Bloodline

by Carl Hancock

  ‘Very kind of you, but I suspect an ulterior motive.’

  Matt smiled. ‘Well he didn’t check the tenancy when he signed it, it doesn’t start until next week so technically he’s trespassing, so I need you to evict him and inform him the tenancy has been cancelled as per the small print that I had written into the conditions.’

  ‘And the equipment…?’

  ‘Oh ,I get to keep that, it’s on my property and besides I’ve let it out as equipped with a much better revenue with a genuine tenancy starting on Monday,’ Matt replied.

  ‘You’re a nasty piece of work Matt,’ Griggs said laughing.

  ‘Business is business; it’s all about the pound.’

  ‘Yeah but you have to admit that you derive a certain amount of sadistic pleasure from it.’

  ‘Well let’s just say I unearthed a few details about the evictees when I ran the background check on them, they’re not adverse to a bit of double dealing themselves.’

  ‘But not enough to put you off hustling them?’

  ‘Not nearly enough no! You know me, its dog eat dog in this life,’ Matt said. ‘Anyway about last night.’

  ‘Yeah, how was it? Are you impressed with your soon to be father in-law?’ Griggs interrupted. ‘Are you going to call him Dad?’

  ‘That’s not the slightest bit funny Griggs,’ he replied not appreciating his sense of humour. ‘I assume everything’s sorted now then, after your hasty exit?’

  ‘It turns out that there wasn’t that much to arrange after all. I could have hung round, but it’s done now.’

  Matt got the feeling the omission had been pre rehearsed, a fictional tale so not to arouse suspicion over his absence. ‘Who was she?’ he asked sure he had been deserted for the company of a woman. And that he could understand.

  ‘It wasn’t like that,’ Dave rebuffed immediately. ‘Seriously,’ he added at the sight of Matt’s disbelieving posture.

  ‘Whatever you say mate,’ Matt said turning the key in the ignition. ‘Have fun here wont you!’ he added sarcastically as he slowly drove away.

  Cyrus slowed the car down as they approached the location specified by Billy, he was sure his command had been misheard as he didn’t recognize it at all. The last time he had been in this area there were fields all around providing privacy from public eyes, yet now hundreds of fairly new homes blotted the landscape, it was no longer familiar to him.

  ‘This is definitely it Billy,’ he said pulling the steering wheel down to the left.

  ‘Cant they leave anything the fuck alone?’ Billy said irritated at the change and population growth. ‘Over there, that’s the one,’ he pointed to an industrial unit in front of them.

  Cyrus stopped the car and the two men disembarked, Cyrus looked around the near desolate business park, many units looked just like the one that Billy was paying special interest to. Abandoned and unloved with blacked out windows on steel shutter doors that showed evidence of rusting up and decaying due to lack of use.

  Cyrus was curious about Billy’s intentions, about why they had come here and if it meant he knew of a score to be had. And that filled him with an equal amount of concern. Security signs were clearly displayed on most of the units, lending belief that even if unused they were still protected.

  ‘We need to get in here Cyrus. How are you at picking locks?’ Billy was holding the large padlock in his right hand.

  Cyrus shook his head. ‘No good Billy, why this one?’ He turned nervously looking around. A unit at the other end was still in use with a forklift truck periodically flying back and forth through the shutter doors.

  Billy didn’t answer; he pushed the door as hard as he could with no result. He took a step backwards and raised his leg thrusting it forward with the base making hard contact seemingly oblivious or unperturbed about the noise he was creating.

  ‘Come on Billy, we’ll sort something else out,’ Cyrus suggested, his fears coming true.

  ‘NO!’ Billy shouted at the top of his voice. ‘I’m going to get in here one way or another!’ He looked around him and grabbed a discarded brick that lay by the wire fence.

  ‘Oh no Billy, you don’t want to be doing that,’ Cyrus warned.

  Billy rammed the brick hard into the small wired glass window again and again, the shattered glass dispersing with every loud blow. The neighbouring unit had heard, two members of staff were watching and pointing, one with a phone in hand.

