‘I’m real sorry Babsie.’ Pearl’s voice was listless as she hung her head in shame.
The stab of betrayal left her feeling sick to the tips of her toes. ‘But I don’t understand.’
‘Effing well look at her, you dozy, treacherous cow,’ Knox growled.
Pearl levelled her bloodshot eyes on Babs. ‘That day I was in your cell it went off under your mattress. We had a giggle about it being . . . well, you know what.’ She sniffed loudly. ‘Course I knew what it was.’
Babs got mad. ‘How. Could. You.’
Pearl swallowed. ‘Bradley said if I ever heard or saw anything to drop a little whisper in her ear and she’d personally write to my eldest daughter to say what a good woman I am. You know I’m getting out in a couple of days.’ Tears gathered in her eyes. ‘I ain’t seen my kids or grandkids for ever such a long time—’
Knox furiously cut in, ‘That’s because you dumped them all in a home so you could go gallivanting off with your new fancy man as you played your mystic Madam Pearl routine.’ She made a nasty sound at the back of her throat. ‘Well, Madam Pearl should’ve thought about keeping her kids.’
Pearl’s face crumbled. ‘I was stupid and young. As soon as I saw the error of my ways I came and got them out of there.’ Her shoulders shook. ‘But they never saw me the same way again.’
Knox huffed loudly in disgust. Babs inhaled wildly when she produced a homemade blade. ‘It’s time for this loose-lipped cunt to pay the piper.’ She raised her eyes heavenwards. ‘May God and all his angels and saints forgive me.’
Babs wasn’t sure what horrified her the most – Knox showing reverence and respect at being in God’s house or the shank wickedly ready for action in her hand. ‘Bloody hell, you’re not gonna do her in?’
‘Snitches need stitches,’ one of the other women said gleefully.
With deadly intent Knox approached the old woman. ‘I’m gonna carve you from ear to mouth on both sides of your face.’ Pearl began crying openly. ‘Then everyone’s gonna know that you’re the kind of woman who speaks from both sides of her mouth.’
Babs couldn’t stand this any longer. ‘I’m not having this. Stop it now.’
Knox turned on her. ‘Helloooo! I don’t take orders from no one.’
Babs stretched her neck. ‘Not even from our mutual friend on the outside?’
A muscle twitched in the other woman’s cheek. Babs hated to admit it, forever thinking of Kieran as that cute, needy lad she had saved, but truth was he was a force to be reckoned with.
‘You cross me that means you cross him,’ she added in a hard, I’m-gonna-get-my-way tone.
Both women stared at each other, their gazes clashing. Babs had no doubt she would get the upper hand; not many people wanted to go to battle with Kieran Scott. Well, not if you wanted to live to tell the tale.
But she had spent enough years in the slammer to know that the best way to do your time was forming good relationships with others, and shoving Kieran into Knox’s face had the potential to make her lose her crew’s respect. Queen Bitch might back off now but she would hold a grudge against Babs as long as she remained in here.
So she sweetened Knox up with a blinding smile. ‘You’re a top bird and top dog and I’m gonna make it my personal mission to let our friend on the out know how much you went outta your way for me.’ She winked. ‘I’ll make sure he sends you an extra special little drink while you’re in here.’
It did the trick because Paula Benson swaggered over to Babs, back to being queen of HMP castle. ‘No problem Babs. What you gonna do with blabber mouth there?’
‘I’ll make sure she’ll never think of grassing anyone up again.’
Knox turned an evil eye on the still snivelling Pearl. ‘I say you should still cut her, but I know that ain’t your way.’ She looked back to Babs. ‘You’ve got five mins max before the kangas realise you ain’t where you should be.’ She clicked her fingers at her girls, but before she left she bent her knee and made the sign of the cross.
Pearl gazed pleadingly at Babs. ‘I didn’t mean it. I swear.’
Babs clipped out, ‘Course you meant it, you old fool. You’ve been on this earth long enough to know that doing a wrong don’t make a right.’
Pearl clutched Babs’ hand tight. ‘I haven’t got long left in here, but I swear I’ll do anything you ask. Anything.’
