‘One thing’s for sure,’ Spanner commented as they walked along. ‘The boss isn’t going to be happy if things keep going like this.’
‘We could always gift-wrap him someone like Archie Love. Bury him deep and tell Cam he confessed.’
‘Cam wants to hear it from the culprit’s own lips, remember.’
Ballater grunted. He had his eye on an approaching teenager, dressed in head-to-toe denim, Rangers scarf tight around his neck. The boy was smart enough to cross the street, even at the risk of a passing taxi clipping him. The taxi sounded its horn and the teenager flicked the Vs.
‘I love this place,’ Ballater said.
‘Odds are shifting towards Matt Mason,’ Thomson went on, not about to have his train of thought derailed. ‘Start a war, then sit back and watch.’
‘Wasn’t it you who said Mason’s happy enough the way things are?’
‘That was Panda.’
‘I got the feeling you agreed with him.’
‘Maybe I’m changing my mind.’
‘Since your wee chat with John Rhodes?’
Thomson fixed his companion with a look. ‘I’ve already explained about that.’
‘What about the boss’s theory, then — Bobby had turned detective to see if Mason had anyone from our side on his payroll?’
Thomson shook his head. ‘That would be a nice excuse for Bobby to go and meet a few people.’
‘You think he was about to jump ship? Cam wouldn’t have let that happen.’
‘Exactly.’
It was Ballater’s turn to look at Thomson. ‘There’s no way Cam did this. It’s too messy.’
‘But he could have let it be known he wouldn’t be too bothered if it transpired.’
‘So why not say something to us?’
They were passing a knot of middle-aged men, caps fixed tightly to heads, collars up. There were greetings, the intoning of ‘Mickey’ and ‘Spanner’. It felt almost liturgical, these men hungry for a blessing, receiving at best a nodded acknowledgement of their existence.
Once they were past, Thomson spoke in an undertone. ‘John Rhodes told me Bobby Carter was thinking of setting up a rival firm.’
‘That’s just Rhodes talking, though.’
‘Is it?’
‘Did you mention this to Cam?’
Thomson nodded. ‘He as good as told me to back off.’ ‘You think he already knew? Justice would have been swift if he did.’
‘Maybe.’
‘He’s always thought you were jealous of Bobby.’ Ballater was thoughtful for as long as it took him to hawk up some spit and lob it towards the roadway. A woman in horn-rimmed glasses and headscarf gave him a look, receiving a leer in reply. ‘He’s been up to high doh since Bobby’s death,’ he told Thomson. ‘You telling me that’s for show?’
‘We’re all of us good at putting on a show, Mickey.’ Thomson was looking at his companion again.
‘I don’t get your meaning, Spanner,’ Ballater said darkly.
‘Bobby’s summer party. You and Monica round the side of the house by the garage.’
Mickey Ballater stopped in his tracks. ‘You saw that?’
‘I saw.’ The two men were facing one another now. Thomson had a hand shoved deep in one of his coat pockets, having brought his unfinished bottle of McEwan’s with him. Only an inch left in it, if that, but Spanner Thomson was not a man to waste anything.
Ballater forced a smile. ‘And you kept it to yourself?’
‘So far.’
‘Maybe you were out looking for her, eh? Fancied your own chances?’ Ballater gave his companion a chance to speak, but Spanner stayed quiet, so he offered a shrug. ‘It was nothing.’ He started walking again, Thomson following suit.
‘It looked like something.’
‘I admit I tried it on, but she wasn’t having it.’
‘Might be a different story with Bobby out of the picture.’ Ballater shook his head slowly. His face would look calm enough to any onlooker, but his voice was a meeting of fire and ice. ‘You’re out of order, Spanner. You’re the one Cam’s bothered about, not me.’
‘Cam knows he can trust me.’
‘Is that right, aye?’
‘Did he tell you different? When you went back to see him yesterday?’ Thomson had grabbed Ballater by the sleeve of his jacket, the two men stopping again, the air around them crackling.
‘It was a private chat, Spanner. Best ask Cam if you want to know.’
‘Maybe I’ll do that, and this time I won’t forget to mention you and Bobby Carter’s missus. The feelings he has for her, he’s going to want to know.’
They stared at one another like boxers sizing one another up before the bell rang and hostilities commenced. A reveller across the street began belting out a rough but impassioned version of ‘My Way’. Ballater’s eyes moved towards the man then back again to Spanner Thomson. The smile he gave could almost have been described as coy.
‘You’re right about Cam. He’s not sure who to trust right now, and you allowing Rhodes into your car set off all his alarm bells. He wants me keeping an eye on you. I’m happy to tell him he’s got nothing to worry about.’
‘In which case that summer party might slip my memory.’
‘Say things do escalate, though — won’t be long before Rhodes’s team come for one of us. If that happens, we have to hit them back hard. Things are going to get worse before they get better.’
‘This is Glasgow, Mickey. Things have been getting worse since the end of the tobacco barons.’
‘What I’m saying is, we should make provision. If Cam falls... perish the thought, but if he does, we need a backup plan.’
‘We as in you and me, or are you including Panda and Dod in this?’
Ballater shrugged. ‘Have you got a preference? Because right now this is just you and me talking.’ He looked to left and right. The busy city-centre street was giving them the widest of berths.
‘You wouldn’t sell Cam out?’ Thomson enquired.
‘Under no circumstances, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be forced out at some point, after which our health and general well-being might not be so secure. You’ve got John Rhodes rooting for you, Spanner, but who have I got?’
‘Rhodes only wants me because he thinks I lead him straight to Cam. That’s why he was waiting for me. But he wouldn’t have done that if someone hadn’t planted the knife in my neighbourhood. I’m the careful sort, Mickey, won’t even have a phone in the house. Not too many people know where I live. I doubt even John Rhodes knew until the cops came to see me.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying I don’t trust any of you — not you, not Panda, not Dod.’
‘You still trust your old pal Cam, though, even though he wants me reporting back everything you’re up to?’
Spanner Thomson’s face almost collapsed. It was as if every memory from childhood onwards was crashing down on him, like a roof whose supporting beams had been hollowed out until they could no longer bear the load.
‘Cam’s covering all the eventualities, that’s all,’ he eventually muttered.
‘And that’s what I’m talking about, Spanner.’ Ballater leaned in towards him. ‘We’re all just trying to survive, aren’t we? If we can dodge a few tripwires along the way, so much the better.’
‘And in the meantime, you fancy yourself for that empty chair next to Cam?’
Ballater shook his head emphatically. ‘You’re his oldest friend, Spanner. That position’s yours by rights. I can’t believe Cam’s not already installed you. Now are we going to stand here all night, because if we are, I might get somebody to fetch us a few drinks.’