“Marty said, ‘Okay, now you’ve seen them. Are you going to phone the police?’ He was calling my bluff.
“‘Listen, Marty. It’s not that simple.’
“Your dad shook his head at me, full of self-righteous disapproval. ‘What the hell are you involved with, Tom?’
“He bombarded me with questions about where the diamonds were from and how I got involved in this racket. He wanted to know how it all worked. I was careful what I told him. I thought I knew how to play him. I kept it simple, didn’t tell him that they were blood diamonds; said it was a smuggling operation for a mine owner; someone who wanted to avoid paying taxes, had their own cutter and buyer all organized, so all I had to do was retrieve the stones and get them to the cutter. I tell you, my heart sank as I watched his stony face.
“I said, ‘Don’t look at me like that, Marty. It’s not like I’m helping to smuggle drugs or something. With this racket, no one’s getting hurt. The only one losing out is the tax office. It was a good business opportunity and I reckoned I might as well get involved. There’s never been any problems,’ I said, ‘and that’s why I’d like you to benefit as well, Marty – share in my good fortune. I can cut you in on this. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut. You’ll get paid for doing nothing. Just think of what that extra money could buy for Clare and the kids. You could take that holiday to Trinidad, buy a decent car. Whatever you want! Your family deserve this. Do it for them.’
“But your dad shook his head and said, ‘Look, I’ve heard enough. Gina will be getting worried, wondering where I am, so I want this sorted now. We go back a long way, Tom. I always knew that you were a tough businessman but I liked you, saw the best in you, but right now, I feel like I hardly know you. I’m going to give you a chance. Give me the diamonds and tomorrow I tell the port police that I found them in the cargo. They can take it from there. I won’t mention you. You can do what you want, deny all knowledge…or you can tell them the truth.’ He raised his eyebrows at me, knowing that this wouldn’t happen in a million years. ‘But one thing is for sure,’ he said, ‘this has to stop! I need you to promise me that.’
“I shouted at him, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ I could feel panic taking hold of me; I wasn’t going to be able to persuade him. I knew Marty. Your dad was a man who wouldn’t even look twice at an attractive woman in a pub without feeling guilty. I had to make him understand. I said, ‘For God’s sake, Marty, you don’t want to mess with these people. I need to get these stones to the cutter. If you get the authorities involved we’ll both suffer the consequences. The people I deal with won’t take kindly to their business being ruined and I guarantee that they’ll come looking for you.’ He thought I was threatening him. I said, ‘It’s not a threat. It’s what will happen.’
“He hesitated and, for a second, I thought I’d got through to him, but then he took out his phone. He said, ‘Sorry, Tom. This is your last chance; agree that I hand those stones over to the authorities tomorrow and that you’ll stop all this for good or I phone the police, right now.’
“I said, ‘No, I can’t let you do that!’
“I saw the screen of his phone light up and that’s when I lost it!
“I remember grabbing for the phone and then Marty taking a swing at me and suddenly we were on the ground…grappling with each other on the wet cobbles. I must have knocked the phone out of his hand, it spun off along the ground and the next second I’d dragged Marty up and had him pinned against the side of the bridge. I was so pumped up, it was like I was possessed or something. When I held him there I didn’t see my friend, I could only see this man who was going to ruin my life; everything I’d ever worked for. All those years of fighting to make something of myself, clawing my way up from the bottom of the pile. But I didn’t mean it to happen; you’ve got to believe me, Gina. I don’t even know how it happened! I lifted him off his feet. I just kept lifting him, higher and higher…the look of horror on his face – as if he’d realized what I was going to do even before I did. He grabbed for me but I hit his hand away and the next moment I’d somehow bundled him over the side of the bridge.
