Read Online Broken Dreams by Nick Quantrill - Free Book Online

it, then it means one of them has seriously pissed someone off. Does he have any enemies?’
    ‘Of course not. He’s a businessman, not a gangster.’
    ‘Does he have an alibi?’
    ‘Not that I’m aware of, though he shouldn’t need one. He didn’t do it.’
    She put her drink down and smiled at me. ‘How about you? Anybody new on the scene?’
    I wondered how she could be so certain about him before telling her there was no one special in my life. The food was brought to our table and we ate in silence.
     
     
    I was happy to have the excuse of a meeting with Donna’s boyfriend from the factory to escape from Jane. It had been a mistake talking to her. As I waited for the barman to give me my change, I picked up my drink and looked around. The pub was run down and practically empty. Shabby, nicotine stained wallpaper adorned the walls, reminding me how much the smoking ban had cost places like this. There were few people in the place, but one or two who’d probably been there since opening time. The old man stood next to me at the bar continued to stare as I walked away. I spotted who I was looking for in the corner and walked across the room.
    ‘Simon?’
    He looked  me up and down before nodding.
    ‘Joe’ I said, introducing myself.
    ‘How did you find me?’
    I looked at the man who Donna had met at the factory. He was wearing an out of date Manchester United shirt and dirty jeans. I guessed he was about 40 years old. ‘I’m a private detective.’
    He snorted. ‘That doesn’t answer the question.’
    ‘I rang the factory and asked for you.’ Sometimes it really was that easy. I got to the point. ‘Tell me about Donna Platt’ I said.
    ‘Not much to tell.’
    He was going to be hard work. ‘Did you meet Donna at the factory?’
    ‘Where else?’
    The pool table was the only sign of life in the pub, with two teenagers in caps laughing loudly at each other’s shots. I looked at the black and white photographs of the local area on the wall whilst I waited for him to elaborate.
    ‘She was on the line I supervise’ he eventually said. ‘And it just sort of developed.’
    I nodded. ‘People meet at work and things happen.’ My mobile vibrated in my pocket but I ignored it. ‘What was Donna like?’ I asked.
    ‘Different.’
    ‘Different?’
    ‘Vulnerable. She needed some company, someone to talk to. I suppose I liked being that person.’
    I wasn’t sure whether his answer was uplifting or just plain creepy. I wondered if he’d taken advantage of her. ‘Where did you do your talking?’
    ‘Sometimes in here, sometimes at her flat.’
    ‘Her flat?’ I asked him for the details. ‘Did she ever talk about her singing career?’
    He turned to look at me.
    ‘What singing career?’
    ‘She used to sing around the clubs. She was in a band called 2’s Company .’
    He laughed. ‘She was a singer?’
    I nodded.
    ‘I had no idea.’
    ‘She never mentioned it? I was surprised. The band had been her life.
    ‘Why are you asking me about this?’ he asked.
    ‘I need to speak to her.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Her mother wants to know she’s alright.’
    ‘Can’t help you, I’m afraid.’
    ‘You’ve not heard from her recently?’
    ‘Not since we split up.’
    ‘When was that?’
    ‘Three, four years back. A long time ago.’
    ‘Any idea where she went?’
    ‘None at all.’
    ‘Apparently she just upped and went. Was it because you hit her?’
    ‘What did you say, cunt?’
    ‘Did you hit her?’ We were eyeballing each other.
    ‘You best watch your mouth.’
    I removed a post-it-note from my pocket. ‘1992, conviction for assault followed by another in 1995. Charges dropped in 2000. It looks like a habit to me, Simon.’ Don had done good work. ‘Do your employers know about these?’
    ‘Get fucked.’ He’d turned away from me. There was no venom. He was beaten. ‘Did you hit Donna?’
    ‘I never laid a finger on her and that’s the truth.’
    ‘Where did she go, Simon? I need