East End 02-East End Diamond
Page 1
EAST END DIAMOND
DANI OAKLEY
D S BUTLER
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
A Note from Dani
Also by Dani Oakley
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Copyright © 2016 Dani Oakley
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
For my family x
East End Diamond
It’s all kicking off in the East End…
With Martin Morton banged up, Dave Carter thinks he’s on easy street. But Martin’s wife, Babs, has other ideas. She knows she can be just as clever and brutal as a man given a chance, and she is going to grab this opportunity with both hands.
Meanwhile little Jimmy Diamond is growing up in Poplar, believing he is an orphan. Little does he know that his father is still alive and is none other than the vicious crime boss, Martin Morton.
Secrets cannot stay hidden forever and things are about to come to a head in the East End. When they do, watch out because sparks are going to fly!
CHAPTER 1
M ary Diamond groaned and covered her eyes. Bright sunlight poured in through the open curtains. Her head was pounding, and her mouth was so dry that her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
Not again.
She’d fallen asleep in the armchair for the second night running. An empty bottle of gin was wedged between her body and the cushions. Her cheeks burned in shame. She knew little Jimmy was already up because he’d opened the curtains, and he’d tried to lay a fire in the grate.
He hadn’t done a very good job, and the flames had already burned down to glowing embers, but the poor lad was only ten years old. He shouldn’t have to do it in the first place. That was her job.
Her lip wobbled. She only hoped Jimmy hadn’t spotted the bottle of gin.
Mary’s fingers nervously tugged at the knitted blanket tucked around her legs. Jimmy must’ve covered her with it last night. She smothered a sob. The poor little sod. She knew he was worried about her, and that made her feel even worse.
He had started to watch her in the evenings. His big, dark blue eyes followed her every move. He didn’t like her drinking, and who could blame him?
Mary rubbed her bleary eyes. This had to stop. She couldn’t carry on like this. She’d started drinking after Kathleen, Jimmy’s mother, had died. At first, she just had a couple to help her sleep at night. After two or three gins, Mary found she wasn’t plagued by the nightmares and night terrors that had haunted her previously.
These days, the trouble was she didn’t stop at two or three. Her drinking started earlier and earlier, and yesterday… Well, yesterday was a complete blur. She couldn’t even remember if she had cooked Jimmy any supper.
Mary leaned forward in the armchair, determined that today was the day she turned her life around. Little Jimmy deserved so much better. He hadn’t had the best start in life, the poor little bleeder.
He was a sweet little boy. And thankfully he hadn’t turned out anything like his father, the gangland boss, Martin Morton, who had ordered the death of Mary’s precious daughter.
Of course, Mary couldn’t prove that. The bastard was too clever for that.
She thanked her lucky stars Jimmy had turned out the way he had. There was no sign of Martin Morton’s evil nature about him, and as much as she loved her daughter Kathleen, Mary was well aware that Kathleen used to be a little self-centred at times. Jimmy was a little angel in comparison.
Of course, he got into scrapes now and again just like any boy his age, but he was always polite and respectful.
Mary was determined to do right by him. When she’d brought him back to the East End, she had planned to reveal everything to the little boy.
She’d been so caught up with grief over her daughter, she hadn’t thought about how delivering such news would affect Jimmy.
But Mary had come to her senses just in time and realised the innocent young boy shouldn’t suffer the sins of his parents.
Mary struggled to stand up and then clasped a hand to her stomach as her belly churned.
Her gaze flickered back down to the gin bottle, but then she straightened her shoulders. No. She wouldn’t have a drink. Not at this time of day. What she needed was a nice cup of Rosie. That would sort her out.
She shuffled across to the front door and opened it, shivering as the cold autumn breeze rushed in. She reached down for one of the milk bottles on the step, and as she did so, she lost her balance, cursing loudly and tumbling down the front step.
The bottle of milk smashed, and milk splattered everywhere. Mary shouted out a string of expletives before realising she was being watched.
Across the road, the Mackenzie family, a young couple and their small daughter, stared at Mary in horror.
She knew she must look a right state this morning, and they’d seen her stumbling about all over the place as though she were still drunk. But instead of dropping her head and scurrying back inside, Mary glared at them angrily.
“What the bleeding hell are you looking at?” she yelled across the street.
Laura Mackenzie gasped in shock, put her hands over her little girl’s ears and ushered her inside as Mary stooped down to pick up the other bottle of milk that thankfully was still in one piece.
