The Closer

By CR Spencer

In this sequel to The Opener, the short but intense relationship with Edward Carter, has left an indelible mark on Janice Deveaux. Burying herself in her new found confidence both personally and professionally, Janice suddenly finds that Edward Carter’s past dealings come back to disrupt her life. Enter Ashton Williams’ elder brother, Barrington and his psychopathic female minders, determined to find out the truth about how his ill-disciplined sibling died.

Janice Deveaux is confronted by a lethal pair of identical twins who seem to have no moral code and are able to inflict death and destruction on all who cross their path. Janice must use all the skills she has picked up from Edward Carter and find her way through this murky world of gangland London.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CR Spencer
• Release date: Feb 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005354633

CR Spencer

CR Spencer is a graduate of Manchester University and King's College, London and has worked in a variety of roles within the education sector including school principal and school inspector across the world from the Far East to Central America. He is the author of the Penance Trilogy and the creator of the character of Dagmar JohnsonCR Spencer lives in the Herault region of southwest France where he enjoys the peace and tranquility of the vineyards, the rolling hills and active village life. He writes almost daily when his unruly garden does not distract him...The author can be contacted on [e-mail]

Book preview

Chapter 1

An eventful evening

She was in the kitchen; phone glued to her ear with her head bent down to one side, keeping it firmly lodged against her shoulder. It takes practice to do that especially with an expensive brand new iPhone. She’d had lots of that. She was chatting away as she prepared the evening meal.

Nah; he hasn’t asked me yet.

Her voice was clear; there was the slightest hint of a Caribbean accent even though she had never lived there; must have acquired it from her mother…

She stirred the pot vigorously as she listened.

I don’t know; he says he loves me but he’s a man, isn’t he?

She tasted the sauce and wrinkled up her nose. She reached for the hot pepper reminding herself that she had been told repeatedly by her big sister not to add too much…

She laughed out loud, nearly dislodging the phone from its resting place.

Give me a break girl; you ain’t getting nottin from him…he barely gives me enough…

The accent had become very north London.

What about you? You not gettin any?

She rattled the pot on the stove and stirred the rice whilst she listened to her friend complaining about men in general and black men in particular…

There was a gurgling sound from the baby monitor that stood on the kitchen counter. She glanced at it automatically and then at the kitchen clock. She froze for a moment waiting to see if the sound would develop into a cry. She switched off from the chuntering voice at the other end of the phone. The baby, Alicia Carter-Deveaux, sighed and then all was quiet.

The female zoned back into the conversation…

The doorbell rang…

Sheena Deveaux stopped what she was doing and slowly turned towards the flat screen door monitor that was attached to the wall by the kitchen door. The external light outside the front door had come on shining brightly. The light illuminated a black female with a wild shock of Afro hair. The caller smiled into the door intercom. Sheena Deveaux could see she was immaculately made-up with perfectly applied cosmetics. Her lips were a deep, ruby red; there was a hint of brown eye shadow over especially long, black, curly eyelashes. Deveaux could see a gold tooth in the smiling face, a gold stud in the nose and big golden coloured hoops attached to the ears. A row of small diamond jewels tracked up the right ear. The woman appeared to be wearing a long, black full-length coat, enough to keep out the unseasonably late spring east wind.

Deveaux cut the call to her gossiping friend and walked over to the door monitor. She pressed the intercom thinking it was mid week and not likely to be door preachers. She spoke quietly into the unit as she pressed the button.

Hello?

I and I are looking for the Deveaux sisters. The accent was thick Jamaican.

Sheena Deveaux stepped back as an almost identically presented female came into view on the screen.

What can I do for you?

Open de door, sister and I and I will tell you.

Sheena Deveaux glanced at the clock; ‘Where the hell was Janice?’

I’m busy; can you come back at the weekend? It’s not convenient.

We’s no trouble, sister. Just a lickle chat, that’s all.

Sheena Deveaux reached for her cell phone and speed dialled her sister.

The number you have dialled is not currently available. Please try later…

Sheena Deveaux swore; Janice was probably somewhere underground sitting on a tube train.

The buzzer sounded again,

Come on, sister, I and I are freezin our tits off out here…

The door began to bang…

Deveaux pressed the button, Don’t bang on the door.

