Chapter Three

 

 

Whoever was at the door was feeling anxious. What began as a single loud thump turned into a battering ram of knocks that gave the washing machine a run for its money in the noise stakes. I pitied my poor neighbours. I also didn’t open the door immediately. Hours earlier I had, after all, been engaged in serious criminal activity. The last thing someone in my position wanted was the door to shake in its frame. Despite our failure at the bank, I was convinced we’d covered our tracks well but it was possible we missed something. Surely though, if this really were the police, they’d have announced themselves by now. Or broken down the door.

Remaining cautious, I grabbed Bob’s knife and slid it back into its sheath, hiding it underneath one of my piles of paper. Then I grabbed my kit from where I’d dropped it, shoved it into the wardrobe and jammed the door shut. Satisfied that there was nothing else incriminating on show, I nervously opened the front door.

The second I saw Taylor, I let out a sigh of relief. When I took in his dishevelled appearance, however, my wariness returned.

‘You took your time,’ Taylor huffed, pushing past me and pivoting to stare worriedly down the corridor as if angry hordes were on his tail.

‘What is it?’ I asked, alarmed. Taylor lived his life in a cloud of blithe calm. Even taking his money worries into consideration, his present demeanour was uncharacteristic. ‘What’s happened?’

‘The others left not long after you. I went out to get a pint of milk and saw the muscle on the way back.’

I was momentarily confused. ‘The muscle?’

‘The Wild Man I was telling you about. The Incredible Hulk with the scar. He kicked in my door.’ Taylor grimaced. ‘He means serious business. If I’d not popped out then…’ He swallowed, his voice trailing off. This was a different Taylor to the one I was used to. He was definitely scared.

‘He wants the money and he’s not prepared to wait,’ I surmised.

‘That has to be it.’ He scratched his neck and look at me helplessly. ‘What do I do?’

I took his arm and guided him gently in the kitchen, sat him down and put on the kettle. ‘It’s fine, Taylor. Give me the name of the courier service and I’ll get the money wired over immediately. Once your creditor has that I’m sure he’ll call off his attack dog.’

‘Yes.’ Taylor’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. ‘You’re right. That’ll work. The money is all they want.’ He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. His hands shook.

I raised my eyebrows. I’d expect this kind of reaction from Speck but Taylor was normally laid back to the point of being horizontal. He was the very definition of blasé. Whoever this scarred Wild Man was, he had Taylor seriously rattled.

‘Integrity, he was carrying a gun. And I’m certain he meant to use it.’

That troubled me. From the very beginning Taylor taught me that, no matter what we did, violence was not our gig. We didn’t carry anything on any job that could be construed as a weapon: we were thieves, not thugs. It was a concept I stringently adhered to. There was always an alternative to fighting, even if it meant doing nothing more than running away. We usually avoided getting mixed up with people who were liable to be violent. Taylor really had got involved with some dodgy people this time.

I smoothed out the paper and looked at the phone number scrawled on it. I cleared my throat and tried to stay calm. ‘I’ll call them now and tell them they’ll have their money within hours. Relax, Taylor.’

He pressed his lips together and nodded while I searched for my phone. Eventually finding it behind a wilting spider plant, I jabbed out the number. It rang three times before a disembodied voice answered, ‘Yes?’

I took a deep breath. ‘I’m calling on behalf of Andy Taylor,’ I said. ‘I have your money and I will send it to you now. You’ll get what you want so there’s no need to get all worked up.’

There was an almost imperceptible pause. Then the voice spoke again. ‘The payment is late. There is a penalty.’

My fingers tightened around the phone. Loan sharks had no damn shame. ‘How much?’

‘Double the original amount.’

I choked. ‘That’s ridiculous! He’s not that late.’

‘I take punctuality very seriously. Double the amount or a he’s a dead man walking.’

‘You’re being unreasonable,’ I began.

‘He owes me.’

I tried to think quickly. ‘We’ll need more time.’

‘You have seventy-two hours.’

I closed my eyes briefly. ‘Thank...’

‘Oh, and Integrity?’ the voice interrupted. ‘Tell Taylor that if he tries to run I’ll personally make sure that he never walks again.’

The phone clicked off. I pulled it slowly away from my ear and stared at it. ‘He knows my name,’ I whispered. I looked at Taylor. ‘Just who in hell have you got yourself mixed up with?’

He glanced up at me, misery etched into every line of his face. ‘I’m so sorry, Tegs. I’ve really screwed up.’

*

We went round and round in circles, trying to come up with a quick-fix solution.

‘Perhaps I can ask around,’ Taylor said heavily. His shoulders were slumped. ‘Get a bit of money from someone else. Borrow from Peter to pay Paul, so to speak.’

Normally I’d counsel against creating debt to pay off debt but this situation felt very dangerous. I was pretty certain that neither Brochan, Lexie nor Speck would be keen to help. As much as they professed loyalty and had agreed to delay their own payment for last night’s failed heist, Taylor would burn every bridge he had if he borrowed money from them. He couldn’t afford to alienate them, not if he wanted a chance of turning a profit in the future; the fastest way to lose friends or colleagues is to mess things up financially.

