Free Maura's Game by Martina Cole

than he’d wanted his family. When Benjamin Ryan Senior finally departed this life on the floor of a bookie’s in Kilburn five years back, Roy and his brothers had made no secret of their relief. Only Maura seemed to miss the old sod and their mum, of course. He wanted to put his arm about her shoulders and comfort her now as she had comforted him while he was growing up.
    She looked so small, until she started one of her tirades and then as usual she made him close his eyes with unconcealed irritation.
    “Don’t you look at me like that! I blame you lot for this. Her, that hard-hearted whore of a sister of yours, I bet she’s behind it.”
    The nurse was trying not to laugh and suddenly Roy realised that his domineering mother was the archetypal figure of fun to most people. He only wished she was to him.
    A young policewoman pulled back the curtain to the casualty cubicle and raised her eyebrows. She was amazed at what was going on and it showed. The Ryans were notorious, and yet here was one of them being shouted at and abused by his own mother. It was said in the station that her boss was in the pay of this family. That they told him to do the things he did, including blocking the promotions of regular policemen and women and bringing through the ranks only the ones who would kowtow to the Ryans. Her boss was the joke of the station. When he went on holiday one wag had set a rumour going that he was really in hospital, having his chair removed from his arse. He was notoriously lazy. The fact that the holiday in question had been three weeks in a five-star hotel in Florida had caused a few comments as well.
    “Mr. Ryan, my superior is outside and would like a word with you.”
    Roy stood up. Towering over the three women, he growled, “About fucking time and all.”
    As he left the cubicle the girl smiled at Sarah.
    “Can you give me a description of the intruder, please?”
    Sarah’s wrinkled face took on the look of a contestant in a big-money game show.
    “He was neatly built, he was good-looking, and he was dressed as a priest.”
    The policewoman smirked.
    “A priest? That’s a new one.”
    “He’ll be a dead one when I finish with him.”
    Benny’s voice made the policewoman jump and he smiled at her coldly. She was young and pretty but Benny didn’t notice. All he registered was the uniform and she knew immediately that he saw her as the lowest of the low. For the first time in her life she felt seriously threatened and yet this good-looking young man had done nothing to her. She saw the expression on his face as he observed his battered grandmother and was very glad she would not be on the receiving end of his anger.
    Sarah tried to defuse the situation.
    “Oh, Benny, would you take me home, please?”
    She looked very old and very frail and the young policewoman listened in surprise as he answered her in an offhand way.
    “You’ll survive, Gran. Me dad’s getting you picked up.”
    He walked from the cubicle and Sarah’s face settled into its habitual frown.
    “Little fucker.” The strength was back in her voice now and the policewoman quickly took the statement required and was glad to leave them all behind her.
    It was only back at the station that she fully realised who she had actually been dealing with. The higher echelons of the Ryans were now known to her personally and she was amazed. She was queen of the canteen and enjoyed every second of it. She was just glad she didn’t have to deal with them any more.
    Rebekka Kowolski’s house in Totteridge was a shock to Maura. It was huge with electronically controlled gates and the requisite guard Dobermans roaming the grounds.
    “Couple of mil here or what?”
    Garry sounded annoyed.
    “Good luck to them. As long as they tell me what I want to know, I don’t give a toss.”
    Maura was deliberately dismissive and this annoyed Garry, as she’d known it would. But all she could think about was Sammy Goldbaum’s face when she had come for