Play@YSDC

Posted: **Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:25 am**

Kris heads off to bed. He gingerly peels off his shirt and then the bandages which are soaked with a sour smelling yellow fluid. Leaning over the sink to study himself in the mirror, the red lesions on his arms and chest sting in the cool air of the bathroom. Across his skin the thin epidermis has sloughed off many of the blisters, leaving an ugly patchwork pattern of yellow and red crusts.

He tries to clean himself and then applies the ointment supplied by Dr Sanderson. Rummaging through the drawers he finds some bandages and applies them as best he can.

Kris scratches an itch at the back of his head and a clump of hair comes away with a little blood. Not for the first time he regrets not following the doctor's advice and resolves to pick up the antibiotic prescription tomorrow.

Sticking on a microwave dinner he wolfs it down and then lies down in bed, eventually sinking into a fitful sleep.

Posted: **Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:25 am**

6.30am Saturday 13th March 2010, Cooper's Rise, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Thirty six hours since Regina Balfour was abducted.

Kris wakes groggily at the sound of his phone alarm. He drags himself out of bed and into the bathroom. Bina still fast asleep. He winds off the bandages and replaces them with clean ones. At least the rash doesn't seem any worse this morning.

Stepping out the house it is bright with a pretty pink glow on the horizon. He gets into his car ready to head back to the station and face the music. Turning on the radio, the weather forecast predicts warm and sunny weather for the whole day. Maybe it won't be too bad after all...

...Kris receives a call on his phone. Expecting DS Bates he answers, 'DC Sapru, can you even begin to appreciate how bad it looks to be accused of religious and...' there's an uncomfortable pause, 'and even racial prejudice?' The voice at the end of the phone is unmistakably DI Malone.

'Do you have any comprehension of the trouble you've caused? It is hard enough maintaining a cordial relationship with the various ethnic and religious groups in this town, if we start alienating the bloody priests what chance do we have?'

Malone's frustration is evident in his voice, 'We're no closer to finding Regina Balfour and I've already had Deputy Chief Constable Habgood on the phone about you.'

Kris realises this is not going to end well.

'I know you're supposed to be working this weekend but I'm taking you off the Balfour case. You are banned from talking to any of the Balfour family, you understand me? And keep away from Bates and the rest of the investigation team. Since Balfour is pretty much all we're doing in Wycombe at the moment and I've had to beg an officer from Oxford to cover you, I'm redeploying you there. Head over to St Aldate's Station. Before you even start I don't want to hear another word, this is non-negotiable if you want to keep your job Sapru.'

Kris has a sinking feeling followed by growing anger but he knows there's no point arguing with the DI. He starts the car and reluctantly heads off in the direction of Oxford.

Even though it is the weekend the traffic into Oxford is still awful and it takes him a good hour to get there. St Aldate's is thick with tourists as he crawls through the traffic and deposits his car in the parking garage behind the station. Inside the station is quite small, despite being in the city centre. The main Oxford station being in Abingdon where the cells are.

Kris introduces himself at the desk and is let through to the offices. He's been here before a few times and finds his way to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A single officer sits at a desk looking bored. Kris recognises him as DS Williams, another plodding time server. Williams seems barely able to contain his mirth, 'Who's been a naughty boy?' He titters. 'Burke says you wrote off your service vehicle as well. Your penance is you're going to handle all the investigations this weekend while I sit here on my arse.' Kris suspects Williams would have done that whether he was here or not. 'Got something for you, break-in, uniform think there might be a drugs angle.'

Posted: **Tue Jan 12, 2021 12:25 am**

”It was just a fucking dent! Burke by name, berk by nature!” Kris tried a studied insouciance that he certainly wasn’t feeling.

He made a note of the address and checked out a stab-proof vest and tactical gear, then headed out the door.

Posted: **Wed Jan 13, 2021 10:59 pm**

Under a torrent of laughter and abuse from Williams, Kris collects the keys for a CID car. The address is the 'Botley Road Veterinary Hospital', out towards the west of Oxford.

He takes the opportunity to stop off at a pharmacy and pick up his antibiotics, reasoning the vet probably won't be open yet. While he is waiting for his prescription to be made up Kris receives a phone call from Simon, 'Detective Sapru, good morning. Jocelyn and I are at the hotel. Will you be able to stop by?'

Posted: **Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:00 pm**

Posted: **Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:49 pm**

Kris sat in his car, rubbing the antiseptic cream into his arms before gently rolling his sleeves down. Ignoring the funny look he was getting from an old woman at the nearby bus stop, he carefully pulled out into traffic and headed over to the vets.

He was still there early, so when he got there, he went and knocked on the front door. “DC Sapru! Thames Valley CID!” he called out. ”I’m here about your break-in!”

Posted: **Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:45 pm**

Botley Road Veterinary Hospital is, unsurprisingly, on Oxford's Botley Road, midway between Oxford and the village of Botley to the west.

Kris pulls into the small car park at the side of the vet's. The frontage is a 1930s house, extended out the back with a newer red brick building, 1980s maybe. There are a few lights on in the building towards the rear.

Kris knocks but he hears nothing for a minute or so and then there is some rustling behind the door. The light comes on and eventually the door opens revealing a young woman in her late twenties. Her blonde hair is tied up and she is wearing blue medical scrubs. 'Hello officer, the police here twice in one day. I'm starting to feel special.'

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:41 am**

”One of my colleagues has already been here, Miss...?” asked Kris, wondering if he had been sent on a wild goose chase.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:52 am**

'Yes, that nice PC Gough was here earlier, he thought this might have been drug related. He said he'd ask for a detective to take a look. I presumed that was you?' she says, looking a little surprised.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:51 pm**

”Oh, I see,” said Kris. “I thought that you meant another detective had already been out to see you...” He smiled awkwardly.

“Anyway, I’m Detective Constable Sapru. Would you like to show me what you found?”

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 1:33 pm**

The woman leads Kris through the surgery, towards the front is the waiting area and offices. In the extension out the back are the clinical areas. She unlocks a clinic room and shows him a broken window, big enough to crawl through. There is broken glass scattered on the floor.

'I found this yesterday when I came in to work. The alarm was making a weird sort of intermittent beeping. We'd usually lock all the rooms individually but I found this unlocked so someone might have forgotten. Unfortunately it meant they managed to get into the drugs cupboard.'

She takes him further out the back of the building into a store room. It is filled with various pieces of veterinary apparatus. At the rear of the room is a fridge next to a large wooden cupboard. The cupboard doors have been splintered open and there are boxes, pill packets, pots and broken vials scattered over the floor. The shelves themselves are in disarray. Inside the cupboard is a white metal lockbox.

'As you can see, they were obviously looking for medication, but they couldn't get into the controlled drugs', she indicates the metal box.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:26 pm**

”So no controlled drugs, but what else might they have taken?” asked Kris as he carefully examined the cupboard.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:03 pm**

'Well I've been trying to look through as I tidy it up and I haven't found anything obvious that's been taken so far' she says.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:41 pm**

”Aren’t you supposed to keep a record of all your medical supplies, in case something goes missing? Don’t you ever do an inventory or stock check?” Kris asked, despairing of them finding anything useful amid the mess.

