by Anna Smith
‘Whisky for me, sweetheart,’ Danny said. ‘Bit of water.’
‘Me too,’ Jack said.
They both sat across from her on the sofa while she poured their drinks and handed them out. Then she sat on the armchair by the fire.
‘Okay. So we’re clear here. We talked about my plan to drop some info to the cops on Knuckles Boyle as the shipment gets to his warehouse. So as soon as it arrives, the cops will be all over him. We’re all okay with that, aren’t we?’
Danny looked into his glass for a second, swirling the whisky around, then he spoke. ‘Kerry, we want to nail Knuckles as much as you, believe me, but Jack and me were having a chat, and . . .’ He paused. ‘Are you really sure you want to bring the cops in on this? I mean, you know we are on the other side of the law, sweetheart. That’s how we do things. I’ve known and been mates with plenty of cops down the years, and sure, you can trust them to an extent. But this is a big deal, and I’ll be honest, part of me thinks bringing the cops in could blow up in our faces.’
Kerry hadn’t expected this. They hadn’t been so vocal when she told them in the first place. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘I haven’t told the cops yet. But I’m going to, because we’re agreed it’s the right thing to do.’ She looked from one to the other. In a few moments, she was going to show them compromising photos of her and a top cop, and the fact that they were now backing off from involving police at all was going to make it even more difficult. ‘I hear what you’re saying. But I think I’m right in this, and I hope you’ll bear with me and support me. I’ve seen the documents and evidence Sharon has on Knuckles, and it can put him away for decades. If I go to them with that material, I feel sure they will play ball with me. So, let’s just go with the plan, okay? I need to know you are with me on this.’
‘Kerry,’ Danny said. ‘We’re with you. We will always have your back. You don’t have to worry about that. We might not always agree, but you’re in charge and this is your shout.’
‘Thanks,’ she said.
She cleared her throat, now feeling a little awkward, knowing she was going to have to admit her dinner date with Vinny Burns and the photos.
‘Right. So, DI Vincent Burns – you remember he came here to talk to me in the beginning?’ She looked at Danny.
‘Yeah. I remember him. He went to school with you, did he not?’
‘Yes, he did. Anyway, I’ve been talking to him a bit, and it was him who approached me and asked if we could help each other.’ She felt a little hot. ‘Look, guys, I’m going to be honest with you here, as you are my closest confidants, and I know I can trust you. The thing is, I haven’t even touched on the subject of collaboration with Vinny yet.’ Kerry clocked the pair of them trying to keep their expressions impassive when she mentioned him as Vinny instead of DI. ‘But we’ve been out. We get on well. Old times and all that.’ She stopped, swallowed a mouthful of wine, feeling a little embarrassed.
There was an awkward silence. Then Danny gave her a wry smile.
‘Listen, darlin’. What are you saying here? You and Vinny are old pals, you’ve been talking to him. What’s the big deal? You got a wee notion of him?’ He smiled, Jack half smiled. ‘So what! Your business, pet. You don’t have to explain that to us.’
Kerry felt a bit silly that she was almost confessing to them. But she was relieved that Danny saw it that way, and by the look on Jack, he was not that interested. She wouldn’t be the first head of a criminal family to get pally with the cops. It was all part of the territory. But it was a bit different when you were a woman. They would see that too, but if they did, their faces didn’t show it.
‘Fair enough. And thanks for that.’
Kerry took the envelope off the bookshelf and opened it. She reached inside and pulled a picture out.
‘But the thing is, we went for dinner the other night. We had a night out. And . . . And someone was taking pictures.’
She handed the first photograph of her going into the restaurant to Danny, and he passed it to Jack.
‘La Lanterna.’ Danny grinned. ‘Your dad’s old favourite. Many a good night we had in there.’
Kerry nodded. ‘And this.’ She handed him another picture. ‘And this . . .’ Another picture of them coming out together. She saw them looking at it. ‘And this.’ The picture of them kissing.
Danny spread his hands.
