Opening the door, Cole saw Eddie standing there with a bottle of whisky in one hand and a pack of cans in the other.
‘Come in, mate,’ he said, standing aside to let Eddie inside. ‘What’s this all about then?’
‘Well,’ Eddie replied as he walked through the flat and into the small living room at the back; he avoided the back room where the drugs were being produced, ‘I thought since we’re business partners now, we should get to know each other a bit better.’
Cole closed the door behind him and shrugged. ‘Fine by me, so long as you crack open that whisky and pour me some first.’
Eddie smiled and placed the bottle on the coffee table. Cole went to the kitchen to get some glasses and took a deep breath. Everything was riding on this business deal with Eddie and Jake. It would earn him enough to hire that private investigator he’d looked into. The only problem he would have to face was keeping away from the casino, the online betting websites and the bookies. Surely he could do that in order to find out what happened to his brother.
‘Right then,’ Cole said, moving through to the living room and setting the glasses down on the table. ‘Let’s have some of that then.’
Eddie nodded and poured two large measures of whisky. He raised his glass and Cole clinked his off Eddie’s.
‘Here’s to business,’ Eddie said.
Cole smiled and downed his measure, before reaching over and cracking open a can.
‘So, I’m just going to be blunt here,’ Eddie said. ‘Is it true about you being a gambling addict?’
Cole shot him a look, but was in awe of how openly and bluntly Eddie had said it. Cole needed someone like him on his team, not someone like Jake. A wet blanket who couldn’t face up to what he’d done. Jake used to be hard, fearless. Now all he cared about was his girlfriend finding out he’d been living as a closet gay who’d murdered his lover.
‘Ha,’ Cole laughed. ‘Blunt is your middle name, then? Yeah, I like a bet now and again.’
Eddie took a mouthful of whisky. ‘I don’t mind the races myself. But I wouldn’t say it’s something that I’d obsess over. That’s what addiction is, isn’t it? Obsession about when you can do it next. Whether it’s drugs, booze, hookers, even gambling.’
Cole narrowed his eyes. ‘You a therapist or something?’
‘Nah,’ Eddie replied. ‘I suppose I just know a fucked-up soul when I see one.’
Those words hit Cole right between the eyes. Fucked up was definitely the correct terminology. His life had been one big fuck-up since he was just a young teenager. It had all started after his brother went missing. His mum had died of a broken heart after he’d disappeared, his dad was never around to begin with and his brother was the only one he’d ever been able to rely on.
‘Well,’ Cole said, reaching for the bottle of whisky, deciding that the beer just wasn’t going to cut it. ‘You’d be right. Jesus, maybe you should become a therapist. You’ve been in the flat five minutes and already you’ve worked it out.’
Eddie didn’t reply, just sat back on the sofa and took another sip. Cole watched as Eddie looked around the flat. It was empty, aside from some furniture that came with the place and a TV in the corner. Cole wasn’t one for having sentimental things around him. No photographs. Those only reminded him of what was missing in his life. Gambling had become his escape and now, it had a grip on him. It had all turned him into someone he’d never planned to be. But it was the only things that kept him breathing. He couldn’t let go of life until he found out what happened to his brother.
‘That’s twice you’ve said “therapist”. Sounds as though you’ve got some stuff to get off your chest, mate,’ Eddie said.
Cole glanced at his new partner. ‘And you think you’d be a good listener, do you? Kiss the bad dreams away?’ He laughed loudly then.
‘You got any mates up here in Glasgow, other than Jake, I mean?’
‘Ha, Jake’s not my mate. He’s a business partner, and even then he’s only in with me because he owed me a favour.’ Cole took a swig from his drink. ‘I’ve been back and forth to Glasgow a lot over the last few years. Have associates up here, but no mates. I tend not to get close to people, they end up leaving in the end.’
Cole thought about his relationship with Jez Kennedy, before he’d stolen from him. There had almost been a friendship there. Cole had been closer to Jez than anyone since his brother. But the drive to find out what happened to him was stronger than his need to be friends with anyone. It was the one thing that drove Cole to keep living, but it was also the one reason why his head was so messed up.
‘Yeah, I sensed a bit of bad blood between you both.’
‘None of your business, mate.’
‘Hey,’ Eddie put his hands up. ‘I never said it was. Simply voicing an observation. So, you think the deal is going well then?’
Cole nodded. ‘Of course it’s going well. That’s the other good thing about having Jake in on the deal; his sexy missus is in on it too.’
‘Roxanne?’ Eddie said. ‘You fancy her?’
‘She’s fiery. I like fiery. I think she could go a lot further in this business than her gay boyfriend,’ Cole said. He saw the flicker on Eddie’s face and an excitement stirred in him.
‘Gay?’
‘Yeah, as in full blown gay. He’s not come out of his closet yet. He’ll get to stay in there as long as he does exactly what he’s supposed to do.’ Cole took another glug of whisky and exhaled loudly.
‘How the hell do you know he’s gay?’ Eddie asked, his face contorted as though he didn’t believe Cole.
‘Because he murdered his gay lover when we were working together in London.’ Cole didn’t care who knew. What was Eddie going to do? Run and tell the police? Very doubtful.
‘Get to fuck! He murdered his gay lover?’ Eddie laughed.
‘I’m fucking serious, mate. I’ve got fucking video evidence to prove it.’
Eddie’s eyes widened and his complexion paled. Now he believed Cole. Now he knew who he was working with. Then Cole stopped, glared at Eddie for a moment. He’d just revealed Jake’s dirty little secret. Not that it would do Cole any harm, but he wished he hadn’t said anything now. It was more fun when it was just Cole who knew. Maybe Eddie wouldn’t believe him.
‘Jesus, I didn’t think Jake was that kind of guy.’
‘What? A poof or a murderer?’ Cole slapped his knee and laughed loudly. ‘Look, each to their own and all that but he made his bed when he asked me to help him out of a sticky situation. I don’t allow folk to walk away from their debt, you know?’
Cole looked at Eddie with a smile, a silent reminder that Eddie wouldn’t be able to walk away from Cole either.