by D J Harrison
I’m left on my own in the small office, the two men occupying it leaving smartly as soon as I arrive. Even though I’m not being arrested I don’t like it here. After half an hour I’m still sitting idly, worrying about my bag in the car, anxious to find out what Hector’s got in store for me after last night. It’s hot in here, there’s a faint smell of sweaty bodies. I’m beginning to wonder if this is another of Hector’s no shows.
I consider ringing his office but I can’t face speaking to his unsympathetic PA. I stand up, decide to search the place for a ladies’ loo, open the door and find my way obstructed by Charles Smith.
‘Ah Jenny, there you are. How nice to see you again.’ I retreat, he follows and closes the door behind him.
‘Hope you’ve not had too long a wait.’
‘Is Hector on his way?’ I ask.
‘Goodness no, or at least I very much doubt it with everything that’s going on. I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with me today.’
There’s something about the way he talks that invites cooperation and makes me feel safe. There’s also the memory of how effectively he dealt with my armed attackers when he rescued me at Manchester Airport.
‘That name and address you gave me,’ I say.
‘Oh yes… the Jaguar car.’
‘It turned out to be the man who attacked me.’
‘Ah yes, I was meaning to let you have some additional information I managed to find out about this man Potts. It seems he’s a bookmaker, has several shops in East Lancashire. He also runs one of those pay day loan companies, the ones that lend money at outrageous interest rates. He trades by the name of The Lone Arranger, which some might find rather droll. Though not a man you would find humorous having encountered him first-hand, I dare say.’
It makes sense Potts being a bookie. If Stefan got into debt with him that would explain the connection. When Potts tried to collect, Stefan, the coward, could easily have put him on to the prospect of getting some easy money from me. Now that I’ve identified him to Lafferty via Doreen, I’m sure he’ll be getting more grief than I could ever deliver. My hope is that Lafferty will assume Potts stole all his cash and that may take me nicely off an uncomfortable hook.
If I could give back the money I had left and call it quits, I’d jump at the chance. The problem is that I’ve either lost or spent so much of it. This is my only chance of getting out free and clear. I have to take it. It has to work, otherwise I’m going to be locked up for ever, or something much worse. Potts might just provide me with the opportunity to get out of the money-laundering business altogether.
Charles Smith is quite unnecessarily explaining how he came to be here. I have a horrible feeling he’s trying to impress me. ‘They laid on a plane from Northolt, it was there ready to taxi when I arrived. Took forty minutes to get to Manchester, then I had to wait nearly an hour for a helicopter. Could have walked it quicker if I’d known – typical. They make you bust a gut to get here sharpish, then neglect to lay on the most crucial piece of transport.’
‘All to meet me and tell me in person what you know about Potts?’
‘Good Lord no. It’s your people-traffickers they want me to help with, and you of course.’
‘Am I in trouble?’ I ask.
‘Afraid so. Can’t hide the fact, I’m afraid. There’s a very senior police officer dead and it was you who made the call.’
‘All I did was ring Alex telling him what was going on.’
‘Your Mr Hartley did you proud, put a boot into the backsides of the constabulary, had the unfortunate Mr Savage plucked from a formal dinner at the Midland and straight into a fire fight.’
‘Yes, I met him, it’s a great shame...’
‘Mm. But someone has to be blamed and it’s not the modern way to lay that responsibility at the door of the actual perpetrator. They are going to arrest you, question you and hold you in custody. Hector needed me to talk to you before they do that.’
I’m left gasping with disbelief. My mind can’t cope with the implications, my body wants to get up and out of here, get as far away as I can. How can they do this to me?
‘Alex won’t let them,’ I say. ‘He knows I had nothing to do with the policeman’s death, he’ll back me up, tell them the truth, how I’ve been trying to find Kat and save her from those sex slavers.’
Charles Smith’s face remains impassive. ‘All I can tell you is that whatever has been said by your Mr Hartley and by everyone else concerned has only led to the present sorry situation. Let me put it this way, if Mr Hartley’s words concerning you had been effective then our conversation would be different. Be sure though, that statement has indeed been made.’
‘If they do arrest me, what’s going to happen? I’m completely innocent,’ I say.
‘That’s for the court to decide, of course it is. However, if you’re charged in connection with the death of a police officer the case could take two years to bring to court and all that time you will be in custody.’
‘Okay, you’ve warned me. Now what do I do, run and hide? Doesn’t sound like a long-term plan to me.’
Now the numbness of the shock is wearing off I can feel the way Charles Smith’s answers are pointing. He’s come all this way in a hurry; if all he’s going to say is ‘hee hee… you’re going to prison’, there seems little point.
‘It was Wasiewicz and his gang who killed Bill Savage. They set me up, knew I’d bring the police down hard on their rivals. It may even be one of them who threw the grenade. I saw them driving away, I know it was them.’
Smith looks at his watch. ‘The most recent information I have regarding the matter is that thirty-two arrests have been made at four addresses in North Manchester. Your Mr Wasiewicz is certainly among them. There were also a large number of females taken into care while their immigration status is being checked.’
