Top Dog

by Kerry Kaya

  Danny sneered at the man on the floor. He contemplated giving him one last dig. Instead, he shook his head and began to walk away. As he walked across the dance floor toward the door leading up to the offices, Jacqueline called out after him. “You’re a fucking animal, McKay.”

  Danny stopped and turned. “Make sure that bitch is thrown out and barred for life.” It was a small victory, but it gave him some satisfaction, nonetheless.

  * * *

  Moray was on the warpath. He ran up the stairs toward the office, taking the steps two at a time. After receiving a telephone call from Callum, explaining the situation, he’d charged back to the club in double quick time.

  He pushed open the door to the office. Danny was sitting in darkness, the monitor screens giving out the only light in the room. He blinked his eyes rapidly, as they tried to adjust to the dark surroundings. He could see Danny had been drinking, and if the near empty brandy bottle was anything to go by, he was fast on his way to getting smashed.

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “He deserved it.“ Danny shrugged his shoulders. He couldn’t even be bothered to look up.

  Moray threw up his arms. “He deserved it? Is that all you can fucking say about the situation?”

  Danny turned to face Moray. He could see the anger across his mate’s face. “What else do you want me to say? He was touching my wife. Was I supposed to just swallow that? Or maybe I should have shook his hand and told him to crack on. Would that have been more to your liking?” he asked, sarcastically.

  “Don’t try to be funny with me, Danny. This is serious.”

  “I know it’s fucking serious. That was my wife he was touching. Any other man would have done the exact same thing, and you fucking know it.”

  “You do know you could be sitting in the nick right now, don’t you?” Moray asked, changing tact.

  Danny gave a shrug of his shoulders. At this precise moment in time, he couldn’t give a shit about what happened to him. “She’s my wife, Moray. Come on, man, what did you expect me to do?”

  Moray blew out his cheeks. He slammed the office door closed, and then leant against the glass panel. On the one hand, he could see Danny’s point, yet, at the same time, he needed to make his friend see the consequences of what could have happened. If the bloke, whoever he was, had decided to press charges, the end result could have been Danny being sent down at Her Majesty’s pleasure for a number of years. “I take it they’ve left the premises?”

  Danny gulped at his brandy and nodded his head toward the monitor screens. “I watched them leave.”

  Moray sighed. At least that was something to be thankful for. “Listen, mate, I understand you’re hurting, but steaming in like that isn’t going to help the situation, is it? Think about it rationally, mate.”

  Danny momentarily closed his eyes. He looked back at the monitor screens. “I’ve lost her, mate.”

  Walking across the office, Moray placed his palms down onto the desk. “You have to move on, Dan. Getting yourself into situations, which could end up putting you away for years, isn’t going to help anyone, is it? You need to think of your son now. He’s the one you need to focus on.”

  “What’s the point?” He let out a bitter laugh. “She isn’t going to let me see him again anyway, especially not now. That’s what she said. Those were her exact words.”

  Moray could hear the bitterness in Danny’s voice. He watched him gulp at the brandy. “That was said in anger. She won’t stop you from seeing the boy. Think about it logically. It’s the only thing she could say that would hurt.”

  Danny turned his face away. He was embarrassed, and he rubbed at his eyes in a bid to hide the emotion he was feeling. “Well, she sounded convincing enough to me,” he said, his voice cracking.

  Now that he’d calmed down a bit, he could see the bigger picture, and he knew, without a doubt, his wife would never forgive him for his actions. In his mind’s eye, he could still see her cowering from him. His behaviour had scared her, and for that alone, he felt ashamed.

  “Let her calm down a bit first. You’ll see. Everything will turn out okay.”

  Danny could only hope that was true. He remained silent, all the while, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. His Maxine had always been too good for him, too nice. That was half the problem.

  Taking a fresh glass from the drinks cabinet, Moray picked up the brandy bottle from the desk and poured himself out a generous measure. He then gulped it down and wiped the back of his hand across his lips. “You’ll be the fucking death of me, McKay.”

