by Martina Cole
Eilish remembered how much her father had loved her mother, even when she was mad as the March Hare. He had stood by her, through thick and thin, no matter what she had done. It seemed that, now she knew he was gone, she had relegated him to the back of her mind, as she did with anything that she didn’t like to think about or dwell on.
‘And I certainly don’t care about his mother’s funeral. I am glad she’s dead. She was a horrible woman. She never wanted my Angus to marry me, you know. But he did, and we showed her.’
Eilish sighed as her mother rewrote history and, picking up her handbag, she kissed her mum lightly on her cheek. She was aware of Lorna pulling away from her, as if she carried a disease of some kind.
‘I have to go now, because I have an appointment, but I will let you know the details of Dad’s funeral, OK?’
Lorna grinned again. ‘Well, if you’re sure.’
Eilish walked out of the house and she didn’t look back, because she knew it would be a waste of her time.
Lorna was finally where she wanted to be, in a world of her own creation.
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-two
Eilish and Sean were standing together outside the church. The coffins had been there overnight, and the requiem mass would be well attended. Roy’s and Gabriel’s funerals had already been taken care of by their respective families.
Sean had made sure that the Filth had not been allowed inside the church, and he had also made sure that any would-be gangster who wasn’t known personally to them had been forcibly refused entrance. So today all those who weren’t friends or associates had the sense to stay outside. They could still be a part of it, but they would not be allowed to gate-crash the ceremony. This was a funeral, and it would be conducted with respect and with grace.
The security were all professionals, ex-army for the most part, and well dressed in appropriate dark suits. They had been warned to keep as low a profile as possible. Every real Face, from London to Glasgow, was already there and, like her brother Sean, Eilish was pleased to see them turn out to pay their respects. She knew that they were there for the right reasons, and they were grateful that they didn’t have to deal with the plastic gangsters and hangers-on that these occasions seemed to attract.
Eilish was aware that the TV crews were even more pleased to see them, but she knew she mustn’t allow herself to dwell on that, because there was nothing that she could do about any of it. This was a fact of life and, as her father had courted certain newspapers to promote his image, she knew she couldn’t object now. Plus her father would have loved it.
‘She’s cutting it fine.’
Eilish hooked her brother’s arm in hers and squeezed it tightly. ‘Come on, Sean, you know what she’s like. I promise you, she will be here.’ If it was left to her brother, her mother wouldn’t be given houseroom.
Jamie Thomas and Jamilla came up to them both and shook their hands gently. ‘This is a fucking sad day.’ Jamie had never once blamed them for what Angus Junior had done to their daughter. Jamilla kissed and hugged them both tightly, before they walked into the church.
Through their brother Angus, they now shared blood, and that had meant a lot to their father and Jamie Thomas. Eilish wondered, at times, at the twisted logic of the world they all inhabited, even though she actually understood it.
Sean looked handsome in his bespoke suit, and she looked good too – she had made sure of that. They looked every inch the heads of a successful family. Everyone here believed that all these deaths had been because of Abad and his business dealings, and they were waiting to see how, and when, they would retaliate.
Lorna’s limousine pulled up to the kerb, and one of the security men rushed to open the door for her. She emerged from the car in full funeral mode and she looked spectacular. After her mother’s hysterical ramblings on the phone last night, Eilish had talked her through every aspect of her outfit, from her tailored black suit and high-heeled Jimmy Choos to her professionally applied make-up and hair; now she looked the epitome of a woman who would have been married to a man like Angus Davis. She was also on her meds, and that was the main thing.
Eilish saw the relief in her brother’s eyes and knew exactly how he felt.
‘You all right, Mum?’
Lorna looked at her two children and smiled brokenly. ‘To think we would live to see this day.’ Then she put an arm around each of them and, walking them into the church, she said sadly, ‘He was the love of my life, and I was the love of his, and nothing can ever change that.’
Sean took his mother’s hand. ‘You look beautiful. Dad would have been proud of you.’
Lorna basked in the compliment and, wiping a tear from her eye, they walked together down the aisle and, as they all genuflected before the Cross of Christ, Eilish knew that these two burials were going to go off perfectly.
No one had told Lorna that her husband, Angus, and his mother, Diana, were to be laid together, side by side. Eilish decided she would cross that particular bridge when they came to it. But it was what her father and his mother had specifically requested in their wills.
What had amazed her was that they had been far more attached than any of them had ever realised. They had a bond that even her mother couldn’t quite break, and God Himself knew she had tried.
She knelt down and prayed to God with everyone else in the church, and as the service progressed she knew that they had done her father and her grandmother proud. She couldn’t take her eyes off one of the photographs of her father and his mother laughing together, when he had been just a teenager. They were holding each other tightly and looking at each other with such love and affection, it brought a lump to her throat. They both looked so young and so carefree, and she knew that there had always been a genuine love between them, no matter what.
