The money he had already had out of Paul he had put into a separate account his wife knew nothing about. He wasn’t prepared to share it with her and her greedy family who were always borrowing money. A wry grin crossed his face when he thought about his good fortune. This was definitely a new year and a fresh start. At last there was something to look forward to in life. He couldn’t wait to get back to work and spill the beans. That Silva bloke, whoever he was, was his ticket to freedom.

After a couple of days, Mark approached Alex.

‘Alex mate, I’ve had an idea I want to put to you, if you have a minute.’

Instantly, Alex’s ears pricked up and he strolled over, his hands buried deep in his pockets. This could be what he was waiting for.

‘What’s up Mark?’

Mark looked at him. ‘Well, I’ve got a proposition for you. That job you did the other night; the woman you helped called and said you were brilliant and she’s going to recommend us to their friends. Do you fancy doing a few more jobs for me? I can’t be arsed sometimes.’

Alex beamed; this was just what he was hoping for. ‘Oh, Mark mate, that would be great. To be able to get from under the wife’s feet once in a while would feel like an escape. Sure, call on me whenever you don’t feel like doing a job.’

‘You haven’t asked how much yet Alex, and I don’t intend paying all that tax and insurance stuff. It’s zero hours and cash in hand.’

‘I don’t need to know Mark. We’re mates, aren’t we? I’d prefer evening work though; that way Maggie is firmly busy behind the bar and can’t moan if I’m not around.’

‘Even better, because I like a drink in the evening, and I hate these dark nights. I can’t be bothered to go out in the evenings any more.’

‘That’s a done deal then.’ Alex and Mark shook hands on their new partnership. For Alex, it was a dream come true. Disguised as Mark, he could now travel anywhere he liked!

Stubbing out his cigarette, Mark looked up and saw Percy hanging around and hovering as usual. ‘I see old Percy’s moved back into his place properly. I bet he misses that bed and breakfast though.’

Alex turned his head and saw Percy walking towards them. ‘Yeah, well, I suppose it was company for him as well.’ Alex had been wondering how to instigate a meeting with Percy, and this was the perfect opportunity.

‘Shit! I’m off. I can’t be doing with any more trawler stories or how he survived a bomb blast. Stupid old bastard probably left the gas on. See ya, Alex.’ With the wink of an eye, Mark had gone in and shut the door firmly behind him. Smiling to himself, Alex knew he would have done the very same thing, except he had an ulterior motive for wanting to speak to Percy. Taking out his packet of cigarettes, he lit one, knowing full well that Percy would do his usual scrounging act when he saw them.

‘Hi Alex.’ Percy’s eyes went straight to the cigarette packet he was holding. ‘Don’t suppose you have a spare one of those, do you?’

‘Of course, Percy, help yourself. How are you anyway?’

‘I’m okay. My house still needs sorting out though. Got furniture and stuff but it needs decorating inside. I’ve got to wait for the plaster to dry properly first before the council can paint it. I’m still in shock; all my personal possessions over the years, just gone up in a puff of smoke. The fire brigade says the gas pipe was faulty and leaking.’

Alex frowned, showing fake concern. ‘Well, don’t the council or that housing association that own your house do regular inspections of appliances?’ Alex was interested to know exactly what the outcome was and if the investigations were firmly over.

‘No, they just check the heating and a gas fire if you have one. The cooker is my responsibility.’ Mournfully, Percy looked down at the ground aimlessly. ‘Mind you, I had had that cooker for ten years and I got it second hand when I came out.’

‘What were you inside for Percy? If you don’t mind me asking…’

‘I got twenty years for murder; well, it was reduced to manslaughter. I suppose everyone knows, it was in all the papers.’ Percy shrugged and took a drag of his cigarette. Alex’s mind swam, and he swallowed hard. Percy seemed so nonchalant about it. Mentally, Alex now understood how he had become an informer for the police. It was part of the deal to freedom.

‘So,’ Alex joked, ‘who did you murder then? Or are you having me on and this is all part of a New Year joke?’

