‘No. My family are out of Canning Town and I live up that way. I share a flat with me brother, Ronny. It’s nothing special, we live above a pet shop along the Barking Road.’
Stanley carried on prying. ‘And what do you do for a living? If you don’t mind me asking?’
Eddie smiled. The old boy didn’t like him, he could sense it a mile off. ‘My dad owns a load of salvage yards. He’s retired now, so me and my brothers run them for him.’
Stanley felt fear wash over him. Canning Town? Salvage yards? Surely he wasn’t one of the Mitchell boys – please God, no.
Dreading the answer, it took Stan a while to pluck up the courage to ask the all-important question. ‘Before I met Joycie, I used to live in Canning Town myself. I remember a lot of the old school. What’s your father’s name?’
Eddie smirked. ‘Harry Mitchell. You probably know him, most people do.’
Stanley took a large gulp of his drink and started to choke. Unable to breathe properly, he fell off the chair and onto all fours.
Aware of her husband going redder and redder in the face, Joyce stood up and repeatedly thumped him on the back. Embarrassed that he’d made a show of her in front of Eddie, she tried to make a joke of it. ‘He spends so much time watching them bleedin’ horses on telly, he’s started to behave like one now. Giddy up, giddy up,’ she said, laughing.
Feeling as though he was about to have a heart attack, Stan managed to heave himself up and stand on two feet. ‘Went down the wrong hole,’ he gasped, as he legged it from the room.
Joyce smiled at Eddie. ‘You’ll have to excuse my Stanley. He’s not used to having visitors, but he’s a good man deep down, and once you get to know him, I’m sure you’ll like him.’
Eddie grinned. He doubted that very much. ‘I’m sure we’ll get on like a house on fire, Mrs Smith. Now, is there any chance of having another piece of that wonderful fruit cake?’
Joyce beamed as she handed him a slice. What a charming chap, she thought.
Stanley sat in the shed and tried his best to compose himself. Canning Town had a notorious reputation for producing villainous families and they didn’t come much worse than the Mitchells. Bootlegging, pub protection, illegal boxing. Rumour had it that over the years the bastards had had a finger in every pie going.
Stanley remembered Harry Mitchell as though it were yesterday. He’d been standing in a pub in East Ham having a drink with Roger Dodds, his old school pal. All of a sudden the door had burst open and the pub had fallen silent. A man in a suit and trilby hat walked towards them.
‘Which one of you is Roger Dodds?’ he’d asked menacingly.
Crapping himself, Stan had nodded towards his friend. Seconds later, Roger Dodds had his face slashed and his right eye taken out with a broken bottle.
The man in the trilby hat had then ordered a Scotch, downed it in one, apologised for any inconvenience and casually strolled out of the pub.
That man in the trilby was Harry Mitchell. Apparently, Dodds’s father had fucked him over for a load of money and that was payback time.
Deep in thought, Stanley didn’t hear the shed door creak open. It was Eddie. Stanley leaped up. ‘What’s going on? What do you want?’ he asked nervously.
Eddie stared at him. ‘Calm down, you’ll give yourself a cardiac. The girls were worried about you. They said you’d be in the shed, so I thought I’d check you were OK.’
Stan nodded. ‘I’m fine now. It took me a while to catch me breath, so I came out here for a sit down.’
Desperate for some fresh air, Stanley led Eddie away from the shed. He locked the door, then was horrified as he felt a massive arm go round his shoulder.
Eddie smiled. He could almost smell the old man’s fright. ‘Actually, I wanted to have a quiet word with you, man to man, like.’
Stan looked at him in horror. He’d only been dating Jessica for a month; surely he wasn’t going to ask his permission to marry her.
Eddie stood in front of him and looked him straight in the eye. ‘The thing is, Mr Smith, I think you should know that I’m really serious about your Jessica, so I wanna get a few things straight. I’m not twenty-five like Jess told you, I’m actually thirty years old. I’ve also been married in the past and I’ve got two little boys, Gary and Ricky, who I dote on. Obviously, they don’t live with me – they live with my ex-wife, Beverley. I’ve been straight with Jess from the start and I think it’s only right I do the same with you. As I said, things are moving pretty quickly between me and your Jess, so I just wanna know that you approve of our relationship.’
