Play@YSDC

9.30am Sunday 14th March 2010, Abercrombie Avenue, High Wycombe

One day since Regina Balfour was rescued.

Abercrombie Avenue is a little down at heel but busy with traffic. There are cars parked along both sides of the road. Johnny Zero's address is a pretty non-descript looking 1950s semi-detached house, small, maybe two or three bedrooms. A little brick wall out the front, a small concreted front yard behind that with a few wheelie bins. The yard continues down the side of the house to the garden, there's no gate. The front door is at the side. There's no sign of activity in the house just observing from the roadside.

Did you bring anyone with you? E.g. uniformed officers, armed officers

"We need to cover the back too," says Jocelyn. "We don't want him slipping away if he does happen to be home."

Yes, I think we should bring uniformed and armed officers with us. We recovered the gun, and while Johnny doesn't have it any more, we can presume he is armed and dangerous and is likely to have another. While it's doubtful he's home, we have to be prepared in case he is.

Yes, full tactical back-up, please. We have reason to suspect he will be armed.

Kris pulled on his bulletproof vest and passed another to Jocelyn to wear. He directed one of the AFOs to cover the back door along with one of the PCs, then approached the front door with Olly Grey in close support.

He glanced up and down the street, then turned his attention to the door, examining it quickly but carefully before they made their next move.

(40%) 1d100

"Thank you," says Jocelyn, putting on her body armor. She follows Kris up to the door and inspects it closely as well. They were dealing with a dangerous criminal who might also be a terrorist, and booby traps were not outside the realm of possibility.

Spot Hidden roll (60% skill) examining the front door:
d%

The front windows of the house are dark and obscured by net curtains.

One unformed officer accompanies an AFO down the side of the property, walking slowly past the front door. The AFO signals back to Kris and Jocelyn to come nearer and together with PC Grey and another uniformed officer they slowly approach the door.

It is white PVC with small frosted glass panels. There's nothing unusual looking about it. Jocelyn very gently tries to depress the handle but it doesn't move, locked.

The AFO and other uniformed officer move down to the end of the wall, peering around the corner into the garden. The AFO signals back that the garden is clear.

”Ready?” asked Kris quietly. Once everyone had indicated they were ready, he knocked on the door. In a loud, authoritative voice, he called out, “Johnny Zero? Thames Valley Police! Open the door!”

"Have the key ready," says Jocelyn to Ollie Grey. "If he's home and he doesn't let us in, we don't want him topping himself or having time to destroy evidence."

Ollie signals to the uniformed officer to get the battering ram from the car. He keeps his weapon trained on the front door.

When Kris knocks a light comes on inside the house and there is a sound of footsteps on the stairs. The glass panels darken as someone approaches the door from the other side. There is the clunk and click of bolts and chains being unfastened and then the door slowly opens.

Standing in the doorway is a rather short black woman in a dressing gown, despite her stature she looks formidable enough and she has a look on her face somewhere between impatience and annoyance. 'What's that boy done this time? she sighs.

Kris flashed his warrant card. ”We’re looking for Johnny Zero,” he said, trying to look past the woman into the house. ”Is he here?”

"He gets in trouble often, then?" asks Jocelyn. "That doesn't surprise me. What else has he done?"

'John isn't here' she says to Kris. Then looking Jocelyn up and down she says 'And I'm sure you know all about the trouble he's been in.' She starts to close the door, 'Now, unless you've got a warrant I'll be having my breakfast.'

"Show her the warrant," Jocelyn says to Kris.

Kris handed the woman the warrant and pushed open the door. ”Now, where’s your son? It’s vitally important that we speak with him.”

At the sight of the warrant she steps back and lets them in. She seems deflated. She beckons them into the kitchen and puts the kettle on. She takes a seat on a chair beside a rough wooden kitchen table and beckons them to sit.

Letting out a long sigh she says 'Even I will tell you my Johnny's no angel, but he's got a good heart underneath it all. He's been working at the church, the Reverend Balfour's one, The Passover Angel...he's not been in any trouble for a long time and he was settling down, helping me out around the house.'

'Then that little girl disappeared, the Balfour girl, he was helping the church, helping them try and find her. There was some break-in, you lot came round here looking for him but he went. And he hasn't come back. I'm worried about him, it's not like him.'

She gets up to make some tea and offers a cup to everyone present. Ollie doesn't hesitate to accept.

”Does he have a mobile telephone? Have you tried ringing him?” asked Kris.

"Are there any particular places he likes to hang out?" asks Jocelyn, after thanking her for the tea. "Who are his friends?"

At Kris's question she narrows her eyes and glares at him, 'Yes, he has a phone and yes, of course I've tried calling him!'

She turns back to Jocelyn and gives her an open smile, 'Now young lady, you were asking where he likes to go, who his friends are. Well, since he moved out here to Wycombe, to live with me, he's really only been spending time at the church, with people from the church. There was that nice Rachel girl, and Zac Newman, and some others I can't quite recall right now. He hasn't been involved with those bad boys from Lewisham, not for a long time.'

