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Authors: Malcolm Mackay
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in their bonnet about that
particular car. They see it on CCTV, decide to dig deeper. Question the owner. Find out it was in the garage at the time. Less of a risk than using his own car.
‘How you doin’, little bro?’ William smiles as Calum walks into the garage. There’s another mechanic working on the underside of a car, a customer standing beside the
little office at the back. ‘Let me deal with this guy, I’ll be with you.’
Calum nods and waits. William is talking to the customer, telling him how to avoid repeating the damage he’s done to his car. Calum pays little mind, knowing nothing about cars. The man
leaves the garage with his car keys in hand, looking haunted by the bill he’s been given. William is walking across to his brother, shaking his head. ‘Some people shouldn’t be on
the road. So what’s up?’ He stays cheerful, but he knows this will be business.
‘Can we talk?’ Calum’s asking, nodding to the office.
They’re standing in the little office now, just the two of them. It’s cramped. There’s a door leading out to the alleyway behind the garage, a desk with a computer and some
paperwork, a Pirelli calendar. The windows look out into the garage itself.
‘I need a car for the night. I can bring it back middle of the night, or first thing in the morning.’
William is nodding. ‘I can get you a motor. Any likely damage?’ He asks as a matter of routine. There’s almost never a risk. He wants to know if his brother is going to go far
in it, maybe use it on country roads. Anything that might make it obvious that it’s been out of the garage. He can fix the clock if he needs to.
‘Nope. Won’t leave the city, all very ordinary.’
‘Fair enough,’ William says to his little brother. ‘I can do you a wee Corsa, not gonna draw much attention. Being picked up tomorrow afternoon, so make sure it’s back by
then.’ He’s handing Calum the keys from a little rack.
‘You bein’ careful?’ William asks Calum as the latter is making to leave the office.
‘Work, or birds and bees?’
William grins. ‘Jesus, if I still need to give you the birds and bees speech . . . I mean work. You bein’ careful with work? Careful who you work for, I mean.’
Calum is shrugging. ‘I’m always careful what I do, you know that. Why, what’s got you spooked?’
William shrugs. ‘I dunno. I hear things. Been hearin’ people talk a lot these days about changes. Apparently there’s new people comin’ into the city.’
‘Always people coming into the city. I stick to the established.’
‘Uh-huh. And the new ones are goin’ after the established, so you could be on the wrong side. Just, you know, keep careful. Make sure you don’t get caught out by the
changes.’
It’s strange to hear his brother talk like that. He knows William cares about him, just as he cares about his brother. They hadn’t been especially close as children; Calum always had
the impression that he annoyed his brother. He wasn’t sure why. Then they grew up, and suddenly they found that they had a great deal more in common than they realized. A bond developed. When
their father died, the bond became closer. They both felt the responsibility to help their mother, help look after her. She was hardly an invalid, but she was a sixty-year-old woman on her own for
the first time in her life, and they each did their share to alleviate that. They were brothers now more than they had ever been. That was what made his brother’s words more unsettling.
They don’t talk business. Ever. They talk everything else, but there’s no need to talk business. Each knows what the other does, what the other’s involved in. Calum
doesn’t need to talk about the minimal involvement William has in the business, because it isn’t worth talking about. He knows what his elder brother does to supplement his legit
income. He does it well. He doesn’t get too involved. And William knows what his little brother
particular car. They see it on CCTV, decide to dig deeper. Question the owner. Find out it was in the garage at the time. Less of a risk than using his own car.
‘How you doin’, little bro?’ William smiles as Calum walks into the garage. There’s another mechanic working on the underside of a car, a customer standing beside the
little office at the back. ‘Let me deal with this guy, I’ll be with you.’
Calum nods and waits. William is talking to the customer, telling him how to avoid repeating the damage he’s done to his car. Calum pays little mind, knowing nothing about cars. The man
leaves the garage with his car keys in hand, looking haunted by the bill he’s been given. William is walking across to his brother, shaking his head. ‘Some people shouldn’t be on
the road. So what’s up?’ He stays cheerful, but he knows this will be business.
‘Can we talk?’ Calum’s asking, nodding to the office.
They’re standing in the little office now, just the two of them. It’s cramped. There’s a door leading out to the alleyway behind the garage, a desk with a computer and some
paperwork, a Pirelli calendar. The windows look out into the garage itself.
‘I need a car for the night. I can bring it back middle of the night, or first thing in the morning.’
William is nodding. ‘I can get you a motor. Any likely damage?’ He asks as a matter of routine. There’s almost never a risk. He wants to know if his brother is going to go far
in it, maybe use it on country roads. Anything that might make it obvious that it’s been out of the garage. He can fix the clock if he needs to.
‘Nope. Won’t leave the city, all very ordinary.’
‘Fair enough,’ William says to his little brother. ‘I can do you a wee Corsa, not gonna draw much attention. Being picked up tomorrow afternoon, so make sure it’s back by
then.’ He’s handing Calum the keys from a little rack.
‘You bein’ careful?’ William asks Calum as the latter is making to leave the office.
‘Work, or birds and bees?’
William grins. ‘Jesus, if I still need to give you the birds and bees speech . . . I mean work. You bein’ careful with work? Careful who you work for, I mean.’
Calum is shrugging. ‘I’m always careful what I do, you know that. Why, what’s got you spooked?’
William shrugs. ‘I dunno. I hear things. Been hearin’ people talk a lot these days about changes. Apparently there’s new people comin’ into the city.’
‘Always people coming into the city. I stick to the established.’
‘Uh-huh. And the new ones are goin’ after the established, so you could be on the wrong side. Just, you know, keep careful. Make sure you don’t get caught out by the
changes.’
It’s strange to hear his brother talk like that. He knows William cares about him, just as he cares about his brother. They hadn’t been especially close as children; Calum always had
the impression that he annoyed his brother. He wasn’t sure why. Then they grew up, and suddenly they found that they had a great deal more in common than they realized. A bond developed. When
their father died, the bond became closer. They both felt the responsibility to help their mother, help look after her. She was hardly an invalid, but she was a sixty-year-old woman on her own for
the first time in her life, and they each did their share to alleviate that. They were brothers now more than they had ever been. That was what made his brother’s words more unsettling.
They don’t talk business. Ever. They talk everything else, but there’s no need to talk business. Each knows what the other does, what the other’s involved in. Calum
doesn’t need to talk about the minimal involvement William has in the business, because it isn’t worth talking about. He knows what his elder brother does to supplement his legit
income. He does it well. He doesn’t get too involved. And William knows what his little brother
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