Run Johnboy Run: The Glasgow Chronicles 2 (55 page)

Chapter Twenty Two

  Inspector Colin McGregor sat looking at the two sergeants in front ae him.  If anywan could get the job done quickly, it wid be this pair.  Wan ae The Big Man’s boys hid telt him recently that he’d heard that they didnae get oan, bit Colin hidnae picked up any evidence ae that.  He wis aware that there wis a bit ae rivalry between them oan who could lock up the maist neds though.  Normally, rivalry between officers within the same patch widnae be tolerated, as it wis important fur the local pavement pounders tae work as part ae a team, bit it seemed tae work well in their case.  Their arrest and clear-up rate, so far, wis wan ae the best in the city, even though their methodology hid raised a few eyebrows in certain quarters.  He’d been oot-manoeuvred and oot-voted oan his replacements fur Liam Thompson and Big Jim Stewart, the last pair ae sergeants he’d lost nearly three years earlier.  It hid been a difficult time fur everywan, especially fur him.  He’d jist managed tae haud oan tae the Toonheid by the skin ae his teeth.  There hid been talk at the time that he wis getting put oot tae pasture up in Bishopbriggs, amongst aw the lawyers and TV presenter crowd.  The previous inspector, Joe McInally, hid been retired aff wae a bare pension.  It wis well-known in the toon that there wis slim pickings tae be hid up there in The Briggs.  He’d heard that poor Joe hid ended up as a night watchman oan wan ae they fancy office-building sites up near St George’s Cross.  Colin’s appeal tae stay in the Toonheid hid gone straight tae the tap.  He remembered the parting shot fae Sean Smith, who wis a chief inspector at the time, efter he’d successfully pleaded his case.

  “Ye’ve jist scraped by, by the skid marks oan they pants ae yers, Colin, so let that be a lesson tae ye. There’s a lot mair than jist you and me who get affected by failure oan the ground, ye know.  If ye cannae staun the heat, then ye need tae get oot ae the kitchen.  Ah know ye acted swiftly tae deal wae that last pair ae eejits, bit at the end ae the day, it wis oan your watch that they fucked up and it wis ma baws that wur hinging oot oan the line.  Ah’ve spoken tae the other inspectors and a few ae them hiv spoken up fur ye.  There wullnae be a second chance the next time.  In the meantime, Ah’ll look aboot tae see whit we’ve goat oan the sergeant front and Ah’ll get back tae ye wae who Ah want up in the Toonheid.”

  Jist a few hid spoken up fur him?  That hid hurt.  Granted, he wis the only blue-nose in amongst them, bit still….he’d always been as loyal tae Sean as any ae The Irish Brigade.  It wis unprecedented fur a local inspector no tae be involved in picking the sergeants fur his area.  He’d found oot later that it hid been Daddy Jackson, sitting in his fiefdom ae Anderson and Partick, and that snivelling wee basturt, Mickey Sherlock, who ran aboot in The Flying Squad, playing at being The Lone Ranger, who’d put the boot in.  It hid taken aboot fifteen months before they’d finally settled oan the two permanent sergeants fur the area. The longest time he’d hid a sergeant during that period hid been Jings Johnston, bit that hid only been a temporary appointment while Jings wis waiting tae move oot tae Yoker as the new inspector.  Jings wis wan ae the good guys.  He’d telt Colin that the word hid gone oot and nowan wanted tae work wae Colin because ae the trouble between Pat Molloy, The Big Man and the local pavement pounders.  The war between Molloy and The Irish Brigade hid continued unabated, even though Molloy hid been allowed tae recover his expenses at the expense ae the Linen Bank at the tap ae Parly Road, no long efter his doos hid gaun walkies.  Since then, each side tried tae avoid wan another, particularly oan Friday and Saturday nights when the bevvy wis flowing.  A few ae his local PCs hid ended up wae sore faces o’er the years because they’d jumped intae situations withoot first finding oot whit the score wis beforehaun. The situation wis noo at boiling point and there wis pressure oan The Irish Brigade tae jist get in there and finish Molloy aff wance and fur aw.  A month and a day efter Jings hid moved oot tae Yoker, two permanent sergeants hid arrived, wan week apart fae each other. Colin looked across at his inheritance.  It hidnae taken the locals long tae attach a haundle tae the baith ae them either.  Finbar O’Callaghan wis known as ‘Fin’ tae his colleagues and ‘Bumper’ tae the wee local neds oan account ae the fact that no long efter his arrival, he’d run o’er two wee thieves wae the squad car, who he’d been chasing alang St James’s Road at the Dobbies Loan end.  Wan ae the boys hid ended up wae a broken erm while the other wan hid suffered a broken ankle.  He’d heard that the broken ankle came aboot because Bumper hid reversed back o’er the victim as he wis lying spread-eagled oan the pavement, efter being hit the first time.