"Thank you," says Jocelyn, smiling back. "Please, tell us about Rachel and Zac Newman, and their addresses will help if you know them. We also can't rule out that he's gone back to the bad boys from Lewisham if he's trying to hide. If you've got his phone number, that will help too. He won't answer if we call, but we can track his phone to try to find him. We'll also want to search his room while we're here and see if there's any hint as to where he'd go."

”Perhaps I could take a look at his room while you and Jocelyn have a chat?” said Kris brightly, with what he hoped was a winning smile.

Allen's mother tears off a scrap of paper and scribbles down a mobile phone number for her son. 'What can I tell you about them? Rachel, I don't think I ever heard her surname, she's a nice white English girl, local I think. From the church. I don't know anything about where she lives. Johnny was seeing her quite a lot, I...well I had hoped they might get together. She seems nice and has her head screwed on.'

Zac, well he's a bit older than Johnny, from the church again. Helped out a lot with church activities, I think he got to know Johnny through his youth work. I'm not sure if I have any address for him either. I haven't seen him around for a while though. I thought maybe he fell out with Johnny, he wouldn't be the first.'

She stands up, 'His room is upstairs, follow me.' Pausing at the door she asks, 'What's he got mixed up in? What is this all about?'

Just a reminder, Zac Newman is the alias used by Lewiston when infiltrating Balfour's church.

"Thank you," says Jocelyn, following her upstairs. She glances over at Kris, allowing him to answer the question, as he is actually with the police.

The stairs finish at a narrow landing and a half open door indicates that the bathroom is at the top of the stairs. Turning back towards the front of the house there is a bedroom evident straight ahead but Allen's mother opens a door to the right and lets Jocelyn and Kris enter.

There's a pretty small looking double bed, the bedclothes are flowery and old fashioned looking. Against one wall is a freestanding pine wardrobe, and there's a matching chest of drawers and beside cabinet. There's a beaten up looking wooden chair in the corner with various items of clothing draped over it. A few free weights sit on the floor.

A plain wooden cross hangs on one wall and a wooden framed oval mirror on another. On the bedside table is a Bible, there's a rough looking cardboard bookmark poking out the top, the verse of Exodus marked comes as no surprise.

All in all the room is surprisingly clutter free, it is hard to believe anyone really lived here.

Kris looked around carefully, searching methodically, starting at the door and making his way around the room. He looked over to Allen’s mother and said, ”It seems that something isn’t as it should be at the church. Did you ever go there?”

Kris will open drawers and check underneath, look behind the mirror, check pockets, etc.

Kris searches all over the room, checking behind the mirror, in and under the drawers, and in the pockets of the clothes thrown over the chair.

I think a Spot Hidden would be useful here

Allen's mother replies, 'Well, the Church of the Passover Angel isn't exactly the Church of England. I'm Pentecostal myself but I found the Reverend Balfour a bit much. All that end of the world next week stuff. But Johnny seemed to believe it, and he really turned his life around so there must be the touch of Jesus in them.'

Jocelyn also searches the room, being sure to check under the mattress and under the bed, knowing where the usual hiding places are. "We should also check the toilet, considering," she says to Kris.

Spot Hidden roll (60% skill) searching Johnny's room:
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(40%) 1d100

”Did you ever meet, Rachael, Mrs Allen?” asked Kris. ”What did she look like?”

Despite searching thoroughly Kris finds nothing of use. It looks to him like Johnny Zero has deliberately cleared out anything that could incriminate him or connect him to anyone else.

Jocelyn continues to talk to Allen's mother as she walks into the bathroom and removes the lid from the cistern.

'I'm not Mrs Allen, not anymore, you can call me Joyce, Joyce Williams.'

Her hunch pays off, there's something wrapped in a plastic bag. Opening it up she finds a Nokia 6610 'brick' mobile phone.

'What's that?' asks Joyce, 'Oh no, that doesn't look good.'

The phone turns on and indicates there's no SIM. Shaking out the plastic bag a SIM card falls out onto the floor.

'Maybe there will be a number for Rachel?' she asks hopefully. 'I've met her a few times, like I said, she's a white girl, mid-twenties, brown hair, pretty, now what did she say she does, a teacher was it? Yes, I think she said she was a teacher. That would fit, because she seemed very sensible.'

Kris glanced at Jocelyn. The name didn’t mean anything to him so he hoped it would be a lead. “Is there a number for this ‘Rachel’?” he asked. “We may be able to trace it.”

Jocelyn carefully picks up the SIM card and inserts it into the phone, then checks to see what numbers are stored. "Whoever's numbers are on here, they'll be important," says Jocelyn.

Rachel is one of Johnny's friends from the church.

Jocelyn inserts the SIM card. There's no PIN surprisingly. She can find only a handful of numbers, first names only, listed alphabetically they are:

• David
• John
• Louise
• Phil
• Rachel
• Sarah
• Steve
• Winston
• Zac

All numbers are UK mobile phone numbers.

