Policeman's Progress by Bernard Knight Page B

empty.’
    He didn’t say how he came to know. Thor kept his face as straight as ever, but he promised Jackie a surprise over the matter of young Armstrong.
    Upstairs, the wheels were spinning merrily and several card games were going on with full tables. Jackie enjoyed this room the most and settled down for a night’s patrol up there. Downstairs could look after itself, with the able supervision of his manager.
    A sudden thought struck him. ‘Where’s Laura?’ Perhaps it was a symptom of their relationship that he hadn’t missed her before.
    â€˜She’s in your flat – said she had a headache and was going to put her feet up between her numbers,’ replied the Dane.
    Stott grunted, but the thought somehow unsettled him. She should be out here, with him. He wanted to stalk around with her in tow, showing her off as his personal bird – why the hell should she skulk inside – was she ashamed of being seen with him all of a sudden?
    Too damn big for her high heels, is Laura lately , he glowered. But he shook off his sudden black mood and noticed Joe Blunt lurking in a corner of the room. He was due back at the Mississippi soon; it opened much later than the Rising Sun, catering for the hard core of gamblers, who were willing to stay up most of the night. Joe came up to the Bigg Market every night to collect the large cash ‘float’ to distribute to the three croupiers down on the river boat.
    â€˜All OK down there, Joe?’ grunted Jackie, winking at him.
    Joe nodded lugubriously, his slack mouth working. Neither he nor Jackie had seen the evening paper nor heard the radio or TV about the finding of a body in the Tyne that afternoon.
    Jackie patted the old pug’s massive arm. ‘Time you got back, Joe. Keep it quiet tonight, eh – no mixing it with the coppers!’
    They both guffawed. Jackie’s anger over the incident on the previous Saturday had become submerged in the big secret they thought they alone shared.
    He had made another circuit or two of the casino, nodded regally to the regular patrons and wondered more and more where Laura was – damn her and her headache! He suddenly spat his cigar into the nearest ashtray and headed for the door of his flat.
    In the lounge, he found his mistress lying on the settee with a glass in her hand and her shoes on the floor.
    â€˜What’s wrong, hinny – the club too low-class for you these nights?’
    She scowled up at him. ‘Don’t start needling me, Jackie – I’m not in the mood.’
    The sight of her lying there languidly, ‘all legs and bosom’ as he coarsely thought of it, touched off something deep inside him. ‘You’re a bloody fine woman, Laura,’ he muttered thickly, going around the settee, and dropping on to his knees alongside her.
    She tried to squirm out of his way, but his powerful arms pinned her to the cushions as his lips clamped over hers. Wriggling violently, Laura tried to pull free, but Jackie was roused too far by now. He gradually let his weight settle on her and, by keeping his mouth on hers, prevented her from spitting out the choice language that was obviously fermenting inside her. His hand fumbled to the zip between her shoulders, which set off another paroxysm of jerking. He let his lips slide down to kiss her neck.
    â€˜Get off – get off me, you dirty old bastard!’ she gasped, the weight of his chest making speech difficult. ‘Go and rape – the bloody – barmaid – will you!’
    He lifted his mouth momentarily to grate in her ear, ‘Don’t get so high and mighty, Edna Dodds. Don’t forget that crummy place in Doncaster, hinny – maybe they’d like you back.’
    He kissed her again roughly, stemming her foul language, then took on a more wheedling tone. ‘Come on, love, you haven’t been around nights for weeks – let’s have a bit of fun, like the old