The Night the Rich Men Burned

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The Night the Rich Men Burned Page 17

by Malcolm Mackay


  That one was a win for Potty. It scared a few people in Patterson’s organization. He knew it. He and Alan Bavidge did a lot of work to reassure people. Worked extra hard to keep their heads down. Made sure they didn’t give Potty any more targets. For a while, there was worry. Then it all calmed down. Potty didn’t do anything. Potty didn’t know who to aim for next. That was when Patterson realized that the attack on Leven was Potty throwing a hissy fit. Only having one target and throwing the kitchen sink at it. Leven wasn’t important to Patterson. Potty got a win because he showed people how angry he was, how hard he could hit. Then, by doing nothing to follow it up, he lost all the impetus. A win, of sorts, for Patterson.

  Yeah, it’s a worry that Potty’s hooked up with Alex MacArthur. MacArthur seems to have some hard-on for the boy Stamford. Going out of his way to hurt those who hurt Stamford. He should learn to accept that Stamford is just bad news. Cut him loose. Surprising that MacArthur isn’t doing that. Never known for his sentimentality, should’ve ditched the kid to make a point. No surprise that Stamford’s already back in debt somewhere else. No surprise that the new debt is causing all kinds of bother for MacArthur.

  Word is Stamford’s down eighty grand to the Allen brothers. Eighty fucking grand? The Allens, who are actually first cousins, were stupid to let it get that far, but they did. They let him run and run, lose and lose, and now there’s an eighty-grand wedge between them and Alex MacArthur. The Allens are involved in the drug trade, mostly outside of the city. But it’s causing friction. Big fall-out between them and MacArthur. MacArthur telling his suppliers to stop supplying the Allens, even though they don’t compete for territory. All because MacArthur is willing to let Stamford get away with his bullshit. Makes you wonder if the old man is losing the plot.

  Potty isn’t losing the plot. Chance would be a fine thing. So Patterson’s having a meeting with Alan Bavidge. There are things they need to do. Make alliances. Create more protection for themselves. My-enemy’s-enemy-is-my-friend can work, but you have to be careful. Alliances cost money, and your enemy’s enemy may turn out to be a greedy bastard. They may also have connections to another rival. Everyone’s connected to someone. Peter Jamieson, for example. He would be a great option. Rival of MacArthur. But he’s too close to Marty Jones. No deal there.

  Bavidge is arriving, taking his seat. Looking tired. Looking ten years older than he is. Still hasn’t taken a bloody holiday. Hasn’t had a girlfriend for a while. The last one ended it with him. Needs a strong woman in his life. Someone to force him into relaxing. Patterson can’t do it. Tried and failed. Given up trying, for now. Later, maybe, he’ll try again. When the timing is better. Right now, he can’t afford to tell Bavidge to take a week off. He needs him.

  ‘What do you think of arranging a meeting with Charlie and Ian Allen?’ Patterson’s asking as Bavidge sits at the little round table.

  Bavidge is shaking his head a little. ‘Don’t see the gain. They can’t give us anything. They won’t come into the city to work with us. And we sure as shit don’t need another Jamie Stamford debt on our books.’ Said with real distaste. Even Bavidge can see how badly he handled the last Stamford debt. Doesn’t want any repeat of that embarrassment.

  ‘Okay. But I want to start making moves. I want people backing us up. Not safe to go into this one alone.’

  ‘This one being?’

  ‘I want to take down Potty Cruickshank.’

  ‘Take down or take out?’

  ‘Whatever works.’

  Bavidge is leaning back in the chair. This is a bigger discussion. The right one to be having. Overdue, frankly, but still intimidatingly big. You don’t just take out Potty Cruickshank. That’s a move with a lot of loose ends. You have to remove the danger from all his connections and contacts. All the employees who think they’re fit to step up and take his place. It’s a dangerous move.

  ‘You have a plan?’ Bavidge is asking. Patterson wouldn’t be mentioning the idea if there wasn’t a plan to back it up. Something workable. Something he’s confident they can put together.