We’s not goin away till I and I speak with you…

I’m not opening the door, so you’d better leave.

There was a loud bang as the outer porch door shattered off its hinges. It crashed into the inner door skylight and immediately shattered it.

Sheena Deveaux’s heart began to beat furiously. She pressed the button,

You are making a big mistake. Now do yourselves a favour and clear off before I call the police.

The inner door had a good three-point mortise lock. They’d have a job to kick that one in…or so she thought…and then she heard the portable angle grinder on the top hinge lock. They were cutting directly through the uPVC door. She heard,

Call them Babylon. They won’t show up here until tomorrow…silly bitch…

Sheena Deveaux knew they were correct. The baby monitor sounded again…

She reached for the last small drawer right by the American style refrigerator. Her hand clipped a button in the drawer and a small shelf sprang out. Two little clamps in the rear held a black, unused and never fired Glock G17 nine-millimetre pistol. She pulled it out and shoved it down the back waistband of her expensive jeans. She hadn’t wanted it in the house but now she was glad that Janice had insisted…

The second door hinge lock gave way. She backed herself up against the counter, reached out and turned off the gas jets to the stove. She took in three deep breaths and folded her arms. Janice had spoken of this many times to her. It was an eventuality that could happen…

Janice had often said, You know nothing about anything, okay?

The third hinge lock gave way. The new door crashed onto the hall floor. Sheena Deveaux smiled as she felt the Glock press against the small of her back. She knew there was reason why her big sister had made her join an air rifle club out in Buckinghamshire. She had matured into a good shot although there was a big difference in firing an air pistol and a lethal Glock… Janice had told her she could ride shotgun for her anytime…

The two women with the Jamaican accents slowly walked into the hall. Sheena Deveaux called out,

In the kitchen, there was no need to break the door…

Carefully, the women entered the kitchen. They were identically dressed each with long thigh high boots and short black skirts. The maxi coats opened as they walked. In fact, it was difficult to tell them apart. Sheena Deveaux raised her eyebrows.

One of them said,

Somting smell good. You a good cook, sister?

Deveaux raised her eyebrows. So I’ve been told but you aren't invited.

She noticed that one had blazing blue eyes accentuated by deep blue eye shadow; she could now tell them apart. The other had fiery brown eyes and matching eye shadow. Sheena Deveaux could spot coloured contact lenses anywhere…

Brown Eyes walked up to her as she stood rooted to the spot, still with her arms folded. Brown Eyes flicked at Deveaux’s long plaits.

"We didn’t need to mash up de door if you had only opened it, sister.

Sheena Deveaux sighed, What do you want. If you are here to rob me, take what you need and fuck off.

Blue Eyes smiled, You got nottin we need, sister. Just some answers.

Brown Eyes glanced at her mate, Oh, I don’t know about that. This is some good lookin bitch…

She ran her painted fingernails down the side of Sheena Deveaux’s face.

Blue Eyes approached her, Ashton Williams; that’s why we are here…

Sheena Deveaux froze as her heart skipped a beat…Who?

Brown eyes smiled as her hand lingered close to Sheena Deveaux’s chest. The fingers went into the breast pocket of her white blouse.

Come on, we knows all about you and your big sister. You were with him the night that white boy come lookin for trouble… She squashed in beside Sheena Deveaux,

Come on, small up yuhself…

Brown Eyes pressed against her on the other side.

Deveaux went on, Oh, that night. Dunno much as we were pretty out of it on Ashton’s skunk.

A hand slipped inside her blouse and pressed against her heart.

Lord, this bitch is havin’ a heart attack.

The hand massaged the breast and slipped down to her nipple. Brown Eyes rolled the nipple between a finger and thumb; it sent a shiver down Sheena Deveaux’s tummy…

Brown Eyes smiled and looked at her mate, Me tinks this bitch is a batty gyal…

Blue Eyes giggled, You think she a big hole gyal?

