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Authors: Allan Guthrie

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BOOK: Kiss Her Goodbye
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Cooper's head poked through the opening. Stubble peppered his chin. "The fuck you so miserable about?" he said. "You're out of jail, eh? Should be dancing like a dog on a hot floor. Look at you. Miserable git." The door swung open. Unlike the last time Joe had seen him, Cooper was wearing more than just his underwear. A lot more, in fact. He rested his baseball bat against the doorframe and zipped up his padded coat.

"Cut the crap, Cooper. I'm not in the mood."

"If you hadn't hung up I'd have told you not to bother coming round. Good to see you and all that, but I don't have time to chat." He rubbed his hand over his chin. "What did they do to you in there? You don't look too great."

"I'd feel better if I knew what was going on."

"I don't follow." Cooper pulled his gloves out of his coat pocket.

"Don't lie to me. Something's going on."

"You've been caged up, Joe. I don't know what fantasies have been running riot in your brain, but I'll tell you, I'm trying to help. That's all I've been doing. I've only done what's best for you, eh? There's no secret. No conspiracy. You think I'm in direct contact with the CIA or something? Just say the word into my little wrist mike and a black helicopter'll land in the street outside?" He chuckled. "You been doing drugs in there, Joe?"

"You got Tina to alibi me."

"Exactly. Cost a lot of money, that did. I don't say you're not worth it, but she isn't cheap." He slid his fingers into one of the gloves. "I don't expect any gratitude, you know, but I don't like what I'm hearing."

"What was wrong with my real alibi?"

"Full of holes, Joe. Hardly an alibi at all. Thought you'd prefer something more substantial, given the evidence stacked against you." His eyes probed Joe's. "Want me to explain, you ungrateful bastard?"

"Maybe you better."

Cooper put on his other glove. "You're forgetting something about your
real
alibi." He paused. "I never saw you leave my flat. I was up early, visiting someone in hospital. I was seen there. I can't lie about it. You could have left any time. What kind of an alibi is that?"

"Sally saw me. Her word's good enough."

"Better than Tina's?"

"Just as good."

"You think so?" Cooper nodded. "Let's say the police believed she was telling the truth. Let's say, for the sake of argument, they believe that the teenage girlfriend of an infamous crook who just happens to be your best friend saw you leave her flat the morning after the killing. Let's take a giant leap and suppose they buy that pile of crap. Okay. Now, this is a big flat. Costs enough to heat, I should know. Anyway, we're in the bedroom at the end. You're in the spare room near the front door." He stuck his hands in his coat pockets. "What's to stop you getting up in the middle of the night, leaving the door on the latch, killing Ruth, coming back, going to bed and getting up after I've left, claiming to Sally that you slept like a log?"

"You'd have heard me."

"Positive?"

Joe thought about it. He shrugged. It was possible he could have done what Cooper suggested. "How is Tina's alibi any different?"

"Ah," Cooper said. "At Tina's you were in her bed. Very difficult for you to sneak out and beat somebody to death without Tina knowing about it."

"Not impossible."

"The law's based on the opinions of the reasonable man. Did you know that?" Occasionally, as a result of spending less than a year studying law, Cooper would produce a nugget of legal information and throw it at Joe. Cooper clasped his gloved hands together.

Joe said, "You want a wig or a round of applause?"

Cooper's hands parted. "What's your problem, Joe? I'm trying to help you here."

"I've got a real lawyer waiting outside."

"A real alibi, now a real lawyer. You prefer his company? Fuck off, then."

"More friendly advice?"

Cooper pulled back his coat sleeve and showed Joe his watch. He tapped it three times. "I'm late." He barged past Joe.

Joe pointed his foot at the baseball bat, still propped against the doorframe. "Don't you want your bat?"

"Won't need it. Client's a woman. Put it in the bedroom for me, would you?"

Joe nodded. "What is it you were going to tell me about that reasonable man?"

