by D. S. Butler
Dave leant back in his chair with a sigh. “I’m tired, Jimmy. I feel like I’m losing my edge.”
Jimmy shook his head. “No, you’re not. You’re not losing anything. You are entitled to feel tired after everything you’ve been through recently… After Mrs Carter’s death, and all the stuff with Trevor.”
Dave sipped his brandy and then nodded sadly. “Did you see how I went for Martin Morton in the workshop?”
Jimmy grinned broadly. “Yes, it was amazing.”
Dave shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I lost control, and that can’t happen in this game.”
* * *
When Babs woke up, she was horrified to find she was tied to a wooden chair. Without success, she tried to tug her wrists free. Her eyes darted around her surroundings as she tried to work out what was going on.
She was in the centre of a sparsely furnished room. A dim lightbulb hung above her, dust tickled her nostrils, and the odour of damp hung in the air.
She heard a movement behind her and turned her head rapidly, which made the room appear to spin and added to her dizziness.
“Who’s there? What do you want?”
Thank God they hadn’t gagged her. She would be able to scream bloody murder until some passer-by came to her aid.
She opened her mouth to call for help, but before she did so, a figure stepped in front of her, and Babs was shocked to realise it was the man in the grey scarf.
So, Martin was behind this. She knew it! He’d sent someone to finish her off. He didn’t even have the stomach to do the job himself. The coward!
The man stepped forward and pushed his face right up to hers.
Babs flinched and closed her eyes.
How the hell was she going to get out of this?
“Don’t like what you see?” the man said in a hoarse voice that was only just above a whisper.
Babs shivered in horror.
Despite her fear, she knew she would never get out of this situation unless she used her brain.
She forced herself to open her eyes and saw the hideous face in front of her. It was filled with tiny scars, and the sight of it made her skin prickle and her throat tighten.
But that was nothing compared to how she felt when she saw the knife in his hand.
Her gaze flew up to meet his. “Please, don’t do anything hasty.”
As Babs spoke, she realised something familiar about the man’s eyes. Had she seen him before? But she couldn’t have done. There was no way she would have forgotten a face that was as mutilated as this man’s.
Then she realised there was something else wrong with his face. It wasn’t only lined with small scars. It also sloped down on one side, as though he had suffered a stroke or Bell’s palsy.
All at once it hit her, and she knew who the man was.
“Frank the Face? Is that you? I thought you were brown bread.”
She shook her head as she stared at Frank in disbelief. She hadn’t seen the man in years, but now she recognised him as one of Dave Carter’s old men.
“I might as well be dead, thanks to your husband,” Frank said bitterly.
He then raised the knife and pressed it against Babs’s cheek, smiling as he did so.
Babs burst out into hysterical laughter. “Well, this really does take the biscuit.”
Frank reared back and yelled at her to shut up. “Don’t you dare laugh at me.
You’re going to regret it, and when Martin sees the state of you, he’ll regret the day he did this to me.”
Babs’s laughter died in her mouth as she started to formulate a plan. “Martin did that to you?”
Frank nodded. “Yeah, he cut me up like a piece of meat, never making the cuts deep enough to kill me, just scar me for life. I’m going to do the same to you. Although I can’t promise I’ll make the cuts shallow enough. I might get carried away.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Babs said brusquely. “I know what your plan is. But it’s not going to work, Frank.”
Frank frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’re going to be doing Martin a favour if you hurt me. He can’t stand me. How long have you been out of the loop anyway?”
Frank hesitated. “A while.”
Babs nodded confidently. “I thought so. Now, be a dear and untie me. You and I have got a lot to talk about.”
Chapter 44
Tim and Linda were married on the following Saturday. Linda was so happy she felt she could burst. They’d had a small, quiet service at the registry office and were intending to have a blessing at the local church for all their friends to attend.
Linda blushed as she and Tim left the registry office hand-in-hand. She was surprised to see a group of friends – girls from the factory and lads from the workshop – waiting outside for them. They cheered and threw rice over Linda and Tim as they left the building.
They must have looked a sight as the whole wedding party walked up the High Street towards the church.
Linda wore a pretty skirt suit in light pink and had brushed her brown hair until it shone. It was still her best feature, and she was proud not to have any grey hairs yet.
It was a sunny day, and the wedding party grew in number as they got closer to the church. Every person they passed smiled and wished them every happiness for the future.
Linda was so grateful that Mary Diamond had attended the ceremony. Although Mary hadn’t managed to raise a smile today, Linda was still thankful she’d made an effort to come. She was very touched that Mary had pushed her feelings aside for Linda’s happiness.
The journey from the registry office to the church, unfortunately, passed Morton’s club. Linda hadn’t thought anything of it, and she guessed Tim hadn’t been worried either, but as they approached Linda was horrified to see Martin Morton stagger out of the club. Even though it was the middle of the day, he was hideously drunk.
As the wedding party began to pass the club, he walked out into the street, shouting that he wanted to give the happy couple his congratulations.
