Snake Pass by Colin Campbell

Author:Colin Campbell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, mystery fiction, Boston, fiction, English, international, international mystery, cop, police, detective, Yorkshire
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2015-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

04:15 hours

Hope and Frevert were waiting for them behind the wheelie bins. The chef threw a nervous glance at the two robbers, then pretended he didn’t know them. Grant thought it was best to get this out in the open.

“Master chef. Look at me.”

His tone was harsh to get Frevert’s attention, but he changed it to borderline friendly once their eyes locked.

“I’m gonna cut you some slack. I don’t care that you sold ’em the info about the photos. And I don’t blame you for the slack-jawed, nasty bastards they turned out to be. But four men are dead, and if you don’t do what I tell you, I’m gonna punch your nose through the back of your head. Understand?”

Frevert nodded. Rivers looked sheepish. Hope didn’t waste time asking what that was all about. He held one hand up to the side of his face in the shape of a telephone.

“I got through to Sergeant Ballhaus. He’s going to mobilize the local division and the armed response vehicle—their whole team.”

“Good work.”

Grant stuck the gun down the back of his belt and rested a hand on Frevert’s shoulder.

“You too. Well done.”

He looked over the top of the wheelie bins at the inferno that had once been the boiler room and management office. The main corridor and fire exit had gone. The flat roof across the rear section of the truck stop had been splintered upwards around the gaping hole. Flames licked at the wood. The cellar and fuel store was a blazing crater at the heart of the volcano. Grant barely gave it a second glance. He was looking beyond the diner to the front car park. He took the two bunches of car keys out of his pocket and locked eyes with Hope.

“Time to get this lot out of here.”

He handed Hope one set of keys.

“What’s yours like in the snow?”

“Front-wheel drive. Handles pretty good.”

“We’ll use your car, then. Mine’s for shit in this stuff.”

Grant pointed at Hope, then jerked a thumb towards the diner. “You take the lead. Stay left, away from the light. I’ll bring up the rear.”

There was no further discussion. Hope walked out from behind the wheelie bins and took a diagonal course away from the flames, skirting the end of the diner that was still intact. Rivers and Frevert followed. Grant nudged the two robbers to join the line and kept close behind them. He doubted they’d try and make a run for it in this snow but wasn’t going to take the chance.

Darkness and the blizzard swallowed them up. Grant was hopeful this would be over soon. It wasn’t until they reached the cars that he realized it wasn’t going to be as easy as that.

The floor safe and its cement cocoon had fired through the ceiling like a mortar, and just like a mortar it had followed a similar trajectory. Up high at first, then arcing forward until gravity brought it back to earth. Right onto the bonnet of Jamie Hope’s car. The engine steamed as the improvised mortar shell cooled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.