A Gangster's Grip: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 2

by Heather Burnside

  Before she could finish speaking, his whole demeanour changed. His right arm tightened around the back of her shoulders, and his face moved closer to hers until it was only centimetres away. Acting on instinct, she pulled her head back but his arm tightened further, with his hips swivelling round to face towards her. He raised his left hand and gripped her throat, thrusting her head upwards then tugging her hair from behind. All she could see were his angry eyes glaring down at her. She felt a rush of fear as her throat constricted.

  “Let’s get one thing straight!” he snarled. “You’re my woman, and I’ll talk to you how I fuckin’ well like. And anything that happens to me outside this house is none of your business. You got that?”

  He emphasised his last question by giving another sharp tug of her hair.

  “Yeah,” whimpered Jenny.

  Leroy let her go, and pushed her away.

  “Right, now get your shoes on and get round to the Chinese take-away.”

  Jenny rushed to put on her shoes and coat, thankful to get away from Leroy for a while, but dreading what mood he would be in when she got back home.

  Chapter 16

  Saturday 27th April 1991 – afternoon

  Jenny hadn’t kept to her promise. No sooner was Rita inside the house than the pit bull charged up to her, barking fiercely. The dog was excited by this new visitor, and leapt excitedly onto its hind legs, grasping Rita’s tee-shirt with its front paws. Rita took this as a threat. All she could see was a mouthful of lethal weapons, poised to strike and stockpiled in a mean looking face. She felt her stomach plunge as fear gripped her, and the rest of her body stiffened.

  “Get down, Tyson,” said Jenny, with little conviction.

  To Rita’s relief, Winston appeared, and took control of the situation, seizing Tyson by the collar and leading him towards the back door. Within minutes the dog was in the back garden, and Winston had locked the door behind him.

  “Thank you, Winston,” said Rita. “I don’t like dogs.”

  “I could tell; that’s why I grabbed him quick.”

  “How come it doesn’t bother you, anyway?”

  “You’ve just got to let him know who’s boss. If you let him know you’re scared, he’ll walk all over you.”

  “A bit like its owner,” muttered Rita, noticing how Winston referred to the dog as ‘him’. He obviously knew Tyson well.

  “Anyway, I thought you were going to put the dog out the back when I came round?” she asked Jenny.

  “It slipped my mind. I’ll try to remember for next time. God, Rita, you’re trembling!”

  A smile was beginning to form on Jenny’s lips, but a look from Rita stopped her from taking it further. There were some things Rita didn’t find funny.

  “Anyway, I’m going now,” announced Winston. “It was nice seeing you again, Rita.”

  “You don’t have to rush off whenever I come round.”

  “No, it’s fine. I was going anyway, honest.”

  It struck Rita as strange that Winston couldn’t get out of the house soon enough whenever she came round. But a few other things about Winston and Jenny were strange too, and she was beginning to realise why.

  “He’s in a bit of a hurry again, isn’t he?” she asked Jenny, after Winston had left.

  Jenny shrugged.

  “He seems to be round here a lot, Jenny. I can’t understand why he’s always helping you with the house, and not Leroy. I thought the house was finished now, anyway. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I’ve told you, Leroy’s just busy, that’s all.”

  “It still seems funny to me. He’s round here every time I come, and he seems to know that dog very well. It’s almost like he’s the dog’s master, the way he was with it.”

  “It’s called Tyson.”

  “I’m not interested in the bloody dog’s name. What’s going on, Jenny?”

  “Nothing. What you trying to insinuate?”

  “I don’t need to insinuate anything. It’s bloody obvious! You’re having an affair with him, aren’t you?”

  Although Jenny tried to deny the affair, Rita could see the guilt on her face.

  “You are, you’re having a bloody affair with him, right under Leroy’s nose. You silly little cow! What do you think Leroy will do if he finds out? He doesn’t strike me as the sort of bloke to take it lying down.”

  “He won’t find out.”

  “Oh don’t be so bleedin’ naïve, Jenny! You’re carrying on in the house that you share with him, and you think he won’t find out. Are you stupid altogether?”

