running.
I had difficulty in speaking.
‘What was the bomb like?’ I finally managed to croak. ‘Was it rigged to go off when the door opened?’
‘No, it was far more up to date than that. This was state of the art and it was set up by pros.’
‘Come on, Tony, how would you know that?’
I left unspoken the thought that No-Nose was just a small time loan shark’s runner and unsuccessful housebreaker but he got my drift.
‘I just know,’ he said.
There was a note of desperation in his voice that carried conviction but I had to be certain.
‘It was probably something Lloyd left as a joke and it spooked you.’
‘Lloyd’s your kid, is he?’
‘Yes.’
‘Goes on the internet a lot and finds the web sites which show you how to make bombs?’
‘He’s only five.’
‘Well then.’
‘Go on, I’m sorry.’
‘There was a big wad of grey plastic explosive stuck on your coffee table with a mobile phone on top of it.’
‘A phone,’ I repeated stupidly. I was sickened. I knew what he was going to say next but I needed to hear him say it.
‘Yeah, there was a wire running down from the phone to a detonator. The bastard who set it up sees you going in on his bloody spy camera, presses speed dial on his phone and then bingo! No more Mr C.’
‘Thanks,’ I croaked feebly.
‘It’s a big f**king mother of a bomb, Mr C. There won’t be much of your nice house left if it goes off.’
‘Listen, there’s only one thing to do. You’ll have to stay here with Clint while I go back to the house and make sure no one goes in by mistake.’
‘Oh, yeah, I stay here with Clint then when I hear a f**king big bang I go to Bob Lane and tell him that I’ve let his mate get blown into tiny pieces and don’t tell me you aren’t intending to shift that phone.’
I looked at him sideways.
‘Think about it Mr C. The guys that set that bomb can’t be far away. Those spy cameras can’t send a signal very far. They have to be near. If you go charging up there it’s ten to one they’ll spot you.’
‘And if they see you they’ll do nothing?’
‘I’ll go in and out the same way I did before. They’ll never spot me.’
‘But they just need a glimpse.’
‘Logically, they wouldn’t have set up electronic observation if they were also eyeballing the place.’
It was hard to fault his reasoning. If they’d had Topfield under close watch we’d all be dead already. Reasoning? What was I reasoning with No -Nose Nolan for?
‘I don’t like this, Tony. I’d rather let the house be blown up than have you taking a chance with something you know nothing about.’
He let out a long sigh.
‘I haven’t told anyone this but I trust you, Mr C.’
‘Yes?’
‘Last time I was in prison I caught meningitis. They got my mother in and the priest and everything and said I was going to die, that there was irreversible brain damage. But I didn’t die.’
‘Yeah, I can see that.’
‘When I recovered everything was different. My mum says I even talk differently but the thing was I only had to look at something once and I could remember it perfectly. I can do sums in my head too.’
‘What’s twelve twelves?’
‘A hundred and forty four, but I meant harder sums than that.’
‘What’s five hundred and seventy six times ten thousand and twenty one?’
His eyes closed for no more than a second and then rapped out, ‘Five million, seven hundred and seventy two thousand and ninety six.’
I took out my phone and turned on the calculator function. He was right. It took me much longer to find the answer than it did for him to say it.
I had little time to waste on astonishment. I gaped at his battered face for a second. ‘What does this have to do with bombs?’
He looked embarrassed.
‘I don’t like to say where I did it but I’ve had a good look at several books about bombs, things terrorist groups and anarchists have downloaded from the internet and there’s other stuff as
I had difficulty in speaking.
‘What was the bomb like?’ I finally managed to croak. ‘Was it rigged to go off when the door opened?’
‘No, it was far more up to date than that. This was state of the art and it was set up by pros.’
‘Come on, Tony, how would you know that?’
I left unspoken the thought that No-Nose was just a small time loan shark’s runner and unsuccessful housebreaker but he got my drift.
‘I just know,’ he said.
There was a note of desperation in his voice that carried conviction but I had to be certain.
‘It was probably something Lloyd left as a joke and it spooked you.’
‘Lloyd’s your kid, is he?’
‘Yes.’
‘Goes on the internet a lot and finds the web sites which show you how to make bombs?’
‘He’s only five.’
‘Well then.’
‘Go on, I’m sorry.’
‘There was a big wad of grey plastic explosive stuck on your coffee table with a mobile phone on top of it.’
‘A phone,’ I repeated stupidly. I was sickened. I knew what he was going to say next but I needed to hear him say it.
‘Yeah, there was a wire running down from the phone to a detonator. The bastard who set it up sees you going in on his bloody spy camera, presses speed dial on his phone and then bingo! No more Mr C.’
‘Thanks,’ I croaked feebly.
‘It’s a big f**king mother of a bomb, Mr C. There won’t be much of your nice house left if it goes off.’
‘Listen, there’s only one thing to do. You’ll have to stay here with Clint while I go back to the house and make sure no one goes in by mistake.’
‘Oh, yeah, I stay here with Clint then when I hear a f**king big bang I go to Bob Lane and tell him that I’ve let his mate get blown into tiny pieces and don’t tell me you aren’t intending to shift that phone.’
I looked at him sideways.
‘Think about it Mr C. The guys that set that bomb can’t be far away. Those spy cameras can’t send a signal very far. They have to be near. If you go charging up there it’s ten to one they’ll spot you.’
‘And if they see you they’ll do nothing?’
‘I’ll go in and out the same way I did before. They’ll never spot me.’
‘But they just need a glimpse.’
‘Logically, they wouldn’t have set up electronic observation if they were also eyeballing the place.’
It was hard to fault his reasoning. If they’d had Topfield under close watch we’d all be dead already. Reasoning? What was I reasoning with No -Nose Nolan for?
‘I don’t like this, Tony. I’d rather let the house be blown up than have you taking a chance with something you know nothing about.’
He let out a long sigh.
‘I haven’t told anyone this but I trust you, Mr C.’
‘Yes?’
‘Last time I was in prison I caught meningitis. They got my mother in and the priest and everything and said I was going to die, that there was irreversible brain damage. But I didn’t die.’
‘Yeah, I can see that.’
‘When I recovered everything was different. My mum says I even talk differently but the thing was I only had to look at something once and I could remember it perfectly. I can do sums in my head too.’
‘What’s twelve twelves?’
‘A hundred and forty four, but I meant harder sums than that.’
‘What’s five hundred and seventy six times ten thousand and twenty one?’
His eyes closed for no more than a second and then rapped out, ‘Five million, seven hundred and seventy two thousand and ninety six.’
I took out my phone and turned on the calculator function. He was right. It took me much longer to find the answer than it did for him to say it.
I had little time to waste on astonishment. I gaped at his battered face for a second. ‘What does this have to do with bombs?’
He looked embarrassed.
‘I don’t like to say where I did it but I’ve had a good look at several books about bombs, things terrorist groups and anarchists have downloaded from the internet and there’s other stuff as
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