The Faithless - Martina Cole [98]
Derek didn’t need telling twice, and he left immediately. Phoning the other two people who should have been on the meet he told them it was off, grateful that Vincent had the nous not to drag everyone else into his business. He went back to the yard and telephoned Terry Marchant; he had to give him a heads-up, and assure him that young Vincent would not be swayed. He only hoped that what he was saying was the truth, and the lad didn’t succumb to the police offering him a deal. He didn’t think the boy was capable of that kind of treachery, but you never really knew anybody until the chips were down. Harder men than him had served up their mates at the thought of a big lump.
He was sorry for the kid really; he had a pregnant girlfriend and a promising career. It was the girlfriend that bothered him. Would Vincent keep it shut in the face of leaving her to fend for herself? They would soon know, of that much he was sure.
But it was a bastard of an inconvenience; Terry had a few good jobs lined up for him. On the bright side, maybe the girl didn’t recognise him; after all, he was a nice enough looking lad to attract some female attention. But if she had seen him on his recce of the bank, and she remembered him, it was all over. And he had remembered her, so it was definitely related, as the Filth would say. One thing was for sure though. If Vincent fingered any of them, he was a dead man, and that was a promise.
Chapter Eighty-Eight
‘What do you mean arrested?’ Mary Callahan was looking at Vincent’s father as if he was an attraction in a zoo.
‘What I say, Mary. He’s been nicked for bank robbery.’
‘What! Vincent?’
Paddy O’Casey sighed in annoyance. ‘Look, is Jack about?’
She opened the door wider and invited the man inside. What was she thinking keeping him on the step like that? It was the shock she supposed.
Jack Callahan was watching the news with his daughter. When he saw Paddy come into the room, he knew there and then that it was not good news. He stood up and shook the man’s hand. ‘What’s up? Is it Vincent?’
Paddy nodded. ‘He’s been pinched, Jack, armed robbery.’
‘When? He’s been here every day . . .’
Paddy waved a hand in annoyance. ‘It was ages ago. He was seen by one of the girls from the bank in a pub and the Filth have him on CCTV a few days before the robbery. Fucking eejit, he is. Anyway, he’s bang to rights and, with a bit of luck, he might make bail. But the brief ain’t too hopeful. The girl in the bank was not the only one to pick him out of a line up – the manager did too. He’ll keep stumm about who was in it with him and, if he pleads guilty, he might get off with a ten stretch.’
‘Jesus, Mary and fucking Joseph, this will destroy Gabby! She’s banking on him being there when the child’s born.’
Paddy O’Casey sighed once more. ‘I know, but we can’t always have what we want in life. She might as well learn that lesson now – this is as good a time as any.’
Hearing the defeat in the man’s voice, Mary Callahan felt an urge to slap him across the face. This was his son’s life, and he was acting as if it was nothing more than an inconvenience. No wonder young Vincent spent so much time round here. Well, he wouldn’t be coming back for a long time, and she had to tell her granddaughter that at some point this evening. She would be devastated, and rightly so. Why were they being plagued with this bad luck? It just seemed to be one thing after another. Now Gabby was pregnant and alone. What a state of affairs.
Chapter Eighty-Nine
‘You’ve got to snap out of this, Gabby, it’s not good for you or the baby.’
Gabby knew that her nana was right, but it was hard. She was eight months pregnant, and her baby’s father was doing nine years in Parkhurst. He would be out in four with good behaviour. He had