chapter 28

Chapter 28. Sunday 8^th July 1972.

They took me to Crumlin Road Jail. The corridors were half lit and no one was there to see me being signed in. Eventually, I was placed in a cell, on the second floor of ‘B’ wing.

Simon came in the room, with two cups of tea and sat on the edge of my bed.

He handed me a cigarette and said, “So what happens now?”   I lit the cigarette and stood leaning against the wall.

“Well what have you done with all the others?”  I wanted to know how near any trouble might be.

Simon thought about it for a while, “They’re spread all over the province, in police stations, some in Long Kesh and one in Holywood Barracks.”   I thought for a minute.

“Has any one been released?”

“Yes, most of them, because the RUC just lifted anyone, who could have been involved and they all had alibis.”

“So in theory, you could just question me for a day and then release me?”   I didn’t want to stay here, I’d just needed to be seen to be lifted.

“Yes, OK, you’re calling the shots. We’ve released Tommy O’Neil already. He had an alibi, but we still have Johnny.”

I looked quizzically at him, “Why?”

“He had three hundred pounds in his pocket and no way of explaining it.” We both went silent.

I threw my cigarette into the bucket in the corner,   “Ok, leave me in here for a day, then release me, I’ll make the rest up.”

Simon stood up, we had a plan and he was happy with it. I sat in the cell all the next day, only being let out for meals.

I was taken into the mess hall, when all the other inmates were coming out. This was so I couldn’t communicate with any one. But it made sure I was seen.

Monday 10^th July 1972.

The next morning I was released and went straight round to see Jonas.

I told him why I hadn’t been to collect the gun.

“We must work, we have a job.”   He kept looking at his watch, he was clearly in a hurry.

“Okay, just tell me where and when.”   I needed to stay in the loop.

“It vill be more difficult, they want a bomb disposal, that’s what they want.”    He shrugged and nodded his head.

This was something I was not happy with, it made it too personal, too selective and it made me realise I’d had enough.

“Can you have the gun by tomorrow?” Jonas asked.

“Of course.”

“We set it for tomorrow, a package, a phone call.”   Jonas made a pistol with his hand, “Poof.”

I kept a straight face, this was not the time or the place, but it was soon approaching.

I walked home, it’s just one of those things, walking helps me think.

At my front door, I got out the key, but of course it didn’t work, the door had been repaired and a new lock fitted.  I went round to see Sid.

“Hi Sid, my key doesn’t work.”   He finished giving change to an old lady, a regular and opened the till. He took out a key.  “This is the second time my friend, are you a bad lad?’

“No, no, there’s someone who looks like me and they keep lifting me.”  I put my best innocent look on,   “Any way, how much did it cost? I’ll pay you.”

The receipt was right in front of him. He picked it up and showed me. It was almost half a week’s rent. I got a pint of milk out of the crate and picked up a loaf.

“What’s the damage altogether?”

He nodded his head as he added it up.   “Two pounds twenty one.”

I paid up and he smiled, we were friends again.

The lock had been put on badly and was stiff, but eventually the door opened. I made my way upstairs, expecting chaos. All the cupboard doors were open and the sofa cushions were on the floor, but they hadn’t really done much and most important, the carpet was still down in the bedroom. I made a cup of tea and got on the phone to Simon.

Simon had been waiting for my call and picked up the phone immediately.

“I’ve been to see Jonas, we start work again tomorrow. Simon, he wants to shoot a bomb disposal, it’s all planned.  I’m not happy. I can’t justify this; we have to stop this now. I think you should just lift the man. Cut and run.”  

Simon took his time answering me, “Those higher up the ladder decide. They know what’s going on, right up to the Secretary for State, this is big beer. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Prime Minister knew that this was going on.”

I was starting to feel trapped. I hadn’t been in control of what was happening, but a least until this point, I felt I had a get out clause. My batteries had just run out.

“Alright, alright I get the message.”   I hung up without saying good bye. The phone didn’t take incoming calls, so Simon couldn’t ring me back.

I quickly tidied the flat, and then went round to the chip shop.

On the way back, I called at Johnny’s house. I didn’t go in. Johnny was still banged up and Tommy was at a meeting.

I talked to Johnny’s mother on the doorstep.

“I thought I’d just let you know that I was out, no evidence against me and my Gran covered my arse, with a few lies about me cutting the grass all day.”

