by Karen Clow
CHAPTER 30
Mickey arrived at the hospital, he was surprised to see the slimy detective Samuels waiting outside intensive care. When Samuels tried to ask him some questions Mickey was quite stand offish with him as he said, “I’ll speak to you after I’ve seen Monica.” Entering the unit a staff nurse stopped him and said, “Monica’s still very drowsy, but the doctor is very pleased with her. She’ll need lots of rest over the next few days; then if she’s still improving we’ll move her to a private room.” “Ok thanks, that’s good news, did you know there’s a detective outside waiting to speak to her?” “Yes I know,” said the nurse abruptly, “but like I told him earlier, I’m in charge here so he’ll be in for a long wait; she needs rest not questions!” Mickey smiled at her; it was obvious she wouldn’t take any crap from Samuels.
Moments later he was sitting by Monica’s bed gently holding her hand. Slowly she opened her eyes and in a soft voice said, “Hi.” Kissing her on the cheek he replied, “You had me worried there for a minute babe.” “You won’t get rid of me that easily,” she replied before she drifted off momentarily. Leaning over he whispered something in her ear. A few seconds past then slowly she opened her eyes again. “What did you just say Mickey?” “I’ve just asked you to marry me.” Although drowsy from the drugs she smiled back and said, “I would have got shot years ago if I’d known you’d propose.” “Don’t even joke babe.” Before she could reply she drifted off again. Mickey stayed with her for another hour until the nurse said it was better if he left her to rest. Just as he was about to leave, she woke up and drowsily said, “Did I dream it, or did you propose to me?” “You didn’t dream it babe, I asked.” “In that case; I accept.” Seconds later she dropped off again.
Outside Samuels was waiting for him, he asked a nurse if there was a room they could use. Checking that one was available, she showed them in.
“Monica’s a lucky girl,” said Samuels “could have turned out a lot worse. Have you any idea who did it?” Mickey shook his head and said, “Everything happened so fast.” “Did you get a look at the gunman?” “Not really, although I think he was black, Jamaican maybe?” “That’s interesting as I hear you’ve been having a few problems with some Jamaicans?” Sarcastically Mickey replied, “First I’ve heard about it. We had a couple of Jamaicans who got a bit too friendly with a couple of the dancers, but not really trouble. I certainly wouldn’t assume that the two incidents were connected.” With a smirk on his face Samuels said, “That’s why you’re a solicitor and I’m a detective, I assume everything.” Being more than a match for him, Mickey replied, “Yes, Monica’s often said you’re very good at making assumptions and let’s be honest here, she is a first class detective.” Samuels knew he was referring to the anonymous gift Monica had received in the form of Maurice’s deposit box. Smugly Samuels replied, “Well let’s just hope Monica will remember something when she wakes up. Where exactly had you been last night?” “We were dinner guests at Jimmy’s” “Ah yes him, the chap who’s getting married. I’ve looked up his file quite a criminal in his younger days. I’ll be popping round to have a little chat with your friend Jimmy.” “I wouldn’t waste your time detective, they didn’t see anything and for the record he is a legitimate business man. In fact he’s a very successful business man with several clubs and restaurants to his credit; that no doubt pays a small fortune in taxes.” The tension between the two men was growing stronger by the second as Samuels replied, “Don’t we all Mickey, after all it’s the tax payer’s money that pays me to keep the scum of the streets.” Having had more than enough of the slimy detective, Mickey looked at his watch and said, “I’ve got to go, I need to double check the hotel reservations for Monica’s parents.” His actual destination would be Jimmy’s, but he wasn’t about to tell Samuels that.
