‘It wasn’t in the job description.’
‘You’ll do as I tell you. I’m paying.’
I laughed. ‘We’re well past that stage.’ I had to play the cards I held carefully. I didn’t want to show my hand just yet. ‘I can sort this for you’ I said.
He looked up at me. Put his glass down. ‘You can sort it?’
‘I can make it all go away.’
‘How?’
I said I’d collect him at eight o’clock the following morning. I was going to need help. I didn’t add that he’d be feeling some pain in the final reckoning. And that was just from me. He wasn’t walking away from this. I looked at Don’s number in my mobile. Not yet. But the time was coming. ‘I’ll put a deal together’ I said to Major. I stood up and left him to his drinking.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I walked
back across the city centre. It was emptying rapidly as the office workers hurried away back to their homes. Hands in my pockets, I increased my pace. I was now more than certain I was right. I knew who had killed Greg Tasker. I had one more visit to make and then I’d go back to my flat and make some calls. Beg if I needed to. I joined the rush hour traffic heading west out of the city centre, patiently waiting my turn. I parked up outside Tasker’s parent’s house. Keith let me in. I followed him through the house and into the kitchen.
‘I’m on cooking duty tonight’ he said. ‘Kath’s decided to go out and see a friend, have a chat, but I can get her to come back.’ I watched him pick up a spoon and stir whatever was in the saucepan. ‘Rather basic, I’m afraid.’
I nodded. ‘Probably better at it than me.’
He turned the heat down and offered me a drink. I asked for a glass of water, drank it back quickly and returned it for a refill.
‘I heard about Steve on the news. Terrible business’ he said. ‘Do you know how he is?’
‘He’s out of hospital.’
‘That’s good news, at least.’
I hoped it was.
‘He was always the quiet one. The one who took things to heart. Will you be seeing him?’
I nodded. ‘Definitely.’
‘Pass on my best wishes to him, please.’
I told him I would. ‘I spoke to Siobhan’ I said. ‘She’s decided to leave Hull.’
He took the information in. ‘Right.’
‘I think she’s made her mind up.’
He looked genuinely taken aback by the news. For all his wife’s dislike of Siobhan, she was still an important link to their son. In some ways, they were also losing a daughter. ‘Would you like me to let her know I’ve spoken to you?’
‘No, it’s fine. I’ll call her before she goes.’ He paused. Turned his attention back to the cooking. ‘Have you got any other news for us?’ he asked.
I told him I’d have some news for him tomorrow. ‘I wanted to make sure you were alright first.’
He stopped stirring the food and wiped his hands on a tea-towel. ‘We’re doing our best.’ He offered me a stronger drink. I declined. ‘It’s hit Kath hard’ he said.
‘How is she?’
‘Getting there. At least I have my work to take my mind off things. That’s why I was hoping her decision to see her friend tonight would help. She’s known her for years. I think talking to your journalist friend helped her. I’m not sure I agree with it, but it’s a release.’
‘I understand.’ I watched him walk to the patio doors and look out.
‘You’re a good man, Joe. Your dad would have been proud of you.’
I turned away from him and hoped that was the truth. We sat in silence for a moment.
‘I’m ashamed’ he said. ‘Kath needs me and I haven’t been here for her. I’ve been using work as an excuse to stay away. I didn’t think I could cope with it all. I lost sight of what’s important, but trust me, I know now. You do what you need to do, but please, just bring some closure to this for us so I can take care of her.’
I was finished for the day. As I turned onto Westbourne Avenue, I drove past my flat, checking for any surprises from Fitzjohn. Satisfied I was alone, I hurried inside, making sure the door was locked behind me. I had work to do, but I showered first. The water was cold. It did its job and I was ready to continue working. I got my notes out and spread them out in front of me. I hadn’t eaten since Fitzjohn had interrupted my lunch. Pizza leaflets were pinned to the fridge door. Selecting one, I rang and ordered, put some music on and went back to my notes. I’d flicked through the pile of CDs next to the stereo, settling on ‘Exile on Main Street’, my favourite by The Stones. I looked at the sleeve and smiled. I’d bought the recent reissue – money for old rope, I thought. Nice work if you can get it. I looked at my notes. I knew who killed Tasker, and why they’d done it. It made sense. My notes were detailed, so I set to work condensing them, double-checking the connections and theories, testing the assumptions I’d made. I lost myself in the task until the buzzer to my flat sounded. My first thought was Fitzjohn, but then I relaxed as I remembered I’d ordered food. I glanced down out of my window, surprised to see Sarah stood outside. I paused, turned the music off, picked up the receiver and let her up. She walked in, moved a pile of my notes and sat down on the sofa.