The next morning I knocked on Jonas’ door, bright and early. He was dressed and ready to go and seemed unusually sober. He made two cups of tea; I looked out of his window, which overlooked a small army station across the road. They’d taken over an old builder’s yard, which had an arch door entrance and on each side of the gate, they’d put big steel Sangers, with camouflage netting strewn over.

Jonas handed me my tea. “So where is Johnny?” 

“Still inside I think, he had money on him when they called.”   I took a slug of my tea, it was still very hot.   “My grandmother gave me an alibi; she said I was cutting her grass all day.” I looked at him to see how he accepted my explanation.

“Well, we don’t have time to get someone else in. Will you be able to get the gun on your own?”

“Sure.”  I wondered if Kathleen Kerry would be in, if she was, I could still carry the gun on my own.

As we finished our tea Jonas, went over the plan.

He was to meet me at the junction, where the attack would take place. I had to be there, with the gun, no later than two thirty.

I checked his wall clock with my watch and left. I had quite a few things to do before two thirty. First, I went round to Kathleen’s house.

As she answered the door, she asked where Johnny was.   She popped her head out of the door and looked both ways and waved me in.  “He’s in nick, he got lifted.”   I went through to the kitchen.

“Do you want a cuppa?” She started to put the big kettle on the stove.

“No, I’ve just had one thanks, but I need the gun.”   I opened up the cupboard and lifted the floorboards. The bag inside was damp.

“Go on then I’ll have one.”   The gun’s metal was showing a bit of rust, if Jonas saw that, he’d go mad. I planned on cleaning it, while I drank my tea. While Kathleen made the tea, I told her about the hold up and how we’d been arrested. All the while, I cleaned the gun and oiled it.  When I thought it was good enough for the Sergeant Major to inspect, I split it into two and packed it away carefully, putting the two badminton racquets on top.

“I’d better be going, time's a bit short.”  I gave her a peck on the cheek. I’d never done this before, but I knew I’d never see her again.

I was in one of those situations, where I had to take big risks, today. I had to carry everything myself.

I caught a number seven bus, only three stops, but I was in a hurry and the bag was quite heavy. Four pence well spent. From there, I walked over the Albert Bridge and made my way to the warehouse, where the money and pistol were stored.

The duffle bag was getting full, what with the money rammed in, as well as the gun and racquets and a tee shirt and shorts on top. I threw away the old towel. I checked the pistol. It was a little dry, so I gave it quick oil. I decided to leave by climbing over the wall; it was further away from prying eyes.

My throat was feeling very dry, so I made my way to Victoria Square and had a coffee in the Wimpey Bar, on the corner. Sitting there, I wondered if I should call Denise.  I’d have loved to have heard her voice.  I decided against it, quickly finished the coffee and walked over to the bus station.

Whilst I walked, I considered my options. I could have just do a runner, and been in Liverpool before anyone realised that I was gone. Or I could have got myself into Ireland and holed up somewhere in the south. But I didn’t think I could leave Jonas, to do his dirty work.

I still had an hour before I was to meet Jonas. I still had an hour to disappear. I was wet through with sweat and took my jacket off.

The number fourteen to Lisburn and Omagh pulled onto the stand, it was the bus I needed to catch, to get to where Jonas would be waiting. I decided to walk, to give me more time to think.

Jonas was where he said he would be, standing at the bus stop. It was a good place to meet; nobody would look twice at someone waiting at a bus stop. I walked passed him, he followed me.

“Pisstt. Hey.”   I looked round, he was in the doorway of some shops that had been closed down and boarded up. He pushed the door and I followed him in. It was dark and damp. We carried on through the building, past some old shelves that had fallen down. The back door had already been broken open; we went through, into the back yard. There was barbed wire on angle irons on the top of the back wall, with a set of wooden ladders leaning against it. I climbed up the ladders, with the duffle bag still on my shoulder. There, I could see that beyond the back wall, only a yard and a half away, there was another wall and beyond that there was waste land open at the far end.  The barbed wire had been cut and hung down on both sides of the wall. A good exit then. We went back into the shop and upstairs. Litter and debris lay all over the place, making it hazardous. The stairs were quite clear. We stood looking out the window.

