The Estate_Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

by Karen Woods

  Lenny rubbed his hands together with excitement. He was game for that. Yes, once he put his black balaclava on he would rush anybody’s house. He’d done it in the past and he would do it again. The last house they rushed they had the lad’s parents locked in a cupboard for hours. Donny had held a gun to the villain’s head and told him straight to get the money he owed him otherwise he’d be going in a body bag. The criminal coughed up the money he owed there and then, no messing about. He’d pissed himself too. He never messed with Donny and his boys again after that. Nobody did.

  John walked towards the house he was meeting Diane at. She was bringing the baby today. Bonding time Diane called it, father and son time. Diane pushed the pram up the garden path. She was soaking wet. The rain was pounding the pavements and every inch of her was piss-wet through. John just watched her as she struggled to get the pram over the doorstep. “Derr, don’t just stand there watching me, help.”

  John bent his body and held the pram from underneath to help get it over the large stone step. She could tell he was in a mood from the moment she walked into the living room. “What’s up with your mush?”

  He snarled back at her and plonked down on the red checked sofa. “Don’t start going on at me, I’ve got a lot on my plate.”

  “You have? Well, welcome to my world. Every day I’m stressed.”

  John was not in the mood for this. It was fine when he was just having sex with her but now these secret visits consisted of Diane wanting money from him and she wanted to tell the world he was the father of her child. It was a no-win situation that he couldn’t get out of. If he finished with her then she would shout it from the roof tops that he was the father of her child and if he stayed with her he would have to tell Gary sooner or later that he’d betrayed him. The baby was crying, and Diane shot a look over at him. “Go and get him. Let me have a rest.”

  John snarled over at her. “Fucking hell, you better stop moaning at me. I’m getting it from all sides all the time. Melanie is doing my head in too.”

  “I know she told me before. Hopefully, she’ll finish with you and move on. That would be better for us then. I’ll leave Gary and we can just get on with it. We can move away.”

  Her voice was burning his head. He was sick of it. “Melanie won’t finish with me, she loves me.”

  I think he was thinking out aloud and never actually meant to say it. Diane folded her arms tightly in front of her. “Yes, she might. But you said you love me, didn’t you? Listen John, we need to get this sorted out. The longer it goes on the worse it will be. Let’s just throw caution to the wind and have done with it.” Was she right in the head or what? Did she think there would be no comebacks once their secret was out? Everybody on the estate would shun them, judge them. And then there was Gary. He would never take it lying down. He would want blood for sure. John held his son in his arms and looked at him in more detail. He wasn’t ready to be a father, he wanted a different life than what Diane had planned. He wasn’t a pipe and slippers kind of guy. He was a player, a young lad who wanted to sow his wild oats wherever he could. The two of them sat in silence.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Marion had been on the toilet all morning. Her stomach was in knots and just the thought of seeing her son for the first time sent a wave of nervous energy through her body. Her husband knocked on the toilet door. “Marion, we need to get going. Come on love, pull yourself together and let’s get this over with.”

  “I’m coming, just give me a minute,” she replied. She was having a panic-attack, blowing her breath, wafting her hand in front of her face, sweating. As she stood up her legs wobbled, and she nearly fell over. She was weak and exhausted. Since the letter had arrived she’d not had a proper night’s sleep. All she’d done was toss and turn, sweating and panicking.

  Marion pulled up outside the hotel. She looked at the building and turned to face her husband. “It looks posh here doesn’t it?”

  “It does. I bet it cost a fortune to stay somewhere like this. He must be minted to be able to afford a hotel like this.” Her husband turned the engine off. They both sat staring at the hotel, not a word was spoken.

  Marion bent down and grabbed her black handbag. “I’m going in. I’m just being silly, aren’t I? If I don’t face it, it will never go away. And I’ll regret it forever.”

  “That’s the spirit, love. Go on, get it over with. I’ll wait here until you come and get me.” He reached over and stroked her hand. “I love you Marion. Remember that, no matter what happens. I will always love you.”

