The Operator (Bruce and Bennett Crime Thriller 2) (21 page)

‘Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll mention it to my
editor. My page promotes healthy living.’

Laughter.

‘Fuck that,’ the first one said. ‘Live fast, die
young, leave a good-looking corpse, man pet, that’s us.’

‘Well, you might manage two out of three.’ Before
they could work that one out, ‘I’m doing an article about young people and attitudes
to drinking, drugs, smoking and so on. What do you think? Anonymous of course.’

‘How much do we get paid?’ demanded one.

‘It’s the local fkn rag, not a proper tabloid,
man!’ scoffed the apparent leader.

They clustered round, treating her to a barrage of
boasting about their alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and drug taking,
all of it sensational and much of it probably wishful thinking.

‘E’s, Ket, weed... owt we can get... hey, why aren’t
you taking notes, or recording iz?’ one of them asked suspiciously.

‘I’ve a good memory.’ But she took out her small
digital recorder and began to record their pathetic boasts. She felt sorry for
these lads. To have nothing better to do than hang about outside in the damp
windy cold, drinking, smoking and self-medicating, seemed a terrible waste of
youth. It seemed a long time since Erica’s own earlier days of foolish excess.
Now even her excesses were carefully planned, earned, and atoned for. God help
the girls for whom these boys were the available boyfriend pool.

‘I’d heard you lot hung about in the lane over the
other side of the golf course, behind Robert Kingston’s house. ‘

They knew his name alright, it had had enough
publicity.

‘Aye, well, the fkn bizzies’ve been aal ower the
place since,’ said the would-be Jimmy Dean.

‘Somebody was saying a lot of windows got broken,’
she kept her tone neutral. ‘Fences damaged, greenhouses vandalised.’

‘Fkn crap! Well, one or two mebbe. It wasn’t us,
like. Erm it was some
other
lads. We used to find golf baals lying aboot
and try and get rabbits and that with them. A couple of windows did kind of get
broke... hey, ye cannit prove it was us!’

Would it be worth mentioning her own painful
encounter with a golfball? They would just laugh, deny it. And if it was them,
they’d be pleased to know they’d hit her. Why give them that satisfaction?

‘Did you ever get any rabbits?’ She was sceptical.
You’d need a lot of force and accuracy to hit the most obese, arthritic rabbit
with a golf ball, except by accident.

‘Aye,’ one of them began, ‘buttloads of rabbits,
man,’ but their leader punched him in the arm and shouted him down.

‘Shurrup! Did we fuck! We’d find dead ones and
tell other lads we’d killed them. That’s aal.’

Erica was surprised they weren’t boasting of
bringing down rhino and elephant, let alone rabbit. Perhaps they weren’t sure
if it was legal?

‘You know, I was the one who found Kingston after
he’d been murdered.’

An excited outcry. The security light blinked on
and off as they milled about. The stars were extinguished and revealed, tiny
celestial fag-ends.

‘Mint!’

‘Was there loads of blood?’

‘Serve him right, stuck-up bastard!’

‘Was there really nails in his heed?’

‘Really. Don’t you have any sympathy for the poor
man?’

‘Nee way! He was always oot threatening us with
the police. Called us rubbish! Human jet something.’

‘Jetsam?’

‘We hated the bastard. Stupid fucker...’

‘That other owld gadgie was worse...aalways on wor
case, I fuckin hate him and that cat...’

 His leader kicked his leg so that he hopped
around comically. ‘It was the owld wifie with the cat, man, always coming oot
moaning at we.’

‘Sad losers. Kingston should’ve got a fkn life!’

‘Bit late now, like!’ They all fell about
laughing.

They wanted all the grisly details. None of them gave
away any intimate details of the crime.

‘Did it occur to you that you might be in danger,
if there was a killer hanging about that area? A psycho, who might have thought
you’d seen too much?’

They looked warily at one another. Was that why
they’d moved their meeting place, rather than a heavier police presence?

‘We didn’t see nowt! Wish we had. We could have
got money from the tabloids. Or off youtube. That bastard Kingston come out all
radgey, yelling at we; we went, we were going anyway. ‘Fuck off n drop deed!’
Aa shouted – pretty good eh?’

‘The night of the murder?’

‘Erm no, mebbe the neet before... Mind we’ll not
tell any of this to the bizzies. They’ll try to pin it on we. Then we saw on
facebook, Gibba’s mam n’dad were away, so we all went roond there.’

Her heart went out to Gibba’s parents, imagining
their homecoming.

‘So will ye give we owt at aal for wor stories
since it’s for the meedja?’