Back at Jimmy’s apartment, they were thrilled to hear that Monica was doing so well. Maria was preparing them yet another snack, so Mickey joked with her and said, “If I keep eating here I’ll have to start paying housekeeping, although I must admit it’s a pleasure, you’re such a great cook.” “Thanks Mickey and you’re always welcome,” said Maria humbly. Jimmy’s phone rang; he answered it, “Alright Tony what’s up?” “Think we may have struck lucky.” “How’s that mate?” “I’ve been checking out the local hotels and guess what, ‘Flanders Hotel’ just off the high street had five Jamaicans staying there.” “Do you think they’re the same Jamaicans?” “Without a doubt, they signed in under the name Damon Sinclair, thick bastards fancy using the same name as we know them by.” “That’s interesting, what else did you find out?” “Plenty Jim, I think we should meet up to talk about it.” “Come round to my place Tony, have you eaten?” “Not yet.” “In that case mate come over now, Maria’s is just doing lunch.” “Cheers Jimmy, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
After informing the others that Tony had a result he said, “Hope you don’t mind babe, I’ve invited him for lunch.” Raising her eyebrows she giggled and said, “Well it’s a bit late to ask now as he’s on his way, but as it happens I’ve got plenty.” Grinning he smiled at Mickey and said, “That’s why I love her, she never moans about anything.”
Twenty minutes later the intercom buzzed, it was Tony. Opening the door to him Maria said, “It’s nice to see you Tony, can I offer you a drink?” “Always lovely to see you babe, you can never see enough of a beautiful woman. I’d love a coffee and thanks for having me to lunch.” “You’re welcome, sit down I’ll bring the coffee in.” After taking the drinks in, she left the three men talking business and returned to the kitchen.
They asked Tony what he’d managed to find out. Smiling he said, “I know the owner of Flanders Hotel which is very handy. The Jamaicans checked in six weeks ago and checked out after four, but another interesting fact is around the time that John Duggan’s boys got a bit out of hand with one of the Jamaicans, a doctor came to the hotel and it was several days before the staff saw one particular Jamaican. So I think we can assume he was the one that was injured, because when he did come out of the room, he had a large gash down the side of his face that would fit in with what John told me about the incident at the Cove.” Mickey said, “Did they leave a forwarding address?” “No, but I don’t think they’ve gone far because every week one of them calls round to pick up any letters etc, so far he’s always called on Thursday afternoons.” “We could ask Lenny Porter to go round to the hotel then if the Jamaican turns up he can follow him; none of our boys can do it they know us, but they won’t notice Lenny, he blends in.” They all agreed it was a good idea. Maria called to them that lunch was ready.
Tony complemented her on the meal then added, “I always believed Italian women to be the best cooks, but you could certainly hold your own with the best of them babe.” She blushed as she replied, “Thank you Tony.”
Mickey told Tony about his encounter with Samuels at the hospital and sarcastically added, “The Nazi party lost a good man when Samuels left and joined the police force!” They all laughed. Then on a more serious note, he said, “That reminds me Jimmy, expect a visit from him, he said he needs to talk to you. Just watch him, he knows we’ve all stuck to the same story but he’s obviously hoping someone will slip up. I’m going back to the hospital this afternoon; I hope he won’t be there.” When the conversation moved onto the clubs Mickey said, “I think it might be a good idea if we look in on them later tonight, is there any chance of you checking out Lazer for us Tony?” With a real smirk on his face Tony replied, “No problem, even though it means I’ll have to watch all that young totty wriggling about in their miniskirts, I’ll grin and bear it!” Jimmy laughed and said, “Yeah we can see how much you’ll hate that Tony.” They all laughed except Maria, she knew Tony was a player, yet his wife Isabella was beautiful and she adored him. Jimmy could see the look on her face, so in an effort to change the topic he looked at her and said, “Have you got anything planned for later babe?” “Yes, I’d like to pop down to the restaurant at some point;
we’ve got a new waiter starting tonight. Leon interviewed him, but I feel I should go and introduce myself; it would be nice if you came with me Jimmy.” “Sorry babe we’ve got business to discuss, I’ll get Shaun to take you.” Seeing the disappointment on her face Mickey interrupted and said, “Why don’t we eat there tonight Jimmy, we could go on to the clubs afterwards. Leon or Shaun can always give Maria a lift home if she wanted to stay later.” Jimmy nodded and replied, “Good idea, once all the trouble passes you’ll be able to come to the club with us babe.” “That would be nice,” said Maria.
