by Dan Latus
‘‘What kind of car was Tom driving?’
‘A BMW 7-series,’ Anne said with an angry look at her husband.
‘Whose was it?’
‘His – Tom’s.’
I blinked and looked at Josh for corroboration. He nodded. ‘We gave him it for his birthday.’
I was astonished, having assumed it had been an old banger with faulty brakes and steering. They could have been the mitigating circumstances.
‘You gave it him!’ Anne snapped. ‘I wanted him to have a little Renault Clio, or something sensible like that.’
‘Big cars are safer,’ Josh protested.
‘Oh, yes!’
By now I was beginning to think of sending them both packing, and definitely with a referral to Relate.
‘For his seventeenth birthday?’ I queried, trying hard not to sound too aghast. ‘A BMW 7-series? That’s a big present.’
‘I have a car dealership,’ Josh said defiantly.
‘You didn’t even give him a second-hand one,’ Anne said. ‘Oh, no! It had to be a brand new, top-of-the-range bloody Beamer!’
Wisely, Josh didn’t say another word.
I wondered where we were going with this. So far, the only thing I’d heard that I might be able to help with was the security issue.
‘Tell me more about the attacks on your business premises.’
‘They’re coordinated,’ Josh said, ‘and we know who’s doing the coordinating.’
‘Oh?’
‘The lad’s father – the lad that was knocked over.’
‘And killed!’ Anne pointed out again.
Josh didn’t disagree.
‘He’s some sort of gangster,’ Anne added wearily.
Ah! I was beginning to understand.
‘That’s why you said there was a vendetta?’
Josh said yes and Anne nodded. For once, something had been said to which they could both agree.
While we were on safe ground, I looked at Anne and asked, ‘Were you here earlier? Earlier this morning, I mean?’
‘Here?’ she said, looking puzzled.
‘At the cottage.’
‘Of course not. I’ve never been here before in my life. You know that.’
So Jimmy had been wrong about my nocturnal visitor returning, and I was still left wondering who had made the footprints.
‘Your boy, Tom, is out now, you said?’
‘Three days ago,’ Anne confirmed.
I was still waiting to hear what they wanted from me, and still wondering if they had come to the right person.
‘So how can I help?’
Josh came in now, as if he’d been eagerly waiting in the wings for just that question. ‘The other lad’s father has threatened to kill Tom in reprisal.’
‘As well as launching attacks on your business premises?’
He nodded. ‘We want you to look after Tom for a bit. Keep him safe.’
I didn’t ask the obvious question: How the hell do you expect me to do that? Instead, I remained patient and tried to be understanding.
‘Go on,’ I said.
‘It was the wife’s idea,’ he said shortly.
I turned back to Anne.
‘We want you to take him away somewhere, Frank, and keep him away until this thing is settled. Anywhere! We don’t care where you go.’
‘You can name your price,’ Josh added. ‘I’ve brought ten grand in cash with me for expenses, to get you started. And I’ll give you a cheque for twice that for your trouble.’
He opened a big brown envelope he’d brought with him and handed it over. I stared at the contents. He meant what he’d said.
I’d been about to say – as kindly as possible – no way! I’m not who you need. But thirty grand upfront – a third of it in actual bank notes – made a difference. It made me even more patient and understanding.
I sat and thought for a few moments. And the more thought I gave it, the more things I could think of to do with the money. Most of them had something to do with the cottage, which seems to soak up energy and money like dry sand does water. Old properties, I have found, are like that.
‘Where’s Tom now?’
‘In the car,’ Josh said.
‘Outside, you mean?’ I asked with astonishment.
He nodded.
‘We hoped you—’ Anne began.
‘Bring him in,’ I said sharply to Josh. ‘It’s far too cold to be sitting out there.’
‘You’ll take the job?’
I nodded. ‘I’ll do my best.’
Josh got up, shook my hand and set off to bring his son in from the cold.
Anne, too, got to her feet. ‘Thank you, Frank,’ she said, kissing my cheek.
