There was a sharp rap on the door and a smiling Joe entered the room. Aggie was pleased to see it was Joe who had come to collect. He was much kinder and understanding than Karl so it would be a lot easier to tell him her news.
“Morning, Aggie,” Joe greeted, kissing her lightly on the cheek. “You’re looking as ravishing as always.”
Aggie blushed. “Good morning to you,” she replied. “I thought you’d forgotten about me. Nobody’s been to collect for three days.”
“Busy, busy, busy,” Joe grinned, sitting down in one of the chairs.
Aggie perched on the arm of the couch. “Have you got yourself a young lady yet?”
“No, Aggie, I’m still looking, but you’re a hard act to follow.”
“I’m serious. You should find yourself a nice young woman and settle down. You’re too good for all of this shit.”
“I like what I do. Where else would I find myself surrounded by beautiful young women twenty four hours a day?”
Aggie gave a disapproving tut by way of response. “I’ll get the takings and then I need to talk to you about something important,” she said, her tone suddenly becoming serious. Slowly she made her way into the kitchen and removed the takings from the safe, handing them to Joe.
“Is everything alright, Aggie?” Joe asked with concern. “You look…”
“It’s my hip,” she sighed heavily. “It’s knackered. I’m in agony with it.”
“You poor thing. Why didn’t you say? Is there anything I can do?”
“No love, it’s down to the doctors. They want me in the hospital next week.”
“As early as that?”
“They’ve had a cancellation so I’ve been brought forward. I know that it’s short notice Joe, but…”
“Don’t worry about work, you just get yourself right,” Joe said comfortingly.
“The thing is, once I’ve had my hip done I won’t be coming back to work.”
“You won’t? Why not?”
“I’ve bought a bungalow in Bournemouth with my cousin, Lucy. It’s a lovely little place with a sea view. I’ll be moving there once I’ve had the operation.”
Joe had always been fond of Aggie, and he gently put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a slight squeeze. “Well, if you’re sure that’s what you want to do,” he said affectionately. “I hope everything works out for you, Aggie. I really do.”
“I’m just worrying who you will get to run this place. I know it’s not easy finding someone suitable who knows the business, but…”
“Aggie, love, don’t you worry about that, just concentrate on getting better. I’m sure we’ll manage, in fact I have someone in mind that fits the bill perfectly.”
Aggie hugged Joe tightly, her relief obvious. She had been convinced that leaving so suddenly would cause trouble.
“Want a coffee while you’re here?” she asked, smiling.
“No thanks. I can’t stop. I’ve got a lot on today,” He counted the money given to him by Aggie and placed it in his inside pocket. “Who have we got working?”
“There’s Josie, Maria and Cassandra. They’re all popular with the punters so it should be a busy day.”
“I thought Cassandra was up the duff?”
“Not anymore she isn’t.” Aggie said.
“What about later? Who’s working the late shift?”
“Kathy and Debbie. Paula’s supposed to be working but she hasn’t turned up for her last couple of shifts. I had to put Claire in.”
“Claire? I haven’t met her. She doesn’t work the streets, does she?”
“No, she’s got more sense. She was asking if she could have more shifts in the house but we don’t have any spare places unless Paula’s packed in.”
“I think Paula’s moved on,” Joe said lightly. “Manchester, so I heard.”
“Manchester? She never said. What made her do that?”
“Who knows? Girls move on all the time, Aggie, you know that. Give Claire a place in the house and let’s see how she gets on. Okay?”
“Alright, if you say so,” Aggie shrugged. “I can’t believe Paula would leave without letting me know. She seemed such a nice girl.”
“Well, I’d better be off and leave you to it. I’ll have a word with your replacement and bring her over to meet you in the next couple of days.”
“Okay, Joe. See you soon, and don’t forget what I said about finding yourself a nice young lady to settle down with.”
