The Night the Rich Men Burned (22 page)

This should be an easy collection. That’s another thing. Yeah, you’re in charge, but you don’t do the tough jobs. Your men don’t like it if you do the tough jobs. Another lesson he learned from doing the muscle work himself. All the muscle want to do the biggest jobs. The toughest ones. The riskiest ones. They want to be able to say that they did the jobs that mattered. It’s an ego thing. Their chance to prove themselves. Don’t take that away from them.

But you do pick the job carefully. Don’t just take something that doesn’t matter to them. Take something that they don’t want to do. Then they think you’re a stand-up guy. So that’s what he’s doing. There are brutal jobs that the tough guys want to do. Makes them seem tough, on top of their game. The awkward stuff, the stuff that requires subtlety and brainpower, they prefer to avoid. That’s why Peterkinney’s here. Picking the most bloody awkward debt he has on the books, and going to collect. And he’s still in a good mood.

Her name’s Collette Duffy. Typical enough. Pretty young thing with a habit and a kid. No job, no prospect of one. Borrowing money with no hope of repaying. In the grand scheme of things, she’s no big deal. Her debt isn’t massive. She’s easy to talk to. The problem is her brother. Her brother Liam is not a man you want to piss off. Does a lot of work for Chris Argyle, in what we will politely call the import business. Liam Duffy is not good people. Known to overreact to perceived slights. Known to protect his little sister and her kid. That’s why lenders are scared to refuse her. It’s why collectors are reluctant to buy her debt. That’s why none of the muscle wants this collection.

Peterkinney bought the debt as a favour to a lender. He has almost no intention of collecting on it. Two grand he won’t see again. Not necessarily two grand poorly spent. It’s a connection. Peterkinney’s going to be as nice as nice can be with Collette. He’s going to leave her flat after making her a happy little girly. Make a good impression. She shares this good impression with her brother. Her brother shares it with the people he knows. Peterkinney gets a reputation in the industry as a man who knows how to treat other people in the industry. Reputation is worth paying for. Even if it doesn’t work, he made a good impression on the lender just by buying the debt. Can’t lose entirely.

He’s found his way to her flat. Small place, but not a bad area. Better than a girl with no job and a habit would normally have. That’ll be the brother’s influence, Peterkinney’s guessing. Up to her door and knocking. Waiting ten or twenty seconds. Not going to rush her. Not going to knock a second time. You get a lot of people who owe money who are allergic to answering doors. Understandable. Usually you knock and knock. Maybe you leave a note letting them know this isn’t over. Eventually, you push your way in. Not today. Not ever with Collette.

Peterkinney’s about to walk away when the door opens. A young woman looking back at him. Pretty, as it happens. You can see why her brother would feel the need to protect her from collectors. A girl like that, there are ways she could repay the debt. Ways people like Marty Jones would be real quick to exploit. Wouldn’t stay pretty for long. She needs protecting.

‘Hi, sorry, I was just giving my little one her tea.’ A giggly smile. She’s nervous. A guy she doesn’t recognize turns up at her door. That’s worth worrying about when you’re deep in debt.

‘Oh, that’s okay,’ he’s saying with a friendly smile. This is where looking young and innocent helps Peterkinney. He’s non-threatening. People like Collette Duffy are willing to talk to him. ‘I don’t know if you know me. My name’s Oliver Peterkinney.’

No flash of recognition. That’s a good thing. If she knew him, it would almost certainly be because of negative things. She might have heard some stories that made her nervous. That scared her. Any collector has brutal stories to back up his work, his reputation. This way, he gets to introduce himself. He gets to set the tone of her perception of him. If the only profit from this deal is to enhance his reputation with people like Liam Duffy and Chris Argyle, then he needs to set the tone.

‘I run a business that collects money,’ he’s saying. Not using the term debt collector. Never use the term unless you want to frighten people. ‘I’ve picked up your debt from the man you borrowed from.’ Talking low, making sure no neighbour could overhear. ‘I’m not here to collect,’ he’s saying quickly. Reassuring, friendly smile. ‘But I thought it would be good to have a chat about the debt. See what we can do about it. Make sure we can sort it out without any bother, you know? Is now a good time? I can come back some other time.’

