Alex Palmer - Blood Redemption

As he took her phone, Harrigan had the pleasure of watching Ian ogle Grace and grin salaciously behind her back. He listened to the message before passing it on to Trevor and Ian in turn. The first sounds of the recording were of silence, and then of someone moving, and then of a voice, slurred and slow.

‘Is that that woman, Grace? The one who talked to me? It’s Greggie.

I’m ringing to tell you that I’m flying at the moment. And I’m flying because I want to. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good in my life.

Because I’m on my way out and no one can do anything to stop me and I’m free now. And I’ve never felt happier in my life. I just feel that I’m going to sleep. He won’t like that because I’m fucking it up for him, serve him fucking right. I just wanted to say — you’ve got to understand her. The Firewall, that is. She wouldn’t want me saying who she is. I rang her but she’s got her phone off so I can’t say goodbye. Will you do that for me? If you do give a shit like you say you do. Just say I wanted to say goodbye to her. She’s got her reasons, you need to talk her round, just talk to her. She’s not like him, you remember that.’

There was a faint clink as the phone was turned off. After a short break a mechanical voice read out: ‘Tuesday, 18 July, 3:59 a.m.’

‘That was our witness,’ Harrigan said. ‘Goodbye, Greggie. Poor bloody kid.’

He sat there expressionless, tapping at the desk, otherwise unmoving. He radiated sufficient tension to render everyone else in the room momentarily silent.

‘He. Him. Who’s that?’ Ian asked, giving the phone back to Grace.

‘Who do you think? Our friendly neighbourhood everyone’s-my-mate community refuge preacher from the New Life Ministries. I’ll lay you odds,’ Harrigan replied.

‘“I’m fucking it up for him”,’ Trevor repeated. ‘He didn’t want him dead.’

‘Just not yet, is all that means.’

‘That was loyalty, wasn’t it?’ Grace said. ‘He wasn’t going to tell us who she is, not even then.’

Harrigan looked at her from across his desk.

‘You didn’t hear that message when it came through? Why didn’t you answer your phone? Why wait till now to share it with us?’

‘It’s like I said. I’ve only just heard it.’ There was a brief silence.

Harrigan was still waiting. ‘I’d turned my mobile off. It couldn’t ring through,’ she said.

‘You weren’t home, you turned your mobile off. You weren’t contactable.’ He felt the back of his neck burn.

‘I had my beeper with me.’

‘That’s not good enough. No, it’s worse than that, it’s bloody useless. You knew that boy had your number, you gave it to him yourself. If you’d had your phone on, you could have talked to him.

You could have asked him where he was, maybe we could have done something for him, we could have traced the call. If everyone else can manage it, I don’t see why you can’t.’

She looked back at him stony-faced; he turned to Ian. ‘Get on to that and check out where that call came from. See what you can trace.’

Ian got to his feet. ‘Can I get Jeffo on to that? Because if I do it, I won’t have time to — ’

‘Jeffo doesn’t know his fig from his date.’ Harrigan’s voice was short to say the least. ‘You do it.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Grace said, angrily. ‘I can do that.’

‘Then get on with it.’ Harrigan knew his face was blood red. ‘And some time today, get changed!’

She gave him one more glance and then walked out of his office, Ian following her.

‘Take it easy, mate,’ Trevor said quietly to Harrigan after they had both gone. ‘Watch your blood pressure. We need you to protect us from Marvin.’

Harrigan did not immediately reply. He was watching Grace pull her long brown hair into a ponytail as she stood by her desk talking to Ian, and wondering who she had been making herself available to at four in the morning. She hadn’t been interested in his company.

‘Don’t worry about it. All I need is some fresh air and a change of scenery,’ he said and collecting his coat went in search of both.

How are u dad?

Harrigan should have expected his son to take the initiative. He looked at the computer screen.

‘How are you, more to the point?’ he asked.

I’m okay dad I’m still here I don’t know that I want 2 talk 2 muchabout wot happened yesterday U didn’t tell me how u were

‘I’m fine.’

U don’t look it

Harrigan sat down beside his son. He almost smiled. He did not quite know what to say. He hadn’t come here to talk about women in general, only one in particular. A population of one that did not include Grace. He looked from the screen to his son.

‘You love her.’ It was something he felt he had to say.

She knows what I look like She says she loves me I believe her Stillthink she does

Harrigan waited.

Thought she’d understand but she didn’t She didn’t listen I don’tknow Maybe she’ll come back and talk 2 me again

‘She owes it to you, Toby. You’ve given her more than anyone else has.’

His son flickered his good hand, that ‘oh yeah’ gesture.

‘Why her, Toby? I know you don’t want to talk about it. But do you want to tell me that much, so I understand?’

Why do u think??? Because She talked 2 me I can’t do anything dadLike I tell everyone I’m a turtle on its back That’s me Girls don’t talk2 me They don’t even want 2 look at me Why would they want 2 Shedid She knew what I looked like amp; she didn’t care I said 2 her we’reboth fucking cripples She said yes we are amp; we are 2 dad That’s why

‘You aren’t like her, Toby. You couldn’t even think about doing something like that.’

I might U don’t know I’m locked in this chair She’s locked in herhead That’s why she did wot she did Don’t know wot I’d do if I wasn’tin a chair

‘You live in the real world. She doesn’t.’

I live in my head dad I live in a screen Nowhere else I can gowithout someone helping me

‘You don’t just live through a screen. You’ve got me for the rest of my life. You’ve got Ronnie, you’ve got Carolyn, there’s your cousins.

They love you, mate. You can’t say we haven’t shown that.’

Not the point, is it, dad? Wot girl wants 2 have sex with me????

Harrigan sat there silent.

‘There are alternatives,’ he said finally.

Are there?

‘Yeah.’

Pay someone u mean??? Is that what u did?

‘No, it wasn’t,’ he said eventually.

Wot did u do?

‘I had a girlfriend. First time we did it, we were on the back seat of her brother’s car. In the garage. He was a petrol-head too, I don’t know if he ever found out what happened to the upholstery. God, it was uncomfortable.’

Better than 0

In retrospect, not so very much. Things had improved after his girlfriend, through some obscure arrangement, had borrowed the keys to the flat her university student sister shared with a moving company of friends.

‘It’s whatever you want, Toby. You just have to ask me and I will organise what you want. That’s all you have to do.’

Not someone who cares about me

‘Toby, if you just ask me, I will do the very best I can for you. There are people out there who are better than others. I can find them for you.’

Toby flickered ‘oh, yeah’ with his good hand once again. Harrigan stood up.

‘I have to go back to work now,’ he said. ‘I have to be somewhere.

If you want anything, you just ask me. You tell me what you want.’

U know what I’m going 2 do??? I’m going out looking for herMaybe she’ll talk 2 me again