‘No idea.’ Another signal, another manoeuvre. ‘What if it was?’
‘Well, I’d maybe be curious as to who did it. It would have to be somebody who knows you live locally, somebody who either wants you out of the way or wants your boss relegating you to the subs’ bench.’
‘You seem to have done a lot of thinking on the subject.’
‘The body was dumped on my patch, Spanner. I’m taking that as a very personal insult. And while I loathe your boss with every fibre of my being, I don’t see how a war helps either of us. If someone’s cornering us, I want to know who and why. Then again, it could be a falling-out amongst thieves, couldn’t it? That’s almost the simplest explanation. How far do you trust the likes of Panda Paterson, Mickey Ballater and Dod Menzies? With Carter gone, there are only four runners and riders in the race. One of you is going to end up in the winners’ enclosure, and you’ve known Colvin longer than anyone. Maybe that makes you the favourite, and every betting man knows the favourite’s the one most likely to get nobbled.’
‘I see what you’re saying.’
‘I know you do, but you’re also thinking it’s what you’d expect me to say if I wanted to start taking Colvin and his organisation apart brick by brick.’
‘You’d want to sow dissent.’
‘Education wasn’t lost on you, was it, Spanner? But the dissent’s already there. Lobbing petrol at the Gay Laddie is amateur hour, which makes me think it wasn’t Colvin’s idea, meaning one of your colleagues was acting on his own initiative. That might be the very person you’ve got to watch out for.’ Thomson could feel John Rhodes’s eyes drilling into him. ‘Time may come when you need a friend.’
‘And you’re offering to be that friend?’
‘Unless you want me as an enemy?’ The look Rhodes was giving him had hardened still further. ‘Do you need telling that mercy’s not high on my list of personal qualities? I learned long ago that there’s no point being reasonable in an unreasonable world. This is the only time you and me will talk like this. And when I come for your boss — and I will come for him one of these days — if you’re standing in my way I won’t think twice, understood?’
‘Understood.’
Rhodes turned his attention from driver to windscreen, leaving a few moments of distilled silence before speaking again. He sniffed and gave a twitch of the mouth. ‘One last thing you need to know — Carter was planning to set up a rival outfit.’ He saw the look Thomson was giving him. ‘I know this counts as something else I’d say to stir up trouble. Doesn’t mean it isn’t true.’ He paused again. ‘Maybe your boss knew and maybe he didn’t. If he did know, maybe he did something about it. I definitely would.’ The car had stopped at traffic lights. Thomson was readying to say something, but Rhodes was already reaching for the door handle.
‘Take care of yourself, Spanner,’ he said as he got out.
Thomson watched as he strode towards the Jaguar and climbed in. The lights had changed to green, but a man was taking his time crossing the road, his movements resembling those of a marionette. Sheepskin coat, cap angled downwards over his forehead, newspaper tucked under one arm. Thomson leaned on the horn, but all the man did was flick the Vs. The performance, however, had given the Jaguar time to execute a three-point turn. Spanner Thomson rubbed a hand across his brow, put the car into first and carried on driving, his brain dizzy with permutations, as if Rhodes’s horse race came with its own unique betting system, beyond the grasp of all but the most seasoned professional punter.
The man crossing the road in front of Spanner Thomson’s car went by the name of Benny Mason, ‘Macey’ to his many acquaintances. He was a small-time thief who had managed somehow not to take sides in a city that was all about which team you played for. Macey was on speaking terms with both John Rhodes and Cam Colvin — Matt Mason, too, if it came to it. He had checked but found no evidence of a blood tie between himself and Matt. Still, he could be useful for passing messages across the trenches, which was why he’d been approached a while back by DI Ernie Milligan, who’d shown him some files relating to unsolved house-breakings and the like before stating that he could have Macey dragged into court and found guilty on all charges.
‘Even though I suspect you only did half of them.’
He’d then bought Macey a drink and they’d come to an agreement, which was why Macey now sought a working phone box. After all, it wasn’t every day you saw John Rhodes stepping from a car belonging to one of Cam Colvin’s inner circle. No, that was a rare sighting indeed, which made it exactly the sort of thing Ernie Milligan would want to be made aware of, paying handsomely for the privilege...
21
It was Detective Inspector Ernest Milligan’s belief that, Bobby Carter having been killed elsewhere before his body had been dumped, all business premises associated with Cam Colvin needed to be searched for bloodstains and Colvin himself brought in for questioning. Besides, a warning needed to be issued: no more attacks on John Rhodes’s properties and employees. Commander Frederick had been insistent on that point.
So Milligan was not best pleased when his train of thought and his preparations were interrupted by word of a phone call. The caller refused to give a name and just said that he had something Milligan would want to hear. Finally Milligan relented and picked up the handset.
‘DI Milligan here.’
‘About bloody time. I’m on my last bit of change.’
Milligan recognised Macey’s voice. ‘What have you got for me?’
‘I’ve got John Rhodes getting out of Spanner Thomson’s car on Castle Street.’
Milligan was pulled up short. ‘You sure?’
‘Well, I suppose I could have mistaken Jimmy Clitheroe for John Rhodes...’
‘All right, smartarse. Any idea what was going on?’
‘Rhodes had a Jag with a driver waiting. He got in and they left in the opposite direction from Thomson, leaving Spanner with a worried look on his face. It’s got to be interesting, hasn’t it?’
‘Aye, maybe.’
‘By “interesting”, I mean worth something.’
‘I’ll see you right, Macey, fear not.’ Milligan slammed the phone down and scratched at his jaw. He stopped a passing DC. ‘Has Cam Colvin been brought in yet?’
‘Should be here any minute.’
‘Let me know the second he’s installed, and make sure he’s in whichever interview room has the sewage problem.’
‘Understood.’
Milligan caught sight of Laidlaw across the room. He made like a torpedo towards him. Laidlaw was sifting through the paperwork on his desk.
‘Typing pool must have steam coming out of it,’ he said.
‘Why aren’t you in Balornock knocking on doors?’
‘Because it’s a waste of time.’
‘A waste of time that happens to be a direct order from your superior officer.’
Laidlaw glowered at him. ‘If I ever start thinking of you as my superior in any way, shape or form, it’ll be a sign I need to check into Gartnavel. By the way, have you done anything about Jenni Love?’
‘Who?’
‘The youngster Carter was cheating on his wife with.’
‘All in good time.’
‘She dances at a club called Whiskies. I’ve already checked it out and visited her home — proper policing rather than doorstepping.’
‘Did you meet her dad? I used to watch him when he played for the Gers.’
‘The Masonic lodge and Rangers FC — it’s a wonder to me that you’ve scaled the giddy heights of CID. Anyway, Bob Lilley knows a bit more that might interest you, so if you pull him from the wild goose chase out at Springburn Park, you might not regret it.’ Laidlaw had finished browsing the sheets of paper. ‘Are you bringing in Colvin and his mob?’