  “They won’t be in such a fucking hurry the next time Ah shout at them tae stoap,” Bumper hid been quoted as saying later.

  The other caped crusader wis Paddy McPhee, known as ‘Paddy’ tae his colleagues and ‘The Stalker’ tae the locals.  Oot ae the pair ae them, The Stalker wis the maist hated and the maist feared.  He wis well-known fur stalking whoever he wis efter.  He’d sit in the back ae a closemooth aw night, if need be, waiting fur his quarry tae appear.  When the hapless victim wid eventually turn up, McPhee wid jump oot and either garrotte him wae his erms or club him o’er the napper wae his baton.  He never gied anywan a chance tae gie themsels up.  He’d been through three batons since he’d been transferred intae the Toonheid.  Although there hidnae been any doubt that he wis good at his job, it hidnae taken long fur complaints aboot his tactics, particularly fae the local wummin, tae start streaming in.  The thought ae a night stalker, even if it wis a plod, creeping aboot the back courts and closes at night hid obviously gied the local wummin folk the heebie-jeebies.

“Right, boys, we’ve goat a wee bit ae trouble brewing and it his tae be nipped in the bud, pronto,” he said, looking across at the pair ae them.

  “Oh, aye?”  Bumper said, showing an interest fur the first time since he’d come in and plapped that arse ae his doon oan the chair.

  “Aye, the boys ur back in town.”

  “Boys?  Whit boys wid that be then, Colin?” The Stalker asked nonchalantly.

  “Yer pals, Gucci, McManus, Taylor and the manky mute, Smith.”

  “Aw thegither?”

  “No only aw thegither, bit they’ve hooked up wae yer other runner fae the area, Paul McBride.”

  “Ah nearly goat a haud ae that basturt earlier in the week.  He jist managed tae wriggle away fae me in a closemooth up in St Mungo Street.  Ah thought Ah hid the slippery basturt.  Ah wis jist aboot tae pounce bit the flairboard that Ah wis staunin oan creaked at the very last second.  It wis enough tae spook him and he took aff like a bloody hungry whippet jist before Ah made ma move.  Ah wis left wae hauf ae his jumper in ma haun,” The Stalker scowled, disgust and disappointment in his voice.

  “How dae ye know they’re here, Colin?  Hiv they been seen?”

  “There wis a riot last night in Thistle Park, oot in Paisley.  Seemingly, Bob Hatchet, the chief superintendent ae Paisley and his wife wur up at the school attending a Christmas concert when it aw kicked aff.  By aw accounts, Bob jist managed tae get his wife oot ae the place in the nick ae time and apparently, the staff wur lucky as well.  They managed tae quell the riot by drafting in extra staff and using truncheons tae beat the ringleaders back.  Oor four managed tae get away by climbing oot ae a windae and stealing a car belonging tae a female member ae staff.  Seemingly, the poor wee soul is so traumatised that she’s hid tae go aff oan the sick. The ringleaders, seven ae them, wur aw shipped up tae the closed block in Rossie Farm late last night efter receiving hospital treatment in Paisley RI.”

