by Kerry Kaya
“For personal reasons, I don’t want to work there.” Tommy stood his ground.
“What the fuck are you talking about, personal reasons? What personal reasons?”
Tommy sighed. “There’s this girl … and she keeps putting it on me.”
Davey burst out laughing. So, some girl was the reason behind young Tommy’s refusal to go back to the club. “Well, you need to stop thinking with your cock, lad, and tell the girl in question to piss off. You’re there to work, nothing more.”
“She’s persistent. She doesn’t take no for an answer.”
This caused Davey to laugh even harder. “Do I need to tell Lillian to put the hard word on her?” he asked, once he’d managed to get his breath back.
Shamefaced, Tommy looked to the floor. He would look a right pillock, if Lillian had to fight his corner. “No, don’t say anything to Lillian.” He would have to deal with the situation himself.
As Tommy left his office, Davey shook his head. He’d seen it all now. In all the years he’d owned the strip clubs, young Tommy was the first of his men to complain about one of the girls putting it on him.
Safety in numbers was the best way to handle the situation, Tommy decided. And so he dragged Jimmy along to the club with him. Pulling up beside the kerb outside The Soho Club, Tommy switched off the engine to the car Davey had kindly supplied him with.
The feud between the two brothers was long forgotten, and Tommy ruffled Jimmy’s hair before they climbed out of the car.
“Oi,” Jimmy complained, as he patted his dark hair back into place. “Leave it out, Tommy.”
Grinning, Tommy opened the car door. There was a method to his madness. With just eleven months between them, the two brothers looked so similar, he was hoping Bethany would take a shine to Jimmy instead, and leave him alone.
“Lillian, this is my brother, Jimmy. He’ll be working here with me for a bit.”
Lillian eyed the two young men in front of her, as she made her way from behind the reception counter. “Well, I never. Another handsome fella. What do they put in the water where yous two are from, eh?” she asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
Jimmy’s eyes were wide, causing Tommy to laugh. “Come on,” he said to his younger brother, as he pushed him through the entrance doors leading inside the club. “He’s a bit wet behind the ears,” he whispered toward Lillian.
Lillian placed her hand across her heart. God love him, she thought to herself. The girls would eat him alive.
Despite himself, Tommy couldn’t help but look around the club, on the lookout for Bethany, as he showed Jimmy around. Quickly, he explained the workings of the club, before weaving his way back through to the reception to show his brother where they kept the baseball bat.
“Here. Where’s Mad Dog been keeping himself? I haven’t seen him around for a few weeks,” Lillian enquired.
Leaning against the reception desk, Tommy took his cigarettes from his pocket. “He’s been at the betting shop with Davey.”
Lillian raised her eyebrows, before taking the cigarette Tommy offered toward her. Popping it into her mouth, she waited for him to offer her the use of his lighter, before blowing out a small cloud of smoke. “Not been any trouble, has there?”
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Tommy answered, before quietening down as Bethany walked through the doors. He could feel his cheeks redden and he averted his eyes. He didn’t want to look at her.
Not one to miss a trick, Lillian picked up on the vibes, and ushered Bethany through to the club. “You have to have eyes like a hawk where they’re concerned,” she said to Jimmy, nodding her head after Bethany, trying to lighten the mood.
Tommy smiled his gratitude. “Come on then, our Jimmy. We best get on our way to the other clubs. See you later, Lil.”
“See you later boys,” Lillian replied, returning behind the desk.
With a smile upon her face, Bethany climbed up onto the stage. So, there was trouble, after all. That would give her dad something to smile about, and if she played her cards right, she may be able to string it out a little bit longer at the club, if she told him there was more information to come. Gyrating to the music, Bethany began to curl her body around the pole. In fact, she would do anything she could to keep a hold of this job, if for no other reason than to keep seeing Tommy. She was determined he would be hers.
Chapter Eight
Stacey counted out her change, before passing it across the shop counter to Rose Lyon, who owned the newsagents.
