38

The ringtone on his mobile was a car hooter. It was grating in its loudness. But that is how James wanted it. It was the only way he would ever notice it was ringing when he was on a building site and often high up on scaffolding. For almost a minute it rang before James woke. He flicked on a light and stared at his phone. The time was 1.05 in the morning – anyone calling at this time had to be a wrong number. James flicked off the light and his phone and turned over back into his bed.

But something jarred – he put the light back on and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. He was unsettled; he felt hot and now very wide awake; it would be impossible to go straight back to sleep. It was just two minutes later that the klaxon noise penetrated the room again. He picked up his phone and touched it to speak. But he said nothing and listened for a voice.

‘It is you young James, and we gotta talk for a minute.’ The voice was rough; James knew immediately who was calling.

‘No more. I’ve got to keep that site working and little scams don’t help. A couple of the boys on site are getting nasty – they think I’m not paying enough, using their name for hiding the money. Kicked to the ground, a big scratch on my car, that’s enough. And leave the lady on the site alone. Running her off the road just makes her look more closely. So, you leave off calling me,’ James said, his hand trembling as he held his phone.

‘Yeah, you be careful, you’ve got to win this one, because you can’t run away now.’

‘I’m doing nothing more – I’m finished.’

‘I’m not listening to that. Take it as a little reminder of what we talked about a couple of days ago. Double up. Usual time, I’ll call six in the morning, nice and early. And you won’t forget this chat. People never do when their phone rings in the darkness of the night. But for now, James, sleep well.’

“Sleep well” rang in his ears as James left his bed and walked to the balcony that looked out to the Thames. His apartment was small, and he sat on a chair for the next few minutes just staring at the water. Alone in his flat the previous evening, he had drunk too much; he was trying to bury what he had let himself get dragged into. And now he did not feel good.

He feared what might follow from that phone call.