  “So, how dae we know they’ve hooked up wae McBride?” Bumper asked.

  “Because the car they escaped in…a wee green Mini…wis found abandoned across in Wellpark Street, jist aff Duke Street, in the early hours ae this morning.  Forensics jist contacted me before youse goat here tae say they’ve goat a thumbprint match belonging tae oor Paul.”

  “That’s strange.  Why the fuck wid his print be in the car if they stole it oot in Paisley, Ah wonder?”  Bumper asked, looking puzzled.

  “Unless he dumped it fur them efter they arrived back in the toon,” The Stalker speculated.

  “Anyway…whitever…we need tae get this manky mob back inside.  Oor figures ur looking the best they’ve been in aboot a year, so they ur.”

  “Aye, since aw that bunch ae scum wur put away.”

  “Exactly.  The Chief said that if we kin nab them before they start causing havoc…and us a lot ae grief… he’d be mair than happy.  He wants this cleared up before JP Donnelly gets wind ae it.”

  “Christ, Colin, if the five ae them ur back oan the loose in the Toonheid, we’re gonnae hiv a real problem oan oor hauns.  It’ll be like trying tae flush oot the Hole-In-The-Wall Gang up there, wae aw they empty tenements.  They could be anywhere,” The Stalker said, looking o’er at Bumper, who wis sitting nodding in agreement.

  “Paddy, don’t underestimate yersel here. This should be a bloody doddle fur somewan like yersel, fur Christ’s sake.  Ah thought they call ye The Stalker?  So, get oot there and bloody-well stalk.  The main thing fur youse two tae remember is that catching these thieving scum his tae take priority o’er the other cases ye’ve goat. The allocations clerk his divvied up yer current workload awready.  Ye’ll baith hiv tae work thegither oan this or this wee crowd will fuck youse and everywan else up the arses.  Remember, this is the wee crew that sent yer predecessors doon the water.  It’s been a long time since they’ve aw been oot here thegither, so don’t fuck up noo,” Colin pressed oan them.

Chapter Twenty Three

  Johnboy hid been wondering when Skull wid be brought up.  Tony hid made it clear that he wid raise it.  He’d said the time hid tae be right and he’d know when that wis, so in the meantime, nowan wis tae mention Skull tae Paul.  They’d been holed-up in the tenement fur three days.  They’d settled oan Jenny Skid’s Nippy shoap up in Glebe Street fur their new clobber.  Joe hid panned in the side windae wae a pavement stank cover.  Joe and Silent hid then nipped in and haunded oot aw the denims while Johnboy kept watch.  Johnboy hid goat a pair ae Levis and a pair ae Wranglers, Joe hid goat two pair ae Levis and Silent and Tony hid each goat a pair ae Lee Coopers. Johnboy hid also goat a Levi jaicket.  While Johnboy, Joe and Silent wur tanning Jenny’s, Paul and Tony hid tanned the rag store beside Rodger The Dodger’s oan St James’s Road and hid goat them aw some nice woollen jumpers, polo necks and a pile ae jerkin jaickets. 

  “Right, which wan ae youse ur gonnae spill the beans then?” Paul asked, oot ae the blue, mid-way through a game ae Bella.  

  “Aboot whit?”

  “Whitever it is that Ah don’t know aboot.”

  “Tony?” Joe said, looking o’er at Tony.

  “Right, oan ye go then, Johnboy,” Tony said tae Johnboy.

  “Ah’m getting bloody dizzy here, gaun fae wan tae the other.  Whitever it is, spit it oot,” Paul said, as everywan looked o’er at Johnboy.

  Johnboy took a deep breath and gulped.  He telt Paul basically whit he’d telt the others, citing his wet socks as proof, as well as the fact ae whit Skull hid telt him aboot speaking tae Flypast oan the night he didnae get intae the hoose.  Johnboy wisnae too sure whit kind ae reaction he’d get fae Paul, although he wisnae expecting silence.  Paul never moved a muscle or looked at the others aw the time Johnboy wis speaking, until Johnboy goat tae the bit aboot Horsey John and Tiny ootside the burning cabin.  At that bit, Paul looked across at Tony, then at Joe and then back tae Tony, while still no saying a word.  When he turned back tae Johnboy, Johnboy could see a wee flickering tick oan the side ae Paul’s face, below wan eye.