  His words calmed her heart that was pushing its way through her ribcage. “I love you too,” Marion said as she left the car and headed down the pavement towards the hotel.

  “Can you tell Stephen Willis that Marion is here please?” The female receptionist went on the switchboard and looked at a piece of paper with room numbers on.

  “Hello Mr Willis, Marion is at reception waiting for you.”

  Marion sat on a green velvet chair just to the right of the stairs. Her mouth was dry, and she was constantly licking at her dry cracked lips. She sat playing with her fingers. The nerves had kicked in now. Five minutes later, she was still sat there. Maybe, he’d changed his mind. Her brain was working overtime and she was giving it another few minutes and she was going to leave. A young lady came to her side. “Mr Willis is in the lounge. He has asked me to bring you through.” Marion stood and followed the young girl. The lounge had a collection of brown leather sofas scattered about the room. As she inhaled she could smell freshly ground coffee. Long green velvet curtains hung from the tall windows and she was mesmerised by the décor in this room. It was like a palace, like something she’d never seen before. Her eyes squeezed together as she noticed a tall man at the other end of the room. Was that him, was he her son?

  Marion sat down on a sofa and her finger glided across the shiny leather. A voice from behind her made her heart skip a beat. Her body froze and she unable to move. She could hear footsteps moving closer to her and before she knew it there he was, her William, her son. His voice was calming and as he sat down she started to shake from head to toe. His large hands stretched over and touched her knee. “Hi, I’m Stephen. It’s lovely to meet you Marion. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you decided to come.”

  Her wind pipe was strangled, and he could see she was struggling. He filled the glass with water from the centre of the table and passed it to her. Marion gulped the cold water and after a few seconds she found her tongue. “It’s all a bit over whelming but, there has never been a day that’s gone by that you have been far away from my thoughts.”

  “That means a lot to me,” Stephen choked. Marion sucked in large mouthfuls of air and the speech she’d had in her head for many years finally came out.”

  “I never stopped loving you. My parents told me I had to give you away. I was a young girl and had no other option. I wanted to come and get you back. Honest, for months I planned to come and find you. But then reality kicked in and I knew I could never provide for you or put a roof over your head.” Stephen was listening intently. He was a handsome man and even though it had been many years, Marion could see his father’s features in his face. “I was sent to the convent until I had given birth, that’s where they sent all the girls who’d got themselves in trouble. It was a nice place but not somewhere I would recommend anyone going for a long time. The day I give birth to you they just came into the room and took you from your crib. I was heart-broken but nobody seemed to care. It was like that back then. My mother told me never to speak about you again. I blamed my mother for years but as I got older I forgave her because maybe she’d done what she thought was best at the time.”

  “Yes, you made the right choice at the time. I’ve had a great life. My parents have two other adopted children and we’ve never wanted for anything. You see my mother could never have children and she said when I come along I saved her in more ways than one.” Marion was sobbing. The words were finally out. “Who
was my father,” Stephen asked.

  Marion smiled, and a warm feeling entered her body. “I met him on the fair. He was an Irish traveller. He was so good looking, and I fell madly in love with him. He was older than me and before I got to tell him I was pregnant he’d moved on with the fair. Maybe we would have got married if he’d have known. He had family values and a good upbringing.”

  Stephen smiled, and he studied every inch of her. “I can see myself in you. I think I have your eyes.”

  Marion smiled. “I think you do.”

  Stephen crossed his legs and continued talking. “Did you get married; do you have family of your own?”

  This was the question she was dreading; how would he feel when she told him she went on to have two more children? With caution in her voice she answered him. “Yes, I met a lovely man and married him. We had two children Melanie and William. But my son died last year. Terrible accident it was, he was sleeping in a bonfire and it was set alight with him still sleeping there.”

  Stephen rubbed at his arms as the hairs there stood on end, “What a tragedy,” he said.

  “I named him after you. You were called William before you were adopted. I thought God was punishing me for giving you up when it happened.” Marion dabbed her crumpled tissue into the corner of her eyes.

