The Informant Read Online Free PDF Page A

fraying, the drive was to nail
Marlow’s killer. The question was, could Bradley deliver? On paper he was clever enough, but that counted for little out on the street.
    Bradley gave a diffident smile. ‘I can see that targeting the sister is certainly the sensible approach. But – hope you don’t mind me saying this sir – if she’s
been in prison for six years, is she going to be close enough to her brother now to give us anything useful?’
    Turnbull swivelled his high-backed desk chair to face Bradley. He smiled. He liked the fact the lad was a bit gung-ho, but was it just to impress?
    ‘Point taken. But before he died DS Marlow was able to provide us with a lot of very useful intelligence about Phelps and his operation. And the first thing to understand is that Joey
Phelps isn’t just another thug. He’s a thug with a brain. So I agree with the Assistant Commissioner. Phelps knows we’re after him. Someone new turns up now, however plausible,
he’ll spot it a mile off. And I don’t want to be fishing any more of my officers out of the river.’
    Bradley nodded, but he knew he’d only have one shot at impressing Turnbull, so he ploughed on.
    ‘Is Joey Phelps really that smart? Isn’t it just that he’s very violent?’
    Turnbull reached across the desk and tapped the file in front of Bradley with his index finger. ‘You need to study the rest of this. The family history. Terry Phelps grew up in the
Bermondsey triangle, started out as an unlicensed boxer – Reggie Kray sponsored him for a while. He graduated to armed robbery, ended up inside. Came out in the mid-eighties and found the
world had changed. So he shipped the family out to Essex and set up in the drugs business. Him and his nephew Sean Phelps ran a security outfit; Southend, Basildon, as far north as Chelmsford, they
ran the doors on any club of any size. They supplied Ecstasy and cocaine.’
    ‘I think I’ve read about Sean Phelps somewhere. Mid-nineties, drive-by shooting of a police officer? Witnesses changed their testimony because of intimidation?’
    Turnbull sighed. ‘That’s been lying on file ever since. He finally went down in 1997, got life with a tariff of twelve for beating a rival dealer to death in a pub brawl. Parole
Board have knocked him back twice, he’s probably hoping third time he’ll be lucky. But the important point in all this is that Terry Phelps was a small-time villain, he stuck to his
Essex patch. Couple of years ago his son takes over and turns this small family firm into something far more ambitious.’
    ‘How’s he expanded so quickly?’
    ‘Same as any businessman really. Takeover bids. He’s rolled over every rival firm of any size in Essex, now he’s moving into the East End.’
    ‘Where’s he get the muscle to do something like that?’
    ‘Another tried-and-tested business strategy: outsourcing. He picks a local gang, usually young, hungry, desperate to move up. He’s got plenty to choose from. He tools them up, gets
them to clear a patch of territory in return for distribution rights.’
    Bradley shook his head sceptically. ‘I can think of a few London firms, like the Turks and some of the eastern Europeans, who’d start World War Three before they’d roll
over.’
    ‘So far he’s been clever about picking his targets. Hasn’t tried it on with anyone too nasty. But the real ace up his sleeve is supply. Everything he sells is top-quality
product. He’s become known for it. And his prices are reasonable. He’s put reputation before instant profit. Very canny operator.’
    ‘Sounds like you almost admire him sir.’
    ‘No. No, I don’t. He’s also a cold-blooded killer. I just don’t underestimate him and I don’t want you to either.’
    Bradley nodded. So they were back to Karen Phelps. He knew why it was him sitting there, not a more experienced officer. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Turnbull’s plan. Ever
since he was a boy Bradley had been forced to