It was unusual for club bosses to take their wives or regular girlfriends to the clubs; because most of them would have a girl on the side, but not Jimmy, he loved showing her off and he would never do anything deliberate to jeopardise their relationship. Before the trouble she would often join him at Dixie’s, although she never really felt comfortable at Sweet Cheeks, truth was she found it quite embarrassing watching the dancers. Despite being friendly with a couple of them especially Simone, who she got along really well with, Maria found it degrading. She was just about to ask when they would be able to visit Monica at the hospital, when the intercom rang. Jimmy answered, it was Samuels. At the same time back in the lounge, Mickey had a call on his phone; it was Monica’s dad confirming they had arrived in London. Mickey arranged to meet them at their hotel. When Jimmy called out, “It’s Samuels he’s on his way up!” Mickey quickly looked at Tony and said, “We could leave via the stairs before he gets up here.” Tony instantly stood up and said, “What are we waiting for then?” They kissed Maria quickly on the cheek before they left.
As the detective walked out of the lift, he noticed the stairway door close, just missing whoever it was by a whisker. Jimmy opened the door and invited him in. Maria offered him a drink and watched as Samuels scanned the apartment, before he said, “No thanks. Can you remember anything about the incident involving Monica?” Jimmy replied, “No, first we knew about it was when I looked out of the window, then I shouted to Maria to call an ambulance.” “So for the record it was Maria who phoned for the ambulance?” “Yeah, that’s right.” Then in his normal sarcastic fashion Samuels said, “Do you think the attack has any connection to any of your business interests?” Before Jimmy had time to reply Samuels quickly added, “Only Mickey believed the shooter to have been black and rumour has it that some Jamaicans have been causing you a few problems lately?” Jimmy acted very cool and shook his head, even managing to look surprised when he replied, “No, as far as I’m aware a couple of Jamaicans got a bit rowdy with a couple of our dancers, but there’s nothing unusual about that; as you know detective most of the blokes are married men just out to have a good time, but sometimes they have too much to drink and get a bit over zealous.” Samuels then looked at Maria and sarcastically said, “I’ve heard about your restaurant, I’ve been told the food is excellent. Unfortunately on a detective’s salary I doubt I could afford to eat there, which is a shame because it’s my sister’s birthday next week and I always take her out for dinner.” Knowing that Samuels was fishing for a free meal Jimmy interrupted and said, “Why don’t you take her to Maria’s with our compliments; if you let me know what night I’ll reserve you a table.” “That’s very generous of you, I accept.” The detective was used to being offered perks; it came with being an arsehole, although he knew that Jimmy would not have offered had there been any strings attached. The only reason he had done it was to impress the detective that he was a shrewd business man, with many assets. Regardless of his reasons, Samuels was only too happy to accept. Expressing his thanks again he said, “My sister’s birthday is this coming Monday.” Maria smiled and said, “Shall I reserve a table for two at eight?” “Thank you, that would be perfect,” replied Samuels. Even with her generous offer, Samuels still tried to dig out more information about Monica, but without either of them saying anything he changed the subject and looking at Maria said, “So I hear you’re getting married, congratulations; although I’m not too sure about the men who are arranging the stag night, they’re quite a bunch, are you sure your future husband will be safe with them?” Maria was not about to let him run their friends down, so she retaliated and replied, “On the contrary detective, with people running around London shooting innocent bystanders, I will be only too happy for them to take him on his stag night, especially as the police don’t seem to have a lot of luck in catching the criminals who are responsible for such terrible things!” Jimmy afforded himself a smirk, she certainly caught on quick. Samuels was momentarily stumped for words then he said, “I may need to speak with you again at a later date.” “We’re always available; I hope the police soon find the people responsible for the shooting. It simply isn’t safe to walk the streets anymore,” replied Jimmy rather sarcastically. Samuels knew he was taking the piss, but there was nothing he could do or say.
When Samuels eventually left, Jimmy put his arm round Maria and said, “Thank fuck he’s gone! Oh and I liked what you said about my stag night babe that shut him straight up!” Sarcastically she replied, “I wasn’t even aware you were having a stag night, but I suppose if you are Simone and a couple of the girls from the club would be only too happy to do something with me, they keep mentioning it.” She was only teasing him when she added, “The last time I spoke to Simone she mentioned something about male strippers who are at the Denbigh that week?” From the minute she said it, it was obvious to her he wasn’t keen on the idea.
