Murder Mile Read Online Free PDF Page B

The voice sounded familiar now; as she reached the spy-hole she peered out. Her vision was too blurred to make out any more than the shape of a man’s frame. She paused for a moment, remembered her beating the night before. She felt scared, but she also wanted to block everything out and there was only one way to do that; only one way to get the money to do that. She slid the chain, turned the key in the lock and opened up the door.
    ‘Hello, Ange.’
    It was Henderson.
    ‘
You
?’
    He stood there, smiling. He had a television under his arm, one of those thin flat-screen ones. ‘Look, I brought you a pressie.’
    ‘But, when … I thought you weren’t due out for another six months.’
    Henderson put a foot in the door, ‘Aye well, they let me out a wee bit early.’
    Angela stepped back, let him in. ‘But how … why?’
    ‘I dunno do I … something about overcrowding or that, needed the cells.’
    As Henderson walked through the hallway, Angela closed the door behind him. He shook his head at the state of the place, he seemed to have something stuck to his shoe – a used condom. ‘Fucking hell, Ange … This place is a shit-hole.’
    She stood in the doorway, shivering. ‘Well …’
    ‘Well, do something about it …’ Henderson shook the condom from his shoe. ‘Have you been turning tricks in here?’
    Angela shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
    ‘No fucking maybe about it.’ He moved towards the window, opened up. ‘This place fucking stinks. Bad.’
    Angela took a step forward, ‘Where did you get the telly?’
    ‘What kind of a question’s that?’ Henderson turned round, looked at her. He stood facing her for a moment, showed her an open palm. ‘A man in a pub, of course.’ He turned away from her, leaned towards the shelving unit by the window and swept the contents off with the back of his hand. Angela shrieked as a cup smashed on the floor.
    ‘This place is a tip …’ said Henderson, he pointed at the cup. ‘I’d get that cleaned up … you going about in your bare feet and all that, you’ll get cut.’
    Angela moved over to the shelves, started to gather up the shards of pottery as Henderson plugged in the television. ‘Good job I brought the cord as well … Bloody-well knew you’d have no cord for the aerial!’
    The picture on the television came clear and sharp, Henderson stepped back, looked pleased with himself.
    ‘Not fucking bad, eh.’
    Angela nodded as she emptied the broken cup shards into an open drawer. She moved to stand beside Henderson. He put an arm out, ‘Don’t crowd me out, come on.’
    She put a hand into his jacket, ‘Hendy, I’ll look after you,’
    He faced her for a moment, removed her hand from him. ‘I don’t need any looking after, Ange.’
    ‘But, I will … y’know, if you look after me.’
    Henderson grinned, tipped back his head. ‘I’m not holding, if that’s what you were thinking.’
    ‘I need a shot, Hendy. I need it bad, I had a rough time last night.’
    He flicked the television channels, found the lunchtime news slot. ‘That’s the nature of the business you’re in love, I’d say it’s you that needs me.’
    She nodded, ‘I do. I need you, Hendy.’
    ‘Aye well. Maybe we’ll see about that.’ He pointed the remote control at the screen, shushed Angela as he increased the volume. ‘Check this out, that’s Edinburgh.’
    The newscaster started to relay the details of a murder scene.
    ‘
Police are remaining tight-lipped about the discovery of a body on the outskirts of the city. No identification has been released for what is believed to be the body of a teenage girl found in a field near to the town of Straiton …
’
    The camera zoomed in. Police officers stood outside a white tent as men in full-body overalls came and went.
    ‘Oh, my God!’ said Angela. She stared at the screen, raised a hand to her mouth and began to tremble.
    ‘Funny seeing your own town on the telly isn’t it,’ said Henderson. ‘Look there’s some