Snatched by Dreda Say Mitchell Read Free Book Online Page B

about that when he’s got all the facts together . . .’
    Mac checked his watch again: 1.10 a.m. in Los Angeles.
    He left the office and took five hundred pounds out of two ATMs. Then he caught a cab to a scrapyard in South London and asked one of the workers there if he could speak to his boss. The guy went away and then came back to say he couldn’t, the boss was busy. Mac told him to go back and tell him John ‘Mac’ MacDonagh wanted to see him. The man did as he was told and, on returning, escorted Mac up a flight of metal stairs to a makeshift office that overlooked the scattered pipes, sheet metal and broken cars that littered the yard below. Behind the desk was a tattooed heavy in a baseball cap. He looked warily at Mac when he came in and then checked behind to see if anyone was accompanying him. When he saw that there wasn’t, he offered him a seat and a cuppa, which Mac accepted but didn’t drink.
    There was a brief silence before the guy said, ‘Well, Mr MacDonagh, long time, no see.’
    ‘How long did you end up serving?’
    Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. ‘You know, the standard five for possession of a firearm. I was a good boy so I only did half the sentence and then they knocked another couple of months off because the prison was overcrowded.’ He shrugged his shoulders a second time. ‘Can’t complain.’
    ‘Well, I’m sorry about that.’
    ‘Sorry? Why? I used to sell firearms and you catch people who sell firearms. That’s the deal ain’t it? I’m not complaining. People in my line of work know how it works. You were only doing your job as I was doing mine.’ Then he hastily added, ‘Although I’ve left all that behind now. The only hard metal I deal in now is in the yard below.’
    Mac looked around the office. It was covered in calendars that featured topless models. Whatever his other problems, it was clear Jimmy always knew what the date was. ‘That’s a shame.’
    The other man’s left eye twitched. ‘Oh yeah – why’s that then?’
    ‘Because I need to buy some hard wear and I want you to sell me one.’
    Jimmy looked baffled for a moment before he burst out laughing. ‘Bollocks Mr MacDonagh, don’t tell me your arrest rate is so low, you need to entrap unfortunate ex-offenders like me. I might end up feeling sorry for you.’
    ‘I’m serious. I need a piece.’
    ‘No-can-do Mister M. You know how it is.’
    ‘Five hundred quid. And I need it today.’
    Mac took the money out of his pocket and put it on the desk. Jimmy picked it up and examined it. ‘You won’t get much for that.’
    ‘Why don’t you give me a discount for old time’s sake?’
    Jimmy shrugged. ‘Maybe I will.’
    ‘We can trust each other here, can we?’
    Jimmy smiled. ‘I can see you’re in trouble Mister M. I recognise the look of a man who’s been backed into a corner and needs something special in a hurry. I’ve seen it often enough. And if you needed it for police work, you’d book one out at the station wouldn’t you? Go for a coffee somewhere. In a couple of hours, I’ll text you a location. You can pick it up there.’
    Mac went for a coffee in a working caff in a nearby street. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen the place but it seemed familiar. He took his coffee from the waitress and then left it to go cold in front of him. The only surprise about the abduction of his own son was that he hadn’t been arrested already. He was sure he would be all over the security footage in the hospital and that someone would recognise him from the shots. But then he’d admitted being at the hospital in the afternoon. Plus he’d wrapped John Mac securely in his hoodie already bulked up by its natural padding. Perhaps Phil was having trouble getting the timings right. They’d been careless not impounding his car and checking for the baby’s DNA. But then he’d already got rid of the baby carrier and he was sure little John Mac hadn’t left any trace on the seats. Perhaps he would get