Love and Courage by Philip Coogan

Author:Philip Coogan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.

Chapter 4

A Drink in Belfast

“I mprovements? What kind of improvements?” said Patricia.

Our conversation that January morning was about the latest communication from the council. In response to my application to renew the petrol licence on the site, they had come back to me and asked for certain conditions to be met.

“Well, they’re talking about new manhole covers for a start, which we can fix,” I replied. “But putting up these railings they’re asking for is not a good idea from my point of view. I think they’re only going to hamper sales.”

The requests were annoying, but at the same time I thought, oh well, I have jumped through so many hoops already, another one won’t make much difference. Nevertheless, if the petrol licence wasn’t renewed, there was still the mortgage and all the other bills to pay.

But there was a positive way of looking at this latest hurdle; the time I so far spent out in the open, waiting for the occasional customer to stop by for fuel, might now be more productively spent. The most obvious alternate source of cash was to trade second-hand cars. I quickly found an Alfa Romeo, which I figured I could obtain for a good price, for sale. There were two drawbacks: any “bargain” vehicle usually needed working on to turn a profit, and without proper facilities at present, repair work was difficult. The more serious drawback was that the best bargains were now to be found in the more dangerous areas of Belfast. The Alfa in question was for sale at Greenan’s garage in Leeson Street, off the Falls Road. This was a Catholic district, but even so, you never knew what might happen in any volatile area, especially with so many factions now, and it was all too easy for the innocent citizen to get caught up in conflicts. However, I had to earn money, and so it was I took my brother Tony along with me to Greenan’s to look at the vehicle. Upon inspection, it was obvious the car needed some attention but was basically roadworthy. I agreed on a price, settled up and began the return journey behind the wheel of my latest acquisition.

I have particular reason to recall this Alfa. It was some days later when Tony and I were again in the car, this time heading for Dublin. We were on the motorway, nearing Lisburn, when the engine suddenly began to lose power and within a few minutes stalled completely, coming to rest on the hard shoulder. I pulled the bonnet release and got out to take a look. Along the edge of the motorway to our right was a row of newly planted trees, above which rose a cluster of high-rise flats. I was just about to lift the bonnet when I heard a sharp pinging sound a little way off.

“What was that?” I said to Tony.

He didn’t seem to have heard it, however.

“It sounded like a shot,” I said, peering cautiously toward the flats. There was another ping, much closer this time.

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