‘This is a surprise’ I said. ‘How was Spain?’
‘Lauren thought it was great. I haven’t seen her so happy in ages.’
‘Pleased to hear it.’
She wasn’t best pleased to be coming home for school.’
I smiled. ‘I’m sure she wasn’t.’ The last time I’d spoken to her, she couldn’t wait, loved her teacher. But I doubt it compared to being on holiday.
The door buzzer went again. This time it was the pizza. Sarah made to leave, saying she was getting in the way.
‘Stay’ I said. ‘Please.’ I opened the pizza box lid. ‘I’ve ordered too much, anyway.’
She sat back down whilst I found some clean plates and cutlery. There was a bottle of wine on the unit top, next to the toaster. ‘Cheers’ I said, passing her the food and drink.
‘Dad said I should stay away from you’ she said.
I nodded. I wasn’t surprised. Don had been clear. ‘He spoke to me about it.’ I’d been thinking things over. ‘I’ve made a mess of everything’ I said. ‘A total mess.’
She told me it didn’t matter. Not now. ‘I’m angry with Dad’ she said. ‘I knew he wouldn’t be able to leave it alone. I make my own decisions, but he won’t listen.’ She shrugged. ‘He bought me the plane tickets, so I had to go. I should have stayed. Offered you some help.’
‘He only wants the best for you’ I said. I couldn’t blame him for that. I’d brought trouble to their door on more than one occasion. She didn’t need that, especially with Lauren around. ‘I tried to call you.’
‘My phone was flat. I lost my charger somewhere in the office.’
I smiled. ‘I lose mine all the time.’
‘Dad mentioned the state of your face’ she said.
‘I had a spot of bother with the people who broke into the office.’
‘He said.’
There wasn’t much I could add. I was going to need Don’s help to finish this. I would have to accept whatever he threw at me. ‘It just spiralled out of control. It’s why you couldn’t stay around. I don’t want you having to deal with these people.’
‘I probably wouldn’t fare any worse than you.’
I laughed. ‘Major stitched me up good and proper, right from the start’ I said. ‘He knew these people were going to come up here looking for him.’ He’d told Fitzjohn that Trevor Bilton had the money. I’d been used all along.
‘Did you get any more money off him?’
‘No.’ I passed her another slice of pizza and refilled her glass. Don had been against me taking the job in the first place and he’d been proved right. The teenager within me had been hugely excited by the scenario laid out by Major. The lure of the road. I’d been stupid enough to fall for it.
Sarah pointed at my mountain of paperwork. ‘Old habits die hard?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘How’s Julia?’
‘Fine, so far as I know.’
‘So far as you know?’
‘I mean, she’s alright. Working hard. She’s been a great help.’ I put my food down. I’d said the wrong thing. Again.
‘Right.’
‘I know she’s helping for her own reasons, not just because she wants to.’ I paused, seeing the truth. ‘I haven’t handled things particularly well. I know that.’
She put her food down. ‘You’re allowed to live, Joe. I don’t have a problem with that, I really don’t. Nobody expects you to live the rest of your life like a monk. Debbie wouldn’t have wanted that for you. You’ve got to be happy.’
I glanced at my wedding photo. I really wasn’t sure what Debbie would be thinking. I knew I would want her to be happy if things had been different, so maybe it worked both ways. I understood what we were talking about. The problem was, I wasn’t happy. ‘I’m not seeing Julia’ I said. ‘Call it a holiday romance, if you like. I don’t know what it was.’ All I knew was it wasn’t right for me.
Sarah picked up a slice of pizza and smiled. ‘You’re not the only one who’s had a holiday romance.’
I didn’t want to ask for the details. Sarah said no to more wine. I put what was left back in the fridge. I needed to keep a clear head for the morning.
‘What else is new?’ she asked, once I sat back on the sofa.
I told her what I’d learnt since she’d gone away. I told her about Jay Harrison and what Major had done to keep Tasker apart from his son. It made some sort of sense, now I knew. I understood why Jason Harrison had been so abrasive, but it was all so sad. Nobody was happy with what they had. I told her about how Priestley had always carried a torch for Lorraine Harrison, and how Tasker knew it, took advantage of his friend’s feelings. It was about establishing a pecking order for the reunion. Old sores hadn’t healed and there was an unpleasant undercurrent within the band, culminating in Priestley’s suicide attempt.
