Read Online Garnethill by Denise Mina by Garnethill - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Garnethill
Ads: Link
nice to me," said Maureen.
"He's a bit of an arse usually, isn't he?"
"Total arse usually. He brought me out a chair and a cup of tea and everything. And he lent me that beautiful Celtic top to wear while I was being questioned."
Liam squeezed watery tomato sauce from the plastic bottle onto his plate of chips. "That must have impressed the polis." He watched his sister steer the oily rivulet away from her chips and beans, into a safe empty space at the side of the plate. She dabbed it off with a paper napkin. "I can see," he said, "that you're used to eating in top-class restaurants such as this one."
"Yup." Maureen smiled. "I don't like that Joe McEwan character at all."
"Yeah, he's a total prick but don't let on you don't like him."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"He's a big noise up there. It could make a difference to how they treat you. Try to seem friendly," he said, as if he'd spent his life being questioned by the police. "They asked me what I was doing yesterday afternoon."
"Yeah," said Maureen. "They were asking me about the morning and afternoon. I guess that's when they think it happened. I was at my work."
"Yeah. I had a key and I can't tell them where I was during the day."
"Why not?"
"I was at Tonsa's seeing Paulsa."
Tonsa was a courier. She traveled to London on the train once a month, bringing crack to Glasgow. She looked like a well-to-do lady in her early thirties: she had elegant bone structure, a slim figure and expensive, stylish dress sense. Liam had introduced her to Maureen when they bumped into her at the Barras market one Sunday. She looked normal until Maureen noticed her eyes: they were watery and open a fraction too little, they were a corpse's eyes, Tonsa was dead beneath the skin. Until then Maureen had thought of Liam as the Gentleman Jim of the drugs world. After meeting Tonsa she realized there was no such thing, that Liam must be a heavy guy. But he wasn't like that with her and she hung on to that. He was her big brother, she reasoned, and she was entitled to censor his life for her own consumption.
Tonsa had been in the papers recently: her boyfriend had been slashed, ear to chin, while he went about his lawful business. The local paper carried a photo of the lovely couple demanding that the police catch the evil men responsible. At the time Maureen had asked Liam why Tonsa let them take her picture, surely she wouldn't want that sort of attention. Liam had shrugged and said Tonsa was wasted, no one knew why Tonsa did anything.
"Liam," she said, nervous at asking, " 'member Tonsa's man was slashed?"
He looked up at her. "Aye?"
"Well, that wouldn't be anything to do with this, would it?"
"What d'ye mean?" he said, staring at her, daring her to go ahead.
"I just wondered if you knew anyone —"
"Am I getting the blame for this?" he snapped.
"Right, you" — she wagged a finger across the table at him — "calm down. I'm not blaming ye, I'm just asking ye. It's not an unreasonable question. You're the only person I know who deals with these kinds of people."
"Yeah, well, Maureen," he said, trying to be reasonable because she'd had a shitty day, "we're not the only people who do that sort of thing. There are other bad men in the world."
"I know that, I'm just wondering, gangsters do that sort of thing, don't they?"
Liam smirked uncomfortably at the table. "You watch too many films, Maureen, these are businessmen ... Ye don't get much of that sort of thing."
Maureen looked unconvinced. "Someone wouldn't be trying to send you a message? A warning or something?"
"Look, how does that send a message to me? Why kill my wee sister's boyfriend in her house leaving no clue as to their identity?"
"I suppose."
"If someone wanted to send me a warning they'd walk up and smash me in the face. It wouldn't be a secret, I'd know I was out of line and I'd know it was coming. These people are motivated by greed. They don't want trouble with the police — that just makes it harder to do
"He's a bit of an arse usually, isn't he?"
"Total arse usually. He brought me out a chair and a cup of tea and everything. And he lent me that beautiful Celtic top to wear while I was being questioned."
Liam squeezed watery tomato sauce from the plastic bottle onto his plate of chips. "That must have impressed the polis." He watched his sister steer the oily rivulet away from her chips and beans, into a safe empty space at the side of the plate. She dabbed it off with a paper napkin. "I can see," he said, "that you're used to eating in top-class restaurants such as this one."
"Yup." Maureen smiled. "I don't like that Joe McEwan character at all."
"Yeah, he's a total prick but don't let on you don't like him."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"He's a big noise up there. It could make a difference to how they treat you. Try to seem friendly," he said, as if he'd spent his life being questioned by the police. "They asked me what I was doing yesterday afternoon."
"Yeah," said Maureen. "They were asking me about the morning and afternoon. I guess that's when they think it happened. I was at my work."
"Yeah. I had a key and I can't tell them where I was during the day."
"Why not?"
"I was at Tonsa's seeing Paulsa."
Tonsa was a courier. She traveled to London on the train once a month, bringing crack to Glasgow. She looked like a well-to-do lady in her early thirties: she had elegant bone structure, a slim figure and expensive, stylish dress sense. Liam had introduced her to Maureen when they bumped into her at the Barras market one Sunday. She looked normal until Maureen noticed her eyes: they were watery and open a fraction too little, they were a corpse's eyes, Tonsa was dead beneath the skin. Until then Maureen had thought of Liam as the Gentleman Jim of the drugs world. After meeting Tonsa she realized there was no such thing, that Liam must be a heavy guy. But he wasn't like that with her and she hung on to that. He was her big brother, she reasoned, and she was entitled to censor his life for her own consumption.
Tonsa had been in the papers recently: her boyfriend had been slashed, ear to chin, while he went about his lawful business. The local paper carried a photo of the lovely couple demanding that the police catch the evil men responsible. At the time Maureen had asked Liam why Tonsa let them take her picture, surely she wouldn't want that sort of attention. Liam had shrugged and said Tonsa was wasted, no one knew why Tonsa did anything.
"Liam," she said, nervous at asking, " 'member Tonsa's man was slashed?"
He looked up at her. "Aye?"
"Well, that wouldn't be anything to do with this, would it?"
"What d'ye mean?" he said, staring at her, daring her to go ahead.
"I just wondered if you knew anyone —"
"Am I getting the blame for this?" he snapped.
"Right, you" — she wagged a finger across the table at him — "calm down. I'm not blaming ye, I'm just asking ye. It's not an unreasonable question. You're the only person I know who deals with these kinds of people."
"Yeah, well, Maureen," he said, trying to be reasonable because she'd had a shitty day, "we're not the only people who do that sort of thing. There are other bad men in the world."
"I know that, I'm just wondering, gangsters do that sort of thing, don't they?"
Liam smirked uncomfortably at the table. "You watch too many films, Maureen, these are businessmen ... Ye don't get much of that sort of thing."
Maureen looked unconvinced. "Someone wouldn't be trying to send you a message? A warning or something?"
"Look, how does that send a message to me? Why kill my wee sister's boyfriend in her house leaving no clue as to their identity?"
"I suppose."
"If someone wanted to send me a warning they'd walk up and smash me in the face. It wouldn't be a secret, I'd know I was out of line and I'd know it was coming. These people are motivated by greed. They don't want trouble with the police — that just makes it harder to do
Similar Books
