The Raid on the Acid Lab

Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of British Scandal ad free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app Just a warning, this episode features drugs and lots of strong language. And regrettably hilarious content that will probably make you want to see us live in Sheaffield on Sunday, the fifth of July, Crossedwires. live for tickets, more info in the show notes if you're affected by this issue Right, Alice, I've almost packed our suitcase for that trip to Wales I can't believe we've worked together this long and we've never taken a weekend away together. This is so exciting. Definitely nothing you need for me. No, I've got all the essentials. camping stove Sleeping bags? Oh, yeah, two, goodood, yeah camping food, you know like the sach, the rehydrated stuff. Oh yeah, the kind of powder and it's like, is it mac and cheese? Is it casserole? don't know. Who knows? fun of camping And u ten thousand hits of LSD. Sorry, I mean, I don't w want to be a square F feels kind of crazy that you're taking that. Good point We can eat at the pub july nineteen seventy five. Plus Klusin whales. Gorgeous I thought I said why it was perfectly Richard Kemp wipes a gloved hand across his brow Sweat trickles into his eyes As he leans over the apparatus spread across the worktop. Cross the ring Christine hurriedly packs away reflux condensers into cardboard boxes Come on, Richard. I'm not gonna be fucking arrested Glancing at the clock, it's nearly midnight They should be gone He reaches for a pipette. tries to stop his hand from shaking I just need to check the purity He squeezes a droplet into a test tube shakes the liquid. trying to speed up the reaction He spins as hears the door latch can't be But it's actually just Christine slapping a container closed Christ, Chris. But turning back around sleeve catches the bnd The tube shatters A sharp pain bites his palm slowly He looks down to see a small splinter of glass sticking into his flesh and clear liquids seeping directly into his bloodstream His breath catches Pure acid Richard Oh my God, Richard Christine's voice stretches strangely in his ears. The room bends out of shape. But before he can react, he feels an electric bolt shoot through his body He grips the edge of the workbench as the air around him constricts. shuts his eyes in desperation as his vision blurs splinters shatters in fragments before a A shriek fills the air His eyes widened As red and green acrid smoke bleed into the room He somewhere else Hold light stone walls. day is Christine sitting on the edge of a narrow bunp The bunk keeps shifting closer than miles away Her outline shimmers He' wearing clothes he doesn't recognize Great Press H voice comes back to him flattened, swallowed by the walls She doesn't move It doesn't look up justust sits olded You Her voice echoes around the tiny room I gave up everything for you tries to go to her But his legs won't find the floor. Christine Richard He jumps back alarmed. to see Christine's terrified face inches from him. Her cool palms burning on his face Richard, we need to go. Now His vision snaps back as he's returned to the lab stares around at the empty room in confusion Richard. He lets Christine pull his body towards the door Be he thinks hears police sirens in the distance forces himself to concentrate and still see the woman's face. still smell her flesh But he wills his legs to move because he knows that if he doesn't He might never wake up from this nightmare Rirt. has to leave. Now I heard a rumor that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly, at the World Cup in nineteen seventy. Sounds crazy. I'm an investigative journalist. on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter these Sovians This is Foul playay, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies and family secrets. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or early and ad free on Audible I'm Rosa Jeoffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who we go back in time to meet Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution As America fights for freedom from Britain Arnold emerges as one of the rebels's greatest generals But when his loyalty is pushed to the limit, he turns spy devises a plot to shutatter the rebellion and make George Washington ison Follow the Spy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of the Sy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Audible. Matt for And I'm Alice Levine. And this is British Scandal and Audible Original So Almice What are your thoughts so far on Richard Kemp Okay, so Cambridge prodroigy quit his PhD to make drugs in a shed I mean, he is genuinely brilliant. He's made the most pure LSD that has ever existed. He's a high achie And he's also a kind of romantic and idealist. He believes he's going to chemically reprogram humanity into a state of universal peace and harmony via some little purple dots. Yes, universal peace and harmony through drugs. so I guess you could say visionary Yeah, a visionary who perhaps doesn't live like you would imagine a visionary would. He's just moved to a cottage in Wales with no running water and is btering acid for goat's milk, which actually if you've ever