“How’s your Tommy?”
Stacey beamed. She loved it when people referred to Tommy as hers. “He’s doing well, just been promoted at work.”
“Tell him I said hello.”
“I will.” Backing up the pram, Stacey accidently bumped into the woman behind her. “I’m so sorry,” she smiled. “I still can’t get the hang of this thing.”
Bethany Johnson smiled. “That’s okay. She’s beautiful. What’s her name?” she asked, as she leaned over the pram.
“Karen. She’s six weeks old now.”
Straightening up, Bethany smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Beth.”
“I’m Stacey. Nice to meet you.”
“I was just about to go and have a coffee over the road. Do you fancy one? My treat.”
Stacey glanced across to the café. She barely knew the woman, but she seemed friendly enough. “Okay then, why not. It’s nice to get out of the house for a bit,” she grinned.
Once they were seated at a table with frothy coffees in front of them, Bethany nodded toward Stacey’s wedding ring. “So, are you married then?”
Taking a sip of her coffee, Stacey quickly swallowed the hot liquid down. “Yes, me and Tommy have been married for just over six months now.”
Bethany took a sip of her own coffee. “What’s he like, your husband?”
“Oh, he is lovely. Everyone loves my Tommy.”
Bethany had to swallow the irritation down. She couldn’t, for the life of her, think of what Tommy saw in the girl in front of her. She wasn’t even that pretty, and if she was being honest, she thought her to be quite plain looking. “Maybe one day I’ll get to meet him, that’s if you ever want to meet up for coffee again? It must be hard work having a baby, and you must get lonely if your husband is out all day working.”
Stacey nodded her head. “That would be nice. I do get lonely sometimes. I’ve only got my mum, or mother-in-law for company. All of me mates are out working in the day time. What is it you do for work?”
“I’m a dancer.”
Stacey smiled. A dancer, she thought to herself. Her new friend was so glamourous.
Tommy ate heartily. After eating a plateful of eggs and chips, he mopped up the egg yolk with thick slices of buttered bread. “That was smashing, Stace,” he smiled, once he had finished eating. It was the first meal his wife had cooked the family, and he felt happy to see his Stace more like her old self, just how she used to be, before the sorry business with her brother, Pete.
“I made a new friend today.”
“That’s good, babe. That’s exactly what you need, some new mates your own age.” He glanced across at his mum, before mouthing, “instead of the old fogies.”
Stacey gave a little giggle. Her Tommy could be so funny when the mood took him. “Her name’s Beth and she’s a dancer.”
Immediately, Tommy sat up in his seat. He tried to keep his voice neutral, even though, to his ears, it sounded higher than usual. “Where did you meet her, babe?”
“In the newsagents. Oh and by the way, Mrs. Lyons said to say hello.”
Alarmed, Tommy nodded his head. Beth and Bethany couldn’t be the same person, could they?
“There’s a good film on the box at eight, shall we watch it?”
Tommy shook his head. “I have to go into work, babe.”
At this Jimmy’s ears pricked up. “I thought we had the night off?”
“You do. I just need to pop into The Soho Club and get the takings for D
avey. It shouldn’t take me long, then I’ll be home.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Jimmy offered.
Tommy shook his head, refusing Jimmy’s offer. He didn’t want anyone else to hear what he had to say to Bethany.
Lillian was surprised to see Tommy back at the club. “What are you doing back here?” she asked, through narrowed eyes.
“I want a word with Kitty Mae,” Tommy replied, pushing his way through the entrance.
He spotted Bethany as soon as he walked through the doors, and he strode purposely toward her. Grabbing hold of her arm, he half-dragged her out to the back office.
“Ow, you’re hurting me,” Bethany protested, once they were in the office and the door had been closed shut behind them.
“Did you go near my wife today, did you?” Tommy shouted.
“Why would I go near your wife?” Bethany lied, knowing full well she had.
“Don’t play games with me. Answer the fucking question. Did you go near my wife?”
