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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
A family of evil Chapter 28
‘That you, Uncle Tommie?’‘No, not this time. What’s the deal you’re offering?’They had him! Their hot suspect was on the other end of the phone. Franklin breathed out to discover he had been holding his breath.‘I have a shipment you should be very interested in. We’ve got a bigger network than anyone else you’re doing business with at the moment. We can supply because we’re global. If you’re not interested, we were going to give the New Zealand franchise to the Aussie team anyway cos your market is so small. So, you either come with us or you compete with someone who will sell better products.’‘I’m willing to look at what you’ve got to offer. And I’d like to know more about the business.’ There was no accent, the voice was as kiwi as they come, and they had no idea who they were talking to.‘Depends how much funding you’ve got.’‘Keep talking.’‘Well, we can sell to you as an end user, or you can buy a franchise. I probably don’t need to tell you that the money isn’t made doing b
A family of evil Chapter 29
She was taking her first sip of her coffee, when Stuart put his head around the door. ‘Ah, Sam, I was just looking for you. Can you give me a minute, please?’‘Sure.’ Sam took her coffee and followed Stuart into his office. She took the seat he indicated in front of his desk, and he sat in the chair beside it.‘Sam, I’m sorry but I’ve got some bad news for you. I know this will be hard for you because this is the first you’ve lost.’Sam had no idea what Stuart was talking about, she hadn’t lost anything that she knew of.‘I’m sorry Sam but we’ve lost Rhonda.’‘What do you mean lost? She’s left Auckland?’‘She’s committed suicide, Sam. She was found in her flat this morning. I’m so terribly sorry.’Sam’s body gave an involuntary jerk, and her coffee flew from the cup, half over Stuart’s desk and the rest over her black jeans. She looked at the damp jeans, it was hot coffee, but she couldn’t feel it. She looked at Stuart and for the first time noticed how tired he looked.‘How?’‘She cu
A family of evil Chapter 30
As the path curved back to the beach, Sam came back into sight again and he could see she had a rock in her right hand, which she was periodically striking on the rock beside her. She noticed him when he jumped down onto the rock shelf she was sitting on. She looked away back out to sea. He saw her face was wet and her eyes swollen from crying and his heart twisted in his chest. His instinct was to scoop her up and hold her until the pain faded, but he had to find out what she wanted, not do what he felt he needed to do.He sat on the rock beside her. ‘Who was it?’She looked at him, a crooked, wobbly smile on her face. ‘Rhonda. She was just starting to talk to me.’ Her voice wavered and he slid closer and put his arm around her. She turned into him and cried against his chest. Franklin held her, stroking her hair, soothing her with meaningless reassurances. But nothing could make any sense of such a senseless act.Slowly, she quietened and pulled back away from him. He slid her hair
A family of evil Chapter 31
Franklin listened to Michael ’s message, deleted it then listened to Mike requesting his attendance at a briefing in an hour’s time. Things were on the move. He walked over to Sam and crouched down beside her. ‘I’ve got to go.’‘I know, and you know what? I’m okay now. You were here when I needed you. You always are.’ She reached up and put her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm.‘I have a lot of thinking to do. I have to figure out what I really want to do. I thought I had become this decisive person, but you know, I haven’t even filed for divorce. There I go again, just drifting along. I need to make decisions.’‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’ve been through a lot.’She shook her head. ‘It’s time I grew up, quite frankly.’He smiled, kissed her on the cheek and stood again. ‘Let me know what it’s like when you get there. Being grown up may not be all it’s cracked up to be.’ And he turned and headed down the beach towards the path along the cliff. As he wa
A family of evil Chapter 32
Everyone was still out at the crime scene by the time Franklin called it a day. But he had stepped back and looked at his handy work. He’d filled the whiteboards around the room with To Do Lists.Wanting to have some progress for Mike Keegan was uppermost in Franklin ’s mind when he woke the next morning after a few hours of sleep. He’d lain awake going over the evidence and trying to work out how it all fitted together. The notebook beside his bed was full of ideas that had popped up during the night. He rolled out of bed and came to a sudden stop as his legs locked tight. Franklin took a cautious step forward and painfully headed for the bathroom, his calves felt like solid planks of wood. A soak in a very hot bath might mean he might just be able to walk. That and with the help of Diclofenac, a strong anti-inflammatory, the old man’s best friend.His phone rang as he was drinking his breakfast, a steaming black cup of coffee. ‘Franklin , I want you back in the office today.’ Mike
A family of evil Chapter 33
Johnnie savoured the smoky whisky taste. That first sip was always the fiery best, the rest tended to just turn into a drink. It had been five years, but that flavour was as familiar as yesterday. He took his glass and made his way to a table in the corner of the bar. Sitting at the bar smacked of desperation or despair. He wanted to look like he was waiting, simply waiting. Most people who drank in this bar were waiting. Waiting for time to pass, for the right person to walk into the bar, waiting for a job to turn up or for a Lotto win. Like every other darkened bar in the world as familiar as a favourite armchair, it was full of dreamers and disillusioned drunks. The right person who walked in the bar could be offering to pay well but the cash wouldn’t be showing up on their tax return any time soon. Johnnie took another small sip, the burn overwhelming him with memories of another bar, another life, and a woman. The next sip sat hot in his stomach igniting a molten core of anger. T