“There was a sickening thud. I looked over and saw your dad’s body sprawled across the tracks… He was facing upwards, his eyes shut; one of his legs was twisted behind him like he was made of rubber. The rain was pelting down on him, but he didn’t move, not even a twitch. I stood there staring at him, frozen to the spot, not knowing if he was dead or alive. It was only the blast of the car horn that brought me round. It made me jump out of my skin. I realized that it must be you, waiting in the car, wondering why your dad was taking so long. And then I saw the headlights of the train in the distance, cutting through the darkness, rocketing towards us, and I knew that I had to get Marty off the tracks…
“I could have done it; I could have run down the embankment and dragged him off, called an ambulance, saved my friend, taken the consequences…but I didn’t,” Tom whispered, as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Instead, I found myself scrambling on the ground, looking for Marty’s phone. I was shaking so badly that I could hardly press the keypad to write the text.”
“Forgive me. Dad,” Gina whispered. “You wrote that?”
“Yes, and then I got your number up, pressed send and threw the phone onto the track like it was a red-hot coal. I didn’t dare look down again, I just ran to the other end of the bridge and I crouched in those bushes, my heart thumping out of my chest, the sound of the train getting closer and closer until I heard the screeching of the brakes.” Tom’s voice tailed off. He shook his head; his hand covered his mouth.
“You haven’t finished,” Gina said. “Go on.”
“No, Gina, please. I’ve told you everything,” he pleaded.
“I said, go on!” she bawled, the veins in her neck straining. “I want you to tell me every last detail. All your lies, all your deceit. What did you do when you heard the brakes screeching?”
Tom bowed his head. “I put my hands over my ears, screwed up my eyes, rocked on my heels to make the image go away.”
“And then what?” she demanded.
“The train came to a stop and for a second all I could hear was the hissing noise from the engine, but then your voice rang out from the dark, calling for your dad. The sound of it made me retch. I swallowed back the bile, watching you through the undergrowth as you ran frantically about the bridge. You suddenly came in my direction, scanning the trees; you lingered there, leaning into the bushes. You came so close that I could see your bare feet, hear your panicked breathing and I just curled up tighter, into a ball, willing you not to see me.
“Then I saw you cross the bridge and head down the embankment and I took my chance. I shot out of the bushes and sprinted across the bridge and down the street. I’d parked my car on the next road and as soon as I reached it, I locked myself in, as if someone was chasing me, ready to drag me from it. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to control the shaking. My teeth were chattering so hard I thought they’d shatter. I squeezed myself tighter and tighter but a furnace couldn’t have taken away the feeling that my blood had frozen.
“I knew there’d be sirens and people lifting their curtains and coming out of their houses to see what they were missing. I had to get moving. I steadied my hand to get the key in the ignition and I drove out of the city, knowing that I couldn’t go home. I booked into some crappy hotel, paying cash, using another name.
“I sat in the room in my wet clothes, sobbing and shaking, drinking my way through the contents of the minibar. I was woken at four in the morning by my mobile. I had to peel myself off the bathroom floor to answer it. It was your mum, hardly able to speak, she was so shell-shocked. She just kept repeating ‘Why would Martin do this? Why would Martin do this?’ I told her that I’d drive home straight away. I had to end the call to throw up in the sink.
“I splashed cold water on my face. I forced myself to look at my reflection in the mirror – it disgusted me. I didn’t know how I could l
ive with what I’d done but I knew that I had to. I gave myself a good talking to: what was the point in the truth coming out? Marty was dead, there was nothing I could do to change that. I knew that it looked like suicide. I could help that theory along by telling people that Marty had been depressed, but I swore that I’d try and make amends by being there for you, Danny and your mum. I could provide for you, look after you, offer you a comfortable life.
“Once I’d made that decision I blocked out everything else. I pulled myself together, cleaned myself up and went to drop the stones off at the cutters. It only took him one look to raise his suspicions. When he examined them and announced that they were fakes I felt sick.