Despite my own predicament, I can’t help feel a glow of satisfaction. Wasiewicz’s plan to use me to get rid of his competitors has completely backfired. I wonder what’s happening to Kat, what her part in all this might be and whether she’s going to be treated as part of the gang or one of the victims.
‘About time,’ I say. ‘Now they need to get on with eradicating the rest of those bastards who prey on women.’
‘Although I heartily agree with your sentiments, I fear that others will quickly replace them. As long as there’s a demand for what they supply it will continue to be delivered.’
‘Then we should do something about their customers. They’re just as despicable as Wasiewicz and his kind.’
Smith puts on one of his apologetic grins and raises both eyebrows. ‘To achieve that, my dear,’ he says, ‘you will have to stop those customers from making the laws. What do you suggest, disenfranchisement for men? That’s about the only way you’ll be able to stop them insisting on their grubby pleasures.’
My determination to do something about the sex trade is as strong as ever. Wasiewicz is only the start, the tip of the iceberg. My ear twinges as if in memory of Wasiewicz’s knife. I have to make it about those poor abused girls and not my own revenge for what he did to me.
There’s the rest of Lafferty’s cash. If he thinks Potts has got all of his money, that might leave me clear to do something useful with it. Fund some charities, maybe even start one myself. That amount of money could make a big difference to a lot of young lives. But first I have to stay out of prison.
‘What are you offering?’ I ask.
‘I beg your pardon?’ Smith replies.
‘There’s a get out of jail card, there always is with you, that’s why you’ve been parachuted in. You’re going to offer me a way out. That’s what you do, isn’t it? On your past record, though, I’m willing to bet that whatever it is you want me to do I’d be better off doing two years in prison.’
‘There are always alternatives,’ Charles Smith says, looking completely at ease even after what I’ve just said. ‘Even the most difficult of situations can be positively influence
d by the right words or actions.’
‘Come on, Mr Smith, spit it out, what exactly are you prepared to do for me?’
‘You do understand,’ he replies, ‘that this is a very delicate situation. If we were to, let’s say, vouch for you, it could cost us in terms of political criticism. That’s something we always try very hard to avoid.’
‘Vouch? What do you mean?’
‘Well, suppose we let it be known to the police that you are an official MI5 operative, acting under direct orders. That you have been working undercover to expose these evildoers and thanks to you the whole operation has yielded very positive results. Apart from the very unfortunate demise of Assistant Chief Constable Savage, of course, which couldn’t be helped, least of all by you.’
‘There’s also the dead body I found in a caravan.’ I explain about Stefan.
‘Ah, I see. Yes, that too. Again, not your responsibility; we could vouch for that as well.’
‘So do it,’ I say. ‘You know I’ve been working for you. Tell them.’
‘Ah… But you have not been working for us in this particular area and the efforts you’ve made to help us land Mr Lafferty seem to have come to nought. So there’s no incentive, so to speak. Nothing to compensate us for the degree of difficulty it might cause.’
I wait, let the silence settle, watch Charles Smith’s expression, allow him to find the right time and the most appropriate words.
‘There’s one thing you might be able to do that would help immensely,’ he continues after a long pause. ‘Hector Brighouse is most anxious to meet face to face with your friend Lafferty. Time, it seems, is of the essence. If you could arrange that meeting, I’m sure it would tip the balance in your favour. Do that for us and there’s a distinct possibility we could dissuade the police from taking any action against you. The offer stands for the rest of today, that’s all I can manage. After that, matters are likely to be taken out of our hands and we may not be able to help you get out of this tricky situation.’
‘So I’m to get Hector and Lafferty in a room together, then you’ll vouch for me?’ I say.
‘You’ve got my drift,’ he replies.
‘Okay, I’ll try. But if I succeed I want you to promise there’ll be no police action against me on either score.’
‘Very good.’ He looks at his watch again. ‘I’ll leave you to get on with it and you do have my solemn promise that I’ll do everything within my power to prevent you from being arrested.’ He pauses as he reaches the door and turns round. ‘Oh. One more thing. Hector insists that you return the item you borrowed from his desk drawer to him personally the next time you meet. Remember that, he considers it very important.’
77
The easy bit was arranging the meeting. All I did was ring Doreen, tell her the truth, well not the exact truth but enough to convey the predicament I’m in. Bless her, she rang back within fifteen minutes with the time and venue.
Now I’m crawling my way down Washway Road, along with thousands of commuters anxious to escape Manchester for the leafy Cheshire suburbs. There’s an endless succession of traffic lights, each one providing its own version of lane roulette. When I choose the inside lane I discover it insists I turn left, and any attempt to change lanes is met with impatience, honking and downright denial of space. It’s as if the other drivers expect me to have memorised every idiosyncrasy of the route in exactly the same way they themselves have managed over years of crawling the same path.
I keep in the right hand lane at the next set just to be on the safe side and find myself trapped behind stationary cars that all want to turn but find their opportunities constantly denied. There are plenty of cars heading in the opposite direction, as if some balancing of population is needed before the escaping hordes can be accommodated.
