Street Smart (Matt Reeves Thriller)

by Ben Onslow

“Looked cool,” said Niam and started towards the bridge again. “Might try that,” he said. “Come on.”

  Matt wrapped the rug around Zac and stood up.

  “No, no more. You’re all too drunk.”

  “We’re good,” Josh said. “Zac looks fine to me.”

  Matt fished in his pockets for his car keys. “Nah, time to stop. This is getting dangerous. I’ll take you home.”

  “We’re staying.” Josh said it like he wasn’t having his brother throwing his weight around.

  “It’s over.” Matt went to Josh’s ute, took the keys out of the ignition, locked the doors and shoved the keys in his pocket.

  Then he went to the other car and did the same.

  Josh came over. “Give them to me.” He looked him straight in the eye and held his hand out.

  Matt didn’t give him his keys. “It’s over,” he said.

  “We’re fine,” said Josh.

  Matt kept the keys. “No, someone’s going to get hurt.”

  Josh stepped closer. “We’re good. Just leave us alone and fuck off.”

  Seconds later, Josh was on the grass with a bruised cheek, a split lip, and Matt standing over him.

  Matt couldn’t believe it. He’d just hauled back and flattened Josh.

  Josh sat up.

  Matt opened his car door.

  “You two,” he looked at Josh and Eli. “Wait here. I’ll come back and get you. The rest of you get in the car.”

  Josh’s mates collected the boxes of bottles and got in. They were probably so shocked at seeing him hit Josh they didn’t even argue about it.

  He was shocked by what he had done too. Because in their family, no one hit anyone, ever.

  He nodded at the ute, still watching Josh and Eli.

  “And don’t even think about hot wiring it and driving home.”

  He drove Niam and the others to their houses, dropped them off and then went back to pick up Josh and Eli.

  They got home without any talking. Josh and Eli got out of the car, and Josh slammed the door shut and headed towards the house.

  Matt stayed in the car, holding the steering wheel. He thumped the wheel, gripped it again and dropped his forehead onto his hands. He felt like shit. He couldn’t believe he’d hit Josh.

  After a while, he heard Josh playing the guitar in his room.

  He went inside, and his mum was putting a casserole dish into the oven.

  “Joshua, hurt his lip,” she said. “Said he walked into a brick wall. He should be more careful. His poor face.”

  If he felt like shit before, he felt worse then. Josh had covered for him. He still couldn’t believe he’d done it.

  He could try to talk to Josh and apologise. But knowing Josh, he’d be too angry still to listen. Besides, what could he say? He’d bloody hit him.

  After a while, he heard Eli and Josh leave the house, and the motorbikes start up. They’d gone for a ride.

  He didn’t want his parents to know what had happened, so instead of asking them for a ride to the river to pick up Josh’s ute, he’d walked there and driven it back.

  Eli and Josh got home just on dark.

  He went out and found them in the shed, putting the bikes away.

  He stood at the door of the shed for a while.

  Josh ignored him, so Matt went over to his brother.

  “Here’s your keys. I went and got your ute and brought it back.” He put the keys on the bike.

  Josh took off his gloves, then picked the keys up and stuck them in his pocket. Matt figured Josh knew why he walked and didn’t ask their mum or dad for a lift.

  Finally, he tried apologising.

  “Josh, I am really sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.”

  “No kidding?” said Josh and undid his helmet strap.

  “It shouldn’t have happened,” said Matt. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

  Josh took the helmet off, stuck it and the gloves on the shelf, then sat down on a toolbox and started to undo his boots. Matt could see he was still pissed. And could feel Eli watching them.

  “We good?” he asked.

  But Josh had ignored him. After a while, he gave up and went back into the house.

  For the next few days, if he walked into a room, Josh walked out the other door.

  In the end, he’d talked to his father and told him what had happened and why. His father had been surprisingly understanding. He’d intervened and cornered Josh and told him to cut Matt some slack because he was having trouble coping with what he had to deal with at work. Matt had listened in to what his father and Josh were saying.

  “Funny way of trying to protect me,” Josh had said.

  “Just give him a chance to talk to you.” Then his dad brought out the big guns. “You and Matt acting like this is upsetting your mother. Your mother loves you both. It’s not fair to upset her.”

  Finally, Josh caved and agreed to listen to him. Their father had stuck around long enough to see if he needed to referee, then gave them some space.

  “I shouldn’t have punched you like that,” he’d said to Josh. “But at work, I see what can happen to kids who drink then take risks or drive. It can ruin their lives. But I handled it wrong.”

  “No kidding,” Josh said again.

  “We good now?” Matt asked.

  In the end, Josh had said, “Yeah, we’re good.”

  And then, for the next few months, Josh got to see every show that came to Auckland and every rugby match that was on, all at his expense. He’d come down to Wellington when Matt first got here to see some band he really liked. Slowly, he was getting on side with him again.

  Chapter 6

  MATT POURED HIMSELF a whiskey and settled on the couch. Then his phone rang.

  The caller ID said, Draper.

  He hit accept.

  “Yeah?” he said into the phone. Maybe he should have reported back about seeing Barnes and Fraser at the railyards. It looked like Draper was still up.

