The Victim

by Kimberley Chambers

  Sammy’s father had been the one to collect his son’s body and Sammy was given a private send-off less than twenty-four hours after his death. Jimmy had known the bullets were meant for Jed and had begged his brother not to involve the police. ‘If you involve the gavvers, all our lives will be in danger. We’ll sort things in our own time and in our own way,’ Jimmy had promised, before heading up to Scotland.

  ‘You’ve been quiet today, Jed. Are you OK?’ Lola asked, walking into the bedroom.

  ‘I was just thinking about life, but I’m OK. I’m not working today, so shall we do something? We can take Shelby out somewhere if you want.’ Since moving to Scotland, Jed had given up his previous career of conning old people. Without Sammy by his side, it just wasn’t the same and he was also afraid of getting his collar felt and blowing his cover. These days he earned his dosh buying and selling horses and motors and he also did a bit of roofing here and there. He was by no means rich, but was reasonably well off, and was happy enough with his lot. Jed stood up, put his arms around his wife and smiled.

  ‘Well, whaddya think?’

  ‘I think it would do you good to go out for a drink with your dad and the boys. I might take Georgie shopping. Your mum can look after Shelby for us, can’t she?’

  Jed looked into his wife’s beautiful face and, not for the first time, thought how lucky he was. At twenty years old, Lola was seven years younger than him. She had naturally curly, long dark hair, pale blue sparkling eyes and a sunny, upbeat nature.

  ‘I really do love you, girl. I’ll go and give the old man a knock now. I fancy a pint or six.’

  Lola grinned. ‘You just make sure you have fun.’

  Back in Essex, Frankie sat staring at the phone, willing it to ring. Her dad had told her not to call him, but had promised to call her if and when he had anything important to disclose.

  ‘Will you stop it, Brett? You’re getting on Mummy’s nerves today,’ Frankie shouted, as her son strummed his toy guitar and sang a silly song at the top of his voice.

  ‘Why can’t I go to school with Kelvin?’ Brett asked sulkily.

  ‘Why don’t I take him to McDonald’s? It’ll give you and Joey a chance to have a good natter,’ Babs offered.

  ‘I dunno. My dad said not to let him out of my sight until all this is over,’ Frankie replied anxiously.

  ‘Yeah, McDonald’s!’ Brett shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.

  ‘I know he said don’t send him to school, Frankie, but the boy needs a bit of fresh air. Anyway, nothing will have happened just yet, your dad would have called you if it had.’

  Frankie shrugged. ‘Go on then, but don’t be too long.’

  As the front door closed, Frankie’s eyes welled up and she fell into her brother’s arms. ‘What if Katie was lying to me, or say Dad gets killed or something. And what about Stuart? He might get murdered as well, or Gary and Ricky,’ she said.

  ‘You’re thinking silly now. Jed might be an arsehole, but he’s hardly a mass murderer,’ Joey replied, stroking his sister’s hair.

  ‘He is. You don’t know him like I do.’

  ‘What you talking about, Frankie? Who has he meant to have killed, then?’ Joey asked concerned.

  Knowing she had already said too much, Frankie shook her head and wiped her eyes. Her family would never forgive her for keeping her grandfather’s death to herself, so what was the point of upsetting everybody? ‘No one. I’m sorry, I’m just being over-dramatic.’

  Eddie Mitchell was becoming extremely impatient, but more excited by the minute. He’d recognised Jimmy O’Hara as soon as he’d got out of a grey Shogun and strolled into the pub, but he hadn’t recognised Jed. Raymond had, though, he’d sworn blind it was the little shit, and Ed could barely wait to follow them home.

  ‘Over four hours they’ve been in there now. Surely they can’t be much longer if Jimmy’s driving?’ he said to the lads, who were all sitting in the back of the van. It had been decided that Stuart would drive the Renault with Baldwin in the back, and Ricky would drive the Merc with the rest of them in the back.

  ‘One good thing about ’em taking so fucking long is they’re bound to be pissed and less alert,’ Gary replied.

  ‘The door’s just opened again,’ Ricky said excitedly.

  They could clearly see the pub from where they were parked, but were far enough away to avoid suspicion. Having said that, a few locals had given them the odd glance earlier.

