Side Orders - A Joe Geraghty Story (2/3) By Nick Quantrill

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3).

'Joe, my friend.' Ahmet beamed at me and moved forwards, covering me in a bear hug. He was massive; twenty stone at least and his terrible skin bore testament to working long hours in a kitchen. 'How is my friend, Don?' 'Don's good' I said. Don, my partner, would be tucked up in bed, I thought. Not that I begrudged him that. He didn't need the hassle at his age. It was horses for courses. Don had the contacts to bring work into the agency. I had the energy and stomach for the work. 'I appreciate what you are doing for me. You and Don are true friends to me.'

'Not a problem, Ahmet.' I knew when Don told me about the job it was going to be long hours and potentially dangerous. It was more a personal favour. Don and Ahmet went back years. I watched Darren walk over to the woman stood next to the till. 'His sister' Ahmet explained. I nodded and looked around. The takeaway was still busy. A handful of small groups sat waiting for their food, shouting and laughing about the night's escapades. At least some people had enjoyed their night.

Behind the counter, Ahmet had two members of staff preparing the food. One was stood quietly at the kebab skewer, shaving thin strips of meat into a large vat. Ahmet took me through to the back of the shop. Closing the door to his office behind us, he sat down behind his desk, the noise and heat disappearing instantly. 'Did you have any trouble tonight, Joe?' 'Not as such.' 'No one attempted to steal from Darren?' 'No.'

'Then that is good.' He looked relieved. 'I would still like you to continue for a while longer, if you are able to.' I moved a pile of invoices off a chair and sat down. 'There might be a problem with Darren, though.' Ahmet shook his head. 'Darren is such a good worker. He worked for my brother for a long time. Gus was always telling me Darren was such a hard worker. An honest man. I am very lucky that I could persuade him and his sister to work for me instead.' So much for Darren's bigger ambitions, I thought. I told him what I'd seen earlier that night. Ahmet looked worried. He must have known how much trouble this could bring him. 'We must sort this tonight, Joe' he said to me.

'I still cannot believe this, Joe' Ahmet said to me. 'It's not the Darren I know. I have never had such trouble in all the twenty years I have been in this business.' I turned the heater up in the car and continued to watch. Following Darren was easy. His car stood out, even in the dark. It helped that Ahmet was in touch with the shop, so we knew exactly where the deliveries were heading to.

The first two drop offs went as normal and from the car it was impossible to see whether Darren added any side orders to the deliveries. We watched him get back in his car and set off towards the next address. I listened as Ahmet called the shop to check in. Knowing the address, I eased off and headed there using a different route.

Ten minutes later I was pointing at Darren. 'There he is' I said, switching the engine off. We parked a couple of cars behind Darren's Punto and looked up at the tower-block. A handful of lights were still on, but the area was quiet; the kind of place which invited fear. The kind of place where anyone could ring and order food, give a random address and intercept you on the stairs. 'I still cannot believe Darren is doing what you say' Ahmet said to me. I said nothing. Takeaway delivery was the perfect cover for selling drugs, whether Ahmet wanted to face up to it or not. We watched Darren press the buzzer on the communal door. He stood back until he got a response. Speaking into the intercom, he shook his head and started to walk away, the pizzas still in his hand. 'What is that?' Ahmet asked.

Continued... Next Page (3/3)

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