The Alibi

by Jamie Raven

  Bishop was floored by the news, but it actually made him laugh.

  ‘That’s the weirdest thing I’ve heard in years, boss. You and the gobby reporter have the same father. Fuck me, you couldn’t make it up.’

  ‘It’s not funny, Frankie. The bitch is out to screw me, and my dad says I’ve got to be nice to her.’

  Bishop couldn’t stop smiling. ‘Well, he’s right, ain’t he, boss? Beth Chambers is family now. And you’ve always moaned about not having a family. As she’s your little sister you’ll be expected to look out for her.’

  Danny was furious with Bishop for acting like it was a joke. ‘This is serious shit, Frankie. It’s not something to be laughed at.’

  ‘Oh, come on, boss. It doesn’t have to be the end of life as you know it. Besides, it’s her I feel sorry for. The poor cow won’t be dancing a jig to the news that Danny Shapiro, hotshot London gangster, is her older brother.’

  Danny felt a wave of anger course through his body, and Frankie would have felt the full force of it if it hadn’t been for the sound of the doorbell.

  ‘That’ll be Cain,’ Danny said through gritted teeth. ‘Let him in and not a word about this other business.’

  Cain was wearing the same suit he’d had on the day before and was looking pretty rough. There were dark half-moons under his eyes and his complexion had a sickly hue.

  ‘So what’s up, Ethan?’ Danny said, looking at his watch. ‘I’ve got a lot on this morning so I hope this is not a waste of my time.’

  Cain poked a thumb at Bishop. ‘I said I needed to talk to you in private, Danny. What I have to say is for your ears only.’

  ‘Don’t be a twat, Ethan. I’ve got no secrets from Frankie. So just tell me what’s got you all excited.’

  Cain looked at Bishop, who crossed his arms and gave a wry smile. Then he turned back to Danny, shrugged his shoulders, and took several sheets of folded-up paper from his inside pocket.

  ‘I want you to see these,’ he said, handing them to Danny.

  ‘What are they?’

  ‘They’re extracts from Megan’s phone records going back five years. I’ve highlighted a particular phone number and the name of the person it belongs to. I’ve also listed some of the text messages that passed between that person and Megan. They clearly reveal that she was having an affair while married to you.’

  Danny glanced down at the top page, noted the name that was printed in bold black letters and felt the air lock in his chest.

  ‘The guy was listed on Megan’s old phone as BF,’ Cain said.

  As Danny read speedily through the typed-up text messages a sick feeling washed through him.

  Megan: Hi, babe. Filming’s due to finish early. Fancy meeting up for a quickie before I go home?

  BF: Sure thing. My place at 4. Let yourself in.

  Megan: Danny’s gone to see old man at Belmarsh. Can you come over?

  BF: ’Course. But you need to be careful. If Danny finds out I’m a dead man.

  Megan: He won’t find out, babe. He’s too busy playing at being Al Capone.

  BF: I’ve still got a stiffy from last night. You are a dirty bitch.

  Danny felt a cry in his throat but he refused to let it out. Instead he dropped Megan’s phone records onto the floor and as he stared across the room, his eyes sparkled like flames.

  Bishop stared back. He had unfolded his arms and they now hung stiffly at his sides. His fists were clenched. His eyes were huge and anxious. And a muscle twitched in his neck.

  His guilty posture added to the weight of evidence against him as far as Danny was concerned. The back-to-front initials on the text messages. The familiar mobile phone number. The memory of how he had always been one of the few people to say nice things about Megan.

  Now Danny understood why. The bastard had been screwing her.

  ‘I trusted you, Frankie,’ he said, stepping towards him. ‘And you betrayed me.’

  Bishop held up his hands. ‘Look, boss. You can’t believe—’

  ‘What can’t I believe, Frankie? The evidence of my own fucking eyes.’ He pointed to the sheets of paper on the floor. ‘It’s all there in black and white. The phone calls. The text messages. Are you actually going to deny that you were fucking Megan behind my back?’

  Bishop drew a hand across his forehead and through his hair. Danny could see he was struggling to find something to say that would defuse the situation.

