The Autumn Tree (DI Bliss Book 8) by Tony J Forder

Author:Tony J Forder [J Forder, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spare Nib Books
Published: 2021-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Five

Bliss was running on a combustible cocktail of adrenaline and anger. With Emily having left soon after their conversation faltered, he knew he ought to stay at home, spend the night in his recliner, listening to music and drowning his sorrows in alcohol. It was the tried and trusted method of blocking out emotional pain, and it had worked well in the past. But this time he felt beyond that, and knew precisely where to go to pick a fight.

SheDevils was located in the city centre, opposite Peterborough’s main marketplace. If you had a penchant for shelling out on overpriced booze and watching young women cavort on stage wearing little and sometimes nothing, with private dances highly encouraged, SheDevils was the place for you. It wasn’t the kind of establishment Bliss would usually want to be found anywhere near, but Neil Watson worked the entrance as a doorman. When Bliss cruised by, he made sure the bulked-up man was aware of his presence before he swung the car around and pulled up in a vacant slot further along the road.

Watson threw several hard stares Bliss’s way, all to no effect. This went on for fifteen minutes. Then, right on cue, he broke away from his equally brawny partner, crossed the road and headed towards the parked pool car. With mounting excitement coursing through his bloodstream, Bliss watched the irate man approaching. The sensible thing would have been to drive away, having successfully slipped beneath the man’s skin enough to prompt a reaction; on another night, he might well have done so. On this particular night, however, he was not quite himself. Instead of powering off, he got out of the car to confront the clearly furious doorman.

‘Okay, you prick!’ Watson snarled, teeth virtually meshed together like an enamel cage. ‘I’ve had about all I’m willing to take from you. I’m calling my solicitor. Right now.’

Bliss regarded him casually, as nonchalant as he could manage. ‘Please do. It’s a free country, or so I am told.’

‘He’ll take you to the cleaners, Bliss. This is harassment!’ Watson spat the last word, spittle fleeing his lips as if it had been trapped against its will.

‘You think? I was merely sitting here pondering my day, wondering whether to pop in for a drink. You’re the one who crossed the street to confront me, not the other way around.’

Watson took a step closer, glaring and prodding the air in front of him. ‘Because you’re following me.’

‘So you allege. I say that’s not the case.’

‘So what are you doing here? Outside my place of work?’

‘This is where you work? I had no idea. I was just out for a drive. Feeling a bit restless.’

‘Yeah? Then why aren’t you still driving?’

‘I got tired. You know what they say about pulling over when you get tired.’

‘And you happened to feel tired here?’

‘It does look that way. Believe me, it’s pure coincidence. We’ve all got to be somewhere, right?’

Another step. Another jab with the pointing finger. ‘You’re talking out of your arse, and my solicitor will tear you a new one.

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