Confessional. Part 49

'But not the girl.' Angus wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. 'I like the look of her. She's mine, you old b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Just remember that. Now let them in,' he added, as there came a knock at the door.

'You know the Mungo brothers then, Sergeant?' Fox asked Brodie.

They were in the guard's van at the back of the speeding train, the four of them: Devlin, Fox, Trent and the big sergeant.

'They're animals,' Brodie said. 'Everyone in the district is terrified of them. I don't know how they make a living up there. They've both done prison time, Hector for operating an illegal whisky still. He's been inside three times for that. Angus has a string of minor offences to his name and then he killed a man in a fist fight some time back. Sentenced to five years, but they let him out in three. And twice he's been accused of rapes and then the women concerned have dropped the charges. The suggestion that they operate a safe house

doesn't surprise me, but I've no knowledge of it and it certainly has never been mentioned in their files.'

'How close can we get to their farm without being spotted?' Trent asked.

'About a quarter of a mile. The road up Glendhu only goes to their place.'

'No other way out?' Fox asked.

'On foot, I suppose, up the glen, over the hill.'

Devlin said, 'We've got to allow for one important point. If Cussane did mean to stay with the Mungos, his plans were badly disrupted. Being taken by the Sergeant here, jumping from the train, that gypsy encampment, were not on the agenda. That could have changed his plans.'

'True,' Harry Fox said. 'And there's the girl too.'

Trent said, 'They could still be back there in the hills. On the other hand, they've got to pa.s.s through Larwick to get to the farm if they're still in that jeep. In a village that size, somebody must have seen it.'

'Let's hope so,' Devlin said and the express started to slow as they came into Dunhill.

'Danny Malone.' Hector Mungo poured strong tea into dirty mugs and added milk. 'A long time since we had Danny here, isn't it, Angus?'

'Aye, it is that.' Angus sat with a gla.s.s in his hand, ignoring the other two and staring at Morag who did her best to avoid his gaze.

Cussane was already aware that he had made a big mistake. The service the Mungo brothers had offered people like Danny years before must have been very different from what was available now. He ignored the tea and sat there, one hand on the b.u.t.t of the Stechkin. He wasn't sure what his next move should be. The script seemed to be writing itself this time.

'Actually, we were reading about you just before you arrived.' Hector Mungo shoved the paper across. 'No mention of the girl, you see.'

Cussane ignored the paper. 'There wouldn't be.'

'So what can we do for you? You want to hole up here for a while?'

'Just for the day,' Cussane said. 'Then tonight, when it's dark, one of you can take us south in that old van of yours. Fill it up with stuff from around the farm, hide us in the back.'

Hector nodded gravely. 'I don't see why not. Where to? Dumfries?'

'How far to Carlisle where the motorway begins?'

'Sixty miles. It'll cost you though.'

'How much?'

Hector glanced at Angus and licked dry lips nervously. 'A thousand. You're hot, my friend. Very hot.'

Cussane opened his case, took out the wad of banknotes and peeled ten off. He laid them on the table. 'Five hundred.'

'Well, I don't know,' Hector began.

'Don't be stupid,' Angus said. 'That's more money in one piece than you've seen at any time during the past six months.' He turned to Cussane. 'I'll drive you to Carlisle myself.'

'That's settled then.' Cussane got up. 'You've got a room we can use, I suppose.'

'No problem.' Hector was all eagerness. 'One to spare for the young lady, too.'

'One will do just fine,' Cussane said as they followed him out into the stone-flagged corridor and up the rickety stairs.

He opened the first door on the landing and led the way into a large bedroom. There was a murky, unpleasant smell and the flowered wallpaper was stained with damp. There was an old bra.s.s double bed with a mattress that had seen better days, army surplus blankets stacked on top of it.

'There's a lavatory next door,' Hector said. 'I'll leave you to it then.'

He went out, closing the door. They heard him go back down stairs. There was an old rusting bolt on the door. Cussane rammed it home. There was another door on the opposite side of the room with a key in the lock. He opened

it and looked out on a stone staircase against the side of the house going down to the yard. He closed the door and locked it again.

He turned to the girl. 'All right?'

The one with the bad eye.' She shuddered, 'He's worse than Murray.' She hesitated. 'Can I call you Harry?'

'Why not?'

He quickly unfolded the blankets and spread them on the mattress. 'What are we going to do?' she asked.

'Rest,' he said. 'Get a little sleep. No one can get in. Not at the moment.'

'Do you think they'll take us to Carlisle?'

'No, but I don't think they'll try anything until it's dark and we're ready to leave.'

'How can you be sure they will try?'

'Because that's the kind of men they are. Now lie down and try and get some sleep.'

He got on the bed without taking off his coat, the Stechkin in his right hand. She lay down on the other side of the bed. For a while, she stayed there and then she rolled over and cuddled against him.

'I'm frightened.'

'Hush.' His arm went around her. 'Be still now. I am here. Nothing will touch you in this place.'

Her breathing became slow and heavy. He lay there holding her, thinking about things. She was already a liability and how long he could sustain that, he wasn't sure. On the other hand, he owed her. There was a moral debt in that, surely. He looked down at the purity of the young face, still untouched by life. Something good in a bad world. He closed his eyes, thinking of that, and finally slept.

'Did you see all that cash?' Hector asked.

'Yes,' Angus said. 'I saw it.'