Page 45 of Fortune's Ashes
I gave Buffy my nastiest look.
‘Step back,’ Lukas ordered.
‘He’s not finished yet.’
There was a cough from under the raised car. ‘Actually, I think I’ve got what you need.’
Buffy beamed. ‘Excellent. Out you come, then.’
There was a scraping sound and a moment later the oil-blackened face of a middle-aged man appeared. He wriggled out, slowly got to his feet and wiped his hands on his overalls. Considering what I imagined Buffy had said to him before we’d arrived, his expression was remarkably placid.
‘Well, Alfie? What have you learned?’ Buffy blinked and tossed her head. Her hands were still in werewolf form.
‘My, Grandma,’ Alfie said. ‘What big claws you have.’
She lunged towards him and swiped the air in front of his face. He took a hasty step backwards, clearly far more nervous than he was trying to appear.
‘Stop that, Buffy,’ I snapped.
‘Alfie needs some encouragement.’ She bared her teeth again. ‘Don’t you, Alfie?’
I looked pointedly at Lukas and he grinned at me. ‘With pleasure, my love.’ He swooped down on Buffy and hauled her out of the way. She struggled against his grip – but not very hard. After all, she was about to get what she wanted.
‘She’s got no right to come in ’ere and threaten me,’ Alfie said, his London accent growing stronger as his emotions got the better of him. ‘I’m only the night manager. I don’t do vehicle inspections.’
‘But you know how to do them, don’t you, Alfie?’ Buffy said from inside Lukas’s grip. ‘What did you learn?’
I turned on her and wagged a finger in her face. ‘Not another word. I mean it.’ She mimed zipping her mouth closed.
Alfie managed a shaky laugh. I looked at him. ‘Whatdidyou learn?’ I asked.
His face immediately fell as he realised I wasn’t the saviour he’d been hoping for; from the look in his eyes, he was starting to think that I was the one he should be afraid of. ‘The little wolfie was right,’ he muttered. ‘The accident weren’t no accident.’
‘I knew it!’ Buffy crowed. ‘Some bastard cut the brake lines!’ So much for not another word.
Alfie rolled his eyes. ‘Life ain’t like the movies. Cut the brakes on a car and the driver would notice immediately, even if there weren’t warning lights coming on. They’d come to a safe stop and haul arse to the nearest garage.’ He shook his head. ‘Nah. That’s not what happened here.’
He pointed to the front of the car. ‘The wheel nuts were loosened on all four wheels. Several came off completely on the front tyres, probably after quite a bit of driving, and you can see that the front right wheel is missing. We have it round the back somewhere. It was brought in wi’ the car. The nuts are loose on the back wheels as well. Tha’s how you can tell it was deliberate. This were sabotage.’
My mouth felt suddenly dry. ‘They couldn’t have worked their way loose by accident? Or been missed by a garage because of negligence?’
Alfie gave me a flat look. ‘No. One wheel nut could be loose by accident or negligence, but not all of them. Besides, these days it’s difficult for most people to loosen nuts by themselves. They tend to be fastened on tight. You really need a motorised impact wrench to do it.’
I thought about the long deep scratch I’d seen on the road at the scene of the crash; that would have been made when the wheel came off. Lukas was right, Supe Squad had been deliberately targeted. Somebody was trying to kill us or put us out of the way for good. All of us.
I swayed slightly. Alarmed, Lukas released Buffy and sprang to my side. ‘I’m fine,’ I whispered. ‘I’m just…’ My voice trailed off. Shocked? Angry? Confused? All of the above.
‘How long would it take for the wheel to fall off?’ Buffy asked, her tone harsh as she absorbed the news. ‘How many miles would you have to drive before it happened?’
I knew what Buffy was asking: she wanted to know if the sabotage had taken place in front of Supe Squad or at Grace’s home, or if the perpetrator had followed Grace and Fred to their destination and loosened the wheel nuts there.
Alfie shrugged. ‘Difficult to say. It was probably very recent, though. You’d only be able to drive ten, twenty miles.’
I looked at Buffy; she was no longer focused on Alfie but was hugging herself and looking miserable.
‘Do you know where Grace and Fred had been?’ Lukas asked me.
‘No.’ I raised my eyebrows at Buffy. ‘Do you?’