Dumbstruck, Stanley stood with his mouth open and was horrified as a fly flew in and hit the back of his throat. Half choking, he spat it out and ended up on his knees for the second time that day.
Eddie helped him up. ‘So, are you OK about me and Jess?’ he asked again.
Stanley nodded. ‘No problem, Eddie, and thanks for telling me,’ he mumbled.
‘There you are,’ Joyce said, as Stanley returned, ashen-faced.
The polite conversation carried on for another hour or so and was only stopped by Eddie giving Jessica a secret nudge. Jessica looked at her watch and stood up. ‘God, is that the time! Mum, Dad, we best be going now. Eddie is taking me to the pictures tonight. We’re going to see that new film, Love Story. All the girls at work reckon it’s brilliant. I’ve been dying to see it and we don’t want to miss the start.’
Eddie stood up and put his arm around his young girlfriend’s shoulders. ‘Mrs Smith, Mr Smith, thank you so much for your hospitality. It’s been a pleasure to meet you both. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your Jessica and I promise to have her home by a reasonable hour.’
Overcome by the romance of it all, Joyce stood at the door waving them off. ‘No snogging in the back row,’ she giggled.
‘Stop it, Mum,’ Jessica said embarrassed.
Joyce shut the front door and sighed a happy sigh. What an attractive, polite chap. He was like one of them Mills & Boon men, sophisticated and handsome. Thrilled for her daughter, Joyce decided to have a G&T to celebrate.
‘Well, what did you think?’ she asked Stanley, as she sat back down.
Stanley said nothing. He was too frightened to voice his opinions, in case Joyce told Jessica and it got back to Eddie.
Joyce kicked off her shoes and put her slippers on. ‘Did you see his shoes? He’s definitely worth money. Look, I know it’s hard for you, Stan, but Jess isn’t a little baby any more. Most of my friends were married at her age. I want her to have the best in life and that Eddie’s got class stamped all over him. He’s got lovely manners and he’ll take good care of her, I know he will.’
Stanley cracked open another beer. He’d had the day from hell and all he wanted to do now was watch Ironside. ‘Do you mind if I watch the telly now? And if you’re gonna keep on about it, no, I wasn’t overkeen. In my opinion, Eddie’s far too old for our Jess, and, no, I didn’t notice his bloody shoes.’
Joyce laughed. ‘I knew you had a hangup about him. I know he’s a bit older than her, but you’re such an old fuddy-duddy. I bet if she’d have brought Prince Charles home, you’d have found fault with him. You just won’t let go of her, will you, Stan?’
For the next hour, Joyce wouldn’t shut up. It was Eddie this and Eddie that.
Unusually for Stanley, he completely lost his rag. ‘For Christ’s sake, Joycie, I’m no man’s fool. The bloke’s a wrong ’un and I know it. He’s thirty years old, a divorcee with two bloody kids. As for them going to the pictures, I don’t believe a word of it. Jessica’s probably round his flat as we speak with her knickers around her ankles. They’re probably right in the middle of creating more kids for the smarmy, villainous bastard.’
Furious, Joyce stood up and hit him with the broom. ‘How dare you talk about our daughter like that? She’s got morals, our Jessica. What are you, some bloody pervert?’
Seething, Stanley jumped out of his chair. He rarely gave an opinion in this house and whe
n he did he got called a bloody nonce. More than anything else in the world, he wanted to pick up Joycie’s broom and smash her right over the head with it. Maybe that would make the stupid, naive woman see sense. Filled with self-loathing, Stanley ran to the serenity of his shed. Once inside, he sat on his wooden bench, put his head in his hands and cried.
His old mum had mapped out his life for him at a very early age. ‘Stanley, always remember son, it’s better to be a live coward than a dead hero.’
Stanley wiped his eyes with his hanky. He feared for his Jessica. That Eddie was cold and calculating. He had those horrible dark eyes, dead man’s eyes. There was sod all he could do about it though. He was far too weak a man. What the Mitchells wanted, the Mitchells got, and who was he to stop them?
TWO
Back at Eddie’s flat, Jessica fumbled with the zip of her boyfriend’s trousers. Realising she still had her knickers around her ankles, she quickly stepped out of them.
Eddie threw her onto the double bed. He expertly entered her and held both of her hands down with his own. He liked it that way; it gave him total control.