had goat's milk tang of that is basically a trip Aid actually tastes better on your corn fllakes Obvious next step is to take the whole thing global. What could go wrong? Let's find out. This is episode two Tune in One year earlier April nineteen seventy five Redding Detective inspector Dick Lee. slinks low in the front seat of an unmarked Ford Cortina Sounds like an adverb, Dicklely. Oh yes, was Very dickly, V very dickly child Horrible kid Dickly almost. His eyes are fixed on the living room numberum forty two This is Dick Lee's first raid as head of Thames Valley's Dug squad. For years, Dick's been forced to fight the flood of drugs coming into this country from behind a desk Watching helplessly as his predecessors failed to stop violent criminals taking over his city But now he's in command. He's determined to take the fight to the streets and start clearing up this mess properly One of his officers DC Pritchard is inside this den. undercover striking a deal it shouldn't be taking this lo. Stick straightens in his seat as he sees the front door crack open. lifts his radio Thumb twitching on the button Prichard steps out. emmpty handed alone His nerves crackle as he watches his colleague left thenen write take out a cigarette and light it All units, all units Mving now. Peta Harryes, you're under arrest Get him out of here Are we all a sucker or is it just me? kind of tough guy He's on the right side. Oh A lovely big man. Lawrence D Lalio Sot me. Okay I don't know what you mean. What do you mean? Just like a man that's like all back in his shoulders Desperate d chin and so was a woman Would you like a hug? Would you like just a nuzzle in the neg? Oh just to be carried Over the threshold a burning some just like rescued by Delalio. J to feel like, you know a bllody that's just so hard. you know what I mean? Just like, canan I just touch your haunch? Your cold, solid haunch? Could you just sign the small of my back pase? Lio Trumps stump It Tares's black duffel bag on its end Smiles as two dozen bricks of hash tumble out But you can hear something else in there, something rattling He stuffs his hand in, pulls out a palm sized bag of tiny purple dots. Pichard What are these Amphetamines. Prichard glances over, lifts one of the tiny purple microdots to his eye. I think it's acid, sir. Dick's nose wrinkles Aid Like LSD 've been seeing more and more of it recently. Harry' claims the margins are better than hash and cooke because he doesn't have to smuggle it in So my dear His head snaps around In the UK Dicks just read an article in Life magazine LSD is a cause of psychosis and brain damage It's association with cults how Charles Manson used acid tests with his followers to break down their egos Dick stares at the bag in his palm As another officer pipes up These purple micro adorts have been popping up all over the show. Even had to meet clocks some right at the top of Scotland. It's a goddamn epideemmic Dick stares at him in concern Acid really is being made in Britain at this scale Taking one dealer off the street won't help He needs to know where these purple microdots are coming from Cut this stuff off at the source. LSD cannot be allowed to take hold in Britain not while he has breath in his body. And right now Harry's best chance of finding it twow days later. Peradigion, Wales. squints through the windscreen tryrying to keep his eyes on Harry's tririumph T R seven. as it snakes along another winding country road Beside him, Pritchard huffs and opens the window immediately regreting it. as another organic smell wafts in from the surrounding fields There was a particular smell in the British countryside We all know what it is animal. excrement. First Waft I was thinking that's not me. It on trrunp. And it smells like a whole field of cows What are you eating? Actually I know what you're eating, that makes a lot of sense. Hay and grass and sausage rolls. Six months working that lead. Th you turn the bastard loose to take us on a fucking nature trail grrimaces They've been tailing Harry's for four hours now hoping he'd lead them to his supplier But all they've seen for the last twenty miles is sheep, streams and stones Either Harry has no idea where he's going or he's already clocked them. A sign craws into view English with a hand painted Welsh translation below. Welcome to Pritard tries to step in Landidu briefing Crawling through the village takes in the sparse sites. Post offffice The phone box The chapel. other chapel. Sick slows as Haris pulls up at the village pub the new eight Its whitewashed walls half hidden under a thick blanket of ivy and prim roroses ick squints as the door swings op And the woman in a paisley dress and bare feet comes running out throws her arms around Harry's Rrichard rolls his eyes Fucking now. we've gone two hundred miles for a bit of free love Dick watches the pair disappear inside He flicks his eyes to his wing mirror determined not to be defeated Looking low, Dick slips out along the ro I'm a grown up, I'm not commenting towards the village police station Inside, it's little more than a counter and a desk Dick approaches the officer on duty Brandershing is ID Detective Inspector Richard Lee Sams Valley drug S squad The officer's eyebrows