“The car bomb will be planted in half an hour,” he pointed across the road, “then a phone call, with the code word.”

I got the gun out, making sure that Jonas didn’t see what else was in the bag. He inspected the gun and gave it a clean and oil. I cleared a path across the room, to make sure nothing got in our way, if we had to leave fast.

Jonas made his platform for the gun. There was no furniture, but plenty of scraps of wood. Using a piece of twine, he made a tepee out of four lengths of wood and stood it near the window.  Then he carefully tied the gun to one of the pieces of wood. Finally, his hand washing routine. I was trying to keep myself busy, checking the exit, looking over the wall again and removing anything in the way. Eventually, we couldn’t find anything else that needed doing and we settled down, me with the bag close to me, chain smoking. Jonas was just watching the view from the window..

Suddenly, I saw him tense up Jonas. I went over to look through the dirty glass, with him.

About two hundred and fifty yards up the road, an old van had been parked, and a man was walking away.

“It’s a long way away.” I said.  I was looking for reasons for Jonas to fail.

“Not for me,” he smiled.  I’d never noticed before, his teeth were black, some of them were missing.

Jonas now had his angle.  He picked up an old shoe lying on the floor and pressed it against the small window, which would be directly in the line to the van. It gave way on the second attempt, now he had a clear line of sight. I went back and sat down and gave myself a good talking to.

Why had I let Simon push me into this? I could’ve just done my duty on the buses, put my reports in, found myself a girl and had a good time. Why didn’t they just lift Jonas, when we’d found him, job done, pin the medal on me and move on. How did they push me into all sorts of things I didn’t want to be doing? Why didn’t I just stand up and leave, I had money. I did not want to be there.

Jonas suddenly raised his arm, I stood up. I watched over his shoulder, the Army had arrived. One of the pigs had blocked the road, no further than fifty yards from us, soldiers deploying, guns pointing. At the far end, I could see the blue flashing light of the bomb disposal Land Rover. The officer was putting on his body armour and face mask. I stood behind Jonas, my heart was thumping, and I was nearly passing out with the amount of adrenalin running through my veins.

Slowly the officer moved forward towards the van. Jonas was watching it all through the telescopic sights.

The officer spoke into to a recording device, bending down to look under the van.

A shot rang out.

Suddenly Jonas slumped to the floor. The top part of his head was missing. I still had my pistol wrapped up in my jacket. I turned away, nearly fainting. Then my breakfast and the coffee I’d just drunk, shot out of my mouth. I fell on to the floor, I could hardly breathe.

I waited, sure that the army would crash through the door and run up the stairs. No sound, nothing.

Somehow I managed to pull myself to my feet and threw my jacket over the head of Jonas. There was blood all over the wall and window. Through the hole in the pane of glass, I could see the army were still facing the bomb. They had heard nothing and were completely unaware of what had happened in the room.

I untied the rifle from the makeshift tripod and split it in two.  Then I rammed it into the duffle bag and put the pistol in on top, easier to get at in a hurry. Then, slowly and carefully, I picked my way across to the ladders in the back yard.

The jump from one wall to another was a bit tricky. Falling then, would have been bad news. I threw the bag down and then dropped to the ground myself. I lit a cigarette, as I walk across the waste ground to the road.

There was no going back now, but I didn’t care. I had such a feeling of release. A massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I’d done my bit, now I was off. But I didn’t know if Denise would come with me.

I walked sharply down the road, wanting to put as much distance between me and Jonas’ dead body, as I could.

Slowly, I formulated a plan. No one at this time would be looking for me. Even if someone found the body, it would take a long time to identify it. By then, it was ten minutes to four.  I knew Denise would be finishing work at five thirty, so I had to get a move on.

“Could I have a taxi please?”  I had found a telephone that worked, even though the box had most of its windows kicked out and it stank of urine. 

“Yes, I’m on the junction of Ethel Street and Lisburn Road.  I’m a bit late for badminton, so as soon as you can. I’ve got a duffle bag.”   The taxi must have been close, because I’d only just lit another cigarette, when he arrived.

I jumped in. “Hi, I’m late for team practice,” I pointed at the bag on the back seat, “Could you just drop me near the Ballygowan Road motor bike shops, the court’s just round the back.”    The fare was sixty five pence, I gave him eighty and waited for my change. I didn’t want to attract attention by giving big tips.

