by Jacqui Rose
Comfortable with lying, Eddie said, ‘No, no! Jesus Jase, where ever did you get that idea? No not at all. I’m just setting the deal. It’s all under way.
‘You don’t sound so sure.’
Feeling under pressure, Eddie forced a smile. ‘Of course I’m sure. I’m not saying there wasn’t a bit of bother at the beginning, it was a bit tricky, but it’s all sorted now.’
‘So why aren’t they here? Are you sure you ain’t mugging me off?
‘Jason, please! This is me you’re talking about.’
‘Exactly, and that’s why I’m asking.’
With his mouth becoming dry, Eddie licked his lips nervously. ‘I didn’t want to bore you with details, but my source now has the diamonds in his hands. Now it’s just a question of him getting them to me.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He’s abroad … Just for a couple of weeks. Like I said, it’s all sorted, it’s going to run like clockwork.’
‘And you’re sure you’re being straight with me, because you know what happens when people take the piss. And you, my son, have already burnt all yer chances.’ Jason paused, cracking his knuckles as he stared at Eddie before adding, ‘You hear what I’m saying, Ed?’
Although Eddie Styler knew that Jason Robinson had never been one of the smartest of men, he knew that what he was, was one of the toughest of men, so feigning a smile, Eddie nodded, slapping Jason gregariously on the back. A nervous laugh mixed with his words.
‘Jason! Come on! Turn it in, of course I’m being straight, but these things take time, you know how it goes. Once everything is set up on the table, well, that’s when I’ll be calling you. We got a deal, ain’t we? And I’m grateful to you. Listen, I want this as bad as you do, Jase.’
Jason stared at Eddie, watching him squirm.
‘Am I making you uncomfortable, Ed? If there’s anything you need to tell me, it’s best you spit it out now. I’m not keen on surprises, makes me want to do somebody some serious damage.’
‘Ain’t no surprises, Jase. All you have to do is just sit back and watch.’
Outside in the car, Eddie picked up the phone, his hand shaking. ‘Johnny, it’s Ed. I got a bit of pressure on my end, I need to know how long it’ll be until your missus makes a bit of headway.’
Johnny spoke flatly. ‘I told you, don’t call me.’
‘I know but, you got to …’
‘I don’t have to do nothin’, Ed. You’re lucky I’m still cutting you in.’
Eddie paled. ‘What … what are you talking about?’
‘Well let’s have it right, Ed. The ball’s in my court when it comes to this job. So, if I decide not to bring you in, then ain’t nothing much you can do about it. After all, Bree won’t be telling you what she finds out, will she? It’ll be me.’
Eddie gripped the phone. Tightly. It took everything in him not to smash it down on the dashboard. Breathless, he said, ‘Come off it. It was me who told you about them in the first place. That ain’t fair.’
‘Don’t whine at me, Ed. If there’s one thing that gets on me wick, is a geezer thinking they’re a bird.’
Watching a seagull rip into a piece of battered fish lying on the side of the pavement, Eddie tried to keep his voice calm. ‘I ain’t looking to piss you off, Johnny. I’m just a bit put out by what you’ve just said. You wouldn’t really do that to me, would you?’
‘You mean after you skanked me. Put one over on me by making me think it was the old marching powder we was carrying on that lorry?’
‘Johnny, look, I get it, okay, but I’m begging you …’
‘Ed, Ed, listen to me. Calm down. I never said I would cut you out. I’m just thinking about it. So, you just need to remember who holds all the cards and start being nice to me. I’ll be in touch.’
The phone went dead and it took Eddie Styler a good couple of minutes before he was able to prise his own hand off the steering wheel without fear he’d smash his fist through the windscreen.
Johnny Dwyer had just crossed the red line and he was going to make sure he paid. Essex wouldn’t only be hearing Alfie Jennings scream, they’d be hearing Johnny. Very loud and very, very clear.
40
Seven miles north of Braintree, Alfie found himself looking out of the car window, as they drove past the tree flanked River Colne in Halstead. The picturesque small market town full of cafés and boutiques seemed deserted as they passed St Andrews Church and the former silk-weaving mill at the bottom of the high street.
