Peter Jamieson doesn’t get out much. The consequences of importance. There was a time when it was different. Back when they started, Peter was the one who pounded the streets. He was the one with menace, because he was the one who could hurt you. Young was his sidekick. The smart guy you didn’t need to be afraid of. That changed with power. It got to a point where Jamieson couldn’t safely do the things he used to. He misses very few of those things, to be fair. Being the tough guy? Huh, leave that to the meatheads. Plenty of those around. And now Young has the menace to scare people anyway. Not because he’s got any tougher; he hasn’t. It’s because people know he has power behind him, and there’s nothing quite as intimidating as power. All of that power still belongs to Jamieson. Take him away and Young’s back to being the smartarse weakling.
Jamieson’s sitting in his office, watching TV. Half-watching, in fact. Paying a little attention to the local news, but contemplating other things. Got a text from Young saying he would be late in. No problem to Jamieson. He’s not what you would call a morning person. Work’s been heavy lately; he could do with taking a weekend to himself. It’ll have to wait. Big plans ahead. Very big. Career-defining. Get this thing with Shug just right and it sets up the next few years. No mention on the news of missing persons, so he’s switching the TV off. No mention in the local press, either. Young was confident this wouldn’t go big. Hardy had nobody to care if he went missing. Kenny only has his girlfriend, and she’s been around long enough to know better. In normal circumstances Jamieson would be reassured. His instincts tell him it’ll be fine. But his instincts told him Kenny was a good guy. People keep saying you have good instincts for the business, and eventually you get to believe them. Dangerous thing, believing others.
Young’s coming into the office now. Looking a little flustered, a little fed up. That’s not like him. Means there’s something to discuss. You spend more than two decades working by someone’s side and you learn what every expression means. Over time, both of these men have learned how to go expressionless. That’s valuable, too. You show no expression to an outsider and they have no way of knowing your mood. Young’s sitting down with a thump on the couch, looking across at Jamieson.
‘Had a couple of meetings already this morning,’ he’s saying.
He’s trying to look like this is some terrible struggle for him. Jamieson isn’t buying it. John Young likes to be busy. Everyone knows it. ‘What’s the problem?’
Young’s puffing out his cheeks. ‘Met with George and a couple of contacts. Separately, obviously. Good news is: Shug seems to be going the predictable route. Trying to make quick moves. He’s going broad, though. Targeting everyone with a name. I’ve been thinking. He knows about Calum. Knows that he works for us. He might make Calum a target again.’
Jamieson’s scowling, but it isn’t a huge surprise. There was always a chance that Shug would target Calum, especially if he knows that Frank MacLeod isn’t around any more.
‘Okay,’ Jamieson’s saying. ‘Well, we have to decide if we need to contact Calum or not. Give him a warning.’
Young’s pausing, thinking about it. ‘I don’t think so. A day and a half after he takes out two targets? Better for us, and him, if we keep quiet right now. Thing is,’ he’s saying, and bobbing the foot of his crossed leg up and down while he thinks, ‘he’s made one move against Calum and failed. Shug hasn’t mentioned Calum to anyone, far as I know.’ He’s shrugging. ‘Certainly hasn’t gone big on making it public.’
‘We can’t rely on it staying that way,’ Jamieson’s saying with a shake of his head. Going with his instincts. ‘If this goes our way, then Shug’s in all kinds of trouble. He’ll sing. Bound to. He’s too legit not to. He’ll mention Calum.’
‘Yeah,’ Young’s nodding, ‘but I might be onto something that could help us with that. I think we can get to Fizzy Waters. If we have him on board, it could make Shug sweet in the long term. Depending on whether we get a chance to play him properly. All depends on timing,’ Young’s saying, ‘but why rush into warnings that spook people.’
Hard to argue with that. Jamieson’s never been convinced of Calum’s loyalty. But he keeps doing the jobs he’s given, and keeps doing them well. Still, they’ve worked hard to make him feel comfortable with them. Sought to be good employers. He’s a young man who likes a lot of space, likes to be left alone. Fine, they’ve left him alone. Never put him under any unnecessary pressure. But it’s those instincts again. Young got this wrong before. Got it wrong with Calum. Had the chance to move him before Shug sent Glen Davidson to kill the boy. Worked out in the end, so Young got off the hook. Calum killed Davidson instead, which was a stroke of luck. But you can’t rely on Calum getting himself out of bother again. They need to be alert. Be ready to help Calum. Play this one cautious.
