by P. F. Ford
The Intensive Care Unit was closest, so Norman headed there first. A nurse was sitting at a desk writing notes. 'You can see him,' she said, but you're not going to be able to speak to him. He won't be speaking to anyone, at least not for the time being.'
'We were told he was crawling when he was found last night,' said Norman.
'That's the survival instinct for you. It's nothing short of miraculous that he could do that.'
'He's that bad?'
'He's sustained multiple injuries, probably caused by a car accident.'
'He was hit by a car?'
'You don't really want me to go through it all again, do you?'
'Sorry?' Norman asked.
'No offence,' she said, 'but I am very busy. Your colleague is in with the patient now.'
Norman experienced a brief sinking feeling. 'Colleague?'
'I've already told him all of this, why don't you ask him?'
Norman was thinking fast. This could get decidedly awkward very quickly. 'Ah, yeah, right,' he heard himself saying. 'We'll do that,'
'Room three down on the right.' The nurse pointed down the corridor and then returned to her notes, the visitors soon forgotten.
Norman led the way down the corridor, stopped at the door, and peered through the window. 'It's Casey,' he said over his shoulder to Darling. 'What the hell's he doing here?'
'Well, if we can't talk to Spiderhair, maybe we should try him instead,' she suggested.
Casey couldn't hide his shock as Norman pushed the door open and led Darling into the room. 'You two? How the hell did you get in? What are you doing here?'
'I was going to ask you the same thing,' said Norman.
'I'm a police officer--'
'I've heard that rumour,' said Norman. 'But who's paying you to be here?'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'Don't play the innocent with me. We know you're covering up what really happened to Jenny Radstock. I suppose the same person's paying you to make sure this kid can't talk.'
Casey snorted derisively. 'I don't know what you're talking about. He was hit by a car.'
'Just like Jenny,' said Darling. 'I'd say that's a bit of a coincidence, don't you agree?'
'There are lots of cars on the road.'
'And they're allowed to mow down pedestrians in this town, are they?'
'You've got no proof of anything,' said Casey. 'If we knew who was responsible--'
'Oh, I'm pretty sure you know who's responsible,' said Norman, 'But you'd better tell whoever it is that we're on to them, just like we're on to you, so they'd better watch out.'
'You're talking rubbish. You can't prove anything, and you know it. If I were you, I'd just go home and forget this case. You're in way over your head.'
'And you're in it up to your neck,' said Norman.
'You shouldn't be in here. I could have you arrested for this.'
'I think you'll find we'd be out in a couple of hours, and then all the attention's gonna turn on you. Go ahead, if that's what you want.''
While the men were arguing, Darling had moved alongside Spiderhair's bed. She looked at the ghostly white face, the top of his head swathed in bandages. She took hold of his hand. It seemed ridiculously small on the end of his spindly, stick-thin arm. She gave his hand a squeeze, but the response she had hoped for just wasn't there. 'He's going to be so pissed off when he wakes up and finds his hair's been shaved off,' she said sadly.
Norman forgot Casey for a moment and stepped over to join her. He took in the machinery and stared at the assorted dials and screens. It all seemed calm enough, so he supposed that meant the boy was stable. It was scant consolation, but it was better than nothing.
There was a faint swooshing sound of a door closing, and he looked round to find Casey had gone. He thought about going after him, but decided it didn't really matter right now. They could deal with him later.
'This isn't right, Norm,' said Darling. 'I bet it's because of us. That's probably why Casey's sniffing around.'
Norman sighed. He had been thinking the same thing. He looked at Darling and noticed a single tear was slowly sliding down her cheek. She had been affected much more by this than he had realised. He used a finger to gently wipe the tear away.
'We don't know anything for sure, but you're probably right,' he told her. 'But you have to stop feeling guilty about it. If we're going to find out who did this, we need clear heads.'
'That's easy for you to say.'
He reached an arm round her and pulled her close. 'Yeah, I know, but that's one advantage of being so old, you see. I've had years of practice dealing with this stuff.'
