East End 02-East End Diamond

by DS as Dani Oakley Butler

  “You don’t need to worry about that now,” she insisted. “The boy is old enough to get himself to the hospital alone.”

  Linda suppressed a sigh. “I know he’s old enough, but I don’t want him to go alone. I want to be there to support him.”

  Linda’s mother’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Surely somebody else can go with the child. I’ll go if needs be.”

  “You don’t understand,” Linda said, beginning to lose her patience. “I want to go with him. It will take my mind off everything.”

  “I really don’t think–”

  “It isn’t up to you. I’ve made my decision, and I’m going with Jimmy to the hospital,” Linda snapped.

  Her mother pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. “I know losing Geoff has been a terrible shock, but that doesn’t excuse rudeness, Linda.”

  Linda got to her feet and went to the cupboard in the hallway to pull out her coat, so she was ready as soon as Jimmy got home.

  With a loud sigh, her mother stood up also. “I can tell when I’m not wanted,” she said, making Linda feel even more guilty.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Linda bid her mother goodbye and then waited for another five minutes until Jimmy arrived and they set off for the bus stop together. She found the boy’s company relaxing. He didn’t want to talk about Geoff or continually ask Linda how she was feeling. In fact, Linda welcomed the chance to worry about Jimmy rather than herself. It took her mind off her own problems.

  It didn’t take them long to get to The London, and as they walked along the hospital corridor, they discussed what would happen when Mary came out.

  “I can prepare your meals and bring them round,” Linda said. “I know you’re looking forward to having your nan back home.”

  Jimmy grinned happily, but as they turned the corner, they saw a group of men in white coats, standing by the entrance to the ward. Jimmy shot them a worried glance and then looked up at Linda.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she murmured reassuringly.

  As they approached the doctors, Linda paused, and Jimmy went on ahead to talk to his nan.

  “Excuse me, I’ve come to visit Mary Diamond. I’m looking after her grandson, and we were wondering when she might be let home.”

  The three men in white coats turned to face her, and the eldest one, with the bushiest eyebrows Linda had ever seen, said, “I’m afraid Mrs. Diamond has had a setback. We have had to increase the dose of her medication today because of the strain on her heart. I think she will be in hospital for at least another week.”

  “I see. Thank you.” Linda turned away, knowing that Jimmy would be bitterly disappointed when he learned the news.

  She walked into the ward and headed towards the window, where Jimmy was sitting beside Mary’s bed. She could see the change in Mary immediately. She looked paler and very weak.

  Mary smacked her lips together as though her mouth was too dry to talk.

  Linda poured a glass of water from the jug on Mary’s nightstand. She helped Mary to a sitting position and held the glass to the woman’s lips.

  After taking a couple of mouthfuls of water, she grasped Jimmy’s hand and said, “The doctors won’t tell me the truth, but I know I’m never getting out of here.”

  Jimmy looked horrified.

  “Don’t say that, Mary,” Linda said. “You’ve just had a little setback. I’ve spoken to the doctors, and they say you’ll only be in here for another week.”

  Mary shook her head. “Lies. All lies. I’m not getting out of here, Jimmy, and there are things you need to know. Things I should have told you before now.”

  Mary’s voice sounded croaky, and Jimmy leaned forward so he could hear her better. Linda felt nervous. She didn’t like the direction this was taking at all.

  “It’s about your father,” Mary said. “His name is Martin Morton.”

  Linda gasped in surprise. She couldn’t believe Mary was going to tell Jimmy this now. Her brain must be addled with all the medication the doctors had given her.

  She had to stop Mary before she said anything more. “Mary, there’s no need to talk about this now. You’ll be out in a week or so, and you can tell Jimmy then.”

  Jimmy frowned. “No, I want to know now. Do you mean Martin Morton, the man who is in prison?”

  Mary licked her lips and nodded. “That’s right. But you should stay away from him, Jimmy. He’s not a nice man.”

