off them, they wouldnât be inciting anyone else to steal something for them to buy, now would they?
âSomebody catch up with you?â I gasped between sit-ups.
âWorse than that,â he said gloomily. âI set up a meet at Anderton Services on the 61. Ten grand for a wagon of Levis. Everythingâs going sweet as a Sunday morning shag when it all comes on top. All of a sudden, thereâs more bizzies than you get on crowd control at a United/City match. I legged it over the footbridge and dived into the ladiesâ toilet. Sat there for two hours. I went back over just in time to see the dibble loading my Audi on to a tow truck. I couldnât fucking believe it, could I?â Dennis grunted as he did a handful of squat thrusts.
âSomebody tip them off about you?â I asked, fastening a body protector over my front.
âYou kidding me? This wasnât regular Old Bill, this was the Drugs Squad. Theyâd only been staking the place out because theyâd had a tip a big crack deal was going down. They see somebody handing over a wad of cash, and they jump to the wrong conclusion.â
âSo whatâs happening?â I asked, pulling the ropes apart and climbing into the ring.
Dennis followed me and we began to circle each other cautiously. âThey lifted my punter and accused him of being a drug baron.â He snorted. âThat pillock couldnât deal a hand of poker, never mind a key of crack. Any road, heâs so desperate to get out of the shit heâs drowning in that he coughs the lot. Next morning, theyâre round my house mob-handed. The wife was mortified.â
âThey charging you?â I asked, swinging a swift kick in towards Dennisâs knee.
He sidestepped and twisted round, catching me over the right hip. âGot to, havenât they? Otherwise they come away from their big stakeout empty-handed. Theft, and obtaining by deception.â
I didnât say anything. I didnât need to. Dennis might have been clean as far as the law is concerned for half a dozen years now, but with his record, he was looking at doing time. I feinted left and pivoted on the ball of my foot to bring my right leg up in a fast arc that caught Dennis in the ribs.
âNice one, Kate,â he wheezed as he bounced back off the ropes.
âBit of luck, your punters might decide it would be bad for their reputations if they weigh in as witnesses when it comes to court.â It wasnât much consolation but it was all I could think of.
âNever mind their reputation, it wouldnât be too good for their health,â he said darkly. âAnyway, Iâve got one or two things on the boil. Just a bit of insurance in case I do go down. Make sure Debbie and the kids donât go without if Iâm away.â
I didnât ask what kind of insurance. I knew better. We worked out in silence for a while. I was upset at the thought of only seeing Dennis with a visiting order for the next couple of years, but there was nothing I could do to help him out, and he knew that as well as I did. Even though we have more attitudes in common than
seems likely on the surface, there are areas of each otherâs lives we take care to avoid. Mostly theyâre to do with knowledge that either of us would feel uncomfortable about keeping to ourselves. I donât tell him when Iâm about to drop people in it who he knows, and he doesnât tell me things Iâd feel impelled to pass on to the cops.
After fifteen minutes of dodging each other round the ring, we were both sweating. I lost concentration for a moment, which was all it took. Next thing I knew, I was on my back staring at the strip lights.
âSloppy,â Dennis remarked.
I scrambled up to find him leaning on the ropes. I could have knocked the wind out of him with one kick. Or maybe not. Iâve come into contact with that rock-hard diaphragm before. âGot a lot on my
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