‘You’ve just said you saw nothing, you know
nothing. If you want me to use your stories of underage drinking and buying booze
from off licences, I could maybe give you a few quid when I’ve got your names
and addresses. Which I won’t print.’

 ‘Me mam’d kill iz!’ one muttered.

‘Anyway, why’ve you picked here to set up home?’
she asked. ‘Not exactly luxury, is it?’

‘Well doon that path and along a bit is an offie
that’s not too fussy about checking ID. And this light, it’s handy for seeing
to open the drinks and fag packets.’

‘Gadgie in that crib there, he come out and tried
to chase we off. But he’s got nee right. It’s a public path, innit?’

Poor Miles. How to get these lads to leave him in
peace... Just as a bit of frivolity, she remarked, ‘That guy is a hypnotist.
Good one too. He can make people do really stupid things. He can hypnotise them
before they know it. Just catch his eye, if he’s pissed off at you, he’ll make
you impotent.’

 ‘Fuck off!’

But they exchanged uneasy glances. She fished out
a tenner to give them, groping in her bag in the uncertain light, and spilling
a couple of remedy pill bottles on the ground. She was just trying to retrieve
them when she heard feet pounding towards them. Surely Stacey hadn’t come, and
surely she wasn’t running? But it was someone a lot bigger than Stacey, at
least height-wise. Will Bennett was suddenly there doing his best looming act,
dressed in jogging gear. Erica shot upright.

‘Scotty!’ he greeted the pimply leader of men. ‘Fancy
seeing you here! Are you harassing this woman?’

‘Are we fuck!’

‘For pity’s sake Will!’

‘It’s ye doing the harassment! Me mam tellt yer I’d
done nowt.’ His cohorts were backing away and making sure their faces were out
of the light. To no avail.

‘And hello, Gaz, Robbo, Big Steve, Little Steve...
the gang’s all here. Isn’t that nice! Drinks and smokes as well!’

The objects in question had been hastily
jettisoned as soon as Will appeared at a signal from Scotty, but they were
still visible, glinting amid the greenery and twigs.

‘They’re hers man! She brought them for we. She’s
grooming we for sex!’

Will and Erica both burst out laughing at this
piece of brilliant improv.

‘Is this true?’ Will asked her, unable to resist.

‘You know me, Inspector.’

‘Yes I do. Hm, also I think a certain off license
will be getting a little visit from my colleagues. Now what’s this?’

Erica had relaxed and he suddenly swiped a bottle
from her hands. He shook it and it rattled merrily. ‘Little white pills!
Exactly like the ones Scotty was trying to sell at the station! What a
coincidence.’

 ‘Did ye get them from her?’ Scotty asked Erica,
at the same time as Will asked him, ‘Did you get them from her?’ indicating Erica.

‘Who’s her?’ Erica answered Scotty first, then
Will. ‘And of course I’ve not given any to these lads, they’re not clients of
mine.’

Scotty switched attention to Will. ‘Aa tellt ye
them were sweetners man, and Aa divn’t knaa what this lass has got! She’s a
dealer man, take her in!’

The lads had been receding further and further,
behind Scotty, and at this point having thrown Erica to the wolf, Scotty
shouted ‘Leg it, lads!’ and the whole crew ran for it across the golf course.

Erica and Will were left alone.

‘What are you doing here?’ they both said.

‘Being a journalist.’

‘Patrolling.’

‘Yeah right, you just so happen to patrol here,
randomly, when I happen to be talking to these lads.’

‘Yeah right, you just so happen to be interfering
in our investigation when I specifically asked you not to. Come on Erica, let’s
go.’ He took hold of her arm and she yelled, ‘Ow!’

‘Oh for god’s sake surely you’re not claiming
police brutality.’

Then he realised she was hurt. He tugged her
gently into the lamplight and looked at her bruise.

‘Golfing injury. OK, I got whacked by a golf ball
when I found that syringe I brought in, if you must know. No doubt you suspect
Tessa of hanging about the golf course lethally wielding a nine iron or
whatever.’

‘So you thought it a good idea to give whoever it
was another chance?’

‘Don’t change the subject Will. I’m still waiting
to hear how come you turned up here and now.’

‘Got an anonymous tip-off that a woman was being
harassed by youths here. Call came from a phone box, not a mobile. Very
strange. Though it was probably made before you even got here, thinking about
the timing.’

‘Oh really.’ Stacey was the only one who knew
where Erica was going, apart from Miles and he’d not be using phone boxes when
he was in the house next to them. What was Stacey up to? Would she even know
how to use a phone box? ‘Well I was fine.’

