Hanlon’s arrival attracted universally hostile looks from the football supporters but not from Leo and the barman. The latter smiled to himself as if at some private joke. Leo looked delighted to see her.
He looked even more pumped than the last time Hanlon had seen him, the veins on his large biceps swollen up under the skin like writhing blue cables. He was fearsomely strong. Tam said something to his mates. They laughed, but nobody moved to actually threaten her. Hanlon put this down to the Leo effect. He did look absolutely crazy, his light blue eyes dancing around, full of what looked like good nature, but you had the feeling that there was some kind of disconnect between what lay on the surface with Leo and what was going on underneath.
‘Hi, how are you?’ Lunatic, meaningless grin; his eyes seemed to stare through her at some far horizon, as if she were transparent, made of glass. ‘Francis, get ma friend here a wee drink.’
‘Diet Coke, please.’
Frank opened a bottle and poured her drink.
Leo watched intently; Frank gave her the Coke. ‘Your good health,’ he said, toasting her with his pint of lager. She smiled her thanks.
‘Can I have a word with Manny, please, Leo?’ she asked.
‘Surely… come through.’
With relief, Hanlon left the bar and its hostile male audience, annoyed at her for polluting the atmosphere, and Leo escorted her into the back room. Manny was sitting behind his desk, smoke from a cigarette drifting up to the ceiling through his nicotine-stained fingers. It was as if he hadn’t moved since she had last been here. Christ, she thought, what a life.
What is it with this place? she thought. Nothing ever changes.
‘Hello again, and what brings you tae see me this time?’ Manny said. He gave a gurgling cough and spat yellow phlegm into a stained, crumpled handkerchief. He inspected the sputum closely and wadded up the handkerchief and thrust it into his pocket. He coughed again.
‘Have you heard that Kai McPherson’s dead?’ Hanlon asked.
Manny coughed, an alarmingly prolonged wheezy sound, his face turned slightly purple and he started fighting for breath. He grabbed an inhaler, put it in his mouth and pressed the plunger.
‘Naw, I hadnae heard that, who did it?’ He put the inhaler back in his mouth and gave himself another blast, then he grinned.
‘Probably a lassie. Or maybe a small child – Kai couldnae really handle himsel’. Fucking bampot.’
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Should you really be smoking, Manny? You sound terrible.’
‘Och, I’m OK.’ He waved a hand, batting away her concern. ‘I’ve got my wee puffer… I’m fucked without it, mind.’
Hanlon shrugged and carried on.
‘I was hoping you could give me the number of the girl that Kai attacked. I’d like to speak to her.’
Manny gave her a suspicious stare; he took another drag on his cigarette.
‘Why would ye want tae do that?’
‘McPherson was a suspect in a suspicious death, not just his own,’ Hanlon said. ‘I suppose he still is actually. I need to know a little more about him.’
Manny thought a while. ‘I don’t have a number for her, but we could take you to the place where she lives.’
‘Just give me the address,’ Hanlon said. ‘I don’t want to put you to any trouble.’
She was slightly incredulous at the thought of Manny leaving the pub. Can he even walk? she wondered. She had seen no evidence of it.
‘It’s nae bother, Leo will take you. Besides, they would nae let you across the threshold without someone tae vouch for you.’
‘Aye,’ agreed Leo, ‘the Gillespie family are none too trusting of strangers, y’ken.’ Particularly the police, she thought.
‘OK,’ Hanlon said, ‘thanks.’
‘Nae bother,’ Manny said. ‘You can go oot the back way. The car is a white Mercedes.’
Leo turned to lead the way. Manny looked at his phone and frowned.
‘Oh, I need a quick wee word with you, Leo. Hanlon, you go on aheid…’
Leo closed the door behind Hanlon and looked at Manny.
‘Yes, boss?’
‘Our friend on the Isles just got in touch, Leo. Hanlon’s nae here officially, they’re going tae sack her.’ Manny’s voice was quiet, serious.
‘What’s she up tae?’ Leo wasn’t smiling any more.
‘Fuck knows, Leo, but she’s snooping around, that’s for sure. Get rid of her… There’ll be nae consequences, she will nae be missed.’
Leo smiled at Manny beatifically. ‘It’ll be a pleasure.’
Manny reached in a desk drawer and produced a flick knife. He clicked it and a ten-centimetre blade sprang out; he retracted it and held it out to Leo in his open palm.
‘Want this?’
Leo shook his head. ‘I dinnae need that, she’s just a lassie.’
Manny shrugged. ‘Just silence her, Leo, silence her for good.’
Leo nodded and left the room.
Hanlon let herself out of the back door and crossed the yard of the pub with its empty beer barrels and stacked boxes of empty mixers and beer bottles awaiting collection. A black metal fire escape ran to the first floor upstairs.
She drew the bolt back on the gate, went into the street and leaned against the white Mercedes saloon that was parked nearby.
She wanted to see the girl that Kai had beaten up so badly, to let her know that she could have closure, that Kai would never be able to hurt another woman again,