  “When did you leave the café?” Draper asked. Matt could hear sirens in the background. Not just the distant lonely siren you could generally hear in the city but a cacophony. It sounded like half the emergency vehicles in Wellington were parked just behind wherever Draper was. He could hear voices shouting instructions and police radios giving a hum of information.

  “About twenty minutes ago, why?”

  “There’s been an explosion in the parking building. We need you back here. There’s a couple of bodies you might be able to identify.”

  “Explosion?” He’d seen Billy and Charlie go into the building only half an hour ago. What if they’d been caught up in it?

  “Yeah, a couple of kids dead and a couple more injured,” said Draper.

  “I’ll be right there.” He shrugged back into his coat, patted his pocket to check the car keys were still there, then charged down the steps. What if Charlie and Billy were dead? He’d feel responsible somehow.

  Maybe he should have taken some action. Called child protection or something. He knew they were sleeping rough. He’d known it for weeks, but he’d done nothing.

  The street was just as dark and deserted as it had looked from up in his flat. He shut and locked the door and then took off out the back to where he’d parked his car. He couldn’t figure out why there’d be an explosion in a derelict parking building. Maybe there’d been a damaged gas line somewhere nearby, and something had made it catch light.

  He got into his car and took off back to the CBD.

  Outside the café, emergency vehicles were parked everywhere. A couple of ambulances, three fire engines and at least a dozen incident cars. He stood back and watched what was going on.

  He’d let Draper find him or maybe text him about how he wanted this to go. Just walking up to the cops like he belonged would blow his cover, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that yet. This all felt like unfinished business.

  He watched a couple of paramedics come down the ramp carrying one of those metal stretcher
s with the retractable wheels. He could just see the face of the kid on the stretcher, covered in soot with a cut on his cheek. It wasn’t Charlie or Billy. One of the other medics got out of the ambulance and opened the doors, lowered the ramp then helped with the stretcher.

  Matt could hear the medics talking to each other about the state the kids they’d already got out of the building were in. They were bad. Had to be stabilised before they could be brought out.

  He heard his phone ping, and he checked the message. A text from Draper. Meet me in the alley beside the parking building. So, he did want him to maintain his cover.

  He sauntered casually away from the crowd. Down the street a bit, he crossed the road. He knew the area and could get to the alley from further down. No one would notice.

  He found Draper waiting for him.

  “What’s happened?” Matt asked.

  Draper lit up a smoke. The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles gave Draper’s face an intermittent glow.

  “Looks like one of the cars exploded and set up a chain reaction. Others went up too.”

  “What would have caused it?” Those cars had been sitting in that parking building for a couple of months without any problems.

  He saw Draper shake his head. The action looked jerky in the flashing light. “We don’t know yet. We’ll deal with the bodies, now they’ve got all the injured kids out, secure the scene and forensics will come in in the morning. It’s all a bit dodgy going in to investigate with the building condemned.”

  “How many bodies?” asked Matt.

  Draper leaned against the wall and puffed on his smoke. “Two. Kids about sixteen.”

  “A girl?” he asked.

  Draper shook his head again. “No, boys. Four injured, though. The last one is heading for the hospital now.” He nodded as an ambulance flashed past, siren wailing. “One of the injured kids is a girl. Do you know who she is?”

  “Not really. I talked to a kid tonight. Name’s Charlie. That’s all I know about her.” He didn’t mention Charlie knew Fraser and Barnes. If she was injured, he didn’t want to add to her problems.

  “Head for the hospital. Check if it’s her and see if you know any of the others. Seen anything of Barnes and Fraser?”

  Matt nodded. “They picked something up at the railyards a couple of hours ago, but I couldn’t see what it was.”

  “Where did they take it.”

  “Don’t know. Lost them.”

  Draper looked disappointed but didn’t comment.

  “Meet me at the hospital. We’ll see if you can identify any of them. Then we’ll head for the morgue.”

  “Yep.” Matt headed back to his car.

  Police officers guarded the Accident and Emergency department. Draper waved his ID, and they were admitted.

  “The kids are in cubicles at the end,” said the orderly.

  “Thanks,” said Draper and put the card back in his pocket.

  Matt followed him, dreading what he’d find. The damage he’d seen in the parking building, and with the fires still burning, it was hard to believe anyone had survived. And if they did, they’d have horrific injuries. The kid he’d seen had looked bad enough.

  He didn’t know them well, but he’d come to like them. They seemed to look after each other and didn’t make any trouble. And Billy and Charlie might spend their nights tagging, but it didn’t mean they deserved to die or get badly injured. It was just kid stuff.

  The nurse in the cubicle pulled the curtain back enough for them to get closer to the bed.

  The girl there had burns on her face and hands, but it wasn’t Charlie. This kid had blond hair. He’d seen her with the others but hadn’t spoken to her.

  “She the one?” asked Draper.

  Matt shook his head. “No, can’t help you with who she is.”

  They checked out the other three kids in the cubicles. None of them was Billy or Charlie. He wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or concerned. They still had the morgue to visit.