I’d decided, as soon as I walked into the bike shop, which the bike I wanted. It was middle sized and had a rack on the back to carry my bags.

“Can I help you?”  I liked the young lad who came over, no shirt and tie here. He was just wearing a pair of jeans and a sweater.

“Yes, I’ve been saving up for a year now and saw this bike last week.”  I pointed at a BSA.

“Ah the Roadster, a lovely bike, it’s in perfect nick with only one old gentleman owner.”   He pointed a few things out to me, but I wasn’t interested.

“How quickly could I have the bike on the road?”  I tried not to look at my watch.

“I think I could have it ready by tomorrow.”

“I’ll give you an extra two quid, if you had it all done by five fifteen.”   I held his gaze.

“That’d be fifty one pounds then, have you got that?”   He looked me up and down.

“Sure, cash, get the bike ready and do the paperwork.”   I started to get the money out.

“And do you want a helmet, it’s better to have one.”   He lifted the bike off the stand and together, we pushed it over to the door of the office.

‘No, but I’ll take a jacket.”

I tried a few jackets on, while he filled in the paperwork and found the keys, “I’ll have these gloves too and this scarf and this jacket.”

“Okay that’s fifty six pounds and ninety five pence,”   he beamed at me, it had made his week.

He gave me a rubber bungee and we fixed the duffle bag on to the panniers. I could see the handle of the pistol in the top of the bag, but he didn’t seem to notice it.

I stalled it twice, before I got it going. I knew I didn’t have much time, so went straight round, to where Denise would be coming out of work. I was a few minutes early of course, so had a good look over the bike, while I waited. It still had half a tank of petrol.

“Hi,” I called to her as she came out onto the pavement, but she didn’t hear.   “HEY, Denise.”   She looked round and her eyes focused on me, she ran across the road.

“Come on, I’ll give you a lift home,” I beamed.

“When did you get this?” she said, looking at the bike. I didn’t directly answer her question, but told her I’d bought with my last pay. “Come on, get on, I’ll go slowly.”   I got on, but she had quite a hard time getting on, with high heels. With her short skirt, she was flashing her stocking tops, to anyone who was looking.

I took the long way round to her house. A few times she tried to talk to me, but I needed to keep my eyes on the road.

Eventually I stopped the bike, in a lay-by. She got off too and I stood the bike in the stand and put my arms around her. After a quick kiss, I pulled back.

“I’m leaving here, I’ve have got to get out.”   I watched her face; she was confused and looked hurt.

“Where are you going?”   “I’m going to England, anywhere really, I just have to get away from here.”   A tear was welling up in her eyes.

“I want you to come, but I’m leaving tonight. You can come later, or you can come now. I’ve got money, plenty of money, but I’ve lost my job and I want out of this place, so I’m off.”   I gave her time to think, but my heart was pounding.

“I’ll go and pack,” she said.   I nearly did a somersault. I kissed her on the lips.

“Don’t bring too much, we have to travel light. I’ll meet you here in an hour.”   I kissed her again. She walked off in the direction of her house and as I rode past her, I shouted, “Wear jeans and some warm clothes.”  Then I sped off.

I still had one more thing to do.

I made my way round to The Divis Flats and parked the bike right outside the army depot. I thought no one would touch a bike, right in the front of the army Sangers. From there, I went up to Jonas’ front door. I didn’t know if he had strong locks, or any other nasty surprise waiting. I launched myself at the door; it gave way, with just one push. It flew open and I quickly closed it behind me. I could smell the stale beer immediately.

I took the pistol out of the duffle bag and stuffed it into my belt, then started to search the flat. It didn’t take long. In the back edge of his dirty mattress, there was a slit.

I was so pumped up, I ripped it open easily, to reveal rolls of notes, each with an elastic band round. Some of them were rolls of fivers. There were some rolls of foreign money too, which I threw on the floor. Then I had to get rid of some of the stuff in my duffle bag, to make room for the notes.

Nobody was around, when I returned to the bike.

Denise was already standing in the lay-by, as I pulled in. It was me who was late. Her small brown case just fitted on the rack and I fastened it with the bungee, she hung the duffle bag over her shoulder.

I’d no plan where we should go, I just followed my nose, why should I worry, I had my girl, I had cash to keep us for a couple of years and I had my life.