raise Yeah He sees the officer smirk at his colleagues. What you that cano who's he after The other officer leans back in his chair Wh we had a pig running riot last week after eating a bucket of fermented apples She's probably the biggest hell raiser we've seen here Okay, so we've got a joker on our hands Good old cop banter. Fels his last hope leave his body Unless you can't cliff R it yet Dick's face folds in confusion. No, Nockcliffe Richard. He means Keith Richards, the rolling stone Im and McJagga were of the elements. Mick Jagger. Har His face flds further And that guitarist like, you know, what Black feeller who plays with his teeth. Boggles. Jimy Hendriickx That's the what Dick stares at him Yeah, they've had some good people play down at the hippie commune, haven't they, S Dick's ears prick up Dick ignores the call pulls out his notebook. Sorry, did you say Hippie C you Yeah, nice bunch. neverever cause us little trouble. O bllind Kardin win He scribbles down the name I still un ow it. Appreciate this, lads atin Let's keep this to ourselves for a moment. all right? You can still spread the Cliff Richard rumor but keep the other stuff under wraps. Keep playing your little game Don't spread the actual news The officers nod. Sir, if youre buying p cars, Sick snaps his notebook shut, heads for the door. Don't worry I think we've just found out where he's going following evening Pencaneye Cottage blind carar on Richard gazes out through the kitchen window Along the valley towards the gentle glow of the commune's campfire, flickering a kilometre away in the distance. I have to say I'm more up for the idea of the commune, now I realise they're on the major touring route. They're getting all the big players Yeah, you don't really get that these days They don't say, oll come to a just stop oil protest and one direction are going to perform Christine is in the foreground, returning from her trip to the commune Ams laden with fruit and grains He really should help Christine Eespecially as it's starting to rain But his hands are covered in acid And he still has another ten thousand microdots to make Before he does tonight's drop off He resumes kneading his vibrant purple paste Richard and Chris have finally found their rhythm out there They're growing carrots, onions, potatoes Chickens lay eggs, goats provide milk They have plenty to trade in the commune For all his fears the revolution would fizzle out if he left the big city, it hasn't In fact, since Solomon took charge of distribution, Demandfree's LSD has skyrocketed They've expanded into Europe, North America, Australia with plans for more. Every six months, Richard makes a batch of pure crystal acid Enough for ten million trips He makes up a few hundred thousand microdots each week. Drops them off somewhere remote for one of Solomon's guys to collect and trip by trip The revolution grows All at the steady price of one pound a pill Solomon has told him he's now responsible for ninety percent of the UK's LSD supply. and almost half the world's Absolutely nuts and he's just doing that in a Bog standard IKA kitchen Richard glances at the clock He rinsces his gloves in the cast iron sink Turns the radio tuner to check any traffic reports Richard's head snaps to his radio eyes wide Certain, he must have imagined it He retunes the die Guys guys guys guys guys guys. canan we do something about the frequency? Can we do something about the language we're using? Can we establish a code? This feels like But say what you see And also, if you're going to be on the radi been a fewunes. Exactly. Text in eight one nine. This is Inspector Dick Lee and this is Dasrit is. But right now, it's time for the news with Natalie Jameson He freezes as he pinches the tuner still try to control his heartbeat. body bristling with panic. Richard rips off his gloves, picks up the radio stares at the dial. one hundredz five point five FM He wiggles the tuna back and forth Richard checks his hands for nicks and cuts making sure he hasn't accidentally absorbed any acid wasas he heard them Clear as day Police at the commune Diving into action, he sweeps his equipment into a black bin bag, just as Christine pushes through the door. Christ Richard, we need those carrots Go inside, listen to the radio. yell if you hear anything weird He races towards the Courette patch. What? Just do it I've requested a song. I don't want to miss it. They don't tell you when it'll be on. They may say my name, I just want a dedication He storms outside, picks up a spade. Rain spits against his face as he digs as fast as he can. his back and shoulders straining. until he stood at the mouth of a hole three feet deep. Scanning the landscape one last time, he tosses in the bin bag Pelting back into the kitchen, he shoves the heavy oak table to one side What the hell is going on? You're scaring me. Move. He grabs his flask of acid. Four months supply still inside. then lifts a loose floorboall, shoving the canister as far back as he can reach He looks towards the stacked trays in the corner of the room He's got to get a hundred thousand microdots into his land Rver and buried at the drop off point before the cops close in and time is running out The following afternoon The new