Free The Crooked Beat by Nick Quantrill Page A

aces. He was part of a huge investigative machine. I was one man on his own.
    ‘It could be something, it could be nothing,’ Coleman said.
    I finished my drink. ‘You’re bang on there.’ I left him sitting there. I’d taken what I wanted from our chat. I’d chosen the place deliberately to see how long it would take him to arrive. His swift appearance and the mention of ongoing police matters told me everything I needed to know. Something was happening that I wasn’t aware of. I was right to be worried about Don.
     
    I had things I needed to discuss with Roger Millfield, but his secretary made it easy for me. She told me Millfield was on a training course at the KC Stadium. He wanted to speak to me as soon as possible. I called Sarah to see if she was free. Don had been discharged, so I offered to take her to his house once we’d finished with Millfield.
    We drove the short distance to Anlaby Road. We stood outside the main entrance to the stadium and looked upwards at the sloping West Stand roof. It had been built a decade ago with the proceeds from the council’s sale of shares in local telecommunication company, Kingston Communications. The place still took my breath away a little.
    The board in the reception area told me the accountancy course was in the Wilberforce Suite. Sarah shook her head when I told her I was going straight in. Millfield had called me, so I wasn’t prepared to wait. There wasn’t time for that. She sat down in one of the chairs placed around the glass table in the corner and waited. The lecturer stopped talking and the room fell silent as I entered. Millfield quickly excused himself and walked towards me. We stepped outside and walked around the stadium concourse. Sarah followed us.
    He spoke to Sarah. ‘I thought the old business had shut down.’
    ‘Joe’s asked me to help him out.’
    Millfield stared at us both before taking an envelope out of his pocket. He held it out in front of me. ‘I needed to give you this. There’s no easy way of saying it, but I’ve changed my mind. It was a mistake. I don’t need your services.’
    I didn’t understand. ‘Why not?’
    ‘I’ve changed my mind. Simple as that.’ He glanced at Sarah. ‘I had a word with Don after I’d spoken with you and he told me he’d sort it out.’
    ‘I was sorting it out for you,’ I said.
    He opened the envelope and showed me the cheque inside it. It was made payable to me. ‘I shouldn’t have involved you with my problems. Split it how you see fit, but this the end of the matter. I need to spend my time at work, settling Rebecca into her new role.’
    Sarah spoke. ‘Why don’t you tell us what’s going on?’
    ‘Nothing’s going on.’
    ‘Don’s in hospital,’ I said.
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘He was attacked.’
    ‘How is he?’
    ‘It’s a good job he hasn’t got any looks to lose.’
    ‘But he’ll be fine?’
    I ignored the question. ‘Don’t take me for a fool,’ I told him. ‘You tell me you’d rather Don did the job and then he’s attacked. I’m not a fan of coincidences’
    He didn’t break my stare. ‘Don’t go looking for something that’s not there. I’ve changed my mind. That’s all.’
    I’d learned how to read people over the years. It was an essential skill to be able to look people in the eye and tell if they were lying or not. I knew Millfield wasn’t being straight with me. I was about to say something about Neil Farr, but stopped myself. I wondered if Don’s affair with Kath Millfield was relevant. Sarah didn’t know and now wasn’t the time.
    ‘I don’t want to talk to you about this again,’ he said as he started to walk back toward the main entrance. ‘Just do as you’re told, please.’
     
    It was only a short drive to Don’s house. It passed in silence, both of us trying to make sense of what Roger Millfield had said. It would have to wait for now. It was clear Don wasn’t as pleased to see me as he was Sarah. His appearance had improved