by Caz Finlay
‘There’s a difference between revenge and justice, Craig. I imagine there was a reason your brother Billy was murdered. We’ve all lost people we love – it’s the nature of the world we live in. I know that doesn’t make it hurt any less, but that’s the way it is. Let’s not pretend that we don’t know who was ultimately responsible for Billy’s death. Who was the one who went around taking credit for Paul’s murder? Who was the one who disappeared and left you all to pick up the pieces of that fallout, not to mention nicking Alastair McGrath’s money? He is the man responsible for Billy’s death, and you both know it.’
Grace stood up and Michael followed suit. ‘As soon as Scott retracts his statement and our sons are out of prison, Bradley is all yours and you can all get whatever justice you think you deserve for Billy’s murder.’
Then, without a backwards glance, Grace and Michael walked out of The Grapes.
Chapter Forty-Five
Grace kicked off her heels and walked down the hallway towards the kitchen with Michael following close behind her.
‘Do you fancy a drink?’ she asked him when they reached the kitchen.
‘Yeah. I could do with one,’ he replied.
She poured them both a brandy and walked over to where he was standing near the breakfast bar, removing his shirt. She raised an eyebrow at him.
‘It’s got blood on,’ he said as he held it up. ‘I’ll stick it in the wash.’
Grace watched him loading the machine while she sipped her brandy. He kept himself in good shape and she loved his body. He’d recently got himself a new tattoo on his side and she could just make it out as he bent over – Cuimhnigh I Gconai – ‘Always Remember’ in Gaelic. When he was finished, he walked back over to her and she handed him his drink.
‘Today was just like old times,’ she said to him.
He took a swig of the brandy and winced slightly as it went down. He didn’t drink much as a rule and it was one of the many things Grace loved about him. Having once been married to a man who could down half a bottle of whisky and snort a bag of coke before lunch had left an indelible mark.
Michael placed his glass on the counter. ‘No. It’s different now,’ he replied with a slight frown.
‘How?’
‘Because back then we were…’
‘We were what?’
‘You weren’t my wife, for a start. Or the mother of my children.’
Grace scowled at him. ‘So the fact that I’m now a wife and mum changes everything, does it?’
‘The fact that you’re my wife does, Grace. Yes.’
She wanted to interrupt him but she was lost for words. It was bad enough that almost every other man she dealt with held the fact that she was female against her, without her husband starting too.
He stared at her, his brown eyes almost black. She could feel the anger radiating from him like the heat from a furnace and wondered where the hell this was all coming from.
‘I’d forgotten what it was like,’ he finally said as he took a step towards her. ‘To have to protect you from dickheads like Ged Johnson. I haven’t had to do that for a long time.’
Suddenly, his anger made sense. It wasn’t directed at her at all. And there was more than anger in him now. He was scared too. Paul’s death had changed him so much; sometimes he was unrecognisable from the man she had first met all of those years ago. But Paul’s death had changed both of them. How could it not?
‘Well, fortunately that’s because it doesn’t happen very often,’ she said as she placed a hand on his cheek. ‘And there is no one I would trust to have my back more than you.’
‘But I can’t be with you twenty-four hours a day.’
‘And you don’t need to be. I can look after myself too, you know.’
‘I know you can. But—’
‘But nothing. Today didn’t go as smoothly as we’d have liked. Just as I expected it wouldn’t. Why do you think I asked you to come with me in the first place?’
He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. ‘I worry about you. I can’t help it. And this afternoon just reminded me of the arrogant gob-shites you have to deal with on a daily basis.’
‘Yes and I deal with them just fine, don’t I?’
He nodded. ‘You certainly do. But if anything happened to you…’
‘It won’t. I’m titanium. Remember?’
Her comment had the desired effect and he laughed at the reference to the song they had danced to at their wedding – after the obligatory romantic first dance to Phyllis Nelson’s ‘Move Closer’. ‘Titanium’ had since become the unofficial Carter family anthem.