The priest was talking about her father now, and reminiscing about him and his mother, and the times he had spent with them. He talked about her grandfather’s funeral and how hard his death had hit not just Diana but also his only son, who had been far too young to lose a father. When her mother was called up to the altar to give her eulogy, Eilish followed with her brother Sean and, though it looked to everyone like a family sticking together on such a sad day, they knew they were there to police their mother, because she just couldn’t be fucking trusted.
Lorna looked out over the packed church in Ilford, at the familiar faces that she had known all her life, in one way or another. She looked at the two coffins that were resting side by side, covered in flowers and photographs of the two people they held. She saw a photograph of Angus, Diana and herself. She was holding Angus Junior in her arms, and they all looked so happy, and she knew that was because, at that moment, they were. None of them had known what the future held for them. How could they? You live for the moment, because that is all you can do.
‘Angus was a wonderful man – a wonderful father, husband and son. He lived for his family, and I was blessed to be his wife. He was a man who was loyal and trustworthy in everything he did, from his family life to his businesses, and his innate decency was such that he was sometimes forced to make decisions that a lesser man would have done everything in his power to avoid.’
She looked at Jamie and Jamilla Thomas as she spoke, and everyone knew what she was alluding to and admired her for her honesty, as they had all admired Angus for his actions.
‘His mother, Diana, was of the same ilk. She was a woman to aspire to, a woman who taught her son the decency and the loyalty that made him into the man he was. I will miss them both, especially my husband, Angus, the father of my children and the love of my life. In truth, he was my first and my only love.’
She walked back to her seat with dignity, and Eilish accompanied her, breathing a sigh of relief. She knew the next person to speak was her brother Sean. She was relaxed now, looking forward to hearing what he had to say because as quiet as he was, he was a natural raconteur, and he could be hilarious when the fancy took him. She watched as he opened his
suit jacket and took out his speech, and she smiled. She had known that he would have come prepared and written down some stories and memories he could recount.
She wasn’t disappointed. Sean talked about his father and grandmother with such reverence and love. He also told stories about them both. Some were the stuff of local legend – stories that had been circulating about the family for years and had no actual basis in fact – but he made everyone laugh as he had regaled everyone with his father’s and grandmother’s take on them. He then told a few true stories about them as a family, and he made everyone laugh again, and then he made them think as he reminded them all of the two special people they had come to mourn.
Eilish and Lorna held hands as they listened to Sean, and they both laughed in all the right places. When he came back to the pew, he sat down heavily and Eilish knew that he was relieved to have got his eulogy over with. She could understand that. It was why she had not stood up to say anything, or even do a reading.
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. ‘That was beautiful.’
They took Communion with Lorna and prayed for the repose of the souls of Diana and Angus. Everyone said it had been a beautiful service, and it had.
Sean was there to help carry his father’s coffin to the graveside, and beside him was Jamie Thomas and other long-time friends, Tommy Becks, Geoffrey Pole and Jonny Coleman. Diana’s coffin was carried out by men who had worked for her in the past and who had been friends with her for many years. Eilish had been surprised at how many had come forward to offer their services, but she knew that her grandmother had made friends with people whenever possible. She believed that friends were always of more value than enemies, and much easier to control.
Diana Davis had taught her well, and Eilish would always be thankful for that.
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-three
Eilish and Jamie Thomas were both tired as it had been a long week. But, on the plus side, it had been a very productive one.
Eilish poured them both a brandy and Jamie took his and swallowed it down in one gulp.
He laughed at her. ‘You call that a brandy, girl?’
She refilled his glass, making sure it was a decent measure.
‘You sure you’re feeling OK?’
She nodded and grinned. ‘I feel good. Stop worrying, will you?’
Jamie shrugged. He believed her; she had inherited the same attitude that Angus and Diana had both possessed. She was as cool as a cucumber, and he couldn’t help but admire her for that. It took some doing, especially when you were in a dangerous situation like this.
‘He’s late.’
Eilish sipped her brandy. ‘He’ll be here, don’t worry. He wants to know the score.’
Eilish looked around the office and remembered being here with her father. She had loved it. She had always felt the excitement of being in Soho, and she had never forgotten it. It was the first time in her life she had ever really felt alive.
‘I can do this alone, you know? You don’t have to be here.’
Eilish loved Jamie for looking out for her, but she didn’t need him or anyone else to do that. She was more than capable of sorting things out for herself. ‘You sound like Sean. He still thinks I can’t hack it.’
Jamie Thomas knew when to let things lie. That was one of his better qualities, according to Jamilla. But both could feel the atmosphere thickening as the minutes ticked by. Eilish sipped her brandy and kept her breathing steady. This was a big night, and she wasn’t going to blow it.
When the internal desk phone finally rang, they both jumped and that broke the spell.
Laughing nervously, Eilish answered it. ‘They are here.’
Jamie Thomas swallowed down the remains of his brandy.
Eilish placed her own glass down on the desk. ‘Let’s get this fucking show on the road, shall we?’
