Читать книгу Hush Hush - Mel Sherratt - Страница 19

Alone that evening in his office, while everyone else raised a glass to a fallen friend in the Windmill pub, Eddie rested his head on the desk and let out his emotion. Here on his own he felt he could. Once he got home, there would be questions from his wife, Georgina, who had come to the gym for most of the day until picking up Harry, their youngest son who was twelve, from school. Thankfully, Harry would be in bed when he did eventually get home, and sixteen-year-old Charlie would most likely be out with his friends, so the house would be quiet.

He leaned back in his chair and sipped at his whisky. It was the only one he’d have. He wasn’t a drinker, not after he’d seen what it did to his father, and then Jade. He wanted to keep his wits about him rather than be taken by surprise by anyone. In his line of business there was always someone ready to pounce. This time it happened to be Josh who had suffered.

They’d managed to get back into certain parts of the building once the car park had been cordoned off, but the death of his friend meant that the gym had been shut, so their takings would be down. The gym membership was fine; most regulars paid monthly and the few who paid per visit wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But it was more than that. He hadn’t been able to do any of the regular behind-the-scenes stuff. There had been no money loaned, no stolen goods coming through the doors. Some of the boys had phoned to see what the score was, but he’d told them to steer clear. The blues being here was bad for trade in every respect. People would go elsewhere.

He cursed himself. What was he thinking? Josh was his friend. Business didn’t matter at the moment, apart from keeping everything under wraps. He wiggled the mouse so the computer woke up again. The Facebook page for the gym had been alight with comments once news had begun to spread. Josh had been well liked, a brilliant instructor and motivator, as well as a valued member of staff. Eddie hadn’t even begun to think of what he was going to do without him. It was too painful to contemplate.

He couldn’t trust anyone the way he’d trusted Josh. He was the only one who knew what George had been like to live with. Eddie had put his trust in Josh and, to his knowledge, his friend had told no one what had been going on in the Steele house. Their bond had strengthened because of this.

And now he was left with an empty space to fill, in more ways than one. With Josh out of the equation, he knew that Leon would want to step up into his place. It wasn’t possible; his brother was too hot-headed, and Eddie knew it was going to cause friction between them, but tough, he was used to it. Brother versus brother had been the norm since they were young, and their earlier years of hell would always be something that stayed between him and Leon.

Eddie scrolled through the messages that were still coming in. As well as his right-hand man, Josh had been a joker. Many would remember him for his sense of humour and his ability to play really silly practical jokes. Josh hadn’t minded if anyone wanted to get him back either. He had always been game for a laugh.

He was also pretty big on YouTube, having his own channel and promoting Steele’s Gym with his charisma as much as his advice. Eddie pressed on a video clip now, tears of anger welling in his eyes as he listened to Josh’s voice. Seeing him racing around the screen as he threw right hooks at a punchbag, it was hard to think that he was dead.

He took another sip of whisky and gazed through the office window into the empty gym behind it. Rows and rows of exercise machines stood as if on duty. Not a murmur could be heard except from the hum of the drinks machine. The emergency lights were on, giving the whole place an eerie glow.

A noise startled him. He turned, standing quickly. It sounded like a door closing, but he knew he was in the building alone. He reached for the baseball bat he kept by the side of his desk and went out into the corridor. Stepping slowly along it, he made his way into the gym, glancing around in every corner.

After a few minutes, he realised it was nothing. There had been no door closing. It was probably the heating clicking on or something stupid like that, something that shouldn’t have been enough to spook him.

Eddie went back to his office. There was crime scene tape across the side of the car park with no access, but was he risking it sitting here on his own? Was he next? Or had Josh’s murder been a one-off? He thought of all his rivals. He had as many as Josh. Was it someone with a grievance?

Tomorrow he would start getting word out to see. Once the police were gone, he would be doing some investigating of his own. He was going to root out the bastard who had done that to his friend. He would cut his eyes out. He would burn him too. And there would probably be someone behind the person who had carried out the attack, paying them to do their dirty work. He was going to find out who was at the top of the tree.

One last mouthful and, with the drink gone, he threw the glass at the wall, taking great delight in the noise and the mess that it made. It was better than using his fists, which was what his father would have done.