The dog park detectives, p.10
The Dog Park Detectives, page 10
And yet, one came back.
* * *
We met at the dog park, despite my misgivings, Violet sitting imperiously at her master’s feet. That master stared resolutely into the distance, scowling.
‘Gav?’
‘Yeah?’ He looked up, unruffled. ‘So, what’cha want?’
Straight to the chase.
‘Thanks for seeing me.’
His dark sunglasses sat firmly in place, making it hard to read his expression. Unsure how to begin, I sat down beside him. ‘I was thinking about Phil, the dead guy. Wondering if…’
‘If?’
‘If you might be able to help.’
‘Why would you think I could?’ He produced a ball and threw it for Violet, who watched it bounce a few times. Klaus was less reticent, happily sprinting after it.
‘Because you’ve lived here a long time. Because maybe you know things, people, that I don’t.’ I shook my head self-consciously. ‘I don’t know. People around here defer to you.’ I corrected myself, hoping he’d appreciate the honesty. ‘Actually, most people around here, for whatever reason, are scared witless of you. I figure you must be pretty well plugged-in to warrant that.’
‘Plugged-in?’
I shrugged, not wanting to say ‘local crime’, or ‘mafia’, or whatever it was called around here. After a pause, he seemed to relent slightly.
‘Fine. So, what do you want?’
‘Well, I did a bit of research. Phil’s partner, ex-partner, whatever…’
‘Grace.’
‘Yes. She’s a lawyer. A barrister. I was wondering, do you think it’s possible that one of the people she’s prosecuting might have put out a hit on her?’
He guffawed, whether about my jargon or about the idea, I wasn’t sure.
‘Would you mind looking at the list?’
‘Sure, why not.’ He held out a bored hand for my phone.
‘These are all her current cases.’
‘Jackass… Wuss… Tw—’ he cleared his throat, and I guessed he was softening his language for my benefit. ‘Coward… Ha, that one’s a stitch-up… Nah… Nah… Nope.’
Once or twice, he grunted as he scrolled. Once his finger tapped the screen. Then he handed my phone back to me.
‘Any ideas?’
He gave me a long look. ‘You got balls, girl,’ he said.
‘But?’
‘But nothing. You got balls, an’ I mean that in a good way.’ He paused. ‘You sure you want to do this? What’cha hoping to prove?’
‘Prove? Nothing. But I do hope to get a guy that deserved better a bit of justice.’
‘You don’t have anything better to do with your time?’
‘Gav, if anything happened to me, I’d hope someone would care enough to want to find out why. If you have an idea, I’m keen to hear it. You want to pay them a visit, I’m happy to tag along.’
He laughed.
‘I’m serious, Gav. I really want to go with you.’
‘These people are dangerous, Louise.’
‘Yeah,’ I said, fighting down a blush. ‘I know. And I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s all I have and I kind of feel that I need to do this.’
‘Huh,’ he grunted.
‘So you’re okay with me going with you?’ It seemed too easy, almost as though there was a catch. ‘Do I need to drop Klausi off at home?’
‘He okay with big dogs?’
It was best to be honest. ‘Ish? I mean, it depends on the dog, right?’
‘Should be all right, but if you want to drop him somewhere, I’ll wait here.’
* * *
Gav promised to remain on the park bench while I dropped Klaus off with Fi, who usually worked from home on Wednesdays. She was on a call when I arrived, her auburn hair twisted into a topknot, her glasses on top of her head. She gestured to the earbuds nestled in her ears and rolled her eyes.
‘Shouldn’t be long,’ I whispered.
No problem, she mouthed and hit a mute button. ‘Where are you off to?’
‘Checking out a few leads with Gav.’ I let Klaus off his own lead and he ran past Fi towards Nala, who obligingly rolled onto her back. ‘People who might have an issue with Grace, Phil’s ex.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘What, like a hit gone wrong? So, where’s he taking you? Prison?’
I didn’t think so. Realised I should have asked.
