The Sudden Arrival of Violence: A Glasgow Underworld Novel 3 by Malcolm Mackay

points of contact. The collection will not happen at the house. The collection is the other thing William has to get right. William’s standing two steps down, holding onto the railing. The door’s opening. A stout middle-aged woman is looking down at him. She doesn’t look impressed with what she’s seeing, which seems a bit rich.
    ‘Yes?’ she’s saying.
    ‘I’m looking for Barry,’ William’s saying. Remembering Calum’s orders. Keep it polite. Tell Barry you want to see him about his hobby. Tell him you have a garage. ‘I’m here to see him about his hobby.’
    ‘Hold on there,’ she’s saying.
    She’s closed the door in his face, which suggests the politeness is a one-way street. She’s obviously waddled off down the corridor to see if Barry wants to meet this new arrival. It’s more than a minute and a half later when the door opens again. Same stout little woman.
    ‘What’s your name?’
    ‘William,’ he’s saying.
    ‘Hold on there.’ She’s closed the door again, and William’s still standing on the doorstep. Feels pretty conspicuous to him, but if that’s how they want to play it. Another two minutes have gone by. Doesn’t feel like this is going well. The door opening. This time a man. Still closer to obesity than is advisable, still short in the arse, but definitely not the woman. Curly, sandy hair and glasses meet the description of Barry Fairly that Calum gave William.
    ‘You are?’ the man’s saying, looking down through his glasses. He sounds annoyed. That’ll be with the wife he sent to find out who was at the door, and who came back with no useful information.
    ‘William MacLean. I have a garage on the east side. I heard you might be able to help me,’ he’s saying quietly. ‘With your hobby.’
    The man’s nodding. Calum had told him to mention the garage. That’ll get him in the front door, at least. If you stand on the steps saying you want a passport for someone else you could spook him. Certainly make him wary. He hears ‘garage’ and he thinks it’s car stuff. That’ll get William inside. Good money supplying garages. The man’s giving a single nod for William to follow him.
    Front door shut behind them. These are big houses, but old. Narrow corridors, lots of small rooms, gloomy. They’re along a corridor, through a kitchen, into a utility room and out into the back garden. William’s getting a little concerned, but now he’s seeing the large shed at the bottom of the garden. Door open.
    Into the shed. There’s a heater opposite the door. A radio on a shelf. A power supply coming from the house. There’s a comfy chair, and a desk against the single window. On the desk is a single sheet of paper, with a closed folder beside it. Work, obviously. William can catch a glimpse of a couple of things pushed out of view under the desk. One will be a laminator. He can smell that it’s been used in the last few minutes. Under the folders he can see what looks like a laptop. Barry hiding a sophisticated operation behind the shoddy appearance of a garden shed.
    ‘So you have a garage, huh?’ Barry’s asking him.
    ‘I do.’
    ‘So what are you looking for, book or licence?’
    William’s a little taken aback. Didn’t even ask for the name of the garage. Didn’t ask for any proof of ID. Doesn’t seem to be very cautious. Maybe he already knows who William is from the name. Calum says he’s the best for passports.
    ‘Licence,’ William’s saying casually. ‘While we’re at it, I thought you could do me a passport as well. I heard you were good at them.’
    That’s got a look from Barry. He doesn’t seem to like the combination of driving licence and passport.
    ‘Did you now? And why does a guy with a garage need a passport along with a driving licence?’
    William’s shrugging. ‘He doesn’t. But he thought he might as well kill two birds with one stone, you know. Reduces the risk, I figured.’
    Barry’s nodding a little, looking up at William.