“Sissouma was soon on the scene and I knew I was in trouble unless I could convince him that I didn’t know where the real diamonds were. He had to believe that when I retrieved the stones from the sack, they’d already been swapped. He had my house turned upside down, he threatened to torch the warehouse and, of course, I couldn’t exactly go to the police about it. I tried to tough it out but then, for some reason, I started getting unwanted attention from port security and then the Inland Revenue wanted to check my books – it seemed as if someone had tipped them off. I got too twitchy. I thought it was best to disappear for a while until things had died down. I felt so bad; I’d promised your mum that I’d be there for you all and then I’d bolted.
“Sissouma’s boss was furious about the missing diamonds and Sissouma questioned anyone who’d been part of the smuggling operation but, even with his interrogation methods, he was getting nowhere. So he sent people after me and when they tracked me down I ended up losing two fingers before he was satisfied that I didn’t have anything to do with it.
“But despite the violence, I never told him about Marty. I didn’t want him thinking that the family may know where the stones were. He would have come after you. I did everything I could to protect you.”
“Don’t pretend you were protecting us,” Gina raged. “You didn’t tell him because you thought Dad might have hidden the real stones and you wanted to find them, make money out of them. That’s why you came back.”
“No! I was never sure if your dad had swapped the diamonds or if he’d found the fakes in the sack. But now I do know. Your dad just didn’t trust me enough to hand them over, so he swapped them with stones for a fish tank.” Tom let out a genuine laugh of approval.
“Yeah and that’s because my dad must have known what a greedy, deceitful bastard you really are!”
“Maybe,” he replied, his laughter gone. “But I came back for you, your mum and Danny. Don’t you think it would have been easier for me to disappear? I didn’t want to be involved any more, but I came back to look after you even though it’s meant Sissouma following me, threatening me and dragging me back into this business; even though it’s meant having to face what I did every day; being in your house, surrounded by memories of Marty, having to look at his ashes on that bloody shelf every day! It’s been torture, but I’ve done it because I wanted to be there for you, to be part of your family. I wanted to give you all a great life.”
Gina shook her head in disbelief. “You murder my father and then try and take over his family, make moves on his wife, play at being our new dad! What kind of sick bastard are you?”
“I was trying to make things better and I will, I can, even now. Just make that phone call. I’ll go and collect the diamonds, give them to Sissouma and disappear out of your lives for ever. I promise that you’ll never have to see me again. I’ll sell the business, leave the country. I’ll transfer enough money into your mum’s account to make sure that you’ll be comfortable for years to come.”
“You think that you can buy me off!” she spat.
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. It’s just what you deserve. Please, Gina, I’ve told you everything. Every word is true. Now make the phone call like you promised.” He snatched a quick glance at his watch. “We only have twelve minutes before they go to Sissouma.”
“No!” she said. “I’m not going to.”
“What? But you’ve got to! You promised!”
Gina looked him unflinchingly in the eye. “I don’t have to keep a promise to the man who murdered my dad.”
She turned to walk away from him but was stopped by the sight of a lorry pulling up across the end of the street, Chunky Chocs emblazoned on its side.
The driver honked his horn and drove away, leaving Declan standing in the road.
Declan ran to Gina, distressed on seeing her battered face.
“Did you do this to her?” Declan roared at Cotter.
“Don’t worry,” Gina said through her swollen lips. “This is nothing compared to what Sissouma will do to him.”
“Tell her to make the call!” Tom implored Declan. “She’s going to get me killed!”
“Gina, what’s he talking about?”
Gina remained tight-lipped, gripping her phone.
“She’s left the diamonds with someone – they’re going to take them to Sissouma, tell him I was going to cheat him. He’ll kill me. We’ve only got a few minutes. She’s got to stop them.”
Declan looked at Gina’s tear-filled eyes. “Come on, Gina. You can’t let this happen,” he said gently.
“He killed my dad,” she whispered. “Why shouldn’t I let Sissouma kill him?”
Declan turned to Tom, open-mouthed. Cotter’s silence, an admission of guilt.
Declan was in turmoil, thinking what to say.
