Read Online The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick - Free Book Online Page A

in the same year as us in school,
way back when Duran Duran were the kings of the
rock world and furry pixie boots were all the rage.
She'd always been the girl the boys liked because,
    68
without exception, she fucked on the first date, the
first date only ever meant buying her one drink,
and she was nice to look at. Which you've got to
admit is something of a rare and joyous combination.
Not that I'd ever managed to get her in the
sack. There'd always been too much of a queue in
front of me. And I'd been a bit of a skinny runt in
school, too. Like decent wine, I'd matured with age. The hadn't clapped eyes on Elaine in getting close to
fifteen years, probably longer, and briefly
wondered what she looked like now.
    'Yeah, Elaine's still around. She's the manager of
Fowler's club.'
    'The Arcadia.'
    'That's the one. I still see her now and again
uucduse I drink down there sometimes. Not often,
like, cos it's a bit too young for me, all these kids
jumping about, out of it on all sorts, but it's worth
a Captain Cook. Anyway, she told me that Fowler
was having trouble with some people and he
needed protection. She asked me if I knew of anyone
who might be able to assist and so, you know, I
thought about it for a couple of minutes, then your
name popped up. I know you're into all that shit. I
thought you could do with the business.' He turned
and gave me his trademark boyish smile, the one I
knew had got Elaine Toms into bed on more than
one occasion back in the old days. Johnny Hexham,
the loveable rogue.
    But it didn't work. Not today. 'It was a bad move,
Johnny.'
    He looked worried. 'Why? What happened?'
    We turned into Chapel Market and made our way
    69
down the middle between the two lines of stalls. As
usual, it was noisy and crowded. I decided against
giving him the whole story. Johnny was no grass
and probably wouldn't go to the law if his balls
went missing, but it was best to err on the side of
caution.
    'I almost got killed. That's what happened. These
people Fowler had trouble with, they weren't messing
about.'
    'Blimey, Max, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you
in the Barry. I thought it was routine stuff.'
    'Who are these people? And what's the trouble
he's been having, exactly?'
    The don't know. Honest. It was something to do
with the club. That's all I was told.' He exhaled
dramatically. 'Fuck, this is bad news. What's
happened to Fowler?'
    I glared at him. 'Forget Fowler. And forget you
ever put him in contact with me. OK?'
    Johnny's head went up and down like a nodding
dog. 'Yeah, yeah. Of course. No problem. Consider
it done.'
    I took his arm again, this time squeezing harder.
He turned to protest but I stared him down. 'Are
you sure you're telling me the truth, Johnny? You
know nothing about that club that might help to
explain why people are getting all trigger happy
with Fowler?'
    'No...'
    'Because if I find out you do know something, anything
at all, then I'm going to hunt you down and I'm
going to kill you. Understand?' Harsh words, but
definitely necessary under the circumstances.
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'Fuck it, Max, I'm telling the truth. I know there's
some dealing goes on down there, charlie and all
that, but that's about it.'
    They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I
slowed right down and stared straight into his. But
the windows were dirty and I couldn't tell whether
he was bullshitting or not.
    'That's all I know, I swear to you. Look, Max, I'm
t srry. I really am. I was just trying to help.'
    I let go of his arm, and managed a brief smile,
though God knows what there was to smile about.
'Well, it's a brand of help I can do without in the
future. And remember, say nothing about seeing
me to anyone. OK? Including Elaine Toms.'
    'No problem. My lips are sealed.' He gave me a
Concerned look. A mate to a mate. 'Everything's all
right, though, isn't it, Max?'
    'Oh yeah,' I told him, turning away. Ticketyfucking-boo.
See you around, Johnny.'
    Gallan
    I didn't have to work that night but, with my home
life being as