In Llanishen, Ken Frane, last of the
Cardiff Docks’ detectives was cleaning out the litter tray of his fastidious
but fierce feline, Smudger, a black stray with green eyes who had taken a fancy
to Frane’s three piece suite and was now Lord and Master of the down at heel
and dishevelled gumshoe. Ken was trying to work out how to tell Smudger that he
didn’t have enough money for more Cat food. Smudger wouldn’t have accepted his
pathetic excuses anyway. Frane needed a new job to get his teeth into,
something just to pay the bills over the winter.
Canal Street, Cardiff was a misnomer
really because the Canal had flowed between Central Library and the impressive
old warehouse type buildings on Mill Lane. There were places in the centre of
town where you could still see evidence of the old canal network for example in
Park Place in a Car park behind some railings. This was the canal that had
brought down millions of tonnes of coal from Merthyr Tydfil before the bed had
silted up and it was no longer economical to run. Half its capacity against the
railway was not tenable so Cardiff Council did what so many City Councils had
done. Filled the canal network in and concreted it over. Heritage lost and the opportunity
for Cardiff to become a Venice or an Amsterdam was lost so all that went up
Canal Street now were buses. All one way around the Marriott Hotel and the
Golden Cross Pub.
That is why Ken Frane was shaking his
head and looking perplexed when he heard the news from Terry Heston. He did not
enjoy drugs cases. Give him a murder any day. Drugs were too messy and caused
so much long term damage to individuals and communities.
“Now listen Terry, we need an inside contact with Cardiff Bus, because that is all Canal Street Cardiff is, a bus stop”
“What about your erstwhile neighbour Robert Weston?”
“He’s retired and anyway the less I
have to do with him the better”
Terry smiled as the comparison with
Cato and Inspector Clouseau was one too obvious too ignore.
“ He does your head in Ken, that’s
why”
“ How could your informant be so sure
that was where the drugs drop and swap were going to happen?”
“Price’s informant, not mine. I just
take the call”
.jfif)
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