by Caz Finlay
‘And now here you are again.’
‘It seems I can’t escape who I really am. Despite how much I want to.’
‘Well, I’m glad you’re back. We all are. My dad cried like a baby when you left, you know. I’ve only ever seen him cry once before, when my mum died. When he heard you’d come back, he was all for turning up at your house the very same day. I had to convince him to give you a few days to settle in.’
Thinking of Pat Carter brought tears to Grace’s eyes. ‘I love your dad like he’s my own, Sean, but it was partly because of him I couldn’t bear to stay. Every time I looked at him, all I could think of was what Nathan did to him, and the guilt was unbearable.’
‘But that wasn’t your fault, Grace.’
‘You’ve changed your tune,’ she retorted, remembering one of the arguments they’d had after her ex-husband had tortured and almost killed his father.
‘I was angry. You know I didn’t mean any of it.’
‘I know.’ She patted his arm.
‘Were you happy out there in the middle of nowhere?’
‘Yes. I was. At least I thought I was. Now I’m not so sure. It was certainly easier there anyway.’
‘Why did you really come back then?’
‘Because Sol Shepherd phoned me and told me Jake was in trouble. He said Jake would end up dead if I didn’t get back here and get my house in order.’
‘Well, it seems he was right about that.’
Grace stifled a yawn and Sean took it as his cue to leave.
‘I’d better get home or Sophia will worry where I’ve got to.’
‘Of course, give her my love, won’t you?
‘Will do.’ He gave her a kiss on the cheek before standing up. ‘I’ll see myself out – stay here in the warm. Let me know if you need anything tomorrow.’
‘I will.’
Grace listened as Sean closed the front door. She shut her eyes and thought about the following day. The twins were on a job for her in Scotland and she’d asked them to cut it short and meet her at Nudge’s scrapyard at half past two, fifteen minutes after her meeting with Liam and Bobby.
She was counting on the arrogance of Liam and Bobby to ensure that they had no idea she was onto either of them. If they did find out, Nudge had a semi-automatic in his filing cabinet and would use it if he needed to.
***
At exactly five minutes to ten, Grace saw the text from the unknown number flash up onto the screen of her phone. Five names.
Martin Mitchell
Harry Bolger
Danny Woods
Alex Callaghan
Franny Hughes
Grace smiled. Along with Bobby White, that was the six men responsible for Jake and Michael’s kidnap. At least six, they’d said though, which meant she hadn’t discounted Liam’s involvement. She was sure Bobby wouldn’t have attempted such a big job without Liam by his side.
Chapter 78
Liam started the engine of his car and pulled away from the kerb. He glanced sideways at his boss, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
‘This time tomorrow, Reuben and Martin will be pushing up the daisies and we’ll be in the clear, lad,’ Bobby said with a chuckle.
‘What if they talk?’ Liam asked. ‘What if they mention our names?’
Bobby started to laugh. ‘Well, that’s the genius of my plan. We’re going to offer to find Martin and Reuben for her. Then when we deliver them to her, not only will she be eternally grateful, but we’ll make sure they’re incapable of telling her anything. It’s fucking genius.’
Liam shook his head. Bobby had no fucking clue. He didn’t know Grace Sumner at all. There was not a chance in hell she’d leave the handling of whoever she believed to be involved in her son’s kidnapping to anyone else, least of all someone she barely knew.
***
Bobby White smiled as he entered Nudge’s portakabin and saw Grace Sumner sitting at Nudge’s desk, waiting patiently for him. He was going to play her like a fiddle and she had no fucking clue. She’d be so grateful to him that she’d never consider blabbing to Sol Shepherd about the little mishap with his daughter. Nudge Richards stood behind her, leaning against his filing cabinet. Nudge was a huge fucker, and he could handle himself, but he was no threat to Bobby and Liam if things went south. Liam had a small arsenal in the car that was within a minute’s reach should they need it. Nudge had annoyingly installed a metal detector in his portakabin a few months earlier and had made sure it was a widely known fact. It had had the desired effect and stopped people turning up at his gaff all tooled up.
