The Crooked Beat

by Nick Quantrill

  ‘Gillespie is a piece of shit,’ he said. ‘I don’t care for him. And I can’t say I care much for your brother. If you want to play with the big boys, you’re going to get hurt.’

  I was getting angry with him. ‘You leave my brother alone.’

  Sutherland smiled again. ‘I dare say you’ve spoken to Peter Hill, too. He’s quite a useful man to know, so I’m sure I’ll be dealing with that cunt soon enough. Plenty of people need to make things up to me.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I want them back, obviously.’ He paused. ‘Or I want paying.’

  ‘Unlucky on both counts.’

  He smiled again. ‘That’s not how it works.’

  ‘I can’t give you what I haven’t got. They were stolen, but you already know that.’ There was no way I was giving him Connor’s name.

  ‘Quite a fucking coincidence.’

  ‘Indeed.’

  ‘I’ll make it clear, then. I can’t get insurance for my line of business, so I have to enforce my own rules.’ He shuffled forward and leaned in close to me. ‘Believe me, I’ll enforce them. I’m not prepared to be out of pocket or let people down.’

  ‘How much are we talking about?’

  ‘Fifteen grand for the cigs.’ He shrugged. ‘Make it twenty for the inconvenience and my time sorting it out.’

  I laughed. ‘I can’t help you with that.’

  ‘Don’t be talking yourself down, Geraghty. You caught me out, didn’t you?’

  His was talking about his wife. ‘You didn’t make any attempt to cover your tracks.’

  ‘And you think the people who’ve stolen the cigarettes are master criminals?’

  ‘I want you to leave my brother out of this.’

  Sutherland considered this. ‘You want me to hold you responsible?’

  I nodded. It was the only way. I didn’t care much about Terry Gillespie or Peter Hill. I only cared about Niall and Connor.

  He swallowed the last of his cappuccino. ‘In that case, I’ll be in touch.’

  I need a distraction to occupy my mind. I was going to have think carefully about my next move with Sutherland. Kath Millfield’s literacy charity operated from an office on Wright Street. I’d checked her website. They operated an open door policy. People were encouraged to simply drop in to see the work they did and maybe volunteer their time. Roger Millfield would be expecting me to make progress, so I decided I wanted to see his wife when she was in her comfort zone. I wanted to get a feel for the woman. I fed the parking meter and walked in.

  Directly in front of me was a display board about their literacy work with children. It was impressive. At the bottom was a list of corporate sponsors. Her husband’s firm was one of them. To the left, I could see the offices. They had glass fronts, so you could observe them at work. Kath Millfield was on the telephone. I looked again at the display boards. The charity certainly did important work around the city. The children on the photo were all smiles and laughter.

  One of Kath Millfield’s employees walked across to join me. ‘The children get so much out of the process. A lot of them aren’t interested in reading when they start with us, but we place the emphasis on fun.’ She smiled. ‘It’s about learning without the pressures of targets and exams.’

  ‘It’s certainly impressive,’ I said.

  ‘We’re always eager for men to get involved. We always need positive male role-models.’

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man walk straight into Kath Millfield’s office. She put the telephone down. The woman continued to talk to me. I nodded, as I kept an eye on the office.

  She continued to press me. ‘Are you thinking of volunteering with us?’

  I said something non-committal. Kath Millfield was arguing with the man. The woman I was talking to was clearly embarrassed. We both watched as the man stormed out. Kath Millfield closed her office door after him. She didn’t notice me. I picked up a brochure and said I’d think things over. There was no point in following the man. I recognised Neil Farr, the solicitor I’d seen in the photographs with Kath Millfield.

  I found Don propped up in his bed in the far corner of the hospital ward. He’d been worked over, his face was a mess, but at least he was comfortable. I took a chair off the stack in the corner and placed it next to his bed.

  ‘I can go home once they’ve finished running their tests,’ he said.

  ‘You should take your time.’

  He stared out of the window at the panoramic view of the city. Under other circumstances, it would be breathtaking.

