I shrugged. You want to walk away from this? The only way youre going to do that is if we give them a body to trade, I turned to Ruth. Am I right?
Regardless of that, youre probably going to have to spend another few days in police custody, Ruth warned him.
Richards face fell. Is there no way you can get me out sooner? Ive got to get out of here, double urgent, he said.
Richard, in my opinion, the police will charge you with possession of a Class A drug with intent to supply, which is not a charge on which magistrates are inclined to allow bail. Ill do my best, but the chances are heavily stacked against us. Sorry about that, but there we go. Ruth paused to savour a last mouthful of smoke before regretfully stubbing out her cigarette.
Oh, shit, Richard said. He took off his glasses and carefully polished them on his paisley silk shirt. He sighed. I suppose Ill have to go for it. But theres one slight problem I havent mentioned that Brannigan seems to have forgotten about, he said sheepishly, looking short-sightedly in my direction.
My turn to sigh. Give, I said.
Davys due on the seven oclock shuttle tonight. Remember? Half-term?
As his words sank in, I got to my feet, shaking my head. Oh no, no way. Not me.
Please, Richard said. You know how much it means to me.
There isnt that much dosh in the world, I said, panicking.
Please, Kate. That bitch is just looking for an excuse to shut me out, he pleaded.
Thats no way to talk about the woman you married, the mother of your child, the former joy of your existence and fire of your loins, I said, slipping defensively into our routine banter. It was no use. I knew as I looked down at the poor sod that Id already given in. A dozen years of efficient contraception, and what does it get you? Someone elses kid, thats what.
Chapter 5
I had to sit through the whole tale a second time for the CIDs preliminary taped interview with Richard. Ruth had instructed him to co-operate fully, in the hope that it might predispose them towards letting his bail application go through. Looking at their faces as they listened to Richards admittedly unlikely story, I didnt rate his chances of seeing daylight for a while.
After the interview, Ruth and I went into a brief huddle. Look, Kate, realistically, hes not going to get bail tomorrow. The best chance we have of getting him out is if you can come up with evidence that supports his story and points to the real criminals. I held my tongue; Ruth is one of the few people I allow to tell me how to suck eggs.
The crucial thing, given the amount of drugs involved, is that we keep him out of the mainstream prison system so hes not in contact with criminals who have connections into the drug scene. What Im going to suggest to the CID is that they use the excuse of the stolen car and the possibly pornographic photograph to exploit paragraph five of the Bail Act, she went on.
The crucial thing, given the amount of drugs involved, is that we keep him out of the mainstream prison system so hes not in contact with criminals who have connections into the drug scene. What Im going to suggest to the CID is that they use the excuse of the stolen car and the possibly pornographic photograph to exploit paragraph five of the Bail Act, she went on.
I must have looked as blank as I felt, for she deigned to explain. If the suspects been arrested for one offence and the police have evidence of his implication in another, they can ask for what we call a lie-down. In other words, he remains in police custody for up to three days for the other matters to be investigated. Thatll give us a bit of leeway, since the meter doesnt start running till the day after the initial hearing. That gives us Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Hell appear in court again on Wednesday, by which time you might have made enough headway for me to be able to argue that he should be let out.
Oh whoopee, I said. A schedule so tight Ill be singing soprano and an eight-year-old too. Go for it, Ruth.
I left Ruth to her wheeling and dealing with the CID just after half past four and drove into the city centre. Chinatown was still lively, the late-night trade losing their shirts in the casinos and drunkenly scoffing Chinese meals after the clubs had closed. Less than a mile away, in the gay village round Chorlton Street bus station, the only sign of life was a few rent boys and hookers, hanging around the early-morning street corners in a triumph of hope over experience. I cruised slowly along Canal Street, the blank windows of Mantos reflecting nothing but my Peugeot. I didnt even spot anyone sleeping rough till I turned down Minshull Street towards UMIST.
The street was still. I pulled up in an empty parking meter bay. There were only three other cars in the street, one of them Richards Beetle. Id have to come back in the morning and collect it before some officious traffic warden had it ticketed and clamped. At least its presence supported Richards story, if the police were inclined to check it out. I took my pocket Nikon out of my glove box, checked the date stamp was switched on and took a couple of shots of the Beetle as insurance.
