East End Retribution

by Dani Oakley

  He checked his watch. Linda would be finishing up at Bevels very soon so he wouldn’t make it to the factory before she left. Instead, he headed to her house. If he planned it right, he could be passing just as she returned home.

  Yes, that would be perfect. He’d make it look like a casual meeting.

  He paced back and forward in front of Linda’s house for a few minutes before it hit him. What was the matter with him? He was behaving as though he didn’t have a brain. He was holding a bunch of flowers! How was he going to pretend just to be passing? She would see through him straightaway.

  He cursed his stupidity under his breath, ran a hand through his hair and contemplated doing a runner.

  He raised his head, saw Linda walking towards him and almost legged it.

  His large hands clutched at the violets, and he swallowed hard as she made her way towards him. What was the matter with him?

  He didn’t get scared, so how could a woman like Linda put the fear of God into him?

  He stood there like a lemon, waiting for her, and when she reached her front door, her face lit up with a smile.

  “Tim? Are you waiting for me?”

  Tim managed to nod and then mumbled something about just passing and then thrust the violets at Linda.

  She looked a little confused but didn’t laugh in his face, which Tim took as a good sign.

  Then he smiled from ear to ear when she invited him in for a cup of tea.

  * * *

  Tim was happy with how things were going. Linda had made them both a nice cup of tea and had been polite enough to laugh at the stories he had told her about working in the garage. They spent a little time talking about Jimmy Diamond. Linda had never had children herself and looked on Jimmy as a kind of surrogate son. Although they weren’t blood-related, it was clear to see from the smile on Linda’s face as she talked about Jimmy that she saw him as family.

  Once it had been very hard for Tim to talk about Jimmy Diamond. It brought back memories, horrific, terrifying memories. Tim had never made peace with himself over what had happened to Jimmy’s mother all those years ago, the only way he could live with himself now was to dedicate himself to making sure that Jimmy was all right and safe from Martin Morton.

  He didn’t believe in forgiveness, and maybe he didn’t deserve any happiness at all, but he no longer had the nightmares quite so often, and he didn’t need to drink to fall asleep anymore.

  Every time Jimmy’s grandmother, Mary Diamond, saw him out and about, she glared at him as though she would like to murder him with her bare hands, and Tim couldn’t blame her for that.

  As he sipped his tea, he couldn’t help wondering just how much Linda knew about the events of that night all those years ago.

  Almost everyone in the East End suspected that Martin Morton had ordered the murder of Jimmy’s mother, but did Linda suspect Tim was involved?

  Because he had let his mind wander, he had missed the last question Linda asked him.

  He gritted his teeth and smiled apologetically. “Sorry,” he said.

  Linda gave him a puzzled frown and then repeated her question. “I wondered whether you would like to stay for something to eat?”

  Tim glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall, and for the first time, realised how long he’d stayed. Linda would be wanting to prepare dinner, and it had been very rude of him to impose so long.

  He shook his head and got to his feet quickly. “No, sorry. I’ve taken up far too much of your time already. Thank you for the lovely cup of tea…”

  Tim’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of a movement at the front window. Linda was still sitting down and hadn’t seen who was outside, but Tim had.

  It was Mary Diamond.

  No doubt she had been about to knock on Linda’s door, probably to ask to borrow some sugar or something like that, but when she caught sight of Tim in Linda’s house, a look of horror flashed across her face before she turned around and scurried off.

  Tim sighed heavily. He should have known he couldn’t put something like this behind him. It wasn’t something he could ever be forgiven for.

  He smiled apologetically at Linda. “I’d better be off. Thanks again for the tea.”

  He knew he was confusing Linda by turning up with flowers and then doing a runner, but Tim needed to speak to Mary. He wanted her to know that he was no risk to her family at all now. He didn’t want her to be scared of him any longer.

  Thanks to Tim’s long strides, he quickly caught up with Mary Diamond before she reached her own house.

  She froze when she heard his voice.

  “Mary, give me a minute,” Tim requested.

  She turned around slowly, a look of scorn on her face, and Tim felt the words he was about to utter dry up in his throat.

  “What were you doing at Linda’s?” Mary demanded. “She’s a good girl. Far too good for the likes of you.”

  Tim would have liked to argue, but he knew Mary was right. Linda really was too good for him.

  “I’d like to have a word with you, please,” Tim requested.

  He glanced along the street towards where Mary and Jimmy lived. “Is Jimmy home?”

  “He’s gone out with little Georgie,” Mary said. “But if you think I’m inviting you into my home, you’ve got another think coming.”

  Tim let out a sigh. How could he argue with that? The last time Tim had barged his way into Mary Diamond’s house uninvited, he’d threatened the life of her grandson. He was the reason that Mary had taken Jimmy out of the East End when he’d been only a baby.

  “I know I did wrong, Mary. I was working for Morton, and I did terrible things, but I need you to know I’m a changed man. I would never hurt Linda.”

  Mary stared up at him so fiercely that Tim felt an irresistible urge to look away, but he forced himself to keep eye contact.