  ‘Who did this to you, Don?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘I spoke to your neighbour.’

  ‘Keep out of my business, Joe.’

  ‘I’m here to help you.’

  ‘I don’t need your help.’

  I leaned forward. ‘Sure?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  ‘Who did this to you?’ I repeated. ‘This isn’t going to go away.’ The man sounded like hired muscle to me. Which meant it was serious. There was a reason for what had happened.

  He asked me to pour him a glass of water. I did as I was asked, even though I knew he was playing for time. This wasn’t right. Don had set up as a Private Investigator as a means to keep himself occupied after taking early retirement. He had been happy to work the mundane cases. They’d kept him busy and in the loop with old colleagues. I knew he wasn’t the sort to seek out trouble.

  He took a mouthful of water before speaking. ‘You don’t owe me anything. We’re not partners. Let it go.’

  I changed the subject. ‘Roger Millfield called me earlier.’

  Don stared at me. ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘He had a job for me.’

  ‘I thought you were out of that game?’

  ‘I’ve got to make a living.’

  He shook his head. ‘What are you doing with your life, Joe?’

  It was a good question. I had no answer. ‘At the moment I’m trying to help some old friends.’

  ‘Don’t keep me in suspense, then. What did he want?’

  ‘He thinks his wife is having an affair.’

  Don was shocked by my news. ‘And he called you?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  We sat in silence until the bell signalled the end of visiting time. Technically, he was a pensioner, but he was also ex-police. CID. He was nobody’s fool. I leaned in close to him so no one else would hear. ‘It’s time to be honest with me.’ I looked him in the eye. ‘I can help you.’ We’d had our problems and difficulties, but I knew what he’d given me. ‘If you don’t want my help for yourself, think of Sarah and Lauren. They’re going to have to see you like this.’

  Don said nothing. I straightened myself up and left him lying there.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I forced my way through the crowd at the front of the hospital and headed for the car park. Acting Detective Inspector Richard Coleman was standing at the entrance. I suppose we had a grudging kind of respect for each other these days, but we certainly weren’t friends. I nodded a greeting and tried to side-step him. He blocked my move, so I tried again. He mirrored my move.

  ‘What brings you here, Joe?’

  ‘Just visiting,’ I said. ‘I hear you’ve been promoted.’

  ‘Not quite. Acting Detective Inspector.’

  ‘Congratulations.’

  ‘You still haven’t said what brings you here.’

  I told him again that I was a visitor.

  ‘Don?’

  He knew, so I nodded my agreement.

  ‘Same here. I’ve come to take a statement.’

  I tried to move away again. ‘Best of luck with that.’

  ‘Time for a coffee?’

  I was curious as to why he’d want to speak to me. I agreed and let him lead the way back in to the hospital. We walked up the two flights of stairs to the canteen. I found a table and waited while he queued for coffee. The queue was long and the canteen understaffed. It ga
ve me time to think. I was surprised to find a senior detective was personally taking a statement. It didn’t make sense.

  Coleman sat down and placed a mug of coffee in front of me. ‘What happened to Don?’ he asked me.

  I shrugged and said I knew nothing. Don wasn’t prepared to talk about it. I asked Coleman what brought him here.

  ‘You know how it works. We take care of our own.’ He sipped at his drink. ‘We’ve all got pasts.’

  He was playing it with a poker face, adding nothing further. I wasn’t going to give him anything, either. He would have spoken with Don’s neighbour, too. It was a stalemate.

  ‘Are you going to tell me anything?’ I asked Coleman.

  ‘I haven’t spoken to Don yet, so I haven’t got anything to tell you.’

  I finished my drink and stood up. ‘See you later, then.’

  He followed me out of the canteen. At the top of the stairs he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. ‘Go careful, Joe.’

  I put Coleman’s warning to one side and called Terry Gillespie as I walked back to my car. He told me he couldn’t talk. I told him he didn’t have a choice. I suggested he made himself available. I was heading to his house and I expected him to be there. It took me fifteen minutes to make the journey.

