Savage Night (11 page)

"Suppose the plan was to get rid of the pieces. Lose the head. Lose the hands. Make the body hard to identify. But they were disturbed and ran. Left Dad behind."

"Jesus," Park said. "That's …." He couldn't think of what to say. He concentrated on breathing.

"Dad?"

"I'm fine, Eff." He batted her hand away.

Martin said, "I think Dad was going to use the money to do a runner. Otherwise he'd have paid off his debts."

"Would have been too obvious," Effie said. "Money goes missing. Your dad's debts are cleared. Wouldn't take a genius to figure out what had happened."

"That's what we figured," Martin said. "And things weren't great between him and Mum."

"Because of the drink?" Park said.

"Yep. He was abusive sometimes. A lot, actually. She wouldn't have minded if he'd left."

"Still." Park's head felt almost solid again. "He was your dad." He dared to sit up. Took a moment to confirm, but it seemed like he'd beaten it. Good. Didn't want to pass out again in front of Martin. "Nobody deserves to come to an end like that."

Martin looked at him. "He wasn't a great dad, but, yeah, the truth is I miss him."

They were quiet for a while. Then Park said, "Hope the bastards paid."

"What bastards?"

"The ones who killed him."

Martin let a burst of air out through his nose. "Still walking around."

"They let them out already?"

Martin held his breath. Then: "They've never been in."

Park absorbed the information. "The murderer's never been caught?" he said.

"Sorry," Martin said. "I can't talk …" He got up, put his hand to his brow and walked out of the room with Park calling after him. Effie followed him.

Park got off the floor, slowly. Still not a hundred per cent. He took Martin's seat on the settee, said to Liz, "Did you know anything about all that?"

Impossible that Liz had put on weight already, but that's what it looked like. Couple of pounds at least. Maybe she was just happy.

He took her hand and held it. "You're looking very sexy," he told her.

He'd almost polished off his beer by the time Effie returned, alone. "Martin okay?" Park asked.

Effie closed the door. "As okay as he can be. Have to keep an eye on him. He gets depressed sometimes."

"I've never seen him depressed."

"There's a lot you haven't seen. A lot you don't know. Squeeze up."

Park let go of Liz's hand and edged along. Effie sat next to him, tucked her legs under her bottom.

"Sod it." She reached for Park's beer. He gave it to her. She took a sip. "You've heard one story. You might as well hear the other." Another sip, emptied it. "When he was a kid, " she said, "Martin tried to hang himself."

Park had new information coming at him from all angles tonight.

"That's why he keeps his neck covered," she said. "Big scar from the rope burn. It still embarrasses him."

"Makes sense," he said. "I suppose. What happened?"

"All I know is he was only ten at the time. Didn't get it right. Not enough of a drop. His mum found him choking to death and cut him down. He says he was playing. It was an accident."

"You don't believe him?"

"I know when he's lying. It was deliberate. A cry for help."

"I need more beer," Park said. "You want one?"

She nodded.

Park grabbed two beers out of the fridge, removed the caps. Felt fine now. The nausea gone. Back in the sitting room, he handed a bottle to Effie.

She pressed it to her cheek, closed her eyes.

Park didn't want to talk about her boyfriend trying to hang himself twenty-odd years ago. Especially if Martin claimed it was an accident. Hell, that was his business. But Park did want to hear more about the murder. He asked her, "Anybody have any idea who killed Martin's dad?"

"Yeah. In fact, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She opened her eyes, yawned. "I'm sorry. Looking after Mum's hard work. I'm out tomorrow, by the way. You'll have to watch her."

"Fine," Park said. "Carry on."

"This guy who arranged the hit on Martin's dad? Back then he was a dealer. Or a smuggler. Did a roaring trade in illegal cigarettes, apparently. Eventually made enough money to turn legit. Invested in property and made a fortune."

"Martin's dad's death was a hit?"

"Yep."

"And you're sure it was this dealer guy who put out the contract?"

"The bastard said he was going to have him killed. Told Martin's mum."

"Jesus. She tell that to the police?"

"Yeah, but he had an airtight alibi. Course he did. Wouldn't have wanted to get his hands dirty. Didn't do it himself. Like I said. It was a hit."

Park had an idea what was coming. Postponed it by asking, "And this was just because Martin's dad ripped him off?"

"Pure and simple. He wouldn't give them their money back. Claimed he knew nothing about it. But they were convinced it was him. He had access. Motive."

"It was just money, though? What a bunch of bastards. What's this dealer guy's name?"

She smiled at him. "Savage. Tommy Savage. And this isn't just a case of taking Martin's mum's word, Dad. You know how Richie used to tell me everything?"

He knew what was coming. Oh, yeah, he knew.

He swallowed more beer. His elder son had a lot to answer for. He was glad Richie was in prison, no access to beer. Best place for him. Park said, "You're saying your brother …?"

"I am."

"Does Martin know?"

"Course he doesn't." She smiled again. It didn't last. "I can't tell him my big brother took out his dad. I have to keep that a secret from him all the time. It's killing me."

