Page 5 of Dead Vengeance

“I told you he’s not in there,” snaps the receptionist, Ted, pushing himself between us and the police. “And if this stolen artefact is so very precious, I should think you’d have brought a warrant to allow you to look for it.”

“We just want to ask some questions,” one of the officers replies.

“Then use the telephone!” Ted snarls.

“What do you say, lad?” Gerald’s low voice drops into the rising chaos like an anchor. “Will you take the job?”

He accompanies the question with a glance down at the cold, hard cash in my hand. Cash I can buy my mum dinner with tonight.

My heart beats proud enough to drown out the anxiety. “What do you need me to do?”

His grin is wide and his eyes are as bright as the afternoon sun. I suddenly feel like I’m in on something I probably shouldn’t be in on, but that I do actually kind of want to be in on.

Gerald spins away, swiping that small, round, black object I’d noticed earlier off the filing cabinet. He shoves it into his pocket, then makes directly for the window. “Go out that door,” he mumbles as he pushes it open, “and all you have to do is say you waited for me, I’m still not back, and you’re leaving.”

“And where will you… oh.” He’s already halfway out the window, climbing onto the awning out front.

“Don’t worry,” he says, wafting his yellowy fingertips at me. “It’s to do with the, uh… the horses. The… the bookies. They… You know…”

I guess he gives up then, because he simply shuts the window and steps out of sight, leaving me in this dank, dark room, all alone and about to go lie to the police on behalf of what may be the shadiest man I’ve ever met.

But damn that money feels good.

I flick the blinds shut behind him, then cross the room and wrench the door open. Ted stumbles backwards, still halfway through snapping, “I told you there’s no one in there!” His back whacks into my chest, and we both stumble against Gerald’s rickety desk.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he rounds on me, eyes scanning the room, wide and panicked, as he shouts.

“I’ve been waiting for my uniform this whole time,” I yell back at him. “An hour, and Gerald’s still not back! I thought he was supposed to be here by two?”

“You…” he stumbles. “I…” he mumbles.

“Could you please just get it for me? I’m due on a job tomorrow, and I can’t wait all day.”

A silence takes the room. Ted stares deep into my eyes for a good five seconds. Then, all at once, he claps his hands together and leaps into action. “Well, I told you he wasn’t here. You’re the one who insisted on waiting. What did you think was going to happen?”

With that, he glares at one of the cops, then stomps out of the room.

I try to follow, but, “You’re also waiting to see Mr Pickett?” one of them asks.

“Yeah. But…” I wish someone could explain why I’m putting myself out on a limb for this guy. I could easily turn him in, keep his money and go.

But for all his weirdness, there’s something about him that’s kind of… Not trustworthy. Not especially welcoming. Not particularly likeable.

And yet… I don’t know. I do like him. So… “He hasn’t come in. Not once.” I glance towards Ted, who’s occupied sticking a small key into a small cupboard out in the waiting area. “And I’m not convinced that guy has any idea what’s going on around here either.”

“I can hear you,” Ted singsongs caustically, smashing the door open. A sea of plastic falls to the floor in front of him, so I dash out there to pretend I’m helping him.

“Size?” he asks me, rifling through the mess.

“Um… I don’t know. Men’s… medium?”

He looks over me, spending a little extra time on my arms. “You’re large.”

“That’s just…’ I glance down at the arms I have been working on at home. They’re bulking up nicely, along with my chest. “My waist’s slim though. And… And I’m not that tall. What’s the uniform like?”

“We’ve only got large,” he drawls, standing up, shoving a plastic package against my chest. “And we’ve only got the summer uniform. So, you’ll have to stick a shirt under it or something.”

“You really have no idea when Mr Pickett will be back?” one of the officers interrupts.