"Don't know why I'm bothering," Cooper said, turning. "It's like this. A reasonable man would think it unlikely you'd have been able to commit a murder without Tina knowing about it. That's all." He paused. "I mean, what you going to say when she asks where you've been?"

"I had a bad stomach?" Joe said.

Cooper flung his hands in the air. "You're out of prison and you have a credible alibi. Thanks to me. If you don't appreciate what I've done for you, Joe, then just get out of my face." He strode down the corridor. "And shut the fucking door when you leave."

TWENTY-THREE

This time Joe invited Ronald Brewer to join him. The lawyer was proving to be an excellent chauffeur. Which was convenient, since Joe wasn't going to see his own car for a long time. He'd been told he'd get it back as soon as the scene of crime officers were finished with it. When's that? he'd asked. When they're finished with it, he was told. In case you've forgotten, the twat had added, a dead woman was stuffed in the boot. Not something Joe was likely to forget in a hurry. In fact, every time he looked at the car it was going to trigger that memory. The dickhead could keep the car for as long as he liked.

"You want to call her?" Ronald asked.

What kind of question's that, Joe thought.

He must have looked confused. Ronald said, "You want to call Tina?"

Ah, yes. "I'd rather surprise her."

"What if she's, you know, with somebody."

"Unlikely. She doesn't work from home."

"Except with you?"

Joe didn't respond.

When they arrived, the main door was open. They climbed the stairs and rang Tina's bell. No answer. Joe tried again. Still no answer. They were on the point of leaving when they heard her voice.

"Who is it?"

"Bob," Joe said.

"As in Joe?"

Of course, Joe thought. She knew his real name now. "Yeah," he said. "Joe Hope."

The chain rattled and the door clunked open. Tina's face was extremely pale. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, vulnerable without their usual protective layer of blue mascara. Her lips were thin, the color of starved earthworms. Without makeup, there was nothing to draw attention from her nose. It was bigger than he remembered. You could poke your thumbs up her nostrils without touching the sides.

"They let you out," she said.

"Bunch of fools," he said. "You okay? You don't look well."

"It's how I look," she said. "Who's your friend?"

"My lawyer, Ronald Brewer."

Tina opened the door wider. "What happened the last one?"

"I'm not with you. Ronald's the only lawyer I've had."

"We playing games here?" she said. "You coming in? Draft's blowing right up my crotch."

She led them into the sitting room and invited them to take a seat.

Joe said, "Good to see you again." The room was unnaturally tidy, just as it was last time Joe had visited. Tina's face was slowly gaining a little color. "You sure you're okay?" he asked again.

She stared at him. "What do you want?"

"Tell me about the other lawyer."

She glanced at Ronald. "Is it safe?"

"Ronald knows what I know. You can trust him."

Ronald said, "Even if I am a lawyer."

"The other one," Tina said, "came here with that wanker Cooper."

"Can you describe him?"

"Tall. Slightly shorter than you. Slim. Dark hair. Wearing a dark suit. Polite. Cooper gave me a pile of abuse. Mr. Park, on the other hand, was a gentleman."

"Did you say Park?"

"That was his name."

"Fuck," Joe said. What was Cooper doing with Park? It didn't add up. Park was a killer, not a negotiator. Clammy fingers circled the base of Joe's spine. "How much did he pay you?"

"I haven't been paid yet."

"You did it for free?"

"We agreed a sum. Cooper's bringing it over later this afternoon."

"I don't like this." Ronald Brewer locked his fingers together, pulled them apart. "Another lawyer?"

"Nothing to worry about," Joe said. "The other lawyer's bogus."

"You sure?"

"I know Mr. Park. He's as bogus as you can get."

Tina said, "Why did Cooper introduce him as your lawyer?"

"Trying to figure that out myself."

After a moment, Tina asked, "How about you, Joe? Are you okay?"

