Life of Crime

by Kimberley Chambers

  Babs’s eyes opened wide. ‘Really! What can I look up then?’

  ‘Anything you want. I thought we’d take a look together; see if we can find you a job. The boys are getting older now and you need to think about your future.’

  ‘But I can’t work. I have to look after Mum.’

  ‘Not every day, you don’t. You can still see her at weekends. She’ll be in a care home soon, so she won’t be lonely.’

  ‘What’s this?’ Peggy enquired.

  ‘A pure silk scarf. I hope you like it. I chose that,’ Melissa said.

  ‘Well, it’s pretty. But where do I go to wear a bleedin’ silk scarf? Chop me head off on the way out the bingo for that, the robbing bastards. Poor old Doris got mugged as she left there a couple of weeks ago. Broke her wrist an’ all.’

  ‘Mel’s got the gift receipt, so you can change it for something else if you want. I thought you might wear it when you go out dancing with Irish Ted.’ Jason winked at Melissa.

  ‘Ted’s got gout. Can’t walk any more, let alone bleedin’ dance.’ Peggy studied the scarf some more. ‘I’ll keep it, I think. You can put it round me neck in me coffin, Jason. It matches that green dress I told you to cremate me in.’

  ‘Are you dying, Nan?’ Elton asked.

  ‘Soon, probably, yeah. I am knocking on a bit.’

  Kyle perched himself on the edge of Peggy’s armchair. ‘Can I give you a hug?’

  Jason burst out laughing. ‘Happy Christmas, everybody.’

  ‘What time did you call the cab for, Mel?’ Jason asked. She was being unbelievably nice to his family and seemed in a thoroughly buoyant mood.

  ‘I didn’t. I’ll drive your car. It’s big enough for all of us to squeeze in.’

  Never having been one to hold back her words, Peggy pointed at Barbara. ‘You sure? She’ll have to sit in the front then.’

  Giving his nan a warning look, Jason turned to Melissa. ‘Don’t drive. Have a drink.’

  ‘I really don’t fancy drinking, Jase, honest. I’ll have a glass of bubbly later though, I promise. And thank you so much again for my beautiful earrings and all my other gifts. I love them,’ Melissa gushed, studying her diamond studs in her compact mirror once more.

  ‘Had a result when you met my Jason, didn’t ya? Beautiful home you have and he’s such a thoughtful lad,’ Peggy said to Melissa.

  As happy as she felt, Melissa’s patience had already started to wear thin with Jason’s grandmother. Mel had never liked her since the day she’d met her and could sense the feeling was mutual. ‘He hasn’t always done me proud, Peggy. Don’t you remember what happened at our wedding?’

  ‘Do you mean when Mum turned up swearing?’ Barbara enquired.

  ‘Amongst other things,’ Melissa snapped, deciding now was as good a time as any to spring her big surprise on Jason.

  Jason opened the envelope. ‘Disney World, Florida! What’s this then?’

  ‘I booked us a holiday. The kids will love it.’

  ‘Jesus, Mel. You could’ve asked me first. How much this set you back? I’ve only just paid the balance on the Seychelles for your mate’s poxy wedding.’

  Peggy pursed her lips. ‘I think you mean, how much did it set you back, boy.’

  Having left it late to book anywhere, Jason had been unable to find a pub or restaurant with availability in Chigwell, but had managed to get them into one in Brentwood, thanks to Simon Champion, who’d recommended it and pulled a few strings as he knew someone who worked there.

  The Bull was situated on Brook Street and as Jason opened the door to allow Melissa and the kids inside he grabbed his nan’s arm. ‘I know you don’t like Mel. But don’t keep winding her up. Please, for my sake.’

  Peggy looked surprised. ‘What am I meant to have said that’s so wrong? Only stating facts. She bought you a holiday out of your own money.’

  ‘I just want a peaceful Christmas, OK?’ Jason warned.

  ‘Whatever!’

  ‘Put your paper hat on. Shay’s got hers on,’ Melissa urged her son.

  Aware that Elton and Kyle had screwed their hats up and thrown them on the floor, Donte did the same.

  ‘Pick that up,’ Melissa ordered.

  When Elton and Kyle giggled, Donte did the same. ‘No.’

  ‘Make him pick that up, Jason,’ Melissa hissed. It infuriated her how her son always played up in front of Jason’s brothers.

