Between Two Thieves

by Solomon Carter

  “I’ll need a word with you in a minute, Joe,” said Eva, before turning her attention to Clancy Senior.

  “Anything you need,” said Joe, “just so long as it helps find Carl.”

  Eva smiled and walked down the hall with the freshly printed contract in hand.

  “First and foremost a businesswoman, I see,” said Clancy, his hands stuck into his pockets.

  “A necessary evil in my line of work,” said Eva. “Soon as the paperwork is done we can just get on with the job.”

  “Then we’d best sign it, hadn’t we?” said Clancy. “Or it won’t be long before those things are lost for good.”

  As Dan walked into the house he caught a glimpse of Eva schmoozing the client with the contract in hand. He watched her follow him up the stairs. Let the man have her to himself if he wanted, so long as he signed. Following Eva’s lead, Dan had grabbed his own version of the private investigator uniform – his leather jacket to complete his white T-shirt and blue jeans look. But the heat was too much to wear the leather, so he draped it over the crook of his arm, walked inside and greeted them all with a nod. But the conversation in the front room seemed stilted and awkward and Dan felt hotter than ever. Beer and coffee had left him dehydrated. “Any chance of a glass of water?” he asked. Joe shrugged and looked to Georgie to do the job. The girl gave a reluctant nod and walked out of the room.

  “So... what have you lot been talking about?” said Dan.

  “Carl Renton,” said Joanne, flatly. “Sounds like a nice guy.”

  The room fell silent again. Joe didn’t seem the most enthusiastic of hosts – he hadn’t from the start. The closer Dan looked at him, the harder Joe worked to refuse his eyes. Dan noticed the sweat on his forehead and cheeks, the tired look in his eyes. Either the kid was still fretting about his missing friend, or he was unhealthier than they had realised. The boy looked like he was about to faint from the heat.

  “Joe,” said Dan.

  Joe finally met his eye.

  “You okay? You look like you need a drink yourself.”

  “I’ll be okay. But I’d feel better if you were out there looking for him. That’s what you’re going to do, right?”

  “We will be soon enough.”

  Georgie came back holding a glass of water. Dan shook his head and pointed to Joe. “I think you’d better give it to Joe. He looks like he needs it even more than I do.”

  Georgie looked at Joe with concerned eyes. She handed him the drink and Joe snapped. “Will you just stop fussing.”

  “But he’s right, Joe,” said Georgie. “They can see it too. You’re not right, Joe. You need to see a doctor.”

  “Whatever,” he said. He took the glass from her hand and poured the whole thing down his neck. “There you are. Satisfied? I don’t need a doctor, all I need is rest. A rest from all your carping and all this stress.” The young man rose from his chair and stalked out of the room. He climbed the stairs and they heard him slam a door upstairs.

  “Sorry about that,” said Georgie.

  “You’ve got nothing to apologise for,” said Joanne. “Is he always like this?”

  “No,” said Georgie. “Only when he’s feeling bad. The stress of Carl going missing has made things worse.”

  “Worse?” said Dan. “Then he’s been like this for a while? Ill, I mean?”

  “I don’t know. He just gets sick really easily,” said Georgie. “He doesn’t look after himself, no decent food, and he’s always in the house. He’s been so very down lately. That’s where all this illness comes from. He needs somebody around him, somebody like Carl... I should go and see him.”

  “You do whatever you need to do,” said Dan.

  Georgie left the room and headed upstairs.

  “Rather her than me,” said Joanne. “He didn’t seem grateful about you bringing back his wallet. He doesn’t seem happy even that Eva’s offered to look for Carl Renton. And he’s really ungrateful whenever poor Georgie does anything to help him. That girl could do a lot better than him. If I was her I would be away like a shot.”

  “She doesn’t seem the kind to leave him in the lurch,” said Mark.

  “Then she needs to toughen up. Boys like that don’t get any better,” said Joanne.

  “Did you get anything else out of them while we were gone?” said Dan.

  “Nothing but his mopey face and Georgie making excuses for him.”