Nah, she too good lookin to get bigged…I bet she got a good pussy tongue…let me see…

The hand ripped at the blouse and popped the three buttons exposing a white bra. A hand began to work away at the top button of her jeans. Sheena Deveaux slowly reached down and grabbed the wrist. Brown Eyes leaned in and licked the side of her face…

A voice boomed out,

Back off ladies, you’ve had your fun…

Brown Eyes looked at Blue Eyes…Slowly, they released the pressure from Sheena Deveaux. They walked behind the voice pouting.

Deveaux looked up to see a tall, black handsome man dressed in a three-piece pin stripped suit that was definitely not from off the peg at some chain store. The crisp white shirt was adorned with a plain blue tie. A matching silk handkerchief peeked out of the jacket breast pocket. His black, Oxford brogues were highly polished. The man was completely bald. He shot the cuffs of his shirt and adjusted the gold links. He cleared his throat.

Miss Deveaux, I must apologise for the behaviour of my two assistants.

The girls giggled coyly as they held hands.

He went on, My name is Barrington Williams. Does that name ring a bell? Ashton was my younger brother; I believe you knew him?

Sheena Deveaux stared at him…

He shook his head, No matter. Ashton was somewhat wayward. I understand you met him before his unfortunate…how shall we say, accident?

Sheena Deveaux allowed herself a sly smile, You mean when he went over the balcony of his flat during some drugs’ dispute?

I understand you and your sister were with him when he first encountered the white man?

Deveaux sighed, As I told one of your assistants here, we were very much out of it. Ashton supplied strong weed.

Please be good enough to tell me what exactly happened?

Look, we were in bed. It was Sunday morning. Some guy, we never saw his face as he wore a ski mask, got in and made threats. He fired Ashton’s gun and hit him over the head. He said that Ashton was trying to muscle in on the girls on Wormwood Scrubs. He warned him off…

She shrugged her shoulders, That’s all we know as we never saw him again. The next thing we heard was that he went over the balcony and his two mates got popped.

Yes, I knew Ashton was a bit headstrong. I told him to stay clear of other people’s business but he wouldn’t listen. They never do, do they? The police have cleared the girls from the Scrubs but I managed to track one down. She told me some guy they knew as Jasper, kept them out of trouble and I think I would like a quiet word with this fellow. I don’t suppose you know him, do you?

Sheena Deveaux’s heart began to beat quickly as she shook her head.

Sorry, haven’t got a clue. We never saw Ashton again after that night; it was too dangerous, she lied.

Barrington Williams raised his eyebrows, Apparently so.

Just then, the baby monitor squawked on the kitchen counter…Sheena began to move, Brown Eyes quickly stepped in front of her; there was venom in her eyes…

Rest your backside there, punash…

Williams nodded at Blue Eyes who immediately ran out of the kitchen and upstairs. Sheena Deveaux reached her arm behind her back and felt the handle of the Glock. She breathed in deeply as Brown Eyes leaned into her face…Janice and her had practiced for this scenario numerous times…You wait for the right moment…

Blue Eyes came back holding the nine-month-old Alicia Carter-Deveaux carefully.

She said, Look, Barrington, dis bitch got a pickney. She held out the child, Looks to me she like white man cock. Whoofa pickney dat?

Barrington Williams took the baby from her as Sheena Spoke carefully,

That’s my sister’s baby and you three need to leave now. I’ve told you all I know… She stared into Brown Eyes as she reached out for the baby. Don’t you call me a punash again…

Brown Eyes smiled…

Barrington Williams was startled as the muzzle of the G26 sub-compact Glock pressed against his head.

Janice Deveaux shouted, Freeze, you motherfuckers. She took the baby from a startled Barrington Williams with one hand. Alicia Carter-Deveaux smiled at her mamma…

She turned to the girls. Sheena had her gun pressed against Brown Eyes’ temple.

Sheena Deveaux raised her voice, Now, who’s the punash, bitch? On your knees with your hands behind your heads. Lace your fingers.

Brown Eyes swallowed nervously…she looked at Blue Eyes. They hadn’t bargained for this…

Janice Deveaux shoved a boot into the back of Williams’ knee,

You as well, asshole. Who the fuck do you think you are breaking into my house issuing threats? Sheena told you we know nothing of your prick of a brother. He was warned off and chose to ignore it. He messed with the wrong people. He was told…Nothing to do with us. You are pissing up the wrong tree…

She pressed the Glock into the back of the bald man’s head.

