Free Soft Target by Stephen Leather Page B

force me to do something I don't want to do.'
    'No one's trying to force you to do anything, Liam.'
    'Dad never asked me if I wanted to come and stay here.
    He just dumped me.'
    'Now you're being silly.'
    'He doesn't want me. That's why he left me here and it's why he didn't call.'
    'He does want you, Liam, of course he does. We want you,
    too - and we all want what's best for you.'
    'I want to be with my mum!'
    'Liam!' Moira protested. 'Calm down.'
    'I don't want to! I wish I was with Mum right now. I wish I was dead like her!'
    Liam rushed out of the room, knocking over his glass with what remained of the juice.
    Tom came in from the garden as Moira was dabbing at the carpet with a damp cloth. 'I heard shouting, what's wrong?'
    Moira shook her head. 'Nothing,' she said. 'Nothing's wrong.'
    Even from the far side of the field Shepherd could hear the crunch of bone against bone as the two men collided at full pelt. The rugby ball bounced into touch and the two men helped each other up, grins on their mud-splattered faces.
    Hargrove was sitting on a wooden bench outside the pub,
    which overlooked the rugby pitch. Shepherd sat down next to him, wearing his black leather jacket and blue jeans. He hadn't shaved.The superintendent was immaculately dressed as always, in a pristine blue blazer, grey flannels and gleaming brogues. He sipped his shandy. 'Can I get you a drink,
    Spider?'
    'I'm okay,' said Shepherd. He stretched out his legs and sighed.
    'Not a rugby player, are you?' asked the superintendent.
    'Not really, no.'
    'Too many rules?' said Hargrove.
    'Something like that.'
    'I'm a cricket man myself,' said Hargrove. 'Never understood why it isn't played all year round.'
    'The weather, maybe,' said Shepherd.
    'The thing I like about it is that it's a team game,' said Hargrove, ignoring Shepherd's comment. 'But at the same time you function as an individual. When you're batting, it's all down to you. No back-up, no support. When you're fielding, you're working as a team.'
    Play restarted on the pitch, but after a few seconds there 66 was another juddering crunch, three players went down and the referee blew his whistle.
    'You're a runner, right?' asked Hargrove.
    'It's a way of keeping fit,' Shepherd said. 'I don't run for fun.'
    'What do you do for fun?'
    Shepherd ran a hand through his unkempt hair. It was a good question. He used to go to the cinema and for long walks. He used to eat, drink and make merry. But that was before Sue had died. He still tried to have fun with Liam,
    but more out of parental duty than from the desire to enjoy himself. He'd kick a football with his son, play video games and take him to matches, but no matter how much he loved Liam, the boy was an ever-present reminder of the wife he'd lost. Fun hadn't been a major part of his life in recent months.
    Hargrove took a sip of his shandy. 'Charlie Kerr,' he said.
    'We've opened a real can of worms.'
    Shepherd looked across at him. 'He's known?'
    Hargrove smiled. 'Oh, yes. Not Premier Division yet, but on the way. Greater Manchester Drugs Squad have been on to him for a while. The Firm and the Church have been keeping a watching brief.'
    The Firm: MI5. It had been tasked with targeting big-time drugs-dealers and career criminals after the fall of the Soviet Union and the IRA's decision to start peace talks had left the Security Service with little to do. And the Church:
    Customs and Excise.
    'Why just a watching brief?' asked Shepherd.
    'Kerr's one of the smart ones. Doesn't go near the gear,
    doesn't touch the cash. It's a question of resources. It would cost millions to put him away. They've been hoping that eventually he'll deal with someone they've turned.'
    Hargrove took a CD Rom in a plastic case from his blazer pocket and handed it to Shepherd. 'Those are the files on 67 him. Surveillance pictures, known associates, all the intel we have.'
    Shepherd pocketed the disk. He knew that the nature of the investigation was about to change, but he waited