‘A bit of romance with the other side, Kerry. You’re a big girl. You can make your mind up about these things. It’s your business. But you know how to be careful.’
‘I know that, Danny. That’s not the problem.’
She gave the other picture of her going into the flat, and the one of her coming out in the morning.
She looked from one to the other, pushing her hair back, trying her best to look defiant, in control.
‘Oh,’ Danny said, handing the picture to Jack. ‘A bit more of a romance then.’ He put his glass down on the table. ‘Look. I want to be straight with you, Kerry. It’s up to you who you get involved with, but I mean, as I said, you have to be careful. And do you think it’s wise to be this much involved with a cop, and talk about us bringing them in on something we are about to do? We are, as I said earlier, on opposite sides here. Do you really want to be sleeping with the cop who you’re going to set up Knuckles for?’ He looked at Jack who didn’t look as though he disagreed.
Kerry’s face reddened. Partly from embarrassment that she had to share intimate details of her private life with them, but also because she sensed they were questioning her judgement. She had to stand her ground here.
‘Listen, Danny, Jack. I want to be clear here. Spending time with Vinny Burns is my business and I know what I’m doing. I’m not advocating we bring the cops in to nail Knuckles because of my involvement with Vinny. I know you don’t think I’m that naive. And I know you have shown me huge respect since I took over, and I appreciate that you have my back at all times, but this is my business. So I’d like you just to put aside my involvement with Vinny for the moment, and consider the bigger situation. The fact that I’ve spent the night with him might not suit how you view things. But someone taking pictures of me is a totally different ball game. That’s what I want to focus on here. Especially when I know who it is.’
They both looked shocked for the first time.
‘Really? How do you know? Who the fuck would do that?’
‘Frankie.’
Jack and Danny looked at each other.
‘Aw, for fuck’s sake!’ Jack said. ‘What the fuck is it with that bastard!’
‘Well. You tell me. I take it he hasn’t mentioned that these pictures exist?’
‘No,’ Jack said. ‘If he had, we’d have told you straight away. But knowing Frankie, he did it for one reason. To discredit you. To show to us, or to show to other people. He’s a fucking arsehole.’
‘Bastard!’ Danny said. ‘This is off the fucking scale.’ He looked at Jack. ‘We’re going to have to deal with him, Danny. He could damage us all if he’s in this frame of mind. He’s dangerous.’
‘I know,’ Kerry said. ‘What’s his game? I mean, what does he really want? He bumped off Pollock and McCann, and he’s come to me a couple of times, telling me he’s doing everything for me. He says he wants to be more involved. But I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. He set up Mickey and the funeral hit. I know that for sure. Sharon told me. He’s trying to do me in.’ She paused, took a breath, then said calmly, ‘Well, he’s just made the biggest mistake of his life.’
Jack took a swig of his whisky.
‘We can just get him taken care of, Kerry. It’s maybe time. He’s a loose cannon.’
Danny nodded slowly. ‘Or we can use him. Find a way to use him to do something he thinks is going to take him on to greater things here. A bigger responsibility. Then he fucks himself up. We just have to think about it. I don’t mean we need more proof of what he’s done, by the way.’ He glanced at the pictures. ‘These are proof enough that he’s not on our side.
Treacherous fucker. Your da would have choked the life out of him for pulling a stunt like that with you, Kerry.’
Kerry sighed, touched by Danny’s concern as much as his anger. It would be easier just to have Frankie taken right out of the equation after everything she knew he’d done, but right now she wanted to witness him being found out and made to pay the consequences.
‘We can think about it,’ she said, looking from Danny to Jack. ‘I don’t want anything done just now. Nothing changes the way he works, just let him go about as if nothing happened. We’ll decide what we do later. But meantime, as I said, I haven’t spoken to Vinny yet about how we can throw Knuckles to them. I will though. Very soon. The shipment is going in two days. I’m thinking we should go to Spain once it’s in place. How are we doing with the plans for that, Danny?’
