Dying to Live

Chapter 38 - Tommy, Tommy, Tommy?

The three of us sit round the table drinking. My heart's going thirty-six to the dozen which I hope is due to the excitement of our plan coming together and not an impending heart attack. My phone buzzes at me. Text, from Kevin.

Ds planted. About to call cops.

Fuck me, so far, so good. The plan is going to... well, plan.

"Guys," I say, "Kev's planted the drugs. My God, I think this is all going to work out."

"What did I tell you?" says Marty.

"You guys are a lot better at this crim stuff than I thought you'd be," says Tommy. "I might even get paid."

"You're always going to get paid."

"True, but I might get paid without having to smash any kneecaps," he says, "I guess what I meant was that you fellas might get paid too."

"Yeah. Anyway, as I was saying, I think I've got a buyer for the diamonds. We need to sort out the logistics with you. The buyer wants a meeting so he can examine the merchandise."

"Fair enough," says Tommy matter-of-factly. "I'll meet him here in the Duke whenever he wants to. You'll need to give me the diamonds before then, of course."

"Of course."

"The sooner the better. Ain't no point in leaving things to the last minute."

Marty has a tight smile on his face so I reckon he's thinking the same thing as me; Tommy seems overly keen to get his hands on the gems, which just amplifies my worry about whether we can trust him or not.

My phone beeps. It's Kevin again.

Cops came. Found Ds. Questioning everyone. Woohoo.

I read the message out loud.

"Still going to plan," says Marty.

"Great," says Tommy, "but what about the diamonds? Let's get ourselves properly prepared for this meeting. When did you say it was again?"

"Wednesday at two o'clock is the plan... to be confirmed. It's still two days away, but you're right, we need to have everything ready."

For the next hour we talk through the best way to prepare for the meeting. Tommy explains how he'll organise his backup team and assures us that the team will be 'appropriately' tooled, whatever that means. I try to convince him that we can get the diamonds to him just before the meeting but he's not happy. In a way he's right, it would be better if he held the diamonds and made the final arrangements with Frank Burger.

"Okay," I say. "We'll bring you the diamonds tonight."

"That works," says Tommy. "I've got a decent safe upstairs where they'll be safe... safe in the safe. It'll take a bit of a weight off my mind, I've been worried about something worth so much dosh just lying about in Marty's flat. You know there ain't half a load of shady people about... myself included."

We get home with a bit over half an hour to spare before Kevin is expected. I can't wait to hear the full story of the plant and the cops. I get a couple of cans out of the fridge and switch the oven on in readiness to receive a frozen pizza.

"Why did you decide to give Tommy the diamonds?"

"I don't really know but I reckon if he's going to screw us, he'll do it after the diamonds are sold. He knows he'd be better off with the cash rather than the gems."

"Fair point, although I think Tommy could fence anything if he put his mind to it."

TIPPETY-TAP. TIPPETY-TAP. The knock on the door signals Kevin has arrived.