Posted: **Mon Jan 18, 2021 11:51 pm**

Kris rifles through the cupboard but he has no idea what he's looking for.

A little taken aback at Kris's criticism the vet says, defensively, 'Of course we do, but someone's come in and messed it all up! I'm trying to get everything back in order to see what might be missing and run a busy veterinary hospital at the same time. I'm most of the way through the drug cupboard and I haven't found anything's been taken yet. Can't you look around for clues and I'll let you know if I find anything?'

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:07 am**

”Sorry,” said Kris, sensing he was putting the vet’s back up.

He smiled at her to try to get her onside. “Do you have CCTV cameras?” he asked.

Posted: **Tue Jan 19, 2021 12:29 am**

'Er, no, sorry, do you think we should get some?'

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2021 12:13 am**

”Well, you do keep drugs on the premises,” replied Kris. “In fact, I’d be surprised if your insurers don’t insist upon it after this.”

He sighed and stepped back from cabinet. “Can you show me where they got in?” he asked. “I’ll take a look there while you inventory what’s gone missing.”

Posted: **Wed Jan 20, 2021 11:52 pm**

The vet takes him back to the room with the broken window. The room itself is uncluttered, it is some kind of clinical room with a stainless steel table in the centre, a fridge in one corner, and a metal worktop with cupboards underneath along one wall and wall mounted wooden cupboards on another wall. The windows look out onto the carpark at the side of the building but the Botley Road itself is not visible. The window has been smashed and there are shards of glass on the floor suggesting it was broken from the outside. There is a half brick in the middle of the floor. Although Kris can see that the window latches are not locked it looks like the burglar cleared the remaining glass from the window pane rather than unlatching it. Presumably they crawled through. Nothing else in the room looks disturbed.

Posted: **Thu Jan 21, 2021 12:30 am**

Kris inspected the window frame. From experience, he knew that your average burglar wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box so wanted to check if they had cut themselves while clearing out the glass. He also checked to see if there were any obvious fingerprints either on the window frame or even on the light switch. In an unfamiliar building in the dark, they may have risked switching on the light so they could see where they were going.

Posted: **Thu Jan 21, 2021 7:55 pm**

As predicted Kris can see traces of dried blood around the window frame where the burglar or burglars cut themselves on the glass. There are some bloody fingerprints smudged on the window frame, light switch, cupboards, and fridge door.

Posted: **Fri Jan 22, 2021 12:40 am**

Kris makes a mental note to call the SOCO. If the person who left the prints had form, they shouldn’t be hard to find and an early arrest certainly couldn’t hurt his career prospects, slim as they were.

He called through to the vet. ”It looks like the burglar cut themselves on the glass when they broke it. Are any bandages missing?”

Posted: **Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:21 pm**

She wanders back in, 'I don't know, let's take a look in the cupboards.' She opens the cupboard doors and starts poking around, 'Yeah, few bandages missing. Gah, and some needles and syringes, bloody junkies.'

Posted: **Sat Jan 23, 2021 1:22 am**

A suspicion was already curdling in Kris’ mind. ”I don’t think it’s junkies,” he said quietly. “Check your insulin supplies.”

Posted: **Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:12 pm**

Posted: **Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:37 pm**

Posted: **Sat Jan 23, 2021 9:14 pm**

'Insulin? Why would anyone try and steal insulin?' she asks.

Kris follows her back to the store room where she looks in the fridge, compared to the cupboard it is still fairly organised. She looks through and holds up some glass vials, 'We do use insulin, cats and dogs get diabetes. Here, this is Caninsulin, and this is ProZinc, they're the most common ones, but I don't think there's been any taken.' She rummages towards the back and takes out another vial, 'This is Lantus long acting insulin, it's actually a human medication that we use unlicensed in animals, but I don't think any's missing either.'

She stands back up again, 'Sorry, I can't find anything's missing.' She flicks through a hard bound notebook, 'We sometimes have some short acting stuff, Lispro, that's another unlicensed one, I can't find any in the fridge but I don't think we had any in stock anyway.'

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 12:43 am**

”Just, ah, an enquiry I’ve been working on,” said Kris, trying to keep the emotion from his voice. “I’m going to take a look outside, see if I can find out anything else about our burglars. In the meantime, please don’t touch the fingerprints on the lightswitch and the fridge door. I know it’s a mess but I’ll get the SOCO to come and take a look.”

Excusing himself, he went outside and around to the broken window where the burglars had made their entrance, looking around for any further clues.

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 6:29 pm**

The veterinary surgery is on the Botley Road which runs westward from the centre of Oxford. This section is a mixture of residential and light commercial properties, delis, bakeries, that sort of thing. The surgery itself lies on the south side of the road, bounded by the river on the western side and housing to the east. On the north side of the road is an upmarket supermarket.

The broken window is towards the rear of the building, it is not visible from the road and the carpark is overhung by many trees making it quite secluded.

There is no glass on the ground outside the window, suggesting it was broken inwards. There is a nearby side-door without windows and the lock and door handle are heavily scratched, as if someone without much skill has tried to force them.

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:43 pm**

Kris walked back to the main road. He stood in the entrance to the car park and looked around, checking out the buildings overlooking the vets, seeing which of them had CCTV cameras.

Posted: **Sun Jan 24, 2021 11:47 pm**

There's no CCTV on the adjoining residential houses as far as Kris can see but the supermarket carpark looks to have small fish eye cameras on poles. It is possible one or two of them might cover the entrance to the vets.

Posted: **Mon Jan 25, 2021 9:14 am**

Kris went back inside to let the vet know where he was going, then took a walk over to the supermarket. He found the customer service point and showed his warrant card, explaining that he needed to check their CCTV feed and asking to speak to the manager.

Posted: **Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:23 pm**

The manager takes Kris into a back room where there are two monitors, each divided into four, showing rotating images from the internal and external CCTV. Kris can see that at least one camera gives some coverage of the pavement outside the veterinary clinic, although the image is quite poor at that distance. 'What're you looking for?' she asks.

Posted: **Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:43 pm**

”The vets across the road was broken into last night,” explained Kris. “They don’t have CCTV so I’m hoping whoever did it was picked up on yours.”

Posted: **Wed Jan 27, 2021 9:37 pm**

The manager scrolls through the CCTV from last night but Kris can't see anything of interest on a first, quick viewing. Then he remembers that the vet found the broken window yesterday so the break-in was on Thursday night.

He takes quite a few minutes looking through Thursday evening but the streets are quite busy and he doesn't think it is likely someone would attempt a robbery with so many people about. The streets thin out after midnight and he starts more slowly scrolling through the early hours of Friday morning. There is one slightly suspicious looking figure who walks past the camera and then later returns and stands staring away from the supermarket towards the veterinary surgery. This is around 2am. They then walk off back towards town.

Around 4am he sees a figure in a dark hoodie and wearing a backpack that could be the same person. They're walking west along the Botley Road on the south side pavement. When they get to the vet they very purposefully turn into the carpark and disappear. Re-emerging twenty minutes later. Unfortunately Kris doesn't get a good look at them from the footage.

