The widows, p.25
The Widows, page 25
‘Sit up,’ the man said. ‘And shut up.’
He pulled the hood off her head and she blinked in the daylight. As she’d suspected, she was in the car park of a café off the motorway. Could she make a run for it? Surely they wouldn’t shoot her in broad daylight in a busy place like this?
‘Don’t even fucking think about it.’ He leaned into her face and she could smell the fags on his breath. ‘Right, you’re going to get out and take my arm. I’ll be holding a gun at your ribs. You walk straight to the toilet and I’ll be waiting for you outside. If you open your fucking mouth in there and talk to anyone, your boy will be dead before the day is out. And so will your parents. Have you got that?’
Ellie nodded vigorously but said nothing.
‘Right, out you get.’
He pulled her out, not roughly though, in case anyone was watching. He helped her stand upright and she felt stiff and sore then he held her hand as though he was supporting her and put his other arm around her waist as though they were a couple. She could feel the cold metal of the handgun at her ribs.
‘Just walk and act normal, slowly, like you’ve got a sore leg or something. All right?’
Ellie nodded, didn’t answer.
In the toilet she quickly pulled out her phone and switched it on and it buzzed to life. There were no missed calls or messages. She scrolled recent and pushed Ruby’s number. It answered straight away.
‘Ellie! Ellie!’ It was Ruby.
‘Ruby. Listen, I only have a minute. They took me in the back of the jeep. I don’t know where they’re taking me, but I think somewhere in Manchester to talk to one of his mates, they said. I got out to go for a pee at a motorway café. But a guy is outside the toilet waiting for me. He has a gun.’
‘Where is the café?’
‘I think I know it. It’s off the M6, only about thirty miles from Manchester. Ruby, did you go to the farm?’
‘Yes. I was only minutes after you.’
‘Is Christopher . . . Is he . . .’
‘I sent for an ambulance and then we got off our mark before the cops came. I’m on the motorway coming to Manchester.’
‘I’m scared, Ruby. They said they were going to kill my son and my parents if I opened my mouth. They haven’t mentioned your name or anything.’
‘It’s me they want, Ellie. That much I can promise you. Tell them anything they ask you.’
‘I have to switch my phone off now, Ruby. They don’t know I’ve got it. They didn’t search me.’
‘Because they’re halfwits, Ellie. Don’t worry, I’ll find you. Listen. Don’t switch your phone off, put it on silent. That way I’ll be able to track your whereabouts.’
‘I have to go now, Ruby.’
‘I’ll find you, Ellie.’
The man stood waiting for Ellie as she came out of the toilet and he gave her a cold look that said, Don’t even think about making a run for it. He took two steps towards her and put his arm around her waist.
‘Keep walking,’ he said, as they made their way to the car.
The windows of the jeep were down and the two guys inside were eating what looked like burgers.
‘You can go in the back seat now,’ the fat man said. ‘Until we get out of here.’
It took Ellie a moment to understand why they weren’t shoving her in the boot, then she guessed it was because they couldn’t do it in a busy motorway car park.
She climbed in the back next to a skinny-looking guy who didn’t make eye contact with her. Then they drove off. Further down the road they took a slip road and pulled her out of the back seat and pushed her into the boot, tied her arms and legs up and moved to pull the hood over her head as she protested.
‘Please don’t put that thing over me. I can’t breathe properly. It’s not as if I can escape. Please.’
‘Shut it,’ the man said, pulling the hood roughly over her head.
She lay on her side back in the same cramped position as they drove off and back onto what felt like motorway. She tried to stem her panic as she wondered what they were going to do with her and who they were taking her to. And what they would do with her afterwards. It didn’t bear thinking about, so she tried to think of her son at the funfair with her mum and dad, where he would be right now, and how much he would be bursting to tell her when he got home. She had to get home. She thought of Ruby and wondered if she would come. She felt her stomach sink with the desperateness of it all.
