by Carol Rivers
'I wish,' Micky growled. 'The tank's gone, the booze, everything! Thanks to some bastard with a chip on his shoulder the size of Big Ben.'
'Gina?' Ronnie spoke for the first time. 'We need a safe roof for the night. I'll spare you the details, but as you can see we need somewhere to clean up and get a few hours rest.' He slumped in the chair. 'I expect nothing for free so look on this as business. Name your price and you'll have it, plus a handshake on top.'
Bella watched Gina's expression change, the lines of anger around her eyes melting out. Her shrewd mind was calculating the odds in her favour and even though she was annoyed with Lenny, had been for some while as he had spent more and more time at the still, Ronnie's words had entranced her.
'If it's business we're talking, then yes, I have some rooms available,' Gina answered with a nod. 'The kharzi is out the back, good enough for you blokes. Lenny will cook you a fry-up, but I warn you, I keep my kitchen spotless. So make sure you clear up after. As for you, Ronnie, you'd better come with me. Bella, grab one arm, I'll take the other. We'll put him in Mum's room. It's on the ground floor and he won't have to climb any stairs. It's not been used since she died but other than a few moths, it's decent.'
Between them they assisted Ronnie along the dark passage. Bella looked around the room filled with books of all shapes and sizes. A large black mantilla hung down from the wall and an ornate red fan depicting a bullfight was open above an oval mirror. The window was framed by heavy chintz curtains and under it stood a mahogany sideboard cluttered with personal effects.
'Well, ducks,' Gina sighed as Ronnie flopped down on the bed, 'this is the first time my mum ever had a fella in her boudoir. Shame she'd not here to enjoy it. Now boil me some water and bring the first aid box back with you. We'll see what we can do for this poor sod.'
Bella went to the kitchen, her hands still shaking as she lifted the big kettle to the stove.
'You did a good job on those stitches,' Gina told her as they left the room half an hour later. 'Now nature will take its course.'
'Should we get a doctor?' Bella fretted.
'He says he don't want one.'
'Is that wise?'
'No, but he's probably right to refuse. With what happened at the still it would be a mistake to broadcast a wound like that. If he don't get an infection, then I would say he stands a chance of recovery.'
When they walked in the kitchen, the smell of fried eggs and bacon still hung in the air. The others had eaten, leaving the room warm unlike the rest of the house which was sub-zero. Whilst Gina disposed of the soiled dressings, Bella washed her hands and took off her coat. She had worn it all day and the pale wool was filthy, having absorbed the alcohol fumes and the smoke.
'Look at this mess, I told them to clear up,' Gina grumbled as she began to remove the dirty plates, knives and forks from the table, transferring them to the wooden draining board. 'Men believe that women are made to be slaves. But tomorrow I'm putting Lenny straight. He's going to clear this place up and earn a living as long as he remains under my roof. I'm not having a go at you, Bella, but for nearly three months now, you and Lenny have swanned off on Sundays to the still and forgotten that we have a business to run. And despite Micky having lost his little goldmine, I for one am relieved to hear it.' She took the dirty frying pan from the stove and began to scrub it.
Bella felt guilty as she watched. Gina was such a hard worker. 'I always thought you could manage all right without me.'
'Yeah, well, you needed a day's rest. But I didn't foresee you'd work yourself to the bone for Micky.' She turned and smiled. 'Anyway, now I've got that off me chest, do you want two eggs or one with your fried bread?'
'I'm not hungry, thanks.' Bella was feeling queasy. Even the smell of food was upsetting her stomach.
'You need to keep your strength up, a growing girl like you.' Gina frowned curiously at her, placing the pan upside down to drain. 'Have you been off colour lately?'
'No, I'm all right. It was just that awful smoke. I couldn't breathe and it made me cough.' Bella sat down at the table.
'You used to eat a good breakfast every day.' When Bella didn't reply she sighed, saying wearily, 'Don't concern yourself over Micky, because he's not worth it. He was bound to upset someone, sooner or later. If it wasn't Sammy Stratton, it would have been another Face. I warned Lenny so often, I got sick of hearing my own voice.'
'But Micky never intended to harm Tony Stratton,' Bella was quick to defend.
