Riot Act tcfs-2

by Zoe Sharp

  I dropped back further, letting the van rocket ahead along the narrowing road. There wasn’t so much traffic to hide behind now, and as we reached the site entrance, the tarmac was clodded with earth from the construction machinery. It wasn’t the sort of surface I wanted to approach at a gallop.

  As the van turned in and bounced over the rough ground, I rode past carefully, and nipped into the old industrial estate next door. Half the ramshackle units were empty. The weathered shabbiness of the letting agents’ signs was a clear giveaway that these weren’t recent vacancies.

  I slid the bike into a narrow gap between two of the boarded-up units that backed onto the new development, and killed the lights and the engine. For a few moments I sat there in the rapidly encroaching darkness, listening to the Suzuki’s aluminium engine ticking and pinging as it cooled down, and chewing over my options.

  I could just turn round and go back to Pauline’s, but if I did that I’d have achieved little more than partial confirmation of Wayne’s story.

  Equally, I could go marching in through the front gate, demand to speak to Mr Ali, and then confront him about his connection with Langford’s vigilante group.

  Forthright, yes, but stupid, also.

  On the other hand, the third alternative was possibly the least attractive. I could squeeze my way through the six foot fence in front of me. Then I could go sneaking around the building site on the other side to see what I could find out that way.

  I had the darkness on my side, coupled with the fact that my everyday leathers are black anyway. They might be a bit bulky to be absolutely perfect for a bit of surreptitious B&E, but at least they were the right colour.

  I left my helmet hanging over one of the bar-ends, but kept my gloves on. It was a good job, too. The planked wooden fence was made from cheap rough timber, and I would have come away with half of it bedded in as splinters.

  I pushed my way through, stepping into the mud on the other side with a disconcerting squelch, and took a quick look around me. There wasn’t much sign of activity, and no-one seemed to have noticed my arrival.

  After a moment to get my bearings, I turned and walked openly in the direction of the site entrance, where I could see several of Mr Ali’s Transit vans parked up. There were numerous big lighting rigs set up and as I moved I threw out multiple shadows from them like a floodlit football player.

  I didn’t see any point in scurrying from one shadow to the next like I was doing a prison breakout. If anyone did spot me, behaving furtively was going to look far more suspicious.

  Still, when I saw Langford picking his way across the mud to one of the stacked Portakabins, I couldn’t help but duck out of sight behind a parked digger. Peering out carefully, I watched him go over to the nearest one, push open the door, and walk straight in without knocking.

  Once he’d disappeared, I came out of cover and hurried over to the Portakabin. Light was flooding out of a barred window in the side opposite the door, and I sidled up close to it.

  Inside, the Portakabin was split into two, with a partition wall and a door down the centre. This turned the half I could see into a smallish square room containing a cheap veneered desk, a brown filing cabinet, and a swivel typist’s chair with a torn tweed cover and the foam stuffing coming out of the seat.

  The room was harshly lit with an unshaded fluorescent tube slung across the ceiling. There was a mess of what looked like architect’s plans spread across the desk. But no occupants.

  I could only assume that Langford had gone into the second room, for which there was no window. If I wanted to find out what was going on in there, I was going to have to get closer. Damn.

  Still, I’d come far enough to be in deep trouble if I got caught, so what was another few feet between friends? As quickly as I could, but trying not to look as though I was hurrying, I moved round to the door on the other side of the Portakabin, and turned the handle. There was enough ambient noise from the diggers to mask any squeaks the hinges gave out, but I put the door to very carefully behind me once I was inside. The latch seemed to make an incredibly loud click as it engaged.

  I tiptoed across the bare plywood floor to the closed door that separated the outer and inner office, and put my ear against the panelling.

  “It’s going to have to stop, Mr Langford,” came the unmistakable high note of Mr Ali’s voice, tinged with bluster. “Things are going too far. You’ve been doing a good job for me up until now, but this is too much.”