  Jimmy looked confused. And Linda was desperate to change the subject. She picked up the glass of water again and held it out towards Mary. “Would you like another drink?”

  Mary shook her head and waved the drink away. “No, there’s more I need to tell Jimmy about what happened to his mother…”

  Mary’s eyes looked wild, and her cheeks were flushed. Linda knew she wasn’t in her right mind, and she had to stop this before it got any further.

  “No, Mary don’t. Not here. Not like this.”

  “What about my mother?” Jimmy asked.

  Mary opened her mouth to speak but then her eyes rolled back in her head, and with a shudder, she collapsed back on her pillows.

  “Nan!” Jimmy cried frantically.

  Linda called for help and soon they were ushered back by the duty nurse, who closed the curtains around Mary and told them to wait outside.

  Jimmy was trembling, and Linda did her best to comfort him as he gnawed on his fingernails.

  It felt like they were waiting for hours, but it was probably only a period of a few minutes before the same doctor Linda had spoken to earlier approached them.

  “That must’ve been very scary to witness,” the doctor said, looking at Jimmy kindly and putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Your grandmother had a reaction to the medication we’ve given her. It looked worse than it was. She will be feeling a lot better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.”

  After Linda asked the doctor a few more questions, she took Jimmy by the hand, and they left the hospital.

  Although Jimmy was quiet at the moment, Linda knew he would be full of questions about his father later on that evening. She didn’t understand why Mary had done it. Did she really think she was about to die and want to pass on with a clear conscience?

  Whatever the reason, the cat was now out of the bag. She was surprised Jimmy had got this far without finding out his father was Martin Morton. At least the horrible man was still locked up, Linda thought. That was one thing to be grateful for.

  CHAPTER 36

  Babs Morton sat stiffly in a hardback chair in the front room and glared at the welcome home tea Violet Morton had laid on for Martin. Babs was a hypocrite for even being there. She didn’t want Martin to come home. She’d been praying that he wouldn’t get the early release he’d been after.

  The other two women in Martin’s life were excited to see him again. Ruby couldn’t sit still for a moment. She kept darting in and out of the kitchen, checking every sandwich and cake was perfectly arranged on the best china.

  Violet Morton was her normal stuck-up self, but even she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face at the thought of seeing her son again. If Babs hadn’t already been in a bad mood at the thought of sharing a house with Martin again, Violet’s presence would have put her in one anyway. The woman was unbearable.

  “Are you not going to change, Babs?” Violet asked pointedly.

  Babs scowled. She knew the horrible old bat was only trying to rile her. The trouble was, it was working. Babs could feel herself growing more and more tense as the minutes ticked past on the clock over the mantelpiece.

  Martin should have been there already.

  “No, Violet, I am not going to change,” Babs said and smoothed down the smart red dress she was wearing.

  She knew she looked good for her age. She had kept her figure well over the past decade, and although she couldn’t do anything about the fine lines that had appeared around her eyes and mouth, she had made sure she looked her b
est today. She wore the sapphire earrings Martin had bought her years ago in happier times, and her hand reached up absent-mindedly to touch them. Things had changed so much over the years.

  Babs had been so preoccupied she’d barely noticed Ruby at all, other than to be irritated with the girl for rushing about too much, but now she saw the length of her hemline. Babs pointed at Ruby’s knees.

  “What on earth do you think you are wearing, Ruby?”

  Ruby looked up from the table, which was heavily laden with all sorts of good things to eat, and sighed heavily. “It’s not even that short, Mum. It’s nothing compared to what the other girls wear.”

  “I don’t care what the other girls wear. I can see your knees. Next, you’ll be walking around in a dress that shows your knickers, girl!”

  “Mum, don’t be ridiculous. It’s hardly the same thing.”

  “I’ll thank you not to call me ridiculous, young lady.” Babs turned to face Violet. “Surely you can’t approve of this either,” Babs said and waved a hand in Ruby’s direction.

  Violet pursed her lips and shrugged. “It’s the fashion, Babs. You need to move with the times.”

