Maura's Game (39 page)

“But taking out Rebekka and her old man like that… didn’t it turn your stomach?”

“After what I’ve seen with Mad Benny nothing gets to me,

Tommy. Anyway, the woman was a shitter. Couldn’t take the heat. I had to shut her up, didn’t I? And it was worth it to see the Ryans running scared.”

Tommy remembered Maura waking time and again from a nightmare she refused to describe, and felt a moment’s remorse. It was turning out to be quite a night for it.

“Yeah, yeah, very clever,” he said irritably.

“But you went way too far in other directions and where did it get you, eh? Six years on and you’re still Mr. Step and Fetch It. Now Vic’s back and looking for some answers, ain’t he? Don’t tell me he’s forgiven you your sins, ‘cos I don’t believe it.”

Abul shook his head and slowly drew his hand out of his pocket.

“Course he hasn’t. Vic Joliff ain’t the forgiving kind. As you will very soon find out for yourself, I’m afraid.”

Tommy felt a sharp pain in his leg and looked down to see a hypodermic spiking it.

“Here, what you doing to me? What the hell’s in that?”

Abul said soothingly, “It’s H, Tommy. The purest form. You’ll thank me for it if you ever come round. Vic’s told me what he has in mind, see, and it’s not nice, not nice at all. Just pray this gets you first.”

Tommy was struggling to speak.

“But… not my idea.” Abul. Said it was too slow… didn’t need Vic. Not my idea…”

His voice failed him. He felt the sides of the car closing in. Abul leaned forward and gave directions to the driver before turning back to prop Tommy up against the door.

“That’s right, you go to sleep. Be easier for you that way.”

He prided himself on being one of the new breed of villain he liked to be as civilised as possible even when he was ridding himself of a dangerous enemy.

When he’d first learned that Vic was back he knew he had to get to him before he spoke to Tommy. The Ryans led him to Jack Stern and his own men, the network of villains and pushers secretly loyal to him and waiting for him to make his move, managed to trace Vic.

Abul had convinced him that the murderous attack on Sandra and the assault on Vic in jail had been carried out on the direct orders of Tommy Rifkind. But the truth of it was that it was Abul himself who’d decided to cut Vic out of their takeover bid and used the attacks to escalate the trouble for the Ryans. He’d wanted to bring the whole lot of them crashing down, as fast as he could. So he killed Sandra and Janine, and sent word to Belmarsh to top Vic. Tommy B was informed that Abul and his father wanted Lana and Sarah topped Abul threw them in just to make things truly volatile. Tommy B was a simple soul. Didn’t believe in killing old ladies or gras sing up his own family. Which was what Abul had relied upon. He glanced in amusement at the man lolling beside him, a thin trail of spittle dribbling from the corner of his slack mouth on to the shoulder of his handmade suit. Vic would finish him tonight, and after that he was going after the Ryans in his bid to take over their drugs empire. When he’d done the dirty work Abul would step in and finish what he’d started six years before.

Benny was frantic. He had to alert Maura and the others to what Abul was doing. Part of him still couldn’t believe it. He had a pain in his heart like a knife was lodged there. Abul… the one person in this whole shitty world he’d thought he could rely on. But not any more. The lying scheming toe rag was out to get everything the Ryans had. He had to let them know.

Benny looked at his old schoolfriend Jonny and said earnestly, “I’m going to beat you up so scream as loud as you can, right?”

Jonny shook his head in bemusement.

“This is a joke, right?”

Benny walked towards him, shrugging. As he lifted one meaty fist he said in all seriousness, “No offence, Jonny.”

He was already screaming before the first blow landed, absolutely terrified of what was about to happen to him.

Tony Dooley Senior took a call on his mobile. He listened for a few moments and then said to the meeting, “Tommy has gone A.W.O.L. with Abul Haseem. We’re trying to track them down but they gave our boys the slip at the airfield. Abul’s not answering his mobile and he used an unknown driver for the pick-up not one of ours. I hate to say this but it looks like he’s in with Tommy.”

Kenny Smith said quietly to Maura, “You must have had an inkling, surely?”

She shook her head, her face deathly white.

“Not Abul. No, I don’t believe it. I looked after him since he was a kid. Him and Benny have been like brothers.”