  ‘You can’t do this,’ he said, opening his front door to me. ‘I’ve got a job to do.’

  I brushed past him and went into his living room. We didn’t sit down. ‘Haven’t we all?’ I said. ‘And don’t give me any of that shit.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘We’re going to talk about George Sutherland. They were his cigarettes.’

  Gillespie smiled. ‘Hardly a surprise, is it?’

  He’d known all along. He’d tried to play me for a fool to get himself off the hook, but it wasn’t relevant now. ‘I told Sutherland that he should consider it my debt.’ I didn’t mention the price tag. All twenty thousand pounds of it.

  He laughed. ‘Why the fuck would you do that?’

  ‘For my brother.’

  Gillespie shrugged. ‘No skin off my nose.’

  I leaned forward and grabbed him. ‘Don’t think you’re walking away from this unless I say so.’

  ‘Why would I care?’

  I relented and released him. ‘Niall said you used to work on the docks, back in the day.’

  ‘Used to be a bobber, hauling the baskets of fish in off the boats. Loved that work, I did. It was honest work. Not like sitting on your arse all day, watching things come and go. But that’s progress, I suppose.’

  I walked over to the mantelpiece and picked up a leaflet for Sutherland’s pub. It was advertising erotic dancers and gentleman’s evenings. ‘What’s Sutherland up to?’ I asked him.

  ‘How would I know?’

  ‘You were seen arguing in his pub.’

  If he was surprised by what I knew, he hid it well. ‘I argue in a lot places.’

  ‘And you thought you’d drag my brother into your shit?’

  ‘He’s a big boy. He makes his own decision.’

  I was starting to lose my patience with him. ‘Don’t fuck me about,’ I warned him. ‘I’m doing you a favour here.’

  He didn’t speak. I was wasting my time here. It was making more sense to me, though. Erotic dancers and gentleman’s evenings. I finally got the subtext. No wonder Sarah had felt so uncomfortable in the place. Gillespie was most likely paying for sex in there. Or rather he wasn’t paying. Sutherland had a grip on him. There was a debt to be paid. I was sure of it. He’d lied to me about his involvement, pretending he didn’t recognise the photograph of Carl Palmer. He wasn’t going to be any help to me. I balled up the leaflet and threw it at him.

  Before driving away from Gillespie’s house, I called Sarah and agreed to collect her from the hospital when she’d finished visiting Don. I had some time to kill. I wanted to get a feel for Kath Millfield’s routines and habits. I headed for her office and parked up on the street. I had yesterday’s newspaper on the floor of my car to help pass the time. I saw the assistant I’d spoken to leave the office for the day, so I figured Kath Millfield wouldn’t be far behind. The city centre slowly emptied, the shops and offices depositing workers back onto the streets. I didn’t have to wait long. Neil Farr stepped out of a car and walked across the road to knock on the front door of the office. A couple of minutes later, Kath Millfield appeared, kissed him on the cheek and locked up. I watched as they both got into Farr’s car. I followed.

  Farr turned on to Freetown Way and went straight across the lights to Spring Bank. The rush hour was coming to a close, so there was still traffic on the road. Two cars separated us and I stayed lucky with the lights. I followed his car on to Princes Avenue and watched as they took a left down the first side street. I did the same and saw Farr pull into a parking space. I drove straight past and parked a little further on. I watched them walk back to Princes Avenue in my rear-view mirror. I locked my car up and followed at a safe distance. I lost sight of them as they rounded the corner. By the time I arrived at the same spot, they were using the pedestrian crossing. I stayed where I was and watched, as they walked into an Italian restaurant.

  Unsure of what to do, I stared in the nearest shop window for a moment. I’d come this far, so I decided to a chance. I crossed the road and headed straight in to the restaurant, making for the back. I sat down and had a clear view of the place. Millfield and Farr were sitting well away from me, close to the window. They were leaning in towards each other, so I was certain they had no interest in me. The waitress walked over to me and took my order. I asked for a bowl of pasta. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I could hardly just sit there. The food was pretty good, making it obvious why the place was popular. I didn’t take my eyes off them as I ate. They ordered dessert, so I had to wait it out. There was no chance of me moving until they did.