  Babs gaped at the woman. Violet was only saying that to contradict her. If Babs said something was white, Violet would insist it was black. Babs shook her head. What had she done to deserve such a family?

  “Wait until your father sees what you’re wearing. He won’t be happy,” Babs grumbled.

  Ruby looked down at her outfit and hesitated. “All right. I’ll go and change.”

  When Ruby left the two older women alone in the front room, there was an uncomfortable silence. If Babs was honest, she preferred that to trying to make small talk with Violet. She just wasn’t up to it today. She was dreading Martin turning up, but as she glanced at the clock, she started to worry. He should have been home by now. Freddie and Henry had gone to pick him up, and they were supposed to bring him straight home.

  If Martin had taken himself off somewhere, rather than come home for his special tea, Babs would murder him. She hadn’t even wanted to do the sodding tea anyway.

  As if Violet sensed what Babs was thinking, she said, “He should have been home by now. What’s keeping him?”

  “I don’t bleeding know,” Babs snapped. She was sitting and waiting the same as Violet. How on earth would she know what had delayed Martin? Although, she could hazard a guess, and it probably involved women, booze or both.

  Babs looked again at the table, which was groaning under a hundredweight of sandwiches, scones and Violet’s famous Victoria Sponge. If he didn’t turn up soon, Babs was going to dump the lot in the bin. She shouldn’t be surprised by his behaviour. This was Martin all over. He liked the power of keeping people waiting.

  “It’s a shame Derek couldn’t be here,” Violet said with a malicious glint in her eye.

  Babs stifled a groan. Violet had only been there an hour and already she’d mentioned Derek about ten times. “He’s back at school. I didn’t see the need to disrupt his schooling.”

  Violet arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips together in disapproval.

  Babs was actually a little bit worried about Derek. After she had shipped him off to the boarding school, he hadn’t returned home once. Instead of coming home for the summer holidays, he’d chosen to spend it with the new friends he had made at school. Perhaps Babs should have been happy he’d settled in so well, unlike Ruby. But she couldn’t help worrying that her plan had backfired. It seemed that Derek liked his new posh friends a lot better than his own family, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Violet.

  “He’s doing ever so well,” Babs said. “He’s made some friends whose fathers are very well connected. One of them is a Lord.”

  If Babs thought that might impress Violet Morton, she was sadly mistaken. The older woman grimaced.

  “You’re giving him ideas above his station, Babs, and it won’t end well.”

  “What would you know about it? You’ve never been out of the East End.”

  “Of course, I have. I just know my place in this world, and I’m very content with what God has given me.”

  She must be very easily pleased, Babs thought, to be happy with the life she got, but Babs couldn’t be bothered to point that out.

  Ruby came back down, dressed in a longer, yellow dress.

  “That’s much better,” Babs said, smiling at Ruby’s dress which ended mid-shin.

  “Is he still not here?” Ruby went to the window to peer through the net curtains.

  Babs hated Martin for the disappointment she saw on the girl’s face. No matter what Babs said, Ruby still thought her father was perfect. How was Babs supposed to break the news that her father had chosen to go to the knocking shop or the boozer rather than come home to see his only daughter?

  Babs imagined how it would have been if young Emily had lived. She’d been barely a few months old when Martin had been incarcerated. If she hadn’t had to deal with the grief of losing Emily after Martin got locked away, things would have been better. For one thing, Babs wouldn’t be so bitter.

  She tried to force the thoughts of Emily out of her mind and focused back on her older daughter, Ruby. For her daughter’s sake, Babs lied. “You know what prisons are like. There’s probably been a hold-up with the paperwork. He’ll be back soon.”

  Violet wasn’t so easy to placate. “It’s all your fault,” she said to Babs. “The poor man doesn’t feel welcome in his own home. Imagine coming home to a face like that.” She nodded at Babs. “You’ve got a face on you like a bulldog chewing a wasp.”