  Danny looked up. He could only hope his friend didn’t mean that literally.

  * * *

  Ronnie Dellow was about to break some bad news. This part of his job was always tough, yet, at the same time, he felt it was something he needed to do himself, rather than send uniformed officers to do the job for him, like some of his colleagues did.

  He’d telephoned George Christos earlier that evening. Apologising for the lateness of his call, he had something to tell them, which couldn’t wait until the following day. He suspected George already knew the reason for the meeting, by the urgency in his voice, and the speediness in which he had arranged for him to come and see them.

  He pulled up outside a house in Manor Park, East London, and looked over to the front door. Wearily, he climbed out of his car. He opened the small wooden gate and walked down the path. He knew his arrival had already been noted, when the door was flung open, before he’d even had the chance to lift the brass knocker.

  “Detective Inspector.” There was a note of concern in George’s voice. “Is it Nico? Are the results back?”

  Ronnie gave a sad smile. “Can I come in, please? I’d like to speak to you all together.”

  “Yes, yes, come in.” George pulled open the front door, allowing Ronnie to step inside. “Please, go through,” he said, indicating for Ronnie to walk through to the lounge.

  Ronnie introduced himself as he walked through to the small room. He took note of the gold crosses hanging on the wall, and averted his eyes. He then shook hands with the few family members who had gathered to hear his news.

  “Please, would you sit?” Alexandros gestured. He nodded his head toward the high-backed, over-stuffed couch. “This is our sister, Elini, Nico’s mother.”

  Ronnie took a seat, and looked directly toward Elini. She was a small, thin woman with greying hair pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. He could see the despair in her brown eyes, and he didn’t want to prolong her agony.

  “I’m afraid it is bad news.”

  A high shrieked wail came from the woman. She rocked backwards and forwards, whilst clutching rosary beads in her clasped hands. Her obvious distress was heart-breaking to witness.

  Ronnie glanced away. He wanted to at least give her some privacy, and he felt nothing but a sense of relief, when a younger woman ran across the room to sit beside her, offering comfort.

  “Are you certain it is Nico?” George asked. His skin was clammy, and once again, he could feel the tightening inside his chest.

  Ronnie nodded his head sadly. “I’m afraid it is. The dental records are a match.”

  “How?” Alexandros asked. “How did he …” He left the sentence unspoken.

  Words were not needed for Ronnie to understand the question. He glanced across to Elini, before speaking. “Is there anywhere else we could speak, somewhere private?”

  Ronnie followed the two men into a small dining room, then took a deep breath, before speaking. “I’m afraid this isn’t going to be easy for you to hear. Nico sustained several injuries. The post mortem showed tissue and organ damage, caused by fire, which was the cause of death. I’m afraid the fire would have caused Nico to suffer substantial loss of blood and body fluids, causing his body and organs to go into major shock.”

  George grabbed onto the back of a dining chair. His head began to swim. He could barely breathe, and the pain in his chest intensified.
/>   “No,” he cried. “Not our poor Nico, no.”

  Concerned, Ronnie moved across to the older man. He guided him toward a chair. The drastic change of colour in George’s face was more than enough to tell him that medical help was needed.

  “I think you need to call an ambulance,” he stated to Alexandros. He watched the man dash out of the room, and he loosened George’s tie for him. He was no medical expert, but unless he was very much mistaken, for all intent and purposes, George Christos looked as though he was having a heart attack.

  * * *

  George was sat up on a hospital trolley in the Accident and Emergency Department of Newham Hospital. He was bare chested, and had numerous electrodes connected to an ECG machine, stuck to his chest. An oxygen mask helping him to breathe, was strapped across his face. He looked away, as a nurse took a vial of blood from his arm. He could feel his heart beating wildly inside his chest, and he willed it to return to its normal rhythm. The pain inside him had subsided, and for that, he was thankful.