Wide eyed, Percy shook his head. ‘It’s not a joke, Alex. I killed my wife.’

Seeing Percy had nearly finished his cigarette, Alex handed him another one. Quickly, Percy took it and put it behind his ear while finishing the one he had. ‘Go on, you were saying Percy mate?’

‘Oh yes, my wife. Well, I was on the trawlers, gone for six weeks at a time we were.’ His slow monotone voice started to annoy Alex, especially as he felt another fisherman story coming. ‘The trawler office used to give your wife half your wages each week while you were away, to make sure the rent is paid and there’s food in the cupboards, you know what I mean.’ Percy reached up for the cigarette behind his ear and held his hand out for Alex’s lighter. Intrigued, Alex handed it over. He felt there was a lot more to come.

‘Well, when I came home from sea, I went to our house and discovered my wife had moved. I didn’t know anything about it; there had been no message left for me at the office. Anyway, a neighbour saw me and told me where she had moved to. They were good friends and kept in touch. When I got to the new address, I tried the door, and it was open so I walked in. I could hear a noise coming from upstairs and so I shouted and walked upstairs. She was having sex with a bloke in our bed! I froze in the doorway, and they were just as shocked to see me. Apparently, she had moved in with this bloke and he was shouting at me to get out. I was blazing angry, I don’t mind telling you,’ he spat out, as though remembering that day vividly in his mind. ‘When I walked back down the stairs, I saw a cricket bat behind the door. She always had something behind the door in case of intruders, you see,’ Percy explained, while delaying the punch line. Alex felt he knew what was coming and he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stood in silence, listening to Percy’s confession.

‘I didn’t mean to hurt her but I was so angry, I saw red. I hit her with it while she was still naked on the bed, time and time again. I couldn’t help myself,’ he stressed. ‘I didn’t know what I was doing, and then her bloke tried grabbing me from behind. I was a lot younger and a lot stronger in those days and I had muscles,’ Percy said while flexing his arm in the air for Alex to see.

‘The bed sheet was red. My God when I think back it makes me shudder. Anyway, her new bloke tried grabbing me and pulling my hair from behind. The window was half open. It was one of those sash windows and with all of the strength I had in me, I turned and grabbed him, pushing him out of the window.’ Percy looked down at the pavement, as though disgusted with himself.

Alex’s jaw was on the floor as he looked at good old friendly Percy. The neighbourhood’s friend! He was rooted to the spot as Percy carried on with his story.

‘Once my anger calmed down a bit, I sat on the edge of the bed near my wife. Her head was caved in. There was no point in running. I knew someone would have called the police when her bloke fell out of the window. So, I lit a cigarette and waited for them to come and arrest me.’ Percy shrugged. ‘They said it was murder, but as I hadn’t gone to her house with the intention of hurting her or knowing she had a new bloke, they said it was the heat of the moment. In France, it would have been a crime of passion and I wouldn’t have gone to prison at all.’ He scoffed. ‘I was the innocent party in this Alex. It was her who was using and cheating on me. She was still collecting my wages and keeping that bloke and my hard-earned money!’ Alex could almost see the anger still bubbling in Percy when he thought about it. A chill ran down Alex’s spine, and he knew he wasn’t one to judge anyone, but, this was something else. He felt sorry for the friend who had given him his wife’s new address. He wondered how she felt all these years on.

‘I met some good mates inside, never had any trouble in the showers.’ He smiled and laughed at his own joke.

‘A bit like that bed and breakfast you stayed in I suppose.’ Alex could well imagine that Percy would take to prison like a duck to water. He wouldn’t have had to think for himself – or pay rent! The prisoners had probably looked after him and kept him in cigarettes.

‘Yeah, I didn’t mind prison, because of what I was in for. When I got parole on licence, the housing association came up with this place and I never looked back. My son has only just started speaking to me though. He blamed me for everything, but kids do that don’t they. I was an innocent victim in all of this though, Alex. I loved my wife.’