  Langford’s voice, when it came, was so close it nearly made me flinch back. He could almost have been leaning against the frame on the other side of the door. “Don’t back out now, Ali, just when things are starting to get interesting,” he said, insolent. “As you’ve said, I’ve been doing a good job for you, and the wheels are turning. We both know it.”

  Mr Ali had begun to pace, I could feel his footsteps through the wooden floor, making the Portakabin rock. “That is beside the point,” he said, agitated. “People are beginning to suspect something, and I can’t afford for our arrangement to come to light, particularly not after what has just happened.”

  “You mean the Gadatra boy?” Langford demanded lazily. “Don’t worry about him. He’s got too many areas of weakness to be a threat, and I know just where to apply the right pressure so he’ll fold.”

  “And what about the girl, Miss Fox?” Mr Ali’s mention of my own name made me draw in a breath more sharply than prudence called for.

  “Her?” I could hear the note of disbelief, turning to discomfort. “I know she managed to blind-side me, but you really feel she’s a problem?” His inflection made it a question.

  “She could be. From what I hear she was instrumental in getting Mr Garton-Jones thrown off the estate. If she finds out about us . . .”

  “You worry too much, Ali. If anything, she’s done us a favour. After all, we were just doubling up on the same job, weren’t we? Anyway, I wouldn’t bank on Streetwise being gone long. Garton-Jones knows when he’s on to a good thing, and these community schemes are never up to much.”

  There were more footsteps, the sound of chair legs scraping back. I tensed like a deer, ready to flee, but unable to resist the temptation to stay. “So, what happens if they come back?”

  “Well, the way things are hotting up, they could be just what we need. Besides, everyone has their price, and I’m sure with the right “financial inducements” shall we say, certain people could come round to our way of thinking, if you know what I mean.”

  Mr Ali’s voice became resigned. “How much do you need?”

  I could feel rather than see Langford’s artfully casual shrug. “I don’t know,” he said, almost sly. “Let me make some approaches, and I’ll get back to you. Speaking of cash, though,” he went on, and the insolent tone was back again in full force, “where’s my pay packet for this week?”

  Other voices approaching outside stripped my attention away from the conversation in the inner office. I looked around wildly and realised there was absolutely nowhere to hide. I scuttled away from that door and headed for the outside one, managing to open it, slip through the gap, and have it closed again in a flash.

  “Can I help you?” It was a man’s voice, flat with suspicion, and right by my shoulder. It made me jump.

  I turned to see a middle-aged bloke in a dirty green fluoro jacket and a yellow hard hat standing only a couple of feet away.

  “Erm, no thanks, mate, I’m all sorted,” I said, smiling at him, but getting no similar response.

  “What are you doing here? I didn’t see you come in.”

  God, did nobody have any trust in humanity any more? “Bike courier, mate,” I said, keeping my voice cheery. I patted the top pocket of my leather jacket as though to indicate safely secured paperwork. “I’ve just dropped off a package with the bloke in the office there,” I jerked a thumb to indicate the Portakabin I’d just left. “Big Asian bloke. He signed for it.”

  He was starting to run with me on this one, but
the last vestiges of wariness remained. “What was it, then?” he asked.

  I shrugged, trying to stay casual, even though any minute now Langford and Mr Ali could emerge from the Portakabin behind me and expose me for the liar I was. I wondered if people really did end up buried in concrete footings.

  “No idea, mate. They don’t tell me, and I don’t ask,” I said blithely. “I just had to get the thing here from Manchester before close of play, and that’s what I’ve done.” I checked my watch, just to prove it. “Anything else is not my problem.”

  He nodded, still mistrustful, but unable to put his finger on anything concrete. Until I’d taken two or three steps away from him, that was.

  “So where’s your bike?” he called after me.

  I froze, painted on a smile and turned, indicating the gloopy mud underfoot with a grimace. “I left it out on the road,” I said. “You think I’m bringing my nice Suzuki through shit like this?”