Park shook his head. No, that wasn't something you could say to your betrothed. "Eff, how come Richie knew who'd hired him for the job? I'd have thought the names of the people taking out the …"

"Expurgations," she said.

"… aye, them, would only be known to the Spanish guy."

"Carlos?"

Park nodded. Not someone he'd ever met. But Carlos was the guy who set up the contracts for Richie. Took the orders, if you like. Arranged payments. Richie called him his agent, thought very highly of him. Never breathed a word about the Spaniard when he was arrested.

When Richie got sent down, it hadn't come as a surprise to Park. Everybody's luck runs out sooner or later. Park knew what his son did. Effie had told him early on (those two were close, almost like twins), knew Park wouldn't snitch on his son.

Problem was Liz. She hadn't known that her big boy killed people for a living and after she found out, she changed.

"I asked Richie to find out who'd placed the hit on Martin's dad," Effie said. "He asked Carlos. Carlos said it was Tommy Savage. And Carlos has no reason to lie."

"So this Tommy Savage hired Richie to kill your boyfriend's dad," Park said. "That's fucked up."

"I can't let Savage get away with it."

"Course not."

She shifted in her seat, inched closer to him. "I have an idea how to sort it out. Make everything work out for the best."

"I'm listening."

"We need to make Tommy Savage pay," she said. "You agree?"

"Certainly seems that way. What're you thinking?"

"He deserves to die," she said. "But he's stinking rich. Could be worth a lot to us alive."

Park couldn't quite see how. It wasn't as if they could blackmail Savage. They didn't have any proof he'd ordered the hit on Martin's dad. Just had Carlos the Spaniard's word, and he wasn't exactly likely to spill to the authorities if Savage refused to pay up.

Park must have looked puzzled cause she said, "We can use Savage's money to get Mum into a decent home."

"I like that idea," Park said, nodding slowly. "I like it a lot." He looked at Liz. "But how do we get it?"

"Well, here's the clever bit. We threaten him."

"Okay. Think that'll work?"

"As long as we prove we're serious."

"Go on."

"We tell him we're going to kill somebody. That's the threat."

"And we prove we're serious by … ?"

"Doing it."

"Right," Park said. He thought about what she'd just said. "You think we should actually kill somebody to show Savage we mean business?"

"Yes."

Park didn't like to appear stupid in front of his daughter but he couldn't follow her line of thought. He asked, "How does that work?"

"If Savage sees we're prepared to kill someone,.and he knows he's next, then he'll pay up. We have something on him. He's guilty. He can't go to the police. Course he'll pay up."

"And if he doesn't?"

"The only reason for not killing him is to get some money out of him. If he won't pay up, he might as well die."

"But just suppose he doesn't pay up, then we'll have killed somebody for nothing."

"Not if we kill someone who deserves it."

Park paused. This was interesting. "You have somebody in mind?"

"Think about it."

He thought about it. Shook his head.

"Isn't there one person you'd really like to see dead?"

He wasn't there yet.

"Someone Mum would like to see dead? Someone who treated her like shit, never changed her pads, called her a fucking cabbage, let some poor old madwoman nearly suffocate her?"

"Fuck, aye." That wanker, McCracken. He could see now how all this might work. Kill McCracken to show Savage they meant business. Then blackmail Savage. Bleed him dry. Use his money to get Liz in a new home. Maybe tap him up for a bundle to give Effie and Martin a nice wedding. And Martin would be avenged for his father's murder, even if he could never know the ins and outs of it.

Only one problem. Park had never killed anyone. "If only Richie was around," he said.

"I can manage," Effie said. "And Grant offered to help."

"You told Grant?"

She said nothing.

"Before you told me?"

"Actually," she said. "It was Grant who came up with the blackmail idea. I would have been more than happy to kill the fucker."

Park believed her. She really took things personally sometimes. "So Grant knows about Martin's dad?"

"He knows everything. He's cool, Dad."

"Yeah," Park said. "It's not that I don't trust him. I'm just not too sure about involving him. He's got his own place. Well, his own room. And a job. Making a life for himself. And I don't imagine killing someone's going to be that straightforward."

"He wants to do something for Mum," Effie said. "Don't shut him out."

Park ran the palm of his hand down his face. "If we do this, we need to do it right. I'm not going back to jail."

"We'll be very careful."

"Effie," he said. "You're a lunatic."

"Look who's talking," she said and smiled. "You think we can do it?"

Park weighed McCracken's life against Liz's comfort, and there was no contest. Having a good reason to kill McCracken was a godsend. Shit, even a bad reason was fine. He could do this, no problem. A few tips from Richie and he'd be solid.

"Well?"

He nodded. "But you stay out of it," he said. "
I'll
handle it."

Effie looked disappointed but she didn't argue. "I'll look into homes for Mum in the morning, then," she said.

***

NEXT MORNING HE'D gone out for a walk in the brisk March air, left Effie to make her calls in peace.