The Crooked Beat Read Online Free Page A

Further along, the greasy spoon was still there, a throwback to past days. I grew increasingly impatient waiting for Sarah to reappear. Nothing much happened. I saw a handful of drinkers come and go. They were all like Gillespie. It didn’t appear personal hygiene was a priority for any of them. A sign in the window let me know the place was more than a pub. It offered bed and breakfast and hot meals. The £20 per night including meals meant it was definitely aiming to appeal to the less picky traveller. Sarah walked out of the pub and got back into my car.
    I turned to her. ‘How did it go?’
    ‘Let’s say it’s not a forward-thinking kind of place. I don’t think women are a regular feature in there. I feel like I need a shower.’
    ‘Doesn’t surprise me.’
    Sarah changed the subject back to Gillespie. ‘He was meeting people in there.’
    ‘Friends?’
    ‘I wouldn’t say so.’
    It was interesting but it didn’t necessarily mean anything. It went towards building a picture, though. I started the car and pulled away.
     
    As we drove away, I explained to Sarah that I had a meeting lined up with Peter Hill and that it needed to be alone.
    ‘He’s nervous enough as it is,’ I said, explaining that he was the inside man at Customs. ‘Another face might push him too far.’
    ‘Makes sense,’ she said.
    I could tell she wasn’t happy about it, but I also needed her to find out what she could about Roger Millfield and his wife. I needed to keep on top of things in that respect. I dropped her in the city centre at the office and agreed to head straight there once I’d spoken to Hill.
    I found Peter Hill waiting for me in the corner of the supermarket cafe, well away from the shoppers. It was as close as we were going to get privacy. I went straight over to him.
    ‘You’re late,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to get back to work.’
    ‘Did you get your brake light sorted?’
    He looked at me like I was mad. ‘I’ve been at work.’
    I told him to follow me out to my car.
    ‘Why?’
    I leaned in closer to him. The place was busy with shoppers taking a break. Families, pensioners and children. ‘I’m not talking to you in here.’
    ‘I don’t know who you are.’
    ‘Niall’s brother.’
    He relaxed and followed me to my car and got in the passenger seat.
    ‘We need to get a few things straight about the missing cigarettes,’ I told him.
    He stared out of the window. ‘I’m very sorry to hear about what’s happened, but this isn’t my fault. It’s your brother’s problem to sort out.’
    I put him straight and told him he was involved and every bit as liable. He was scared, but I wasn’t too bothered by that. The sooner he came around to my way of thinking, the better.
    I could see a tear forming in the corner of his eye. ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen,’ he said.
    ‘But it has, so you’re going to have to deal with it.’ I relented a little. ‘Start at the beginning,’ I told him. ‘I’m the only friend you’ve got at the moment.’
    ‘I was under pressure, alright? My wife worked for the council, but she lost her job. You know how it is?’
    ‘Tell me how it is.’
    ‘I’m skint. That’s how it is. I owe money on my credit cards, I owe money on my mortgage and the kids need new things for school. This bloke approached me and suggested I could earn a bit extra if I turned a blind eye to a few things at work. Nothing serious, I was told. I needed the cash, so I didn’t say no to the idea at first.’
    ‘Terry Gillespie?’
    He was surprised that I knew the name, but nodded his agreement.
    ‘What did he want you to do?’
    ‘I had to make sure a consignment of DVDs got through with no problems. It was only a small thing, nothing too serious. That’s all it was.’
    ‘And you did it?’
    ‘I’m not proud of the fact. I told him it was a one-off. I wasn’t prepared to do it again.’
    ‘But he came back wanting more?’
    ‘He passed me on to the people he was working