“Let’s try and run those numbers through the PNC and see if we get any matches,” said Kris.

"Good idea," says Jocelyn. "They may be able to tie these numbers to full names and addresses."

Pulling out his own phone, Kris put in a call to the control room. ”Can you run these numbers for me? I need names and addresses, please. Start with Rachel first, then the others. Some of the names may be alibis.”

"We can leave Zac for last," says Jocelyn. "We already have his information, but it will pay to check anyway in case we learn something new."

The control room gets back to Kris within a few minutes. 'The David number is a pre-pay, we've got no details on that, same with Winston and Zac. John is John Balfour, it's the number we already have for him. Same with Sarah, that's Sarah Balfour. Louise is listed as a Louise Hayman, address in London but she's not on the PNC, no convictions. Phil is James Williams, Wycombe address, nothing on the PNC except a speeding caution. Rachel is Rachel Johnson, also Wycombe, nothing on her. Then there's Steve, Steve Brown, address in London, got some convictions for drug possession and dealing about ten years ago.'

"We should visit Rachel first after we're done here," says Jocelyn. "She's local, so we'll want to talk to her before we head to London."

”Agreed,” said Kris. Speaking to control, he said, ”Can we get local units to check out the London addresses, to see if we can find Johnny there?”

The control room agrees to contact the Metropolitan Police to ask for their officers to investigate the addresses for Louise Hayman and Steve Brown.

-----

Jocelyn's phone rings, it's Simon.

"Hi, Simon," says Jocelyn when she answers the phone. "We've found a few leads, but let's hear what you've got first."

"Best to make sure it's not before Wednesday," says Jocelyn, "considering what's planned for Tuesday night. I found a mobile belonging to Johnny hidden in the toilet tank, with the SIM card stored separately. Seems he likes that as a hiding place. We've run the numbers we found on it, and the names. In addition to John and Sarah Balfour, and Zac, who we know better by another name, he has numbers for unidentified people named David, Phil, and Winston. But there are some the police were able to identify. There's his girlfriend from the church, Rachel Johnson, who has an address in Wycombe and no record. We plan to head there next. There's also James Williams in Wycombe. All he's got is a caution for speeding. But there's also Steve Brown in London, who has convictions for drug possession and dealing about ten years ago. One of his former criminal associates, no doubt. There's also a Louise Hayman in London, no record."

“Can Simon ask Regina about those names to see if any ring a bell?” asked Kris.

'I'd say we're not exactly dealing with criminal masterminds, but I no longer feel entirely comfortable making that assumption. Johnny is unlikely to be one, however. Chances are he's doing precisely what Balfour's told him to. Good work on tracking down all these leads; do you want me to join you at Ms. Johnson's home, or would you like me to pursue another of our suspects?' says Simon.

"I think we should stick together," says Jocelyn. "We can't be sure where we might find Johnny. Let's meet at Rachel's house. Can you ask Regina if any of the names are familiar to her? I'm sure she knows about her parents and Zac, but let's see if she knows about the others."

Simon hesitates. 'That makes sense, I'll be there as soon as I can. As for Regina, I'm not sure it's worth it to ask her any further questions-- I don't want to press too hard and anger Ms Goldfarb. She's in our corner presently and suspects something is amiss with the Balfour's, but I don't believe she particularly wants me to put Regina through another round of questions, and I would hate to jeopardize the relationship I've builded with her. If you really think it's necessary though, I'll give it a try.'

"I'll leave it to your judgment," says Jocelyn. "You know the situation better than I do."

“I guess that’s a ‘no’, then,” said Kris, disappointed.

He pulled the car keys from his pocket and looked around. ”Let’s get this place locked up and be on our way,” he said.

"All right," says Jocelyn, offering him the phone. "You can talk to him if you like, if you think it's a good idea for him to ask Regina."

'I think it's better not to push it then.' Simon responds.

'She knew who Mr. Zero was, but only as "Johnny" and that he was a friend of her father's. I'm guessing that if the other names were recognized she would have little to add beyond that they go to her church, which already strikes me as a safe assumption.'

'If there's nothing else, I'll head over to meet with you as soon as I can.'

”Ok, let’s not push her any further,” replied Kris. He relayed Rachel’s address to Simon.

“We’ll meet you there,” he said. “See if you can’t leave that idiot, Burke, behind…”

"Right, let's go," says Jocelyn. "Thank you for your help, Joyce."

The old woman stands at the door and watches them leave. The AFOs return their weapons to the ARV safe and get into the vehicle. Kris and Jocelyn climb into the patrol car with a uniformed officer who asks 'You want the AFOs to come with?'

”It’s probably for the best,” replied Kris. ”Right now, it seems like our best chance of finding Johnny Zero and we know he has access to firearms.”

"Agreed," says Jocelyn. "Given that, we should move quickly so we arrive before Simon does, just in case."

Kris nodded, turning the key to start the engine, letting the car warm up as he punched the address into his sat nav. Waving to the AFOs to follow him, he released the handbrake and set off in the direction of Rachel’s house.