Free The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter (Glasgow Trilogy) by Malcolm Mackay

her life. He would help the boy, and all PC Higgins had to do for him was provide him with little updates. Nothing too risky, nothing too clever. Just let Young
know what was being said, what was happening to other people. Gossip. Police gossip. Nothing that would put his career at risk. The boy agreed. That had been three years ago.
    He never asked much of Higgins. If there are risks to be taken, then let others take them. For now, he is cultivating the relationship. He needs the boy to feel comfortable with them. This is a
regular meeting – sometimes once a month, sometimes once every six weeks. They’re always chatty, relaxed. Young never pushes him on anything. If the boy has something interesting to
say, then he has something interesting. If not, no big deal. Next time. No pressure. Never pressure. This time Young is keen to find out certain details, but he can’t suddenly push him. He
rarely asks for specific detail, and only when he knows it’s something Higgins can easily find out. No pressure. This will be a step forward.
    They meet in a small flat that belongs to Jamieson, in a quiet part of town. Access is off the road, out of view of the street. It’s quiet. Safe. Young always gets there first, lets
himself in and waits. He always goes alone. Always. A second person would scare Higgins. He’s never introduced the boy to anyone else in the business. If he can avoid it, he never will.
Higgins is smart, diligent and well mannered. He’s the sort of boy who has the potential for promotion. It’s the dream for Young: a detective on his books. Maybe higher even than that.
Someone with control over cases. Someone who can direct the flow of the police service away from the Jamieson organization. One day, perhaps. Big ambitions. For now, Higgins is still useful. For
now, he can find out little things that Young could use to big effect. Young settles in and waits for Higgins to arrive.
    A sitting duck. It occurs to him every time he goes to that flat to meet Higgins. If Higgins knocks on the door and has half a dozen of his colleagues standing beside him, Young would be
finished. No way out. That’s the risk of getting close to any copper. A knock on the door. Young’s getting up, walking across and looking through the peephole. He can only see Higgins.
He opens the door, nods hello and holds the door open until the twenty-six-year-old is inside. A quiet boy, but an imposing figure. Youthful face, but tall and broad-shouldered. Now young and
athletic; likely to end up fat and with a bad back.
    ‘Want a cup of coffee, anything like that?’ Young asks him. They’re strolling through to the large, open-plan kitchen and living room.
    ‘Nah, ta, I’m okay.’ Higgins is in jeans and a hooded top. Casual. A day off. They never meet when he’s on duty. That would be criminally irresponsible.
    They sit and Young asks him about his family. He does that every time. Make it seem like he cares. At the same time remind the boy that his parents’ financial security and his
sister’s livelihood all depend on him. She’s a beautician now, whatever that is. Young has no idea. It’s what she wanted, so it’s what she got. She’s useless at it,
apparently, but Jamieson owns half of the salon, and her brother is useful, so she keeps her job. Higgins has answered politely, as always. He’s smart enough not to share any further troubles
with Young. Smart enough not to dig a deeper hole. Not yet. The way things are going with his family, though, he may need to soon. Young knows it, but says nothing.
    ‘Heard anything relevant?’ Young asks. Standard question. It means have you heard anything that Peter Jamieson and I ought to be concerned about. The answer has always been no, and
Young assumes that Higgins is smart enough to alert him immediately if he hears anything urgent.
    ‘Nope, not a lot of interest happening. Most of the focus is still on outsiders.’
    Always good to hear. Outsiders are the