  Finally, Mary gave a sniff and nodded then said, “I suppose you better come inside then.”

  Tim nodded and meekly followed Mary along the street until they reached her house. He followed her inside and closed the door behind her as she walked into the kitchen and then turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

  Tim was gratified to realise that she wasn’t scared of him. She was angry, furious, and she probably hated his guts, but she wasn’t scared.

  As he looked into Mary’s eyes, he realised he needed to make a decision and fast. He needed to decide how much he was going to tell Mary. He couldn’t tell her all of it. He could never confess it all to anyone… What he did the night Kathleen died, the night Martin Morton had ordered her death, would go with him to the grave.

  “I’ve done a lot of bad things, Mary, but I’ve changed.”

  Mary laughed. “Oh, yes, you’ve changed, have you? You’ve just swapped allegiances. You don’t work for Morton anymore, now you work for Carter.”

  Tim nodded slowly. He couldn’t deny that, but in his eyes, working for Dave Carter was very different.

  “Dave is an honourable man,” Tim said.

  Surely Mary Diamond couldn’t hold anything against Dave. He’d been very good to her and Jimmy.

  Mary folded her arms over her chest. “You may work for Dave and spend your days with my grandson, but if I had my way, you wouldn’t be anywhere near him. What do you think he would say if I let him know that you threatened him when he was just a baby?”

  Tim struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. “Please, don’t tell him.”

  “You’re a strange one,” Mary said, tapping the side of her head. “I don’t think you’re all there.”

  Tim gripped the edge of one of the kitchen chairs and leant on it heavily. “I can’t make you believe me, but I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’ll do anything to make it up to Jimmy. I’d lay down my life for the boy. You probably won’t believe that, but…” He trailed off. Tim had never been good with words, and now his words failed him again.

  Mary frowned and looked at him through narrowed eyes. “That’s the
thing,” she said. “I know you’ve been looking out for Jimmy. I know you saved him after that fire, and you stopped Martin Morton ending the poor boy’s life for good, what I don’t understand is why you would do it.”

  “Because I owe him,” Tim blurted out. I’ll never be able to repay the debt I owe him, Mary. I just want you to know that as long as I’m around as long as I still have breath in my body, I swear to you I will keep that boy safe.”

  Mary hesitated before replying, and when she did, the words felt like a punch to Tim’s gut. “Did you kill her? Did you kill my Kathleen?”

  Tim couldn’t speak. His knuckles turned white because he was gripping the back of the chair so hard. He gulped in a couple of breaths and then shook his head. He couldn’t speak the lie aloud.

  “Tell me what happened that night,” Mary demanded.

  Again, Tim could only shake his head.

  “Tell me!”

  This time Tim managed to reply. “I can’t tell you that, Mary. I just can’t.”

  “You mean you won’t!” Mary said scornfully. “Well, at least tell me whether or not Martin was the one who ordered her death.”

  Tim slowly raised his head and met Mary’s gaze and said, “I think you already know the answer to that question, Mary.”

  Mary’s face paled.

  For a moment, Tim thought she was about to burst into tears, but instead, she gave a cold smile.

  Mary Diamond’s eyes glittered with fury as she said, “Oh, I know he did. I know without a shadow of a doubt.”

  Chapter 14

  William Moss, ex-solicitor, stared down into his glass of whisky and tried not to cry. He regretted the day he had met Martin Morton.

  Their first meeting hadn’t been in the most salubrious of settings. Martin called off two nasty bastards trying to beat him up in the prison yard, and William had stupidly believed he had got lucky that day. The truth was that was only the start of his nightmare.

  Now they were both out of prison, Martin had kept his promise of giving William a job, he’d been thrilled at first because he knew he would never get a job working in a solicitor’s office again. Not even as a clerk.

  Martin Morton had a way of draining the life out of the people who worked for him.

  Especially when they didn’t give him the answer he wanted.

  “Are you going to keep looking at that whisky or are you going to drink it?” Martin demanded.

  It was only him and Martin in the flat over the club, which made William nervous. Anything could happen, and nobody would know. Nobody would even miss him.

  William tried to smile and lifted his whisky to his lips. He took a sip, but it tasted bitter. Much like his life.

  “Well, are you going to give me an update?” Martin asked as he stalked across the living area and sat down in an armchair.

  William swallowed and then licked his lips. He really couldn’t put off the bad news any longer.

  “Of course,” William began. “I’m afraid to tell you that we are out of options. We have exploited every legal loophole open to us, and it’s not possible to keep your wife in prison any longer.”

  William said the words all in a rush because he was terrified of Martin’s reaction.

  When he finally looked up, he saw that Martin was smiling. That most definitely hadn’t been what he’d expected.

  “Do you understand?” William said. “Your wife will be getting out next week. There’s nothing we can do about it. Unless she gets into trouble on her own.” William shrugged.

  They had spent the last few years with Tony Morton paying through the nose for a legal representative for Babs Morton, and then William blackmailed that same legal representative on Martin’s behalf, making sure Babs lost every appeal.

