Sarah listened to her grandson and sighed. How many times had she heard conversations like this over the years? Killing, maiming, violence. There had been a time when she could blot it all out. Could forget that it was her flesh and blood talking like this. But though she could accept it from her sons, she had never been able to accept it from her daughter. Yet it was her daughter who had kept them all together, even taking Carla under her wing. She still remembered the day they had gone to Roy’s house and found Janine in a terrible state. Little Carla had had a huge bruise on her arm and looked like a gypsy, dirty and unkempt. That whole house had been filthy. Sarah had taken Carla home and Maura had taken care of her from then on, and now look how the girl had repaid her. Maura had been more than a mother to Carla, she had been a sister, mother and best friend all rolled into one. Even now Carla still couldn’t see that she had done anything wrong. Sarah was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that, like Benny, Carla was a lost cause and there was nothing any of them could do about it.
Garry, Lee and Maura were laughing at Vic’s dilemma. Apparently he had turned up at his aunt’s little house in Chigwell mob-handed to find his mother off having a good night out at Bingo. She had finally turned up safe and sound and berated him in front of everyone. Maura had needed something to make her smile and Garry had provided it.
‘We followed after, but it was an impossible task. He’s good, old Vic, I will give him that. We lost him in no time. One thing, though – one of his faces was Mickey Ball.’
‘Don’t surprise me, they was always mates.’
Garry’s voice was tight. He had been a good mate of Vic’s once and it smarted that they were now at loggerheads. But he understood how the other man was feeling even while he wanted to rip his head off. Especially now he had Leonie. If anything happened to her he would lose it, he was sure. She was like a soulmate, they agreed on everything. At least Leonie agreed with him on everything, but that was another matter.
‘What’s happening with Rifkind?’
It was Lee who asked the question. Maura, even though she had been expecting it, was still feeling fragile. It was so embarrassing. Everyone knew the score and that was the hardest thing to cope with. She hated pity of any kind when it was directed at her.
She was saved from answering by Garry.
‘Leave him to me, Lee. I’ll sort him out. We still need to track Vic down and with the help of his brother that shouldn’t be too hard. Once we have Vic we’ll have Tommy, who incidentally hasn’t been near or by his house, Liverpool, or any of his usual haunts. But he will. Tommy ain’t got the savvy to take care of himself. He’ll make a slip sooner or later. I have put a hefty price on his bonce so we should have a bite soon.’
Lee nodded.
‘What’s happening with Carla?’
He had to know, he was worried about her.
‘Nothing is going to happen with her, Lee – what are you trying to insinuate?’
Maura’s voice was heavy with sarcasm and Lee felt the full force of her personality then. No wonder he’d been worried. Even he would think twice about tucking her up. He wouldn’t want to be Carla for a million quid. She must have been mad to think she could ever get away with it, and as for Tommy . . . well, he had always secretly thought Rifkind was a cunt anyway.
‘I heard you’d aimed her out of her house . . .’
‘My house, Lee. I aimed her out of my house. I own it.’
He sighed.
‘Whatever, but she’s running scared, Maws.’
‘And so she should, the two-faced cunt.’
Garry’s voice was harsh and even Maura was surprised at the animosity in it.
‘She is her mother’s daughter all right. Janine was the same, hated the family and the business but lived off the fucking proceeds all her life. As did Muvver, come to that. Fuck Carla, let her go back to Muvver’s, let her look after herself. Might make her appreciate her family a bit more.’
‘She says Tommy came after her . . .’
‘Oh, shut up, Lee, you big tart! It don’t matter who come after who, we sound like fucking school kids here. She did it. If it was Old Bill offering her the earth, would she take it? Ask yourself that one. Would she tuck us up if it benefited her? She is nothing but a treacherous whore and I for one will not be giving her any more fucking handouts. Her or that poof of hers either. Leave them to Muvver, the pair of them.’
Lee was hanging his head at the force of Garry’s words.
‘Mum is upset as well. She thinks that Carla was out of order and all. But I mean, it makes it difficult for us, don’t it? If we go round the old woman’s and she’s there.’
Garry shrugged as if it was all too easy, which it was to him.
‘Just fucking blank her, that’s what I’m going to do.’
Lee nodded, taking his cue from his brother as always, and Maura, actually feeling sorry for her niece now, swallowed down the words that would have ensured Carla’s well-being.
‘Benny gave her a piece of his mind this morning.’
Garry laughed.
‘He wants to be careful, he ain’t got that much he can give some away.’
Maura grinned. Benny would not find that statement in the least amusing. He had too much arrogance to take jokes against himself.
‘How’s Roy?’
Maura shrugged.
‘I haven’t spoken to him today.’
‘You will.’
Garry’s voice was flat now.
‘Is he upset then?’
Garry smiled.
‘Wouldn’t you be if you were Roy? You and Carla are the two most important things in his life.’
‘He’ll get over it.’
Garry smiled.
‘That’s the Maura I know and love.’
Lee watched his brother and sister and was aware not for the first time how alike they were in their thinking and attitudes. His wife was right; none of them was even remotely normal. But they were his family and he wanted them in his life. Without them, especially Maura, he would probably be working a nine-to-five somewhere and dying of boredom.
