by Caz Finlay
‘Yep, and he’s not very happy,’ Jerry replied as he glared at his two companions, making Craig wonder what else was going on.
‘Well, if he has the time, I’d be happy to meet with him and apologise in person,’ Craig offered. In prison he’d got on well with Alastair, who had seen the potential in him. Craig hoped that his offer to meet face to face would go some way to redeeming himself.
‘We’ll see. He’s going to be busy, I expect,’ Jerry replied, absent-mindedly rubbing his beard.
Craig’s curiosity was piqued even further now.
‘Well, we haven’t got all day, lads,’ Jerry said. ‘Make it quick.’
Craig looked up as the two goons approached him. ‘What the fuck? I gave you your money,’ he shouted.
‘But only after we had to come up here and get it,’ Jerry reminded him. ‘You’re lucky I’m not taking your eyeball as a souvenir for my trouble.’ Then he turned to his associates. ‘Leave him walking and talking, lads. Mr McGrath may have use for him yet, and you don’t want to end up in any more trouble, do you?’ he said. Then with a final nod, he left the kitchen leaving his two heavies to it.
Craig reeled backwards off the chair, landing on the floor with a thud as the first punch connected with his jaw. Instinctively he pulled his arms and legs into his body, closing his eyes and bracing himself for the onslaught. But none came. He listened as the two men smashed up his kitchen. Then with a few final kicks to his arms and legs, they left.
Sitting up, dazed from the blow, and with his head spinning, Craig surveyed the damage to the kitchen. Gemma was going to have a fit. But he was alive. And he was relatively unscathed. He’d taken a worse beating than that from his own dad back in the day. To top it off, he was going into business with John Brennan. Craig smiled. His life was finally back on track.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grace checked in on Belle and Oscar before going downstairs. As she walked into the hallway, Michael was coming through the front door. He walked towards her, his damp hair stuck to his forehead and his T-shirt clinging to his skin with sweat. If that wasn’t enough to set her pulse racing, he was also wearing shorts that showed off his muscular, toned legs. Grace grinned at him.
‘And I thought you looked good in a suit!’
‘Are you perving at me?’ he asked with a twinkle in his eye as he dropped his gym bag onto the floor.
‘I didn’t know you were going boxing. You haven’t done that for ages.’
‘Connor asked me. He’s been missing sparring with Paul – and Jake.’
‘Oh yes, he must be,’ Grace said as she approached him. ‘Well, tell him you’ll spar with him any time as long as you come home looking like this,’ she laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaling the smell of his Tom Ford aftershave mixed with fresh sweat.
‘Are you kidding? He kicked my arse,’ Michael replied as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
‘Aw. Poor you. Would you like to me kiss anything better?’ Grace asked.
‘Well, actually…’ he began, then his mobile phone started ringing. ‘For fuck’s sake,’ he muttered.
‘Ignore it,’ Grace whispered, but then hers started ringing too.
Stepping apart, they each checked their phones.
‘It’s Jazz,’ Michael said with a worried look on his face.
‘Webster,’ Grace added as her heart started to pound in her chest.
Grace answered the call, aware of Michael speaking to Jazz in the background. She stepped into the kitchen so she could focus on the one conversation.
‘Grace,’ Webster said when she answered and there was something about the tone of his voice that made Grace take a seat. ‘Jake and Connor have been arrested.’
‘Again?’ Grace said with a sigh.
‘Yes, but this time they’re going to be charged.’
Grace’s heart started beating violently. She could hear the blood thundering in her ears. ‘With murder?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What’s changed? Is there new evidence?’
‘Something about a partial fingerprint was all I heard,’ Webster replied.
‘Christ! So, they’ll be remanded straightaway then?’
‘Yep. I’m sorry, Grace. There was nothing I could do…’
‘I know. Thanks for letting me know,’ she replied with as much composure as she could muster.