  “Carry oan,” Paul said, nodding.

  “That’s it,” Johnboy said, shrugging, as he looked o’er at Tony.

  “None ae us wur convinced when Johnboy first telt us…” Tony said.

  “Tony wis, bit Ah wisnae, even though Ah never believed it wis the bizzies in the first place,” Joe chipped in.

  “...bit the mair Ah thought aboot it, the mair Ah thought it wid be easy enough tae check oot.  When Baby goat hame leave, Ah goat him tae nip roond tae Flypast’s.”

  “And?”

  “Flypast mair or less telt Baby exactly whit Johnboy said Skull hid telt him.  It wis fucking weird, Ah’ll tell ye.  Ah felt the hairs oan the back ae ma neck staun oan end when Ah wis listening tae Baby.”

  “Ah’m finding aw this hard tae believe and take in.  Johnboy?”

  “As Ah said tae the others, Paul, Ah never knew Skull hid went back tae Flypast’s that night, so how wid Ah know whit he’d telt him or whit time he’d left tae go up the road hame that night?”

  “Fuck!” Paul cursed, clearly stunned, looking at each wan ae them.

  “We wur the same, Paul.  That’s why we’re sitting here.  If Horsey John and that wee humphy bachle ae a midget wur involved...”

  “So, who wis the third wan then?” Paul asked suddenly, realising the implications.

  “Aye…good question.  Who wis the third basturt who sent that pair ae wankers doon tae torch the place?” Joe asked quietly.

  Silence.

  “Listen, Ah know this is gonnae sound even mair weird, bit Ah clocked Skull…er, mair recently,” Johnboy said.

  “Ye never telt any ae us that, Johnboy,” Joe said accusingly.

  “That’s because ye never believed him in the first place, ya numpty, ye,” Tony said tae Joe.

  “Fuck aff, Tony, ya Atalian prick, ye.  Ah admit Ah hid ma doubts tae start wae…who didnae?  Bit Johnboy knew fine well that Ah accepted whit he’d said, didn’t ye, Johnboy?”

Johnboy telt them aboot clocking Skull, sitting in amongst the Garngad crowd, during Basil Brush’s blockbuster.  They aw gied Silent dirty looks when Johnboy telt them that he’d been trying tae catch Silent’s attention, tae confirm that it wisnae another wee baldy basturt that looked like Skull.

  “And it didnae look as if he’d found his Celtic tammy,” Johnboy added, his voice trailing intae silence.

  Nowan spoke fur aboot five minutes.  They aw sat and stared at the sizzling wax cloth, bubbling and then curling intae itsel, efter Joe threw some mair ae it oan tae the fire.  Everywan wis thinking and wondering who the third basturt could be.

  “Ma money is definitely oan The Big Man,” Joe finally said, breaking the ice.

  “Ah’m no convinced he wid be intae that.  He never sussed oot that it wis us that tanned his loft and fucked aff wae his big Horseman Pouters.  If he hid, it wid’ve been mair than Skull that wid’ve goat toasted.  Ah couldnae say the same aboot they Murphy basturts though,” Tony mused.

  “Well, wan thing’s fur sure.  It wisnae the fucking bizzies that done it,” Paul said, looking at Joe and then accusingly o’er at Tony.

  “Well, it wisnae only me that thought that the polis hid done it,” Tony retorted defensively.  “Remember, we heard them talking aboot it when we wur tanning The Gay Gordon, when that sergeant wan and Crisscross wur sitting in the bizzy car ootside the pub.  If that wisnae a confession, Ah don’t know whit wis.  And then there’s the fact that they shipped oot they two sergeants alang wae Jobby and Crisscross no long efter it happened?  That proved the point as well...at least it did at the time.”