Now, take your skanky bitches and get the fuck out of my house. If I see you three again you’ll be pushing up daisies on some wasteland.

Barrington Williams stood slowly with a smile on his face; he opened up his arms,

Yeah, okay, sorry. Just a little misunderstanding, that’s all. He began to reach into his inside pocket…Janice Deveaux waved the Glock in his face…Now, don’t be silly, cruff.

He said, Just my card, that’s all…If you hear of anything, give me a call. I’m sure we can work something out… He threw the card on the kitchen floor.

Janice Deveaux shoved the Glock under his chin and pressed it upwards,

There’s a small matter of the doors…

Send me the bill and I’ll take care of it. The address is on the card…

He looked at his two assistants and flicked his eyebrows. They started to rise when Sheena Deveaux shoved the Glock into Brown Eyes’ face; she growled,

Stay there, dutty gyal…

Janice Deveaux waved her gun, Come along; chop, chop. I’ve got a baby to take care of…

Williams and Blue Eyes gradually moved towards the broken doors. Janice Deveaux spoke loudly,

Get in your fucking car and start the engine. She nodded towards the dark coloured Mercedes that was blocking the drive and the white Fiat 500. She pointed at the expensive battery powered angle grinder that sat on the hallway floor.

Leave your door opener where it is…Your friend will join you after you have driven to the end of the street.

Williams smiled as he got into the car; his lady friend scowled as she climbed into the rear seat. He lowered the driver’s window and said,

You’ll be seeing me again…

Janice Deveaux nodded, I’m relying on it, lagga head.

The car pulled slowly away and cruised to the end of the road under the streetlight. Sheena shoved Brown Eyes to the door with the gun still hard against the woman’s head.

Off you go, there’s a good little batta-ears gyal… She added, You might want to think about changing your personal hygiene regime if you want to touch me up…I’ve smelt week old fish better than you…

Janice Deveaux sniggered as she pushed her out into the cold evening still clutching her baby. The woman slowly went down the short path. As she exited the gate she turned and ran an index finger across her throat as she smiled.

She said, You two bitches is dead…

The Deveaux sisters smiled…Janice said,

"Bring it on…’ and smiled at her baby…

Chapter 2

Expected Repercussions

Three hours later, the sisters sat in the kitchen examining the CCTV footage of the incident. The discrete cameras had picked up the tiniest of detail. There was a loud banging coming from the front hallway as the emergency boarding up company completed its work.

Janice Deveaux looked at her sister, as a tall, black handsome man appeared at the door; he spoke in a soft voice that belied his size,

Sheena, it’s all good for the night; that’ll do for now until you can get proper repairs to the doors. I called in a few favours and a crew will be here first thing to replace your doors. It’s not gonna be cheap, though.

Sheena Deveaux smiled as she stood up, Thanks for coming Errol. It’s good of you.

Errol shook his head, Nah, your insurance company has given me plenty of work in the past. If I can’t do a little service for one of its employees there’s something wrong with me. Have you called the police?

She shook her head, No, we’ll deal with this ourselves. They wouldn’t come out until later in the morning and there’s no point claiming off the insurance as they’ll hike up the premiums. We know who’s responsible; they’ll pay, don’t worry. She felt her big sister’s hand on her arm as a warning not to say too much. She went on,

Come on, I’ll see you and your lads out; it’s getting late…

The couple disappeared down the hallway. Janice Deveaux put her head in her hands. She was tired and she had a headache. This was all she needed after a long and stressful day at work. She tapped the track pad on the MacBook Air and the scene began to play again. She wasn’t really watching the footage. Her mind went back eighteen months when she had first come across Alicia Carter-Deveaux’s father. She and her younger sister had been lying in bed one early Sunday morning when the man who had taken her heart so quickly came into her life. Yes, she and Sheena were in bed with the local drugs dealer, one Ashton Williams, after a heavy night of alcohol and Columbian marching powder.

She knew Edward Carter was potentially a very dangerous man but you go where your heart takes you, don’t you? She was with him when he wreaked death and destruction on those who crossed and betrayed him. Yet, his actions had not offended her sense of morality. Those he killed were deserving of their fate, or so she reasoned. It was Carter who had sent Barrington Williams’ younger brother off the top floor walkway of the block of flats in Wembley.