Discarding them as potential lenders, I considered. ‘Who could you ask?’

‘There’s Boon.’

I sucked in a breath. Boon was a distinctly sinister moneylender. Much like everyone else in my little underworld, he was Clan-less. That didn’t mean he wasn’t scary. I’d heard stories about what happened to borrowers who defaulted on his loans and, unless Taylor was keen to have a section of his soul cut away, it wasn’t much of an option. ‘I don’t think…’ I began.

‘Who else is there?’ Taylor asked. ‘As long as I keep up the repayments, Boon won’t create problems.’ His face shadowed. ‘I’ve taken money from him before.’

I stiffened. ‘When?’

‘Before you.’

I studied his expression. How had he gone from being so bright and confident the day before the bank job to so desperate now? ‘There must be another way.’

‘Can you think of anything?’

My gaze fell on the sheet of paper on top of the letter opener. There was always Bob. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Was it merely a coincidence that I’d come across the genie now – when desperation might lead to me using him? I nibbled my lip and decided his appearance was too far-fetched to be anything more than serendipity. Serendipity that I’d be a fool to make use of. Going down the wishing road could cause more problems than it solved.

I held off making a decision for now. It wasn’t like the genie was going anywhere. ‘It won’t do any harm to ask Boon for terms,’ I said finally. ‘Don’t commit yourself to anything. Just see what he says.’

Relieved to have something to do, Taylor nodded. I passed him my phone, then gave him some privacy to speak. In the bathroom I splashed cold water on my face, then leaned against the sink and pressed my forehead against the cool mirror. If only the damn Lia Saifir had been where it was supposed to be, we wouldn’t be in this mess. So much for my big move to Oban. I couldn’t leave until things were straight with Taylor. I owed him too much.

When I went back to check on him, he was even paler than before ‒ if that were possible. ‘Let me guess,’ I said drily, ‘the terms are too steep?’ I wasn’t particularly surprised. Boon was a bloody charlatan.

Taylor shook his head slowly. ‘He won’t do it,’ he croaked.

I blinked. I hadn’t been expecting that. ‘What do you mean?’

‘He won’t give me the loan. He said he knows who’s bought it and he doesn’t want to piss them off. I got the impression they’d already been in touch with him. He refused point blank to tell me who it was.’

‘That doesn’t make any sense.’ I sank down into my chair. Except it did. This wasn’t about money at all; this was about someone wanting to destroy Taylor. No wonder they knew my name. ‘Who is it? Who really took the loan?’

He looked me in the eye. ‘I don’t know. I was telling the truth, Tegs. I really don’t know.’

‘You must have pissed off someone.’

‘Not that I can think of. The last time I really did that was before you came along. I’ve been keeping my nose clean.’

Other than arranging for a series of high-profile thefts, I thought. Apparently reading my mind, Taylor sighed. ‘You know what I mean. I’ve not upset anyone in the underworld.’

‘Could it be someone we’ve stolen from in the past? Someone wanting serious revenge?’

A spark flared in his eyes. ‘I might not be much of a gambler, Tegs, but I am good at my job. No one knows who we are.’

I had no idea what we were going to do. ‘Okay,’ I said. I’d have to make this up as I went along. ‘This is what we’re going to do. Um…’

There was a sudden thump at the front door that made us both jump. I looked at Taylor. ‘Stay there,’ I told him, every muscle in my body tensing up.

It was nothing more than the morning paper. I cursed myself for being as jumpy as a kitten and picked it up. ‘It’s alright,’ I called out to Taylor, picking it up from the doormat. ‘It’s just the newspaper.’ I tossed it down onto the kitchen table with the rest of the detritus.

‘I’m sorry,’ Taylor said miserably. ‘I’ve screwed everything up. Here you are trying to pack, trying to make a new life yourself and…’

‘Stop.’ I mustered my sternest look. ‘Yes, you’ve messed up. But we’ll deal with it.’

His head drooped. ‘How?’

I straightened my shoulders. Sneaky was my middle name. But when sneaky didn’t work… ‘I’ll find this courier and talk some sense into him. If we can get the name of the guy who bought the loan, we can find out what he really wants. Because I’m betting it ain’t money.’

Taylor jerked his head up in alarm. ‘The Wild Man will squash you, Integrity! This isn’t someone you want to mess with.’

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. ‘Maybe he’ll find out that I’m someone he doesn’t want to mess with.’

Besides, at this moment we were out of damn options.

‘I should come with you then.’

‘No. Right now you’re the target. It makes more sense for you to stay here. It’ll be easier for me to talk my way out of things if I’m alone.’

He sighed. ‘Once upon a time, it was me giving the orders.’

‘Once upon a time, you weren’t a decrepit old man.’ I winked. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll sort all this out.’