  “Meet you there,” said Draper when they got back out to the car park. “I just got the call to say the bodies have arrived.”

  “Where is it?” asked Matt. He’d only been in the city a month, and there had been no reason to go to the morgue.

  “Follow me. Or your phone will get you there.” Draper hopped in his car and pulled the door shut.

  The morgue was as unpleasant as he suspected it would be. Smelling slightly antiseptic with an undercurrent of bodily fluids.

  “We haven’t dealt with them yet. They’ve just come in,” said the pathologist.

  “We just want to try and identify them,” said Draper. “Then we’ll leave you to it.”

  Draper and Matt followed the woman down a corridor. At the end, she pushed open the door. Four trolleys lined the centre of the room. The bodies on them were covered with sheets.

  “Prepare yourself,” said the pathologist. “Burns are never pretty.”

  “Were burns the cause of death?” asked Draper.

  “That’s what it looks like so far. But we’ll know more by morning.” She flipped back the first sheet. The face of the kid was unrecognisable. He couldn’t tell if this was a kid he saw going in and out of the parking building, but the body looked too tall and stocky to be Charlie. And the skin of the hands looked too dark to belong to Billy.

  Matt shook his head. “Can’t tell.”

  “Next one.” The sheet got flipped back.

  Matt looked at the damaged face. This was Billy. Only an hour ago, he’d been wandering into the café to get Charlie and then helping her across the road.

  This time he nodded. “Went by Billy. Don’t know his other name.”

  Back at the flat, the whiskey was still waiting for him. He had a mouthful as he looked out the front windows. In the distance, he could still see the glow from the fire and smoke laying low over the CBD.

  Where was Charlie? She wasn’t dead, and she wasn’t in the hospital. Had she left the parking building and gone somewhere else? Or was she still there and had managed to hide from the emergency services?

  Perhaps she was trapped there. From what he’d seen, enough damage had been done by the explosion that she could be buried under debris or trapped behind it. With her injured ankle, she’d have trouble getting far if she had got away.

  He rested the glass on the windowsill. He was the one who’d taken her back there. He probably should have insisted that she let him take her to A&E to get her ankle checked or contacted social services, and they could have found her a bed for the night.

  He let out a long breath. He could go and look for her. His bed beckoned, but he didn’t think he’d sleep if he didn’t check she was all right.

  He’d go to the parking building and have a look around.

  He knew the lay of the land now, having loitered in the vicinity for weeks. There might still be security guards around, but he’d be able to get past them without them seeing him. Anyway, he really was a cop doing his job. So, if he was seen, it wouldn’t be that disastrous.

  He left the half-empty whiskey glass on the sill, shrugged into his coat and went back down to his car.

  He parked a couple of streets from the building and went around the back and up the alley to check out what he was dealing with. He was right. Only a couple of security guards and one fire engine. The firefighters seemed to be monitoring the situation. He guessed it made no sense to put lives at risk trying to save a condemned building.

  He watched for a while and figured most of the attention was out front, so he’d be able to get in around the back without being seen.

  He retraced his steps and halfway along the alley, pulled himself up onto the concrete half-wall and slid under the barrier above it. There was no outcry or shouted demands that he stay back from the cordon.

  He lowered himself to the ground and looked around to get his bearings. Enough light came from the street to be able to see where he was and halfway up the ramp to the first level. The glow from the
fire seemed to be on the third level, and that was where Draper had said the explosion was.

  As he made his way up the ramp, he kept a look out for problems where he was walking. There must have been a reason the building had been condemned, and he didn’t want to fall down any cracks. He got to the top and saw the damage. The ramp had come away from the landing, and a crack about six hundred millimetres wide gaped there.

  He stepped over it and went up to the next level. He didn’t see anyone still, so he made his way carefully up to the third level and was met with a sight like a bomb had hit the cars. Maybe that’s what had happened. Someone, for some reason, had planted a bomb. But why?

  He moved along the level, picking his way through the debris. A car door sat twisted against the barrier, a small teddy bear lay on its own in the middle of the driving lane. Pieces of car and luggage were scattered, twisted and burned everywhere.

  Finally, he came to the one that must have been in the centre of the explosion. It was sitting in the middle of the driving lane as if it was on its way out of the building. Just a burned husk now. Windows smashed, doors flung open or missing. The boot lid was metres away, and the interior of the boot and car burned down to the metal shell. If anyone had been in the car when it exploded, they wouldn’t have survived. Maybe that was where Billy had been.

  But where was Charlie? Surely, if she’d been in the car, she would have been found.

  Chapter 7

  MOST OF THE damage from the explosion was confined to about a fifty-metre radius. The full width of the level. With a bit of debris up to the next level but not quite to the ramp at each end. It still looked impressive. He got to the next ramp and hadn’t seen any movement or anywhere someone could hide.

  “Charlie?” he called quietly.

  No answer.

  He called again, still keeping his voice down.

  Now he’d have trouble explaining what he was doing. Charlie wasn’t a suspect, whatever crime this could be called. But she would be a witness, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her involved in the investigation. It didn’t sound like she wanted anything to do with the authorities.