  ‘Fucking hell Billy, we’re going to get nabbed for this, and for what? There can’t be anything worthwhile in there it don’t look like it’s been used for donkeys!’

  Reaching his hand carefully through the gap, narrowly missing the remaining sharp edges of glass and wire Billy located the catch on the inside of the door.

  ‘Done it, told you I would,’ Billy declared triumphantly before disappearing inside the darkened unit.

  ‘I’ll just wait here then,’ Cyrus said. ‘Keep guard,’ he added with insincerity.

  As Billy crashed about inside, the sound of obstacles in his path breaking Cyrus was alerted to the sound of a motor vehicle at high revs, he turned to see a mobile security patrol car speeding around the corner toward him.

  ‘Billy!’ he called through the open door. ‘We got company!’

  He had no option but to take the fall, he couldn’t outrun them across the tiny field area that remained from development and neither could he leave his car, it would be traced back to him within minutes. He just hoped Billy had a plan or at least knew what he was doing. If the worst come to the worst he could always deny he knew why they were there as he genuinely didn’t.

  The security car pulled up to a screeching halt and two officers jumped out, one immediately approached Cyrus while the other walked to the rear and lifted the boot. Lowering it after him Cyrus could see it was also a canine patrol. He hated dogs ever since one had taken a chunk out of his arm during a tie up in a Country house. Billy had told him it was all clear so he put his weapon away to rifle through the draws just as a large Alsatian appeared out of no-where and had a go.

  ‘What’s going on here then?’ the overworked underpaid man asked.

  ‘Nothing…nothing at all,’ Cyrus said edging backwards as the dog eagerly led his master toward him growling and showing his large white teeth.

  The same officer looked at the door and back toward him. ‘Nothing you say?’

  Billy emerged at the door; startled… the canine turned his attention to him. ‘Shut up’ Billy shouted. ‘And sit the fuck down,’ he ordered. Surprisingly the dog obeyed. ‘You got a fuckin problem mate?’ Billy said to the handler.

  The man pointed up the far end where the two staff still stood watching the events unfold to lighten their monotonous day. ‘They said you broke in.’

  Billy looked down at the evidence around his feet. ‘And I suppose you believe them?’

  ‘Well it kinda look’s like you did.’

  Billy sneered and pulled the door firmly shut until the sound of the lock engaging was clearly heard by all present. ‘You wouldn’t be saying that if I had a key, would you?’ He produced a key from his trouser pocket and placed it in the lock turning it until the door swung open again. ‘Just like that!’ he said. ‘Now if there’s nothing else, you can leave me and my mate alone, and take the fuckin mutt with you before he starts crapping everywhere.’

  ‘That was a close one Billy, I’m not used to shocks like that anymore. Fuck me the way they belted round that corner to get here took me back to the security van days, I nearly crapped myself,’ he admitted as he watched the two guards drive away.

  Billy turned silently and walked into the unit, Cyrus followed closely behind into the as yet unlit area.

  ‘If you had a key to begin with, then why the hell did you break in?’ Cyrus glanced around as Billy flicked a light switch, the familiar contents of the unit stared back at them both, although unseen for so long, their whereabouts known by only one of them until now.

  ‘Coz it’s my unit stup
id, I fuckin bought it as storage when I knew I was going down, call it an investment as I’m dead sure it must be worth more now than what I paid for it,’ Billy said. ‘I left a key in the cabinet over there, could hardly take it to jail with me.’

  Cyrus rubbed his head as he reminisced to the sight of Billy’s once prized Silver Shadow Rolls Royce sat dusty and unloved in the corner. He had made Billy what he considered a generous offer for it at the time which was refused point blank, the reasons now obvious. ‘How though Billy? I don’t understand,’ he looked up from rubbing the side of the car. ‘Everything in your name was seized.’

  ‘Yeah I know, but me lawyer sorted it out for a little extra,’ he replied.

  ‘Lawyer Billy,’ Cyrus replied with raised eyebrows. ‘Not the lawyer that we…….’