‘Hello, Grace,’ Bobby said as he approached the desk.
‘Bobby.’ She nodded at him, her face set in a grimace. He supposed the upcoming topic of discussion was not particularly pleasant for her to hear.
‘Tea?’ Nudge asked.
Noting that Grace already had one in front of her, Bobby nodded. ‘Yeah, why not?’
‘Not for me, thanks,’ Liam said.
‘I hear you have some information for me?’ Grace asked him.
Bobby took a seat on one of the chairs opposite her and indicated for Liam to do the same. ‘Yeah, I do. I know who took your lad.’ He stared at her, trying to gauge her reaction.
‘How do you know that? And why would you tell me if you did?’
‘I know we’ve had our differences, Grace, and you know I’m no fan of your son, but I am a generous man. And if I have information you need, I think it’s only fair I share it with you.’
‘And in return?’ She eyed him suspiciously.
‘Well, I think we can agree a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kind of arrangement.’ He’d rather not reveal to Liam, or Nudge, that she had some information about him he hoped she’d never disclose. He trusted she was shrewd enough that he didn’t have to spell that out to her.
She looked at him, probably considering whether he was telling the truth. He was a pretty good actor, but he knew this was the critical turning point of their meeting. If she suspected anything now, he would give Liam the nod to go to the car and Grace and Nudge would both meet with an untimely demise.
Nudge broke the tension by placing Bobby’s tea on the desk in front of him and Grace sat back in her chair, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
‘Okay, Bobby,’ she sighed. ‘I’ve been drawing a blank myself, so tell me who did it.’
‘Reuben McBride and Martin Mitchell. Can you believe a pair of fuckwits like that planned and executed the whole thing? But I have it from a very reliable source that it was them.’
‘Not just them though?’ Grace frowned and for a split second he thought she was onto him until she went on. ‘They must have roped some other idiots in on it with them. They couldn’t have handled it on their own. Besides, Jake and Michael said there were at least six of them.’
‘Of course. Well, I have no doubt me and Liam will be able to get all of the names for you by the time we’ve finished with the pair of them.’
‘You and Liam?’ She raised her eyebrows at him.
‘Yeah. We could find them no problem, couldn’t we, lad?’ He turned to Liam who nodded his agreement. ‘You must have your hands full with being up and down the hospital to see that lad of yours. We’d be more than happy to round up the pair of them for you.’
‘You’d do that for me?’ she asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
‘Yeah, of course.’ Bobby smiled back at her, knowing he’d won her over.
‘You know what, Bobby? That would be a massive help. The Carter twins would usually sort that stuff out for me, but they’re away on a job. If you two could find Martin and Reuben for me, I’d be eternally grateful.’
‘Then consider it done,’ he said as he picked up his mug of tea and raised it in a toast. He laughed to himself as Grace did the same.
Grace drained her mug and put it on the desk in front of her. ‘I’m really pleased you came to see me about this, Bobby. You have no idea how much it means
to me to know who took my son. I’d better call off the search before anyone else gets hurt. Some of Michael’s bouncers have been making enquiries for me, and you know how much they all enjoy a good scrap. They’re just on their way to Karl Morgan’s place. If I ring them now, I might just avoid world war three, eh?’ She grinned as she reached into her coat pocket and took out her mobile phone.
‘You won’t get a signal in here, love,’ Nudge piped up. ‘Something to do with the metal detectors, I think.’
‘Oh,’ She frowned. ‘I’ll just nip outside. I’ll only be a minute. Then we can discuss your fee, Bobby.’
‘My fee?’
‘I assume you usually charge for your waste disposal services? I want all six names, and I want all of them dealt with.’
‘Yeah, of course. If that’s what you want.’
Bobby watched Grace as she walked out of Nudge’s portakabin and resisted the urge to burst into laughter. Not only had he just pulled a fast one on Grace Sumner herself, but she was going to pay him to take out the only people who could tie him and Liam to the crime. He sat back in his chair and grinned at Liam, who looked back at him with a mixture of amazement and awe.
