Vengeance

by Price, Roger A

  They arrived at the car together and Jason drove. Moments later they were well away from the area where they had entered the grounds. ‘That was fucking amazing,’ Quintel said.

  ‘You’re lucky you didn’t get your head blown off,’ Jason said.

  Quintel looked at the fresh mud down his front, before replying, ‘Yeah, I owe you, I was just stuck in the moment.’

  ‘I know, it does that the first time you use one of those little rascals,’ Jason said.

  ‘One will have done the trick, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘To be honest, Boss, it would have been too risky throwing a second one; we’d have been exposed. People’s natural reaction is to look towards where the threat is coming from, rather than to hit the deck, as daft as it sounds. Pros hit the deck, whilst evaluating the threat. But I can’t see any way our man could have survived that. Had it been any closer the fucking thing would have bounced off his head.’

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ‘Sorry I couldn’t chat when you rang, or make it around here last night, I was in conference with a barrister and his legal team over an old job that’s at court at the moment,’ Vinnie said.

  ‘No problems I hope?’ Christine asked.

  ‘No, they just needed a further statement from me to nullify some bollocks the defence were coming up with. I’ve only just finished it,’ Vinnie said, looking at his watch. It was gone three, most of Tuesday already over. ‘Is everything alright?’ he asked. ‘You seem deep in thought.’

  ‘Well, I had quite an evening,’ Christine said as she placed a mug of coffee down on the occasional table and sat opposite Vinnie.

  ‘By the way it’s a great place you’ve got here,’ Vinnie said, hoping to elicit a smile, but none was forthcoming. Then Christine told him everything, including what had happened the night before.

  ‘That sounds well iffy. You think it was a set-up?’

  ‘Undoubtedly, if this McConachy had expected a welcoming committee from fellow Republican sympathisers, then he was in for a shock.’

  Though Vinnie didn’t know much about Mathew McConachy, the fact that he was the First Minister of the Northern Ireland regional assembly was massive.

  ‘Well, if it was McConachy who was due to attend, he was obviously warned off.’

  ‘Obviously, but why do you say if?’

  ‘I was just thinking that as he didn’t show, you only have Bury’s word that it was McConachy who was supposed to attend.’

  ‘True,’ Christine said, before adding, ‘so are you wondering about Bury, or whoever is supplying him with intelligence?’

  ‘Either could be flawed, but if it is all about McConachy, and if he is still an active Republican feeding titbits to paramilitaries, then you’ll need to tread carefully, Christine. I mean, how much do you trust Bury?’

  ‘He seems on the level, and he is clearly under a great deal of pressure and doesn’t appear comfortable or over-eager in what he says. In fact, it took many conversations of reassurance over the phone before he agreed to meet me. Unless you’re about to tell me different? I’m guessing you got my voicemail message?’

  ‘I did,’ Vinnie said, ‘and I have made some very discrete enquiries this morning before coming here. As far as I can find out without scratching too deep and causing an alert, he was a very well-respected senior officer, with an impartial agenda.’

  ‘That’s the way I had read him. In all my enquiries into this story, people I have spoken to were mostly Catholic and Republican, or Protestant and loyal to the UK crown. Bury admits he is a Protestant but points out that his wife is Catholic.’

  Vinnie had an old mate who had done some undercover work in Belfast years earlier as the troubles were coming to an end. Long since retired and living abroad. As he had told Vinnie at his leaving do, he’d been an undercover operative for twenty years and was running out of places to live in the UK where he felt safe. Vinnie didn’t mention Jimmy to Christine, there was no need, he might have nothing to add, but if anyone would have an inside view on Bury, it would be him. He’d left him a message to ring but without saying why. ‘I’m just waiting for one call back, but Bury on the surface looks genuine enough,’ he said. Then added, ‘But I’m worried about you putting yourself in any danger, like last night. Even though they probably looked twice at everyone in the pub, not just you.’

  ‘That’s what Paul said.’

