The Tale of the Wolf (The Kenino Wolf Series) (16 page)

‘
Do you know where you’re going?’ Tabatha demanded.

‘
Yeah. The lake’s straight ahead and to the left,’ Curtis replied.

‘
We’re leaving ’em behind,’ I announced. The cops were struggling to move in the field, their wheels were struggling in the wet mud.

‘
We need to get changed,’ I shouted, ripping off my burglar’s attire. Tabatha nodded and pulled off her jumper.

‘
Keep your eye on the field.’ I warned Curtis, who was trying to sneak a look.

‘
There’s the lake,’ he pronounced. We pulled up next to the Volvo and jumped out. Tabatha and me were already changed. Tabatha pulled out and rejoined the main road. We’d lost them. I could still see the blue lights flashing in the field to our rear.

‘
Drive nicely, Tabs.’ I ordered. ‘Get changed, Curt, and put your clothes in the bag. And get your fucking head down.’

‘
What?’

‘
Get your head down. They’re looking for three people riding together. Get your fucking head down.’

‘
Why me?’

‘
Cos you’re in the fucking back!’

He grimaced and agreed.

‘I think we’ve done it,’ Tabatha said, as we reached the start of the motorway back to London.

‘
We ain’t done shit!’ I was raging. She was right though. We had done it. We’d lost the cops in the field and we had the rocks. All we had to do was dispose of the holdall full of clothes and not make any mistakes. We pulled into a service station about halfway back to London, and I flung the holdall in a dustbin. The sun had risen and a new day was dawning. I was still mad but I was over the moon. Our problems … my problems … were over. I jumped back in and we travelled the last few miles home.

Nobody had spoken along the motorway, fear had kept us all silent, but reaching London eased that fear and got the lips flapping.

‘
What the fuck happened?’ Tabatha was panicking. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles had gone white.

‘
Silent alarm,’ Curtis mumbled from the back seat.

‘
What?’ I returned.

‘
There must have been a silent alarm. I thought you said there weren’t no alarms.’

‘
That’s what that fucker said to me. Told you I didn’t trust him!’

‘
You can’t blame Colin,’ Tabatha pleaded.

‘
Yes, I fucking can. Curt’s right. There had to have been an alarm. Otherwise why did the blue bottles swarm?’

‘
I don’t know. We weren’t meant to be doing it tonight. It’s your fault. You’re the one that changed the day.’

‘
What the fuck does that matter? You think the alarm only works on a Tuesday?’

‘
Fuck you, Wolfy! You wouldn’t even have been involved if it weren’t for me.’

‘
No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be up to my neck in shit if it wasn’t for you. What was it you kept saying, ‘
You’re just paranoid’?’
I mimicked her voice badly. ‘If it wasn’t for me and the Land Rover paranoia we’d all be doing a bird right now.’

‘
Whoopy fucking do! You got one thing right. Whoopy fucking do! Makes up for all the shit you get wrong.’

We were having a full-blown row.

‘
What did I get wrong? What? Come on, what did I get wrong? Cos as far as I can see, my paranoia’s the only reason we’re sitting here now.’

‘
What, you want a medal? Ooh Wolfy saved the day, give him a medal.’

‘
Yeah, damn right give me a medal. The Saving Tabatha’s Arse medal.’

‘
You can have that medal. You can have two. You can have the Kiss my Arse medal as well!’

‘
You know what you can do with that medal? You can shove that …’ WHOOO WHOOO. Before I could finish the sentence a familiar whining noise whirred behind us.

‘
Tell me that’s an ambulance,’ Curtis begged.

‘
She jumped a red light,’ I sneered.

‘
It’s Wolfy’s fault. He knows I have to concentrate when I’m driving slow.’

‘
I hate you two.’ Curtis sounded like he wanted to cry.

‘
What are you doing?’ Tabatha was slowing down.

‘
It’s just a ticket. I get them all the time.’

‘
Not in this car you don’t. And certainly not with a hat full of rocks. Stopping ain’t an option. Drive! Drive normal.’

‘
Thank fuck for that.’ She smiled mischievously.

The cop car had pulled up behind us, presuming we were stopping. He got a bit of a shock when Tabatha floored it, grinning from ear to ear. Driving like a normal person had obviously been causing her problems. Now she could drive the way she usually did, it had cheered her up no end.

‘
What’s happening?’ Curtis was still lying on the back seat.

‘
We’re running from the police again,’ I replied.

‘
If we don’t get out of this, I just want you to know that I hate you both.’ He really did sound like he was going to weep.

‘
Oh shut up. Don’t get your doily in a twist!’ Tabatha sniggered

If looks could kill …

‘
What?’ I said with mock innocence. ‘You make doilies. I had to tell her.’

‘
I hate you. I really hate you both.’

Tabatha flew through North-East London, bombing down back streets and small alleyways. The pursuit driver was good. She was struggling to lose him. It was still early so the roads were empty.

