by Joe McNally
I sighed, ‘Okay, Prim. I’d better go and try making alternative arrangements…where the hell did she get posters printed on a Sunday?’
‘There’s a community centre, open seven days a week. They seemed to know Alice well.’
‘There’s a surprise.’
Prim said, ‘You mentioned alternative arrangements, of what kind, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Of the Bruno Guta kind.’ I said.
‘Ahh, now much as Alice admires Mister Guta, and she has mentioned him more than once, I think she’d throw a hairy fit if he pitched up at the Blue Anchor and scared all her potential informants.’
‘No doubt. But Bruno, or should I say Monty, will have other people, much less recognizable, but just as capable of making sure you’re both safe.’
‘Well, you’d best make double sure Alice won’t recognize whoever it is, because if Alice comes looking for you, Edward, I would not want to be in your Chelsea boots.’
I laughed, ‘Will you call me this evening and let me know how it went?’
‘I will.’
‘Take care, Prim.’
‘I’ll try.’
I ended the call, and stared out of the window from my seat on the arm of the sofa.
‘Trouble?’
The voice startled me so badly I grunted, and it came out almost like a yelp as I jumped to my feet and spun. It was Mave. ‘Jeez, you scared the shit out of me!’
‘Not literally, I hope.’
‘I thought you were out!’
‘I came back.’
I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in, and smiled and went to hug her, ‘Sorry, Mave. I was a bit tensed up thinking what could happen to Alice and Prim.’
‘What’s wrong?’
I looked at my watch, ‘Nothing. Yet. I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me call Monty.’
Ten minutes later, Mave and I sat by the stove drinking whiskey. Monty had handled the request in his usual smooth manner and promised he’d have ‘a guardian angel’ at the Blue Anchor within half an hour.
Mave raised her glass, ‘Fair play to old Monty, he’s delivered time and again for Ben. I hereby apologize for ever doubting him.’
I joined her in the toast, and as I lowered my glass I stared through the crystal at the fire flames. Something was trying to push its way to the front of my mind, and I scrabbled in the mental dust trying to uncover what it was.
Mave watched me, ‘You’re thinking again, aren’t you?’
I nodded, still staring at the blend of firelight, whiskey and cut crystal.
‘It’s bad for you,’ Mave said, ‘especially this close to bedtime.’
I nodded again. Mave said, ‘That means “be quiet”.’
I didn’t answer. We sat in silence a minute more, and then it came to me. I found it. Mave had dropped it and I had found it. I turned to her, ‘You almost made me jump in the air earlier.’
‘I know. Funny, wasn’t it?’
‘Why did I react that way?’
‘Because you got a fright.’
‘How? What caused the fright?’
’Surprise?’
‘You spoke. You made a noise.’
44
Mave watched me pace the short room. She said, ‘That’s hardly worth the walk. Nine steps.’
‘I know. I need to think for a minute. I was just about to dial Winnie’s number to ask if he’d checked Stevedore’s ears. But maybe we shouldn’t tell anyone.’
Mave settled back and crossed her legs, ‘I’m listening.’
‘If I call Winnie, he might blab, or feel guilty and go running to Dil and Vita. If I tell Dil myself, he’ll tell Vita and she’s the potential problem here, because she’s in charge and there’s no way of guessing what she’ll do.’
‘What about Mac?’
I nodded, still pacing, ‘He’d probably be okay…probably…but he’d feel some pressure to tell Steel and try to ease his situation there.’
Mave smiled, ‘It’s killing you, in a way, isn’t it? It’s like being the kid in class who solves the tough problem and is dying to jump up and down.’
I smiled, ‘It wasn’t so long ago that I’d have made five calls by now to let everyone see how smart I am. I’m getting old and cynical.’
‘Old and wise, Eddie. It’s human nature to want to tell the world, especially when it’s caused so much trouble.’
‘I know. The only thing I should be concentrating on is Ben. What’s best for Ben. That’s all that matters.’
‘You’re right. Ben and Alice.’
‘Yep.’ I stopped and rested my hands on the mantelpiece above the stove, looking into the mirror.
‘Reflecting on things?’ Mave said.
I smiled and caught her eye in the mirror, the shape of the glass making her look even smaller, almost distant, ‘The old ones are the best, Mave.’ She raised a thumb.
I said, ‘What if we get the list of vets from Mac and work through that, see who’s been at the track on the days in question and find out where they’re going to be in future? Then, when the next one happens, we catch them in the act, literally. Wait until they’re dipping into the horse’s ear after the race and nail them.’
‘What if it’s not a vet? If you’re right and it’s a relatively simple radio transmitter hidden in an earplug, then a lad could have shoved it in there, or the stable manager on track.’
I turned from the mirror, ‘It’s not so much the putting it in, it’s getting it safely back out again before there’s any detailed examination.’
‘True.’
‘The vet would be first on the scene once the horse stops.’
‘Fine,’ said Mave, ‘but there’s more than one vet on the course, is there not? In which case, you not only need to find out who was there on the relevant days, but which one attended each incident. Can you remember any of them from yours?’
I sighed, ‘No. I should have paid more attention.’