  “Then I think it’s time to go. But I still need that drink,” said Dan. “I might have to go and help myself to a glass.”

  “Why not? I would if I were you,” said Joanne.

  Dan picked up the empty glass and walked out into the hallway. He passed the stairwell and caught the vaguest hint of voices upstairs then kept going until he reached the large white and black kitchen at the back of the house. He rinsed the glass and poured himself a water and downed it in one, then poured another. His eyes roamed over the black worktop and he saw a few rogue crumbs of broken glass beneath the windowsill. Remnants of the break-in left by the window fitter. Dan picked up one of the glass crumbs and rolled it in his hand. He picked up the other shards he could see then looked for the bin. There it was, attached to the back of a cupboard door. The lid lifted as he opened it and Dan dropped the broken glass inside. Beside some sweaty old salad, something else in the bin caught his eye. A paper screwed into a tight ball. The colours appealed to him and his natural curiosity did the rest. Dan pulled the screwed-up ball out of the bin, opened it and then flattened it on the worktop. It was a leaflet with an image of a young man sitting on a clifftop looking out to a misty sea. The words But I Want To Be Happy! Were emblazoned above the image. Dan pulled the leaflet open and found the kind of informal, preachy Christian advice which he remembered from the tables at the Refuge Food Bank, back in his year on skid row.

  Like the other leaflets he remembered, this one said God could fill a hungry soul with goodness. But far as he saw, no one in the Clancy house was hungry in any sense of the word. The kitchen was awash with fancy food and posh drink labels. There was a Lexus on the driveway and gold on the walls. Clancy Senior clearly had money coming out of his ears. Dan knew the religious tract hadn’t been intended for Clancy Senior. It must have been given to Joe Clancy by Carl Renton, and its position at the top of the bin said it was a recent acquisition. Which put a different kind of spin on their friendship. What Joe had implied as just a ‘normal’ friendship now seemed coloured by Renton’s higher calling. Maybe Renton just couldn’t help himself when it came to preaching. Dan recalled a few of the well-meaning folks at the foodbank had been exactly the same. They couldn’t switch off from preaching no matter how hard they tried. But as Dan looked at the image on the front of the leaflet – the young man looking out to sea, Dan wondered if that was how Carl Renton had seen Joe Clancy. A kid lost and alone and hurting; in need of rescue. If so, Renton’s offer had clearly been rejected – discarded as ruthlessly as the soggy old salad. Dan felt that the leaflet was telling him something about Carl Renton, and something else about young Joe Clancy too. For the leaflet to make it this far then Dan reckoned the kid must have read it. He wondered if the screwing-up signified something else. A rupture between the friends perhaps... a falling out? But a kid like Joe Clancy wasn’t going to reveal anything lightly. Dan looked at the leaflet once more, making a few mental notes, before dropping it back into the waste bin. Whether the kid admitted it or not, something must have happened between him and Renton. Dan picked up a lonely slice of cucumber from the kitchen chopping board, stuffed it into his mouth and walked away.

  Aaron Clancy sat at his bureau desk, hunching over Eva’s contract, following the Ts and Cs with the nib of his fountain pen. The man was certainly thorough. She should have expected as much from a man who catalogued every precious item by hand. He flipped to the last page, and satisfied, he finally signed on the dotted line and handed it back. He pulled a cheque book from the bureau and started to write a crisp new cheque. Today was turning into the best day t
he week. Someone else’s misfortune meant their happiness. But it was the way of the world. One man’s manure fertilised another one’s roses. Clancy tore the cheque free and handed it to Eva. A deposit of one thousand pounds was more than enough to draw a smile.

  “There we are. It’s official,” said Clancy.

  “So it is,” said Eva, eyeing the cheque before slipping it into her handbag.

  “And you’ll start right away?” said Clancy.

  “I’m already on it. I started the very moment you began to answer my questions.”

  “Well, that is prompt,” said Clancy.

  “And I’ve got one more question for you now,” said Eva.

  “But the answer is out there, Miss Roberts, not with me.”

