by Todd, Ian
“Bingo!” he’d whispered tae himsel, feeling elated.
He’d cautiously tiptoed back up tae the bedroom windae where he’d entered. Looking oot, he’d signalled tae the dark shape below him. Hauf a minute later, Snappy hid appeared through the windae.
“Snappy, ya bampot, ye. Ah thought Ah telt ye it wis Simon Ah wanted in the hoose?” he’d whispered.
“He’s nipped aff back tae the car tae get his tammy. He says he’s freezing.”
“Right, listen up. He’s here, bit he’s hiding. Ah’ve been aw o’er the place. Ah think he’s in wan ae the cupboards in the hall doon the stair. Noo, listen up. We cannae hiv any squealing or shouting. Hiv ye goat that?” Tony hid warned him.
“Ah’m yer man,” Snappy hid whispered back, grinning.
Efter returning tae the hallway oan the ground flair, Snappy hid started searching the cupboards at the front ae the hall and Tony at the back. The last door tae be opened hid let oot a blast ae hot air. When they’d slipped in, they’d stood fur a few seconds tae let their eyes get used tae the difference in light. At the bottom ae the stairs in front ae them, a red fiery glow could be seen. When they’d reached the bottom, they could make oot the ootline ae a body lying oan tap ae whit wis obviously the cushions fae the three piece suite. The red glow hid been coming fae wan ae the bars ae the electric fire that hid been left oan. Tony hid looked aboot. It wisnae a bad wee set-up Harper hid made fur himsel. There wis a telly, ermchair and aw sorts ae food lying aboot. Tony hid noticed that he wis using an empty milk bottle as an ashtray. It hid been aboot a hauf full ae fag ends. Tony reckoned that Harper must’ve been there a good few days tae accumulate that amount ae tabs. He’d nodded tae Snappy tae waken Harper up. Tony hid gone and stood between Sleeping Beauty and the stairs leading upwards. He’d watched Snappy, who’d swiftly walked across the room, withdrawing a dark shape oot ae the waistband ae his troosers. Snappy hid bent o’er and covered Harper’s mooth wae his haun, while at the same time, hid pressed the barrel ae the .32 hammerless Colt against Harper’s foreheid.
“Wan move and ye’re a fucking goner!” Snappy hid whispered, as Harper let oot a frightened, muffled yelp.
Harper put doon his mug and wiped his lips wae the back ae his haun and looked across at Tony. He seemed tae be avoiding Pat’s eyes. A noise came fae the living room next door and Harper’s scared eyes shot across tae the kitchen door, before returning tae Tony.
“Harper, you and me ur gonnae hiv a wee chat, so we ur. Noo, how ye respond is gonnae determine whether ye live beyond the day or no,” Tony informed him.
“Tony, Ah’m no t...”
“Harper, shut the fuck up and let me finish,” Tony growled, haudin up the palm ae his haun.
“Tony...”
“Right, if Ah hiv tae ask ye tae shut up again, Ah’m oot ae here. Hiv Ah made masel clear?”
“Aye,” Harper croaked, shaking like a leaf, as he glanced across at Pat, who wis sitting opposite him, no saying a word.
“Right, that hunner quid that Ah owe ye is sitting oan the cabinet across there. It’s yours and ye kin pick it up and heid oot ae the door anytime ye want. Aw Ah need fae yersel is five or ten minutes tae answer a few wee questions and then ye kin shoot the craw. Okay?”
“Er, aye, fire away, Tony,” Harper replied nervously, taking a quick glance at the stash ae notes sitting oan the kitchen cabinet.
“Right, the night Joe McManus goat plunged ootside the bingo hall in Gourlay Street, you wur hunched doon behind a yellow Escort across the street and saw everything. Is that right?”
Harper’s white face turned even whiter as he swayed oan the chair, looking fae Tony tae Pat and back again tae Tony again. Tony could practically see that brain ae his whizzing aroond.
“Ah, er, Ah’m no sure...whit, er, dae ye mean, Tony?” he spluttered.
“Ah also happen tae know that The Simpsons hiv found oot that ye saw everything and that they’ve goat Jo Jo Robson and Frisky Frank organising hauf the stab merchants in the toon tae look fur ye, so they hiv.”
Silence.
