No Mercy: The brand new novel from the Queen of Crime

by Martina Cole

  Then there was pandemonium as the boys’ cousin discovered them lying on the filthy concrete with their life’s blood seeping away. They were twenty and twenty-one respectively.

  By the time the authorities arrived, the rain had started and the sound of distant thunder could be heard over the traffic noise.

  There was blood and mud everywhere – as one of the constables remarked drily, ‘They picked a good night for it anyway.’

  The laughter was subdued, but it was there nevertheless.

  The Coleman brothers wouldn’t be too sad a loss for the police, there was no denying that.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘Are you trying to be fucking funny, Silas?’

  Silas Warner knew just how unpredictable Angus Davis could be. Even without Diana as his mother, he would still have been an intimidating enemy. He had a lot of his father in him. His sheer size alone, coupled with his rugged features that seemed to be permanently in frown mode, was worrying enough, but it was his voice – rich, deep and with an edge of menace in even his most mundane statements – that confirmed Angus had what it took to be an enforcer, and that was something you were born with. You couldn’t acquire that, it had to come naturally.

  He had old-school masculinity, and he had it in spades. He wasn’t fully grown yet, so Christ Himself only knew what the finished article would be like!

  Silas wasn’t exactly easily scared. But there was a deeply dangerous streak inside this lad that would one day make him a very formidable opponent.

  The fight he’d had in the nick was already earning legendary status. He’d striped that boy up bad. Now Angus was giving him a dressing down, and he was quite willing to stand there and take it. But he believed that all was not lost. If Silas could get a word in edgeways, he could salvage something out of this abortion.

  Silas took a deep breath and looked Angus in the eye. ‘Would I try to be humorous in a situation of this magnitude? I just want to see if you are interested in a business proposition, that’s all.’

  Angus looked at Roy, and they both shook their heads in disbelief.

  Angus took his time lighting a cigarette and he pulled on it a few times before saying to Roy, ‘He’s got some fucking gall, I’ll give him that.’

  Both Roy and Silas were watching his cigarette carefully. Angus was known to use them as a weapon. As he pointed out, they were cheap and effective and, if used properly, left a scar so the person involved would have a lifetime reminder not to be a cunt in the future.

  The small lock-up was cold and dark. Silas was sitting on the only chair, a rickety affair that looked and felt like it would collapse at any moment. There were what looked suspiciously like bloodstains on the floor and the walls, and evidence of rats was everywhere.

  Psychologically, Silas couldn’t fault the lad. He knew how to instil fear – and he had to admit, he was doing just that!

  Angus smiled suddenly, a bright smile that lit up his handsome face.

  ‘Don’t tell me – you want to offer me the drug deals in London and Spain that were to be the Coleman brothers’? I assume you will be wanting a taste, as it was your connections that set this up in the first place? And you would like me to forget about this diabolical liberty you said the Coleman brothers committed – namely outing two of my very good friends, the Fernandez brothers. Thus, your thinking is two wrongs really can make a right.’

  Silas closed his eyes. He was weary, he was terrified, wondering if and when he would find out his ultimate fate – and if he could negotiate for his sons’ safe passage. ‘If you talk to the Colemans’ cousin, Jonny, he will tell you all you need to know about the set-up. He was in on it too. But I swear I didn’t know they would be stupid enough to out those two lads – there was no need for that, it was utter madness. But these are the Colemans we are talking about. Jonny is a good lad, he has a bit of nous about him, which is more than I could say for his cousins.’

  Angus stared at the frightened man in front of him and toyed with the idea of beating him to death to put an end to this charade.

  ‘I think you can safely assume I know just about all there is to know about the deal. But please feel free to enlighten me, in case I missed something.’

  So Silas Warner talked.

  He talked as if his life depended on it – which, of course, it did.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Diana Davis wasn’t sure what to think when her son sat her down and relayed his antics of the last thirty-six hours to her in minute detail. One half of her was impressed, she had to be honest about that much. But the other half was mortified that he didn’t understand the actual economics of what might have happened had he failed.

