The Mattress: The Glasgow Chronicles 4 (42 page)

  Johnboy could remember vividly the words spoken by Kate’s ma and her reference tae Joe.  Ye could’ve heard a pin drap in the whole ae the chapel as Mrs Simpson slowly walked back tae her seat and the opening strings ae Roberta Flack’s ‘The First Time Ever Ah saw Yer Face’ stirred.   As the voice in the song grew stronger, Johnboy hid at first thought that there wis interference coming through the tannoy speakers that wur stuck up oan the big pillars scattered aboot the chapel, until he realised that it wis the sobbing and crying ae aboot four hunner men, wummin, lassies and weans, aw greeting roond aboot him.  When he’d glanced tae his left and right, aw the lassies fae Jonah’s wur ashen-faced, wae black eye-liner streaming doon their cheeks.  Senga Jackson hid telt him later that Toby Simpson’s face hid hid a look ae disgust oan it, especially at the bit where his ma mentioned aboot Kate becoming a wummin.  Thinking back, Johnboy couldnae remember when he’d last hid a wee greet tae himsel...probably when he wis aboot ten and his ma hid slung him oot ae the door tae school wearing his sister’s troosers...the wans wae the zip oan the side, efter he’d demolished and ripped the arse oot ae his ain wans…bit despite a desperate attempt no tae get caught up in the emotion, he’d bubbled and sobbed alang wae everywan else that day.  He’d known he hid tae make a move, bit hid been reluctant, even incapable, ae staunin up in that sea ae grief.  He’d hung oan until the final words hid faded away and then he’d made his move.  Tony, Ben, Snappy, Simon and Pat hid been sitting wae loaded shooters, waiting fur him in two cars, o’er the wall at the back ae the chapel, in Westerhill Street, ready tae jump in at the first sign ae any attack oan him, which they wur convinced wis inevitable, at the end ae the service.  Although it hid hid its scary moments, Johnboy hid been glad that he’d made the effort.  Fur some strange reason, lying in the digger, it hid gied him some sort ae closure tae the part ae his past life that hid involved Joe, and hid gied Johnboy the go-aheid tae move forward tae a life that widnae involve him.

Chapter Fifty Five

  Tony sat in the passenger seat beside Pat, ootside Graham Portoy’s office oan Bothwell Street in the toon centre.  The baith ae them hid escorted Harper in through the front doors.  They wur familiar wae the building, so knew there wis only wan way oot and that wis by the main door that went in aff the street.  The only problem they wur likely tae hiv wis if they wur asked tae move oan by the bizzies, who they could see wandering aboot further up the street.

  “Whit’s the point ae double yella lines if ye’re no gonnae park oan them, eh?” Pat hid asked, smiling, as they drew up tae the kerb across the street.

  Harper wis oan strict twenty-four-hour watch noo.  Each ae The Mankys took turns in sitting in Pat’s flat, keeping an eye oan him, except fur Snappy, who scared Harper shitless every time he wis in his presence.  If anything happened tae Harper, or if he wis allowed tae dae a runner, then they’d be fucked.  Pat hid fed-back tae Tony that Harper hid started tae become really nervous-looking and fidgety every time he heard the ootside door opening or if somewan wis heard gaun up and doon the stairs in the closemooth…a sure sign that he wisnae coping and needed watching.  Efter Tony hid come back fae Freckles’s funeral, himsel and Pat hid sat doon and spoken tae Harper.  Tony hid explained that Harper hid tae write doon, in his clearest haunwriting, everything that he knew aboot the social worker that Tam Simpson wis perching oan.

  “Why?”

  “Because we need tae know aw we kin aboot her, Harper.  How the hell ur we supposed tae expose her, if we don’t know who she is or where she comes fae when she’s no taking snappers aff ae poor distressed single maws like yer sister, eh?  Noo, listen up, we hivnae goat much time.  Ah’ll need it by the morra efternoon, at the latest.  That should gie ye plenty ae time tae get they memory juices ae yers gaun.  Don’t leave anything oot, no matter how irrelevant ye think it is.  We’ll sort aw that oot.”