After Grace ended the call, she could still hear Michael talking in the hallway. His voice was calm and soothing and she realised that he would be trying to calm Jazz down. She was almost eight and a half months pregnant and Connor was about to go to prison. Grace closed her eyes and swallowed the bile as it rose in her throat. The reality of the situation was sinking in. There was a strong possibility that Jake and Connor could go down for life. Even if Faye Donovan could come up with some mitigation they’d both be looking at about fifteen years each before they’d be eligible for parole. It was incomprehensible. There had to be something they could do.
Grace was still sitting with her eyes closed when Michael fell silent. She heard his footsteps entering the kitchen. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him.
‘Jazz is distraught,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I said she could stay with us for a while. I’ll phone our Sean and ask him to pick her up.’
Grace nodded. ‘Of course. She needs to be around family.’
Michael walked over to her and put his arms around her. Grace clung onto him.
‘God, Michael, they’ll be on their way to prison in the morning.’
‘I know,’ he said quietly.
‘I can’t believe this has happened. I knew they were under investigation, but I thought we’d be able to fix it somehow.’
‘There’s still time. We’ll get them out. It will be okay,’ he said as he pulled her tighter to him and stroked her hair. Grace nodded, her cheek brushing against his T-shirt. It was nice to have someone else say that for a change. Usually it was she who had to be strong and tell everyone things would work out. She supposed that was why she and Michael made such a good team. He knew exactly when she needed him to pick up the slack, if only for a short while.
After a few moments, Grace disentangled herself from Michael’s embrace. ‘Do you want to phone Sean to pick up Jazz? I’ll go and make sure one of the spare rooms is set up for her.’
‘Yeah, I’ll give him a ring now. Are you okay?’
‘No, and I won’t be until our boys are back home here they belong. But we’ve come through worse than this, haven’t we? Let’s get Jazz here and settled, get a good night’s sleep and then we can plan our next move tomorrow.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Michael replied.
One hour later and Michael’s brother Sean was carrying in the many bags and giant maternity pillow that Jazz had brought with her, while Grace comforted her future daughter-in-law in the living room.
‘Will you get them out, Grace?’ Jazz asked through floods of tears.
Grace put an arm around Jazz’s shoulder. ‘I’ll certainly do my best. If there is a way to get them home, then I’ll find it.’
‘But not before the baby’s born?’ Jazz sniffed. ‘Connor will miss our baby being born.’
‘We’ll see. Who knows how long it will be before that little fella makes an appearance. It could be another four weeks yet if you go over.’
Jazz nodded and wiped her eyes with the tissue Grace had given her. ‘Maybe. My mum was late with me.’
Grace couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the birth of her three children. ‘Jake and Oscar were both overdue by a couple of weeks. Belle was early though. I like to think it was because she couldn’t wait to arrive. My waters broke while I was driving home from the supermarket. I detoured to the hospital and she was born just over two hours later. The quickest labour of the three of them.’
Michael and Sean walked into the living room as Grace was finishing her sentence. Talking about the babies seemed to have perked Jazz up a littl
e at least.
‘Were you there for all of your kids’ births, Michael?’ she asked.
Sean almost choked on fresh air and started to cough awkwardly before sitting down.
‘For the twins, and for Oscar’s, yes,’ Michael answered as he sat on one of the armchairs.
‘But not Belle’s?’ Jazz asked. A perfectly innocent question in her eyes, no doubt.
‘No,’ he replied sharply.
After an awkward silence, Sean spoke up. ‘Anyone fancy a drink?’
‘What is it? I feel like I’m missing something,’ Jazz asked as she looked around at them all.
‘Do you want to tell this story, or shall I?’ Michael asked Grace.
Grace took a deep breath. ‘Michael wasn’t there when Belle was born because he didn’t know I was pregnant. At least not with his baby, anyway.’
‘What?’ Jazz said, her eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘I thought you two had been together since before Belle. I mean, you know, properly together?’
‘Nope,’ Michael said.
