occasion and then he poached a couple. I had a word. He fucked me off so I had him wasted. Simple economics, Pat, nothing personal.’
He smiled and wiped his forehead in a comical gesture.
‘That’s all right then.’
She grinned. ‘He was shit on our shoes. Better we finish him now before he became too rich and protected.’
He nodded. ‘Who do you think wasted Micky, then?’
‘Please, Pat, where do you want me to start? He had more enemies than me and you put together. He courted trouble. It was bound to happen. Plus he was a cokehead and that always causes trouble in business. With his temperament coke was the last thing he needed, don’t you think?’
‘Heard anything on the pipeline, anything at all?’
‘Only speculation. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and if I hear anything interesting you’ll be the first to know, OK?’
Patrick rubbed his eyes. ‘I suppose that will have to do for the time being,’ he said tiredly.
Maya reached across the desk and took his hand.
‘Micky was an accident waiting to happen. Remember that in all your other business dealings. No matter how good the scam, first look at the perpetrators and decide whether you actually want to be with these people. It’s what I do and it’s stood me in good stead. Take a hard look at all your workforce on a regular basis, and decide whether they are working for you - or against you.’
Pat liked Maya but her constant preaching gave him the hump at times.
‘Good advice.’ He forced a smile on to his face.
She smiled back. ‘You know it makes sense.’
Caroline was in a small holding cell. Her make-up was gone, her skin was blotchy and her heart was rising and falling inside her chest so erratically she wondered if she was going to have a seizure.
She thought of Ivor, and tried to push the horrific images out of her mind. She saw him dead, disfigured, still smiling at her. And closed her eyes once more.
The cell door opened and she was given a thick white mug of tea and a sandwich, which she wolfed down hungrily. The cheap margarine made her grimace. She took a long noisy sip of scalding tea to compensate.
The sergeant watched her. So this was a concerned mother? He wondered what the world was coming to. When his youngest daughter had had mumps he’d not been able to sleep properly for a week through worry. This woman had mislaid a child, possibly killed it, and she was noshing away like it was a family picnic.
But that was what you were dealing with these days. Scum. None of them married. None of them with a man. He saw them every day of his working life and it depressed him. The whole fabric of society was broken and no one seemed to give a fuck.
He slammed and locked the cell door loudly, reminding Caroline of exactly where she was and how much shit she was in.
It certainly made him feel better.
Patrick walked into his house and ordered coffee, the newspaper and a sandwich from his housekeeper. As he settled himself in the conservatory and waited he looked out impatiently over his perfectly manicured lawns. This house got on his nerves at times; it was like a library, too quiet.
He picked up his messages and scanned them. Nothing he could be bothered with right now. Food and sustenance first then his thinking cap on. He was going to have to go into overdrive soon and start getting some answers.
He picked up a pad and started to make a list of people he was going to see. Something was niggling at him but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Sitting in his leather wing chair, Pat thought about Kate. She was going to go ballistic, but he was sure he could talk her down eventually. He only hoped he had the guts to explain everything to her before someone else told her. Kate was so good, so honest, that at times it grieved him.
In the past, he had always felt that people like her were mugs, to be taken advantage of. Now, though, her goodness was the basis for his love and admiration. Kate would never bat away from
He smiled and wiped his forehead in a comical gesture.
‘That’s all right then.’
She grinned. ‘He was shit on our shoes. Better we finish him now before he became too rich and protected.’
He nodded. ‘Who do you think wasted Micky, then?’
‘Please, Pat, where do you want me to start? He had more enemies than me and you put together. He courted trouble. It was bound to happen. Plus he was a cokehead and that always causes trouble in business. With his temperament coke was the last thing he needed, don’t you think?’
‘Heard anything on the pipeline, anything at all?’
‘Only speculation. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and if I hear anything interesting you’ll be the first to know, OK?’
Patrick rubbed his eyes. ‘I suppose that will have to do for the time being,’ he said tiredly.
Maya reached across the desk and took his hand.
‘Micky was an accident waiting to happen. Remember that in all your other business dealings. No matter how good the scam, first look at the perpetrators and decide whether you actually want to be with these people. It’s what I do and it’s stood me in good stead. Take a hard look at all your workforce on a regular basis, and decide whether they are working for you - or against you.’
Pat liked Maya but her constant preaching gave him the hump at times.
‘Good advice.’ He forced a smile on to his face.
She smiled back. ‘You know it makes sense.’
Caroline was in a small holding cell. Her make-up was gone, her skin was blotchy and her heart was rising and falling inside her chest so erratically she wondered if she was going to have a seizure.
She thought of Ivor, and tried to push the horrific images out of her mind. She saw him dead, disfigured, still smiling at her. And closed her eyes once more.
The cell door opened and she was given a thick white mug of tea and a sandwich, which she wolfed down hungrily. The cheap margarine made her grimace. She took a long noisy sip of scalding tea to compensate.
The sergeant watched her. So this was a concerned mother? He wondered what the world was coming to. When his youngest daughter had had mumps he’d not been able to sleep properly for a week through worry. This woman had mislaid a child, possibly killed it, and she was noshing away like it was a family picnic.
But that was what you were dealing with these days. Scum. None of them married. None of them with a man. He saw them every day of his working life and it depressed him. The whole fabric of society was broken and no one seemed to give a fuck.
He slammed and locked the cell door loudly, reminding Caroline of exactly where she was and how much shit she was in.
It certainly made him feel better.
Patrick walked into his house and ordered coffee, the newspaper and a sandwich from his housekeeper. As he settled himself in the conservatory and waited he looked out impatiently over his perfectly manicured lawns. This house got on his nerves at times; it was like a library, too quiet.
He picked up his messages and scanned them. Nothing he could be bothered with right now. Food and sustenance first then his thinking cap on. He was going to have to go into overdrive soon and start getting some answers.
He picked up a pad and started to make a list of people he was going to see. Something was niggling at him but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Sitting in his leather wing chair, Pat thought about Kate. She was going to go ballistic, but he was sure he could talk her down eventually. He only hoped he had the guts to explain everything to her before someone else told her. Kate was so good, so honest, that at times it grieved him.
In the past, he had always felt that people like her were mugs, to be taken advantage of. Now, though, her goodness was the basis for his love and admiration. Kate would never bat away from
Similar Books
