by Diane Ezzard
We ate in silence apart from the music blaring out from the radio. He’d not said anything yet, not where he’d been since absconding again, nor about his brother’s death. I scrunched up the paper and the remnants of the chip scrapings and threw it in the back of the car. Holding up my thumb, I signalled for Marcus to do the same. I’d discard the rubbish later.
His hand reached over and caught mine. It was cold, stone cold.
“I need your help, Jack.”
“You don’t look too clever, lad. What is it you think I can help with?”
“I don’t want to go the same way as Toby.”
“I warned you they’re a dangerous crowd you’re mixing with.” He threw me a dirty look.
“The other lads have been talking, they say it was Dirk who murdered Toby.”
“And why would he do that?”
“Because Toby double-crossed him.”
“Go on.”
“He’d been working for another crew. I believe it was Toby who tipped the police off about the Duggans haul at Birch services. He was blasted to death with a shotgun up by Rivington Pike.” He buried his head in his hands. “All because he carried out the instructions of the Bolton gang.”
“I’m on my way to the police station now. Do you want to come with me and speak to them about what you know?”
“I can’t do that, Jack. I’m scared. Now they know I’ve done a runner again, they’ll be after me.”
“I’m sure the police would offer you protection.”
“No, I’m not getting involved. It’s too risky. There’s not just me to think about. What about my brothers and sisters and my mam?”
“I know it’s not an easy decision, but with your help, the police could put away your brother’s killer for life.”
“You don’t understand how ruthless those guys are.” He shook his head. “There’s something else.”
“What’s that then?”
“I was at one of the houses the other night, playing cards, and one of the older guys mentioned the name, Louie.”
“Really?” My ears pricked up.
“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s the lad you’re looking for, but I thought I’d mention it.” This was the first bit of positive news I’d had in the months since I had been searching for Louie. I had loads of questions in my head, but I needed to contain my excitement.
“Do you know the lad’s name who mentioned Louie?”
“They call him Scabby.” I frowned. “He has scabs and pockmarks on his face from acne.”
“Can you remember anything else about him?”
“He’s a tall kid with ginger hair. He’s got a broad accent. I think he comes from Haslingden.”
“And where did you meet Scabby?”
“It was a house in Edenfield. I can show you if you like?”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Listen, I’ve got to see what my mate from the police wants now,” I said looking at my watch. I was already ten minutes late. “How about we meet up later tonight and you can show me the house?” He nodded.
“You take care of yourself, okay? Do you have somewhere to go?”
“I can lie low for a few hours.”
“Good.” We arranged to meet again after dark.
I got to Mike twenty minutes later than arranged. He dressed down for the occasion. His leather jacket was well-worn, his jeans had mud-covered patches on the knees. He liked to be on the front line, and it showed. Mike never shirked the action. He thrived on it.
“So, what is it, Mike?” I asked.
“One of your favourite brothers has been up to no good again.”
“I think I know what you’re going to tell me.”
“Oh?”
“Dirk Duggan. Have you arrested him?”
“Yeah, how did you find out?”
“You know me, Mike. I keep my ear to the ground.” I winked at him. His eyes didn’t leave mine as he opened a file.
“You’ve been involved with the Broadbent family, haven’t you, Jack?”
“That’s right, I found Marcus Broadbent along with Jade at that house in Chadderton.”
“I thought so. Well, you know then about his brother’s murder.”
“Yeah, I heard he’d been shot dead.”
“Well, we’ve had a stroke of luck in nailing Dirk Duggan.”
“Oh?”
“A dog found the body in woods over Rivington way. We then discovered six brass shotgun cartridge cases buried in a shallow grave nearby. We traced the gun used to one that Paul O’Malley owns.”
“Isn’t he the fence who fronts the buy and sell shop up Rochdale Road?”
“That’s the one, yeah. Well, he’s admitted to lending the gun to Dirk Duggan who told him he wanted it to shoot a few rabbits.”
“He must be getting sloppy in his old age.” I laughed.
“Sometimes, we need a stroke of luck. If it hadn’t been for that dog, Toby’s body might never have been found and his disappearance would have remained undetected.”
“I might be able to help you further with your evidence, Mike.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, his brother Marcus surfaced again today. He’s scared out of his tiny mind after what’s happened to their kid, Toby.”
“I’m not surprised.” Mike raised his eyebrows.
“He’s aware that Dirk’s behind the killing and he may be ready to talk if you can get him into witness protection. At the moment he’s saying no, but with a bit of gentle persuasion, you never know.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’m meeting him later if you want to tag along. He’s raised my hopes with the case I’m working on, the missing lad, Louie. He heard mention of his name so he’s showing me a property the gang use. I think we might get more information out of him after what’s happened to his brother.”
“We could do with a few more loose lips, but yeah I’ll join you if you don’t mind. He could prove useful.”
Chapter 38
Jack
Edenfield is a quiet little picturesque village on the outskirts of Bury. Its landscape is dominated by moors. Not a lot happens there. It’s an area popular with walkers and hikers. Rumour has it that a ghostly headless horseman roams the streets but probably the most exciting thing to happen there is sheep rustling. Residents wouldn’t be too happy if they found out that one of the most dangerous notorious drug gangs in the area had moved into their peaceful setting.
