Winterland by Alan Glynn Read Free Book Online

untouchable, his name never once having come up in evidence given to the tribunal of inquiry into planning irregularities.
    ‘Damage limitation?’ Noel suddenly asks, at least one part of his brain working at full tilt. ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘It means,’ Norton says, tipping his head backwards again, ‘that I want you to get in the car.’
    Noel looks at him. He understands how reluctant Norton must be to let anything jeopardise the project, but …
    He swallows.
    Or maybe he doesn’t understand at all. Maybe as an engineer he’s been too close to the detail. Maybe he hasn’t been seeing the bigger picture. In a sudden rush of clarity he starts to see it now, though. Because the thing is, in relative terms, Ireland itself has seen nothing on the scale of Richmond Plaza since the early sixties. Back then the country was in the throes of a belated industrial revolution, and something like Liberty Hall, an eighteen-storey glass box, was a very big deal indeed. But what’s been going on in the country recently, what’s been going up , is mould-breaking by contrast, and for Paddy Norton, despite the deepening recession, or perhaps even because of it, Richmond Plaza – forty-eight storeys and in with a shout to be one of the tallest buildings in the whole of Europe – is beyond big, beyond important, it’s … it’s to be his legacy.
    Noel looks around him. He’s boxed in here. A wall to his left, his own car behind him, Norton and his car ahead, Fitz to the right.
    ‘Paddy,’ he says, a brittle tone entering his voice, a tone he hates, ‘why don’t you just try and, I don’t know, bribe me or something?’
     
    ‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’ Norton says, and laughs. ‘Hadn’t thought of that. But you know what? You’re too much of a self-righteous prick to take a bribe.’
    Noel starts to feel dizzy.
    ‘And besides, no matter how much I paid you, the problem wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t trust you to leave it alone.’ He taps the side of his head with his forefinger. ‘It’s peace of mind I’m looking for here.’
    Then something occurs to Noel. ‘What about Dermot Flynn?’
    As soon as he says the name, he regrets it – not that he believes there’s even the slightest chance that Norton hasn’t already thought of this.
    Fitz, in any case, pipes up from the right. ‘We had a word with him this afternoon.’
    Noel looks around. A word ? What is this, some kind of sick euphemism? ‘What do you mean, a word ?’
    ‘We spoke to him. Gave him a few bob and a couple of Polaroids. It’s sorted.’
    Noel doesn’t know what this means. He’s confused. He turns back to Norton. ‘For God’s sake, Paddy, maybe I could –’
    ‘Noel, listen to me,’ Norton says, and then pauses, looking down at the ground again.
    ‘What?’ Noel says. He takes a step forward. ‘ What? ’
    Norton exhales, his mood visibly changing. ‘Look,it’s too late. We both know that.’
    Noel sees the dots joining up properly for the first time. His stomach starts jumping. He can taste something in the back of his throat. It feels like he’s been standing here for a hundred years.
     
    ‘ Because my nephew’s dead, right? ’ he says, almost in a whisper.
    Norton nods. ‘Yeah. Obviously.’ He exhales again. ‘Now. Get in the fucking car.’

7
    The house is quiet, at last. Everything is still. The girls are asleep. Claire has just gone up. The TV is turned off and the phone is unlikely to ring. Dermot Flynn gets off the sofa and goes into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and takes a bottle of vodka out of the freezer. He pours a large measure from the bottle into the nearest glass he can find. Standing at the counter, he raises the glass to his lips and knocks the clear, filmy liquid back in three quick gulps.
    He looks out the window, into what should be the garden, but it’s late, and dark, and all he can see is his own reflection staring back in at him.
    His heart is pounding.
    After a few seconds, the