Truth Lies Waiting (Davy Johnson Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

I
realise I’m starting to rant.
    ‘Ugh,’
I sigh, resting my head in my hands in an attempt to think calm thoughts and
find a way of explaining myself without putting the frighteners on her.
    ‘They
were trying to wind me up,’ I say simply, ‘and it worked.’
    Candy
reaches across the table to hold my hand. ‘In your personnel file it says that
you’re on parole, but it doesn’t say what you were convicted of.’
    My
shoulders sag at the thought of having to dredge through it again, especially
within the earshot of my new boss but I can’t see how I’ve got the choice, not
if I want to keep Candy onside. ‘I was stupid.’ I say simply. ‘I owed someone
money and I fooled myself into thinking that one easy job for a mate would pay
it off.’
    ‘What
did you do?’ she prompts.
    I
break the chocolate bar in two and offer her half which she declines. I
concentrate on chewing for a moment while I put my words in order. ‘I worked in
a bent garage.’ I say simply. ‘You know the sort: turning back mileage on the
clock, MOT rackets, selling cut and shunt motors on the forecourt.’ She nods
slowly, I mean it’s obvious she doesn’t have personal experience of these scams
but at least she’s aware of them. ‘I knew the owner’s son.’ I tell her, ‘ He knew I was looking for a job. What more can I say? When the police raided the
place I was the only one found on the premises.’
    ‘How
come?’
    I
laugh. ‘Now that’s a great question. I’d like to think whoever gave the
others the tip off couldn’t get to me in time. In reality, I think I was
collateral damage, if there’d been no one on the premises when they’d raided it
then someone high up would’ve smelled a rat. The investigation would have been
shelved and several arses kicked. The fact that someone could take the blame
meant the case could be closed.’
    Candy’s
mouth opens in surprise, making a perfect little ‘O’. I think I could look at
this girl all day. Candy however, is not so easily distracted: ‘You mean the
cops were happy to believe you had the wherewithal to run an operation like
that? What about cash flow? Suppliers?’
    ‘Yeah
well,’ I shrug, ‘it doesn’t matter whether they get the right man for the job
or not. It’s just one more notch on their bedpost or leader board or whatever
name they use for their arrest statistics.’
    ‘But
you took the blame?’
    I
exhale noisily, as though blowing bubbles under water. ‘What else could I do?’
I say helplessly, ‘You can’t grass and expect to get away with it. Either way I
was bollocksed. The way I saw it was I had to keep my head down, do the time
and pick up where I left off when I got out. Only I hadn’t figured on the local
five-o doing the same.’
    ‘What
do you mean?’
    ‘The
cop that came to the factory? He’s had it in for me ever since my old man
walked out when I was a kid. My dad was a small time villain, harmless in many
ways, just couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I suppose he just thinks “ Like
father like son ”.’
    Only
I’m nothing like my old man. I think of Mum and the bruises she used to hide
from me. Of the marks I used to hide from her. He locked me in the hall
cupboard once when I was small. He’d yelled at me for wetting the bed and I
wouldn’t stop crying; I suppose he thought that if he couldn’t hear me it would
be like I wasn’t there. Only he fell asleep. Mum found me when she came back
from work. I’ve had difficulty sleeping in the dark ever since.
    I
look at Candy’s sweet oval face; her head tilts to one side when she’s
listening to me. Just looking at her makes me want to smile. Her hand nudges
mine, prompting me to continue: ‘I might be nothing like my old man but I still
ended up doing time, with Mum waiting in line with her visiting order, like she
used to do for Dad.’ All the years I’d thought I was better than him; turns out
I was no different after all.
    Candy
eyes me cautiously, ‘What do you