  “Aye, well, Ah always knew it wid come oot in the wash.  Whit we need tae decide is whit we dae next.  They basturts ur no gonnae get aff with this wan,” Joe said, raising the temperature back tae normality efter Paul’s frosty look at Tony, who’d always argued that it hid been the bizzies that hid done the damage.

  “We need tae go and speak tae Flypast oorsels,” Paul suggested tae Tony.

  “Naw, Ah’m no sure we’d get much mair than whit Baby goat oot ae him.  He said Flypast kept backing aff.  Ah think oor next move is tae speak tae that wee dangerous dwarf.”

  “Ah say we talk tae Flypast,” Johnboy said, still wanting tae clear up that sanity business ae his.

  “Naw, forget Flypast.  Tony’s right.”

  “So, whit dis speaking tae Tiny mean then?”
Johnboy wondered oot loud.

  “Get a grip ae the wee prick…that’s whit it means,” Joe said, slinging a few mair bits ae lino oan the fire.

  “There’s no way he’ll gie us the time ae day.  We’ll need tae squeeze it oot ae him.  Bit if we dae that and get nothing, they Murphys will no hauf wipe the flair wae us,” Paul murmured, staring intae the burning flames.

  Silence.

  “If whit Johnboy his telt us is true…and Ah’m no saying that it’s no….then Tiny’s bound tae squeal like a stuck pig if we kin get a haud ae him oan his lonesome and drag it oot ae him,” Tony said, wae a shrug ae his shoulders.

  “Aye, bit whit happens then?  As soon as we leave the wee fuck-pig, he’ll scamper back tae whoever it wis that put him up tae it, tae let them know that we know.  If it’s The Big Man or the Murphys, the come-back wid be swift.”

  Silence.

  “Aye, bit wid that really matter?  Wid we no want whoever wis involved tae know that we know whit the score is?” Johnboy asked, looking roond the faces.

  “Well, that aw depends oan whit we’re gonnae dae aboot it?  We either find oot and dae fuck aw or we kin make a full comeback fur Skull.  We’re no stupid wee boys noo.  Ah know whit Skull wid be saying if he wis here and it wis wan ae youse we wur talking aboot,” Joe reminded them, putting whit they wur aw thinking oot oan tae the table. 

  “That wee fuck-pig is the key here.  If we kin get a haud ae him and put the frighteners oan the nasty wee fucker, at least we’d know fur sure,” Johnboy suggested, trying tae lighten the conversation a bit, as he wis worried aboot where it wis heiding.

  “If that wee limping midget wis involved, he’s deid as far as Ah’m concerned.  Remember the promise we made, sitting in the close beside Sherbet’s?” Joe reminded them.

  “Right, well, that’s settled it then.  Tiny, it is.  How ur we gonnae get a haud ae him?”

  “Ah say we nip up tae the stables and tie him up in wan ae the stalls and torture fuck oot ae him till he spills the beans,” Joe suggested.

  “Too noisy, wae aw the hooses roond aboot it, so it is.  The wee basturt wid scream the place doon.  We widnae want tae get caught before we even get started.  We’d need a bit ae time wae him oan oor ain, well oot ae earshot ae anywan that wis oan the go,” Tony replied, eyes shining like two black diamonds.

  “Ah’ve clocked him a couple ae times o’er the past week, oot and aboot, up the tap ae Parly Road and Glebe Street, oan a horse and cart.  He’s definitely oan the go ootside the yard,” Paul said, hitting a bit ae the burning lino wae a well-aimed spit.

  “Bit ye don’t know where he goes tae?”

  “Naw, bit Ah don’t think he’s doon this end.  Wherever he goes tae, is further up.”