Darling still had hold of the boy's hand.
'Come on,' said Norman, easing her away from the bed. 'Holding his hand isn't going to find who did this to him.'
Chapter 16
They didn't even get close to the camp before Jasper came striding over to intercept them. 'Whadda you two want now?' he demanded. 'Haven't you caused enough trouble already? I've told the others they're not to speak to you, whatever inducement you might offer, so you might as well piss off. You're not welcome here.'
Norman raised his hands to indicate he hadn't come to fight with anyone. 'Look, I understand how you feel,' he said. 'Believe me, we feel really bad about what's happened to Spiderhair. Naomi here hasn't stopped crying. If we had had any idea this was going to happen, we would never have gone near him.'
'It's all your fault he's in that bloody hospital.'
'Yes, I know, I just admitted that, and you keeping on shouting at me isn't actually going to help him, is it?'
'If you think I'm going to tell you it's okay, and you don't need to worry--'
'I think I'm enough of a realist to know you're not going to forgive me anytime soon,' said Norman. 'Besides, nothing you can say is gonna stop me worrying about what's happened to the kid. But that's okay because I'm not looking for your forgiveness.'
'You're not?'
'I'm not going to forgive myself, so I'm hardly going to expect you to.'
Jasper eyed him suspiciously. 'So, what do you want?'
'I want you to help us.'
Jasper did a double take and then laughed out loud. After a few seconds, he stopped laughing and shook his head. 'I've got to hand it you, Mister, you've got some balls, but you've got some crazy bloody ideas too. Why would I want to help you, after what's just happened to Spiderhair?'
'Well, as the leader of this little group, I was hoping you'd wanna help find out who's responsible for what happened.'
'We already know who's responsible,' said Jasper. 'You are!'
Darling had been a silent bystander so far, but now she took a step towards Jasper, who retreated slightly. 'Fine, we admit we were the catalyst, but we didn't do the damage, did we?' she said. 'He was still in one piece the last time we saw him. It was someone else who tried to murder him.'
'But if you hadn't been poking your noses in where--'
'So you're saying whoever ran Spiderhair down should be allowed to get away with it, are you?' she snapped.
Jasper licked his lips and his eyes flicked between the two of them. 'There isn't anything the likes of us can do, is there?'
Norman had been watching Jasper's body language. 'You're looking uncomfortable, Jasper,' he said. 'I'm beginning to think you know who did it.'
'No, I don't,' he replied hurriedly.
'I think you do,' said Norman.
'Everyone knows there are certain things you can do in this town, and there are certain things you can't. Stay in line and you'll get by without too much hassle. Spiderhair stepped out of line, and he paid the price.'
'Who drew the line?'
'I don't know.'
'Or is it just that you're frightened to say?' asked Darling.
Jasper looked daggers at her. 'It's easy for you to stand there and judge,' he hissed. 'I bet when you leave here you'll go back to a nice warm bed in a nice safe home, won't you? You take that for granted, but peop
le like us don't have that luxury. We have to huddle together to keep warm. We have to sleep out in the open where we're vulnerable to anyone who fancies kicking the shit out of us.'
Now it was Darling's turn to look uncomfortable.
'And I bet you've got plans, haven't you?' he continued. 'Something to aspire to and look forward to. Shall I tell you what I aspire to? Getting through the night and waking up in the morning, that's what. I wouldn't say I look forward to it, though. I mean, who in their right mind is going to look forward to a life like mine?'
There was an uncomfortable silence when he had finished speaking. Neither Darling nor Norman had been prepared for such an outburst, and they were both momentarily lost for words.
'Wow!' said Norman at last. 'Have you ever thought of going into politics?'
'Yeah, go on,' said Jasper. 'Take the piss, why don't you?'
'No, I'm serious. Anyone who can get their point across like that should be given a chance to do it.'
'Yeah, maybe so, but it's not going to happen, is it?'
'But if someone's put the fear of God into you all, don't you think they should be stopped?' asked Darling. 'Don't you want to fight back?'
