by Caz Finlay
Three uniformed officers grabbed hold of Craig, Ged and Bradley and frogmarched them out of the garage as they read them their rights.
‘And what about him, Ma’am?’ One of the uniformed officers, whom Leigh recognised as Sergeant Anthony Bird, looked at Murf.
‘Mr Murphy was the one who found Nick,’ she said. ‘I’ll let him explain.’
‘Thank you,’ Murf said with a smile as he took a step towards Bird. ‘I work for Cartel Securities. We look after a few of the pubs along County Road and one of them is the one just at the back of here. I was just doing my rounds tonight, like I usually do, when I heard some weird noises coming from inside here. I knew the place hadn’t been open for years, and, well, it sounded like someone was in trouble, so I crept in and I saw those three men you just took out beating the shit out of this guy here. I managed to overpower them—’
‘You overpowered three men on your own?’ Bird asked with a flash of his eyebrows.
‘I’ve been in this game for almost thirty years, mate. I know every trick in the book when it comes to fighting. I’ve dealt with more mass brawls than you lot, I expect. Anyway, I had a little help – my Alsatian, Woody, was with me. He’s outside in the car now though if you want me to get him?’
Bird shook his head. ‘Go on.’
‘Anyway, I sorted those three out, which believe me wasn’t as difficult as you might expect, and then I checked the fella’s pockets. His mobile phone was in there and I just dialled his last number, and it was this lady here. Couldn’t believe my luck when she turned out to be a copper.’ He laughed.
‘How did you know his pass code to get into his phone?’ Bird asked.
‘Because he told me,’ Murf replied. ‘He’s in and out. You could do with getting him to a hospital pretty sharpish.’
‘Why didn’t you phone 999?’ Bird asked.
‘Because I didn’t know what kind of trouble this fella was in, did I? Seemed like he’d had enough of a bad day without you lot showing up and quizzing him.’
Bird nodded and Leigh smiled at him. ‘It was lucky Mr Murphy was passing,’ she said.
‘Wasn’t it just,’ Bird replied and Leigh couldn’t quite tell whether he had believed Murf’s tale or not.
‘We could check the CCTV, Ma’am,’ Bird suggested.
‘Ah, I don’t think that will be much help to you. The CCTV round here hasn’t been working for weeks. I reported it myself but you know how it is. Cuts and all that,’ Murf said with a shake of his head.
Leigh had to admit that Murf was convincing, and she had no doubt that a trawl of CCTV cameras in the area would prove his last statement to be true. If Grace Carter wanted CCTV to stop working, then it usually did.
‘We’ll need you to come into the station tonight and make a statement,’ Bird said to Murf.
‘No problem. Can I just take Woody home first though? The wife will be missing him.’
‘Of course, Mr Murphy,’ Bird replied.
Suddenly, two paramedics came running into the room and made their way over to Nick.
‘I’m going to go with him to the hospital, Sergeant,’ Leigh said.
‘Of course, Ma’am. I’ll send a uniform over there to take your statement later.’
Leigh nodded. ‘Okay.’ Then she turned to Murf. ‘I can’t thank you enough for your help, Mr Murphy. If it wasn’t for you, Nick would…’
‘It’s no bother at all,’ Murf replied, saving Leigh from her emotion. ‘Happy to do my bit for you fine officers.’
Leigh was sure she saw Bird roll his eyes, but she bade both men goodbye and made her way over to Nick and the paramedics.
Leigh was in the ambulance with Nick, on their way to Royal Liverpool Hospital when her mobile phone rang. It was one of the constables in her team, who expressed her sympathies for what had happened to Nick, but also informed her that Scott Johnson’s solicitor had been in touch to say that Scott was withdrawing his statement regarding Jake Conlon and Connor Carter’s involvement in Billy’s murder. He claimed that on reflection he had been entirely mistaken and said he was deeply sorry for any inconvenience he had caused.
