by Jack Probyn
Michael looked at his lap, exhaled deeply and then lifted his head. ‘You know, I read something once. I can’t remember where. Might have been from a book somewhere. But there was one sentence that jumped out at me. It said: “All men have one entrance into life, and the like going out.” What do you think that means?’
Jake glanced over at Bridger, whose expression was as confused as Jake felt.
‘That you’re going to kill one of your brothers?’
‘Close, but not quite. It means I’m not going to give you what you want unless I get what I want.’
Jake shook his head in disbelief. ‘I don’t see the correlation, although I’m starting to think maybe you’re the smart one. What is it that you want?’
‘I was born with one brother, and I’m going to end it with one. I’ll give you Danny if you let Luke go. He’s had nothing to do with any of this. Detective,’ he said, addressing Jake directly, ‘this is my act of retribution – I’m wiping Luke’s slate clean instead of mine.’
‘You realise it doesn’t work that way?’ Bridger added, checking his watch.
‘Yes, but you haven’t got long. Time is of the essence for you lot. You need me, whether you like it or not. Otherwise this has been a complete waste of time.’
Jake smirked. ‘You’re loving this, aren’t you? Getting the attention you never had. We don’t need you as much as you think we do. We’ll find Danny, and we’ll find Luke – and when we do, none of you will remember what life was like before prison.’
At the mention of prison, as if reality finally settled in, Michael’s pupils dilated and turned into giant black holes swallowing the rest of his eyes.
‘That reminds me,’ Jake continued, ‘I saw Freddy earlier. He was thrilled to see me. He said he’d tried to make contact with you boys but had heard nothing back. Not a single letter. And do you know the most disheartening thing he said to me? He said, more than anything else, he was disappointed in you. You, Michael. He expected more from you. I think he even likes me more than he does you and your brothers. But imagine – a few years down the line, you’re in prison, you attempt to reach Luke, and he doesn’t respond. He’s forgotten about you. Nothing but a stain in his memory that he regrets, trying to make his life better without you. If you tell us now what we want to know, we can work something out for you. We can work on something suitable. Perhaps the two of you could share a cell.’
Michael descended into a deep state of reflection. He lowered his head and twiddled his thumbs. After what felt like a long time, he opened his mouth.
‘Southampton Port. Danny’ll probably be there by now. If I could tell you where Luke was, I would. But you saw him – he ran off. He could be anywhere by now.’
‘It’s fine,’ Jake said, rising out of his chair and straightening his tie. ‘We already know where Danny is – you just confirmed it for us. And now we’ve got a pretty good idea of where Luke is going to be as well.’
CHAPTER 50
GOOD SAMARITAN
The sound of Luke’s heart beating in his ears was like a subwoofer. His breathing was wheezy, the result of too many cigarettes and a lack of exercise, and he was bent double, resting his palms on his knees. He didn’t know where he was, other than that he was hiding behind a tree and a car. He had sprinted as hard as he could after he saw Michael fall to the ground. He had wanted to stay, fight, defend his older brother, but he knew that would have only made things worse for them both. Michael was gone, and he needed to accept that. He just wished he’d had a proper chance to say goodbye.
Shut up, shut up, shut up. He’s not dead. Luke chided himself for thinking such pessimistic and defeatist thoughts. He had been taught better than that.
The sound of police sirens echoed around the town in the distance, and the noise of helicopter blades whirring overhead buzzed in his ears. He was just over a mile away from the bus depot, and as he waited for his body to restore its vastly depleted oxygen levels, he heard a car speeding along the road. He caught sight of it: a police car, replete with reflective stickers and indicia. Panicking, he vaulted the wall and ducked behind it. He closed his eyes as the police car sped past him. His chest heaved, and as the excitement and adrenaline dissipated in his blood, he opened his eyes again.
He was fucked, alone, lost and without any means of getting out of the country. If he was going to succeed, he was going to need help. And fast.
Still keeping himself behind somebody’s front wall, he reached into his pocket and produced his phone. He dropped it onto the grass and swore aloud. His body was still shaking. He picked it up, scrolled along the address book and dialled Danny’s number.
As he held the phone to his ear, the owner of the property he was outside opened the door and stepped away from the porch.
‘Who are you?’ He was elderly and was wearing a woollen jumper and checked shirt that had buttons on the collar. On his feet he wore a pair of slippers. ‘What are you doing in my garden?’
The call connected, but Luke ignored it. For a brief moment he was frozen, lost for words. As reality began to settle in again, he realised where he was.
‘Please,’ he said, ignoring Danny who was shouting in his ear through the phone. ‘Please – you have to help me. My girlfriend. She’s looking for me.’
Luke scrambled to his feet and let the bag of jewellery drag behind him on the grass.
‘Why—’
‘She hits me.’ Luke rushed to the man’s side, stumbling as he went. He tripped on a small step and caught the man’s arm, pulling the sleeve of his wrist. ‘She beats me. Sometimes it’s in the evening when she gets home. Sometimes it’s in the morning before she leaves for work. But today she left the house unlocked. I packed my bag’ – Luke gesticulated to the bag – ‘and I got out of there. I need to leave the city before she finds me. You have to help me – please!’