  ‘Lenders that crossed to us are starting to cross back to Potty. I know this. Not a lot, but they’re selling to him again. Covering themselves in case we go to shit. If we don’t do something, we could lose out a lot here. We have to be seen to do something.’

  ‘That something being?’ Bavidge isn’t entirely convinced. Needs to be won round. They aren’t losing much business to Potty. Frankly, Potty’s doing a piss-poor job of getting at them.

  ‘That something being that we make a hit against Potty. Set someone else up for it. Jesus, there are plenty of candidates. But we get rid of him and let someone else take the blame. We move in and sweep up his best lenders. We try and get a few of his employees on board too. Try and take over. We won’t get it all, but we’ll get some. We won’t be the big enemy. They’ll blame someone else.’

  Bavidge is frowning. Sounds complicated, and complicated doesn’t work as often as it should. ‘I take it you have a plan in mind. Someone you think will carry the can.’

  Patterson’s smiling a little bit. ‘I do, as it happens. How would you feel about working for Marty Jones?’

  ‘Not good, funnily enough.’

  ‘Fair enough. How would you feel about pretending to work for him?’

  ‘A little better.’

  ‘Good. That’s my plan. You’re going to set up a meeting with someone. A gunman. I don’t know who yet. I’ll work that out in the next couple of days. Freelancer, obviously. You’re going to make it clear that you’re working for Marty. That the hit has Peter Jamieson’s backing. The person we have to worry about most is MacArthur. His reaction is the big one. He’ll be willing to believe that Jamieson was behind it. Making a move against him. People will be willing to believe that Marty would pull a stunt like that. Well, if he had Jamieson’s backing.’

  It’s not the worst plan he’s ever heard. Sure, it has holes in it, but every plan does. It’s bullshit to think you can work something like this and have it watertight. You always need a bit of luck. Even the big organizations have holes in a lot of their plans, and this isn’t a big organization. This is a collection business with ambition.

  ‘It could work,’ Bavidge is saying, nodding his head. Then thinking about the holes in the plan. Trying to convince people that Marty was behind it. Need to leave a lot more evidence than an easily misled gunman. ‘Could also go horribly wrong. Like, deadly wrong. Like Alex MacArthur sending all his boys round to drill holes in our heads wrong.’

  Patterson’s nodding and smiling. ‘That’s the fun of it, isn’t it?’

  Bavidge is smiling back, but it’s a sad smile. He doesn’t feel that sense of fun any more. The thrill that used to be there. Patterson’s telling him that he’ll give him a call soon. Work out what gunman to use. Someone who can get at Potty and get away. It’s not a great plan, but it’s a plan.

  ‘Look at it this way, Alan,’ Patterson’s saying. ‘A week from now, this’ll be done. Potty out of the way. Us taking up some of his best lenders. Some of his people. Not all, but some. We’ll get through the messy aftermath. Then we’ll be looking forwards.’ Sounded good to Patterson, but Bavidge is just nodding. Shaking hands and leaving. Patterson shaking his head. Best man he’s got. Best muscle he’s ever likely to have. And all the time he insists on looking all vulnerable, a man who needs saving.

  7

  Keep yourself busy. Don’t spend all day sitting behind a desk. That’s a good way to forget the things you need to remember. If you want to run a collection business then you need to be on the street. You need to know who’s borrowing. You need to know what the lenders are doing. You need to see the business in action. Need to be seen by the people who owe you, the people who sell to you and the people who work for you. Peterkinney gets that. He’s not going to become some fat bastard sitting behind a desk like Potty Cruickshank.

  So Peterkinney’s making a collection. He actually enjoys it now. Didn’t think much of it wh
en he was working for Marty. There was a difference. That money was going to Marty. Well, most of it. Peterkinney got his cut. Then Marty waltzed off with the rest. Sure, he had to kick a share up to Jamieson, but Marty was still getting more than he deserved. A man who never made a collection in his life. Spends his days hanging out with his dipshit brother. Picking up women for his other business. Coming up with ideas to make more money without working for it. Effort got in the way of Marty’s work. Now the money is Peterkinney’s, and that knowledge makes the experience of collecting it so much sweeter.

