by Todd, Ian
“That if Ah tell ye, ye’ll leave me in here,” Tiny spluttered, bobbing aboot.
Aw eyes wur fixed oan the circular ripples emanating fae Tiny inside the tank as the whole building shook wae an express train picking up speed, passing nearby.
“Ah’m no gonnae ask ye again, Tiny,” Tony warned him.
“Mick…it wis Mick Murphy.”
Silence.
“Whit aboot Shaun and Danny?”
“Naw, they didnae know anything aboot it,” Tiny sobbed, coughing oot water.
“Wis The Big Man involved tae?” Paul demanded, as The Mankys held their breath.
“Naw…Mick telt us tae dae it oan the QT,” Tiny sobbed. “Mick wis convinced that it wis youse that tanned their loft. He thought that The Big Man wis letting youse aff too lightly. We wurnae tae mention it tae them. Nowan knew that we wur involved. Everywan, including The Big Man, believed that it wis the bizzies that burnt the cabin doon tae throw whoever tanned the loft aff the scent…please Tony, Ah’m sorry…help me, please?”
Jist then, the light bulb flickered and dimmed before slowly brightening up again.
“Tony, please…that’s ma battery gaun doon. Help me oot, Ah beg ye. Ah swear tae God, Ah didnae mean it…Ah didnae…” Tiny sobbed and girned. “Ye kin hiv aw the horses and carts ye want… free ae charge, so ye kin.”
Tony looked across at Paul, who shrugged.
“Let’s go,” Tony suddenly said, before turning and heiding fur the stairs, taking Johnboy by surprise.
Paul and Joe quietly trooped efter him, withoot another glance back doon intae the water. Johnboy hesitated, no sure whit tae dae as Silent brushed past him, following the other three. Tiny hid started tae scream the place doon. His wailing wis echoing and bouncing aff ae aw the walls. Johnboy looked doon intae the tank. Tiny wis bobbing aboot wae the movements ae his swishing erms. Suddenly, he locked they eyes ae his oan tae Johnboy’s when he noticed him still staunin there, his lips violently quivering wae the cauld.
“Johnboy, Johnboy…please…there’s a spare rope beside ma tool bag. Pass me wan ae the ends doon…please, son!” Tiny pleaded, hope rising in that frightened voice.
Johnboy couldnae get his legs tae move fae beneath him.
“Ur ye coming, Johnboy?” Tony’s voice suddenly rang oot in the semi-darkness, making Johnboy jump in fright.
“Ah, er…” Johnboy gasped, looking at the shadow staunin oan the other side ae the big tank fae him.
“Johnboy, please! Don’t let them leave me…”
“Johnboy, if it wis Skull staunin there insteid ae you, whit dae ye think he wid dae?” Tony asked him quietly…calmly.
“Ah, Ah don’t know…” Johnboy whispered, his mooth parched.
He wis starting tae feel desperate, as he looked aboot the empty cavern, hating the sound ae the swishing water coming fae the inside ae the tank.
“Aye, ye dae. Ye hiv tae think very carefully here noo, Johnboy…there’ll be nae turning back oan whitever ye decide,” Tony challenged him gently, clearly disappointed at Johnboy’s hesitation.
“Johnboy…please,” Tiny whimpered, as Johnboy continued tae stare across the gap between himsel and Tony.
Tony stood, looking back intae Johnboy’s eyes. Fae where Johnboy wis staunin, it wis like two dark, glistening, black diamonds, piercing the space between them. The bulb attached tae the battery started flickering again, distracting Johnboy fur a second. When he looked back across tae where Tony hid been staunin, he’d disappeared. Johnboy looked aboot fur Tiny’s tool bag. He could jist make oot a looped rope, sitting oan the flair beside it. He thought aboot Skull and the hurt expression oan that face ae his back in the cells in Central.
“Johnboy…look at me…please…Ah’ll die if ye leave me here…don’t leave me, son…please?”
Johnboy thought ae poor Elvis, staunin there in the burning cabin. Skull hid said that Elvis knew they wur fucked before he hid. He tried tae remember whit the song wis that wis playing as the cabin wis burning. He wis sure Skull hid said that it wis a Bob Dylan wan. He looked at the rope and back doon at Tiny, quickly averting his eyes. He remembered his ma wance telling him that when he grew up, she wis sure that he’d dae something wan day that wid make her proud ae him. She’d always drummed intae him never tae lift his hauns up tae a wummin. Only cowards resorted tae that kind ae thing…bit she never mentioned murdering midgets wae wan leg shorter than the other who frizzled ten year aulds in fires. He knew within himsel that it wid be wrang tae jist walk away…he couldnae jist walk away…despite whit Tony hid jist said, he wisnae a murderer.