‘I spoke to Major earlier’ I said. ‘It’s really quite shocking how angry he is. I think he’s jealous, certainly of Priestley, maybe even Tasker, despite him being his friend. I don’t think he’s got any real purpose to his life, so he was going to do his best to make sure Tasker and Priestley suffered for it. If he couldn’t find any contentment or purpose, I don’t think he wanted them to have it, either.’ I shrugged. That was my reading of it. I pointed to the pile of paperwork. ‘I’ve got to get to the bottom of things now.’ I realised I was doing it for Jason Harrison, too, after the way I’d almost brought his world crashing down. I didn’t need to ask what I should do about Jay Harrison. I decided there and then I couldn’t tell Greg’s parents about Jay. It wasn’t my decision to make and it felt like I’d already done enough damage to the Harrisons.
Sarah stood up. ‘I should be going.’ She phoned for a taxi. It pulled up outside my flat five minutes later. ‘It’s been nice to see a friendly face’ I said.
‘Same here’ she said.
We stood together at the window and looked out at the taxi. It sounded its horn. It was dark with little sign of life. I stared at our reflections in the window. I turned and smiled at her. I liked the calmness of the scene.
‘Why did you do it?’ she asked me.
It was a good question. If people ask for help, you give it. Keith Tasker had told me how he’d helped my family when asked. My parents couldn’t repay the favour, so I had to. ‘Sometimes you don’t have a choice’ I said.
‘Do you know who killed Greg?’ Sarah said.
‘I’ll let you know’ I said. My night wasn’t done yet. I still had arrangements to make for tomorrow.
The taxi driver sounded his horn again. She kissed me on the cheek. ‘Be safe, Joe.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I looked
at myself in the mirror. The cuts and bruises were starting to heal over. I nodded at my reflection. It was early, but I was alert. It was time. I’d spent an hour on the phone after Sarah had left my flat, and I’d had to work hard to convince people I was right. I’d forced some breakfast down, as it promised to be a long day.
I collected Kane Major from his hotel. He complained about the early start, but I zoned him out, telling him the rest of the country coped with it just fine. I wasn’t in the mood to pander to him. We drove in silence after that. We watched Julia get out of a taxi. ‘What’s she doing here?’ he said.
We’d parked up in the Humber Bridge car park, right under its watchful eye. We were in the far corner, well away from the trickle of other cars coming and going.
‘You said she had full access to the story. Remember?’ I said.
‘Are you taking the piss?’
‘Not at all.’
‘She can’t be here now.’
I smiled at him. ‘I really don’t give a shit what you think.’
‘Like that is it, PI? Remember, I gave you this job.’
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ‘Do you think I’d have taken it if I knew what was going to happen?’
‘Are you a man or a mouse?’
I took a deep breath. He’d struck a nerve. His attitude was the opposite of Don’s. Don wanted me nowhere near danger. But things weren’t always that simple.
Julia walked across to us. Smiled. ‘Morning, gentlemen.’
She was in a good mood, but she was about to get a big exclusive.
‘She’ll be writing it all up’ I said to Major. I didn’t add that she would do that whatever the outcome. I turned away from him and looked at the bridge. The city should do more to promote it. The piss-poor cafe and souvenir shop wasn’t enough. Not by some distance. I turned back to Major. ‘You’re a weak man. Did I tell you that?’
‘Fuck off, PI.’
‘If things don’t go your way, you’re like a petulant child. No wonder you’ve got nobody.’
‘Fuck you.’
I turned to Julia and shrugged. We watched as Trevor Bilton walked across the car park towards us. It’d taken me several phone calls to reach him, but I hadn’t given in. I couldn’t afford to. He stopped ten yards away from us, hands in his pockets, staring at us.
‘Drop the gangster shit’ I said. ‘We’re all friends here.’
He pointed at Major. ‘My brother took a beating for that cunt.’
‘I think you owe the man an apology’ I said to Major.
He said nothing, turned away from us. I told Bilton to come closer. ‘He’s made an idiot out of all of us’ I said. ‘He’s played us all for fools. He drew Greg Tasker back into a world he didn’t want to go back to’ I said. I made sure I had Major’s attention. ‘Didn’t you?’