  ‘It was a long time ago, boss,’ he said. ‘At the time you were shagging around yourself. Megan knew it. So why does it have to be a huge deal now?’

  Danny’s eyes blazed with a ferocious fury. He switched his gaze to Cain. The detective blinked warily and swallowed.

  ‘You hear that, Ethan?’ Danny said. ‘The two-faced cunt doesn’t think there’s any reason for me to get upset.’

  Danny was beside himself. Each intake of breath felt sharp in his lungs. He got to within a couple of feet of Bishop and stabbed an accusing finger at him.

  ‘I took you on when you came out of prison, you slag. I can’t believe that was how you decided to pay me back.’

  Bishop took a step back, palms out.

  ‘It’s all in the past and trust me it didn’t mean anything.’

  It was like throwing petrol onto a raging fire. Danny gave a loud roar and charged. He seized Bishop by the throat and pushed him back against the wall, before smashing his forehead into his mouth. The contact was solid and full of pent-up emotion.

  Bishop yelled in pain and grabbed Danny’s arms. But Danny held on and rammed his knee into the other man’s pubic bone.

  Bishop was by far the bigger and stronger of the two, and he used his weight to pull Danny sideways. They both hit the deck with a loud thud and Danny lost his grip on Bishop’s throat. They rolled across the floor as one, hands, elbows, feet bumping into the furniture and walls.

  Danny managed to drive two punches into his opponent’s stomach but they lacked power because he was too close. He then made the mistake of trying to poke his fingers into Bishop’s right eye. He left himself open and Bishop punished him by shoving the heel of his hand against his chin.

  Danny’s teeth smashed together and a white-hot pain exploded in his head. His body went limp with shock, and Bishop seized the opportunity to struggle to his feet.

  ‘Stay down, Danny,’ he shouted. ‘I don’t want to have to hurt you.’

  But Danny was enveloped in a red mist. Through it he could see Megan and Bishop having sex on the marital bed. His wife and ‘The Nutter’. Both of them laughing at him. Taking the piss. Betraying his trust. It was something he could never forget or forgive, no matter that it was a long time ago.

  Anger poured through his veins like liquid fire as he stared at Bishop. In a straight fight he knew he was no match for the burly psycho, but Danny didn’t let that stop him as he dragged himself up.

  ‘Let’s talk, boss,’ Bishop said, spitting blood through his teeth. ‘Please. This ain’t necessary.’

  Danny took no notice. He lunged forward, fists flying. Bishop was ready for him and wheeled away, then swung a right hook that caught Danny on the left temple.

  The blow sent him crashing into the wall where his elbow dented the plasterboard. Somehow he stayed on his feet, twisted his body, and threw himself at Bishop again.

  This time the big man kicked out, catching Danny’s ankle, hard enough to unbalance him. Danny managed to grab hold of Bishop’s jacket and pull him down with him. They landed on top of a glass coffee table that shattered beneath them.

  Bishop was the first to gain the initiative by throwing himself across Danny’s stomach, pinning him to the floor.

  ‘There’s only so much shit I’ll take from you,’ he shrieked as he aimed his fist at Danny’s face.

  Danny turned his head so the blow made contact with his cheekbone.

  Bishop raised his arm again, ready to deliver another punch, but that was when Cain joined in the fray. The detective seized Bishop in a headlock and sna
pped his body backwards.

  Danny gasped as the pressure left his stomach and he wasted no time getting up. Cain still had a firm hold on Bishop, who was thrashing about like a shark out of water.

  Danny showed no mercy. He went for Bishop like he was a punch bag. Several hard blows to the face. Then the stomach. Then the face again.

  Cain released his grip and Bishop collapsed on the floor. Danny delivered a sharp kick to his chest and then another to the back of his head.

  ‘That’s enough,’ Cain yelled. ‘You don’t want to kill the fucker here.’

  He pulled Danny away, and Bishop rolled onto his side, blood-stained spittle drooling from his mouth.

  ‘You’re finished, you bastard.’ Danny spat the words at him. ‘I never want to see your arse again around here.’

