Signal Red by Robert Ryan Read Free Book Online

them - apart from her brother Geoff, who turned up like a bad penny every few months for a handout - but she had been around enough car thieves to recognise a professional key-set when she saw one.
    When they had met, at a dance in Kilburn, she had known who Tony was and what he was. A ringer. A man who took stolen cars and turned them into something else: unrecognisable, untraceable stolen cars. In order to move the relationship on, he had been forced to renounce the ringing game. It was something he had never regretted, not really. But it had its moments, which you couldn't say about running a showroom in Warren Street.
    Marie had her hands on her hips, her 'fierce' pose. 'There are coppers who would arrest you just for having those things.'
    'There are coppers who will arrest you for being in possession of a tongue in your head,' Tony shot back. 'It's a regular tool of the trade.'
    'What are you up to, Tony?'
    'What do you think I'm up to?'
    'What am I supposed to think when you come home at all hours stinking of thinners?'
    He laughed at that. The splashes of cellulose thinners on him were legit. He'd been respraying a Standard van for a local joinery firm. 'I'm not at it,' he said with all the conviction he could muster.
    'Because I have a job in a bank now,' she reminded him. 'But how long do you think I'd keep it if they thought my old man had friends who were partial to the balaclava.' She rubbed her stomach. 'Look what you've done.'
    She walked over to the old-fashioned metal kitchen unit, pulled down the drawer and rummaged for some Alka-Seltzer. 'You give me indigestion. I shouldn't wonder if I've an ulcer.'
    He stood up, crossed over and put his arms around her. She let a hand rest on his crotch, saying, 'I swear if you go bogey on me I'll pull it off.'
    He turned away from her slightly, just in case she was considering a warning shot across the bollocks. 'You really know how to win a man's heart.' He kissed her neck.
    'I can still smell the thinners.'
    'I'll cover it up with a splash of Old Spice.'
    'Not now, Tony.' She moved his arms aside with that practised combination of sharp elbows and a quick wiggle that women perfected at an early age. 'One of us has a real job.'
    'So have I.'
    'How many cars you sold recently?'
    Tony bristled. 'As it goes . . .' He pulled the roll of notes from his pocket, undid the elastic band, and let the cash flutter onto the linoleum floor.
    'What's all this?' She knelt down and he could see her stocking-tops. He didn't bother to help as she gathered up the five-pound notes. She was laughing as she did so, until she realised how much there was. The laughter died and the smile faded soon after. 'What's this from, Tony? It's a—'
    He waited for her to make a joke on their surname. None came. This was no laughing matter.
    'A quick turnaround yesterday,' he lied. 'Car came in, gave him a ton for it. Customer walks in half an hour later. Cash on the nose.' 'What car?'
    He hesitated, sticking as close to the truth as he dared. 'Some nice old Jag.'
    She stood up and handed him the sheaf of notes. He wrapped the band around it again. 'Can't have been that old. There's a hundred and fifty quid profit there.' 'Give or take.'
    Her eyes flashed with amusement. 'A hundred and fifty dead. I count that stuff all day long, remember. You sure it's bona?'
    'As my dick is long.'
    She slapped his shoulder. 'Don't be crude.' He could see she was already thinking about what the cash could buy. A refrigerator. A decent television. A holiday.
    'Sure we can squeeze a meal at the Carousel out of it.' She smoothed down her skirt and straightened her jacket. In one deft movement she tied her hair back and became every inch the severe bank cashier. 'I have to go. Love you.' 'When I give you money.' A smirk. 'Take it or leave it.'
    The guilt at lying only kicked in after she had gone, while Tony made himself a fresh pot of tea. Well, it was a one-off. Just repaying a favour. There was no way on God's earth that