***
Grace watched as the hulking figures of the Carter twins made their way across Nudge Richards’s scrapyard towards her, baseball bats and hammers swinging loosely by their sides. They were a terrifying sight, particularly in the darkness. She smiled at that thought.
‘Thanks for coming, boys,’ she said.
‘Of course, Grace.’
Why have we brought our little friends here?’ Connor asked, lifting the weapons from his side. ‘Nudge hasn’t been a naughty boy, has he?’
Grace shook her head. ‘Nudge? Behave yourself. Nudge is a soldier. Bobby White and Liam McGuinness are in there.’ She pointed to Nudge’s portakabin. ‘The two of them are each under the illusion that I’ve fallen for their bullshit. Bobby thinks I believe he’s here to tell me who was responsible for taking Jake and your dad. He’s trying to pin it all on Martin Mitchell as well as some poor bastard named Reuben McBride. Do you know them?’
‘Martin worked at The Blue Rooms for a while, didn’t he? And I’ve heard of Reuben,’ Connor said. ‘He used to be into armed robbery. My dad had a run-in with him years ago. Caused him some problems with his hearing if I remember correctly. But they were always sound after that.’
‘Well, little does Bobby know that his right-hand man, Liam McGuinness, has already thrown him to the lions and fingered him for the job. So, Liam thinks he’s here to set up Bobby. But I know the pair of them were in on it together. I told them I was stepping out to make a call and they’re waiting patiently for my return.’
‘Stupid fuckers,’ Paul growled.
‘I warned Bobby to stay away from Jake, but he wouldn’t listen.’
‘What’s the situation in there, and what do you want us to do, boss?’ Connor asked.
Grace had been adamant that she was out of this game, so that no more deaths would be on her hands. But someone had taken two of the people she loved most in the world, and now all bets were off.
‘They have no weapons on them. They don’t suspect a thing. So, do whatever you want, boys,’ she smiled. ‘Be as creative as you like. No one can hear for miles around here. Nudge said he’ll send a clean-up crew in first thing tomorrow. But try not to get any blood spatters on his Constable knock-off. It’s hanging above the tea urn. Liam has given me the names of the others involved,’ she said as she handed them a piece of paper with the five names written on it. ‘Once you’ve dealt with that pair, pay this lot a visit too.’
Connor and Paul nodded, their faces impassive. In the past, an order like this would have had them giddy with excitement. But they’d grown up a lot, and those two fuckers in there had kidnapped and tortured their dad.
‘Just make sure none of them are ever found,’ she said. ‘I don’t want this coming back on any of us.’
Grace pulled the collar of her woollen overcoat up over her neck as she exited the scrapyard into the deserted street outside. The air was chilly and the wind blew empty crisp packets and pages of old newspapers around her feet. Snowflakes had started to settle on the ground, covering the earth with a flimsy veil of white. She walked to her car, eager to reach the warmth of its interior.
At twenty-two years old, Connor and Paul Carter had already sealed their reputations as ruthless individuals. In the six months since she’d been back, Grace had learned that they were able to inflict the type of suffering few men were capable of, without even breaking a sweat. Despite their youth, they were calm and level-headed in the most extreme situations. They had witnessed, and inflicted, the type of punishments that would have relieved some of the hardest men she knew of the contents of their stomachs.
So, while Grace would have liked to do those two muppets in herself, she had other places to be. This was to be her last order. As she pulled out of the deserted car park to make her way home to her warm, comfortable sofa, Grace had every confidence that Bobby White, Liam McGuinness and their co-conspirators would suffer, and that no trace of them would remain by morning.
***
Paul watched intently while beads of sweat ran down Liam McGuinness’s forehead as he anxiously eyed the two men standing before him. Liam couldn’t move – he was bound to a chair with gaffer tape. He’d started shouting that they’d got the wrong man, that he and Grace had a deal, when Paul had grabbed him and taken out both of his kneecaps. Bobby had spewed fury at Liam as he was taken down by Connor. They’d strapped Bobby to a chair too, but despite that, he glared at them defiantly. In different circumstances, Paul might have admired him. Going down with some dignity. Unlike Liam, who’d thrown Bobby and the rest of their accomplices under the bus, cried and then pissed himself.
