Never Apologise, Never Explain - James Craig [73]
‘Hardly,’ Carlyle muttered.
There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘No, but you can see how it could look.’
Carlyle felt a stab of anger. ‘Are you threatening me?’
‘No, no,’ Dominic said quickly. ‘Of course not.’
Carlyle grunted.
‘Don’t be silly,’ Dominic continued. ‘All I’m suggesting is, don’t go round telling anyone.’
‘As if.’
‘Good.’
‘So,’ Carlyle asked, ‘what is going on here?’ There was a pause and the inspector could almost hear the hum of his mate’s brain as he edited the information that he was about to share.
Finally, Dominic spoke. ‘As you know, Hagger sometimes worked for Jerome Sullivan.’
‘Who?’
‘You know – the bloke on that video I showed you; the genius who shot himself and fell off the roof of his own building. The clip on the mobile phone where you spotted Hagger in the background?’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Carlyle, not liking where this was going.
‘Well, it seems that Hagger and Jerome’s other idiot mate, Eric Christian, have been trying to keep the show on the road since the demise of their glorious leader. But they’re clearly not up to it. One of my . . . associates has asked me to sort it out.’
‘Asked you?’
‘Instructed me.’
Carlyle sighed. Normally, he didn’t like knowing too much about the mechanics of Dominic Silver’s profession, but here he needed to know what he was getting wrapped up in. ‘I didn’t think you did that sort of thing,’ he remarked.
‘I don’t,’ Dominic said. ‘All I’m trying to do is facilitate a satisfactory resolution for the mess.’
‘Including Jake?’
‘Including Jake.’
Carlyle shifted uneasily on his perch. ‘Will it involve more people falling off buildings?’
‘Let’s hope not,’ was the best Dominic could manage.
‘So where does the kid fit into all of this?’ Carlyle asked.
‘Hagger put him up as collateral for a debt owed by Jerome.’
‘Collateral?’ Carlyle snorted. ‘How much can the boy be worth?’
There was another pause. ‘Quite a bit, if you know the wrong sort of people.’
Carlyle felt his stomach turn. ‘How much?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Who holds the debt?’
‘Not sure.’
‘Speculate.’
‘No, I won’t. Not at this stage.’
‘How long have we got?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘What happens if Hagger doesn’t come up with the money?’
‘The kid gets auctioned off,’ said Dominic matter-of-factly, as if it was obvious.
‘C’mon,’ Carlyle whined, ‘don’t give me this bollocks.’
‘I’m not giving you any bollocks,’ Dominic retorted. ‘I’m just telling you how it is. Don’t shoot the fucking messenger. I’m only trying to help you here.’
‘Jesus,’ Carlyle said wearily. ‘What are you doing, getting involved in this type of shit?’
‘I’m trying to sort it out,’ Dominic said testily.
Carlyle coughed up a wad of phlegm and spat it out over the side of the fire escape and into the alley below. His mouth was dry and he felt terrible. What type of degenerate scumbag would sell their own kid? Never mind Dominic: how did he manage to get involved in these type of situations?
‘John, I’ve got to go . . .’
‘Okay.’ Carlyle pulled himself together. ‘All I want is the boy. Whatever you need to do to get him back, I will do my best to make sure that any official fallout gets dealt with.’
‘I appreciate that,’ Dominic said.
‘Just fucking get him back,’ Carlyle growled. ‘Unhurt and unmolested.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing happens to Jake, even if I have to pay for him out of my own pocket.’
‘You’d better.’
‘What sort of a man do you think I am?’
You really don’t expect me to answer that, do you? Carlyle thought. ‘Where is he now?’
‘I can’t tell you.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘Can’t, because I have no idea. Look, just sit tight – this thing will get resolved soon.’
‘Do I have a choice?’ Carlyle said resentfully.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be in touch. I’ll make sure you get the tip-off, rather than that idiot Cutler.’
With that gentle reminder to Carlyle that he wasn’t the only policeman in town, the line went dead. The inspector put the phone back in his pocket and scratched his ear. Stepping back to the window, he tried to lift it open again, but it was stuck.