‘Wow, you look hot. Where we going, sexy?’
‘Wherever. I haven’t been in any of the local pubs around here. Shall we go for a drive and see where the car takes us?’
‘Sounds good to me, babe.’
Joey hugged Dominic as he opened the front door.
‘Thanks for doing that for me. How was Frankie? Did she say anything about me?’
‘No. She thanked us both for looking after Harry and said she’ll keep an eye on him. She didn’t seem too worried when I said we thought he had a temperature. She said he had a bit of a cough and cold last week, so it was probably something to do with that.’
Joey nodded and then changed the subject. ‘I’m starving. Where shall we go for lunch?’
‘Shall we try Rettendon for a change? There’s a pub there called the Bell that’s meant to do a mean Sunday roast.’
‘Sounds great. Don’t drive though, Dom. Let’s both have a drink today and let our hair down. Call a cab; it’s my treat.’
Dominic pecked his boyfriend on the lips. ‘Do you think the driver will let us take Madonna with us? I don’t want to leave her home alone.’
Joey laughed. Both he and Dominic were so besotted with their new addition to the family that they paid the woman next door fifty pounds a week to babysit Madonna while they went to work.
‘Of course they’ll take Madonna, and if they dare say no, I’ll get her to bite the evil driver.’
Over in Rainham, Frankie plastered on a false smile as Jed walked in. The tape recorder was hidden in her jacket pocket and the jacket had been carefully folded up at the top of the wardrobe.
‘You all right, babe?’ Jed asked, handing her a cheap bunch of flowers.
‘I’m fine. And you? How was work?’
‘Knackering. Get us a beer, will ya?’ Jed ordered, as he picked up Georgie and flopped on the sofa.
‘Say hello to Harry, then,’ Frankie urged him.
‘Hello, Harry. Come to Daddy,’ Jed said in a sarcastic tone.
Aware that Jed was being facetious, Frankie stormed into the bedroom. She was determined not to lose her temper with him, as she didn’t want to give him an inkling that she was on to him.
‘What’s up?’ he shouted out.
‘Nothing. I’m just gonna change the beds,’ she said in the calmest voice that she could.
Opening the wardrobe door, Frankie put her hand on her jacket and fingered the tape recorder. Jed was a bastard to their son and the quicker she could find an excuse to leave him, the better.
Eddie took a sip of his beer and stood up. ‘Just going to the toilet. Won’t be a minute, babe.’
Gina smiled and studied the menu. She’d had quite a lot to drink last night, which must be the reason she was hungrier today than usual.
‘I think I’ll have the hunter’s chicken,’ she said, as Eddie sat back down.
Eddie shook his head. ‘We ain’t staying ’ere. The bogs are fucking rotten.’
‘What’s that got to do with us having some lunch?’ Gina asked, laughing.
‘Me Auntie Joan. Whenever I was a kid and she took me anywhere, the first thing she did was check the khazi. “If the khazi is rotten, imagine the state of the kitchen,” she’d say, and then she’d drag me out.’
‘You’re having me on,’ Gina said, laughing.
Eddie downed the rest of his beer and stood up. ‘I ain’t, babe. Come on, drink up and we’ll find somewhere else to eat.’
Joey ordered the food at the bar and thanked the guvnor again for allowing Madonna inside the pub.
‘As long as it doesn’t bark or run about, you’re OK,’ the pleasant landlord had told him.
Joey walked back to the table, sat down and grinned. ‘Nice pub, isn’t it? The customers are a bit old, but they all seem friendly and the food smells amazing.’
Dominic agreed. ‘I think Rettendon is an area where a lot of people choose to live after they’ve retired. I don’t know about you, but after spending the week in the City with all its bedlam, I’m happy to while away my weekends in a pub like this.’
Joey burst out laughing. ‘We’re like an old married couple, me and you. And Lady Madonna is our baby!’
Eddie and Gina pulled up outside the Bell.
‘This looks a bit more like it. You can always tell if the food’s up to scratch by the amount of cars in the car park at lunchtime.’
Gina giggled. ‘You’re very fussy for a man that’s been eating prison food for years. And I thought you said you could tell if the food was good by the toilets.’