Posted: **Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:56 am**

Kris took printouts of the two images which best identified the potential burglar from their two visits to the veterinary practice. He told the manager that he would need a copy of the tape, so it wasn’t to be re-used in the meantime.

He called the CCTV control room at the police station. ”This is DC Kris Sapru,” he introduced himself. “I’m investigating the break-in at the vets on Botley Road. Have we got any CCTV coverage of Botley Road between 1.30am and 4.30am on Thursday morning?”

Posted: **Thu Jan 28, 2021 11:30 pm**

'Sorry Detective, we don't have any CCTV on Botley Road, nearest is Hollybush Row, Park End Street, or Hythe Bridge Street I'm afraid' says the camera operator. 'You after anything specific?'

Posted: **Sat Jan 30, 2021 1:17 am**

Kris sighed. Everyone complained about being watched but the reality was that the coverage wasn’t as extensive as people thought.

”I’ve got a couple of images of my suspected burglar; one at 2am and one at 4am. I think it’s a female, wearing a black hoodie and carrying a rucksack. They cut their hand when they broke in so on the return journey, they would be wearing a bandage,” he said.

“I reckon that would be... what? About ten minutes walk from Hollybush Row. If you can check give or take ten minutes either side, and let me know if you can see anything?”

Posted: **Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:10 pm**

After a few minutes the CCTV operator gets back to Kris. 'It's quite far away but I can see what looks like a woman in a dark hoodie, backpack, walking east across Frideswide Square around 4.15, on the northside pavement. Can't see a bandage at that distance and the camera position doesn't allow me to see where she went after that. At 2am I'm less sure, there's more people and traffic about, maybe she's there, maybe she's not, if she is there she's walking west along the southern edge of Frideswide Square, but there's a big crowd outside the takeaways there.'

Posted: **Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:38 pm**

”Probably easier to start at 4.15am with fewer people around,” said Kris, looking at the location map for the CCTV cameras. “Can you check George Street, George Street Mews and failing that, Tidmarsh Lne. Let’s see if she shows up on any of those...”

Posted: **Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:45 pm**

'Sorry detective, nothing on those, or Park End Street or Hythe Bridge Street.' Maybe she went down a side street or ducked just out of the camera view?'

Posted: **Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:55 am**

”Possibly...” mused Kris, absentmindedly rubbing at his arm. He looked closer at the map. “If it’s the person I’m looking for, she may be in a car. Where we lost her suggests she could have parked at the station car park - they should have their own CCTV. Alternatively, if she’s gone north on Rewley Road, she might have been picked up by the cameras at the fire station.”

He sat and stared at the screen a while longer. “There’s a hotel there, isn’t’ there?” he said. “The Royal Oxford... ... that’s also a possibility. I think I need to take a walk down there and see what I can find out.”

Posted: **Sun Jan 31, 2021 1:12 am**

As Kris rubs his arm, out of the corner of his eye, he notices a spreading stain on his shirt sleeve.

'I can try and find a car if you give me a model, colour, and approximate time' says the CCTV operator, 'If we're looking in the night anyway, I can't locate a car during the rush hour on these shitty cameras.'

'Dunno about the fire station but the train station definitely has its own CCTV, you'd need to talk to them directly.'

'Royal Oxford Hotel is on Frideswide Square but there's loads of backpackers and B&Bs in the area.'

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:44 am**

”The person we’re looking for is driving a white Vauxhall Astra,” said Kris. “Oh, wait! It could also be a dark blue Ford Focus because she hired a car, too. Can you take a look and see if you can find either of those?” He scribbled down the registration numbers for the CCTV Operator.

“If we lost sight of the suspect at 4.15am, I’d expect to see the vehicle moving shortly after that.”

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2021 1:34 am**

'Nah, no sign of either, not much traffic that time in the morning.'

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2021 1:52 am**

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:32 am**

Posted: **Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:06 am**

”Can we see the vehicle coming in? I should think if we saw the suspect at 2.00am that she could have arrived anywhere up to half an hour before that,” said Kris. “Also, if you were going to burgle somewhere, wouldn’t you have a drive past to see if there were any signs of life, first? I expect if she’s come by car, she’d have driven past for a look see.”

Posted: **Tue Feb 02, 2021 11:04 pm**

'I dunno, I don't usually burgle places' he says facetiously. After a few minutes he gets back to Kris, 'Right, 1.30am to 2am, cameras from Hollybush Row to George Street Mews. No sign of an Astra or a Focus. Saw someone who might have been your lady about 1.35am on the Hollybush Row feed, heading west on foot. Before you ask, that's not a great camera, and the coverage isn't complete, it's Pan-Tilt-Zoom, so I'm reliant on wherever the camera was pointing at the time, so I'm afraid I don't know where she came from or where she went.'

'Look, I've got a lot of other stuff to be doing, if you want to trawl through the CCTV come back down to the station and have a look yourself.'

Posted: **Wed Feb 03, 2021 12:39 am**

”Ok, I’m on my way,” replied Kris. He’d have preferred for the CCTV operator to complete the search but he knew how busy they could be.

He returned to see the vet and explained what he had found out so far. “Did you notice if anything else was missing while you were tidying up?” he asked before her left.

Posted: **Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:26 pm**

Kris leaves the vet tidying up, she hasn't managed to find evidence that anything else is missing. He makes a mental note to check in with the Scenes of Crime Officer later regarding those fingerprints.

Back at the station Kris goes to the CCTV control room. There are banks of monitors showing all the police and council CCTV in Oxford. The CCTV operator tells him that the feeds are stored for thirty days and shows him how to wind back and forth through the footage.

Posted: **Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:22 am**

Kris had managed to scrounge a cup of tea and a notepad and he started making notes about the timings that the potential burglar could be seen on CCTV.

He started with her appearance in Frideswide Square at 4.15am, trying the judge from the direction in which she was walking, which of the side streets or buildings she may have been heading for.

Posted: **Fri Feb 05, 2021 11:25 am**

Looking at the woman walking across Frideswide Square at 4.15am it is not possible to see which way she exits the square because the camera automatically pans away as she approaches the east edge of the square. She is still walking along the frontage of the Said Business School when she moves out of shot.

There is no sign of her on the Hythe Bridge Street camera or the Park End Street cameras in the minutes after she is lost to the Hollybush Row camera. The direction she's walking would fit with heading towards Rewley Road but when the camera pans back she can't be seen walking up the road, away from the camera. Perhaps she ran. Otherwise she could have ducked into a building somewhere on the north or east side of Frideswide Square or the start of Hythe Bridge Street.

Kris is aware that the coverage of the CCTV cameras on the other streets is not complete and she might have sneaked past them further into town.

Posted: **Fri Feb 05, 2021 3:43 pm**

Sighing, Kris rolled the footage to pick up the burglar’s first appearance at 2.00am to see if that was any more illuminating as to where she had come from.

Posted: **Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:15 pm**

Kris reviews the footage from each camera sequentially, from 1am to 3am, starting with Hollybush Row. He immediately forwards to 2am and sees the woman on Frideswide Square mentioned by the CCTV operator, he doesn't think it is the same woman as she is not wearing a hoodie or a backpack and seems a bit short. Scrolling back to 1.35am he can make out a female figure in a dark hoodie, no backpack, who much more closely resembles the footage from the vet. At this time she is walking west towards the Botley Road, she seems agitated.