Leigh put the phone down and shook her head. That tied everything up nicely, didn’t it? Just as Grace had predicted.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Grace, Michael, Sean and John were sitting in the kitchen of Grace and Michael’s house. Sean had whipped up his famous spaghetti and pasta sauce – a recipe he’d stolen from his Italian wife Sophia and adapted to make his own, since cooking eased his nerves – and the three men were tucking into a large bowlful each. Although the smell was making Grace’s stomach growl, she was too nervous to eat. Until she had the phone call from Leigh, she wouldn’t be able to relax. Although she had planned the whole operation down to the last detail, there was always a chance something could go wrong.
‘So, how did it feel conspiring with Alastair McGrath and the Johnson brothers?’ Sean asked John.
‘Well, to be honest, at first I thought it would be no problem, tell a few porkies and blow some smoke up some people’s arses. But Alastair and those Johnson brothers were such pricks that it felt like I spent most of my time trying not to put a bullet in their heads. Shower of incompetent, arrogant fuckwits. There was only Jock with an ounce of sense between the lot of them, and he could hardly get a word in edgewise.’
‘It must have been torture,’ Sean said as he swallowed a mouthful. ‘I’m not sure I could have kept my cool around them. But I suppose you knew it would all be worth it in the end. Only what if—’
Grace cut him off. ‘No “what ifs”,’ Sean. Not yet. We don’t know for certain that everything has worked out exactly as planned.’
‘Fair enough,’ he said with a nod as he turned his attention back to his food.
Grace listened to the three men making small talk as she stared at her mobile phone on the table, willing it to ring. A few moments later she saw Leigh’s name flashing on the screen and grabbed it.
‘Leigh?’
‘Grace. It’s done. We’ve arrested Bradley Johnson for Billy’s murder. Bradley confessed and his brothers have both given statements that it was him, and, as you predicted, Scott Johnson has retracted his. Your solicitor has already been notified and Jake and Connor should be free men by the morning.’
‘Good,’ Grace said with a smile and noticed that Michael, Sean and John started smiling too. ‘Thank you, Leigh.’
‘Any time,’ she said before hanging up.
Grace looked up at the three expectant faces. ‘They’re coming home,’ she said, her face beginning to hurt from smiling so widely.
Michael rushed around the table and picked her up from her chair before planting a kiss on her lips. ‘You are fucking incredible,’ he said to her.
‘Oh, leave it out. I’m trying to eat here,’ Sean said with a laugh.
‘Well, I couldn’t have done it without the three of you,’ Grace said. ‘I mean that. I’d be lost without you all by my side.’
‘No you wouldn’t,’ John said. ‘But it’s nice to be appreciated, Boss.’ He raised his bottle of Bud in the air and everyone did the same.
‘To loyalty,’ John said.
‘To Liverpool loyalty,’ Grace added.
Leigh Moss looked at the clock and saw it was just past midnight. She had just left Nick in the hospital. He had a broken wrist and some cuts and bruises, but he was going to be fine. They’d kept him in for observation because he had received a nasty blow to the head that had rendered him unconscious for a time.
Nick hadn’t seen who’d taken him. They’d worn balaclavas and had bundled him into the back of a van. Given that he’d been following Alastair McGrath around, both Nick and Leigh were convinced that he was the most likely culprit. It seemed like he had hired the Johnson brothers to do his dirty work for him, although they denied actually taking Nick, but his blood and prints were in Ged’s van. The brothers had been arrested but there was not a scrap of evidence to tie Alastair McGrath or any of
his men to the crime, so he was going to walk away from it all without so much as a blemish.
Fortunately, the whole thing had played out in such a way that Nick hadn’t discovered Leigh’s connection to Grace. She wasn’t sure if he would forgive her if he ever found out who she’d sent to rescue him. He would probably understand about her past and although he’d be shocked, she doubted he’d hold it against her – he wasn’t that sort of guy. But hiding her deep-rooted connection to Grace Carter was a different matter. He would never look at her the same way again. She could never be sure that he wouldn’t go over every arrest they’d ever made and wonder if she’d held something back. Rethinking every time one of Grace Carter’s many minions slipped through their hands, and wondering if there was any chance that she’d had a hand in it. She couldn’t blame him. She’d do the same thing.