‘
We need to dump the car,’ I said.

We’d reached Leyton.

‘
Tabs, swing a left. There’s an industrial estate up the way.’

‘
Yeah, I know what one you mean.’

‘
Cool head for it. Lose this guy so we can get out without him seeing us.’

‘
Got it, babes.’

Tabatha did the kind of driving that should only be allowed in times of war; she took a left, a right, jumped a pavement. To be honest I closed my eyes through a lot of it.

‘
Curt, you got any weed on ya?’

‘
This ain’t no time for a spliff.’

‘
Give me the bag.’ I flung the bag in the glove box. ‘If we get pinched say you ran because you had a bag of weed.’ Tabatha nodded. ‘How we doing?’

‘
This guy’s good, babes.’ The cop car was still behind us.

‘
Fuck it! We’re just going to have to dump it and run. Curt, you ready?’

‘
No,’ he grumbled.

‘
Good! Be ready to move once we stop.’

Tabatha roared into the industrial estate.
We’d gained distance from our pursuer but only a little. She skidded to a halt and we jumped out.

‘
Everybody scatter!’

Tabatha had the rocks and flew out the door. Curtis had nothing but sprinted like a gazelle the minute we stopped. We ran in different directions. That pursuit driver was bloody brilliant. He was on us in seconds. I could hear more whirring. More coppers had turned up. There was nowhere to run.

I broke round a bend to see three blue bottles moving towards me. I slowed down to stop. I was caught. I could already see Curtis being escorted by two officers. They had him in the arm grip and were walking him back towards the cars. We were nabbed. Our only hope was that Tabatha had got away. As it stood, we were just up for reckless driving; a misdemeanour compared to what we’d really done.

The police ran towards me, before they got close enough to get all excited. I shoved my hands in the air.

They took an arm each and escorted me back towards the patrol cars.

‘
Why were you running?’

‘
Jogging,’ I replied lamely.

They brought me back towards Curtis.

‘
I told you not to buy that weed,’ I shouted at Curtis. One of the officers was already searching the Volvo. He’d find it in a second.

‘
Fuck you!’ Curtis shouted back playing along. We were looking okay. Curtis had had his head down the whole time. So hopefully the police thought there were only two of us in the car. Curtis knew the score and as long as they didn’t have Tabatha we were going to be okay.

I saw Curtis’ eyes pop out. I turned round. ‘Shit.’ I mumbled. Two female police officers had Tabatha and were escorting her over. I couldn’t see the woolly hat.

‘
You two and your fucking weed!’ she screamed once she got close enough. ‘If you two weren’t such junkies, I wouldn’t have any problems. You’re always dragging me down.’ She flung a kick at me. We were cool. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what she’d done … but I knew the police didn’t have the stones.

We spent the rest of the day at the police station. They charged Tabatha with jumping a red light and Curtis with the weed, which was okay. We could live with that.

The only problem we did have … was that they’d fingered us for the diamond heist. The police were on form. Someone had seen a blue Volvo fleeing the countryside. Our only hope was that they’d said there were two people in it. And we were three. They suspected it was us, but they couldn’t prove it. They couldn’t even prove it was the same Volvo. I waited outside for Tabatha and Curtis.

‘
Let’s go,’ I said, as soon as they walked out. I didn’t want to talk about anything in front of the station. I’d already called a cab. We jumped in and headed back to Muzzi’s. Curtis’ cousin’s Volvo had been impounded and nobody was giving the £300 to break it out. Not when it was barely worth £200.

Once safely back amongst the partygoers at Muzzi’s, surrounded by a wall of sound, I said, ‘Where’s the rocks?’

‘
I had to stash them. We need to go back and get them.’ Anxiety was riddled across her face.

‘
Not with the police staring at us.’

‘
They think we stole £20 mill in stones,’ Curtis announced matter of factly.

‘
What?’ Tabatha and I blurted out.

‘
The five-o made a big issue during my interview about how £20 mill in stones is a lot of rocks. There weren’t £20 mill in that safe. Three and half, four tops, I’m telling you.’

‘
You sure?’ Curtis gave me a look as if to say, ‘Don’t insult me!’

‘
Fair enough. Well, that makes a lot more sense.’

It was as though a light inside my head had flicked on. ‘Would you spend £4 mill to make £16? I would.’ They both looked at me, confused.

‘
The best way to cover a robbery is with another robbery. Your friend the butler has been playing us like a bunch of idiots from the start. He’s clever though, I’ll give him that.’

We’d been screwed, properly screwed. Yet, I somehow felt okay. All that paranoia and distrust had proved correct. It now made it easier for me to know what to do.

‘
I don’t understand.’ Tabatha hadn’t clocked the move.

‘
I do,’ Curtis smiled. ‘There was £20 mill in stones in that safe. The butler nicked sixteen and gets us to steal the remaining four. We get nabbed with the four coming out, because we trip the silent alarm, which he never tells us about … and he gets to walk off with the sixteen.’