Moving further forward to 2.15am he sees her again walking from west to east along the north edge of Frideswide Square, moving more purposefully. Unfortunately, as before, the camera pans away before he can see where she exits the square. She could be turning up Rewley Road but when the camera pans back she is not visible walking north past the Fire Station, although that is really at the extreme of what can be seen by the CCTV so it would be easy to miss.

On the Hythe Bridge Street CCTV he can see her walking east around 1.25am and then back west a few minutes later. At 2.20am she is again walking east and then back the other way about ten minutes later, this time she seems to be wearing the backpack. Kris is unable to identify her at all on the Park End Street camera or Tidmarsh Lane, although the viewing angle for the latter is not very helpful as it only partially covers an open air carpark and a small section of footpath. Looking at the George Street CCTV the woman approaches from the west about 1.30am, seems to look around for a few moments, perhaps noticing the extensive CCTV cameras, and then turns back again.

Overall the CCTV footage is not great quality and Kris can't make out any number plates but traffic is light, and, as far as he can tell, there is no white Astra or dark Focus on the CCTV during these hours.

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:50 am**

Kris sketched out the times of the various sightings on a tourist map he had picked up from the front desk. The sighting at 2.20am interested him the most. Within ten minutes she had gone somewhere, picked up her back pack and returned. That suggested that she had either a hotel or a vehicle nearby.

He scribbled in his notebook. The average walking speed was three miles per hour, probably no more than four. In ten minutes - no make that five minutes because she walked there and back, she would cover around 500 yards - just shy of quarter of a mile. Using the scale on the map, he carefully drew a circle a quarter of a mile from where she had been picked up by the camera.

Ignoring Park End and Tidmarsh Lane for the time being, Kris started to make a note of the places she might have gone, building up a list of car parks, hostels and hotels to check out.

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:19 am**

Looking at an approximately 5min radius Kris identifies towards the west of Frideswide Square there is the Westgate Hotel and the Youth Hostel on the Botley Road. In the middle of the square there are the carparks for the station, long stay to the south and short stay to the north, and the B&B Becket House on Becket Street. Towards the east there is the Royal Oxford Hotel on the square, backpackers on Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street, the Worcester Street Car Park, and the Malmaison Hotel in the centre.

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:33 am**

Kris made a note of the locations, called out his thanks to the CCTV Operator and set out on foot to visit the places identified. He’d written the down in the order in which the woman would have come across them, so as to tackle the most likely targets first.

As he walked, Kris sent an email from his phone, requesting that a SOCO attend the vets, and highlighting the areas requiring special attention. He also searched through his emails until he found the information that had been sent out to hotels with the photos of Lindsey Peale and Regina Balfour so he could show it to the hoteliers when he visited.

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:40 am**

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 4:16 pm**

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 9:52 pm**

After around fifteen minutes walking along Oxpens Road, Kris arrives at Frideswide Square and starts off east down Hythe Bridge Street where the woman was seen on CCTV at 2.20am. The first location he comes to is the Oxford Backpackers. The hostel offers dormitory accommodation and asking at the front desk Kris confirms there's no one there with a young child or anyone registered as Lindsay Peale.

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:35 pm**

“Do you have CCTV covering your front door that overlooks the street?” asked Kris. “You may have seen the person I’m looking for go past around 2.20am.”

Posted: **Sat Feb 06, 2021 11:40 pm**

'Sorry mate, no CCTV, not that sort of establishment' says the receptionist.

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 12:05 am**

”Ok” said Kris. “The person I’m looking for was wearing a dark-coloured hoodie and may have been carrying a backpack. If she stayed here, she would have been in and out a few times during the night. I don’t suppose you keep records of your guests comings and goings?”

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 12:22 am**

'That's 90% of the kids we get in here. And they're in and out all bloody night. Key code on the door and the dorms. We don't keep any records.'

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 12:54 am**

Kris thanked the receptionist for their time and headed back out. He looked up and down the street, checking out the next establishment he was to visit.

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 1:04 am**

Crossing the bridge Kris found himself at the large Worcester Street open air car park that sat between Hythe Bridge Street and Park End Street. He strolled between the cars heading down towards Park End Street, intending to double back and visit the Central Backpackers.

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 1:12 pm**

Kris looked around, checking to see if any of the cars matched the description of those they were looking for. He also looked up, to see if there were any CCTV cameras covering the car park.

Posted: **Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:43 pm**

There are several white Vauxhall Astras and dark Ford Focuses in the carpark. None of them match the number plates Kris has for Lindsay Peale. He does notice a green VW Golf backed up against a wall where the front numberplate is missing. Looking for CCTV he sees that the Tidmarsh Lane camera covers the entrance and the eastern end of the carpark.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:31 am**

Kris walked over to the car and knelt down to check where the number plate had been. He then walked around to the back of the car to see if the other plate was missing.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:36 am**

The screw holes for the front number plate are clean, no dust, oil, or dirt. Looking at the rear of the Golf, Kris can see the rear plate is still affixed. The car is backed quite close to the wall so it is difficult to access.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:45 am**

Kris squeezed up against the wall to check out the rear number plate, jotting it down in his notebook. He then took a turn around the car park to see if any of the other cars there had missing plates.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:12 pm**

Managing to hold his mobile phone behind the car and take a few photos Kris is able to reconstruct the number plate. He looks around the carpark for any other cars missing plates. While he's looking he notices that the parking ticket machine is numberplate based, that is, when you pay for your parking you have to enter your numberplate. It seems odd anyone would park here without one, it would only be a matter of time before they were clamped or towed.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:36 pm**

Kris looked around but didn’t spot any other missing plates so he went over to the ticket machine to see how the process worked. It looked as if his suspect may have taken the number plate from one of the cars and used that when she exited the car park. Assuming she had parked in the car park, he checked the machine for a phone number where he might get some further information.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:04 pm**

Kris couldn't find any other cars missing a plate. Perusing the ticket machine he saw that there was a contact number. The car park is run by the council and the machines by a contractor. After establishing he was a police officer they were able to confirm that neither of the car registrations associated with Lindsay had been registered on the machine. The registration for the Golf was entered early on Thursday and parking paid for until Sunday.

There is no automatic number plate recognition on exit, the CCTV on Tidmarsh Lane is part of the council network operated out of St Aldate's police station and Kris would need to check that separately. Usually they would have a parking attendant check the cars in the car park but he hadn't been able to attend on Friday due to sickness, otherwise he would have noted the car without a numberplate and taken action. All cars are required to have a ticket in the window that is linked to their registration number.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:47 pm**

Kris walked back over to the car to check whether the ticket and registration matched. While he was walking, he rang the CCTV operator and asked him to check the Tidmarsh Lane CCTV feed to see if they could determine who was driving the car when it arrived.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 1:55 pm**

The ticket on the green VW Golf matches the registration. Calling the CCTV operator he confirms the car arrived Thursday morning. He doesn't have a visual confirmation of the driver as the car is parked outside the CCTV field of view but based on the timings he thinks the driver was a younger looking man he notes accessing the ticket machine shortly after the car arrives.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:22 pm**

”Can you run a PNC check on the vehicle, please?” asked Kris. “Anything you can find on the vehicle and driver would be very useful.”

