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

comfortable. I took a chair off the stack in the corner and placed it next to his bed.
    ‘I can go home once they’ve finished running their tests,’ he said.
    ‘You should take your time.’
    He stared out of the window at the panoramic view of the city. Under other circumstances, it would be breathtaking.
    ‘Who did this to you, Don?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘I spoke to your neighbour.’
    ‘Keep out of my business, Joe.’
    ‘I’m here to help you.’
    ‘I don’t need your help.’
    I leaned forward. ‘Sure?’
    ‘Definitely.’
    ‘Who did this to you?’ I repeated. ‘This isn’t going to go away.’ The man sounded like hired muscle to me. Which meant it was serious. There was a reason for what had happened.
    He asked me to pour him a glass of water. I did as I was asked, even though I knew he was playing for time. This wasn’t right. Don had set up as a Private Investigator as a means to keep himself occupied after taking early retirement. He had been happy to work the mundane cases. They’d kept him busy and in the loop with old colleagues. I knew he wasn’t the sort to seek out trouble.
    He took a mouthful of water before speaking. ‘You don’t owe me anything. We’re not partners. Let it go.’
    I changed the subject. ‘Roger Millfield called me earlier.’
    Don stared at me. ‘Why would he do that?’
    ‘He had a job for me.’
    ‘I thought you were out of that game?’
    ‘I’ve got to make a living.’
    He shook his head. ‘What are you doing with your life, Joe?’
    It was a good question. I had no answer. ‘At the moment I’m trying to help some old friends.’
    ‘Don’t keep me in suspense, then. What did he want?’
    ‘He thinks his wife is having an affair.’
    Don was shocked by my news. ‘And he called you?’
    ‘That’s right.’
    We sat in silence until the bell signalled the end of visiting time. Technically, he was a pensioner, but he was also ex-police. CID. He was nobody’s fool. I leaned in close to him so no one else would hear. ‘It’s time to be honest with me.’ I looked him in the eye. ‘I can help you.’ We’d had our problems and difficulties, but I knew what he’d given me. ‘If you don’t want my help for yourself, think of Sarah and Lauren. They’re going to have to see you like this.’
    Don said nothing. I straightened myself up and left him lying there.
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    I forced my way through the crowd at the front of the hospital and headed for the car park. Acting Detective Inspector Richard Coleman was standing at the entrance. I suppose we had a grudging kind of respect for each other these days, but we certainly weren’t friends. I nodded a greeting and tried to side-step him. He blocked my move, so I tried again. He mirrored my move.
    ‘What brings you here, Joe?’
    ‘Just visiting,’ I said. ‘I hear you’ve been promoted.’
    ‘Not quite. Acting Detective Inspector.’
    ‘Congratulations.’
    ‘You still haven’t said what brings you here.’
    I told him again that I was a visitor.
    ‘Don?’
    He knew, so I nodded my agreement.
    ‘Same here. I’ve come to take a statement.’
    I tried to move away again. ‘Best of luck with that.’
    ‘Time for a coffee?’
    I was curious as to why he’d want to speak to me. I agreed and let him lead the way back in to the hospital. We walked up the two flights of stairs to the canteen. I found a table and waited while he queued for coffee. The queue was long and the canteen understaffed. It gave me time to think. I was surprised to find a senior detective was personally taking a statement. It didn’t make sense.
    Coleman sat down and placed a mug of coffee in front of me. ‘What happened to Don?’ he asked me.
    I shrugged and said I knew nothing. Don wasn’t prepared to talk about it. I asked Coleman what brought him here.
    ‘You know how it works. We take care of our own.’ He sipped at his drink. ‘We’ve all got pasts.’
    He was playing it with a poker face,