  ‘Yeah Cyrus you’ve got it, that one,’ Billy interrupted. ‘Less said about that the better, you get my drift?’

  ‘Sure Billy, of course. It’s not like I had nothing to do with it is it!’ Cyrus didn’t wish to bring up the past; the favour that Billy called in had come at just the wrong time. Although favours of that sort always came at the wrong time for one reason or another.

  Suzy was waiting in the office at the social club for her betrothed to arrive to take her to dinner as he had promised to that morning before heading off. The happiness that she felt was a result of the sense of calm that had fallen upon her when waking to realize that the evening before had been reality. No longer having to bear the brunt of concern over her father languishing his later years incarcerated she felt a rush of liberation also.

  A knock at the closed door followed by an entering figure as she looked up bought her out of her thoughts.

  ‘Suzy luv, have you got a moment?’

  The expectation of Matt’s lack of punctuality had led her to relax in the office chair; she sat herself up with surprise at the sight of her father, the very man that she had been thinking about whom now stood in front of her. ‘Sure Dad, I didn’t know you was here otherwise I would have come straight through to the bar,’ she said making the correct assumption that he had been continuing the previous evenings indulgences.

  ‘Well I’m glad you didn’t luv,’ her welcoming face dropped. ‘No, I don’t mean it like that,’ he said realizing she had taken offence and thinking that he didn’t wish to see her. ‘It’s just that I couldn’t have got you a drink or anything,’ he tapped his side pockets.

  ‘Oh, right!’ Suzy replied understanding the position he was in.

  ‘I’m sorry luv, I’m ashamed to be asking. You know if I had another choice I‘d take it.’

  She stood up and rummaged through her bag for her purse.

  ‘I did have a bit of cash from something I pawned earlier, but I didn’t get what I thought it was worth.’ When he had stole the diamond necklace it was reported to have been real, yet now it turned out to be a very good knock off that had only thrown a few quid his way to start the session off.

  ‘Damn it,’ she said, angry with herself she glanced in his direction. ‘Sorry Dad but I didn’t get to stop at the cash point.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s for the best Suzy, don’t worry I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,’ he turned to make his exit.

  It bothered her more than it bothered him because she didn’t like to refuse his simple request, she had money and it hadn’t crossed her mind to bung him a few quid the night before just to ease his re-entering into society. It would be difficult for most to integrate after a couple of years yet the modern world had changed so much, the technology that now existed and was used on a daily basis as part of necessity was all new to him and a challenge enough without the concern of money hanging over his head.

  ‘Dad,’ she called out having a thought, she turned to face the safe and under his watchful eye opened it and sorted out a wad of cash. ‘£500 alright for now?’

  ‘Wonderful luv, thanks very much,’ he replied. ‘I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.’ Feeling the money in his hands, the crisp notes tightly between his fingers it was more than he had hoped for and easier to get than he had thought. He placed it inside his jacket pocket.

  ‘Don’t worry about it, there’s no rush it’s the least we can do,’ she said. ‘How’s the accommodation? Matt told me he sorted you out well.’

  ‘Yeah he did good and proper,’ he replied. He had already guessed it was Matt’s doing to drop him in such a dump but would leave that particular slight for another day to direct at the correct person. The door swung inward knocking him on the back slightly.

  ‘Careful Matt,’ Suzy teased. ‘You could just say excuse me you know.’

  ‘I didn’t know he was there did I? Sorry Billy,’ he brushed past him before noticing the open safe. ‘What’s with the safe?’ he looked back and forth to Suzy.

  ‘Dad needed some money and I haven’t been to the cash point today so I borrowed some from there. It’s Ok isn’t it?’ she asked.

  Matt rearranged the bundled notes and locked the safe up, the thought of changing the combination at the forefront of his mind. ‘Of course,’ he lied noting Billy staring at the money piled high. ‘We all need money don’t we?’ The cost of his new father in laws release was mounting up at his expense. ‘I assume you’re going to clear the bar bill that you’ve been running up today then?’ He looked at Billy although the irony was killing him. He was paying the bill owed to himself with his own money.