  Bishop may have taken a severe beating but he still wasn’t out for the count. He pushed himself up, wiped a sleeve across his mouth, stared at Danny.

  ‘You can’t do this,’ he said. ‘You owe me. I’ve served you well. I’ve got a stake in the business.’

  Danny shook his head. ‘I don’t owe you a thing. You came to me with nothing and I looked after you. And then you showed your appreciation by banging my wife.’

  Bishop started to speak, but Danny raised a hand to stop him.

  ‘Don’t even bother. I don’t want to hear it. I just want you gone.’

  Bishop groaned out loud as he rose steadily from the floor. But he had to put his hand against the wall for a couple of seconds to hold himself firm.

  ‘Don’t think I’m just gonna let you do this to me,’ he said. ‘You haven’t seen the last of me.’ Then he turned to Cain. ‘And neither have you, copper. I’m gonna make you regret what you did.’

  Danny pointed a trembling finger at him.

  ‘If you know what’s good for you you’ll fuck off back to Southampton. You’re not welcome on this manor and if I see you again I’ll finish what I started. So just count yourself lucky and piss off.’

  Danny braced himself in case Bishop had another pop. Instead Bishop gave a slow shake of his head and decided the odds were stacked against him.

  Danny watched him move towards the door and realised that he was going to have to take the man out, otherwise he was crazy enough to come back seeking revenge. This wasn’t the right time or place, though. It’d be too messy. The neighbours had probably heard the racket and they might have seen the three of them arriving. He would look to sort it before the day was out.

  The front door slammed shut and Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Cain, who had dropped onto the sofa and was breathing heavily through his mouth.

  ‘Thanks for stepping in there, Ethan. I’m not as handy with my fists as I used to be.’

  Cain shrugged. ‘No problem. He’s not the easiest of opponents.’

  ‘You’re right about that. I can see why you didn’t want to talk to me in front of him. It was bound to kick off.’

  ‘Actually, Danny, the business about the affair was only part of it,’ Cain said. ‘There was something else I wanted to flag up and I can do it now that he’s gone.’

  Danny sat on the armchair, his mind in utter disarray.

  ‘So fire away,’ he said. ‘What is it?’

  The detective lit up a cigarette before responding, drawing the smoke deep into his lungs.

  ‘Those messages relating to the affair were on Megan’s old phone,’ he said. ‘But Frankie’s mobile number also showed up on the one she’s been using for the past year. However, they only called each other twice in all that time and it was just two weeks ago.’

  Danny inclined his head thoughtfully. ‘Are you saying you think they might have got back together?’

  Cain shook his head. ‘Not at all. What I’m thinking is that she might well have called him to ask for money in return for her silence over the affair.’

  ‘So he could have been targeted just like I was?’

  Cain nodded. ‘And it follows that he could also be the person who killed her. But if I go after him there’s no telling what he’ll say about us. Right now I’m the only one on the team who’s put it together. I think it’s best that it stays that way.’

  45

  Beth Chambers

  It took Callum Shapiro fifteen minutes to tell me his story. I listened without interrupting, entranced by what he had to say.

  About meeting my mother on the salad stall where she worked back then. About the start of the affair. Her getting pregnant. Me being born.

  For almost six years he was unfaithful to his wife, Danny’s late mother. And for five years he was the man I called daddy, who popped into our house when he could, which wasn’t very often. And then his wife found out and gave him an ultimatum.

  ‘It can’t be true,’ I said when he finally stopped talking and waited for me to respond.

  Or was it that I just didn’t want it to be?

  ‘I’m sorry, Bethany,’ he said. ‘But it is the truth, however unpalatable that may be. You and your mum meant the world to me, but so did my wife and son. I had to choose and I did. It wasn’t easy and I’ve often thought I made the wrong choice.’

  My thoughts raced, my mind felt numb. For a few seconds I was lost somewhere deep inside myself. I could feel a pulse pounding in my head, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

  ‘The last time I saw you I gave you a present,’ he said, his voice breaking through the turmoil in my head. ‘I named him Olly because Oliver is my middle name.’