It seemed like they’d been driving for ages, but now they were slowing down and coming to a halt before moving again, so Ellie assumed they were off the motorway and in a city or somewhere that was built up, and were maybe stopping at traffic lights. They must be getting close to wherever they were going. Eventually, they slowed down for a final time and the car stopped and the engine switched off. She heard the driver’s door open and close and then all was still for a couple of minutes. Her stomach tensed and her mouth was so dry she could barely swallow. Then all the vehicle doors were open and she heard the voices of the men talking among themselves. The lid of the boot was opened and she was pulled up to a sitting position. Her hands and feet were untied and as the hood was yanked off her, she took a breath and rubbed her face.
‘Right,’ the man said, grabbing her arm. ‘C’mon.’
Her legs felt weak as he pulled her to her feet and she wanted to ask him to give her a minute because she felt suddenly nauseous, but she knew there was no point. As he grabbed hold of her arm, she glanced quickly around to see where she was. It looked like some kind of industrial estate with a few lorries parked up and something that could have been a warehouse or storage area. They crossed the yard towards a building and she could see a light on upstairs. When she noticed the red Jaguar parked outside, she stopped in her tracks: it was them. Jesus. She was done for. He turned to her, frowning.
‘Move,’ he said, jerking her arm.
She walked on trembling legs into the building and he marched her upstairs to the first floor, then along a dim corridor to a door that was closed. The man knocked on the door, and a voice from within said to come in. He pushed open the door and went in, holding on to her arm. Inside, she saw the big man who had called himself Colin standing at the window with a sneering look on his face. She avoided his gaze. Behind the desk was a heavy-set man in his forties with dark cropped hair and ruddy, beefy jowls. His mouth was downturned, and he looked angry. Ellie thought she was going to faint and her legs buckled a little. The man behind the desk gestured at Colin to get her a chair.
‘Get her a glass of water,’ the man said in what sounded like an Irish accent.
Colin went out of the room for a second and returned with a glass of water. He passed it to her, and she took it with trembling hands before putting it to her lips and drinking a few gulps. She avoided his eyes. A long, stony silence followed and Ellie waited, her heart thumping in her chest.
‘So . . .’ The man behind the desk sniffed and finally spoke. ‘Colin here says you told him some porkies? It’s Ellie, isn’t it?’ He glared at her.
She nodded.
‘Yes, Ellie.’
He nodded slowly. ‘You told him you had no kids.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Why did you lie about that?’
She tightened her lips.
‘I . . . I was scared. There was something about those men. They didn’t seem like men who visit places like mine.’ Her voice was shaky and she almost didn’t recognise it.
He took a breath and sighed.
‘That sounds like another porky, Ellie.’
She didn’t answer and silence hung in the air. The man got up and came around and sat his backside on the edge of his desk, looking down at her. She met his eyes then glanced down at the floor, feeling them burning through her. Then suddenly he reached out and grabbed her by the throat. She was choking and in pain, and patting her chest as if trying to find air from somewhere as he kept squeezing. She was sure he was going to kill her there and then. She thought of James, and the tears came as she felt her eyes bulging. He let go and she went into a fit of coughing, saliva running out of her mouth as she bent forward, coughing onto the floor and retching.
‘Okay,’ he said. Then he gestured to Colin. ‘Give her a drink.’
He crossed and held the glass to her lips and she drank, spluttering with the first mouthful.
‘Sorry,’ she blurted. ‘Please. I have a son.’
‘I know you have, Ellie. And I know where he is right now. He’s with your parents tonight. I know a lot about you.’ He turned away from her and paced a couple of times across the room as she watched him, aware that Colin was enjoying her torment.
‘Please. Don’t hurt him. He’s just a little boy.’
He stood before her.
‘So,’ he said, as though he hadn’t heard her pleas. ‘Tell me about Ruby. How do you know her?’
Her eyes were fixed on the floor, but Ellie knew if she didn’t look up and start talking, then this time he might just choke her to death. She swallowed, and touched her neck, which felt red and painful. She looked up at him, tears spilling out of her eyes.
