Reliable in Bangkok: An Asian Thriller (The Reliable Man Series Book 1) by Valerie Goldsilk & Julian Stagg

Author:Valerie Goldsilk & Julian Stagg [Goldsilk, Valerie & Stagg, Julian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thaumasios Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2021-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

22

A lot of blood had passed under the bridge, even though it was just a few years and a dozen or so kills, since my first job. My first contract as the Reliable Man. The first time I had killed a man in cold blood, for money. It had not worried me. I had thought the whole scenario through from a policeman's point of view. I had looked at the elements of incriminatory evidence, the loose threads that invariably allowed detectives to unravel a case and find the perpetrator. I analysed the risks, minimised them through careful planning and considered it a fair proposition.

The idea of murdering a stranger didn't bother me at all. Had never bothered me then or since. If I felt uncomfortable with the victim, or the circumstances were too risky, I refused the job. My greatest advantage was that I knew how the law investigated crimes. There were a series of common-sense diktats which made assassination a relatively risk-free occupation. Following these painstakingly was the element of professionalism, which made the occupation lucrative.

Harry Bolt and I had known each other for about two years at that point. McAlistair had introduced him to me while we were still both coppers. They had been at school together. Bolt was a shaft of startling sunlight outside the routine of my work and my tired circle of policemen friends. It was a relief to talk to someone whose view of the world was wholly profit-driven, whose morality revolved entirely around himself, whose conversation went beyond the constraints of cop-talk.

When he had enough of me moaning perpetually about being broke he asked me, hypothetically, if I would kill someone for money. I knew the answer. Definitely, if there was a lot of money on offer and I was certain to get away with it.

“How could you be certain to get away with it?” he asked.

“You have to know what you are doing,” I had said, listing the points that came to mind. Never let yourself be identified or linked to the crime. Don't use an obvious or traceable murder weapon. Don't leave forensic evidence that can be built up into a picture of the murderer. Don't have personal contact with anybody connected to the job. Work alone at all times. Don't be specific with clients about time, location or any details of the job. Distance yourself as much as possible from the scene of the crime. If possible, prevent any investigation in the first place by making it look like suicide.

“So why don’t we test your theory,” he said with a smile on his face, “with a little practical exercise?”

Over a curry and several pints of Carlsberg we worked out the perfect assassination. Bolt's eyes gleamed. Later I realised what a power junkie he was. He loved manipulating people, being in control. The thought of ordering an execution gave him a tremendous charge of adrenalin. I didn’t know then that, true to form, he had been contemplating the concept for some time.

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