Shifting Skin by Simms Chris

Author:Simms, Chris [Simms, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Richmond ePublishing
Published: 2014-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Jon was hunched over his pint, enjoying Beth Orton’s tremulous vocals when he heard Rick’s voice behind him. He looked round, relieved to see that he was dressed casually in a striped shirt that hung outside his trousers.

‘Yeah, I’m all right, mate,’ Jon replied. ‘What are you having?’

‘Gin and Coke. Cheers.’

As Rick took the bar stool next to him, a wave of aftershave washed over Jon. ‘So, you all set?’

‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’ Jon picked up his pint and took a sip. They went over the day’s progress, or lack of it. Still no one had come forward to report a missing female who matched the third victim’s description. Missing reports from all over the country had been checked for matches on fingerprints, DNA and dental records, but with no joy.

All the information about Gordon Dean and the tattoo artist from Affleck’s Palace had been entered into HOLMES and a new index on ‘Body Art/Piercings’ opened. Despite Rick’s optimism, it failed to make any cross-connections with Angela Rowlands or Carol Miller.

They saw off their drinks, then headed for Crimson. Down the narrow side street they saw a number of people disappearing into the red glow. Jon thought of moths being drawn into a flame.

A group of three lads – late teens or early twenties – were gathered at the doors. They were wearing jeans, trainers and baseball caps.

‘No chance,’ Rick said quietly as they got closer.

Sure enough, the bouncers were letting other people in, but not those three.

‘Fucking full of poofters, anyway!’ one snarled, realising the type of venue they’d stumbled across. They backed out of the bouncers’ punching range and began hurling abuse.

Jon automatically increased his pace, keen to get there before things escalated.

Rick put a hand on his arm. ‘Let the bouncers sort it.’

One stepped out into the side street and the group shied backwards. They were all mouth. After spitting towards the door and making a last few gestures, the group of three walked straight towards Jon and Rick.

The first held up a hand, face red with excitement. ‘I wouldn’t bother. It’s full of shirt-lifters.’

One of his mates cut in. ‘Sharpy, leave it. They’re probably a pair of bum bandits, too.’

The lad looked at Rick, his expression rapidly turning ugly.

‘You fucking are, aren’t you?’

In the periphery of his vision, Jon saw the lad’s hand curl into a fist and shoot towards Rick’s face in a vicious uppercut.

Jon swung his forearm out in a short chopping movement, knocking the punch away before it even got to chest height. The movement left his hand close to the lad’s throat. Before either of his mates could react, Jon grabbed his windpipe, digging his fingers into the ridged cartilage. Then, locking his elbow, he propelled the lad across the alley, putting distance between him and his mates before slamming him into the wall. A jerk of his arm sent him stumbling away, coughing and gasping simultaneously.

He spun round and faced the other two. Air was pumping in and out of his lungs, the oxygen making him feel light-headed.

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.