‘It’s all sorted. Our boys are ready to take over the trucks and then it’s a matter of getting them down to Estepona safely. The houses and the lock-ups are all sorted. You don’t have to worry about that.’ He paused. ‘But we should think about moving the stuff on as soon as we can. Get the money for it and leave it at that.’
Kerry nodded. ‘I agree. I don’t want to hold that stuff for any length of time.’
‘Then we should set up a meet with Durkin and Hill, as soon as the gear is in place. We’ll see what they offer.’
‘Great. Can you do that, Danny?’
‘Sure.’ He drained his drink and stood up. ‘And, Kerry, listen to your old uncle, pet. Just be careful on where you meet your mate Vinny. As long as you can trust him, I’m okay with your judgement of that. But rest assured, Frankie will be coming to us in the next couple of days with these pics in his hand.’
‘Prick!’ Jack said, standing up.
‘Well, on that cheery note . . .’ Kerry felt relieved the awkward meeting was over. She’d stood up for herself, and she felt she had won with the two people she trusted most in the world. ‘We’ll call it a day.’
Danny gave her a hug as he was leaving. Once they’d gone she sat down in front of the fire with her glass of wine. They were her family now, they would look after her. She knew they would defend her with their lives, no matter what it took. Yet here, in the quietness of the room, an overwhelming feeling of loneliness washed over her as she sipped her drink.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cal checked his profile in the mirror for the umpteenth time, turning his head a little, narrowing his eyes, raising his chin and glancing into middle distance, like the brooding models or actors he’d see in magazine photo shoots. He ran the brush through his fringe and pushed it backwards, caked with wax, until it sat in the right position. Then he half smiled at himself in the mirror.
‘Christ, look at the nick of you, Cal,’ he murmured. ‘You’d think you’d never been out on a date before.’
And the truth was he hadn’t – not a real date anyway. Sure, he’d snogged a few girls at parties once a couple of beers had calmed his nerves and stopped him from being overwhelmed by the unbelievable feeling of a girl pushing himself up against him in a dark room. But at sixteen, Cal was still a virgin. He knew he wasn’t the only one in his class, and that some of the eejits who bragged about shagging a different girl every weekend were full of bullshit. But he also knew a few of them were telling the truth. He wasn’t overly anxious about it, as he knew he’d get there some day. He even allowed himself a little fantasy about tonight, and Mary . . . But it was only a fantasy. He had no intention of pushing her in any direction at all, and he’d be happy if he got to kiss her. Nonetheless, his stomach was churning with excitement. All the more because he had organised a foursome for Tahir with Mary’s best pal, Liz. He’d squared it with Mary that Tahir was a refugee, because some of the Glasgow people were racist and wouldn’t want to go near them, but Mary was fine about it, and her pal was a looker too. So both of them were set up, off for a meal and the movies, like proper dudes. They had money in their pockets and were ready to show the girls a good time. It was a celebration, after all – he and Tahir had gone with the money directly to the dealer who would bring his family home. He was some Turk who worked out of the back of a Turkish barber shop in West Nile Street. Cal pulled on his jacket and reflected on the meeting. The Turk had promised them Tahir’s family would be here within the month.
*
The barber shop had only had three people in it when they’d arrived – one on the chair with his face covered in soap, the barber standing over him with an open razor, and a third man, fat, bald and sallow, who eyed them warily from a chair in the corner. The guy with the open razor looked Turkish, and a bit dangerous. The fat man also looked Turkish, but as it turned out he wasn’t a customer. More of a bouncer.
‘I arranged to speak with Hamid. I phoned last night.’
‘Who you?’
‘My name is Tahir.’
‘Wait.’
The fat guy waddled off through a curtain of coloured mosaic chips hung on strings that rattled as he went through. Cal watched the guy with the razor as he expertly shaved the customer’s chin, wiping the soap away. The place was so quiet he could hear the sound of the bristles being scraped off by the razor. He felt a little unnerved. He didn’t like the feel of this place at all. But what else could you expect if you were looking to smuggle your family in from Syria? It’s not as if you could go to the travel agent. In a few moments, the fat guy appeared through the curtain and nodded him forward. Cal walked behind him. The fat guy put his hand up to stop him.
