Collusion

71

The Traveller pulled off the dual carriageway and into a small housing development, a fresh clean new-build. Big houses, four and five bedrooms, all with their own paved driveways, four-by-fours and estates parked on them. He entered a cul-de-sac and made his way to the turning circle at the end. The Volkswagen’s ancient brakes whined as he stopped.

At least Hewitt had got him an automatic. Changing gears would have been hell on his throbbing wrist. He flexed his fingers against the elasticated bandage then rolled his shoulder to shift the ache that had settled there. It felt tight where the knitting needle had punctured his skin, as if the flesh constricted on the bone.

He opened the door and got out. A cat watched him from its place curled up on a welcome mat on one of the doorsteps. The Traveller quickly scanned the cul-de-sac, checking for lights or twitching curtains. Satisfied, he opened the boot. There, just as Hewitt had promised, his long kit bag, the kind of luggage cricketers carried bats and pads in. The plastic cable tie still sealed it closed. He was surprised Hewitt hadn’t had a peek inside. The tie was only there to keep the hotel maids out. You’d never know its contents by feeling the outside. Blankets softened the shotgun’s shape.

The Traveller took a moment to get his bearings. Follow the Shore Road, Hewitt had said, keep going till you see the masts.

The lighting around the marina cast oranges and yellows over the moored boats. Some were small sailing craft; others were bigger vessels with powerful engines. The place stank of money. It figured the Loyalist would run his whores from here. The Traveller circled the building, looking for danger. He expected none, the Loyalist had been paid good money for the address and the keys the Traveller had found in the Volkswagen’s glovebox, but still, he would be careful.

He kept the Browning tight against his side, its stock inside his jacket, the barrel pressed against his leg as he walked to the far side of the apartment block where the few permanent residents’ cars sat protected by the street lights. Four of them in all, plus the Volkswagen he’d driven here in. Most of the apartments were weekend getaways or holiday lets. The Loyalist had said his place would be the only occupied flat on that floor. The building’s entrance was a sheltered glass door. He tried one of the three keys he’d been given; it didn’t work. He tried the second and was inside. A plain, clean reception area with a lift. He took the stairs instead, two steps at a time.

Six flights to the top floor. The Traveller peered through the glass in the door leading to the corridor. Soft lighting and no movement. He pulled the door as slowly as he could manage, but still it creaked. He froze as the sound reverberated in the stairwell. No other noise, no disturbance in the only slit of light beneath one of the four doors. He slipped through, keeping his hand on the door to soften its closing. He stepped quietly along the corridor, his shoes whispering on the thick carpet.

The flat was second on the right; he recognised the characters 4 and B. He watched the dim sliver of light below the door as he approached. No sound came from within, not even a television. He pressed his ear against the wood. Silence. He put his eye to the peephole. Nothing but distorted shadows. He stepped back and examined the door. Good hardwood, oak by the look of it, different from the other apartment doors. Fitted special, most likely.

The Traveller slipped the first key into the deadlock and turned it, wincing at the noise of the tumblers. The door loosened in its frame. He withdrew the key, and found the one for the cylinder lock at eye level. It slid home smooth and neat, turned easy, and the door opened. It met something solid and immovable after less than two inches. A rustle from inside, the mewling of a child, another voice shushing it. He pushed again with more force. The hard sound of a chain pulled tight.

A frightened whisper from within, the child crying briefly, the patters of socked feet on carpet. The Traveller shoved hard against the door with his uninjured shoulder. He might as well have pushed the wall. It was a good security chain, a proper locksmith’s job, not the crap you’d buy in some discount DIY warehouse. Doors slammed inside, followed by more whispering feet. He put his good eye to the narrow opening. Now the shadows moved.

‘I’ve got a gun,’ a woman’s voice called.

‘So have I,’ he said. ‘I bet mine’s bigger.’

‘I’ve called the police,’ she said.

‘That was quick.’

‘I’m doing it now.’

‘Can you work the gun and the phone at the same time?’

The Traveller lifted the Browning and stepped back. He pumped a shell into the chamber, steadied himself, and blew a chunk out of the door where he reckoned the chain was. He chambered another shell and blasted the same place again. Once the smoke cleared, he saw he hadn’t done as much damage as he thought. He stepped closer and examined the hole. A good amount of wood had been torn away, but twisted steel bordered the small tear the shotgun had opened. He looked through.

A shaking hand held a pistol, the same kind of Glock that Hewitt had given him, pointing back from a doorway. He could just make out her shape slumped against the door frame and heard a hiss, a moan, a gasp. The pistol’s muzzle flashed and he ducked away from the gap. No matter. The bullet hit the steel reinforcement at least a foot away from where his eye had been.

‘Jesus, you should practise with that thing,’ the Traveller said. ‘You’re a fucking terrible shot. Still, no need to call the cops now. I’m sure some of the neighbours has done the honours.’

‘Go, then,’ she said, her voice cracking.

‘Don’t think I will,’ he said. ‘Listen, open this thing up and I’ll go easy on the wee girl. Can’t say fairer than that.’

Another bang from inside, another slam like a fist against the door. Then he heard ragged weeping. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘You had your chance.’

He examined the door frame, found where the chain was attached. He raised the shotgun, pumped a shell, and blasted the door twice, leaving mangled craters and twisted metal. He reloaded the shotgun, straining through the ringing in his ears for approaching sirens. Nothing but the child’s squealing from deeper inside the apartment, though even that was mixed with the high whine the shotgun blast had left behind. The bastards at the cop shop had taken his good Vater earplugs.

A mobile phone rang somewhere inside, its high chime cutting through the whine.

The Traveller took a step back, then forward, raising his right leg so his foot carried his body’s weight as it slammed against the door. It burst inwards and hit the wall. The Traveller peered through the smoke as he pumped the shotgun. The phone stopped ringing. He raised the shotgun when he saw the woman cowering in the living room’s doorway.

She did not move as he entered. He drew nearer and saw the red pocks on her cheek. A brighter bloom of red above her right breast. She inhaled and coughed as she stared up at him, her eyes full of fear and hate.

Beyond her, in the living room, the mobile phone rang again. Its screen doused the room in a dull blue glow. It inched across the coffee table as it vibrated.

‘Let me get that for you,’ the Traveller said.