Page 58 of Savage Protector

“Lando went after them, but they were quick. I just grabbed the fire extinguisher.”

“You did well, both of you. We’re grateful.”

“I had to kick Leila’s door in. I thought she was in there…”

“I moved her out yesterday,” I explain.

“Good. But I wish I’d known. We wouldn’t have let them get away.”

“Don’t worry about that. We have a good idea who they are. Did you see anyone else, maybe outside?”

Gregory and Orlando exchange a questioning glance.

“No, not that I recall,” Orlando replies. “To be fair, we weren’t looking.” He hesitates, then, “But there must have been someone else with them.”

“Oh?” I ask. “Why do you say that?”

“I chased them out into the street. They ran off along the road, but only for a hundred yards or so. Then they hopped in a car that was waiting. One got in the front, passenger side, and the other in the back. There had to have been a driver…”

“And I bet I know who. What sort of car was it?”

“Couldn’t rightly say, not at that distance, and it was dark. A saloon, that’s all I can say.”

“A hundred yards? Which direction did they go? Left or right?”

“Right. And they crossed the road.”

Tony already has his phone out. “I’ll get on to Casey. She might be able to hack into some doorbell cameras. If we can get a good look at that vehicle, better still, the driver, we’re home and dry.”

We leave him to get on with that while we go up a floor to survey the damage to Leila’s flat. Orlando throws on some jeans and follows us.

“We got as far as here,” Gregory pauses on the second step from the top. “We could see the flash of torches, and they weren’t exactly being quiet. Either they were idiots or they didn’t give a shit about anyone hearing them.”

“Probably a bit of both. What next?”

“We did keep quiet. We got to the top and saw the pair of them crouching by Leila’s door. We could smell petrol, so we knew what they were up to. Vicious bastards. One of them sprayed, the other was lighting matches and posting them through the letterbox. Fucking stupid, they were lucky not to set themselves on fire.”

Not so lucky when we get hold of them. I observe the carnage. The door is charred and almost as mangled as the one downstairs, courtesy of Gregory’s boot. I shove it open to find the inner entrance area equally damaged. The walls are smoke-stained, and the smell of chemicals almost overwhelming.

“What the fuck is that stink?” Nico asks.

“Fire extinguisher,” Gregory answers. “I emptied the thing.”

We advance right inside. The tiny flat is barely recognisable since my last visit just a day ago. I’m glad I didn’t delay collecting Leila’s things, she’d have virtually nothing left undamaged. The smoke has got everywhere, into every corner of the single-room studio.

“She won’t be moving back anytime soon,” Tony observes, having followed us in.

I agree.Every cloud and all that…

“I’ll chase up those industrial cleaners,” he adds, his phone back in his hand. “Ethan’ll be delighted.”

Outside in the car,we take stock.

“Well, they made a right fucking mess, but no one died,” Nico says, ever the optimist.

“Yet,” I growl. And only because young Gregory waded in in time. I check my watch. “My appointment is in an hour. We’d best get moving.”

“Will you need backup?” Tony asks me, starting the car.

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