Closer Than Blood: An addictive and gripping crime thriller. Paul Grzegorzek

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СКАЧАТЬ in a back office somewhere we didn’t have eyes, it forced him to do things like meet strangers in public car parks to get his gear. It was a tried and tested tactic, and all the time it worked we would keep using it.

      I slowed as we approached the ramp, holding out a hand to stop Tom from pelting past me. Our footfalls were too loud on the oil-stained concrete, and the slapping of running feet would no doubt alert our prey and ruin a righteous bust.

      Slipping down the ramp like a ghost, I paused at the bottom, hidden by the concrete wall. Breaking every rule in the book, I eased half of my head around the corner to see Simmonds in conversation with the nervous man, talking animatedly and gesturing with his hands. I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was anything but friendly.

      I turned to Tom.

      “I’m going to walk towards the exit door over there, then when I’m out of sight I’ll double back. You stay here and come running if it kicks off. Let the others know what’s happening and get unit four here fast, to hold on the ground floor.”

      He nodded and I stepped out, my back towards Simmonds as I strolled towards the door in the far corner.

      The conversation halted as I walked but I didn’t turn, instead pulling out my phone and tapping at the screen. I could feel their eyes on me as I crossed the cavernous space, but kept moving towards the peeling, red-painted door until a nearby van blocked their line of sight.

      From there, I hurried to the door and pushed it open with a creak that echoed through the car park. Then ducked and doubled back. Only once the door had shut again did the conversation resume. Crouching, I moved slowly and carefully along the backs of the cars, making sure to remain out of sight until I was close enough to hear what they were saying.

      “… Don’t give a damn. We agreed a price and I expect you to stick to it!” Simmonds grated, but it was the other voice that made me pause.

      “I’ve had some supply problems. I had to pay more, so you have to pay more. This isn’t a fucking charity.”

      I knew that voice. Knew it like I knew my own yet still couldn’t place it. It felt like auditory déjà vu, or like a word you use every day that won’t come to mind when you need it, staying rooted on the tip of your tongue.

      “No, it’s a fucking business,” Simmonds retorted, “and businesses are supposed to make money. If I pay what you’re asking, I’ll barely break even.”

      “Then I’ll take my product somewhere else.” It was worse this time, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. It took every scrap of self-control I had not to stand up, stride towards them and pull back that hood to see the face hidden within.

      “Alright, alright. How much can I get for what we originally agreed on?”

      “Five kilos, I reckon. That way you’re only down one, we both make a bit and job’s a good’un.”

      “Jake?” I stood up suddenly, a roaring sound in my ears. The world seemed to narrow to a single point as I began walking towards them.

      Simmonds stared at me in alarm.

      “Who the fuck is that?” he demanded, beginning to backpedal.

      The man in the hood whipped around and his hood fell back. A face that I knew better than almost any other in the world. Eyes I had seen countless times before, that had watched me grow from a boy to a man before their owner disappeared. He looked shocked at first, then his sharp features dropped into a grin that was equal parts pleasure, guilt and chagrin.

      “Gareth. Well fuck me. Simmonds, this is Gareth, my brother. Oh, and if I were you I’d run, because last I heard he was a copper too, and if he’s here it means they’re on to you.”

       Chapter 2

      For a split second no one moved, then all of us burst into action at once.

      Jake and I hadn’t seen each other since he’d disappeared so many years before, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing the rucksack and shoving his way past Simmonds, knocking the older man down, then sprinting towards the ramp on the far side of the car park.

      “Runner!” I shouted over the radio, trying to recover from shock as my feet began to move after him of their own accord.

      As I ran, I realised just how badly I’d screwed up. Instead of catching our target with a bag full of drugs, I’d disrupted the deal before the exchange could be made and now the evidence was being carried away by the brother I’d assumed had died of an overdose years before.

      I heard Tom behind me, feet slapping on the concrete as he sprinted for Simmonds, but I was already out of sight and down the ramp before he reached the downed man.

      I hit the bottom of the ramp at full speed, not far behind Jake as he ran for the exit barrier. Unit four, the Barry’s as we called them, was just coming through, but Jake must have pegged them for coppers and dived to his right and over the barrier, dropping ten feet to the road outside with barely a break in his stride.

      I jumped after him, landing badly and feeling a twinge in my knee that I tried to ignore as he tore across the plaza in front of the Bowlplex and headed for the sea wall.

      “Stop!” I yelled, but Jake didn’t even look back, instead picking up the pace. He’d always been a fast runner as a kid, and it seemed that years of drug abuse hadn’t slowed him any.

      He reached the steps to the wall ten metres ahead of me, the nagging pain in my knee turning to stabs of molten fire as I pushed on, scattering people left and right. By the time I reached the top of the stairs his lead had doubled, but I knew there was nowhere for him to go so I eased up a little. I could see the Barry’s now, their bald heads bobbing as they climbed the steps on the far side, boxing Jake in.

      “There’s nowhere to run, Jake,” I called, catching my breath, pushing past a couple out for a stroll. “Just give it up.”

      Jake spun and his grin died as he spotted the Barry’s heading towards him. Looking around hurriedly, he leapt up onto the top of the wall, leaving nothing between him and the hard sea twenty metres below.

      “You don’t understand, Gareth.”

      “This I understand,” I countered. “What I don’t understand is you stealing from Dad and disappearing. We thought you were dead?”

      A flicker of pain crossed my brother’s face at the mention of our dad. I edged closer. “You know he’s dying?”

      “Dad?”

      “Yeah. Cancer. He’s in a hospice. Days left at best. Come down off the wall and maybe we can go and see him together. He’d like that.”

      “Sure he would.” I could hear the pain in his words, or maybe it was guilt. “I live in a different world now Gareth, and no matter how much of a shit I might be, I’m not bringing that to his door.”

      I stepped towards the wall, ignoring the ring of worried-looking public that was forming to watch Jake’s antics. One man stepped forward to say something, but I flashed my badge at him and he backed off looking relieved.

      “You СКАЧАТЬ