by Anna Smith
*
Three hours later they got off the train and headed for the café Geo pointed out to him where they would meet their man. He told him the drill.
‘We go in here, get a cup of coffee and wait. Our man will come in with two small suitcases like the one I’ve got. He’ll sit in a table next to us, and place the cases there. You’ll hand me the rucksack and I’ll place it where he’s sitting, and shove my case over. Five minutes later he’ll go, and we’ll take the cases he left and fuck off.’
‘Sounds fine.’
‘Are you scared?’
Cal looked at him, surprised. ‘Not at all.’
‘Good. Make sure you don’t say a fucking word.’
Cal nodded as they went into the café and sat down at the table by the window. The concourse was busy with travellers, many of them families. Cal had his eyes on everyone, wondering what the guy they were meeting would look like – even though he didn’t have a clue who he would be – but he’d no idea what they were looking for. The waitress came and Geo ordered a coffee and Cal a black tea. They sat in silence when it arrived, and Cal caught Geo glancing at his watch from time to time. He wanted to ask what time the meet was, but he thought better of it. Geo fidgeted and looked out of the window, and Cal did too but he didn’t know what they were looking for. He wanted to ask if the guy was late, but didn’t have the courage. But Geo fidgeting like this was making him nervous. Then Geo looked out at the window as a man seemed to look in his direction across the concourse. He thought he saw the man talk into his jacket sleeve, but then decided he’d been watching too many movies. But Geo’s face was suddenly white. He leaned across to Cal and whispered.
‘Listen, mate. I’m going out for a second to make a phone call. Sit tight. Don’t fucking move. Right?’
‘Okay.’
Cal sat glancing over his shoulder, then down at the case. He had the urge to feel the rucksack to see what was in it, but it had to be cash, he’d decided early on. Any of the drops he’d made were drugs, no doubt about that, so they must have been going down here to pick some up. He wondered why they didn’t just bring it up by car, but maybe the cops were onto stuff like that now and this was the easiest way. You could certainly disappear into the crowd if you were travelling like a couple of mates as they seemed to be. He looked outside, but suddenly couldn’t see Geo anywhere. His stomach dropped, because then the café door opened and in came a guy with two suitcases. He sat on the table next to him, and Cal felt his face go red. The man looked at him square in the eye.
‘Where’s your mate?’
Cal didn’t know what to say. He looked out of the window and to his shock he saw two more men and a uniformed police officer coming towards the café. The officers came in towards the table. Cal stood up on weak legs.
‘Sit down, lad.’ The guy pulled the rucksack from his lap and grabbed the case. ‘You’re nicked.’
Cal felt dizzy, and his whole body went so weak he could hardly lift his arms. Bastard Geo! He’d seen the cops and fucked off, leaving him to take the rap, but he didn’t even know for sure what was in the cases.
‘Where’s the man you were with?’
‘I . . . I don’t know. Look . . . Er . . .’
‘Listen, son. I’m DI Birkenshaw of Greater Manchester Drugs Unit. You’re in a lot of trouble. Where’s your man? We saw you getting off the train and coming in with him.’
Cal shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Honest.’
‘So what did you think you were doing here?’
‘I don’t know.’
The officer stood up, sighed, and nodded to the uniformed officer who stepped forward and pulled Cal to his feet. He could see the man behind the counter and the waitress look on, shocked at the scene unfolding.
‘Well, you’d better start thinking. And you’d better start talking or you’ll not be going back home for a very long time.’
Cal was pulled out and ushered towards the door and as they stepped out, he thought of his mum, and bit back the tears.
