Splinter

35

The roaring in Benny’s ears was growing louder at every step. Quite faint at first, it had started the moment he drove away from the police checkpoint. The policewoman had never got round to examining the contents of his boot. Before he could open it, her assistance had been requested by a colleague in need of back-up, who was having trouble persuading a recalcitrant Mercedes driver to undergo a breath test. Benny’s pulse rate hadn’t dropped since then, and he was sweating as he climbed the stairs to his flat.

‘Know why none of your attempts at suicide has ever succeeded, Benny?’

Valka didn’t call him often. That he’d done so twice today was an ominous sign.

‘No,’ Benny replied truthfully, breathing hard. He didn’t trouble to ponder the point of the question. Valka loved staging set pieces. Whether out to impress a woman, kill an opponent or simply chew the fat, he devoted a lot of prior thought to making the greatest impact possible. His opening gambits were thus of a purely rhetorical nature.

‘Because you’re a wimp, that’s why. I still remember the first time, when that Yoko Ono slut destroyed our band. Laughable, it was.’

Valka never referred to Sandra by her real name and regularly compared her to the woman who had split up the Beatles. It was true that Marc had had no time for rehearsals and gigs once he and she were a couple.

‘The bunch who’d protected you suddenly weren’t there any more. Your best friend, your brother, was busy screwing his new girlfriend while you, you sensitive soul, were all on your lonesome. Christ, I’ve never understood how anyone could be such a mummy’s boy. But you couldn’t even do the job properly. I mean, the few pills you swallowed wouldn’t have put a cat to sleep.’ His laugh was so hearty it sounded as if he was about to slap his thigh.

Benny came to a halt. Although he was only wearing a thin T-shirt under his green bomber jacket and the janitor had turned off all the radiators because of rocketing oil prices, he felt as if he were in the tropics.

‘I know you’ve never really liked me, Benny, but I’ve always been there for you, you’ve got to admit. I looked out for you – I gave you a new life.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Benny muttered, already feeling in his pocket for the key to his flat. Only another two floors to go. The final flight of stairs to the converted roof space was carpeted in burgundy sisal that muffled his footsteps.

‘And today, if I let you leave town, I’ll be giving you another present.’

‘I thought we were quits, Eddy. The job’s done.’

‘I know, my boys just confirmed it. They say that lousy hack’s house looks like a football pitch there are so many green uniforms milling around inside.’

Valka was evidently using a satellite phone. Either that or he assumed his conversations weren’t being monitored.

Or he was simply suffering from delusions of grandeur.

Probably both, thought Benny.

‘Okay, now pin your ears back…’ Valka had abandoned his spuriously jovial tone of voice. It was like a light going out. ‘That shit in your boot – get rid of it.’

Benny nodded, distracted by the realization that the key in his hand was redundant. The door to his flat was ajar, though only just. Gingerly, he shoved it open with his foot. It was dark inside.

‘Where are you now?’ asked Valka, who must have heard the door creak.

‘My place.’

An almost imperceptible, sweetish smell greeted Benny as he entered the little hallway.

‘Good. Then pack up your things, get into your lousy car and take that garbage to Holland tonight.’ He gave Benny an address in Amsterdam and a contact. ‘If Vincent doesn’t call me back by midnight and confirm that the goods have arrived, I’ll come looking for you.’

Benny came to a halt and switched the phone from one ear to the other. ‘Midnight? No dice, I need more time.’ He turned on the overhead light. The smell was becoming stronger.

‘Tell me something, Benny. Do I sound like a hooker?’

‘No.’

‘That’s a relief, I thought you wanted to fuck me. I’m doing you a favour, letting you pay off your debts instead of perforating your balls with a nail gun, and you say you need more time? Who do you think you are?’

‘Look, Eddy, please give me a day to say goodbye to everyone.’

‘Like who, you moron? Your parents are dead, your brother hates you and your pals are in the nuthouse.’ Valka chuckled. ‘Still, I thought you’d say something like that, so I’ve laid on a little surprise for you. One that’ll underline the gravity of the situation.’

Benny shut his eyes. He had grasped the grisly significance of the smell.