Watching the man in front of her warily, Bethany swallowed before answering. “Of course I didn’t. What’s this all about?”
Tommy wiped his hand across his face, before sinking into a chair. “I’m sorry, I just thought … oh it doesn’t matter,” he said, shamefaced.
Bethany crouched down beside him. She placed her hand on his arm, and caressed it gently, before looking up at him and smiling. “No need to apologise.”
He looked down at the woman in front of him. He couldn’t deny he was attracted to her. In a moment of weakness, he pulled her to her feet and leaned in closer. His heart was in his mouth, as their lips almost touched. Sliding his fingertips through her dark hair, he pulled at the silky tendrils. God, he wanted to kiss her. Without even realising what he was doing, he’d swooped in for a kiss. He could taste minty toothpaste, as his tongue explored hers, before pushing her roughly away from him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,” he mumbled.
Tearing his eyes away from her, Tommy felt ashamed with himself. He should never have come here tonight. It was a big mistake putting himself into a room with Bethany, just the two of them alone together.
In amazement, Bethany watched as the man she had fallen in love with, raced out of the office. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. She’d obviously been doing something right. After all, Tommy Carter wouldn’t be able to deny there was definitely a spark between them.
“You all right, Tommy? You’ve been a bit quiet lately.”
Silently, Tommy nodded his head. He had a few things on his mind … things he couldn’t talk to Jimmy about … mainly the situation with Bethany. He’d managed to luckily avoid her ever since their kiss in the office, but still he was plagued with guilt. He just couldn’t, for the life of him, understand what had made him do what he’d done. He loved his wife and always would. He must be weak, he decided. It was a sobering thought.
They were on their way to collect a debt for Davey, and Tommy felt a sense of relief that he was once again doing what he did best, sod the clubs. It was debt collecting that he excelled in.
Stepping on the brakes, Tommy pulled the car up outside a house in Barking. Sat directly opposite Barking Park, the houses were large and grand, nothing like the council houses on Thames View Estate, where they had just come from.
They climbed out of the car and made their way up the path.
“Get a load of these houses,” Jimmy whistled through his teeth. He was clearly impressed. “Must have a bit of dough to own one of these.”
“One day, I’ll have a house like this,” Tommy answered confidently, before knocking heavily on the front door.
When the door was opened, Tommy took one look at the man in front of them and took an instant dislike to him. Without the man even speaking, Tommy knew he would be a pompous old bastard. The type of geezer who would look down his nose at them, all because they weren’t so well off or educated.
“Yes?” Owen Davies squinted at the two young men in front of him.
“We’re here to collect the money you owe to Mr. Abbott.” Tommy leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, after slamming his foot inside the front door, so it couldn’t be closed in their faces.
Owen looked toward his neighbouring houses before answering. He was a man of good stead within the local community, and having riff-raff on his doorstep was bound to give the gossip mongers something to talk about. He wanted to curse himself. A secret gambling addiction had caused him to go to Davey Abbott for a loan. He knew he should have repaid the man months ago, and he swore before God he would have done it, if the horse he’d backed had won the race instead of coming in third.
“Give me a week or so, and I will have the money for Mr. Abbott.”
Tommy shook his head. “That’s not good enough. We want the money today. Right now, in fact,” Tommy replied, pushing his way past Owen, and walking through to the lounge. Looking around him, Tommy couldn’t help but feel impressed. So, this was how the other half lived? The entire contents of the lounge would have cost more than everything his parents had worked all of their lives for to own.
“I don’t have the money now,” Owen stuttered, as he chased after Tommy. He didn’t take his eyes off of the boy. He didn’t trust him to not try and steal something.
“Looks like we’ve got a bit of a dilemma then, doesn’t it? Because we’re not leaving here until you’ve handed over the cash.”
“Like I said, I can get you the money by next week. Now, could you please kindly leave before my wife comes home and finds you both here,” Owen stated, snatching a silver figurine out of Jimmy’s hand, and returning it back to the marble mantelpiece where it belonged.
