bowl, the other holding his spoon. He was showing me both hands so I wouldn’t get nervous. I wasn’t aiming the gun. It was hanging almost casually from my hand. ‘Want some breakfast?’
‘You don’t sound surprised to see me, Max.’
Now he looked up at me. ‘That’s some serious haircut, boy. Of course I’m not surprised. I heard what happened. They said the police were on the scene just too late to stop the shooting. I knew what you’d think.’
‘What would I think, Max?’ I leaned against the sink, keeping my distance.
‘Do you want some breakfast?’
‘I’ve had some, thanks.’
‘Tea?’
‘All right.’ He got up to fetch a mug from the rack. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
‘That’s because it’s a stupid question. I was waiting for you to come up with a cleverer one.’ He shuffled back to the table with the mug. ‘Sit down, why don’t you? And put away that bloody awful revolver. It embarrasses me having to look at it. Bloody cheap Asian copy, you’d probably miss me even at six feet. How far out of alignment is it?’
‘About half an inch at twenty yards.’
Max wrinkled his nose. ‘And it’s rusting. If you tried popping me with that, I’d more likely die of shame than anything.’
I smiled, but didn’t put the gun away. Max sighed.
‘If not for me, then for Bel.’
‘Where is she?’
‘Sound asleep in her bed, lazy sow. Here, do you want this tea?’
I took the mug from the table and placed it on the draining board, leaning against the sink again.
‘So,’ said Max, ‘someone knew you were doing the hit, and they tipped off the police. Stands to reason it must have been me or whoever was paying you in the first place.’ I nodded. He looked up at me again. ‘Well, it wasn’t me. I don’t blame you for being cagey, but it wasn’t. So all I can do is tell you how the job came about. A man phoned me, a greaseball called Scotty Shattuck. Do you know him?’ I shook my head. ‘He was regular Army, but got a fright or something in the Falklands. Collected a few ears as souvenirs, and when the Army found out they dumped him back into society. He’s tried his hand at mercenary work since, trained some of the fighters in Sarajevo. He doesn’t have much of a rep, spends more time bouncing for night clubs than doing short-arms practice.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘Don’t rush me, Mark. Shattuck said he had a client who was interested in having a job done. What he meant was someone had slipped him a few quid to find an assassin.’
‘Why didn’t he just take the job himself?’
‘Maybe he pitched for it but the client knew his rep. Anyway, I said I’d need a few details, and we met in Leeds. He handed over a sealed envelope, giving me the gen I gave to you when I phoned you.’
‘How much did he know about the hit?’
Max shrugged. ‘The envelopes weren’t tampered with, but he could always have torn open the original envelopes, read the gen for himself, and put it in a fresh envelope after.’
‘Would he be curious enough to do that?’
‘I don’t know, maybe. Shattuck would like to play with the big boys. He seemed to think I was some sort of pimp with a stable of snipers, asked if I’d give him a trial. I told him to behave. And he did behave, too, except when payment time came.’
‘Yes?’
‘At our final meet, again in Leeds, he handed over the case. The final details were there, but the cash was short. Two hundred short. He said it was his cut. I told him that was fine by me, but the person the money was going to wouldn’t be pleased. I asked him if two hundred was worth having to look over his shoulder the rest of his life and not go near windows.’
I grinned. ‘What did he say?’
‘He didn’t say anything, he just sort of twitched and sweated. Then he took the money out of his pocket and handed it over.’ Talking was thirsty work for Max. He had a straw in his mug of tea and took a long suck on it.
‘So where can
‘You don’t sound surprised to see me, Max.’
Now he looked up at me. ‘That’s some serious haircut, boy. Of course I’m not surprised. I heard what happened. They said the police were on the scene just too late to stop the shooting. I knew what you’d think.’
‘What would I think, Max?’ I leaned against the sink, keeping my distance.
‘Do you want some breakfast?’
‘I’ve had some, thanks.’
‘Tea?’
‘All right.’ He got up to fetch a mug from the rack. ‘You haven’t answered my question.’
‘That’s because it’s a stupid question. I was waiting for you to come up with a cleverer one.’ He shuffled back to the table with the mug. ‘Sit down, why don’t you? And put away that bloody awful revolver. It embarrasses me having to look at it. Bloody cheap Asian copy, you’d probably miss me even at six feet. How far out of alignment is it?’
‘About half an inch at twenty yards.’
Max wrinkled his nose. ‘And it’s rusting. If you tried popping me with that, I’d more likely die of shame than anything.’
I smiled, but didn’t put the gun away. Max sighed.
‘If not for me, then for Bel.’
‘Where is she?’
‘Sound asleep in her bed, lazy sow. Here, do you want this tea?’
I took the mug from the table and placed it on the draining board, leaning against the sink again.
‘So,’ said Max, ‘someone knew you were doing the hit, and they tipped off the police. Stands to reason it must have been me or whoever was paying you in the first place.’ I nodded. He looked up at me again. ‘Well, it wasn’t me. I don’t blame you for being cagey, but it wasn’t. So all I can do is tell you how the job came about. A man phoned me, a greaseball called Scotty Shattuck. Do you know him?’ I shook my head. ‘He was regular Army, but got a fright or something in the Falklands. Collected a few ears as souvenirs, and when the Army found out they dumped him back into society. He’s tried his hand at mercenary work since, trained some of the fighters in Sarajevo. He doesn’t have much of a rep, spends more time bouncing for night clubs than doing short-arms practice.’
‘Where does he live?’
‘Don’t rush me, Mark. Shattuck said he had a client who was interested in having a job done. What he meant was someone had slipped him a few quid to find an assassin.’
‘Why didn’t he just take the job himself?’
‘Maybe he pitched for it but the client knew his rep. Anyway, I said I’d need a few details, and we met in Leeds. He handed over a sealed envelope, giving me the gen I gave to you when I phoned you.’
‘How much did he know about the hit?’
Max shrugged. ‘The envelopes weren’t tampered with, but he could always have torn open the original envelopes, read the gen for himself, and put it in a fresh envelope after.’
‘Would he be curious enough to do that?’
‘I don’t know, maybe. Shattuck would like to play with the big boys. He seemed to think I was some sort of pimp with a stable of snipers, asked if I’d give him a trial. I told him to behave. And he did behave, too, except when payment time came.’
‘Yes?’
‘At our final meet, again in Leeds, he handed over the case. The final details were there, but the cash was short. Two hundred short. He said it was his cut. I told him that was fine by me, but the person the money was going to wouldn’t be pleased. I asked him if two hundred was worth having to look over his shoulder the rest of his life and not go near windows.’
I grinned. ‘What did he say?’
‘He didn’t say anything, he just sort of twitched and sweated. Then he took the money out of his pocket and handed it over.’ Talking was thirsty work for Max. He had a straw in his mug of tea and took a long suck on it.
‘So where can
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