Chapter Fourteen
Maria was frantic. She paced from the kitchen to the living room window, where for the past two hours she’d watched the darkness creep across the sky, constantly looking down at the car park, waiting for Cal to appear. It was nearly half past ten, and even though he’d told her he was doing double shifts at the car wash over the last couple of weeks, she knew he must be finished by now. Where the hell was he? His mobile had gone straight to voicemail when she’d started worrying about him two hours ago, but now it was switched off. It wasn’t like Cal. He would never disappear off the radar like this. Even if he was going to be late in, he’d call her to let her know. He knew how paranoid she was about him. He was everything his sister Jenny wasn’t. He was all Maria had. She told herself to calm down. This was madness. He was sixteen years old. He’d probably got a few extra tips at the car wash and gone to a café with his mates. Maybe even for a drink. If he’d done that, she wouldn’t go through him, even if she was angry. She walked back to the kitchen, stuck on the kettle, then again crossed to the window. She looked down, and her gut jolted as she saw a black jeep pulling in and two men get out. Again she told herself to calm down. It didn’t look like that loan shark bastard, so it could be anyone to see any punter in this building. She watched as the two men seemed to look up, and she shrank back behind the curtain. They disappeared out of view and into the building. The kettle pinged and she went to the cupboard and brought out a mug with shaking hands. She put the cup down as she heard the banging at her front door.
‘Oh Christ,’ she murmured, holding her breath.
‘Open the door, Maria.’
She stepped softly down the hall and to the door, peered out of the spyhole. Two men she didn’t recognise, one tall with a couple of days’ stubble, the other skinny with hollow cheeks, stared back.
‘Open the fucking door.’
‘Who is it?’
‘If you want to see your son or daughter again, open the door now.’
Maria felt physically sick. She stood rooted, her legs heavy, almost unable to catch a breath. She reached up and managed to open the lock leaving the chain on, so she could see outside. The skinny man looked at her, and she could smell alcohol on his breath.
‘Open the fucking door. Are you deaf?’
‘Where’s Cal? Wh-what’s going on?’
The tall man placed his hand on the door and spoke softly.
‘Maria. Open the door. We’re not going to hurt you. But we need to tell you something about Cal.’
Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the chain and slid it across. She opened the door and they stepped in, the skinny one pushing past her, and shoving her against the wall. She felt light-headed, and her legs buckled a little.
‘Easy, Joe. Give the woman a moment. Can you not see she’s upset?’
‘Where’s my Cal? Has something happened to him? Are you police? Wh-what is it? Are you from the car wash?’
The skinny man almost sniggered, the other man looked at her sympathetically.
‘No. Listen, Maria—’
She started to whimper. ‘What’s happened to Cal? Is he hurt?’
‘No. Now listen. Calm down and listen. Okay?’
She nodded, her throat tight.
‘Right. I’m about to tell you something, and when I do, just take it easy. Stay calm. Do nothing, and Cal will be all right. So will Jennifer.’
‘Jenny?’ Maria gasped. ‘What’s happened? Please, tell me.’ She could feel a sob fighting its way up to her chest. ‘Please.’
‘They’re both all right. Okay? Cal is in a bit of trouble. The cops have got him in custody.’
‘What? Cops? What are you talking about? Where?’
‘He’s in Manchester at the moment.’
‘Manchester? But he was working today. At the car wash. Doing a doubler.’
‘No he wasn’t. Now, I told you to stay calm. Cal works for us from time to time. And he was in Manchester today doing
a bit of business for us.’ He paused. ‘But it went tits up, and the cops got involved.’
‘Business? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cal has never been to Manchester in his life. You must have made a mistake.’
‘No mistake. All you need to know is that he’s with the cops and he’s safe.’ He paused. ‘Well, as long as he keeps his mouth shut.’ He drew his hand across his mouth in a zipping gesture. ‘Know what I mean?’
Maria put her hands to her mouth and slid down the wall. The skinny man pulled her up roughly and supported her. He walked her through to the living room and sat her on the couch.
‘Right. There’s no point in getting hysterical. This is important.’
‘Okay. I’m all right.’ She nodded, her whole body jittery. ‘Just tell me what this is about. Please.’
‘I told you. Your boy is with the Manchester cops and he’ll probably get moved back up here. Might even get out of custody.’
‘But what for? Why is he in custody?’
