Saeed, Flint, Cushion and Leibnitz traipsed into the police headquarters just as the sun's first rays struck the cathedral spire. The streets were relatively quiet and empty. They had grabbed coffees in polystyrene cups from a greasy spoon café illegally parked in a small layby just beyond the large roundabout close to the headquarters.
'What?' Ahmed had exclaimed in mock indignation when Flint looked on quizzically as he ordered a bacon and sausage sandwich with an extra helping of tomato ketchup. 'I've told you I'm not religious!'
She smiled benignly and informed him that hers was a cappuccino no sugar and that as he seemed to be in the driving seat he better get coffees for Cushion and Leibnitz.
They sat at the small desks and surveyed the debris of paper from the previous evening.
'You're worse than a kid' Flint playfully laughed as Ahmed sunk his teeth into the bacon and sausage monstrosity and squirted a large dollop of ketchup over some of the previous evening's work.
As luck would have it Norwich was not especially well endowed with Indian restaurants takeaways and taxi companies. However there were still fifty one. They managed to halve the number geographically. Within an hour they had sorted out their itineraries and had hit the road. Saeed and Leibnitz took the east side and Flint and Cushion the west side.
By lunchtime Flint and Cushion were wet and miserable. Their shoes were sodden from constantly having to run from the car to a building and sometimes having to wait for minutes before someone came to the door.
They had covered ten of the addresses on their list. It had been a chastening and a frustrating morning. They had been met with a gamut of responses ranging from the suspicious to the downright hostile. The latter had been from a youngish group of males in a taxi company on Magdalen Road.
As Cushion and Flint walked through the door she felt the piercing gaze of the five males on her. A mix of contempt and lust crossed their faces as she almost physically felt their eyes ripping her clothes from her shred by shred. Their mood changed to hostility when the warrant cards were presented.
They barely looked at the photofits before stating that they had never seen the man and woman before. They thrust the pictures back at the police. Flint held onto the picture of the man and thrust it back out to them again
'Look again please! We are looking for these people as to help us with our enquiries into the fire in the early hours of yesterday morning in which five people died'
No-one took the picture. They stared silently at Flint. The incessant chatter from the firm's car radios intermingled with the sound of the traffic from the busy road outside and the constantly ringing phones.
'We do not know these people. We have already told you. It's good you people do something about what happens to our people. But always too little too late and half hearted! We are busy. We have nothing to say'
With that he turned around and answered one of the phones and signalled to one of the others to answer the drivers' radio. He then turned to one of the others and told him to be at the station in ten minutes for a fare to Costessey.
Flint strode further into the office and picked up a piece of paper and pen from the desk and asked each of them to write their names on it.
The ring leader informed Flint that they didn't have to comply and her behaviour could be construed as harassment. However, they would comply. He spoke to the others in a language other than English and each of them took the paper and wrote on it.
'In English, please' an irritated Flint threw the paper back on the desk
The young man, with the beard, smirked
'You should have said so'
In the car Cushion and Flint discussed the scene in the taxi office. They then continued to complete what would prove to be a fruitless task.
Meanwhile Ahmed and Leibnitz encountered similar responses but with one crucial difference! The younger Asians regarded the former with more contempt than they had Flint. At one takeaway on Queen's Road Ahmed and Leibnitz both felt that the occupants, again bearded young men, had something to hide. When they asked if they could look around a curt 'no' came as the instant reply. Followed by, 'You would need a search warrant'. They both knew that a search warrant wouldn't be issued on the grounds of two officers' gut instincts.
At a taxi office on Dereham Road the religiously bearded occupants were even more hostile. As well as leering lewdly at Leibnitz they spat in front of Ahmed. All the while telling him that a fate worse than death awaited him as he had obviously betrayed Islam, the one true religion. They also made lewd and rude remarks about what they would do with Leibnitz. Of course they spoke in Pashtun: Leibnitz could not possibly be a witness as she understood nothing. Through clenched teeth the policeman held out the pictures and asked if they had recently seen or knew the couple. They barely glanced at them before throwing them back in Ahmed's direction: knowing they would fall to the floor. Seething he stooped to pick them up. These guys knew the limits and were careful to stay just the right side of them
Something niggled Leibnitz during the play acting. Her brow furrowed as she fought to drag it to the forefront of her mind. Then she got it!