  ‘Do as your mum says, boy,’ Jason said.

  Peggy bent down and picked the hat up.

  ‘Put it back. Let him do it,’ Melissa shrieked.

  ‘Keep your hair on. It’s only a bit of bloody paper,’ Peggy retaliated.

  Desperate to keep the peace, Jason marched his nan up the bar. She had never seen eye to eye with Melissa, which was why she rarely visited the house. ‘Stop pushing her buttons. I’ll get the brunt of it if you carry on,’ Jason said.

  ‘Her fault for making a mountain out of a molehill. It was a bit of bleedin’ paper. Sitting there like Lady Dunnabunk, full of airs and graces. Wants to get off her lazy arse and get a job, help you out a bit. And that beauty salon she was harping on about wants shutting down, robbing bastards. Done nothing for her looks, has it? She’s still as ugly as the day you bastard-well married her.’

  ‘Enough, Nan. Let’s change the subject, please. So, what do you think of your grandchildren?’

  ‘They’re all right.’

  ‘That all you’ve got to say?’

  ‘Babs needs to lose some weight, poor thing. She’ll never get a boyfriend looking like that, ya know.’

  About to defend his sister, Jason decided not to bother. His nan was the most outspoken person he’d ever met and she was far too long in the tooth to change now.

  Melissa had just eaten the last of her prawn cocktail when she saw them. ‘Oh my God! I don’t bloody believe it!’ She grabbed Jason’s arm. ‘I am not staying here. Look,’ she urged.

  A short, sturdy man with ginger cropped hair, Johnny Brooks was easily recognizable even from the back. The woman standing next to him was taller, glamorous with blonde hair and Jason guessed immediately that it was Shirley Stone.

  ‘Who is it?’ Donte asked. He’d only been young when his mum had fallen out with his granddad, therefore had no recollection of him whatsoever.

  ‘We need to leave. Now,’ Melissa hissed.

  Peggy rolled her eyes. ‘Here we go,’ she mumbled.

  ‘We can’t leave. We haven’t had our dinner yet. He won’t come over, and if he does, I’ll sort it,’ Jason promised.

  ‘Who we meant to be looking at?’ Barbara piped up.

  ‘No way am I breathing the same air as that scrubber,’ Melissa insisted. Her heart was beating incredibly fast, but she was frozen to her seat.

  ‘Drama queen,’ Peggy muttered.

  When Johnny turned around, Shay recognized him. ‘It’s Granddad,’ she exclaimed, running towards him. Johnny and Carol had been so kind to her she had never forgotten either. Even though they were not her real grandparents, she would always regard them as such and remembered crying for days after Carol died.

  When Donte stood up, Melissa leapt out of her seat and grabbed her son. ‘You don’t go anywhere near him, do you hear me?’ she screamed.

  By now, lots of other diners were looking their way and Jason felt embarrassed. ‘Stop creating a scene. You’re making the situation worse,’ he told Melissa.

  Johnny hugged Shay, then walked over to his daughter. ‘Melissa, Jason, long time no see. Hasn’t this one got big? And I take it this is Donte?’ he asked, stroking Donte’s head.

  Melissa leapt out of her chair like a Jack in the Box. ‘Get your hands off him, you dirty old pervert.’

  ‘Mel, tone it down, for Christ’s sake,’ Jason pleaded. They had the whole bloody pub looking their way now.

  A bloke on the next table stood up. ‘Has that man touched your child?’ he asked.

  ‘Better than EastEnders, this,’ Peggy muttered.

 
; Jason stood up. ‘Nah. Everything is fine, mate. Family issues, that’s all.’

  When a woman piped up asking if Johnny was a paedophile, Shirley Stone felt it was time to intervene and marched over to the table. She pointed at Johnny. ‘He is my partner of many years and I can assure you he isn’t a pervert. That’ – Shirley pointed to Melissa – ‘is his daughter, who hates him for no good reason.’

  ‘Leave it, Shirl,’ Johnny urged. He was red-faced enough as it was.

  Melissa picked up Peggy’s glass of port and threw it in Shirley’s face. ‘No good reason! You old slag. Shagging my dad behind my mother’s back. Well, this is from her,’ Mel screamed, throwing a punch.

  ‘Mum, stop it,’ Donte pleaded, tears streaming down his face.

  ‘That’s me port gone for a burton,’ Peggy mumbled.