“Johnboy, Ah’ll…Ah’ll put in a good word wae Mick…Ah’ll tell him aboot the others, bit no you. It’ll jist be between us…Ah promise!” Tiny spluttered.
At that, Johnboy snapped oot ae his quandary. He looked back doon at Tiny and wis shocked tae catch a fleeting slyness pass across they eyes ae his, as the light bulb flickered again.
“Ah’m…Ah’m sorry…” Johnboy mumbled, quickening his step tae catch up wae the others.
“Boys! Tony! Tony! Please, please, don’t leave me…Ah’m sorry…” Tiny wailed, as Tony slammed the ootside door shut behind Johnboy, cutting Tiny’s wailing voice aff and gieing Johnboy an uncertain look while he wis at it.
The light wis starting tae fade and the frost lay thick oan the ground. Johnboy looked across towards the tenements in the distance, beyond the sawmill and the rope factory in Baird Street. The heavy clouds oan the horizon looked grim, wae the heavy smoke fae the chimneys belching oot ae the tenement roofs, as a heavy-laden steam goods train hooted oan its way past tae somewhere.
“Whit ur we gonnae dae aboot Charlie then?” Johnboy asked, looking across at the horse, which wis staunin there wae two white streams ae hot air snorting oot ae its nostrils, which turned intae expanding billowing white clouds as it chewed, unconcerned, oan its feed, staring at them.
Joe went across and put Charlie’s feedbag back oan the cart. He turned the horse and its cart roond, creating a semi-circle pattern ae black tracks oan the frost-covered ground wae the tyres, before tying the reigns tae the cart, leaving enough slack in them tae gie Charlie his heid. He gied Charlie’s arse a wee gentle slap and Charlie slowly moved aff, taking his time, as he heided fur the opening oan tae Pinkston Road that he’d come through earlier wae Tiny.
“He’ll find his ain way back tae the stables,” Joe said tae Johnboy, as The Mankys heided in the opposite direction, across the tracks, towards Buchannan Street Train Station.
Chapter Twenty Six
The second event tae occur, happened when they wur heiding back up fae the toon later oan that night. They’d jist goat some chips oot ae The San Remo at the bottom ae Parly Road, where it joins Sauchiehall Street, and wur heiding up Cunningham Street, towards the backs behind Grafton Square, when they wur clocked.
“Furget it, it’s nae use running. He’ll only track us doon the morra if he disnae get us the night,” Tony telt them, resigning himsel tae the inevitable.
“Youse fuds ur something else, so youse ur.”
“Aye, hello tae yersel, Billy,” Joe said tae Billy Whizz, The Big Man’s replacement runner fur Calum Todd, who’d gone aff and won a bronze medal in the nineteen sixty six British Empire Games in the eight hunner and eighty yards in Jamaica.
“Ah’ve been aw o’er the place, trying tae track youse doon fur days noo. Ah fucking lost a bonus because ae youse,” he panted.
“Whit dae ye want, Billy?” Tony asked him.
“The Big Man wants tae speak tae ye.”
“Whit aboot?”
“How the hell should Ah know? Aw Ah dae is pass oan the message and anyway, even if Ah did, Ah’m no at liberty tae tell the likes ae youse wee arse-bandits,” Billy said, making himsel sound mair important than he actually wis.
“Where aboot?”
“The Capstan Club.”
“Tell him Ah’m busy.”
“Naw, ye kin tell him yersel. Ah work fur him, no fur the li
kes ae youse minnows.”
“Dis it never make ye feel embarrassed tae know that ye’re the auldest message boy in Glesga, Billy?” Joe mocked him.
“Fuck you, McManus. If ye’ve a problem wae me and whit Ah dae, take it up wae The Big Man. Ah’ve delivered whit Ah wis supposed tae. Is there anything else ye want me tae tell him?”
“Ah thought ye only dae messages fur The Big Man, ya wee gnaff, ye,” Paul growled, getting in oan the act and scaring Billy wae the tone ae his voice.
“Tony, kin ye tell them tae lay aff? Ah’m only daeing whit Ah’m telt, ye know?”
“Aye, shut the fuck up. Kin ye no see Billy’s getting upset here? Right, Billy, tell him Ah’ll be doon the morra morning.”
“Fine, Tony,” Billy said, obviously relieved, before he aboot-turned and tore doon towards Dundas Street.
“Wee fucking wanker!” Joe shouted efter him.
“Fur Christ’s sake, that wee prick will report aw this back tae him noo,” Tony said as they continued up the street, scoffing their chips while keeping their eyes peeled fur The Stalker and that pal ae his, Bumper.