‘Aw, baby,’ he moaned as he shot his seed and pulled himself out of her. Not wanting to be selfish, Eddie used his index finger to pleasure her.
‘Oh Eddie,’ Jessica cried, as she reached her climax.
Confident that she was satisfied, Eddie rolled onto his back and lit up two cigarettes. Handing one to Jess, he grinned. He’d been told in the past by birds that he had bigger fingers than most men’s cocks, and he certainly knew how to use them.
‘Did you enjoy that, babe?’ he asked, as he studied the smoke rings he was blowing.
Jessica propped herself up on one elbow. She loved taking in his naked body and his handsome face. ‘I always enjoy it, Eddie, you know I do.’
Eddie put his arm around her and kissed her gently on the forehead. ‘So what do you reckon your parents thought of me?’ he asked.
Jessica laid her head on his chest. ‘Mum loved you. She thought you were great. Dad’s more old-fashioned, but I’m sure he liked you in his own way.’
Eddie smirked at her take on things. The mother he’d had eating out of his hand, but the old man, he knew, had hated him on sight. Gently easing Jessica off him, Eddie jumped out of bed.
‘I’m gonna have a quick bath and then I’ll take you out for a drink.’
‘OK. Save me some hot water so I can freshen up, too.’
Jessica smiled as she watched his muscly long legs and gorgeous naked buttocks walk away from her. She’d only met him four weeks ago at a mate’s birthday party. Their eyes had locked and that was it, they’d been inseparable ever since. Jessica couldn’t believe her luck. Eddie was rich, handsome and an absolute bloody catch. She’d had boyfriends in the past, even had sex with a couple, but none of them compared to him. Eddie oozed charisma. He treated her like a lady, so much so that he insisted on paying for absolutely everything and picking her up every day from the shoe shop where she worked.
‘No girl of mine is putting their hand in their purse or getting on buses,’ he told her bluntly.
Her workmates were filled with envy. None of their boyfriends even had a car, and when Ed had first pulled up in his gold Mercedes 250C, their jaws had hit the floor.
‘Jess, he’s gorgeous – and look at his posh car. You are so lucky,’ they’d crowed.
Jess giggled to herself. Ed had a big personality, a bulging wallet and a massive willy. No woman could want more and she was a very lucky girl indeed.
Jess thought about her mum’s life. She’d hate to be married to a bus driver and live in the same council house for years like her mum. Her mother didn’t want that either. She was forever giving her good advice. ‘Jess, with your figure and stunning looks, you can get anyone you want. Don’t make the same mistakes as I did and end up with someone like your father. If a good catch comes along, take my advice and grab him with both hands.’
Jessica was aware of how attractive she was. She had long, blonde ringlets, a cute, pointed chin, an amazingly slim figure and men went crazy for her dimpled cheeks.
‘The bathroom’s all yours, sexy,’ Ed said, walking towards her.
As Jessica walked past him, Eddie stared at her fantastic tits. When he was married to Bev, he’d played around with other birds. Meeting Jess had knocked him for six. She was a major piece of eye candy, had a terrific personality and, since they’d got together, he hadn’t so much as glanced at another piece of skirt.
Eddie did up the top button of his shirt. As he secured his tie, he thought about the sex they’d had earlier. He hadn’t used a rubber today, he’d forgotten to buy any and it didn’t bother him at all. In Jess, Ed was sure he’d found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and the quicker he put her in the club and stuck a ring on her finger, the better.
Eddie looked up as his brother, Ronny, slammed the front door.
‘Am I glad to see you.’
‘What’s up? Can’t you spend a day without me?’ Ed asked sarcastically.
Ronny walked towards him. ‘Don’t muck about, this is serious, Ed. The O’Haras are in the Flag. They’re mob-handed and we’re gonna need backup if we’re gonna sort it. They looked like they were about to smash the pub up. I think they’re trying to muscle in on our patch.’
Eddie’s features blackened. He’d never laid eyes on any of the O’Haras since last year when his face had got slashed to fuck. He’d caved Jimmy’s head in with a baseball bat that day, and the families had avoided one another ever since.
Ed had ended up with forty-seven stitches in his face, but Jimmy had come off worse. He’d spent over a month in hospital, and had to have numerous scans and tests to rule out brain damage.
The feud between the two families had been halted since then. Ed’s dad, Harry, had arranged a meet with Jimmy’s old man, Butch.