in, Kanduy Brefy Dick creeps into the saloon bar, his leather jacket pinching his wrists It's been years since he wore this Clearly, he's put on a bit of timber since he was last undercover After two days of staking out the commune, the most criminal activity he's witnessed is a naked yoga session His skin crawls at the memory of it Yeah It's never the people you want to see doing it, is it? No, it's like life drawing. Lad of old boys Although I'd say life drawing Girls often babes. L drawing men ion unusual How only say that because I've been asked to be a model and They said I was the sort of sort of knobbly chap they were after. Nnobbly. Yeah. Dickly. They just said you're very dickly. squidgy and knobbly A real challenge, they said, some of my dimensions Dicks come to the pub to do some digging instead He needs to justify his decision to let Harry's walk. He's convinced his man isn't at this commune by coincidence He takes a seat at the bar, orders a pint of mild goes to take a sit When hears a sharp intake of breath wouldnt sit there long if I were you boy through a cloud of smoke in the corner turns to see a gaggle of old geeezers. staring daggers Jedard St Dick stands Fixes a grin Right, ye, sorry Not from Round are you No, I'm here on business stick edges towards them Second on sports cars, that's my line. Sw a nifty looking tribe TR seven round here the other day to know the ornet, would you The regular hold stick gates takes a large gulp of his pint then brings the glass down hard. Nope. yeah The blade of daylight cuts through the smoky bath lookks over to see a shadow in the doorway All right Oen the usual figure steps into view Dick's heart sinks as he sees it's the local bobby he chattered to about Mick Jagger clowose his gaze If the regulars discover he's an undercover cop snooping around asking questions His investigation will be dead in the water A no, thanks, Meded it. I'm on duty callalling for this gentleman here as it happens. H stomach drops as he sees the officer pointing at him Dick feels every eye in the pub turn towards him. As Zwyen approaches Sorry, both, you said only there's been an accident. I think you wantught to come and see. thirirty minutes later Dicky stood at the side of the road Looking at a mangled Voxle Viva. and a dented landrobe. S seemems they both lost control in the rain Loccal vicar and his wife in the Viva I'm sorry to say she died at the scene preregnant too feels something tightan in his chest Jesus It was the land rover I wanted you to see Look here. The officer points to six scraps of paper laid out on the passenger seat. The vehicle was completely empty when I inspected it earlier All except that Tick stares at the torn note. stitching the pieces together in his head It's two handwritten words Hydrozine Hydrate Well, the hell is not Dt know myself I figured I should look it up. Turns out That is a chemical used to make LSD Wordds notock the breath from Dick like a sledgehammer Come in The secretive locals are now a dead woman and her unborn child He yanks out his notebook, hands shaking. Who does this car belong to? Well, that's the funny thing ritched to a feller up at a cottage in blind cardo Pen clean ey Dick's pen stalls. In the order His name is Richard Kemp. Dick looks back at the Ret Vauxel Viva Watch as the steam rising off its bonnet Git Tenens Valley on the radio We're gonna to pay Mr. Kemper visit God, so this is the crash we heard about the beginning of the series where he was kind of veering all over the road and then went He on into their car. That's right. and now The woman who has died at the scene With her unborn child God This guy is like a pacifist who's trying to make the world a better place. I knows killer As Americans, we're constantly grappling with a fundamental question, Do we settle for the world as it is? Or do we strive to create the world as it should be Our answers tend to ebb and flow through the decades. but once Just after a war that nearly tore us apart We came as close as we've come to answering it And it's a story worth a closer look I'm Michelle Obama, and I'm proud to announce Higher Ground's new podcast, Reconstruction the unfinished promise. Guided by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell and featuring my husband, Barack Obama, this limited series uncovers the untold stories of reconstruction what they mean for us today and how our past can shape the future we choose to build Reconstruction Unfinished Promise is available now on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Raza Jeoffrey, and in the new season of the Sy Wh We open the file on Benedict Arnold. The spy who betrayed the American Revolution. America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire And one of its foremost generals is Benedict Ar He's a smugger turned battlefield hero. admired for his aggressive tactics. But when a war wound A new wife, debts and politics test his loyalty to the Max He turns spy and devises a plot to shatter the revolution and help Britain capture rebel commommander in chief, General George Washington. That plot making the most infamous traitor in U. S. history Follow the spy who now Wherever you listen to podcasts You can also listen to the full season of the