This Little Piggy by Kirk JD

Author:Kirk, JD
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zertex Crime
Published: 2024-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-ONE

Ted Campbell missed the 80s. Which, given that he hadn’t been born until 1995, was quite a feat. His parents had both instilled a love of power ballads and New Romanticism in him, though, and the opening chords to Saint Elmo’s Fire never failed to set a blaze in his belly and force him to whip out the old air guitar.

Sadly, as he was currently doing fifty along the M8, the air guitar wasn’t an option. He settled for tapping along with his fingertips, until the chorus kicked in and he had no option but to belt it out at the top of his lungs.

He screeched out the “Saint Elmo’s” bit along with the track, then found himself wailing the “Fire” part solo when the sound from the stereo cut off.

A moment later, it was replaced by the burring of his phone.

Ted never liked his calls being broadcast over the car stereo. You never knew who might be listening in, although admittedly it was less of an issue while travelling at high speed along a three-lane stretch of motorway.

Still, habit made him search the dashboard until he found his Bluetooth headset. One-handed, he fumbled it on, then tapped the button to answer the call.

“Yo!” he said. “What’s up, sis?”

He listened. His fingers, which had still been tapping along to the now-imagined drumbeat in his head, slowed, then stopped.

“Wait, hold on. Hold on. Calm down, calm down,” he urged. “Take a breath. What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

He listened again. His face fell, though he tried not to let it show in his voice.

“It’ll be nothing. It’ll be fine. It’s going to be fine,” he said. “No, no, you’re not. I mean, yes, you are being an idiot, but don’t worry about it. It’s allowed.”

He checked his mirrors, then clocked his watch.

“I’m about twenty minutes away from yours. I’ll come round, and we’ll get to the bottom of it, alright? But I bet he’ll be back before I get there. And if he is, I’ll hold Maisie, while you give him hell. Alright?” He smiled. “Alright. OK. It’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon.”

He ended the call. The music returned, but he switched it off, his heart no longer in it.

A knot of dread formed low down in his gut.

“Shit,” Ted whispered, then he clicked his indicators, slid out into the fast lane, and put the pedal all the way to the floor.

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