Slowly, I walked round to Sackville Street, checking doorways and litter bins for the trade plates. I didnt hold out much hope. They were too good a prize for any passing criminal, never mind the guys who had stuck them on the coupé in the first place. As Id expected, the streets were clear. On the off chance, I walked round into the little square of garden in Sackville Street and searched along the wall and in the bushes, being careful to avoid touching the unpleasant crop of used condoms. No joy. Stumbling with exhaustion, I walked back to my car and drove home. The prospect of having to take care of Davy weighed heavily on me, and I desperately wanted to crack on and make some progress towards clearing Richard. But the sensible part of me knew there was nothing I could do in the middle of the night. And if I didnt get some sleep soon, I wouldnt be fit to do what had to be done come daylight.
I set my alarm for half past eight, switched off the phones and turned down the volume on the answering machine. Unfortunately, I couldnt do the same thing with my brain. I tossed and turned, my head full of worries that wouldnt lie down and leave me in peace. I prayed Ruths stratagem would work. While he was still in police custody, Richard was fairly safe. But as soon as he was charged and remanded to prison, the odds would turn against him. No matter how much the police tried to keep the lid on this business, it wouldnt take long in the leaky sieve of prison before the wrong people learned what he was in for. And if the drugs belonged to one of the Manchester gangs, some warlord somewhere would decide that Richard needed to be punished in ways the law has long since ceased to contemplate.
Wed both gone into this relationship with damage from past encounters. From the start, wed been honest about our pain and our fears. As a result, wed always kept it light, by tacit agreement. Somewhere round about dawn, I acknowledged that I couldnt live with myself if I let anything happen to him. Its a real bastard, love.
I was only dozing when the alarm went off. The first thing I did was check the answering machine. Its friendly red light was flashing, so I hit the replay button. Hello, Kate, its Ruth. Her voice was friendlier than I deserved. Its just before six, and I thought youd be pleased to hear that Ive manged to persuade the divisional superintendent that he has most chance of obtaining convictions from this situation if he keeps Richards arrest under wraps. So hes agreed, very reluctantly, not to hold a press conference announcing a major drugs haul. Hes not keen, but there we go. Was I put on earth to keep policemen happy? Hes also receptive to the idea of a lie-down, but he wants to hang on till later in the day before he makes a final decision. Anyway, I hope youre managing some sleep, since working yourself to the point of exhaustion will not serve the interests of my client. Why dont you give me a call towards the end of the afternoon, by which time we both might have some information? Speak to you soon, darling. Itll be all right. I wished I could share her breezy confidence.
As the coffee brewed, I called my local friendly mechanic and asked him to collect Richards Beetle, promising to leave a set of keys under the kitchen window box. I also phoned in to the office and told Shelley what had happened. Of course, it was Richard who got the sympathy. Never mind that Id been deprived of my sleep and landed with a task that might have caused even Clint Eastwood a few nervous moments. Oh no, that was my job, Shelley reminded me. You do what youve got to do to get that poor boy out of jail, she said sternly. It makes me feel ill, just thinking of Richard locked up in a stinking cell with the dregs of humanity.
Yes, boss, I muttered rebelliously. Shelley always makes me feel like a bloody-minded teenager when she goes into Mother Hen mode. God knows what effect it has on her own two adolescents. Just tell Bill what Im doing. Ill be on my mobile if you need me urgently, I added.
I washed two thick slices of toast down with a couple of mugs of scalding coffee. The toast because I needed carbohydrate, the coffee because it was a more attractive option than surgery to get my eyes open. I pulled on jogging pants and a sweat shirt without showering and drove over to the Thai boxing gym in South Manchester where I punish my body on as regular a basis as my career in crime prevention allows. It might not be the Hilton, but it meets my needs. Its clean, its cheap, the equipment is well maintained and its mercifully free of muscle-bound macho men who think theyve got the body and charm of Sylvester Stallone when in reality they dont even have the punch-drunk brains of Rocky.
I wasnt the only person working out on the weights that morning. The air was already heavy with the smell of sweat as half a dozen men and a couple of women struggled to keep times winged chariot in the service bay. As Id hoped, my old buddy Dennis OBrien, burglar of this parish, was welded to the pec deck, moving more metal than the average Nissan Micra contains. He was barely breaking sweat. The bench next to him was free, so I picked up a set of dumbbells and lay back to do some tricep curls. Hiya, kid, Dennis said on his next outgoing breath. Whats the world been doing to you?