He pushed a strand of hair from her face. ‘Do you have any idea how much I love you?’
‘Why don’t you remind me?’ she said as she pulled his face towards hers and kissed him.
Chapter Forty-Six
Craig passed Ged the bag of frozen peas and he held it to his swollen face as they sat in Craig’s kitchen.
‘Do you really think they’ve found Brad?’ Ged asked as he took a seat at the table, wincing as his groin area came into contact with the solid wood.
‘How else would they know about our Da’s old caravan?’
Ged nodded in agreement. ‘I can’t believe that sly little shit kept it and didn’t let on, can you?’
‘I think that’s the least shitty thing he’s done to us. He fucked off with all of Alastair’s money. He gobbed off about killing Paul Carter and then left poor Billy to take the fall for it. As much as I hate to admit it, Grace Carter was right about one thing, and that is that Bradley is as responsible for Billy’s death as anyone.’
‘I always told you he was a wrong un, but none of you ever believed me,’ Ged muttered.
‘Oh, all right, what do you want, a fucking medal?’
‘And I’ll bet you he had something to do with us getting such long stretches for that job in Manchester. How else did he avoid getting sent down like the rest of us? Backstabbing cunt.’
‘I hate to say this, Ged, but you’re probably right. But it seems if we want our big brother back we need to get Scott to withdraw his statement.’
‘We could just leave him for Grace Carter to deal with.’
‘What? He’s still our brother, Ged. Besides, she said she’d hand him over to Alastair and take all of the credit, and we don’t want anything getting in the way of our business with him, do we? Once John cuts his ties with the Carters we’ll need all the allies we can get. I wonder if any of John’s lads will walk with him. They’re pretty loyal to Grace.’
Ged shook his head in annoyance. ‘And that’s the problem, isn’t it? Almost everyone who is anyone in this city is loyal to her.’
‘Everyone except John Brennan,’ Craig reminded him.
‘So, what do we do about it?’ Ged asked as he shifted in his seat, transferring the frozen peas to his groin for a moment.
‘If we are ever going to make a name for ourselves around here then we need to take Grace Carter and her family out of the game.’
‘Are you for real? And just exactly how are we supposed to do that?’ Ged snapped.
‘We’re not. Alastair McGrath and John Brennan are.’
‘And we’ll be stuck in the middle of it all. It’s suicide. I thought you were supposed to be the fucking smart one?’
‘I am. You haven’t heard the rest of my plan yet. We’ll speak to Scott and get him back onside. Convince Grace that we’re calling a truce, get Bradley back and deal with him in our own way. We can even blag Alastair McGrath that we’ve done it for him, as a gesture of goodwill.’
‘So we help to set Billy’s killers free? You and I both know that Jake Conlon and Connor Carter murdered our Billy. And now you’re saying we’re supposed to play nice with them and just take it on the chin? Billy would turn in his fucking grave.’
‘We’re only pretending to play nice, you daft fuck! Billy would be relieved that we were finally doing something that could make us some actual ca
sh, Ged. Do you really want to stay in that grotty little flat in Everton for the rest of your life? Do you think I want to stay here? The girls are growing up and they can’t go on sharing a bedroom for much longer – there’s World War Three almost every fucking morning. And I’m tired of it, Ged. I’m tired of grafting my arse off and never getting anywhere. We hedge our bets. We make a truce with Grace Carter, but we hope that Alastair takes them out with John’s inside information. Whoever comes out on top, we’ll be okay.’
‘What about John? You don’t think Grace will mention that we’re helping get Jake and Connor out of prison?’
‘We’ll tell John we’re only trying to get Bradley back. I don’t think he gives a shit one way or another about Jake and Connor, he thinks they’re a pair of arrogant pricks. And with Grace and Michael out of the picture, those two won’t last five minutes. Think about it, Ged. With Alastair’s backing, John could become the top dog in Liverpool, and we could be his right-hand men.’