In the two years they had lived together she had never really gone anywhere without him, except for the odd shopping trip, or lunch with Monica or Simone. When he replied, “Not really your scene babe, you probably wouldn’t enjoy it,” she knew he really meant he didn’t want her to go. Giggling she said, “If I didn’t know better I would think you were jealous Jimmy Dixon!” Trying desperately to convince her he wasn’t; although if the truth be known, he was, he replied, “Don’t get me wrong babe, you’d probably enjoy a night out with your friends; I just think strippers are not your cup of tea, you’d be better off taking the girls for a meal at one of my restaurants and then going onto one of my clubs.” “Oh Jimmy you’re so funny, do you really think I’d want to go and watch other men strip off when I have you. I’ve already asked Monica and a couple of the girls if they want to go out to eat, then on to a club, but if I thought you didn’t trust me I’d be so angry.” Feeling bad that he didn’t want her to go, he tried to redeem himself by saying, “It’s not you I don’t trust babe, but I know how blokes think and they’d be round you like bees round a honey pot!” Even though he’d said that, he knew in his mind the reason their relationship was so good was simply because he called all the shots. Many of the girls he had dated in the past would often go out drinking and clubbing with their friends, but Maria was different, for the first year she had rarely left the apartment without him. Then as her confidence grew, she started wearing makeup and clothes that showed off her figure and more recently she’d started accepting invitations from Monica to go out shopping and for lunch. Even on those rare occasions, he would always ask her where they’d been and how long they’d been out; usually adding something like ‘did you see anyone we know, or did you chat to anyone?’ Monica would often say to him, ‘We only went for lunch; it’s like the Spanish inquisition!’ Always he would try and joke about it, but they knew he was insecure about Maria being out without him.Maria was annoyed with what he’d said, about men being like bees round a honey pot, so she was quick to reply, “You should know I’m totally faithful and it takes two to tango! So even if another man did hit on me, you know I’d tell him in no uncertain terms I wasn’t interested!” “I didn’t mean you babe, I just know what men are like when they see a beautiful woman.” Despite trying to justify what he’d said, he knew she was right; the very thought of any man hitting on her made him feel sick to his stomach. His dark side was always lurking just under the surface; truth was he would rather see her dead than with another man. He remembered how he had loathed Nick, because
of how he had treated her, yet for that brief moment he had become him.
Watching him she could see his body language change, there was something about him that made her feel uneasy, what had started out as a silly game, was beginning to send alarm bells through her head. In two years she had never really seen this side to him, this controlling jealous side and quite frankly she didn’t like it. There had been times when they were out, that he would make it quite clear to other men she was with him. She’d also noticed that when he came home after a fight he would always want sex, but he had never hurt her. He had never implied that he didn’t trust her, though in truth, she had never wanted to go out without him, now she was beginning to realise that if she did, he wouldn’t like it, she found this infuriating, because she had never so much as looked at another man, let alone fancied one.
Feeling the tension growing between them and hoping to change, not only the subject but the atmosphere that was developing, he pulled her to him and kissed her. Pulling away from him she said, “Don’t imagine you can win me round so easily, you’ve upset me Jimmy, I feel very hurt that you don’t trust me!” Unexpectedly he grabbed hold of her and raising his voice said, “Yes ok Maria, you’re right, but I know how easy it is to trust the wrong people and I have never said I don’t trust you! Truth is I would die without you, and yes I’m a jealous bastard, but if I didn’t love you so much, I wouldn’t fucking care! If you want the truth I would kill any bloke who touched you, so now you know does it make you feel better?” Shocked by his outburst, she burst into tears as she said, “I’m sorry, I love you so much, I was only joking, but now we’re fighting.” Pulling her to him and holding her tighter than ever, he said, “I’m sorry too, but I can’t help the way I feel, you’re the most important thing in my life.” They began to kiss passionately, within minutes they were almost naked. Pushing her up against the lounge wall; she wrapped her legs tightly around his body, he entered her with such force and passion she groaned with every thrust of his body. When he had finished they lay down on the sofa, their bodies wrapped around one another. Still breathing heavily; she gently stroked the side of his face. Looking at her he said, “See what you do to me babe, you bring out the jealous angry man in me, which even I don’t like, but when I’m around you I can’t help myself.” She didn’t say anything; she simply kissed him softly on the lips. Within minutes they were cuddled up together asleep.