  ‘There you go, then.’ Vinnie’s mobile vibrated to life on the table. He picked it up hoping it would be Jimmy, but saw it was Harry. He mouthed the word “Harry” at Christine before answering it.

  ‘You still in Manchester?’ Harry started.

  ‘Yes, why?’

  ‘Because some sicko has just thrown a hand grenade at a funeral in Blackley.’

  Vinnie had seen many things in his job, but this was a new low. ‘Who in God’s name would do such a thing?’

  ‘I’ll give you a guess in a minute,’ Harry said, before he went on to tell Vinnie of the brief circumstances as he had them. Amazingly, no dead yet, but seven were injured; two of which were serious, and one of which was critical. It appeared that the grenade had been aimed at one individual who was partially separated from the other mourners at that moment.

  ‘I’m guessing the target is the critically injured, then?’ Vinnie said.

  ‘Amazingly, no.’

  ‘Well, one of the serious, then?’

  ‘Amazingly, no,’ Harry repeated, before going on to explain that the target must have seen the grenade coming as he shouted a warning, before diving underneath it.

  ‘Why underneath?’

  ‘There was a steep embankment from where the bombers struck; but where it flattened out on to the ground there was a drainage ditch. The target had the presence of mind to dive into it and missed most of the blast. He does have some lacerations to his arse, which must have been sticking up, but he’ll live.’

  ‘Ok Harry, it’s guess time. You said Bombers with a plural, but before I try, who was the intended victim?’

  ‘Jim Reedly.’

  Vinnie hadn’t seen that coming. ‘No need to guess now. But where did those two get a grenade, and how did they know Reedly would be there?’

  ‘Questions I’m hoping a further chat with Reedly might help answer.’

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘North Manchester General Hospital, under armed guard. Incidentally, Vinnie, I think it’s time you called into a local armoury and re-equipped yourself for defensive purposes. I’ll get the relevant authorities signed by Darlington, to keep it secret.’

  ‘Ok Harry, if you text me when Darlington’s signed and informed the Greater Manchester Police, I’ll call in at one of the city centre nicks and collect a handgun and a clip of ammo. Then I’ll go and pay Reedly a visit. But why use a hand grenade? We know they have guns.’

  ‘Been wondering the same; perhaps it’s to do with the topography at the cemetery? As you know handguns are only effective close up, but if they could get hold of a bloody hand grenade you’d have thought a rifle would have been easy enough to source.’

  ‘Unless they wanted to make a show of it?

  ‘I’ll be able to sus it more when I get there.’ Harry said, before adding, ‘Any questions before I get going?’

  ‘Just one, Harry, whose funeral was it?’

  ‘Some bloke called Devers; apparently he was Reedly’s brother-in-law.’

  ‘He shouldn’t have attended without protection.’

  ‘I’m guessing he didn’t want to turn a sombre occasion in to a spectacle just because he was going,’ Harry said.

  Vinnie could understand that on reflection, but still couldn’t work out how the bad guys could have known. ‘Fair enough I suppose,’ Vinnie conceded, before adding, ’But who exactly was this Devers bloke, anyway?’

  ‘I’ve only got the scantest of details yet, Vinnie, all I know for now is that he died of a heart attack within the last two days whilst going about his business.’

  ‘What was his bu
siness?’

  ‘Nothing significant; he was just a milkman from Preston.’

  Chapter Thirty

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Vinnie asked, as he entered the private room on the first floor of the North Manchester General Hospital. The armed police constable, who had checked his warrant card before letting him in, popped his head back around the door.

  ‘The doc say’s you’ve got five minutes, sir, Mr Reedly’s been through a lot.’

  Vinnie nodded at the constable before turning back to face Reedly, who was on his side with several pillows supporting his back, his bed up against a wall.

  ‘I’ve felt better Palmer, but I’m ok.’

  ‘Please call me Vinnie.’

  ‘Ok, it’s Jim, too.’