Ged stared at him, considering his proposal. ‘Well, what the fuck else have we got to lose? What’s a busted bollock or two between friends?’ he said as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
‘Sound. I’ll call Grace first thing tomorrow and let her know we’re on board.’
Grace and Michael were eating breakfast when Grace’s phone started to ring. The caller was an unknown number.
Michael raised his eyebrows at her as she answered.
‘Grace,’ the caller said and she recognised Craig Johnson’s voice.
‘Morning, Craig. What can I do for you?’
‘I’ve spoken to our Ged. We’ll get Scott onside if you promise to hand Bradley over to us.’
‘Smart move, Craig. I’ll make sure your brother remains relatively unharmed, and as soon as Jake and Connor are in the clear, we’ll hand him over.’
‘Good,’ he said and then he was silent.
‘Great. Let me know when you speak to Scott.’
‘Will do,’ Craig replied.
Grace ended the call without any further exchange and relayed the conversation to Michael.
‘You think they’ll be able to persuade Scott to change his statement?’
‘I think Bradley’s return might be enough to sway him.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ he said as he stood up to clear the table. ‘Because if your plan doesn’t work, Scott Johnson will be our only way out of this. Besides, Murf is getting twitchy having to keep that cunt Bradley chained up in his cellar for so long. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for this whole fucking shit-show to be over with.’
Chapter Forty-Seven
Craig and Ged Johnson walked up the short flight of steps to the first floor of the block of flats in Widnes.
‘Number thirteen, I think,’ Craig said as they walked along the corridor.
Ged stopped in front of a bright pink door. ‘Thirteen,’ he said before banging loudly on the glass.
A few seconds later, a young woman with shocking purple hair answered. ‘Who are you?’ she asked as she looked the brothers up and down.
‘We’re looking for our brother, Scott,’ Craig answered.
‘He’s not here,’ she said as she went to shut the door, but Ged put his foot in the doorway.
‘Look again,’ Craig snarled. ‘Because we’re not leaving here without speaking to him.’
She rolled her eyes and opened the door wider. ‘Scott. Your brothers are here,’ she said as she walked back into the flat.
A few seconds later a sheepish-looking Scott came to the door. ‘How did you know I was here?’ he asked. ‘I thought no one knew about me and Rosie.’
‘You’re not quite as clever as you think you are, Scottie. I followed you here one night when I wanted to know where you kept disappearing off to. You’re not exactly inconspicuous about it, are you?’
Scott blinked at them both. ‘Do you want to come in?’ he finally offered.
Craig and Ged sat in the surprisingly well furnished living room of Rosie’s flat while she made herself scarce, offering to go to the corner shop to get a jar of coffee.
‘If you’ve come here to convince me to change my statement, then you’ve had a wasted journey,’ Scott said defiantly.
‘Stop playing the fucking hard case and listen up,’ Craig snapped. ‘We’ve come to tell you that we’ve been busy since you did your little disappearing act, and we can get justice for Billy another way.’
‘A better way,’ Ged added.
‘Better than sending Jake Conlon and Connor Carter to prison for life?’
‘For fuck’s sake, Scott!’ Craig shouted. ‘How many times do I have to tell you that they will not go down for this? Do you honestly think you could hold up on a stand telling outright fucking lies?’
‘I know they did it,’ he snapped.
‘Yes, but you didn’t see them. Billy told you they were coming, but you didn’t see them. I bet you never told the coppers that, did you? I bet you said you saw them coming in the house, didn’t you?’
Scott shrugged. ‘So what? They did come in the house, and they fucking killed Billy.’
‘Fucking give him a slap before I knock him out, will you?’ Craig said to Ged.
Ged was happy to oblige and stood up to give Scott a slap around the back of his head.
‘Ow,’ Scott yelped as he rubbed his head.
‘Listen to me, you little knobhead. Grace Carter has found Bradley,’ Craig said.