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:42 pm**

The car belongs to a Steven Livingstone, registered address in Bristol. It is a 2008 Golf registered to him since new. He has no convictions or other police record.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:40 pm**

“Can you run an ANPR check for me, please? Let’s see where the car has been,” said Kris.

Posted: **Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:57 pm**

After a few minutes the operator gets back to Kris. He reports that the car was mostly seen in the Bristol area until Thursday morning when it went from Bristol to Oxford via the M4 and A34, arriving around 8.30am. There were no obvious diversions along the way.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:37 am**

Nothing about the car suggested to Kris that it was involved in the burglary. From his experience, burglars liked to make themselves scarce after a job, not book in for a long weekend. Nevertheless, he asked for an ANPR alert if the number plate was picked up again, or if the station received a call about the missing number plate (or any other plate from that car park).

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:55 am**

The carpark lies between Hythe Bridge Street to the north and Park End Street to the south. The entrance is on Park End Street and in full view of the Tidmarsh Lane CCTV. However, a pub on the Park End Street side partially obscures the view of the western edge of the parking. The carpark itself is surrounded by a knee high wall. It would be very easy to enter the carpark from Hythe Bridge Street on foot and to access a car parked on the western side without being seen by the Tidmarsh Lane camera.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:14 am**

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:33 am**

It seems to Kris that it is very unlikely that someone missing a front numberplate would park in a carpark that requires numberplate registration on the ticket with their rear plate obscured. This suggests to him that the numberplate has been removed after parking, and probably not by the owner. Perhaps someone else needed one for some reason. Perhaps one with parking paid for over the weekend.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 11:18 am**

With the missing number plate on his phone, Kris methodically checked the cars in the car park. He started with those parked along the back wall, especially those out of sight of the CCTV camera and which had weekend parking.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 11:32 am**

It doesn't take Kris too long to find a black Ford Focus a few cars down from the Golf. It is reversed in and while the front plate matches the one from the Golf it does not have a rear numberplate attached. The parking ticket in the window is also for the Golf numberplate, with one letter changed, and lasts until next Wednesday morning. In the rear there is a child's booster seat.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:29 pm**

Kris made a note of the issue time of ticket and rang the CCTV operator again. Giving the operator the time the ticket was issued as a starting point, he asked him to check what time the Focus had arrived and whether there was any footage of the occupants.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:54 pm**

Comparing the ticket time, information from the ticket machine operator, and after asking the increasingly fed up CCTV operator to check the Tidmarsh Lane camera, Kris confirms that a black Focus arrived just after midnight into the carpark in the early hours of Friday morning. The footage doesn't show the vehicle occupants or where she parked but after a rather long delay of around 15min a woman in a dark hoodie is seen at the machine buying the ticket. She briefly moves out of shot, presumably returning to the car, and then walks west on Park End Street.

Checking the VIN with the rental agency confirms it is the vehicle rented by Lindsay Peale.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:17 pm**

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:55 pm**

The footage shows the woman, around 12.20am, walking west along Park End Street. Alone.

Posted: **Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:21 pm**

Kris looked around to check if anyone was about and satisfying himself that the coast was clear, let the air out of the rear tires of the Focus...

Posted: **Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:03 am**

The air gushes out with a satisfying hiss and both rear wheels sink down, one after the other.

Posted: **Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:23 pm**

With a satisfied smile, Kris followed the route that the suspect - who he was now pretty sure was Lindsay Peale because of the hire car - had taken down Park End Street. He looked out for any hotels or hostels where she may be staying.

Posted: **Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:46 am**

Leaving the carpark Kris walks down Park End Street towards the Central Backpackers. On the way an insect flies into his hair and Kris spends thirty seconds trying to flick it out, which a teenage girl walking in the other direction seems to find very funny.

The Central Backpackers is smaller than the last hostel he visited, it also has mostly small mixed dormitories and one small female dorm. When Kris arrives the receptionist is stood outside smoking. They have no children staying and no record of a Lindsay Peale.

Posted: **Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:31 am**

”She may have booked in under an assumed name,” said Kris, kicking himself for not thinking about it earlier. “It could be Newman or Lewiston and she would have arrived after midnight.”

Posted: **Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:17 pm**

The receptionist flicks through the register, 'Nah, no Lewiston or Newman. Only one woman came in after midnight on Thursday night, let's see, Maria Moreno, arrived 12.35am.'

Posted: **Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:55 pm**

”I don’t suppose you were on duty?” asked Kris calmly, although his pulse was quickening at the thought of tracking down his quarry. ”Or do you have CCTV?”

Posted: **Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:27 pm**

'Wasn't me on, I'm on days this week. And we don't have CCTV. But I do have a copy of her passport.'

He shows rummages around in a filing cabinet and comes back with a photocopy of a passport photo page.

The passport confirms the name of Maria Moreno, who is listed as being aged 24yrs and from Spain.

Posted: **Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:25 pm**

Kris tried to hide his disappointment. He’d hoped to be looking at a photo of Lindsey Peale. Nevertheless, he thanked the receptionist. “Can I borrow this for a moment? I just need to make a quick phone call. I’ll be back in a moment...”

He stepped outside and put a call through to the control room. “Can you run a check on a Maria Moreno, please? Address in the UK or otherwise, employment, immigration status, the lot.” And he gave the woman’s details and passport number to the officer.

Posted: **Fri Feb 19, 2021 9:19 pm**

The controller tells Kris that Maria is not on any UK records but immigration confirm she entered the UK at Gatwick Airport on the 10th March having arrived from Madrid.

Posted: **Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:04 am**

”Can you take a look at I 24/7?” Kris asked the controller. “See if the Spanish Police have anything on her.”

Posted: **Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:15 am**

'Interpol, Jesus, if you insist.' The controller rings back after 20mins and informs Kris that there's nothing on Maria Moreno.

Posted: **Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:04 am**

While Kris was waiting for the controller to call him back, he had a look for Lindsay Peale and Maria Moreno on social media, trying to find out what he could about the, particularly if they knew each other in any way.

Posted: **Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:20 am**

Maria Isabel Guillén Moreno (as her passport says) is difficult for Kris to track down as most sites are in Spanish. However, he thinks he might has identified her as a graduate student studying economics in Madrid. As far as he can tell there is no connection between her social media (or other online presence) and Lindsay Peale.

Posted: **Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:22 pm**

”Are there any other ways out of the room, other than through the door?” Kris asked the receptionist. “No fire escape or anything like that?”

“If not, then I’d like to come with me and bring your pass key. I need to have a word with Miss Moreno.”

Posted: **Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:45 pm**

'It's not a big hostel mate, only one way in or out the dorm, but we do have a fire exit out the back, from the main corridor.' He checks his ledger, 'Miss Moreno's out at the moment, you know, seeing the sights, I could let you into the dorm but, well, do you need a warrant or something?'

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:40 am**

Kris was confused - out seeing the sights didn’t sound like your average burglar.

Shaking his head, he replied, ”Normally I would but time’s of the essence.”

