Fire in the Blood by George McCartney Read Free Book Online Page A

‘We just do our best, Annie. Whatever it takes to get the job done and, if necessary, we improvise like I just did back there with my Tesco card.’
‘I don’t have a Tesco card, but I can do quite a good French accent, if that would help.’
Jack then rammed a fresh tape into the cassette player, before saying, “This one’s called “Shut Up and Drive”by Chely Wright, okay?’
Undeterred, Annie had a follow-up question. ‘Anyway, why didn’t you just stick one of those little tracking device thingies under his car?’
‘Two reasons, firstly you’re supposed to be learning your trade, Annie. And this is a perfect opportunity to practice the art of tailing a suspect. So just try to do what you’re told and concentrate on following Mr Ross.’
‘What’s the second reason?’
‘I don’t have a tracking device.’
‘Okay, fair enough.’
‘Now remember that this guy’s been pretty cute, but only up to a point. He moved house to a better area soon after he got the insurance money, and apparently he’s always careful to keep up the act around his home patch. You know, like using crutches when he’s out in the garden, or to drag his arse out to the car. But, like all of these guys who attempt insurance fraud, he’s a risk taker and he wants it all. So he also drives across the city to an area where he’s not known to still play his football. Somewhere along the way, he miraculously morphs from Stephen Hawking’s body double into Gareth Bale.’
‘Well we have been driving for ages, boss, maybe we passed through Lourdes.’
‘Anyway, always keep in mind, Annie, that he’s a big strong guy and, if he suspects that we’re following him, he might turn nasty at the thought of all that lovely money being hoovered back by the insurance company. So we’re cautious, right, and we don’t take any stupid risks. Ideally we just want to do our work without him ever seeing us.’
They continued to follow Frankie’s car as he took a shortcut through a rundown council estate. A small feral looking group of neds, who were lounging around on a street corner, dressed in standard issue baseball caps, football tops and trackie bottoms, gave them the long hard stare as they passed by.
Further on they drove along streets full of boarded-up houses and a children’s play area, where two abandoned cars had been burnt out. The front gardens of the few remaining occupied houses, were full of black rubbish bags and windblown litter. Annie remarked, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. It’s a bit like Baghdad with rain.’
‘Well you certainly don’t visit Bargumock unless you have to. It’s always been bandit country.
I used to work beside a guy who grew up here. He said that when he was a kid it was so rough the teachers at the local primary school used to park their cars in a circle.’
‘Okay then, boss, I’ve got a question for you. What’s the first thing a girl from Bargumock usually says after sex?’
‘I really don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever had the pleasure.’
Affecting a broad Glasgow accent, Annie then delivered the punch line. ‘So … are you guys aw in the same team?’
Jack was still chuckling when Annie stalled the car at the next set of traffic lights, with the target people carrier swiftly disappearing off into the distance before she could restart the engine.
Mortified, Annie punched the steering wheel in frustration and said,‘Shit. I’m really sorry, boss. It’s the stiff clutch on this heap. I’m not used to it yet.’

Chapter 8
Next morning Annie arrived in first at the office and was busy working at a shiny Apple MacBook Air, with a steaming mug of coffee by her side, when Jack entered and hung up his coat.
‘Morning Annie, where did that come from?’
‘It’s mine. I brought it in to show you how useful a proper computer can be for work.’
‘Computers had been around for a while before I left the force,’ said Jack as he warily approached the gleaming