He’s reassured her. He can already see it in her expression. He’s said he’s not here to collect money, which is a good start. She’s seeing this as an opportunity. Here’s a nice guy that’s offering a chance to discuss her debt. This could be a chance for her to talk it downward. That’s what she wants. She’ll be glowing in her praise of him if that happens.

‘I can talk,’ she’s nodding. Holding the door open for him to come in. A collector welcomed into the home of the debtor. All because of the nice way he talked to her. That baby face of his, paying off again.

She’s leading him through to the living room. He can hear a TV in another room. That’ll be to entertain the kid through her dinner. The ever-present babysitter. Into the living room. The carpet’s thin and stained. There’s a couch and one chair that doesn’t match, and both have seen far better days. But there’s a big TV, a Sky box and a Wii in the corner. There’s an iPad resting on the arm of the couch. Strange priorities. But she’s a junkie, apparently. Her priorities are going to be all over the fucking place. Can’t be that far off the deep end though, can she. Holding it together enough to keep a home, keep the child. Seen worse, that’s for sure. Not Peterkinney’s problem. He’s sitting down.

‘Thing is, Collette,’ he’s saying, ‘I now own the debt. But I don’t want to start making a big deal out of it. I know how it is. You borrow a little and the interest catches you out. It’s a lousy system.’

And she’s nodding enthusiastically. Dark-brown hair bobbing up and down on her shoulders. Wearing a stripy vest and dark trousers. Shapely. Oh, the likes of Marty would have a field day with a client like this. Actually, Marty himself would be smart enough to keep away from Liam Duffy’s little sister, but there would always be someone stupid enough not to.

‘We need to work out a way that makes it easy for you to pay back. Something that doesn’t stop you living your life. Something that doesn’t get in the way of the other things you need to do.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ she’s saying, and nodding again. She has nothing else to say. She’s hearing what she wants to hear and that’s enough. Worried that anything she says might poison the well.

‘So we need to look at how much you’re earning. See what you can afford to pay. We’ll do something about this interest, because that’s not helping the situation. I also don’t want you to think that there’s any great urgency with this,’ he’s saying. ‘I’m not in any great hurry about it. If we peg the interest, that’ll give you breathing space.’

She’s smiling and nodding. Unaware that Peterkinney wants this to last because it gives more chance of spreading the word about what a good guy he is. What a good industry man he is. That’s where the value is for him. A young man who understands how to treat the family of other insiders. She doesn’t see that. Honestly, she doesn’t care. The value for him is irrelevant to her. He’s welcome to any kind of profit he can get. She’s only concerned about her position.

‘Do you lend?’ she’s asking.

Jesus Christ, this isn’t going to be easy after all. She’s looking to borrow more. Hasn’t paid a penny of her original debt, and she’s hoping he’ll hand her more cash. That’s going to make it more difficult. He sure as hell isn’t going to go buying up an unlimited amount of her debt just to make a good impression. Reputation is worth paying for, but everything has a limit. Might actually work in his favour, he’s musing, before he answers. If she borrows from someone. They sell her new debt to someone else. She then has someone else to compare him to. Someone else for her brother and mates to compare him to. That could help.

‘No, I don’t lend. I just collect. Listen, Collette. Don’t go borrowing just to pay off other debts. That’ll make it worse. That’s how you end up with even more interest, and even more debt. You and me should try and come up with a plan to make sure that you can pay this back. Make sure that you don’t even have to think about borrowing again.’

She’s nodding. She’s uncertain, but she’s not going to argue with him. He’s here to help and she needs help. But she doesn’t like the sound of not being able to borrow. Been a long time since she had an alternative money source. Borrow from lenders, get help from her brother. The lenders get rough and her brother sorts it out. That’s the system that’s kept her going for the best part of a year. Now Peterkinney’s suggesting something else. But the other tactic that has served her well is nodding along with other people’s ideas. She’s just smart enough to realize that money doesn’t flow from disagreement.

It’s twenty minutes later when Peterkinney leaves the flat. Smiling and happy. He’s gotten what he wanted. A payment plan that’s so absurdly generous even she was surprised by it. All the time in the world to pay, interest suspended for the foreseeable future. She’ll be very positive about this. Word will go around. It’s a PR investment. She won’t even meet the plan they’ve written out, but that’s not the point either. Just gives him another opportunity to be all saintly when she fails to meet her obligations.