  He gave me the first sign of warmth as he nodded. “No, s’pose not,” he said and waved his hand, dismissing me. “All right then. Off you go. In future, just make sure you check in with the foreman before you go wandering around on site, will you? It’s against the regs.”

  “No problem, mate. See you.” I tried my best not to run the rest of the way to the road, but it was a close thing. Once I was out of the site I had to stamp my feet to get rid of the mud galoshes. Then I jogged back round to the trading estate and retrieved the bike.

  All the time I was waiting for the sounds of pursuit. I didn’t know how soon the man I’d bumped into would mention my presence to Mr Ali. If he mentioned it at all.

  I wished I’d pretended to own a different make of motorbike. At least then if they decided to come looking for me, they’d have been on the wrong track to start with. Damn. Why couldn’t I have said Kawasaki, or Honda? Even a lowly MZ would have been better than admitting to a Suzuki. Mind you, then I’d have had less reason for not wanting to trail it through the mud.

  I rode back to Lavender Gardens by a circuitous route, and arrived with a headache from constantly squinting in the Suzuki’s vibrating mirrors for any sign of stalking Transit vans.

  There weren’t any.

  I had to assume, for the moment at least, that I’d got away with it.

  Once I’d locked the bike away and recovered from Friday’s usual clamorous greeting I had chance to think about the conversation I’d eavesdropped on. What was Mr Ali paying Langford to do? What wheels were turning? And what was it that people were beginning to suspect?

  I cast my mind back to Nasir’s outburst in Shahida’s living room. He obviously knew more than he was telling, but about what?

  And why did Langford think he and Garton-Jones’s men were doubling up. Doubling up in what way? Streetwise were being paid to clean up the estate. I hadn’t liked their methods, and neither had anyone else, so they’d gone. How had that left the way clear for Langford’s mob? Unless he was doing the same thing . . .

  It occurred to me, slowly, that maybe Mr Ali was paying the vigilantes to keep Lavender Gardens clear. The only thing was, their actions had misfired badly when Fariman had been stabbed. Maybe Mr Ali wanted to be seen as the public-spirited hero, but only after Langford had successfully done his job. When he’d cocked up, the builder was suddenly understandably keen to put as much distance between them as he could.

  It wasn’t unreasonable to assume that as Nasir worked for Mr Ali, he’d got wind of the plan somehow. But what was his connection with Roger? And why was Mr Ali taking it upon himself to clean up the estate in the first place?

  I shook my head. I needed more information before I could even begin to draw any watertight conclusions. Much as I thought I was pushing my luck, I rang Jacob and Clare again.

  By the time I put the phone down ten minutes later, I felt easier in my mind. Intrigued, Clare had suggested that she have a rummage through the Defender’s archives first thing in the morning, and photocopy anything on Mr Ali or Langford that seemed relevant. I could collect what she’d got, she told me with a grin in her voice, when I went round for supper at the weekend.

  With the promise of Jacob’s cooking to lure me, that wasn’t a difficult offer to accept.

  Ten

  The next day, which was Friday, I was due to work a late shift at the gym. I rode out of Kirby Street around four in the afternoon, and got my first inkling that maybe getting rid of Garton-Jones hadn’t been such a good idea, after all.

  It was fortunate I wasn’t caning the bike, because as I stooged round a corner I found the gap between the cars parked down either side of the street was blocked by a group of teenage Asian lads. Some were leaning on the cars, while the others were just milling about.

  I pulled the clutch lever in, tucked two fingers round the front brake, and coasted slowly to a halt about twenty feet away, eyeing them guardedly through my visor. A few of them saw me coming and shifted to one side, but there were half a dozen who stayed put, hands on hips, heads tilted. You didn’t need a master’s degree in body languages to be able to read their stance.

  For a few moments, we faced each other off, while I did a furious mental search for alternative routes out of the estate. There weren’t any. Even if I could have turned the bike round quickly in the space available, which wasn’t easy with a steering lock that relied on speed to make it viable.

