Exit Stage Left by Adam Croft

Author:Adam Croft [Croft, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Circlehouse
Published: 2011-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

*

An increasingly-irate Patrick Allen exhaled heavily as he continued to watch the two men leave the premises on his CCTV screen.

13

The soft brown leather snuggled into Hardwick's back as the regal sounds of Wagner's Der fliegende Hollände filled his ears and mind. The wisps of smoke from the Montecristo No. 2 danced around his nostrils, completing the almighty sensory experience with which he was so familiar. The familiar song of the helmsman rang through his ears.

...With tempest and storm on distant seas...

Hardwick was pulled back from his realm of numinosity by the shrill ringing of the doorbell.

The appearance of Detective Inspector Rob Warner and Detective Constable Sam Kerrigan was incongruous to Hardwick's relaxed state, and he groaned outwardly as he ushered them into his living room with rolled eyes.

The young DC Kerrigan made a point of circuiting the room, seemingly looking for some sort of incriminating evidence as he sauntered about with his hands thrust into the pockets of his grey suit trousers. DI Warner, hands likewise situated in the confines of his pockets, nodded his head in the direction of the gramophone. ‘Beethoven?’ he asked.

Hardwick simply stared at DI Warner for a few moments before turning the volume down to an inaudible level, followed by the utterance of a simple yet inference-laden ‘No’.

‘Mr Hardwick, I'll get to the point. We've had some complaints regarding your interference in the lives of local citizens.’

‘I presume you're referring to my investigating the murder of Charlie Sparks, Inspector?’ Hardwick enquired innocently.

‘I am, yes. I've come to ask you to stop this silly charade and keep away from the family and friends of Charlie Sparks.’

‘Am I doing anything illegal, Inspector?’

‘That all depends,’ DI Warner replied, ‘on whether or not your actions could be seen as interfering with the course of justice.’

‘Oh, on the contrary, Inspector. My sole aim is to achieve justice. Like you, all I want is to see Charlie Sparks's killer arrested,’ Hardwick stated innocuously.

‘All the same, that is the job of the police, not of some jumped-up charlatan who thinks he can go one better.’ DI Warner spoke with an increasing sense of frustration. DC Kerrigan stood provocatively over his shoulder, smirking in Hardwick's direction. ‘Now, I'm going to need your word that you will keep your nose out of business that doesn't concern you.’

‘Will you now, Inspector?’

‘I will. Do I have your word?’

‘I’m afraid not. I don't see that my actions are against the law, nor do I see any reason for me to stop trying to help you find a cold-blooded killer.’

‘In that case, I'm going to have to place you under arrest for the intent to pervert the course of justice. Maybe a night or two in a cold prison cell will change your mind.’

As DC Kerrigan took great pleasure in reading him his rights, Hardwick felt his teeth grating; not at his arrest, but at the Inspector's use of the word “prison” in favour of Hardwick's preferred “gaol”.

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