  “That’s silly Marion. I’d like to thank you for making the bravest decision in your life. It was a lovely choice for my mother and she always praised you for making her a mother.”

  Marion smiled, she was starting to relax. “My husband is outside waiting. Is it alright if I bring him in too meet you?”

  “Of course. I’ll order us some tea and coffee.” Stephen watched her carefully as she left the room. He raised his hand up high and shouted the waitress over to order the drinks.

  Marion opened the car door and dipped her head low. “I’ve done it love. I’ve met him, he’s lovely and he’s ready to meet you.” Her husband smiled, and got out of the driver’s door.

  As soon as he reached her he threw his big strong arms around her and kissed her firmly on the lips. “What did I tell you. I knew you would be fine.”

  Marion held her husband’s hand and together they walked back into the hotel. Marion had her baby back in her life and she was smiling from ear to ear. Her husband walked towards Stephen and held his hand out. The men shook hands and gave each other a small hug. Marion sat down and spoke. “My daughter will want to meet you too. She is so excited, she wanted to come today, but I thought it best that we meet on our own first.”

  “So, I have a half- sister too?”

  “Yes, she’s a bit gobby but she has a big heart,” she chuckled. The family sat discussing the years gone by and by the end of the day everybody was happy. Stephen arranged a day to come to Marion’s house and meet Melanie. He was bringing his wife and children too. Yes, Marion was a grandmother. What a lovely day they all had.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  John was fast asleep in his bed. It was past midnight and the pub was locked up. Lenny stood at the side door outside and used a metal crow-bar to force it open. Shit was going down for sure. He was dressed in black and his identity was hidden away. Donny stood tall and he was as cool as cucumber. He’d done this before, it never fazed him, he loved the control, the power he felt when he watched his victim fall to pieces in his presence. Lenny was in. “Come on, let’s do this,” he whispered. Donny shook his head from side to side and his nostrils flared. Lenny sneaked in first. He crept up the stairs with Donny closely behind him. Once at the top of the stairs Donny stepped forward. He pulled a machete out of his jacket and gritted his teeth tightly together. Lenny was in the zone as the adrenaline rushed through his body. The men split up and Lenny opened a bedroom door, he could see two people lying asleep in bed. He pulled the silver pistol from his tracksuit bottoms and held it up to his mouth. The cold barrel pressed against his lips and he kissed the end of it before he made a move. Donny opened another bedroom door and he could see John asleep in his bed. It was time.

  Lenny ran screaming into John’s parent’s bedroom. He flicked the light switch on and stood over the bed waving the pistol about. “Get out of the fucking bed and get on the floor.”

  John’s father was still half asleep. He didn’t have a clue what was going on, was he dreaming? His wife was screaming at the top of her voice and it was up to Lenny to quieten her down. He swung the pistol back and smashed it on the side of her head. John’s father was a fighter, a man’s man. How dare this man come into his house and treat them like this. Lenny could see the look in his eye and knew he was ready to strike. He grabbed John’s mother by the hair and rammed the barrel of the gun to the side of her head. That was enough to stop him, to make him think about his actions.

  “I said get here and sit down you prick. Do it now before I blow her fucking head off.”

  “What do you want, we banked yesterday and only have a few hundred quid in the safe.”

  Lenny stood near the door and he was listening to the commotion from the other room. Donny marched John into his parent’s bedroom and made him sit on the floor with them. John was shaking and as soon as he saw his parents and the cut on his mother’s head he burst out crying. Donny stepped forward and his voice was deep, chilling. “Your son is the reason we are here. So it’s him you need to thank for this. This little cunt has taken something that doesn’t belong to him and if doesn’t start talking, things are going to get messy in here.”

  Alfie gripped John by the throat and pushed his head against the wall. “What the fuck is going on. You’d better start talking before I do you in myself. Look at the state of your mother, do you think she deserves this, I said look at her.”

  John shot a look over at his mother. This was bad, so bad. Donny checked his wristwatch. “I’ve not got all day. So, John, are you going to start speaking or do you want to see your mother suffer some more.”

