Behind Dead Eyes (DC Ian Bradshaw #2) - Howard Linskey Page 0,35
was he was soon disillusioned. ‘I don’t speak to reporters,’ said the lawyer, who had obviously been well briefed by his receptionist.
‘You’re clearly a man in the know,’ Tom told Nixon as he began to climb into his car, ‘so you will be aware of who I write for.’
‘I have no interest in who you write for Mr …’ He had clearly forgotten Tom’s name already. ‘I simply do not speak to reporters,’ he said that last word like it was an infectious disease, ‘ever. Is that clear enough for you?’
At this point the lawyer was climbing into his car, giving him a look that clearly said ‘Back away,’ but Tom didn’t move. Instead he replied, ‘It certainly is but I really would advise against that,’ his tone was conciliatory, ‘unless you want a fine reputation built over years destroyed overnight. I’ll be making some pretty strong claims. If you don’t respond, people will assume you have no problem with my allegations.’
Nixon took his leg out of the car. ‘What allegations?’
‘My argument will be that an innocent man may be serving a lengthy prison sentence because he failed to get satisfactory legal representation from your firm. It’s my responsibility as a journalist to give you the right of reply but it really doesn’t matter. I can simply put that you refused to comment. It would certainly make my life simpler.’ And when Nixon hesitated, Tom said, ‘Sorry to have taken up your valuable time,’ then he began to walk away. He’d taken a few steps and begun to question whether his bluff had failed when he heard a single, slightly panicked word from Nixon.
‘Wait,’ he urged. Tom turned back to face Nixon, who looked decidedly uncomfortable now, ‘which case?’
Tom made a show of looking round the underground car park. ‘I don’t think it would be proper to discuss it down here, do you?’
When the lift doors opened, the receptionist was surprised to see her boss again so soon and at first she wondered what he might have forgotten. When she realised Tom Carney was walking calmly behind him, her surprise turned to shock as they both headed for Nixon’s office.
‘Coffee, Carol,’ Nixon told her curtly then added, ‘and biscuits.’
Tom grinned at her then and enjoyed the look of indignation on her face as she was dispatched to provide him with refreshments.
Chapter Thirteen
Bradshaw waited for an hour, hoping Tom had just nipped out for a tin of paint, but he did not return. He decided to give the reporter ten more minutes but realised he faced a frustrating day, involving repeat visits to Carney’s small semi-detached house until he finally nabbed him.
While he waited, Bradshaw’s thoughts idly turned to his girlfriend. He and Karen were an unlikely couple. She was tall, blonde and beautiful with a gym-toned figure that would normally have been enough to keep her well out of his league, but when Karen met Ian for the first time, he was at his absolute best, for he was unconscious. There was no way he could mess things up with a terrible opening line and nerves were never going to get the better of him. Karen was a WPC sent to check on him at his hospital bed by a concerned DCI Kane when Bradshaw nearly drowned. She had brought him fresh clothes from his home and instead of being disgusted by the mess in his flat, had decided he was like a lot of single guys: hopeless without a woman in his life. He later discovered the nurses had done half the work for him by assuring Karen he was a bloody hero. Although he had done everything they claimed he had done, he still couldn’t help feeling like a bit of a fraud. When he eventually came round to find this angelic figure smiling down at him he had been quick to dismiss his achievements and she, naturally, assumed he was just being modest.
Bradshaw’s unease did not stop him asking her out for a drink when she popped round to his flat a few days later to ‘see how he was doing’. Later she freely admitted she hoped he would invite her on a date.
The past eighteen months had been a bit of a whirlwind for a man who hadn’t had a girlfriend in a long while. As well as numerous visits to pubs, restaurants and cinemas there had been, he had to admit, some pretty amazing sessions in the bedroom.