  Eddie looked through his binoculars. ‘Nah, that’s some old boy. Hang on a minute, this might be Jimmy following him out, I think. Yep, he’s walked over to the Shogun. Right, lads, get in the other van and you pull away before us.’

  ‘Is Jed with him?’ Raymond asked Eddie.

  ‘Not sure, someone’s just followed him out, but I can’t see who, he’s got his back to me now.’

  When Jimmy switched the lights of the Shogun on, Eddie jumped in the back and waited for Stuart to drive past. ‘Go, Ricky, and whatever you do, don’t lose the cunt.’

  Oblivious to the fact they were being followed, Jimmy and Jed were in an inebriated, jolly frame of mind.

  ‘I love my Lola, you know. Never messed her about, Dad, not once since the day I met the girl,’ Jed slurred.

  Jimmy chuckled. He was glad Jed had found happiness, but he’d only been with Lola for three years, and he doubted his son’s abstinence from other women would last for ever. ‘The thing with us travelling men, Jed, is poking the same hole for years on end gets boring, boy. I mean, good luck to ya if you can do it, but if you can you’re a better man than most.’

  ‘I wanna be a good role model to my chavvies and their partners. Georgie’s found herself a good ’un with that Ryan Maloney, and I’m gonna have a man-to-man chat with him now they’ve got serious. I won’t let him mess her around, Dad. If he does, I’ll beat the granny out of him.’

  ‘You can’t be beating the granny out of Ryan, Jed. He’s Mickey’s boy and we don’t wanna upset him, do we now? Anyway, our Georgie’s too young to be getting overly serious with lads. Your mother nearly had a cardiac when she spotted that ring on her finger.’

  ‘My Georgie’s mature for her age. She knows what she wants and she won’t open her legs to get it. I bet her and Ryan get hitched as soon as she’s sixteen. I don’t worry about Georgie at all, Harry worries me more. Proper little fucker he is lately, he’ll chore anything that ain’t nailed down. I don’t mind him choring, but I don’t wanna see him getting nicked.’

  ‘With me and you as role models, what do you expect?’ Jimmy said seriously.

  Seeing the funny side of Jimmy’s comment, both men laughed.

  * * *

  Eddie Mitchell was anything but happy as he clambered into the front seat. ‘You fucking idiot,’ he said, clouting Ricky around the side of his head.

  ‘It weren’t my fault. O’Hara shot through the lights, so did Stuart, and the motor in front of me stopped dead. What was I meant to do? Shunt him off the road?’

  ‘Just put your fucking foot down and drive. He can’t have got far,’ Eddie shouted.

  ‘There’s a sign saying Moodiesburn. Shall I go that way?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘I don’t care which way you go, just find the pikey cunts,’ Eddie yelled.

  ‘I’ll ring Tel’s number and make sure him and Stu are still tailing ’em,’ Gary said, trying to take the onus off his brother’s mistake.

  ‘When he answers, pass me the phone,’ Ed ordered.

  ‘There’s no answer,’ Gary said seconds later.

  ‘Ring Stu then, just keep trying the fucking pair of ’em,’ Eddie screamed in annoyance.

  ‘Stu’s phone’s on answerphone, so is Tel’s now. They must be somewhere where there’s no signal,’ Gary said anxiously. He knew his father was about to blow his top and that was never a pleasant sight.

  Ricky drove along aimlessly for another six or seven minutes, then finally his father’s phone rang.

  ‘Did you stay with ’em, Tel?’ Ed as
ked immediately. He listened to what Baldwin had to say, ended the call and smirked.

  ‘We’ve got ’em. Tel said they’re living on what looks like a private bit of land off the A80, which is the road that runs between Glasgow and Stirling. First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll head down there and grab the kids.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Frankie didn’t know if she was coming or going the following day. Her dad had rung her late the previous night to tell her what had happened, and, even though she had been sure that Katie was telling the truth, the realisation that Jed was definitely still alive filled her with dread.

  ‘I made you a coffee, Frankie, and you must eat some food today. Brett’s been crying again, he say he wanna go a school with Kelvin,’ Babs said, as Frankie came down the stairs.

  ‘I wish he could go to school, but I daren’t go against what my dad told me to do.’