Life was all about choices and they had made theirs many years ago. It was too late for any of them to change now.
Even if they’d wanted to.
Billy Mills was happy. He had a few quid in his pocket, a dead cert horse, and on top of all that he had a nice bird on his arm. She was one of his real birds, which meant she wasn’t a hostess or a lap dancer. She went out with him because she actually liked his company.
He was taking her to Brighton racetrack where a friend’s horse was running. He liked Brighton, it was an all-weather track and had a really nice little restaurant that served good wholesome food. Janette was a looker and today she had surpassed herself. All in black leather, he knew she would have more than a few blokes giving her the once over. She had a big arse and unlike most women instead of trying to hide it she flaunted it. He loved a nice arse did Billy and grabbed Janette’s at every available opportunity.
As he was helping her into his new Jag he was happy. He copped a feel as she slid into the passenger seat. As he stood up, grinning, his heart sank down into his boots. Jack Stern was standing there with two of his more muscle-bound henchmen, and worst of all he was smiling.
‘You do look rough, Jack.’
‘I am feeling rough, and also feeling a good few quid lighter, thanks to the Ryans.’
‘And you want me to set up a meet, am I correct?’
‘Correct. That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Billy. You was always quick off the mark.’
‘Well, you can fuck off, Jack, I’m on a day out.’
‘Not any more, Billy.’
‘Are you having a tin bath or what? I’m going racing and that is that.’
Jack sighed heavily and looked around the quiet road.
‘Don’t make me kidnap you, Billy. I really can’t be arsed and this is too important to wait.’
‘I’m sure it can wait twenty-four hours
, Jack.’ Janette stuck her head out of the window.
‘Are we fucking going or what?’
Jack chuckled.
‘Where did you get her? Walthamstow dog track?’
Even Billy smiled at the quip. Jack could be really funny, he had perfect comic delivery.
‘Nah, I met her at Henlow. Still dog racing though so you was half there, Jack.’
He grinned.
‘It’s a gift. Had a few old dogs meself over the years.’
They laughed, two men together.
Jack said seriously, ‘I need this meet as soon as possible, Billy. I will make it worth your while, you know that. But this is important. There’s big trouble brewing and I need a friendly go-between. You ain’t really got a choice, Billy, you must have guessed as much.’
Billy sighed and accepted his fate. Jack was right, the fact he was there personally spoke volumes. Billy looked in the car at a glowering Janette. Taking out a couple of ton from his pocket, he pushed it through the window at her.
‘Sorry, Janette, you can see how it is.’
‘Up yours, Billy!’
He shrugged and then smiled in his usual happy way.
‘It would have been up yours, darlin’, but duty calls.’
Jack and his minders laughed. It was a friendly meet, they could afford to be magnanimous. Ten minutes later Janette was standing alone in the street with two hundred quid, a cab number and a murderous expression on her pretty face.
Danielle Hicks was lying on her battered old settee, her hands cradled protectively around her huge bump. The eldest child Petey had let Maura in and she stood uncertainly in the doorway looking at this travesty of a young woman Danny had become, thanks to Jamie.
Danielle stared at her sadly.
‘I’ve been expecting you – the filth have never been off the doorstep.’
Maura nodded.
‘I know.’
Danielle forced a smile.
‘I guessed you would show up eventually, once it all died down. I got the five hundred bar, by the way. Told the filth it was a whip round from the neighbours. They swallowed it. Hunted the house out they did, looking for God knows what.’
She heaved herself up from the sofa and shouted, ‘Petey, make a cuppa.’
Maura heard the boy putting on the kettle.
‘I can do that.’
Danielle shook her head.
‘Sit down. Tell me what I need to know and leave it at that.’
Maura sat in an armchair that had lost its springs many years before it was owned by Danielle. She looked around the room, at the faded curtains and carpets. Saw the paper peeling from the damp walls; saw the box of toys that was thrown into a corner. Saw the washing piled on the floor and smelled the sheer futility of a life spent giving birth to too many children, too quickly.
Danielle watched as Maura surveyed her home.
‘A dump, ain’t it? Jamie had all that poke and yet we got fuck all. It’s funny, but since he died I’ve never been better off.’
She laughed.
‘The filth reckons I can get compensation. They came in here mob-handed, all overalls and covered shoes. I said, ‘‘What are they for? The place ain’t that dirty’’.’
She laughed at her own wit.
‘Did they take anything away?’
Danielle nodded.
‘Yeah. Nothing worth having, though. First thing I did was remove whatever would incriminate him, or anyone else come to that. It’s all round me mate’s. She don’t know what it is and she don’t wanna know. I’ll give it to you when you want it, OK?’
Maura nodded.
‘What’s the next step?’
‘Get this one out and eventually bury that ponce. He’s still on ice and they won’t give me a date for burial. I saw the autopsy, though, know his eyes were glued shut. They reckon that is what killed him: the fright brought on the heart attack.’
She laughed gently.
‘Who’d have thought he would have had a heart attack, eh? I wasn’t even aware he had a heart, the way he treated me and the kids.’
Her voice was bitter.