  She certainly hadn’t helped herself, though, by getting into numerous fights in prison.

  William Moss had never met Babs Morton, but from the sound of her, she sounded very much like her husband. Terrifying.

  “Of course, I understand,” Martin said with a smile. “I’m not a bloody simpleton. I might not be looking forward to her getting out, but these things happen.”

  He leant back in his armchair and cracked his knuckles.

  William looked at him in confusion. Was that it? Was he dismissed? Could he just get up and leave? He’d been expecting shouting or at the very least some threatening words, but Martin seemed resigned to the fact that his wife was getting out.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been unable to do more,” William said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Martin said. “I know you’ve done all you can. You’ve been very loyal, William.”

  William gave a tentative smile and then took another sip of his whisky before another unsettling thought hit him. Was Martin letting him go?

  For the last few years, William had wished he could get away. He’d thought of little else. He’d even imagined himself rushing off to Spain, setting up a business and making his living out there, but now Martin seemed to be shrugging him off, William started to realise just how lost he was going to be without Martin Morton.

  He had a criminal record. Where was he going to get a job? What would he do to earn money?

  “I… I’m glad you’re happy with the work I’ve done for you,” William stammered. “I hope we will be able to continue to work together.”

  Martin sank back in his armchair, took a sip of his whisky and gave William a lazy smile. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve got plenty of things for you to do.”

  * * *

  It was late, after lights out, and Babs was lying on the top of her bunk, looking at the peeling paint on the ceiling. She shared a cell with three other women. Jane and Liz were already sound asleep, and Jane was snoring like a foghorn, as per usual.

  Gertie, who lay on the bunk below, was still awake, too. Babs could tell from the sound of her breathing.

  With a sigh, Babs turned over, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks. Now that she knew she was really getting out of there, her mind had been full of plans for what she would do as soon as she was free, and most of those plans focused on revenge. Babs smiled coldly into her pillow. She had so many options; so many ways she could make Martin suffer.

  “Are you still awake?” Gertie said from the bunk below, prodding Babs’s mattress with her foot.

  “Well, if I weren’t, I would be now that your bastard toes are poking me through this thin mattress.”

  Babs peered over the side of the bed and could see Gertie below smiling sheepishly.

  “Sorry. I guessed you’d be finding it hard to sleep as well.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about what I’m going to do when I get out,” Babs said. “I’ve got so much stuff to organise.”

  She leant further over the bed so she could see Gertie’s face clearly. “What’s your excuse? Is Jane’s snoring keeping you awake?”

  Gertie shook her head. “No, I’m used to that by now. I was just thinking what life will be like in here with you gone. I’ll miss you, you know.”

  Babs smiled. “You old softy. You’ll be fine. You never know, you might be out sooner than you think.”

  Gertie’s eyes looked dull as she stared at the base of Babs’s bed. “I don’t want to get out. I prefer life on the inside.”

  “Are you mental?” Babs couldn’t believe it. Why would anybody want to stay in here? She couldn’t bleeding wait to get her freedom back. Being told when she could eat and when she could exercise got on her nerves. She wasn’t the type who took kindly to being bossed around.

  “It’s safe in here,” Gertie said simply. I don’t have to worry about my old man drinking the housekeeping money and having no food for the coming week, and I don’t have to be terrified he might come home from the pub and beat the living daylights out of me.”

  Babs sighed. It made her realise that there was always someone worse off than she was. She’d been so wrapped up in her own situation because that
was all she’d had to think about, but every woman in here had a tale to tell. They all had their own sob stories and reasons for ending up in prison, and most of the time, it was down to a man.

  Babs knew Gertie didn’t have any children. There wasn’t anyone waiting for her on the outside. The one thing that kept Babs going in prison was the knowledge she would be able to hug her children again without being shouted at by the prison screws when she was released.

  “It doesn’t have to be like that, Gertie. When you get out, you come and see me. I’ll make sure you’re all right. We’ve got to stick together, haven’t we?” Babs said, trying to cheer the old girl up.

  Both she and Gertie knew that was only a pipe dream, though. Gertie would be inside for another twenty years at least. Still, she wanted to offer Gertie some sort of comfort.

  “And I’ll be back to visit you. Don’t you worry about that. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  Gertie grinned, showing her missing teeth. “Now who’s the mental one? Why on earth would you want to come back here once you get out and back to your family?”

  Babs opened her mouth to reply, but before she could there was a tremendous noise made by an object clanging against the metal bars and door of their cell.

  Babs’s heart leapt in her chest, and she shot up to a sitting position. Gertie and Jane practically fell out of their beds with shock.

  The four women, who had been rudely awakened, stared wide-eyed at each other.

  Babs saw the flash of a face pass by the small hole in the door. But it was gone before she could see who it was.

  “What the bleeding hell is going on?” Babs demanded, slipping out of bed and climbing down the side of her bunk, her nightie hitched up to her hips.

  She made her way to the door and peered out. She pulled a face when she saw the leering face of Mean Maud lurking in the corridor.

  “You nasty cow,” Babs said. “Haven’t you got anything better to do?”