The Tale of the Wolf (The Kenino Wolf Series) (24 page)

Clarence we tied to an armchair, bound securely so all he could move was his head.

I gathered all Clarence’s dollies; there were at least fifty, and brought them into the living room and then, with everything prepared, we sat back, put our feet up and waited.

Clarence was the first to wake, his bulk more resistant to the tranquiliser than the others. He looked around, dazed and confused. He struggled against his bonds but he was fully fastened. Tabatha had done them well.

‘
Wolfy?’ He said glancing at Tabatha and me, trying to indicate friendship. It sounded disgusting coming out of his mouth.

‘
Clarence, dear heart. How are you?’ I said as calmly as I could. Anger indicates a loss of control and I wanted to make sure he knew I was in total control.

‘
Look, Wolfy, you don’t understand.’ The sight of his prize possessions scattered about me had him worried.

‘
What don’t I understand, Clarence?’

‘
I had no choice.’

‘
Really?’

‘
Really, Wolfy, look I swear, I had no choice.’

‘
We all have a choice, Clarence. You just chose wrong. Now what’s going on?’

‘
I can’t, Wolfy. I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me.’

Tabatha smashed the head of one of his dolls against the coffee table.

‘
Feisty little thing, aren’t I?’ she snarled in his face

‘
No please … don’t. You don’t understand. I can’t tell you.’

Tabatha ripped of the arm of another one and made it do a physically impossible version of the splits, which made its legs come off and Clarence cry. I didn’t feel one iota of pity for this guy. He’d sent a hitman to get me and I wanted to know why.

‘
What don’t I understand?’

‘
I had to do it. It wasn’t personal. I was told to send you. He knew you'd come to me asking for Michael. Told me to give you that address and let him know when I had.’ He sniffled in between sentences, mucus running down his face. He looked like a scared child, and I could see in his face the youthful version of the ugly fat man he’d grown into.

‘
Who told you to do that?’ I said stubbing my ciggy out in the eye of one of his dolls. He winced in his seat.

‘
I can’t tell you.’ He was blubbering ‘He’ll kill me.’

‘
Oh Clarence ... Clarence,’ Tabatha said soothingly. She‘d decided to join the interrogation ‘You shouldn’t be worrying about them. You should be worrying about us.’ And she slapped him in the head.

Clarence recovered some of his old strength from the hit. Tabatha had made a mistake in hitting him. I made a mental note, for next time, to tell her everything

Clarence got his kicks from pain. Beating him wouldn’t achieve anything. You’d slap him around for a few hours, end up knackered and he’d get his rocks off.

‘
Tabatha, please that’s no way to treat Clarence. Violence won’t solve anything.’ I made sure Clarence understood that she might not know how to get to him, but I did. ‘Now Clarence, what my friend was trying to say, if you misunderstood, was that he can’t get you until we’ve finished with you. And that won’t happen until you’ve given us something.’ I stroked the head of one of his dollies. He could see me lining up to destroy another one of his prized possessions.

‘
Okay, Okay. Look I know a name. Frazer … Scott Frazer. He's bad Wolfy. Got real connections. Phoned me the other day told me if you came looking for Michael to send you to that address.’

‘
Why?’

‘
I don’t know. I just do as he tells me. He’s not the kind of guy you refuse.’

The name didn’t ring a bell, but the fact Clarence was scared made me know he was no boy scout.

‘
Where can we find him?’ Tabatha once more joined in.

‘
I don’t know.’

‘
These dolls don’t fly well do they, Clarence,’ I said, pitching one across the room.

‘
Okay, okay. Please god, stop! Look I’ve got an address. I don’t know if he’s still there I only went there once.’

‘
What is it?’ The goons were stirring.

Clarence gave us the address and Tabatha wrote it down. ‘Good morning, gentleman. Just in time to be shot in the head.’ Which is what I did, popping them both once more with the tranq gun.

‘
You’ll untie me now, right?’ Clarence said, staring at the remnants of his prize possessions.

‘
I never said I'd untie you.’

‘
But Wolfy … I told you everything.’ He was pleading.

‘
Clarence, let’s be fair. You don’t exactly have a good record of telling us the truth. The last address you gave me resulted in someone shooting at us.’

‘
But I’m telling the truth. You’ve got to believe me.’

‘
I’d like to, I really would, but I’m really not a trusting soul. So this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna knock you out and gag you up. Then Tabatha and I will go check out this address. If anything should happen to us, if it’s a set-up, then you’ll starve to death because no one will know you’re here.’

‘
But ... but …’

‘
Don’t worry, Clarence. I read somewhere that a walrus can survive for ages on just its blubber. And you’re quite like a walrus. Obviously if it is a set-up and we survive, or you’ve just sent us on a wild goose chase, I’ll come back here, commit heinous crimes against your dollies and set your house on fire, with you inside.’

‘
But that’s not fair. I told you what I know.’