  He had managed this feat of derring-do because he was her son, and she wondered if he had any inkling that might be the case. But, in the interests of fairness, what he had achieved was pretty impressive. He had done sterling work – albeit with a taste for the dramatic – and she had to commend that.

  She poured them each a coffee and they sat in silence for a few minutes, each occupied with their own thoughts.

  Finally, Angus said determinedly, ‘I had to sort it, Mum. The Fernandez brothers were my mates, and it was my business that had been affected. If I had let you square it, where would that have left me? I know you think I’m still a kid, but I’m not. I have given that old tosser Silas a pass because I know he’s a decent broker, and he knows the people in Spain well. He won’t try any antics now, not after the carnage he’s caused for everyone. I own him now, and he knows that. I am flying out to Marbella with Roy on Thursday to meet with the people concerned. We will go through the options, get everything in place, and that will basically be it.’

  Diana half-smiled and nodded. ‘You did well, considering, I will grant you that. But in future you must run things past me first, OK? I need to be in the loop, son. More importantly, we need to work together – and I promise from now on that I will listen to what you have to say.’

  Angus reached for her hand. ‘That’s all I want, Mum. I don’t want to go behind your back, but I ain’t as stupid as you think. How could I be, with you and my dad as role models? All my life I have heard the stories about you two. Well, now I need to make my own stories.’

  Diana couldn’t argue with that. And it would not augur well for the future if she pushed him away. This son of hers was a ticking time bomb. She could keep a closer eye on him if she let him have some leeway. She was prepared to keep him within her sights and if he fucked up, she would be there to sort it, no matter how bad.

  She honestly didn’t have a choice. He was champing at the bit. He had proven himself today, and he knew it. She had to accept that.

  She sighed and then she said honestly, ‘Be careful of Willy McCormack, he’s a wily old cunt. On the plus side he was good friends with your father – did a few blags together in their younger days. I will talk to some old Faces who have retired out there, so you have contacts of your own. It’s full of opportunity – but then it always was, being so close to Morocco. We know a fair few on the run out there.’ She gave him an assessing look. ‘But, knowing you, it will be the nightlife you’ll be more interested in.’

  Angus grinned and gulped his coffee. ‘Don’t worry, Mum, I will sort the business end first.’

  Diana could hear the relief in his voice. She wondered if she was just too close to him and, as his mother, couldn’t see his potential. That was a definite probability, as her old man used to say. If Angus naused this up, she would know – one way or the other – and she had plenty of people on her payroll who could smooth the way for him, if needs be. She decided to change the subject and get on to firmer ground.

  ‘How is Lorna?’

  Angus groaned. ‘She’s well upset. One of her mates, Maggie Simmonds, jumped in front of a train at Upney station a few days ago. Fucking mental, ain’t it? Only fifteen. What could be so terrible you would want to top yourself at that age?’

  Diana was genuinely shocked. ‘What, little Maggie?
I heard there had been a suicide, but I never dreamed it was anyone we knew. Her poor fucking parents.’

  ‘Lorna reckons she was suffering from depression but she kept it quiet. All her mates are in shock so I don’t think I will be missed too much this weekend. To be honest, I’ll be glad to get away from it all.’

  It didn’t strike either of them that they themselves had both been the cause of more than a few deaths over the last few days. It was a knack they both had – the ability to separate their criminal life from what they termed their real lives. Neither of them saw anything even remotely ironic in the conversation they were having.

  That was why they could do what they did, and do it so well.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jonny Coleman was absolutely fit to be tied, not because his cousins had been murdered but because they had brought on him untold fucking aggravation in the form of the Davis family. The last thing he needed was a tear-up with that lot. He didn’t stand a chance.

  Unlike his cousins, he was well aware of his limitations. He had to make a name for himself as a person of integrity and a person of trust – not someone who knocked off people like the Fernandez brothers on a stoned and drunken whim. If Davie and Peter weren’t already dead he would cheerfully have killed them himself.