Connor was doing most of the talking. He usually did. Paul was happy to let him; he preferred action to words. Leaning down until he could look directly into Liam’s eyes, he saw the pure terror there. It reminded him he was at the top of his game. He wondered if they had seen a similar fear in his father’s eyes. No. Not a chance. Michael Carter was as hard as fucking nails. What about Jake? Had he been afraid? They’d tortured him. Beaten him so badly he’d almost died. These pricks had no idea what Jake meant to him. But they soon would.
Connor had stopped talking and Paul decided they had given their captives enough of a reprieve.
‘You made a big mistake messing with our family,’ Paul said.
‘Your dad cried like a fucking baby,’ Bobby snarled as Connor ripped the tape from his mouth.
‘Shut up, will you?’ Liam snapped. ‘Just shut the fuck up.’
‘Did he really?’ Paul asked, pushing his face close to Bobby’s. ‘Did he?’ he spat.
Bobby nodded. ‘A big fucking—’
Before Bobby could finish his sentence, he let out an almighty howl as Paul bit his nose clean off. Bobby stared at him in horror as he spat it onto the floor. Liam’s eyes widened as Paul wiped Bobby’s blood from his mouth. ‘That’s just for fucking starters, boys.’ He grinned.
Paul smiled at his brother before turning his attention to Liam, who’d now closed his eyes, as though it might offer him some protection from what was about to happen.
‘Open your eyes, son. You’re going to miss the show,’ Paul laughed.
Then Liam shook his head before he felt the first blow of the hammer as it smashed his ankle into pieces.
Chapter 79
Jake winced as he tried to prop himself up in bed. He wasn’t expecting a visitor so late in the night. It wasn’t allowed. But he was in a private room and most of the people he knew could persuade anyone they wanted to look the other way when necessary. He smiled. He’d been wondering when this particular visitor would make an appearance. He was the one person he’d been desperate to see.
Paul Carter approached his bed and sat down beside him. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t been in before now. But your mum was here, and Siobhan …’
‘I know. You don’t have to explain.’
‘How are you doing?’ Paul asked.
‘Never been better.’ Jake grimaced.
‘Stupid question.’
‘Everything fucking hurts, mate,’ Jake said as he closed his eyes. ‘Even breathing feels like a fucking effort.’
Paul placed his hand over Jake’s. ‘I thought you were a goner, lad. When we carried you out of there …’
‘So did I,’ Jake rasped.
‘It nearly fucking killed me – seeing you like that, and having to pretend …’
‘I thought I’d never see you again,’ Jake said and closed his eyes quickly before Paul could see the tears forming there.
‘You’ve got to tell her, you know. It’s not fair. On either of us.’
‘I know.’ Jake swallowed. ‘But it’s not that easy, Paul. Just give me some time.’
‘I’d better let you get some sleep,’ Paul said and stood up.
‘No. I’m fine,’ Jake said as he grabbed Paul by the arm. ‘Stay for a bit.’
‘Okay. If you’re sure?’
‘I am. I’ve been waiting to see you for ages. You can’t go yet,’ he said as he pulled Paul towards him.
***
Michael smiled at the nurse as he approached the nurses’ station. ‘I’m here to see Jake Conlon,’ he said quietly. She waved him past.
Michael could hear muffled noises as he pushed open the door to Jake’s room and wondered who else was visiting Jake at this hour of the night. He wished he’d knocked when he walked in and saw his son Paul half-naked and straddling Jake.
The pair of them looked up as he entered and Paul scrambled off the bed. ‘Fucking hell, Dad. Don’t you knock?’
Michael shook his head. ‘I didn’t think I’d need to. I fucking knew it. I knew something was going on with you two. Although, if I’m honest, I didn’t think it was this. Jesus Christ, son.’
‘Dad, we can explain,’ Paul said as he started to put his shirt on.