‘Shut up and move your carcass,’ Eddie said affectionately.
Dominic dropped his knife and fork and crouched down.
Seeing his boyfriend clutching his chest, Joey began to panic. ‘Help, I think he’s ill,’ he said to the people sitting at the next table.
Dominic, who was deathly white and also shaking, immediately waved the people away. ‘I’m fine. I choked on the beef,’ he mumbled.
With Madonna clutched to his chest, Joey crouched down next to him. ‘You sure you’re not having a heart attack or something? Whatever’s wrong? Please don’t die on me, Dom.’
Remembering the awful experience he’d once had at the hands of Joey’s father, Dominic put one hand protectively over his private parts and pointed towards the left-hand side of the pub with his other. ‘Joey, your dad is in here. He’s standing at the bar with a dark-haired woman.’
Joey shook his head in disbelief. ‘It can’t be. Are you sure?’
‘Of course I’m bloody well sure.’
Petrified for his partner’s safety, Joey moved towards the people on the next table and urged Dom to do the same.
‘You don’t mind if we sit here with you for a minute, do you? We need to sit with our backs to the bar.’
Seeing the fright in the two young men’s eyes, the grey-haired lady made room for them. Then, being nosy by nature, she turned to Joey, ‘Who are you hiding from, dear?’
‘My dad. I’m gay and he can’t accept it. He’s already attacked my boyfriend once and cut him with a knife. He’s a real nutter; he’s just come out of prison for murdering my mum.’
Dominic kicked Joey under the table to shut him up. He could see the look of astonishment on the woman’s face. Her husband looked like he’d just seen a ghost, and the other lady was totally dumbstruck.
The woman stared open-mouthed at her husband and sister. For thirty years they’d all lived in Rettendon and they’d thought it was such a safe, quiet little village. Now there was a mass-murderer on the loose and he was standing at the bar in their local pub.
‘Shall I call the police?’ the lady asked Joey.
‘No,’ Dominic said, turning around to see if Eddie was still there. He turned to Joey. ‘Your dad’s got his back to us, he’s facing the bar. I suggest we get out of here while we can.’
‘Thanks for your help,’ Joey said, as he gingerly stood up.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll watch you and make sure he doesn’t follow you,’ the woman replied.
Gina was the first to spot Joey and Dominic. As a private detective she had to have eyes like a hawk and it had been her that Eddie had hired to tail the boys when they’d first got together. Eddie had called himself Mr Smith and had told her that Joey was the son of a friend, but Gina had always known the score. Grabbing Eddie’s arm, she pointed out of the window.
‘I don’t really know how to say this, but Joey has just run out the door with a Chihuahua in his arms.’
Eddie looked at her as though she had lost the plot. ‘What? Don’t be silly. What the fuck you on about?’
Gina dragged him over to the window. ‘Look, sprinting across the road. It’s definitely Joey and I think that’s Dominic with him.’
On impulse, Eddie ran outside the pub. ‘Joey!’ he yelled.
Hearing Eddie’s voice, Joey and Dominic picked up speed.
‘Oi! You leave that boy alone. He’s told me all about you and if you chase after him, I’m c
alling the police,’ shouted a voice behind him.
Eddie turned around and came face to face with an elderly woman with grey hair who seemed to be chasing after him. ‘I’m his dad. I only wanna speak to him.’
‘We don’t want the likes of you around here; this is a decent area with decent people,’ the woman said bravely.
Realising that Joey had blabbed to the old biddy, Eddie ignored her and ran across the road. ‘Joey!’ he yelled again.
As his son, his lover and the dog disappeared down a remote country lane, Eddie gave up the chase, and ran back to the pub. If that old cow called the Old Bill, he’d have some explaining to do to his probation officer, and he couldn’t chance being banged up again.
Gina was standing outside the boozer and, as Eddie approached, he could see the grey-haired woman, the guvnor and all of the other customers staring at him through the windows. Embarrassed beyond belief, he marched straight over to the motor.
‘Where you going, Ed? I’ve ordered our lunch,’ Gina shouted.
Eddie’s eyes clouded over and, unable to stop himself, he repeatedly booted the door of Gina’s new BMW.