  “Bit, Ah’ve awready telt ye the story aboot her dealings wae that sister ae mine, so Ah hiv,” he’d protested.

  “Aye, well, that isnae gonnae get her sacked, is it?”

  “There is wan other thing,” Harper hid said hesitantly, furtively looking at Tony and Pat.  “Although it might jist be a rumour.”

  “Look, fur Christ’s sake, Harper.  Jist write it aw doon, will ye?  Let us worry whether a rumour is fiction or fact,” Pat hid growled, clearly getting fed-up babysitting.

  “Right, Harper, Ah promised ye that Ah’d come up wae a nice wee solution tae make sure that fae noo oan, ye’ll be safe fae any ae that Simpson crowd,” Tony hid said encouragingly, changing the subject, as Pat took a pen and a pad oot ae a drawer and threw them across tae the nervous wreck.

  “Am Ah being allowed tae heid aff south?” he’d asked hopefully.

  “Harper, think aboot it.  Look whit happened tae that brother-in-law ae yours.  He went away and came back.  Naw, we need tae get aw this sorted oot, wance and fur aw, here, in the toon itsel.”

  “Bit, no matter whit ye dae tae they Simpsons, that Frisky Frank and Jo Jo Robson will still get their hauns oan me, so they will,” he’d whined, building himsel up intae a fine auld state.

  “Harper, they won’t.  Ah’ve come up wae a plan, bit ye’ll need tae dae exactly as Ah say...right doon tae the letter.  Ah’m telling ye, ye won’t see that pair ae basturts ever again, so ye won’t.”

  “Whit…whit dae Ah hiv tae dae then?”

  “Right, the morra, ye’ve goat an appointment wae a brief.  He’s really good.  The bizzies ur shite-scared ae him, so they ur.  Ye’ll hiv tae tell him exactly whit Ah tell ye tae tell him.  Don’t mess aboot noo.  He’ll ask ye a load ae questions, bit dae exactly as Ah tell ye and ye’ll be free tae go hame tae yer ain bed oan Friday night.  Hiv ye goat that?”

  “Bit...er, will that no cost?”

  “Furget the cost.  Ah’m collecting two hunner quid the day as a reward fur the safe return ae the ring.  It’s aw yours, so it is.  Ye’ll still be left wae aboot a hunner wance the brief’s work is done.  Awright?”

  “Aye…Ah, er, suppose so, Tony.”

  “Right then, here’s the plan,” Tony hid said, taking aff his jaicket and sitting doon opposite Harper.

  “Dae ye want me tae take a wee donder in tae see if everything’s awright?” Pat asked Tony, breaking intae his thoughts.

  “Naw, Harper knows he’s fucked withoot us.  He’ll dae as he’s telt, so he will.”

    Tony smiled when he thought aboot the reaction he’d goat the day before fae the other Mankys when the Poacher’s Retreat hid gone aff.  He wis glad he’d gone and spoken tae Erchie The Basturt and Mad Philip oan Tuesday efternoon.  Surprisingly, they’d awready hid a mair modern type ae Poacher’s Retreat in their basement.

  “Although it sounds the same and dis the same damage, yours is the piece de résistance in the poaching world.  Whit we’ve goat is whit is called a Spring-gun and it’s only aboot ten years auld.  Ye still attach a fishing line tae it and set it up where ye think a poacher is gonnae be walking, bit it’s only meant tae fire blanks.  It’s aw pretty mechanised and a piece ae pish tae use.  Your wan, oan the other haun, is easily o’er a hunner and fifty years auld and wis haunmade by some auld gamekeeper, who knew his stuff, in the days when it wis legal tae shoot poachers.  It’s very collectable, so it is, and Ah’d love tae hiv it in ma collection.  Right, how much dae ye know aboot how tae operate it?” Erchie hid said tae him.

  “Ah goat a demonstration wance,” Tony hid replied, catching a wee appreciative smile between the brothers at an unknown name nae being disclosed.

  “Right, haun it o’er and we’ll show ye how it’s done.”