‘Hey!’ I protested, chuckling. ‘That’s the second time you’ve done that.’
She laughed and said, ‘I haven’t forgotten the first time either.’
I smiled and said, ‘I have to ask you this, Anne. Why have you come to me with this problem? How did you even know what I do?’
‘You were recommended.’
‘Oh?’
‘By a friend who has an art gallery in Middlesbrough.’
‘Not Jac Picknett?’
She nodded, smiled and added, ‘She said you would remember her.’
‘Such conceit,’ I murmured, shaking my head.
‘Oh?’ Anne looked at me mischievously, her head on one side. ‘She implied you two were good together.’
‘And so we were – once.’
‘Like that, is it? Oh, well. But she still thinks a lot of you.’
‘The feeling is mutual,’ I assured her. ‘Jac just doesn’t like the way I live.’
Anne laughed at that. Perhaps it was funny. But for me it was a matter for regret.
Chapter Four
Blue lights began flashing on the way back to base. Blue swore, hoping it was not them in the frame. But it was. The police car swerved in behind, closed up and flashed its headlights several times. There was no mistaking its meaning.
‘What are we going to do?’ Eddie asked. ‘Run for it?’
Blue shook his head. The cop car was a Volvo, a highway patrol car. If it had been a little local panda he might have gone for it, but the Volvos were specially tuned and their drivers were trained for speed work.
‘We can’t outrun it,’ he said, slowing to pull over. ‘We’ll tough it out. Cyril, you ready?’
‘Sure am, boss man!’
Blue shook his head with irritation at the response. He stopped the car and got out. Then he stood with his back to the Volvo’s lights, waiting. He heard the cop get out.
‘Switch your engine off, sir, and get in my car, please.’
‘What’s the problem, officer?’ Blue said, turning round and smiling.
Just the one man, he noted. That made it easier.
‘Get in the car, please,’ the cop said, opening the passenger side door.
‘Speeding, was I? Missed a red light?’
The cop stepped closer.
‘I don’t believe you had any reason to stop me, officer,’ Blue said, smiling still.
‘Let me say it again, sir. Get in the car – please!’
Blue smiled pleasantly and stayed where he was.
Both back doors of their own car opened. Big Cyril slipped out quietly on the far side. Eddie got out on the near side, making a song and dance of it, stumbling and swearing. The cop ordered him back inside and became visibly agitated when Eddie failed to take any notice and instead stood close behind him. Blue kept talking.
The cop became even more agitated when the lights on the Volvo died. He spun round and started back, only to be tripped by Eddie.
As he scrabbled in the slushy snow to get back upright Blue pushed him down again with his foot. ‘Stay there a minute,’ he advised.
The cop ignored the advice and came up fighting. Blue doubled him up with a heavy blow to the belly. Then Eddie and Manny, helped by Chas, caught an arm apiece and dragged him behind the
car and into the bushes beside the lay-by. Blue stood still, waiting, ignoring the grunts and thuds, until Cyril came back from the Volvo.
‘Fixed the radio?’
‘Fixed everything!’ Big Cyril chuckled. ‘Nothing electrical working now.’
Blue nodded. ‘Put the cop in the back seat!’ he called. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘Give them a hand,’ he said to Big Cyril when he saw the others were struggling with a dead weight.
As they drove away, Blue wondered why they had been stopped in the first place. There had been no reason for it that he could see.
‘There’s a back light not working,’ Big Cyril said, as if he had heard the question in Blue’s mind. ‘I’ll fix it when we get back.’
Blue grimaced and nodded. That was it, then. Question answered. A rear light. It could have been worse. ‘Change the plates, as well,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘I want to hang on to this car. We’ve got more work to do.’
Chapter Five
Tom Steele was a big, rangy lad. He came through the door apprehensively, as if he wasn’t sure what he was being let in for. I felt something similar myself. What on earth was I going to do with him?
‘He’s taller than me now,’ Josh said proudly.
I smiled at Tom and shook hands. ‘How are you doing, Tom?’