Babs looked her dead in the eyes. ‘I know you will. That’s why I want you do something special for me when you get out.’
Twenty-Four
Dee tossed her taser into the laundry basket while John dumped the pistol in Nicky’s gym bag. He wasn’t worried about the house being searched. He knew the law had no grounds for a warrant. He warned his son, ‘Keep your gob shut.’
Then he came downstairs at a jaunty pace to find two plain clothes being kept firmly outside by Dee. She was looking daggers at them and then at him and then at them again. He gave her the nod that he’d sorted out the shooter.
‘So gents, how can I help you?’ John asked, all sunshine and smiles.
He recognised one of the cops from his days in the bizz. He was Detective Sergeant Borne then, although he’d probably been promoted by now. John remembered him as a by-the-book cop but a bit slow-witted. Just the sort of officer of the law he liked.
They introduced themselves. Borne was now a Detective Inspector. The other one, Crane, was a DS. Borne either didn’t remember him or was pretending not to. ‘Mr Black, we’d like to have a word with you please.’
‘Of course, always delighted to help officers of the law. Is this about them travellers on our neighbour’s land?’
Borne shook his head. ‘No sir, we’re part of the team investigating the theft of a consignment of bullion.’ His gaze bore into John. ‘Perhaps you read about it in the press? It’s been quite widely reported.’
Sarky! John sometimes wondered if they included a special sarky course when they trained them up at Hendon.
John paid him back in kind. ‘Bullion job? Bullion job? Nah, I don’t think so . . . Oh yeah, I remember now; I saw it on the news.’ He looked over at Dee. ‘Do you remember love, you called me in from the bar to tell me all about it.’ He turned back to the detective. ‘Was it worth a lot of money then? They didn’t say on the channel I was watching.’
Borne gave him a grim look. ‘We don’t have a final figure yet but it was quite a lot of money, yes.’
‘That’s very reprehensible I’m sure, but I don’t see what it’s got to do with me.’
‘Just a few questions sir. So we can eliminate you from our enquiries.’
John checked his wife again. He winced slightly. No doubt about it, she was fizzing with fury. But it was difficult to tell if she was angry with the Bill for suspecting him or angry with him for being a suspect.
She spat, ‘He ain’t done nuthin. Why don’t you piss off?’
John raised his hands to calm the situation. The last thing he needed was volcano Dee creating. Plus, he had to play the helpful citizen to put Starsky and Hutch here off the scent. ‘Alright sweetheart, there’s nuthin to worry about here, we’ll soon sort this out. Gents, why don’t you accompany us to our morning room and I’ll answer any questions to your complete satisfaction. Dee, could you sort out some teas for these gentlemen?’
‘Like fucking hell I will.’ She kissed her teeth.
John didn’t have the time to bring her around, so as soon as they entered the hallway he yelled up the stairs, ‘Nicky. Come here.’ His son appeared, a right strop on his face.
Nicky complained, ‘I was doing a bit of work—’
‘Ditch that for now son. Sort a pot of tea and biccies out for these boys, will ya?’
In the morning room, John couldn’t have been more helpful although he’d tried and failed to get Dee to make herself scarce. She sat on her leopard-print chaise longue glowering at all three of them.
To the obvious first question, ‘Where was I when the bullion job was done? Well, I dunno, do I?
When did it happen?’ When he was given a timeframe to provide an alibi for, John looked defensive. ‘I dunno. I could have been anywhere.’ He looked at Dee. ‘Can you remember where I was?’ She stayed silent. He scratched his head. ‘I know I was out somewhere . . .’
The two cops had suddenly become very interested, as John had intended, so he could enjoy himself all the more when he told them. ‘Hold up, I know where I was. I was at a committee meeting for ESCSA.’
‘ESCSA?’
‘The Essex Stray Cats Support Association – ESCSA. That’s where I was.’ He looked lovingly over at Dee. ‘My missus is a real cat lover and after her Banshee was taken off to cat heaven she wanted us to show our support. Would have done it herself but it makes her upset, know what I mean?’
‘Stray cats sir?’
