Free On the Loose by Christopher Fowler Page A

after him, then.’
    ‘It was dark and muddy, I couldn’t see where he went. There’ll be plenty of prints, though. He was holding onto the spotlight pole.’
    PC Purviance seemed less interested in the culprit than the victim. He’d heard a lot of wild stuff about the PCU, how they looked down on the Met and behaved like a law to themselves. ‘So, what’s your official status, then?’ he asked.
    ‘I was off duty, okay?’
    ‘What’s happened to old Bryant and May? Finally been made to retire, have they? They were a right pain in the arse, both ofthem. Drove the lads down at the station mad. We always said they should leave police work to the professionals.’
    ‘That’d be you then, would it?’ Meera winced as the last suture was put in place. ‘So what are you going to do about catching this guy?’
    ‘Come on, Mangeshkar, be realistic. You know how it works. The bloke was obviously out of order, but look at the situation. You were outside a nightclub in a dodgy neighbourhood, he was on the sauce and having a bit of fun before the old ball and chain gets clamped on him, you two overreacted, that’s all.’
    ‘I thought attempting to stab someone might fall under your initiative to prevent knife crimes in the area.’
    ‘He wasn’t carrying a knife, he was wearing them on his head, according to you.’
    ‘What do you mean, according to me? Sashi saw him too—she was right there.’
    ‘Yeah, well, your mate’s dropped a couple of pills by the look of it, so who knows what she saw? Don’t get smart with me, love. Just file your report and leave it alone, okay?’ Purviance took a call on his radio and rose to leave.
    ‘Don’t take no notice of him,’ said the nurse wearily. ‘It’s already been a long night.’
    ‘Do you get a lot of trouble in this area?’ asked Meera, rolling down her sleeve.
    ‘You’re joking, aren’t you? We’ve had a dozen Cat A’s in since my shift started and God knows how many Ambers—mostly hypervents, overheats and panic attacks. Not bad for a Friday, considering the EOC’s main computer is playing up again.’ The Emergency Operations Centre dispatched London’s ambulances, assigning each job a number. Yesterday, there had been over 3,600 calls logged to the emergency service; a fairly typical figure.
    The nurse threw away the tetanus needle and snapped opaque white gloves into the disposal bin. ‘There are at least a couple of dozen nightclubs within a quarter mile of here and we’re not even in the West End. Half the kids in them seem incapable of enjoying themselves without ingesting some kind of stimulant. There are fifteen-year-olds out there tonight sucking low-coke wraps up their nostrils without the faintest idea of what they’re ingesting.’
    ‘Low-coke? What’s that?’
    ‘Oh, haven’t you heard? The dealers are expanding their markets by creating a two-tier price structure for their drugs, thirty-pound rubbish quality for the kids, purer fifty-pound stuff for the white-collar workers. Thoughtful of them. Low-coke is cut with anything the dealer can find in the cupboard under his sink. Funny, when you think kids are so picky about what they eat.’
    ‘And I thought I had a tough job. Why do you do it?’
    ‘Honestly? I heard doctors were really good kissers.’
    Meera found herself laughing.
    The nurse rose. ‘Go on, off with yourself. You’re good to go, but don’t put any pressure on that arm for a few days. The sutures will get itchy before they dissolve, but don’t pick them off. And don’t forget to do us all a favour and file a report on the gentleman who did this. Bollocks to what your man over there says.’
    Meera had already decided that it was pointless going back to PC Purviance. Instead she decided on more direct action.

10
CONVINCING ARTHUR
    I really don’t think this is a good idea,’ said John May as he and Meera stood on the doorstep of Bryant’s chaotic home. ‘You two always end up arguing, and he can be—well,