  Now he was waiting for the knock on the door at any time. When it came, he needed to be ready.

  He sipped his brandy and looked nostalgically around the small drinking club in Ilford – the only thing his old man had ever achieved. Jonny had inherited it when his father had been shot in a betting incident in Leeds prison a few years before. He had taken it over and kept it going and made a success of it. His clientele might not be exactly kosher, but they were good people, in their own way, and they respected him and his father because he ran a tidy club where people could talk business without fear. He also slung a few strippers on often enough to keep the wives and girlfriends out.

  Now everything he had worked for was at risk of being ruined over that pair of fuckers’ stupidity. He looked around him at the shining bar, and the newly painted walls; it wasn’t the fucking Ritz, but it was a decent little earner. He hoped his mum got a few quid for it, if and when the worst happened.

  Jonny was twenty-seven years old, and the chances were he would not see twenty-eight – and all because he had loyalty to his family. If only his cousins had shown that same sense of loyalty. He was sorry they were dead, and he would miss them, but they had caused so much upset. He still felt a burning anger towards them.

  When the door opened and Angus Davis walked in with his sidekick, Roy Rogers, it took all Jonny’s nerve not to make a run for it.

  Angus stood there for a few moments, taking in his surroundings. He liked this place, it had a nice atmosphere. He had supplied the strippers on a few occasions – and he had appreciated that Jonny had always insisted on them being of a certain age, not schoolgirl material.

  The three men looked at each other eventually, long and hard.

  Then Angus said jovially, ‘That brandy looks the business. Pour a couple out for me and Trigger, and we can go through the Spanish deal. What do you say?’

  Jonny felt the ice water retreat from his bowels and, smiling weakly, he said hoarsely, ‘Pick a table and I’ll bring them over.’

  The funny thing was, he liked Angus. You couldn’t help it – he was charming, and he could be fun. Jonny also knew that what Angus had done to his cousins was necessary for the equilibrium of their society. And, in all honesty, they had brought it on themselves.

  Jonny would forgive, even if he wouldn’t forget. After all, what choice did he have really if he wanted to survive?

  They settled down to business.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gabriel and Diana were sitting in her office in her house in Epping.

  She was sipping a glass of Chardonnay and he was watching her, as he so often did. There was something about her that really affected him. She had a lovely face, even if it was a little battered round the edges these days. She had a good body, she kept herself fit, and she knew how to dress. Her eyes were a light blue that looked grey when she was angry, and her hair – expensively cut and conditioned – was a deep shade of blonde that was too perfect to be natural.

  He felt the usual stirring within him as he looked at her. She was graceful, feminine – the way she moved had always drawn him in. She was argumentative and arrogant at times, and she could be scathing, but that was only a part of her persona. When they were alone together, especially in bed, he saw a softer, more vulnerable side to her that no one else knew about.

  ‘Will you stop staring at me, Gabe? You’re giving me the heebie-jeebies.’

  They both laughed.

  It was her way of breaking the ice. Since she had basically dismissed him on the street, they had been strained. She genuinely wondered what brought him back. If he’d treated her like she did him, she would have left him – or stabbed him, depending on her mood at the time. But he put up with her, and a big part of her was pleased that he did – though another piece of her couldn’t understand how he could allow her to treat him like she did.

  ‘I don’t think anything could scare you, Di.’

  She laughed and finished off her wine, then she held out the glass for him to refill it for her. She was a bit pissed, and she was enjoying the sensation; it felt good to lose control of her emotions sometimes.

  ‘Oh, I do get scared occasionally – everybody does, I suppose. But it’s whether or not you let other people know how you’re feeling that counts. After I lost Big Angus, I was scared, deep inside, but I swallowed it down and I got on with it. My old man used to say, “People only know what you tell them.” It’s true – same with emotions, people only know what you show them.’

