The Betrayal

by Linda Tweedie

  The two girls would have been on the next flight home if they had known about the council of war taking place after they had been delivered back to their hotel.

  Bad Habits

  Gerry knew immediately that Sean was back on the gear, any fool could tell. He’d spent the last couple of hours babbling incoherently about some fictitious deal and how the two of them could make an absolute packet. He kept nodding off mid-sentence and Gerry knew his passenger was hooked as bad as ever. Thankfully, Sean slept for most of the journey, waking only as they approached the city. Gerry was intrigued as to what scam this idiot thought he was capable of pulling off, not that he was in the slightest bit interested but it would do no harm to listen.

  “Take me straight home,” mumbled Sean. “I’m not feeling so good.”

  “I thought we might go for a drink and you can tell me more about your proposal.”

  “Another time, mate, sorry. I’m feeling terrible.”

  “Sure you don’t want to stop off at the Ship Inn for a quickie? I’d like to hear more.”

  “No, not tonight, pal. I think I’m coming down with something,” Sean squirmed about in the passenger seat.

  Too fucking right you’re coming down with something, Gerry thought. You’re coming down with a God Almighty crash . . .

  Gerry now knew exactly how he would take his revenge on Sean Coyle: via the packages he delivered week in, week out.

  Lizzie was taken aback at their early return, but one look at Sean told her why.

  “What’s he been taking, lad?” Lizzie questioned Gerry.

  “Nothing while he’s been with me, Mrs Coyle. He seemed a bit off when I picked him up and he’s slept for most of the day. I think he’s sickening for something.”

  “No, son, it’s not him sickening for something, it’s us who’ll be sickened. Is this the first time he’s been like this with you?”

  “Aye, he can be moody from time to time, but I usually win him round.”

  “I know you do, laddie, and I’m eternally grateful. You’ve been a good pal to Sean and I won’t forget it, but whatever you do, Gerry, don’t tell Paddy or Michael. We’ll have to deal with this ourselves for the moment.”

  “I’m not so sure, Mrs Coyle. I’m maybe the wrong person to help you.”

  “No, lad, you’ll do fine. My God, I was sure being off the stuff for so long while he was in hospital would have cured him.”

  “It did while he was away from it, but once an addict, always an addict. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he’s been on the stuff for long. He’s not had any money for a start.”

  “Hmm, that’s not quite true. There’s been money going missing for the past week.”

  “How are you going to cope with him on your own? And there’s Errol to think about.”

  “Don’t you worry about Errol. I’ll cope fine with him, but Sean has to stay here so as not to raise suspicions. .”

  “What about the doctor from the hospital? McLeod, was it?”

  “No, son, this isn’t a problem caused by his attack. I can’t see him being any use.”

  “He might be able to refer Sean somewhere and let’s face it, there’s no chance his brothers will be rushing to visit.”

  “I suppose it’s worth a try, although I don’t hold out much hope. Hey, if you don’t ask, you don’t get,” Lizzie attempted to be cheerful.

  All the while Sean was drifting in and out of sleep, oblivious to the discussion about his welfare.

  It took Lizzie almost half an hour to get through to Doctor McLeod.

  “He’s what?” exploded the physician. “He’s taking what?” The doctor roared down the phone at her. “Have you any concept of how dangerous this is in his condition? I have to tell you, Mrs Coyle, I didn’t invest all that time and effort, not to mention the cost to the NHS, for that buffoon of a son of yours to flush it all down the toilet.”

  “Oh, doctor, there must be something we can do?”

  “Normally I would pack him off to rehab and let the stupid beggar take his chances. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, and at least he wouldn’t be costing the NHS a fortune. Unfortunately I can’t do that because of the complex medication he’s been prescribed, and his recent hospital stay means he is still technically my responsibility. I’ll refer him to the psychiatrist at Gartnavel Hospital. It may take a couple of days to arrange, but I’ll be back in touch.”

  “Thank you, doctor, thank you,” Lizzie wept down the phone.