  “Ah’m jist amazed that nowan his ever caught oan tae these things here in the toon.  They’re really lethal…aye, really lethal and allow ye tae be well oot ae the way before they dae the damage,” Mad Philip hid said.

  “The problem is, ye need tae know pretty accurately when yer target is gonnae be aroond tae receive the benefit ae it.  A cat or a dug wid set it aff, never mind the patter ae tiny feet,” Erchie hid reminded Philip grimly, walking across and switching the shooting gallery lights oan.

  “Right, apart fae us showing ye how tae use the thing, whit else dae ye need, Tony?”

  “Ah need tae be sure that Ah hit the right target, so Ah dae.”

  “Right, these ur no the best ae conditions, bit we’ll try and set up the lobby.  Hiv ye goat yer measurements handy?”

  “Aye.”

  “Right, Ah’ll take them here,” Mad Philip hid said, taking the sheet aff ae Tony’s haun.

  They’d set up Tam Simpson’s lobby by stacking beer sacks intae an oblong shape and using flattened cardboard boxes tae reproduce the walls, before blasting them tae fuck-aw efternoon, making adjustments here and there tae the height ae the Poacher’s Retreat and the distance fae whit wid be Tam Simpson’s front door.  They’d also used different shotgun cartridges, checking the trajectory and spread ae the shot.  Not wance hid Erchie or Philip asked who the target wis.

  “If Ah wis you, Ah’d try and dae another mock-up in wan ae the auld tenements that ur getting demolished, up in your auld patch, Tony,” Erchie hid suggested when he wis leaving.

  “Wid that no attract attention?”

  “No if it’s during the day when they’re taking the buildings doon.  The noise is deafening.  The only thing ye’d need tae make sure is that ye’re a good distance fae where the demolition is happening.  Ye widnae want a workman tae come up the stairs and trip yer wire, wid ye?”

   The lobby in the tenement building they’d used oan Glebe Street hid been longer and slightly wider than Tam’s.  It hid also hid an extra door in it.  Simon hid gone away and come back wae an auld abandoned chest ae drawers that fitted the width ae the lobby perfectly.  Using that as Tam’s toilet door, they’d adjusted it by bringing it forward so that the length ae the lobby wis bang oan.  Snappy and Pat hid disappeared and returned wae a pile ae bricks tae act as the wee table wae the lamp sitting oan it.  Oan the first trial, the shot hid blown a big hole oan the right-haun side ae the front door frame, the opposite side fae where Tam’s door swung open.  It wisnae lost oan anywan that if it hid been in Tam’s, then he wid’ve survived.  The Poacher’s Retreat hid also bounced aff the back ae the chest ae drawers wae the kick ae the discharge.  Snappy and Simon hid argued o’er whether Snappy hid moved the block that the shotgun cartridge wis sitting oan when he’d tossed a length ae door facing oan tae the wire.  The problem they faced wis that nowan could come at the fishing line fae the front wance it wis drawn horizontally across the width ae the lobby, without getting shot.  Efter a couple ae fags and hauf a dozen arguments, a solution hid been found.  Snappy hid ripped a length ae linoleum up aff the flair and tacked a length ae it across the width ae the lobby fae waist-height up.  Before that, he’d picked up a wee bit ae ceiling plaster that wis lying in the corner and using it as chalk, hid drawn a nice ootline, including a smiling face, ae the shape ae a body fae the waist up oan the black tar side ae the lino.  Simon hid clocked an auld tyre lying doon in whit hid been the back court ae the tenement and hid brought it up oan tae the landing.  Pat hid awready screwed curtain wire hooks alang baith sides ae the skirting boards in the lobby and Tony hid run the fishing line through them.  Efter spending ages taking measurements and positioning the bricks, everything hid at last been ready tae roll.  Another argument hid erupted when Simon and Snappy couldnae agree oan which wan ae them wis tae hiv the honour ae rolling the tyre in through the front door, underneath the lino, towards the trip wire.  Tony hid decided fur them and hid goat Pat tae dae it.  Wae everywan staunin behind the chest ae drawers, except fur Pat, who wis facing them fae the ootside landing, bent o’er wae the tyre between his legs, Tony hid counted doon fae three.  Pat hid pushed the tyre forward, before quickly disappearing oot ae sight.

