Cold Cuts by Calder Garret

Author:Calder Garret [Garret, Calder]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781702645720
Publisher: Independently published
Published: 2019-11-01T22:00:00+00:00

If it were possible, thought Arbor, Carter Street was in even more disrepair than Royal. He could see several car wrecks, on their rims or missing panels and doors, sitting on the verges. And not a single occupant, it seemed, had made any effort to garden. Snippy Lawrence lived at number 36, at the far end.

‘Hey, Sarge,’ said Arbor. They were leading the way, the detectives just half a block behind them. ‘Isn’t that the Rodgers kid’s car?’

‘Yeah, it looks like it.’

Sure enough, Nobby Rodgers’ Monaro was parked in Snippy’s drive. Snippy and Rodgers were leaning against the vehicle chatting. Several others were sitting or standing near the house, drinking.

‘Your job,’ said O’Reilly, ‘is to get the kid out of here. In case there’s any trouble. Do you understand me?’

‘Yeah, sure, Sarge.’

Arbor pulled the paddy wagon to a halt. It attracted immediate interest. Snippy abandoned Nobby and joined his mates.

‘Safety in numbers,’ laughed O’Reilly as they alighted. ‘Gutless prick.’

But O’Reilly himself waited for the detectives to join him before making his own move.

Nobby was in a world of his own. Arbor approached him.

‘Hey, Nobby.’

‘Hi,’ said the boy.

‘What’s happening?’ said Arbor. ‘Not your usual crowd, is it?’

‘No.’

‘What’s going on?’

‘Not much.’

‘Listen, mate,’ said Arbor. ‘I reckon you’d better shoot through. We’ve got some business with Snippy. It might take a while.’

‘But we were in the middle of something.’

‘The middle of what?’

‘He was … He was going to help me,’ said Nobby. ‘I need to borrow some money. To get this thing fixed.’

‘And he said he’d help you, did he?’

‘No. Not yet.’

The boy avoided eye contact.

‘But he said he might. He helps a lot of blokes.’

‘What, out of the goodness of his heart? I don’t think so. Can’t your dad help you?’

‘Nah, he’s as tight as a duck’s arse.’

‘And Snippy,’ said Arbor. ‘He doesn’t want anything in return?’

‘He said he’d take a lien out on the car.’

‘Do you know what a lien is, Nobby?’

‘No. Not really.’

‘Listen, if I were you … I suggest you get into your car and put some space between you and this dickhead. Otherwise you’ll soon find yourself walking everywhere. Look, drop in and see me at the station.’

‘Why, will you lend me …?’

‘No, I won’t lend you. But I will point you in the right direction. Are you okay with that?’

‘Yeah, I reckon so.’

‘Good,’ said Arbor. ‘Now bugger off before things here turn ugly.’

Rodgers headed for his car.

‘Hey, Constable,’ he said. ‘Have you chased up any of those blokes yet? The NPL blokes?’

‘No, I haven’t,’ said Arbor. ‘I haven’t had time. But I will. Whatever you do, don’t let on I’m chasing them, okay?’

‘Yeah, okay.’

‘Hey, Nobby!’

Snippy was calling him to the house.

‘Are you bad mouthing me, Constable?’ he said.

Arbor ignored him. He ushered Nobby into his car and watched him drive away. He could hear the crunch of gears from one end of Carter Street to the other.

Despite his issue with Arbor, it seemed as if Snippy Lawrence was in a reasonable mood. He happily agreed to accompany the detectives back to the station to ‘clear up a few misunderstandings’.

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