Beast of Burden by Ray Banks

Author:Ray Banks [Banks, Ray]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 9780547548814
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2009-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

22

DONKIN

Innes pulled himself out from behind the table. For a second, I reckoned he was going to get some more beers in, but he stood there waiting for us to stop him.

“You leaving, then?” I said.

“Thought I might.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, don't change your phone or anything, mind, or else I'll fuckin' batter you.” I pointed at him. “You're my eyes and ears now, aren't you? I mean, we're fuckin' clear on that. You get any other ideas working for Tiernan, you let them come my way, I'll see what I can do for you.”

“I won't need any help.”

“Innes, someone like you will always need a friendly copper. Don't bite the fuckin' hand, alright?” Talking of which, I held mine out to shake. He looked at it like I'd offered him a lolly stick with a dog turd on the end. I wondered what the fuck was the matter with him until I realised, that was the hand he was using to hold onto his walking stick. I put my left out. He shook it, and pulled this half-a-smile.

“Right.”

“Keep in touch,” I told him.

And then watched him gimp his way out the door. When the doors shut behind him, I pulled out my mobile, turned it on. One missed call from Annie. She would've left a message, but I didn't want to listen to it right now. Instead, I called Adams.

“Derek, you got anything for us yet?”

“Iain, is that you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“I just said. Wondering if you had anything for us.”

“I'm sorry, I thought I made my position clear. I can't help you out here, Iain.”

“I need you to check on something for us, then. Might change your mind.”

“No.”

“Buy you a drink next time I see you, alright? Check to see if anyone picked up on a long hair on the body. Then let us know what Kennedy's thinking about it.”

“You're joking.”

“I'm fuckin' not.” I got to my feet, nodded at the landlord as I headed for the door. “Listen to us, Derek. You check into that, I guaran-fuckin'-tee you he's dropped that evidence, still playing this like it's a robbery.”

“And it's—”

“Can't be a fuckin' robbery, alright? First off, who the fuck robs junkies except other junkies?” I let the doors swing shut behind us, pulled at my jacket as I headed out to my car. “Second, who the fuck beats the shit out of someone who's just lying there? Something else you might want to check — his fuckin' blood work. Got a feeling that Mo was nodding at the time, so check for smack.”

“Wait a second—”

“I'm telling you, check this stuff, I bet Kennedy's doing fuck all with it.”

“Iain, hang on a moment.”

I reached the Granada, unlocked the door. “What?”

“Do you even realise what you're asking me to do here?”

“Yeah. Absolutely.”

“And what in God's name makes you think I'm going to do it?”

“Because you know as well as I do that Kennedy's a bad copper.” I put one hand on the roof of my car, felt the cold fade. “You know he's bent.

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