'Gentlemen' Leibnitz interjected well aware of the atmosphere 'What can you tell us about Carly Jones?'
They whirled around looking at the policewoman with utter contempt. Ahmed also turned towards his colleague wondering what the hell she was talking about.
'Don't know what you talking about police lady. We don't know a Carly Jones' retorted the ring leader jutting out his chin. Tall and wiry he towered over the others at about 6'4".
Leibnitz noted that he did not say 'who' but used Carly's name.
'Really. Then can you explain why she mentioned that you ran her from here and other underage white girls?' she attempted and succeeded in keeping any trace of sarcasm out of her voice.
Ahmed saw the hesitation in the guy's eyes before he recovered
'Lady, I don't know what you are talking about. Me and my boys' he motioned towards the others with an exaggerated sweeping motion of his arm. 'just run a taxi business. We don't have nothing to do with white trash whores'
'She says differently. Do you mind if we take a look around?'
Ahmed noticed a scrawny kid of about twenty two look nervously at the guy next to him
'Get a search warrant lady' spat out the leader with a burst of bravado
.The two sides stood looking at each for what seemed an eternity. All the while the relentless chatter of the speaker relaying messages from the drivers and the ringing of the phones formed a noisy backdrop to the stand off. Ahmed broke the deadlock.
'Come on Mel. These guys know nothing. We've got a load of other places to get to'
As they left one of the other guys intoned to their backs in Pashtun 'These reasons would make someone's blood permissible to spill and his wealth permissible to usurp because he is no longer a Muslim!'
'What the hell was all that about?' asked Leibnitz
'It doesn't matter' responded her thoughtful colleague 'but more to the point what the hell were you on about?' he demanded.
'Remember the girl you and Cushion brought in?'
'Yeah'
'Well the social services officer dealing with her told me.....' she went on to recount what the social services woman had told her. Ahmed listened in silence.
'What do you think?' Leibnitz enquired
'I don't know, I really don't know'
'There's a mosque down here. Let's go and pay it a visit'
When they found the place, a non-descript turn of the century redbrick former small school, Ahmed managed to barge his way in. Again a barrage of latent hostility hit the pair. The few males in the mosque stated that they had never seen the couple in the photofit pictures. A furtive glance between two of them made Leibnitz doubt the sincerity of their responses. She asked for and eventually extracted their names and addresses.
Whilst she was doing that Ahmed had wondered over to the notice board.
Old posters from a few weeks previous announced a talk by the Imam from the Finsbury Park Mosque. This was to be followed by a session on Islam in the modern world.
Another poster announced the attendance of Abu Salif, who had fought the Russians in Afghanistan.
On a table there lay a pamphlet entitled 'The Struggle'. He flicked through it. The views in it disturbed him.
They arrived back at the tiny office late afternoon wet and disconsolate. They shared their findings: meagre pickings at the most. However, they all thought it worth investigating further both the takeaway, the two taxi firms and the mosque. However, when it came to the underage prostitutes vice should be the ones covering the case. He gave Leibnitz the task of checking whether that squad had done anything yet or not: he suspected not!
'Debbie and Steve I want you both to check up on the names that we have taken. Find out their background, see if we have anything on them. Melanie can you remember where on the list the scrawny little bugger at the Dereham Road taxi office wrote his name? He knows something and I think he could be the weak link. Whether it is anything to do with our investigation who knows. But something is happening and whatever it is it will be useful to some of our colleagues, if not us'
Flint took out the piece of paper she had picked up from the other taxi office that had been overly hostile and unfolded it. As she did so Saeed caught side of the printing on the other side
'Let me look at that' he held out his hand.
His face blanched when he saw the subject matter. He asked and was told where the material had come from. He told her to get a photocopy for him. He then said that they had better get on with their tasks
'What are you going to do Ahmed?' enquired Flint
'I am going to make a few phone calls' came the short reply.
