He Died with His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond Page B

said. He looked down and inspected what he had got out of his nose on the ball of his thumb.
    'Well, I'm just asking questions at this stage,' I said, 'but we know it's murder. Anyone who thought we were going to accept it as a hit-and-run was either a half-wit or fucking cheeky.'
    'Starsky and Hutch haven't a chance of keeping up with you,' said Fenton. He sniggered.
    'One more remark like that,' I said, 'and you're going to make an enemy you don't really need. You've been in the building trade, haven't you?'
    'How do you know that?'
    'Because I've got a good memory,' I said, 'and now I know your name I know a lot more about you. You've got mates in the scrap-metal and transport business, as well as in clubs. Now I wonder if anyone not three million miles from this pub might have hammered Staniland to death, taken him over to Acton on wheels and dumped him in some bushes there. What do you think?'
    'I think askin questions is dangerous,' said Fenton, 'that's what I think.'
    'That what I say to myself every time I write out my resignation,' I said. 'But I always tear the letter up. Did you fuck Staniland's bird, by the way? They say you're a bit of a lad for that.'
    'No,' he said. He sighed with hatred.
    'I'm not all that surprised,' I said. 'For my money, you're just an old pouf at heart.'
    Fenton clenched his fists on the table until the knuckles turned white. 'By Christ,' he said, 'it's a bloody lucky thing for you you are a copper, because if you hadn't of been, you might of been in a fair way to get yourself badly hurt.'
    'You can cut that out, dear,' I said. 'With your form they'd weigh you off for seven if you squashed a fly.'
    'We haven't met before, have we?'
    'We don't need to have. Not with the file you've got. Every copper knows it by heart.'
    He thought about that, then called across to the barman: 'Hey, top em up, Joe. On me.' The barman was busy serving, but he dropped everything to rush over with Fenton's round. 'Good boy!' said Fenton. 'Good lad. Fine!' He lifted his whisky. 'Cheers!' he said to me, grinning.
    'Let's get into what you really had against Staniland,' I said.
    'Nothing! He was just a drag.'
    'You just took the piss out of him, is that it? You sure you didn't screw his bird?'
    'Why should I bother? I've got my own birds. Anyway, if I had of screwed her, what difference would it of made?'
    'Things might have got hairy,' I said. 'I'm really looking to see if you're not tied into this thing. Didn't you beat him up once? Out. behind the gents there?'
    'No I didn't!'
    'Little bits and pieces of things I've heard tell me you're lying.'
    'Little bit and pieces of things add up to fuck all,' he said, 'specially in court.'
    'You should know,' I said, 'you've had plenty of practice in there.'
    'Well, I can't tell you anything at all.'
    'Okay, then I'll tell you what,' I said, 'how'd you like to come over to the Factory with me now and tell Chief Inspector Bowman all the things you won't tell me? You'd get a sympathetic hearing from Bowman, you would—-he absolutely loves individuals like you.'
    'I'm not mad about Poland Street,' he said, 'to be honest. They're a bit too keen on custom-built engineering over there.'
    'Well, you'd better try harder answering some questions in that case,' I said. 'Here's one—do you know where the governor of this pub is? Fat bloke. Got his face hurt.'
    'Seems he's gone,' said Fenton. 'Seems they don't think he'll be back.'
    'Septic lip?'
    'That's one way of putting it,' Fenton said. 'But I heard someone told him e chattered too much and to button it. But he couldn't find his needle, too bad.'
    'Sounds like one for Lewisham to me,' I said. 'Could be "grievous bodily harm".'
    'Now look,' he said. 'You're really into me, aren't you?' He took a long pull at his double Scotch, but he was calm. Yes, I thought, you're a dangerous bastard. 'You're not going to give me a john over that cunt's face, are you?'
    'Well, I don't know,' I said. 'But if you do find there's a warrant out