The Hard Way by Duncan Brockwell (electronic book reader .txt) 📗

legs and waist. Shivering, petrified, he sobbed when Driver went into his pocket and took out a razor blade.

Passenger took the blade from Driver and squatted by Henry’s side. “This will only hurt for a couple of minutes, Mr Curtis.”

Henry tried to fight Passenger for control of his wrist, but Driver held out his phone with the picture of his nephew. Henry relented, giving Passenger his left wrist. “Please, you don’t have to do this.”

The blade sliced into his flesh, horizontally, but deep. So deep, a torrent of crimson erupted from his severed vein, turning the water red. Henry shrieked.

“Now the other one, please.”

What did it matter? He was a dead man. Henry gave his right wrist to Passenger, and his guest opened his vein. In less than a minute, he started to feel drowsy, the bath water turning a darker red. Instead of being tense, he let his arms fall in the water either side of him, too heavy to lift.

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s done.”

Henry closed his eyes, his heart rate decreasing. He heard the intruders talking, but their voices grew fainter by the second, further away. Everything around him turned dark. His breathing slowed. Each breath shallower, with a bigger gap between the last.

Day 3

Thursday, June 14th

23

“Oh shit! I’m late. I’m going for a run before work. Fancy it?”

Miller thought Luke would refuse. Instead, he rose out of bed faster than she did.

Ready in record time, Miller put her trainers on and opened the front door for him. Out on the pavement, she started off with a gentle jog, Luke by her side.

When they reached the fields behind her flat, she ran faster, seeing how fit he was. To her surprise, he barely raised a sweat. Cross-country wasn’t everyone’s forte, but it seemed to suit Luke, which pleased her.

Pounding the grass, she increased her speed when she saw the road they were heading for. Miller wanted to beat him there. Without telling him they were racing, he kept up, increasing speed with her. One final spurt was all she needed.

Just when she thought she’d won, Luke went soaring past her, jumping up and down when he arrived at the gate they needed to traverse. Trying to catch her breath, she bent over, hands on knees. “You barely… broke a sweat.”

“County cross-country champion two years in a row.” Luke wiped his forehead with his sweatband, not that he needed to, to Miller’s annoyance. “Did I forget to tell you? Sorry!” His chest rose and fell, but nothing like hers.

Miller should’ve been annoyed. For whatever reason, she wasn’t. If anything, it made her appreciate him more. Luke looked after himself more than she did. Deciding she needed to stop the booze, Miller regarded her watch. “Time to call it quits. Got a big day ahead of me. You’re welcome to stay at mine, but I need to dash.”

Luke had a couple of days off to look forward to. Miller made him promise to cook at hers that night. The previous night, she had taken a spare key out of a drawer and given it to him. He’d promised to cook a healthy, wholesome meal from scratch, but wouldn’t tell her what he had planned.

After spending an age kissing him goodbye, Miller got in her car and drove to the station, where she parked in a staff bay. Hayes’ motor was already there. She cursed to herself, liking to be the first to arrive. Not letting it ruin her morning, she locked her car and made her way up to the office, where her partner was busy on her computer. “Morning!”

Her partner looked up at her with raised eyebrows. “Morning!”

Standing next to her supervisor, Miller grabbed her own chair and sat down. “How’s it going? Have you found anything?” She leaned in to find Hayes screening the CCTV film from near the factory outlet.

Hayes stopped the footage and flipped over to another set. “I’ve found their car,” Hayes pointed at the black and white footage, at the number plate, “but as you can see, they’ve taken it off. It’s a Rover of some description, but it’ll be nigh on impossible to make out the exact model and colour from this.”

“It adds to our theory about it being a hit, though, doesn’t it? They went as far as unscrewing the number plates. Are we looking for a burnt-out Rover now?”

“I’ve already flagged it. Oh, and Kurt Austin’s boyfriend, Fernando, is a ghost apparently. He’s not at home, and according to his manager, he hasn’t been seen since Kurt’s murder. I’ve managed to locate Dylan Oldham. I’ve asked for assistance bringing him in, so I thought we’d start by meeting Henry Curtis, and move on to trying Kurt and Fernando’s place. Does that sound like a plan?”

“What about the boys we picked up yesterday? Are they still in holding?” Miller believed they had something to do with it, although it seemed they were only after Dylan Oldham. One of them fitted their profile of being ex-military.

“Inspector Gillan and Travis are interviewing them. They’ve said they’ll help out where they can. And I’ve let Brandy’s mum go; she was stinking up the place.”

“I’d hate to be the next person in her cell.” Getting up, Miller wheeled her chair to her desk and sat down. When her mobile vibrated, she studied the screen: Luke. Grinning, she sent a reply saying she would see him tonight, and not to keep texting.

“You ready?” Hayes put on her suit jacket.

Miller pressed “Send” before guiltily putting her phone in her suit jacket pocket. She could tell Hayes scorned her, not that she said anything. With her jacket on, she joined her partner and they walked to the lifts together.

On the way down Miller stood in silence, thinking about her night with Luke. She had to prevent herself from smiling, which was difficult. Hayes was about to say something. “I’m sorry!”

“What for?”

“Oh, yesterday when I snapped at you. I didn’t mean to. I was a bit crabby,