Read The Jonah for Free Online Page B

reassuringly, then strolled away to serve someone
else.
    Kelso took another long drink of beer, feeling his nerves settle a little more. He had been glad to get into the brightness and warmth of the pub after the strange experience in the car park.
Maybe not so strange – it hadn’t been the first time he’d had such feelings. The dark liquid was satisfying and he could already feel its soothing influence. He casually turned
his head, looking for a familiar face.
    There were several in the bar whom he knew by sight, a few he had spoken to. It was the man at the fruit machine who drew his attention, though. Kelso picked up his beer again, sipping it this
time, and studied the man’s back, waiting for him to turn his head so he could be sure. It looked like one of the young fishermen he had spoken to down by the quayside just a few days ago. He
was a cousin or nephew to the man who owned a drifter moored in the natural habour; fishing was mainly a family business and most boats were worked by members of the same clan.
    Kelso watched him thump the machine angrily with the flat of his hand, then place another coin in the slot. The detective swiftly looked around and saw the unattended half-filled beer glass
resting on a table on the opposite side of the double-doors. It was a small table and no one else sat at it. Kelso casually walked over and pulled out a low stool that nestled between the
table’s legs. He lit a cigarette.
    Within minutes a figure slumped into the seat opposite and he knew he had guessed right.
    ‘Hello, there,’ he said and the young fisherman stared back in surprise. He was somewhere in his mid-twenties, heavyset with thick black curly hair matched by a thick black curly
beard. The beard was shorter than his hair, but not much shorter.
    ‘I spoke to you the other day,’ Kelso told him, seeing the puzzlement in his eyes. ‘Down by the quay. Remember?’
    ‘What? Oh yeah. Bird-watcher or something, aren’t you?’ He reached for his beer and drained it in three noisy gulps. When he placed the empty glass back on the table, his eyes
flicked around the bar. He seemed distracted. Or perhaps nervous.
    ‘Another one?’ Kelso asked.
    ‘Eh? Oh, yeah. Lovely.’
    Kelso scooped up the glass and went back to the bar, feeling the fisherman’s eyes on his back. He returned with both glasses full to the brim.
    ‘I didn’t catch your name the other day,’ the bearded man said, reaching for the proffered ale.
    ‘Jim Kelly.’
    ‘And you’re writing a book or somethin.’ The Suffolk accent was even stronger than the barman’s.
    ‘That’s right. It’s to do with the bird sanctuaries in this area.’
    ‘Oh, aye. There’s plenty of those.’
    Conversation ended momentarily as they both drank, Kelso surreptitiously studying the other man over the rim of his glass. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. ‘I didn’t get
your name, either,’ he said.
    ‘Trewick. Andy.’
    ‘You look as if you’ve had a heavy day.’
    Trewick’s voice was sharp. ‘What makes you say that?’
    Kelso shrugged. ‘You look a bit tired, that’s all.’
    ‘So would you be if you’d been out on the sea since four this morning.’
    ‘Tired? I’d be dead.’
    Trewick grunted something unintelligible.
    ‘Still,’ Kelso said, unperturbed, ‘there’s not much to do around here at night, is there?’
    ‘Oh no?’ The bearded man managed a grudging smile. ‘There’s plenny if you know where to look.’
    ‘I’ve been here a couple of weeks now, and I haven’t seen anything in this town. Apart from the little cinema and the pubs, that is. So where’s all the action?’
    ‘Depends on who you know. There’s always a party goin on some place.’
    ‘Yeah? Well, I suppose I’ll have to get to know a few more people. Still, you can get a bit fed up with drinking every night.’
    ‘There’s more’n just drinkin.’.
    Kelso’s senses became instantly keener. ‘Like what?’
    Trewick grinned, one