  “Even so, this could be worth thinking on. It’s about Carl Renton, Mr Clancy.”

  “As I said, this case isn’t about him. This is about my collection.”

  “But what if there was a connection between them?”

  “A connection?” said Clancy. He frowned in confusion.

  “Yes. I’m sure you must have considered it already. That Carl Renton might have somehow been involved in you losing your special items?”

  “Carl Renton, a thief? Come on. That man is the most unlikely thief you could imagine. He’s far too straight, too safe, too churchy. People like him don’t commit crimes so that they can always feel superior to the likes of you and me. The kind who run rehabs for their faith aren’t likely to go robbing anyone. It’d ruin their standing forever.”

  “But crimes are often committed by the most unlikely people.”

  “I’ll bow to your experience on that, but I still can’t see it. Yes, I considered him of course, but not for long. As much as the man irked me, Carl had a track record of keeping an eye out for my son. He’s been here many times across this last year... surely if he was going to rob me he would have done so as soon as he saw my collection. Which come to think of it, is precisely why I wasn’t very hospitable when I first saw you and your friends in my house. After last night’s burglary the last thing I wanted was the risk of new guests.”

  “I can understand that. But you’re sure Carl Renton could have had nothing to do with the theft?”

  “Carl Renton wouldn’t have needed to break the window, would he? He was already in my house. He could have just said he needed the toilet and gone upstairs and emptied my study of everything he saw and left my son none the wiser. It’s possible, but not likely.”

  “Maybe you should have used a key.”

  “Hindsight is wonderful, Miss Roberts. But my son was supposed to be my security.”

  Clancy squinted and looked past Eva to the door. Something had distracted him. He stood up and went out into the landing then Eva heard it too. Quiet talking from one of the neighbouring doors. Eva watched Clancy pause in the hallway, his head angled down towards his shoes while he tried to listen in. She watched him walk close to the door. He raised his hand to knock but then held back. The manoeuvre looked well practiced, as if Clancy had spent a fair share of his time eavesdropping outside his son’s bedroom. A fraction later, Aaron Clancy seemed to remember Eva was watching him. He glanced at her and knocked. The chatter inside stopped and Georgie opened the door. Seeing it was him, Georgie pulled the door wide open. Eva noticed the girl’s top was now on inside out. It had clearly been put on in a hurry. Georgie noticed Eva’s eyes and her cheeks flushed.

  “What are you doing up here, Joe? You’ve left guests among the collection. Come on, Joe! You know what happened here last night!”

  Eva stood casually behind Clancy’s shoulder and looked into his son’s bedroom. Joe Clancy sat in a recliner chair not far from his bed. The young man looked a darn sight better than when Eva had last seen him downstairs. His eyes looked brighter, his face less anxious. Something told Eva Georgie had supplied some medicine, and Eva guessed it hadn’t been dispensed from a bottle.

  “You’ve hired them haven’t you?” said Joe.

  Aaron Clancy glanced back at Eva.

  “Yes, I have. And Miss Roberts confirmed something for me. You put far too much trust in strangers, Joe. No matter what their backgrounds or religion, we mustn’t trust anyone too easily. Not anyone. You know how valuable my collection is.” Georgie looked wounded by the man’s words, as if she was their target.

  Eva frowned. “But I didn’t say that.”

  “Not quite, but thereabouts,” said Aaron Clancy. “Your questions reminded me. Carl Renton was a stranger here not so long ago. We only thought we knew him. Now look – he’s run off and left his own rehab in the lurch and by coincidence I’ve lost the best items in my collection to a sudden robbery.”

  Joe Clancy gave Eva a look like daggers.

  “That’s hardly what I meant, Mr Clancy,” said Eva. “Yes, you do have to consider everyone in a case like this, but that doesn’t make everyone a suspect.”

  Joe’s eyes stayed on Eva. “I thought you were going to help find Carl, not blame him,” said Joe.

