Deadly Treatment by David McLeod Page A

his own course towards Joshua’s house, driving faster than before.
    ‘Joshua, look at me. What do you mean there was a man there?’
    ‘That’s what I said. There was a bald man there hiding under the desk. I spoke to him and he died.’
    ‘What a load of bullshit,’ Vince fumed.
    ‘I told you I’d handle this, Vince,’ Scott said tersely.
    ‘Yeah, well the kid’s making a fool out of you.’
    Scott let the comment go and went back to Joshua.
    ‘A bald man you say, and he died right in front of you?’
    ‘It’s true, I swear. He said something about Rife and Coley, and that I had to promise to tell people about...’
    The look of fear in Joshua’s eyes had actually convinced Scott that he was telling the truth.
    ‘You don’t really believe him, do you? Don’t you get it? The kid’s lying – he just bottled it,’ Vince butted in, angrily stepping on the gas.
    ‘Where are you heading?’ Scott asked.
    ‘Boy’s gotta learn that when you say you’re gonna do something, you do it. And I told him what I was gonna do if he didn’t do this job for us.’
    ‘No!’ Joshua cried from the back seat. He’d just realized where they were heading. ‘I was going to do it. There was the man there...’
    ‘Yeah, yeah. Dead guy stopped you from doing it. Couldn’t you have come up with a better story?’ Vince said sarcastically.
    ‘It’s true, he gave me this flash drive to prove it,’ Joshua protested.
    ‘Shut up — both of you! And Vince, you slow down and pull in over there a minute. We’re not going to do anything to Joshua’s mother right now. Certainly not until we find out exactly what happened,’ Scott snarled.
    Vince reluctantly slowed down and pulled into the curb.
    Scott turned to Joshua and held out his hand. ‘Show me this flash drive.’
    Joshua quickly handed the device over. Scott held it up in the light and showed it to Vince.
    ‘What does that prove?’ Vince argued, taking the stick from Scott and looking it over.
    ‘All I’m saying is…’
    ‘I get what you’re saying, but I still think the kid’s lying,’ Vince shouted.
    ‘So, what do you want to do about it then? Lying or not, we have an unfinished job back there. Now, we can call it off tonight and hope we can have another go at it tomorrow — plus maybe have a pissed off contact — or we can calmly work out how we can finish the job tonight — your call.’
    ‘What about the dead man?’ Joshua asked.
    ‘Sit down and shut up, kid. Oh, and you can stick this and your story where the sun don’t shine,’ Vince barked, throwing the memory device at him. He went quiet for a moment before announcing, ‘I’m hungry, let’s grab a burger, and then go finish the job.’
    They ate their food in the parking lot of the In and Out burger restaurant, and then made their way back to the office. Vince drove slowly down one of the streets next to the office and parked.
    ‘So, how do you want to do this?’ Vince asked.
    ‘Same burn, but go in through the front. We know the alarm is off, and even with all the commotion from earlier, the security company haven’t been alerted, so a straight “in and out” like the burger we’ve just had! One small addition though, I’m taking Joshua in with me. He’s gonna point out the dead guy that scared him, and start the fire by himself with me watching — then we’ll all be happy.’
    With not much to carry, Scott and Joshua moved stealthily down the street towards the office.
    ‘One thing,’ Scott said before they rounded the corner to the street the office was in, ‘You put a foot out of line this time, and I won’t be able to stop Vince from doing what he wants to your mother. Do you understand?’
    Joshua nodded.
    They slipped along the shadows until they got to the office door; Scott pulled a crowbar from under his coat and slipped it into the doorframe by the lock. With one quick tug, the frame splintered and the door cracked open. Scott ushered the boy inside and quickly