He sighed. He’d been thinking about Bree all morning. All night actually, and if he were to be honest, most of the day. He’d wanted to call her but he’d also wanted to play it cool. He hadn’t wanted to look too eager but mainly he didn’t want to look too much of a fool.
It wasn’t just because she was beautiful but of course she was. And it wasn’t just because she had a banging body but of course she did. It was because Bree was special. She always had been. And he was looking forward to seeing her again. The problem was there was something he couldn’t put his finger on, something that was troubling him but he didn’t know what.
Perhaps he was just being cautious because he was hurt about Franny. Angry with Franny. But he had to put her in the past now. They were over. Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to let her off with the money. Like Frankie had said, when everything was sorted, he’d look for her. Or rather he’d look for his money. But he didn’t want Franny in his life anymore, because she’d left him with something he thought he’d never have when it came to a woman. And that was a broken heart. The feeling was alien, but Christ it hurt. He was larging it up in front of Vaughn. Pretending it was just what it was. But what it was, was the worst he’d ever felt for as long as he could remember.
So maybe that was all it was, maybe the problem, the sense of something not being quite right with Bree showing up, was that it simply boiled down to him liking her … and him being scared of what that entailed.
‘Alf, you ready? We’re here. We don’t want to be late for Timmy, he can be a bit of a prick about time.’ Frankie turned around from the front of the Range Rover, a big grin on his face, feeling surprisingly well.
‘Yeah, just having a bit of a think.’
Frankie laughed, winking at him. ‘Let me guess. About that bird? She was a bit of a sort. I’d proper bone her. Give her the night of her life.’
Alfie narrowed his eyes at Frankie. He wasn’t going to get into it. ‘Well ain’t she the lucky one. What woman could resist?’
Frankie nudged Vaughn who’d just parked by a tall Georgian town house.
‘Maybe I’ll have a go, then.’
Alfie sighed. ‘Be my guest, Frank, crack on.’
‘You wouldn’t mind?’
Alfie chewed the inside of his cheek. He answered coldly. ‘Why would I? But I think Gypsy would, don’t you? Think she’d have something to say about her old man chasing a bit of skirt when he’s supposed to be sorting out this mess.’
Frankie filled the car with his laughter. ‘So you do like her! I knew it! I knew it! I said to you, didn’t I Vaughnie, that Alf was proper soft on her.’
‘Fuck off, Frank.’ And with that, Alfie Jennings stepped out of the car.
Timmy Green liked his food. He liked it so much that he even had a chef on twenty-four-hour call. It’d always been the case since he was a kid, and his mother had been happy to indulge her only child with whatever food took his fancy. When she’d suffered a heart attack, he’d mourned her passing, admitting to himself it was more about the loss of her secret recipe for jambon persillé, which she’d taken to her grave, than it was for her untimely demise.
He’d been married three times, all short-lived. The first two he divorced for their lack of cooking skills. The third one, a South East Asian mail-order bride, he divorced after Timmy had developed a sudden allergy to most Vietnamese foods.
The only thing Timmy Green liked better than food was gems, in particular diamonds, and he wasn’t both
ered by where he got them, who had robbed them or who had died for them, all Timmy wanted to know was …
‘What’s the price?’
‘You tell us, Timmy.’
Timmy looked at Alfie as he sat in the large wooden drawing room of his four-storey Georgian house full of antique dishes and vases in glass cabinets. He picked up the diamond, twirling it round between his fingers before lifting it up to the light. ‘You say they’re all like this?’
‘All of them.’
Timmy whistled. ‘Not bad, Alfie. Not bad at all. By the way, it’s nice to see you musketeers back together again. Essex ain’t been the same without you.’
Vaughn shrugged. ‘Well, we don’t know if we’ll be here forever.’
‘Who is, Vaughnie? Who is?’
Leaning across to take a bite from the steak béarnaise next to him, Timmy pulled a face.
‘Where’s the bleedin’ salt? For fuck’s sake, do I look like I’m on a low-sodium diet? What’s wrong with you muppets?’
A small, sinewy man in his late fifties, who’d been sitting quietly in the corner of the room, scuttled across to Timmy holding a large stainless-steel mill.