  “Take two!” Snappy hid shouted.

The tyre hid wobbled and fallen oan tae its side, jist short ae the wire.

  “Ye’ve goat tae roll the fucking thing, Pat, ya eejit, ye,” Simon hid shouted.

  “Ah did.  It hid trouble getting o’er the doorstep, ya fud ye,” Pat hid snarled back.

  “Look, let me hiv a go,” Snappy hid growled, making oot tae go forward.

  “Stay where ye ur, Snappy!” Tony hid screamed at him. 

  He hidnae wanted anywan messing aboot by climbing o’er the wire which wis aboot ten inches aff the ground.

  “Right, here we go,” Pat hid shouted, as he drew back further oan the landing and let the tyre roll again.

  “Take thirty three!” Snappy hid shouted sarcastically.

  Aw eyes hid been transfixed oan the baldy tyre as it came rolling, bumping o’er the door step towards them.  As soon as it connected wae the wire, the gun hid blown a hole the size ae a rugby baw in the linoleum straight through the chest ae the chalked figure that Snappy hid drawn oan the lino.  There hid also been a smattering ae scatter holes roond the shoulders, neck and heid.  The Poacher’s Retreat hid still   jumped up, clattering aff wan ae the closed lobby doors that time. Tony wisnae too bothered aboot that.  He wis intending tae screw the block oan tae the lamp table oan the Friday morning.

  “Whit dae ye think, Tony?” Pat hid asked him, as Snappy and Simon restarted their argument aboot who wis getting tae roll the tyre next.

  “Ah’m no sure.  Ah still think we’re too far back.  The problem wae the Retreat is that it disnae hiv a longer barrel tae contain the packing before it leaves the cartridge,” Tony hid said, frowning.

  “If ye move the lamp table forward up at Tam’s, he might clock that it’s been moved.  He’s a sly fucker.  Anything oot ae the ordinary, and he’ll stoap in his tracks, so he will.”

  “Aye, Ah know.  Right, let’s try and shift the brick lamp table forward a wee bit tae see if we kin reducing the scatter ae the packing.”

  The efternoon hid gone well.  They’d tried a few mair scenarios until Tony wis satisfied that it wis as good as they wur gonnae get it.  He looked across at the entrance tae Graham Portoy’s offices as Pat turned up the radio when Maggie May came oan.  He wondered how Paul wis getting oan and whit his thoughts wid be when he goat his Christmas card up at auld Innes and Whitey’s croft in the Highlands.  When Tony and Johnboy hid gone up north, tae keep Pat company when he’d gone tae pick up a couple ae pads ae gold rings, Paul hid turned up wae the Poacher’s Retreat as a wee present fur them.  While Pat hid gone aff and done the business, Paul hid taken Tony and Johnboy oot tae a forest jist ootside Inverness and gied them a wee demonstration.

  “Ye never know...it might come in handy someday,” Paul hid said.

  “Ah doubt, it.  Ye should see the arsenal they mad basturts ur building up,” Johnboy hid said.

  “Aye, well, as Ah said, who knows whit might happen in the future.  Right, bit listen up.  If ye ever dae intend tae use it, send me a card saying that the poacher isnae retreating.  That way, Ah kin make sure Ah get rid ae the other two that ur stashed away oan the croft.  Ye don’t hiv tae write anything else…Ah’ll know whit ye mean.”

  “Ye don’t think it could be traced back tae ye, Paul?” Johnboy hid asked him.

  “Naw, there’s nowan aboot up here oan any the estates who’s gonnae own up tae owning wan ae these lethal fuckers,” he’d said, smiling.

  “Here we go, and no before time,” Pat growled, straightening up in his seat, as the electric organ ae Atomic Rooster’s ‘Devil’s Answer’ filled the inside ae the car.