Looking for Walter Newhouse Chapter Nine

Newhouse had arranged to meet Cora around the back of St Martin’s church. The place was a breeding ground for drug addicts, prostitutes, and flashers. We got there early, and I took a look around. The usual down and outs were hanging out. One or two of them looked at me with haunted eyes, skin wrinkled and turning yellow.

Mostly I was ignored.

‘He’s not here yet,’ I said. ‘Either that, or he’s hiding somewhere, waiting to see if you’ve brought company.’

‘He’s not that clever,’ Cora said.

I hadn’t told her about my meeting with Craggs, or the gun that was burning a hole in my pocket. Cora had brought a gun along too and pressed it on me. I was starting to feel like an armoury. I put that gun in my other pocket. At least it balanced me out a little.

We found a suitably dark spot to wait in. I needed to see Newhouse before he spotted me. I didn’t think he would turn up armed as well, but I wanted to play this safe. Besides, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be too close when I pulled the trigger. If I was looking him in the face, I might not be able to go through with it.

I kept reminding myself I wasn’t really doing this for me, it was for Cora. The man was a psychopath and a bully. It didn’t matter how many people he owed money to, if he got it into his head he wanted to hurt Cora, then that was what he would do. Hurt her enough, he might wind up killing her.

Yeah, that’s what I kept telling myself.