Gun (8 page)

Richie was pretty sure there were minutes left on the phone. Not that he really needed them for the call he was about to make – it was a
Freephone
number.

He didn't call the police. They taped all their calls. Plus, they always wanted to know who it was on the other end of the line. There was never any privacy with the polis. They were all about names.

Which was why he was pressing the fives and ones.
Getting through to
Crimestoppers
.

He waited for the line to pick up,
then
he said, "There was a shooting on the
Leam
.
The
Leam
Lane estate.
Outside The Admiral.
This afternoon.
The gun's with a
gadgie
I know. I reckon him or one of his mates might've had something to do with it."

When Richie was asked for an address, he gave it. Then he hung up, carried on down the street and chucked the mobile into the first bin that hadn't been torn off its post.

He kept walking, the blood going out of his legs.
The energy too.
So when he saw a bench up ahead, he eased onto it. Let his head roll back and he looked up at the sky. He thought about
Becka
and the baby. He thought about Goose and Noel and the police.

Then he watched the stars until they disappeared to black.

*****

COMING SOON

FROM RAY BANKS

California

Wolf Tickets