“Because…because…you’re not like him, Gina. You wouldn’t let someone die. Trust me, I know you. You won’t let this happen.”
If looks could kill, Declan Doyle would have died on the spot. He didn’t know why Gina stared at him like that, he only knew that he wasn’t getting through to her.
“Let the police deal with him,” Declan said.
“No! He killed my dad and made everyone believe that it was suicide. I hate him. I want him to suffer.”
“And he will. He’ll be banged up for years. He’ll have nothing, he’ll be nobody.”
“It’s not enough!” she cried, tears starting to roll down her face.
“Listen, Gina. I never knew your dad but I know how much you loved him, what a fantastic guy he must have been. Do you think he’d want Cotter dead? Do you think he’d want that kind of justice?”
There was a flicker of change across her face that Tom seized upon.
“Gina, your dad would do the right thing and I know that you will,” Cotter pleaded.
She hesitated, staring at the man for whom she felt such a terrifying hatred and then she reluctantly loosened her grip on the phone and tapped in the numbers.
“Thank you, thank you,” Tom jabbered with relief.
“I’m not doing this for you,” she said. “This is for my dad.”
“Hello…” an Irish voice sang in Gina’s ear.
“Hello, Mrs. Mac—” Gina said urgently.
“…Sorry, I can’t make it to the phone right now. Please leave your message and number after the beep and I’ll be getting back to you. Bye bye.”
Beep!
“Mrs. Mac, this is Gina. Are you there? Pick up the phone if you’re home. It’s urgent! Mrs. Mac, don’t take that parcel I gave you round to my house. It’s very important that you DON’T take it! Please phone me back as soon as you get this message.”
“Where is she?” Tom barked. “Phone her mobile, for God’s sake!”
Declan answered gravely. “Mrs. Mac doesn’t have a mobile. She doesn’t approve of them. They go off in church. She gets very upset.”
Clare put her arm around Danny but he shuffled out of her reach.
“It’s okay, Mum. I’m not afraid of him,” he said, glaring at Sissouma. “And as for that one; I could beat him up with my little finger.” Egon groaned at Danny and took another sip of his tea.
Sissouma let out a belly laugh. “Young man, you would make a brave soldier. I imagine you like all those computer games where you
shoot the figures on the screen. I’ve noted that in this country all the boys love the war games. But if you were in my country, working for my boss, you could be doing that for real. He is a great commander and he does not discriminate against the young. He knows that many of the finest, fiercest soldiers are children and he looks after them like they are part of his own family. Would you like that, Danny? Would you like to be a real soldier, carrying a real gun?”
“Shut up! Leave him alone!” Clare snapped.
A knock on the front door silenced the tense room.
Clare got up defiantly from the sofa. Sissouma grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
“No, Mrs. Wilson,” he whispered. “We don’t want any unnecessary visitors. Let’s just sit quietly until they go away.”
They sat and listened, each knock and ring of the bell making Clare flinch.
Bridie and Mrs. McManus stood on the doorstep of the Wilson household.
“I don’t think anyone’s in, Deirdre. The living room curtains are closed and you’ve done enough knocking to wake the dead,” Bridie said.
“But they must be in. Gina was very clear. She said to bring it round now.”
Bridie put on her glasses and looked at her wristwatch. “Actually, she said to leave it an hour, and that means we’re ten minutes early.”
“Well, you know I can’t abide being late for anything,” Mrs. Mac said.
“Yes, but maybe this fella isn’t here yet.”
“Give it one more try then. Let him know why we’re here. He might think that we’re Jehovah Witnesses or something.”
Bridie bent down to the letter box, held the flap open and bellowed into the hallway.
“Cooee! Is there anyone home? We’ve got an important parcel and message for a Mr. Sissouma. Well, I suppose it’s more of a pencil case than a parcel and the message is a bit odd, but Gina asked us to come over and tell you. We’re nothing if not reliable, isn’t that right, Deirdre?”
Blood Tracks Page 27