  Gabe sat back down in the easy chair and nodded his agreement. ‘You worried about young Angus going out to Spain?’

  ‘Wouldn’t you be, in my shoes?’

  Gabe lit a joint and pulled on it deeply. ‘He’s going to be all right. He’s a bit more on the ball than any of us give him credit for. Plus you have a few people to keep an eye on him out there. And Royston is as loyal as fuck, he will be there beside him.’

  Diana sighed heavily. ‘What’s wrong with me? It doesn’t matter how old he gets, he will always be my little boy. Until this week, I wouldn’t trust him to tie his own shoelaces without me looking over his shoulder. Now look at him! He’s the new kid on the block.’ She laughed. ‘I feel fucking old!’

  Gabe knew there was a grain of truth in what she was saying, and didn’t laugh with her. He knew her too well to risk that – especially after she had had a few glasses of the old vino. She could turn on a coin, and he didn’t want a repeat of the other night.

  Instead, he knelt down in front of her and handed her the joint. ‘Remember the old saying, a woman’s only as old as the man she feels!’

  They laughed comfortably together then, and he sat by her feet as they finished the joint. He loved her far more than she would ever realise – and he believed that, in her own way, she loved him too.

  Angus was young and he still needed to learn the finer points of negotiating, but Gabe had a few contacts out there too and, with them and Diana’s, the boy should be in good company. All they could hope was that he had the sense to keep his alcohol intake down and not let his natural belligerence shine through. The people in Spain were hard fuckers. But, if he played his cards right, Angus would be a good match for them. Diana had long tentacles, and she had bankrolled more than a few of the people who were now the movers and shakers out there. She had always played the long game and invested wisely, not only with money but with the people she had loaned it to. You didn’t get to her stage in life without having a sense of who you could trust – and what to do with anyone who broke that trust. Diana was ruthless, but she was also funny, approachable and staggeringly intelligent.

  He felt her squeeze his shoulder, and he placed his hand over hers. She had beautiful hand
s, always well manicured. She was all things to him, and that made him vulnerable. But he pushed those thoughts away, because they were finally back on an even keel and he didn’t want to ruin that.

  ‘The Fernandez brothers’ funeral is next week, Gabe. I don’t know how Rosina will cope, God love her.’ The sadness in her voice was evident.

  He pushed back his head, so he was nestled between her legs. ‘She’s a strong lady, Di. She will get over it eventually. But she will need her family and friends around her.’

  Diana nodded and sighed. ‘The Colemans’ funeral will be without mourners, because I’ve put the word out. What a pair of little fuckers! And the Fernandez funeral is going to be packed, I’ve made sure of that. It’s a help to the family to see their loved ones so well thought of. It’s not much, I know, but it’s all I can do.’

  Gabe stood up and refilled both their glasses, without answering her. In all truthfulness, he didn’t know what to say. This was the part of Diana that he would always fear: her vindictiveness.

  She knew the Coleman brothers’ family well too, especially the mum. They had also been friends for years. But Diana could turn on anyone, without a backward glance. It was like she deleted them from her brain somehow.

  Once she decided they were persona non grata, it was as if they had never existed. Not in her world anyway.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘I’ll only be gone a few days, darling, a week at the most. If I can get the business out of the way sooner then I will.’

  Lorna Connolly was nearly sixteen years old and she knew bullshit when she heard it. She was a good-looking girl, and while her looks had attracted Angus Davis from the moment he clapped eyes on her at Mass, it was her intelligence that had won the day – that, and the fact she wouldn’t sleep with him, no matter what.

  She wasn’t stupid, and she certainly wasn’t going to waste her virginity on just anyone. She would save it for her wedding night, like God intended. Once it was gone, she couldn’t get it back, and that meant it wasn’t going cheap. It was a mistake too many girls made these days; men didn’t want someone else’s leftovers, they wanted to know they had been there first. She wanted the full package – the dress, the house, the kids, the lifestyle – and she wouldn’t settle for less. Lorna knew her worth.