The Square Up by Stephen Brown

Author:Stephen Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Crime fiction
ISBN: 978-0-6485329-1-0
Publisher: sjbrown
Published: 2021-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

Mahoney woke with a start, straight from sleep to a rousing chorus of Flight of the Bumble Bee. The incessant buzzing of his mobile phone was hard to ignore. It was Kendall.

‘Sir, we’ve got that lead on the car. Traffic have produced the details on the speeding ticket. It was on Sandfly Road near Longley last Sunday.

He blinked as he sought some focus. ‘Okay, what time is it now?’

‘Ten past eight.’

A ten hour sleep, and he could have gone on slumbering. Thank God it was just the one tablet he took. ‘Can you collect me at my place in half an hour? We’ll head down there.’

‘Sure, Sir. Double shot latte?’

‘Yes, thanks Kate. See you then.’

He still felt a little slow as he eased out of bed. Christine Baker’s pill had done the job—a sound sleep without the dreams. Once under the steaming jet of the shower, he began to feel awake. He reminded himself to call Susan; it would be another night without catching up, but he hoped they might have some time on the weekend. Unlike most of the working population, Friday was not on his mind—the rapidity of the week’s passing was.

Once dressed, he bundled an assortment of socks, jocks and shirts into the washing machine and set it to the economy cycle, hoping he would get back sometime soon to hang the load out to dry. Everything went on hold during an investigation. No wonder the accumulated stresses fractured the domestic lives of some officers.

Out the front of his apartment he saw Kendall approaching with a takeaway coffee in each hand. She was on foot.

‘I’m back in my place. It’s only a few blocks away. Remember?’

Of course. She would hardly still be at Rex’s place.

‘Right. Of course. We’ll go in my car. Perfect.’

They got in his Toyota 86, not quite a sports car but at least a sporty car. Kendall placed his coffee in a cup holder.

‘You alright this morning? You seem preoccupied.’

‘I took a sleeping pill last night. It was very … effective. Usually I’m bolt upright first thing but there must be something of an after effect.’

‘Probably. They can knock you out.’ She took out her phone. ‘I’ve got our location. It’s near the Longley Hotel.’

‘Good.’ He flicked the indicator. ‘We’ll take the scenic route, up Huon Road and through Fern Tree. It may even be quicker.’

It was a winding road that suited his car beautifully. In the break between the morning school run and the early tourists to the mountain, there was little traffic. Kendall seemed content to let him concentrate on his driving. Once past Neika the road straightened.

‘Well, that’s woken me up. Good to test the old skills once in a while. You can drink that coffee with confidence now.’

Kendall took a sip. ‘It’s still warm enough. A bit longer with boy racer and it might have turned cold. You should be a match for a little old Mazda.’

‘You’d hope so.’ He took a swallow himself. It was tepid; his sergeant was a good fibber.

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