The Feud

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘Joey, you need to come home right now, son. Your dad knows. Someone told him about Dominic. Now, don’t worry, I’ve got you out of it, but I’ve told him you’ve got a new girlfriend. Ring up a girl mate and bring her round tomorrow for tea.’

  Joey’s hands shook so much he could barely hold the weight of his phone. ‘Who am I gonna ring? Apart from Frankie’s mates, I don’t really mix with any girls.’

  Jessica spoke forcefully to him. ‘I don’t care who you ring or who you know, Joey, but make sure you bring a girl round here tomorrow. I’ve just stuck my neck out for you and if your father finds out I’m lying, he’ll throttle the pair of us.’

  Joey stared at his penis. His erection had deflated so much that it now resembled a burst balloon. ‘OK, Mum, I’ll find a girl. I’ll do it,’ he promised.

  With eyes as wide as flying saucers, Terry Palmer tried to speak, but couldn’t. The gun was hurting his throat and was choking him. Aware of his own urine running down his legs, he began to beg.

  Eddie slowly withdrew the gun from Terry’s throat. Smiling, he pointed it at his bollocks instead. ‘You got something to tell me about my Joey, have you, Terry?’

  Petrified, Terry shook his head. ‘I don’t know anything, honest I don’t. Please don’t hurt me, Eddie, please.’

  Eddie pulled back the catch. ‘Tell me what your son saw, else I’ll kill you. I want the truth and I’ll know if you’re lying, you cunt.’

  Terry’s mouth was as dry as a bone. It was a struggle to swallow, let alone talk. ‘I need a drink,’ he gasped.

  With the gun still fixed on Terry’s meat and two veg, Eddie handed him his can of Special Brew. ‘Drink that and talk, you prick,’ he ordered.

  Covering his prized possessions with both hands, Terry blurted out all he knew. ‘Darren saw Joey. He was with a bloke called Dominic in a wine bar in Liverpool Street. Him and your Joey were groping and kissing and stuff. Please don’t hurt me, Eddie, none of this is my fault. My son saw them, not me.’

  Eddie stared deep into Terry’s eyes. ‘Why did you tell Ronny? You knew what would happen.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Eddie. I’d had too much to drink. I didn’t think. I’ll ring Ronny now, tell him Darren got it all wrong. I’ll say it was someone who looked like your Joey.’

  Eddie took the silencer out of his pocket and attached it to the gun.

  Realising what Eddie was doing, Terry fell to his knees and begged. ‘I am so sorry. Don’t kill me, Eddie. I’ll move – you’ll never see me again – but please, I beg you, please don’t shoot me.’

  Eddie Mitchell had never been a man to be dissuaded by tears and apologies. With little emotion, Eddie held the gun to the right side of Terry’s temple.

  Seconds later, he pulled the trigger.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  The twins took their last exam in June and both Joey and Frankie whooped with joy as they walked through the school gates for the very last time. They had never really caught up from all the time they’d had off, but had completed all their homework and done their very best.

  ‘How do you think you did?’ Frankie asked her brother.

  ‘Shit,’ Joey replied. He had always hated maths and, even if he hadn’t have bunked off, was sure he’d have still failed.

  Noticing her brother looking a bit downcast again, Frankie did her best to cheer him up. Ever since their mum had warned Joey that his father was on his case, Joey had been down in the dumps. ‘Why does life have to be so awkward, sis? I’ve only been able to see Dominic three times in the last month.’

  Frankie linked arms with her brother. ‘Look, it won’t be for ever. You said you want to work in an office. If you get a job up town as an office junior or something, you can see Dom all the time. You can meet for lunch, then shag his brains out after work.’

  Joey smiled. ‘I suppose so.’

  The twins had taken four exams each. Academically, Frankie was probably the brighter of the two. Trouble was, she had never particularly liked school, which resulted in her never fulfilling her potential.

  ‘Look, if you’re missing Dominic that much, why don’t you invite him out tonight? Dad ain’t gonna know anyone in the Berwick Manor, is he? Mum and Dad think we’re staying round our friend’s anyway. You and Dom can book a room somewhere. Having a bit of the other might cheer you up a bit.’

  Joey playfully thumped her. He was tempted, but unsure. ‘It’s too dangerous, Frankie. I promised Mum I wouldn’t see Dom locally and if she finds out, she’ll kill me.’

