Mortal Taste by J. M. Gregson Page B

Mark Lindsay, that gangling boy he had recruited, and was glad that Daniel Price was not able to inspect him. ‘I’m shifting plenty of pot, and the fifth and sixth-formers are looking for ecstasy and—’
    â€˜Not much profit in cannabis, not nowadays. You want to get them on horse and coke, whenever you can.’
    Heroin and cocaine, the two staples of the drug barons, the two substances that offered most profit to the suppliers and most grief to the users, in the end. The man beside Price said, ‘Yeah, I know that, but it takes time. They’re only kids, you know.’
    â€˜You can’t afford to think like that!’ said Price sharply. ‘We’re below the national average, you know, with the kids.’ He enjoyed quoting statistics, just as though this was as legitimate a business as his computer software. ‘One in every seven kids in the eleven to fifteen age-range has taken drugs in the last month. Your figures are well down on that, you know.’
    â€˜Are they? Well, we’re not in the middle of a big city in Cheltenham, and Greenwood Comprehensive is a good school. Perhaps we shouldn’t expect to sell as much there as—’
    â€˜Statistics don’t lie.’ Daniel was well aware of Disraeli’s view on that, but he knew his listener wasn’t. ‘Three per cent of sixteen-year-olds have tried heroin. So the market’s sitting there waiting to be exploited. You’re not shifting any horse in the school, at the moment.’
    â€˜All right. I’ll do my best.’
    â€˜But discreetly, of course.’ Daniel was always prepared to have the best of both worlds.
    â€˜Yes. As I say, the school is swarming with police at the moment, so it might pay us to lie low for a bit.’
    â€˜Us? You, I think you mean. I don’t propose ever to set foot in the place.’
    â€˜No. Well, me, then. I think I’d better lie low. Keep away from Greenwood for a while. I could try to sell more at Shakers.’
    â€˜Your call, sunshine. But the coppers in Greenwood at present aren’t Drugs Squad. They’ll be gone in a day or two, leaving the field clear for a resourceful businessman like you. Just remember that the big boys above us will want to see returns. I wouldn’t like you to attract their attention for the wrong reasons.’
    The man wished now that he hadn’t ground out the cigarette when there was still smoking left in it. He desperately needed to fill his lungs with smoke. The sinister, anonymous big men of the drugs trade didn’t just make you redundant if your sales fell. They were likely to eliminate you, in case you knew things you shouldn’t. This man knew nothing about the chain above Price, wanted to shout through the great echoing cave of the car park that he did not. Instead, he said, ‘Well, if that’s all, I’ll be off then.’
    â€˜That’s all. For the moment. I’ve enjoyed our little meeting! It’s a great help when you get things clear, isn’t it? I think you’d better stay here though, for a few minutes. Wouldn’t do for us to be seen departing at the same time, would it? I’ll go first, I think.’
    Daniel Price strolled unhurriedly to his car, enjoying the man’s petrified obedience. He revved the Mercedes loudly, knowing its engine would reverberate like thunder in the confined space of that concrete basement. He turned the car not towards the exit, but towards the man he had just left, switching full headlights for a moment on to the slight, surprisingly tidy figure, catching the glint of his gold earring, enjoying the terror in the face as the man threw his hand up against the harsh white dazzle of the undipped bulbs.
    He revved the engine threateningly again, moved the car forward a little, as though contemplating crushing the defenceless body against the wall, and then swung abruptly away, up towards the exit and the