‘Right. You know you’re wading in over your head, Lou? If someone ordered a hit on Grace but got it wrong and you’re sniffing around, then you might as well paint a target on your own back.’ She placed her glasses on the bridge of her nose and stared at me over the rims. ‘And I’d really rather not find your dead body somewhere. Clear?’
‘Crystal.’
‘Good. Get out of here, and be careful, will you?’ She unmuted the call and waved me out. Before I’d made it more than a handful of steps, she leaned around her front door and called after me, ‘Message me when you’re back so that I know you’re safe.’
‘You have Klaus,’ I reminded her. ‘I’ll let you know as soon as I’m on my way over.’
She gave a thumbs-up and disappeared back into her flat, her words hanging in the air between us.
It’s not about you, I reminded myself, forcing myself to move. This is bigger than you.
And it’s the right thing to do.
* * *
I met Gav back at the park. ‘Where are we going?’
He didn’t answer, just started walking. I followed. ‘We’re not going to prison, are we?’
‘What?’ He stopped, startled. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘I just assumed that the people who might have an issue with Grace would be locked up.’
‘Huh.’ He started walking again. ‘Some are, some aren’t. Some of the more dangerous ones aren’t locked up. Or if they are, they have people on the outside. But no, we’re not going to see them.’
‘Then who are we going to see?’
Just then my phone pinged. ‘Sorry, I need to check this. A friend of mine – well, a new neighbour. His dog ate something and got sick.’
Jake (Luther’s Dad)
They’re gonna purge Luther.
Good luck – to you and the big guy.
Thx. We get through this and I will make sure he never eats anything off the ground again.
Lots of luck with that – Irina’s been trying to stop Hamish from scavenging for years…
A trip to the vet is a good incentive.
He wasn’t wrong. I replied that I hoped all went well and to keep me updated.
‘He okay?’
‘Fingers crossed,’ I answered Gav. ‘Damn horrible welcome to the neighbourhood when this happens within days of him moving in.’
Gav grunted by way of an answer. He led me out of the park and down winding streets to a café in Poplar. It looked like most greasy spoons on this side of town, and its only customer appeared to be a bespectacled man sitting at a table behind a laptop. Like Gav, he looked north of sixty. He was dressed in the sort of sweatshirts that were sold at the street market, but wore a heavy gold chain around his neck and chunky rings that looked real.
The woman in the kitchen behind him was of a similar age, with grey hair fastened at the nape of her neck. She nodded a greeting as we entered.
Gav took off his sunglasses. ‘Jono. Norma. Y’awright?’
The man looked up and smiled. ‘Gav. What’cha doin’ here?’
A corner of Gav’s mouth quirked. ‘Social call.’
The man – Jono – glanced at me, then back to Gav. ‘That so?’
Violet strutted through the café as if she owned it. She yapped a brief greeting to a massive lump of furred muscle lying under the table. It raised its blunt head and looked at me, as if determining whether I was any danger. Luther was big for a Staffie, around three times Klaus’s size. This dog lying on the floor looked like him, that same sort of muscular breed, but where Luther was pushing twenty kilos, this creature had to be over sixty.
Glad I’d left Klaus at home – he’d have been terrified – I patted my pockets, pulling out a scrunched-up bag. I held it up to the man. ‘Lovely dog,’ I managed to squeak out. ‘Can I give him a treat?’
‘Yeah, sure. Rocco’ll love that,’ Jono said, dismissing me; his attention was firmly on Gav.
‘My friend Louise.’ Gav introduced me as he sat down across from Jono. ‘She’s the one what found the body last weekend.’
‘Ah hell. Bad news that.’
‘Any idea who would’ve done it?’
I shook a few treats into my palm, holding my hand flat as I proffered them to Rocco. Klaus was a baby shark when it came to treats, and if Rocco ate the same way, he’d take off half my hand.
Jono had clearly taken the time to train and socialise Rocco, though. He took the treats gently and licked my wrist in thanks.
‘Nah. Been asking around. Some think it was a drug hit. Some think the gangs.’
‘It wasn’t drugs,’ I said, palming a few more treats. As massive as Rocco was, he was growing on me. ‘Phil didn’t do them.’
