Gary shrugged his impressive shoulders. ‘Ah just fancied a change. Thought it would be nice tae work inside. The travel was an attraction too.’
The roadie bent and picked up one of the big speakers. ‘Ah’d better get on wi’ it.’ He grinned. ‘So’d youse, unless you want the pride of Dublin after you!’
I took him at his word and spent the next hour rehearsing, while Gary and the other five roadies worked around me, setting up the big Bose speakers on stands and building a ramp which rose from floor level at ringside until it stood about four feet high at the doorway which led to the changing area. When I asked one of the roadies what it was for he told me that it was to allow the crowd to see each wrestler as he made his way to the ring.
Make that ‘her’. I had just surrendered my microphone to the sound man when the blonde whom I had seen exercising on the other side of the hall came wandering over in my direction. Gary had been right: she was a stunner, with legs that seemed to go on for ever.
‘Hello there,’ she said, with a smile. ‘You’re the new announcer, I hear. I’m Sally Crockett.’
I shook the hand which she offered. ‘I know; Gary told me.’
‘Ah.’ The smile widened. ‘He’s a good lad, is our Gazza.’
A year before, I’d have launched into a serious pitch. Marriage had changed me, though. I left out the pitch, and scratched my nose instead, showing her my wedding ring as I slipped out a clumsy compliment.
‘Thank you,’ she replied. ‘I saw you getting the Liam treatment earlier on.’
‘It was nothing.’
‘I’m glad you think like that. He’s a bit of a bully, is our Liam. Thinks he’s God’s gift, too.’
Her accent was English, but without any regional twang that I could recognise. Her tone told me, though, that she didn’t share Matthews’ opinion of himself.
‘How did you get into this business?’ I asked her.
‘I just fancied it. I used to be an athlete. I did the Heptathlon, but I wasn’t up to Olympic standard — my hurdles were lousy — so I looked around for a change of sport, and found this. I love it.’
‘Don’t you ever get hurt?’
Her pretty face clouded over. ‘Only once. I was in a mixed tag-team match with Darius, against Matthews and Anita Rose, one of the American girls.’
‘What, did she clock you?’
She shook her head. ‘No, Liam did. A couple of days before he’d been pestering me for a date, so much so that I told him to eff off. There was a part in our match, where I was supposed to wind up in the ring with him, hit him with a drop kick and then take a body slam. The drop kick went okay, but he mistimed the slam and broke two of my ribs.’
‘Accident?’
‘No way,’ she said, bitterly. ‘He’s too good a wrestler for that. He claimed it was though, and Daze had to take his word for it.’
I was still pondering the character of my Irish pal, when Everett called out from the ring. ‘Okay, folks, that’s it; everybody back on the bus. Change at the hotel then meet up for dinner at eight.’
Chapter 7
When I stepped back into our suite just after seven o’clock, Jan was sitting at a small table, working on a file of accounts which she had slipped into our case.
‘I see you’re enjoying Newcastle, then,’ I said.
‘Saves me having to do it tomorrow. So how did it go? Have you spotted the saboteur yet?’
‘I’ve spotted a room full of them. It could be anyone. . other than Everett. I met a nice lady wrestler, though,’ I added as an afterthought.
My wife smiled. ‘Ah, but is she as good as me?’
‘Couldn’t say. Try some holds on me and I might be able to tell you.’
‘Best of three falls?’
I closed the folder on the table. ‘Or a submission. .’
We wound up being five minutes late for dinner, but it didn’t seem to matter. When we found the reception room that had been set aside for us, the afternoon’s cast of characters was milling around, talking shop. There was a free bar set up against the wall. As we made our way towards it, I noticed that all the wrestlers seemed to be on soft drinks.
Happily, it wasn’t compulsory. I helped myself to a Holsten, and poured a glass of white wine for Jan. As I was handing it to her, Everett came wandering across. Although we stood a little distant from the rest, he still spoke quietly. ‘Any thoughts, Oz, now you’ve seen the operation?’
‘I don’t like that bastard Liam,’ I said. ‘How’s that for starters?’
The big man grinned. ‘Not many do. I only hired him because he has some of the best moves in the business. No, I meant. .’
‘I know what you meant. It’s too early for me to get a handle on anything yet. I’ve been getting to know the wrestlers as best I can, but I thought it best to start off talking to the road crew. I had a chat with that big bloke, Gary O’Rourke.’
‘The new guy?’
My eyebrows rose. ‘New, is he?’
Everett chuckled. ‘Well, maybe four months ain’t so new. He’s a good worker, that’s for sure. Earned himself a pay rise after three months. Did he say anything of interest?’
‘Only that he likes his job. You’re a popular guy with the roadies. . which cuts across the notion that one of them might have been behind your two incidents.’
‘Maybe so.’ He fell silent and his eyes dropped for a few moments. I looked over my shoulder, and noticed that Jan. . looking absolutely sensational, I thought, in her white blouse and close-fitting grey skirt. . had drifted off, to strike up a conversation with Sally Crockett and one of the American women wrestlers.
‘Hell Oz,’ Everett continued. ‘I don’t see any of the road crew being involved in this. Tony Reilly would be far more likely to do a deal with someone in the ring team. “Shut down GWA and I’ll give you a top man contract with CWI.” That’s the offer he would make.
‘You come across anything odd this afternoon?’
I looked up at him, and shook my head. ‘To be honest, nothing. I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to help you here.’
‘You’re helping me already, man,’ he retorted. ‘Just being my eyes and ears on the shop floor. One special thing you can do for me tomorrow night too.’
‘What’s that?’ I asked, a shade apprehensively.
‘I want you to keep an eye on the prop that Darius and Liam are going to use in that last scene, the aluminum crush barrier. Your seat during the bouts will be alongside the guy who rings the bell. That special barrier will be a few feet from you.
‘There’ll be action outside the ring in a few of the earlier bouts. I want you to make sure that no one moves the damn thing in the confusion, like switches it for the one next to it. If Darius came down from that height on a real steel barrier, it could finish him. And after what happened with that damn chair, I’m taking no chances.’
‘I won’t take my eyes off it, I promise. Even when I’m announcing.’
‘That’s good.’ Everett paused. ‘Say, I got another announcement for you to make tomorrow. We got a special guest in the audience, thanks to Jack Gantry. Remember those tickets I gave to your buddy Dylan? He and Susie won’t be able to come after all, so Jack’s persuaded the Lord Mayor of Newcastle to come along with him.
‘We invited him, of course, but his office turned us down. An invitation from Mr Glasgow, though, that’s different.’ He grinned. ‘It always helps to have influential friends, don’t it. I want you to introduce him at the start of the show. Okay?’
‘Sure. Just give me the details tomorrow.’
As Everett nodded I looked back towards Jan. Sally and the other woman had moved to join another group, but Liam Matthews had taken their place. She flashed me a quick look over his shoulder, a ‘get over here’ look.
‘Hello honey,’ I said, as casually as I could manage as I moved towards her. ‘Sorry about that.’
Matthews looked over his shoulder. ‘Well, well,’ he said. ‘Sure and if it isn’t little Ozzie.’ I kept the smile fixed on my face.
The Irishman stepped sideways, his shoulder blocking my path to Jan’s side. ‘Now Ozzie, you wouldn’t be about to do anything as stupid as to come between the Man and this lovely lady? You wouldn’t, would you?’