'Bella, ducks, you can't see the wood from the trees where Micky is concerned,' Gina said fiercely. 'He's an opportunist and lives to make number one happy. God knows what happened today, but Micky draws in the bad. Ronnie, his own brother, is lucky to be alive. If that knife had gone any deeper it would have done for him. Now, I've never met Ronnie before, but what he told me as he laid in Mum's bed, was enough to freeze the blood in my veins. Even he maintains that you and Terry would be better out of it. I'm not saying this to benefit myself, but you kids was doing all right with me. Now you're in the shit right up to your armpits and so is my Lenny.'
'I love Micky, Gina. And he loves me.'
'You're sure of that?'
'He doesn't show it, but I know he does.'
Gina pulled her frilly blue nightgown over her full breasts. 'You are only just turned seventeen, girl. I worry over you, can't help it. Now, don't look so sad, love, the world's not come to an end. Look at it another way, a miracle might happen and Micky turns into a straight geezer. If he does, I'll be the first one to admit my mistake. At least the Almighty, in all his wisdom, burnt down that den of iniquity tonight. Though I suppose we have this Sammy whatshisface to thank for that.'
Bella shook her head slowly. 'It wasn't Sammy Stratton who started the fire, Gina. It was Lenny.'
'What!'
'He made what he called bottle bombs from the neat wash in the tank. Sammy's men had guns and started shooting and so Lenny and Micky threw the bottles out the window. One of them landed on a car and it burst into flames. The fire spread to the other car beside it and then the warehouse caught light.'
'My Lenny making bombs?' Gina gasped. 'Where did he learn how to do that?'
'From your mum's books, he told us. These Molotov Cocktails were used in the Spanish Civil War against the Russian tanks. Only then they had petrol in them not Lenny's formula.'
The two women looked at one another as Gina's jaw dropped. 'Him and his formulas!'
'None of us realized it was so inflammable. When the wash inside the tank got really warm it exploded. We just managed to run clear before the roof blew off and took a couple of cars with it.'
'Was Sammy and his men inside?'
'There was too much smoke to see. It was everywhere, big black clouds blowing all over the island.'
'So that's why Ronnie wants to lie low, in case Sammy is alive and kicking?'
Bella nodded silently.
'A blaze like that will be seen right up to the city,' Gina said eventually. 'The papers are going to love it.'
Bella shuddered. 'They might be reporting us dead if it wasn't for Lenny.'
Gina's dark eyes widened. 'Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?'
Bella had no answer to that. She was still unable to believe it had all happened. Had Sammy Stratton escaped or had he perished in that terrible inferno?
Bella was feeling sick again. She had not seen her periods since making love with Micky and the dread that had been growing inside her was now a real fear. Visiting the doctor had been way down on her list of priorities, but she knew now that a visit had to be made. She hadn't let herself think about the baby. Didn't want to believe it could be true. And yet, when she did, a tenderness filled her. If it was a mother's instinct, then it was powerful, lighting up the world before reality set in. What would Micky say if she told him?
Up at the crack of dawn, she washed and dressed in an old blue working skirt and brown jumper. She had taken her good clothes to the still, all part of her private dream t
o be Micky's wife. Now all her treasured possessions had gone up in smoke.
Ronnie was awake when she went in. As she pulled back the curtains he screwed up his eyes against the pale morning sun. He was sitting up, his broad shoulders bare against the white pillows. The strips of old sheeting that Gina had wound round him were unsoiled and Bella nodded to them. 'You're still in one piece, then?'
'Thanks to you and Gina.' Ronnie smiled, the stubble on his jaw thick and dark.
'I'll cook you some breakfast and bring it in.'
'If I don't get my arse into action today, I'll be laying down permanently, six feet under.'
'You should rest. Let the wound heal.'
'Listen, sit down, I want to talk to you.'
She sat on the chair beside the bed. If this was going to be a lecture on Micky, she didn't want to hear it. But Ronnie's voice was soft when he spoke.
'I've been thinking all night and devised a plan,' he told her quietly. 'Whether or not Sammy Stratton is alive, I will still need to recruit muscle, because I am not getting caught with my trousers down again. I'm going back to the club bright and early, make the place tight as a drum. Sid and Bernie are there and I'll brief them in on what to say if Old Bill sniffs round. The story is, the club was closed yesterday because of a ruptured water main. A minor flood with witnesses and a wet carpet to prove it.'