Chapter Twenty Seven
“Right, this is whit we’ve goat so far, Colin,” Bumper said, staunin aside, while pointing tae the two big sheets ae paper, joined thegither in the middle by Sellotape, that wur stuck up oan the interview room wall, which they wur using as their planning HQ.
“Whitever it is, it looks impressive. Carry oan.”
“Whit ye see here is a diagram ae aw the streets that run parallel wae each other, between Parly Road and Cathedral Street, fae Dundas Street, right up as far as Glebe Street.”
“Right, Ah’m wae ye.”
“Each block ae tenements that ur shaded in green, ur the hooses that hiv been vacated. The blank wans ur the wans that still hiv people living in them. Every time somebody moves oot, we shade in a box,” Bumper said proudly, haudin up a green wax crayon.
“We’ve goat aw the lists aff ae The Corporation boys ae who’s moving oot. Each night we know that a family his been decanted, we heid up tae the tenement and coont the chimney stacks. If the smoke coming oot ae the chimney tallies wae the amount ae people staying up that close, fine. If it disnae, then we know that we’ve goat them,” The Stalker said, puffing oot his chest towards the imaginary medal he wis expecting tae be pinned oan it any time soon.
“Christ’s sake…that’s brilliant, so it is. So, sooner or later, we should be able tae track the basturts tae exactly where they’re holed up then?”
“Bingo!” said Bumper.
“We’re only missing wan batch fae The Corporation and that’s fur the bottom ae McAslin Street, at the St James Road end, doon beside Sherbet’s. We’re expecting tae get that in the next few days or so, so we ur.”
“And ye think this will work then?” Colin asked, moving closer and studying the diagram, clearly impressed.
“The only other way is if we bump intae them oan the street. They’re definitely aboot, bit they’re covering their tracks well. Ah wis jist telling Bumper before ye came in that fur a while there, Ah hid the impression the basturts wur bloody-well stalking me.”
“And wur they?”
“Naw, Ah wid’ve smelled the fuckers a mile aff.”
“Well, we’re okay, as long as they’re no tanning any ae the local shoaps. As soon as that starts happening, the shit will hit the fan, especially if we hivnae telt JP Donnelly that they’re oan the loose. He’ll go bloody bananas when he finds oot. Ye’ve goat tae nip them soon.”
“Aye, well, don’t ye worry aboot a thing, Colin. Another couple ae days and we’ll hiv them. We’ll probably need tae call in a few reinforcements wance we locate them, bit we’ll be in control. It’ll take a bit mair than these wee amateurs tae get wan o’er oan us…eh, Fin?” The Stalker said, nodding o’er tae his partner.
Chapter Twenty Eight
They hidnae dwelt too much oan whether Tiny hid miraculously managed tae get oot ae the tank wance they wur back in the den that night.
“He isnae gaun anywhere, so Ah widnae worry, Paul,” Joe chipped in, slinging doon an Ace ae Spades.
“They lights flickering wur a bit creepy,” Johnboy said, shivering, thinking aboot it.
“As the poisonous dwarf said himsel, it wis the car battery running oot. Take that, ya prick, ye,” Tony chuckled, taking Paul’s Ace ae Clubs wae a Five ae Hearts, which wis trumps.
“Aw, fuck you, ya Atalian knob-heid. Ye kept that wan quiet, ya basturt,” Joe retorted tae Tony, who smiled and winked o’er at Johnboy.
“Stoap yer whinging and play again, Fud-heid,” Tony smiled, throwing doon an Ace ae Hearts.
“Dae ye remember when we tanned Sally Sally’s hoose, jist alang the road and Skull came hame and slept at mine’s?” Joe asked them.
“Naw.”
“It wis only a couple ae days before we tanned the Murphys’ loft. Something he said tae me that night still upsets me whenever Ah think aboot it,” Joe said, getting everywan’s attention. “Ah’ve never mentioned it tae any ae youse before, bit when we wur lying in bed that night, Skull said something really sad tae me that Ah’ve never ever furgotten aboot.”
“Oh, aye?” Paul asked, throwing doon a Nine ae Diamonds, as he looked across at Joe.
“He asked me if ma maw or da ever gied me a cuddle. He wisnae saying it tae make a big deal oot ae it or anything,” Joe said defensively, “bit it wis jist the way he said it, lying there in the dark. It’s hard fur me tae explain noo, bit his voice sounded really sad…jist like a wee wean’s, if ye know whit Ah mean?”
Silence.
“And did ye?” Silent suddenly asked Joe oot ae the blue, startling everywan.
“Did Ah whit?”
“Ever get a cuddle fae yer ma?”
“Silent, we never get a bloody cheep oot ae ye fur months oan end and then when we dae, aw ye kin ask is if Ah goat a cuddle fae that maw ae mine? Ur ye fucking twisted or whit?”
“Well, did ye?” Silent persisted.
