Both Linda and his nan thought Jimmy was something special. They thought he had none of Martin’s evil in him, but they had been wrong, and Jimmy was sure they would never forgive him once they found out.
Jimmy gazed miserably down at the floor as he waited for Linda to answer.
When she opened the door and wiped her hands on her apron, she blinked in surprise. The sight of Big Tim was enough to give anyone a bit of a shock.
Linda immediately knew something was wrong. “What’s happened?”
Jimmy was too ashamed to speak.
Big Tim said, “Mortons’ club is on fire.”
Jimmy dared to look up at Linda’s face to see her reaction and then wished he hadn’t. She looked so disappointed.
“Oh, no, Jimmy. What have you done?”
Jimmy opened his mouth to try and explain, but it was no good. He knew he had been stupid, and no matter what he said, he couldn’t expect Linda to forgive him.
But then to his surprise, Tim spoke up, “Jimmy was very brave. He went into the club to try and save Ruby Morton.”
Linda’s gaze darted between Tim’s face and Jimmy’s as if she couldn’t take in the information.
“He’s a hero. It’s probably best if nobody knows he was there, though. It’s not good for children to have police asking them questions.”
Linda seemed to be shocked into complete silence and couldn’t respond to Tim. She just stared at him.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I think I need a bath to get rid of the smell of smoke.”
As Tim turned and started to walk away, Jimmy finally found his voice.
“Thank you,” he called after the big man, and when Tim turned around, he didn’t smile or even look angry with Jimmy. He looked ashamed.
CHAPTER 50
T he following day, Martin stood outside the burnt out shell of what used to be his club. He clenched his fists. He’d built the place up with hard graft, and it had thrived, even when he’d been inside. It signified everything Martin Morton was about — his attempt to bring a little class to the East End, and it had only taken one little boy to destroy everything.
He’d spent the previous evening at Ruby’s bedside in the hospital, and fortunately, she hadn’t suffered any long-lasting after-effects. They had kept her in overnight, but the doctor said she would be allowed out later today.
Last night, a tearful Ruby had begged Martin to get her mother, which of course he couldn’t do because Babs had been banged up. Martin had almost felt guilty, but he quickly pushed that feeling away. Ruby had him now, and she didn’t need her mother. Babs had had more than enough time to poison the girl against him. He was going to enjoy having his children under his care for once.
Tony still wasn’t talking to him over his treatment of Babs. Tony’s trouble was that he’d always been too soft. But Martin wasn’t bothered. He had no doubt his brother would stop sulking eventually and come around.
His mother had been almost kind last night when Martin had told her what had happened. One of her neighbours had informed her about the fire and the fact that Ruby was in hospital, and she had rushed around as quickly as she could to find out how her granddaughter was faring. He hoped it was a sign of things to come and that his mother had changed her attitude.
Martin would need family he could trust around him as he rebuilt his empire brick by brick.
He knew Tony wouldn’t be able to stay away for long either. He wouldn’t be able to resist making sure Ruby was okay. He couldn’t fault his brother for that. Tony had taken good care of the kids while Martin had been inside.
Martin peered through the window, which was coated with a layer of soot. He was sure there was no way anything inside could be salvaged. The fire brigade had ordered him not to go in the building as it was unsafe, but Martin was determined to see the damage for himself.
He stepped inside the club and turned in a slow circle, taking in the devastation. He looked at the charred and blackened furniture and could have wept.
“Mr. Morton?” A sharp voice cut through Martin’s thoughts, and he turned to see Inspector Peel, standing on the threshold.
Bloody hell. Seeing the inspector’s ugly mug was not what he needed right now. He didn’t want the coppers sniffing around. But they were attracted to Martin. They couldn’t seem to stay away. Particularly, Inspector Peel, who seemed to have made it his life’s work to target the Mortons.
“What do you want?” Martin asked with a sneer, not bothering to show the man any respect.
Soon enough, he would have officers back on his payroll, and then he would personally target Inspector Peel. The man would soon see who was really the boss of the East End.
“I heard the news,” Inspector Peel said with a smirk on his face. “Oh, dear. Look at the state of this place.”
Martin pushed past the police inspector, sorely tempted to teach him a lesson here and now.
“Do you have any idea who did it?” Inspector Peel asked.
“That’s what you’re paid for. It’s your job to figure out who did it,” Martin said coldly.
“I did wonder whether you’d done it yourself.” Inspector Peel shrugged. “Maybe some kind of insurance scam.”
Martin turned on him, absolutely furious. Blood rushed in his ears as he reached for the inspector’s collar and shoved him back against the charred and blackened bar.
“My daughter is in hospital. It’s not bleeding likely to be me behind the fire, is it?”
A smile stretched across Inspector Peel’s face, and Martin realised he was playing straight into the policeman’s hands. He’d intended to rile him. Inspector Peel wouldn’t be happy until Martin was behind bars again.
With a shove, he pushed the inspector away from him.
“This is private property,” Martin growled. “Unless you’ve got a warrant, I suggest you get the hell out of here before I throw you out.”