  One of the boys took a couple of swaggering steps forwards, beckoning me forwards exaggeratedly with both hands. He was mid-teens, difficult to put an age on accurately, with peroxide blond hair that was startling against his olive complexion, and orange wraparound sunglasses.

  I knocked the gear lever down into first, but didn’t let the clutch out. There was no way I wanted to just ride at them. There was no guarantee they’d shift. In fact, I stood more chance of hitting one of them and dropping the bike, and that wasn’t likely to turn into a healthy scenario, particularly for me.

  I got out of it by sheer luck. A police Astra turned into the other end of the road and came cruising towards the boys. They dispersed quickly, not ready quite yet for an all-out rebellion against authority. The two burly coppers inside glared at all of us suspiciously as they crawled past, but obviously didn’t feel inclined to leave the safety of their vehicle to investigate further.

  I took the opportunity when it was offered, letting the clutch out with a handful of revs and shooting through the empty space left by the Astra, before the boys had chance to close ranks behind it.

  I glanced in my mirrors as I accelerated away down the street. With the police car safely round the next corner, I expected to see the boys moving out into the road again. Instead, there was no sign of them. I even stopped, turning to scan the area behind me, but it was eerily deserted. Had the police car spooked them? Or was there more to it than that?

  They’ll mark you out, O’Bryan had said. They’ll make it personal. Yeah, well, I thought, trying to shrug off the itch that had suddenly developed between my shoulder-blades, maybe he was right.

  As I was early for work, I did a quick detour through Lancaster and down onto St George’s Quay to drop in at the flat. I left the bike next to the kerb outside and bounced up the wooden staircase to the place I called home.

  The flat is on part of the first floor of an old warehouse. Before I moved in it had been a gym, which I suppose could be considered ironic, given my current means of employment.

  I’d been there since I first moved to the city. My landlord had ripped the machines out when the place had closed down, but that was as far as he’d gone by way of refurbishment. I’d been the one who’d organised putting a kitchen of sorts into what had been the gents’ changing room, and converted the office into my bedroom.

  The area might have moved upmarket over the last couple of years, but the flat itself was pretty basic. The whitewash on the walls peeled with the damp, and few of the windows closed without gaps. The only heating came through overhead pipes and was erratic at best. There was rumoured to be a centr
al boiler somewhere in the basement that was so decrepit it made Stephenson’s Rocket look as modern as a nuclear fusion reactor.

  Despite the fact the heating system operated regardless of my presence, the flat felt cold inside, unlived in. I pushed open the front door against a pile of mostly junk mail, and slid through the gap.

  I picked up a few more clothes to stuff into my rucksack, having very much discovered the luxury of Pauline’s washing machine. I sifted through the post quickly, but found nothing of any note apart from an irate card from my landlord, complaining because I’d changed the lock without telling him and had omitted to give him a key. In fact, I’d been forced to fit new locks over a year ago, when the place got turned over, and I wondered briefly why he’d wanted to gain access now.

  I moved to the telephone. I’d given Pauline’s phone number to most people who needed to know it, but even so the answering machine light was flashing to tell me I’d one message. I hit the button idly, while I tossed invitations to visit discount sofa factories and take out gold credit cards unopened into the waste paper basket.

  When the tape rewound and started to play, however, it brought me to an abrupt standstill.

  “Charlie, we need to talk.” Sean’s voice, unmistakable, abrupt. He paused, as though I’d been there when he’d rang, and he was waiting for me to pick up.

  When I hadn’t done so, he sighed audibly, and went on in a quiet tone that was somehow more ominous than any shouted threat could have been. “Don’t even think about running again, Charlie. I meant what I said last night. You can’t hide forever, and we’ve unfinished business. So call me.” He reeled off a mobile phone number which I didn’t bother to write down, then rang off.

  My legs folded me gently onto the sofa of their own volition. For a few minutes after the answering machine had clicked off, I just sat there, staring at it stupidly. How on earth had Sean got my number? Did he know where I lived? If he knew I was at Pauline’s why hadn’t he rung me there? Or was he just being cunning?