He’s going back to the office. Put this on the file. Kilbanne will look at it and say nothing. He doesn’t question. Too smart for questions. He’ll look, he’ll make a guess at the reasons for such an agreement, and he’ll keep the conclusions to himself. And the business will get on with making money.

8

He has his coat on. Glass is ready to go. But he’s scared. Properly scared, not just a little nervy. You get a telephone call straight from the mouth of Potty Cruickshank and you have a lot to be nervy about. A call from the blue. Telling him to come and visit Potty, right away. Giving him an address. A place Glass has heard of before. A little city centre club. Not a nightclub, but a private club. At least that’s what he’s heard it called. Never been inside. Just heard people talk about it. Like it’s an exclusive little casino or something. Not a place for the likes of him.

Potty didn’t give details. Made it clear that Glass had better be there. That he won’t stand for being stood up. Or kept waiting. That it was in Glass’s best interests to be there. Tried to make it sound at least a little bit friendly. Slimy, more like. So Glass will be there. He hasn’t been told why, but he can guess. Jefferson sold the debt. Sold it to Cruickshank. But that doesn’t tell him why he’s been called to a meeting with Cruickshank himself. How many debts does Potty buy in any week? How many of them are worth his private attention? None, on average. But Glass is getting a call on a six-grand bill. Something isn’t right.

He’s delayed as long as he could. Hoping that Ella might come home. She’s been out all day. Hasn’t come back and it’s getting dark. Dark is her work hours. He might not see her until tomorrow. Shit. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about this. But could he talk to her? Admit that he’s deep in debt trying to keep up with her aspirations? That’s a stupid thing to think. It wasn’t her fault. He made the choices. Blaming her for it’s just cheap. Get yourself together, and get to that meeting. Stand up for yourself. Stand up to the world. Can’t be that hard when so many other people do it.

As he walks to the bus stop, he’s thinking about Peterkinney. Maybe that’s why he gets a personal meeting. Not because of the amount. Six grand is chicken feed to Potty. Someone pointed out Potty’s house to Glass once. Big place you could get lost in without a detailed map and a bit of luck. Yeah, six grand wouldn’t buy you much of that place. So Potty’s interested in something else. The six grand should get one of his grunts at the door with threats of limb removal. Not a call from the fat man himself.

Oliver Peterkinney. Glass is thinking of trying another call. For what? To get fobbed off again by one of his minions? Best friends for years. Hung out most days. Partied together. Glass got Peterkinney started in the business. Yeah, doesn’t take long for the ambitious to forget their friends. Maybe Ella got in the way of the friendship a little. Maybe. But that wasn’t deliberate. And it’s no reason for Peterkinney to be acting the way he is now. Like he’s too good to bother with Glass.

Here’s the bus. He’s getting on, paying. Thank Christ the club, if that’s what’s even behind that front door, is in the city centre. Easy to get to. Closer he gets, the more he’s starting to sweat. It’s a cold evening, but temperature isn’t a part of this. Potty Cruickshank. That’ll be the biggest industry man Glass has ever met. Biggest in every sense, actually. But before now, Marty was the most important person Glass had come into contact with. Never got close to someone of Potty’s stature. His reputation. Jesus, this has to be a step up.

As he’s getting off the bus, he’s trying to win himself round. Persuade himself that all is not lost. This might not be that bad. Walking towards the quiet street where the club is. Not so busy even in the busier areas. The brief time between shoppers shopping and drinkers drinking. But look at it this way. Potty wants to talk to Glass. Glass has that connection to Peterkinney. A guy like Potty knows that Peterkinney’s in the collection business now. So he buys Glass’s debt. Calls him along to a meeting. Maybe he has an offer. Maybe he wants Glass to be a go-between. Or he wants info. Could pay off a big chunk of the debt. Hell, maybe even all of it.

Back to being scared and miserable by the time he gets to the correct street. Back to reality. Info on Peterkinney. Talking to Peterkinney. That wouldn’t be enough to pay off the debt. Info doesn’t buy you freedom. Might cut the debt, but not by enough. If he has info, then Potty will want to keep him indebted. Keep him talking. Talking to Peterkinney wouldn’t help either. If he’s the messenger between the two, Potty will want him under his thumb. He’ll keep the debt hanging over him. Use it. If Glass is any kind of useful, then it’s common sense that Potty will want control of him.