The Know (36 page)

But he had changed so much in the last three months as to be virtually unrecognisable from the lad Paulie had taken on. He looked older and he looked harder. The boyish good looks had long gone, swamped overnight by grief.

Jon Jon was vicious, but it was a controlled viciousness. Whereas before he had been subject to quick flashes of temper, now he was constantly looking for a fight and he was finding them - and winning.

Paulie sighed as he thought about it. But on the plus side at least he had thrown himself into work and that had paid dividends for the business.

It was Joanie he worried about most.

She seemed to have caved in on herself, as if she was alive but not living. That was the only way he could describe the change in her. She walked, talked and sometimes she ate, but it was as if it was all in slow motion. All pretend. She wanted to be with her daughter, and was only carrying on until she knew for certain the child was dead. Then he had no doubt she would soon follow.

He himself was frightened to think of what might have become of Kira. Bad enough for that to happen to a child he knew. But to hear the child was actually his had thrown him. Paulie pushed the thought once more from his mind; he couldn’t think about it. Besides, he only had Joanie’s word for it anyway. And, he reasoned, how could she be sure?

She had been through more blokes than Dockyard Dolly, the stevedores’ friend, so he was not sure if Kira really was his child or if Joanie merely wanted her to be his. He knew she believed it, but he wasn’t sure he did. Either way, he didn’t want to think about it.

As Linette left the flat he smiled at her tightly. Once she was dressed he had no real interest in her any more. He was strange like that and he knew it.

But he had an ear out and a bounty on the Thompsons’ heads. If they could be found he would find them, it was the least he could do.

 
Little Tommy was still in constant pain, but it was getting easier by the day. He was in a nursing home in Sheffield, paid for by the government because he was in danger of retaliatory attacks in prison. No one here knew who he was, and he answered to the name of Jeffrey Palmer. He liked the name in some ways, it had an edge to it.

He wondered for the hundredth time what his father was doing and where he could have gone to. Joseph had a lot of cronies from the old days, and so Tommy assumed he must have looked some up. He had given various names to the police but they had come up with nothing. But then, they wouldn’t, would they?

He had not given them all the names, he wasn’t
that
stupid. He didn’t want his father turning up again.

His face looked awful. They had made sure he had no mirrors in the room, but he saw his reflection in the window sometimes and he knew how bad he looked. But, he had decided, he had not looked that great to start with.

It was the only way he could cope.

He dreamed of his mother most nights, felt her hold him as she had when he was a little boy. If she had still been alive none of this would have happened, he was sure of that much.

He was eating again, comfort eating.

He wished he had never clapped eyes on Kira Brewer. His father had been right all along. It would only cause trouble, he had said, and he was proved right once more. Why hadn’t Tommy listened to him?

The nurse brought him a carafe of fresh water and he ignored her. Actually, of course, she was ignoring him. None of the nurses really spoke to him, and he knew they didn’t enjoy touching him. But then again, that had been true for most of his life.

No one ever wanted to be near him.

Except Kira, of course.

And look at the trouble that had caused.

He sighed and opened up another Mars bar. As he chewed on it aimlessly he wondered how long he would be here before he was moved once more. They were moving him constantly.

Was he on the run? He supposed he was in a way.

That was food for thought, as his mother used to say.

 
Jon Jon was meeting a bloke from North London. He was a Rasta, originally from Jamaica and then from Newcastle upon Tyne. The man smiled at him and they shook hands, mutual respect evident in their stance and in their faces.

‘Good to meet you at last.’

Sippy smiled at the two of them. He was glad he had brought them together. Sippy loved Jon Jon. There was a natural affinity, both business and personal, between them. Since his sister’s disappearance they had become even closer. Sippy had a sister who had been caught in a gang shoot-out in Jamaica. She was still a child in her mind even now she was a woman in her body. He paid a substantial amount each month for her to be taken care of in a clean and caring environment in Surrey. At the end of the day she was blood and that was all that mattered. The fact he didn’t advertise her existence was his business. But he had confided in Jon Jon to help him understand how you got over things.

Even the worst things.

Now as he watched Errol and Jon Jon he was glad that he had arranged this meet. If anyone could find this Tommy it was Errol. He had all the filth in his pocket, could get literally anything about anyone.

Now he was tracking down the man they believed to be responsible for Kira’s demise, and demise was the right word.

She was dead, they all knew it.

It was how she’d died they wanted to find out.

Sippy leaned forward in his chair and said quietly, ‘If Jon Jon had a body he could bury her, and half the hurt would be gone, Errol. It’s the not knowing.’

Errol nodded his huge head. He was handsome and knew it. Much taken to wearing white vests with blue jeans, he looked the epitome of the Rastaman - until, that is, he stepped into his limited edition Mercedes Sports.

He rarely wore shoes, favouring Reef sandals, and his body was well pumped up from weight training.

Errol sat back in his chair and sipped gladly at his pint of Guinness.

‘Well, we might have some good news. I have two possibles for you. One’s in Sheffield and the other in Birmingham, both suffering from burns, both under assumed names. I got this from a boy I own in the Met. Good lad. He works for the CPS - and for me as well.’

He threw back his head and laughed as he added, ‘I always said he would go far.’

Sippy and Jon Jon laughed with him even though Jon Jon couldn’t think what the fuck he had to laugh about, but he knew how to play the game and he liked Errol. Under different circumstances he would have roared his head off.

Errol slipped him a piece of paper with the addresses on.

‘There are two numbers there. You ring them and you’ll have specialised back-up to go with you, OK?’

Jon Jon nodded.

‘Thank you, Errol, I appreciate it.’

