Frederick's Coat Read Online Free Page A

he’s still bang at it, right?’
    Johno said, ‘My old man? Nah. Like you said, he’s honourable. You got the right Ryan family?’
    The three cops shook their heads in unison. The clearly seniorone said, ‘You know what, sunshine, that smartarse attitude might soon get your fucking ears slapped, and then some?’ He moved right in close and Johno nearly lost it, but had enough sense to ease his body back from the cop, who was snarling in his face. ‘
We
are not honourable. As for your old man? A fucking honourable crook, my arse. No such thing.’
    Another detective stepped forward with hand thrust out. ‘Give us our whack from the wharf job, mate. Or do we give you another kind of whack?’ Oh, real funny, he and his mates in stitches.
    ‘Or,’ the third had his role to play, ‘you could watch yourselves on TV? In colour?’ Another side-splitting performance. But it might be funny, given the truck had been full of colour television sets. But how did these cops know? Had the pair been set up by a dock worker playing both ends against the middle?
    The main man introduced himself, with one of those bone-crusher handshakes designed to intimidate, except that Johno’s big mitt matched it.
    ‘Detective Inspector Wally Marsh. Armed robbery flying squad.’
    Johno said, ‘You got the wrong people. I’ve never even seen a gun. Have you, Shane? See? He hasn’t either.’
    The third guy said, ‘I think they
do
want to be on television. Shall we oblige them, boys?’
    ‘We should,’ said Marsh. ‘But let’s give ’em one more chance. Now, you young punks, before we cut up rough, how about you just say you’ll give us half your naughty earn and — I haven’t finished yet —
and
agree right here to a partnership, whereby you give us half what you make. And
we
, in turn, promise not to arrest you for a serious crime.’
    Johno knew from his father that corruption was a way of life throughout Australia, from bent cops to politicians to shire officials. ‘Everyone’s at it,’ said Laurie Ryan, as if with a right to moral outrage. Wet behind the ears, Johno and Shane hadn’t given crooked cops a thought, and Johno Ryan sure as hell wasn’t going down for his first-ever criminalact. He had a wife and baby, plus there was the pride factor.
    ‘Half’s a bit much.’ Johno thought he’d try it on.
    ‘Come that again,’ Marsh replied, ‘and it goes up to sixty per cent and maybe a flogging. Either that or you go to jail.’
    ‘You can’t fight the world,’ his father later told him. ‘The dockies and the cops’ve always been like this, like half the politicians. Just have to roll with it, son. Forget pride and principles when it comes to the police.’
    Less than a month later, another job came up. How many cartons of cigarettes can fit in a medium-sized truck? Enough to make eight grand each, double that if they didn’t have to pay the cops. ‘But not to be sneezed at for a couple of young knockabouts, eh, J?’ Shane picking up more and more of the older guys’ phrases and sayings.
    ‘Knockabouts?’ said Johno. ‘You sure about that?’ He thought even truck heisters wasn’t a worthy description, given how easy it was.
    When Johno found out the average wage was ten grand a year he had a different take, even managed to feel magnanimous about paying the cop trio. Nor did he and Shane mind the suburban bank manager, a contact of Shane’s father, taking a five per cent cut for handling bigger sums of cash into bank accounts, no questions asked. Everyone happy about this neatly working conspiracy.
    Evelyn wanted an apartment in the city. ‘So I have more interesting walks with our baby, access to better shops.’ Another child was due soon. She didn’t say that living with Johno’s father and curmudgeonly grandfather was a strain; not Evelyn, she was too nice.
    Johno kind of loved his daughter but not feeling as close to Leah as he’d expected, he let Evelyn take charge. His head was with his