She trudged back inside, unable to face clearing up the mess just yet. She would tackle that after she’d had a cup of tea.
She made her way back to the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil before carefully spooning tea leaves into her teapot.
She walked through into the larder and saw she had some potatoes and a couple of carrots. She frowned and tried to remember the last time she’d been to the shops.
She decided she’d go to the butcher's and get a little bit of beef and make a stew for Jimmy’s supper.
He lov
ed stew, and heaven knew he deserved a treat after the last few days.
Perhaps, she thought as she poured the hot water onto the tea leaves, they could go down and visit Bev in Romford this weekend. Jimmy loved going to Bev’s little bungalow, and she couldn’t blame him. It was a lovely little place, and the garden backed onto a nice children’s play area. Mary often wondered if she had done the right thing by bringing Jimmy back to the East End.
She put off telling Jimmy everything she knew about his mother’s death, but she couldn’t delay the inevitable. As he got older, he was bound to hear gossip. Mary sighed. For all she knew, the poor lad had already been teased about it at school.
Jimmy loved to hear stories about his mother, and Mary would tell him how beautiful and clever she was. He would listen to Mary talk about Kathleen with a soft, dreamy smile on his face, but he’d stopped asking questions about how she’d died a few years ago.
Mary lifted her cup of tea with shaking hands and took a sip.
She only had a few hours before Jimmy would be home from school, and the butcher would be out of the best cuts of meat by now anyway. Maybe she should do the stew tomorrow. She could always nip down to Maureen’s and pick up some pie and mash for supper.
Mary lowered her cup of tea and put it down on the kitchen table and then slowly walked back to the front room.
She looked at the bottle of gin that was still propped up in the corner of the armchair. There was only a dribble left in the bottom, but Mary had another couple of bottles stashed away upstairs.
Perhaps she could have one quick sip... The hair of the dog would do the trick and get the day started. After all, the way she felt right now, she wasn’t going to get a lot done. Surely one small drink wouldn’t hurt.
* * *
When Jimmy Diamond arrived home from school, the first thing he saw was the smashed bottle of milk on the doorstep. Thinking something terrible might have happened to his grandmother, Jimmy pushed open the front door and quickly ran inside.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his grandmother dozing in her favourite armchair but scowled when he saw the bottle of gin. He was sure that was a new one. It had a white label and the label on the bottle he had seen that morning had been red.
He reached over and gently pulled the knitted blanket up to his nan’s chin as she let out a loud snore.
He screwed the bottle cap back on the gin, so it didn’t spill, and then headed into the kitchen.
He was absolutely starving.
He’d found a lump of stale bread in the larder this morning and had eaten it for breakfast with the last of the margarine.
He knew his nan would be out for the count for the rest of the evening, so he had two choices: find himself some food or go without.
He stepped into the small larder just off the kitchen and gazed at the shelves.
They didn’t look any different to when he looked this morning.
There were a couple of potatoes and a single carrot. Jimmy reached for the carrot and took a bite out of it without bothering to peel it.
Jimmy’s stomach rumbled as he thought of the last meal his grandmother had prepared him. Beef hash… his mouth watered. Although he’d settle for bread and beef dripping right now, anything to fill the emptiness in his stomach.
He supposed he could go to his mate’s and try to scrounge dinner at his house. But Jimmy knew if he did that too often people would start talking. The last time he’d had dinner at Bobby’s house, Bobby’s mother had launched into a round of questions, asking him how often his nan cooked his tea and asking when was the last time he’d had a bath.
Jimmy didn’t mind missing baths so much, but the food...he missed that like mad.
His stomach growled loudly as he polished off the last of the carrot. It wouldn’t keep him going for long. He didn’t want to get his nan in trouble, or cause people to gossip about her, but he was starving. He had to do something. Maybe he could ask Bobby to sneak him out some bread. He rubbed his stomach as he walked out of the kitchen and tiptoed past his nan, who was still snoring in the chair.
When he opened the front door, he saw the smashed milk bottle still scattered on the front step. He carefully picked up the broken pieces of glass, put them in the dustbin and ducked back inside to grab a cloth. After tidying it up the best he could, he headed off towards Bobby Green’s house. He chose the route that would take him past the chip shop. When he turned the corner, the delicious smell of vinegar on hot chips wafted past him. Jimmy breathed in deeply, and looked enviously at a man, leaving the shop, carrying his fish supper wrapped in newspaper.
