Chapter 66

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

O ver a week had passed since Laine's death. Needles was becoming increasingly frustrated with each day because the police still hadn't caught The Vigilante who'd murdered his sister. So, he arranged a meeting. It was set for eight that Wednesday at Jim's garage. He didn't want any cops seeing them in a pub.

Sajid and his friends stood some way back from Jim's garage and waited. Each glanced at the other to gauge what the other was thinking. Sajid shuffled his feet and Khalid cracked his knuckles. Dilip said, ‘Well?'

Sajid hesitated. What if they were tooled up? The agreement had been that no one would be, but could he trust Needles?

‘Okay, let's go,' he said finally.

The others followed, and Sajid knocked on the garage door three times as Needles' text had instructed. The door swung up.

‘We're taking your word that you haven't come tooled up,' Needles said.

Sajid stared at the small scar that wrinkled Needles' arm in almost the same place as his own.

‘We don't break our word,' said Khalid.

‘Nor us,' responded Needles.

They stepped into the garage, which smelt stale and unused. A few old forks and spades were hanging on hooks, their rustiness showing their lack of use. The air was cool and slightly damp and the smell of petrol still lurked in the air from where the bike had been smashed. Fluorescent lights buzzed quietly overhead, casting a stark white glow over everything. A ladder was clamped to the wall, but Sajid could tell nothing in that garage had been used in years.

The two gangs stared suspiciously at each other.

‘A beer?' said Needles, trying to break the ice.

Sajid nodded, and Needles handed round cans of London Pride. After they'd cracked open the cans and taken a few gulps, Sajid sensed everyone relax.

‘We're all here for the same reason,' said Needles. ‘To find that fucking vigilante that killed Laine. The police are getting sodding nowhere.'

‘Where do we start?' asked Digger.

The million dollar question , thought Sajid. Where do we start? There wasn't a single clue to lead them to The Vigilante. There had been no other attacks since Laine. The more they discussed it, the more depressed Needles became. It seemed an impossible task.

‘The machete,' blurted Sajid. ‘The clothes, the rucksack. What if they were recently bought.'

Needles scoffed. ‘Probably bought online.'

Sajid shook his head. ‘But what if they weren't?'

‘I think he's got a point,' said Digger. ‘After all, what else have we got? It's a start.'

Needles didn't have any other ideas, so he agreed. Laying out a large piece of paper on the floor, Needles outlined a plan. 1) Make a note of everyone locally who carried a rucksack. 2) Check local garages for machetes and similar clothes to what The Vigilante wore. 3) Make a list of potential suspects. 4) See if they could find shops that sold similar clothing.

Sajid didn't want to ask Needles what they would do if they found The Vigilante. He thought they should go to the police, but somehow, he doubted that was Needles' plan; and Sajid knew that's when the trouble would start.