Dead bodies weigh heavier than broken hearts - Part 8

Once outside the Tunnel Blackford gulped in the night air like his life depended on it. He opened his hand and looked at the small heart shaped pill in the middle of his palm, not bad for a drought, he thought to himself and slipped it the back pocket of his jeans. Angel had been acting strangely and he cursed himself for not asking to see the text from Jen. A thought struck him hard and sudden, and with trembling hands he fumbled to find the “on” button on Hayden’s phone. Locating it, Blackford scrolled down the contact list until he got to Jenny’s name, reading out aloud the number that came up. Taking out his own phone, Blackford scrolled down to where he had Jenny’s number stored. He checked the number that flashed up. The two numbers didn’t match. With a sinking feeling Blackford scrolled up his contact menu until he located the name he was looking for. He brought up the number and checked it against the one on Hayden’s phone under Jenny’s name. Snap.

Blackford called James and left a message for him, asking him to meet him at Jenny and Angel’s. He then found the path by the river and hurried along it on the route he’d taken earlier that morning. Coming up on the row of red brick terrace houses quickly, he strode straight up to the door and banged on it loudly. Hayden answered, looking tired and still in the dressing gown he’d been wearing that morning. Seeing Blackford his face screwed up, but before he had time to say anything Blackford cut in:

“I know where your drugs are, come with me.”

Hayden looked him up and down suspiciously. Blackford took out Hayden’s phone and handed it back to him. Hayden grunted, keeping his eyes on Blackford.

“Wait here” he said finally, and disappeared into the house.

When he reappeared, Hayden was wearing a long Matrix-style black leather jacket and carrying what looked like an empty rucksack. Blackford led the way and neither said a word and they walked the short distance to Jenny and Angel’s house.

Blackford took out his key and let them both in. Then, instead of turning left into Jenny’s room as he had done that morning, he turned right into Angel’s room. Once inside he wasted no time pulling open the drawers and sweeping clothes of the shelves. Hayden followed suit and within a matter of minutes they had turned over everything that wasn’t nailed down. They stopped and looked at each other. Hayden’s face broke into a scowl and he was about to speak when something caught Blackford’s eye. The skirting board in the far corner of the room was tilted at a slight angle, and appeared to be sitting out from the wall slightly. Blackford went over and kneeled down, tugging at the section of board as he did so. It came out easily, the tacks protruding from where they’d been loosely placed. Setting the board to one side, Blackford reached into the empty wall cavity behind. His hand gripped around something, and when he pulled it out it revealed a large plastic pack filled with thousands of small white heart-shaped pills. He stood up and looked at Hayden, who was staring at the pills greedily.

At that moment a key turned insidiously in the front door and they heard footsteps in the hallway.