The Front (41 page)

       
‘Sorry, man,’ Max muttered. ‘I didn’t think.’

       
The Man gave him a dirty look, then turned back to continue questioning Suzie.

       
‘Now then, Suzie. What about the money? They know that was mine?’

       
Suzie shook her head. ‘They just thought it was the takings from the shop.’

       
‘How much was there?’

       
‘I don’t really know.’

       
‘Suzie . . .?’ He spoke softly, peering hard into her eyes. ‘Don’t fuck up on me now we’ve come this far.’

       
She looked down. ‘About seventy thousand.’

       
Max whistled between his teeth. ‘Man!’

       
‘Seventy grand!’ The Man spat at her. ‘And they thought it was the shop’s takings? You think I’m stupid or sump’n, eh? They must have known it wasn’t shop money! They must have known it was mine. Which means—’ his voice was ice ‘—they planned to rip me off!’

       
‘They didn’t,’ Suzie said. ‘Honest, they didn’t! Lee planned it. He said Pasha always took the takings home on a Sunday night to take to the bank first thing Monday. They didn’t think anything else about it, and the shooting was an accident, really it was.’

       
‘Yeah, well, never mind that now,’ The Man said. ‘Where’s the rest of the money?’

       
‘They shared it out,’ Suzie told him. ‘But I think they’ve spent quite a lot of it already. That Stevo—’ she turned to Max ‘—he came round the other morning with a big bag of coke. Mal bought it off him.’

       
‘My fuckin’ ounce!’ Max snorted. ‘He never even paid me for that!’

       
Suzie shook her head. ‘Oh, no. I’m sure it was only half an ounce. And Mal paid him for it, honest! He’s good when it comes to paying his debts!’

       
‘Yeah! When it’s not his money he’s spendin’!’ Jake sneered. ‘Where is he now? This Mal?’

       
‘At home,’ Suzie whispered, unable to meet Jake’s piercing eyes. ‘He was there when I left.’

       
‘With?’

       
‘Lee, and Lee’s girlfriend, Elaine. And two friends, Ged and Sam.’

       
‘They know about it?’ The Man asked.

       
Suzie hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. ‘But it was nothing to do with them,’ she blurted out. ‘They just agreed to go along with Mal and Lee. They freaked out when they found out Lee had a gun. They didn’t want anything to do with it after that, but it was too late ’cos they were already there. They didn’t even go in the yard, ’cos Lee had already shot Pasha before they went over the wall.’

       
‘You a good friend of this Ged and Sam, then, are you?’ The Man asked.

       
‘It’s not that,’ Suzie looked up at him, a worried frown on her face. ‘I just don’t think it’s fair for them to get the blame for something they didn’t do.’

       
The Man looked at her hard for a few moments, then nodded. ‘Loyalty,’ he said quietly, casting a sly glance at Jake. ‘I like that.’

       
He stood up suddenly, pushing the chair back and bending to untie Suzie’s ankles. ‘You’ve been a big help, and I said you wouldn’t get hurt if you helped so I’m gonna let you go. But not just yet. You’ll have to stay down here till we’ve sorted out what we’re doing.’ He turned to Max, motioning to the stairs with a nod. ‘Jake can stay and watch you.’

       
‘NO! Don’t leave me,’ Suzie called after him, her eyes shining with naked fear as she flicked a glance at Jake. ‘Please!’

       
‘Yo, Jake,’ The Man called with a laugh in his voice. ‘You’re frightening the little lady. Tell you what, why don’t you go an’ mek us all a brew, spar. We can trust you on your own for a bit, can’t we, Suzie?’

       
‘Yes, but can . . . can I go to the bathroom, please?’ Suzie asked, getting shakily to her feet.

       
‘Sure,’ The Man smiled, stepping aside to wave her up the stairs.

       
While she was in the bathroom cleaning herself up, the men sat around the kitchen table discussing what to do now they knew where the money was. The first thing they needed to sort out was what to do with Suzie. They couldn’t let her go yet in case she warned her boyfriend before they got to him – and that would be the last they ever saw of the money. They also didn’t want to leave her alone in case she managed to escape. They needed to put her somewhere safe until they’d sorted it out.

