The Silver Arrow (9 page)

  “He’s in jail fur how long?”

  “Another eight years,” she’d replied.

  “So, whit dis sticking by Johnboy mean?  Surely, no living like a nun…no at your age?”

  “It means no gieing him any reason tae doubt me and cause him any embarrassment.  Who says ye hiv tae go oot and drap yer knickers tae hiv some fun?” she’d cruelly retorted at Lizzie.

  “Look, nobody’s saying ye hiv tae live like Julie Andrews, bit whit happens if Fantasy Boy turns oot tae be some sort ae psycho who cannae relate tae ye unless ye tie him up in hauncuffs eight years doon the line, eh?”

  “Lizzie, whit the hell ur ye oan aboot?” she’d asked, laughing.

  “Him.  How dae ye know he even knows how tae conduct himsel in a relationship?  By the time he gets oot, he’ll be well institutionalised, if he’s no awready.  Whit dis that mean?  It disnae sound tae me as if that’s a good starting point fur a relationship.  And tae wait eight years tae find oot that it isnae gonnae work?  Christ, bit excuse me,” Lizzie hid retorted, heiding aff tae work.

  “There ye go, hen.  Ah’ve slipped ye a wee Digestive biscuit in there oan the hoose, tae cheer ye up, so Ah hiv,” the waitress said, smiling, putting doon the steaming mug in front ae her.

  How well did she know Johnboy?  That wis the question, or rather, how good ae a judge ae character wis she really?  She wisnae as naïve as tae believe that Johnboy and his pals wur yer normal run-ae-the-mill boys she wis looking oot at oan the other side ae the glass, heiding up Cathedral Street wae their Strathclyde university scarves wrapped tightly roond their necks tae keep the rain and cauld aff ae them.  Bit hid Johnboy no agreed that when he wis released oan appeal, which hopefully wid be soon, that him and Senga wid move oot ae Glesga and set up where nowan knew them, where they’d be able tae start a new life thegither?  Wis that no whit they’d agreed?  She knew fur it tae work, Johnboy wid need tae move away fae the toon and The Mankys.  The temptation, or rather the ootside influences wid jist be too great if he didnae. Wid Joe McManus and Kate Simpson still be alive if they’d jist disappeared withoot telling anywan?  It hid only been ten days since the visit, bit awready she’d felt the intrusion ae the Springburn crowd, and in particular, The Mankys, in her life.  Efter drapping aff aw the other lassies back oan tae Keppochhill Road where they’d been picked up ootside the Springburn Halls the day before tae heid doon tae Dumfries, Simon Epstein hid then driven in tae The West End tae drap Senga aff at her flat oan Barrington Avenue.  Oan the route, he’d mentioned aboot her and Lizzie getting a phone installed, bit they’d awready hid that in haun, efter her and Lizzie hid isolated themsels by anchoring at hame fur nearly two weeks, scared tae answer the door in case it hid been The Stalker or Wan-bob Broon, come tae murder them.  Then there hid been the escorted visit tae the lawyer wae The Thompson Twin in the bowler hat, which, although stressful, hid gone fine enough by aw accounts.  Gaun by whit Lizzie hid said, it sounded as if they’d been nice and gentle oan her.

  “Bowler Hat?  Whit Bowler Hat?” Lizzie hid asked, efter arriving back oot in the reception efter gieing her statement tae The Brief and Senga hid described the Welsh guy as looking like wan ae The Thompson Twins fae The Adventures ae Tintin.

  The maist recent intrusion hid been the day before when Lizzie hid nearly hid a heart attack when she’d answered the door.

  “Er, ye better talk tae ma flatmate,” Senga hid heard Lizzie say in a wee subdued, frightened voice, efter Senga hid gone tae find oot who wis at the door ae the flat.

  “Kin Ah help ye?” Senga hid asked the rough, dodgy-looking guy, staunin there looking shifty as hell.

  “Aye, hello, hen, ma name’s Harper…Harper Harris.  Ah’m here tae change yer locks, so Ah am.”

  “Ye ur, ur ye?  And why wid that be then?”

  “Ah don’t know why.  Ah jist dae whit Ah’m telt aboot here.  Mind you, it’s jist as well,” he said, eying up the locks oan the door.  “That Yale lock widnae keep oot a draught, never mind an unwelcome visitor, so it widnae.”

