‘No, a bike, motor-bike.’
‘You better let me sort this out,’ I said. ‘If someone really is after him then it could get nasty. There’s no point in us all going.’
‘Oh, no,’ he said firmly. ‘I promised. I don’t let me mates down. I’m coming. I’m not chickening out now.’
I could tell he wouldn’t budge. I knew of a petrol station on one of the roads that skirted the park. We arranged to rendezvous there. My heart was fluttering when I put down the receiver.
Leanne was smoking, leaning up against the worktop, when I went back into the kitchen.
I made a clumsy attempt to thank her for telling me what she had. She brushed it away. ‘Forget it.’ ‘Did any of you ever complain?’
The drop-dead look said it all. ‘Who to? The boss?’
‘Well, social workers or…’
‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ She launched herself away from the side.
‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to go out,’ I said. ‘Martin’s in trouble.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘I don’t know, but he’s running away from someone. I’ll drop you in town.’
‘I want to come with you.’
‘No,’ I said.
‘Martin knows me,’ she said. ‘He’s not going to trust you, is he?’
Maybe she’d got a point. But did I trust Leanne? Enough to let her come along?
‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I’ll think about it on the way.’
I told Ray where I was going and why.
‘You’re crazy.’ He flung down his chisel. ‘Your stitches aren’t even out and you’re off in the dark to find some kid who’s on the run. Ring the police, Sal.’ The temper he’d been holding onto finally slipped loose. ‘For Christ’s sake, grow up and think about what you’re doing.’
‘I will ring the bloody police,’ I shouted back, ‘and don’t talk to me like I’m deliberately courting danger. I’m not going to sit here and let some schoolboy play heroics all on his own. I’ll ring them now and, with any luck, they’ll be there before me.’ I stalked across the room and pulled the door to behind me. There were so many wood chippings littering the floor that the damn thing wouldn’t even slam properly.
‘Where’s the toilet?’ Leanne was waiting in the hall. I told her, then dialled the police.
The desk sergeant was less than helpful. I’d no crime to report, so he couldn’t squander police resources. In the end, I asked him to contact DI Miller as a matter of urgency and tell him where I was going and why.
‘Tell him someone is trying to kill Martin, that he’s got information of vital importance to the police.’ Okay, so I was being prodigal with the truth – but it was a pretty good hunch.
CHAPTER FORTY
Leanne was quiet on the drive into town. That suited me. I was trying to grasp what the new information meant. Sharrocks had been abusing children in his care. JB and Derek were dead. Because of that? Leanne was still very much alive. Maybe she was next? Did Sharrocks know Smiley? How did any of that tie in to Janice’s murder?
It was still warm but damp too, a misty drizzle which turned the streetlamps into fuzzy, orange balls. We drove down Oxford Road. I turned right at the BBC studios and cut through UMIST and over to Piccadilly. I still wasn’t sure whether Leanne would be an asset or a liability. On balance, I thought I’d better leave her out of it. I pulled up outside the old warehouse. ‘I’ll drop you here,’ I said. ‘I don’t want too many of us chasing around after Martin.’
‘I want to come.’ Her voice was intense and she sat very still as she spoke. ‘Martin knows me. I won’t get in the way.’ In the pause that followed, I looked in the rear-view mirror, watched people walking towards town for a night in the clubs.
‘Please, it means a lot to me.’ That threw me and I let it affect my judgement. I agreed and made her promise that she’d do what I asked. I’d be calling the tune.
‘I just need to get something from the squat,’ she said.
‘What?’ I became suspicious.
‘I need to change my tampon,’ she retorted. I could hardly argue with that.
‘Get a move on, then.’
She was quick, I’ll give her that. She came back with a thin nylon jacket over the top of her T-shirt, all puce and lime-green. She brushed the beads of damp from her hair. Pulled out her cigarettes and lighter from her high-tops. I wound down my window, heard the snick of the flame and saw the flare of light.
‘Martin won’t be expecting us,’ I explained, as I pulled away, ‘just his mate Max. I don’t want to frighten him off. We’ll get Max to do the talking first and explain that he got in touch with me.’ Leanne nodded. ‘The important thing,’ I said, ‘is to get him somewhere safe.’ I hadn’t thought where, yet. I was hoping that the police would come through on that one.
Max was there, helmet under his arm, astride his bike in the forecourt of the petrol station, when we arrived. He still wore thick glasses but his uniform had been replaced by biking leathers and he’d had his hair cropped close since I last saw him.
I hooted the horn and waved him over. Opened the back door and he climbed in.
‘Hiya. What did your folks say about all this?’
‘Nowt,’ he said, ‘they think I’m off to the late show at the Cornerhouse.’
‘This is Leanne, this is Max.’
She threw her head round and tossed off a greeting. Max mumbled something in response.
‘I’ve explained to Leanne that Martin doesn’t know we’re coming. You’re going to have to reassure him.’
‘What’s Leanne doing here?’ he asked.
Good question.
‘Martin stayed same place as me when he came to Manchester. He’ll talk to me,’ she boasted. ‘He doesn’t know her.’ She nodded in my direction.
‘But Max talks first,’ I reminded her, ‘Martin asked for Max.’
We drove over to the park entrance and parked the car. The gates were locked at dusk. Leanne and I climbed up onto Max’s shoulders and over, jumped down the other side. The jolt to my ribs brought tears to my eyes. Max, helped by his height, was able to climb over unaided.
As we walked into the park, the sound of traffic receded. There was no lighting and the cloudy sky obscured any moonlight there might have been. It was still drizzling. We approached the colonnade. Four columns and a tower either end, supporting the crosspiece. By daylight, I remembered sandy stone, carvings near the top. Now it was a vague silhouette, its outline shifting in obscurity.
‘Martin, it’s Max. Are you there? There’s two other people here; Sal Kilkenny, she’s a private detective, she’ll be able to help; and your friend, Leanne. Martin?’
No response. I strained to hear breathing but couldn’t. But I sensed that someone was there besides the three of us.
‘C’mon Martin,’ Leanne shouted. ‘What the fuck’s going on?’ I grabbed her arm to shut her up. There was a rustle to our left and Martin stepped out from behind the bushes. His face was haggard, as though fear had weighed the flesh down. I was struck again by how slight he was. There were marks on his face, dirt or bruises. He was shivering. He wore a thin white T shirt and dark pants.
‘Who’s after yer?’ asked Leanne.
He shuddered.
‘Come out of the rain,’ I said. There was some cover at the base of the towers, old entrance-ways, like large sentry-boxes open on two sides but offering reasonable shelter. I stepped in. Martin and Max huddled against one wall. Leanne stood in the middle of the space, arms in her jacket pockets.
‘Is it Smiley?’ she said.
‘Yeah, and the others.’
I thought of the two who’d caught up with me. ‘Which others?’
He rubbed his face.
‘Were you staying with Fraser?’ I asked.
Martin laughed, a mirthless sound. ‘He locked me up. I had a collar, like a dog. He wouldn’t let me go. He didn’t touch me, you know. He liked the girls. They wanted me for the pictures and the videos. I said I didn’t want to, I promised not to say anything but he said they couldn’t afford to take the risk. He locked me up.’