Crooked Read Online Free

something awkward or unmanly in his manner, stood to attention again.
    â€˜Sit down,’ said Tanner. ‘I reckon you know why you’re here.’
    Not trusting himself to say anything, Gus shook his head.
    â€˜Hold this,’ said Tanner, unexpectedly handing him a packet of Bex.
    He strode over to a sink in the corner, pulled out a shaving mirror and began soaping his chin. ‘Harry was a good man. He was a conscientious officer, and he certainly thought the world of you. He ought to have stuck it through the bloody inquiry, but he didn’t. Allan ought to have handled it better. He had a copper on the line and he should’ve stood by him. Have you ever met him?’ he added. ‘Allan, I mean.’
    Gus shook his head.
    â€˜You’re not missing much,’ said Tanner, eyeing Gus’s reflection in the small shaving mirror. ‘I guess you’ve got to understand that moving paper is what Allan does. Every single task he’s ever been assigned throughout his career is moving paper from the side of his desk where he finds it in the morning, to the side of the desk where he leaves it when he goes. Don’t getme wrong, he’s probably the very best paper shuffler on earth, but he doesn’t know a thing about being a copper, doesn’t know a single criminal, probably never met one, except maybe he’s got a file number on those bits of paper he’s shuffling about. I guess that’s the crux of the problem. Why Harry gets it in the neck.’
    Tanner rinsed and towel-dried his face, then took back the packet of Bex. He emptied the contents of a single sachet onto his tongue, and washed it down with water from an eyeglass. ‘Have you seen Harry lately? I heard he’d skipped town.’
    â€˜He’s moved down the south coast, close to Jervis Bay.’
    â€˜Good fishing there?’
    â€˜I guess so,’ said Gus.
    â€˜Swimming’s pretty good, so I’ve been told. Next time you see him, be sure to say hello.’
    Tanner shrugged himself into the jacket that had been slung across the back of his chair. He retied his ochre-swirled tie. The suit was dark blue, and there were three spots of gravy adorning the ends of the tie. But Gus thought him endowed with a kind of charisma that made clothes seem irrelevant.
    â€˜Where was I?’ said Tanner.
    â€˜Commissioner Allan.’
    â€˜Yeah, Allan,’ said Tanner. ‘He’s a Macquarie Street bloke, is Allan. The rest of us coppers are out there, bullets flying round our ears, and Allan, he’s sitting in some lah-de-dah anteroom up at Parliament House, thinking what he’s got to say to some politician about the files, and the paper clips, and the taxpayer’s dollar. I’ve looked into this matter and, yeah, I reckon Harry cut a corner or two. Of course, that doesn’t mean the bloke’s running crooked, but Allan, being a paper shuffler, and essentially a civilian, doesn’t understand that.
    â€˜Allan’s never seen any actual cases being made, only knows what they look like when they’re tied up with pink ribbon, going into the courthouse. So Harry’s case comes up in the middle of the state election, and he never stands a chance. Anyway,’ hesaid, glancing around the cramped space, full of repressed energy. ‘Allan’s decided to take no further action.’
    Gus couldn’t help himself. ‘You mean –?’
    â€˜I mean you’re well out of it, detective, but Harry’s all through.’
    From a stack of blue folders that reached halfway up a wall Tanner yanked out a file and showed it to Gus. Gus glanced down to the foot of the page. He read, ‘Finlay, F.C., Constable. Darlinghurst Branch to CIB. Effective immediately.’
    Tanner came round the desk and put a hand on Gus’s shoulder. ‘I’ve got great hopes for you, Gus. I reckon we’ll have some high times together.’
    Gus was