  Rita had now taken to her recent habit of running her hands through her hair, accompanied by other manual gestures, each time she emphasised a point.

  “I told you what happened to that girl in Moss Side, didn’t I?” She paused for a moment, then asked, “Does he have a key?”

  “Who?”

  “Leroy, of course. Does he have a key?”

  “Yeah, course he does. He lives here.”

  “Oh God, Jenny! So, he could walk in any time and catch you both at it. Jesus, he’d go ballistic!”

  Jenny went silent. She looked like a defeated woman, sitting with her shoulders hunched and her lips curved downwards. Rita could detect a look of sadness in her eyes.

  “Don’t tell me you actually expect me to feel sorry for you?”

  “You don’t understand, Rita.”

  “Go on, tell me. I can’t bleedin’ wait to hear this!”

  “Leroy’s changed, Rita. I thought he was alright when I first started seeing him. I’d heard about his reputation as a bit of a hard man, but it seemed cool. Everyone in the pubs gave me respect when I was with him, and it felt good … Oh, I know it sounds daft now, but it didn’t seem like that at the time.

  “And he treated me well. He was always buying me things, and calling me his woman and stuff. But now I hardly ever see him. He stays out all night sometimes, and when he comes in he doesn’t always stay long. I think he only comes home for the odd meal, a change of clothes and sex. And he doesn’t even talk to me with respect any more. Winston’s completely different …”

  Her voice was trembling, and Rita could sense that tears were imminent. She actually felt sorry for Jenny. She had always been naïve, and Rita could see how someone like Leroy had found it easy to charm his way into her life.

  “Come here, you daft sod,” she said, taking Jenny into her arms. Rita let Jenny have a few minutes of comfort before asking, “Why don’t you see if he’ll go back to his mother’s? Tell him it isn’t working for you; he’s not home enough.”

  “I wish it was that easy, Rita, but there’s no way he’ll leave here when I’m having his kid.”

  “Oh, like that is it? Shit, Jenny; you’ve got yourself in a right mess. You could always go back to my mam and dad’s, I suppose.”

  “That’s if my dad would have me. Don’t forget, he thinks the sun shines out of Leroy’s backside. Besides, how could I see Winston then? He lives in Moss Side with his family so it’s not as if I could go round to his; Leroy would find out. And I can hardly bring him round to my mam and dad’s. Anyway, I don’t even know how Leroy would take it if I walked out on him.”

  “OK, well let’s not worry about that at the moment; we’ll have to think of a way round things. Try to take your mind off it for now. All this stress can’t be good for the baby. How are you feeling anyway?”

  “Not too bad,” Jenny replied, stroking her rounded stomach.

  “How many weeks now?”

  “29.”

  “Well, you’ve not got too long to go. You just focus on looking after yourself and the baby. You never know, maybe Leroy might change once he’s a dad. It sometimes happens.”

  “He might; he’s still OK sometimes. I just wish he was like that all the time.”

  Although Rita had tried to reassure Jenny, she found it unlikely that Leroy would ever change. She had to give her some hope to cling onto though. At the moment Rita couldn’t think of anything
else to say that could offer her any assurances, but she’d have to come up with a way of helping her.

  Rita stayed at Jenny’s for a while, talking about a number of other topics to take Jenny’s mind off her troubles. She felt as though she was succeeding in her attempts, until she heard the sound of the front door rattling, accompanied by the dog’s barking. Leroy was home.

  “Act normal,” she whispered to Jenny, and she tried to think how she would act with Leroy under normal circumstances. It was the first time Rita had seen Leroy since she had first met him at her parents’ home. That was seven weeks ago, and although she hadn’t seen him since, she had found out a lot about him. None of it was good, but she remembered her promise to Jenny to be civil towards him. Besides, in view of what she had learnt, it was wise not to antagonise him. Her first impulse was to leave straightaway, but that would have displayed her aversion to Leroy, and she needed to put things right.

  “Alright?” she greeted, as he walked into the room.

  He briefly nodded his head in response, then disappeared.

