Read Online Chilled to the Bone by Quentin Bates - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Quentin Bates
Ads: Link
asked a lot more questions.”
“I don’t suppose he gave you his name, did he?” Gunna asked and was rewarded with a shake of the head. “No, I don’t suppose he did, and I don’t imagine it was a police badge he showed you, either. Look, if you speak to anyone about this, it’s either me or one of the two guys who are here with me today. Understand? Now, what time did this man appear and tell you he was one of us?” she asked, her anger cooling at the sight of the young man’s crestfallen face.
B ADDÓ WAS DELICATELY sipping coffee when Hinrik appeared. He waved him to a seat, knowing that anywhere but propping up the bar wasn’t the thin man’s style.
Hinrik frowned at the sight of the cup in Baddó’s hand. “You don’t want a real drink?”
“Not this early. Sit down.”
Hinrik lowered himself uncomfortably into a chair and looked about him until he caught the eye of the youth behind the bar, who scuttled over with a glass on a tray. “You look more wide awake today, Baddó.”
“Well, you know, home cooking can do wonders for a man after eight years of cabbage.”
“So. What’re you thinking?”
Baddó sipped and put the cup down. He extracted the envelope containing the two photographs from an inside pocket. “I’m thinking, why me, considering the cops are probably keeping an eye on me?”
Hinrik shrugged. “You’re the right man for the job, and the police force has enough to do already without keeping tabs on a reformed character like yourself.”
“Bullshit. You must have plenty of people you can call on to do some snooping and snap a few thumbs. Why pick this old fart?”
“Since you ask, I’ll be honest with you.” Hinrik laid a finger on the table next to his glass. “To start with, you’re a new face who’s not a new face, if you see what I mean. You’ve been out of circulation for long enough that most of the young fuckwits with their brains in their bollocks were still playing about on their skateboards when you were around.”
Baddó nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Two.” Hinrik laid another finger on the table’s edge, alongside the first. “This calls for discretion, so it had to be someone with something upstairs who wouldn’t spill his guts after the first two shots on a Friday night.”
“Agreed.”
A third finger joined the other two.
Baddó nodded. “And three?”
“There isn’t a third reason. Except maybe for old times’ sake.”
“Get away with you, Hinrik. You don’t have a sentimental fiber in your entire body.”
The thin man smiled, making it look like a facial muscle exercise. “True,” he admitted, and took out a fat envelope, which he placed next to the one Baddó had already put on the table. “Down payment plus expenses.”
Baddó stowed the fat envelope away in one smooth move and opened the other one. “I need something to go on here. Where’s this taken? I’m not going to ask who she’s upset, but what’s this tart done that you’re looking for her?”
Hinrik’s smile disappeared. “I’m not sure what she’s done,” he admitted reluctantly. “But someone has been mightily pissed off.”
H ELGI WAS IMMERSED again in the hotel’s CCTV footage, alone this time as he pored over the blurry images fast-forwarding through the hotel’s lobby and corridors.
“We’ve had some unwelcome company,” Gunna saidwithout preamble. “Can you put that thing on to the bar at around six yesterday?”
“Yesterday evening?”
“That’s it. Some smart operator came in here masquerading as a copper and chatted up the bartender. He even took him across the street and bought him a beer.”
Helgi grimaced as he fiddled with the computer to find the footage from the previous evening. “Buying anyone a beer would rule him out as one of us, wouldn’t it? So what do you reckon that was all about?”
“Ach, I don’t know,” Gunna said, failing to hide her irritation. “Some nosy bastard. A journalist, I’d
“I don’t suppose he gave you his name, did he?” Gunna asked and was rewarded with a shake of the head. “No, I don’t suppose he did, and I don’t imagine it was a police badge he showed you, either. Look, if you speak to anyone about this, it’s either me or one of the two guys who are here with me today. Understand? Now, what time did this man appear and tell you he was one of us?” she asked, her anger cooling at the sight of the young man’s crestfallen face.
B ADDÓ WAS DELICATELY sipping coffee when Hinrik appeared. He waved him to a seat, knowing that anywhere but propping up the bar wasn’t the thin man’s style.
Hinrik frowned at the sight of the cup in Baddó’s hand. “You don’t want a real drink?”
“Not this early. Sit down.”
Hinrik lowered himself uncomfortably into a chair and looked about him until he caught the eye of the youth behind the bar, who scuttled over with a glass on a tray. “You look more wide awake today, Baddó.”
“Well, you know, home cooking can do wonders for a man after eight years of cabbage.”
“So. What’re you thinking?”
Baddó sipped and put the cup down. He extracted the envelope containing the two photographs from an inside pocket. “I’m thinking, why me, considering the cops are probably keeping an eye on me?”
Hinrik shrugged. “You’re the right man for the job, and the police force has enough to do already without keeping tabs on a reformed character like yourself.”
“Bullshit. You must have plenty of people you can call on to do some snooping and snap a few thumbs. Why pick this old fart?”
“Since you ask, I’ll be honest with you.” Hinrik laid a finger on the table next to his glass. “To start with, you’re a new face who’s not a new face, if you see what I mean. You’ve been out of circulation for long enough that most of the young fuckwits with their brains in their bollocks were still playing about on their skateboards when you were around.”
Baddó nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Two.” Hinrik laid another finger on the table’s edge, alongside the first. “This calls for discretion, so it had to be someone with something upstairs who wouldn’t spill his guts after the first two shots on a Friday night.”
“Agreed.”
A third finger joined the other two.
Baddó nodded. “And three?”
“There isn’t a third reason. Except maybe for old times’ sake.”
“Get away with you, Hinrik. You don’t have a sentimental fiber in your entire body.”
The thin man smiled, making it look like a facial muscle exercise. “True,” he admitted, and took out a fat envelope, which he placed next to the one Baddó had already put on the table. “Down payment plus expenses.”
Baddó stowed the fat envelope away in one smooth move and opened the other one. “I need something to go on here. Where’s this taken? I’m not going to ask who she’s upset, but what’s this tart done that you’re looking for her?”
Hinrik’s smile disappeared. “I’m not sure what she’s done,” he admitted reluctantly. “But someone has been mightily pissed off.”
H ELGI WAS IMMERSED again in the hotel’s CCTV footage, alone this time as he pored over the blurry images fast-forwarding through the hotel’s lobby and corridors.
“We’ve had some unwelcome company,” Gunna saidwithout preamble. “Can you put that thing on to the bar at around six yesterday?”
“Yesterday evening?”
“That’s it. Some smart operator came in here masquerading as a copper and chatted up the bartender. He even took him across the street and bought him a beer.”
Helgi grimaced as he fiddled with the computer to find the footage from the previous evening. “Buying anyone a beer would rule him out as one of us, wouldn’t it? So what do you reckon that was all about?”
“Ach, I don’t know,” Gunna said, failing to hide her irritation. “Some nosy bastard. A journalist, I’d
Similar Books