John was confident now. ‘Yeah, that’s right.’ He shook his head in sorrow. ‘You wouldn’t believe the number of strays around here living on the edge and needing help. Of course, I contribute financially but it’s not enough is it? You’ve got to put some time in as well.’
John couldn’t figure out from the expression on the other man’s face whether he believed him, but it didn’t matter, his alibi put him in the clear. ‘I see sir, very commendable. Is there anyone who could confirm your whereabouts?’
John reeled off a list of various local worthies who’d been at the meeting. They included a justice of the peace, a vicar’s wife, the sister of a wealthy landowner in the area and a fella with an OBE at the end of his name. It was a ball slammed in the back of the net moment.
Borne closed his notebook. ‘They’ll be happy to confirm your attendance at this meeting?’
‘Course they will. Unless they were involved in the bullion job themselves.’ He laughed and winked. ‘To be honest, that vicar’s wife looks a bit dodgy to me. You might wanna pop round and ask her a few pointed questions – have her floorboards up and see what occurs.’
Borne’s face turned stony. ‘You think this is funny Mister Black?’
John was sitting pretty. ‘Anything else fellas?’
Borne did have something else. ‘Alright John, I’ll level with you. You know as well as I do that there are only a handful of guys in this country who could have pulled off a blag as cheeky as that one. And there’s an even smaller number of guys who’d know how to clean the gold up, filter the yellow back into the system and turn it back into cash.’
‘And?’
‘You’re one of that handful, aren’t you? You’re not telling me you haven’t heard any rumours about who was behind this? I’ll buy the idea you were looking after our furry friends when it happened but not that you haven’t heard any whispers about who was behind it. Come on John – help us out – what have you heard?’
‘Look officer, I weren’t involved and I ain’t heard any tales about who was. You see, I’m retired now and I don’t wanna know. I don’t care about the young pups these days but I’m guessing it was one of them. I’m out of the game. Check your intelligence reports – they’ll tell you.’
Borne reached into his wallet and took out a card. ‘If you do hear anything – anything – you’ll give us a ring, yeah?’
John took the card while Dee eagerly showed the boys in blue out.
Her face was troubled when she came back. ‘John, you better tell me the honest to God’s truth, do you know anything about this job?’
He stared back at her as if she’d just landed on planet Earth. ‘What do you take me for, eh? Even if I was back in the life, do you think I’d try to pull off a wanker’s job like this?’
Her stare turned worried. ‘We’re alright babes, ain’t we? We’ve got plenty of wang sloshing around?’
‘If there’s one thing I know how to do it’s turn a penny into a pound.’ God forgive me, he prayed, hoping that she never discovered the truth. He made his eyes sparkle. ‘Now, if I remember, before the Bill came a-knocking we were gonna do some a-knocking of our own.’
Dee giggled as she sashayed towards him, forgetting all about the accusations she’d thrown at him. She hooked her pinkie in his belt and with a saucy wink led him up the stairs.
After John had left an unusually wiped out Dee in bed he made a call in the huge back garden.
‘Lad, it’s me. The plod have just been around . . .’
‘Whatcha tell ’em?’
‘That I know fuck all about the robbery, which is the truth. I weren’t physically there. But they wanted to know if I’d heard any whispers about how it was going to be gotten rid of.’
Kieran paused on the other end of the line. ‘John, you need to sort out a place—’
‘I’ve found somewhere no one will stick their snout into, but I’ve got to get all my ducks in a row.’
‘John—’
‘Be patient laddie. All the best things come to those who wait.’
‘I know fuck all about the robbery, which is the truth. I weren’t physically there.’
Kieran mulled over what John said as he stood on the balcony of his plush pad in Chelsea. And he didn’t like it. It was almost as if John was already covering his back if there was trouble.
‘Trust no one in this business.’
He hung onto what John had told him years ago as his expression darkened.
Twenty-Five
Jen nearly bottled it when she reached the expensive Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf at seven. She was meeting Naz and two businessmen for a double date. She didn’t think she could go through with it. Then she heard the teen counsellor, Sally Foxton’s voice in her head:
‘My fees are eighty pounds an hour.’
