Jack Carter's Law Read Online Free Page B

difference he’d know we’d get him fixed on the inside. And Jimmy never was happy in a brace-up.”
    “Yes, that’s right,” Gerald says. “He wouldn’t have the bleeding stomach for it.”
    “Unless,” I tell them, “they’re fixing it so nobody can get to him, ever.”
    “But why would they?” Gerald says. “What’s the point? Christ, if Jimmy spills, half the population of Inner London’d be standing side by side in the fucking dock and half of Old Bill’s mob as well. Jesus, they’re understrength as it is without putting their own boys away.”
    “We don’t know what the point is, do we?” I say. “That’s just it. We don’t know what’s going on.”
    “I thought that’s what we paid Cross for,” Les says, again looking at me as if I was to blame for Cross’s lack of material.
    “If Jimmy’s turned Queen’s evidence then Cross will be sending his information in the other direction from now on,” I say.
    After a while Gerald says, “If Jimmy’s done a deal he must have given them something already.”
    “That’s right.”
    “So if it’s like you think it is then why hasn’t anybody been picked up yet?”
    I shrug. “Depends. If they want everybody Jimmy’s worked with for the last half-dozen years, they want them all at once. They don’t want anybody clearing out at the first arrest.”
    “But it still doesn’t mean we can go on our holidays before we get to Jimmy,” Les says, rattling the ice cubes in his drink. “And if you’re right, then of course we’ve got to get to him, haven’t you, Jack?”
    I’m expecting that one so I say, “Sure. That’s right. If you’ve got one of those diaries with tube maps on the back then I’ll start right away. If I go through the alphabet I’ll be at Wembly about 1980.”
    “We pay you,” Gerald says. “You find him. I mean you haven’t tried Finbow yet. Or Mallory. Christ, what about Mallory? Why the fuck hasn’t he been in touch? It was yesterday. Bleeding yesterday.”
    I look at Les and Les looks at me. Gerald looks at both of us.
    “What?” he says. So I have to spell it to him.
    “If Mallory hasn’t been in touch then he knows what’s going on. So he won’t exactly be sitting behind his desk waiting for us to get in touch with him.”
    Gerald stands up and walks a few paces then turns back and sits down again. His arse on the leather makes a noise like a bad diver hitting the surface of the water.
    “So where are you going to start?” he says.
    I shrug and get up.
    “May as well start with the obvious,” I say. “At least that way we’ll make sure it’s the way it looks.”
    Les downs his drink and says, “Maybe, but don’t forget Swann’s got to be found this week. Next week’s too late. And when he’s found, no mistakes.”
    I walk over to the door and open it and before I close it behind me I say to Les, “I don’t make mistakes. Like, for instance, employing Jimmy Swann in the first place.”

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    Walter
    T HE RINGING TONE WHIRRS in my ear for a long time before the receiver is lifted at the other end. There is no greeting so I say, “My name is Eamonn Andrews and this is your life.”
    There is a sigh of relief and Tommy says, “It’s always nice to hear your voice on this number, Jack.”
    “Seeing as I’m the only one who has that number.”
    “Something like that.”
    I shake a cigarette from my pocket and say, “You doing anything tonight?”
    “Yeah, I was taking the old lady down Ernie’s.”
    “Not any more you’re not.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “Because you’re going to look for Jimmy Swann before he coughs so big you’ll never be taking your old lady down Ernie’s or nowhere again.”
    There is a long silence. Tommy knows better than
Gerald and Les to worry his head about whether I’m wrong or not so he says to me, “What do you want?”
    “I want you to talk to some of Jimmy’s crowd and I want at least one of them to have something interesting to say to you. If