Graven Image Read Free Page A

left with anyone, of course. She could have waited ages and then split, gone down her pal’s house and no harm done. But she might not have.
    ‘Who?’
    ‘You know who.’
    ‘I don’t! I—’
    ‘My Kelly!’
    ‘Your Kelly? Who the...? Oh.’
    ‘Yeah. Oh. Who’d she leave with?’
    ‘Honest, I dunno, Leon.’
    I reached down and grabbed him by the hair. It was a bit short and well greasy, but I got enough of a grip and slammed his face against the door, saying: ‘There’s your small forfeit.’
    I don’t think he heard that over his own screaming.
    I grabbed his hair again and he shut up.
    ‘Second chance: who’d she leave with?’
    He gave me his doe eyes. Actually they were more like a frog than a doe. A frog with blood all over his chin.
    ‘What’s the big forfeit?’
    ‘Like I said, I got shit on you.’
    ‘What shit?’
    ‘I work at Destiny, Ty. I see everyone come and go.’
    ‘Eh?’
    I was on sabbatical, it’s true. But you would be too if you’d maimed a VIP punter. Didn’t mean I wouldn’t be back there when this all blew over. Business is business.
    ‘Don’t play the thick one with me, Ty. You want me to tell your mum what you like to do?’
    ‘You stay away from my mam!’
    He folded his arms and looked away in a sulk, breathing hard through his mouth. I could crack him in ten seconds. You watch.
    ‘I can draw a diagram. Cindy told me all about it. By the way, she went in last week and had the full operation. Know what that makes her, Ty? 100% woman... sort of. I suppose you won’t be so interested in her now, eh?’
    ‘Fuck off, you nutter!’
    Maybe just over, eleven seconds - fair play.
    I reached down and wiped a drip of blood off his chin, then wiped it on the white door amongst the footy teams and pictures of cocks and who shagged who.
    ‘Who’d Kelly leave with?’
    He looked at where I’d scrawled his blood, his breathing slowing as he said, almost so you couldn’t hear:
    ‘Carla?’

5.

    LEVEL 1: BREACH IN PROTOCOL

    1. Record breach in security log inc. date, time and security personnel on shift
    2. Appropriate tools obtained from security cabinet
    3. Lock cabinet again after tools obtained
    4. Investigate breach without delay
    5. If no danger found, personnel responsible for false alarm to be reprimanded/penalised
    6. If danger found, escalate alert to appropriate level

Best if I just say what happened back there at Destiny, with the VIP and shit.
    This was a couple of weeks ago. I’d popped out for some fags, over at the garage. Dennis Tamar was behind the counter and we chatted about footy for a while. Dennis had Everton down for relegation but I said not a chance, not unless Rooney got injured. I picked up a couple of other things while I was there too, fireworks and stuff. It was bonfire night, and I knew Kelly’s mum wouldn’t be doing anything to mark the occasion, being obsessed with health and safety. That kid would be a wet lettuce if it was just her mum, I swear. But she had me too, and no way was I going to let her grow up soft. One way or another, I’d make sure she had a proper bonfire, sparklers and everything.
    I’m not really supposed to leave the premises. There’s no saying what might happen and who might come in while I’m gone, but this was quite early - about three in the afternoon - and I’d never known a lairy punter at that time. Lairy is a by-product of alcohol, and the only drinkers that time of day are your committed ones, who are more interested in drink than sex. So I wasn’t surprised when I got back and found the place all quiet.
    Not even Carla was in her office. I checked the computer - only one girl was in just now, that new one. She was up in Room One, but I couldn’t see if she had a punter there or not. I shook my head: this constituted a Level One breach of protocol. The amount of time I’d spent getting this security system set up and they don’t even use it right. All they have to do is type their number into a