Leigh poured herself a glass of wine and sat on her sofa, her legs tucked beneath her. It had been a long day but she couldn’t face going to bed alone, not when she usually had Nick’s warm body to cuddle up to. Leigh blinked back the tears as she recalled walking into that garage earlier and seeing Nick bloodied and battered. She had run over to him and cradled him in her arms. He’d looked up at her as though she was his knight in shining armour and she had realised at that moment how much she had come to need him in her life. She had always been a loner, it was how she’d survived – never let anyone get too close. Well, like it or not now, Nick was as close as anyone could get to her.
Leigh downed her wine in one and placed the empty glass on the table. She knew now what she had to do. It was too dangerous for her and Nick to maintain the current status quo. After the favour Grace Carter had done her today, Leigh knew that she was on Grace’s hook for the rest of her life. Perhaps she always had been? Tomorrow morning she was going to hand in her resignation as the DI of the Organised Crime task force and ask for a transfer to a division where she would be less of an asset to the Carter family. She’d always disliked high-volume crime stuff like shoplifting and burglaries, but it seemed a place where she would be less valuable to Grace. It was either that or traffic – and she hated traffic.
Leigh knew that questions would be asked about her departure, especially after she’d fought so hard for the job in the first place, but she would use Nick’s kidnap as the perfect excuse and claim that she just didn’t feel safe in the OCG task force any longer. It would stick in her throat to say the words, when they were so far from the truth. It was also the kind of revelation that would make the likes of Tony Webster rub his hands with glee, but it was a damn sight better than admitting the truth, which was that she was now indebted to the biggest crime family that had ever set up shop in the North West.
Chapter Sixty
Grace walked into the kitchen after seeing Sean and John out. Michael was still sitting at their large kitchen table. He held a glass of brandy in one of his large hands and she noticed there was another on the table beside him which she assumed was for her.
He looked up at her as she walked in and leaned back in his chair. ‘I think we need to talk,’ he said before downing his drink in one.
We need to talk! Four of the most loaded words in the English language. Walking over, she sat beside him and picked up the second glass before taking a sip. The expensive cognac warmed her throat as it slid down. ‘I know,’ she replied.
‘Where do we go from here, Grace? What’s our next move?’
Grace stared at him. His dark hair was greying at the temples now. Flecks of grey peppered his beard too and there were lines on his face that she was sure hadn’t been there just a few months earlier. The last few months had taken their toll on both of them. He looked into her eyes now and she couldn’t help but smile at him. He still gave her butterflies.
‘I know you want to leave this all behind—’ she started.
‘I want our family to be safe. I want you and the kids to be safe,’ he interrupted her.
‘I know that,’ she said. Because she did, she knew that was all he wanted in life. It was what she wanted too, but lately they’d had different ideas about how to make that happen. Was it time to walk away and hand over the reins to Connor and Jake completely? Perhaps it was? Maybe she and Michael were too old for this game now?
‘I know that we haven’t been agreeing on the best way to do that,’ he said as he moved his face closer to hers. ‘But I hope after everything that’s happened…’
Grace placed her free hand on his cheek. ‘We are stronger now than we’ve ever been, Michael,’ she said. ‘You and me are a team. There is nothing we can’t face together.’
He smiled and turned his face to kiss the palm of her hand. ‘I know that. And I think we both know what we need to do.’
‘Are you really sure this is what you want?’
Michael nodded. ‘It’s the best way to protect our family.’
Grace leaned back and took a sip of her drink.
‘I love you,’ Michael said to her.
She smiled at him. ‘I know, and I love you too. But I don’t want you to turn around in a year’s time and regret this. I don’t want us to regret it.’
He shook his head. ‘We won’t.’
Grace downed the rest of her brandy. ‘I hope you’re right, Carter,’ she said as she stood up.
