“Stanley, get cleaned up. I’ll get you a new shirt tomorrow,” Topper said. He nodded to the other fellow, who stood, took the box from the table, cleaned up the cards, and stood behind me. “Thank you for the gift, Boyle.”
“Lots more where that came from.”
“I hope your delivery method improves. I won’t let you get away with that again. But it was worth it to teach Stanley a lesson. He should think before he speaks.”
“I don’t intend on delivering these in person. If you’re interested in acquiring more, I’ve got sixty cases to move. But the gift-giving season is over.”
“Where are they?”
“Close, ready to unload.”
“I don’t intend to be drawn into a trap, Lieutenant Boyle. I appreciate this gift from the U.S. Army, but I have no interest in the black market.”
“What’s the clothing ration these days? Thirty-six coupons a year, right? You’re each wearing about two-thirds of that.”
“It pays to have friends, Lieutenant. In the same way it pays to not make enemies. It helps one get ahead.”
“Five pounds per can,” I said. “That’s my price.”
“What?”
“I’m making the offer to sell you army property. I don’t know about the law here, but back in the States I’d have to wait for you to offer to buy if I wanted to entrap you.”
“That’s not what I meant. I must’ve misunderstood you. I thought you said five pounds per can.”
“I did. You can’t find peaches anywhere in England except on a U.S. Army base. They’re priceless. You can sell them to fancy restaurants, rich folk, gangsters, anyone with a pocketful of cash. You could charge five pounds per peach, for crying out loud.”
“Clive,” Topper said, beckoning to the guy standing behind me. I tensed, waiting for a sap to my skull. “Open those cans. Take them around to the good people outside. Make sure they share them out, women and children first. Got it?”
“Yes, boss. You want any?”
“No. Leave a bowl for Dad, though. And yourself and Charlie, too.”
“None for Stanley?” Topper shook his head, and Clive got to work with a can opener.
“I’ll buy your sixty crates at four pounds each. That’s two hundred and forty quid. My only offer.”
“You going to give those away, too?”
“We’re not a charitable institution,” Topper said. “But these are all East Enders in here. Our folk. We take care of our own.”
“And they take care of you.”
“What’s fair is fair,” he said, as a chorus of cheers went up from the residents of the Chapman siding. “Take the two forty or take your leave.”
“I want three hundred, and some information.”
“Information has value, Billy, it’s not something to be given away.”
“OK, I’ll knock fifty pounds off for the info. Two fifty, and you tell me what I need to know.”
“My price is two forty, firm. Tell me what you need to know, and I’ll tell you if that information is available and for sale. And for how much.”
“Shouldn’t we be talking to your father about this?”
“We will, once the terms are agreed. He’s not one to haggle. What do you want to know?”
“I need to know who killed the Russian, Gennady Egorov. I don’t care what business he may have been doing with you. If you had him killed, there’s no reason for me to go to Scotland Yard, it’s not my beef.”
“You are seriously asking if I’m an accessory to murder? If I was, do you think I’d ever tell you? That’s a foolish question.”
“OK. Here’s what I need to know. Was Egorov doing business with you, selling information about the shipment of supplies to the Soviet Embassy? If so, then I need to know if his death was in any way connected with that business, as opposed to a conflict with another party. No names, I just need to know the motive for his murder.”
“This is for the investigation you mentioned, on behalf of General Eisenhower?”
“Yeah. If I can solve it, it’ll mean a promotion. More pay, easier access to even more supplies. Listen, I don’t give a hoot who killed him, I just need a story that will hold up. But if his death involves our business in any way, I need to know it so I can steer the investigation in another direction.”
“All right,” Topper said. “I think we may be able to come to an understanding. I need to discuss this with my father. We’ll also need to make arrangements to get these crates delivered safely. We have a warehouse nearby. How long will it take for you to get everything here? You do have transportation, don’t you? Our deal doesn’t include a pickup.”
“Five minutes,” I said. “Everything’s in a truck, close by.”
“Good. Let me speak to him alone.”
Topper and Archie talked for ten minutes or so, in hushed tones I couldn’t make out. Then there was silence, and in a minute Topper came out. “Want a drink?” he said.
“No thanks,” I said, not wanting to start up a repeat of the previous performance. “Is your father coming out?”
“No, he’s not feeling well. But he did agree to two fifty, and we can tell you something about the Russian.”
“Something?”
“Nothing held back. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” I said. “Deal.” I had no idea what the actual cost of the peaches was to the army, but I was sure two hundred and fifty pounds, illegal as it was, would cover it.
“The Russian was not ours. We had nothing to do with his killing.”
“Topper, that may be true, but it’s what I’d expect you to say.”
“I understand, but there’s something else. The map you mentioned, the one showing the route of the supply truck. That was for us. We were to receive it, but it never arrived.”
“Do you think Egorov was the courier?”
“No, that’s not how it was done. Truly, we have no connection to the man, nor do we know who killed him. But the fact that he had the map, it does point to his interference in a business arrangement.”
“Which you won’t reveal.”
“Or ever acknowledge again.”
“OK,” I said. “Then let’s finish the rest of the deal.” I followed Topper out, and Charlie fell in behind us, promising to return my weapon when the transaction was complete. Topper stopped to chat along the way, as people thanked him for the peaches. He was especially popular with the young ladies, but the old ones liked him, too. Never underestimate the power of peaches in syrup when an island has been at war for four years. It was a happy group, and I had to stop three or four times to accept thanks as well, from those who’d seen me carry in the covered crate and put two and two together.
Once we made it aboveground, I led Topper to the bombed-out buildings, with Charlie at our heels. “Got the money on you?” I asked, wanting to sound like a legitimate bad guy.
“I do, and that’s where it’s staying,” Topper said, wheeling to face me as I felt the muzzle of my own gun at my neck. “All set?” Topper yelled over his shoulder.
“That we are, boy,” I heard Archie respond, a cackling laugh finishing his sentence. “Wasn’t too hard either, even though this fellow is the size of a house.”
Archie stepped out from between two trucks, advancing until his bayonet pointed straight at my chest. “Don’t you play with me, Boyle. Either you’re a thief or not. I don’t like how you mix your business.”
“Big Mike?” I said into the darkness.
“I’m OK, Billy. Except for the shotgun digging into my back. They got the drop on me.”
“Amateurs,” Archie said. “What pitiful amateurs. It gives honest crooks a bad name. First you ask too many damn questions, then you accept a pittance for these wonderful fruits of nature, then you tell Topper you’ve got the truck full no more than five minutes away. What did you expect, boy? You may as well have brought the whole load to my doorstep.”
“If you need anything done, boss, I’d be happy to oblige.” Stanley stepped from behind the truck, a scarf wrapped around his neck to hide the bloodstains. “Very happy,” he added, his voice still nasal and stuffy.
“No need, no need. We’ll take the truck and let these two fools find their own way back. But if you see them an hour from now, do whatever pleases you. And I might do the same!”