‘You stole that from Leo, he’ll go mental.’
Hanlon shook her head. ‘I didn’t steal it, I took it from him.’ She pointed at the blood on her sleeve. ‘That belongs to Leo too.’
Lee Anne looked at her open-mouthed.
‘You beat Leo up?’
‘Yes,’ said Hanlon simply, without elaborating.
‘Wow, I’m impressed.’ The girl shook her head in wonder. ‘Well, how can I help you? What do you want me to do?’ asked Lee Anne.
‘Take the night off,’ Hanlon said. She opened Leo’s wallet and counted out ten twenties, handed them to the dumbfounded girl. ‘It’s on Leo.’
29
Hanlon caught another taxi back to the Rob Roy. She had cleaned herself up as best she could at Lee Anne’s but when the taxi driver caught a glimpse of her in his mirror he decided not to try to engage in small talk. It wasn’t the bloodstains this time, it was the expression on her face.
It was set and hard, sinister. Hanlon was after revenge. Manny had sent her off with Leo to be given a beating that would have landed her in hospital. Or worse. Manny had lied to her. He had a great deal coming to him. That was what was written on Hanlon’s face; that was what the man behind the wheel could see. A gathering storm.
And what the hell to make of what Lee Anne had told her about Murdo Campbell and Kai? Had he simply fooled her, or had Hanlon managed to make a monumental error of judgement? Had Murdo Campbell simply cut him some slack and steered him onto the straight and narrow? Surely not, not after what she’d heard in the bothy – they’d definitely been discussing drug deliveries. Had McCleod been right all along to doubt Campbell’s involvement in drug smuggling? Or had Campbell recruited Kai for some hidden reason to embed him into the Mackinnon Arms?
But these questions could wait until later. Manny was her priority right now.
She paid the taxi off and walked to the back door of the pub. The street door was still unlocked. She slipped through it, then across the yard to the back door of the pub. She crept up to the office window and looked through.
Manny was still sitting behind his desk, a cigarette smouldering in his fingers. Where else would he be? He was talking on his mobile. Probably trying to track down Leo, thought Hanlon. He had to be worried by Leo’s silence. He’d be expecting a call to say that Hanlon had been dumped somewhere either dead or beaten to a pulp.
There was a small window by the back door. She peered through it, no one around. One of Leo’s keys opened the back door. An alarm mounted on the wall had started blinking ominously, but a swipe across it with a black plastic disc also on the key fob disabled it. She stood in the back hall and looked about her. The bottle store was in front of her, then the door that led to the bar, then a door that led upstairs and, to her left, Manny’s office. She toyed with the idea of just bursting in, but she suspected that Manny might have some kind of panic button. He did after all run the kind of business in which there was a reasonable chance that a rival might come calling and Manny was in no state to fend off an aggressive small child, let alone a violent criminal.
She stood to one side, opened the office door and slowly pushed it open. Now she could hear Manny talking on the phone.
‘He’s on a boat, gang doon the Clyde towards Dumbarton. Whit do ye mean, am I sure? I’m looking at fucking Apple Maps… Yes, I’m looking at Find my iPhone or whatever it’s called… It says he’s on the river… He’s nae answering… Go after him… How the fuck should I ken whit he’s up tae? Look, go tae Erskine, call me from there… It’s not fucking far, you lazy cunt… now the fucking door’s open, Jesus. It never rains but it fucking pours… I’ll call you back.’
She heard him groan as he hauled his ageing body up. She could hear him wheezing and coughing and complaining to himself as he shuffled to the door to close it.
‘Fucking inefficient bastards, cannae even close a door properly.’
As it started to shut, Hanlon charged it with her shoulder; she slammed into the wood and the door burst open, taking Manny with it. It sent him sprawling, his weakened legs gave way and he collapsed down onto the floor. Hanlon booted the door shut behind her. The key was in the keyhole and she locked it.
Manny lay on the ground staring up at her. Oh, fuck, his expression said.
‘Hello, Manny,’ said Hanlon brightly, ‘remember me?’
‘Oh, Jesus…’ he mumbled. ‘What brings you here?’
‘Me and Leo had a bit of an altercation,’ said Hanlon. She prodded him with the toe of her boot. ‘Do you comprehend the meaning of the word “underestimate”, Manny?’
‘I know well what it fucking means. Where’s Leo?’
‘Good question. Let’s just say he’s in a safe space,’ Hanlon said. ‘Let’s just hope he’s not claustrophobic. But let’s not talk about Leo. You can tell me about Kai McPherson. And it had better be true this time.’
‘Fuck you…’ Manny started coughing. His face went puce, he rolled on his side and pulled himself onto all fours.
Hanlon brutally kicked his right arm hard on the elbow and Manny collapsed face down back on the floor.
‘That was Leo’s attitude too,’ she said conversationally. ‘Leo’s not feeling very well as a result.’ She squatted down by Manny, who looked at her with hate-filled eyes. She pulled her phone out.
‘Here’s Leo after I’d finished with him.’
Manny stared at Leo’s bloodied, unconscious face. ‘Jesus,’ he whispered, ‘you did that?’
‘Impressive, eh?’ said Hanlon. She took hold of Manny’s left ear – it felt unpleasantly flabby and fleshy – and rotated it brutally until she saw tears of pain come to Manny’s rheumy eyes. ‘Now,