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-four
Ricky Manners was one of Jamie Thomas’s best workers. He was also his nephew and, as Jamie had known him since birth, he trusted him with his life. He was one of his Jamaican crew, so his face wasn’t that well known in London, though he had been angling for a spot here for a few years – and, in all honesty, Jamie couldn’t blame him.
Jamaica was too small, so once you hit the heights you had two options open to you. Either America – generally New York – or London. London was often the preferred option, for a variety of reasons. Mainly the prison sentences, because they were mostly much easier and lighter than the US courts dealt out, and also because London was the gateway to Europe, and that meant it was easier to get lost, should the need arise.
Ricky Manners was determined to prove himself to his uncle and get himself a place in London, and he knew that if he worked hard enough – and showed not just willing but acumen – he could go places. He had brought two of his most trusted workers with him, to make sure that this went down with the minimum of fuss. He wasn’t taking any chances; he was going to see this through, or die fucking trying.
He was sitting on a black leather sofa in a private room inside the lap-dancing club, and his two friends were both positioned by the bar. He had thought this through to the last detail.
He stood up quickly when his uncle walked into the room with the woman that he was doing business with. She was a looker all right, and he had heard from more than one person that she wasn’t to be taken lightly. He was willing to believe that, until someone told him different.
‘You ready?’
Ricky nodded confidently.
Eilish went behind the bar and started pouring drinks. Jamie Thomas sat down on the sofa, and Ricky joined him. The two men at the bar accepted their drinks quietly and Eilish was impressed when they didn’t touch them, just left them on the bar.
When Sean walked in with Jack Barker, he was all smiles and camaraderie. He was entertaining a business partner, and that was something that he did well, even though Eilish knew that he didn’t really enjoy it. But it was part of the game. He smiled at his sister and then shook hands with Jamie Thomas before he introduced Jack Barker to everyone.
Jack Barker was a bad man, and everyone who had ever had any dealings with him knew that. He wasn’t tall – he was only five feet eight – but he was strong and wiry, and he could fight like a pit bull on amphetamines. He always won, even against men twice his size, because Jack Barker loved a good fight. He instinctively knew how to, and that, coupled with his determination to win, no matter what, made him a very formidable opponent.
He was also as straight as the proverbial die, and he treasured his reputation as not just a fucking hard bastard but as a man who was known to be honest in business, a man who could be trusted. His word was his bond, and if he shook hands on a deal it was as good as a written contract. In Barlinnie he had earned the nickname the ‘Scourge of Glasgow’, and he was proud of it. He was the main dealer in Scotland as a whole, and no one shifted anything of any real weight without his express say-so.
Diana Davis had given him the money to bankroll his first proper deal, and she had continued to bankroll him until he had got on his feet. She had believed in him, and he would never forget that, because without her and her help he would never have got anywhere. She had been given seven per cent of everything he had ever shifted, and he had never begrudged her a fucking penny of it.
Sean was smiling and chatting with Ricky Manners and Jamie Thomas. He loved setting up deals, and he had a feeling that this deal would be a match made in heaven.
Jack Barker went to the bar and kissed Eilish on the cheek. ‘You have a look of Diana, you know. She was a beautiful woman in her day.’
Eilish grinned. She had heard that all her life.
The door opened and Les Carter slipped into the room. Angus Davis had never let him get past running a few bookies or chasing up debts, but Sean seemed to think that he was worth nurturing, for some reason. Les Carter looked like what he was: a wide boy who looked out for the main chance and who couldn’t work out a two-quid
bet without taking his shoes and socks off. Sean welcomed him like the prodigal son and started to introduce him to everyone.
Eilish suddenly turned the music up.
Ricky Manners brought out a large knife from inside his jacket, and his two friends followed suit.
Sean looked at the three men and he was actually smiling. Eilish knew that he was assuming that Jack Barker had to be the recipient.
When Jack and Jamie went to the bar and picked up their drinks, Eilish saw the complete and utter shock-horror on her brother’s face as he realised that he had been well and truly rumbled. He looked into her eyes, and she shrugged nonchalantly.
Then, walking over to him, she shook her head in disgust and disbelief. ‘You honestly thought I wouldn’t work out that it was you?’
Sean pulled himself up to full height as he bellowed, ‘I can’t believe you would even think that—’
Eilish laughed.
There was nowhere for him to run, and he knew it. He was finally finding out what it was like to be betrayed by your own, by the people who you should be able to trust.
‘I worked out that there were only two people who could have been responsible for that night’s fucking work. And I was one of them.’
She walked away from him, and Jamie nodded his head and watched as Ricky and his cohorts did what had been requested.
In fairness, Jamie had to admit that it was a quick and professional job.
Stabbed straight through the heart, with the minimum of fuss.
He was impressed.
Jack Barker, who had been brought in to add credibility to the meeting – so Sean would think that he was brokering a deal that he could earn off, hugged Eilish to him tightly. ‘You are Diana’s blood all right, she would have done exactly the same.’