Harry had said, ‘Look, we’re all trying to earn a few bob here and no one needs all this extra aggravation. I’ll do you a deal. You stick on your patch and do what you’ve gotta do and we’ll stay on ours. If you agree to the deal, we’ll let bygones be bygones. If you don’t, and I find out your boys have stepped one foot in any of our boozers, I promise you there’ll be a fucking bloodbath,’ Harry had said.
Butch shook hands on it. ‘You have my word, you’ll have no more trouble from me or my lads,’ he promised.
As Jessica walked towards him in a white halter-neck catsuit, Eddie kicked Ronny to urge him to keep schtum.
‘You look gorgeous, darling.’
Jessica smiled. Any new clothes she bought now she kept round Eddie’s. She had to look the part for her new man.
Ronny was pissed off. What was more important, family business or fucking birds?
‘Where are we going?’ Jessica asked excitedly.
Eddie decided to give Canning Town a wide berth. He didn’t want Jess to see the other side of him. He was a lunatic when he got going and he knew if he came face to face with Jimmy O’Hara, he’d throw him straight through the pub window.
‘I thought we’d go to East Ham for a change. A bloke in the Burnell Arms owes me some dough and needs a little reminder. If it’s any good, we’ll stay there; if it’s shit, I’ll take you out for a nice meal instead.’
Jessica nodded happily. As long as she was by Eddie’s side, she didn’t care where she went.
Eddie handed her his keys. ‘Go and sit in the car, babe. I just need to have a quick chat with Ronny. It’s business, you’ll only be bored.’
‘Bye, Ronny,’ Jessica said as she left the flat. That was one of the things she loved about Eddie. She knew he was a bit dodgy and she found his little business chats and his life in general bloody exciting.
Eddie made sure she was out of earshot, then turned to his brother. ‘Don’t ever say too much about what we get up to in front of Jess, will yer?’
Ronny shook his head. ‘Fuckin’ hell, Ed. You can’t put birds in front of family business. You always used to pu
t your family first when you were married to Bev.’
Eddie stood his ground. Ronny wasn’t as good-looking as him, and his bird, Sharon, was a big old heifer.
‘Look, Ron, family comes first and you know it does, but there’s no point in storming in the Flag tonight. We don’t know where Paulie is, for a start. Listen, the O’Haras will be well pissed up by now. If you were in there, they’ll definitely be expecting a visit from us. They’re probably staring at the door as we speak. Our best bet is to leave it a week or two. Let them think they’ve got away with it, and when they’re least expecting it, we’ll pounce on ’em.’
Ronny shrugged. Maybe he should go and find his other brother, Paulie. He’d round up a few faces and maybe they could sort it without Eddie.
Eddie read his mind. ‘Don’t start organising things behind my back, Ron. I’ll speak to Paulie tomorrow. We’ll sit down properly, put our heads together and hatch a plan.’
Ronny nodded. He knew deep down that Eddie was talking sense, but he was still annoyed. Both he and Paulie were older than Ed, but they never got to call the shots. Even his old man put Eddie before them. It was as though they were the lackeys and Eddie was being primed as his father’s successor.
Ronny let out a loud sigh. ‘Look, Ed, I like Jessica and that, but is she gonna be hanging round here all the time?’
Eddie smirked. He knew Ronny was fucking jealous. ‘Yes, Ron. For your information, Jessica’s here for the foreseeable future.’
Eddie slammed the front door as he left the flat. When he’d split up with Bev, he couldn’t be arsed buying a place of his own, so he’d moved in with Ronny. He hadn’t minded sharing with him, they’d got along OK, but since he’d met Jess, he could sense things were getting a bit awkward.
He opened the car door. ‘Sorry about that, darling.’
Jessica kissed him on the cheek. ‘Don’t worry about me. I know your business is important – you do what you have to do.’
As he drove towards East Ham, one part of Eddie’s mind was focused on Jessica and the other on business. The O’Haras had taken a bloody liberty. The British Flag, better known to locals as the Flag, belonged to the Mitchells. It was their headquarters, where they’d meet and discuss work matters. The O’Haras used the Chobham Arms in Stratford, and Eddie wouldn’t dream of taking the piss in their pub. Whatever happened, they had to be taught a lesson. He’d speak to his dad tomorrow, see what he had to say.
The Feud Page 2