  “Oh, Gerry, we’ve only got to cope for maybe forty-eight hours and then he’ll be admitted.”

  “What I suggest is, we carry on as normal, don’t arouse his suspicions and then when we get word, I’ll take him to Gartnavel without telling him where we’re going.”

  “Thank you, son. Don’t you worry about Paddy and Michael. I’ll make everything alright with them.”

  Whilst this conversation was taking place, the man in question had divested his mother of the contents of her purse and slipped out the back way. If he remembered rightly there was a young lad dealing at the end of this road, at the junction of Church Street. He had enough cash to score, but he might not have to pay.

  As he neared the corner he didn’t recognise the dealer. “Hey, gadge, where’s the young lad?” he called to the guy strutting up and down at the junction.

  “What young lad? This is my pitch and has been for years.” This was a slight exaggeration by Tommy Riley.

  “Don’t talk fucking rubbish, boy. There was a young lad here the last time I checked on this pitch. Don’t fuck with me.”

  Tommy, recognising at once who the big man was, didn’t understand why he would be expecting someone other than him to be on the pitch. He was also sure he’d never punted any gear to Sean Coyle. The only person Sean could be referring to was his brother. Had he been around that day? There was something wrong here.

  “Do you mean my young brother, Mr Coyle? He sometimes works for me, maybe that’s who you mean?” Tommy watched the man intently.

  “Yeah, maybe that’s who it was,” Sean handed over twenty quid to Tommy. “Come on, I’ve not got all day.”

  Tommy’s gut told him that this geezer had something to do with Billy’s disappearance. After all, his brother had only worked for him the once and this fucker had just admitted to having dealt with him. He was shaken, what was he to do? He couldn’t tackle a Coyle, that would be like signing his own death warrant. Fumbling about with the money and bags, just as Billy had done on that fateful day, he dropped his merchandise.

  “Are you lot all fucking handless?”

  As he bent to retrieve his purchases Sean had a blinding flashback as he came face to face with Tommy. The boy. The car. Fuck, where were they? He had to find them. Leaving a dumbstruck Tommy, Sean went tearing back down the road. Shit, the boy was in the car. Where the fuck was the car? The yard, it was in the yard. He had to get there and fast. Thank God Gerry’s car was still parked outside his mother’s.

  Fuck, he remembered now. He’d thrown the boy into the boot of the car. Jesus, he couldn’t still be there, could he? He definitely wouldn’t still be alive if he was. Surely someone would have found the car by now. That had been months ago. Why had his brothers never said anything? Of course, they still thought he was a ten-year-old and not able to handle it, he reasoned to himself.

  Council of War

  “There has to be another way,” pleaded Diane. “Surely we can keep him with us? Why does he have to be farmed out to people we don’t know, people who might not take care of him. And for how long? I’m not happy about this.”

  “Look, Ma, if that child is here then the Coyles will be parked on our doorstep until they manage to snatch him back, and believe me, they would. You’d need eyes in the back of your head and be on guard twenty-four seven. All it would take would be one small slip and the game would be up. Trust me, there is no other way.”

  “He’s right, Diane, they would sit and wait, knowing at some point someone would make a m
istake, and then they would pounce. The pressure on everyone would be enormous,” sighed the priest. “There is definitely no other way.”

  All three were sitting round the dining table recently vacated by Erin, Carol and Amy.

  “This way there may well be speculation, but no proof.”

  “Who fucking died and made you the boss?” Diane snapped at O’Farrell.

  “Quit it, Ma. We have to work together on this.” Bobby tried to calm his mother down.

  “Well, we know who died, don’t we, girl?” interjected the priest.

  “I don’t see why we can’t do it legally. We could prove she’s an unfit mother and when the courts award him to us, there’s nothing Coyle can do.”

  “Do you really think that would work, Ma? Paddy Coyle has paid no heed to the law for the past twenty-five years, so why would he obey a Spanish court? He’d snatch him. Get real. The child has to disappear and believe me, that will devastate them all. An eye for an eye, as they say.”

