And all my dreams they fall apart...’
‘Jesus.’ Steel’s nose curled. ‘That sounds like turds smell...’
Lund poked her. ‘Shut up. It’s romantic.’
Yeah...
People were weird.
Logan’s thumbs went ticking again:
How long do we give this before packing it in?
SEND.
‘Cos your love shines brighter,
Your love shines brighter,
Your lo-o-o-ove shines brighter than—’
Everyone’s Airwave handset blared out three bleeps, followed by DCI Rutherford’s rasping voice:
‘We’re go! Repeat: go! Go! Go!’
4
The van’s occupants scrambled to slam all the doors shut, windows buzzing into place as the Transit’s engine roared.
‘Let’s catch us a murderer!’ Steel clicked on her seatbelt with one hand, zipping herself up with the other as Harmsworth handed out the crash helmets.
Tyres squealing on the library tarmac, the van leapt forward, ripping out of the car park, turning right, then right again. Accelerating past the McColl’s, lights flickering on. Siren: silent.
They wheeched past the library, where mothers with pushchairs stopped to watch them go by. Then a sharp left onto Gort Road, making the tyres screech again.
‘Hoy!’ Logan grabbed the handle above his door, holding tight as the seatbelt dug into his side. ‘Like to get there in one piece!’
A grin. ‘Don’t be such a starchy gusset...’
They shot past the bookies, juddering over the traffic control bumps, going at least double the speed limit.
A patrol car whooshed past the playing fields, heading straight towards them, lights blazing as it scraiked around the corner onto Gort Lane, just in front of the Transit.
‘Yeeehaw!’ Steel hauled the wheel hard right, following it into a canyon between two terraced rows of three-storey flats,with big communal bins outside and alternating stairwells painted blue or orange.
Another patrol car howled in from the other end of the road, followed by a Dog Unit van. Because there was nothing like swarming in mob-handed.
The second patrol car performed a handbrake sideways slide, blocking that side of the road. The one Steel was following did the same.
Putting it broadside to their speeding van.
Which was definitely going to plough straight into it...
Logan tightened his grip on the handle and said a little prayer.
And as if in answer – Steel slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel right, mounting the kerb, then bouncing onto the strip of grass outside the flats as the ABS juddered. Not coming to a halt until they’d crashed into a ‘RESIDENTS PARKING ONLY’ sign and bent it flat.
She unclipped her seatbelt. ‘Everyone remember where we parked!’ Then she was out of the van and into the blistering sun, pulling on her crash helmet as she ran for the entrance to Block Four.