  Frankie had always been the daredevil out of the two of them. ‘Don’t be such a wuss. Ring Dominic, enjoy yourself. Live dangerously, Joey, I most certainly do.’

  Joey laughed. Dangerous was his sister’s middle name. ‘How are things going with Jed? Is it still serious?’

  Frankie’s face broke into a big, silly grin. She had seen Jed almost every day since they had met and she worshipped the ground he walked on. ‘I love him so much, Joey. When I’m old enough, I’m gonna marry him and have loads of kids.’

  ‘That’ll please, Dad,’ Joey said sarcastically.

  ‘I don’t care. Sod Dad! It’s my life and I’ll do what I want with it.’

  Walking around Tesco, Jessica smiled as she checked her shopping list. Positive she hadn’t forgotten anything, she made her way to the checkout.

  Sunday was to be a special day for her and all the family. Her parents, Raymond, Polly, Gary and Ricky were coming over for dinner. Jessica had chosen to do a roast. She had bought two big ribs of beef and all the trimmings to go with it. It was going to be a double celebration. Her parents and everybody else thought they were coming just to celebrate the twins leaving school, but Jessica was now ready to announce that she was pregnant.

  Apart from Eddie and Vicki, Jessica still hadn’t told a soul, not even the twins. She had been desperate to get over the dreaded twelve-week mark before she announced it to the world.

  Jessica thanked the cashier and walked towards her car. She loaded her shopping into the boot and leaned against it for a breather. The sun was shining, life was good and she was so excited about her future. Thankfully, the Dominic episode had now blown over with Eddie. Joey had brought a girl round for tea and Ed had believed their relationship was kosher. Jessica smiled. She couldn’t wait for the new baby to arrive and at times like these she felt like the luckiest woman alive.

  Eddie stood in the hallway of the pub’s living quarters. He counted the money and nodded. ‘All right, Alec, it’s all here. See you same time next month.’

  With all debts and protection money collected, Eddie gave Gary and Ricky a ring to see if everything had gone smoothly their end. Since Paulie had left the firm, Eddie had split the collections in two. He and Raymond did one half of their patch and Gary and Ricky the other.

  ‘All done, Dad. Everything went as sweet as a nut,’ Gary told him.

  ‘Good lads. You and Ricky out on the town again tonight?’

  Gary laughed. ‘Going to a rave out Watford way.’

  Eddie raised his eyebrows at Raymond. He was far too old to understand all this rave lark. Sometimes Gary and Ricky would go to one and not come home for two days.

  ‘Well, have a good time, and don’t forget Sunday, Gal, will you? Jessica’s cooking a special meal. It’s a double celebration. Make sure you and Ricky are there by three at the latest.’

  ‘What’s the other celebration, then? I thought we were just celebrating the twins leaving school,’ Gary asked.

  Eddie chuckled. ‘There’s more to it than meets the eye. You and Ricky behave yourselves and I’ll see you both on Sunday.’

  Ending the phone call, Eddie turned to Raymond. ‘Shall we have a couple of pints somewhere?’

  Raymond shook his head. ‘Polly’s off work today, so I’m gonna meet her up town. She wants to do a bit of shopping.’

  Smirking, Eddie nudged him. ‘Ain’t shopping for engagement rings, are we, Raymondo?’

  ‘Not yet. Don’t worry, you’ll be th
e first to know if and when we do,’ Raymond replied, chuckling.

  Desperate to cure his dehydration, Eddie passed his house and carried on through the lanes. He had a couple of phone calls to make and couldn’t make them indoors.

  The Optimist was a pub only a few minutes from his home. He pulled into the car park and strolled inside. ‘Pint of Kronenberg,’ he said to the barmaid.

  Taking his drink outside, Eddie sat at one of the wooden tables. He was sweltering, but there was no way he would take his shirt off. He hated it when he saw geezers in pubs with no tops on. People had no decorum these days, no respect. Ed had a fit body and he wouldn’t do it. These arseholes that chose to strip half naked were always big fat pricks with bellies like darts players.

  Eddie rang home first. He needed to make sure all was OK. ‘All right, Jess? I’ll be home soon, love. I bet the twins are happy, aren’t they? Are they home yet?’

  ‘Yeah, they’re playing with the dogs in the garden.’

  ‘Give ’em a shout, Jess, I wanna talk to ’em.’

