The Mattress: The Glasgow Chronicles 4 (20 page)
Chapter Twenty Seven
Digger Day Six
It hidnae been a good start tae the day efter he’d slung his mattress oot ae the cell that morning. It hid suddenly dawned oan him, efter scoffing his watery porridge and two slices ae breid, that he didnae hiv a bloody clue whit day it wis or how many days he’d been in the digger. Despite gaun o’er aw the different things that hid happened tae him since he’d ended up in the dungeons...the note fae Freckles, the visit fae the auld foxy vixens, the moose blagging his calendar baws, no hearing the hammering fae the pallet shoap when it wis the weekend...he’d still ended up confused. He’d been sure it wis Tuesday, or then again, it might’ve been the Wednesday. He’d wondered if sleeping during the day and staying up aw night in the dark hid made his confusion better or worse. He must’ve spent aboot two hours, earlier, trying tae get his heid roond the problem. When The AG hid come roond, wae his usual disinterested question and answer session, Johnboy hid tried tae catch a glimpse ae the watch face that Napoleon The Grunter wis wearing oan his wrist, tae see if there wis a wee square calendar date oan it, while he wis picking his nose behind The AG’s back. Jist before The Chief hid banged the door shut efter The AG departed fae his cell, Porky The Pig hid hesitated.
“It’s hauf ten, Taylor,” he’d mumbled gruffly, before they’d made their way tae see Silent next door.
Johnboy hid nipped across tae the door, pressing his lug against it and listened. Hauf ten? Who the fucked cared whit time it wis. It wis the day he wis efter. He’d been hoping that Silent wid crack and ask them whit day it wis. Aw he could hear wis The AG telling Silent that he could suit himsel and that he wisnae bothered whether Silent spoke tae him or no.
“Ye’re nae fooling anywan wae aw this nae-talking crap, Smith. We aw know ye’ve a tongue in that heid ae yers,” he’d heard The Chief snarl, no getting any response back.
Johnboy hid first come across Silent when they’d arrived in Larchgrove Remand Centre oan the same day, when they wur aboot ten years auld. He wis a wee skinny, quiet, frightened soul. He’d been a Care and Protection case. The authorities hid taken him away fae his granny and granda and hid informed him that they didnae want the responsibility ae taking care ae him any mair. Silent hid found oot years later that this hid been a heap ae shite, when a bag belonging tae wan ae the social workers at Thistle Park Approved School hid been left in her car wae aw The Mankys’ and Garngad uglies’ files in it. It hid been this car that Johnboy, Silent, Joe, Tony and Paul hid nicked fae the school when they’d escaped, tae trace doon the basturts that hid set their doo cabin alight, burning Skull Kelly and wan ae the local dugs, Elvis, tae death in it. The report hid stated that Silent hidnae been turning up tae school oan time and that hid been the reason why he’d ended up being put in The Grove, until they could find him an approved school tae go tae. Silent hid also found oot fae the reports that his granny and granda hid fought wae the authorities tae keep him at hame. Johnboy hid saved Silent fae getting that arse ae his humped by wan ae the teachers in the Grove. He also remembered that it hid been touch and go whether Silent wid’ve been accepted by the uglies, efter he’d gone across tae where Silent hid been sitting oan his lonesome in the yard and asked him tae come and play five stanes wae him up beside the Toonheid and Garngad crowd. Johnboy hidnae realised it at the time, bit Care and Protection boys wur like bait tae aw the pervo teachers who wur partial tae perching oan wee innocents like CPs. The survival rate fur CPs wis zilch in places like The Grove. If they wurnae humped by the teachers in the first week, they usually ended up as gofers fur some ae the big hairy-arsed pricks who wur always oan the lookoot fur victims. Everywan in The Grove wis in fur stealing or fighting, while the Care and Protection boys didnae usually hiv a criminal record and so wur like fish oot ae water. When Johnboy hid invited Silent tae join them, some ae the Garngad crowd hidnae been too happy, until Baby Huey hid stepped in efter Silent telt everywan he wis fae the Toonheid. Whit he hidnae telt the daft basturts wis that it wis the Toonheid in Kirkintilloch he wis fae. It hidnae been that long efter that, that Paul McBride, who wis waiting tae get transferred tae St Ninian’s Approved School, hid crashed a chair through wan ae the windaes up in the dining room while everywan wis at their breakfast. Silent, withoot a word tae anywan, hid followed Paul through the broken windae and he’d been wae The Mankys ever since.