Jack Stern snorted.

“What brothers was that then Cain and Abel? I’ve never trusted the fucking blacks…”

Tony Dooley Senior and his sons all stared at Jack and he remembered where he was and who he was with.

Maura’s voice cut like a knife.

“You on a fucking death wish, Jack?”

Tony got up. He had taken all that he could. His sons got up with him, but they were trying to calm him down and Maura was grateful for that much.

“Leave it out, Dad, he’s a piece of scum. Not here, Mrs. Ryan’s in the kitchen. He’s not worth it, Dad.”

Maura and her brothers watched as they placated their father. Garry walked around the table and went out to the kitchen. He came back in with Leonie and Jack’s face was a picture as he stared at his one-time bedfellow.

“Collect the glasses up, love, and bring in some more of me mother’s sandwiches, will you?”

Leonie hardly glanced at Jack as she did what she was bidden. After kissing Garry on the top of his head she waltzed from the room.

Maura knew the girl had enjoyed her little triumph and despite everything felt sorry for Jack.

Everyone helped themselves to more food. Finally a yawning Kenny Smith said, “Well, personally, I am for the off. Nothing will be resolved tonight now, will it?”

Maura stood up and Jack, looking at her, said seriously, “Where does this leave me?”

Maura sighed heavily. Was he blind? She was glad she had not chosen to live in the never-never land that was cocaine.

“It leaves you, Jack, in the capable hands of one of my oldest friends. We don’t need you any more, do we? You will tell Tony all we need to know.” She looked at her old friend as she said, “Won’t he, Tone?”

Tony Dooley smiled at Maura and she smiled back. A friendship that spanned many years lay behind that smile, even Jack could see that.

“After all, Jack, you were involved in a lot of the shit that happened, aren’t you?”

He knew then he was finished, there’d be no deal made; it was all over and his own greed had led to his downfall.

“So that’s me fucked then, is it?”

Garry grinned.

“I couldn’t have put it better me self Jack.”

Jack watched them as they all got ready to leave. He tried to catch Kenny’s eye but his old pal wasn’t having any of it. He just wanted to go home to the little daughter who was the light of his life. Maura walked him to the front door.

“Fancy a few hours in the park tomorrow with me and Alicia?” he asked.

Maura grinned.

“Why not? Not too early though, Kenny.”

“I’ll ring you.”

She nodded.

“What a night, eh? It will all be over soon, I expect, one way or another.”

“I hope so, Maura. For all our fucking sakes.”

Vic was smiling like a man demented when Abul and his driver walked into Jack Stern’s barn carrying Tommy between them, his arms draped over their shoulders.

Vic clapped his hands, eyes twinkling with merriment and Class-A substances.

“So it worked, Abul my son? You’re a cool customer, snatching him from under their noses. But what you done to him? He looks dead already.”

Abul knew he could talk his way out of this. Didn’t he always?

“He got a bit antsy in the car, tried to make a run for it. I gave him a sedative to make him cooperate.”

Vic lifted one of Tommy’s eyelids and shook his own head reproachfully.

“I wish you hadn’t taken it upon yourself to do that, I really do. I mean, if I’m working myself up to a killing spree I like to think my audience is still awake. Spoils the fun otherwise.”

He sounded genuinely aggrieved and once again Abul marvelled at his own bad luck. From Benny Ryan to Vic Joliff why did he only ever seem to work with psychos?

He smiled in a conciliatory way. The sooner he could aim Vic at the Ryans, the sooner he could step in and claim the prize for himself.

“Sorry, but you know how it is. Give a villain like Tommy half a chance…”

“Oh, I do.”

Vic took a step back and slid his hand inside his jacket.

“I certainly do. Which is why…”

He shot the driver through the eye. The man went down silently, too startled even to cry out. Abul tried to run but Tommy’s arm was still around his neck, the man’s dead weight bringing him to his knees. He rolled clear and was scrambling for the door when Vic shot him in the thigh. He rolled over on the dirt floor and held up his hands.

“What are you doing, man? We had an agreement…”

Vic walked towards him, looking genial.

“We did indeed. You promised I could have the man responsible for my Sandra’s death and for this little bit of handiwork.”

