Ripped (37 page)

'That'll
help
to
keep
him
in
biros.'

'No,
it's
not
like
that.
Tommy
Gregory
wouldn't
take
money.'
Shanks
signalled
reproof
with
one
palm
pushed
away
flat
against
the
air.
'But
he
likes
to
talk
.
'

'So
it
was
the
other
one
who
was
the
poet.
The
crap
merchant.'

'One
of
the
gifted.
Theo
is
bidding
to
be
the
bard
of
our
fair city.'

'He
seemed
a
right
idiot.'

'Oh,
he's
a
complete
cunt,'
Shanks
agreed.
'Never
mind
him.
What
do
you
want
to
ask
me?'

'Maybe
I
just
looked
in
for
the
pleasure
of
your
company.'
Murray
smiled
briefly.
'I've
heard
a
rumour
John
Merchant
keeps
a
girlfriend.
Would
you
know
anything
about
that?'

'I
could
give
you
a
name
and
address – if
you'd
tell
me
why
you
want
to
know.'

'I
couldn't
do
that.
It's
for
a
client.'

Shanks
studied
him
thoughtfully.
'You've
got
the
wrong
idea;
I'm
the
one
who's
supposed
to
get
told
things.
It
strikes
me,
Murray,
that
with
you
everything
goes
one
way.'

'I'll
buy
you
a
drink.'

'It
would
be
a
dear
whisky.'
Shanks
chewed
his
lip.
'Would
this
be
anything
to
do
with
Blair
Heathers?'

'You
didn't
hear
me
saying
anything
about
Blair
Heathers
.
'

'If
it
was,
I
might
give
you
that
name.'
Murray
shrugged
and
waited.

'I
keep
hoping
somebody
will
nail
that
evil
old
bastard,'
Billy
Shanks
said.
'And
if
Merchant
got
flushed
down
the
tubes
as
the
message
boy
that
would
be
a
bonus.'

'I
thought
you
only
got
angry
in
print.'

'Shows
you're
not
a
regular
reader.
I
don't
get
too
angry
in
print
any
more.
Not
after
Heathers
sued.'

'Sued
you?'

'The
paper
–
it
happened
before
you
came
back.
Judges
have
a
weakness
for
millionaires.
Particularly
that
judge
.
He
felt
it
was
really
wrong
of
me
to
write
about
a
children's
home
where
rain
came
in
on
the
beds
and
the
floors
buckled
and
they
had
to
rip
out
the
heating
and
try
again.
Writing
stuff
like
that
can
damage
a
man's
reputation.
So
we
lost
and
I
still
get
to
write
the
column
and
everything's
the
same.
I
work
hard
at
making
it
look
the
same.
And
nobody
sees
any
difference
except
me.
Me
and
Tommy
Gregory
and
a
few
thousand
others.
It's
our
secret.'

'Nothing
to
do
with
padding
your
expense
account?
'Murray said
unsympathetically.
'So
you'll
tell
me
who
Merchant's
girlfriend
is?'

'After
I
get
something
to
drink,'
Shanks
said.
But
when
he
came
back,
sipping
his
drink,
he
remarked
instead,
'Imagine
them
using
Southpark
again
for
a
murder
enquiry.
When
I
was
at
school
there,
the
father
of
a
mate
of
mine
was
the
janitor.
This
girl
Muriel
and
I
could
get
into
the
school
at
night.
It
was
an
adolescent's
bloody
dream
world.
We
tucked
in
the
gym
and
the
ladies'
staffroom,
we
even
did
it
in
the
lavatory,
but
mostly
we
went
into
the
Headmaster's
room
.
God,
he
couldn't
have
had
any
sense
of
smell
that
Headie
or
he'd
have
sent
for
the
police.'

'Can
we
talk
about
Merchant's
girlfriend?'
Murray
scowled.
He disliked
this
kind
of
reminiscence,
and
Billy
knew
it.

'It
wasn't
all
my
fault,
Murray.
Nobody
should
meet
a
girl
who'll
do
anything –
not
when
you're
fifteen.
I
did
things
with
her
I've
never
done
again
in
my
whole
life
with
grown-up
women
.
I
used
to
sit
and
try
to
work
out
what
else
I
could
do
to
her.
Books
have
got
a
lot
to
answer
for,
Murray.
I
even
went
in
the
back
door there
on
the
carpet
in
front
of
the
Headmaster's
desk.
I
kept
looking
at
it
while
Standers
was
talking
to
me.
It
looked
like
the
same
carpet.'

As
Murray
felt
his
face
being
studied
for
a
reaction,
it
occurred
to
him
that
he
was
being
punished
for
casting
doubt
on
Billy's
expense
account.
After
a
pause,
however,
as
if
the
act
of
remembering
had
set
something
unexpected
going
in
him,
Shanks
went
on,
'Muriel
was
younger
than
me.
One
day
I
got
together
a
bit
of
money
and
we
played
truant
and
took
a
train
down
the
coast.
She
was
a
good
swimmer
–
big
made
with
long
legs.
She
stood
in
the
water
splashing
me – a
big
daft
kid
.
The
thing
is
I've
always
had
a
bad
conscience
about
Muriel.
I
felt
I'd
– stupid
bloody
word!
– corrupted
her.'
And
it
was
true
he
got
out
the
word
“corrupted”
only
with
difficulty,
as
if
it
stuck
in
his
throat.