As the barman made off to fetch Harry’s order, including Matt’s peanut preference and pickled egg, Harry asked Matt if Reedy was in.
‘Sure is,’ Matt said, then gave a faint nod behind him.
Harry turned just enough to have a look without it being obvious. In a far-off corner he saw three men talking around a small table, on top of which were a number of empty pint glasses, and three which were not so empty, but probably soon would be. One of the men stuck out enough for Harry to guess which one was Reedy, thanks not only to the glint of light shining off the bad taste chains around his wrists, but also the sunglasses slapped across his face.
The barman returned with the order and Harry paid up, handed Matt his drink and snack, then turned towards Reedy.
‘Time to go and introduce myself,’ he said, then nodded back to the barman and handed him his bank card, gesturing towards the three men, ‘And bring over another round of whatever it is they’re drinking . . .’
Chapter Fifteen
Harry walked over to the table and stood behind the man whom he was pretty sure went by the name of Reedy.
‘Hello, boys,’ he said. ‘Mind if we join you?’
With Reedy having his back to him, the other two glanced up and Harry caught their irritated stares which were thrown up at him with mean intent.
‘Yeah, actually, we do,’ one of them said. ‘Private conversation.’
The other mouthed something at Harry.
‘Sorry, I didn’t catch that,’ Harry said and leaned in across the table. ‘You mind speaking up?’
‘I said piss off,’ the man said, the words spitting from him like sparks from a fire. ‘That clear enough for you?’
The barman arrived carrying three pints and laid them down on the table, giving Harry back his bank card. The two men stared at the drinks, uncertainty now drawing lines of confusion across their faces.
Harry watched as Reedy finished his own pint then reached out for one of the fresh ones in front of him. He drained it in one go, resting the empty glass back on the table barely ten seconds later.
‘I’ll grab a couple of extra chairs,’ Matt said, and rested his own drink and snacks on the table.
When Matt came back, Harry took a chair, placed it next to Reedy’s left side, and sat down, leaning back with a long, back-creaking stretch.
‘Thanks for the drink,’ Reedy said, for the first time turning to look at Harry. ‘Much appreciated.’
‘Well, there’s no point in being rude now, is there?’ Harry said. ‘And I was just coming over to introduce myself, that’s all. Get my face around, if you know what I mean.’
‘Face like yours isn’t exactly difficult to forget,’ said the man who had just told Harry to piss off. Harry stared at him over his own drink before reaching for his packet of crisps and opening it, taking a nice handful and stuffing them into his mouth, all the time never letting his eyes drop, or blink.
The other man laughed, but the sound of it soon died, and he sunk the rest of his pint, dropping his eyes from Harry.
‘So,’ Harry said, ‘how’s about we all start with our names first, eh? How does that sound? My name’s Grimm. Harry Grimm. No, sorry, DCI Harry Grimm. The face makes it easier to remember, I think, seeing as how I look like my name. It’s not something I did on purpose, but it comes in surprisingly useful. The ultimate poker face you might say.’
‘DCI?’ Reedy said. ‘You wouldn’t be trying to harass us now, would you, Mr Policeman?’
Harry ate more crisps, this time as loudly as he could.
‘I don’t think buying someone a drink can be regarded as harassment, do you?’ Harry glanced over to Matt. ‘What do you think, detective constable? Is buying beer a crime at all?’
‘Not that I’m aware of, no,’ Matt replied, popping a peanut in his mouth before chomping into his pickled egg. ‘I think it’s more generally regarded as being a nice thing to do. A very nice thing to do, actually. And usually gratefully received.’
‘Really, now? Is that so? You hear that, gentlemen? It was a nice thing to do! Isn’t that just wonderful?’
Reedy turned to Matt who had parked himself at the man’s other side. ‘This your new boss, then, is it?’
‘He doesn’t think so,’ Matt said, finishing off his egg, his eyes on Reedy.
‘You ever find out what happened to the last one?’
Harry spotted something scratch its way across Matt’s generally genial, friendly demeanour, and a dark shadow flitted in his eyes.
‘Not yet, no,’ Matt said, his voice quieter than before, his eyes on Reedy. ‘But we will.’
Harry finished his crisps then spent a few seconds quickly folding the packet into a little triangle, before popping it onto the table in front of them.
‘Right then, I’m looking for a friend of yours,’ Harry said, his attention now fully on Reedy. It was all he could do to not reach out and just yank the stupidly unnecessary sunglasses from off his face. ‘Nick Ellis.’
Reedy, Harry saw, remained calm, but the other two looked suddenly just a little on edge.
‘He in some kind of trouble, then?’ Reedy asked.
‘That’s what we need to find out,’ Harry answered. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve seen him at all?’
‘Can’t say that we have.’
‘And you’re sure about that, are you?’
‘Must be if I said it.’
Reedy said nothing more as the man sat opposite Harry, and on Matt’s right side, took a deep pull on his drink, then stood up, before heading off towards the toilets.
Harry reached for a beer mat, pulled a pen from a pocket, then wrote down a number. ‘Well, if you do hear from him or see him, can you give him this number, please, and tell him to give me a call?’
Reedy ignored the beermat.
Harry reached for the beermat and placed it in front of Reedy’s face. ‘That number look readable to you?’
‘Just about,’ Reedy said.
‘You’re sure now?’ Harry asked, and