‘OK.’ He shrugged and turned back to his father. ‘What are we doing here?’ he demanded.
‘Frank has agreed to help. He’s going to … accompany you.’
‘Yeah? Whatever that means,’ he added, turning back to glower at me.
It wasn’t the best of starts. I told myself things could only get better.
Anne joined in then. ‘Tom, Frank is an old friend. He’ll look after you for a week or two, until things calm down.’
‘Look after me? What are his qualifications?’ he asked scornfully.
‘I don’t have any certificates to show you, Tom,’ I admitted, ‘but I’ve been handling security work for some years now.’
‘Security work? What, exactly? Fences, nightwatchman, body-guarding?’
‘All of that,’ I said with a smile, ‘and then some. Believe me, I really do have a lot of experience, both at home and abroad. It’s how I make my living.’
He sneered, about to come back with some clever answer. His mother beat him to it. ‘Frank comes highly recommended, Tom – by somebody I trust.’
‘Yeah, yeah.’
I’d had about enough by then.
‘Tell you what, Tom. If you think you can manage better on your own, you go right ahead, son. I can only help people who want to be helped.’
He shrugged and turned away. I looked at Josh.
‘It’ll be all right, Frank. He knows we need help.’
‘I need to hear it from Tom. He’s the one I’m going to be with.’
‘Tom?’ Anne said sharply.
‘OK,’ he said wearily. ‘Whatever you want.’
I made us all some more coffee and then we discussed practical arrangements. Anne and Josh were quite certain what they wanted. They wanted me to take Tom away somewhere, and keep him out of harm’s way for a couple of weeks. They didn’t mind where we went. They just wanted Tom gone, and out of reach of the people threatening to do him harm.
The lad himself took no part in the discussions. He said he was tired and lapsed into a sullen silence in a far corner of the room. Feeling charitable, I put it down to stress.
‘You obviously think you can solve this problem in a couple of weeks?’ I suggested to his parents.
‘We’re working on it,’ Josh said, nodding.
I waited but he said nothing more on that subject.
‘Anything you need?’ Josh asked.
I gave it a moment’s thought.
‘You said you have a car dealership. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare car I can borrow, would you? All I have at the moment is the old Land Rover standing outside there. And if we’re going to be travelling …’
‘That’s your only vehicle?’ Josh said, looking aghast.
‘At the moment.’
‘You need something better than that.’
‘It’s fine for around here,’ I said defensively. ‘I’ve been restoring it.’
Josh shook his head impatiently. ‘What do you want? SUV? A four-wheel drive?’
‘Nothing shiny-new and eye-catching. Tom and I are going to be sober, respectable citizens who don’t attract attention.’
Anne chuckled.
After a moment, Josh smiled too. ‘Maybe a used vehicle would suit you better?’ he suggested. ‘One with plates a year or two old?’
‘Yes. That would be ideal.’
‘I’ll see what we’ve got. Better yet, come and choose for yourself.’
‘Where?’
‘Middlesbrough. We can go there now, if you like. Anything else you need?’
I shook my head.
‘Let’s get started then.’
Five minutes later we were on the road, all of us but the lad himself. Tom thought he would stay where he was and wait for me to return. I shrugged and said OK.
‘Help yourself to anything you want, Tom,’ I told him.
He nodded.
His mother said, ‘Be good!’
He looked at her as if she came from another planet.
Back outside the front door, Josh paused and looked around for a moment. ‘Interesting place you’ve got here, Frank,’ he said. ‘Kind of wild, but I can see the attraction.’
I wondered if he could. I really did. But at least he was being polite.
‘It suits me,’ I said with a shrug.
‘Do you worry about the sea? Coastal erosion, and all that? What it might do to your cottage?’
‘A little. The cliff edge gets closer every year.’
‘And there’s nothing to be done?’
I chuckled. ‘Do I look like King Canute? Come on! Let’s go.’