The man peered over Luke’s shoulder and glanced into the street. Luke took the opportunity to climb the man’s body and cling to his collar.
‘Wh— I—’
‘Please, man! You honestly don’t know how bad it gets. The bruises don’t go away. And they’re in places you’ll never see. Please, man. You’ve got to help me.’
The man hesitated before responding. ‘How… how can I help?’
Bingo. The brief acting lessons Candice had given him a few months ago were paying off.
‘Hide me,’ Luke said, stifling a victorious smile. ‘Inside. She won’t find me in there. You have to help me.’ Luke pulled up his sleeve and revealed a thick scar he had on his arm from a bicycle accident when he was young. The skin was raised and coloured a lighter shade of pink compared to the rest of his forearm. ‘This is what she’s capable of. And if she finds me, she’ll do it again. If not worse. She… she…’ Luke scratched the side of his head. ‘She likes to use her hair straighteners.’
The man’s face contorted as he fought with himself. His brow furrowed and then the discontent in his expression drained. ‘Come on. I’d better get you inside. I’ll get the kettle boiled.’
Luke’s body tingled with satisfaction, pride. He had succeeded in doing something for himself without the help of either of his brothers. And he didn’t even feel guilty about deceiving this old man.
The man spun on the spot and entered the house. Luke followed, closing the door behind him; as he did so, another police car sped past. Luke slammed the door shut and held his breath, listening for any signs that suggested the driver had seen him and was on his way to arrest him. Mercifully there was nothing.
‘Sugar?’ a voice called, distracting him.
Luke released the door handle, the colour returning to his knuckles, and faced the kitchen at the end of the corridor where the sound of the kettle boiling wafted through the hallway.
‘One,’ Luke said. ‘Thanks.’
He took a moment to absorb his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that it smelt. Horribly. As if it hadn’t been cleaned in a few months, had fallen victim to damp,
and a dog had shared its last breath there too. To the right of the hallway was a living room. There was a single armchair in the middle, directly facing the television. Beside the chair was a coffee table with a lamp on it and a collection of fishing magazines.
‘You can sit in my chair, if you like.’ The man’s voice startled Luke. He stood in the kitchen doorway with two mugs full of tea, wisps of steam dancing from the top. He started towards Luke and entered the living room. ‘You might struggle to get back up though. It’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever been in.’
Luke pulled himself out of his mind and back to reality. Now that he was in the security of the man’s house, he could start to plan his next move.
‘Yeah. Thanks.’ Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out his burner phone again. ‘Do you mind if I make a call?’
‘Not at all.’
By the time the man finished speaking, Luke was already talking into the phone with Danny.
‘You’ve come crawling back, have you?’ Danny said. In the distance, Luke heard the sound of car engines revving.
‘Shut up,’ Luke replied. The man shuffled past him in the living-room doorway and Luke entered the room. He kept his voice low. ‘There’s an issue. Micky’s been arrested. The cops found us by the bus depot. Two of them got him, but I managed to get away.’
‘You’re shitting me?’ Danny said. ‘Where are you now?’
‘Emily is abusing me again.’
Luke had only ever had to use the cover once before, when he’d sported an unconvincing display in Leeds following their second heist. It had been Danny’s idea originally, to lie and confuse susceptible people into allowing them access to their home, and it had worked a treat, much to Luke’s surprise. Emily was the name they’d used back then, and it had stuck as a code word for the situation ever since.
‘Does he believe you?’ Danny asked.
Luke cautiously glanced beside him. The man had set the cups of tea on the coffee table and then wandered out of the room. As Luke returned his attention to Danny, something caught his eye. The television in front of him. ITV News was playing, and the first thing Luke noticed was Danny’s mugshot, taken years ago from when he’d been arrested for possession of drugs. And then Michael’s appeared. They were much younger in the photos, but there would be no mistaking them now.
Luke’s eyes widened and his lips parted. ‘Shit,’ he whispered. ‘Our faces… they’re… they’re all over TV.’ Luke scrambled beside him for the television remote. He found it on the coffee table and switched the channel.
‘You need to get out of there.’
Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Luke asked, ‘Where are you?’
‘Southampton.’
‘Already?’
‘I dipped early. Bus driver was scowling at me. Didn’t want the police to catch me on board it so I got myself a cab the rest of the way. Paid him extra to floor it.’
As Luke opened his mouth to speak, the sound of feet shuffling on carpet distracted him. The man was standing in the doorway, holding a small plate of biscuits.
‘Everything OK?’ he asked.
‘Y-Yes,’ Luke said, removing the phone and looking at it. ‘It’s my brother. He can help me. I n-need to get to him.’
‘Where is he?’ the man asked.
‘Southampton.’
The man lifted a finger in the air. ‘I can call you a cab.’
‘No!’ Luke said, shocking the man. He took himself by surprise, and instantly regretted shouting so abruptly. ‘You.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You. You can take me. I’ll pay. I have money. Lots of it. Look.’ Luke swung the bag by his side, opened it and grabbed a wad of money they each kept in their bags for emergencies. He waved it in the man’s face. ‘You’re the only person I can trust right now.’