  ‘Leave Granddad alone,’ Shay yelled.

  A man appeared from behind the bar. ‘I’m afraid I must ask you all to leave.’

  Jason grabbed hold of his wife. ‘No worries, mate. We’re going.’

  ‘Would’ve been better fed going to a homeless shelter. Bastard-well starving, I am,’ Peggy Rampling moaned as Jason neared her house.

  ‘I’m so sorry about today, Nan. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll take you out somewhere nice, just me and you. You got anything indoors you can cook?’ Melissa had been hysterical on the journey home, so he’d driven the car. Seeing her father with Shirley Stone had triggered something within her and when she’d ordered him to take his nan home at once, Jason hadn’t bothered to put up a fight.

  ‘Nope! Got nothing in the cupboards or the fridge,’ Peggy lied. ‘I mean, Irish Ted invited me to spend Christmas with his sister in Dundalk. Next year I will bloody well go. Never known such a drama queen as your old woman. Mind you, it was hilarious when the whole pub thought Johnny Brooks was a child molester,’ Peggy cackled. ‘Can’t wait to tell ’em that story down the bingo hall. It’ll go down a treat.’

  ‘I’m not visiting her poxy brother now. I’m going to tell her I’m spending time with you instead. Back me up if she rings you,’ Jason urged. He had told his nan all about Charlotte and the predicament he was currently in. She might be a wind-up merchant, but anything he told his nan in secret would never be repeated.

  ‘Yeah, no probs. When you gonna bring Charlotte round to meet me, by the way?’

  ‘Soon.’

  ‘You not coming in?’ Peggy asked, when Jason pulled up outside her house and kept the engine running.

  ‘No. Best I shoot straight off, the mood she’s in. I need to make sure the kids are all right. Will you see Babs, Elton and Kyle again if I arrange something? Mel won’t be involved, just us.’

  ‘I don’t know, love. Maybe. But take a word of advice from me. She ain’t the full shilling, that Mel. Get rid of her ASAP.’

  On his way home, Jason stopped in the car park of the Maypole pub. Up until yesterday, Charlotte hadn’t had his number and he’d been too scared to turn the bloody phone on all day in case she rang up in front of Mel.

  With a heavy heart, Jason pressed the on button. He remembered sending her loads of drunken texts, cringeworthy ones.

  ‘Oh, bloody hell,’ he mumbled.

  It’s you I want! I’ll leave Mel in the new year, I promise xxx

  Jason winced as he read similar sloppy shit, then smiled as he clocked Charlotte’s reply sent this morning.

  I am so sorry I was such a cow – was just upset that I wouldn’t be seeing you again soon. I love my necklace and I love you. You are worth waiting for!

  Merry Christmas

  C xxx

  Jason deleted all the messages and started the ignition. He had a big decision to make soon, that was for sure.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Jase. I truly am. The kids are fine. I cooked them pizzas and garlic bread. I couldn’t help myself though. I lost it when she came over. How must my mum have felt, knowing she was dying and he was knocking off Shirley? It must’ve been torture for her.’

  ‘In fairness, your mum did tell you she didn’t want your dad to be lonely and you were to give Shirley a chance, Mel. She was dealing with it in her own way and perhaps you should now take her advice.’

  ‘Never! I wish my dad was dead. I really do.’

  ‘Oh well! Where are the kids now?’

  ‘Upstairs, on their PlayStations. I apologized to them too. They’re fine, honest.’

  Jason walked over to the fridge, took out a can of lager, flopped on the sofa and switched the TV on.

  A minute later, Melissa plonked a bottle of champagne in front of him and poured two glasses.

  ‘I’m not in the mood for bubbly, love. It’s been the Christmas from hell. There is sod-all to celebrate,’ Jason said bluntly.

  ‘But it’s not over yet. This is your main present,’ Melissa replied, handing Jason an envelope.

  ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake, Mel. Not more extravagance. You’re going to have to rein it in a bit from now on, love. I ain’t Baron Rockefeller, ya know.’

  ‘It cost nothing. Well, less than a tenner. Just open it.’

  Jason’s jaw dropped as he laid eyes on the pregnancy test. ‘Nah. You can’t be. You winding me up?’

  Melissa pointed to the positive sign and grinned. ‘No joke. I am having your baby. We did it, Jase. We finally did it!’

