| |
Odell placed the glass of fresh orange and lemonade on the table in front of me and dropped into his armchair. The Village Gym was across the River Mersey from our office and its restaurant was bustling with gym goers and casual diners. The upbeat workout music on the sound system was muffled by the chatter at the tables.
My friend sipped his daiquiri. “These aren’t as good as the ones in the Rum Bar, but they’re OK. Although I should probably have drunk more water after our squash match.”
For the last three months, Odell and I had met religiously each Thursday after work for a game of squash. I’d grown to treasure these evenings, spending time with the jovial American with a penchant for rum-based cocktails. They say it’s lonely at the top – I can tell you it’s even lonelier when even your closest friend doesn’t know who you really are. Our normal routine was to go straight to the gym after work, then have a quick dinner at the onsite restaurant. He’d even stopped calling me ‘Mr Black’.
I leaned back while the waitress placed a steaming plate of spaghetti alla carbonara in front of me. The warm scent of bacon and mushrooms filled the air. I gulped half my drink in one go, wishing it was something stronger. Cassandra’s plan for the water tower played on my mind. Was it niggling Odell in the same way?
“Did you invite Cassandra?” I asked Odell when the waitress had left.
He grinned. “Of course. I invite her each week to join us for dinner, but she never comes. Anyway, I’m glad she’s not here this evening.”
“What do you mean?”
The grin vanished. “She walked all over you today, Peter. You keep trying to reign her in, but she just bulldozes straight through you.”
I concentrated on twirling a forkful of spaghetti for a few seconds. With each turn, I debated my options. Odell was right, but I couldn’t tell him the true reason. I decided to deny it. “That’s bullshit. I’m in control of her.”
He looked around to check that we were alone. “She wanted to do this new ransomware scam, you said no, and then she twisted your arm and you said yes.”
“It seems like something we should consider, that’s all.” Could Odell tell I was lying?
“You’ve a better chance of convincing the Pope to renounce the Holy Mother of God than make me believe that.” He cut into his ribeye steak and spoke with his mouth full. “Cassandra’s always been ambitious – but lately, she’s wanting to do even more. She’s done at least three Trade Deals in the last quarter that I know of.”
“Ray Woods’ latest scam?”
He nodded. “That was the first one – blackmailing some Member of Parliament. Then she organised the sale of a thousand stolen credit card numbers just after Easter.”
“What’s the third one?”
“And at the start of summer she went off to Croatia with a client who’s cleaning money by buying London mansions using untraceable shell companies.”
Since taking my brother’s place eighteen months ago, I was still learning the ins and outs of our business. But I had noticed a big shift in Cassandra’s activity. “Where is she getting the intelligence on these new jobs? As far as I recall, two years ago, we did three or four Trade Deals a year. Now, we’re doing something every month.”
“Cassandra comes up with some of the ideas herself and from our clients too. Like, Ray orchestrated the DataFeed deal with our help.” Odell’s quiet drawl was hardly audible as he kept his voice low. “Anyway, she’s always been determined to grow Janus Angelica, and do anything to protect it.”
I wasn’t sure where Odell was going. “What’s your point?”
He shuffled in his chair, like he’d sat on a drawing pin. “Look, Peter, you used to control Cassandra better, but you’ve lost your bite. And it’s not only around Cassandra that you’ve dropped that ferocious edge.” He looked around to see if anyone was listening. “For the last decade, I’ve run the money side of the firm, as well as cleaning up bodies of people who got in your way. When we kidnapped Adam McFarlane during the DataFeed scam, I expected to bury a body. But that didn’t happen. Even how you dealt with Khan was more self-defence than sadistic.”
I picked up my drink and sipped it, playing for time. Was our dinner about to turn into an inquisition?
Odell spooned a dollop of mustard onto his ribeye. “You’ve changed in the last eighteen months. You’re acting like you’ve experienced a major life changing situation.”
What could I trust myself to say? My friendship with Odell was based on his belief I was someone else. Here was a guy who helped me, unwittingly, to assume the role of my brother, who was now questioning who I was.
I chewed my spaghetti slowly and motioned to him that I had something to say. He was right to be asking – I wasn’t who he thought I was. I longed to come clean – God knows, I should perhaps have done it earlier.
I swallowed the creamy pasta and wiped my face with a napkin. “Is it such a bad thing that I’ve changed?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Peter, I’m delighted. My side of Janus Angelica is a lot easier to run without worrying where the next dead body’s going to appear from.” Odell carried on talking in his smooth American drawl. The image of Saj Khan, the slimy property broker who nearly screwed over Ray Woods, being chewed up in the meat grinder flashed into my mind. I suppressed it. That death was self-defence, but I knew that my brother was a callous killer. “I’m not naïve. When I joined the firm, I knew you had a hand in some dodgy deals, and I’m comfortable with financial fraud. Hell, that’s how I ended up in debt.” He nodded his head to me in a sign of gratitude. “But Cassandra is out of control right now, and I’m worried that the more Trade Deals we do, the greater the risk that someone finds out what we’re doing.”
I guess neither of us were cut out to be criminals in the way my brother was. I’d fallen into this line of work too. Was now the right time to tell him the truth and reveal who I really was? I opened my mouth to reply, but Odell got in first.
“But I never wanted to do the other activities you drag me into. I mean, I’ll support you and I’m not complaining.” He swallowed and looked sheepishly at me. “I’m just saying that you just don’t strike me as the same man who planned to kill his own brother in cold blood.”