  “Well, nobody informed us that it wis being done,” Lizzie hid retorted bravely, fae behind Senga’s shoulder.

  “Aye, well, ye better take it up wae Simon.  Aw Ah wis telt wis tae get ma arse doon here pronto wae the best locks money could buy and that’s why Ah’m here, so it is.”

  “Simon?  Ye mean ye’re no here fae Woodside Accommodation?”

  “Naw, Ah work fur Springburn Letting…Donna The Prima Donna’s letting agency.” 

  “And Tony Gucci’s,” Senga hid cursed under her breath, staunin aside tae let him in.

  “That widnae be a wee bacon sanny Ah smell by any chance, wid it?”

When Senga hid gone roond tae Carpet Capers and confronted Simon, he’d said that Johnboy hid passed a message tae him via Tony tae get the locks changed.  Simon hid said that aw the letting agencies kept a spare set ae keys and that Johnboy wanted Senga and Lizzie tae be the only wans tae hiv access tae their flat.

  “Bit why?”

  “Look, Senga, take it up wae Johnboy, eh?”

  The other thing that hid bothered Senga hid been the envelope that Simon hid asked her tae pass oan tae Mr Portoy.  He’d said it hid been the final payment fur some car tax offence, bit that hidnae been the impression she’d goat when the envelope hid been opened up in front ae her.

  “Ach, Senga, that’s jist Graham noising ye up.  See they bloody briefs?  They’re aw up their ain arses, so they ur.  Always trying tae scare and confuse people by practicing their trial techniques oan the unsuspecting, so they ur.  Ah’m telling ye, it wis a forty quid cheque tucked away in a long winded legal invoice, so it wis,” he’d claimed, dismissing her questioning.

  Senga looked at her watch.  Ten past wan.  She looked oot the windae as she gathered up her coat. The rain hid stoapped and the sun hid come oot.  Life didnae seem as bad noo as it hid when she’d arrived earlier. Seeing as she wis in the toon centre, she decided tae nip roond tae Buchanan Street tae DIRTY JAKE’S BOUTIQUE and see if Kim Sui wis hivving a lunch break.  Kim Sui wid be able tae tell Senga if she wis jist some sort ae jail junkie or no.  Kim Sui hid been gaun oot wae Tony Gucci since she wis fourteen or fifteen and if anywan knew aboot the perils ae winching a psychotic jailbird, it wid be her.

  “
Good evening.  My name is John Turney and these are the news headlines in Scotland tonight.

  There was relief amongst the poor and disenfranchised across many parts of Scotland tonight after Labour won a second term in office by the narrowest of margins.  Labour now has a three-seat majority after winning its second general election in the past year. Mr Heath for the Tories said after the result that Mr Wilson had to take on the views of the 60% majority of voters who don’t believe in socialism. Mr Wilson said that while he would have wished for more seats, the turnout was democracy at work. Whilst the actual turnout was 72.8%, experts have pointed out that…

  Armed police exchanged shots with each other this morning in Hyndland Road, Glasgow, after reports that a Post Office was being held up by men wielding firearms.  When an armed response team of detectives from the Serious Crime Squad arrived on the scene to investigate, they opened fire on plain clothed, armed colleagues, who had arrived a few minutes earlier.  Chief Inspector Mickey Sherlock, one of the officers leading one of the armed response teams in the city set up to confront armed robbers, refused to confirm reports of the blundered shoot-out.  It was later confirmed by Superintendent Daddy Jackson that a robbery hadn’t been in progress at the time of the police’s arrival and that the Postmaster himself had accidently tripped the robbery alarm response button that the GPO has been installing in post offices across the city…

  Glenda Metcalfe, one of the city’s most successful and prettiest procurator fiscals of recent times, has been reprimanded regarding her conduct following a series of clashes with Glasgow solicitor, Mr Graham Portoy, in open court.  The Lord Advocate for Scotland in Edinburgh, Lord Lawrence, sensationally publicly rebuked Miss Metcalfe for bringing the fiscal’s office in Glasgow into disrepute after several highly publicised clashes with Mr Portoy in open court, presided over by Sheriff Clifford Burns.  Not to be outdone, Mr Portoy has also been warned about his behaviour by The Law Society of Scotland.  Both Miss Metcalfe and Mr Portoy were unavailable for comment tonight, however
,
David Broderick, Head of the Procurator Fiscal Service in Glasgow expressed his confidence in Miss Metcalfe, stating that she was one of the hardest working professional young prosecutors he had come across in over twenty seven years in the prosecution service…