  What bastards these two were, there was no remorse. They knew they had him by the balls. No one in the right mind would sit there and watch their mother go through this kind of pain to protect themselves. Lenny walked over to Joanna again and dragged her hair to the side. He was waiting on his orders now. Donny went nose to nose with John. “Come on, tell me.”

  John’s dad clouted him around the head, his head smashed against the wall. “Alright, alright. I did it, but I don’t have the weed now. Someone took it.”

  This was music to Donny’s ears, a confession at last. “So, you do have a pair of balls then. I knew it was you all along.”

  Donny went over to John’s parents. “I’m sorry it’s come to this but when your son messes with the wrong people this is what happens. Lenny, get the fucking rat in the boot of the car.”

  John wriggled about and was fighting for his life. A few belts over his head soon knocked him out cold. Lenny threw John over his shoulder and marched out of the room with him. John’s mother was screaming. “Please, don’t take him. We’ll pay whatever he owes, bring him back.”

  John’s dad was different kettle of fish, he knew the code of conduct on the streets and if his son had broken them then it was his own fault. “Take him and beat the fucking living daylights out of him. It will save me a job. How could he put his family at risk like this? He deserves everything that’s coming to him.”

  His wife was punching him in the chest. “No, don’t say that. Tell them we will pay whatever they want, Alf!”

  “Not a bleeding chance. This is what happens when he messes with the big boys.”

  Donny was gone. He sprinted out of the bedroom as quickly as he could before the dibble were alerted.

  John was tied to a chair in a dark room. It was cold, and he was coming around. He could hear the sound of dripping water to the left of him. His eyes were blurred as he tried to focus. Lenny came to his side and tapped his flat palm against the side of his cold cheek. “Wakey, wakey, lad. It’s time for you to start talking.”

  Donny flicked a cigarette butt over at John. It landed on hi
s leg and he was shuffling about trying to stop it burning into his skin. “You’ve been a very naughty boy John. I treated you well and got you on your feet and you go and do this to me.”

  John was panicking. He was living on borrowed time and had to say something to get him out of the mess he was in. “Donny, I’m sorry. It just happened. I was going to give it you back. I swear on my life, but, it just got harder and harder.”

  Donny spoke directly to Lenny. “It’s not what I’ve heard. You tried to pass it on to Benny and his lot.”

  John gulped, how the fuck did he know that? He was up shit-street now for sure. “No, that’s wrong. I told Benny I’d fucked up and wanted his help to put it right.”

  “And, he told you he wouldn’t touch it. He has respect, not like you.”

  John remained silent. Donny stood up and ran at John. He smashed his fist deep into his body and made sure this lad knew who he was messing with. John was a mess. His eyes were swollen and blood surged from his nose. Lenny laughed aloud as Donny booted John for the last time. The chair fell to the ground and John was lying on his side barely moving. Lenny spat on him. “Dirty Judas,” he snarled. But what now? How were they going to deal with him? John was groaning, he knew he was injured; he tried to move his legs and they wouldn’t move. “Come on, let’s leave the fucker here. We’ll come back later when I’ve decided what we’re going to do with him. He’s going nowhere is he, there’s no rush?”

  Lenny agreed. The light was flicked off and John lay in a pool of blood. He was struggling to breath. If he made it through the night he would be one lucky man.

  Melanie woke and stretched her arms above her head. She was meeting her half-brother today and she was so excited to see what he looked like. Marion had been up all morning cleaning the place up. It was the cleanest this house had ever been. The brown stains at the bottom of the toilet had been removed and the taps were scrubbed to bring them back to a shiny silver state. There was no way Marion was smoking in the house either. For the first time ever she was stood in the garden smoking her head off. Melanie hadn’t seen John last night. She needed a break from him and time on her own. Maybe he would come looking for her and declare his undying love once he missed her, she didn’t know. But one thing for sure was that she was not running about after him anymore. It was game over for her. Marion came into her bedroom and she was flustered. “Nip to the shop love and get some coffee. Get Nescafe not that usual shite we drink.”