The Late Greats (18 page)

I went back into the kitchen to finish making the drinks. I hoped Julia would say something comforting in the meantime.

I rejoined them and passed her a mug. ‘What does Lorraine have that I don’t?’ Siobhan said.

I assumed an answer wasn’t required. ‘Was Greg back into drugs?’ I asked.

She put the mug back down and shook her head. ‘No.’

‘They were yours?’

She nodded. ‘I’m trying to stop, I really am. I just need it for now, for a couple of days to get me through all this.’

I didn’t want to push her, so I let it go.

We sat in silence for a few moments. Siobhan spoke again. ‘I felt like I was losing Greg. I had to do something to try and get his interest back. Stupid, I know.’

‘The age difference?’ Julia said.

‘And other things. We’d been arguing a lot recently. Whenever I went to his flat, it seemed like we argued. Stupid thing was it was over nothing in particular. Lots of small things which we kept going over and over. The same things. Lorraine, the reunion, all that kind of stuff.’

It confirmed what Greg’s neighbour had told me. ‘You should get help’ I said.

She sat upright and looked at me. ‘I just need to get past the next couple of days.’

I understood what she meant. I’d gone to pieces when Debbie had died, but this wasn’t the way to deal with things. I knew that much. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘When this is over.’

She looked puzzled. ‘I’ve got no idea.’

Half an hour later and I’d put Siobhan into a taxi and sent her home. We told her we might want to speak to her again. Julia produced a bottle of wine she’d been carrying in her bag. I smiled. ‘Excellent idea.’

‘I think we’ve earned it’ she said.

I took it from her and went for it. It needed saying. ‘About earlier today’ I said.

‘It doesn’t need to be said, Joe. Let’s just leave it, shall we?’

I nodded my agreement. Remembering the CD Lorraine had given me, I passed it over to Julia, explaining what it was. She told me to put it on. We listened to what would have been Tasker’s comeback album. The songs were simply Tasker and his acoustic guitar. Whether he planned to overdub a band onto them later, we’d never know. The songs were good. Some were very good. It’d been a long day and the wine was making me drowsy. Before the CD was finished, I’d fallen asleep.

Breakfast was an apple and a coffee. And I was alone. Julia had left. I showered and headed out to speak to Jason Harrison. His boss had told me on my previous visit that he was going on holiday, taking his caravan up the coast, leaving Harrison to look after things. There was a red MG on the ramp and two more cars parked outside of the garage. I walked around the car and peered into the office. It was a mess. Two chairs were placed next to the desk. Boxes of spare parts piled in the corner. There was no one there. I turned around and saw Jason Harrison. I hadn’t heard him climb out from under the car he was working on. He was holding a large wrench in his hand.

‘I’ve got nothing to say to you’ he said.

I smiled. ‘Do you want put that down?’

‘No.’

I moved closer and stood next to the car. He might want to do me some damage, but he wasn’t going to risk damaging the car. ‘I need to talk to you.’

‘I’ve got nothing to say to you.’

The car was nice. If I ever had the money, I could see myself driving it. I paused. I did have the money, though. I could afford it. I’d bought into the partnership with some of the insurance money from my wife’s death and put the rest in the bank and forgotten about it. I pushed the thought to one side. I wasn’t going to waste it on a car. I turned back to Harrison. ‘Anything you want to tell me?’ I asked.

He laughed. ‘Why would I want to talk to you?’

I took another step forward. ‘I know you’ve got a temper on you. ’

Harrison grinned. ‘And you think it means I killed Tasker?’

‘Give them enough time and the police will eventually get around to you’ I said.

‘You’re not very quick, are you?’ He looked at the wrench then looked at me. ‘They’ve already spoken to me.’

I nodded. Sometimes I’m stupid; sometimes it pays to let people tell you what they know. If it helps them underestimate me, so much the better. ‘Did you tell them about your wife and Greg?’

He looked like he wanted to punch me. ‘It was a long time ago. She had a relationship with him before we met. So what?’

‘Did you give the police an alibi?’

‘What’s it got to do with you?’

I shrugged. ‘I might be the best friend you’ve got.’

He looked at me like I was mad. I told him what my involvement was. If he had nothing to hide, it was in his interests to tell me.

‘I was out with the boss, having a drink.’

‘All night?’

‘Until the pubs kicked out.’

‘And then what?’

‘I had a kebab and went home.’

