Page 73 of Copper Script
“And if we fail?”
“Then let’s fuck DDI Colthornerightup on the way down.Because—” He took Aaron’s hand.“Because you and I deserved a chance.”
“Joel.”Aaron’s eyes were wide.
“If that’s too much—”
“It’s not too much,” Aaron said, and grabbed his face.His lips hit Joel’s hard, and they were kissing again, as hungrily as before, awkwardly tangled on the settee in a chaos of bare flesh, inconvenient cloth, stickiness, and just for now, it was perfect.Just for now, Joel could cling to his hard biceps and feel Aaron’s desperate clutch, and neither of them was alone.
Aaron pulled away after a moment.He looked slightly stunned.“Joel.Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Joel said stubbornly, because he was aware of his nerves jangling behind the bravado.“I want you for as long as I can have you, and I want to fight this because it’s not right and I’msickof these bastards getting away with murder and bullying and the rest.Not to mention that was four quid I won’t see again.”
“You’ve no idea what you’re getting into.”
“Bloody right I don’t.You’re the policeman, you solve the crime.I’m here for moral support, handwriting analysis, and the occasional Frenching to keep your pecker up.”He grinned at Aaron’s choke.“Look, I read that arsehole’s hand.I really do understand that we’re in a lot of trouble.But running away won’t achieve anything for me that I care to have any more.I’d rather play than fold.”
Aaron touched his face with a gentle finger, a wondering expression.“The odds are bad.And the stakes are very high.”
“I know,” Joel said.“But if the war taught me anything, it was that if you keep going, you might get through.And not to raise your hand for attention, that’s a terrible idea.Andalsothat tea fixes most things, so get the kettle on, because we’re going to talk about this.”
***
AARON MADE A POT.THEYsat together on the settee, Joel curled against Aaron’s broad chest, Aaron’s arm round his shoulders.
“Gerald Marks.A private detective by trade.In particular he was hired a few years ago by the Beech family after their son hanged for murder.”He recounted the case: a wealthy art dealer found beaten to death; a bloodstained poker and a pile of cash under the bed where a drunken man slept.
“Was he covered in blood?”Joel asked.
“He was not.It was argued that he had had the presence of mind to wash himself and dispose of his bloodstained shirt—one was missing—but had forgotten about the poker.”
“And where did Colthorne come into it?”
“He was investigating the case, but he had played cards with Thaddeus Knight, the victim.He stated that at the outset, making it clear they had played legally in a private house and he didn’t owe the man money.It was less than ideal but he was kept on the case due to the pressure of wartime on manpower.Beech swung.His family hired Marks to look into it, but he didn’t get anywhere.The family emigrated two years back.”
“And the case was seven years ago, so why would Colthorne care now?”
“Good question.”Aaron made a face.“Marks didn’t forget the Beech case; we know he discussed it with his landlady.He came into money in the last weeks of his life, and we can’t trace its source.And then he received a fatal wound to the back of his head, his office was searched on the night of his death by someone who had his keys, and his notebooks and all his files relating to the last few months are missing.”
“That sounds dodgy as hell.”
“Doesn’t it just.But the coroner’s report was inconclusive, there were no witnesses, and he was very drunk.It’s hard to pursue a murder case with no evidence of an actual crime and no suspect.Certainly, DDI Colthorne didn’t want me to.And when he was telling me so, he asked me if we’d found Marks’s ‘papers’.But I had only said his notebooks were missing.”
Joel curled his mug against himself.“So what are you thinking?Marks kept working on the Beech case, found something in the last few months that would look bad for Colthorne...blackmailed him?Is that where the money came from?”
“It’s a theory.”
“Not one that’s very flattering to Mr.Marks.”
“He was a drunk, he needed money, and his clients had left the country,” Aaron said.“Or, more charitably, perhaps he suspected that Colthorne would be able to quash any investigation, so this seemed the only retribution available.”
“And then Colthorne kills him instead.Having got him drunk first?”
“I retraced Marks’ steps to a pub.The barman recalled him buying several doubles and thinks he was sitting with someone, but he couldn’t come up with a description beyond a middle-aged man.”
Joel scowled in thought.“So would Colthorne kill Marks himself or have one of his gang friends do it?”
“I should do it myself, in his shoes.”