‘Who he?’
‘He’s my friend. My business partner.’
The fat guy looked at Cal and sneered, as he tried make himself look taller.
‘Your business partner?’
He disappeared behind the curtain. Then a moment later he came back.
‘Come.’
They went in through the curtains and along the room full of boxes and crates and bin bags. Then through the mess and another curtain, and into a small untidy office. Behind a desk sat a skinny, lantern-jawed middle-aged man with dark hair and a thin moustache. He looked up at Tahir, then at Cal.
‘Who is this guy? You don’t have anyone before. What is this?’
‘He’s my best friend. We work together. We are partners.’
‘Doing what?’
Tahir shrugged. ‘Whatever we can do. But we make money together and that is why we have good money now. Okay? We have more money now. I gave you already a lot, but now I want it to be quicker. You said last night you could do that if the money is good.’
The man looked sly and let out a slow breath.
‘Don’t be so hasty, my friend. It is a dangerous thing we do, bringing people into the country. Many borders to cross. Dangerous. And the sea. But your family has made it this far. You know they are in Turkey now.’
‘How long till you bring them?’
‘When you pay the full amount.’
‘You said that last time.’
‘But you see now the price goes up. The cops, the authorities are everywhere. More risk for my people. Now is more expensive. You see the news. You see how it is.’
‘I can give you money. But I want the guarantees – and this is the most money I can give. How much is the total now?’
‘Is four thousand now in total. You gave me . . . let me see . . .’ He scanned down a list from a book on the desk. ‘You pay already nearly two thousand. So you must come back when you have the full amount.’
‘I have it now. But I want guarantee.’
The Turk stood up.
‘And what will you do if you don’t get a guarantee?’ He came across, circling Tahir and then Cal.
Cal didn’t know what to do, then he saw Tahir’s face going red then pale. The Turk grabbed him and pushed him against the wall.
‘You little Kurdish prick. You’re nobody.’
Then, from nowhere, Tahir pulled a knife and wriggled in one movement and suddenly the knife was at the Turk’s throat.
‘I give you the money, bu
t you must phone my brother now and tell him you are doing it, and if you don’t and I give you the money I will come back and kill you. You got that, my friend?’
Cal stood there, slack-jawed with shock. His body was shaking but he was ready to leap in if need be.
‘Put the knife down, you stupid fuck, and you might live to see the morning – and maybe even your brother again.’
Tahir lowered the knife and the Turk made them sit down. He smiled but it was a cold smile.
‘You did a stupid thing just this moment, to threaten me like that. But you have balls. I give you that. I will get your family here. I promise. Now show me the money.’
Tahir went into his bag and pulled out the wads of notes they had robbed from Dolan. He glanced at Cal, who nodded encouragingly.
‘This is everything I have.’
He took the money and counted it. He took his mobile from the desk drawer and punched a key. Then spoke in Turkish and they sat waiting. He hung up.
‘My contact will talk to your brother and his family. He can get them in the next wave of people. It will be within a week. You must wait until I call you. That is all. Now get out of here.’
‘But can I speak with my brother?’
‘No. My contact says he cannot find him, that he is with some people and he will get him tomorrow. He is fixing it. You need to wait. Be patient.’
‘Are you sure?’
He glared at him.
‘I told you. Get out of here while you can. You little shit, you pulled a knife on me! You should be dead by now but only I have such good nature. Now fuck off out of here, I have things to do.’
Tahir stood up and Cal with him.
‘Okay. I will be waiting for your call. I will see you again if I don’t get it.’
The Turk reached into his drawer and pulled a gun, pointed it at them. Cal’s stomach dropped.
‘Are you deaf? Do you really want to die? I told you. They will be here.’
They left the room out into the barber’s where the man in the chair was lying with his face covered in a hot towel. The fat man stared at them until they left.