We dropped Anne off at the Steeles’ home in Marton, just south of Middlesbrough. Their road was a tree-lined avenue of big, expensive houses, mostly built long ago when Teesside was an industrial power and the ironmasters preferred to live well away from the smoke their works created. We drove in through high ornamental gates that identified the car and opened automatically as we approached. Surveillance cameras watched us as we proceeded up the gravel drive. We stopped in front of a substantial red-brick house with big bay windows and lots of Virginia creeper covering the walls.
‘Home,’ Josh said with satisfaction.
I was impressed. ‘Nice house.’
‘Not bad, is it? Built in the 1920s by the owner of one of those big department stores they used to have in the town, long before our time. The guy knew what he was doing. Either that or his wife’s designer did.’
‘Come on,’ Anne said. ‘Let me out. I have things to do.’
Josh raised an eyebrow and grinned at me.
‘Nice meeting you again, Frank,’ she said. ‘Look after Tom for me.’
‘Don’t worry about him,’ I managed before she slammed the door shut.
‘Let’s go,’ Josh said briskly, for all the world as if I was the one doing the driving.
Chapter Six
The house was big, cold and damp. But it was also near enough to where they wanted to be yet well away from prying eyes. For the few weeks they needed it, this old farmhouse in the marshes was damn near perfect. At least, Blue thought so. For once, Logan had got something right.
‘Shut up!’ he snapped, when Chas started complaining again about what a dump it was. ‘We’ve heard it all before.’
Chas visibly bristled. ‘My best leather jacket! Ruined by mould.’
‘Just shut it!’ Blue said. ‘Think of the money,’ he added in a calmer tone. ‘You’ll be able to buy yourself a whole wardrobe full of leather jackets when this is over. You’ll be Queen of the Ball!’
A couple of the others laughed.
Chas got to his feet, ready to take a swing at somebody. Bl
ue caught him by the shoulders and forced him back down into his chair, exerting pressure that it would have taken a stronger man than Chas to resist. The heat went out of the moment. The tension died.
Blue spoke then to the whole group.
‘Have a couple of beers, lads. You’ve done well tonight. Logan will be well pleased.’
‘How many is a couple?’ Manny asked with a grin.
‘I don’t think I need to spell it out,’ Blue said, giving him the look. ‘Do you?’
The grin subsided. Manny shook his head.
‘I don’t want anybody drunk tonight,’ Blue continued. ‘And no fighting! Whoever starts it will have me to reckon with. Clear?’
‘Like the fucking army,’ Chas muttered.
‘And I’m the bloody sergeant major!’ Blue growled. ‘Don’t you forget it. You’re here to do a job. You’re being well paid – and there’s more to come, a lot more.’
‘When we get the kid?’ Eddie said.
‘That’s it.’ Blue nodded. ‘There’s no way Logan will accept anything less. But before that happens, we’ve got a big day ahead of us.’
He ran his eyes around the group and added, ‘Tomorrow we face the enemy. If it’s fighting you want, you’ll get plenty of that. You should be well satisfied by the end of tomorrow.’
Chapter Seven
After dropping Anne off we drove to Middlesbrough, and through the former Ironmasters District beside the river, the spot where the town began life nearly two hundred years ago.
‘Where are we going?’
Josh grinned and said, ‘You’ll see.’
I would have preferred him just to tell me but he was intent on doing it his own way. Now we were back on his territory, and he was in control, he seemed much happier and more relaxed. Perhaps just being away from Anne helped. She seemed to know where to stick the knives.
For myself, I didn’t want any diversions, or to be involved in any little family games. I just wanted to get on with the job. Every minute I was not with Tom, the lad was vulnerable. But I needed a car. So I had to do it Josh’s way.
There were no blast furnaces or forges in the Ironmasters District now. No streets of terraced houses in the old St Hilda’s ward to go with them either. Most of the area north of the railway – the historic ‘Border’ separating the oldest and the poorest parts of the town from the rest – was flattened and semi-derelict now, and had been for many years. Regeneration had started long ago but it had stalled and still had far to go, the modern football stadium and a big new building for the local college notwithstanding. It hadn’t been helped by the recent economic recession either.