person I could go to for comfort. No offence, Mr Goodman."

"None taken," John said quietly. "Rebecca, you're an MI5 Agent. It doesn't matter that you've left, or are on the run from the law. Because being an MI5 Agent is about more than clearance rights, or waving about an ID card, or government secrets. It's about heart. About giving everything you've got to help the people you care about. Putting them before yourself. And in MI5 you don't do anything alone. You're always part of a team. And there's no better team than the one you have right here, Agent Hidgens."

Before Becky could reply, there was a knock at the door. Paul and Charlotte both grabbed their guns and ran into the hall. "Identify!" shouted Paul.

"Alex. Ask away."

Becky rushed to the door. "What did Curt leave me in the will he wrote when he was eleven years old?"

"His books. He left his parents the money, made me the executor and had Paul sign as a witness."

Becky smiled and opened the door, turning round to see John's questioning look. "I understand the need for a security question, but what on Earth?"

"Curt and I loved doing some crazy science experiments," Alex explained as they stepped inside, a blonde woman close behind them. "The joke was that one day we'd blow up his back garden so he wrote a will."

Becky turned to the woman with Alex. "You must be Maya."

Maya grimaced and nodded. "And you're Rebecca Hidgens."

Becky sighed. "Yeah. I'm really sorry about all of this-"

Maya shook her head. "Don't apologise. Without you Lisa and I wouldn't have met. And if my life wasn't in danger, I wouldn't have met Alex and they wouldn't have introduced me to DnD, which is worth a close call with a sniper."

Becky smiled. "DnD is rather amazing. What race and class?"

"Wood elf cleric," replied Maya.

Becky grinned. "Wood elf is an excellent choice, but my first character was a rogue."

John cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt, but there is the small matter of a crime lord hunting us."

"Right," Paul sighed. "Though for the record, my halfling bard was great."

Becky sighed, unsure of what to do. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt. The safest thing for them to do was to cut their losses. Becky would die, but nobody else would get hurt. Her desire to keep the Costa Crew safe far outweighed her desire to defeat Amelia.

But Becky hadn't taken down Amelia alone. All of them had been involved. And while Amelia hated Becky the most, she wouldn't stop her revenge until the whole Costa Crew was dead. Maybe Paul was right. Maybe the best thing to do was work the case. Do the job they had always done. And do it together.

"All right," she said. "Tell AC-9 to bring in Erica."

***

"AC-9 interview with Sergeant Erica Miller in the presence of her legal counsel," Ben recited. "Interview led by Detective Sergeant Foster, assisted by Detective Constable Davis. Sergeant Miller, you have the right to be questioned by an officer at least one rank superior, however as this is not currently possible, Deputy Chief Constable Fleming is supervising the interview."

"Sergeant Miller, do you have any objections to this?" asked Samantha.

"None," replied Erica, staring down at her hands.

"Let's start with Operation Godfather," Samantha said crisply. "Your old team had a number of cold cases, would you agree?"

Erica nodded. "Yes, but so did several other teams and even MI5. I didn't tamper with evidence, it was all Amelia covering her tracks."

"Nobody's accused you of tampering with evidence," Ben pointed out.

"Thank you, DC Davis," continued Samantha. "My colleague makes a valid point. You filled that in yourself. Did you tamper with evidence in the Operation Godfather case?"

Erica gulped. "Okay, I did. But if I didn't then Anthony would have killed me."

Samantha and Ben exchanged glances. "So you were part of Murphy's organisation?"

"I- yes," Erica admitted. "But I only covered her tracks, I didn't actually commit any crimes and I certainly didn't kill anyone."

"That leads us on nicely to the murder of Curt Hidgens," Samantha said calmly. "What can you tell us about that?"

Erica hesitated. "Erica, we know you didn't do this willingly," Ben said reassuringly. "We can protect you from the real villains here. But only if you tell us everything you know."

"I don't know who killed him," Erica began. "But I know Amelia ordered it, and I know it was another police officer that actually stabbed him. I was to discover the body and pretend the door was locked, and l tampered with the witness statements. Nobody actually tried to reach him. Amelia was banking on that."

"So you expect us to believe that some random police officer that wasn't you killed him?" snapped Samantha.

Erica nodded. "DS Foster, you have to believe me. I don't have it in me to actually commit murder."

"DS Foster, I think that's enough for just now," Kate interrupted calmly. "DC Davis, stop the tape."

Ben quickly stopped the tape. Samantha sighed. "Erica Miller, I'm arresting you for obstructing the course of justice and consiparcy to murder Curt Hidgens. You do not have to say anything, however it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you will later rely on in court. Anything you do say can be used in evidence."

She turned to Ben, said, "Book her," and then left accompanied by DCC Fleming. "Sorry if I went too far," she whispered.

Kate shook her head. "That's all right. Best give DSU Houston a call and update him."

Samantha nodded and took out her phone as Kate strode away. "Samantha, any news?" asked Paul.

Samantha glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby, then smirked. "Yep. Erica confessed to everything. She killed Curt Hidgens and tampered with the witness statements. We've found our bent copper."

"Great," Paul replied. "Keep me posted."

He hung up, then Samantha hastily switched to her messages. They've got Erica. Still not onto me.