'What chance have we got?' Jasper gave a hollow laugh. 'Don't forget, we're at the bottom of the food chain. We'll just end up like Spiderhair. What good will that do?'
'You might be at the bottom, but we're not,' Norman said. 'If you help us, we can help you.'
'We've seen what your help does.'
'Look, I get what you're saying, but we can bring in additional resources,' said Norman.
Jasper snorted loudly. 'What, like the local police? They're part of the problem!'
'Yeah, we already know that, but we're not that sort of police, and we're not local.'
'It's too big,' said Jasper. 'They've got everything tied up around here.'
'Who are they?' asked Darling.
'That's just it. No one actually knows who's behind it. I think it's all to do with drugs, but I can't prove it.'
'Why do you think that?' asked Norman.
'Coastal town, easy access to France across the channel. I've been down the harbour when some of them boats come in. They're supposed to be sailing yachts, for pleasure, you know? More like drug carriers if you ask me. I reckon there's shedloads coming in all the time, but half the local police are on the take, and customs are the same.'
'Did you ever meet a girl called Ginger?' asked Norman. 'Well, I say girl, she was actually in her late thirties. Nice-looking, black hair.'
'Yeah, I met her once or twice. It was Spiderhair who really knew her.'
'He said she was like a big sister to him,' said Darling.
'Yeah, that's right. She used to look out for him. She died from an overdose, didn't she?'
'That's the official story,' said Norman. 'We think that's bullshit, and we're here to find out what really happened to her. That's why we were talking to the kid.
'Let me guess.' Jasper motioned like he was sticking a syringe into his arm. 'Syringe in the arm, enough heroin to kill an elephant.'
'Got it in one,' said Norman suspiciously. 'But now I can't help wondering how come you knew that and Spiderhair didn't.'
'I knew he'd be upset, so I kept it to myself.'
Norman studied Jasper's face. He was sure the man was lying, but he also knew how to hide it.
'She must have been dealing,' Jasper continued, 'or owed them a lot of money for them to do that to her. It's their favourite way of letting everyone else know it's best not to cross them.'
'Who? asked Darling. 'Who is it best not to cross?'
'Whoever's controlling the drug supply, of course.'
'Yes, but who is it? You've got your ear to the ground. Surely you must know.'
'And how would I know that, exactly?' asked Jasper. 'Do I look like I can afford to buy drugs? That's one thing I've always steered clear of, even when I had money.'
'Have you ever heard of someone called Jerry?' Norman asked.
Jasper grinned. 'Doesn't he get chased by Tom?'
'You want to be careful,' said Norman drily. 'You're that sharp, you might cut yourself.'
Jasper ignored the sarcasm. 'Should I have heard of him?'
'Spiderhair mentioned him. He said he thought Ginger might have been staying with him. I was hoping you might know where we could find him.'
'Sorry, I can't help you there.'
'Okay, no problem,' said Norman. 'It was a long shot. Thanks for talking to us, you've been really helpful.'
'But I said I wasn't going to help you.'
'Ah, but you did, though, and we appreciate it.'
'Hang on a minute,' began Jasper. 'I'm not bloody helping you for nothing.'
Norman gave him a wicked grin. 'Sorry, can't stop.' He stuck his hands deep into his pockets. 'Crap! I'm clean out of cash too. I'll drop by tomorrow. You stay safe now.'
He ushered Darling back to the safety of the open street.
'You sure know how to take advantage of people and piss them off, don't you?' she said. 'He's not going to help us tomorrow after that.'
'Oh, he's going to help us,' said Norman. 'I guarantee it. I'm just not sure if it'll be tomorrow or later tonight.'
'You've lost me.'
'Unless I'm very much mistaken, our new friend Jasper is going to be making contact with the very person he claims not to know. And once he's mentioned the conversation we've just had, I expect someone to come looking for us.'
'You think?' asked Darling. 'But why would he tell us about the drug shipments if he's working for them?'
