“Why would they kill him?”
“Because he wouldn’t pay a percentage?”
“Why wouldn’t he pay a percentage?”
“Because he’s an idiot? I don’t know.”
“They shot him with a crossbow.”
“Yeah I heard that.”
“Why would they do that, do you think, when there are plenty of guns floating around?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t you the detective?”
“Helpful as usual, Johnny. Keep your head down. Bye.”
“Bye, Sean and if you can somehow get your paws on any seized gear, I’d—”
I hung up before he could complete the sentence.
I went back inside the house.
“Have I got ten minutes before dinner? Want to return a video,” I said.
“Yeah. It’s risotto. You like my risotto, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, back in ten.”
I walked down the street to Bobby Cameron’s house and rang his doorbell.
“What do you want, Duffy?”
“Did you hear about the killing today?”
“Aye I did. Drug dealer, no one’ll miss him.”
“If I wanted to ask if the late Mr Deauville had been paying for protection who would I go see?”
“I’m not telling you that.”
I held up the video. “Would it help if I returned this video?” I asked.
Bobby nodded. “It might,” he said and shut the door.
*
I checked under the Beemer for mercury tilt switch bombs and drove to Video Extra on the Clipperstown Road.
I went inside with a copy of Reds that I hadn’t watched and therefore didn’t need to rewind.
“How was it?” Andy Young asked. “Not much of a Warren Beatty fan myself.”
AKA: Big Andy Young. Andy Mad Dog Young. Andy King Rat Young.
Andy was the UVF deputy Chief of Staff for Carrickfergus and the person in charge of making sure businesses paid their protection money every week. If they didn’t it was a brick through the window and if that didn’t convince them it was the old Lagan Valley Lightning: a petrol bomb through the window …
“Never watched it,” I said, putting the video on the counter.
“You might as well keep it. We’re changing the whole shop to VHS. Everyone is.”
“What will I do with my Phillips recorder?”
“Get rid of it. The format wars are over. Sony won.”
“Phillips is a superior system. You can record on both sides,” I said, somewhat miffed – that Phillips video recorder had cost me 500 quid.
“Doesn’t matter. VHS is the industry standard now and will be until laser discs take over.”
“Five years ago they said CDs were going to kill vinyl.”
“They did.”
“No they didn’t CDs are … listen Andy, I’m not really here to talk about video recorders and CDs.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Bobby Cameron phoned me and told me you were noseying around asking questions.”
“It’s about this man Deauville.”
“What about him?”
“Somebody shot him.”
“I heard.”
“It wasn’t you by any chance, was it?” I asked.
Big Andy’s thick white neck swivelled towards me. His eyes were narrow black slits in a menacing blue-white visage that almost looked like a human face.
“I’m no informer, Duffy.”
“I know you’re not. I’m not suggesting that you are.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m wondering why Deauville wouldn’t pay protection money when he knew that he was likely to be kneecapped or worse.”
“Who says he wasn’t paying protection money?”
“Well he was shot, wasn’t he?”
Andy shrugged and looked at the TV monitor which was playing Jaws: The Revenge.
“Wait a second. Are you saying he was paying protection money?”
“I’m not saying anything. I’m no grass,” he said, never taking his eyes from the monitor.
The sound was off but a wet Michael Caine was yelling something. Probably something about a shark.
“If you keep watching, Inspector Duffy, you’ll see a different ending from the cinema release. The shark blows up, just like in the first one,” Andy said.
“Andy, I don’t want to seem dense, but are you implying that Deauville was paying protection right enough?”
He looked at me again. “I’m not saying he was, I’m not saying he wasn’t. I have no idea.”
“If the Inland Revenue investigators were to inspect your business here, Andy, would everything be above board, do you think?”
“You wouldn’t. We have a good relationship you and me. I never make you pay the rewind fees.”
“It’s all moot anyway if you’re only going to be renting VHS … Now tell me plain, was Deauville paying for protection or not?”
Andy checked to see that there was no one else in the shop but it was EastEnders time so everyone was home watching telly. He lowered his voice anyway.
“He paid protection.”
“So you had no incentive to kill him?”
“No.”
“This wasn’t a sanctioned hit?”
“He wasn’t killed by Carrick UVF or Carrick UDA.”
“The local paramilitaries had nothing to do with it?”
“As far as I know, no.”
“Cheers, Andy, you’ve been very helpful.”
“No I haven’t. I’ve told you nothing, remember that Duffy.”