I start to make much better progress when I decide to abandon my usual defensive driving technique and begin to make it clear to everyone around me that I am changing lanes whenever the fancy takes me and that I don’t give a shit whether or not my car remains intact. The message gets through. When I lurch over from one lane to the other, they take evasive action to protect their shiny BMWs and Audis. The more aggressively I drive the more easily they give way. There’s a few horns blaring and plenty of fingers and fists being waved about, but I really don’t care at all and it obviously shows.
Lafferty’s office is a large concrete and glass tower with an imposing entrance and plenty of parking spaces. That’s just as well because Hector’s Bentley is occupying several all to itself. I can see the grey-liveried driver in a smart flat cap bearing SG insignia, but there’s no sign of Hector.
Inside, I’m greeted by another uniformed man, this one dressed entirely in black. He checks my name off a list and directs me to take the lift to the fourteenth floor. The lift buttons go from twelve to fourteen. I guess we’re all pretending there’s no thirteenth floor but there is and I’m heading for it. Whatever the keypad might say, the prospect makes me feel very uncomfortable.
The lift door opens and I’m faced by a large man with hard eyes and a shiny black suit. He looks like he’s unsure whether to dress for a funeral or a pop concert. Either way he’s obviously a big asset when crowd control is needed. He stares suspiciously at me and then admits me to a large airy room where Lafferty is standing by the window with his back to me. I put my heavy bag on one of the plush seats lined up along a huge polished table.
‘On a nice day like this,’ he says, ‘a man could imagine he can see all the way to Ireland.’
I peer over his shoulder, see the grey smudge of hills in the far distance.
‘Wales?’ I ask.
‘Now, Jenny,’ he turns and looks down at me. There’s a hardness in his posture that I’m not used to seeing. He looks a different man away from Doreen. ‘What’s all this nonsense about losing my money?’
‘I told Doreen what happened.’ I say, suddenly feeling even more threatened.
‘I think you might be trying to take the proverbial. I’ll not be liking that, Jenny.’
‘No I’m not. Everything I told her is true. That man Potts took my little boy, he forced me to give him the cash.’
‘Well I’ve had a little word with Joe Potts and his story doesn’t tally with yours.’
‘I hope you managed to get your money back,’ I say, very nervous about how this whole conversation is going.
‘That I did, thank you for asking. It was Joe himself that brought it to me, every penny he took from you.’
‘Why would he do that?’ I ask.
‘Because he’s my man, runs a bit of business for me, one of my turf accountants, you might say. Also provides a social service by lending money to those who find themselves temporarily short of funds. He’s a good old boy is Joe, one of the best. Very effective at collecting debts, a rare talent he has and one to be admired.’
‘He assaulted me, kidnapped my child,’ I say.
‘It’s what he does. It’s a hard world out there. The men folk spend their money on drink and gambling and it’s the unfortunate housewife who has to pay for it all.’
‘So your man attacked me and took your money,’ I say. ‘All you had to do was ask.’
‘Joe wasn’t acting on my orders, Jenny, he was chasing a debt with his usual enthusiasm. The party involved wasn’t in a position to pay, so he told Joe you might be in a better situation to straighten things out.’
‘So it’s your loan company, is it? I don’t suppose you know a man called Abe Morris, do you? Is he one of yours as well?’
‘You know him, do you?’
‘Yes, and I know how he exploits vulnerable women. I suppose he does that on your behalf as well.’
‘Ah, Jenny, you’re such an innocent. You need to live in the real world for a change. What’s the harm in a woman giving a bit of something she’s got plenty of? Payment in kind is as old as the hills. Everyone knows that. I bet they even enjoy it if they’re being honest now.’
My chest is tight wit
h panic. Everything seems to revolve around Lafferty. Gambling, extortion, prostitution, all part of his evil business. No wonder Hector has such a down on him.
‘What about Stefan?’ I say. ‘Your man Potts killed him, what do you say about that?’
‘Accidents happen. Like I say, it’s a tough old world. What’s more important is trust. I don’t trust you any more, Jenny, you let yourself be robbed so easily then you lie about how much was taken. I’ll be having it all back now, plus the interest I’m due.’
‘I’ve not got all of it left,’ I say. ‘I’ve had expenses to pay out for the waste business. You can have everything I’ve got left, of course you can.’
‘That’s not good enough. I’m calling in the whole loan, Jenny. Plus interest. That’s two million if I’m being kind to you, more if I think you’re not being cooperative. You can make up any shortfall by selling those businesses of yours.’
I make a quick calculation. If I sell the caravan site, the waste business and my home, I’ll still have nowhere near enough to pay Lafferty what he’s asking.
‘Why did you give me so much cash anyway? It was far more than I asked for. It’s caused me no end of trouble and expense just to keep it away from the police.’
‘I needed to get rid quick,’ he smiles. ‘I had a tip that the police were sniffing about and it turned out they were right on the button. The police aren’t a problem any more, we gave them a right toasting in court. Now they’ve backed off, I’d rather put that cash through my own businesses. Much safer that way.’
‘I’ll do what I can,’ I say.
‘I know you will,’ he replies. ‘I’ll get Joe to pay you a visit if I think you’re backsliding.’
