Get Even

by Martina Cole

Teddy was like his brother in many ways, though he had more nous than Bobby did in that he seemed more aware of his surroundings. But that could be down to the Grade-A conditions in Belmarsh, of course, which were a bit different to the norm. Grade-A had been brought in for terrorists, mainly IRA, but it was eventually used for anyone the prison system felt was a danger, or who they wanted to teach some kind of lesson. Even the thickest cunt in the world would be hard pushed to miss that much.

  Elton knew immediately that he was dealing with a narcissistic prick who had a bit of a brain, but not too much; he knew he wouldn’t pose a problem. In the world of the Carltons, Elton realised, this man was the real intellectual. And that wasn’t saying too much. He treated him as such because he knew that was what was expected of him. It didn’t mean he liked it, of course. What Elton didn’t allow for was that, for what Teddy lacked in intelligence, he more than made up for in cuteness; you did not get as far as he had by being a complete fucking wanker. He had heard all about the visit to his brother, and he was not impressed. He also knew that Jack Johnson wanted what they had. That wasn’t exactly something he was shocked about – some fucker was bound to; he just had not thought it would be Jack.

  He liked Jack Johnson; he had always been good to them. But Teddy had never seen Jack as a fucking scavenger, scraping around for other people’s fucking downfalls. That was wrong! Jack was a fucking man to emulate and to aspire to. But, Teddy reasoned, that was before he and his brother had been the victims of the capture of a lifetime. Life was running away from them both. They were fucked on so many different levels.

  Teddy was also man enough to admit that once they were sentenced, there was no real hope for their enterprises. They had more chance of getting a wank off Pope fucking Gregory than they did of keeping the businesses in their orbit, not least because there wasn’t one person in the family he would trust enough to run it all.

  But young Elton had his own agenda. Especially now that he had a serious grudge against the Carlton family, thanks to Bobby and his bad attitude. The brothers had looked at him like he was a cunt of Olympian standards. But they were the ones behind bars; all he actually was was the broker for them to get a terrific deal. Because what Jack was offering was far more than anyone else would have.

  Elton smiled widely at Teddy and Teddy, being Teddy, smiled widely back. It occurred to Elton that if they had met under different circumstances they would probably have been friends. He liked the look of the man, his natural friendliness that was so like his own; it was warm and loving though it actually meant nothing. He sensed that Teddy Carlton had sussed him out as easily as he had sussed him. Shame really that they were at odds, but such was the life they lived. He had a job to do, and he was determined to see it through. After all, he worked for Jack Johnson. His wages had been paid and he saw that he was well compensated for his time.

  So, he sat down and he tried to sell Teddy Carlton the deal, even though he knew as well as Jack Johnson, Reggie and Ray did that this was an insult of epic proportions. But, at the end of the day, businesses didn’t run themselves. And what Jack Johnson wanted he usually got – by any means necessary.

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Seven

  Liam and Lenny were out and Sharon was lying down on her bed trying to get a few hours’ sleep. The baby was out for the count and the tiredness had caught up with her. She lay in the darkened room waiting for sleep to claim her but it didn’t come. She sighed and tried once more to get comfortable, but her mind was racing and she couldn’t switch off.

  It was a throwaway remark that Reggie had made that had set her thinking. He had bought the baby a beautiful bracelet – white gold set with tiny diamonds – and Sharon had been thrilled with it. Her relationship with him was better than it had been for years; she could look at him now and not think of him with Lenny. But, as she had made him a cup of tea and they had chatted about the baby and Ray’s elation at his daughter’s birth, Reggie had laughed and said in a jokey voice how Ray was the opposite of Lenny and that could only be a good thing. He had remarked how timely Ray’s arrival had been in her life, and how he seemed to have wanted to look out for her and the boys from the moment he had laid eyes on her. At the time she had not thought much about it, but now it bothered her for some reason that she could not explain. It was silly, and probably nothing to worry about, yet it did worry her for some unknown reason.