“If you only knew, Aggie,” Joe smiled to himself as he walked out onto the street. “If you only knew…”
EIGHT
“Where’s Billy?” Karl teased as Danny joined him in the snooker hall. “Gone back to bed?”
“Don’t be daft. He’s doing what he does best, spending my money.”
“He’s what?”
“He’s gone into town shopping. I’ve told him to buy some gear for Spain.”
“So, Billy’s your mister right, then?” Karl grinned.
Danny gave him a hard stare. “Let’s just say he’s my mister right now.”
Both men laughed.
“I hope we can do this deal quickly.” Danny suddenly became serious. “I’m missing out on the sun and the sea stuck here.” He walked over to one of the pool tables and removed two empty beer bottles off the baize. “This place was a private cinema when my old man took it on, did you know that? Dirty old men would sit in the dark watching porn whilst having a wank.” His face expressed repulsion. “Dad had the whole place remodelled into the pool hall. He had it up and running in just two months.”
The two men were walking through the spacious ground floor. The distinctive aroma of stale tobacco and booze lingered heavily in the air. Twelve pool tables were arranged around the room, each one with a large overhead lighting fixture. To one side of the room was a small bar with four stools to the front. Half a dozen bottles of spirits were behind optics on the back wall, and shelves containing bottled beers and lagers were to the side. Wooden bench seats were fixed to the nicotine stained cream plaster walls and above them were a line of coat hooks. Several small tables and chairs were arranged at the far side of the room.
The wall at this end of the room was panelled from floor to ceiling in a dark wood. Five feet off the ground, a line of open fretwork in a fleur-de-lis pattern ran the full length of the wall. In the centre hung a large framed photograph of three smartly dressed men smiling at the camera. Each was holding a pool cue in one hand and a beer glass in the other. Karl stared at the picture in disbelief. The central figure he recognised immediately as Danny’s father, but it was the other two men in the photograph that held Karl’s attention.
“Bloody hell!” he cried in disbelief. “That’s the Krays. Ronnie and Reggie Kray.”
“Yes,” Danny beamed with obvious pride. “They were good mates of my old man. They actually came here to meet him once.”
“Bloody hell!” Karl repeated. “I never knew that, mate.”
“My dad was really proud of this picture. I’ll be taking it with me when I leave.”
“I thought you said you had no sentimental attachments,” Karl smirked.
“I don’t, apart from this picture.”
“But what if I count it as a fixture and fitting?”
Danny stared at his friend. He was never quite sure when Karl was serious.
“Tell you what I’ll do,” he said at last. “You buy this place, minus the picture, for the price I’ve asked and I’ll throw in a few extras.”
“What sort of extras?”
“Follow me and you’ll find out.” Danny winked as they went through the foyer towards the main staircase.
Both men went up the stairs into the large sitting room, the room that Karl had visited the previous night. Although the furniture in the room was of good quality, it was covered by piles of clothes and magazines.
Karl winced as they entered. “The maid’s day off, is it?”
Danny merely shrugged. “There’s another room
through here,” he said opening the dual set of doors. The second room was equally as big as the first, and just as untidy. At one time it had been a dining room but the table was covered in books and magazines, and again there was an abundance of discarded clothing.
“Don’t you ever put things away?” Karl frowned. He was used to having a clean and tidy home, and he found Danny’s lifestyle disturbing.
“Sorry about the mess,” Danny said unconvincingly. “Like I told you earlier, Billy’s not fully housetrained yet. Anyway, it’s the building that’s for sale. I’m not applying for entry in ‘Homes and Gardens’ for Christ’s sake.”
“It’s just as well. You live like a pig. This place is disgusting.”
Danny suddenly became defensive. “If that’s what you think, maybe we should call this off.”
“Maybe we should, but I need to see the rest of this pigsty first. You said there were four bedrooms?”
“Yeah, they’re through here.” Sulkily, Danny led the way down the corridor. “I only use two as bedrooms,” he said. “One is used as a storeroom and the other an office. That’s down at the end.”
