The Devil Among Us by Ramsay Sinclair (easy books to read txt) 📗

was a breakthrough of some proportion, though it wasn’t pleasant to hear. Whoever was behind this were cowards.

“I won't let them get away with it, I promise. You just have to tell me who they are.” Making such a weighty promise wasn’t easy, especially if we failed to keep it.

“No, I can’t,” Flynn yelled unpredictably, hitting the sheets in frustration. “If I tell you, they’ll come after the both of us, anyway. They’re here, watching us now.” My neck snapped up in paranoia too. “If they knew I’d shared even this much with you, they’ll kill me before you find them.”

A shiver ran up my spine and sent goosebumps that covered every inch of bare skin. Now that Flynn mentioned it, it certainly felt like we were being watched, but there were dozens of people in the hospital. Our chances of narrowing them down were slim.

“Flynn, who’s supposed to be taking care of you, looking out for you? Is it the nurses who want to harm you?” I wondered if the nurses were taking on their own form of justice nowadays, especially since Flynn’s crime wasn’t exactly kept on the down-low.

Flynn set his mouth into a grim line, refusing to acknowledge the sources that were threatening his life any further.

“I’ve already said too much. They’re going to kill me.” He’d gone past all points of reason.

We were stuck in a predicament, an ultimatum. Someone was behind this, yet Flynn wouldn’t be able to say who. It was frustrating and equally upsetting to know people could scare others in such a way.

“Were Sam and Robin threatened too?” I gripped tighter on Flynn, wordlessly signalling that he wasn’t alone in this.

“We all were. They found us.”

“Who found you, Flynn? Who?” Frustratingly, Flynn had clammed up like earlier. “I’ll stay here tonight, make sure you’re safe. I don’t want to leave you alone in such a worked-up state.”

“Thank you,” Flynn hiccuped and slowly calmed down. A hiccup would frighten us both every now and then.

“You’re welcome.” I gave up and settled into the chair, thinking about how to solve this. There was no chance in hell I was going to leave Flynn alone, where anyone could get to him. They weren’t going to get the chance.

Gradually, Flynn’s miserable eyes sunk closed, until he had settled into a blackout sleep, mumbling every so often out of paranoia. I, however, didn’t get that luxury and was kept awake by many intrusive thoughts.

How could this be fixed?

11

Nine in the morning, exactly on the dot. I rushed into CID preoccupied with the wealth of knowledge Michael had shared. The decorators were finishing up their painting, and we had to admit it looked much better than before.

“I’ve got something,” I spoke loudly upon arrival at the main hub, and the team looked up in surprise. They were milling around randomly, and DCI Reid surfaced out of the adjoining kitchen.

“What’s all this about, Cooper? I was just about to grab some cake. Tony brought some in.” DCI Reid held the tin up excitedly. “Want a slice?”

“No thanks, Guv.” I stood up tall. “This is way more interesting than cake.”

“C’mon then, Cooper. Make it worth our while,” Reid said as he joined our group.

Rebecca pretended to be occupied with the robbery files, yet I knew she was secretly intrigued. Meanwhile, Cillian was too busy stuffing his face, icing stuck to his pointed chin. Tony’s lanky figure stood next to the printer, and he hit the temperamental technology in hopes of reviving it. DC Taylor typed furiously, though lent an ear towards our discussion.

We were missing someone important.

“Where’s McCall--?” No sooner had I opened my mouth to speak, the office doors flung open and there she was.

McCall’s uniform was crumpled, and she seemed weirdly upbeat in an ironic fashion. Gaunt shadows resided under her usually bright eyes and her gingery tresses hung limp, having not received a wash. Barely bothering with formalities, McCall rushed to join the group.

“You’re not going to believe this.” She mirrored my own actions, which severely lacked eloquence. “I’ve got something.”

Everybody struggled to speak when McCall appeared oblivious as to why they were laughing at us.

“Is this some kind of prank, or something? Only I’m sure we’re in some parallel world, like back to the future.” Tony grinned cheekily.

DCI Reid poked a fork in the air at us two. “You two have some kind of weird synergy going on.”

“What?” McCall snapped and turned to me for an explanation.

“I said the same thing when I arrived,” I huffed, wishing I could get on and share what was bugging me. “You got here last, so you can wait your turn.”

McCall rolled her eyes, so I took the opportunity.

“As you all know, I visited Michael last night,” I started, waiting for the team to simmer down. They blinked expectantly.

“We’ve been set up,” I spilt impatiently and expected a commotion to erupt.

Except it didn’t.

They stared, clearly thinking I was crazy or something worse.

DCI Reid chewed slowly. “Elaborate, Cooper.”

“Well…” I drew a large breath. “Michael told me that the cocaine prices have shot through the roof. These guys are hitting new markets, presumably getting bigger cuts for themselves. Think wealthy daddy’s girls with an addiction, bored businessmen. That kind of thing. They’re new operators,” I shared, without waiting for any further jibes. “They’re recruiting and threatening criminals with a history of petty crimes, using the rife underground networks. The likes of Flynn, Sam and Robin are a front for the real criminals.”

McCall’s expression was unreadable, but my explanation sucked her in.

“Flynn, Sam and Robin were forced into this. I don’t know what the actual criminals behind this had against them, but it was something important. The same events, right down to the tip-offs, have happened all over Scotland, from Glasgow to Edinburgh and here too. Petty criminals have all been caught transporting cocaine by the police, all of whom, have wound up dead.” I let out a deep breath, glad to have it all off my chest.

The team frowned, struggling to