‘As I told you, the operation went tits up. Someone grassed.’
An explosion went off in her head.
‘Is it drugs? Not my Cal. No way. This just doesn’t make sense.’
‘Look, I’m not here to convince you, doll. I’m here to tell you this one thing. The cops will come here soon and tell you what the score is. But you keep your mouth shut. Okay? This little encounter here between us never happened. I’m just here to tell you what will happen if you don’t tell Cal to keep it shut.’
Maria said nothing. She nodded. She knew that was all she was expected to do.
‘Wh-what about my Jenny? You mentioned Jenny. Where is she?’
He looked at the skinny man who blinked slowly.
‘Jenny is all right. Well, as all right as a junkie whore can be.’
Maria burst into tears, her face flushing.
‘Stop it,’ she managed to croak.
‘Fuck’s sake, Joe! Shut your fucking rat face! Just shut it!’
She could feel the other man’s hand on her shoulder.
‘Jenny is all right. She’s with some people in our crew. She’ll be all right. As long as Cal keeps his mouth firmly shut. I know you’re not daft. I can see that you’re understanding me here. So all I need you to do is, when the cops get here, and when you see your boy, just make sure you get some time with him on your own to tell him to shut the fuck up. Got that?’
She nodded vigorously.
They both took a step back.
‘Right. We’re out of here now. You say nothing about this or it’s all over – for the lot of you. It’s not good for us when things get fucked up like this, but my job is to make sure the loose ends and loose cannons are all holding up. So you make sure you do what I ask and this will be over soon.’
Maria didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded again. They turned to go away.
‘Now, the cops will be here in the next couple of hours, if not sooner. So you say fuck all. Act as if this is all news to you. Pull yourself together, and if they ask you why you’re jangling like this you say you’re worried sick about Cal because it’s not like him to stay out late.’
She said nothing.
‘We’ll be in touch. We’ll be watching. We clear here?’
‘B-But what am I supposed to do when the cops come?’
‘They’ll tell you how this works. Our wonderful criminal justice system. They’ll get a lawyer for your boy and take it from there. But until this dies down, you lie low and say nothing. Jenny is safe. Cal is safe. For the moment. Don’t fuck it up.’
They turned and went down the hall towards the door without looking back. Maria stood watching as the door slammed. She felt her face crumple as she supported herself along the wall until she got to the living room and sat on the couch. She had a few friends here she could tell some of her problems to, but not this. There was only one person in the world she had left that she could talk to. But she didn’t even have her phone number. She knew where she lived. She knew that Kerry Casey was the head of a gangster family these days, and she wondered for a moment if this was who Cal was working for, but maybe Kerry wouldn’t even know if he was. But Maria had no option. Yesterday at the funeral she’d had a couple of drinks and when she’d confided in her about her Jenny, Kerry was sympathetic. Maria looked at her watch. If what these guys said was true, and it must be, the cops would be here any minute. Then it would be too late. She called a taxi and grabbed her coat.