Karl followed Danny down the corridor to the office. This room was sparsely furnished with a small desk and swivel chair, and to Karl’s surprise, was very tidy. A couple of shelves containing box files were arranged neatly, and two chairs were on the back wall.
On one wall was a door which was slightly open, revealing a cupboard with files stacked neatly on the overhead shelf. Danny walked over to the cupboard.
“You remember I told you last night I had something special to show you?”
“What is it?”
“In here,” he said, walking into the cupboard. He pulled on a concealed lever and the back wall opened, revealing a steep staircase. Karl followed Danny down the dimly lit stairs. At the bottom was a narrow corridor lined with shelves. Karl could see that the shelves contained boxes of alcohol, cigarettes, cigars and other contraband.
“Bloody hell,” he exclaimed. “It’s like Aladdin’s cave down here.”
“Not bad, is it? My old man had it built when he bought this place. Only a handful of people know about the passage so don’t go spreading the word.”
“As if,” Karl smirked.
“What I really want to show you is this.” Danny made his way further up the narrow corridor. “Look through there.”
Karl pressed up to the wall and peered through the fleur-de-lis fretwork. He smiled broadly, realising that from here he was just feet away from the punters.
“Nothing gets said in here that I don’t know about. It can be very useful.”
“I bet it can. You say only a few people know about this?”
“Me and Victor, that’s all. The bloke that helped my old man to build it died years ago.”
“Well it certainly has possibilities, mate, that’s for sure. I’ll need to think about this.”
As they walked back along the passage, Danny picked up a box of cigars.
“Here, these are for you.” He handed the box to Karl. “There’ll be plenty more if we can strike a deal.”
“You’re not trying to bribe me, are you?”
“Course I am. I’ll tell you what, I’ll even throw in Victor for free.”
“What the hell do I want with Victor? I’ve got my own doorman, thanks.”
“Victor’s more than a doorman, trust me. Very handy to have around is Victor.”
“No, I don’t think so, but thanks for the smokes.”
The two men made their way back into the living room just as Victor and Joe arrived. Joe nodded a greeting towards Danny.
“Is it alright to open up?” Victor asked. “It’s twelve o’clock.”
“Yes, you do that. I’ll be down soon.”
Victor hurried from the room.
“Can I have a word, boss?” Joe asked. “It’s important.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Danny said, walking towards the door. “I’ve got things to do downstairs. Just make sure you keep your mitts off my whisky.”
Left alone, Karl turned to face Joe.
“You’ve been to the house?”
“Yes, boss,” Joe replied, handing over the money he had collected from Aggie. “But there’s a problem. Aggie needs a hip replacement. She’s going into hospital next week to have it done.”
“Hospital? For fuck’s sake, how long will she be away?”
“Well, that’s the problem, boss. She won’t be coming back. She’s decided it’s time to retire.”
“Shit!” Karl snarled. “I don’t have time for this.”
“I think I might be able to help,” Joe said hesitantly. “I know someone who’s got experience in running a house and she’s looking for a job.”
“Who is she? Do I know her?”
“Her name’s Marion Watson.”
“Marion Watson? I know that name from somewhere.”
“Marion worked for Graham Gibb a few years back before some punter threw acid in her face.”
“Yes, I remember now. How badly scarred is she? I don’t want her frightening away the punters.”
“She’s not too bad. We can give her a trial and see how it works out. We need to act quickly though, Aggie’s having her operation next week.”
“Okay Joe, I’ll leave it for you to arrange,” Karl sighed heavily. “By the way, I won’t be at Cedar Road tonight. I’ve got some business on with Danny. Will you be alright watching the girls by yourself?”
“Sure,” Joe grinned. “No probs. See you later.”
NINE
Joe parked the car in his usual place on Cedar Road. He could see Shirley pacing up and down the street in an effort to keep warm. The other six girls working that night had already gone off with their punters, leaving Shirley alone on the street.
