Free Hider/Seeker Page B

She’s a lady in mourning. I just think you need to be protected from yourself because it’s too tempting for you. Shame to burden her with all your woes.’
    â€˜This isn’t really about Bethany, is it?’
    Linehan didn’t answer and said, ‘She’s a lovely lady, but you already know that. I wouldn’t want anything upsetting her and calling the police. It’s not to anyone’s advantage, including yours.’
    â€˜You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to find out things about me.’
    â€˜When people upset my inner equilibrium, I make it my business to know who they are.’ He stopped talking. Something was going on behind Linehan’s dark eyes, something bad. He glanced at Harry and then looked out of the window. ‘You might think yourself a smart fellow, but you’re never going to win this game of yours.’ A fire was stoking inside of the old man. ‘Nothing good will come of this. Just leave her be.’
    â€˜The trouble is Mr Linehan, I’ve developed a terribly bad habit of never doing what I’m told.’
    â€˜I thought that might be the case for someone like you,’ he said. ‘I see this as a lapse in communication.’ Then he leaned forward in his seat and tapped Tucker on the shoulder to stop the car on a brick walled bridge spanning Regent’s Canal.
    â€˜Boys can you help find a common language that Mr Bridger can easily grasp?’ said Linehan.
    Harry tried to open the door, but it was locked. Tucker and the other man got out and dragged him from the car, hurling him against the wall of the bridge. Harry turned around to face them, his nose bleeding. Behind him was the brick balustrade and a fifteen foot drop into an icy canal. Tucker’s partner was the first to rush him. Harry grabbed the lapels of his coat and drew him towards him. Using the weight of the man’s body, he pulled him hard against the wall, his head thudding against the brickwork. The man didn’t get up.
    A passing couple skipped across the street to avoid the fight. They averted their eyes and disappeared quickly into the night.
    Gold Sovereign rings flashed before his eyes. Harry ducked and dived as Tucker jabbed at him without connecting. Each punch, came with a snort. There was a lot of weight behind his fists and Harry was glad to skip around the heavy man. Tucker looked like he’d plenty of practice in the ring, his body swinging behind each fist. Harry had no idea whether Tucker was punching air for his benefit or was just warming up to deck him. Either way, they’d danced around long enough, and it was time to end the show. Harry waited for Tucker to take his next step forward; landing a kick, hard below the big man’s knee cap. Tucker went down in agony.
    Harry was about to walk away when Linehan charged him, slamming him against the wall. The old man pummelled his kidneys, both fists firing like pistons. Harry felt his legs giving way.
    Linehan grunted out words with each punch. ‘No one screws around with me, do you hear? And, if I find you’ve been up to your old tricks, you better pray that I don’t get hold of you. Because if I do, I’ll fasten both your eyes to the back of your skull with a nail gun.’
    Harry couldn’t breathe and clung to the top of the wall to prevent him from sinking to the ground, where he was sure Linehan would kick him to death.
    Linehan had no breath left and stopped punching.
    Harry was close to passing out when he felt Linehan pulling his legs away from under him, pushing him over the wall and into the black canal.
    A mouthful of muddy water went down Harry’s throat as he struggled to swim. He twisted and turned in the freezing water, keeping his head high, his coat weighing him down like lead as he kicked furiously to prevent himself from being dragged under. He kicked off his shoes and swam away from the embankment just in case Linehan was waiting for