spy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Audible. Six months later Fbruary nineteen seventy six Thames Valley Police headquarters Zick sits across from the chief superintendent. clumps his hand to his thigh. trying to keep his leg from bouncing as he waits for him to finish reading Dick has spent every spare minute he has putting this together interviewing officers across the country. mapping out the scale of Britain's microdot problem Getting it all down on paper Building one argument. Richard Kemp He's at the head of an Asid empire This man was a promising young science prodigy, the toast of his field until he mysteriously dropped out of his PhD slippsed completely off the grid At the exact point these purple dots started springing up everywhere Chrice turns another page D can't spend his dayays stalking out a cottage in the middle of Wales alone He needs resources And he needs to make sure his superiors understand it Pandui is a tiny, tight knit village Everyone knows everyone's name They'll need units across the countryside coordinated operations twenty four seven Sveillance ively You surely can't be serious He lowers the report Our streets are flooded with heroin, cocaine cannabis And you want me to pull officers of active duty? taps the file They help you stake out a cottage in Wales? Dick shuffles forward in his seat cottage is the heart of a massive domestic acid ring Turning over twenty million pounds a year in class A psychedelics, synthesized here in Britain Price snorts I'd be amazed if that place even had running water. Dick sees his superior chuckle at the report as he reads aloud Richard Kemp might be responsible for ninety percent of the national LSD supply Give over ound a bit regionalist to me Solid report, bigig claim, but he's like, they couldn't possibly. They don't have a Tesco mattro and tosses the file to his desk. Sir Every force in the country is reporting the same thing. Purple microdfts cropping up from John Gross to Lanssen, even in Europe and America He places one of the pin sized microdots on the table microdots of identical appearance Ppeccable purity or with a matching chemical signature picks the abandoned file back up opens it to a photograph of his suspect A recent image of Kemp. Ruffled hair, intense eyes two chickens in his arms Dick wishes he had another photo He's hardly regggie fucking craay, detective I realizeed Kem looks I'm surprised too But if we don't chalke this out now Britain will become to acid What Colombia is to cocaine A good bloody look police in that big old claim, but I guess if you're gonna do it, do it big. like be the people that are known for this. And there is a weird pride, isn't it? you know? I remember when I saw Oasis last summer, they said I broke the record for the most pints of laga ever sold in the history of Weembley Stadium. I thought I was part of that Steam Pies sp? Prryice purses his lips ninety percent of the national supply, you say Perhaps more so now officer Price picks up the phone. Get yourself a coffee from the cafeteria. I've got a call to make Dick stance goes to collect his fire. Price slams his hand down on it, speaking to the receiver Yes Home office, please Fifteen minutes later Dick drains the last drop of watery coffee from his polystyrene cup. DCS Price strides up to his table The home offffice isn't quite so convinced that hippies pose an existential threat to this country They'll give you two dozen men Stick ns in disbelief And you'd better get us something in return because it won't just be my head on a block Understood Four months later, late June Blind car on Valley Dick lowers his binoculars wipes his soppping brow with the back of his hand He's been in sawns cooler than this bloody caravan Sweat trickling down creases he never knew he had and the stench from his officers inside and the livestock out is ungodly He has to stay focused. Keep his eyes fixed on the valley below After months of wrangling paperwork, Dick has finally got his task force up and running. Codename, Operation Juie Lol, why? It's not very interesting at all. it's just named after someone working on it Operation Julie sounds like I'm the guilty one I was saying like put a plaque on the station for me. I was saying like do a little ribb cutting because I've done so many great years of service. I wasn't saying, name the drugs bust after me twentyenty eight officers from eleven Forces first nationally assembled drug squad of its type in British policing. Getting that many undercover officers into a village of five hundred was a challenge Keeping them here is worse budgets has meant they're having to share baking hot, bug infested caravans out in the wilderness No showers. No flushing latrines, only a travel stove to cook with in the middle of a freak heat wave. It's left squad morale hanging by a thread And then Kemp's Cottage sat alone in the sparse featureless valley There's simply no good way to stake it out Everywhere, Dick's tried to station officers has left them dangerously exposed and he's yet to find a single vantage point that offers a clear view inside the cottage funny. The population just triples overnight and they're all like, I'm a second hand car dealer. It's like, how many second hand