  PART THREE

  ‘One may outwit another,

  but not all the others’

  François de La Rochefoucauld

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  2001 – Two Years Later

  ‘Absolutely taters, I am. The things I let you talk me into, Rampling,’ Craig Thurston said. The November air was crisp and it had just started to drizzle again.

  ‘Never forget, this was your idea in the first place,’ Jason retaliated. He then went quiet, his body filled with fear at what lay ahead.

  How had things come to this? Jason mused, even though he knew all the answers. It was an accumulation of unavoidable things, events and rash decisions that had brought him to his knees. Money made the world go round and when it started to run out, you were doomed.

  Back in the day, he and Craig would do approximately three robberies a year. Most involved jewels and diamonds, but the more DNA forensics improved and CCTV cameras were installed, the harder it became. That’s why Craig had bailed out, and on a personal level, he’d made the right choice. Craig was earning bundles now, had even lent Jason twenty grand recently. Jason, on the other hand, had collateral now, thanks to the flats he’d bought in Jersey. But readies wise, he was struggling. Even the cars from the auctions didn’t bring in the dosh they once did. People wanted to pay for everything on the never-never these days and with some dealers offering 0 per cent finance deals, they bought from them instead.

  ‘I’m starving. I hope he hasn’t gone on an all-day bender,’ Craig moaned. For the past three Sundays they had watched Johnny Brooks’s movements and he seemed to be a creature of habit.

  Feeling a wave of unease wash over him, Jason decided to air his concerns. ‘I don’t know if this is a good idea, you know. I got a bad feeling about it.’

  Craig turned around. Both men were dressed in black leathers and balaclavas. They’d had to take their helmets off to hear each other clearly. ‘You’re joking, right?’

  ‘Something don’t feel right, not with you riding the bike and him being late.’ Jason had managed to get hold of another Kawasaki, similar to the one they’d used in their last robbery. It was a ZZR1100, a beast, and Craig was no biker.

  ‘We’ve got a van parked three miles down the poxy road! I’ve ridden it the last three Sundays, haven’t I? Don’t go cold on me now, Jase. Not after freezing me bollocks off four Sundays on the spin.’

  Jason fell silent again. He’d managed to pull off two robberies alone since he and Craig had parted company. They’d both netted him a decent amount of cash, but on the last he’d slipped running out of the shop and had very nearly got caught. A bystander had tried to apprehend him and Jason h
ad panicked. He’d been forced to spray CS gas in the have-a-go hero’s eyes and literally escaped by the skin of his teeth. He wasn’t like Craig, who thrived on threats and violence. He hated seeing the terrified look on innocent people’s faces, which was why he’d made a better getaway driver.

  Melissa Rampling leaned over her son’s wooden cot and switched on the musical mobile.

  ‘Hush-a-bye baby on a treetop. When the winds blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. Down tumbles baby, cradle and all,’ Melissa sang softly while staring at her son’s handsome face.

  Tearing her eyes away from Bobby, Melissa glanced at her watch. She had no idea where Jason was, but guessed he was playing golf again. He spent little time at home these days, had probably told her this morning where he was going. But she’d been so hungover she couldn’t remember.

  ‘Mel, Donte’s starving and so am I. What we having for dinner?’ Shay shouted out.

  ‘I’ll be down in a tick,’ Melissa yelled back. Walking around the cot, Mel planted a kiss on her son’s cute little button nose. ‘I’ll be back later, boy. Sleep tight,’ she whispered.

  But it wasn’t Bobby’s actual face Melissa was kissing. It was the image of him she had insisted they have enlarged and hung above his cot. Unlike other mothers, she would never hear her son’s first words or watch him take his first steps.

  Bobby Rampling was dead.

  ‘I’d better be off now, lads. See you same time next week,’ Johnny Brooks said.

  ‘Oh, don’t be a bore, have one more. Rhymed that, didn’t it?’ Scottish Paul laughed at the words he hadn’t actually meant to be funny.

  ‘Paul’s right. While the cat’s away, the mice will play,’ Brian the Cabbie added, knowing full well Shirley was visiting her sister down in Kent and wasn’t due back until tomorrow.

  Johnny stood up. ‘Nope. I’ve already had two pints over my usual quota. Not like the old days where the drink-driving laws were relaxed. Pulling you up left, right and centre these days,’ Johnny insisted, not realizing that if he did get a tug he’d be way over the limit with the seven pints he’d had already.