'What about Micky?'
'He has been running the club with me and Joyce for the past three months and let anyone try to disprove it. As for you and Terry I want you both to stay here. Plaster a smile on your face and act as though you've not set foot outside this place all weekend. It's business as usual and no one will know any different if you don't tell them.'
But Bella was alarmed. 'It's not me I'm worried about. It's Micky.'
Ronnie looked at her and smiled. 'I don't know what today will bring, but one thing I will say to you, Micky is a lucky bloke. He doesn't deserve you or what you did for him yesterday.'
'It wasn't just for him,' Bella said, unable to stop herself.
'What do you mean?'
Bella looked down. 'I'm expecting a baby.'
Ronnie was silent, his grey eyes staring into hers as he searched her face. 'Does Micky know?' he asked at last.
She shook her head, drawing her fingers across her wet cheeks.
'As I said,' he murmured as his black eyebrows knitted together, deepening the grooves between them. 'He is a lucky man, even luckier now that he has his own family to take care of. His blood will be the new generation. What man could ask for more?'
She looked up in surprise. 'I hope Micky sees it like that.'
'If you want my advice, wait until this is over,' he replied after a pause. 'As you well know, Micky is the biggest of kids himself and his little toy has just been taken away. He's not in the best of moods. But you are going to be part of this family, Bella and you will need a tough skin. Develop it as quickly as you can.'
Bella heard the kindness in his voice. Where Micky was concerned, she was weak and they both knew it. But it was advice from someone who loved him as much as she did and she took comfort from this.
'Now, I will take you up on that breakfast,' he told her, his tone matter of fact once more. 'I'll come to the kitchen as soon as I'm dressed. Then I'll take Micky and Sean to the club.'
'How will we know you're all right?' Bella asked anxiously.
'I'll send word. Now, get yourself out of here, girl.'
She left the room and in the kitchen, tied on her apron, as her stomach revolted at the sight of bacon. But at least she had shared her secret with Ronnie and having done so, she felt stronger.
After Ronnie, Micky and Sean had left, Gina sent Lenny for a newspaper.
'It's here!' Lenny exclaimed when he returned and spread the paper over the kitchen table. 'Not much, though. A couple of paragraphs entitled "Warehouse Fire".
'Read it out,' Gina said as she fried the bacon.
' "A disused – "' Lenny stopped abruptly, gulping his breath. 'Hear that? Disused, meaning they don't know we was in it!'
'All right, all right, don't get excited,' Gina warned over her shoulder. 'What else?'
' "A disused warehouse caught fire on the Isle of Dogs and was attended by the fire brigade last night," ' Lenny continued. "The smoke from the blaze was seen as far away as Nelson Dock south of the river." '
'Go on, get to the important bit,' Gina told him impatiently said as she broke eggs into the pan. 'Was anyone found? Did anyone see anything?'
Lenny read on, mouthing silently, then nodded. 'It says the remains of unidentified bodies were discovered in the burnt out shells of two cars nearby.'
'Oh, Christ,' Gina gulped, handing the plates to Bella. 'Do they say who they were?'
Lenny looked up at them woefully. 'No, they were burned beyond recognition.'
Bella's face paled as she imagined the gruesome discovery and Lenny's face showed he was thinking the same.
'I never intended to kill anyone,' he whispered, his eyes full of remorse. 'I didn't think those bottles were that lethal.'
'Look, Lenny,' Gina said firmly as she turned sharply from the stove, 'stop torturing yourself and us. You've been at it all night. Even in your sleep you was tossing and turning and yelling out like a stuck pig. Now, there is nothing you can do to change the past. It was self-defence, pure and simple. Does the paper say any more?'
He didn't look down, just stared into space.
Gina nodded to Bella. 'Take those breakfasts out whilst they're hot, love. And, as Ronnie said, try to act as normal. Someone has to around here.'