  Vinnie noticed a distinct difference in Reedly, since they’d last spoke. ‘Ok Jim, we are on the same side.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘I understand your reactions probably saved some of the group from certain death, including yourself.’

  ‘I just wish I’d kept my arse below ground level.’

  ‘How bad are your injuries?’

  ‘I’ll probably need some restoration work doing on my right buttock, which is a mess; but as I said, I’m ok, I’m alive.’

  In any other circumstances Vinnie would have allowed himself a smile at Reedly’s injuries, but he knew now was not the moment. ‘I was hoping you might have had time to think?’

  ‘It can only have been the same two. But how did they know where I’d be?’

  ‘I was hoping you could help with that one.’

  ‘Look, I told no one I was attending. I even told my sister that I couldn’t make it. I just turned up.’

  Vinnie thought for a moment before speaking. ‘Why was Devers buried so quickly?

  ‘He was Jewish; it’s part of their faith apparently, to have the burial as soon as possible and usually within twenty-four hours. I wondered if it was terrorist related.’

  ‘I’m sure the investigation team will be looking at all possibilities. But what did he die of?’

  ‘Heart attack apparently, which surprised us all, he was always so fit.’

  ‘And you told absolutely no one you were attending?’

  ‘No one.’

  ‘What if Quintel and his mate learned of Devers’ death and turned up hoping, but not knowing, that you’d be there?’

  ‘It’s possible, I guess, but they’d have done well to find out that he was my brother-in-law.’

  This was true, Vinnie thought, then he remembered how well connected Quintel was with local petty crimes. Was it Dempster? Then another thought hit him.

  ‘Jesus. What if it wasn’t a heart attack? What if the attack on Devers was a pre-curser to getting at you? We’ll need to consider a full re-examination of Devers by a home office pathologist.’ Vinnie knew that if no foul play had been suspected, and the circumstances of Devers’ death pointed to a heart attack, then the post mortem operation would have been very limited. The doctor would have gone straight to the heart and probably nowhere else. A home office pathologist, however, as were used in all homicides, would have examined every inch of his body, and looked beyond the obvious.

  ‘You’re not suggesting what I think you are, are you?’

  Vinnie nodded, and Reedly groaned. Both of them sat in quiet contemplation before Reedly broke the silence.

  ‘If these two twats are that serious, then I may have an idea as to motive.’

  Vinnie pulled a notebook and pen from his pocket before asking Reedly to carry on.

  ‘I did some work for Carstair when he was the secretary of state for Northern Ireland back in the mid to late nineties. I was a DI, like you, but was seconded to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, with a remit to look at all killings by the security forces, to see which ones could be written off as “justifiable homicides”. I was supposed to give the issue an air of independence, but in truth the powers that be just didn’t want to see police or army being erroneously put on trial for murder in order to satisfy certain sections, only to be later acquitted because their actions had actually been lawful.’

  Vinnie took a second to absorb what he was being told.

  ‘Look, this is all highly classified, so it stops with you, Delany and Darlington, ok?’

  ‘Of course,’ Vinnie answered, not sure whether he’d be able to keep that promise.

  Reedly looked reassured, and carried on. ‘We had some highly classified cases to inspect back then, and that didn’t make me very popular with the Provos – Irish Republican Army. As to exactly who are behind these attacks and why now, after all these years, I honestly don’t know. But if Quintel is who I now think he is, you need to be very careful, Vinnie.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell us this before?’

  ‘It was only really after Carstair copped it that I started to put it together. But if Quintel is working for some disgruntled Provo, then he’ll be a very dangerous man.’

  ‘Are you telling me that it was your job to make killings committed by the police or army into justifiable homicides, even if they were murders?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘Don’t you dare insult my integrity. Even though it was war in all but name, the good guys had to play by Queensbury rules. A squaddie, or Special Branch man, would shoot a terrorist who was on his way to bomb the shit out of a shopping centre or wherever, and the tossers in Whitehall wanted to put the squaddie or whoever on-fucking-trial. I wasn’t there to cover things up, but to stop politically motivated false accusations.’