‘Well, don’t be too hard on yourself. You were thirty-six hours waking up the first time.’
I sat beside Mave, ‘I’m going to have to bring Mac in, to find out who went out on the track for each of these.’
‘Just tell him in advance that it’s off the record. He knows you well enough by now.’
I nodded, and reached for my phone. Then I put it down, ‘I’ll give it an hour, see if I can come up with anything else. The big problem’s going to be asking Mac to keep it informal, but getting him to set up the sting for the next time it happens. I can’t do that without his help.’
Mave put a hand on my shoulder, ‘Even with a successful sting, is your man going to tell you where Ben is?’
‘He might not even know. Whoever’s doing it will be working for someone else.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because it’s more than a one-man job, isn’t it? They’ve got to get the money on, they’ve had to kidnap Ben and hold him somewhere…got to be three or four of them. There were four accounts laying Spalpeen at Cheltenham…though I suppose that means nothing, does it?’
‘Could easily have been one man doing that.’
I turned to her, ‘You don’t just go from being a trusted vet working the tracks to a villain, though, do you?’
‘Probably not. And a vet makes sense. We know it’s someone who’s trying hard to avoid injury to horses and jockeys.’
‘Exactly.’
Mave sat forward, ‘Look, why don’t you press Mac on the list first? Maybe something will jump out from there and you can then line everything up before asking him to work on the security side?’
I nodded. Mave said, ‘Once you get the list, do you think Sir Monty would help?’
I looked at my watch, ‘I forgot. Prim and Alice will be at the Blue Anchor now. I hope Monty’s guy made it on time.’
‘Prim said she’d call, didn’t she?’
‘She did. She will. And you’re right, I should ask Monty. He’s just as keen as we are to hel
p Ben.’
Mave reached to get my phone from the small table, ‘Here, ring Mac.’
Slowly. I took the phone, then I looked again at my watch, ‘I don’t want to risk missing a call from Prim. I’ll wait until I’ve spoken to her.’
Mave’s eyebrows went up, telling me she knew I was putting this off. But she said nothing. I sat back, staring at the ceiling, seeking another way, wracking my brain. Mave said, ‘I’m going back to work. I’ll listen out for Prim calling.’
I put a hand on her back, pushing her up from the cushion, ‘Mave, you know those phone masts you checked to find Ben’s mobile?’
‘Uhuh?’
‘Do you need a number? I mean, could you check the masts closest to, say, Bangor on the day Montego Moon bolted and find out what numbers were pinging that mast, and when?’
‘I could. There’d be plenty. You’ve got to account for passing traffic, not just those at the track.’
‘But the ones at the track would be static for hours, wouldn’t they? They’d be sending multiple pings from the same location?’
‘You’re right, they would.’
I looked up at her, ‘So that programme you wrote to track Ben from the Blue Anchor to Crosby, you could use that to check which phone numbers were at Bangor, Cheltenham, Uttoxeter, and Aintree?’
‘Yes. But you’ve got a horde of jockeys for a start. Most of them will be repeats.’
‘But they’ll be easy to filter out, because there won’t be more than a few pings. The rules mean that most of them do the same as I do now and just leave their phones in the car, or leave them switched off. You should end up with a manageable list.’
She watched me, and she smiled, ’So all you’d need to ask Mac for just now is a list of phone numbers for the vets?’
‘Correct. And if we can single just one out, you could also discover which numbers he was phoning, right?’
She gazed at me for a while, then reached and pinched my cheek gently, ‘You’re not just a pretty face, Mister Malloy, are you?’
I smiled, ‘Remember that, Miss Judge.’
45
I rang Mac, ‘Anyone with you?’ I said.
‘At half-past nine on a Sunday night?’
‘Well, you’re always warning me not to make assumptions, Mac. Could be you’re hosting the Lambourn Pole Dancers’ Convention or something…how would I know?’
‘That’s a grotesque suggestion.’
‘Each to his own, Mac, each to his own.’
‘Indeed. So, now that we’ve established that I face no distractions, what can I do for you?’
I told him about my speaker theory.
‘Interesting. How would they transmit the sound?’
‘Radio waves, I suppose, or some sort of Wi-Fi receiver.’
He was silent for a few moments then said, ‘Makes a lot of sense…’
‘You know that list of vets I asked you to get, made any headway there?’
‘I’ve asked the question. Should have the answers tomorrow. You think these speakers are being put in by a vet?’
‘Put in and, more importantly, taken out again very quickly when the vet arrives on the scene.’
We talked that through and Mac could find no holes in the theory. He said, ‘I’ll get the list of vets first thing, and take it from there.’
‘We’ll take it from there, Mac. Me and you. Don’t tell Steel about it, or anyone else. And a list of phone numbers for those vets would help a hell of a lot.’
‘Fine. I’ll ask no questions on that front.’
‘Good. Just on the off chance, have you got a list of all vets working on track, along with their mobile numbers?’
‘I’ve got it on a spreadsheet somewhere.’
‘How long would it take to find it?’
‘Ten minutes. I’ll email it.’
‘Thanks, Mac. Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight.’
At 10.17, Prim called. ‘Are you home?’ I asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Alice okay?’