  She pushed the thought from her mind and tried to relax herself enough to sleep for a little while. She knew it was important to try and grab a nap when the chance arose because babies and sleeping did not always go together. She was expressing milk so that Ray could do his share of the night feeds and, in fairness to him, he was a natural parent. She could hear Annie moving about in the kitchen and she guessed that she was cooking the evening meal – she really was a fantastic help to her. Ray adored his mother and she couldn’t blame him; the woman was amazing. She felt closer to Ray now that she had spoken so much about him with his mother. Annie lived for her son, and she regaled Sharon with stories of his youth and his childhood. She felt she really knew Ray better than she had before. Annie thought the world of the boys too, and they both loved her but, then again, what was not to love about Annie? She was kind, easy-going and she never interfered. She was a world away from Lesley Scott.

  Sitting up, Sharon lit herself a cigarette and took a long pull on it. If she wasn’t going to sleep, she was determined at least to rest. Someone had told her that it was often as good as a nap. She smoked and thought, her mind continuing to race. Why she was worried about something Reggie had said in complete innocence, she didn’t know. The truth was, sometimes she felt that Ray’s entrance into her life was too providential somehow. A real man was exactly what she had needed – especially after the revelations about Lenny had come to light. Ray arriving on the scene had brought her nothing but good. So why did she sometimes feel it was all a little too perfect to be true? Why was she worrying about something that had only ever been beneficial to her and her sons? Why was she making problems where there weren’t any?

  She sighed heavily and pulled herself out from under the blankets. As she drew back the curtains and light flooded the room, she looked around her, seeing the evidence of her life with Ray everywhere, and smiled sadly. She was a very lucky woman – she had so much and she was so happy. Why did she feel at times that this was all built on quicksand? She believed that Ray loved her dearly, and she loved him with a ferocity that sometimes surprised her. Sexually she had never felt like this before, and the intensity of her emotions still surprised her. They were compatible in every way; why was she plagued with these doubts?

  She pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, and ran a brush through her hair. She was still in good shape even after three kids; if anything, Ray desired her more now than he had before little Kathy’s birth. It had seemed to bring them closer than ever. She shook herself mentally and left the bedroom. She would go down and have a cup of tea and a chat with Annie. She needed to rid herself of these feelings, because they were without any real foundation. She ran lightly down the stairs and wondered if she was suffering from some kind of postnatal depression.

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight

  Elton Mills had tried his best. Ray believed the lad had done all that was asked of him, and he knew in his heart that it would not have mattered who had gone to see the Carlton brothers – the outcome would have been the same. Henry fucking Kissinger could not have made a dent, and that was that.

  Now it seemed Jack Johnson had what he really wanted: a reason to hold a grudge and therefore to take the businesses without a second thought. Ray personally didn’t give a fuck either way, but one thing he was sure of was that one of the Carlton brothers needed to be taken out. All that was left to them now was years of waiting out their lives in a series of different cells. Ray had done nine years and that had not been easy, but time inevitably passed even though it might seem to be crawling.

  Ray had become addicted to Radio 4 in the
nick. He had used the gym to wear himself out physically, and the radio to educate his mind. It had still been a fucking hard old road, because it was the boredom that often caused the worst lows. Depression was rife in prison environments, and the taking of life – either your own or someone else’s – was always a possibility. Petty arguments could quickly become massive feuds, as everything was heightened. Coping in prison was all about a mindset, and he wasn’t sure that Teddy Carlton had the balls for what he was about to endure. Bobby, on the other hand, would probably fare better. He was, at least, a realist, whereas Teddy Carlton didn’t have the savvy to see what the future actually held for him.

  Ray stretched and yawned noisily. He was at the smallholding, and he wanted this latest job over with as quickly as possible; he didn’t like to keep away from his family longer than he had to. It was amazing, really, when he thought about it, just how much his life had changed for the better. It was as if he had finally come alive when he had fallen in love with Sharon Scott. Now it was time for them to get married. The boys wouldn’t mind – they would want it as much as he did. Sharon would relish the chance to arrange it. It wasn’t like they had never discussed it, they had just never got round to it.

