A Shot In The Night (John Harper Series Book 2) by Edward Holmes Read Free Book Online Page A

particular
expertise?”
    I
shook my head; sometimes she read far too much into things, “What expertise
would that be?”
    “You
know; criminal profiling and dealing with serial killers.  I doubt there are
many people in the country with your knowledge, John,” she said in a way that
was all compliment and I was flattered by a young woman speaking to me, even if
I did know she was buttering me up.
    “True,
but this is a gang shooting. Nothing to do with a serial killer and profiling
young thugs isn’t exactly the best use of my talents, is it?”
    Camille
pursed her luscious red lips, “Well that is if it is just the work of
street gangs.”
    I
knew I’d regret asking what she meant but I did anyway, “What are you getting
at, Camille?”
    “This
could be the work of a new serial killer in Liverpool,” she answered in a
totally deadpan manner.
    No
longer in the police, I could deal with fools when I found them and I rolled my
eyes at her, “Just more of your ‘investigative journalism’ sweetheart?  This is
a gang war.”
    Her
face had soured somewhat and I was worried I had really upset her when she
spoke, “I thought you were supposed to be the expert, John.   This shooting,
coupled with the one last week, doesn’t make any sense from a business
perspective for the gangs.  With the winter months making sales lean surely a
war would be the last thing they would want.”
    We’d
walked away from the crowd but the laughter those words elicited caused people
to look in our direction, “You’re joking, right? Seriously these kind of
hoodlums don’t think that way.  Their rivalries are based on random feuds
started in school or some other place.”
    “John,
I don’t think anyone has said hoodlum this millennium; you are showing your
age.”
    I’ll
admit that one hurt a little but I folded my arms and stood resolute, “Yeah
well, it fits.  This looks like a revenge hit to me.”
    “Okay
John, look at it this way.  The two gangs have never had a death between them
from gunfire.  There have been skirmishes for the past couple of years and that
has always been about fists and blades.  Why would they escalate to guns now? 
It is my belief that there is another shooter here trying to spark something of
a gang war.”
    “Camille,
my dear, spending time with those actors has got you creating elaborate
stories.  They are using guns more because they are easier to get hold of now. 
I’ve heard as much from a number of these gang members.”
    “Then
what about the other shootings?”
    “What
shootings?”
    She
looked around and then lowered her voice, “There’s a lot more going on here
than the police would like you to think.  How about I tell you about it over
dinner?”
    Now
I knew that I should just turn her down and get back to my investigations but
really I didn’t have much to work with other than waiting for Richard to pick
me up the next day so I accepted, “Ok it’s a date but you’re putting it on
expenses.”
    “I
suppose I owe you that.”
     

Chapter Twelve
    Since
I was meeting Camille in Liverpool I decided to get myself a hotel room for the
night.  I didn’t go for an expensive place, just somewhere accessible with a
secure car park.  She’d left not long after asking me out and I’d had the
opportunity to have a little perusal of the site.  There was nothing much to
see and the crowd of gawkers offered few additions to the information already
available on the radio and internet.  I didn’t think it was important but I
suppose it had gotten me a free meal with an attractive woman.
    Using
the wireless internet in the hotel I did a quick search, finding out that
hardly any shootings in the area were carried out with a rifle, which didn’t
surprise me.  Rifles were large weapons used for long range shooting,
invariably any killing on these streets would be up close and personal, which
lent itself to the pistol or sawn off shotgun.
    I
was certain now though that the