‘Her old enemy’s back.’
‘DJ?’
‘He’s just trailed us through the streets, all the way to the gate, him and his friends in a big BMW. Sat right on our heels crawling along.’
‘What did he say?’
‘Nothing. He was in the passenger seat. Every fifty yards or so they’d move alongside and he would just smile. He is a creepy guy.’
‘What did Alice do?’
‘Stopped three times and yelled at him. He just laughed and did some obscene stuff with his tongue.’
‘Where’s the car, now?’
‘It’s gone. They sat outside the house for a minute, then left.’
‘But they could come back anytime?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Listen, Prim, we’ve got to get you two out of there. It doesn’t matter what Alice wants or what she says.’
‘She won’t go, Eddie. No way. That’s made it worse, the fact that this guy is back.’
I cursed silently, ‘She’s going to have to move, Prim. We’ll need to come up with something. Give me five minutes, will you? I’ll call you back.’
‘Okay.’
‘Oh, did Sir Monty’s man turn up at the pub?’
‘I don’t know. There were at least three guys who could have been him, if you know what I mean. It was hard to say. I went in expecting a wild west saloon, but it’s an upmarket place, selling nice meals. All lamps and soft music and thick carpets. Almost everybody took a leaflet, and no one was rude to me.’
’Sounds like DJ made up for that.’
‘He’s a horrible bastard. Alice came in ranting about Bruno Guta and what he’d do.’
’She didn’t say that to DJ, did she?’
‘No, to her credit she didn’t. Just went off on one when we locked the door behind us.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘Upstairs.’
I sighed long and hard then realized how harsh and shrill it must have sounded down the phone to Prim, ‘Sorry, Prim…it’s been a long day.’
‘Don’t worry. Have you seen Dil?’
’Rode out with him this morning. Didn’t stop talking about you, but his head’s up his arse.’
Now Prim sighed. I said, ‘He’s not worth it, Prim, he really is not worth it.’
‘I know…I know.’
‘I’m sorry. It’s not my place to be saying that.’
‘It’s okay.’
But it didn’t sound like it was okay, and I regretted speaking up. I said, ‘Prim, I’ll call you back as soon as I’ve worked out what to do about this DJ character.’
‘Are you going to tell Bruno Guta that he’s back?’
‘That’ll be what Alice wants.’
‘Yes. It is.’
‘I’ll think about it. No point in just putting a patch on this. We need to fix it. DJ’s not the problem here, I’m afraid, Alice is. And I need to try and handle this the way Ben would want me to.’
‘I know. I know you do.’
‘I’ll call you soon.’
‘Okay, Eddie. Thanks.’
‘But, you call me if anything happens, especially if DJ starts causing trouble.’
‘I will.’
I ended the call and cursed three times, hard and harsh, and heard Mave giggling in her study. When I turned, she was in the doorway. She said, ’Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. But you do make me laugh…in a good way.’
‘Can you laugh in a bad way, then?’
‘In several bad ways. What’s up?’
I told Mave what had happened. She nodded and said, ‘I’m guessing you are not going to ask for Bruno Guta’s help?’
’No, I’m not. I’ve asked Monty for enough for now. And Alice needs to learn that her crusade isn’t everybody’s crusade. She’s coming out of Deadwood, like it or not.’
Mave raised her eyebrows. ’Good luck with that project.’
‘What about your project, how’s it going?’
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to make your own coffee. Then you can maybe make up a bed for Miss Alice Searcey.’
‘For tonight?’
‘Yep.’
‘Best buy a cage, too, when you’re out. Or a set of manacles.’
‘I’ll do just that, if I have too.’
Mave leant against the doorway, all the humour gone from her face, ’Seriously, Eddie, she was escaping from children’s homes to get herself back to Deadwood. She’s not going to stay here, even if you manage to get her to come.’
‘We’ll see.’ I picked up my jacket from the back of the chair.
‘You going to Deadwood now?’
‘I am.’
She watched as I buttoned my jacket and pocketed my phone, then she said, ‘Good luck, Eddie.’
I smiled, ‘Will you call me if that query throws anything up?’
She nodded, still looking serious, ‘Listen, you don’t need to prove to Alice that you’re tougher than Bruno Guta.’
I took my car keys from the windowsill, ‘I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m going to have to do.’
I kissed her, and went out, and when I turned the car, my reversing lights flared and showed Mave at the window, beside the burning lamp, eyes closed, brow furrowed, alone and afraid.
On another night, I’d have felt guilty at leaving her, but not tonight. There was work to be done.
46
I sped down the valley through the hamlet of Glenridding and along the shores of Ullswater. This was my route to the motorway and I knew every kink and rise on this twisting road and I tore along it with confidence and concentration, all thoughts of Alice gone, replaced by ultrafast frames in my headlights of thick tree trunks, low branches, flashes of dark water and pinpoints of moon, and on the rare straight stretches a tunnel of mainbeam light through the darkness.
It ended at a large roundabout, which seemed like the winning post after a hectic race. Here were streetlights above dual carriageway and, a minute to the east, the M6 motorway. I’d be in Deadwood in an hour.