  Babs shrugged. ‘I don’t see what the O’Haras are gonna do if they in Scotland, and Brett gotta go back to school sometime. Why don’t you have a word with his teacher? Tell her to be extra vigilant.’

  Frankie shook her head. ‘I think my dad’s worried that the O’Haras might know what area I’m living in and what school Brett goes to. It doesn’t matter if they’re in Scotland, mate, they’ll still have contacts locally, and if my dad snatches Georgie and Harry, they might have Brett abducted so they can get them back again.’

  Babs shuddered. ‘I think I’ll keep Kelvin home today an’ all, then. They can keep one another amused, can’t they? What about Joey, is he coming round again?’

  Frankie nodded. ‘Joey and Dom have booked the rest of the week off work, so they’re both coming round. My nan and grandad wanted to come over as well, but I told the boys not to pick ’em up. I love ’em and all that, but they do my head in at times and I can do without the extra stress of them two arguing.’

  ‘I tell you one thing, sweet child, when them kiddies of yours arrive home safely, you have to show gratitude to that Katie girl. I always said she was OK, didn’t I? I knew she were genuine.’

  Frankie put her head in her hands to hide the embarrassment she felt. ‘I know, and I feel so awful for the way I spoke to her in prison. She only wanted to be my friend and just because she was a traveller, I treated her like a piece of shit. I will never judge a book by its cover again, Babs, and as soon as I’ve got Georgie and Harry settled, I will make it up to Katie. I owe her big time.’

  Over in Rainham, Joycie was extremely perturbed by Joey’s refusal to make Dominic come and pick her and Stanley up. Since her husband had written off her beloved Jaguar, Joycie had got quite friendly with her local mini-cab firm and today she had no intention of missing out on all the drama.

  ‘Hurry up with them pigeons, Stanley, then go and get yourself spruced up. Oh, and pack your overnight bag.’

  ‘Where we going?’ Stanley asked, perplexed.

  ‘Frankie’s. I told you the other day that Eddie was going to Scotland to find Georgie and Harry. Well, Joey rang this morning, reckons he might have found them.’

  ‘Who’s coming to pick us up, Dominic?’ Stanley asked.

  ‘No, we’re getting a cab. I’ll ask for that elderly man, Sid. He always does a special price for me, lovely chap he is.’

  ‘Has Frankie actually invited us over?’ Stanley asked suspiciously. He knew how Joycie had a habit of turning up at people’s houses when she wasn’t particularly welcome.

  ‘Nope, don’t think she wanted us there, but we’re going anyway,’ Joycie replied stubbornly.

  ‘We can’t just turn up uninvited, love. Frankie’s probably at her wits’ end, and she might not want people around her if she ain’t herself.’

  ‘Well, Dominic’s going round there with Joey and he’s not even related. Whether Frankie likes it or not, we’re the only grandparents she has and we shall be there for her in her hour of need. Now, chop chop and get your arse in gear.’

  * * *

  Eddie Mitchell picked up his binoculars once more. He’d recognised Georgie immediately. She looked a lot older than her tender thirteen years, but her similarity to Frankie at a younger age was uncanny. Harry was a different kettle of fish. There were nine mobile homes on what looked like a private bit of land and Ed had seen at least five lads that could pass for Harry’s age, but none of them had light-blonde hair.

  ‘That fat slag Alice has just come out her trailer again. It’s gotta be Harry who she keeps speaking to, surely?’ Eddie questioned, handing the binoculars to Raymond.

  ‘It don’t look like him to me, Ed, but I suppose kids change in time,’ Raymond replied sceptically.

  Gary snatched the binoculars that Raymond was peering through. ‘It must be him; Alice has just clouted him round the head.’

  ‘I need a slash. Keep watch for Jimmy or Jed to make a move,’ Eddie said as he stood up. He’d already seen Jed earlier and, unlike the previous evening, had recognised the little shit immediately.

  Gary turned to Raymond as soon as his old man was out of earshot. ‘We can’t just fucking run on the site tooled up and drag them off by their hair. Have a word with him, Raymondo, he’ll listen to you.’

  ‘I will, but you know what he’s like, Gal. That’s definitely Harry; Jed’s just given him some dosh. He must be on his way out, I reckon,’ Raymond replied, eyes glued to the binoculars.