* * *
Ruby Morton felt absolutely bloody terrible. Her chest was sore, and her stomach ached from all the coughing. Her throat felt like she’d swallowed shards of glass, and she hadn’t been able to face the hospital breakfast they’d brought round early that morning. Despite feeling like she was on her last legs, the doctor told her he was happy for her to leave later that day, and Ruby wasn’t about to contradict him. She hated being in the large, dreary ward. The starched white sheets were tucked around her so tightly she felt like she was suffocating.
From her bed, she couldn’t even see the window, and she felt like she was in some sort of white prison.
She was impatiently waiting for her father to come back. Although he had spent yesterday evening at the hospital, just outside the ward, refusing to abandon his daughter and threatening violence against anyone who tried to make him leave, she hadn’t seen him this morning.
Ruby was secretly pleased he’d insisted on staying last night. She didn’t want to be left alone in a place like this. She had truly believed she was going to die, and she had wanted her mother beside her.
Her father must’ve left at some point in the early morning when Ruby was asleep because there was no sign of him now, and despite demanding that the nurse go and find him, there was still no sign of him.
The ward was full of other patients of varying ages. An old woman in the bed beside her had a huge great oxygen tank next to her to help her breathing.
She had no idea what they had done with her clothes, otherwise, she would have already gotten dressed and made her own way home.
She glanced over to the door, considering how she could make her escape when she saw someone she recognised.
How could he dare show his face in here? Her father told Ruby last night in no uncertain terms that Jimmy Diamond had been responsible for setting the fire in the club. The stupid little boy could have killed her, and now he had the gall to come to the hospital.
He was actually walking up to her bed right now. Ruby shook her head in disbelief.
When Jimmy reached the side o
f the bed, looking very sheepish indeed, Ruby said, “You’ve got some nerve showing your face around here.”
Jimmy clasped his hands together and turned his dark blue eyes onto her beseechingly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was anyone inside. I thought it was empty.”
Ruby shrugged. She hadn’t thought he intentionally meant to kill her, but that didn’t make it all right. “You still shouldn’t have done it. You can’t go around doing things like that just because someone upsets you.”
Jimmy nodded slowly. “I know. I lost my temper.”
“That’s no excuse,” Ruby snapped severely. “You’re going to have to watch your back now. My father knows it was you, and he won’t let you get away with it. And you shouldn’t be hanging around here either. My dad is coming to collect me in a little while.”
Jimmy nodded. “I know it was stupid. I just wanted to say how sorry I was and make sure you know that I would never have done it if I’d known you were inside.”
She should be furious at him, calling him all sorts of names and possibly throwing things at him as well, but there was something about the boy that made Ruby pity him.
“I’m here because my nan is getting out of hospital today,” Jimmy said.
“How interesting,” Ruby snapped and then she felt bad when she saw the hurt look on Jimmy’s face.
Honestly, what was the matter with her? This boy had almost killed her, and she was feeling sorry for him.
There was something about the boy that Ruby thought was interesting. She wanted to continue the conversation because she was so bored, and it was nice to have someone to talk to, but she couldn’t risk it because she knew her dad would be there soon. And that meant a run in between Jimmy and her father, and for some reason, Ruby wasn’t keen to witness that.
Perhaps it was because she’d always felt a little bit on the outside of her own family, so she understood how Jimmy’s feelings had been hurt.
Ruby nodded. “Look, I’m not going to hold a grudge, but my father will. My advice is to keep out of his way as much as you can.”
“But I’m only a boy. You don’t think he’d hurt a child, do you?”
Ruby shrugged. That was a hard question. To be honest, she didn’t know. Her father had been away for so long she felt like she didn’t really know him all that well. She would like to think he would never harm a child, but she wasn’t convinced and didn’t believe Jimmy should take the risk.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw somebody else entering the ward. She turned and gasped at the sight of Grandma Violet striding towards them.
“That’s my grandma. You’d better get out of here,” Ruby warned.
Jimmy didn’t need telling twice. He turned on his heel and quickly brushed past the stern-looking woman who gave him the evil eye.
Ruby let out a sigh of relief when Grandma Violet didn’t accost him. Perhaps she didn’t realise who he was.
“Come on, Ruby. I’ve come to collect you. Get your things together. Where are your clothes?”
Ruby shrugged, “I don’t know. I think one of the nurses must’ve taken them.”
Violet clicked her fingers, and one of the nurses at the station looked up and narrowed her eyes at being beckoned in such a fashion. But she got to her feet and listened politely to Violet’s demands for her granddaughter’s clothes. Within two minutes, Ruby’s clothes had been returned, and she was dressed and ready to go.
“I thought Dad was coming to pick me up,” Ruby said not bothering to hide her disappointment.
Violet pursed her lips and nodded. She was a small woman and at least six inches shorter than Ruby.
“He had a bit of business to attend to,” Violet said. “Besides, I wanted to have a word with you.”
Ruby frowned as her grandmother handed her coat to her.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Ruby asked suspiciously.
“Your mother.”
Ruby turned to her eagerly. She’d been anxious for news about her mother, but nobody had wanted to tell her what had happened. “How is she? Is she coming home?”
