by Karen Clow
Maria left to go back down stairs, no sooner had she reached the landing that she could hear the girls talking and playing with the dog.
Mary had made a pot of tea, although the men had opted for a brandy. When Maria told them about Rosie, she joked about her being in cahoots with the twins. Reggie had sent supplies of food; Tony knew he’d thought the dog would be staying and passed on a message from Reggie that it was always good to let a bitch have a litter before she was spayed.
“I’ve read somewhere that it’s good for dogs to have a litter,” said Den.
“Great Dad, we’ll put your name down for one of the puppies’ then, ok?” said Mickey sarcastically.
“Actually I wouldn’t mind one, that Rosie is a beauty.”
“You can count me in,” said Shaun “we’ve thought about getting a guard dog for the pub.”
Maria burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny babe,” said Mickey “Reggie’s taking the piss!”
“I know, but it is quite funny, in just five minutes you’ve gone from solicitor to dog breeder.”
They all laughed.
“We haven’t had the dog twenty four hours yet Maria; let’s just see how things go before we start getting carried away!”
“Oh you know you’d love it darling, just picture those adorable little puppies running all over the house.”
Refraining from answering he just raised his eyebrows and grinned.
After the topic of Rosie ended Mary talked about the baby. They were interrupted when Mickey’s mobile rang. The number was withheld. When he answered it, immediately he recognised Lenny’s voice. Then there was a slight pause as Mickey heard money being put into a pay phone.
“Alright Mickey, I’m ringing from a call box and it’s eating the fucking money! I can’t use my phone, because I’m in hospital. So I’ll make it quick. I was asking about that Dudley Carville and I got jumped. There’s something not right about this Mickey and I intend to find out what. I’ll bell you tomorrow, because they’re keeping me in overnight for observation. I’m ok mate; there were only three of them so I’ll survive. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
As the call ended, everyone was looking at him. It was obvious from the conversation that Lenny had been injured. Mickey told them what had been said. Tony was curious as to what Lenny had meant by more to it,
“Do you think someone big might be behind the kidnapping,” he asked.
Mickey shook his head; his theory was it was just someone looking to turn over some quick cash. He looked over at Maria; she was staring at the floor in a dream state.
Mickey was grateful that the intermission of tea and cake changed the subject of Lenny. He could tell that she had been concerned and he didn’t want it playing on her mind. Despite what he had said to Tony about the kidnappers being opportunists, if he was honest he had a bad feeling about what had happened to Lenny, maybe Spider and the others were just the tip of the iceberg. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Lenny was on to something. A kidnapping was not something that was done on the spur of the moment, it took careful planning. From what they had managed to find out about Spider and Dudley, they just didn’t seem right for it.
It was almost ten o’clock when Tony said he would have to be going. Maria asked him to check on Rosie before he left; just to be sure she was comfortable staying there. Mickey went with him to check on the girls.
As they approached the girls’ bedroom door, Rosie growled. Pushing the door open they could see her lying across the bottom of the bed looking towards the door, but as soon as she realised who it was, she began wagging her tail. Tony walked over and patted her, telling her to be quiet. When Mickey put Melanie’s arm back in the bed she stirred momentarily, but stayed asleep. Rosie lay back down. Their dad looked at her watching over his girls and said it looked like they’d got themselves a dog. They made their way back downstairs.
A few minutes later Tony was leaving. After seeing his friend off, Mickey went back in the house.
Back in the kitchen he opened the bag Reggie had sent; there was a large bag of dog food, a blanket and two silver bowls, one for food and one for water, a lead, ball and tug rope, along with a veterinary card stating what vaccinations Rosie had. Maria smiled as he showed her.
“Strange bloke Reggie” said Den, “if only he had the same level of compassion for his fellow man as he’s got for animals.”
“Aye he’s a strange bugger at times,” said Shaun “but I’d rather have him as a friend than an enemy.”
They all laughed.
Mickey suggested watching a film before going to bed. The ladies declined, opting for an early night. They left the men watching telly as they headed for bed, Maria reminded them to let Rosie out for a pee before they turned in for the night.
It was almost one o’clock when the men finally went to bed. Maria was fast asleep as he got in beside her. Putting his arm around her, he kissed her neck. Stirring she mumbled what was the time and had he let the dog out.
“Quarter past one and yes Rosie had a wee then went back to bed with the girls. I just checked in on them, they are all fast asleep. So it looks like we have the bed to ourselves, how tired are you?”
Knowing he was referring to sex she rolled over to face him and slipped her hand down his boxers. Within minutes they were kissing and cuddling before finally making love. Before going to sleep he told her he was thrilled about the baby.
She hesitated before replying, “Me to.”
CHAPTER 11
The twins slept in ‘til almost half seven. Maria was already downstairs when they appeared with Rosie. With the girls excited at the prospect of keeping the dog, they began jumping about. Shaun entered the kitchen. Madeline excitedly told him about Rosie. At that moment, the dog returned from the garden and went to greet him.