*
Kerry turned the fire up, and the coals glowed in the hearth, making the room feel cosy against the howling gale. She sat on the armchair nursing a mug of tea, and flicked on the little stained glass lamp on the table by the fire. The light sent shadows of purple and red and yellow across the framed photographs on the bookshelves. Every image a memory – her mother and father, radiant smiles from their first cruise ship holiday many years ago, when her dad really began to make good money. She recalled her mother raving about the splendour and the rich people swanning around, and them laughing that here they were, part of the jet set. Then another snapshot of herself with her dad, his arm draped over her shoulder on a holiday at her aunt’s home in the Costa del Sol, Kerry’s face and shoulders suntanned from two weeks on the beach. It was their last holiday before her father died suddenly eight weeks later, and her life changed for ever. Then a photograph of Kerry graduating, in her gown, smiling for the camera, but the radiance was gone from her eyes. The pain still stung her, and reminded her of how sad and forlorn she’d been as a teenager, being sent away like that to a foreign country. Even though her aunt and uncle were there and her mum visited, her joy was gone. She’d lost the carefree little girl she was in the earlier picture. But the truth was that although she lost that little girl, she’d never really left her behind, and in dark days the agony of losing her father so young and then being away from her mother followed her around. She remembered her mother telling her when she was just fourteen years old that she was so precious to them because they had waited such a long time for her. Her mother had three miscarriages before Kerry finally came to complete their family, and she was so cherished that they did everything to protect her. It was hard for her to comprehend why she was being sent away, but she came to understand that they were only doing it for her own protection. Despite that, she had missed so much time with her mother, and now it was too late. She sipped her tea and listened as the rain battered the bay window and the trees thrashed against the wind. So much to be done now, she told herself. She touched her father’s picture and murmured, ‘Don’t worry, Da, I won’t let you down.’ Her mobile rang and shuddered on the table and she looked at the screen. No name, but she recognised the number. It was Sharon Potter. She pushed the key and put the phone to her ear.
‘Hello?’
‘Kerry?’
‘Sharon. How you doing?’ Her voice was deadpan.
‘Kerry. I need help. I’m sorry to phone you like this. I’m in big trouble.’
Kerry wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear this, but she knew she had to. The moment she’d agreed to meet her, she was already in for whatever was going to happen.
‘What’s happened?’
‘Knuckles. He tried to have me killed. He sent his fucking boys to shoot me.’
‘What? Christ!’
‘I got away.’
‘How did you manage that?’ She said it as matter of fact as she could, despite her shock. What the hell had she got herself into?
‘Don’t ask. But right now, two of that bastard Knuckles’ men are lying in the mud in the middle of a back road near Manchester airport, and I’m heading north.’
‘Jesus.’ This woman, whoever she was, didn’t mess around. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yeah. Fucking seriously. Look, can you meet me soon? First thing. I’m just south of Glasgow on the motorway. Nobody will look for me up here. But Knuckles will know by now that I got away. Listen, as I told you before, I’ve got stuff. Information you’ll want. I . . . I .
. .’
Kerry could hear her voice quiver a little and she knew that whatever she had done was beginning to sink in. She had to think fast.
‘Okay. Take it easy. Listen, I’ll get you booked into a hotel – One Devonshire Gardens. Okay? Head for Great Western Road, and it’s just off that. You’ll find it easily. Phone me when you’re outside. I’ll get someone to look out for you tonight. We’ll meet in the morning. Don’t worry.’ She realised the don’t worry bit sounded ridiculous. This wasn’t a client she was telling to not worry about a business deal.
‘Thanks, Kerry. I . . . I really appreciate that.’
Again, the voice was quivering. Sharon didn’t have to say she was terrified. It was coming across loud and clear. They both hung up.
Suddenly there was a knock on the living room door and it opened. Gerry, one of the security men, stepped inside. Kerry looked up, a little impatient at being disturbed.
‘Sorry, Kerry. But there’s a woman outside banging at the front security entrance. Says she needs to speak to you urgently.’
Kerry looked at him, confused.
‘What?’
‘Says her name is Maria. She was at the funeral yesterday. She says she talked to you and that she’s a pal.’
Kerry stood up, surprised. Something bad must have happened for Maria to come banging on her door. She hadn’t given her phone number, which she should have but got caught up, then Maria had disappeared. Kerry went towards the door.
‘Let her in, Gerry. I’ll come down with you. It’s okay. She’s an old friend.’
Downstairs, Kerry stood in the kitchen watching out of the window as the steel side door was unlocked by a guard in a raincoat down to his ankles as the rain lashed across the yard. Maria stepped in, soaked, and she was ushered up to the back door. Kerry opened it, and stood looking at her friend, hair soaked, her face flushed and tear-stained.
‘Maria. Jesus. You’re soaked through. Come in, for God’s sake.’
Maria came in, and Kerry nodded to Gerry to go. She closed the door. Maria began to crumple.