“She won’t be home for the foreseeable,” Grandma Violet said in her usual blunt fashion. She linked her arm through Ruby’s and pulled her along briskly.
Ruby felt a little dizzy as she did her best to keep up with Violet’s fast pace. She walked very fast for someone with such short legs, Ruby thought.
“You’re not a baby, Ruby. I know that your father would like to keep all of this from you because he thinks you’re too young to understand. But I think he’s wrong. You have every right to understand what’s going on in your family.”
Ruby nodded. She couldn’t agree more.
“So I will tell you everything you want to know, but in exchange, you are to behave like a Morton. There are to be no tears, no tantrums and no shouting the odds. Do we understand each other?”
Ruby’s chest was hurting as she marched along the hospital corridor with Violet, but she nodded her head, eager to hear what her grandmother was going to say.
“I’ve never believed in secrets. I think they do a family more harm than good. So fire away. Ask your first question.”
They came to the hospital’s main entrance, and beside the reception desk, Ruby had to pause to catch her breath. She turned to her grandmother. “Tell me what’s happening with my mother.”
“She made a mistake. A silly one. It looks like she’s been fitted up, and she is going to go away for a little while. The hearing is in a months’ time, and it’s looking like she’ll be sent down for at least two years.”
Ruby’s legs trembled, and she thought for a moment she might faint. Two years? For a moment, she couldn’t say anything, and then when her mind slowly processed what her grandmother was saying, she asked, “When can I see her?”
“As soon as she has been moved to the main prison. Probably next week.”
Ruby nodded. She was shocked to the core, but she was grateful her grandmother was telling the truth.
“Does Derek know?” Ruby asked.
Her grandmother shook her head. “Your father thought it best not to worry him while he is at school.”
Ruby wasn’t so sure how she felt about that. If she were Derek, she would want to know.
Even though Derek had shown he preferred his school to family these days, Ruby knew he would want to know what had happened to his mother, and he would be very angry when he found out it had been kept from him. But as Ruby had promised, she didn’t lose her temper or even say how unfair she thought it was. She liked the new improved Grandma Violet, who was so honest and open with the truth.
“Are you ready to carry on, Ruby?” Grandma Violet asked, offering her arm again. “Freddie’s waiting in the motor, just outside. He is going to drive us home.”
Ruby nodded and slid her arm through Grandma Violet’s as a thought occurred to her. It was something that had been bothering her for a little while: Her father’s strong reaction towards Jimmy.
Her mother had always been fond of saying there’s no smoke without fire, and if that was true, was there some truth in the rumours suggesting Jimmy was her father’s son.
“What about Jimmy Diamond?” Ruby asked, hardly daring to look her grandmother in the eye.
She was so convinced her grandmother would laugh and tell her she had a fanciful imagination, so the old woman’s response came as a complete surprise.
Grandma Violet sniffed. “You’re not a naive little girl anymore, Ruby. The boy is obviously Martin’s son. He’s even got the same dimple in his chin, for goodness sake.”
Ruby’s eyes widened, and she felt like she was going to pass out as a coughing fit suddenly engulfed her.
Grandma Violet waited patiently and then smoothed Ruby’s hair back from her face. “It’s probably quite a lot to take in, but your father is certainly not a saint.”
Ruby’s mind was reeling. That meant Jimmy Diamond was her half-brother. So why had her father been so nasty to him?
“Are you really telling me that Jimmy is my brother?”
“I’m telling you he’s a bastard,” Grandma Violet said haughtily. “Now, I’ll treat you like a grown-up so long as you act like one. I’m going to take good care of you while your mother is inside.”
Ruby shook her head. “I thought you just had a big argument with Dad? And didn’t want anything else to do with us.”
“We’ve come to an understanding,” Violet Morton said. “Things are going to change around here, Ruby. You can either help us or make life difficult. But I would highly recommend you don’t choose the latter option.”
Ruby was too shocked to respond. She couldn’t believe that all the time she’d been growing up, she had a little brother living just around the corner, and nobody had bothered to tell her.
She looked at her grandmother’s pinched expression and began to wonder whether Derek was right to stay away from the East End. She had a feeling things were going to get a lot worse around here before they got better.
CHAPTER 51
J immy helped his nan on with her coat. “Are you sure you’ll be all right getting the bus, Nan?”
Jimmy’s nan nodded, but he had his doubts. She seemed very shaky on her feet.
“I’ll be all right,” she said. “We’ll just have to take it slow.”
”The nurse did say that there was a hospital transport on this afternoon if we didn’t mind waiting.”
Mary Diamond shook her head firmly. “I’m not staying in this place any longer than I have to. The bus suits me just fine.”
His nan waved and called goodbye to a couple of the other patients as Jimmy helped her out of the ward. She stopped beside the nurses’ station to thank them for taking such good care of her, and then with Jimmy holding her small bag of belongings, they hobbled out into the corridor.
Jimmy looked up in surprise. Leaning against the wall of the corridor, dressed in a long overcoat, was Dave Carter.
When he saw Jimmy and his nan, Dave smiled and walked towards them.
He took the bag from Jimmy and held out his arm for Mary Diamond.
East End 02-East End Diamond Page 31