“Aye, I reckon this girl has found her home,” he said as he patted Rosie.
Mickey’s mobile rang. It was Monica. As the call connected Monica told him she had information.
“I’ve been looking into Spider’s crime sheet; the girl you’re looking for may be Beth Adamson. She’s been arrested twice with him for theft and battery; she’s a druggie, nasty little cow from what I’ve heard. If Spider says jump, Beth says how high. I’ve managed to get her address from her parole officer, I’ll fax it to you, but it may have to wait ‘til later when the office is quiet. This is unofficial; I’ve had to wait for a coffee break to call you.” Suddenly she changed the conversation and said, “Ok then Maria that sounds good, I’ll see you soon must dash now, bye,” she hung up.
Mickey knew that someone had obviously walked into her office.
Telling the others what she had said, he was just about to say something else, when his phone rang again. It was Tony calling to tell him, he’d picked Lenny up from the hospital. Lenny had talked about what happened and Tony’s instinct was telling him there was something dodgy about it. He asked if Mickey could drive up to London that day. Mickey hesitated; he would try and call him within the hour to confirm.
Maria had been watching him while he was talking, she could sense that all was not well. Trying to act normal, so as not to alert her to what Tony had said, casually explained that he’d picked Lenny up from the hospital and he felt he should drive up to London, just to check on him, but he knew she’d need him there. Shaun assured him they would be fine and he was certain they could find something to for the few hours he’d be gone. Aware that Shaun was helping him; he thanked him and asked Maria if she was ok with it. Nodding, Shaun was right, but how long would he be. He was confident he would be back early that afternoon.
Ten minutes later he was pulling out of the drive waving to her and the twins.
Calling Tony from his car, he arranged to meet him at Dixies. He arrived at the club one hour and fifteen minutes after leaving home. Parking his car, he recognised the four cars in the car park as Kevin’s, Billy’s, Tony’s and Lenny’s.
When he entered the club he could
see the four of them sitting down talking, the first thing he noticed was Lenny’s face. It was obvious from the black eyes and the cuts on his lips that he had taken quite a beating.
“Fuck me Lenny you look like shit,” he said as he sat down to join them. Lenny tried to smile, although it was obviously painful.
“I’m ok thanks Mickey, I’ve had worse, but they were mean bastards who jumped me. I’d gone back to the pub to try and see that Dudley. I asked the barman if he was likely to be in, he obviously recognised me from before. Anyway he said he didn’t know, so I sat and waited. About two hours passed and then some bloke came over and asked if I was looking for Dudley, when I said yes, he said he knew where he was but he couldn’t talk in the pub, we’d have to go outside. Never thought much of it; he seemed harmless enough, skinny little runt. Anyway as we stood outside the pub, before I had a chance to fucking ask anything, a car pulled up. Next thing I knew, skinny runt had scarpered, he took off like a fucking greyhound running in the last race at White City. Then these two fucking big gorillas drag me into the car, drove to a back alley and beat the fucking shit out of me! I’ll tell you something though, the skinny runt seemed to know them and he was scared. They weren’t your run of the mill heavy, they were organised muscle. I’ve got a bad feeling about all this Mickey, especially when the driver spoke to me after he’d sat in the car while his boys gave me a pasting. When they’d finished and threw me out, he walked over to me and said, ‘You ask too many fucking questions old man, do yourself a favour and take another case. My boss has let you off lightly this time, this was just a warning, but don’t go asking about Dudley or his mates, or we’ll be back to finish the job!’ I must have blacked out, because I don’t remember them pulling away and then I woke up in the fucking hospital! I didn’t recognise any of them, but I’m going to the nick later today to look through the mug books.”
Mickey asked if he could think of anyone who would use that type of muscle. Or did he reckon Spider has paid for protection, because he knew Mickey was looking for him. Lenny shook his head. If Spider had the ransom money and he was afraid why was he still in the country, why hadn’t they gone abroad somewhere? His theory was that someone else set it up and used Dudley and the others as scape goats, but the question was who?
Tony shook his head, he couldn’t think of anyone who would have the balls to do it.
“Let’s look at what we know” said Lenny, “the only connection we have between Mickey and this Spider is that his dad worked for Ronnie when Den was the book keeper. We also know his dad died in prison when he took the heat for one of Ronnie’s boys. So if we assume that is the connection, then someone must have told Spider, so it would have to be someone who was around back then, or Spider’s mother, but from what I’ve found out, she’s had nothing to do with the boy since he was about ten. She put him in foster care two years after his dad’s death, she kept his sister but he was a bad kid and she couldn’t handle him. After that he went from foster home to foster home, by the time he was twelve he was into petty crime, mainly shop lifting. At fifteen he was breaking into houses and robbing old ladies of their pension. I just don’t think he’d have the brains to organise a kidnapping. The one thing I can’t get my head round, is why are they are still here if it was down to them. Maybe they haven’t got the money, if they did the job for someone else, so who is Mr big?”