‘Fuck lunch. I ain’t hungry any more. Get in this car and cunting well drive it, Gina. Now.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Frankie shut the Shogun door and ran back inside the trailer. She was pleased with the hiding place she had found. Jed had never looked after his motors very well and there was a loose bit of plastic interior in the back that she had managed to fit the tape recorder behind.
‘You off, then?’ she asked as Jed came out of the bedroom.
‘I might have another couple of slices of toast. You trying to get rid of me or something?’
‘Don’t be silly. I just want to get some housework done before I take Georgie to school. I might have a mooch around the shops later and I don’t want to have to clear up when I get back.’
‘All right, I get the hint. I can get something to eat in the café. Me and Sammy have got to go to Newmarket today to look at a couple of trotting mares. I’ll probably be back around teatime or something.’
As Jed started the engine, Frankie glanced at the clock. The cassette was an hour long; surely that would be enough time for Jed and Sammy to hang themselves.
Frankie sat the kids at the breakfast table and handed them each a bowl of Rice Krispies. She then picked up her mobile and went into the bedroom.
‘Kerry, it’s me. I’ve done it.’
Within days of being back in the fold, Eddie Mitchell had found out exactly where Albie Clark was living.
Gary and Ricky had done a fine job of running the firm while Ed was inside. They were his sons, extremely well respected, and no one dared knock ’em, apart from one silly man called Albie Clark.
Eddie had known Clarky, as he was better known, for many years. An arrogant piece of shit, Clarky had owned a builders’ yard in Bromley-by-Bow, but had recently gone skint.
If Eddie had known that Clarky had come to them cap in hand, he’d have warned the boys not to lend him a penny. Gary and Ricky hadn’t known who he was, had lent him twenty grand and the bastard had done a runner with it.
‘It was a one off, Dad. Everything else has gone smoothly. We would have told you before, but we didn’t want to upset you while you were in nick,’ Gary explained.
It had taken Eddie only two days to find out where Clarky had done a runner to. He’d sold up, moved to Gloucestershire and had bought a cottage and a garden centre.
Ed took the bit of paper out of his pocket. ‘Slow down, Ray, I think it’s along ’ere somewhere. This is it, Bluebell Cottage. Don’t pull in, hide the motor around the corner.’
Eddie grinned as Clarky’s wife Martha answered the front door. Years ago, Martha Riley, as she was then known, had been the local bike in Canning Town. Eddie had shagged her when he was only fourteen years old. She had been thirty when she seduced him and he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Soon afterwards, both Ronny and Paulie had shafted her too, and Ed immediately lost interest in her. Even as a teenager, he didn’t want his brothers’ sloppy seconds.
‘Hello, Martha. Long time no see.’
‘Eddie! What do we owe this pleasure?’ Martha squealed in delight.
‘I was just passing through the area. I’d heard you’d moved ’ere, so I thought I’d pop in and say hello. Your Albie about, is he?’
Martha gave a naughty giggle. ‘He’s just called. He’ll be back in ten minutes. Come in, boys. I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.’
Eddie sat down at the kitchen table and glanced around. The place was certainly worth a few quid and wasn’t the mark of a man on his uppers. ‘Cheeky cunt, he ain’t short of a few bob,’ he whispered to Raymond.
Martha handed them both a mug of tea and smiled as she heard the front door close. ‘This is Albie now. He’ll be so surprised to see ya, Ed.’
‘Hello, Clarky. Nice place you’ve got here, mate,’ Eddie said chirpily, when Albie opened the kitchen door.
Albie Clark’s face immediately drained of colour. ‘Eddie, I heard you were out. In fact, I was gonna come and see you next week,’ he said shakily.
Eddie sipped his tea and grinned. ‘What a coincidence! No need now, is there? I’ve come to see you, me old cocker.’
Gina ended the phone call and jumped up and down with glee. ‘I’ve been in contact with the owner of your property,’ the estate agent informed her. ‘And he said that he is willing to sell if you up the offer by ten thousand pounds.’
Gina had no doubt that Eddie would stump up the extra cash. He had some grovelling to do, especially after smashing up her new car the other day.
