The Christmas Present by Ann Reader

 For the first time since her younger brother was killed by a heroin overdose, DC Kate Chalmers found herself looking forward to Christmas. Normally, she would have gone to her parents, and the gaping hole left by her brother’s death would have put a damper on the whole holiday. This year she was working, tracking down drug dealers. However small her part, she was eager to play it to the full. She attended the morning drug squad briefing with a feeling of eagerness.

The DCI wished them all a happy Christmas then got down to the nitty-gritty. 'This is a busy time of year in the drug world. The addicts are trying to make sure they have sufficient for Christmas, the recreational users are out for fun big time. The dealers are looking to increase as well as satisfy demand. Locally we have a very worrying trend. Most of you have heard of the drug GHB, and you probably think it’s class C and nothing much to worry about. Try telling that to the mother of Lee Perkins, dead at just 21 because he took too much of the stuff, or his 17-year-old girlfriend who came round from her own coma to find him dying beside her and nothing she could do about it. This drug is gaining in popularity; it is being sold in the nightclubs.

Rumour has it that our old friend Ricky Summer is selling it. We need to find out who is making it and stop it at the source.

There is a unit on the Eastern Road industrial estate we think is being used as a laboratory, but we need more proof before we can get a search warrant.

'We’re looking to make a two-pronged attack. Undercover and uniform will tackle Katrina’s. We will try to locate the source. The problem we have is that we can’t get into any of the nearby units to watch the target unit, so I’m looking for ideas that will allow us maximum observation time without alerting the occupants.' Here she stopped and looked at the team.

Various murmurings about drive-bys in different unmarked vehicles were made. Suddenly, two ideas occurred to Kate at once. She raised her hand, then flushed with embarrassment as the DCI turned towards her. 'There’s a gym at the top of the road; perhaps some of us could start that ‘couch potato to 5K running' thing out of there. Also, I have a friend with a miniature Shih Tzu dog; I could borrow it. It takes ages to walk anywhere. I could walk it past the unit probably twice a day without anyone thinking anything was going on.'

The DCI smiled. 'Yes, I like it, borrow the dog and get walking. DC Chapman, you get working on the couch to 5K run angle. DS Benning and DS Clarke, you work out a rota for walk-bys, cycle-bys, and drive-bys in whatever unmarked vehicles the team has at hand. Then try to coordinate with undercover and uniform. We need to get the warrant in time to search just as the other team does the bust at Katrina’s. Ideally, the Saturday before Christmas.'

So for the third time this week, Kate found herself, wrapped against the cold, dawdling with Coochie along the pavement towards the suspect unit. That Friday afternoon, luck was with her. A BMW with blacked-out windows passed her and drew up outside. A man got out, and Kate immediately recognised him as one of Ricky’s henchmen. He did not pay her any attention at all. She concentrated on the dog while watching him go into the building and return to his car a few moments later. He clearly passed a small package to someone in the rear passenger seat. Kate was almost sure this was Ricky himself. She memorised the registration number and continued with her walk.

Back at the station, she reported. The DCI felt it would increase the chance of a warrant if Kate went to court and gave her evidence live in the course of the application.

The CPS was briefed, and the matter was slotted in for an 'in-camera' hearing before the district judge at the Saturday morning court. Kate was so nervous she was sure she would not be able to utter a word, but the prosecutor had her statement and asked questions that helped her to give that statement to the Judge. They were lucky; this particular District Judge was known to have something of an attitude against drug dealers and was happy to accept her evidence as sufficient to merit granting a search warrant.

Kate was allocated to the team going into the industrial unit. There were only two people at the premises when the warrant was executed at 11 pm that Friday evening. They were arrested before they could make any phone calls. The search team contained a forensic chemist who was quickly able to establish that the premises were, in effect, a GHB factory.

It was pandemonium when she returned to the station. Every cell and interview room was full, and the custody sergeant was tearing his hair out trying to arrange accommodation for prisoners at other stations. The bust at Katrina’s had been more successful than they had dared hope. Thanks to expert knowledge from the undercover team, uniform had arrived just after the consignment of drugs so many had been found in possession of the drugs without having had the chance to take them.

Most of those with just enough for personal use were given quick interviews, legal cautions, and strong warnings about the dangers of these drugs and sent home. Thanks to the work of the undercover team, those suspected of supplying were held for interview in the morning.

Ricky Summer was another matter. He had called for his lawyer on arrival at the police station. Due to her previous involvement in placing a tracker in his bag, Kate was allowed to observe his interview as it was being videoed. His silence could not outweigh the quantity of different drugs found either on his person, in his car, or at his house. He was charged with ‘Supply and Possession with Intent’ and refused bail. He would be out of circulation for Christmas and some considerable time thereafter.

It was late on the Sunday when Kate finally got home. Due to the overnight interviews, to clear the custody suite, she had been working almost constantly since court on the Saturday morning. It was Christmas Eve; she was exhausted but happy. What better present than knowing a quantity of drugs had been taken out of circulation and a dealer taken off the street? Better still, the DCI had been pleased and told her to take the morning off. She was going to get a Christmas lie-in.