  Vinnie knew he’d touched a nerve, but had had to ask the question. Whether he was convinced by the answer, he wasn’t sure. But that would no doubt be an issue for others to consider when this was all over. On the one hand, Reedly seemed to over-defend himself; but then he had opened up about it willingly. Even if a serious threat to his life was the incentive. ‘Look, I didn’t mean to insult you, but regardless of how honourably you did do your job, I’m guessing you were in “a lose-lose situation”.’

  ‘You can say that again. The killings of the pro-Unionist terrorists were a lot less in number, but that was only because they were a lot smaller in number than the IRA - who conversely made far more attacks so lost a greater number of their members to intervention by the security forces. But I did my job as honestly as I could, and without fear of intimidation.’

  ‘But I’m guessing the IRA in particular didn’t see it that way.’

  ‘You could say that.’

  Vinnie knew it must have been a hell of job getting any terrorist to trial over there during the troubles. He remembered reading about the Diplock courts that had been brought in at the time, where the usual jury trial system had been suspended and replaced with a single judge. It had proved impossible to get an impartial jury due to the sectarian religious divides, so a report to government by Lord Diplock had recommended that trial by jury be abolished in terrorism cases. The courts had since returned to the normal jury system now, but certain cases could still be heard without a jury in exceptional circumstances. ‘I’m guessing the Diplock courts would have been used for a trial involving homicide, where the defendant was a policeman or a soldier? I mean, at least then just a judge would weigh the evidence on its facts without having to rely on a biased jury.’

  ‘No guarantees, but regardless, it was my job to prevent erroneous prosecutions from the outset, irrespective of whether any trial would have been by jury or judge alone.’

  ‘That was some poisoned shamrock you had then. Mr Unpopular from all sides.’

  ‘Would it answer your question if I told you that the IRA targeted me twice?’

  Vinnie didn’t answer, but asked, ‘When did you leave?’

  ‘They pulled me out in ninety-eight as the peace process was being negotiated between the government and the terrorists.’

  ‘Why didn’t you mention any of this when we last spoke?’

  ‘Because I didn’t want to consider it. Many years of relative peace have passed since then. Ther
e is a power sharing assembly running Northern Ireland now, staffed by both Republicans and Unionists, so any grievances about my work should be well in the past. I still don’t understand why now?’

  Reedly had asked a very good question, one that Vinnie couldn’t even guess at.

  ‘I mean, it still might be nothing to do with that, but when Quintel goes to these lengths, and starts lobbing grenades…,’ Reedly added.

  ‘Did you do any other sensitive work for Carstair?’

  ‘Yes, but only the usual stuff; preparing reports on organised crime and such when he became home secretary later on. My work in Ulster was the only operational stuff.’

  ‘Ok,’ Vinnie said, adding, ‘can you think of any individual case that stands out?’

  ‘Trust me, I’m thinking as hard as I can, but there were quite a few, and after I left all the files were shredded.’

  ‘Convenient,’ Vinnie added.

  ‘Just security. Though any that went to a coroner were obviously preserved, and will be locked away in various court vaults, but the vast majority that were not marked for investigation with a view to prosecution, were held by Carstair, who told me he’d disposed of them once the peace agreement had been signed.’

  ‘Should he have done that?’ Vinnie asked.

  ‘Not too sure if I’m honest with you, but he was the home secretary by then.’

  And we can’t exactly ask him about it now, Vinnie thought. ‘But why now after all these years?’ he asked.

  ‘I only wish I knew, and that’s the truth,’ Reedly said.

  Vinnie believed him. Then the door swung open and the constable popped his head in.

  ‘Sorry, sir, but the doc say’s your time’s up.’

  Vinnie nodded at the cop before checking that Reedly still had his mobile number, and asked him to keep in touch before saying his goodbyes. As he made his way out of the huge hospital complex he was wondering how he was going to brief Harry with all this. It would no doubt trigger some serious head-rubbing.