That seemed to get Scott’s attention. ‘What?’ He sat forward in his chair.
‘He was hiding out in our Da’s old caravan in Wales. She has him and she’s willing to hand him over to us if you’ll drop this fucking nonsense with the police.’
Scott shook his head. ‘I can’t.’
‘So, you’re prepared to let Bradley be fucking tortured to death by Grace Carter and her firm? I know he’s screwed us all over, but he’s still our brother. Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily kill the fucker myself, but I don’t want that for him.’
‘I’ll tell that DI that Grace has him—’
At this Craig jumped up off his chair and pulled Scott up by the collar of his polo shirt. ‘Are you fucking listening to me?’ he snarled. ‘These are not the type of people you grass up to the filth. If her son goes to prison because of you she will have Bradley tortured and flung in a fucking hole where no one will ever find him. Then she will hunt each and every one of us down and do the same to us, you stupid little prick!’
The colour drained from Scott’s face and Craig pushed him back into the chair. He let what he’d just said sink in for a few moments before he tried a different tactic. ‘Look, Scott, we’re all in this together. The three of us need to stick together, and we can’t do that without you. We all know that Bradley was as responsible for Billy’s death as much as anyone. We get him back and we’ll make him pay in our own way, but it has to be us, not Grace Carter or Alastair McGrath.’
Scott stared at Craig, his eyes brimming with tears.
‘Tell him what else we’ve been doing,’ Ged said.
Craig nodded. ‘You want to get back at the Carters so badly? Then the best way to hurt them is to help take what’s theirs right from under their noses. Grace’s right-hand man, John Brennan, has paid Alastair off for us and he wants to go into business with us. With him and Alastair backing us, we’ll be able to pay Grace Carter and her whole fucking family back one day, one way or another, and we won’t be the ones in the firing line.’
Scott looked at them both. ‘I don’t know. What am I supposed to say to this copper? Sorry, I’ve changed my mind?’
‘You don’t say nothing to her. You get your brief to tell them you’re withdrawing your statement. You say you were mistaken. Job done.’
‘And you’re sure she’ll hand Bradley over?’
‘Why wouldn’t she? He means nothing to her. What I do know is that she definitely won’t hand him over if you don’t drop this shit. And I am telling you she will kill us all if they go d
own for murder. All she’s interested in is saving Jake and Connor.’
Scott sat back in his chair and appeared deep in thought.
‘You can do what you want with your own life, Scott, but you’re sentencing the rest of us along with you if you go ahead with this. And if you can’t do it for me and Ged, think of my Gemma and the girls, and Bradley’s kids an’ all. Who knows how far Grace Carter will go to get her revenge?”
After what seemed like an eternity, Scott nodded. ‘Okay. I’ll speak to my solicitor later.’
Craig picked up Scott’s mobile phone from the coffee table. ‘Why wait when you can do it right now?’
Scott took the phone and Craig listened as he spoke to his brief and told him what a huge mistake he’d made.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Jock and Alastair were watching the Sunday afternoon football in Jock’s hotel room when John Brennan phoned.
Alastair answered the phone and put it on loudspeaker. ‘Where are you? I thought we were meeting for a pint during the match? I want to go over some final details for tomorrow,’ he asked.
‘I was just on my way into your hotel, but, well, let’s just say there’s been a last-minute change of plan.’
‘Why? What’s happened?’ Jock asked.
‘Remember that copper I told you about who I think works for Grace? Well, I’ve just seen him in the hotel bar. It all feels like too much of a coincidence to me, so I left—’
‘Is the fucker still down there?’ Alastair snapped.
‘No, he left just after I did. He was looking around for a bit when he walked outside, but he didn’t see me and now he’s headed towards the car park. I’m going to follow him. We need to nab him before he has a chance to report to Grace. That’s twice now he’s seen me at your hotel, and I’m not sure I can explain today’s visit away so easily.’
‘What are you suggesting?’ Jock asked.
‘That we grab him,’ John replied.