Blood City by Douglas Skelton sampler
Meet Davie McCall – not your average henchman. Abused and tormented by his father for fifteen years, there is a darkness in him searching for a way out. Under the wing of Glasgow’s Godfather, Joe ‘the Tailor’ Klein, he flourishes.
Joe the Tailor may be a killer, but there are some lines he won’t cross, and Davie agrees with his strict moral code. He doesn’t like drugs. He won’t condone foul language. He abhors violence against women. When the Tailor refuses to be part of Glasgow’s new drug trade, the hits start rolling. It’s every man for himself as the entire criminal underworld turns on itself, and Davie is well and truly caught up in the action.
But an attractive young reporter makes him wonder if he can leave his life of crime behind and Davie must learn the hard way that you cannot change what you are. Blood City is a novel set in Glasgow’s underworld at a time when it was undergoing a seismic shift. A tale of violence, corruption and betrayal, loyalties will be tested and friendships torn apart.
Meet Davie McCall – not your average henchman. Abused and tormented by his father for fifteen years, there is a darkness in him searching for a way out. Under the wing of Glasgow’s Godfather, Joe ‘the Tailor’ Klein, he flourishes.
Joe the Tailor may be a killer, but there are some lines he won’t cross, and Davie agrees with his strict moral code. He doesn’t like drugs. He won’t condone foul language. He abhors violence against women. When the Tailor refuses to be part of Glasgow’s new drug trade, the hits start rolling. It’s every man for himself as the entire criminal underworld turns on itself, and Davie is well and truly caught up in the action.
But an attractive young reporter makes him wonder if he can leave his life of crime behind and Davie must learn the hard way that you cannot change what you are. Blood City is a novel set in Glasgow’s underworld at a time when it was undergoing a seismic shift. A tale of violence, corruption and betrayal, loyalties will be tested and friendships torn apart.
douglas skelton The young man came to a halt about three feet away from them. He suddenly looked nervous. He glanced from one officer to the other, his eyes widening behind a pair of round, John Lennon glasses. There was a slight catch in his voice as he asked, ‘Why do you want to know my name?’ Knight shrugged. ‘Just routine, pal, nothing to worry about. You can see we’ve got a situation here...’ he gestured at the corpse of the girl, but the youth barely looked at her. Knight went on, ‘Now you come strolling along here like you’re out for a Sunday walk in the park. So what’s your name?’ ‘William. William Lowry. Like the painter.’ ‘Well, William Lowry like the painter, what you doing here at this time of night?’ ‘I’m...’ he began, but paused, and Donovan knew there was a lie coming. ‘I’m going home after a party.’ ‘Aye? And where’s home?’ ‘Woodside.’ ‘And where was the party?’ ‘A flat on Maryhill Road. It’s a pal’s place but I’d really not like to get him involved in this.’ Donovan thought, involved in what? But he let Knight control the interview. He knew to let the other cop follow his own line of questioning. Knight asked, ‘You a student, then?’ The boy nodded and pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. ‘Yes. The College of Art.’ ‘So he’s really going to be like Lowry the painter,’ Knight smiled and turned to Donovan, his back momentarily to the boy so he could tap two fingers to his throat without being seen. Donovan nodded, looked back at the youth and saw what Knight had already noticed, a smear of blood just at the fold of the white scarf where it touched his neck. ‘You got some identification on you, son?’ Knight asked. 16
lood city The boy shook his head. ‘Ok, that’s Ok, not everyone carries ID, do they? We need to check up on you, though, you know that, right?’ ‘Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.’ ‘I know that, son, it’s just routine. I mean, after all, we’ve got a dead lassie here.’ Again, Knight nodded to the body and again Lowry refused to look at her. He kept his eyes between Knight and Donovan and barely seemed to notice the dead girl just a few feet away. Knight asked, ‘D’you know her maybe?’ The boy shook his head, his hands thrust deep into his pockets. Knight said, ‘You’ve no even looked at her, so how do you know you don’t?’ ‘I don’t know her.’ ‘Never seen her before?’ ‘No.’ ‘She wasn’t at the party?’ ‘There were a lot of people at the party. I couldn’t possibly remember everyone.’ ‘Why don’t you look at her, maybe you’ll recognise her.’ ‘I’d rather not.’ ‘How no?’ ‘I’m… well, I’d rather not.’ ‘You squeamish?’ ‘Something like that.’ ‘It might help us, though. Might help us catch the guy who killed her. You’d want that, wouldn’t you?’ Lowry didn’t answer. He stared straight at Knight, his eyes still wide, his hands moving inside his pockets, the blood on his white scarf now reaching out to the police officers like a bad smell. ‘What about it, William Lowry like the painter?’ Knight said, moving slightly closer to the boy. ‘You want to assist the polis with their inquiries, or what? You want to take a quick peek at this 17
- Page 3: douglas skelton is an established t
- Page 6 and 7: First published 2013 This edition 2
- Page 9 and 10: Prologue october 1977 …voices, fl
- Page 11 and 12: 1 W hen at last Davie fully burst t
- Page 13 and 14: lood city broken one of his cardina
- Page 15 and 16: lood city They had only been here 1
- Page 17: lood city He glanced back at Donova
- Page 21: Luath Press Limited committed to pu
douglas skelton<br />
The young man came to a halt about three feet away from<br />
them. He suddenly looked nervous. He glanced from one officer to<br />
the other, his eyes widening behind a pair of round, John Lennon<br />
glasses. There was a slight catch in his voice as he asked, ‘Why do<br />
you want to know my name?’<br />
Knight shrugged. ‘Just routine, pal, nothing to worry about.<br />
You can see we’ve got a situation here...’ he gestured at the corpse<br />
of the girl, but the youth barely looked at her. Knight went on,<br />
‘Now you come strolling along here like you’re out for a Sunday<br />
walk in the park. So what’s your name?’<br />
‘William. William Lowry. Like the painter.’<br />
‘Well, William Lowry like the painter, what you doing here at<br />
this time of night?’<br />
‘I’m...’ he began, but paused, and Donovan knew there was a lie<br />
coming. ‘I’m going home after a party.’<br />
‘Aye? And where’s home?’<br />
‘Woodside.’<br />
‘And where was the party?’<br />
‘A flat on Maryhill Road. It’s a pal’s place but I’d really not like<br />
to get him involved in this.’<br />
Donovan thought, involved in what? But he let Knight control<br />
the interview. He knew to let the other cop follow his own line of<br />
questioning.<br />
Knight asked, ‘You a student, then?’<br />
The boy nodded and pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his<br />
nose. ‘Yes. The College of Art.’<br />
‘So he’s really going to be like Lowry the painter,’ Knight smiled<br />
and turned to Donovan, his back momentarily to the boy so he<br />
could tap two fingers to his throat without being seen. Donovan<br />
nodded, looked back at the youth and saw what Knight had already<br />
noticed, a smear of blood just at the fold of the white scarf where<br />
it touched his neck.<br />
‘You got some identification on you, son?’ Knight asked.<br />
16
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