Mike drove, and I sat in the front. I was worried Marcus wouldn’t turn up, but he was first at the rendezvous point. We picked him up, and he sat in the back biting his nails. His baseball cap covered his eyes. The sky turned dark grey in no time. Mike tried his best to get the kid to speak, but it had been a bad move bringing a police officer along. Marcus dried up. Apart from showing us the house in Edenfield, he wasn’t prepared to say any more.
There were no crackheads standing on the corner here. The houses were mainly terraced, and the road was full of cars parked the whole way up. Marcus pointed out the property. It was a stone-built end of terrace with a ginnel running alongside. At the back was an industrial unit with open fields. Surveillance work would be too risky there.
We dropped Marcus off in Rawtenstall. He didn’t want to wait around with us any longer. All my skills of persuasion went down like a lead balloon. He had done as he promised and didn’t want to get too close to the property. By the look on his face, I think I betrayed him bringing Mike. I only wanted to do what was best. I couldn’t deal with these gangsters on my own, plus I couldn’t offer Marcus safety like the police could. He was itching to get away. He couldn’t get out of the car quick enough. I told him I’d be in touch, but I wasn’t sure if he believed he could trust me anymore.
Mike and I went back to watch the house. It was nice to have company for a change. I got bored out of my tree watching and waiting for something to happen when I was doing this sort of work alone. Too many hours spent thinking screwed me up. It gave me too much time t
o worry about Sophie and the kids and my ex, Vivien.
There was nowhere around these parts to buy a takeaway coffee so I took a swig from my water bottle. Mike found a parking spot within sight of the property. He turned off the engine. The sky darkened as evening settled in. The street lamps flickered with a dull, yellow glow. We hadn’t discussed how long we’d stay there but Mike seemed glad to get out of the office for a few hours. Likewise, I was happy to let Sophie have some peace at home.
I wasn’t used to living with someone. I’d been on my own too long. Having Sophie come up behind me and clear away my mess irritated me. I enjoyed being slovenly. It was a man thing. I’d had enough of moaning women. Sophie wasn’t as obsessive as Vivien had been about cleaning, but she was more verbal about my untidiness. Caroline had been a nightmare. She was obsessively tidy. Thank goodness I hadn’t heard from her in a while.
We both spotted a young black lad riding a pushbike along the pavement. He leant his bike against the side of the house we were watching. Leaving it for five minutes in any other part of town, it would get nicked, but he must have thought it was safe enough around here. He carried a plastic Tesco grocery bag, and he walked up to the front door and knocked. We watched as a light came on in the porch area.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t our ugly-looking Russian mate. He gets about,” I commented.
“He sure does,” Mike asked.
“I keep bumping into him. It must be some sort of omen.”
“He’s a nasty piece of work, by all accounts.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to bump into him in a dark alley, the size of him.”
“Oh, the young lad is on the move. He was probably dropping off his takings.”
“Do you want to follow him or stick with the property?”
“Nah, he’ll be one of the drug mules. The bigger fish are more likely to be inside if they’re anywhere in the area.”
I watched as the young lad put his hood up and got on his bike. He rode off towards Rawtenstall minus his carrier bag. We sat for some time in silence. There was a distinctive lack of movement from the property. A text came through from Sophie, but I didn’t reply. My battery was ready to die. I didn’t even read the message. It’d be something and nothing. Two minutes later a message flashed on the screen from Vivien. I read that one.
Call me. It’s urgent.
I questioned how urgent it was. Knowing her, it would be along the lines of Ryan scuffing his school shoes and needing new ones. She only contacted me when she was after more money. There was nothing I could do. There wasn’t enough juice in my phone to reply. I could have kicked myself for not bringing a charger. The screen went blank, and I put the phone in my pocket. The messages from both women nagged away at me. I tried to put them to the back of my mind, but I couldn’t concentrate. I pulled at the hem of my jacket then crossed my arms. Mike chatted about football. England had a match coming up and neither of us gave them much hope of victory.
An hour passed with no movement. Mike glanced at his watch.
“I think we’ll call it a night. I’ve got reports to write up. I’ll speak to the drugs squad when I get back, see what they know about this place. If you can get young Marcus to say any more, let me know. The team will want to try themselves if we can get hold of him.”
“Will do.” Mike dropped me back at Sophie’s. As well as feeling tired, I felt deflated. I’d hoped for more action tonight. I didn’t expect Marcus to agree to give evidence. Hopefully, the police had enough on Dirk to send him down for a long time. I needed to help catch his brother.
I turned the key in the door and Sophie came rushing towards me.
“Have you spoken to Vivien?”
“No, my phone died. Why? What’s the matter?”
“Someone has threatened her and the kids.”
“What!” I didn’t take my jacket off. I turned and went back out the door.
I drove over to Radcliffe to the estate where Vivien and the kids still lived. When we bought this house, I thought I would be living there for the rest of my life. How wrong can you be? My addiction had cost me dearly. My maintenance charges paid the mortgage, and it still grated on me when I saw the house that I couldn’t live there but had to pay for it. There was no time for regrets today. I ran up the path towards the front door. Vivien answered when I rang the bell. She looked pale, with red-rimmed eyes.