“A young girl’s been kidnapped and her life’s in danger. I don’t have time to go through all the rigmarole so if I can have two minutes to carry out a quick check then I can either arrest her or eliminate her from my enquiries, OK?”

Posted: **Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:40 pm**

The receptionist hesitates for a moment then nods and leads Kris past a kitchen area into a dormitory. 'This is the women-only dorm' he says and points Kris towards a bed. It is unmade and a holdall bag sits on the end, overflowing with clothes.

Posted: **Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:27 am**

Instructing the receptionist to keep an eye out, Kris moved to the side of the bed opposite the door so if Moreno returned, he wouldn’t be caught off-guard.

Reckoning that removing the clothes from the bag would leave tell-tale signs, he carefully slid his hands down the sides of the backpack and between the layers of clothes, checking for anything that might suggest she was involved in the burglary, kidnapping or whatever. That done, he turned his attention to the pockets of the backpack, checking the contents, before quickly checking under the pillow of the bed, then feeling under the mattress.

Posted: **Fri Feb 26, 2021 11:47 pm**

Sliding his hands into the bag, Kris feels around for anything solid, and he also checks the pockets. Apart from some sanitary products and a battered paperback of Brideshead Revisited in English, there is nothing obvious.

Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:17 am**

Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:20 am**

Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2021 1:48 am**

Kris carefully re-packed the bag and looked over to the receptionist. “Your guests have lockers, right? Let me take just a quick look inside hers and If it isn’t the person I’m looking for, then I’ll get outta your hair.”

Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2021 11:27 pm**

The receptionist looks Kris up and down with a pained expression. 'Okay, okay, come on, have a quick look.'

He takes Kris back out to the corridor where there are several lockers secured with padlocks. He takes out a key and unlocks one. Inside there is a passport, the original of the photocopy Kris has already seen, along with a purse containing some Euros and a few credit and debit cards in the name of Maria Moreno.

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2021 1:02 am**

It seemed strange to Kris that someone would go sightseeing without her purse. How was she going to pay for anything?

He took a closer look in the locker, running his hand around the inside, in case he had missed anything.

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2021 1:04 am**

Kris could find nothing more. He noted there was no sterling in the purse, perhaps she has another one.

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2021 1:17 am**

Kris put the purse and passport back in the locker and thanked the receptionist. Moreno’s behaviour seemed odd but thus far, he had nothing to link her to a crime. Certainly nothing the the CPS wouldn’t just dismiss out of hand.

Deciding that speaking to her would probably clear things up as quickly as anything, Kris headed out of the hotel to look for a vantage point where he might watch out for her, for a while at least. He was hoping for a coffee shop - drinking your coffee âl fresco seemed to be all the range at the moment...

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2021 11:33 pm**

Nothing useful overlooks the Central Backpackers but there is a trendy coffee shop nextdoor. No al fresco seating unfortunately. Kris orders a coffee and sits by the window looking out into the street.

Posted: **Sun Feb 28, 2021 11:56 pm**

Posted: **Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:07 am**

Sipping his coffee listlessly, Kris manages to eke out an hour watching for Maria Moreno, with no success.

Posted: **Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:32 am**

Kris swirled the cold dregs of coffee around the bottom of his cup. Without taking his eyes off the hostel opposite, he pulled out his phone and rang the hostel reception. ”This is DC Sapru,” he said. “Has Miss Moreno returned yet?”

Posted: **Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:49 am**

'Not yet' says the receptionist. 'We do have a mobile contact number if you want to get hold of her urgently.'

Posted: **Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:08 am**

Wondering why that information hadn’t been provided earlier, Kris made a note of the number. He also left his mobile number with the instructions that they should call him the moment she returned.

Deciding that he couldn’t do much else until she returned, Kris left a tip on the table and headed out to stretch his legs. He thought he would take a walk past the car park again, to see if anything had changed with the car.

Posted: **Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:18 am**

Kris wanders back to the car park but nothing has changed. Checking his watch he sees that he has spent the whole morning investigating the break-in and it is now after lunch. He wonders what time Miss Moreno might be returning to the hostel.

Posted: **Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:55 am**

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2021 10:48 pm**

Kris walks back round to the coffee shop and takes his seat by the window again. As he slowly sips his coffee and stares out the window it occurs to him that he hasn't yet visited the last location on his list of potential points of interest, the Royal Oxford Hotel back on Frideswide Square.

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:43 pm**

Kris pushed himself to his feet and trudged off in the direction of the Royal Oxford Hotel. He wondered how Simon and Jocelyn we’re getting on but thought better of phoning them, just in case DS Bates was anywhere nearby. He might try later, after hours.

He pushed open the door to the Royal Oxford and approached the reception desk. He showed his warrant card and produced a photo of Lindsay Peale. ’We’re looking for this woman,” he explained. “Is she one of your guests? She may have arrived late last night.”

Posted: **Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:48 pm**

As he walks along Park End Street towards the hotel, a few more insects buzz about Kris and settle on his jacket. Several are settled on the sandy wall outside the main entrance to the hotel.

Inside, the reception area is a little more contemporary than the 'Royal' moniker might suggest, all wood laminate and frosted green glass. The male receptionist looks at the photo of Lindsay Peale, 'No, I don't think I recognise her. If you have a name I can see if she is checked in.'

Posted: **Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:13 pm**

While he is talking with the receptionist, Kris's phone rings, he glances at the caller ID, he doesn't recognise the number, but it is an 0118 area code, Reading.

Posted: **Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:11 pm**

”Try Lindsay Peale, please,” said Kris. He pressed the answer button on his phone as he waited for the receptionist. “DC Kris Sapru speaking. How can I help you?”

Posted: **Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:35 pm**

Answering his phone, Kris finds it is the control room, they put through an outside line. 'Uh, hi, is that DC Sapru, my name is Clive Massey, I'm an AMHP' he says, sounding rather embarrassed. Kris knows an AMHP is an approved mental health professional, usually a social worker, they have some kind of role in Mental Health Act assessments to determine if people should be commited to a psychiatric hospital.

'I'm here with someone who says he knows you, he says he's working with you on a case, a missing persons case. Do you know Simon Eagleton?'

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:12 am**

”Yes,” replied Kris with growing trepidation. “I’ve been working with Simon - is he ok?”

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:18 am**

'Well, yes and no, he's here with me at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. He's been through a few things. Some kind of car crash, and then he was attacked by someone, and now there have been some concerns raised about his state of mind. He seems to think a Mr Balfour has been controlling the weather and is engaged in some kind of terrorist plot. You can understand we're quite worried about him.'

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:24 am**

’Shit!’ thought Kris. ‘What the hell’s been going on?!’

Swallowing hard, he said, “Is Jocelyn there?! Jocelyn Leigh? She was with Simon when I last saw him yesterday.”

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:29 am**

'There's no one here with him, he came in by ambulance' says Clive. 'He did mention a Jocelyn, said she works for MI5, that's not right is it? he asks, sounding very sceptical.

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:41 am**

Kris wondered how much he should say, given that he didn’t know the caller but assumed that if he had come through the control room, it seemed unlikely to be a hoax. ”Jocelyn Leigh works for MI5. She’s working on a case with me. Simon was brought in as a consultant.”

