The Midnight Men and Other Stories Read Online Free PDF Page B

the lives of two men. Was this the price?
    “Did this man . . . rape you?”
    She clutched at the torn hem of her skirt then, and, to his surprise, said: “No!” Then, softer, she said, “No, he didn’t.”
    “He didn’t?”
    She shook her head. “He must have just taken my handbag. When I woke up by the side of the road, it was the only thing missing.”
    Nathan stood up slowly then, looking her over from head to toe, appraising her injuries. She seemed to have suffered a lot of cuts and bruises for a simple mugging, but . . . who was he to doubt her word? Why would she lie to him?
    “I’m calling the police,” he said.
    “No!” she cried, grabbing his arm.
    He looked back at her, the shock evident on his face.
    Fresh tears came into her eyes. “Please, Nathan,” she whimpered. “No police.”
    “But, sweetheart, you need to get to a hospital . . .”
    “No! No doctors, no police.”
    He crouched back down to her now, taking her ice cold fingers in his warm hands. “Darling? Why ever not?”
    Just then, the telephone rang, the sound cutting through their house like a chainsaw.
    Maria jumped. “Don’t answer that!” she begged.
    Nathan stared down at her, the long, slow worm of doubt beginning to burrow into his mind.
    “I have to,” he said firmly, and crossed the room.
    He paused before picking up the receiver, afraid of what he might find on the other end of the line.
    “Hello?” he said.
    “Nathan? Thank God I got you. It’s Charlie.”
    A tremor shot through Nathan’s gut. Charlie was his superior, and for him to be phoning him at this late hour meant trouble.
    “What is it, Charlie?”
    “Haven’t you heard? It’s Francis!”
    The name of his enemy worked like smelling salts, bringing him out of his temporary trance. He’d almost forgotten Gallagher in the chaos of the last ten minutes. He cupped his hand around the receiver so that Maria wouldn’t overhear anything he didn’t want her to hear.
    “Francis?” he said, trying to sound confused.
    “He’s dead, Nathan. There was a car crash and . . . Francis is dead!”
    “My God,” Nathan said. “When? When did this happen?”
    “Just before ten,” Charlie explained. “The police said he must have suffered a heart attack at the wheel. Who’d have thought it, eh, Nathan? Old Mr Fitness?”
    “That’s top class irony,” he said in a humourless monotone.
    “Sure is. Thing is, Nathan, the reason I’m calling is that I need you to step into his shoes tomorrow. Is that too much to drop in your lap, Nathan? Just say if it is.”
    Nathan couldn’t resist a grim smile to himself. “Charlie, I’ll do everything in my power to fill Francis’s shoes.”
    He heard Charlie sigh heavily with relief. “You’re a star, Nathan.”
    “How did you find out about Francis?” he asked.
    “His wife phoned me about an hour ago. She sounded really at the end of her string, Nathan. It’s a real shame. And what’s worse is that . . . Maybe I shouldn’t say.”
    “What?”
    “Oh, what the hell. You’ll find out in the office tomorrow, anyway. Apparently, an eyewitness at the scene of the accident swears he saw a woman climb from the wreckage. A young woman. And it certainly wasn’t Mrs Gallagher.”
    Nathan felt a cold hand grip his heart and squeeze.
    “Say again?” he said, his voice faltering.
    “Nathan, the old dog was cheating on his missus! He had his bit on the side in the car with him!”
    Nathan turned slowly then, turned until he was looking at Maria. She was slumped on the blood-stained sofa, staring back with a frightened, desperate look, like a wounded kitten that’s about to run.
    “The police said she must have been seriously concussed to run away from such a bad accident. They shouldn’t have too much trouble finding her, though. Whoever the silly bitch was, she left her bag in the car!”
    Charlie’s laughter came floating out of the receiver, but Nathan didn’t wait to hear the full extent of it. He dropped