He yanked at the collar of his shirt, revealed the livid necklace of scars beneath.

“Did you really think you could pull the wool over my eyes, you jumped-up piece of scum!”

“Vic, please, I can explain…”

Abul’s voice was at its most persuasive.

“Leave it out!” Vic snarled.

“I ain’t your Loony Tunes Ryan kid, still wet behind the ears in villainy. I don’t believe the first load of old cod’s I’m told. Especially when it’s a soot doing the talking.

“Mind, I had to go to a tin lid to get the real version, but Joe’s old time. I’d take his word over yours any day.”

Abul closed his eyes momentarily. It was his own fault for leaving that loose end. But the old man had been easily cowed and useful in swearing blind to Maura that Rebekka and her husband had died at the hands of the Russian Mafia. It had covered his tracks. If only his Belmarsh contact hadn’t screwed up, none of this would be happening.

He slid his hand down against his leg, surreptitiously feeling to see how bad the damage was. Vic lowered the gun.

“Don’t worry, it’s only a flesh wound,” he said.

“When my mate Mickey gets here he’ll dress it for you. Always carries a First Aid kit, does Mickey. He says he only uses it when I’m around though.”

Abul felt a sense of dread creep over him.

“What are you going to do to me?”

Vic scratched his head.

“I’m still working on that one. First Mickey’s going to help me deal with laughing boy here.” He waved the gun at Tommy, slumped on the ground. For a moment Abul almost felt relieved. He’d thought he might be in line for that treatment but it seemed Vic was still going to punish Tommy for going along with the plot even if it didn’t start with him.

“You… well, I want to take me time over that. Come up with something truly memorable. Look at it this way, Abul. Your name will still go down in the history of villainy no one will ever forget the way you died.”

He was still squawking like a parakeet at his own wit when Mickey Ball and a few other men arrived later. Abul’s leg was roughly bandaged and then they forced him, struggling and protesting, into the boot of a car. The last thing he saw as the door was slammed down was Vic trying to slap Tommy awake. Abul cursed himself for being so soft and giving him the H. He would have given anything now to have an easy way out for himself.

Jonny was in a right state, Benny was beating him and he was screaming his head off. Benny was not letting up at all and when the cell door was finally opened it took three policemen to drag him off and out of the cell.

Then Jonny started to fight the policemen.

It went up like a bushfire.

In the melee, Benny walked down the corridor that led from the cells and within seconds was out the back of the police station. Five minutes later he had dragged two young girls from a Peugeot parked outside a kebab van just off the High Street. He went driving off as fast as he could to pick up a decent motor. He couldn’t believe he was driving a Peugeot. It seemed to set the seal on what had been after all a really shit day.

Then he saw a mobile and suddenly he felt that things were looking up.

Maura lay in bed listening to her mother’s snores coming from across the landing. She had forgotten that her mother snored. When she had slept with her as a kid, she had liked to hear the sound, it had made her feel safe.

Now she punched the pillow in an attempt to get comfortable. She wondered what was happening to Tommy and tried not to care. Abul’s betrayal was going to hit Benny hard. It was a good thing he was out of the way at the moment. This would really send him off at a tangent. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to stop her mind from whirling. It was nearly morning and she needed to get some sleep. Even the brandy she had drunk wasn’t making her feel tired.

She wondered what tomorrow at Marsh Farm would be like in an effort to take her mind off other things. She had not seen Kenny’s little girl for a while and was looking forward to meeting her in the park.

It didn’t work. She couldn’t sleep and she couldn’t stop picturing what was happening even as she lay in her bed. She had never felt so powerless in her life.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kenny was shattered. As he let himself into his house he heard his mobile bleeping. He looked at the text and his heart sank into his boots. He knew he had to be careful at this precise moment because the chances were Vic was actually sitting inside his home while texting him.

He used the number on the text and was relieved not to hear a phone ringing nearby. Vic answered immediately.

“Had a nice evening with the Ryans, Kenny?”

“What do you want, Vic?”

He kept his voice level.

“I want to talk to you face to face. I have Tommy here and I think me and you need to discuss a few things.”

“What things?”

“Well, you are a fixer, aren’t you, Kenny?”

“So I’ve been told.”