Cardiff Dark

CARDIFF DARK

#UrbanNoir #WelshNoir #Fiction #ShortStory 

"We are going back a bit now mind, you're asking me to trawl my memory to what, 1958 maybe 59?"

A nod from the other side of the table. "Well I better have another pint then, oil the wheels a bit"

Instead of fetching the drink, Macey's companion throws a £2 coin on to the table. 

"I'll keep the change shall I? This isn't a Witherspoons you know" 

Arthur Macey by now well into his late 70s shuffles over to the bar. He had been a dancer in his day. Born in 1935, he was 23, 24 by the end of the 1950s. He stood at the bar with the huge television showing pictures of the General Election and his mind went back to the last proper government the country had had. He always touched the statue of Aneurin Bevan on his way home but perhaps tonight he would do a laying on of hands to make sure that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour got in! If Jezza won on June 8th then he'd try the jitterbug one more time and if that meant he ended up in the Heath Hospital then so be it. The bar maid smiled a half smile and gave Arthur his pint of what they now called black! Arthur knew why it was only a half smile and a look of fear because Arthur Macey had spent half of the time since 1958 in prison. Bad boy Macey had become a Teddy Boy with a bicycle chain in the 1960s and even though the London of the Krays was more familiar, Cardiff had its very own underground and underworld. It was his reputation and it was what brought these guys round to speak to him every so often. They were either hacks looking to dig up old stories or they were modern criminals, gangsters and gang members looking to pick up a few tips. A lot of them were tight wads as well! He should stop talking but it was company and it brought him out of the sheltered housing. He might be in his late seventies but Arthur Macey swam and that is what kept him relatively fit. His legs might be a bit shakey now but his upper body was strong, strong enough to squeeze the life out of a man and if he came across the right man or wrong man he would do it! 

"So what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't"

"Course you didn't, so why should I talk to you?"

"Just bought you a pint haven't I?"

"I can't be specific you know, it was a very long time ago"

" Just a bit of general will do"

" The area around the bottom of Churchill Way you said, where the Guildford Baths used to be?"

No name nods his head again. 

"I could see it from the prison cell window"

"You saw a murder from your cell?"

"I didn't know that at the time"

"It was a fracas"

"A man died?"

"Apparently so"

"It was my Grandfather"

"So?"

"They never got anyone for it"

"So?"

"Don't keep saying so as if it doesn't matter!"

"It doesn't matter to me"

" You witnessed it"

"It was dark and it was late, I was smoking and looking out of the cell window"

"You could see over the walls?"

"You could in those days"

"What did you see?"

"A scuffle, a fight, it was a Saturday night, it happened all the time, that's why I was in prison"

"You killed a man?"

"No comment"

"Nothing you can tell me then?"

"Only that I witnessed your Grandad's murder, why do you want to find out?"

"Because it affected my Dad....badly. He was only 5."

"And because of that, it affected you?"

"Why don't you use crutches or a walker?"

"I'm not that bad.....You been inside?"

No name shakes his head.

"They sent me to Dartmoor, to separate me from my associates you know, I used to run the show from my prison cell" 

Arthur reaches over and grabs no name by his collar. 

"This talking is thirsty work and this time you can go and fetch me a pint and if you want to know any more bring me a packet of pork scratchings as well"

No name looks visibly shaken. His cockiness has taken a hit.

On his return to the table he extends his arm in greeting, "Sorry about that earlier, I'm Leon"

Arthur decides to continue with his game of elderly intimidation and does not shake Leon's hand.

" Your Dad is Jasper Todd from Grangetown?"

"Yes that's him"

"So your Grandad's name was....."

"Walter.....

"Walter Todd, well stone me, is that who I saw?"

"You knew him?"

"I'd met him.....so I met the man who I saw from my cell, well, well."

"Was he in your gang?"

"He had been"

The area around the two had filled up with bodies and Arthur and Leon were forced to talk louder.

"So you got your own gang then Leon?"

"Kind of!"

"Well you wont learn anything from me, it's all changed. I was small fry compared to what's happening today."

"Yeah I know dat, but it all started with you and my Grandad"

"We were younger but what people don't realise is that men had come home from the war as trained killers. Some of them, their heads had proper gone. They'd killed for fun for King and Country and it was pretty boring for them coming back to safe and regular jobs."
Arthur noticed some people looking over and listening in to the conversation.

"It seems like another age, well it was. If you're a drug dealer you can eff off now. We never did any of that. It ruined peoples lives. I remember the weed and the khat down the Docks, harmless stuff but when I got out of nick, cocaine had come in and that changed people. Changed their personalities and the community"

Leon looks a bit sheepish.

"What I remember of Walter, he'd be ashamed Leon. It was beer and fags and breaking into warehouses down the dock but we wouldn't deal. It was just passed on for a fair price."

"I want to find out who killed my grandfather"

"Good chance he's dead now"

"Don't care, I want a name, I need a name"

"I got lots of names in my head but I'd be guessing. Is Jasper still alive?"

Leon looks glum.

"Just about, alcoholic"

"You can hold your drink?"

Arthur hadn't seen Jasper Todd come into the bar. He sat down beside Arthur who was now in a Todd sandwich.

"You're not going home to your warden and cup of cocoa until you give us a few names Macey"

"Blimey Jasper, last person to call me Macey was a screw from Dartmoor"

"You know who killed my Dad?"

"Why are you still bothering? It wont bring him back." 

"It will bring a bit of closure for me and Leon"

"Can I get you a drink Jasper, Leon tells me you're an alcoholic"

Jasper looks at his boy who looks crest fallen.

"I like a drink...but I'm not having one tonight. I'm staying sober to go through a few names with you."

"Why have you left it this long? You could have found me years ago and I might have remembered properly!"

"Who was in your gang? Hugh Lane, Spike Watts, Ken Harper. Which one of them was it?"

"I couldn't see that far. It was getting late as I told your boy here. Ken Harper was in with me at the time so it wasn't him"

"I was only 5 and one of your gang killed him...on your orders"

"Hey hold up Jasper, you can't go around accusing me"

Leon pipes up, "You said earlier that you used to run the show from your prison cell"

Jasper continues "We found Hugh Lane and he told us that you sanctioned the killing"

"Hugh Lane? Is he still alive?"

"He said that you wanted to witness the killing from your cell so they arranged to meet Walter where Churchill Way is now"

"He must have dementia now Hugh, he's rambling"

"It was Watts that killed my father and you paid him"

Leon moves in closer on Arthur Macey 

"It's been nice talking to you fellas but my cocoa and my warden await"

"I want to know why, why did you have my Dad killed?"

"Sorry Jasper, sorry Leon but I must be going now, I got to touch the statue of Aneurin Bevan for good luck before I get home"

Arthur spots his chance and notices a group of people near the table. He shouts at one and says "Excuse me could you give me a hand up son, these guys are about to give me a bit of trouble and I have to get going". 

He makes sure that he shouts and that the CCTV has picked them all out. 

Jasper Todd moves sideways and is aware of the attention that Macey has caused. He looks at Leon and he gets up and leaves.

Arthur gets up and makes his way to the bar where he hands the half smiling bar maid a note. Just before he exits Jasper Todd shouts at the top of his voice

"Arthur Macey You are a Murderer"

Arthur makes sure to touch the Bevan statue at the top of Queen Street and mutters 'Nice One Nye'. He crosses to the Castle to make his way up North Road. He passes the large ornate gates to Bute Park and looks down.

In the morning the bodies of Leon and Jasper Todd are discovered in the Taff feeder near to the Welsh College of Music and Drama.