He looked up and across tae the door as he detected movement oot ae the corner ae his eye. Even though Johnboy hid gied up oan the baw calendar, he still made up the dough-baws each night so as no tae disappoint Rabbie, the moose, when he came looking tae scrounge a meal. Johnboy lay resting oan his elbow, watching him. The wee cheeky basturt hid decided tae clean his chops before blagging wan ae the breid baws. He wis certainly making himsel at hame. He’d noticed that the moose always took the auldest breid baw, leaving the freshest wans until the next night, or at least, that’s whit Johnboy telt himsel he wis daeing. It wis a smart move. That’s whit Johnboy wid’ve done. It made sense fur Rabbie tae ensure that the food chain lasted as long as possible, before coming back fur his next meal, the following night. Johnboy knew fine well that timing and planning wis everything when yer survival depended oan it. Olive Oyl, his auld teacher…that’s where the ‘wee sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie’ lines he’d remembered, oot ae the blue, hid come fae. He’d been turning it o’er in that heid ae his fur a few nights, wondering where he’d picked that up fae. Her name wis Miss Hackett, bit she wis the spitting image ae Olive Oyl, Popeye’s wife. He remembered his ma telling him that wance people like Olive wur gone, they wur gone. He didnae appreciate whit she wis telling him at the time. Every Friday efternoon wis Rabbie Burns’ time. She knew every poem aff by heart and used tae sit oan the edge ae her desk telling them whit the stories meant or she’d ask them how they thought the wee moose must’ve felt efter the plough hid destroyed its nest.
“Ah hope ye telt her ‘harassed and homeless,’ jist like the rest ae us aboot here, if that bloody Corporation’s goat anything tae dae wae it,” his ma hid hit him wae before gaun oan tae recite the whole ae ‘A Man’s A Man Fur A’ That,’ efter he’d gone hame and telt her aboot the story ae the moose. He smiled, remembering he’d asked her if she’d gone tae the same school as Miss Hackett.
“Aye, he wis a friend tae the poor, bit wis awful tae the wummin wae aw that philandering ae his,” hid been her last words oan him.
So much fur him thinking that he’d never learned anything at primary school. Johnboy reckoned Olive wis probably the wan that goat him intae aw the black and white horror movies that him and the other Mankys skipped intae The Grafton oan Parly Road tae see. Tam O’Shanter wis everywan’s favourite. He wondered whit hid become ae Olive. She hidnae returned efter the summer holidays hid finished, the year Skull hid died. He thought she’d probably be proud that wan ae her resident thickos hid retained something that she’d taught them.
By the time Johnboy hid finally goat his liberation fae Oakbank, up in Aberdeen, and hid caught up wae Tony and Joe, the Toonheid hid been finished fur them. That hid been nearly two years earlier, and they’d aw been quite happy tae settle up in Springburn. Joe hid moaned like fuck tae start wae, bit Johnboy hid kept pointing oot tae him that if the area that ye wur brought up in hid been demolished when yer back wis turned, whit could ye expect? Ye couldnae jist staun there, waiting fur the grass tae grow under yer feet.
That first year when they’d aw been legally free hid been a great time fur them, he remembered. It hid also been during that time that the ranks ae The Mankys hid expanded. The music that they’d aw been intae at the time hid been Creedence Clearwater Revival. It hid also been roond aboot this time that they’d aw started walking aboot wae real money in their trooser pockets and no the tuppence worth ae coins that they’d been blagging as weans. It hid been Joe’s never-ending playing ae Creedence that hid turned everywan oan tae them. Joe hid tanned a student’s car ootside the students’ union, doon in John Street, and hid nicked a wee portable record player and a bundle ae LPs, when he’d been oan the run fae Thistle Park. Johnboy couldnae remember whit other LPs hid been in the bundle, bit ‘Bayou Country’ hid been the wan that Joe hid played tae death at the time. Whenever Johnboy heard ‘Proud Mary’ and ‘Bad Moon Rising,’ it always reminded him ae when he wis oan the run fae Oakbank and they wur robbing some ae the the Provi-cheque men in the north ae the city. Wance 1970 came aroond, the favourites hid aw been tracks fae ‘Willy and The Poor Boys,’ he remembered.
It hid also been roond aboot that time, earlier in the year, that Johnboy hid started his first legal job in Silverman’s, a big fancy shoap doon in the Candleriggs, jist alang fae the Fruitmarket, as part ae his release deal. Tae help convince the authorities tae release him, Tony hid approached Wan-bob Broon aboot getting some employer tae provide Johnboy wae a reference fur a job. Wan-bob hid spoken tae Fat Fraser Jeffs, who wis married tae Donna, The Prima Donna, The Big Man’s book keeper. Fat Fraser ran a fleet ae auld clapped-oot delivery vans between aw the big shoaps in the city centre, delivering customers parcels tae the main GPO warehoose up in West Nile Street fur oanward delivery.