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:44 am**

'Oh, okay, well, still, a lot of what he is saying doesn't make much sense. Do you have contact details for this Jocelyn Leigh?'

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:51 am**

Kris thought about what they had learned about the case so far. ”No, it wouldn’t,” he replied simply.

He checked his phone, found Jocelyn’s number and repeated it to Clive. “Will you be holding onto Simon?” he asked.

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:58 am**

'Not if we don't have to'' says Clive. 'Ideally we'd discharge him into the care of someone responsible who could look after him, make sure he gets some help.'

Posted: **Tue Mar 09, 2021 12:15 pm**

Kris gritted his teeth. He could see which way this was heading. ”Well, look I’m on duty so I can’t get away at the moment,” he said. ‘Not forgetting that I’d get the sack if I was found to have bunked off work or had any contact with him...’

“Can you try Miss Leigh and see if she’s available? I don’t know if he has any other family of friends who can help out.”

Posted: **Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:12 pm**

'Thank you Detective'' says Clive. 'I'll ring Miss Leigh and see if we can get to the bottom of this.'

When he's finished his call the receptionist gets Kris's attention, 'No Lindsay Peale' he says.

Posted: **Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:33 pm**

”Ok,” said Kris. “In which case, can you please check your records and see if you have someone who booked into the hotel in the early hours of the morning? Female, most likely travelling alone.”

Posted: **Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:44 pm**

'No, no one checked in late last night' says the receptionist. 'What sort of time were you thinking? We don't usually have any check-ins after 11pm.'

Posted: **Wed Mar 10, 2021 6:16 pm**

”Realistically, it could be any time after 6.30pm on Thursday evening,” said Kris with a sigh. He glanced at his watch and wondered where the time had gone.

Posted: **Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:55 pm**

'We have a lot of guests, that doesn't narrow it down' sighs the receptionist. 'But look, here, someone checked in early Friday morning, shortly after midnight. The name we have is Kevin Lang.'

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:06 am**

Kris didn’t recognise the name, but the timing sounded promising. ”Have you got any ID for Mr Lang?” he asked.

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:33 am**

The receptionist hands over a photocopy of a driving licence. The name is Kevin Lang, he is nineteen years old, and his listed address is Gloucester Green in Oxford, not far from the hotel.

'He's got a double until next Wednesday. Room 223 on the second floor.'

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:39 am**

Kris took the photocopy and rang the control room. ”What have you got on a Kevin Lang?” he asked, giving the details from the driving licence.

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:46 am**

'Not much' says the control room operator. 'Just possession for a small amount of cannabis last year. Driver awareness course at the beginning of this year for speeding, 40mph in a 30mph limit. Lives in Oxford. Looks like he drives a classic VW camper which tells you all you need to know about him if you ask me.'

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:51 am**

?Can you run that through ANPR?” asked Kris. “Let me know if you find anything.” He thanked the operator Abe ended the call.

“Have you got a pass key?” he asked the receptionist. “I need to have a chat with Mr Lang.”

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:55 am**

'I've got a pass key but I don't know if he's in. I'll need to get a manager to come with you. Don't you need a warrant?' he asks, looking more uncertain. 'I do have a mobile phone number for him.'

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:05 am**

”l just need to talk to him,” replied Kris. “Are you able to check if he’s in?”

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:10 am**

'I can ring up.'

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 1:20 am**

Kris thought about it for a moment. “Give me a couple of minutes to get up there and then ring him and tell him there’s a police officer here to see him,” he said. “If he answers, we’ll know he’s there. If he tries to leave, I’ll be waiting for him.”

Posted: **Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:37 pm**

Taking the stairs to the second floor Kris finds room 223. On the way up he gets a call from the control room to say that Mr Lang's VW camper hasn't been picked up on ANPR for a few weeks and it's only really been seen around the local Oxford area in the months before that.

He approaches the room slowly, looking up and down the corridor to see if there is anyone else around, but the floor seems to be empty. As he gets to the door, Kris steps on another insect, it gives an unpleasant crunching sensation and when he looks down he sees a few more crawling about the stained navy carpet.

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:22 am**

Kris approached the room carefully, stepping quite deliberately to avoid any bugs or squeaking floorboards that might announce his presence.

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:59 am**

From within the room, Kris can make out the unmistakable sounds of the children's cartoon 'Peppa Pig'. After a minute or so a phone rings from inside. Then a few seconds later the door opens a crack but Kris can't see much in the shadows.

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:49 am**

Kris slipped his foot into the crack of the door and pushed hard. ”Mr Lang?” he said. “Thames Valley CID. I’d like a word!”

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:52 am**

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:54 am**

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:42 am**

Whoever is behind the door tries to pull it shut against Kris's foot. He briefly sees what looks like the end of the barrel of an over and under shotgun in the doorway before there is a deafening blast and he is propelled backwards, out of the door, and into the far wall. He feels something spattering on his face and there is a cloud of dust obscuring his vision. His ears ring with a high pitched whine but he thinks he hears the door slam shut and then a female voice shouting from inside, 'If you try that again I'll blow your head off.'

His vision clearing, Kris sees that some of the door frame is splintered and a great chunk of plaster has been taken out of the ceiling, with dust and fragments scattering the carpet. The Do Not Disturb sign, which was hanging on the door handle, is now shredded and fluttering in the air.

He pat's himself down and feels his face but can't find any obvious injuries.

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 1:39 pm**

Kris cursed himself for his foolishness. He’d assumed that Lang was on his own - he hadn’t considered Lindsay Peale would be in there or that she might have her shotgun with her!

He backed away from the door, checking if any of the guests were looking out of their rooms. If any were foolish enough to, he told them to get back in their rooms, lock the door and stay away until they got all the all clear. Pulling out his phone, he called control. When the call connected, he said, “This is DC Sapru. I’ve got shots fired at room 223 at the Royal Oxford Hotel. Can you send the ARV?”

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:14 pm**

The control room answers, 'Understood, ARV with PCs Grey and Babcock on the way, ETA in thirty minutes, secure the perimeter, I am dispatching additional officers to your location. Also calling an ambulance, are there any casualties?'

The few guests who poked their heads out of their rooms soon scurred back on Kris's instruction. The receptionist's head appeared round the corner of the corridor, 'He wasn't in, only his travelling companion Laura Jones. She said she didn't want to talk to you...What happened up here?'

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 6:48 pm**

”No casualties,” replied Kris to control. “Although an ambulance on standby would be a good idea...”

He retreated back down the corridor to where the receptionist waited. “She fired a shotgun at my face,” he said in response to the receptionist’s questioning look. “Fortunately, she missed!”

Ignoring the shocked looked on the receptionist’s face, Kris took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “My colleagues will be along shortly. I want you to send them up here when they arrive. We’ll evacuate the guests as soon as we can but if any of them ring reception and ask what to do, tell them to sit tight and stay away from the door until they’re told otherwise. Ok?” He pulled out his phone and quickly send a message to Jocelyn so she would know what was happening. ‘Lindsay Peale at Royal Oxford Hotel, Oxford. Armed standoff. Think she has the girl’.

