The Murder Exchange Read Online Free PDF Page A

he was letting on. Fucking people around was
,. aame two could play.
    I stretched my legs, then walked casually
towards the door in the far corner, keeping one eye
on the boxes overhead. Eric's story had given me
the spooks a lot more than I'd ordinarily like to
admit. It seemed to have done the same to him
too because he stepped out of the car and leant back
against the bonnet, lighting another cigarette and
watching the boxes like a hawk.
    I reached the door and tried it. Locked. So, who
the hell had come here and switched the lights on?
And where were they now? I turned back towards
the car.
    Eric looked across at me. 'Nothing?'
    I shook my head. 'Locked.' I walked across to the
open doors and stepped outside into the warm
breeze. Over on the horizon the distant lights of the
West End glowed pink. The road was quiet and I
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listened hard for any sound of a car coming;
through the estate, but there was nothing bar the1
distant rumble of traffic. Maybe they just liked to be'
fashionably late.
    It was 10.16 and I was edgy. I decided to go back
and question Fowler in a little more detail about
exactly what was in that briefcase of his, the one"
he'd been so reluctant to bring into the warehouse.
    I turned round.
    In the car, Roy Fowler was still fretting as he waited to
get everything over and done with. Ten more minutes, \\e\
kept telling himself. Just ten more minutes, and he'd be*;
rich man.
    Tony gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 'Look,
Mr Fowler, calm down. It's going to be OK.'
    Fowler exhaled heavily and turned to Tony. His face
was taut with tension. 'I'm all right. I just wish they'd
get here, that's all.'
    'I wouldn't worry about that,' said Tony encouragingly.
"They're already here.' He motioned towards the
front doors where Iversson stood with his back to them.
    Fowler wriggled round in his seat and looked out of
the rear window. 'Where?'
    'Here,' said Tony, and pushed the silencer hard against
Fowler's head, just in front of his ear.
    Before Fowler even had a chance to react, Tony pulled
the trigger. Fowler let out a sharp sigh and the passenger
window behind him cracked as the bullet passed through
it. He slumped in the seat, and rolled round so he was
facing his killer, allowing Tony to press the weapon
against his forehead and give him one more, just for good
measure.
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The front driver's door opened and Eric, having heard
foe noise of breaking glass, shoved his head in, completely
unaware of what had just happened. He spotted
fowler immediately, dead in his seat, blood dripping
frown his face in thin rivulets and onto his sweat-stained
shirt.
    'What the fuck's going on?' he demanded.
    'I shot him/ said Tony, pulling the gun up from his
Jdc and aiming it at his colleague's face. Eric's eyes
widened and his body tensed as he tried to come to terms
with the sight in front of him.
    'Tony, don't do--'
    Tony fired twice, both bullets striking Eric in the face.
The big man staggered backwards, and Tony leant
forward to fire two more shots into his upper body. His ,^-j buckled and went from under him, and he fell
heavily to the ground, moaning and clutching wildly at
his face and chest.
    Tony, meanwhile, threw open the car door and came
out looking for the man who until two minutes ago had
been his boss.
    I was still in the process of turning round as Roy
Fowler died. It took a couple of seconds to take in
the muffled noises and the movement in the back of
the Range Rover, by which time Eric was turning
round, still holding onto his cigarette, and
hurriedly pulling open the door. I took a step
forward as Eric said something to Tony, then a
series of popping sounds came from inside the car
and Eric's head snapped back and he lost his
footing, stumbling like a drunk man.
I knew immediately that he'd been shot, but still
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not by whom. It didn't make sense. I stopped dead
in my tracks, confused by the sudden turn of
events, and fumbled in the back of my waistband
for the gun.
    At the same time, Tony stepped