“Well, the sticky-fingered wee basturt better behave himsel or his baws’ll end up being kicked stupid,” Fat Fraser hid promised Wan-bob.
He’d started working fur peanuts in the fancy goods department. His main job, apart fae taking goods oot ae the stockroom tae the shoap flair fur the sales lassies, hid been tae operate the goods lift fur aw the different departments. Johnboy’s job hid been tae go up in the lift, collect whitever items hid been bought during the day and take them doon tae the basement fur collection and delivery by Fat Fraser’s vans. Silverman’s also hid a jewellery repair department. It hid been jist too tempting fur Johnboy, that first week. Oan his second day oan the job, when he’d been in the basement, wan ae the store men supervisors hid left the security cage door open fur a few seconds, which wis a rare occurrence. Johnboy hid jist dipped his haun through the door and picked up the first wee package that he could lay his hauns oan. It hid turned oot tae be a fancy gold ring wae a lovely big pearl stuck oan tap ae it. The ring wis getting sent back tae the customer efter it hid been repaired and cleaned. He’d opened it wance he’d left tae go and catch his bus up the road wance his shift hid finished. It wis also at that time that himsel, Tony and Joe hid started tae drink in Jonah’s Lounge, the pub opposite the fire station oan Springburn Road. Also, drinking in there at the time hid been a guy who wis jist a wee bit aulder than them, called Pat McCabe. Pat spent his whole day, fae morning tae night, shoplifting, efter taking orders fae people through in the bar or further afield. He even travelled ootside Glesga as well, tae places like Stirling, Perth and Dundee. Fur The Mankys, he wis the real deal and that meant opportunities. Before they’d even spoken tae Pat, The Mankys hid speculated mair than wance, aboot why he walked aboot, dressed like a tailor’s dummy and wis always flush wae money. Tony hid showed him the ring, and he’d impressed them even mair, by pulling oot a wee jeweller’s eyeglass tae hiv a wee swatch at it.
“Aye, right, hmm, aye. So, how much dae ye want fur it?” he’d asked them.
“You tell us,” Tony hid replied.
“Right, whit ye’ve goat here is whit we, in the trade, call a right wee stoater, so it is,” Pat hid said, impressing them. “This is a Scottish river pearl ring. Ah’d say that the pearl itsel is jist o’er a quarter ae an inch and its haun-mounted in eighteen carat yellow gold. It’s definitely haunmade.”
“So, how dae ye know that then?” Johnboy hid asked him.
“Ye kin jist tell. See aw that wee carving? That’s Celtic writing, so it is. A machine never made they marks. Naw, it’s been a craftsman that’s put this thegither,” Pat hid puffed knowledgably.
“So, whit the fuck’s it worth then?” Tony hid repeated.
“Ah reckon Ah could get youse fifty quid, less ma ten percent?”
“Done,” Tony hid said.
Efter that, Pat hid said he’d take whitever jewellery they could get him, particularly rings, watches, necklaces and brooches.
It hid also been aboot that time that another two Springburn boys, other than Pat, hid started tae run aboot wae them.
Johnboy hid originally met Snappy Johnston through working in Silverman’s and it hid been Snappy who’d introduced Peter Paterson tae everywan
.
Peter hid eventually become The Mankys’ official runner. A lot ae people thought ae a runner as a jumped-up message boy and in some cases, they’d hiv been right, bit in their world, a runner wis something tae be, especially if ye wur lucky enough tae get in wae a big team wae a decent reputation fur making money and no taking shite aff ae anywan. It hid always been Tony’s dream tae hiv a runner servicing The Mankys. When they wur young, they used tae race and try and beat The Big Man’s runner in the Toonheid, Calum Todd, who’d gone oan tae run in the Olympics.
“The day that happens is the day ye’ll know we’ve arrived,” Tony always used tae say when The Mankys wur sitting up Jack’s Mountain, o’er by the stinky ocean, eating their good knocked-aff mince pies that Skull…and then Joe efter him…hid blagged aff ae a City Bakeries van when they wur manky-arsed wee snappers. Even at that age, Tony wis ambitious.
Wan-bob Broon hid sat in Jonah’s wan night, telling them the history ae The Runners fae way back in the day when he wis a thieving wee basturt in the Toonheid before the war. Peter hid been a bit embarrassed initially as he thought he wis gonnae come oot ae the story as some sort ae gofer until Wan-bob started talking aboot the legends.