‘I found her in my barn one night. Three years ago. She was injured in a car crash.’
The big man glanced at Colin, who made a satisfied face.
‘Did she say what happened, this Ruby?’ He picked up a picture from the desk and shoved it under her gaze. ‘Is that her? Is that Ruby?’
‘I . . . I think so,’ she nodded. ‘She looked different, she was hurt.’ Ellie bit her lip, not sure how little she could get away with. She heard Ruby’s voice in her head saying to her to tell them everything they asked. It felt like a terrible betrayal, but she had no option. ‘She . . . she said she was set up. Her and her friends. Someone was sent to kill her. But she got away. And she ran across the fields and got to my farm. She told me she had lived in Spain. But something bad must have happened because people were going to kill her and her friends.’
‘And what did you do?’
‘I helped her with her wounds. She stayed a few days at my house, then . . . then she was gone.’
‘So, for being this good Samaritan, did Ruby give you some money?’
‘I didn’t ask for money or anything. I just helped her because she was desperate. She needed help. That’s all I did. I would have done it for anyone.’
‘Listen. I know you were in hawk with the loan shark, but suddenly you’re rich enough to pay the fucker off. Did Ruby give you that money?’
She waited a moment, then looked up to see his eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer. In about three seconds he would have her by the throat again.
She nodded.
‘I didn’t ask for money. Honestly. She just gave me money, then she went away. I never saw her again.’
‘So, she was your fairy godmother, Ruby. Off she went, putting you on your feet on the farm. Is that right?’
She nodded.
‘The money helped. I went to the bank and they gave me a loan on the strength of it.’
‘So have you ever seen Ruby again since?’
‘No,’ Ellie said. ‘Never.’
‘Do you know how to get in touch with her?’
Ellie could feel her chest tighten. The game was up. He narrowed his eyes.
‘Stand up,’ the big man said.
She got to her feet slowly. She was stiff from the way she’d been lying, and her legs felt like jelly. As she stood staring straight ahead, she could feel him looking her up and down, his eyes taking in every part of her. Then he stepped forward and put his hands on her hips as she flinched. He ran his hands around her back to her buttocks, squeezing gently, then the front, and he pushed his hand between her legs gently. He ran a hand down one leg, and then the other. When he got to the right leg, she could feel his hand over the pocket of her jeans and she could feel his fingers running over the bulge of the phone. She automatically looked up at him, and he was half smiling, half snarling. She stood helpless as he pushed his hand inside the pocket of her tight jeans and fumbled, gripping the phone and finally easing it out. He held it up, then turned to Colin.
‘Did these cunts who brought her here know she had this?’
Colin shook his head.
‘They never said, boss.’
‘Fucking idiots.’
Ellie stood waiting, feeling the room sway. She knew what was coming as he scrolled down, looking for recent calls. Eventually, his eyes lit up and he turned the phone to face her so she could see the name Ruby on the screen. She began to cry.
‘You phoned her?’ he said, surprised.
‘I was scared. People were at my door.’
‘So where was she?’
‘I don’t know. That’s the first time I’ve ever spoken to her.’
‘What did she say?’
Ellie sobbed, covering her face, then he pulled her hands away. He held her wrists tight and looked at her.
‘What did she fucking say?’
‘She . . . she said she would come.’
The big man smiled.
‘That’ll do,’ he said, glancing at Colin. ‘Now get her out of here.’
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Tommy Mallon was on the next available flight after he got the call from Jimmy Digby. Ruby was fucking alive. The bitch. After all this time, she had managed to hide somewhere and stay undetected while his boys turned everything upside down, and everyone came to the conclusion that she had died that night, swept away by the river and her body never recovered.