  My heart began to hammer then and I had to take a breath to slow it down.

  Olly. My God.

  There was only one way he could have known about my precious, bedraggled little teddy.

  ‘You were never supposed to find out, Beth,’ he said. ‘That was the deal your mother and I struck when I ended it. Please tell her from me that I’m sorry. But I had to tell both you and Danny. It was the only way to sort this mess and get you to stop gunning for each other.’

  My eyes brimmed with tears and I blinked them away. My internal voice clicked in, filling my head with questions, igniting an emotional whirlwind that paralysed my senses.

  I looked around, thinking everyone would be staring at me. But they weren’t. They were engrossed in their own conspiratorial conversations. Talking about their own fractured lives. Not caring that my own life had been turned on its head.

  Then again, why would anyone care except me? I was the one who had to live with the pain and shame of being the illegitimate sprog of Callum Shapiro, the man who’d made a living out of murder, robbery and extortion. The man who’d paid someone to shoot Tony Hunter.

  ‘You killed my stepfather,’ I blurted out.

  A shake of the head. ‘No, Beth, I didn’t. I would never have done that to you – or Peggy.’

  ‘But she says you did.’

  ‘Well, it’s not true, Beth. It hurt me that I couldn’t convince her of that when she came to see me. I swore blind that I didn’t do it. But she believed the rumours and I think it was partly because she wanted to hate me for leaving her.’

  ‘So are you going to deny that you warned him off and threatened him?’

  ‘No, because when I did that it was for his own good. Tony Hunter was treading on too many toes. Upsetting too many faces. I told him and his crew that they were being too ambitious. But they wouldn’t listen. They wanted to break into the big time. It got to the point where something had to be done. I told my lot to lay off Tony but I didn’t tell them why. And I never had to explain myself because the Russians took him out.’

  There suddenly didn’t seem to be enough air in the room to breathe. He had given me another thought to grapple with; another decision to make as to whether I believed him.

  ‘I won’t deny that I killed people, Beth,’ he said. ‘And I got my guys to carry out killings on my behalf. That’s why I’m in here. But I promise you that your stepfather was not one of my victims. I knew him and believe it or not I liked him. We actually had a dri
nk one time and he told me about you. How great you were and how much he loved your mum. He was a good man and that gave me comfort. So there was no fucking way I would have had him shot.’

  Neither of us spoke for several seconds. I tried to run it all through my head and make sense of what I’d been told, but there was too much to process. Too much to accept.

  My mind drifted through memories. I remembered the tall man with the husky voice who used to bring me presents and tell me that he loved me. I remembered the times I’d pressed my mother to tell me more about him, when she would only say that it was best I didn’t know.

  Now I knew why she’d kept the truth from me. She was ravaged by guilt and shame. Hadn’t wanted me to know that I’d come from the sperm of an infamous gangster.

  ‘What did Peggy say about me?’ Shapiro said as if reading my mind. ‘I’m sure you asked her a lot of questions over the years.’

  I noticed suddenly that his eyes were awash with unshed tears and it gave me quite a shock.

  I shifted my gaze away from them and said, ‘She told me that I was the result of an illicit affair with a married man. She said you just walked out one day and never came back. She would never tell me who you were and not in my wildest dreams would I have guessed it was you.’

  ‘Are you disappointed, Beth?’

  I lifted my eyes back to his face, saw what looked like a mixture of pain and regret etched into his features.

  ‘I’m gutted, to be honest,’ I said. ‘But I’m glad I know. And I’m glad you stopped coming to see me when you did. I hate to think what my life would have been like if my mum had stayed with you. I’d have probably ended up like your son.’

  He sighed hard through his nose, and when he next spoke his voice sounded pathetic and threadbare.

  ‘Danny really ain’t as bad as you think. I brought him into the firm against his mother’s wishes. He didn’t want to be like me but I didn’t give him a choice. That’s why I’m asking you not to stir things up with what you know. The alibi he’s given is the only thing that’s stopping the police stitching him up for murder. He’s got himself into a real pickle, but he shouldn’t go down for something he didn’t do.’