“Ah also know, fur a fact, that Toby his said that he wants ye alive...tae start wae, that is. Noo, ye know where we staun wae that bunch ae tadgers, so, as long as ye’re wae us, nowan is gonnae get a haud ae ye. Aw Ah need fae you is a wee bit ae information and then ye kin get oan yer way.”
“Tony, Ah swear...”
“Harper, don’t bloody-well dae this tae me. We know ye saw whit happened. That’s a fact. Aw Ah need fae yersel is a few wee pointers.”
Silence.
“Wh…whit ur youse gonnae dae tae me?” Harper finally squealed, fingers shaking as he gently touched the bruise oan his foreheid, where Snappy hid pressed the barrel ae the haungun against it.
“Ye’ve two choices, so ye hiv. Efter we hiv a wee word, ye kin piss aff and take yer chances oot there oan the streets,” he said, nodding across tae the windae, “Or, ye kin kip here fur a few days in Pat’s place, until the weekend, when the heat will hiv died doon. It’s up tae yersel.”
“Whit…whit dae ye want tae know, Tony?”
“If Ah wanted tae hiv a wee quiet word wae Tam Simpson...man tae man...withoot anywan else knowing Ah wis there, how wid Ah go aboot it?”
“Tam Simpson? Er, Ah’m no sure. Why wid somewan like me…er, know something like that?”
“It wid need tae be a surprise tae him as well, so it wid. It wid need tae be unannounced,” Tony continued soothingly, ignoring the question.
“Ah…Ah’m no sure. He’s always oan the go, bit he’s never in the wan place fur long. Ah know he meets Blaster Mackay twice a week.”
“Ah’m talking aboot oot ae sight ae anywan, including somewan like Blaster, Harper. Think aboot it fur a minute,” Tony said, as Pat replaced Harper’s empty mug ae tea wae a fresh wan.
“There’s only really the wan time that Ah know where he is fur sure and that’s a…a Friday morning...Ah think,” he said, furtively glancing across at Pat, before turning back tae look at Tony again.
“Aye?”
“Or at least, it wis up until recently, bit… Ah widnae put money oan it.”
“Harper, let us decide whether whit ye say is helpful or no,” Pat advised, speaking fur the first time.
“He’s perching oan somewan...a social worker...ma sister’s social worker…a right evil cow. She wis the wan that took ma niece and nephew aff ae her when Hawkeye goat...er, murdered. She tries tae come across as some sort ae doo-gooding Christian, bit she’s nothing bit an evil hairy, so she is,” Harper scowled bitterly.
“Aye, Ah’d heard he wis dipping his wick, oan the QT, withoot that mad wife ae his knowing aboot it, so Ah hid.”
“Really? Ye’ve heard aboot that?” Harper asked, surprise in his voice.
“Harper, ye’re no the only wan that wants tae help us oot jist noo. So, he’s pumping some floozy social worker? Whit aboot it?”
Silence.
“Ah…Ah happen tae know exactly where,” Harper confessed, drapping his bombshell.
Tony could feel his heart starting tae pump like a piston.
“Please, God,” Tony muttered tae himsel, as he lifted up Harper’s ashtray and went across and emptied it in tae the plastic kitchen bin before returning wae it and sitting doon.
“He’s goat a wee hidey hole up in Lambhill, so he dis. Nowan seems tae know aboot it… as far as Ah kin tell,” Harper whispered, looking across at Pat’s kitchen door. “He meets her up there every Friday morning fur aboot an hour...sometimes two...so he dis.”
“How dae ye know that, Harper?” Pat asked him, failing miserably tae hide his excitement.
“The cow is always hassling ma sister, so she is. Ma sister tries tae be oot ae the hoose wae the weans first thing oan a Friday morning. If she’s gonnae get a visit, it’s always then. Wan day, efter she’d threatened tae take the weans again, Ah decided tae follow her tae see if Ah could get a chance ae tanning her car tae steal her bag ae files. Ah thought that if Ah could get t
hem, it wid destroy ma sister’s records and everywan else’s, plus maybe get her the sack or something. Ah wis oan a wee moped, so Ah wis. Insteid ae heiding back tae the social work office or heiding tae another hoose, she heided up Balmore Road and turned left intae Hillend Road, jist past Iriboll Street...aboot a couple ae hunner yards up fae Possil High School oan the other side ae the road. She went intae the first close ae the red sandstone building, up oan the right. Ah thought ma luck wis in. It’s a quiet wee street. Ah heided up the hill and did a U-turn. By the time Ah came back doon, Ah jist aboot shat masel when Ah clocked Tam Simpson getting oot ae that fancy silver car ae his and slipping intae the same closemooth, so Ah did.”