Tommy looked toward Jimmy, raising his eyebrows as he did so. Clearly this prick didn’t understand the reason for them being here. He lunged forward, his hand around Owen’s throat, and pushed him roughly up against the wall. “Now, I don’t care. In fact, to be more precise, I couldn’t give a shit if you have to beg, steal, or borrow to get what you owe, but we are not leaving this house until we have the cash. Am I making myself understood?”
Owen nodded his head profusely. He could feel his bowels loosening, and he clenched his buttocks tightly together. The last thing he wanted to do was mess himself in front of these two louts, and especially not over the cream carpet he’d paid a small fortune for.
“So,” Tommy said, as he released his grip. “Chop, chop. Go and get the money. We haven’t got all day.” Winking at Jimmy, he then took a seat on the high-backed sofa. Kicking out his legs in front of him, he made himself comfortable.
Near to tears, Owen raced out of the room. He would have to raid his wife’s jewellery box. He had no other choice. How he would explain to Margaret why her gold and diamond rings were missing, he had no idea.
Returning to the room, Owen handed over the gold. “Here, take this. There is more than enough there to cover what I owe.”
Tommy took the proffered goods and weighed them up in his hand. The gold weighed a fair bit. He had to admit, all the same, it wasn’t the cash Davey was expecting.
“Please take it. This jewellery will sell for over one thousand pounds.” Owen could see the young man in front of him faltering. Clearly the boy knew nothing about gold and its worth.
In a quandary, Tommy looked across at Jimmy, who shrugged his shoulders. He knew nothing about gold either. “Okay. We’ll take it, but if Mr. Abbott isn’t happy, we’ll be back.”
Relieved, Owen blinked his eyes rapidly. “Mr. Abbott will be more than happy. I can assure you of that.”
“He better be.” With one last look around the lounge, Tommy indicated for Jimmy to follow him out of the house.
“Jumped up fucking ponce,” Jimmy growled, once the front door had been slammed shut behind them.
“You can say that again, bruv. Come on, let’s get this over to Davey, and I swear to God, if that old bastard has had us over, I’m gonna go ape shit.”
Davey was more than pleased wi
th the haul the two brothers brought back to him. “Well done boys,” he said, as he clapped them on the back as a way of praise. “You both did good.”
Tommy grinned. It was to be his first lesson in the value of gold.
Taking Tommy to one side, Davey leaned toward his ear to speak privately. “Has there been any other problems, in the clubs, or while out collecting?”
Shaking his head, Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Not a dicky bird. Are you still expecting trouble?”
Davey shrugged his own shoulders. “Just keep your ears and eyes to the ground lad, okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Tommy could see that Dean Johnson had clearly rattled his boss. Still, he kept Mad Dog holed up at the betting shop with him for added protection.
“If anything should happen to me, then I want you to go and see my brief, Bernard Cohen. He has something for you.” Pushing a scrap of paper into Tommy’s hand, Davey walked away, and continued chatting to Mad Dog and Jimmy, as though the previous conversation had never taken place.
With a frown, Tommy looked down at the piece of paper. It was an address for Davey’s solicitor. He looked back over his shoulder at his boss, before pushing the paper deep into his jeans pocket.
“Go on then, lads, get yourselves off home. If I have anything else for you, I’ll give you a call.”
Not needing to be told twice, the two brothers left the betting shop, all the while, Tommy’s mind was whirling. He was intrigued as to what it was Bernard Cohen had for him in the event of Davey’s demise.
Returning home, both Tommy and Jimmy were in high spirits. “Shall we go for a pint tonight?” Jimmy asked. “It’s been ages since we had a night out.”
“Yeah we could do, bruv. I’ll tell Stace to get her glad rags on. We’ll make a night of it. Babe, do you fancy a night out?” Tommy began, as he walked through to the lounge before the words caught in his throat.