I stopped chewing mid-mouthful. It was still hard to come to terms with the reality that Peter had planned my death in order to exact his revenge on the Fratelli Brothers.
Again, I wished I’d just told Odell the truth from the start. I took a deep breath and acted the part Odell expected me to. “I told you, I don’t remember any of that. I only know what Ray told me when he suggested using the same ploy to get back at Saj Khan. I guess the bash on my head during the car crash erased that completely.” I snorted, as much to show my frustration as at the memory that my own brother thought I was disposable. “When Ray told me that’s what I had planned, I surprised even myself!” I flashed a smile at him. “You’re right, though. I have changed, but hopefully I’ve changed for the better.”
I twirled my fork round and round in my spaghetti. Then I put it down and pushed away my plate. I’d lost my appetite. I opened my mouth to speak. What I wanted to say was, “Odell, I’m sorry. I’m not Peter. I’m his brother, John.”
I closed my mouth. I couldn’t do it. I’d lied to him for so long – how could I ever come clean now and reveal to him my true identity?
An athletic young couple in activewear sat down at a table near us. Odell lowered his voice to a deep whisper. “I’m glad to hear that. But you do seem like a completely different person.” He paused and wiped his face with a napkin. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say Peter Black died in the car clash and his brother took his place.”
I froze. I clenched my teeth together to stop myself accidentally blurting out the truth. My heart beat so hard I felt sick. I picked up my napkin and wiped my lips.
Was this an innocent query, or an indication of his belief?
Odell’s deep brown eyes burrowed through me like a tunnel drill.
What could I say?
Odell was the financial mastermind behind Janus Angelica. Without him the firm would cease to exist. Most of the profit came from his stock market trades and, without the hold which he thought I had on him, he’d probably leave. My brother had saved Odell when he’d stolen client money from his previous employer after betting on the stock market – and losing.
Every day, I was living a lie. And my closest friend was the person I lied to the most. The easy-going American was always there to help me and give me advice. He told me everything I needed to know about the firm and the world of finance when I took on the role of Saint Peter. But now he was sensing the truth.
Somehow, I had to come clean and tell him.
But not today.
His pregnant pause had now extended to something like a full trimester, and I knew he was waiting for me to explain who I really was – but I couldn’t. “I am different ... but I guess it’s just a side effect from the head injury.”
“I mean, you’ve even joined some classic car club,” he continued. “That’s hardly a hobby I imagined you doing.” He picked up a handful of chips and dipped them in the mayonnaise.
“I’ve always been interested in cars. We never had one when I grew up.” I sat back and let out a sigh, relieved that Odell had moved on from cross-examining me. No-one had a car in the housing estate I grew up in with my parents, except the drug dealers, of course. “The Mercedes Owners Club is somewhere I can be myself. No-one there knows who I am and I don’t have to put on the façade of Saint Peter.” I laughed.
“That’s true. And I’m pleased you’re developing other friendships.” He sucked in his breath sharply. “It didn’t work out so well with Luisa. I guess there’s no women in the car club?”
I didn’t think much about Luisa those days, but the mention of her name surfaced some raw memories. It was another time I’d been cheated by a woman. Although she said she cared for me, I remained sceptical. “I’ve not met anyone in person yet, but judging from their profile pictures on the lively Facebook community, it’s all guys.”
“Pity.”
“Not really. I’m done with dating for now. Luisa was a complete disaster, and so were my previous relationships.” My phone buzzed and I looked at it, eager to move away from any further questions about my relationship status. “That’s actually a message from the club. There’s a huge classic car festival next weekend and I’m meeting a few of them there.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s called Passion for Power at Tatton Park.” I scrolled up through the messages. “That’s my friend Olly checking I’m going along. You should come.”
He shook his head. “Next weekend? I’ll be taking it easy.”
“Why is that?” I picked up my drink and the ice tinkled in the bottom of the empty glass.
“My doctor thinks I’ve got a heart murmur or something and arranged an appointment for me. He told me to cut down on the alcohol, and fatty foods.” He glanced at his empty plate, where his ribeye steak, fried mushrooms, and large portion of fries had been until recently. “I’ll detox at the weekend.”
I pursed my lips. How had I not seen that my friend was under the weather? “Is it serious? That’s why you were looking so tired today, isn’t it? I thought you were just frustrated with Cassandra.”
He shrugged. “I’ll know more in a couple of weeks. Just now, I’m living my life as normal.”
I reached over and lightly touched his forearm. “I’m here for you if you need anything. Just let me know.” A knot tightened in my stomach as an image of Odell lying in a hospital bed flashed into my mind. He was nearly twenty years older than me, and after all the support and advice he’d given me, I considered him a father figure.
And what about Janus Angelica? I could barely control Cassandra when Odell was around. If something happened to him, I’d have no one to turn to. I still relied on him to fill in my so-called amnesia gaps.
The concern must have showed on my face. “Don’t worry about me. I’m as strong as a Texan longhorn.” Odell grinned at me, showing a full mouth of white teeth. “Anyway, Cassandra’s already fussing over me, so I don’t need you doing it too. She’s already emailed me a dozen health food recipes, including a disgusting sounding guava and avocado smoothie, and the name of a masseuse at her favourite spa.”
A waitress appeared and cleared away the plates. We declined the offer of another drink and called for the bill.