know nothing about Newcastle, and I’ve got no idea why anyone would want to do that to Marlon. But, I’ve got no reason not to help you find out why the boy was killed, so anything I hear, you will, one way or another. As for this guy Milburn, give him a good one for me, and tell him no’ to be stupid enough to ask for bail.’
The hired bodyguards were in the hall as we walked to the door. The one I’d banjoed gave me what I think was meant to be a meaningful look, but he couldn’t hold on to it when I eyeballed him back. I made a mental note that if I ever retired and went into the security business, I’d never employ people who thought they were tough, only those who knew they were and didn’t need to show it.
I drove Martin the short distance to his car. ‘Well?’ I said, as he opened the passenger door, ‘what did you think of Terrible Tony?’
‘Dangerous and resourceful,’ he replied, firmly. ‘How did he get where he is?’
‘By moving in on a guy who was less resourceful than him.’
‘What happened to him?
‘They said at the time that he went into the construction industry.’
He frowned. ‘Wouldn’t that have been a matter of record?’
‘Does euphemism mean nothing to you?’ I asked. ‘There was a new office block being built down in McDonald Road at the time. The story was that he became part of the foundations.’
‘So where did these Holmeses fit in?’
‘I told you: while Tony was king of the midden in Edinburgh, Perry Holmes was the undisputed Scottish number one. He was an importer on a massive scale; he distributed to people like Manson across the country.’
‘Why did nobody cut him out?’ The lad asked good questions.
‘One or two tried. Perry was a property developer too; still is, from his wheelchair. On you go now, get your arse back to Fettes.’
I let him exit the cul-de-sac ahead of me, and watched him as he zipped along Essex Road. By the time I reached the Maybury roundabout, he was out of sight, so he didn’t see me make the left turn into Quality Street. I’d forgotten that I was going to call Mia, but she must have been looking out for me, since she opened the door of her little single-storey house just I was pulling up outside.
She was dressed much as she had been the first time we’d met, jeans this time, and another Airburst T- shirt. ‘Hi,’ she said, smiling as I took the two steps that was all the tiny path from the gate required. ‘Welcome.’
‘This is nice,’ I told her as I stepped straight into a bright living area that must have taken up half of the total floor space. It had been freshly refurbished, and twin doors led to a small conservatory that still had a look of newness.
‘Isn’t it,’ she agreed. ‘It’s a bit like your place but on a much smaller scale.’ She glanced at a clock on the wall, above a white painted fireplace with a high mantelpiece; it showed one o’clock, on the dot. ‘You’re on time.’
‘My last visit didn’t drag on,’ I replied, ‘and it was close to here, out in Barnton.’
‘Handy. How much time do you have?’
I shrugged my shoulders, noncommittally. ‘Some.’
‘That’s good, for I’ve made us some lunch. Ham salad okay?’
‘Spot on. Thanks, Mia, you…’
‘… shouldn’t have!’ she laughed. ‘Now we’ve got the automatic responses over, let’s get down to it.’
She led me into the conservatory, where two full plates waited, on a small round table, with a bottle of sparkling water and two glasses. It was warm in the sunshine, so I hung my jacket over the back of a chair. We sat and she poured. There was a package on the table, white cardboard about six inches square. She handed it to me. ‘The Spice Girls,’ she announced. ‘Alex will love them; they’re going to be big. They are really, really different.’ She laughed. ‘Listen to me: “really, really”. They’ve got to me. You’ll understand what I mean when you’ve heard it a couple of times. There’s a phrase in there that’ll live forever.’
I watched her as we ate. She seemed different from our earlier meetings, more relaxed, bubblier, more like the woman whose voice and attitude were pulling kids into her audience at a rate to rival the Pied Piper… ‘The Pie-eyed Piper of Hamilton,’ was Thornton’s version of the name, and it came to me then. The thought of it made me frown and realise that I’d broken the promise to call him that I’d made to myself.
Mia spotted the change in me. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’
‘There was; I could see it. A flash of pain. What’s wrong, Bob? Hard times at work?’
‘It’s not getting any easier,’ I admitted, ‘but that’s not what it is. I had some bad news yesterday, family news.’
‘Oh dear. Someone close?’
‘The closest I have left, apart from Alex. My father-in-law. He came to see us, to tell me that he’s ill.’
‘Oh God,’ she sighed. ‘How ill?’
‘Barring a miracle, terminally.’ I took refuge in the salad for a while.
‘How’s Alex taking it?’ she asked when we were both finished. She stood, and picked up her glass. ‘Come on, let’s sit in over here.’
I joined her, on a white cane sofa, that looked out on to the tiny enclosed garden. ‘Alex doesn’t know,’ I said.
Mia whistled, softly. ‘You can’t keep a secret like that from a girl her age.’
‘Thornton’s insistent on it. He’s told her that he’s going away on a trip,’ I smiled, ‘to far-off and exciting places. He wants to spare her from what’s going to happen.’
‘That’s well meaning of him but,’ she took my hand, intertwining our fingers, ‘he’s not going to be around to pick up the pieces, Bob. He’s going to be dead, and when Alex finds out that his illness was kept from her, she’s not going to blame him, she’s going to blame you. If you don’t tell her, she’ll be hurt worse than if you do, and so will you.’
‘I promised her granddad though, Mia.’
‘Then you have to tell him why you can’t keep that promise. I don’t want to sound like an agony aunt, but Bob, love, who’s the most important person in your life?’
I stared at her. ‘Alex, of course.’
‘And what’s the most important thing in your life?’
I didn’t have to think about that one for long either. ‘My relationship with her.’
‘Then don’t damage it. Her childhood is over… Pops. She’s come through puberty, and she’s starting to think like a woman. That’s a process that accelerates pretty fast, I can promise you, and it’s bloody difficult for any parent to keep up with it, let alone a single dad.’
I was frowning again. ‘But I don’t want to hurt her at all,’ I protested. ‘That’s why I agreed to what Thornie asked.’
She touched my chin and turned my face towards her. ‘She’s going to be hurt anyway. It comes with the territory of adulthood.’
I sighed. ‘Point taken. Thanks for that, counsellor.’
That’s when I kissed her. It wasn’t something that I’d anticipated, or ever imagined. It just happened, that’s all, a reflex response to our proximity. She responded, very gently, her lips exploring mine, her mouth opening slightly, her tongue flicking my teeth. Until then, I’d held the private belief that kissing is overrated, no more than the opening gambit of the chess game between two people that leads to mating. With Myra and me, it had been rough and tumble, like our sex. With Alison… it was something we barely did, we usually cut straight to the chase. But Mia could kiss like nobody I’d ever encountered before; it was full of subtlety, tender and modest, yet inviting, too. Have you ever noticed how strong a spider’s web is, how, once it’s woven, it can withstand a tempest? That’s the best analogy I can conjure up for Mia’s kiss, the softest thing imaginable, yet once it had drawn you in, there was no escape.
‘Is this the talk we were going to have?’ she murmured, as we surfaced.
‘What talk was that?’
‘About whether we’re going to see each other again.’
‘I guess it is. What do you reckon?’