  He felt as though his heart had been torn in two. Poor Nico, he hadn’t deserved to die the way he had. He’d always been such a good boy.

  “You must make sure that Elini is okay,” George said to Alexandros. He couldn’t help but believe the doctors would give him bad news regarding his heart.

  Alexandros was concerned. The way George was speaking, it sounded as though he already knew the outcome. “You’re going to be okay, George.”

  George shook his head. “No,” he said. “Something isn’t right with my heart. I can feel it.”

  “When will we find out if he’s going to be okay?” Alexandros asked the nurse.

  “It shouldn’t be too long,” the nurse replied, as she began wrapping a blood pressure cuff around George’s arm.

  As if on cue, the doctor opened up the cubicle curtain. “Everything seems okay.” He gave George a reassuring smile. “There are no signs of a heart attack.”

  George was amazed. He could feel the relief seep out of him. “Then what is wrong with me?”

  The doctor flicked through the notes. “Have you ever suffered from anxiety or panic attacks in the past?”

  George was shocked. “No, never.”

  “I think this could be an anxiety attack. Have you been under any stress lately?”

  Alexandros answered for his brother. “Yes, our nephew has recently passed away.”

  The doctor nodded his head. “I’m going to give you a letter to take to your General Practitioner. They will give you some medication, which should help, if you feel an attack coming on.”

  George was astounded. He was a strong man, and he’d never suffered from panic attacks before. He tried to think back to when the problem had first started. It was the day Nico’s severed fingers had arrived at the restaurant. Before then, he had felt fine.

  “When can I go home?”

  “As soon as I’ve done the referral for you GP, you can leave.”

  Feeling happier, George indicated for Alexandros to pass over his shirt. As soon as the nurse had taken off the electrodes, he would dress and leave the hospital. He was only thankful it wasn’t his heart giving out on him. He still had a lot of work to do, to make sure his family was the most feared in East London.

  * * *

  Taking a tissue, Jacqueline wiped the mascara away from underneath Maxine’s red-rimmed eyes. She had finally stopped crying, leaving her face red and blotchy. As Maxine’s breath came out in little shudders, Jacqueline placed her arm protectively around her shoulders, and pulled her close, so she could lean her head against her shoulder.

  They were sat in the waiting room of Accident and Emergency, at Oldchurch Hospital, in Romford, just a short walk from Ritzy’s Nightclub. Jaqueline sat stroking Maxine’s hair, as she tried to comfort her.

  “He’s an animal, Max. He’s evil. What kind of man does something like that?”

  Maxine turned her head to the side. “I’m so sorry,” she said again to Steve, as he sat beside her.

  Steve gingerly touched his nose and grimaced. It was obviously broken. He could barely breathe through it, and he could hear a cracking noise each time he touched it. “You don’t need to apologise. It wasn’t your fault.”

  Maxine couldn’t help but feel like it was all her fault. She should have stayed at home, then none of this would have happened.

  “He’s an animal, always has been,” Jacqueline stated, as she leant forward to look at Steve. “The quicker you get that divorce, the better, Max, and stick to your guns. Don’t let him see little Danny. He can’t be trusted around him.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt the baby, Jac.”

  Jacqueline pursed her lips. “Maybe he wouldn’t hurt him, but if you’re not careful, he’ll mould him into a younger version of himself.”

  Maxine shuddered. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Her baby was innocent, and she was determined he wouldn’t grow up anything like his father. Her son may look like Danny, and have his name, but that was where the similarities would end.

  When Steve’s name was called out, Maxine sat up straight in her seat. “Would you like me to come in with you?” she volunteered. It was the very least she could do, after all of the damage she’d caused.

  Steve paused. Every instinct inside of him, told him to run away from this woman, as far and as fast as he possibly could. He’d recognised her husband’s name, and would have never got involved, if he’d known it was Danny McKay he was dealing with. He wanted to say no to her, yet her eyes looked so sad, he didn’t have the heart to turn her away.