He looked back down the corridor. “I’m going to try to have another word with her,’ he said, with a lot more confidence than he was actually feeling. He pulled out his Asp and quietly extended it. Keeping close to the wall he moved forward until he could reach the door with the tip of his baton and then tapped gently. “We know you took Regina to stop Balfour, Lindsay! What’s he trying to do?”

Posted: **Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:47 pm**

From inside the room Kris hears a mechanical crunching sound, like a break-open firearm being closed. 'That last one was a warning shot. If you don't piss off I'll shoot you through the wall.'

Posted: **Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:21 am**

Kris stepped quickly to the side so he was clear of the part of the room that fronted onto the corridor. If Lindsay fired again, she’d have to shoot at an angle and the shot would have to go through two walls to get him. That was the theory, at least...

”I don’t trust Balfour any more than you do, Lindsay?” Kris called again. “What’s he up to? What’s the Passover Angel and how do we stop him?”

Posted: **Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:14 pm**

'You wouldn't believe me. You couldn't' she shouts through the door. 'Just stay away, keep away from us and no one has to get hurt.'

Posted: **Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:42 am**

”Is it the plague?” Kris called back, trying to keep his voice even. “Is that why there’s all these bugs here and I’ve got this bloody rash on my arms?”

Posted: **Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:21 pm**

'The plague?' She laughs. 'You have no fucking idea.'

From down the corridor Kris hears a noise, a harsh, loud whisper. He sees a uniformed officer gesturing to him, 'What's going on?'

Posted: **Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:16 am**

Kris glanced at the officer and held up a hand to tell him to hold his position. He held up two fingers and pointed towards the hotel room door, to indicate there were two people inside, followed by one finger and a mime of someone with a rifle to indicate one of those people was armed.

”Is it the Passover, Lindsay? The death of all the first-borns? Is that what Balfour’s planning?” persisted Kris.

Posted: **Sat Mar 20, 2021 9:03 pm**

The police officer gestures back to indicate that they have three officers onsite, including him. He mimes setting up a perimeter and backs away.

'I don't know what he's got planned but it's the end of the world he's after, end of the world, ha ha ha...' replies Lindsay, followed by a rather manic laugh that trails off.

Posted: **Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:52 pm**

Posted: **Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:02 pm**

Posted: **Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:54 am**

Kris stopped and thought for a moment. ”What’s Regina got to do with it?” he asked. ”Can’t Balfour carry out his plan without her? Is that why you took her?”

Posted: **Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:22 pm**

All Kris can tell is that this woman is on edge, and afraid. 'Too right it's her psycho parents you have to worry about, not me...' shouts Lindsay, followed by loud, gasping crying. Then more quietly she whispers 'I've seen the fucking Passover Angel' and she goes silent.

Kris's mobile phone starts ringing.

Posted: **Wed Mar 24, 2021 1:15 am**

Kris thumbed the volume button on his phone to turn the ringer down. ”What’s the Passover Angel?” he asked Lindsay, looking down at his phone to see who was calling him.

Posted: **Thu Mar 25, 2021 11:13 pm**

Kris looks at his phone, it is DS Bates calling.

From behind the door he can just about make out Lindsay muttering, 'What's the Passover Angel?' and laughing strangely, 'What is the Passover Angel? Where is the Passover Angel?...sees me...looking at me...always watching...'

Posted: **Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:00 am**

Kris killed the call and quickly texted ‘Can’t speak. Talking to Lindsay Peale.’

“How do we stop it, Lindsay?” he asked as he texted. “We can’t just let Balfour bring about the end of the world!”

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2021 10:30 pm**

Very quietly Lindsay replies, 'Just go, and leave Regina with me. She'll be safest with me...'

-----

Kris hears voices from down the corridor. He looks up to see two armed police officers carrying semi-automatic MP5 submachine guns and wearing bullet proof vests. They are Constable Ollie Grey and Constable James Babcock. PC Grey gives Kris a smile, 'Small world Kris, you're not even supposed to be on the Balfour case. Back up now and leave it to the big boys' he says in a loud voice.

Posted: **Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:15 pm**

Kris scowled angrily at PC Grey and motioned to him to shut up. He wanted to keep Lindsay talking and her knowing other police were here wouldn’t help.

”I can’t go, Lindsay,” he said. “It’s my job. I can’t just walk away but keep talking to me, please! I need to know what we can do to stop Balfour!”

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 11:09 am**

PC Grey comes nearer, continuing to talk in a raised voice, 'Come on Kris, back out to the cordon, we've got this.'

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:50 pm**

”She’s armed and she’s got a young girl in there, Olly,” snapped Kris. “I’m trying to keep her calm so please back away. I’ve got this under control.”

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 2:32 pm**

'She's armed, and that's precisely why you need to leave it to us' says Ollie.

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:27 pm**

”Police Constable Grey - move back and wait until I say otherwise!” snapped Kris. “It’s my case so follow my lead, if you don’t mind!”

Kris held his ground until Olly moved back, then took a deep breath and straightened his jacket. ”Lindsay - it’s getting crowded out here and I dare say my boss will be here shortly. At that point, I’ll be banished because I sussed Balfour was up to something and he got me kicked off the case. If you want to say something to the one person who might listen to you and take you seriously, now’s the time.”

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:19 pm**

Lindsay talks quietly behind the door so only Kris can hear. 'You need to keep Regina away from her father, from that whole church, until after Tuesday. They want to hurt her, they think...they believe her sacrifice will spare them from the end of the world. That she will be resurrected by the Passover Angel. That's what my uncle George and me were protecting her from last time. Now, now I think it's something bigger...' She trails off into silence.

Posted: **Wed Mar 31, 2021 11:58 pm**

”If you can hold them off for 48 hours, you might stop them this time,” said Kris quietly. “But what’s to stop them trying again? Or is this Passover Angel going to happen regardless?”

Posted: **Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:26 pm**

'I don't know why it has to be Tuesday, how they pick the dates, but I know what they want Regina for and they can't have her. Not this time. Not while I've got anything to do with it.'

Posted: **Fri Apr 02, 2021 1:10 am**

”If I’m going to try to stop Balfour, I’m going to need more than that, Lindsay!” said Kris urgently.

Posted: **Sun Apr 04, 2021 10:29 pm**

'You can't stop Balfour, no one can stop him. All we can do is protect Regina...Oh, you can't understand, no one can understand, if you haven't seen...' hisses Lindsay.

PC Babcock approaches Kris and puts his hand on his shoulder. He leans across and whispers into his ear, 'DS Bates is here, she wants a debrief now.'

He is carrying a heavy duty radio handset, it looks like an encrypted radio, like a standard police radio but designed for use with only one other handset. Presumably this is for communicating with Lindsay.

Posted: **Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:08 am**

Kris took the radio from Babcock. Carefully approaching the door, he put the radio on the floor and retreated. ”Lindsay - I’ve put a radio by the door so they can talk to you. Make sure that Regina’s ok, right? I’ve got to go and talk to my boss now but I’ll try to come back if I can.” He knew that was pretty unlikely, but he didn’t see any gain in saying otherwise.

He took a deep breath and stepped backwards. He looked at Babcock and sighed. “Where’s DS Bates?” he asked.

Posted: **Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:12 pm**

OOC: We're moving here

Play@YSDC

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