After they had left the office Ahmed rang an old Imam that he knew. Ashraf did not have a violent or aggressive gene in his body. He did not criticize Ahmed and he did not attempt to cajole him to return to the ways of Allah. If Allah wanted Ahmed to return to Islam then it would be so. Ashraf believed that Islam in modern democracies had to adapt. He held no truck with those who espoused the belief that women were inferior: after all the prophet had never said any such thing. Ashraf's guiding principles came from Sufism, which is based on mystic Islamic traditions and tolerance of all religions and peoples.
'Ashraf, Ahmed Saeed here, how are you?'
'Getting old my young friend. And how are you?'
'I'm so so. I need some information from you'
'Do you ever call for anything else? I didn't think that you desired a learned discussion regarding the teachings of the prophet'
'Now you make me feel guilty'
'It is not that that you should feel guilty about. When did you last see your parents?'
'I know, I know. I do mean to go and see them but I have a new assignment and I have been busy and I need some information from you about some people. If you know anything that is'
'About whom do you require information? I trust that you are not making an, how do you say, informer of me? The old man gently laughed
'No, of course not. I need to know about Saleh Hussein'
A highly audible sharp intake of breath came from the other end of the line, followed by a long silence.
'Ashraf, are you still there?'
'Yes. Dear boy it is obvious that you have very little to do with your own people. Are we your people anymore?'
Ahmed ignored the question
'Who is this man?'
'A dangerous man, a charlatan who poisons the minds of our young people here and in other Western countries. There is a battle raging in our communities and mosques for the hearts and minds of our young people...'
'That's a bit dramatic Ashraf' interjected Ahmed
'Not at all and it is something that you would have seen if you had not become divorced from your own people. The Young Muslim Organisation follows the tenets of Abul Ala Maududi. His brand of Islam is highly politicized and anti-western. He believes in waging an all out war against non-believers. The young women who espouse his beliefs wear the niquab. Maududi's brand of Islam believes in waging war against all non-believers until the world is Islam, or their form of Islam. They particularly believe in waging war against Jews, homosexuals and Muslim women who do not wear the Niquab.
Now Hussein has taken Maududi views even further. To the outside he attempts to present a moderate view but you only have to look at his writings to see what his true colours are. Then there are his activities in the new mosques that they have set up such as the 'East London Mosque' . There they preach Jihad in its most extreme and virulent form. They believe that anything justifies the goal of Islamic world domination. I spoke to Hussein and he told me that he had offered religious guidance on the permissibility in Islam to kill the women and children of the kaffur. We won't stop jihad but we don't intentionally target those people. But even if we intentionally target them . . . we have a religious legitimacy in doing that .How many Muslims have been killed? How many of our children have been killed? If they kill one of us it is our duty to kill thousands of them. There is no such thing as an innocent unbeliever'
'They are preaching that in our mosques?' Ahmed stated with horror
'That is not all. They justify bank robbing activities from usurious/infidel institutions on religious grounds because the stolen funds will be re-directed for the jihad cause.'
'Have you or anyone else said anything about this? What about Rafique Khan?'
'It is has been made plain to us what will happen if we say anything about it. We will be regarded as enemies of Islam and the Jihad and it will be their duty to mete out to us the same punishment, death as to the Kaffur!' he paused to catch his breath 'You asked about Khan. I do not know where he stands. All I know is that he encouraged our youngsters to wage holy war against the Russians in Afghanistan. They came back radicalized and energized. They spoke of another great believer in Maududi, one Osama Bin Laden. I am told that Bin Laden made a great impression on Khan. But one thing Ahmed'
'What is that?'
'You never heard any of this from me'
'No you're fine and many thanks. Look after yourself now.'
'You too and don't forget to go and see your parents'
Ahmed sat and pondered for a while. He then picked up the pamphlet he had taken from the mosque, 'The Struggle'. He flicked through the pages with a heightening sense of disquiet.
Siddiqui the author espoused the same world view as the other extremists. The book advocated using a variety of methods to destroy the non-believers. One method involved eliminating and destroying western Democracies from within by enslaving the women and children of the unbelievers and using them as weapons against them.
Other methods involved Muslim lawyers bringing actions against anyone that said anything detrimental about Islam. All the infidel's laws were to be used against them, race etc. Simultaneously, the press were to be targeted by any means necessary including fire bombs intimidation of journalists and their families. On and on went the methods that were acceptable and most of them were illegal. Siddiqui could be prosecuted for incitement to crime.