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Authors: Geoffrey McGeachin
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cameras without asking.
‘Let me do that,’ I said, grabbing him by the wrist.
He twisted his arm to break free and I tightened my hold. The more he twisted, the tighter I made my grip. His jaw was clenched and the tendons in his neck were standing out with the strain.
‘Er, Alby,’ Julie said, and I looked over Pergo’s shoulder to the doorway, where the blond heavy was standing with a Glock pointed in the general direction of yours truly.
I released Pergo’s right wrist, flipped open the memory-card panel on the Nikon and popped out the card. Pergo took it with his left hand and slipped it into his pocket. He started massaging his right wrist.
‘That was fun,’ I said. ‘We should do it again sometime. You ever go anywhere without Snow White and the Seven Psychos?’
Pergo smiled at the challenge. ‘Any time you like, boyo. Just name the place.’
Boyo? Sloan Square to Belfast in one easy step. ‘Queensbury Rules?’
‘If you prefer. But you should remember the first rule of boxing, Murdoch – never punch above your weight.’
‘I’ll take my chances, Chapman,’ I said. ‘I heard your nickname in the ring was the Glazier. One win, one draw,seven losses – five by knockout. Smart money says you had a glass jaw and no bottle.’
Pergo stared at me. ‘Like I said, boyo, any time.’ He turned quickly on his heel and walked out the door.
Julie started a slow handclap. ‘Well played, Mr Murdoch. Nothing like a couple of blokes having a dick-measuring competition to liven up the afternoon.’
Clare was staring at the empty doorway. ‘Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?’
‘We’ve been shut down,’ Lonergan said. ‘We’re off the case.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I think maybe I’d better give you a ride back to the ship, Lieutenant.’
Something in Lonergan’s matter-of-fact summing up of the situation made me think he’d known exactly what was coming before Pergo’s convoy even rolled onto the dock.
Clare was looking at me. ‘Probably wise to make a move,’ I said to her. ‘You don’t want to have an AWOL charge on your service record.’
She kept looking at me. And it was a look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but in a nice kind of way.
‘Maybe we can have lunch sometime,’ she said. ‘Given the circumstances, I think the Altoona will be in port a little longer than we expected.’
She was right about that. I couldn’t imagine the cruiser upping anchor any time soon. As for having lunch together, I’m never one to knock back the advances of abeautiful woman, and, well, a man has to eat.
I handed her my WorldPix business card. ‘Sounds great. Why don’t you email me your contact details?’
‘That might not be a good idea, Lieutenant,’ Lonergan warned. ‘This is an extremely sensitive situation.’
‘Don’t worry, Carter, I’m an extremely sensitive guy.’
Julie chimed in. ‘Yeah, Carter, haven’t you heard? Alby here’s your genuine, all-round sensitive New Age spy.’
I ignored that. ‘Lieutenant Kingston, is there anything you don’t eat?’
She smiled. ‘I’m omnivorous, and I have rather a voracious appetite.’
My kind of girl. That made up for the decaf and the soy milk.
Carter and Clare drove away in the Chevy Suburban and Peter left straight afterwards for his meeting with the top brass.
‘Too bad Pergo got your images from the island,’ Julie said, surveying the wreckage of the office.
I pulled a memory card out of the coin pocket of my jeans. ‘You must have heard me say it to the Dedheads a hundred times: always take the memory card out of your camera as soon as you finish shooting something important. You can replace your hardware, but when the images are gone they’re gone forever. Luckily, for once I followed my own rule.’
‘You went to a lot of trouble to stop Pergo getting a blank card.’
‘Couldn’t let him think I was giving it up without a fight. Pergo’s no fool – if I’d
‘Let me do that,’ I said, grabbing him by the wrist.
He twisted his arm to break free and I tightened my hold. The more he twisted, the tighter I made my grip. His jaw was clenched and the tendons in his neck were standing out with the strain.
‘Er, Alby,’ Julie said, and I looked over Pergo’s shoulder to the doorway, where the blond heavy was standing with a Glock pointed in the general direction of yours truly.
I released Pergo’s right wrist, flipped open the memory-card panel on the Nikon and popped out the card. Pergo took it with his left hand and slipped it into his pocket. He started massaging his right wrist.
‘That was fun,’ I said. ‘We should do it again sometime. You ever go anywhere without Snow White and the Seven Psychos?’
Pergo smiled at the challenge. ‘Any time you like, boyo. Just name the place.’
Boyo? Sloan Square to Belfast in one easy step. ‘Queensbury Rules?’
‘If you prefer. But you should remember the first rule of boxing, Murdoch – never punch above your weight.’
‘I’ll take my chances, Chapman,’ I said. ‘I heard your nickname in the ring was the Glazier. One win, one draw,seven losses – five by knockout. Smart money says you had a glass jaw and no bottle.’
Pergo stared at me. ‘Like I said, boyo, any time.’ He turned quickly on his heel and walked out the door.
Julie started a slow handclap. ‘Well played, Mr Murdoch. Nothing like a couple of blokes having a dick-measuring competition to liven up the afternoon.’
Clare was staring at the empty doorway. ‘Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?’
‘We’ve been shut down,’ Lonergan said. ‘We’re off the case.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I think maybe I’d better give you a ride back to the ship, Lieutenant.’
Something in Lonergan’s matter-of-fact summing up of the situation made me think he’d known exactly what was coming before Pergo’s convoy even rolled onto the dock.
Clare was looking at me. ‘Probably wise to make a move,’ I said to her. ‘You don’t want to have an AWOL charge on your service record.’
She kept looking at me. And it was a look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, but in a nice kind of way.
‘Maybe we can have lunch sometime,’ she said. ‘Given the circumstances, I think the Altoona will be in port a little longer than we expected.’
She was right about that. I couldn’t imagine the cruiser upping anchor any time soon. As for having lunch together, I’m never one to knock back the advances of abeautiful woman, and, well, a man has to eat.
I handed her my WorldPix business card. ‘Sounds great. Why don’t you email me your contact details?’
‘That might not be a good idea, Lieutenant,’ Lonergan warned. ‘This is an extremely sensitive situation.’
‘Don’t worry, Carter, I’m an extremely sensitive guy.’
Julie chimed in. ‘Yeah, Carter, haven’t you heard? Alby here’s your genuine, all-round sensitive New Age spy.’
I ignored that. ‘Lieutenant Kingston, is there anything you don’t eat?’
She smiled. ‘I’m omnivorous, and I have rather a voracious appetite.’
My kind of girl. That made up for the decaf and the soy milk.
Carter and Clare drove away in the Chevy Suburban and Peter left straight afterwards for his meeting with the top brass.
‘Too bad Pergo got your images from the island,’ Julie said, surveying the wreckage of the office.
I pulled a memory card out of the coin pocket of my jeans. ‘You must have heard me say it to the Dedheads a hundred times: always take the memory card out of your camera as soon as you finish shooting something important. You can replace your hardware, but when the images are gone they’re gone forever. Luckily, for once I followed my own rule.’
‘You went to a lot of trouble to stop Pergo getting a blank card.’
‘Couldn’t let him think I was giving it up without a fight. Pergo’s no fool – if I’d
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