  ‘It’s alright Dad, he’s only joking,’ Suzy said. ‘Matt, how about giving Dad a job here for a while just until he finds something more permanent?’

  ‘I don’t know… mixing business and family don’t work well at the best of times, besides we haven’t got any vacancies especially any that he could do,’ he replied.

  ‘You employ Stevie,’ she said. ‘And Griggs is like family.’

  ‘That’s different Suzy; you know it is.’

  ‘Not from where I am,’ she said. ‘I’ll leave the two of you alone to discuss the options, meet you at the bar Dad and I’ll let you buy me a drink Ok?’ She kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room.

  ‘Yeah sure Suzy luv, Cyrus is out there, go sit with him and tell him I won’t be long.’

  Moments later Matt shook his head at Billy awkwardly. ‘I can’t think of anything that might be suitable for you.’ His words broke the momentary silence that had engulfed them, neither truly wishing to be the first to speak.

  ‘Hey listen, it wasn’t my idea,’ Billy protested.

  ‘I understand that,’ Matt replied. ‘You know what Suzy’s like though she won’t let it drop unless I offer you something…but then again maybe you don’t know her that well anymore!’

  ‘I think you know her better than me at the moment,’ he replied. ‘Although I do mean to change that.’

  Matt nodded in agreement. ‘I really don’t know what to say Billy, you can’t work the doors as you need a licence and a history of good character these days and I’m not being funny when I say this, but with your colourful past you wouldn’t stand a chance.’ Although he knew a way around it was possible, he wasn’t interested in going to such lengths for him.

  ‘Mind you,’ said Matt with one vacancy springing to mind. ‘We do need a new pot boy,’ he added remembering the call from Chris’s mother that morning.

  ‘A fuckin glass collector, are you winding me up or what?’

  ‘Of course not, it’s just that the young lad doesn’t seem to want to work here anymore, not since last night, you shouldn’t knock it, it’s seven quid an hour plus tips and four free drinks per shift. It’s better than the going rate, that’s why I can’t understand him suddenly leaving.’ The mother had been reluctant to explain the sudden departure, either she didn’t know herself or was remaining silent, either way she certainly didn’t wish to discuss the matter in detail.

  Matt knew he wouldn’t accept it, so he felt confident in offering, which also had the added advantage of being able to mention it again to Billy. He knew he had something to do
with it, intentionally or not. Something he had said or done had left Chris uncomfortable enough to leave the job he was handed down by his older brother after waiting so long.

  Having always been punctual and enthusiastic it made no sense to leave without a good reason, although fear was usually good enough for most.

  ‘Forget it, like I said it weren’t my idea,’ Billy said. ‘I’ll find something myself.’

  ‘Have it your way, only trying to help,’ he said as Billy made movements to leave. ‘Be quick about it though, your accommodations only paid until next week.’

  ‘Oh yeah, the dig’s,’ Billy said pausing at the door. ‘Thanks for that, very up market place.’

  ‘So I’m told, but I’m sure you’ve slept in worse,’ Matt replied as the door closed.

  Chapter Five

  The five bedroom house a thirty minute drive from his business empire suited Matt. The large iron gates that segregated them from any uninvited visitors were only accessible via an intercom, permission to enter granted only upon visual identification. The gravelled driveway promised to give slight audio notice should any intruder breach the security. Matt had considered the presence of dogs let loose to patrol the grounds, yet the constant care required outweighed their necessity. As far as he was concerned his home, his palace and castle that he had worked so hard for was safe.

  In the smart modern kitchen with dark granite work surfaces he chopped the evenings vegetables ready to be placed into the boiling water for the soon to arrive guests to enjoy. Suzy opened two bottles of red wine and rested them on the table to breathe before indulging. She lay six places while her partner continued to chop away oblivious to the change in the usual numbers.

  It was a weekly event that had stood the test of time for numerous years without cancelation or interruption. The weekly meal where Matt and Suzy entertained their friend and colleague Dave Griggs and whoever he bought as a date. Over the years they had rarely seen the same face two weeks in a row, the constant change in female companionship was a hot topic for them.