"Fine," he said, instinctively. He followed Tina's gaze and realized he was hugging his side. "Habit I picked up in Orkney," he said, removing his hand and resting it on his knee. "How much you getting paid?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Cooper's putting up the money." Joe looked sideways at Ronald, then back at Tina. "He's a loan shark. I'll have to pay him back. Just want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off."

"He's your friend," Tina pointed out.

"You heard the expression 'There's no sentiment in business'? Cooper invented it."

She said, "Hope you don't mind me saying so, him being your friend and all, but he's a real piece of scum."

"Got his good points."

"Name one."

Joe puffed his cheeks. He hugged his side again, realized what he was doing and clamped his hand on his knee.

"Never mind." Tina lowered her head. "Look, I'm sorry about your wife, Bob. Joe, I mean. I know you couldn't have done it."

Joe shifted in his seat. "How's that runaway from Dundee I saw when I was looking for you? She still working?"

"Kylie?" Tina said. "Up and left one night. Had enough."

"She go home?"

"Glasgow."

"Lure of the big city, huh?" Time dragged. Joe clenched his fist. The silence pressed in on him. "Cooper bringing the money here?"

"That was the plan."

"When?"

"He's going to phone."

"How much?"

Tina stepped into the kitchen and picked a pack of cigarettes off the work surface. "He offered me five grand." She tapped out a smoke and stuck it between her lips. "I asked for ten."

"And he agreed?"

"Didn't take any persuading." She lit her cigarette.

"Doesn't sound like Cooper."

"If you're paying him back, maybe it doesn't matter too much. What's the point of haggling when it isn't his money?"

"Matter of principle," Joe said.

Tina sucked on her cigarette. "What are you trying to say? You're getting me worried."

"What would you do," Joe said, "if Cooper didn't pay up?"

Tina thought for a moment. "What could I do? Go to the police. Tell them I lied."

"And that would just about seal my conviction," Joe said.

Tina said, "There's no sentiment in business."

"Follow that through," Ronald Brewer said. "If you went to the police, you'd get charged with making a false statement. You'd get fined. You'd lose money."

"Cooper's not fucking me over," Tina said. "I'm not a charity."

"What about Joe?" Ronald asked.

Joe said, "Hey, leave it."

Tina took an angry drag of her fag and said, "Until recently, I didn't even know Joe's name." She faced Joe, left hand supporting her right elbow. "No offense, but you're a punter, not my boyfriend." She glanced at Ronald, back at Joe. "I don't like lying to the police. Makes me nervous. I don't like Cooper. Your friend makes me nervous, too." She examined the floor. She dragged the ball of her foot in an arc towards Joe. When she looked up, she couldn't hold his gaze. She smoked, staring at the ceiling, nostrils flaring.

"You regret having made this deal with him?" Joe asked her.

"The bastard had better show up. That's all I care about."

"I'm not asking you to lie for me," Joe said. "Do what you think's right. Anyway," he said, standing, "I'm sure Cooper will pay up."

Ronald followed Joe's lead and got to his feet. The lawyer offered his hand to Tina. "Nice meeting you. Good luck."

"You think I'll need it?"

TWENTY-FOUR

When Ronald dropped Joe off at his flat, Joe paused before getting out of the car to tell him he really appreciated his help. Joe invited him in for a cup of coffee, but Ronald declined. Something stronger? Ronald checked his watch and told Joe he was already late.

Joe closed the car door. "Something I need to know," he said through the lowered window, jerked his head towards the tenement on the left. "Did Ruth die in the flat? Not that I'm squeamish or anything." Home had never looked so unappealing. "But…" No Gem, no Ruth. Nobody to blame but himself. "I mean, when I was last home, it didn't look like anything had happened. No sign of a struggle or anything. No blood-drenched walls or bits of teeth on the floor. But, for all I know, the murderer might be extremely house-proud. Might have cleaned up afterwards."

BOOK: Kiss Her Goodbye
2.53Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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