CHAPTER 46

‘More banana bread?’

Andy, mouth full, raised a thumb.

Barb cut another slice and put it on his plate. ‘Worth the trip?’

Andy nodded. ‘Deafknee,’ he got out. ‘Licious.’

Barbara smiled and patted an empty Tupperware container on the table. ‘I’ll put the rest in here for you.’ And if she ever needed an excuse to ask Andy for another favour, she could ring to ask him to return it.

He swallowed, and took another forkful. Before he put it into his mouth, Barb took her chance.

‘So, did you discover anything?’

The fork paused. ‘Wouldn’t be eating this cake if I hadn’t.’

‘It’s not a payment, Andy. It’s just … well, it is payment, I suppose, but it’s for making the effort, whether or not it was successful.’

‘Not how I usually work. Anyway, Tanya wasn’t happy when I showed up again. Didn’t want to tell me nuffin’, but arms was twisted.’

‘Metaphorically?’

‘Exactly. Although I wouldn’t mind giving that Morgan a smack. Anyway, Tanya took some persuading. First I showed her the photo of that Gary you sent. She recognised him from the telly. Watches his show. Says he’s not a client.’

‘Did Morgan see the photo?’

‘Yep. Didn’t recognise him.’

‘Could they have been lying?’

‘Tanya’s hard to read, but Morgan’s not. Pretty sure he’d never seen him. Next was …’ He held his phone up, showing a picture of Seb. ‘No dice. Never seen him.’

Barb let out a relieved breath. ‘And the final one was Viv. Again.’

‘Going off your theory that Tanya might be hiding something about him, I made sure I showed the photo to Morgan first. His eyebrows went up and he looked at Tanya, which was as good as him saying the guy was a client. Tanya goes, “Nup. Never seen him.” I say, “Bullshit.” There’s a bit of to and fro, bottom line is, yes, he has bought from them in the not-too-distant past, but she will not say a word about what or how much. She really clammed up. Not sure why. You all right? Who is he?’

‘Viv. Joe’s brother.’

‘Whoa. You think he whacked his own brother?’

‘I was just trying to eliminate him as a suspect, but he is … odd. He doesn’t seem like the type to take drugs himself.’ She tried to compose herself. ‘Can I ask you one more thing?’

‘Hard to refuse with a mouth full of your cake.’

‘Bread, technically, but it’s a fine line, I suppose. The police think Joe killed this woman he was having an affair with – Karen. That they argued one night at his house, things got out of hand and somehow he broke her neck. Do you think Joe could have done that?’

‘People do surprise you in this business, Barb, but I knew Joe pretty well and it seems unlikely. Was he on anything at the time?’

‘Off everything, even alcohol.’

‘See, all those years on drugs, I never heard of him ever being violent. That’s unusual, to be honest. l mean, obviously after taking heroin, no one’s going to slap anyone, let alone break their neck, but he drank a lot and took plenty of ice. If you’re not violent when you’re on booze or ice, you’re not going to be violent sober. Plus, it’s a dumb move and Joe wasn’t dumb.’

‘Is breaking someone’s neck a difficult thing to do?’

‘Why would you think I’d know that? I’m a debt collector.’

‘Just on the off chance.’

He studied her. ‘As it happens, I do know. In movies, it looks easy. Quick twist. Snap! Next scene. Not in real life. You need a very specific technique. If you just had a go without knowing how, very unlikely you’d succeed.’

‘So if Karen’s neck was broken …’

‘It can happen by chance. You fall at exactly the wrong angle, maybe down stairs. But that’s rare. If it was done deliberately, it’s almost certainly a professional. It’s a good method to use. No hassle with getting and then getting rid of a gun, no bullet to be traced, no residue, and the cops can’t rule out it being an accident.’

‘Are there many of those sorts of professionals around, who would kill someone by neck-breaking?’

Andy considered this. ‘Only a handful. These days, most prefer guns. Don’t have to get too close, for starters. Maybe … three.’

‘You see, there’s a suggestion that Karen may have stumbled upon some information that could have put someone in jeopardy. Perhaps a powerful someone.’

‘How big are we talking?’ he said. ‘Biden? Putin? Swift?’

‘Not quite. Perhaps someone in organised crime. And they’re the people who outsource debt collecting to people like you, yes? Do they also outsource their “wetwork”?’

‘Been researching terms, have we?’

‘It was in a film I watched. Horrible Bosses.’ It wasn’t Barb’s usual fare, but lately she had been trying to cheer herself up with some comedies.

‘“Wetwork” doesn’t make sense, really,’ she continued, ‘especially with a broken neck. No blood. It’s dry work, if anything. By the way, they call it “organised crime”, but how organised is it, actually?’

He shrugged. ‘Not as much as the rail network. More than a school fete. There’s always a bit of chaos.’

‘Interesting. Anyway, do they outsource their wetwork?’

‘Usually. Get the experts in. Same as anything. Like when you need your oven fixed.’

‘To one of three people?’

‘If it’s a broken neck, it’s one of three. Actually, two at the moment. One’s in Europe.’

‘On the run?’

‘Family holiday. Trip of a lifetime, apparently. They’ve got lives outside work too, you know.’

‘One of two, then. Who are they?’

‘Fuck’s sake, Barb. I’m not going to tell you their names and get a couple of killers offside, am I?’

‘Any chance you could ask around?’

‘I’m not grassing them,’ he said firmly.

‘I’m not really interested in them. They’re just the tool. The hammer that hits the nail. I want to find out who’s holding the hammer. You don’t believe Joe killed Karen. I just want to clear his name.’ She pushed the banana bread in Andy’s direction. ‘You can take what’s left.’

He sighed. ‘I’ll see what I can do, but I’m not sticking my neck out. Don’t want it to be the next one broken.’