  This should be an easy collection. That’s another thing. Yeah, you’re in charge, but you don’t do the tough jobs. Your men don’t like it if you do the tough jobs. Another lesson he learned from doing the muscle work himself. All the muscle want to do the biggest jobs. The toughest ones. The riskiest ones. They want to be able to say that they did the jobs that mattered. It’s an ego thing. Their chance to prove themselves. Don’t take that away from them.

  But you do pick the job carefully. Don’t just take something that doesn’t matter to them. Take something that they don’t want to do. Then they think you’re a stand-up guy. So that’s what he’s doing. There are brutal jobs that the tough guys want to do. Makes them seem tough, on top of their game. The awkward stuff, the stuff that requires subtlety and brainpower, they prefer to avoid. That’s why Peterkinney’s here. Picking the most bloody awkward debt he has on the books, and going to collect. And he’s still in a good mood.

  Her name’s Collette Duffy. Typical enough. Pretty young thing with a habit and a kid. No job, no prospect of one. Borrowing money with no hope of repaying. In the grand scheme of things, she’s no big deal. Her debt isn’t massive. She’s easy to talk to. The problem is her brother. Her brother Liam is not a man you want to piss off. Does a lot of work for Chris Argyle, in what we will politely call the import business. Liam Duffy is not good people. Known to overreact to perceived slights. Known to protect his little sister and her kid. That’s why lenders are scared to refuse her. It’s why collectors are reluctant to buy her debt. That’s why none of the muscle wants this collection.

  Peterkinney bought the debt as a favour to a lender. He has almost no intention of collecting on it. Two grand he won’t see again. Not necessarily two grand poorly spent. It’s a connection. Peterkinney’s going to be as nice as nice can be with Collette. He’s going to leave her flat after making her a happy little girly. Make a good impression. She shares this good impression with her brother. Her brother shares it with the people he knows. Peterkinney gets a reputation in the industry as a man who knows how to treat other people in the industry. Reputation is worth paying for. Even if it doesn’t work, he made a good impression on the lender just by buying the debt. Can’t lose entirely.

  He’s found his way to her flat. Small place, but not a bad area. Better than a girl with no job and a habit would normally have. That’ll be the brother’s influence, Peterkinney’s guessing. Up to her door and knocking. Waiting ten or twenty seconds. Not going to rush her. Not going to knock a second time. You get a lot of people who owe money who are allergic to answering doors. Understandable. Usually you knock and knock. Maybe you leave a note letting them know this isn’t over. Eventually, you push your way in. Not today. Not ever with Collette.

  Peterkinney’s about to walk away when the door opens. A young woman looking back at him. Pretty, as it happens. You can see why her brother would feel the need to protect her from collectors. A girl like that, there are ways she could repay the debt. Ways people like Marty Jones would be real quick to exploit. Wouldn’t stay pretty for long. She needs protecting.

  ‘Hi, sorry, I was just giving my little one her tea.’ A giggly smile. She’s nervous. A guy she doesn’t recognize turns up at her door. That’s worth worrying about when you’re deep in debt.

  ‘Oh, that’s okay,’ he’s saying with a friendly smile. This is where looking young and innocent helps Peterkinney. He’s non-threatening. People like Collette Duffy are willing to talk to him. ‘I don’t know if you know me. My name’s Oliver Peterkinney.’

  No flash of recognition. That’s a good thing. If she knew him, it would almost certainly be because of negative things. She might have heard some stories that made her nervous. That scared her. Any collector has brutal stories to back up his work, his reputation. This way, he gets to introduce himself. He gets to set the tone of her perception of him. If the only profit from this deal is to enhance his reputation with people like Liam Duffy and Chris Argyle, then he needs to set the tone.

  ‘I run a business that collects money,’ he’s saying. Not using the term debt collector. Never use the term unless you want to frighten people. ‘I’ve picked up your debt from the man you borrowed from.’ Talking low, making sure no neighbour could overhear. ‘I’m not here to collect,’ he’s saying quickly. Reassuring, friendly smile. ‘But I thought it would be good to have a chat about the debt. See what we can do about it. Make sure we can sort it out without any bother, you know? Is now a good time? I can come back some other time.’