‘So that’s Shug. What other news did you have?’ Jamieson’s asking. There’s something else. All this Shug talk will have come from Greig, but Young mentioned two contacts. That means he met the young lad he has such high hopes for.
‘My other contact had a bit of news. Fisher’s taken the bait on Hardy. Looking into his links with Shug, which is a start. If Calum was up to scratch, then we’re off to a good start. Thing is, Fisher had a phone call. Came from Deana Burke.’
‘Deana Burke?’
‘She’s Kenny McBride’s girlfriend, partner–whatever you want to call it. She knew Kenny was Fisher’s contact. Kenny told her he was going on a job. When he didn’t come back, she called Fisher. We’re going to have to do something about her.’
Jamieson’s frowning and tapping the desk with his forefinger. Kenny, you weak little bastard. Even in death you’re a fucking nuisance. What kind of professional tells his girlfriend that he’s a police contact? She wasn’t even his wife, for Christ’s sake. So he tells her he’s a grass. Must have given her Fisher’s number as well. Bloody hell! Then he makes a point of telling her he’s going on a job. Shit, how much detail?
‘What did he tell her about the job?’
‘Doesn’t seem to be any detail there,’ Young’s telling him with a reassuring tone. ‘No mention of what the job was. No mention of who else was on the job. As far as I know, anyway. If she’d said something, then Fisher would be all over it already. He’s not; he’s still working on Hardy.’
‘Doesn’t mean she doesn’t know. Just means she hasn’t said anything yet. I wouldn’t put it past Kenny to have blurted out everything.’
‘Which is why we have to decide what we’re going to do about her,’ Young’s saying.
Killing her is off the table. Not an option. There’s a moral reason–if you want to look hard for it. It’s way in the background, but it’s there. Jamieson has qualms about killing someone just because they’re trying to find out what happened to a loved one. Sure, it’s annoying, when she should know better. And yes, if she becomes dangerous, then he’ll have no second thoughts about removing her. But, right now, all she’s doing is trying to find out what happened to her man. That’s gutsy, and rather admirable. Jamieson likes a strong woman. The other reason, the one that dominates, is that it’s not professional. Her man goes missing, she complains and then she goes missing too. You don’t think that would get the police all excited? Course it would. So you don’t go down that road. And they only have one gunman right now, Calum. That’s going to change soon, if all goes well, but right now it’s Calum, and Calum alone. No way Jamieson’s sending him to do another job so soon. So that leaves him looking at other options.
It has to be something that lets her know just how Jamieson feels about this. Something that gets the message across. But nothing that will draw the police to the scene. Nothing that harms her physically. She’s been around the business, so that informs the decision. Someone from the outside and you would have to use a lighter touch. Any pressure could send them running to the cops.
‘This Burke woman, how tough is she?’
Young’s shrugging. ‘Hard to say. Been around the block. Been with one or two serious people, so she knows what can happen. Don’t know about tough. The one she settled down with was Kenny. He was about as far from tough as you can get and still be in this business.’
‘Mm.’ Getting thoughtful. Getting pissed off. They shouldn’t be in this position. Kenny should have kept his gob shut.
‘Right,’ Jamieson’s saying decisively. ‘Call Nate Colgan. Get him in here. I’ll send him round. He can have a conversation with her. Nothing physical. Just a chat. If she doesn’t get that message, then she’s a dumb bitch and deserves whatever happens to her afterwards.’ He finishes with a little thump on the table.
‘Fair enough,’ Young’s saying. ‘But what if she doesn’t get it? Where do we go after this?’
‘Wherever we have to,’ Jamieson’s saying. Colgan will do the job. A smart guy, and as scary as all hell. Nate Colgan scares everyone, including his employers. It’s why he never lasts. Which is another good reason to use him. Nobody knows that Colgan has been working almost exclusively for Jamieson these last couple of months. He approached one of Jamieson’s men with favourable terms on some gear he’d been stuck with. Been using him since. Colgan’s freelance, though; anyone could hire him to intimidate this woman. No reason it should blow back on Jamieson.
As Young’s making the call to Colgan, his mind is racing. There’s an opportunity here. If DI Fisher and his lot are going to start poking about after Kenny, then there ought to be something for them to find. Something nicely distracting. Something that keeps them running merrily in the direction they’re already going. Towards Shug. It’s not how he would like to do it, but if you have to come up with policy on the hoof, then you might as well make it comprehensive. This could be useful. He might not be able to invent anything that definitely links Shug to Kenny, but something that raises suspicion is easy. Of course, if Deana Burke gets the message to back off, then this plot is pointless. And the fact is: most people get the message when Nate Colgan delivers.