       
‘How about Marie’s?’ Jake suggested.

       
‘Don’t forget she’s got that Linda there already,’ The Man said.

       
‘Oh, yeah,’ Max said. ‘What about the bloke with the wallet – the one who came axing about you an’ that Linda?’

       
‘What? The Babylon claat?’ Jake snorted.

       
Max shot a look at him. ‘I hope you’re not gonna start that shit up again?’

       
Jake held his hands up. ‘Chill, man, I’m jokin’! Look, I’m prepared to admit I got it wrong. With what we’ve just found out, I guess you’ve been on the level, an’ I’m sorry. Okay?’

       
‘All right,’ Max said. ‘But I didn’t appreciate the things you said, Jake. We’re supposed to be brothers, ain’t we? Don’t do nutt’n like that again, seen?’

       
‘Seen,’ Jake agreed, holding his fist out to touch Max’s.

       
‘While we’re on it,’ The Man said, giving Jake a cool look. ‘You’ve been out of order with me too, dread. You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on in your head?’

       
Jake shrugged uneasily. ‘I just don’t understand why you wanna be so lenient wid all these scallies. I mean, man . . . that Millie. Why you have to
talk
to him?’

       
‘It was good I didn’t do nutt’n else, seein’ as it wasn’t him,’ The Man said levelly. ‘He was the wrong dude, man. What if I’d done him like you wanted?’

       
Jake didn’t say anything.

       
‘This is why I started thinking a while back that we should consider all the facts before we mek a move,’ The Man went on seriously. ‘That way we got a better chance of not fucking up, and the more I do it, the more I know I’m right. It don’t mean I’m going soft. It just means I always know where I’m at. Mistakes are too easy, and just one can bring us down. That’s what we’ve got over all the other posses right now. Logic. Sense enough to keep ourselves out of the shit until we got roses to grow.’

       
Jake dipped his head. He knew The Man was right, and wondered again if he’d guessed what he’d had in mind about taking over his businesses. He hoped not.

       
‘Anyway,’ The Man said, pushing his chair back. ‘It’s time to get moving. Max, call Suzie down an’ we’ll get off.’

       
Max went to call her down. When he came back with her he was grinning.

       
‘You said I’d get a bonus if the money turned up, yeah?’

       
The Man nodded. ‘Yeah. And another if you’re in on this.’

       
‘Sound,’ Max said. ‘You want me to bring one of the guns?’

       
‘Yeah. The one the dude used on Pasha. That should freak them out!’

       
‘I’ll have to meet you at the Crescents,’ Max said. ‘Only I’ve got a couple of things to do first.’

       
‘No, come to my yard,’ The Man said. ‘But give us a couple of hours. I want to get the girl over to Marie’s, an’ get something to eat.’

       
He stood up and walked to the door, taking Suzie’s arm. Turning back to Max, he said, ‘Don’t forget to load it, spar. These roses are definitely for pruning!’

       
Suzie didn’t make a fuss as The Man led her from the house with a firm hand on her arm. She tried to memorize the door number in case she needed it later. Then she tried to get a look at the registration of the Jag, but only managed to get the letter ‘S’ and the number ‘1’.

Max went back down to the cellar when they’d gone, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of his share of seventy grand. He deserved it for all the crap The Man and Jake had put him through over the last few days. Losing his ounce when Stevo took off had just been the start. He’d then lost money that was rightfully his, and nearly been set up over the Millie business. Now he could add his part in kidnapping the girl to the list, and that wouldn’t be good. The Man owed him a lot more than the other hundred of his own money and a poxy bonus! And Max would make sure he got it.

       
But first things first. He had to get his house in order, to minimize his risks.

       
Reaching for an industrial-size tin of Jeye’s Fluid, he set about cleaning away all trace of the girl – starting with the chair and the floor where the poor cow had pissed herself. If it all came on top, there must be nothing left to say she’d ever been here. There was no way he was getting done for kidnapping!

24

Paul had written out a list of possibles by the time Eddie arrived.