  It would be a church wedding, of course, and it could be as large or as small as Sharon wanted. He relished the thought of taking the name Scott away from her, and making her a Donovan. He wondered if he should ask the boys if they wanted to change their names; after all, he was, to all intents and purposes, their father now and they called him ‘Dad’.

  He heard a deep groaning coming from the basement and sighed. He finished his tea and, after washing up the mug, he made his way down into the cellar. The smell of blood was overwhelming but he didn’t really notice it. The man he was dealing with was watching him with frightened eyes. Ray ignored him. His victim had raped a serious Face’s young daughter, and that needed to be paid for by the man responsible. The police were never called in, and this was to be kept hush-hush. That was fine with Ray. All he needed to be told was the name of his victim and that Jack Johnson wanted to see the ponce suffer and suffer. And so he would.

  As Ray picked up a small pair of pliers, he saw the man attempting to break free of his bonds. It was a futile gesture, of course, but Ray reasoned it was the human need for survival that kept the hope in his victim’s eyes alive. He was whistling between his teeth and decided to wrap this up quickly. He would take a photo of the man’s body, to be passed on to the relevant parties, and get himself home to that lovely woman of his. He set about his task; he was getting bored now.

  Twenty minutes later the man was breathing his last, and Ray watched the light leaving his one good eye, the other eye having been removed earlier by Ray himself. Then he set about the clean-up operation and the disposal of the body. This had been a lucrative and enjoyable few hours. Now he hoped to get back in time to give his little Kathy her night feed.

  Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine

  Lesley Scott could not sleep. Ever since she had heard about the child born to Sharon and that Ray she had felt utter devastation. No matter what she did, Sharon Conway was somehow still blessed. Lesley had been praying on a daily basis for that whore to be taken down in some way but all she seemed to do was go onwards and upwards. Her son’s children called this man ‘Dad’; it was as if, between them, they had edited her handsome son out of their lives altogether. She felt the tears of anger and frustration constantly.

  They lived behind gates in a huge house and they seemed to have endless supplies of money while she was hard pushed to stretch her meagre savings to pay all her bills. Her husband might have died but she still used the same amount of gas and electricity. Lesley felt like she was being thwarted on every level. Her life was getting worse, while that whore’s was getting better by the day. There had to be some kind of retribution, surely? God could not, in all conscience, let that bitch prosper. He would have to punish her. That was what kept her going: knowing that at some point Sharon would get her well-deserved comeuppance. And, when she did, Lesley would feel that her son’s death had finally been paid for.

  She had lost so much, so very much. Her family had been decimated and that whore seemed to be replenishing her so-called family all the while. Her family was growing, getting bigger – they even had that man’s mother living with them. She felt the sting of tears thinking of her handsome grandsons calling another woman ‘Nanny’ and another man ‘Dad’. Life could be so raw, so cruel and so unfair. But she was determined to see the day her daughter-in-law finally paid for her actions.

  Chapter One Hundred and Fifty

  Jack Johnson was unable to sleep and that was annoying him no end. He had lost a measure of respect for going after the Carlton brothers. His anger was beneath him in many ways, but the brothers had always irritated him; if he was honest, it was because they had achieved against all the odds. They were thick as shit, and twice as stupid, as his old mum would say, and yet he had always coveted what they had.

  Years ago he had been given first refusal on their businesses and he had declined the offer. Turned out that was a really stupid fucking thing to do. A fucking retard could have made money off it, which is why the Carlton brothers had done so well. He knew that he was being petty but he could not help it. They were so fucking stupid but they had seen something he had not. Now they were looking at such a big lump, they would have paid for their burial plots long before they got parole.

  He heard the door open; it would be Ray Donovan telling him that he had fulfilled his latest job. Ray was a fucking Brahma. He was that strange mixture of nice bloke and raving fucking nutcase. Jack had sensed his forte the first time he met him – he had crossed paths with people like him before, even though they were a rare breed. Frankie Fraser had had it – the aura of danger that told you that the person you were dealing with wasn’t on the same page as everyone else. If he was honest, Ray frightened him, because he was capable of doing damage to anyone – even people he liked. He enjoyed his work, and that was why he was so good at it.

