Read Online Salt by Colin F. Barnes - Free Book Online

said if he stayed around, his family were in danger.”
    “Him going hasn’t changed that much, has it?”
    “Sadly, no, but you’ve got to believe me, I had nothing to do with Jean. I sent the boys round to help her move out because Mike had fixed her up a place on one of the yachts. That was his payment for the work he was doing for me. Jean was like one of the family to me, even if the boys didn’t get that message across.”
    “Cut to the chase, Graves. What’s this got to do with a memory stick, and why is it so important?”
    “I don’t know… yet. But someone wants it real bad. And if someone is willing to kill for it, it means it’s worth something. Besides, like you, I want to find the bastard and feed them to the fish.”
    “And you know for certain Mike had this memory stick?”
    “Yeah. He found it one day while exploring some of the newer boats. Found a cache in a safe.”
    “And let me guess, you cracked the safe?”
    “I can’t confirm or deny that. Either way, he kept the loot; I thought nothing of it. It looked like a pack of old rags to me. But there was this stick, you see, and some papers. Mike said they were encrypted, couldn’t read a word of them.”
    “Wait, why are you telling me all this? If this thing, whatever it is, is worth something, why get me involved? You know exactly what I think of you, and that opinion isn’t changing any time soon.”
    Marcus gave her a sly smile. She had to give him credit; he had a certain charisma, despite being a complete asshole.
    “Here’s the deal, love. I know what you were, know what you’re capable of. I want you to work for me, find this memory stick, find out what’s on those papers and what scared Mike so much he abandoned his family.”
    “And what’s in it for me?”
    “Protection, resources. This place is going to the shitter. Stuff’s breaking down, resources going missing. How long do you think Jim’s decisions are going to be tolerated? There’s mutiny afoot. And you know as well as I do what’ll happen if anarchy breaks out on this place: we’ll all be fucked. You help me solve this little riddle, you get the killer, and Danny gets a safe place with people capable of looking after him. And that extends to you too. When the shit hits the fan and this place splits, you’ll want to be on my side.”
    “Tell me one thing first,” Eva said.
    “What?”
    “That stupid business with Frank. What the hell was that all about?”
    He shrugged. “Nothing to do with me.”
    “And you know about his wife?”
    “I don’t believe that story. He came to me an hour before going after Jim. You know Frank’s an ex-crack addict, right? His brains are scrambled; fuck knows what goes on in there half the time.”
    “So you’ve seen her, then, his wife?”
    “I don’t keep tabs on everyone.”
    “That’s exactly what you do.”
    The sly grin again.
    “She’s fine. She was out working the compost bins last night. Frank’s talking shit. If someone put him up to take out ol’ Jim, they didn’t have his wife. He tried it for some other reason. But really, I couldn’t give a shit about the reasons behind it. Jim’s a dead man walking these days. If Frank didn’t take him out, one of Faust’s nutters will. She’s been whipping them up a storm lately.”
    “Fine, whatever. What exactly is it you think I can do for you?”
    “Investigation, love. I want you to find out where this key goes, and recover the stuff that Mike found before he fucked off. Before whoever killed Jean gets it. And besides, who the hell wants a killer running loose on this place? You’re an ex-copper, that’s kind of your thing, ain’t it? Better than fishing and being a general dogsbody, right?”
    He handed her the key.
    “Here, see, you can trust me. Take it, find out where it leads, and come to speak to me when you’ve got something to share. In the meantime, I’ll make sure Shaley and Tyson aren’t on your case. Hell, you can use them for