Linda was furious. She’d always despised Martin Morton. Even if the man wasn’t responsible for Kathleen’s murder, she knew he was responsible for taking advantage of her friend, and in Linda’s opinion, that was enough reason to despise him for the rest of her life.
Martin stood in front of them, swaying on his feet and grinning. “Oh, isn’t that nice, Jimmy Diamond is here, too. Is he your best man, Tim?”
Linda tightened her grip on Tim’s hand.
People around them exchanged wary glances and began to cross to the other side of the road to avoid Martin Morton.
“Don’t be like that,” Martin Morton said. “I only want to wish you well. I think it’s admirable you were so forgiving, Jimmy.”
Linda frowned looked over her shoulder to see Jimmy glaring at Martin.
But Martin hadn’t finished. “Tim must have told you what he did all those years ago, right?”
Linda swallowed hard. She didn’t like the direction this was going.
She felt Tim slip his hand from hers as he moved away from her side and walked quickly across the road to face off with Martin.
“That’s enough,” Tim grunted. “I’m getting married today, can’t you leave it?”
Martin laughed in his face. “You haven’t told him, have you, Tim? You’ve been working side-by-side all these years, and you’ve kept your nasty secret from him.”
From where she stood on the other side of the road, Linda could see Tim had begun to sweat profusely, and he gulped once before saying, “Please, Martin, I’m begging you. Please, leave it alone.”
But Martin’s attention had moved to Jimmy. The next words he said broke Linda’s heart.
“He killed your mother, Jimmy. Did you know that?”
There was a collective gasp from all the wedding guests who had been following Tim and Linda to the church.
Linda’s stomach flipped over, and her hands flew to her face as she stared at the scene unfolding
in front of her.
Tim turned away from Martin and walked quickly towards Jimmy, his hands up, his eyes wide and his jaw slack.
He began to stammer. “I’m so so sorry. I hated myself... I…I… was trying to make amends, but I know I can’t. Not for something like that... I never wanted to do it.”
Jimmy stood perfectly still. He glanced from Tim to Martin and then back to Tim. “I know what you did.”
The puzzled expression on Tim’s face was mirrored by everyone gathered around them.
“You have to understand,” Tim said. “After that night, I made an oath to myself that I would look after you, for your mother… I know that’s not enough, but I would lay down my life for you, Jimmy.”
Martin was not happy that Jimmy was stealing his thunder. “You’re bluffing,” Martin shouted. “You didn’t know.”
Jimmy put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I’ve had my suspicions for a long time, and Dave recently told me the facts he knew about the situation surrounding my mother’s death.”
Tim shook his head. “Why didn’t you say something? It must have been horrible for you to work with me when you knew. I would have stopped working for Dave Carter if you’d asked me to.”
Jimmy didn’t bother to look at Tim.
Instead, he held Martin Morton’s gaze. “Because I knew you were just following orders.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Tim said, “So have you forgiven me?”
Jimmy frowned. “I wouldn’t go that far. She was my mother, but I understand you were backed into a corner.”
There was a muffled sob, and it took Linda a moment to realise she had made the sound.
She was staring at Tim with horror. Why hadn’t she known? How could she have married a man like this?
She flung the small bouquet of violets she’d been holding at Tim’s feet and then turned and ran.
She looked back once to make sure she wasn’t being followed.
Tim was walking quickly towards her, but Jimmy caught up with him and put a hand on his arm. “Let me,” he said.
* * *
Jimmy left Tim and the rest of the wedding guests to follow Linda. He walked slowly. There was no need to rush. He was sure Linda would go straight home.
When Jimmy reached Linda’s street, he ducked around the back, into the alley that ran along the back of the terraced houses.
He wanted to knock on the back door because he didn’t want Linda to ignore him. Before he knocked, he peered in through the kitchen window and saw Linda sitting at the kitchen table, her arms folded in front of her, and her head resting on her forearms. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
He rapped quietly on the door. Linda looked up, and Jimmy saw her red-rimmed eyes.
She hesitated for a moment but then got to her feet and walked over to the door to let him in.
“I can’t believe it,” Linda said as she walked back to the kitchen table in a daze. “It was such an evil thing to do. Poor Kathleen.”
Jimmy nodded and took a seat beside her at the kitchen table. “Yes, it was an evil thing to do.”
Linda wiped her eyes. “You must hate him. Are you angry?”
“I’m beyond angry, but Tim isn’t the one I want to punish.”
Linda hesitated and frowned at Jimmy. “Why not?”
Jimmy sighed and leant back in his seat. “I want to punish the man who ordered her death. Not the foot soldier that carried it out.”
Linda nodded. “Martin Morton.”
“Yes,” Jimmy said simply.
Linda looked bleakly down at the table, and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve got such awful taste in men. First Geoff and now Tim.” She shook her head. “I must have known deep down he had something to do with it, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
“You haven’t got bad taste,” Jimmy said. “You’re just prepared to give people the benefit of the doubt, and that’s not a bad thing.”
Linda reached out to squeeze his hand. “I don’t deserve you to be nice to me. I’ve let you down.”
“Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because I should have known. How could I be that close to someone and not know? Your nan tried to warn me. She told me not to marry him. I thought… I thought she was just getting carried away. I didn’t want to believe Tim was capable of something like that.” She looked at Jimmy. “What do I do now?”
Jimmy smiled and put his hand on Linda’s shoulder. “That’s up to you, Linda. You’re married to him now, even if you didn’t have the church blessing, but I think if you want to get the marriage annulled, he’s not going to pressure you.”
Linda’s lower lip wobbled. “Do you think I should take him back and give him another chance?”
Jimmy was quiet as he mulled things over. “If I didn’t know Tim as well as I do, and if he hadn’t been the man to save me from the fire and keep me safe from Martin Morton all these years, then I would tell you to walk away from him, but life’s more complicated than that. He did something evil, something that is hard to come to terms with. Something that although I’ll try to forgive him, I’ll never forget.”
Linda’s eyes shone with tears, and she sniffed. “I think after he was free from Martin Morton’s clutches, he was able to become a better man. The man I know couldn’t have done something like that.”
Jimmy nodded slowly. “I think you know him better than me.”
Linda put her head in her hands again. “I can’t just forgive him. Every time I think about him, I can see poor Kathleen’s face.”
Jimmy nodded. “Whatever you choose to do, I’ll back you. We may not be related by blood, Linda, but we are family.”
Linda wiped away her tears again and clutched Jimmy’s hands. “I’m so glad I’ve got you. I know I’ve told you before, but I’m sure your mum would be ever so proud of you. Do you think you can explain things to your nan? I know she saw the scene in the street. I don’t feel up to talking about it yet, but she deserves to know.”
Jimmy nodded. “I’ll tell her.”
“I’ll pop around to see you and your nan tomorrow after I’ve decided what to do.”
Jimmy smiled and patted her hand just as there was a knock at the door.
Linda jumped. “Do you think that’s him?”
Jimmy shrugged, got up from the kitchen table and walked down the hallway to peer out of the window beside the door.
“It’s Tim. Do you want me to tell him to leave?”
Linda hesitated. “No, I’ll speak to him.”
Jimmy opened the door to Big Tim, who looked at least a decade older than he had this morning. His face was etched with worry.
“I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”
He looked past Jimmy as Linda got up from the kitchen table and walked into the hallway.
Tim ran a hand through his hair.
“I don’t expect your forgiveness because I can never forget or forgive myself, Linda. I can give you reasons and excuses, but none of them are good enough. I’ve tortured myself for years, and I finally found myself a slice of happiness with you. But I know it was never real because you didn’t know what I had done.”
Linda nodded. “You’d better come in. I don’t want the neighbours gossiping any more than they are already.”
Jimmy stepped back to allow Tim to enter and his huge, bulky frame lumbered down the hallway into the kitchen.
Jimmy followed them to the kitchen and leant down to whisper in Linda’s ear. “I’ll leave now if you’re all right.”
Linda nodded and patted his hand. “I’ll be fine. Thank you.”
Jimmy turned and left the kitchen via the back door. He understood why Linda wanted to talk to Tim. She must have so many questions about what happened. Those questions were forming in Jimmy’s mind, too, but he knew the answers wouldn’t make him feel better.
The only thing that would make him feel better was some good, old-fashioned East End retribution.
Chapter 45
&
nbsp; Babs couldn’t stop worrying about Tony revealing her secret. Thankfully, Frank the Face had been easier to deal with than Tony, and after a mutually beneficial chat, they’d parted amicably. She could hardly blame poor Frank for his actions. His life had been destroyed by Martin, too.
But since Tony had caught her trying to poison Martin, Babs had been terrified. She’d heard nothing from him. She’d spent every hour fretting, unable to sleep or to concentrate on anything other than worrying about what would happen when Martin found out.
She had no worries that Tony or Martin would go to the police. That would never happen. So, she didn’t have to worry about them carting her off to prison for attempted murder, but Martin could do far worse to Babs than send her back to prison, and that really had her worried.
At first, she tried to be patient and wait for Tony to come to her, but when he didn’t, she’d been so desperate she tried to find him at his flat and then the club. But he’d been avoiding her and doing a very good job of it, too.
Ruby had asked her more than once what was bothering her, but Babs waved off her daughter’s concerns and said she was absolutely fine.
She’d intended to grow her nails again so she could paint them and start to feel a little more feminine, but in the last couple of days, she’d chewed them down to the quick.
Every time there had been a knock at the door, Babs had leapt up and run to it, hoping it was Tony, and she’d have a chance to try and convince him not to tell Martin. But on each occasion, it had been Violet or Frieda come to check on how Babs was getting along.
So, on Monday morning when there was a knock at the door, Babs’s head jerked up, but she’d given up hope that Tony would come to see her. She raised herself slowly from the kitchen table, where she’d been sitting staring at a cold cup of tea and made her way miserably to the front door.
When she opened it and saw Tony standing there, for a moment, Babs was completely speechless. She’d forgotten everything she planned to say to him. Instead, she just stood there, looking at him blankly.