  Neil Farr eventually summoned the waitress across and settled the bill. I placed some money down on my table, ready to move. Farr and Millfield both laughed and joked with the waitress as they waited for the card machine to process the transaction. They waved as they left. I allowed them a minute and then followed. I noticed Kath Millfield had left her scarf on the chair she’d been sitting at. I picked it up and took it across to the waitress.

  I held it out to her. ‘The lady sitting there must have forgotten it.’

  The waitress took it from me and nodded. ‘That’s very kind. They’re regulars here. I’ll make sure she gets it when they’re next in.’

  I smiled and said that was perfect. I walked back to my car, suspecting Roger Millfield was right about his wife having an affair.

  I sat in the hospital car park and waited for Sarah. A stream of people filed past me, heads down, glad to be out of the place. It was the end of visiting time. I switched the radio off and waited. Sarah appeared and got into the car. I asked her how Don was.

  ‘Probably no different to when you saw him. He’s sore and uncomfortable, but it’ll pass.’

  ‘Did he say anything?’

  She shook her head. ‘He won’t tell me. In fact, he said we should leave him alone.’

  It was obvious the situation was upsetting her. I glanced up at the hospital tower block and wondered what was going on in Don’s head. What was he so scared of? It wasn’t the Don I knew.

  ‘What have you been doing?’ Sarah asked me.

  I told her about what I’d seen at the restaurant. ‘I’m going to have to speak to Neil Farr about it.’ I shuffled in my seat. ‘I’ve also found out who the cigarettes belong to.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘George Sutherland. I met him earlier and told him I’d take the debt on.’

  ‘That’s a big commitment.’

  She was genuinely surprised by my news. But what else could I do? It wasn’t Niall’s world. He had a family to think of. I didn’t mention the amount of money involved.

  I dropped Sarah off outside her house. Niall had left a message on my voicemail. He was asking me for an upd
ate, but I could tell he just wanted to talk. I called back and asked him where he was. He said he was at Victoria Pier. I knew it well. I headed straight there and found him stood by himself, staring out at the brown water of the River Humber. I locked up and made my way over to him. It was early evening and cold. I zipped my coat up and put my hands in my pockets.

  I joined him in leaning over the barriers. To our left, the two North Sea Ferries were preparing for their outward voyages. ‘Remember the ferries that went from here?’ I said.

  ‘I can remember going out on them.’

  I did, too. Before the Humber Bridge was built, the ferry was the easiest way to reach the south bank. Our dad would take us over every other month or so when he went to see a former rugby team mate who lived in Grimsby.

  ‘You always used to run up the stairs to the main deck while dad was parking his car up,’ Niall said.

  ‘You always thought you were too cool for that kind of thing.’

  ‘I was.’

  I laughed. I would have been about ten years old. I could still smell the boats. I’d never travelled well on them. Sometimes they had simply stopped halfway across the Humber, stuck on a sandbank. There was nothing you could do but wait it out.

  ‘I’m in pieces, Joe. Ruth is so angry with me, especially because she knows I’m shutting her out of something. Connor’s tiptoeing around, but at least he’s old enough to sort himself out.’

  ‘I’m doing my best,’ I said. I risked a glance across to him and decided to tell him the truth. ‘The cigarettes belonged to George Sutherland.’ I outlined what I knew about the man. ‘If I had the money, I’d give it to you.’

  Niall shook his head. ‘It’s not your problem.’

  ‘I’ve given the money I got from Debbie’s life insurance policy to her sister. She needs it for a house move. I told her to pay me back when it all goes through.’ I hadn’t expected to need it back any time soon. It had sat in a bank account for several years now, untouched until recently.

  ‘I wouldn’t have taken your money, anyway. It wouldn’t be right,’ Niall said.