‘
Life’s not fair, Clarence. It’s a cruel and unscrupulous world, full of vicious people. I thought you of all people should know that. Would you like the honours?’ I asked Tabatha.

‘
I’d be delighted.’ She replied, popping Clarence. We waited till he fell asleep then gagged him, and taking Clarence’s door key, we headed to the address he’d given us.

Scott Frazer lived in Ladbroke Grove. Like most places Ladbroke Grove had two parts; the rough part and the good part. Scott Frazer lived in the good part, the very good part. He had a townhouse similar to Muzzi’s, although Muzzi’s didn’t have the columns out front. We walked up to the door, I stood at the side and Tabatha knocked. The door opened and a small red-haired stocky man appeared from behind it in tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt, covered in sweat.

‘
Are you Scott Frazer?’ I asked.

‘
Who wants to know?’ It was already obvious that he had a chip on his shoulder.

‘
I do,’ I said popping him in the head. He fell down and Tabatha and I dragged him into the house, closing the front door behind us.

We dumped him on the hall floor and quickly searched the house making sure no one else was there.

We dragged him into the gym which Tabatha had found and hung him upside down. He had one of those sit up bars that you hook your feet onto. Great for stomach exercises, perfect for interrogation. We tied his wrists together and then tied another rope between his legs; to this we tied a dumbbell without the weights. Once more we were ready to begin. All we had to do was wait.

We sat back and smoked. I loved the idea of smoking in the gym, it seemed utterly scandalous; a direct attack on the health culture.

The gym was top of the range: exercise bike, treadmill, weight bench and that bike thing where the handle bars moved back and forth. Boom-Boom would have known what it was called. Although I had the owner of the gym dangling upside down with a dumbbell dangling from his crotch, I wasn’t worried. I knew as soon as I’d seen him that Clarence had told the truth. This guy was arrogant; the kind of arrogance that comes from power, where all those below are regarded with contempt. The kind of person who thought he was the dog’s bollocks. Well, as soon as he woke up he was going to get that chip blasted of his shoulder by a couple of very determined people.

Once Frazer woke up I greeted him.

‘
Hello, Mr Frazer.’

‘
Who the fuck are you? Get me the fuck down.’

‘
Now, now, Mr Frazer, there’s no need to be rude.’

‘
Now you listen to me, you dumb cunt, if you don’t get me down I’m gonna …’

‘
Do nothing, fuckwit,’ Tabatha sneered across him.

This man was both arrogant and stupid. This could’ve been a problem, as people who are both arrogant and stupid are generally incapable of understanding the danger their in.

I thought it best to explain

‘
Mr Frazer, we are here for a particular reason. We’d like to have some questions answered. A man called Clarence said you might be able to answer them.’

‘
I don’t know what you’re talking about. And what d’ya think you’re looking at, bitch?’ He leered at Tabatha. Big mistake. She wrenched on the rope between his legs and he squealed in pain. Our S&M adventure had not been in vain.

‘
Mr Frazer, Mr Frazer. That wasn’t very polite. Now, I’m gonna ask you some questions and if you don’t answer, my friend over there is gonna start adding weights to that piece of rope hanging between your legs. Understand?’

He nodded. No man, no matter how tough they think they are, is going to fuck with someone who’s preparing to part their bollocks like the Red Sea.

‘
So, Mr Frazer. Tell me where Michael is.’

‘
I don’t know.’

‘
Add a weight ... a small one.’

‘
Look, I don’t know. I really don’t know.’

Tabatha was thumbing the rope I’m sure she wanted to have another practice at bell-ringing, yank that rope like she was at Sunday mass. If I let her do it he’d certainly hit the high notes.

‘
So, why did you tell Clarence to send me to The Beggar?’

‘
I don’t know who the fuck you are. And what Beggar?’

‘
I'm Kenino Wolf.’ I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

‘
I was just obeying orders.’ This was turning into the Nuremburg trials.

I certainly didn’t want to hear that. I’d really hoped he was the main fella, but it was obvious he wasn’t; he didn’t have the look. His business was violence. Whoever was running the show was clever. There was a brain in this story. A brain that liked to put a load of levels between him and the deeds he required done. I knew he wasn’t lying. Trust me, one look at him with the weights splitting him, you knew he wasn’t lying.

‘
Whose orders?’

‘
Nikita Kruchenko. He told me to tell Clarence to send you to Totteridge.’

‘
Why?’

‘
I don’t know. I just do as I'm told. He doesn't explain himself to me.’

‘
Address.’

‘
I don’t have one.’

‘
So how do you get hold of him?’

‘
I don’t. He just calls me and gives me orders. I haven’t even seen him.’

‘
Why was Michael’s brother killed?’

‘
I don’t know. Nothing to do with me.’

‘
Fine,’ I said, then popped him with a dart.

‘
Now what?’ Tabatha asked.

‘
Now we take Mr Frazer to Clarence’s house.’

‘
And then what?’

We wrapped Frazer in a giant beach towel and shoved him in Betsy’s Boot. And then drove off.