Bella looked at Lenny who seemed dazed, then took out the first fry-ups of the day. She knew Gina was attempting to help Lenny by taking a brusque attitude. To rally him and return him to normality. But even Bella could see that was not going to happen overnight. Lenny had taken the news badly, which showed he had a heart. Something that Sammy Stratton did not possess. For if he was still alive and kicking all three of them knew he would exact his own form of punishment without turning a hair.
Bella served the two meals to the men, smiling brightly as Ron and Gina had told her to do, hoping her worries didn't show on her face.
After the last customer had left, Bella washed down the tables and cleaned the floor, taking the pig bin into the yard where Gina was watching Lenny at work. She stood in her coat, chain smoking, frowning at his every move. Bella knew that Gina hadn't let him off the hook from his crimes. Which were, in her book, deserting her business in preference for Micky's still. It wasn't dead bodies that Gina was concerned with, unlike Lenny who was suffering under the weight of guilt.
'Have you shut up for the day?' Gina asked sharply as Bella appeared.
'Yes, and the kitchen's clean. Is there anything else you want me to do?'
Gina's scowl softened. 'No thanks. Me and Lenny will be finished here soon. It took us all day to shift the rats. If I had sixpence for every one we found I'd be a rich woman. They ate their way through all my stock in the shed and even through bricks and mortar. That's what taking your finger off the pulse does,' she added, frowning again at Lenny.
They stood in awkward silence, as Lenny pushed the broom in weary resignation, patches of sweat ingrained on his vest. Just as Bella was about to go in, the back gate opened. They all gasped softly as Sean appeared dressed in a long coat with the collar pulled up to his ears.
'What's happened?' they all asked at once.
Sean glanced over his shoulder as though someone was following him. Then jerking his thumb toward the house, they all hurried in. Sean searched the kitchen and cafe with worried eyes. 'Are we alone?'
'No, Scotland Yard is hiding in the cupboard,' Gina replied sarcastically.
Sean rubbed his chin and frowned. 'It was Sammy and his mates who bought it.'
'Oh, Gawd,' Lenny gasped. 'How do you know?'
'We don't, not for sure. But there's no t a living soul at the Indigo and no one on the street has seen Sammy.'
'What about the police?' Gina asked.
'A copper called at the club this morning but he is a friendly, on wages from Ronnie. The Old Bill, he said, are doing the rounds, asking questions because Sammy and Tony are into vice in a big way. He controls half of the girls in Soho and is taking a big cut, causing unrest with the others.'
'And the law don't know where he is?' Lenny asked furtively.
'No, the streets are quieter than a nun's knickers.'
'What if someone saw me and Micky at the still?' Lenny said in a whisper. 'What if the police turn up a grass for instance?'
'They'd have to prove it. And anyway, we was only in operation three months and we didn't see a soul.'
'That didn't mean someone didn't see us,' Lenny agonized, his face haggard now.
'What do you want me to do about it?' Sean frowned irritably. 'You was the one who made the stuff.'
'You can stop right there, lover boy,' Gina interrupted, her black eyes flashing as she wagged a long finger in Sean's face. 'Passing the buck won't help. Lenny might have made it, but it would never have been shipped to the streets if it wasn't for you and Micky. As far as I'm concerned, you are all dopes, the lot of you. Doing what you did was the height of stupidity. And if you get away with it, you should go down on bended knee to your maker for the reprieve. But knowing you all as I do, you'll all be jumping in the shit just as quickly again. Only I hope this time, before you do, you will consult with Ronnie, who has had to clean up your mess before.'
They were all silent as Sean pulled up his collar. 'I've got to go. Ronnie wants me back at the club.'
'What do we do now?' Gina called after him as he walked away. 'Sit twiddling our fingers, I suppose!'
Bella knew that Sean chose to ignore this as he disappeared along the lane.
Lenny sank down on a chair, his face white.
Gina looked sternly at him. 'And you can cheer up, you moody sod. Playing with fire will eventually get you burned. The saying couldn't be more apt in your case, Lenny Rigler.'
He looked a beaten man and Bella felt sorry for him. But Gina was intent on pressing her point and she admired her for her strength of character. Like Micky, Gina needed to be in control. The trouble was, with Gina pulling one way and Micky the other, no one could sit on the fence for long. Not even Lenny.