Jimmy hadn’t gone much further when he saw Linda, who was heading home from work. He’d been so focused on the chip shop, he hadn’t noticed her until she was almost beside him.
Jimmy liked Linda. She’d been a friend of his mother’s, and he liked hearing her talk about the old days. Nan said Linda and Jimmy’s mother had been ever so close, and since Jimmy was never going to get to know his mother, talking to Linda about her seemed to be the next best thing.
She smiled widely as she approached him. “Hello, Jimmy. How are you and your nan doing?”
“We are fine, thank you,” Jimmy said politely.
Linda frowned as she looked down at Jimmy’s skinny legs poking out of his school shorts. “Shouldn’t you be home by now?” Linda asked. “I’m sure your nan’s got dinner on the table.”
Jimmy looked down at the floor. He didn’t want to lie to Linda. But he didn’t want to cause his nan any grief. His nan was a very private person, and she’d hate it if anybody saw her in the state she was in now. Just last week, she’d broken down in tears, apologising to Jimmy, promising him that soon things would get better, and she’d sworn to stop her drinking for good.
She hadn’t stopped drinking yet, but Jimmy was positive she would soon.
He thought, just this once, a little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “Actually, we are having chips tonight. She’s just sent me out to get them.”
Linda looked quite surprised and then she glanced over her shoulder at the chip shop two doors along. “They do smell nice.”
Jimmy nodded. “Yes, I like them best with lots of vinegar.”
“Me too. Don’t let me hold you up,” Linda said, nodding towards the shop entrance.
Jimmy’s eyes widened. Now he was going to be caught out in his lie. Nan hadn’t sent him for chips, and he didn’t have any bleeding money anyway. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and pretended to search for a coin.
“Oh, no!” he said. “I forgot to pick up the money.”
Linda wasn’t stupid, and Jimmy was sure she hadn’t fallen for his lie. As Linda looked at him with pity-filled eyes, Jimmy felt his cheeks burn. He didn’t like people feeling sorry for him, but he’d feel even worse if Linda knew he was a liar.
He considered telling Linda the truth and then quickly gave up on that idea. If Linda went back and told his nan about this, there would be hell to pay. His nan always said loyalty to family came first, and if she found out he’d told anybody their personal business, she’d have his guts for garters.
Jimmy turned on his heel. “I’d better get back home and pick up the money then,” he said.
Linda shook her head, and her long, brown, glossy hair swung around her shoulders. “No, don’t bother going all the way back home, Jimmy. Here, take this.” She rummaged around in her bag and then pulled out her purse and extracted a shilling. “Get the chips with this.”
Jimmy could have hugged her. Chips! Oh, he couldn’t wait! His mouth watered at the prospect, and he reached out to take the coin from Linda before she changed her mind.
“Thank you very much,” Jimmy said, beaming at her. “It’s very nice of you. If you wait here, I’ll go in and then give you your change.”
Linda smiled and ruffled Jimmy’s hair. “Nonsense,” she said. “You get your chips and keep the change. Maybe you can get yourself a little treat tomorrow?”
Jimmy
rubbed the shilling between his finger and thumb, grinning, unable to believe his luck.
“It’s the least I can do for my best friend’s little boy,” Linda said, smiling fondly at him.
Jimmy imagined his mother would be a lot like Linda, kind and sweet, and at times like this, Jimmy missed her badly, even though he’d never really known her.
Jimmy ducked inside the chip shop and asked for two portions of chips. He doubted his nan would wake up this evening, but if she didn’t, it didn’t matter. Jimmy was so hungry, he was quite sure he could polish off two portions.
Linda waved goodbye and then crossed the road, continuing her journey home.
He’d overheard a conversation between his nan and her friend, Phyllis, talking about Linda. They’d talked about the fact Linda had been married for a while now, but she didn’t have any children of her own. Jimmy wondered if that was why she was so nice to him. Maybe she liked the idea of him being around.
As he walked home, eating his chips and licking the salt and vinegar from his fingers, Jimmy Diamond grinned. He thought his life was pretty good all things considered.
CHAPTER 2
Babs Morton forced herself to smile as she tapped a long, painted fingernail on the kitchen table impatiently. She was trying to talk some sense into her husband’s brother, Tony.