  He’s reassured her. He can already see it in her expression. He’s said he’s not here to collect money, which is a good start. She’s seeing this as an opportunity. Here’s a nice guy that’s offering a chance to discuss her debt. This could be a chance for her to talk it downward. That’s what she wants. She’ll be glowing in her praise of him if that happens.

  ‘I can talk,’ she’s nodding. Holding the door open for him to come in. A collector welcomed into the home of the debtor. All because of the nice way he talked to her. That baby face of his, paying off again.

  She’s leading him through to the living room. He can hear a TV in another room. That’ll be to entertain the kid through her dinner. The ever-present babysitter. Into the living room. The carpet’s thin and stained. There’s a couch and one chair that doesn’t match, and both have seen far better days. But there’s a big TV, a Sky box and a Wii in the corner. There’s an iPad resting on the arm of the couch. Strange priorities. But she’s a junkie, apparently. Her priorities are going to be all over the fucking place. Can’t be that far off the deep end though, can she. Holding it together enough to keep a home, keep the child. Seen worse, that’s for sure. Not Peterkinney’s problem. He’s sitting down.

  ‘Thing is, Collette,’ he’s saying, ‘I now own the debt. But I don’t want to start making a big deal out of it. I know how it is. You borrow a little and the interest catches you out. It’s a lousy system.’

  And she’s nodding enthusiastically. Dark-brown hair bobbing up and down on her shoulders. Wearing a stripy vest and dark trousers. Shapely. Oh, the likes of Marty would have a field day with a client like this. Actually, Marty himself would be smart enough to keep away from Liam Duffy’s little sister, but there would always be someone stupid enough not to.

  ‘We need to work out a way that makes it easy for you to pay back. Something that doesn’t stop you living your life. Something that doesn’t get in the way of the other things you need to do.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ she’s saying, and nodding again. She has nothing else to say. She’s hearing what she wants to hear and that’s enough. Worried that anything she says might poison the well.

  ‘So we need to look at how much you’re earning. See what you can afford to pay. We’ll do something about this interest, because that’s not helping the situation. I also don’t want you to think that there’s any great urgency with this,’ he’s saying. ‘I’m not in any great hurry about it. If we peg the interest, that’ll give you breathing space.’

  She’s smiling and nodding. Unaware that Peterkinney wants this to last because it gives more chance of spreading the word about what a good guy he is. What a good industry man he is. That’s where the value is for him. A young man who understands how to treat the family of other insiders. She doesn’t see that. Honestly, she doesn’t care. The value for him is irrelevant to her. He’s welcome to any kind of profit he can get. She’s only concerned about her po
sition.

  ‘Do you lend?’ she’s asking.

  Jesus Christ, this isn’t going to be easy after all. She’s looking to borrow more. Hasn’t paid a penny of her original debt, and she’s hoping he’ll hand her more cash. That’s going to make it more difficult. He sure as hell isn’t going to go buying up an unlimited amount of her debt just to make a good impression. Reputation is worth paying for, but everything has a limit. Might actually work in his favour, he’s musing, before he answers. If she borrows from someone. They sell her new debt to someone else. She then has someone else to compare him to. Someone else for her brother and mates to compare him to. That could help.

  ‘No, I don’t lend. I just collect. Listen, Collette. Don’t go borrowing just to pay off other debts. That’ll make it worse. That’s how you end up with even more interest, and even more debt. You and me should try and come up with a plan to make sure that you can pay this back. Make sure that you don’t even have to think about borrowing again.’

  She’s nodding. She’s uncertain, but she’s not going to argue with him. He’s here to help and she needs help. But she doesn’t like the sound of not being able to borrow. Been a long time since she had an alternative money source. Borrow from lenders, get help from her brother. The lenders get rough and her brother sorts it out. That’s the system that’s kept her going for the best part of a year. Now Peterkinney’s suggesting something else. But the other tactic that has served her well is nodding along with other people’s ideas. She’s just smart enough to realize that money doesn’t flow from disagreement.

 

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