       
‘Do you know any of these?’ he asked, handing it across in exchange for the pack of beers Eddie was carrying.

       
Eddie scanned through the names, then pointed out two. They were both local.

       
‘This one, Ali Akram from Whalley Range, he’s straight as a die. Owns a cash-and-carry, got burgled a couple of months ago. But this Winston Dennison from Moss Side, he’s totally
not
straight. He’s a right gangster.’ Handing the list back, he ripped the tab off a can and took a long drink. ‘So what’s it all about?’ he asked.

       
‘Before I tell you,’ Paul said. ‘DCI Jackson doesn’t want this to get out at the station, so you’ve got to keep shtum.’

       
‘Why?’ Eddie asked. ‘It’s a live case.’

       
‘It’s delicate,’ Paul explained. ‘Remember that call we took from Iggy’s? Well, it was from an old woman who’d witnessed it, and the DCI wants to sit on her name to protect her.’

       
Eddie frowned. ‘I thought we already had an eyewitness?’

       
‘Do me a favour!’ Paul laughed. ‘Did you read her statement? It was bollocks. But this old girl’s kosher, and she’s given us everything – times, descriptions, cars.’

       
Eddie smiled. ‘I get it. So she’s ID’d this Beemer you’re looking for? How old is she?’ he asked. ‘She all there?’

       
‘Oh, she’s all there, all right,’ Paul said. ‘Jackson’s well impressed with her.’

       
‘So why the secrecy?’

       
‘Because she reckons there were at least four men at the yard that night, and she’s scared what’ll happen if anyone finds out she saw them before we get hold of them. Anyway, back to these names. We can cross this Akram off for a start. All the men our lady saw were white. Except the BM driver. He was black, with dreads.’

       
‘Could be Winston Dennison,’ Eddie said. ‘And this is just his style. Your old girl see who did it?’

       
‘She only heard it,’ Paul said. ‘But the black guy came later. It was three white guys she saw running out straight after. They took off in an Escort, and a couple of hours later, the BM turns up. There was a girl as well. She came between the two cars, went into the yard and brought someone out. It was just after that when the BM turned up.’

       
‘That’s one bored old woman!’ Eddie laughed, shaking his head. ‘Sure her name’s not Barbara Cartland?’

       
Paul smiled. ‘I know what you mean, but she’s okay. Now, this Dennison. You say this is his style?’

       
‘Yeah,’ Eddie snorted. ‘He’s bang into his shooters, him. We’ve nicked him a few times, but he’s got this red-hot brief, always manages to get the evidence discredited. He even sued us once – and won! Sly bastard! Said we were harassing him, and with all the racism shit going on, the judge favoured his version. Got a massive pay-out . . . probably how he can afford the Beemer. He certainly didn’t work for it.’

       
‘Sounds likely,’ Paul said, circling the name. ‘But I don’t get why he only turned up after the shooting?’

       
Eddie raised a brow. ‘Like I said, he’s sly. I wouldn’t put it past him to pay these other guys to do the job. Likes to keep his hands clean, does Winston. So what about this other car – the Escort?’

       
‘It was dark – blue, or black,’ Paul said. ‘It had blacked-out windows, and probably some sort of kit – fin on the back, that sort of thing. She only saw it for a second when they drove past, but the BM parked right outside her window. The Escort must have been parked up further down the road, possibly in the flats’ car park. I thought it’d be easier to trace the BM first.’

       
‘Sounds like it’s the Escort you want for the shooting,’ Eddie said. ‘Trouble is, all the scallies use them, and they’re hardly ever registered. Still, blacked-out windows aren’t exactly standard. It might be easy if it’s still local.’

       
Paul sighed. ‘Yeah, but what’s the chance of that? Still, we’ll get ’em in the end.’

       
Eddie laughed. ‘You can tell you’ve not been here long. Don’t hold your breath, eh? Give us a look at the list.’

       
The phone rang. Paul answered it, spoke for a moment, then hung up, smiling sheepishly. ‘Er – that was Jane. She’s coming over.’

       
Eddie blanched. ‘Alone?’

       
Paul shook his head.