He’d got on with his life because he couldn’t carry on obsessing over the woman who had taken the life of his best friend. Especially when there was nothing he could do. Tommy had an empire to run and any sign of weakness would be seen as an opportunity from some of the rats to move in and try to take over his turf. That would never happen. No chance, he’d kept telling himself. But some of the stuff that had happened recently had made him suspicious that someone was already setting traps for him – the hijacking of the money, the robbing of the mules. All money that he had invested in these jobs, and he’d lost a fortune.
The fucking Russian was just sitting back enjoying it all, no matter what he said in sympathy. Vlad didn’t know about everything anyway, because Tommy hadn’t told him the details. But stuff got out – people talked no matter how loyal they said they were – and if you were running a big empire like his, built on fear and crime, then there was always the risk that someone would run off at the mouth, even if they didn’t know the full story. But he’d managed to keep a lid on things and business was still good. Tommy could trust his closest people and he’d made his circle even tighter, but these robberies had happened in other areas where he wasn’t hands-on running the show.
The phone call from Digby had suddenly changed everything. No matter what was going on in his inner circle, the news that Ruby was not dead had taken his feet from under him. She’d survived the crash, done a runner and had been holed up for days on some fucking farm, helped by some woman. And she’d paid her a wodge of money before she got into a car and drove off into the wild blue yonder. Even in the depths of his outrage, Tommy couldn’t help but admire the fucking bitch. She was a piece of work, no doubt about that. He’d spotted that in her the moment he met her and he hadn’t been able to get enough of her, enthralled by her mystery and her beauty. But she had killed Terence. And for that she would pay.
He didn’t read or speak to anyone on the flight. He just stared out of the window, going over his old life with her, part of him, something deep inside, longing to see her face, and he hated himself for that. And he promised himself that when he did see her face, he would take her life there and then and live with the consequences. She wouldn’t escape twice. And after he did that, he would find out where her mates were and kill them too. This was how business was done in the real world, he thought. The plane landed and he went through customs at Manchester and was picked up by Colin to go over to Digby’s place in Salford.
Digby stood up to greet Tommy as he came through the doorway.
‘Tommy boy!’ he said, coming out from behind his desk. ‘Good to see you, mate.’
‘You too, mate.’
Tommy pumped his outstretched hand. Then to his surprise, Digby put his arms around him, slapping his back in a manly hug before stepping back.
‘Sorry about Terence, Tommy. Bad craic that altogether.’
‘Yeah. We go back a fucking long way, the three of us, Jimmy,’ Tommy said, studying his friend’s face and forcing a smile.
‘Yep. The times we had, Tommy,’ Digby said. ‘I miss those days sometimes.’
‘Yeah? Well, I don’t miss having the arse hanging out my trousers when we were little tearaways on the wrong side of Dublin.’
‘Ah, fuck it, though,’ Digby said. ‘That’s what made us who we are, Tommy boy.’
Digby gestured towards the couch across the room.
‘Sit down, man. Have a drink.’
Digby went behind his desk and bent down to the bottom drawer, pulling out a bottle of Jameson whiskey. He held it up, then took two crystal tumblers from another drawer.
‘Could do with one of them,’ Tommy said.
‘I’ve no ice, though, man,’ Digby said, pouring a generous measure into each glass.
‘Ah, fuck the ice,’ Tommy said. ‘I’ll take it as it is.’
Digby crossed the room and handed Tommy a glass, then sat down and leaned across to clink glasses.
‘To the good times,’ Digby said.
‘Yeah. And they were good,’ Tommy said. ‘There’s a lot of shit flying around just now, though, Jimmy, so we need to get a couple of the lads together and talk about that – this hijacking of our money. Something’s wrong there, definitely.’ He took a swig of his whiskey and grimaced as it burned his throat. ‘But more important than that, mate’ – Tommy shook his head – ‘I cannot believe the fucking bitch is alive. Fucking Ruby!’
‘I know, Tommy.’ Digby knocked back a gulp of his drink. ‘I was the same when I heard. Couldn’t believe it. How in the name of fuck did she disappear without trace for three years?’