“Where have you been? Why didn’t you reply?”
“Sorry.” I held my hands up. “My phone died. I’ve only just heard from Sophie. What’s happened?” I asked. She had a tissue in her hands. She blew her nose and then put her hands over her mouth.
“It was awful, Jack.” I put a hand around her shoulder, conscious of the intimacy. She stared up at me with those steely-brown eyes that had wooed me in the past. “Look at this.” She handed me a brown envelope. I watched her. Her eyes never left mine. I looked at the address. It had been typed on, so looked official. I glanced inside and took out two photographs. They were of Vivien and the kids, taken at the local park. Megan and Ryan were both pictured on the swings and Vivien stood next to them. I picked up the photograph and turned it over. There was a hand-written note on the back saying: What beautiful children you have, Viv. It would be a shame if anything happened to them.
I felt my cheeks glowing. My eyes narrowed. It wasn’t just the implication of the words. No one called Vivien Viv. How dare they get personal. I knew this was aimed at me.
“Have you told the police?”
“That’s not all.”
“Why, what else has happened?” My stomach lurched as I waited for a response.
“Two guys followed Ryan home from school. He was really frightened. They wore baseball caps and hoods and had scarves covering their faces. He said one of them spoke to him.”
“What did he say?”
“Ryan told me he said to tell your dad to stay away.” I shook my head and leaning forward, put my head in my hands. How dare they intimidate my son. “What have you got yourself into, Jack?” She glared at me. I ignored her.
“Where’s Ryan now?”
“He’s in his room.”
I climbed the stairs to his bedroom, two at a time and ignoring the sign on his door that said knock before you enter, I pushed the door open. I stared at Ryan for some time. He lay on his bed, holding a model of Batman.
“Are you okay, buddy?” He rolled over and looked up at me, his eyebrows raised.
“Yeah, fine, Dad.” I approached the bed and sat down next to him. I took Batman out of his hands and held his tiny palm in mine.
“It will be alright. I’ll look after you guys, okay?”
He nodded, frowning.
“Can you remember the two guys who spoke to you? Were they tall, short? Is there anything you can tell me about them?” Ryan shrugged his shoulders.
“They looked normal. Well as normal as you can with scarves over your mouth. We could only see their eyes.”
“Would you know them if you saw them again?”
“I doubt it, Dad. I only saw their eyes.”
“Were they white, black? How old do you think they were?”
“I don’t know, Dad. They were both white.”
“You said we, who was with you?” Ryan rolled over away from me.
“Do I have to keep answering these questions?”
“You do if you want me to catch them and keep you and Megan and your mum safe.” He blew out a sigh.
“I was with Perry.”
“Okay, thanks, Ryan. Let me know if you remember anything else.” I could tell from his fidgeting I had overstayed my welcome. He wanted to deal with things his way — a chip off the old block. I went back downstairs to speak to Vivien.
“Ryan’s not saying a lot but then he’s not the most observant of people. I’ll go and see Perry. Which house does he live at?”
“Number twenty-three. I hope you’ve not been upsetting him. He’ll be vulnerable enough.” My eyes narrowed as I looked at Vivie
n, Contempt was bursting out of the back of my eyes.
“Ryan’s fine. Have you spoken to the police?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll speak to Perry and see if he remembers anything further.” I walked towards the door.
“Oh, Jack,” Vivien called.
“Yes?” I raised my eyebrows.
“You haven’t forgotten I’m on that course next week and you said you’d have the kids.”
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” I closed the door behind me. I had forgotten. Blast!
Chapter 39
Jack
I wasted no time going over to Perry’s house. The smell of jerk chicken wafted past my sensitive nostrils when his mum opened the door. I explained who I was and why I was there.
“Cool. Come in, bro. I’m Gabby.” She held out her dark-skinned hand to greet me. There was a large strawberry emblazoned on the front of her black top and with her black leggings, she could have passed as Perry’s older sister. Her braided dark hair swished in my face me as she turned towards the hall. “Perry!” she screamed. I’d met Perry on several occasions in the past but hadn’t been to his home before. Gabby led me into the kitchen which had a homely feel about it. I raised my eyebrows at the shiny green Aga cooker warming the place. Some well-worn splashes of food lay on the surface. Somehow, it seemed in total contrast to the outside with its small but neat Astro-turfed front garden. Paint peeled off the sides of the window frame, but otherwise, the red-brick residence looked well maintained. It was one of the pre-war semis near the border with Bury and was spacious inside. The house looked solid enough to withstand any storm.
Music blasted through the door as Perry walked in. The sound of the base made my stomach quiver. Perry sported a red and black check shirt with a white T-shirt underneath and jeans. His trendy appearance was cut short by a pair of black Spiderman slippers.
“Hi, Perry. How are you doing?”
“Okay.” He looked down and put his hands in his pocket.
“Perry, take your hands out of your pocket and turn that music off. Mr North wants to ask you a few questions,” said Gabby.