He shrugged, embarrassed.

‘I hope you find him and I hope you find your sister. It must be hard, man, very hard.’

Jon Jon nodded.

Sippy sat quietly, ‘He need revenge, know what I’m saying?’

Errol nodded once more.

‘Of course he does, and we’ll see that he gets it.’

They chatted then about nothing, just chilling, all of them aware that Jon Jon couldn’t wait to leave and follow up the information. But he stayed a while out of politeness because Errol had done him the favour of a lifetime.

 
Jeanette was talking to Liz Parker. The two girls got on like a house on fire.

‘So, how much do you earn in an average night?’ Jeanette asked.

Liz sighed and put her head on one side, thinking. The action made her look much younger than usual.

‘About three hundred quid usually. If I do the special parties I can earn much more, of course.’

Jeanette was intrigued.

‘What are the special parties?’

‘Well, it’s when you look really young like, no makeup, a gymslip and ankle socks!’ She was laughing. ‘Some geezers pay a fortune for all that, see, and you can get three bar just for a couple of hours’ work. You have to act all shy like, unless they tell you different. Some of the blokes like you to be all virginal and others like you to be a right little slapper, it depends, but they all pay well. Plus, you’re round their house, see?’

Jeanette saw and liked what she saw.

‘Once, I was round this bloke’s house and his wife come home . . .’

Jeanette’s eyes were like saucers now.

‘No! What did you do?’

‘I run out the back door, had to take the baby oil and me uniform and everything with me. He pushed me out that house like I was on fire or something. Anyway, I was up the road when I realised I hadn’t been paid.’

Jeanette’s eyes were now stretched to their utmost.

‘You never went back there?’

Liz grinned.

‘Nah, but me pimp did and he got the money quick smart, I can tell you.’

‘Does Paulie Martin do all that too then?’

Liz was careful how she answered this. She knew Jeanette’s mother and Paulie were an item that went back years. There was no way she was going to fuck herself with a few words out of place now. Men like Paulie Martin had a way of knowing exactly what was said about them.

‘Oh, Paulie’s Mr Smooth these days, love,’ she laughed. ‘Why the big interest anyway?’

Jeanette shrugged.

‘No reason. Just interested, that’s all.’

Which she was - because she was thinking of doing it herself. Jeanette wanted a place of her own, somewhere she and Jasper could be alone together without Karen’s motor mouth going round the clock.

‘Who did you do these parties for then?’

Liz was quiet for a few seconds.

‘Why do you want to know?’

‘Just curious.’

‘A bloke called Pippy Light, and he’s a piece of shit. Your brother hates him.’

‘Does he? Why?’

Liz was getting in over her head here and she knew it. Jon Jon would not take kindly to her telling his business to all and sundry, especially not his sister.

‘He just hates nasty pimps, that’s all.’

‘Where does this Pippy hang out then?’

Liz laughed.

‘Are you thinking of going on the bash or something?’

Jeanette laughed with her.

‘’Course not! I’m just wondering, that’s all. A healthy curiosity, nothing more. That’s what Jon Jon always says when he questions me about where I’ve been and what I’m doing. He thinks I don’t know he’s trying to keep tabs on me.’

‘He cares about you, Jeanette.’

The girl flicked back her long brown hair in a gesture of contempt.

‘He wants to live my life for me, you mean.’

Her face was dark now as she thought of how hemmed in she was these days. Her mother was as bad. Didn’t want Jeanette back home - not full-time anyway. Kept saying she needed her space, time to mourn her loss. Kira again. It was always about Kira even now she was gone for ever. But Joanie still nagged Jeanette, got on her case about the bits of thieving she did, and the girl had had enough of it. She wanted her own life.

‘Don’t knock it, love. I wish someone had ever cared that much about me. Even once,’ Liz said wistfully.

Jeanette grimaced.

‘Well, you wouldn’t if they did. It’s a pain in the fucking arse.’

‘After what happened to your sister . . .’

Jeanette jumped up then and said brusquely, ‘Is that the time? I must get going, me mother’s waiting for me to visit her.’

She always changed the subject when people mentioned her sister. Couldn’t bear to think about Kira, feel once more her own scalding guilt for the way she had treated the child.

As she walked to Joanie’s flat she wondered once more what had happened to her little sister. It was all she thought about when she was alone. She had a strong urge to be with someone else, not to suffer this pain alone. Jasper was good to her but the person she really wanted was her mum. This was happening more and more lately to Jeanette, though no one seeing that hard little painted face would ever have guessed at the desolation behind it.

 
Jon Jon watched the changing expressions on his mother’s face and his heart went out to her.

‘Do you think he’s really up there?’ she asked eagerly.

Jon Jon nodded.

‘Meself I think he’s in Sheffield. I don’t know why, just a feeling, but I’m going to visit the Birmingham address first, and then if I have no joy I’ll carry on up North. This Errol was a right nice fella. He’s still looking for us and wouldn’t take a penny for his trouble, you know.’

Joanie nodded.

‘People come up trumps at times like this.’

She was pouring out yet another drink as she spoke and Jon Jon sighed, trying hard not to say anything to her about it and avoid another row. But her drinking was out of hand these days. Even though he felt he should try and stop her, he knew her circumstances were hardly normal and she needed something to bolster her through each and every empty day. Maybe when he’d sorted Tommy for good his mum would start pulling herself together.

She looked painfully pleased by his news and the thought that this was the only pleasure she was likely to feel for a long time, hearing the whereabouts of the beast who had murdered her child, almost made him weep. Instead he hugged her. Joanie hugged him back, enjoying the comforting smell of him, wondering what life was going to throw at them all next.