‘Oh, I know. It’s the lads who are the victims.
Harassed, groomed, offered drugs. You’re never that nice to
me
these
days.’

It was strange how being alone in the night
together had made them start to behave more naturally despite the occasional
spat. She’d put a stop to that. ‘Well I’m not a victim so you don’t need to
ride in on your white horse and rescue me. Ever.’

He was stung. ‘Right, how about I arrest you
instead? So help me, I will.’

‘You’re not seriously going to act on those
ludicrous accusations! God you must be desperate for some arrest-action.’

‘It’s not their accusations, it’s our forensic
evidence.’

‘Forensic bollocks!’

‘I’m writing that down. Anything you say may be given
in evidence.’

‘OK, then, Inspector Bennett, you have a beautiful
cock.’

Will flushed, she could tell even in the
intermittent security light.

‘Well aren’t you going to write that down? Take me
in, and I’ll repeat it at the station and sign a statement to that effect if
you like.’

‘Thanks for the reference.’ He was recovering. ‘But
I was serious about the forensics. Young Scotty there had some pills which he
was trying to sell as Es, and on analysis they turned out to be sugar. They
look exactly like the ones you dispense, and true to form, there was nothing
else in them.’

‘Nothing detectable by you and your minions.’

‘It’s like gravity, yes I know.’

‘There are other homeopaths. And the fact that
Scotty was trying to earn some money selling them isn’t my fault.’

‘Those lads wouldn’t buy anything from you for
their health and you know it.’

‘I wouldn’t sell them to anybody for any other
reason, and YOU know THAT.’

‘So they’ve been stealing them, is that what you’re
saying?’

‘Not necessarily. Someone I prescribed them to
might have a lodger or a son or daughter who’s nicking them to sell.’

‘Well take this as a friendly warning. Stop
interfering in the investigation or I may do something officially about your
possible involvement.’

‘I’ve told you before, people tell me things.
Things they wouldn’t tell a police officer. I can help if you’d let me. And
since when was it illegal to peddle sugar? You going to raid Cadbury’s?’

‘You know fine well they were selling those pills
as illegal drugs.’

‘Well you claim they are harmless and have nothing
in them. I bet you can’t get any of the lads’ customers to complain they weren’t
real drugs. Interesting point. Is it fraud to sell illegal drugs that are legal
and harmless? And it must have been obvious even to you that those lads didn’t
know me before tonight. I had a feeling I was getting somewhere... something
they might have been about to say, perhaps... when you came along and ruined
it.’

‘Keep out of it, will you Erica! There are those
who still wonder if you had any part in the murder, knowing your tendency to go
overboard for one of your protégés... even as an accessory after the fact. You’re
not in any position to investigate anything. If need be I can hold you in a
cell...’

‘Ooh, Inspector!’

‘On suspicion of selling - erm, well while we further
investigate the pills Scotty had.’

‘You know me, I treat sugar like you treat
cocaine. I’m not going to dish that deadly stuff out to youngsters for a few
quid for anything but therapeutic purposes. Now thanks for the threats, it’s
been lovely, I shall get back to my boyfriend now.’

Why was she saying such a tragically immature
thing? She just couldn’t stop.

‘Oh really, and who is this boyfriend?’

‘Mind your own.’

‘It wouldn’t be someone involved in the case would
it?’

‘Mind yours.’

‘So that’s how you get people to ‘tell you stuff’!
Well I certainly can’t compete with that.’

‘Oh you undersell yourself Will. I’m sure you could.
Being held in handcuffs and shown your well-lubricated truncheon could loosen a
lot of tongues.’

‘Go home Erica. Take care of yourself with that
arm. Look, I’ll give you a lift home.’

Erica refused and cycled home, thinking over what
had been said. Setting aside her indignation at Will’s suspicions, the feeling
that she might have got something important out of the lads was buried under
more immediate and obvious clues. ‘Did ye get them from her?’ Scotty had asked
her, about the pills. Clearly he didn’t know they’d originally come from Erica
herself. Put together with the mysterious phonebox call from ‘a woman’ not
using her mobile number, there was only one solution. Stacey had been stealing
and selling Erica’s remedies, sweet stuff more profitable than Rina’s biscuits.
Well the Tory government
had
been banging on about encouraging young
entrepreneurs. It was work experience of a kind. She only hoped Stacey wasn’t
going to be claiming expenses. She texted Stacey. ‘Have spoken to police. We
need to talk.’ That was Hollyoaks enough for Stacey to understand she was in
bother. There was no reply.