Ashton Williams, a small time drugs dealer with higher ambitions, had tried to muscle in on some working girls down at Wormwood Scrubs. The ladies were unofficially looked after by the man they called ‘Jasper.’ They knew that was his professional name and that was all they knew about him. All except for the Brazilian with the Italian name, Marta De Luca. She was now gone to a resurrected nursing career in Zurich with the Swiss banker who was now funnelling money into Janice Deveaux’s accounts…legally, of course…

She was with him when the man with whom she had fallen so hopelessly in love, put his head on her shoulder and died quietly of a massive brain bleed caused by a severe beating from a reluctant payer of his services…

What did he leave her with apart from a broken heart? He left her with a beautiful baby girl, a set of newly acquired skills and a renewed confidence to take on the world…

She was jolted out of her dreaming when her sister came back with a smile on her face. Sheena Deveaux said proudly,

He asked me out…

Janice Deveaux snorted, What about Mitch?

I’m still waiting for him to make some sort of a commitment…

Janice sighed, Don’t hold your breath. You know Errol well?

Yes. We’ve used him for years as an emergency service. He’s always chatting me up on the phone.

Will we get his services for free?

Don’t be silly, best part of £500 for a call out at this time of night… she laughed and then added, Never mind the two new doors…

Janice shook her head, Pity, I changed them on Edward’s recommendation… The voice tailed off….

Sheena took her hand, What are we gonna do, Sis?

Janice looked at her and said, What would Edward do, Sheena?

Take out the bastards, was the firm reply…

Exactly….

It was approaching midnight when the white Fiat 500 pulled up in front of a row of eight lock-up garages at the back of Kingsbury Circle in Kenton; about ten minutes drive at this late hour. Janice Deveaux shut down the lights and then the engine on her car. One of her numerous companies had bought all eight garages. She wasn’t exactly sure how many of these she controlled; the Swiss banker, Christian Blosch, took care of everything from investments, filing accounts and completing tax returns.

The lock-up garages were behind a parade of shops on the Circle. She had allowed two of the traders to keep the end units. One stored non-perishable foodstuffs, the other was used as a workshop by a locksmith on the parade. The rest, she had encouraged to vacate or not renewed the leases when they expired. The two in the middle had been knocked into one larger unit. The others were deliberately left vacant as a security measure. You don’t want prying eyes or ears, do you?

As she exited the car, CCTV cameras swung around in her direction triggered by the motion. A keypad magically appeared through the door as it recognised a signal from the fob in her pocket. She tapped a code and the electric door opened as the unit was lit by a blaze of lights. She stepped inside. She went up to a cupboard at the rear over the heavy metal workbench, opened it and touched her index finger on a red button on the screen. The button turned green and the safe sprung open. She sat down at the workbench and carefully took apart the two Glock weapons. Wearing blue plastic gloves, she wiped the guns clean, oiled and reassembled them and slotted the magazines back into the handles first checking the Compact was full with ten bullets. She put one in the chamber, placed it into a micro-fibre bag and stored it at the back of the safe.

The G17, the one that Sheena had handled, had a magazine of seventeen shells; she chambered one and flicked on the safety. That, too, went into another bag and was carefully stored away. She shut up the safe making sure the screen went red and sat back at the desk.

Sheena had wanted to keep the G17 at home in case there were more visitors but the one thing Edward Carter had instilled into Janice Deveaux was the need to be over careful. She had reasoned that there could be a visit from the local police because the neighbours would have been disturbed by the noise of an angle grinder…On the other hand, she was pretty sure Barrington Williams could have tipped off the police…

She pulled out a red folder. Marta De Luca had told her that Edward Carter had spent the month while recuperating in her flat, working on the contents. Janice Deveaux had replaced the sheets with instructions on what to do in case of his demise. She could still make out the watermarks left by her tears on the paper…

She knew that someday this would all come back. If it wasn’t someone connected to Ashton Williams there was always the possibility that the newly released daughter of Sully Sullivan, Becky, would be looking for some sort of payback. On the other hand, Serious Crimes and one Detective Inspector Laura Sawyers or her successors were still looking for the Opener, albeit half-heartedly.