‘Don’t lie to me.’

‘I’m not.’

‘I know you left your boss standing around in the pub like a spare part.’

He waved the discrepancy away. ‘I’d had enough for the night. I just needed to get some fresh air.’

‘You didn’t like Tasker being back on the scene, did you?’ I said.

‘I thought I’d made that clear last time.’

‘Jealous?’

‘Why would I be jealous of him?’

‘He was a famous musician who’d had a relationship with your wife.’

‘Long time ago.’

‘But they were still in touch.’

He moved towards me. ‘What the fuck are you saying?’

He was challenging me. It was time to say it like it was. ‘It must have made you feel second best. I know that’s how I would have felt if I was you.’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t think about him.’

‘No?’

‘He’s in the past.’

‘The band was reforming. He wasn’t in the past.’

‘Why would I give a shit about the fucking band? It’s her who needs to sort her priorities out. She should be doing something more useful, like taking some of that overtime she’s been offered. If I get laid off here, we’ll need the extra.’

‘She isn’t going to stop with the website, though, is she?’

He shook his head. ‘She never shuts up talking about him and the band. Never gives it a rest.’

‘Where did you go when you left the pub?’ I repeated.

‘You really think I killed him?’

I shrugged. I knew he had plenty of time to leave the pub and get across Hull. Certainly at that time of night. His alibi was worthless.

The fight seemed to leave him. ‘I went to Tasker’s flat, alright?’

‘His flat?’

‘I’d had enough. I wanted to sort it out, man to man. Tell him to leave us alone.’

‘It must be tough for you’ I said. I knew that had to be true. I could feel some sympathy for him.

‘You don’t know the half of it’ he said.

I walked around the car, looking at the upholstery and finish. It was beautiful. I gave him the time to get his thoughts together and continue. ‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘At his flat?’

‘He wasn’t there.’

‘Did anyone see you?’

‘No idea. Look, I really don’t give a shit that he’s dead’ he said. ‘I don’t care what you think. I just never wanted my son anywhere near the man. That’s all. Have you ever felt like you can’t do right for wrong, like you’re some sort of idiot?’

I nodded and moved closer to him. ‘Of course.’ Probably more than he knew.

‘I hated the man and the way he was always there in the background.’ he said ‘Like he was part of our lives.’

I snapped back into our conversation, pushing my own thoughts to one side. His alibi wouldn’t stand up. I looked again at the car, admired the finish. I turned, looked him in the eye, wondering how far I could push him. ‘You said it was in the past. Maybe you’re the one with the problem?’

He threw the wrench at the wall, shouting at me to get out. ‘If you want the truth, go speak to my wife.’

I nodded and told him I’d be doing that.

Lorraine sat at the reception desk. The office was quiet. I waited for her to finish her call before speaking. ‘I’ve just spoken to your husband.’ She looked up. She wasn’t pleased to see me. I wasn’t bothered. It was time to start sorting things out.

‘Why are you bothering him at work?’ she said to me.

‘We had things to discuss’ I said.

‘I told you. My husband didn’t kill Greg. You’re wasting your time talking to him.’ She walked out from behind the desk and opened the front door to the office. ‘I can’t believe you’ve got the nerve to come back here, saying these things. This is where I work. I want you to leave. And don’t bother coming back.’

‘I know, Lorraine.’

She looked at me. ‘What do you know?’

‘I’ve put it together. I know.’

She nodded. The decision made. She relented. ‘How did you find out?’ she said.

‘Maths.’ Priestley had told me she’d always stayed in touch with Tasker, even when they’d moved down to London. It hadn’t seemed important until now, but thinking on it, it was strange. Friendships come and go. Some are only made for a specific moment, and hers with Greg Tasker seemed like a classic example. Their lives had taken very different paths, yet they’d stayed in touch. And her husband’s dislike of Tasker went far beyond normal jealousy. He hated the man, and for that, he had to have good reason. I knew from his reaction in the garage that there was more to the story. ‘Your husband more or less confirmed it for me.’

‘Wait there a minute.’ She said it was almost time for her break. She made a call and we waited in silence until another woman appeared to take her place on the reception desk. Lorraine led me out of the building. We walked to Queens Gardens. Less than a hundred years ago, it had been a working dock. Now it was one of the few places you could find some peace in the city centre. We found a bench next to one of the ponds. I angled myself away from the Mick Ronson band stage. It was hardly a fitting tribute to one of the city’s most famous musicians and nor did it seem appropriate when we were talking about another one. My city was terrible when it came to commemorating its past and coming to terms with its history. I looked at Lorraine. It was like she’d had a weight lifted from her shoulders.