  Bewildered, Jessica called the kids. Eddie never usually asked to speak to them on the phone.

  ‘What’s up, Dad?’ Frankie asked.

  ‘Bet you and Joey are over the moon, ain’t ya? No more school, eh? You still going out celebrating with your mates tonight?’

  Frankie giggled. ‘Over the moon’s putting it mildly. Yeah, we’re still going out. There’s loads of us, so it should be a really good night.’

  ‘Where you off to – the pub?’

  ‘Yeah, probably the Albion,’ Frankie replied. She didn’t want him knowing that they were hanging out at the Berwick Manor.

  ‘Ask your mum if she wants me to bring home a takeaway.’

  Frankie did as she was told. ‘No, it’s OK, Dad. Mum’s already cooked something.’

  Eddie ended the call and quickly made the other. When he had first heard the rumours about Joey, he had done nothing, apart from blowing Terry Palmer’s brains out.

  Palmer’s murder had been all over the local news. The Old Bill had even come to the house, but Jessica had given him an alibi by saying he was at home all evening and hadn’t left her side. When the police left, Jessica had questioned him herself. ‘You were just out with the dogs, weren’t you, Eddie? Swear to me that you didn’t kill that man.’

  ‘I swear on our unborn baby’s life, I was out with the dogs,’ Eddie insisted.

  He actually wasn’t lying. When he had murdered Terry Palmer, Buster and Bruno were in his motor outside Palmer’s flat. The dogs were his accomplices.

  Jessica never mentioned the incident again and neither did he. He had no worries about Paulie or Ronny saying anything to the filth. His brothers might be jealous wankers, but they were no snitches. Grasses didn’t exist in the Mitchell empire; never had and never would.

  Eddie had bided his time, watching Joey closely. He had never mentioned his son’s sexuality to Jessica, Raymond or anyone since that day. Jessica must have thought he had forgotten all about it, especially since Joey had brought the pretend girlfriend home, but nothing could be further from the truth.

  The thought of his son being a raving iron was eating away at Eddie’s insides and he needed to know if it was true. After a lot of thought, he had scoured through the Yellow Pages and hired a private detective. He had been careful. He picked one miles away, a woman called Gina, and provided her with a false name. He called himself John Smith.

  ‘A mate of mine’s got this problem. His daughter’s dating some kid called Joey and he thinks the lad could be playing her about. My pal’s got a few bob and his daughter’s quite a plain girl. He reckons this Joey’s only with her because she’s worth money. He’s even heard a rumour that this Joey lad’s gay.’

  Gina had guessed that Eddie’s pal was actually himself. She often had clients come to her with cock and bull stories. At the end of the day it was none of her business. Her only concern was doing her job properly and getting paid. Gina had had more John Smiths on her books than she could remember. It was a very common name that people chose to use. She had never had a John Smith like this one, though. This one was mind-blowingly handsome, with sexuality oozing from every pore.

  As Gina answered the phone, Eddie spoke quietly but clearly. ‘Me pal’s just rung me. Joey’s blown his daughter out tonight, so can you follow him? If you see him looking intimate with another geezer, he wants you to follow them wherever they go. He needs you to get Joey’s mate’s full name and address.’

  Gina smiled at the gruff, sexy voice. ‘OK, Mr Smith. Does your friend want me to follow Joey from his house in Rainham?’

  ‘Yeah, he does,’ Eddie replied. He had already given Gina £500 quid upfront to gain her confidence. He had promised her another £1,500 once she came up with the information he wanted. ‘If me mate owes you any more dough, let me know and I’ll run it down to your office.’

  ‘No, it’s fine at the moment. Tell your friend that he’s still in credit, Mr Smith.’

  Eddie arranged to call her the following day and went to get another pint. So far Gina had followed Joey three times, but had come up with nothing. It was only a matter of time, Ed thought, as he sat back down. He would eventually find out the truth and when he did, there would be murders – literally!

  Frankie was having a fantastic time in the Berwick Manor. She and Jed had swallowed ecstasy tablets earlier and, after feeling sick, she had just come up on it.

  As Inner City’s ‘Good Life’ came pumping out of the speakers, she dragged Jed onto the dancefloor.

  Seeing Dominic talking to his school friends, Joey quickly dragged him away. ‘Are you OK?’ Dominic asked, concerned.

