The Last Big Job Read Online Free PDF Page A

enough to see over the wall.
    Not many yards away from him, a car was stationary. Someone -
a man - was leaning in through the passenger window, talking to the
driver. A young woman stood nearby on the pavement. Crane blinked
and shook his head. A few seconds passed before he realised he was
seeing someone paying off a taxi.
    He forced himself up, staggered over the wall and lurched
towards the rear door of the car which he wrenched open. He threw
himself across the back seat, much to the surprise of the driver
and the man who was paying him.
    ‘ Sorry pal,’ the Asian taxi driver said over his shoulder.
‘Got a fare already booked. I can fit you in in half an hour if you
like. See ya mate, thanks.’ The last four words were directed at
the man who had just paid and turned away to his
girlfriend.
    The taxi driver looked over his left shoulder.
    What he saw would remain with him for the rest of his
life.
    A reincarnation of the devil, hunched up in the back seat. An
indescribable, terrifying look across the countenance. Eyes sunken
in their sockets, hair in disarray, blood gushing from the neck -
and a shotgun aimed squarely in his direction.
    Crane growled, ‘Take me to the hospital now or I’ll kill
you.’
     
     
    Henry Christie was shooed out of the ETR. He retreated with
reluctance, wanting to be with his friend throughout this
ordeal.
    ‘ Go on, go and get a cup of tea,’ a nurse told him
firmly.
    Henry turned and walked back down the corridor, rubbing his
face and shaking his head, muttering to himself He almost collided
with Danny who pushed a plastic cup towards him. It contained hot,
sweet tea.
    ‘ Oh, thanks,’ he said gratefully, eyeing Danny up and down. ‘I
need it. I’m parched.’ He took a sip, which tasted wonderful. He
noticed there was a faint trace of lipstick on the other side of
the cup. She had given him her drink.
    ‘ What the hell’s going on, Henry?’ Danny demanded to know.
‘That’s a cop in there, isn’t it?’
    ‘ Yeah, yeah it is.’ Henry chewed his lips. He looked at Danny
again, impressed by what he saw, as he always had been. A slim,
slightly gangly girl with a figure worthy of worship, and fantastic
Oriental-style eyes, a seductive shade of green. ‘RCS job,’ he went
on. ‘A burglary at a Building Society just off Preston New Road.’
Then realising he’d better not say too much to Danny in case she
was interviewed later about what he’d told her, he shrugged and
muttered angrily, ‘Obviously a cock-up.’
    ‘ Is he your partner?’ She nodded towards the ETR.
    ‘ Yeah.’
    ‘ How is he?’
    ‘ He - we - both thought he’d just taken a shot in the
shoulder, but it looks a lot worse than that now. He’s hurt pretty
badly, I think.’
    ‘ God, I hope he’s OK.’
    ‘ So do I.’ Henry took a ruminative sip of tea. ‘What are you
doing here?’
    ‘ Caught some guy blowing up police cars in the yard at
Northgate. He got dogged; half his back leg bitten away.’ A smirk
of evil crossed Danny’s face which made Henry smile. ‘He refused to
give his details to the Custody Sergeant.’
    ‘ Blowing up cars, you say?’
    Danny nodded.
    ‘ I wonder if he’s connected to the burglary? The guy we were
after tonight is known to use diversionary tactics to keep everyone
busy while he does the business.’
    ‘ We’ve had a few hoaxes tonight - big ones.’
    Henry said sagely, ‘I’ll lay odds he’s involved.’
    ‘ Ahhhh - you bitch!’ came a scream from behind the cubicle
curtain.
    Danny drew the curtain back to reveal a female doctor suturing
the dog-bite on the patient’s leg.
    The man’s mouth clamped tight shut when he saw Henry
Christie.
    ‘ Well, hello there, Callum, me old mucker - and just what the
hell have you been up to tonight?’ Henry asked, approaching and leaning
towards him in an intimidating manner. He had recognised the
prisoner immediately. ‘But more to the point - who have you been working
with?’
     
     
    The taxi pulled up in