  “Where d’you think he’s gone?” she whispered to Jenny, who shifted about in her armchair.

  “I don’t know.”

  They soon found out as the dog came bounding into the living room, with Leroy close behind.

  “What d’you lock the dog out for?”

  “Oh, Rita was a bit …” Rita’s warning look told Jenny not to go any further. Letting Leroy know how frightened she was would be a big mistake. Jenny picked up on her warning and changed tack, “… he was being a bit of a nuisance, and we were trying to talk.”

  Rita was careful not to let her relief show, which wasn’t difficult as she had tensed as soon as the dog approached her, and she now found it impossible to relax. Fortunately, the lure of his master was too good to resist and, as Leroy sat down in the remaining armchair, Tyson followed.

  ‘Mustn’t show I’m scared, mustn’t show I’m scared,’ she kept repeating to herself. She had heard somewhere that dogs can sense your fear, so she was determined to hide it from both the dog and Leroy.

  “Come here, boy. Who’s saying my Tyson’s a nuisance?” said Leroy.

  The affection was evident in his voice as he played with the dog, first of all lifting it and rubbing his head against its chest, then putting it back down on the floor. While Tyson was standing on his hind legs, Leroy took a soft toy, which he kept down the side of his chair. He put it inside Tyson’s mouth and the dog reacted. Drawing back its fleshy lips to expose razor sharp fangs, it grasped the toy between its teeth. Leroy yanked at the toy, laughing and teasing. Tyson was becoming excited, panting heavily and wagging his tail. When the dog had worked itself up into a frenzy, Leroy released the pressure, let Tyson settle down a little, then pulled again. He did this repeatedly.

  Although it was clear that the two of them were gaining a lot of enjoyment from this activity, all Rita could think was, ‘Look at the size of those teeth!’ To her it appeared that he was goading the dog, and she was worried that it might attack. The dog was built for fighting; it was as ripped as its owner, with a broad expanse of muscle across its neck and chest. Its huge, jagged teeth were centimetres from Leroy’s hand.

  “It’s a game they play,” Jenny commented.

  “He seems to be enjoying it,” said Rita, the catch in her voice betraying her attempt at indifference. She hoped Leroy hadn’t picked up on it. But he had.

  “Enough boy, down now!”

  Tyson was reluctant to give up his fun at first and hovered around Leroy’s chair, panting.

  “Fuckin’ sound dog, Tyson; only dog you could ever want. I tell you what, he’d always have my back,” he boasted to Rita.

  “I bet he would. He looks strong.”

  “Yeah, loyal as well. If I told him to attack you, one word from me and he’d have half your leg off.”

  A rush of fear went through Rita. Her heart was hammering, and she could feel her stomach churning. All of a sudden, she became aware of a pressing urge to urinate, but she didn’t dare get up to go to the toilet. To do so would attract the dog’s interest, and she didn’t want it approaching her, especially in such a heightened state.

  “Leroy!” admonished Jenny, half-heartedly.

  It was obvious that Jenny was wary of putting up too much of a protest, so Rita replied, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t do that; would you, Leroy? I mean, I’m almost your sister-in-law.”

  Leroy roared with laughter, and she hated herself for sucking up to him. Here she was trying to flatter his overblown ego, in an attempt to hide her fear. She felt almost as hypocritical as her father, and loathed having to kowtow to him.

  The mood became stilted, and Rita was thankful when Jenny announced that it was time for Tyson’s feed. She guessed that Jenny had done it deliberately, sensing how uncomfortable she was in Tyson’s presence, despite her brave act. Although she was glad to get rid of the dog, it left her alone with Leroy.

  He made no attempt at small talk, but the way he stared at her was unnerving. She knew it was deliberate. He had taken an instant dislike to her at her mother’s house, and now he was trying to make her feel uncomfortable. He was doing a damn good job of it too, but she wasn’t going to let it show.

  “So, Leroy, are you looking forward to being a dad?”

  “Course I am. It’s my first kid, innit? Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Just asking, making polite conversation, like people do with their sister’s boyfriends.”

