Snapshot Read Free Page A

EOS-1D.
    A thing of beauty really.

 
CHAPTER 2
    ‘If I remember right then Sammy boy is from Royston, east end somewhere for sure.’ The voice came from behind Winter and dragged him out of his dwam. It was Addison. ‘He’s thirty-two, thirty-three. Old to be still knocking it out on the street. Sure-fire sign he was going nowhere fast. Kind of bam that pushes out coke, heroin, jellies, ecstasy, dope, uppers, downers, steroids; whatever the junkies want, this cunt would stuff it down their throat, in their arm or up their nose. ’
    Addison was angry and it was obvious in his voice. He’d seen way too much of this shit.
    ‘Just a foot soldier in Malky Quinn’s army,’ he went on. ‘Funny how Malky and his like never end up lying stabbed in the rain. It’s always the Sammy Ross’s that get it. One of Malky’s boys . . . brilliant. Means trouble for someone. Probably means trouble for everyone. Fuck’s sake, it’s not even eight o’clock and the day’s already turned to shit. I want a bacon roll.’
    Winter had finished his photographs but hadn’t stopped looking. He was irritated at Addison for shaking him out of it but when he caught the look on Two Soups’s face he thought maybe it was just as well. The old sod looked fit to burst. Winter ignored his glare.
    ‘You ever stop thinking about your stomach, Addy,’ he said as he stood up. ‘No wonder you are such a fat bastard.’
    The DI was six foot four and skinny as a rake, his height just making him look even thinner. He was just about to come back with a smart-arse remark of his own when his DS, a haunted-looking guy with dirty fair hair, name of Colin Monteith, wandered up towing a human skelf wearing trackies, a heavy white jacket and the obligatory baseball cap. Junkie ned. Monteith must have had the uniformed boys talking to the walking dead that were anywhere near the market at that time of the morning. Though if any of them had ever known anything, chances were they had already forgotten. Addison rolled his eyes as if to say, jeez, this better be good.
    Monteith told the skelf to stay put and came up to where the pair were standing.
    ‘Might have a live one, Addy. This guy was dossing in the market but he actually knows what day it is, so I’d say he’s worth a wee word. Says he heard noises that sounded like it was our man meeting his maker.’
    ‘Knows what day it is?’ Winter butted in. ‘Does that qualify him for some award scheme? Junkie of the Month maybe.’
    Monteith fired him a dark look.
    ‘I’ll have a word,’ said Addison with a sigh. ‘He might be as near to compos mentis as we are going to get from the zoomers round here. Bring him over.’
    The inspector’s lanky frame towered over the undernourished user, leaving him in no doubt who was in charge. The skelf looked up at Addison uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot.
    ‘So, you heard noises?’ It was as much a statement as a question. ‘Tell me about them.’
    ‘It’s like ah telt the other polis. Ah’d been sleeping. It was still dark o’clock. Know what I mean, man?’
    Addison looked like he was resisting the temptation to tell him to get on with it but settled for a nod instead.
    ‘Aye well, it wis still pure dark an ah heard voices. Arguing, man. But no that loud. It went on for a bit then there wis this bit eh a mad scream that stopped quick an ah heard the guy hit the deck.’
    ‘What did you hear after that?’
    ‘Nothing, man.’
    ‘Nothing? Anyone walking away, anyone running? Anyone crying for help? A car starting, maybe a motorbike? Something hitting the ground after being thrown away?’
    ‘No. Well, aye. Someone walking away. I’d say he wisnae running, kinda slow like he was maybe dragging something. Naebody crying for help though. Would say he was well deid.’
    ‘And what did you do? Call the police like a good citizen?’
    ‘No way, man. Sorry but no way. I was jist laying low in case the guy came back. Nae point in me getting offed