“Whit number wis the close, Harper?” Pat asked him.
“Ah’m no sure…wait…thirty six.”
”How dae ye know he wis wae her?”
“Because fur the next three or four weeks, the same thing happened. She’d be up hassling ma sister, and then she’d arrive up in Hillend Road, followed a minute later by Tam.”
“So, she always arrives first then?
“Usually. She hings aboot the entrance waiting fur him. Ah’ve clocked them in a clinch a few times. She kin hardly wait tae get her hauns oan him.”
“How dae ye know it’s his place?”
“Because she’s always the first tae leave, the slutty cow. Aboot hauf an hour efter she’s gone, Tam appears oot ae the closemooth and disappears looking as if he’s jist hid his hole.”
“Always oan his ain?”
“Aye.”
“Dae ye know whit hoose he goes intae?”
“It’s oan the first flair. It’s the wan oan the right, jist above the closemooth entrance as ye look at it fae the street. It must be the bedroom, because Ah always clocked Tam shutting o’er the curtains a couple ae minutes efter he arrived.”
“If Ah wis wanting tae get intae the hoose before Tam, Harper, how wid Ah go aboot it?” Tony asked casually.
Harper hid jist been taking a sip ae his tea when he let oot a spray as Pat jumped oot ae the way.
“Eh? Christ, Tony, dae ye know whit ye’re asking? Th…that’s Tam Simpson’s pad. Ye’d end up chopped intae wee pieces if ye wur caught anywhere near that place. Ah should know...look whit they done tae poor Hawkeye. They basturts left ma niece and nephew withoot a da, so they did,” Harper spluttered, fear returning tae that voice ae his by the bucket-load.
“Harper, if Ah wis wanting a wee peek intae that hoose, wid it be possible, withoot Tam knowing somewan hid been in hivving a wee gander?” Tony continued, keeping the sound ae his voice deadpan.
“The only way tae dae that wid be if ye hid a key or knew somewan who knew how tae pick a lock.”
“And dae ye know somewan...somewan that could pick a lock?”
Silence.
“Er… aye.”
“Ye dae? Who?” Tony asked, surprised and hardly able tae contain his excitement.
“Me.”
Chapter Forty Three
“I hope I’m not disturbing you, Taylor...er, Johnboy,” The Reverend Marion said apologetically, efter the prison officer hid disappeared.
“Ah’m no likely tae be gaun anywhere soon.”
“May I take a seat?”
“Please yersel.”
The Reverend looked aboot the cell and chose a spot opposite Taylor, who wis awready sitting wae his back tae the wall in the middle ae the concrete bed plinth. Taylor still hid the advantage ae height, bit only by a few inches.
“Oh, this is for you,” The Reverend said, slipping his haun in tae his jaicket, withdrawing a wee book and haudin it oot tae him.
“Whit is it?”
“I believe it’s a rulebook. The SO asked me to pass it on to you. I believe Lady Polmont and the visiting committee asked for you to be furnished with one.”
He placed the rulebook oan the flair between them when Taylor made nae move tae take it fae his ootstretched haun.
“How’s Silent?” asked Taylor.
“Silent?”
“Ma pal fae next door.”
“Oh, Smith? He’s on the road to recovery, I believe. I went to visit him last night, but he was sleeping, so I didn’t want to disturb him. The doctor said he should be ready to be discharged soon...as long as he takes it easy.”
The Reverend thought back tae the night before. He knew Smith hidnae really been sleeping. When he’d first gone intae the ward, he’d seen Smith at the far end, reading a magazine. He knew that it hid been Smith as he’d been the only patient oan the ward whose ankle wis hauncuffed tae the bedframe and who hid a senior prison officer, Mr McVey, sitting oan a chair at the bottom ae his bed. It hid been quite embarrassing. By the time he’d reached the end ae the bed, Smith wis lying wae his eyes shut. Mr McVey hid jist gied him a shrug, before staunin up and taking him aside.
“Don’t take it personally, Reverend, he did the same wae Father Martin when he visited him earlier. Ah’ve been sitting here oan and aff fur days noo and he hisnae even acknowledged ma presence either,” he’d whispered wae a wee shrug ae his shoulders.