  This met with silence again, so she tried a direct approach, “Look, Leroy, I know we got off on the wrong foot last time I met you. It’s not that I’ve got anything against you personally. I was just a bit put out because I was expecting to stay at my mam’s, and they never told me the score till I got there.”

  She knew that the reason they got off on the wrong foot was more his doing than hers, but perhaps he had noticed her distaste when she had seen him. Although she hadn’t said anything against him, maybe he had gathered by her reaction that she wasn’t impressed. Nevertheless, it was important to keep things amicable now; the last thing she wanted was to upset him and make matters worse.

  While she was waiting for his reply, Jenny and Tyson returned to the room. Rita’s need to go to the toilet was now becoming desperate, so she decided she must do something about it. She had stayed long enough to take some steps towards improving her relationship with Leroy.

  “I must get going now, Jenny,” she announced, “but I’ll have to nip to the loo first.”

  She gave Jenny a few seconds to react, before standing up. To her relief, Jenny took hold of the dog. ‘Thank Christ for that,’ thought Rita. ‘For a minute I thought she was going to stand by and watch, while Tyson tucked in.’

  Rita headed for the bathroom, her legs quivering. She prayed that Jenny would have hold of Tyson when she came back out. Thankfully she did, so Rita popped her head back into the living room, wished them all a cheery goodbye and got out of the house as quickly as she could. As she walked to the bus stop, with her limbs shaking and her heart thumping, she decided that, in future, if she saw Leroy’s car parked outside the house when she approached, she would turn around and go straight back to Julie’s.

  Chapter 17

  Wednesday 1st May 1991 - afternoon

  The funeral procession crawled along Princess Road, en route to Southern Cemetery. In the first car following the hearse were Mikey’s estranged parents, united by grief. His poor mother had no idea of Mikey’s involvement with the Buckthorn Crew until it was too late. She knew about some of his escapades, having had to bear the shame and embarrassment when the police had hauled him in for shoplifting. But this!

  Sitting next to his parents were Mikey’s sisters, young girls still at school, whose memories would be tarnished forever by this day. In the second car were the grandparents, aunts and uncles who remembered Mikey as a cute, cheeky toddler not so long ago.

  Leroy, Mad Trevor and the rest of the Buckthorn Crew followed the processio
n in their flash motors funded by drug money. They kept an eye out for any signs of trouble. It wasn’t unknown for a rival gang to hit a funeral procession, knowing they could wipe out several of their enemies at once.

  Throughout the service and the wake, members of the Buckthorn Crew were respectful. They commiserated the family and said all the right things. However, the sorrow of the day underlined the fact that revenge was imminent.

  When the mourners started to go home, Leroy, Mad Trevor and the other Buckthorns also left the wake. They made their way to one of their regular haunts, a place where they could plan their next move.

  Leroy was livid. “It’s a fuckin’ disgrace. The kid was only sixteen, for Christ’s sake!”

  “Someone’s gotta pay for this,” said Carl.

  “That’s obvious, innit?”

  “Do we know who did it?” asked one of the other gang members.

  Mad Trevor chipped in, relaying the message that someone had slipped through his letterbox. “We know it’s the MSC. There were a few of ’em. They took him somewhere to torture him. That’s how they found out my address, but we only know who one of ’em is. I’ve had to move my family into a rented place. It’s a diabolical fuckin’ liberty!”

  “Right,” said Leroy. “If there were a few of ’em, then I vote we take out a few of them.”

  “How?” asked Carl.

  “We know some of the places they hang out. Let’s get Mikey’s little mates to trail ’em. They’ll be dying to get involved; they’ll want revenge.”

  “We don’t want any more kids killed,” said the gang member who had spoken previously.

  Leroy could see that Mad Trevor was warming to his idea. This was confirmed when he spoke. “No kids need to get killed. We just use them to spy on the MSC. We’ll do the big stuff, and we’ll leave it a couple of weeks. Let’s take ’em when they’re not expecting us. It’ll be a nice big fuckin’ surprise.”

  The other gang members cheered and raised their glasses.

  “To the Buckthorn Crew,” said Leroy.