The Crooked Beat by Nick Quantrill Read Free Book Online Page A

leave my brother alone.’
    Sutherland smiled again. ‘I dare say you’ve spoken to Peter Hill, too. He’s quite a useful man to know, so I’m sure I’ll be dealing with that cunt soon enough. Plenty of people need to make things up to me.’
    ‘What do you want?’
    ‘I want them back, obviously.’ He paused. ‘Or I want paying.’
    ‘Unlucky on both counts.’
    He smiled again. ‘That’s not how it works.’
    ‘I can’t give you what I haven’t got. They were stolen, but you already know that.’ There was no way I was giving him Connor’s name.
    ‘Quite a fucking coincidence.’
    ‘Indeed.’
    ‘I’ll make it clear, then. I can’t get insurance for my line of business, so I have to enforce my own rules.’ He shuffled forward and leaned in close to me. ‘Believe me, I’ll enforce them. I’m not prepared to be out of pocket or let people down.’
    ‘How much are we talking about?’
    ‘Fifteen grand for the cigs.’ He shrugged. ‘Make it twenty for the inconvenience and my time sorting it out.’
    I laughed. ‘I can’t help you with that.’
    ‘Don’t be talking yourself down, Geraghty. You caught me out, didn’t you?’
    His was talking about his wife. ‘You didn’t make any attempt to cover your tracks.’
    ‘And you think the people who’ve stolen the cigarettes are master criminals?’
    ‘I want you to leave my brother out of this.’
    Sutherland considered this. ‘You want me to hold you responsible?’
    I nodded. It was the only way. I didn’t care much about Terry Gillespie or Peter Hill. I only cared about Niall and Connor.
    He swallowed the last of his cappuccino. ‘In that case, I’ll be in touch.’
     
    I need a distraction to occupy my mind. I was going to have think carefully about my next move with Sutherland. Kath Millfield’s literacy charity operated from an office on Wright Street. I’d checked her website. They operated an open door policy. People were encouraged to simply drop in to see the work they did and maybe volunteer their time. Roger Millfield would be expecting me to make progress, so I decided I wanted to see his wife when she was in her comfort zone. I wanted to get a feel for the woman. I fed the parking meter and walked in.
    Directly in front of me was a display board about their literacy work with children. It was impressive. At the bottom was a list of corporate sponsors. Her husband’s firm was one of them. To the left, I could see the offices. They had glass fronts, so you could observe them at work. Kath Millfield was on the telephone. I looked again at the display boards. The charity certainly did important work around the city. The children on the photo were all smiles and laughter.
    One of Kath Millfield’s employees walked across to join me. ‘The children get so much out of the process. A lot of them aren’t interested in reading when they start with us, but we place the emphasis on fun.’ She smiled. ‘It’s about learning without the pressures of targets and exams.’
    ‘It’s certainly impressive,’ I said.
    ‘We’re always eager for men to get involved. We always need positive male role-models.’
    Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man walk straight into Kath Millfield’s office. She put the telephone down. The woman continued to talk to me. I nodded, as I kept an eye on the office.
    She continued to press me. ‘Are you thinking of volunteering with us?’
    I said something non-committal. Kath Millfield was arguing with the man. The woman I was talking to was clearly embarrassed. We both watched as the man stormed out. Kath Millfield closed her office door after him. She didn’t notice me. I picked up a brochure and said I’d think things over. There was no point in following the man. I recognised Neil Farr, the solicitor I’d seen in the photographs with Kath Millfield.
     
    I found Don propped up in his bed in the far corner of the hospital ward. He’d been worked over, his face was a mess, but at least he was