‘You sure, girl?’ Jono looked at me. ‘Most people say that after they turn a blind eye to the signs.’
‘Yeah, pretty sure,’ I said, although I wasn’t. He was right, people saw what they wanted to. I wouldn’t have thought Phil the type, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t. Maybe Grace had either chosen not to see the signs, or had genuinely missed them. ‘I think.’
Rocco rolled onto his back, allowing me to rub his belly.
Jono nodded and closed his laptop. ‘I haven’t heard anything about anyone who would have bumped him off.’
‘Mind keeping an ear out?’
‘Anyone in particular?’
Gav recited a few names from my list. Jono nodded, non-committal.
‘Heard you had a spot of bother the other day, Gav,’ the woman said from the kitchen. ‘You okay?’
‘You heard about that?’
‘Mo mentioned.’ She came round from the back and placed a cup of milky tea in front of him, asking me what I’d like. ‘Stupid kids,’ she added.
‘Any idea who might’ve sent them after me?’
‘Mate, you’ve been out of the game for years. No point in offin’ you now. Twenty, thirty years ago, sure. Now? No point.’ Jono thrust a heavy, beringed finger at Gav. ‘Now you’re old, man. Ir-rel-ee-vant.’
‘Ta.’ Gav’s voice was deadpan, but Jono still grinned.
‘Maybe they just saw ya as an easy target?’
The woman fixing my tea snorted. ‘As if.’
‘Thanks, Norma.’
She winked at him and walked around the counter to place the steaming cup in front of me. ‘There’s a baby gang around here. Stupid kids holding other kids up at knifepoint. Nicking bikes from the delivery guys. Stealing phones, the like. Can’t see them going after you, though, Gav. You ain’t their type of mug.’
There was a compliment in there somewhere, surely. Gav gave her a half nod, finished his tea and stood up. I took a hurried sip out of courtesy and followed. Violet trotted over, looking up at her master.
‘Thanks for your time, Jono,’ Gav said. ‘Have a good day, Norma.’
‘And you.’
We left the café and crossed the street, beginning to weave our way back towards Partridge Park. ‘That’s it?’ I asked.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘We didn’t learn anything.’ I didn’t like the plaintive note in my voice.
‘Learnt plenty.’
Had he been in a different place to me? ‘How so?’
‘It wasn’t what he said, Louise. It was what he didn’t say. If there was news, Jono would know it. Might not have said who was coming after me, but would’ve said something about Phil, if he could have.’
‘What if he couldn’t? And what was that about kids coming after you?’
He brushed off both questions. Continued walking, brows lowered. ‘Nuthin’ I can’t handle.’ His face softened as he turned to me. ‘But Jono will start asking questions, and when he does, people – more people – will start looking at us. Watch your back.’
19 LOUISE
Irina (Hamish’s Mum)
Fi told me that you had another field trip today. Everything go well?
More questions than answers, tbh. If I send you a list of Grace’s clients – which I found legally – would you be able to see if any of them seem likely to put a hit out on her?
Send it over, but you know it’ll still just be our speculation, right?
It’s better than nothing – I’ll take it. Thx!
The walk home from Fiona’s was tense. I was on high alert, scanning the area, and not just for the usual chicken bones or dangerous litter. Klaus, sensing my stress, barked at anyone who came near.
My nerves were frayed and I could murder a glass of wine, but my delivery wasn’t set to arrive for another day or two.
‘Ups,’ I said to Klaus, going down on one knee and catching him as he leapt onto my shoulder. With one hand on his back and the other on his bottom, I nodded to a few youths, passing them as I stepped into News-N-Booze. The shop might not be dog-friendly, but it wasn’t dog-unfriendly either, allowing me to take Klaus in as long as I carried him.
‘Hey Zed,’ I said to the kid at the till, moving sideways past a freezer of ice cream to get to the wine. I shifted Klaus so that I could hold him with one arm and grabbed a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc with my free hand. There wasn’t a lot of room to manoeuvre, so I backed out along the aisle to the till. Klaus began to bark only seconds before I crashed into a warm but solid wall.
‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry,’ I said, turning. My voice trailed away as I found myself staring at a chest barely constrained by a black T-shirt. My gaze moved upwards, towards broad shoulders. Five o’clock shadow didn’t detract from the chiselled jawline or hooded dark blue eyes.
My fingers clutched the neck of the bottle. ‘Hi.’
Jake Hathaway grunted at me. Glancing at Klaus, he said, ‘Didn’t know dogs were allowed in here.’ His accent had broadened to a light Scottish burr.
‘Hers is,’ Zed said from the till. In a fake German accent he added, ‘Klaus is cool.’
Zed wouldn’t say that if he’d seen Klaus wee on the pyramid of two-litre water bottles arranged outside, but I figured that was something he didn’t need to know. With Klaus’s low clearance, there was no chance of him weeing high enough to reach the caps anyway.
‘Thanks, Zed.’ I offered a tentative smile to my neighbour. ‘How’s Luther?’
‘Stoned.’
‘Anything else?’ Zed asked, ringing up Jake’s beer. ‘Maybe some crisps for your stoned friend?’
I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Daring a glance at Jake broke my resolve. Maybe it was the stress of the day, but both of us began to laugh.
‘Just trying to help,’ Zed said cheerfully.
‘Luther’d love crisps,’ Jake told him. ‘But then, he’d eat crap off the street. Which already landed him in the vet’s once today. Luther’s my dog.’
‘Ah,’ Zed said, a dusky flush rising on his cheeks. ‘Sorry, man. I didn’t know.’
‘It’s okay.’ Jake pried the bottle from my fingers and put it on the counter next to his beer. ‘I got this too.’
‘Thank you,’ I said surprised. ‘Why?’
‘Because I don’t want to drink alone.’
Alone? He was single?
Jake picked up the wine and beer. ‘You have other plans?’
I didn’t.
‘Come on. Unless you want crisps too?’
I shook my head, bemused. Still half in shock, I put Klaus down and followed Jake out of the newsagents and down the street.
* * *
The complex we lived in was once a warehouse, its red-brick buildings occupying both sides of the canal. On my side, the former administrative buildings had full balconies; on the other side, the buildings facing the canal had large windows for light and ventilation, some with Juliet balconies that had been added on a couple of decades ago for safety. The photograph in my lobby had been taken some time in the 1800s and showed a small pedestrian bridge connecting both sides. That private bridge was long gone, but further along was a rail bridge and another one for cars and pedestrians.
Jake flashed his fob at the eastern entrance and pushed the heavy metal gate open. He led the way past a garden blooming with red and white flowers and into the foyer.
Like mine, Jake’s building had high ceilings and long windows. Unlike mine, it didn’t have a lift. With Klaus riding my shoulder again, I followed Jake up three flights of stairs, unsure what to expect.
Jake unlocked his door and gestured for me to precede him into the flat. I was half expecting Luther to be waiting in the hallway – Klaus always was when I dared leave home without him – but instead he was sitting on a mat in the living room, his head on the floor, his dark eyes watchful. I put Klaus down, keeping him on his lead, just in case.
He was less worried, strutting over to the far bigger dog and having a good sniff. I got down on one knee and held out my hand to Luther, so that he could get my scent. ‘Sorry you’re not feeling well, sweetheart,’ I said. He breathed a soft whoof of air over my hand, accepting me. I sat beside him, stroking his head. Klaus crawled into my lap and the three of us sat in companionable silence while Jake poured the drinks from behind a breakfast bar.
His flat was large, with floor-to-ceiling windows on the west and south sides. A few boxes were stacked around the edge of the living room. I’d expected a black leather sofa on the back wall, against the exposed brick, but his was dark blue – the exact colour of his eyes – and comfortable-looking. Above it, four black-and-white photographs hung in simple black frames. All were scenes shot through doorways. The one on the left was the view from a ruined castle, looking down on a village. The second showed Edinburgh Castle, framed by pillars. The third was the New York skyline, as seen through a balcony door and the last, a view of Tower Bridge, taken from behind a window in the Tower of London.