‘Now he’s dead and do you know the weirdest thing about it all? I’m glad because at last I know where he is. I know he ain’t with anyone else.’
Maura could hear the utter desolation in her voice and was glad that she had never let herself be owned by another person like Danielle had been owned by Jamie Hicks. For all her hurt over Tommy, she knew she would survive it. Her pride was hurt more than anything else. Whereas Danielle had lost hers many years ago.
‘I used to go round the birds’ houses and look for him, Maura. Even though in my heart I knew that if he wanted to be with me, he would be. He would come out and tell me to piss off and shout and holler. Then a few days later he’d come back with that grin of his and the charm on overdrive and I would swallow me knob, wipe me mouth and have him back.’
Maura took two mugs of tea from the unnaturally silent child and placed them on the small coffee table.
‘Now he’s gone and this is me. Seven kids, and nothing to show for it. No real home, not even a decent stick of furniture. That selfish cunt wasn’t insured.’
‘’Course he was. I mean, we owe you comp big time. He was a fool to himself and he paid the price. I’ll make sure you’re provided for, don’t worry. There’s a nice little semi going begging in Woodford Green. Good catchment area for the kids’ schools, all decorated and furnished, big garden, conservatory. It’s yours for the asking, Danny. You didn’t think I would see you without, did you?’
Danielle shook her head before saying, ‘You saw me without him, didn’t you? You killed him, or at least your family did.’
Maura was shocked at the bitterness in the words. Even though she understood that this was a woman alone now, a hurt and frightened young woman, still it annoyed her. She leaned forward in her seat and said quietly, so the kids wouldn’t hear, ‘Listen here, Danny, he knew the score same as we all do. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Remember that old saying? Well, here is another one, a more up-to-date one. Don’t shit on the people paying your wages, it can kill you.’
It was a veiled threat and Danielle was reminded of exactly who she was dealing with here: Maura, with her perfect make-up and hair, with her nice clothes and shoes, who had always been good for a laugh or a few quid, was suddenly Maura Ryan and she was looking out for her family now because this heavily pregnant young woman could put them all away. And then Danielle saw that Jamie had dragged them into shit much deeper than she had first thought.
As long as you played Maura Ryan’s game she would look after you, but threaten her or her family and you better watch your step.
‘Don’t come the poor old fucking moaner with me, Danny. You will get your comp and I won’t lose a wink of sleep over Jamie. In fact, everyone thinks I’m a fool for even offering you any comp at all. He tucked us up, love, tucked us up big time. So take my advice and remember another old saying: don’t bite the fucking hand that feeds you.’
Danielle was upset and Maura felt a moment’s sorrow for her, but she had to play the hard nut, it was the only way to guarantee that this girl kept her trap shut. At the end of the day that was the most important thing of all.
Benny was once more in the frame with his trademark gluing. In her heart of hearts she could murder the little fucker for bringing all this to their door but it was done and all she could do now was try and contain the damage. If that meant terrifying this poor girl before her then so be it.
Danielle knew the score the same as they all did. She was out of order and Maura had to teach her a little lesson before she ran her mouth off without thinking and inadvertently let the cat out of the bag about her husband’s demise. And, as Maura consoled herself, the lesson was better coming from her rather than Garry or, God forbid, Benny.
So she played up her hard angle and though she had gained an enemy and lost a friend, could sleep easy in her bed knowing Danielle w
ould be too scared ever to voice her opinions on what had happened to her husband.
‘Drink your tea, Danielle, and I’ll show you the pictures of the house. It’s got four bedrooms so you’ll have a lot more space for the kids. It’s got a loft room as well that could be a bedroom. It’s up to you really.’
Danielle’s hand was shaking as she took the proffered photographs and Maura felt a stab of guilt once more. She grasped the girl’s hand and said gently, ‘I am doing what I can for you, and it’s more than most people would be doing in my position.’
Danielle pulled her hand away as quickly as she dared. Plastering a smile on her face, she said bravely, ‘I know, Maura, and I really appreciate it. You know that. I’m just a bit upset, that’s all.’
Maura closed her eyes in distress. She could see the hatred and fear in Danielle’s eyes as if she had spoken about them out loud. When she left a few moments later she sat in her car and watched the goings on around her. Young mums picking kids up from play-school, music blaring out of flats and cars. Kids running around still in nappies, their faces filthy and their eyes already full of cunning and streetwise intelligence. The smell of urine in the lobbies of the flats, the used needles that covered the sparse grassy area outside each block, the rusted cars and the abject poverty were all astounding. She wondered how the new government still let people live like this while preaching about morals and sex education.
Her mother had said many years ago that people make slums, not houses. But that wasn’t true. This was the last stop for most of these people, and it was all they had ever known. Yet she knew that as bad as this place was, Danielle would rather be here with Jamie, a philandering ponce and liar, for the rest of her life than ensconced in a nice little place with her kids well provided for with no man beside her.
She drove away a little while later, but she was heavy inside. Even Carla’s betrayal had not hurt her as much as the hatred in Danielle Hicks’s eyes. Maura had finally seen herself as others saw her and she didn’t like the picture she had seen, didn’t like it at all.
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