  The boy’s father replied on her behalf. “Miss Roberts’ job is to find what was stolen from us, no matter who has taken it. Right, I have to make some business calls, and then I’ll go and speak with Southend Museum. If the museum have any decency they’ll vouch that my torq has nothing to do with their Saxon King.”

  The man went to fetch his jacket from the study. He returned with jacket in hand and shut the door behind him. Eva noticed there was a keyhole in the study door but Aaron Clancy didn’t use it.

  “Was that door locked last night, Mr Clancy?” said Eva.

  “No. My son was at home. I didn’t need to take such precautions. I suppose I was proven wrong on that count. Still, now at least you’re here to help fix matters,” he said. “Please excuse me. I’ve got to dash.”

  The man bowed his head. “I’ll check in with you later to see what progress you’ve made.”

  “Fine,” said Eva, watching as he headed down the steps. She waited until he was out of earshot before she spoke again.

  “We’ll be going now as well,” said Eva, looking around Joe’s room. There was so sign of music posters on the walls. No sign of favourite movies. Just a stack of books on one shelf, a small music system, a TV on the wall, and a stack of neat, brand new clothes at the end of his bed, complete with card labels, wrapping and stickers. Several pairs of blue jeans looked like they’d never left the hanger, and some square-folded shirts were still packed in cellophane. There was a similar pile beside his chair and a few stacked on the floor.

  The young man looked at Eva as she studied his room, as if her eyes were unwelcome.

  “You’ll be making a start then? Looking for Carl I mean?”

  Eva nodded. “We’ll certainly try. Is there anything else we should know?”

  They heard Clancy Senior’s car start up on the driveway.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Helpful advice. Places we should look, for instance,” said Eva.

  “No. I told you all I could. Now please... I don’t feel my best. If you don’t mind, please see yourself out.”

  Conflict, insecurity, resistance, self-assertion. It was all there in the young man’s eyes. His personality had more spikes than a hedgehog. Eva nodded and turned to close the door, but Georgie held it open, making a silent appeal with her eyes. Eva walked away and stopped at the top of the stairs and waited for her. Georgie moved past Eva and led her down the stairs and back into the front room with the others.

  “You will help us, won’t you?” she said.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll do our best to find Carl Renton.”

  “Thank you,” said Georgie. “Joe needs Carl more than he is willing to admit.”

  “But why exactly?” said Dan.

  The girl hesitated then cut loose. “Carl always give more of a crap about Joe than his dad.”

  They saw sadness in the girl’s eyes, but she blinked it away and forced a smile. “Thanks for helping.”

  “Joe
should be grateful he has you,” said Eva.

  “He is grateful. I see it. He just shows it in his own way.”

  One by one they made their goodbyes and left the house, stepping out into the blazing sun. They closed the door behind them and slowly walked to Eva’s car.

  “There. I told you they had money,” said Mark.

  “And he does,” said Dan. “But he’s still not keeping up with the Joneses when it comes to cars.”

  “What about the Lexus?” said Eva.

  “It’s good enough, if you like that kind of thing. It’s a safe saloon with all the standard luxuries. But it lacks style.”

  Eva shook her head as she started the engine of her less than luxurious Alfa Romeo.

  “I’ll tell you one thing,” said Joanne. “Georgie and Joe Clancy are more of an item than Daddy Clancy realises.”

  Eva nodded. “Yes. They are very close, aren’t they?” she said.

  “And that’s not all,” said Joanne.

  Eva looked at Joanne’s big eyes in the rear-view mirror and waited for the punchline.

  “She’s sleeping with him. That girl is sleeping with Joe Clancy right there in that house.”

  “What? So you’re a prude all of a sudden?” said Dan. It was common knowledge among them that Joanne had been staying around Mark’s family home with or without his mother’s say so. But Mark was the only one to squirm. Joanne met Dan’s eyes without a hint of shame and continued to make her point.

  “She went upstairs with Joe, right? Next time I saw her, her T-shirt was inside out and she looked all sheepish. Joe can’t have been all that ill, that’s all I’m saying. And pretty bold too, considering Clancy senior was at home.”