  Eddie’s legs were as stiff as a board as he walked back to the lads. They hadn’t been able to drive the vans near enough to spot the kids clearly because the O’Haras were living on private land. Terry and Stuart were parked down the road, looking after both vans and watching the front of the site, while Ed and the rest of the lads had spent the past few hours crouched down and peeping around the side of an old barn.

  ‘Jed’s just got in a pick-up truck with a bird and a little kid, and Ray’s just seen him give that boy we thought might be Harry some money. It’s definitely gotta be him, Dad, although I must say he looks entirely different to how we imagined,’ Gary said to his father.

  Eddie snatched the binoculars off Raymond and studied the lad in question. He was totally unrecognisable from the timid-looking blonde-haired boy he’d known as a child.

  ‘So what happens now, Ed? We can’t just steam in there like a load of loonies. There’s a few blokes other than Jed and Jimmy living there, and for all we know, they could have shooters and all sorts,’ Raymond said to his boss.

  Eddie handed the binoculars over to Ricky and stood up again. Debating what to do for the best, he ran his fingers up and down the stubble on his chin. ‘I don’t think we’ve got a lot of choice but to go in there like headless chickens. I mean, I can’t exactly imagine, by looking at Georgie and Harry, that they go skipping out the fucking site hand in hand together, can you?’ Ed replied.

  Raymond shrugged. ‘Can’t we just watch their movements for a couple of days? They can’t spend their whole lives cooped up in there, surely, so perhaps we’re better waiting for either of ’em to go out and snatch ’em individually.’

  ‘Fucking hell, Dad, our Georgie’s only got a boyfriend. Look, they’re going for it hammer and tongs behind the beige trailer next to Jimmy’s,’ Ricky said.

  Eddie grabbed the binoculars off his son and stared through them in complete and utter horror. Having seen enough of his thirteen-year-old granddaughter’s breasts being groped, he threw the binoculars onto the ground in disgust. ‘Right, seeing that has fucking made my mind up. Let’s get back to the van and as soon as Jimmy goes out, we’ll give it ten minutes or so, then in we go. Them kids are coming home with me today, ’cause if they don’t, I’ll end up killing every single pikey cunt that raised ’em.’

  Frankie glanced at her brother as their nan took the embroidered handkerchief out of her handbag and began dabbing her eyes with it.

  ‘Truly hurt, me and your grandfather were, weren’t we, Stanley? Feeling unloved and unwanted at our age is enough to kill the pair of us off,’ Joyce said in a sorrowful voice.

  ‘Fra
nkie wasn’t being horrible, Nan. She didn’t even really want me and Dom to come over today. Surely you understand what a difficult time this is for her?’ Joey said, sticking up for his sister.

  ‘It’s a difficult time for all of us. Georgie and Harry were my Jessica’s grandchildren and she’d want me to be here for their homecoming,’ Joyce replied stubbornly.

  Not wanting a full-scale argument to ensue, Dominic stood up. ‘Now who would like a drink? Tea, coffee, something stronger perhaps?’ he asked brightly.

  ‘I’ll have a cup of tea, please,’ Stanley replied.

  ‘And I’ll have a large brandy and Baileys. After feeling like some decrepit outsider, perhaps it will cheer me up a bit,’ Joyce added sarcastically.

  Fuming with her grandmother’s insensitivity over her plight, Frankie grabbed her brother’s arm and dragged him out of the lounge. ‘Nan is really getting on my tits, Joey, so either shut her up or get rid of her,’ she hissed.

  ‘I can’t just sling her out, can I?’ Joey replied uncomfortably.

  Frankie glared at him. ‘Well, I’m telling you now, one more word out of that drama-queen mouth of hers and I will. I’ll drag her out the door by her fucking bouffant if I have to, so best you sort her out.’

  After what seemed like an endless wait, Jimmy O’Hara finally went out at two o’clock that afternoon. He had a couple of other blokes who obviously lived on the site in his Shogun as well, which in Ed’s eyes was an added bonus and a good omen.

  ‘I’m sure Jed clocked me earlier, but Jimmy didn’t even glance our way,’ Stuart said as O’Hara’s Shogun drove past them. Both vans were parked in a nearby layby, but far enough away from the site to avoid too much suspicion.