Thinking of their wonderful relationship, Gina grinned. Eddie was everything she had expected him to be and much, much more. Gina hadn’t been frightened by Eddie’s behaviour the other day. She had known what he was all about from the beginning. The only thing that did frighten her was the strength of her feelings for him. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone and no matter how bad his temper became, she knew she would always forgive him. Eddie Mitchell was like a class-A drug to her and, whatever happened in the future, she knew she was hooked on him for life.
Back in Gloucestershire, Eddie Mitchell stood over Albie Clark with a kettle of boiling water in his hands. Clarky was kneeling on the kitchen floor and quickly covered his face with his arms as he realised what Eddie intended to do.
‘Please, Eddie, don’t hurt me. I’ll pay you back every penny, I promise. I’ve got five grand upstairs and I can get you the rest by the end of next week.’
Eddie laughed sarcastically. Raymond had taken Martha upstairs, so he and Clarky could talk in private.
‘No one mugs me or my sons off. You took a fucking liberty and now you’re gonna pay, you cunt.’
Clarky screamed as Eddie poured a couple of splashes of boiling water over his right leg. ‘Stop squealing like a schoolgirl, get your fat arse upstairs and get me that five grand. Don’t even think of doing a runner, Clarky, ’cause if you do, I’ll kill ya stone dead.’
Jed O’Hara was not in the best of moods. Driving up to Newmarket had been a complete waste of time. He could trot faster himself than the two horses he’d just seen.
‘Why didn’t you knock the geezer down on the price, Jed?’ Sammy asked him. ‘If you’d have offered him a grand apiece, we could have took ’em to Southall and flogged ’em for twelve, thirteen-hundred each.’
Jed disagreed. ‘Dog’s meat, mate. That’s all them two nags were fit for, to be chopped up and put in cans of Chum.’
‘There’s a boozer over there. Let’s stop and have a beer,’ Sammy suggested.
Jed shook his head. Usually he was up for a beer whatever the time of day, but today he was in a rush to get back.
‘What’s a matter with you? You’ve been a miserable bastard all day,’ Sammy said.
Jed shrugged. ‘I just wanna get home.’
Sammy laughed sarcastically. ‘What, to Frankie? You usually c
an’t wait to get away from her.’
Jed stopped at the red traffic light and turned to his cousin. ‘I’m clued up, ain’t I, Sammy boy. Frankie’s been acting really strange recently. She’s up to something, I know she is, and I won’t rest until I find out what.’
Albie Clark lay on the floor, writhing in agony. He had just given Eddie the five grand and, instead of being grateful, Eddie had chosen to pour the kettle of boiling water over his head.
‘I think I’m dying. Call an ambulance,’ Albie mumbled. His skin was on fire and he could already feel the blisters forming on his face.
Eddie crouched down next to him. He could see that Albie was on the verge of losing consciousness. ‘I’ll be back next week for the rest of the dosh. Fifteen grand you owe me, plus an extra five for causing me so much inconvenience. If you don’t pay me on time, Clarky, I will douse you in petrol, set you alight and watch you burn. Do you understand me?’
‘I promise, I’ll pay,’ Albie whispered. He could barely speak through pain.
Martha screamed when she ran into the kitchen and saw the state of her husband. His face was red raw and his shirt was stuck to his body.
‘Help me, Martha,’ Albie croaked.
Raymond came flying down the stairs with his hands over his groin. ‘Sorry, Ed, she kicked me in the bollocks and got away.’
Martha picked up a frying pan and lunged towards Eddie. ‘What have you done to him, you bastard? Look at his face! You’re an animal, Mitchell.’
‘I’m sorry, Martha. He knocked me for money, so he had to be taught a lesson,’ Eddie said, grabbing the frying pan out of her hands.
‘Whether he owes you money or not, he don’t deserve to be disfigured for life, does he? Get out of my house,’ Martha yelled.
‘I’ll be back next week for the rest of my dough,’ Eddie said, pushing Raymond towards the front door.
‘Give us that frying pan,’ Martha said, chasing after Eddie.
Eddie handed it to the distraught woman and laughed. ‘I suppose there’s little chance of a bunk-up for old time’s sake, is there, sweetheart?’
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