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A family of evil Chapter 20
‘And?’‘He came flying out of the road in front of a car. The guy driving said he shot out without looking. He’s got a sports bag full of cash, Franklin . I think it may be something connected with Clinton . You need to get here faster than whoever owns the money does.’As Franklin jumped into his car, the passenger door opened and Johnnie slid in. ‘Before you say anything, I’m coming. I might be useful backup cos no-one knows me. Now get moving, you’re wasting time.’The streets of suburban Manurewa were quiet this time of night and no one slowed them down as they raced towards Papatoetoe where Middlemore hospital was situated. Huddled groups of youths dressed in the required black hoodies even gave them the finger of approval as they speed past. But peace soon changed to bedlam as they approached Middlemore Hospital. The emergency unit was seething with Saturday night drunks, fight victims, domestic violence cases and generally anyone who found themselves battered and bloody.Frank
A family of evil Chapter 21
Franklin grinned ruefully, ‘Hadn’t got round to hiding it, just wanted it out of sight. Here, there’s this too.’ And he handed over the CCTV CD. ‘And we got some pics of the back of them as they were walking out. I’ve already sent them on to you. One of them is called Tommie. He said to tell the boy that his Uncle Tommie was coming back for him.’‘Good work.’ Mike looked at his watch. ‘We’re moving the kid as we speak. By tomorrow, there’ll be no record that he was ever there. As soon as we’ve got him tucked away and able to talk, you and Michael can interview him.’‘There was a nurse at reception, Sister Lamb.’ Franklin started to say.Mark shook his head. ‘It’s okay, she’s with us on this. Apparently, you were very convincing that he was in danger, she was more than happy to help. That Croatian charm of yours worked again.’‘What do you think they’ll do when they discover that the kid’s disappeared along with their money?’Mark looked out the window, not seeing the reflection of
A family of evil Chapter 22
There was silence at the other end. ‘That explains a lot. It means big money and that would explain the new partner. Call you back when we pick up the kid, I’ll let you know where you can pick him up from and take him back to the safe house. God, we’re going to end up with a full house.’Michael walked up to him and grabbed him by the arm. ‘Wouldn’t it be faster if I went? It’s not that far from here?’Franklin shook his head. ‘Michael , just leave it to the blue shirts.’But Michael wasn’t a ‘leave it to anyone’ kind of guy. He walked back into the lounge, checked on Danny, walked back into one of the front bedrooms, twitched the curtain back to check the street and walked back into the kitchen.‘Michael , you’re getting on my nerves. Make yourself a coffee. Play a game on your phone, do something. Just stop pacing.’ Franklin was standing with the back door open, leaning on the doorjamb. To a casual observer, he looked relaxed but he had a bad feeling about this. He wouldn’t allo
A family of evil Chapter 23
Franklin was surprised, Stewart always seemed so self-contained, this outburst was unlike him. ‘We’re still working on it but, we are making inroads.’‘Sorry, Franklin .’ Stewart seemed to recollect their surroundings. ‘Shouldn’t put you on the spot like that. Come over and meet the board.’ And he guided the couple over to a group of people standing to one side of the room.‘No need to introduce us, Stewart.’ A solid man in a dark blue uniform stepped forward and shook hands with Franklin . The uniform emphasised his military bearing, his upright stance. ‘How are you DS Martin?’‘Fine thank you, Sir.’ The Area Commander of Police was involved with several charities, but Franklin hadn’t known that Youth With a Future was one of them. Franklin introduced Sam and glanced at the remainder of the group.Stewart noticed and continued his role as host. ‘Sam, have you met Sonia Peterson? Sonia, this is Sam Harrison, one of our volunteers.’Sam smiled and put out her hand. ‘No, but I do kno
A family of evil Chapter 24
It was too early for tourists and, while the tantalising smell of bread and donuts drifted from the bakery, all the cafes, bookshops and shops peddling Paua shell earrings and ashtrays were closed. Kiwi’s laughed at the gullible tourists paying good money for Paua shell, when you could pick up the mother of pearl shells off the beach chucked carelessly onto the black sand after being barbequed on the beach. Damn sight cheaper than what the shops charged for it.They ran in silence past wooden, two-story houses overlooking the harbour. What used to be considered plain old houses, were now seen as prime real estate with harbour views and they were renovated to the hilt. Some looked okay, but to Franklin , some were overdone. And you didn’t see any Maoris around this suburb, except for the local pub where they regularly clashed with the local islanders. Didn’t matter whether they were Cook Islanders or Samoan, they were all anathema to the Maoris. Didn’t make sense to outsiders as the th
A family of evil Chapter 25
He looked back up at Michael . ‘Has she laid a complaint?’‘Has she got something to complain about? Why don’t you just tell us why you were there?’The flush deepened. He said something under his breath.‘Can’t hear you, mate. You’re going to have to speak up.’ Michael was taking it easy.‘I said that I fancied her.’‘Go on.’‘I saw her at the bookshop, I was going to ask her out but I chickened out. So, I went back to work and looked up her address. I thought that if I went there, we would get a chance to talk and I could ask her out.’Franklin expelled a breath. Dead end.‘Do you know that you’re breaking the law using confidential information for your own purposes?’Adam nodded. ‘I’ve never done anything like that before, but I just couldn’t ask her out in the middle of the shop, and I couldn’t think of any other way to get to speak to her. Will I lose my job?’ He looked from Michael to Franklin and back again.‘That depends. Do you think you might try a stunt like that again?
A family of evil Chapter 26
‘You want to learn to fix bikes?’‘Yea.’‘I’ve got a friend who’s got a bike shop. Want to go see him and ask?’‘Seriously?’ Jacko looked scared.Johnnie shrugged. ‘I can get you in the door, introduce you and then it’s up to you. You’d have to convince the guy you’d be worth hiring. And then you’d have to show up every day and on time.’‘I could do that! Are you for real?’‘Let’s go talk to the man and see what happens.’ Johnnie pulled out his phone and made the call. Minutes later, they had an appointment and thirty minutes later found them entering the bike shop. Johnnie’s mate had taken redundancy and used his money to buy the business which sold new and used bikes, accessories and did repairs as well. The two of them casually strolled up the aisle through the rows of bikes, both in their own way, trying to hide their apprehension.A middle-aged man walked down to meet them, wiping his hands on his black ACDC t-shirt and black jeans. His weather-beaten face broke into a grin as he
A family of evil Chapter 27
‘I didn’t.’ Tommie seemed to be a bit short on air. Or it may have been because Arbruzzio was sucking it all up. He stood, pushed his way out of the booth and deliberately bumped into Michael as he passed.‘Sorry man,’ Michael sounded sincerely contrite. If Arbruzzio was looking for a fight, he wasn’t finding it with Michael . He stood for a moment, spat something in Greek to Tommie and stormed out through the back of the shop. A few minutes later, they heard the four-wheel drive skidding out of the alleyway.‘Hope he didn’t forget to pay for his coffee. Looks like you’re walking home.’ Franklin moved and slid into the booth that Arbruzzio had just vacated. Michael stayed standing.‘Clinton Dawson and Matt Fields.’ Franklin waited. ‘What do you know about these boys?’Tommie opened his mouth to answer, and Michael flipped out his notebook. His pen hovered over the notebook, waiting for what Tommie was going to say.Tommie looked at Michael and back to Franklin again. Franklin