“Did they find oot who plunged him?” Taylor asked, breaking intae his thoughts.
“I believe the investigation is still continuing.”
“So, is that a naw then?”
“I don’t know. They don’t tell me everything,” he replied defensively.
The Reverend wanted tae kick himsel. Why hid he jist said what he hid? Taylor wis only asking after his injured friend. Wis it because he wis still smarting efter being treated so disrespectfully by Smith...Silent...whitever his name wis...in front ae Mr McVey?
“I’m sorry, I feel I owe you an apology,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“Dae ye?”
“Yes, it was only after I left you on Christmas Day that I realised that you had obviously been unaware that your friend, er, Silent, had been injured.”
“Ye mean chibbed?”
“Yes.”
“Why feel sorry aboot that? Ah wis glad that ye telt me. Naebody tells ye anything in here,” Taylor replied dismissively, wae a wave ae his haun.
“It was the circumstances in which you found out that bothered me.”
“Why? I wis glad tae know. Nothing ye said upset me. And anyway, Ah know who done it, so there’s nae herm done, so there’s no.”
“You do? Have you reported it?”
Silence.
“Oh, right, sorry. Of course you haven’t.”
“Reverend, kin Ah ask ye something?”
“Yes, of course, my son.”
“Whit ur ye daeing here?”
“Me? Er, as I’ve just said, I wanted to come back and apologise for my thoughtlessness. I had assumed that you would know about what happened to your friend, so it was the least I could do.”
“Naw, whit Ah mean is, whit ur ye daeing here...in a place like Polmont?” Taylor asked wae a frown oan his face.
“Well, er, I believe I’m needed here...to offer support and succour to those who need it.”
“And dae ye?”
“What?”
“Offer support and succour...whitever that’s supposed tae mean.”
“I believe so,” he replied curtly, feeling himsel getting irritated by Taylor’s insolence.
“Look, it wis you that came tae me...wae yer wee book ae rules,” he retorted, nodding towards the rulebook sitting oan the flair between them. “Ah never invited ye in.”
“What? Oh, I’m sorry, I never meant...”
“Aye, ye did. If ye don’t like whit ye hear, then ye’re free tae leave anytime soon.”
The Reverend looked at Taylor. Wance again, he didnae detect anger in those blue eyes when reminded who’d come tae who...uninvited. In fact, Taylor looked slightly amused. The Reverend wanted tae staun up and walk away, bit realised that that wid be churlish ae him. Taylor wis right. Who hid invited him tae be sitting there anyway?
“As for me being here, in Polmont? It’s like any other job, I suppose. A vacancy comes up
and you apply for it. If successful, you’re given a parish and you get on with it. It’s as simple as that.”
“So, ye actually wanted tae work in a jail then?”
“No, not really. Why? Is that such a bad thing?”
“Ah’ve always believed that anywan wanting tae come and stare at people who ur locked up must hiv something psychologically wrang wae them.”
“You do?”
“Aye, that’s why Ah’ve never been intae visiting the zoo. In fact, Ah don’t know anywan who’s ever done time who his ever volunteered tae go tae the zoo efter they get liberated. The park wae their weans, fitba, a day trip oan the Glesga underground, shoplifting…bit never a visit tae a zoo. When the boys in here ur watching the telly and a programme comes oan that his a zoo in it, they aw shout fur somewan tae change the channel o’er. They’re probably no aware that they’re daeing it, bit it’s jist something Ah’ve noticed o’er the years, whether it wis when Ah wis a snapper in remand homes or approved schools. Seeing animals in a zoo oan the telly reminds us ae oor ain situation in here. And as fur voluntarily visiting wan? Well, Ah jist don’t think so.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that, but I can see the parallel.”
“So, ye wur saying that it’s jist another job then?”
The Reverend blinked and looked at Taylor. He still couldnae detect malice or anger in his eyes or voice. Wis Taylor playing wae him...the way a cat dis wae a moose? The Reverend wisnae sure whether he wis being baited fur a reaction or no. Taylor wis either very frank and wore his heart oan his sleeve, or wisnae very bright and wisnae truly aware ae the effect his questioning wis hivving oan The Reverend’s emotions. And when wis the last time he’d heard a prisoner use the term “psychologically?”