lounge, I
spotted James already seated at a table in a far corner. Good choice, I
thought. Out of ears’ reach of those annoying inquisitive types.
‘Hello, Tom,’ he said. ‘I thought
you’d never get here.’
‘Saw you at the funeral but didn’t
get a chance to talk. Emily wanted to leave immediately after the burial, so
that put an end to any socialising.’
‘Not a problem.’
‘James, I’ll come straight to the
point. I’ve decided to do my own bit of investigation as to why Jake met with
foul play. I’ve heard he witnessed a drug-related gangland murder in the park
last Thursday night.’
‘Yes, you could say his fate had
already been decided,’ Slattery responded.
‘In some ways I looked upon Jake
as a son and I feel the least I can do is to find out the truth. Besides,
Brigit’s been caught up in all of this.’
‘But that’s what the police are
for. They have the responsibility to find these bastards, not you,’ declared
James.
‘I’m aware of that, but another
set of eyes and ears may uncover something the police can’t. James, we’ve known
each other for nearly two years now, enough time for you to know that I’m a man
of my word and I won’t repeat any information I’m told in confidence. What I
would like to hear is your side of the story regarding Brigit and Jake.’
James pondered for a while.
Perhaps he wasn’t sure where to commence or maybe he would object to me being
so forward and get up to leave. I waited. Was I to become friend or foe? A
trusted ally, I hoped.
‘Okay, it’s like this. What I’m
about to tell you is in strict confidence and I mean nobody else is to
know of this. It didn’t come from me, do you get my drift?’
‘Agreed.’
‘Brigit broke off our
relationship because she claimed I was too possessive. The truth of the matter
is Brigit was naive and easily led by some undesirable people. She interpreted
my protection of her as obsession.’
‘Can you elaborate?’
‘Well, this is where it gets
tricky,’ said James, lowering his voice. ‘There’s some local drug syndicate
that persuaded her to sell dope to a lot of young people, and today,
unfortunately, it now includes schoolchildren. This organisation that lured her
into their network is a ruthless lot and I was always afraid for her safety.
Brigit told me her role was never more than marijuana, but they also deal in
ecstasy, cocaine and heroin, which apparently is where the big dollars are
made. We always argued, because I told her to walk away from it all. She was
getting in too deep and of course she wouldn’t budge.’
‘Could Brigit identify the person
who passed the drugs?’
‘No, not really. The transfer was
always done at night and never at the same place. This person usually wore a
long coat with a turned-up collar and a hat pulled down covering most of his
face. Few words were ever spoken and the deal was over in less than a minute. I
saw the transaction happen one night from a distance and it was impossible to
describe the person.’
‘Does this person have a name?’
‘Charlie was his name, according
to Brigit. It was always the same person. Keep in mind this all happened when I
was dating her some five months ago, but I’m sure the situation’s still the
same today.’
‘What about Jake, was he involved
in all this?’
‘No way! It wasn’t his scene
because he was too obsessed with his running.’
‘Do you think Jake knew of Brigit’s
involvement?’
‘Got my doubts. Had she told
Jake, then I believe their relationship would’ve been over. Jake lived the
so-called clean life and I think he would’ve distanced himself from that sort
of business.’
‘What do you make of the murder?’
I questioned.
‘I’ve thought about it a lot and
can only come to the conclusion that Jake was the intended target.’
‘What makes you so sure? Two
people were
spotted James already seated at a table in a far corner. Good choice, I
thought. Out of ears’ reach of those annoying inquisitive types.
‘Hello, Tom,’ he said. ‘I thought
you’d never get here.’
‘Saw you at the funeral but didn’t
get a chance to talk. Emily wanted to leave immediately after the burial, so
that put an end to any socialising.’
‘Not a problem.’
‘James, I’ll come straight to the
point. I’ve decided to do my own bit of investigation as to why Jake met with
foul play. I’ve heard he witnessed a drug-related gangland murder in the park
last Thursday night.’
‘Yes, you could say his fate had
already been decided,’ Slattery responded.
‘In some ways I looked upon Jake
as a son and I feel the least I can do is to find out the truth. Besides,
Brigit’s been caught up in all of this.’
‘But that’s what the police are
for. They have the responsibility to find these bastards, not you,’ declared
James.
‘I’m aware of that, but another
set of eyes and ears may uncover something the police can’t. James, we’ve known
each other for nearly two years now, enough time for you to know that I’m a man
of my word and I won’t repeat any information I’m told in confidence. What I
would like to hear is your side of the story regarding Brigit and Jake.’
James pondered for a while.
Perhaps he wasn’t sure where to commence or maybe he would object to me being
so forward and get up to leave. I waited. Was I to become friend or foe? A
trusted ally, I hoped.
‘Okay, it’s like this. What I’m
about to tell you is in strict confidence and I mean nobody else is to
know of this. It didn’t come from me, do you get my drift?’
‘Agreed.’
‘Brigit broke off our
relationship because she claimed I was too possessive. The truth of the matter
is Brigit was naive and easily led by some undesirable people. She interpreted
my protection of her as obsession.’
‘Can you elaborate?’
‘Well, this is where it gets
tricky,’ said James, lowering his voice. ‘There’s some local drug syndicate
that persuaded her to sell dope to a lot of young people, and today,
unfortunately, it now includes schoolchildren. This organisation that lured her
into their network is a ruthless lot and I was always afraid for her safety.
Brigit told me her role was never more than marijuana, but they also deal in
ecstasy, cocaine and heroin, which apparently is where the big dollars are
made. We always argued, because I told her to walk away from it all. She was
getting in too deep and of course she wouldn’t budge.’
‘Could Brigit identify the person
who passed the drugs?’
‘No, not really. The transfer was
always done at night and never at the same place. This person usually wore a
long coat with a turned-up collar and a hat pulled down covering most of his
face. Few words were ever spoken and the deal was over in less than a minute. I
saw the transaction happen one night from a distance and it was impossible to
describe the person.’
‘Does this person have a name?’
‘Charlie was his name, according
to Brigit. It was always the same person. Keep in mind this all happened when I
was dating her some five months ago, but I’m sure the situation’s still the
same today.’
‘What about Jake, was he involved
in all this?’
‘No way! It wasn’t his scene
because he was too obsessed with his running.’
‘Do you think Jake knew of Brigit’s
involvement?’
‘Got my doubts. Had she told
Jake, then I believe their relationship would’ve been over. Jake lived the
so-called clean life and I think he would’ve distanced himself from that sort
of business.’
‘What do you make of the murder?’
I questioned.
‘I’ve thought about it a lot and
can only come to the conclusion that Jake was the intended target.’
‘What makes you so sure? Two
people were
Similar Books