  “Okay, here’s whit we dae.  Fae the morra, we’ll keep oor eyes oot fur him.  That means, whitever we dae, we always heid up by the stables.  If we clock him oot and aboot, we’ll follow him.  If he stoaps anywhere fur any length ae time, whoever clocks him first, will need tae gie the rest ae us a shout.  We’ll get a haud ae the wee poisoned basturt eventually.  So, furget aboot nabbing him inside the stables, Joe.  As Ah’ve jist said, it’s surrounded by hooses and we widnae want tae be staunin there booting the wee basturt’s hee-haws when Shaun Murphy or wan ae the twins walks in, noo wid we?” Tony said wae finality.

  “Right, Johnboy.  Whit did ye dae wae that bagful ae paper?  That wee pile ae wax cloth isnae gonnae last us long.  We’ll hiv tae work oot whit we’re gonnae dae aboot keeping the fire gaun,” Paul said.

  “The files!  Fuck, Ah furgoat aw aboot them,” Johnboy shouted, nipping oot intae the lobby and returning wae Fanny’s bag.

  “Is ma name in there as well?” Joe asked.

  “No only yours, bit everywan else’s is, apart fae yersel, Paul.  Here ye go...catch,” Johnboy said, flinging o’er a file tae Joe, Tony and Silent, before settling back wae his ain wan, while Paul started skimming through Baby Huey’s.

  “Whit dis neglected mean?” Silent asked oot ae the blue.

  “It means nowan loves ye, apart fae us,” Paul answered sarcastically. “Why?”

  “Look,” Silent said, passing the open file across tae Paul.

  “Listen tae this.  It says here…” Paul said, looking up at everywan efter reading fur a minute, “…that ‘despite protests fae Smith’s grandparents, who hiv hid sole guardianship ae the boy since November nineteen sixty three, when his parents unfortunately died in a car accident, Mrs Snatch believes that the boy is extremely neglected.  This neglect is principally due tae the fact that the grandmother leaves the hoose early in the morning and disnae return until mid-morning due tae her duties as a cleaner at Toonheid School in Kirkintilloch.  The grandfather also works as a slaughterhoose man and frequently works away fae hame.  Whilst there is nae suggestion ae emotional or physical abuse, truancy and an unreasonable excuse fae baith grandparents as tae the reason Smith is no attending school, is impacting oan the personal development and educational needs ae Smith, despite frequent visits fae Mrs Snatch.  Mrs Snatch his frequently visited the grandparents’ hame, tae find the boy still in bed when he should be at school, mixing and socialising wae his peer group.  Mr & Mrs Davidson hiv been warned oan a number ae occasions and hiv appeared in front ae the local Education Truancy Board, in order tae answer these concerns and ur fully aware ae their legal duty tae ensure Smith’s attendance at school.  Baith grandparents hiv resisted attempts by the department tae take the boy into temporary care and hiv shown hostility tae department staff who hiv tried tae enforce the board’s recommendations.  Mrs Snatch believes that the boy will respond tae a mair controlled care regime, thus ensuring a brighter future and his recommended a Care and Protection Order.’  It’s stamped here, ‘CP approved September the Twenty Sixth, Nineteen Sixty Five under The Education Scotland Act Nineteen Sixty Two,’ whitever the fuck that means.”

  Everywan looked at Silent tae
see how he wis reacting.

  “Ah wisnae neglected!”

  “Snatch?  Fuck, she sounds well-named, that wan,” Joe said.

  “They telt me that ma granny and granda didnae want me because they couldnae look efter me,” Silent sniffed, taking the folder back aff ae Paul and peering doon at it.

  “It says here that Gucci is above average intelligence.  How’s that fur making up stories?” Joe said laughing, haudin up Tony’s file, allowing everywan an excuse tae look away and gie Silent a wee bit ae time oan his ain tae digest whit his file wis saying.

  “Aye, they’ve obviously goat it wrang here as well.  It say’s here that although McManus keeps it quiet, he is a well-known homosexual and is well-known tae associate wae priests’, Tony replied tae laugher fae everywan except Silent, who wis still peering doon intae his file.

  “Dis it fuck, ya wanker, ye.  Gie’s that o’er here,” Joe shouted, throwing Tony’s file back o’er tae him.