‘Sorry, boss.’
Snarling, Timmy wiped his mouth with the edge of his serviette. ‘Less talk, more action.’
The man nodded and proceeded to grind a vast amount of salt on the steak béarnaise as Timmy picked up the conversation with Alfie.
‘So, if what you’re telling me is true – though I’ll obviously have to check each stone – and you have the amount you say, well, I’d be willing to offer you a good deal. Especially as we all go back a long way. Ain’t never forgot you giving me that first job, Vaughnie. Put me on the ladder that did. It means a lot, as you all do to me, and as such, I’ll offer you one million big ones. Ain’t going say fairer than that.’
The three men looked at each other, then at Timmy, who was now enjoying taking a mouthful of the salmon fillet from one of the numerous plates he was surrounded by.
Alfie rubbed his face. One million was not even an option. It was only half of what they needed. Timmy was taking the piss, but now was not the time to let his temper show.
‘Timmy, like you say, we go back a long way and in all that time, I’ve never disrespected you, none of us has, but I don’t think the same can be said about you. Those beauties are worth way more. You know it sunshine, and I know it.’
Timmy, with his brown eyes magnified by his bifocal glasses, looked evenly at Alfie. ‘I agree with you, they’re worth fuckloads more. But that ain’t the point. I ain’t going to offer you more than a mill. And I ain’t forcing you to take it either. I’m happy either way.’
Alfie stared at Timmy tucking into a perfectly folded crêpe. He wasn’t so much fat than big. Big feet, big hands, big shoulders, big everything, even the size of Timmy Green’s head was big. ‘We can’t afford to let them go for that little.’
Timmy waved a fork at Alfie as he spoke. ‘But can you afford not to let them go? Can you afford to turn this offer down? I understand that you’re buying Reginald’s business. That’s what you want this money for, ain’t it?’
Alfie answered coldly. ‘It ain’t actually. We already got that covered.’
Timmy raised his eyebrows. ‘Glad to hear it, Alf. You don’t want an opportunity like that to slip through your fingers. Anyway, it’s down to you. To sell or not to sell, that is the question.’
Timmy grinned as Frankie stepped forward. He scowled at Timmy who was clearly enjoying playing with them. ‘Do me a favour, turn it in. How about I ask a question now? Ready?… For most of his life, this person has been a muggy cunt.’
Alfie Jennings banged down his hand on the table. ‘Boom! I know this one.’
Frankie nodded. ‘Go on Alf, you buzzed in first.’
‘Who or what is Timmy Green.’
Timmy’s face darkened, he spoke through gritted teeth. ‘Don’t come in here and take the piss, thinking you can give it large. I don’t owe you fuck all. I saw you as a favour and if you don’t like what I offered, don’t take it. Turn around and walk away. Go find another buyer. But let me guess, that’s easier said than done, ain’t it? I see what you want. We’ve all been in this game long enough to know that you need to get rid of the stones before every gangster hears about it and thinks they can come help themselves.’
Vaughn, who’d kept quiet until now, chimed in. ‘Then if you know that, why don’t you want to give us a squeeze?’
‘When did this business ever do anybody any favours? We ain’t in it for Grandma’s day out. I like you. Always have, but that don’t mean I’m going to pluck out me intestines and give them to you … Look, I get it that you need to move sharpish, and you feel like I ain’t giving you a touch, but actually I am, gentlemen.’
Alfie snarled. ‘How do you make that out?’
‘Think about it, Alf. I’m willing to give you one million quid for the rocks, which means within twenty-four hours you can walk away with a big bag of money, and without any hassle. More to the point, no one will know so you won’t have every prick crawling out of the woodwork ready to turn you over for the ice. I ain’t going to tell anybody that you’ve been here, and I trust me men to a point, but there’s eyes everywhere and it only takes one tiny word in the wrong lughole and the lion’s out of the bag.’
‘And what are we supposed to do with a poxy million quid?’
Timmy, deliberately missing the point, grinned. ‘Whatever you want, Alfred. Your choice. Go back to Spain. Stay here. Put your feet up. Anything.’