Tony interrupted and suggested looking at the girl; Monica had told him about, Beth Adamson. Lenny asked what Monica had said about her. After Mickey filled him in on her details, Lenny said he’d look into it. He asked after Maria and the girls, he was happy to hear that she was pregnant.
Mickey went into the office where he took three hundred pounds from the safe. It was almost quarter past three by the time he actually left the club. Discreetly he put the money in Lenny’s jacket pocket as they walked towards their cars.
Once he reached Kent, he stopped at a florist and bought Maria a beautiful lily bouquet. It was quarter to five when he pulled onto his drive. He could hear Rosie barking as he got out of the car. Maria opened the door as he approached and sarcastically said, “This is an old fashioned half one!”
Remembering the flowers, he rushed back to the car, taking the bouquet from the boot and handing them to her he kissed her cheek and apologised for being late. Before he could say anything else the twins appeared.
“Daddy, did you tell Uncle Tony that Rosie likes it here?”
“I did girls and he said maybe she could stay longer, if you promised to look after her.”
The reply was unanimous, they would.
They walked back into the house, joining everyone in the kitchen. They talked about Lenny. Mickey asked if anything had come through on the fax. Maria said she hadn’t been in the office so he went to check; there was a fax with Beth Adamson’s address on. Calling Lenny from the office, he gave him the information and then went back to join the others.
Not long after dinner they bathed the girls and put them to bed. Maria was relieved when they stayed in their room again with Rosie. By eight the adults were enjoying the peace and quiet whilst they had a drink in the lounge. Mickey kept looking over at her and grinning, she knew he was thinking about sex.
They said goodnight then headed upstairs.
After checking on the girls they went into their room. Playfully grabbing her he kissed her passionately.
“Remember Mickey I’m pregnant, so just because the girls are back in their room no swinging from the light fitting!”
They both laughed as he began undressing her. Despite her apprehension about sex during pregnancy, she wanted him. When they were naked he told her to wait before getting in the bed, as she stood there, he placed a towel on the bed and a pillow for under her tummy and asked her to lie down. Taking a bottle of strawberry flavour massage oil from the draw, he slowly poured some on her back, gliding his hands down her back and over her buttocks. Almost instantly he could tell that she was finding the whole experience arousing, especially when he massaged her thighs, stopping just short of touching her intimately. After several minutes, he asked her to roll over. Then he poured massage oil on her breasts and gently massaged them before moving downwards and rubbing oil on her tummy. Gently he moved his hands down her body, but again stopping just short of touching her. She arched her body every time his hands glided down her. Finally, she couldn’t take anymore teasing and asked him to make love to her. They kissed passionately as he lay across her before gradually moving his body down between her legs. Anticipating his next move, she was desperate for his tongue to touch her, she didn’t have to wait long. She tried not to make too much noise in case the others heard her downstairs, but it was just too much for her to stay silent. When he finished and she’d come he moved up and kissed her before he asked her to get on top, he really liked it that way. Her thighs were still oily so he was having difficulty keeping her body where he wanted it, even though he tried to steady her by squeezing her buttocks; but even they were slippery.
“I think you over did the oil stud.”
They both laughed, eventually they got the rhythm and then it was his turn to cry out with pleasure.
When she collapsed onto the bed next to him, he gasped and said, “Fuck me that was fantastic!”
“It’s not over yet stud roll over onto your front.”
With him now lying face down, she straddled over his back. Picking up the massage oil she poured some on his shoulders and massaged him for ten minutes. Sensing he was totally relaxed, she asked him to roll over onto his back. Seductively she slid her oily hands over him. Normally he would prefer them to make love again, but he was quite happy with what she was doing.
Finally exhausted they lay cuddling one another. It was in the relaxed atmosphere that she said “Please be honest with me, I know that Lenny said something to you today and it was something you left out when you told us. Please tell me, are my babies in danger? I’m not stupid, I know he said something; I just want to know that’s all. I
have a right to know, I’m their mother and your wife. It’s my family and I just want to know if it’s really over.”
Holding her tight he kissed the top of her head. She was right he hadn’t told her everything when he returned from London, although he had technically been honest. One thing he hadn’t confirmed was that Lenny thought someone big may have been behind it. Pausing for a moment he was just deciding whether to tell her or not, when she reminded him they weren’t going to keep secrets. At that moment, he felt an overwhelming need to tell her the truth. Immediately she sat up, he could see that she was afraid as she asked who would do that terrible thing to them.
“I don’t know babe and Lenny could be wrong. There’s no point getting in a state about it. I don’t want you fretting it’s not good for you or the baby; just give me time to sort it out.”
She started to cry. Despite trying to reassure her that everything would be fine, she replied, “When will you sort it out Mickey? Will we ever have a normal life as a normal family? Why didn’t you just let me go one my own when Jimmy died. I knew this would happen.”
Mickey was surprised at her sudden outburst, but put it down to being pregnant and the kidnapping.