  Babs sprang to her feet. She didn’t give a toss about Martin’s welcome home tea anymore. She just wanted that horrible woman out of her house.

  But before Babs could bark out an order at Violet to get her skinny backside out of the front room, Ruby put a hand on her mother’s arm. “Don’t, Mum. Not today, please.”

  God only knew how she did it, but Babs managed to bite her tongue as she whisked past Ruby out of the front room and into the kitchen.

  She grabbed her packet of cigarettes then quickly lit one up.

  This was typical Martin, Babs thought as she took a long drag on her cigarette. He caused trouble even when he wasn’t here.

  * * *

  At the very moment Babs was struggling to contain her temper, Martin Morton sat in the back of Freddie’s Jaguar. He sat in the middle, with his arms spread wide over the back of the seats, and grinned like a cat who’d got the cream.

  He’d made Freddie and Henry wait outside his favourite whore house in Soho, and now as Freddie turned the car and headed back towards Poplar, Martin slapped the back of the passenger seat to get their attention.

  “It feels good to be out, boys.”

  “Back where you belong, boss,” Henry said.

  Martin nodded and looked out at the London streets they passed eagerly. “We’ll be back on top soon.”

  Red-haired Freddie looked in the rearview mirror at Martin. “Are we heading back to your place now?”

  “God, no. I need a drink first. Take me to the pub.”

  Freddie and Henry exchanged a look. They both knew that Babs and Violet had laid on a tea for Martin and would be waiting at the house in Poplar. They told Martin this as soon as they picked him up outside the prison, but Martin didn’t seem to care less.

  “Babs and your mum will be waiting, and –”

  “Let them wait. I’ve been waiting for ten years for a pint in a proper pub. I’m not going home for a bunch of poncy sandwiches and a couple of cups of tea.”

  “Right you are,” Freddie said as they drove past the turning to Bread Street. “Is The Lamb all right?”

  “That’s fine,” Martin said. “I can’t wait to see the look on old Barney’s face when I walk in. I need to show my face around here, and make sure everybody realises I’m back and things are going to change.”

  Freddie and Henry shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They were caught between a rock and a har
d place. They dare not go against Martin’s wishes, but they knew that Babs would lay into the pair of them when she realised they hadn’t brought Martin straight back home.

  Everybody knew that Babs did not get along with Martin’s mother, and with the two women stuck in the same room, waiting for Martin… It was a disaster waiting to happen.

  “Have you seen Big Tim around lately?” Martin asked as he wound down the window and whistled at a young woman they passed by.

  Both Freddie and Henry hesitated before answering. They had kept Martin up-to-date, and Martin knew that Big Tim was now working for Dave Carter. But that didn’t mean Martin had accepted it. He was unpredictable before he got sent down, and now he was looking for a way to stamp his authority back on the East End. What better way than teaching Big Tim a lesson?

  Freddie ran a hand through his red hair and wondered how best to tell Martin that Big Tim seemed to be thriving under Dave Carter’s command.

  But Henry spoke up first, “I’ve seen him around. He has not caused us any trouble, though, boss.”

  Both Henry and Freddie had got on reasonably well with Big Tim. They weren’t exactly friends, Big Tim didn’t encourage friendships, but they’d had a lot of respect for the big man and to see him lose his marbles and turned to drink had hit both Henry and Freddie hard.

  Freddie would prefer it if Martin would let bygones be bygones, but that really wasn’t in Martin’s nature. He had a feeling that Martin would come down hard on Big Tim, and when he did, Freddie could only hope that Martin didn’t decide to use him to dole out the punishment.

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” Martin said, and then he added quietly, “I never expected Big Tim to turn.”

  None of them had. Big Tim had been a stalwart member of Martin Morton’s outfit from the early days, and he had never let him down, always going above and beyond the call of duty.

  Neither Henry nor Freddie dared to ask the question they really wanted answered. They wanted to know what Martin was going to do about Tim’s betrayal, but like everyone else, they would just have to wait and see.