The funeral of fifteen-year-old James Allan, the youngster who was stabbed to death in a gang fight in Tollcross last week, took place at…

  Ambulance drivers in the West of Scotland are threatening industrial action after pay and condition negotiations broke down today…

  A pretty seventeen-year-old student was attacked and raped in a lane just off John Street last night after leaving Strathclyde Students Union, where she’d been watching a live concert.  The student, who hasn’t been named, got separated from her friends whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. Superintendent Daddy Jackson again stated publicly today that youngsters, particularly young girls, need to stop and think about what they are wearing before going out to pubs and clubs where alcohol is freely available…”

Chapter Ten

  “So, Jonathan, what’s next on the agenda?” Albert Johnston, the Secretary ae State’s Parliamentary Private Secretary asked, looking at his watch.

  “The Stirling Pilot and that’s us done here, Albert,” Jonathan Peacock, The Department’s brief replied, shuffling his papers until he found the relevant file.

  “Ah, the Stirling Pilot.  There’s a considerable amount of interest in this, particularly down in Westminster, Jonathan,” the PPS said.

  “Ah’m still flabbergasted that George Crawford agreed tae they three young murdering thugs fae Dumfries taking part.  Wur they no the wans that wur suspected ae being involved in the shooting ae that wife ae his and her gangster boyfriend a few years back, Jonathan?” Jack Broon, the Scottish Prisons Service Manager asked.

  “Perhaps that’s why he wants them out of his nick, eh?” the PPS mused.

  “No, I believe the recommendations came from the young social worker down there.  She’s quite forward thinking.  She’s someone we’re watching with interest.  Should the pilot turn out to be successful, then we may have a place for her up here in Edinburgh,” The Brief replied.

  “So, where are we then?”

  “Well, we have the agreement of the Chairman of the Parole Board to proceed, which should give the Secretary of State the political cover he requires, should it all go belly-up.  Peterhead is still arguing over which three prisoners to put forward, although that shouldn’t affect us wishing to progress the young offender part of the scheme.  A senior supervising officer with the social work department in Glasgow has been identified.  He’ll supervise both adult and young offenders.  He’s a Mr…Howie…yes…a Bruce Howie, with over twenty years of experience in the Probation Service, supervising both youth and adult criminals in Glasgow,” The Brief replied, looking up fae his file.

  “I thought we weren’t going to be focussing solely on Glasgow, Jonathan?” the PPS asked, looking o’er the rim ae his glasses.

  “That was the plan, but Peterhead are wanting the worst they’ve got to be considered, who just all happen to be from the dirty city.”

  “Ah’d jist tell them where tae jump,” The Prisons Manager retorted.

  “And how confident are we of the supervision arrangements, Jonathan?”

  “This Mr Howie has a first class reputation.  Indeed, there was a worry that he was too efficient.  He’s well-known for recalling ex-offenders back to prison for the slightest infraction of their parole conditions.”

  “No, it sounds to me like he’s our man.  Let’s not beat around the bush here, gentlemen.  This pilot has to be able to withstand infractions.  If this means recall for some or all of the prisoners involved, then so be it.  The conditions of release have to be strict as well as measurable.  If not, the political ramifications could be harsh.”

  “So, dae we hiv a release date fur the Dumfries YOs, Jonathan?” The SPS manager asked.

 
“Yes, I believe that it’s Monday, the 9th of December.”

  “Whit, this side ae the New Year?  Seems a bit quick, disn’t it?”

  “Yes, the university people want to be able to implement the programme as soon as possible.  They reckon that if there are problems, it’ll be within the first couple of weeks.  They wish to be able to address any hiccups for the start of the New Year in 1975, before they consider a second tranche.”

  “Right, well then, that’s that, eh?  Lunch, gentlemen?” the PPS asked, closing o’e
r
his file and staunin up.