  “Okay.”

  Maxine stood up and followed Steve through to the cubicle. In all her life, she had never felt so ashamed, or sorry before. She eased her body down onto a plastic chair beside the hospital trolley, and listened in amazement, as Steve told the doctor he’d fallen over, after having one too many drinks. Did her husband really scare people that much, that they felt the need to lie? It was definitely an eye-opening moment, and one that would ultimately change the course of her life.

  Chapter 13

  “So, you’ve got no idea who could’ve been behind the shooting?”

  Danny shrugged his shoulders. He’d been thinking about it nonstop, and in his mind, there was only one person it could have been. “It has to be Freddie. I can’t think of anyone else.”

  “Big Tone mentioned the Greeks had been causing a lot of problems lately.” Moray steepled his fingers in front of his chest, as he looked across to Danny.

  “Well, yeah, they have been, as you well know. But seeing as I’m not working for Freddie anymore, I can’t see them bothering with me now. And if we’re going with the train of thought that Terry Stevens’s missus is giving out information to them, then they would definitely know I’m working with you now.”

  Moray swivelled on his chair, as he thought it through. What Danny had said was true. “So, you think it’s definitely Freddie who’s responsible then?”

  “Don’t you? It’s got to be him. I can’t see who else it would be. Who else could have that much of a problem with me that they would want to see me dead?”

  Raising his eyebrows, Moray looked across to Danny. His expression said it all.

  Sheepishly, Danny grinned. “Okay, so maybe there’s more than just Freddie out there, who would want to kill me, but what I actually meant was, all of that’s in the past. Why bring it all back up now?”

  “Could be someone just out of the nick, or someone who’s let everything die down, before exacting their revenge.”

  “Nah, I just can’t see that happening, mate.”

  “Well, stranger things have happened, and let’s face it, what we do know, is someone out there was definitely sending you a message. I’ll dig around and see if anyone’s recently been released, who could have had an issue with you.”

  Danny leant back in his seat. Moray had him thinking now. The problem was, after twenty years of working for Freddie, it could be absolutely anyone coming out of the woodwork. He didn
’t have a clue. Let’s face it, he hadn’t exactly kept track of everyone he’d had a problem with over the years.

  Moray cleared his throat. He had to get this off of his chest. The shooting had been playing on his mind, and something didn’t seem quite right about it. Whoever was responsible, hadn’t intended to kill Danny, he was pretty certain of that. If it had been a serious hit, then they would have made sure he was dead, not just wounded.

  “I’m just surprised no one’s owned up to it yet, that’s all I’m saying. Whoever it is, they’re keeping it close to their chests, which makes you have to wonder why, doesn’t it? Maybe it was a warning shot, or even a ‘hello, remember me?’ kind of thing.”

  Danny could feel Moray’s eyes boring into him, and he kept his head down low. He knew exactly what it was his friend was getting at. It was something they hadn’t spoken about since they were seventeen years old, yet it had always been there in the background, hanging over their heads, remaining unspoken between them.

  “I don’t think it’s anything to do with that.” Even now, Danny couldn’t bear to say the words out loud.

  “You can’t know that for sure, mate.” Moray rubbed at his temple. “I don’t know, maybe it’s me being paranoid. It’s just, the fact that the Greeks have started all of this up again, causing problems with Freddie, after all those years of them doing zilch, nothing. It’s more than a little bit odd, don’t you think? Maybe they know something that we don’t?”

  Danny shook his head. “I really don’t want to talk about this.” After all these years, he still felt ashamed of what he and Moray had both done. It had always been their dirty little secret, one they’d planned to take to their graves.

  “It’s not something I want to talk about either, but it happened. We did it, and we can’t turn the clock back, can we? We both know that, one day, he’ll be released from the nick, and then what, eh? What happens next?”