Michael stood up and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and looking into her eyes. ‘I am,’ he said. ‘Besides, I’d bet everything I have on you.’
Chapter Sixty-One
Michael leaned against his car, enjoying the morning sunshine as he waited outside Walton prison for Jake and Connor to be released. He spotted them coming out of the gate and his face broke into a smile. They jogged over the road to him and as soon as they reached him he pulled them both into a massive hug, kissing each of their heads in turn and not caring that passers-by were staring.
‘God, it’s so fucking good to see you two,’ he said as he took a step back and looked them both up and down. He was pleased to see that that they both looked well, and Jake in particular looked like he’d gained the weight he’d lost in the few months preceding his short holiday at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
‘It’s good to see you too, Dad,’ Connor replied.
‘Yeah,’ Jake agreed.
‘Your mum wanted to come, but I persuaded her not to. To be honest, lads, I know we’ve visited a few times, but I wasn’t sure what state you’d both be in. I didn’t want her to get upset, but the pair of you look like you’ve been on fucking holiday,’ he said with a laugh.
‘I’ll still feel better after a hot shower and putting some decent clothes on,’ Jake said.
‘Get in then,’ Michael said. ‘I’ll take you to our house so you can freshen up, and you can see Jazz, Con. She’s been on fucking pins all morning. Then we can go and meet your mum at the club.’
‘The club? Why there?’ Jake asked as he climbed into the back seat next to Connor.
‘We have some business to sort out there. Well, the four of us do, so she thought it would be better to do it there. There’s quite a few people looking forward to seeing you both as well, so we figured it would be easier for you both to get it all over and done with this afternoon in one go. Then you can both have a few days off. Relax and take it easy for a bit before you have to get stuck back in.’
‘We’ve done nothing but relax for the past three weeks, Dad,’ Connor said.
‘Oh come on, Con,’ said Jake. ‘It will be nice not to have to deal with everyone’s shit straightaway though, won’t it? A few days hiding out at my mum’s sounds good to me.’ He laughed. ‘Besides, Jazz is about to drop that baby any minute, you need to do all your relaxing while you still can.’
‘He’s right, son,’ Michael added. ‘Once the baby comes, you’ll wonder what the word relax even means.’
‘So everyone keeps telling me,’ Connor replied with a smile. ‘Anyway, what’s this business at the club then?’
‘Me and Grace have decided to make a few changes. We’
ll tell you all about them properly later, but the last few months have made us re-evaluate things. We’ve decided we need to focus our attention on the stuff that really matters, and part of that is selling off some of Cartel Securities. As you two own part of the business, it involves you too.’
‘Fucking hell. Selling the security firm?’ Connor asked.
‘Just part of it. We want to take a step back from it. It’s still going to be ours, but we’re merging with Sable Securities, and Danny Alexander and Luke Sullivan will be the new managing directors.’
‘Wow! I can’t believe my mum is giving up control of something,’ Jake said with a laugh. ‘How’d you manage that, Michael?’
‘It was her idea. Like I said, boys, we’re making some changes. But we’ll tell you more about it properly later. Right now, I want to know how you found your time in the nick.’
Soon Connor and Jake were in full flow, giving Michael a rundown of their three weeks inside. He smiled to himself as he listened. It was good to have his boys back where they belonged.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Grace sat in one of the meeting rooms in the Radisson hotel, with John Brennan by her side. A few moments later, Jock Stewart was escorted into the room by the head of hotel security.
‘Thank you, Colin,’ Grace said.
‘No problem, Grace,’ he replied with quick nod of his head before slipping out of the door and closing it behind him.
Jock stared at the two of them as he took a seat. ‘You’ve got friends everywhere, haven’t you? Being knocked up at ten o’clock by security isn’t exactly the nicest way to wake up, especially considering the night I’ve had,’ he said with a wry smile.
‘What can I say, Jock? We manage the security contract for this hotel. Didn’t you know?’