Joe watched intently as a white van slowly cruised along the road and stopped close to Shirley. Through the gloom he saw a large man emerge from the front of the van and approach her. Joe could see him talking to Shirley, and after a few minutes he began shaking her by the shoulders and slapping her across the face. Shirley yelled out in pain as she fell back against the wall but the man continued pushing and slapping her. Without hesitation, Joe leapt out of the car and raced to Shirley’s aid.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he yelled as he grabbed the man from behind. Without warning the side door of the van slid open and three men jumped out. Before he had time to react, a baseball bat came crashing down on Joe’s head, knocking him into the wall. He spun round to face his attackers as a second blow caught him on the shoulder. Soon kicks and punches were raining down on him and he slumped to the ground.
“That’s enough,” a voice said in a strong Scottish accent. “I think the bastard’s got the message.”
One of the assailants, a man with wild bushy hair, pulled Joe’s head back roughly and leant menacingly over him.
“Tell that bastard Karl Maddox he’s finished,” he hissed. “From now on the Kennedys will be running the streets. Can you hear what I’m saying, pretty boy?”
Joe nodded faintly.
“This is just a friendly warning. If Karl wants to argue the point, we’ll be waiting.”
As Joe’s head was released from the man’s grip, he felt one more kick to his ribs before sinking into oblivion.
“Joe, wake up. For Christ’s sake, babe, wake up.”
Slowly Joe began to regain consciousness. He became aware of a familiar high-pitched voice and the smell of sickly sweet perfume.
“Shirley?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Joe. You’ve got to get up, babe. Those bastards have gone now.”
Slowly Joe struggled to his feet, assisted by Shirley. He felt dizzy and disorientated. He could feel blood pouring from his nose, and a sharp pain ripped through his ribs. Joe managed to get to his feet but his legs felt weak beneath him and he grabbed onto Shirley for support.
“Help me to the car,” he said faintly. “I have to warn Karl.”
“For fuck’s sake, don’t argue, Shirley, just get me to the car, now.”
Step by slow painful step, Shirley managed to get Joe over to his car.
“I’ll drive. We can be at the hospital in ten minutes.”
“No,” Joe protested. “No hospital. Take me to Danny’s place.”
“Where?”
“Just drive. I’ll tell you the way.”
TEN
Karl was in Danny’s lounge enjoying his second glass of whisky when he heard a commotion outside the room. Before he could get to his feet, the door burst open and Victor entered. He was cradling Joe in his arms. Victor was closely followed by a hysterical Shirley.
“What the hell?” Karl gasped, rushing over to the two men. “What the fuck happened?”
“It was them Scottish Kennedy bastards,” Shirley sobbed. “Three of them jumped out of the van and started beating up Joe. He didn’t stand a chance.”
“Kennedys? Who the fuck are the Kennedys?” Karl snapped, helping Victor to place Joe on the couch.
“They said they’re taking over the street,” Shirley sobbed. “They said the girls are working for them now, not you.”
“Oh did they?” Karl growled. “We’ll see about that.”
“Let’s see to Joe first,” Danny said with concern as he began to examine him. “A couple of ribs broken, that’s for sure, and I think his nose could be busted.”
“Do you know anything about these Kennedys? I’ve never heard of them.”
“They came to Leeds a couple of weeks ago from Glasgow. Bad lot by all accounts.” Danny wiped the blood carefully from Joe’s swollen face. “I think it would be best if we took him to the hospital. He’s had a real kicking.”
“No hospital,” Joe pleaded, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “No hospital, Karl. I’ll be okay.”
“Drink this,” Danny ordered, handing him a small glass of brandy. “I’ll bandage your ribs, mate. It might make them feel easier.” Skilfully Danny began winding the bandage around Joe’s ribs, ignoring his cries of discomfort.
Bad Blood Rising Page 3