car dealers are there? Also there's a steaming hot caravan Now in the eyeeline of the cottage. We're just a group of lads who love to go camping in different places. J very old scouts. Yeah, there three hundred of us and we all grew up. And I'd like to answer no more questions on that three hundred pints, please. I can't get proof of what's going on in there then he hasn't got a case which is why down in the valley DC Prichard is currently crouched awkwardly next to the cottager's compost bin Tempting to plant a listening device throughrough his binoculars. watches him feed a covert cable up their creeping misteria Pulse thumps in his temples as he watches Pritchard feed the tiny microphone through the vines, along the cottage wall until it's dangling over their kitchen window He's bloody done it Bentley Fire it up. DC Bentley flicks the receiver on Stick leans towards it pick out what's coming through. Turn it on. I thought you said a wire would be clear. It should be. I don't know what's happen. Blasted backwards by an explosion of music Jesus Christ clutches his ears, the sound rattling the thin caravan walls Ffusion swarms him Something's gone wrong. But with his ears still ringing, he can't figure out what He darts outside Follows the wire running from the caravan down towards the cottage almost tripping over, looking down as he runs until he reaches the crest of the valley and comes face to face with the problem placidly chewing the cable Now There's a I'm sure, unfounded stereotype that in Wales there are more sheep than people That's not the stereotype I thought you going gonna. But at this point, there are now so many people there. How many sheep would they need to counteract it They now need four million cheap and they have to introduce those on the MA police budget. Dick charges at the sheep, sending them scattering. He falls to his knees his shin squishing a warm mound of fresh droppings Look Dozens of officers, thousandousands of pounds And they can't stake out one bloody cottage. There's only one thing for it I can't find out what's happening in that cottage from the outside She's going to have to find a way Get in Two days later, Penclanee Cottage Richard sits motionless in the dark His living room smells of chemicals and damp wool. pererched on his armchair, peering through a crack in the curtains That a man and a woman two hundred yards in the distance. wielding binoculars Skin prickles They're here for him Be sure of it He reaches for his radio Carefully turning the dial to one hundred five point five His heart lurches at the sound of the phone He knows who has to be calling Only one person has this number But what if it isn't, Solomon What if it's them picks up silently presses the receiver to his ear You? Relief wheezes out of him Sorry, sl I can't talk right now Richard rubps his hand around the mouthpiece being watched Silence falls across the line Richard ps the curtain with one finger. Bird watchatchers. Richard digs his knuckles into his forehead No No, I'm not. I'm just My heads all over the place sol everver since the crash, I His voice cracks king mess. For once, Solomon softens Richard feels his grip loosen. The words strangely soothing Asia home to half the world's population If his assid takes hold in Asia, they'd be unstoppable the road to revolution He shuts his eyes I want to keep going, I do It's just too risky right now. I don't know if the police are, Solomon cuts in. Rich No evidence that the police are ono you. Richard hears Solomon's stop. you need set up there Richard says nothing Silence stretches between them Richard holds his breath until it starts to hurt. Just chemistry That's all Okay, Solomon, I do believe, has the revolution in his heart and mind does feel like he's not taking on any of the risk. That's it. Richard is the one who's killed someone. Anties one manufacturing all the acid So the risks to Richard are way bigger than they are to Solomon But Solomon seems quite blaze about the impact on him picks up a pen Richard is sick with nerves as he waits for Solomon to read out the address. He glances at Christine as rinses carrots in kitchen sink until his eyes rest on the poster, he's hung in the hallway photo taken by Apollo eightight a few years earlier of the fragile bloom white earth hanging in the black void of space Perhaps Solomon is right If the revolution is getting bigger, He has to fight So that's exactly What he'll keep doing The next morning, seven AM Cund Dewey Breffy Dick feels the newspaper crumple in his fist Rge rippling through him as he reads. teenager from Preston Dead. asphyxiated by an intense panic attack induced by delirium from LSD and not just any LSD. small Purple microdg. The second woman's death linked back to Richard Kemp He slams his fist down on his steering wheel He should have got that bastard in a cell the second he learned his name Instead, He's sitting in a field in Wales as the body count rises But he still has no proof he's making acid in that cottage. Beyond that torn up note He's got no proof he's making acid at all Dick straightens in his seat What's happened There's a pause. Ten minutes later, Dick stands at the ridge of the valley. binoculus pressed hard against his eyes. Garing