Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men by Colin Bateman

Author:Colin Bateman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9780006496120
Publisher: London : HarperCollins, 1996.
Published: 2010-07-15T23:00:00+00:00

Smith took Sissy home for dinner. We went back to the hotel and got changed into our darkest clothes. It seemed the thing to do. McMaster was asleep. McClean was jumpy. Now he wasn't sure if any of it was a good idea. While we were storming the Shabazz he was to shepherd the big man to CBS Studios for a TV interview to be beamed live across the nation. Some chat show. David Letter box. Jay Lemon. Whatever. The idea was to repair some of the damage caused by McMaster's perceived racism. He was to be Mr Nice Guy.

About eight I took Matchitt to the Broadway Grill just off Columbus Circle. We got a couple of cheeseburgers and waited for Smith.

Stanley looked like a struggling poet: cropped hair, a black sweater baggy enough to hide the little pot belly, black jeans, some off-the-rack stubble. He flicked some-salt off the table.

'There really isn't that much to worry about, Starkey,' he said.

'That's easy for you to say.'

-'Just go in there and do it. It'll come easy, once the adrenaline gets going. I remember the first time. ..'

'I don't want to know, Stanley.' He shrugged.

I nodded and sipped at my Diet Coke. I was trying to fool myself that it was the antidote for cheeseburger. As if it mattered. I was about to get shot and I was worried about my cholesterol level. I shook my head and snorted. Maybe I would get lucky and have a stroke on my way to the raid. Or possibly during it. And get left behind.

'Are you married, Stanley?'

'No.'

'Family?'

'Oh, I'm sure there's wee ones dotted about the place. None

I'm going to pay for.'

'So who'll miss you when you die?'

'If they miss me, I won't die.'

'It's good of you to do this for Bobby.'

'I'm being paid.'

'It's more than that.'

'Yeah, well. What can I say?'

'And she's a Catholic.'

'Who is?'

'Mary.'

'Seriously?' He kept the serious lookup for ten seconds, then a smile slipped onto his face. 'She's his wife, isn't she?'

'Wouldn't go down with your old company.'

'No, I don't suppose it would. But things change. People change.'

He nodded absently, momentarily lost in thought, then his eyes focused again. 'How's your wife, Starkey?'

'Okay,' I said.

'She's a bit of a good looker.'

I shrugged. Then thought out loud: 'How would you know?'

'Oh, you'd be surprised what I know. Still in the tax office, is she? Still do her shopping at Bloomers on a Thursday night? Still a Smirnoff and Diet Coker?'

Someone walked over my grave. 'What're you saying, Stanley?'

'We had you checked out once, Starkey. The boys, y'know?'

'Checked out for ... ?'

'What do the boys do, Starkey?'

'You cut throats. You shoot people.'

Matchitt nodded. 'So we had you checked out. One too many sarky comments in the paper. So your name got added to the list. Fortunately for you it was a long list. Mind you, as far as I recall, we did do a couple of dry runs. It's amazing what can upset a murder plan. Traffic lights. Double parking. A traffic warden. Someone forgetting the gun.

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