  Bobby Mack hated the Coyles with a vengeance. Because of them his father was dead and his mother had almost been exiled from her own country, not that that was any great loss to Bobby.

  “It’s all arranged. She’ll be arrested outside the club and surprise, surprise, she’ll be carrying a significant quantity of drugs, enough to hold her. Of course, the obligatory phone call will be to Bobby, who will, unfortunately, be uncontactable,” said the old man.

  “But what reason would we give the authorities for the child not being with us?” asked Diane.

  “None. Why would we? As far as we’re concerned we haven’t seen her since the night before when she left to return to the UK with her friend. I’ll make sure she goes to the airport. What happens to her after that is no concern of ours. We know nothing about her landing in jail, or why she was carrying drugs. In fact we’ll post a reward for the return of the child. It couldn’t be simpler.”

  “I still don’t like it. I want to meet with these people.”

  “No way, not until it’s a done deal. No-one but the canon and I know the child’s whereabouts. If you don’t know, you can’t slip up. You have to get her onside, make sure she stays on for at least another week.”

  “Okay, but you’ll have to pay her much more attention, she’s not happy with you just now.”

  “She’ll be a lot less happy by the end of the week,” Bobby assured the other two. “I’m pretty sure that if she thinks I’m serious about someone else she’ll stay. But, as I said, Ma, you need to cement the relationship. Make her think she’s family and we’re willing to let bygones be bygones.”

  “Bobby, I’m not sure if I can. I can’t forget what they did to us.”

  “Hey, Mum, get real. My dad and his lordship here,” Bobby pointed to the ex-priest, “weren’t exactly innocent. They kidnapped Erin and the little girl, Amy, and God knows what they would have done if Coyle hadn’t stopped them. So don’t pull that old fanny. You don’t know if you can do it? You were in it up to your two carat diamond earrings. You knew exactly what business they were in and turned a blind eye because of the lifestyle it afforded you.”

  For once Diane was almost speechless. She glared at O’Farrell. “When this is over, you and I will settle things between us. I promise you, you’ll not drag my son into anything else. This is all your doing!” She stormed out of the room.

  “Well, that went better than I expected,” chuckled the old man. “She’s a fierce woman, your mother.”

  Clarity

  Sean took Lizzie and Gerry completely by surprise when he burst into the front room.

  “Jesus, where the hell did you spring from?” Lizzie almost jumped out of her skin.

  “What’s the panic?” Gerry said, grabbing hold of him. “Calm down, mate.”

  “I need to go to the yard,” Sean blurted out. “I need to go now.”

  “It’ll be closed, man, it’s after five. Surely you can wait till the morning? It can’t be that urgent.”

  “It is that urgent,” replied Sean.

  “Hey, what’s up? What’s so life-threatening? You’ve only been back there once since you came out of hospital and you were fine, so surely it can wait till tomorrow?”

  Sean realised that it was unlikely he would persuade Gerry to take him and slunk off to his room.

  “Jesus, what was all that about? I didn’t even know he had gone out.”

  “God knows, but something spooked him, that’s for sure. Maybe you should phone Michael, he’s better at getting things out of him.”

  “I’m not so sure, Michael’s been just as off with him as Paddy lately,” said Lizzie.

  “Look, I’m no psychiatrist, but I think he’s remembered something, something bad, and he doesn’t know how to handle it. Seriously, I think you should ring one of the boys. Preferably Michael.”

  Reluctantly, Lizzie had to agree and she picked up the phone. “Hello, son, how are things? Oh, I’m fine, boy. I just need a bit of advice. Yeah, yeah it’s about Sean.”

  “He’s not been up to anything. Well, not that I know of, but something has upset him.”

  “I don’t know, that’s why I’m phoning you. He was out for a bit this afternoon, not long, and came back in a state.”

  “No, he just went for a walk, but when he came back he was shaking and I could hardly make out what he was saying.”

  “No, I don’t think he’s back on anything. Will you listen to me?”

  “As I said, he came back all excited and upset and demanding that Gerry take him to the yard.”

  “Yes, Gerry was here, he’d just brought Sean home.”