‘After Jake’s dad died, I moved away to Harewood. I didn’t even know I was pregnant until after I’d gone.’
‘But you still didn’t tell Michael?’ Jazz asked in surprise.
‘Well, it wasn’t quite that simple,’ Grace explained. From the corner of her eye she saw Michael shake his head. She went on. ‘Michael was married to Hannah then.’
‘Oh?’ Jazz said with a smile. ‘How didn’t I know this about you two? You pair of dark horses. So, you had a passionate affair.’
‘Not quite,’ Grace interrupted her. ‘It was one time. We promised it would never happen again, and then I moved away.’
‘So, how did you find out Belle was yours?’ Jazz asked animatedly as she looked at Michael.
‘I came back to Liverpool when she was almost nine months old, and well, it was pretty hard to keep it a secret then.’
‘Did you freak out that Grace had had your baby and not told you?’ Jazz asked Michael.
‘I think I handled it pretty well,’ he replied and both Sean and Grace laughed out loud, Grace recalling how understandably livid he’d been when he’d discovered that she’d kept Belle a secret from him. He’d vowed that he would never speak to her again.
‘Was Hannah furious?’ Jazz asked.
‘We’d separated by the time I found out about Belle. But I’m sure she was, yes,’ Michael replied.
‘God. I can’t believe Connor never told me this.’
‘Well, it wasn’t exactly our finest hour, was it, love?’ Michael said as he winked at Grace.
‘Nope. We mostly try and pretend it never happened now,’ Grace said with a grin.
‘And here’s me asking all of these questions. I’m sorry,’ Jazz said.
‘Oh, don’t worry about it. Each time we tell this story, Michael gets a little less annoyed with me,’ Grace said. ‘One day he might even laugh about it.’
‘Don’t push your luck, Mrs Carter,’ he said with a smile.
‘And at least it’s given us something else to talk about,’ Grace added.
‘I need to get back,’ Sean said as he stood up. ‘But can I have a quick word?’ He looked at Michael and Grace, who both nodded and followed him out of the living room.
‘I’ve got some of that peppermint tea you like, Jazz, do you fancy a cup?’ Grace asked on her way out.
‘That would be lovely. Thanks, Grace,’ she said with a faint smile as she sat on the sofa, rubbing her large bump.
As soon as they were in the hallway and out of Jazz’s earshot, Sean turned to Grace and Michael. ‘So, what happens now?’ he asked quietly.
‘The boys will be held in a police cell overnight to appear at the Magistrates tomorrow morning. Then they’ll be remanded into custody. Faye will do her job and argue for bail, but they’ll never get it on a murder charge. Especially not with our family’s reputation,’ Grace answered.
‘And what can we do about it?’ Sean asked.
‘The investigation seems to rest on a key witness, who I suspect is Scott Johnson, the youngest brother.’
‘Do you need us to take care of him?’ Sean asked.
‘Not like that,’ Grace answered. ‘Although I thought you were a respectable businessman now?’
‘I’ll be anything you two need me to be to get the lads out,’ he said solemnly.
‘Well, let’s hope it won’t ever come to that. I’m not sure offing the investigation’s key witness does a lot to help Jake and Connor’s cause, Sean,’ Grace replied.
‘I beg to differ,’ Sean said.
Michael put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘Look, Grace had a plan to get Scott to change his statement some other way. Let’s try that first, and if it doesn’t work…’
‘We’ll bury the bastard so deep he won’t be found until the next ice age?’ Sean offered.
‘Something like that,’ Grace replied with a smile.
Later in bed, Grace was lying with her head on Michael’s shoulder. ‘I wish you had been there when Belle was born,’ she said.
‘So do I.’
‘She didn’t cry, you know? She was born smiling, that kid. They laid her on my chest and I couldn’t believe how beautiful she was.’
‘Well, she would be, with you for a mum.’ He pulled her closer to him.
‘Actually, she looked just like you.’