“Silent, shut the fuck up and play yer haun,” Joe snarled, leaning o’er and grabbing wan ae Silent’s cards before slinging it doon oan tae the others.
“See, that’s why Ah’ve nae fucking regrets aboot leaving that Tiny wan in the tank the day. Poor Skull didnae deserve that…no tae be toasted alive by that pair ae basturts,” Paul murmured, staring intae the embers ae the briquettes in the hearth.
“So, whit ur we gonnae dae aboot Mick Murphy then?” Johnboy asked oot loud, no sure if he really wanted tae know, the game ae Bella furgotten aboot.
Silence.
“Ah’m still no convinced they other Murphy basturts wurnae involved. Everywan knows fine well that they hated Skull,” Joe said.
“Naw, it wis Mick, so it wis,” Tony said, throwing another briquette oan tae the fire.
“It makes sense noo. If The Big Man knew or suspected we’d tanned the loft, he wid’ve come back at us long before noo. Whit we heard fae that wee poisoned dwarf wis probably the truth.”
“Well, whether The Big Man did or didnae know, that Mick wan is gonnae be copping his whack, so he is,” Paul growled, looking roond the faces. “Ah think we should burn the basturt…the same as he did tae Skull. An eye fur an eye and aw that.”
Silence.
“Furget a fire, Paul. We’ll shoot the basturt in the face. We hiv tae be realistic,” Tony finally spoke, as a flashback ae poor Jessie getting shot in the heid, doon at the lights oan Parly Road, the day Horsey John died, whizzed through Johnboy’s brain.
“Bit, whit aboot oor promise doon at the closemooth beside Sherbet’s?” Joe reminded everywan. “Fire and brimstone and aw that. Ah say we burn the basturt, the same as he did tae Skull.”
“There’s far mair ae a chance ae getting away wae it if we keep it straightforward. Everywan knows fine well that he’s a right psycho basturt. He’s goat plenty ae enemies. The good thing aboot oor situation is the fact that him or his brothers don’t know whit we know. There wid be nae reason fur
us tae get the blame, other than somewan clocking us daeing it at the time. Tae burn Mick wid mean hivving tae kidnap him and take him someplace quiet. Too risky,” Tony mused.
“Hiv ye heard the latest aboot him?” Paul asked.
“Whit?”
“Ye know how he’s taken o’er the running ae The McAslin Bar? Well, he wis in there the other week efter hours, mad wae the drink. Manky Malcolm, fae the rag store roond the corner, refused tae cough up fur his pint because he claimed he’d awready paid fur it. Whit did that Mick wan dae? Pulled oot a fucking boner knife and slashed him fae his ear doon tae his chin. Before Malcolm could react, he’d been punched oan the heid by Peter The Plant, who wis wearing a knuckle-duster. They dumped him ootside the Rottenrow Maternity Hospital, who’d then tae transfer him up tae The Royal. Ah heard that they put thirty seven stitches in that face ae his and ten oan the side ae his heid where he wis punched. Seemingly, Shaun hid tae go roond and apologise oan The Big Man’s behauf, because Mick refused tae. Ah heard that Malcolm is drinking in The Atholl Bar noo,” Paul said, slinging another briquette oan tae the fire.
“Aye, shooting wid be too good fur a prick like that!”
“We’d need tae be really careful that nothing came back tae us. Wan whiff and we’d be joining Skull,” Joe reminded them, looking at the flickering faces.
“Erchie The Basturt?” Paul asked Tony.
“Aye, him and his brother, Philip, hiv hid a few run-ins wae the Murphys in the past, well before oor time and still came oot ae it staunin. Erchie won’t hiv a problem supplying us wae a gun fur the right price,” Tony agreed, nodding.
“Ah heard that there wis a big shoot-oot, sometime in the early fifties, between Erchie, Mad Philip, Dan The Dandy and they Murphys. Danny Murphy goat shot in the arse and Dandy lost that big toe ae his. Is that right, Tony?”
“They managed tae save his toe. The Big Man wis away doon south somewhere when it aw kicked aff. Danny hid bought some ammo aff ae Erchie and then reneged o’er the repayment. That’s why Erchie and Mad Philip don’t gie tick noo. It’s aw cash-in-haun. Anyhow, wan thing led tae another and when it didnae look as if Erchie and Mad Philip wur gonnae get whit they wur owed, the baith ae them, alang wae Dandy charged roond tae The McAslin Bar and let rip. The Murphys jist aboot shat themsels. The Big Man charged back up the road fae wherever he wis and squared up the money they owed Erchie and Mad Philip. There hisnae been much love lost between them ever since. They keep oot ae each other’s way, although there’s been a few wee skirmishes o’er the years,” Tony said.