Alfie reached over, scooping up the rest of the crêpe suzette off Timmy’s plate. He took a large bite out of it before throwing it back down. ‘When I want a life coach, Timmy, I’ll let you know, until then, fuck you and fuck your money.’
Outside, Alfie stormed to the car. He shouted over his shoulder. ‘Before you or Vaughnie say something, don’t.’
‘Maybe we should’ve thought about his offer a bit more.’
Alfie looked at Vaughn incredulously. ‘I never heard you say that in there? And if it hasn’t escaped your notice we can’t afford to let them go for that.’
‘I know but he’s right, ain’t he. One million is one million more than we got.’
Alfie turned around, stomping up to Vaughn. ‘And it’s two million less than it should be and one million less than we need.’
‘Maybe it’s worth it to stop the hassle.’
‘Lose our chance just so we don’t get a bit of agg? Turn it in.’
Vaughn pulled the car key out of his pocket. ‘Getting shot, getting jumped on, getting put down, ain’t a bit of agg, Alf. I’ve told you before this ain’t sensible.’
‘Just wind your neck in! How sensible do you think it’ll be with only a million between us and nothing else? It’s not going to buy us what we want, is it? The opportunity we’ve got ain’t going to come around again.’
Frankie nodded. ‘He’s talking sense, Vaughn. We can’t afford to lose so much money.’
Starting up the engine, Vaughn shook his head. ‘So you want us to put our heads above water and basically become sitting targets for the whole of the criminal fraternity?’
Alfie stared out of the blacked-out window. ‘If that’s what it takes, Vaughn, that’s exactly what we’ll do.’
Turning a tight right, Vaughn put his foot down. ‘It’s madness, Alf. We’re going to open the floodgates and it’s not just us we have to think about. There’s Janine and Lola, they’ll be sitting ducks, and Christ how this business likes to go in for the nearest and dearest. Let’s go back in there, and take the money.’
‘No can do, Vaughn.’
‘So, you’re calling the shots now are you? I don’t think so.’
Alfie slammed his fist down on the cream leather seat. Frustrated, he yelled at Vaughn. ‘It’s not about calling any shots, it’s about our future, it’s about—’
Alfie’s phone rang, stopping him in mid flow. Angrily he answered. ‘Yes!’
‘Sorry, have I caught you at a bad time? It’s Bree.’
41
Johnny Dwyer stood with Big Billy Baldwin looking at the most recent banger car rebuild.
‘Not bad, boss, it’s come out nicely and it’ll certainly give the other team something to think about.’
Wiping his petrol-covered hands on his blue overalls, Johnny nodded, pleased with the finished result. ‘You’re telling me, we got the extra reinforcement in there so when they hit it, they’ll be lucky to walk away …’ About to say something else, Johnny stopped as he saw Bree coming out of the mobile home. He cricked his neck, trying to take the tension out of it. His tone was hard and cold as he called her. He hadn’t forgiven her for what had happened to Molly, but then, he hadn’t forgiven her for so many things she had done. She was a tease. A head-fuck. But she was his and she’d do well to keep remembering that.
‘Bree! Come here! Billy, can you give us a moment …’
Big Billy Baldwin nodded, making his way over to Ma, who stood, arms folded, by Kieran’s quad bike.
Johnny watched him go then turned his attention to Bree, who sauntered across, her dress showing and accentuating her curves. He ground his teeth, the noise in his head suddenly becoming louder. He pressed his palms against his temple as he spoke. ‘Why do you have to do that?’
‘Do what?’
‘Flaunt yourself like you’re looking for sex. Is that what you want, Bree? You want Billy? You want him to notice you?’
Bree’s gaze went from Johnny to Billy, who was deep in conversation with Ma. She spoke breathlessly, her nerves showing in her voice. ‘No! Of course not. I didn’t even realise he was here.’
‘But if you had done, did you want him to look at you? Were you imagining what it’d be like to be with him?’
Bree shook her head. ‘Please, Johnny, don’t do this again. I came over to see you. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve spoken to Alfie.’
Johnny took a deep breath, trying to get his thoughts in order. ‘And?’