down at the abandoned cottage twentywenty eight officers Dream of our national crop and not a single bastard warrior able to stay awake on a warm night as if we didn't have enough They were all asleep. Are you joking? But they're all in that caravan They've all basically been in a sauna all day. They're dehydrated. You cannot sleep in a caravan, you cannot sleep in a tent. I mean, it's awful. You wake up at four AM because it's steamy as hell. So how are they all out for the count I just imagined on a stakeout like this that there was a sleeping schedule. I didn't think it was like Who's going to fall asleep first? Who's gonna stay? I didn't think it was left a chance Yeah, there'd be shifts. sureurely Don't put a film on ' you're not off. Oh put Titanic on sge. That was it. Madness. I was asleep before the iceberg. No, does spoil it. cuts himself off. O Pairs forward What is it, sir Sticking out from the wisteria. Dick spots something unusual. And he thinks he knows what Good job Come we make. At the foot of the cottage Dick's heart soars to see he was right Kitchen window ever so slightly a jar His mind races. He doesn't have a warrant to enter the property If he's discovered breaking and entering, it could jeopardize the entire case But he doesn't know when he'll get a chance like this again Checking the coast is clear, Dick Jimmy's the latch. So I don't think we should Dick sucks in his gut and clambers inside slipping on his gloves. He takes in the rustic kitchen Lace curtains let in beams of sunshine. A worn farmhouse table cluttered with dried lavender and bowls of hand picked berriry sits at its center It doesn't feel like an acid lamp She flings open the fridge bottles clutter, but no chemical flasks No acid anywhere He flips open cupboards, cabinets, drawers stuffs his hands into jars of lentils, barley Looking for a pill, a pipet anythingthing Just one tiny thing to prove he's not insane Prove he hasn't got all this terribly wrong But there's nothing hisis head pounds. Cassive Empire. being run from a cottage in the wilds of rural Mid Wales. Has he lost his damn mind? But he can't have The evidence is here somewhere, it has to be Storming through to the living room His thigh catches a side table in the hall. clutters to the floor As he replaces it b something on the noteepad it was resting on imprint. Someone pressing too hard while writing on the missing page above picks it up Squints and gasps. as he realizes what he's reading. He rips off the page. He dashes out of the cottage right past Pritard. Sir, what's happened? He powers up the hill, his legs blazing with pain as he reaches his car. Diving in, he grabs up his radio and reads out the directions he can just about make out All units, urgent backup required, Lave Canduy Brefy by the B four three forty three, head north towards Karno on the Air Force seventy, then follow signs for Plass Klin Rrichard wheezing barrels into his passenger seat What's going on? Dick doesn't look at him and starts the engine He knows where Richard Kemp is. And it's time to catch him in the act An hour later, Pass Cin. Dick's cast skids to a halt at the Ma Gates, the six unmarked vehicles of the Operation Juulie squad all in position And Julie, looking pleased as punch. O do you think it's a heartbroken police officer who's named it after an ex girlfriend to try and impress her? Named a drugs bust after your love Come on. donon't leave me Regional forces had never pulled resources before. Who's this new guy is he gonna to do that? I love you. After nearly two months of subtle surveillance. It feels strange to be blockading a suspected acid lab like this The moment has finally come to strike Dick and Pritchard file out of their c. Take up positions next to the other officers. crouch down around the edge of the ground. Ready? to rain all units, I need officers covering each ground floor window Two round the back, everyone else, follow me Keeping low to the ground Dick scurries up the long drive, leading the squad Police open up appeers through the textured glass. but formuless shapes and colors Stepping to one side, he signals to an officer send a battering ram straight into the lock The doorfame explodes into splinters, the squads storm in taking position. Police, stay where you are Nobody wrong His voice echoes along the grand open plan staircase ricochets above his head around the spacious landing Dick slows as he reaches the main room All but for faint smell soldier asp his hands to his skull Squeezes What Ey Sh I think we've found something. Dick follows Prichance' Wh whisper to a small pantry room beyond the kitchen. Prichard points to the floor shoulder slum Hlocked You've just smashed a door in. so sure you can do something about that Now I draw a line. Never smashing a trapdoor. First rule of the squad. Prichod shakes his head Now it isn't look Dick squints and sees Prichard's right whooever fasten this padlock idn't shut the latch first. It's keeping nothing closed They're in there Putting his finger to his lips. gestures for a half dozen officers to gather behind him Taking up the handle, he throws the trapdoor open. Richard Kem. Put your hands on your head. I'm arresting you on suspicion of Dick's words fall from his mouth