Col cleared the snug for us, made coffee. Amy curled up at my shoulder; she still trembled like a frightened child. I’d sent Hod to make the drop, until he got back with the all clear, we were on pins.
‘You should see a doctor for that nose,’ said Col. He placed a blanket round Amy’s shoulders. ‘Drink up, girl… Goodness, she’s in a terrible state, Gus.’
I rubbed her back, tried to tuck the blanket in tighter. ‘Amy, do you want me to take you home?’
Tears started to roll, sobbing. ‘No. Can’t I stay here with you?’
‘Sure, sure,’ I said. ‘Just relax, it’s all going to be fine.’
I checked the clock, I knew time was running out for us. I needed to get Amy away from the city. I couldn’t risk any more fallout striking her. But, Christ, how did I tell her that?
I’d dragged her into this, I might not have meant to, but sure as shooting she was here because of me. I fired up a tab, dragged deep. My mind wouldn’t function. Ideas seemed like something I used to have.
‘Col, a word,’ I said.
He left Amy’s side, joined me at the bar.
‘We need to get her out of here. We’ve very little time. If she’s still around me when they come looking…’
‘I know, I know.’ Col trembled, went behind the bar and poured himself a large whisky; I’d never seen him drink before.
‘What’s this?’ I said.
His face turned ashen, his eyelids dropped. ‘Courage… I need courage.’
He raised the glass, downed it in one, I grabbed his wrist. ‘I don’t think you should.’
He snapped, ‘Don’t tell me that, Gus. This is all my doing, do you think I can’t see it?’
I tried to set him straight. ‘Col, none of it, not one bit, has anything to do with you.’
He shook my hand off, returned to the bottle. ‘What do you know? You understand nothing. Didn’t I put you on to this? Didn’t I start it all. By the Lord above, wasn’t Billy my son!’ A tremor passed through him, head to toe, and he started to cry. ‘When I look at that girl through there do you know what I see, Gus?’
I shook my head. ‘What do you see?’
‘Those girls… those poor young girls, all of them.’
‘Col… don’t.’
He raged: ‘No. Billy brought those girls in, he was a maker of misery — him and all that pack. How could a son I raised be guilty of so much misery?’
‘Don’t. Don’t do this to yourself.’ I wanted to stop him. To see him get a grip, because every word he said felt like another drop of acid on my own conscience. ‘Amy needs us to be strong right now. We need to get her away from this. It isn’t fair on the girl to see any of us folding; I’ll take what’s coming to me, but for Chrissake, let’s keep her out of it.’
Col put down the glass, seemed to gather himself.
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘We need to get her away… do you still have Billy’s money?’
‘Of course. I wouldn’t touch it.’
‘Then give me some of it, now.’
I returned to Amy, flicked on the television to try and distract her. She sipped at her coffee, started to come around. She was tough, I knew that, but even still, she’d need some time to get over this. Time, however, was one thing we didn’t have.
Col appeared with Billy’s Nike holdall, handed it to me. He gave me a look I’d never seen before, imagined it to be the kind exchanged in the trenches of World War One, just before two buddies went over the top.
‘It’s done,’ said Hod. As he walked in the door my thoughts clicked into place.
I grabbed his arm. ‘Right, I need a word.’
I led him away to the bar, left Amy with Col, told him to keep the coffee flowing.
‘Hod, get her out of here,’ I said. I handed him a bunch of notes. ‘Get on a flight — Paris, Ayia Napa — bloody anywhere.’
He took the cash. ‘So that’s it then — it’s over, we just cave?’
‘There’s that word we again. It’s me that’s brought this on.’
‘And what about finding justice for Billy?’
‘Billy found his own justice.’
‘Meaning?’
‘He wasn’t exactly Mr Nice Guy. Go figure, Hod.’
Hod pulled his head in, tried another line of attack. ‘And what about Col then?’
‘He knows the score better than anyone.’
‘I think it’s wrong, Gus, to come this far.’
‘Drop it, would you?’
‘You’re letting them off, Gus. Billy’s killer is walking free and nothing’s changed, there’s still a racket feeding off the misery of those girls.’
‘Hod, I’m telling you — drop it.’
He stared me in the eye. I turned away. As he passed, I felt his shoulder cut into my own. I spun around, nearly knocked to the ground.
‘I’ll be telling Amy what she should really make of you,’ said Hod.
‘I wish you would.’
‘I thought I knew you better than this, Gus. Thought you’d never go down without a fight.’
If an answer waved in my mind, I missed it.
On the TV screen Zalinskas’ face flashed up. The case had concluded.
I ran through to the snug, stood under the television.
‘I don’t believe it,’ said Col. ‘He’s walked free.’
I knew all hell might break out at any minute. ‘Hod, get her the fuck out of here… now.’