  “Tell Sean what?”

  “Tell him not to worry about the yard, it’s taken care of and everything is fine.”

  “Are you sure? Do I want to know what you’re talking about?”

  “I didn’t think so. And he’s to come to the yard after ten tomorrow. Will Gerry come for him?” she gave her co-conspirator a thumbs up. “I’m sure he will.”

  “Okay, son, I’ll go and tell him now.”

  “Well, that was very mysterious,” said Lizzie as she put the phone down. “At least it should put his mind at rest. I’ll go and tell him now.”

  A light knock on his bedroom door brought a curt response from Sean. “Go away, Ma, I’m not feeling too good.”

  “Okay, son, do you want me to heat some soup for you?”

  “No, just leave me.”

  “Okay, but I’ve got a message from Michael.”

  “Michael!” Sean roared. “Michael! Why the hell were you talking to him?”

  “I was worried, son. Something had obviously upset you. Anyway, he says the yard is sorted and you’re not to worry about it. Your brothers have taken care of things. Now that should make you feel better.”

  The relief in Sean’s voice was almost palpable. “Thanks, Ma, maybe I’ll have some soup after all.”

  His brothers had taken care of things, thank God. As for meeting Michael the next day, well, that depended on how the rest of this day went. If he had nothing to worry about then so be it, he wouldn’t worry. It was time he got back in the saddle.

  As he listened for the door closing, which would signal Gerry’s departure, Sean demolished the bowl of steaming soup and the best part of a loaf of bread. For the first time in a long, long time, he felt he was back to his old self. For his family and acquaintances, this didn’t bode well.

  Holiday

  “My God, another day in that woman’s company will have me chucking myself off the bloody balcony,” Erin laughed to her friend. “All she talks about is Pete, Bobby and Ryan. The king and the two princes. Honest, it’s ‘when Pete was alive this . . .’ or ‘when Pete was alive that . . .’ I’m surprised she’s not had him sanctified. If she’s not blurbing on about Saint Pete then it’s about Professor Robert Mack, the genius. She would have you believe the only difference between Bobby and Stephen Hawkins is that one is better looking than the other. Truthfully, you have to hear it. She actually pre
dicted yesterday that Ryan had the makings of a lawyer. Honestly, a bloody lawyer! She could tell by the size of his feet.” By this time the two girls were rolling about hysterically on the bed.

  “You’re joking, tell me you’re joking,” Carol was gasping for breath.

  “Honest, you’ve got to hear the tripe she spouts. I thought my mother was bad at times, but Jesus, she’s nothing compared to Diane Mack. She’s an authority on everything. And whatever Diane wants, Diane has to have. She’s determined to have me stay on for a while, but I’m not sure if I can last the remainder of the holiday, never mind adding to it.”

  “Why don’t you let her have the baby today and you come to the beach with us?” ventured Carol.

  “You’ve had a change of heart, have you not? You were the one who insisted she shouldn’t be left with him, in case she absconds.”

  “I know, but let’s face it, there’s not much chance of her doing that. She’s too well known and loads of people have seen you two together. Go on, give yourself a break. In fact, why don’t you go and have lunch with Señor Bobby. You’ve spent virtually no time together since we got here.”

  “Oh, Bobby’s otherwise engaged. He’s been with that Swedish masseuse since before we got here.”

  “Well, all the more reason to get yourself dressed to kill and make him take you to lunch, to discuss Ryan’s welfare.”

  “Do you think Diane will be okay about this?”

  “Are you bloody mental?” replied her friend.

  Erin went off to get ready and call Bobby.

  “Wow, you’re looking hot,” Bobby complimented her. “Going anywhere special?”

  “That depends,” said Erin cryptically. “I was hoping you’d take me to lunch, there are a few things I’d like to get sorted before I go back at the end of the week.”

  “My mother thinks you’re going to stay on for a bit.”

  “I don’t think so, Bobby. Two weeks is long enough and there’ll be other times. I was going to suggest she looks after him by herself today so we could have time to sort things out.”