old skanks you see wandering round Newcastle, with their fucking spray-on tans and tit jobs. She
’
s no fucking oil painting, I
’
ll grant you that, but she
’
s fucking unconditional. And she
’
s devoted. And you know something else, Mr Vos?
’
‘
What
’
s that, Jack?
’
‘
She
’
s fucking dynamite in the sack
.’
Vos exchanges a fleeting glance with Blaylock
. ‘
Then I
’
m very happy for you, Jack
,’
he says
.
For a few moments nothing is said. Then Peel swings his legs off the sunlounger and leans forward, cradling his glass in his fingers
.
‘
But that
’
s me, Mr Vos. How about you?
’
‘
I
’
m good, Jack
.’
‘
You must be wondering why I asked you here today
.’
‘
It had crossed my mind. It
’
s not about the wedding, is it?
’
Peel
’
s face momentarily clouds. Then he waves his hand, as if swatting an annoying wasp
. ‘
That
’
s ancient history
,’
he says
. ‘
Let bygones be bygones, that
’
s what I say. Life
’
s too short to bear grudges – although if you
’
d wanted an invite, all you had to do was ask
.’
‘
Glad to hear it
.’
Peel raises his glass in a toast
. ‘
I have to tell you you
’
re getting a reputation for good work, Mr Vos. For bringing the undesirables of our wonderful city to book
.’
‘
That
’
s very gratifying to hear
.’
‘
As a businessman, I find it immensely reassuring to know that there are police officers such as yourself looking after my best interests
.’
‘
I do my best
.’
‘
I know. And that
’
s why it grieves me when I think how the city rewards you for your efforts. What are you on, Theo? You don
’
t mind if I call you Theo, do you? What do they pay you?
’
‘
My old mum told me never to discuss my pay packet or who I vote for
,’
Vos says
.
Peel laughs
. ‘
Then she was a wise lady. But specifics aside, I
’
ve got a pretty good idea what your average detective chief inspector
’
s wage is. And believe me, for the job you do, Theo, it
’
s a derisory sum
.’
‘
I get by, Jack
.’
‘
I know you do. But it can
’
t be easy. I mean, there
’
s the young lad to consider. What
’
s his name? Alex? Bright boy, by all accounts. Bright boys deserve the best. A good education at a good school, for starters. But how can you possibly afford school fees on your wages? Especially when half of it goes to the ex-wife. I should know – I
’
ve got a couple myself. Fucking parasites they are. And where is she again, your ex-missus? Oh yeah. Florida. Living it up with that dentist friend of hers. Must be hard to take that, Theo. All your hard-earned going to fund some Florida dentist
’
s lifestyle. And it
’
s not as if they don
’
t earn a packet over there anyway
.’
Vos takes a sip of his gin and tonic
. ‘
You seem very well-informed about my family, Jack. And my finances
.’
‘
I
’
ve had my eye on you for a while, Theo
,’
Peel announces with a wink
.
‘
That
’
s very flattering of you. But unless I win the Lottery, I can
’
t see my circumstances changing anytime soon
.’
‘
Of course not. And they say you
’
ve got more chance of being hit by a meteorite than you have of winning the Lottery
.’
Peel waits patiently until Al Blaylock
’
s sycophantic laughter has passed. Then he leans over and tinks the base of his sweating glass against Vos
’
s
.
‘
I just want you to know, Theo, how much I appreciate the work that you
’
re doing – and if there
’
s anything, anything at all, that I can do to make life more comfortable for you and your family, you don
’
t hesitate to get in touch. Understand?
’
‘Peel was attempting to bribe you?’ Gilcrux says.
‘Bribe. Threaten. Call it what you will. To be honest, I don’t know. Listen, Mr Gilcrux, I know what you’re thinking. Jack Peel had something on me, so I pushed him off a fire escape. But you’re wrong. He was a little man who watched too many
Godfather
films. I’m sure you’ve come across dozens of
’
s no fucking oil painting, I
’
ll grant you that, but she
’
s fucking unconditional. And she
’
s devoted. And you know something else, Mr Vos?
’
‘
What
’
s that, Jack?
’
‘
She
’
s fucking dynamite in the sack
.’
Vos exchanges a fleeting glance with Blaylock
. ‘
Then I
’
m very happy for you, Jack
,’
he says
.
For a few moments nothing is said. Then Peel swings his legs off the sunlounger and leans forward, cradling his glass in his fingers
.
‘
But that
’
s me, Mr Vos. How about you?
’
‘
I
’
m good, Jack
.’
‘
You must be wondering why I asked you here today
.’
‘
It had crossed my mind. It
’
s not about the wedding, is it?
’
Peel
’
s face momentarily clouds. Then he waves his hand, as if swatting an annoying wasp
. ‘
That
’
s ancient history
,’
he says
. ‘
Let bygones be bygones, that
’
s what I say. Life
’
s too short to bear grudges – although if you
’
d wanted an invite, all you had to do was ask
.’
‘
Glad to hear it
.’
Peel raises his glass in a toast
. ‘
I have to tell you you
’
re getting a reputation for good work, Mr Vos. For bringing the undesirables of our wonderful city to book
.’
‘
That
’
s very gratifying to hear
.’
‘
As a businessman, I find it immensely reassuring to know that there are police officers such as yourself looking after my best interests
.’
‘
I do my best
.’
‘
I know. And that
’
s why it grieves me when I think how the city rewards you for your efforts. What are you on, Theo? You don
’
t mind if I call you Theo, do you? What do they pay you?
’
‘
My old mum told me never to discuss my pay packet or who I vote for
,’
Vos says
.
Peel laughs
. ‘
Then she was a wise lady. But specifics aside, I
’
ve got a pretty good idea what your average detective chief inspector
’
s wage is. And believe me, for the job you do, Theo, it
’
s a derisory sum
.’
‘
I get by, Jack
.’
‘
I know you do. But it can
’
t be easy. I mean, there
’
s the young lad to consider. What
’
s his name? Alex? Bright boy, by all accounts. Bright boys deserve the best. A good education at a good school, for starters. But how can you possibly afford school fees on your wages? Especially when half of it goes to the ex-wife. I should know – I
’
ve got a couple myself. Fucking parasites they are. And where is she again, your ex-missus? Oh yeah. Florida. Living it up with that dentist friend of hers. Must be hard to take that, Theo. All your hard-earned going to fund some Florida dentist
’
s lifestyle. And it
’
s not as if they don
’
t earn a packet over there anyway
.’
Vos takes a sip of his gin and tonic
. ‘
You seem very well-informed about my family, Jack. And my finances
.’
‘
I
’
ve had my eye on you for a while, Theo
,’
Peel announces with a wink
.
‘
That
’
s very flattering of you. But unless I win the Lottery, I can
’
t see my circumstances changing anytime soon
.’
‘
Of course not. And they say you
’
ve got more chance of being hit by a meteorite than you have of winning the Lottery
.’
Peel waits patiently until Al Blaylock
’
s sycophantic laughter has passed. Then he leans over and tinks the base of his sweating glass against Vos
’
s
.
‘
I just want you to know, Theo, how much I appreciate the work that you
’
re doing – and if there
’
s anything, anything at all, that I can do to make life more comfortable for you and your family, you don
’
t hesitate to get in touch. Understand?
’
‘Peel was attempting to bribe you?’ Gilcrux says.
‘Bribe. Threaten. Call it what you will. To be honest, I don’t know. Listen, Mr Gilcrux, I know what you’re thinking. Jack Peel had something on me, so I pushed him off a fire escape. But you’re wrong. He was a little man who watched too many
Godfather
films. I’m sure you’ve come across dozens of
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