Seeing Percy had smoked his second cigarette, Alex handed him another one. Moistening his own lips with his tongue, he didn’t know where to start. When he had first seen Percy, Alex’s plan had seemed easy, but now he wasn’t so sure. He wondered if he would ever get this chance to ask him again though and decided to throw caution to the wind.

‘Actually Percy, this isn’t my business, but I’ve been asked to give you a message. It’s a bit cryptic, probably so I won’t understand it, but you might,’ Alex stammered. He couldn’t believe he actually felt nervous broaching the subject. ‘The message is from your friends. They said to tell you that they entered your house when they saw the fire and thought you were in there.’ Alex shook his head. ‘Then they said to tell you that they saw the hole in the wall and rescued some very expensive items that they think you will want to buy back…’ Swallowing hard, he waited for Percy’s response, which was much faster than he expected.

Percy’s eyes widened. ‘Who was it, Alex? Who said it?’ he pushed.

‘I can’t tell you that, I promised. I don’t know what it’s about, but if people want to sell you your old table lamps back or your war time medals, then the deal is there to be had. I’ve passed on the message and that’s it. The rest is up to you.’ Alex was about to walk away when Percy stopped him.

‘How do I contact these people, if I do want to buy these things back?’

‘I suppose I could always pass a message on if that was the case… you just let me know, Percy. Now I’ve got to go, the wife’s waiting.’ Alex cursed himself inwardly for that last sentence. What a stupid thing to say to a man who has just confessed to murdering his wife!

Wandering back into the pub, he saw through the open bar door that everyone was busy, and crept up the stairs. His mind was swimming with information and he needed to get his head around it. This bloody neighbourhood! This was supposed to be one of the posh parts of Kent and people paid a fortune to buy a house here. But scratch the surface and the people surrounding him were worse than he had ever known.

He had always mixed with criminals and there wasn’t anything he hadn’t come across, but they admitted what they were and never pretended to be anything else, including himself. But these people acted as though butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths. Good hard-working citizens. Yet, they were all Jekyll and Hyde-type characters with dark secrets of their own. It was unbelievable, Alex thought to himself, and he wondered if he should tell Maggie. Maybe not, he mused. Maybe he should leave that on ice until he found out if Percy passed his message on and if the Liverpudlians wanted to buy their cannabis plants back.

Slowly he was forming a plan in his mind of how he would deliver their plants, which he knew they would definitely want back. They must have been gutted once they realised they had lost everything. He still couldn’t understand why the helicopter had been flying over, which hadn’t been seen since. If the police were going to raid the place, it was to find the plants and the only person that had known they were there was Percy and the people who had put them there and wired up the electricity.

Trying hard to fathom it out, Alex realised it must have been Percy who had grassed up his mates to the police and had wanted to look innocent by going fishing. If those men ever found out Percy had informed on them, he would be dead meat!

Smugly, Alex sat back on the sofa. Being an informer was one secret Percy would never confess over a couple of cigarettes in the street! But Alex officially had Percy by the balls. He would have to do his bidding from now on.

13 MASTER PLAN

Almost skipping as he walked along the tiresome prison landings, Barrow saw them in a different light today. Suddenly walking along these landings held a new future for him. He was itching to get away while the breakfast was sorted and the prisoners made their way to whatever work or education classes they were assigned to. He looked up, almost to the top of the prison, or what other prisoners called the penthouse suite. Paul Pereira’s cell was up there, and he would be getting himself smartly attired for the day.

Walking up the staircase, Barrow made a mental note of the lackies leaving Paul’s cell. The shoe shiners, the runners so that he could place his horse bets, and of course the usual grovellers that were on hand should he need anything. Paul had built his own empire in prison and although officially the governor made all the decisions, it was Pereira who ruled the prison with an iron fist. No one crossed him.

Today, Barrow mused to himself, he would claim the bounty on Alex Silva’s head. Straightening his tie and making sure there were none of the other guards about, he knocked on Paul’s cell door and then walked in. He was shocked to see that Paul was being measured up for a new suit by one of the inmates, who used to be a tailor.

‘Got to look our best Mr Barrow, uphold the reputation of the prison.’ Paul grinned.