'I don't suppose he's telling us anything that isn't common knowledge locally anyway. You hear the same story in any town by the sea. I have to admit, he's pretty good at playing his part. I hope they pay him well.'
'And you're quite sure about this are you? Because he convinced me.'
'That's because you were only looking at his eyes,' said Norman.
'The window to his soul,' she said.
'That's as maybe, but you have to remember – windows can be dressed.'
'That's bit vague, Norm. You'll have to do better than that.'
'Doesn't it strike you as being a bit odd that a homeless guy can manage to keep himself clean-shaven all the time? We've seen him two or three times now, and there's never been a trace of stubble on his face.' He rubbed a hand over his own chin. 'Now, I'm not one of those guys who can grow a beard in five minutes, but even I have stubble by the end of the day.'
'Some guys just don't grow a beard,' Darling said unconvincingly.
'And what about his shoes?'
'What about his shoes?'
'They're too clean,' said Norman. 'And his clothes look as though they're freshly laundered. The only dirty thing about him is that shabby old coat. Remember Spiderhair said he disappears for hours at a time during the day? I reckon it's because he's got a pad somewhere and he goes home to shower, shave, change his clothes, and catch up on some sleep.'
'Don't you think the others would have noticed by now?'
'How many of them are looking? He offers them some sort of security at night, so they only see what they want to see. He's also hiding behind that shabby old coat, and he's made sure most of them are scared to challenge him, right?'
'There's no need to be quite so smug about it,' Darling said irritably. 'Overconfidence can be a terrible turn-off for a girl.'
'Yeah, so I've been told,' Norman said good-naturedly, 'but as I'm not trying to turn you on, I don't see it's an issue. Besides which, I know I'm right, so overconfidence doesn't come into it.'
Chapter 17
'Where exactly are we supposed to be going?' asked Darling next morning as she walked slowly alongside Norman. 'We've been walking round and round in circles for half an hour now. It wouldn't be so bad, but you won't even let me go into any of the shops!'
'We're not going anywhere in particular,' said Norman, 'and we're not going into any shops. We're waiting for someone to come and find us.'<
br />
'Any particular someone?'
'I dunno. But it occurred to me that this Jerry guy might be trying to set up his own operation, and having eyes on the ground would be more than useful.'
'And you actually think he's going to come and find us?'
'Not in person. If he's a major player like Bradshaw says, and I'm right about him moving into someone else's territory, he's not going to risk showing his face. People like that tend to keep a low profile. He'll have guys working for him.'
'So we get to start our day the hijacked way. That's just terrific!' said Darling, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 'Am I getting paid danger money? I expect at least double time if someone's going to be pointing a gun at me.'
'Look, this is Redville-on-Sea, not Chicago in the prohibition era,' said Norman. 'No one is going to want to draw attention to themselves by pointing a gun at you in a place like this. How about I pay you extra if you stop complaining?'
'Maybe if you kept me better informed, I wouldn't have anything to complain about.'
Norman sighed, stopped walking, and turned to face her. They were standing by the kerbside. 'I'm sorry. You're right, I need to communicate a bit more.'
'No,' said Darling, 'you don't need to communicate a bit more. You need to communicate a lot more. It's not as if you keep notes I can refer to. You keep everything in your head, and you only share odd bits when it suits you. I understand you're the boss, but it does help if I have some idea what your plans are. Is this how you work with Dave?'
'Err, no,' he admitted guiltily. 'I tend to let him take the lead. He's much better organised than me.'
Darling rolled her eyes. 'Well, now, there's a surprise.'
'He's pretty good at making sure we both know what's going on too.'
'Ah! So you do know what communication is, you're just no good at doing it.'
'Look, I said I'm sorry. How bad do you want to make me feel?'
'Bad enough for you to change your ways would be quite good.'
Before Norman could reply a large blue Mercedes pulled up alongside them. As they turned to look, the passenger window glided silently down, and the driver leaned across. He was the sort of guy who could have been described as hired muscle, but there didn't seem to be any menace about him.
