Poisoned Cherries

Chapter 55

As soon as Greg Oliver saw Ronnie Morrow’s car arrive, as per orders from Ricky he got Ewan to hell out of there. No way did we want him to be around when his wife and his mistress were huckled into a police car.

We went with them, of course; not as suspects, but as witnesses.

It was almost eight by the time we finished making our formal statements. Ricky did a deal with Morrow for Alison to come in later that day, so that the charges against her could be formally binned. The young sergeant gave us a lift back to the Mound after that, and after I had called Miles and advised him to stand down the extras for another day at least, suggesting that he shoot Liam’s bedroom scene instead.

Ricky came up to the apartment with me, but only to collect Alison, break the good news to her and take her home for what he hoped would be a bit of a celebration.

Tough luck, Richard. ‘But I can go back to my own place now, can’t I?’ she said. ‘I don’t need minding any more, do I?’ The way she chopped him off was pretty brutal; I could see why she had such a bright future in the PR business.

Just before nine, they left me on my own. . almost. I was just beginning to think about a long sleep, when Liam appeared; from my bedroom. He looked at me, in a way I could only describe as shifty.

‘All right then?’ he asked.

‘It is now. What about you? You don’t look so good. Rough night?’

‘Mmm. The thing is. . I don’t know if I should tell you this. Fuck, I don’t know if I believe it. I was lying there trying to sleep, and then I hear you lot leave. Thank Christ, I thinks to myself, then five minutes later this Alison woman comes into my room and gets into bed beside me.

‘I thinks about it. . give her that. . but then I says, “No thank you very much,” gets up and goes across to your room.

‘The light bulb’s jiggered, but I thinks So what? and goes into the toilet to bleed the lizard. Then, when I came out. . Whizz! Bang! I’m up in the air and on my arse and there’s a bloody great naked woman lying on top of me!’

I kept my face straight. ‘So what did you do about that?’ ‘What the hell could I do? I tell you, Oz, there’s no bloody security in this building, none at all.’