‘Jay is Greg’s’ she said, turning to face me. ‘But Jason is his real dad.’

I nodded my understanding. ‘Of course.’

‘It doesn’t make any difference to me.’

‘But Jason knows?’

‘We don’t talk about it.’

He knew. I was sure.

‘I met Jason as Greg left and went down to London with the band’ she said. ‘He’s the complete opposite to Greg. Jason is a family man who puts us first. He was the kind of person I needed after Greg. Jason was very good about the pregnancy. I think he wanted a child as much as I did, so we never had the conversation. We took it as being a nice surprise. It was quick, but it was what we wanted. End of story. We never discussed it again.’

‘Did you tell him about Greg?’

‘He knew I’d had a relationship with him, but he wasn’t bothered by it. Not then. He never asked the question about Jay, so I never said anything.’

‘He never questioned it?’

‘Neither of us wanted to upset things.’

‘But things changed?’

She nodded. I sat quietly and let her work out what she wanted to tell me.

‘It’s not fair’ she eventually said. ‘It’s not fair on me or Jason, but it’s especially not fair on Jay. It didn’t seem like a problem when he was younger, but now he’s a bit older it feels like I shouldn’t be lying to him like this.’

‘Did you speak to Greg?’

‘He’d worked it out.’

‘How?’

She laughed. ‘Jay looks like Greg.’

I hadn’t particularly noticed the resemblance. He’d probably done the maths, like I had.

‘What did Greg want?’ I asked.

She looked at me, as if I was stupid. ‘His son.’

I looked around the Gardens. Office workers on their lunch breaks and pupils from the nearby nautical school running around. I turned back to Lorraine. ‘What about Jason?’

‘I haven’t told him.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’d destroy him. I couldn’t do it to him. I’d hate myself.’

‘He must have had his suspicions?’

‘His name’s is on the birth certificate. I thought it was enough.’

‘But Greg wanted to be part of Jay’s life’ I said.

‘He wanted to leave Siobhan and start again with me and Jay.’

‘He was going to tell his parents about Jay?’ I said. That made sense to me now.

‘I think so, but I told him he couldn’t do that.’

‘When did you speak to Greg about Jay?’

‘Not that long ago.’

‘What did you want to do?’ I asked.

She held my stare. ‘I wanted to believe Greg. I really wanted to believe what he said, but I’d made my decision years ago. I couldn’t do it to Jason. He stood by me when I needed it the most, so now it’s my turn to stand by him. It cuts both ways.’ She paused. ‘Do you have family?’

I thought about my brother, but pushed it to one side. I hadn’t made the time to ring him since our night out, but I’d promised I would. ‘You don’t owe Jason your life’ I said.

‘Just leave it, please.’

I felt sorry for her. She was trapped in a marriage she didn’t want with a man she didn’t really love. It was sad she felt she couldn’t make a change, that she owed him so much. I wondered if Tasker had told Kane Major about his son, that he was willing to move away with Lorraine. I wondered if that would have meant there’d be no reunion. I couldn’t see Major receiving that news happily. Equally, Jason Harrison stood to lose everything. He’d treated Jay like his own, probably believed it, too, but he had to know the truth. It gave him a powerful motive in relation to Tasker’s murder. Tasker would have brought Harrison’s life crashing down around him.

We were finished here. Lorraine stood up, ready to leave. I told her she could call me whenever she liked.

‘Please don’t speak to my husband again’ she said, before walking away from me.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The office
was cold and empty. I’d spent the time as I walked down Whitefriargate thinking over what I’d learnt. It struck me Tasker’s parents didn’t realise they had a grandson. Sarah would know whether I should tell them about Jay or not, but she wasn’t around to ask. It might be some small compensation after losing their son that he would live on through his child. Sat at my desk, I busied myself by updating my notes. It was a habit I’d picked up from Don. He called them ‘Case Management Reviews’, like he was still in the police force. He was right. It made sense and it helped me stay on top of things. Easily distracted, I checked the BBC website for any updates on Tasker. There was nothing new from DI Robinson and his team. I called Julia to see if she’d made any progress. She was just about to leave the press conference she was attending.