She could sort all Courtney’s problems out; all she needed was money. Jen determinedly shoved all doubts from her mind. Naz had told her to look like a knockout and she was worried that she hadn’t hit the mark. Self-consciously she pulled down the hem of the black number she wore, hoping that it didn’t look like what it was – something she’d picked up down The Lane two years back from a guy who specialised in designer clobber that fell off the back of a lorry.
Right girl, here you go. She straightened her shoulders and tipped her head back and walked in with an outward confidence she was desperate to feel inside. She spotted Naz waiting for her by the low-lit bar. Jen felt like a total scrubber when she caught the classy long royal blue dress the other woman was decked out in. It had a plunging neckline and a cropped front that showcased her stunning legs and black stilettos. The handle of a sparkly evening bag was looped elegantly over her wrist while Jen held on to the pink clutch bag Tiff had bought her for her birthday.
Naz assessed her and beamed. ‘Don’t you look a right picture.’
Jen groaned. ‘More like Frankenstein’s bride.’
‘Stop putting yourself down. It always makes a much better evening if we girls appear very different, show these guys that there’s more than one type of English rose.’
To Jen’s horror, Naz reached over, put her palms under her breasts and plumped them up.
‘What the fuck you doing?’ Embarrassed, Jen peered around to make sure no one was looking.
‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Our guys don’t want to think they’re having an evening out with some bird from Blue Peter.’
‘So, who are these fellas?’
Naz’s face lit up. ‘Kareem and Hari are from India. They own a very successful IT company. I’ve been out with Kareem a couple of times. A total sweetie and most importantly,’ she whispered the rest gleefully in Jen’s ear, ‘he doesn’t scrimp on chucking the wonga around.’
‘So how much am I gonna clear tonight?’
Something about Naz’s face changed but Jen couldn’t put her finger on what. All the powder and paint Naz wore suddenly seemed like a mask; only her lush, brown eyes had any life in them. ‘We’ll get that all finalised later.’
Jen wouldn’t be put off. ‘I’ll need to clear a good seventy.’ Being greedy wasn’t her style but getting a cab here hadn’t come cheap.
Na
z threw her a sly look. ‘Oh, you’ll be tucking a load more than that in your purse, if you play your cards right.’ She ended on a wink.
Jen frowned. What did that mean? But before she could find out the other woman took her hand and led her into the dining area. Jen gazed around at the candle-lit room in wonder. How the other half lived. What must it be like to have this life on tap every day of the week?
A man in a black suit and bow tie greeted them with, ‘This way ladies.’
Jen became confused as she realised he was taking them to the back of the room. ‘Where we going?’ she whispered.
Naz raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her. ‘You didn’t think we’d be eating with the riff-raff? I only go with men who take me out in style.’
Jen’s excitement grew as they reached a door, which opened to reveal a stunning small room with a fireplace, crystal chandelier and a beautifully set table. Jen had never seen so much cutlery in her life.
Kareem and Hari got to their feet. They were in their late fifties, not lookers by any stretch of the imagination but their suits were definitely top drawer. Naz was right, these two had a lot of readies to flash around.
After Naz did a round of introductions, Hari took Jen’s hand and dropped a soft kiss on the back of it. Her mouth shaped into an O. No one had ever done that to her before and she should take it as a compliment, but all she could think was he had enough hair on the back of his hand to make himself a toupee.
Naz spent much of the night chatting with Kareem, which left Jen with hairy hand Hari. She found it painfully awkward at first, so when the Dom Perignon started popping she knocked it back to loosen up. She was surprised that he kept his hands to himself and talked ever so swell in a cut glass voice. Half way through the dinner she was enjoying herself. It had been years since any man had paid her over-the-top compliments like Hari.
Your eyes remind me of the beautiful sky.
Your skin is soft as silk.
Your voice is a ray of sunshine.
Yeah, pure bollocks; Jen wasn’t kidding herself. But, oh, what a chuffed feeling it gave her just to hear someone saying cracking things about her. Made her feel like a woman again. A real woman. Not the skivvy who ironed other people’s clothes or swiped other people’s reward cards at the supermarket.
Blood Daughter: Flesh and Blood Trilogy Book Three (Flesh and Blood series) Page 14