The old man hesitated for what felt like an age.
‘It’s not about—’
‘Please, I wouldn’t ask unless I was desperate…’
‘I…’
‘Please,’ Luke begged, clasping his hands together. He sniffled, hoping it would bring a forced tear to his eye.
‘Let me grab my keys.’
CHAPTER 51
THUMB
Danny slung the bag over his shoulder, the weight of the diamonds and other provisions almost throwing him off balance. The cabbie had dropped him off in a bus lane, right in the heart of Southampton high street, so Danny could approach the port from a slight distance – just in case. So far he’d seen nothing suspicious, and soon, he and Luke and Louise would board the boat.
All he had to do now was wait.
He checked his watch.
Still another hour until the cruise left.
Still another thirty minutes until Luke arrived.
But where was Louise? She was supposed to be here already. They had agreed to meet at this exact location – just a few hundred yards away from the cruise ship.
Danny checked his watch again, as though it would speed up the ten seconds that had just passed.
He didn’t want to upset her.
As he lowered his wrist, his phone vibrated once. He read the text message and swivelled on the spot. Behind him, two metres away, was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Louise. His Louise.
‘Hello, stranger,’ she said. Her face and neck were covered in make-up that made her look as orange as the sun, and the layers of fake tan she’d applied stood in stark contrast to the blue hoodie that hung from her shoulders.
She waltzed up to him and dangled from his neck.
‘Are you OK?’ he asked, letting go of her. ‘Nothing’s happened to you, has it? I was worried about you. I have been all day.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Did everything go all right? The key? The unit?’ he said before kissing her. As he released her, she licked her lips, flashing that delicious red tongue of hers.
‘Relax. Everything’s fine. The suitcases are in my car. It’s all there. I just can’t believe you made me dress up as a fucking golfer. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable.’
Danny smirked. ‘I’ve been worried sick. I thought they might’ve got you. I knew that giving you those extra keys was a bad idea. I didn’t think you were gonna show.’
‘And miss out on my chance to get my share of everything? You really don’t know me at all. Where’s everyone else?’
‘It’s all gone to shit, Lou. We got separated. Michael’s been arrested. Luke’s stuck in Fareham.’
‘More money for us,’ Louise said, winking at him.
Danny shook his head dismissively. It was an instinctive reaction – paternal, brotherly – but one that he immediately regretted. His eyes widened and he stared at Louise. Then he lifted his arms in the air defensively, surrendering himself to what was about to come.
‘Excuse me?’ Louise said.
‘I… Luke… I didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t—’
Louise thrust her hand towards his midriff and, using her thumb, buried it beneath his ribcage and into his diaphragm, cutting him off instantly. A sharp stab of pain squeezed the top of his body. He exhaled sharply, breathing through the discomfort.
‘Don’t talk to me like that,’ she hissed. ‘What have I told you?’
‘S-S-Sorry,’ Danny struggled, the pain too much for him.
‘If Luke isn’t here by the time we board, that money’s mine. You understand?’
Danny nodded. ‘Yes, Louise. I under-understand.’
‘Good. Where’s Candice?’
Danny looked down at the ground. ‘She won’t be joining us.’
‘Is she dead?’
Danny’s gaze rose to meet hers. ‘No.’
‘What happened to her?’
Danny explained, and after he’d finished, she pressed deeper into his diaphragm.
‘I knew you hated her, but I didn’t know it was that much.’
‘I didn’t… I do, but…’ He inhaled and regained his c
omposure. ‘Listen – you don’t need to worry about her. She won’t be troubling us anymore.’
Louise eased the pressure against his body. ‘Suppose it serves her right, innit. Can’t believe the stupid fucking bitch didn’t approve of me.’
‘Neither can I,’ Danny replied, breathing slowly, hiding the discomfort in his voice. ‘You know, before all of today started, she told me to stay away from you.’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I told her to go fuck herself. I ain’t going nowhere.’
‘Good. Because you know what will happen if you do decide to go somewhere.’ Louise prodded his body one final time for good measure and then removed her hand. ‘What are we going to do now?’
Danny breathed then rubbed the part of his skin that would join the rest of his bruises within a few minutes.
‘We wait,’ he said. ‘When Luke gets here, I want you out of sight.’
‘He doesn’t know I’m coming?’
Danny shook his head. ‘And I’d like to keep it that way for as long as possible. That boy’s been through enough today. And he’s about to go through a lot more.’
CHAPTER 52
DISLOCATION
The spike collar grew increasingly heavy with each passing minute. Her muscles ached. Her back ached. Her entire body ached. She just wanted to rip it free and throw it against the wall, heedless of the outcome. Danny, that sick son of a bitch. She’d known from the moment his finger had hovered over the trigger in the shop that something had been wrong – that something wasn’t right about any of this. He’d condemned her to death by adding several layers of complexity to the device, and there was nothing she could do about it. She’d put her faith in her own son, and it had backfired.