Edward Carter had told her repeatedly,

"There shouldn’t be any loose ends; anticipate and shut down all possible eventualities. Make sure you close all loopholes…They call me an opener; you need to become a closer…

Sheena Deveaux was still up when Janice got home; she was sat in the kitchen nursing a cup of camomile tea dressed in a pair of blue pyjamas.

Janice said, Hey! Why are you still up? Is Alicia still sleeping?

Sheena looked up, Yeah, she’s sleeping as though she hasn’t got a care in the world; which she hasn’t, of course…

Janice Deveaux smiled, Not like us, you mean?

Sheena snorted, Little problems, that’s all…

She flicked over the card that Barrington Williams had left,

Just a telephone number, that’s all. No address.

Janice picked it up, Nah, no problem, the front CCTV picked up the registration of the car. I’ll run the address later. She yawned.

I’m tired…Got to be in early tomorrow; video call with the Far East. What time is Beata coming?

Early….She’ll sort out Alicia…I don’t know what we’d do without her?

Yeah, I was thinking, we might want her to move in for a while until we get this mess sorted out. I can’t afford to take time off from work. Bolton is still crawling over me…he didn’t like his team being showed up.

Sheena looked at her, Bolton? He’s a nobody. Why don’t you just go back to analysis? It’s not as though we need the money now that the mortgage is paid off.

Janice shook her head, Andreas won’t wear it, not after the Restall affair, I know too much. She paused…

Anyway, I can deal with Bennie ‘The Bolt’ Bolton; we’ve got more important things to worry about at the moment. Barrington Williams won’t let this go especially with those two skanks on his case. They are used to getting their own way. He’ll be back one way or the other…I’m pretty sure.

Sheena looked at her big sister; it had been mixed blessings since Edward Carter had come into their lives…

Are we clean?

Yep, there’s nothing here that shouldn’t be.

Is the lock-up good?

Yup; all taken care of…Stand by for action…

Chapter 3

Two more doors required…

The repercussions came two days later. It was a shame, really. Emergency repairman, Errol, had been good as his word; bright and early the next morning, a specialist team of door fitters had arrived to replace the ones destroyed by Blue and Brown Eyes. They left four hours later having installed two pristine white uPVC security doors and repaired the doorjambs. Oh, not forgetting a nice hefty bill for over £3,000…

Just before six in the morning, even before baby Alicia had stirred, there was an almighty crash as twelve burly policemen and women burst through the doors armed with a search warrant on this ‘suspected drugs dealing house…’

Beata Dubanowska emerged first from the spare room dressed in a pair of pyjamas, blinking as two rather large policemen charged up the stairs shouting Police! Police! at the top of their voices.

Janice Deveaux materialised from the front bedroom cradling a still sleepy baby.

Dubanowska looked at her, "What going on? Miss Janice?

Before she had time to answer, both women were put to the ground each with the weight of a policeman on their back. Janice had a job to hold out the baby who by now was beginning to cry having had her normal tranquil routine so rudely interrupted.

A voice shouted, No talking…

Another voice quietly said, We have an infant here…send up a WPC.

The two women were roughly pulled to their feet, searched and handcuffed with their arms behind their backs ‘for their own safety’, of course…

Sheena Deveaux emerged from the back bedroom. A voice anxiously shouted,

Third female; assistance needed.

Janice could hear the downstairs being taken apart as a senior officer wearily trudged up the staircase. He spoke, with exasperation in his voice,

I thought there were only two females in the house?

Sheena Deveaux was put to the floor and her hands were roughly pulled up behind her and cuffed. She looked at her sister and winked…

They were plonked unceremoniously on the sofa in the living room. So far, no one had bothered to address them.

She asked, Could someone please tell us what’s going on?

The WPC cradling the baby shouted, Shut the fuck up…You’ll be told when it’s safe to do so.

Janice Deveaux enquired, Is there any chance you could put my baby down? She’s not used to strangers…

The senior officer came back in. They could hear the sounds of the house being taken apart.

He waved a piece of paper in front of them,

"We have a warrant to search this house. We have been informed that there are illegal drugs and stolen