  ‘All right, Jack?’

  Jack Johnson forced a smile on his face. He didn’t want to talk to him tonight. Jack wasn’t squeamish but he knew that Ray, the new father, the man who acted like Dad of the Year, had spent a lot of time torturing someone for money. Tonight that bothered Jack and made him wonder what else he was capable of. He still poured him a drink, though; he knew what was expected.

  Jack picked up a holdall and passed it to Ray and saw a smile of satisfaction cross his face. Ray loved money – cold, hard cash. Jack knew he had no right to feel so disgusted with this man; after all, he was his broker. He made sure he had work. But tonight, seeing the pleasure on Ray’s face made him feel uneasy. No one should enjoy inflicting pain that much. But, then again, the fact that Ray could do what he did was why they were earning fortunes. Lenny Scott had had his fucking problems – Jack knew that better than anyone – but seeing Ray with Sharon and the kids genuinely frightened him. Someone once said, you can know too much about people, and never was a truer word spoken. The more he got to know Ray Donovan, the more he worried that Sharon Scott had made the biggest mistake of her life. They seemed happy – they had a child and they were getting married, by all accounts. He wholeheartedly believed that Ray would never turn his particular talents on his wife-to-be and her children, but there was still that niggling worry that he’d been wrong to encourage Sharon and Ray in the first place.

  He sighed heavily. He was getting old, that was the trouble. As you aged, you saw problems where none previously existed. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Ray was changing somehow and Jack wasn’t so sure it was for the good.

  ‘I wrapped that cunt up early, Jack.’ Ray grinned good-naturedly. ‘I can’t wait to get home to the new baby! Honestly, if someone had told me I would feel like this, I would never have believed them! It’s like I’ve finally grown up or something.’

  Jack smiled at the man he was beginning to think wasn’t as stable
as he had first thought. He shook himself mentally. This was Ray Donovan, who was a good worker and who was also a terrific earner.

  ‘You all right, Jack? You look like you’re sickening for something.’

  Jack shook his head and poured them both another glass of Chivas Regal.

  Ray noticed that the man’s hands were shaking, and he was nonplussed for a few moments. This was Jack Johnson, the hard man, the London Face. Recently he had not seemed himself, though, and that was getting noticed by others as well. Reggie had said he seemed to be getting frail and Ray thought that was a very accurate description. But looks, as Ray knew better than anyone, could be deceiving.

  ‘Oh, I nearly forgot, Jack. Here are the Polaroids for the client. Tell him I had that fucker screaming for mercy.’

  Jack took the photos but he didn’t look at them; he placed them in a drawer of his desk and shut it firmly.

  ‘It was a really easy one this time. Bloke didn’t see it coming. He actually got in the car without a murmur. Fucking nonce. I tell you, Jack, I was tempted to do that one as a favour.’

  Jack sipped his whisky and watched as Ray chatted. He was always on a high after a kill like this; the man was a natural-born predator. Jack was old-school: a good hiding, or even the removal of someone you needed removed, was part and parcel of their livelihoods. As was extreme violence, but to prove a point, not torture. Violence for the sake of it didn’t appeal to Jack – not on this scale anyway.

  Ray was now back on the subject of his family and Jack could hear the genuine adoration in his voice for those boys who he saw as his own. It was funny, but Jack would not have believed a man of Ray’s temperament could be capable of real love. To listen to him, you could be in no doubt that he worshipped his family. Again, Jack was attacked with a stroke of conscience, because when he listened to Ray talking it all sounded wonderful. It was when you looked into his eyes that you realised there was blankness there that was not evident to anyone who didn’t know him very well. It occurred to Jack that Ray was like an actor playing a part and, in fairness, he seemed to be playing this particular part very well. But what would happen when he decided he didn’t want to be the big, benevolent father and husband any more?