He laughed. ‘Poor kid. At least she’s gorgeous now though.’
Grace gave him a playful shove. ‘She always has been. I am sorry you weren’t there though, you know?’
‘I know you are,’ he said quietly.
‘So, have you finally forgiven me?’ she asked, aware that they’d never really spoken about it since they’d started seeing each other again.
‘I forgave you a long time ago,’ he replied as he planted a kiss on the top of her head. ‘You know that.’
Grace smiled and closed her eyes. ‘I do now,’ she whispered.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Grace noticed that Michael was quiet as they sat in the back room of Grazia’s restaurant in Crosby village, waiting for the infamous Alastair McGrath to make an appearance. It had been the first restaurant that Grace and Sean had opened together, many years before. At the time, it had been their pride and joy and a huge success. It was still busy and gave them a decent return, but it paled in comparison to their bigger and more successful restaurants. However, it still had a special place in Grace’s heart and always would. It had been the first legitimate business venture that she’d nurtured from the outset, and it had given her the bug. It was opening Grazia’s that had made her realise she had a good head for business.
Grace had been made aware that the two idiots responsible for smashing up Jake’s club had buggered off back to Essex with their tails between their legs, but that wasn’t enough as far as she and her family were concerned. They had taken a massive liberty, and if they got away scot free then it would send a message that anyone could just walk into The Blue Rooms and do whatever the hell they wanted. With Jake and Connor locked up, it was more important than ever that nobody was seen to be taking the piss.
‘You okay?’ Grace asked her husband.
He looked at her and shrugged. ‘We know nothing about this fella. He could turn up here with a firm and a semi-automatic for all we know.’
‘I don’t think he’s going to pull anything in a crowded restaurant in the middle of the afternoon, Michael.’
‘Well, let’s hope so, eh?’ he replied.
Before she could answer there was a knock at the door and the waitress opened it. ‘Your guests are here, Mrs Carter,’ she said, smiling at them.
Grace and Michael stood as two men walked into the room. Both of them were in their mid-fifties and dressed in suits. One of them was tall and well built. He had a scar running across the left side of his face. The other was smaller in stature but no less imposing. He had an air of arrogance about him that Grace recognised well and she suspected that he was A
lastair McGrath.
‘Mr and Mrs Carter,’ he said as he extended his hand to shake.
Grace shook his hand first, noting how firmly he gripped hers. She was used to it – a reminder that she was a feeble woman and he could crush her if he chose to do so. She ignored it and smiled politely. ‘Mr McGrath?’ she asked.
He smiled back, a perfect row of white teeth which she suspected were false. ‘Please, call me Alastair,’ he said as he released his grip and offered his hand to Michael instead. ‘And this is my business associate, Jock Stewart.’
Grace nodded at Jock in acknowledgement and indicated the seats across the table. ‘Shall we have a seat?’
After the formalities were over and Alastair and Jock had ordered some food from the menu, Grace was ready to discuss business.
‘So, can you tell us why two of your employees smashed up my son’s club and assaulted four of our bouncers?’
‘They took out four of your bouncers?’ Alastair said with a low whistle and Grace recognised it as another display of his power. If he wasn’t careful, he would see a display of her own.
‘I wouldn’t call it taking out, but they put them on their arses, yes. They turned up all tooled up and took them by surprise. So, I want to know why?’
Grace was aware of Jock shifting uncomfortably in his seat, but her gaze remained fixed on Alastair.
‘Well, what can I say, hen, but they’re young and stupid and sometimes things happen,’ he replied.
Grace could feel the anger radiating from Michael as he sat beside her.
‘Although I want you to know that it wasn’t on my orders, and I will pay for any damage that they caused.’ He put his hand on his heart as though to emphasise his sincerity.
‘It’s not really about the money, though, is it?’ Grace challenged him. ‘Your lads come here, to our city, and start causing trouble for no apparent reason, and you expect us just to roll over and take it?’