  ‘Not really. I’m paranoid in here. It’s too close to home for my liking.’

  Dominic smiled. ‘I’ve stacked our room up with alcohol. I’ve got some puff as well. Shall we take a rain check?’

  Desperate to kiss Dom more than anything else in the world, Joey managed to stop himself. ‘I’ll just go and find Frankie, tell her we’re leaving,’ he said excitedly.

  Joey found his sister on the dancefloor. Whispering his plans in her ear, he returned to Dominic and ushered him out of the packed, smoky club. Outside was desolate and Joey had the devil inside as he dragged Dom around the side of the building. It had been over two weeks since he had touched or even kissed him.

  Both boys were totally unaware of the dark-haired woman sitting in the black Nissan Micra. Seeing the boys get into a minicab, Gina put her camera on the passenger seat. Mr Smith would be thrilled with the photographs she had just taken. All she had to do now was find out Joey’s friend’s full name and address, and her work would be complete.

  Jed O’Hara had his own trailer on his father’s land. He had often asked Frankie to stay there in the past, but she had always refused. Tonight, however, with the ecstasy tablet clouding her judgement, Frankie was up for an adventure.

  As Jed parked his Shogun on his father’s drive, he took Frankie by the hand.

  ‘Oh, my God! What the fuck is that?’ Frankie said, as she spotted an animal with horns walking towards her.

  Jed giggled. The Es they had taken were fucking strong. ‘It’s a ram, you dinlo. What the fuck did you think it was? An elephant?’

  Frankie was laughing hysterically as they traipsed across the field. Jed opened the door of his trailer and they fell into one another’s arms. The sex on an E was sensational, and they were at it hammer and tongs for hours.

  Finally, Frankie gently pushed Jed away. She was sore down below and needed a break. ‘Can I have a look around?’ she asked him. So far, all she had seen of the trailer was the bedroom.

  Jed poured them both a pint of water and smiled as she took in the surroundings. Frankie had no knowledge of travellers before she had met Jed and the way they lived intrigued her. ‘Why have you got so much china?’ she asked him.

  Jed laughed. ‘’Cause me mother decorated it for me. She collects china and because she’s run out of room indoors
, she now stores it in mine.’

  Frankie stared intently at the plates decorating the wall. They were beautiful and had horses pulling pretty little gypsy carts.

  ‘You ever been on a horse and cart?’ Jed asked her.

  Frankie smiled. ‘No. Why? Have you?’

  Jed chuckled. ‘Course I have, you dinlo. I used to race the bloody things. I tell you what, daylight’s breaking now. Shall I harness one up and take you out for a ride?’

  Frankie burst out laughing. ‘Go on, then, let’s do it.’

  At 5.30 a.m., Jed and Frankie trotted off down the road. ‘Hey up,’ Jed shouted as he whipped the filly on the arse.

  ‘I love where you live. Your life’s so exciting, Jed. My house is so boring – it’s nothing like yours.’

  Jed held both reins in his right hand. He put his left arm around Frankie. ‘Move in with me?’

  ‘I can’t. My dad will kill me,’ Frankie replied immediately.

  ‘Tell him about us. I ain’t frightened of your father and neither should you be. He’s gonna find out we’re together one day, ain’t he?’

  Frankie sighed. ‘Yeah, I know, but not yet. You don’t know my dad – he’ll go mental, I know he will.’

  Approaching a bend, Jed held the reins back in both hands. ‘Trot on,’ he said, making a funny clicking noise with his mouth.

  Thinking of her dad gave Frankie the heebie-jeebies. Say he drove along and saw her? Feeling worried all of a sudden, she laid her head on Jed’s shoulder. ‘I’m cold. Can we go back now? I haven’t got to be home yet. We can go back to bed if you like.’

  Jed turned his head and kissed her gently on the lips. ‘I bet you marry me within a year. I’ll bet you anything you like.’

  Frankie burst out laughing. Jed oozed so much confidence. He had such a glow, you could almost warm your hands on him. Poking her tongue out, Frankie snatched the reins out of Jed’s hands.

  ‘Trot on,’ she yelled. ‘Trot on!’

  Jimmy O’Hara had never been a man to lie in bed of a morning. His Alice was the same and they had their own little routines. Alice would get up like a good wife should and clean the house till it sparkled. Jimmy would feed the animals and do the dirty jobs, which men were supposed to do.