Suddenly, Nick saw a figure coming up the road. He sat upright and leant forward to get a better look. As his eyes focussed, Nick saw that the figure was holding a bunch of red flowers. A thick set man in his twenties with short black hair. He walked like a boxer.
It was Curtis Blake.
Nick felt his pulse quicken. He would wait for Blake to go to the graveyard at the rear of the church. Then he would attack and kill him there, out of sight. Even though he had a lot of alcohol in his system, Nick felt his whole body tense. His eyes locked onto Blake as he turned and walked down the path to the graveyard. He hated the very sight of him. He was doing society a favour. Blake was a drug dealing scumbag who was going to get what was coming to him. No one would be surprised when Blake was discovered stabbed to death. It went with the territory.
Reaching down, Nick picked up the knife, placing the carved handle in his palm. He then reached for the door.
This is it. Here we go!
Suddenly a man’s face appeared at the window. It made Nick jump out of his skin.
What the fuck!
Before Nick could react, the man had tapped on the window and showed him a warrant card – he was a plain clothes police officer.
You’re joking, aren’t you? What the fuck is going on?
Nick had no choice but to buzz down the window.
‘Constable Nick Evans?’ the detective asked.
‘Yeah,’ Nick said, wondering how the detective knew his name.
‘You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?’
‘Am I?’
‘DI Ray Devlin, North West Regional Organised Crime Unit. Mind if I get in?’ Devlin asked.
‘Do I have a choice?’ Nick asked.
‘No ... No you don’t,’ Devlin said with a sarcastic laugh as he went around the car and got into the passenger side. He closed the door and pulled a face, ‘Jesus, Nick, it smells like a brewery in here.’
‘What do you want?’ Nick growled.
‘Bit of a coincidence, you sitting here just as Curtis Blake arrives to put flowers on his brother’s grave, isn’t it?’ Devlin said, raising an eyebrow.
‘Who’s Curtis Blake?’ Nick said, but he knew the game was up. He was now wondering what the repercussions were going to be.
‘Don’t piss me about. I did a PNC check on your car an hour ago. I’ve spoken to your Super. And I know why you’re here,’ Devlin said.
‘I doubt that,’ Nick said. How could he know? Unless Jonesy had told the Super?
‘I know about this girl. Laura wasn’t it? I’m really sorry to hear about what happened to her. But murdering Curtis Blake isn’t going to bring her back,’ Delvin said.
‘It’s what he deserves,’ Nick said, angry that he had missed his chance to get Blake and probably wouldn’t get another one.
‘No. He deserves to be prosecuted through the courts and spend the rest of his life in prison,’ Devlin said. ‘Blake is an animal. He solves his problems by stabbing and shooting people. That’s not you, is it? You’re a bright young police officer with a brilliant record, Nick.’
Nick didn’t want to hear what Devlin had to say. Killing Blake would have made Nick feel better and probably saved dozens of lives. ‘No one’s going to miss him. He makes his money off other people’s misery.’
‘What, and you’re going to go around as some vigilante cop taking all the scumbags off the street, are you?’ Devlin said, raising his voice. ‘Don’t be so fucking naïve.’
For a moment, there was silence in the car.
‘What would Laura say to you if she was sitting right here where I’m sitting now? She wouldn’t thank you for committing murder and ruining your life, would she?’ Delvin said.
Nick thought about what Laura would have said. Devlin had a good point. As Nick imagined Laura sitting next to him, his anger was replaced by a wave of overwhelming grief. She was never going to be sitting next to him again. He was never going to see her again. How was that possible?
Nick blinked as a tear came to his eye, ‘She shouldn’t have died like that. She deserved to live a long, happy life.’
Nick closed his eyes as tears came. He shuddered as he took a deep breath.
‘It’s all right, son. We’ve all been where you’ve been at one time or another. But you can’t drink it away. That’s not the answer,’ Delvin said.
‘Yeah, I know. Sorry ... I’m sorry,’ Nick said.
‘And taking revenge isn’t the way either,’ Devlin said as he looked directly at Nick. ‘This is what I want you to do. Get yourself home and get yourself sober. You tell your Super you need a couple of days compassionate leave, okay? And then you spend the rest of your life getting scumbags like Blake off the street. And you do that for Laura. Because that’s exactly what Laura would have wanted you to do.’
Nick nodded. He couldn’t have put it better himself.
CURTIS STOOD OVER SHAUN’S grave for a moment. Then he crouched and laid down the bright red flowers. Red was Shaun’s favourite colour. It was the colour of their football team. The mighty Reds.
The air smelt of someone having a barbeque nearby. Shaun loved barbeques – he insisted on doing all the cooking. Their mum had bought Shaun a black apron that read ‘ELVIS ate here!’. She didn’t want Shaun to get all the fat over his nice clothes. The sound of children playing and squealing came from a garden further down the hill. Curtis watched as two young boys climbed up a tree to get a football that had stuck in its branches.
Shaun wanted to
