East End 02-East End Diamond

by DS as Dani Oakley Butler

“What’s the matter with you, misery guts?” Bobby Green sneered.

  Jimmy shrugged. He knew he was better off if he tried to act as if nothing was bothering him, but he just couldn’t do it.

  Finally, the other lads left him to it, and only little Georgie remained. The little boy had become like Jimmy’s shadow. Jimmy didn’t mind. They spent a lot of time together washing cars at the workshop, and he actually enjoyed Georgie’s company.

  There was nothing nasty about the boy, what you saw was what you got. He was a nice kid, far nicer than Jimmy.

  “Are you still thinking about your father?” Georgie asked.

  He could be perceptive when he wanted to be. Sometimes Jimmy thought Georgie wasn’t as slow as everyone believed.

  Jimmy nodded his head. He couldn’t think of anything else other than how much he hated Martin Morton for what he’d said about his mother. It wasn’t fair. His nan and Linda had told Jimmy how much of an angel his mother had been, and he certainly didn’t believe Martin Morton’s dirty lies about her.

  He wanted to get the man back for what he’d said.

  “I hate him,” Jimmy said and looked down miserably at the floor.

  Georgie nodded. “I don’t think he’s very popular. My dad doesn’t like him either.”

  “I think he killed my mother,” Jimmy whispered in a hoarse voice.

  Little Georgie’s head whipped around, and for a moment, he just stared at Jimmy, speechless with shock.

  “You have to tell the p…p…police,” Georgie said.

  Jimmy shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t have any proof.”

  “But how do you know he did it?”

  “Linda was my mother’s best friend, and she thinks it was him. I looked in his eyes, Georgie. He’s a bad man.”

  Georgie considered that for a moment and then nodded in agreement. “W…What are you going to do then?”

  “I can’t let him get away with it. My nan doesn’t want me to go near him, and Linda made me promise to stay away, but I’ve got an idea. I’m going to get revenge.” Jimmy smiled widely as he thought things through. “Do you want to come and watch?”

  Georgie nodded eagerly and followed Jimmy down the street.

  They went to the workshop first of all. It was shut as they didn’t have any major work on, and they didn’t open on a Saturday unless they had an important job or a breakdown.

  But that suited Jimmy’s purpose. The large roller doors at the front were locked, but that didn’t bother him. The two boys walked around the back of the workshop and made their way through the yard.

  At the back, Jimmy could see that the window was still open. It had been like that for a while. The catch was broken and nobody had fixed it yet, but you couldn’t tell unless you looked very closely.

  Jimmy scrambled through as Georgie kept watch.

  He got through the window without much trouble, and once inside, he headed towards the back of the workshop and siphoned off some petrol into a small canister. He screwed the lid on tightly and then wiped his hands on a rag.

  He breathed in deeply, loving the smell of the petrol as he thought about his plan for revenge.

  He climbed out again through the window, and when Georgie saw the can of petrol his lower lip wobbled.

  “I’m not sure you should do this, Jimmy.”

  “It’s all right, Georgie. I know what I’m doing. Come on, let’s go to the club.”

  They made their way back to Mortons’ club, and Jimmy felt very exposed, walking along with a canister of petrol, but nobody seemed to notice, and they stuck to the back roads and alleyways as much as they could.

  Jimmy was planning to dart behind the back of the club. He knew they kept the bins there, and it would be the perfect place to break-in because nobody could see them from the back and the club wasn’t overlooked.

  But just as they were about to cross the road they saw Martin Morton and his daughter, Ruby, leaving the club.

  Jimmy froze. That wasn’t in his plan. The club was never normally open until six pm.

  The two boys sat down on the pavement hiding behind a parked car as they waited for the two Mortons to leave.

  When Martin Morton and his daughter were far enough up the road, Jimmy turned to Georgie and grinned. “The coast is clear. I’m going in. You stay here and keep watch.”

  Georgie looked absolutely petrified, but Jimmy was too excited to notice. This was the best he had felt for ages. He loved knowing he had a purpose, and he could do something to hurt the man who’d hurt him.

  He was sick of being a victim. He hated his nan being ill and not being able to do anything. He’d been so frustrated when Geoff had been tormenting Linda, and then the straw that broke the camel’s back had come when Martin Morton turned to him in the street and called his mother a whore.

  Jimmy gritted his teeth. All those things over the past few weeks had eaten away at him, but now he felt free. He was going to show Martin Morton that he couldn’t say things like that about Jimmy’s mother and get away with it. He was going to prove that he was no Morton. He was a Diamond through and through.

  CHAPTER 46

  Ruby was starting to feel irritated. She’d asked her father yet again when she would be allowed to go and visit her mother, and he just brushed off her questions. He really believed that Ruby could be bought with lunch.

  When they’d arrived back at the club after the disastrous visit with Violet earlier that morning, Martin had put the money he was planning to give his mother back into the safe. Then he’d spent the next hour making phone calls until Ruby was bored out of her mind.

  She’d had all kinds of plans for when her father got out of prison. She wanted to show both her parents that she could be trusted with a responsible position within the family firm. She thought perhaps they might give her a job in the club. But Martin didn’t seem to see her as a grown-up. He still saw her as a little girl and was not prepared to give her any responsibility. He wouldn’t even give her a straight answer about what was going on with her mother.

  When Martin had finally finished his phone calls, he walked into the front room of the flat and smiled at Ruby. “All done, Princess. Are you ready to go?”

  Ruby nodded sullenly. She’d been ready to leave an hour ago.

  They walked downstairs to the club, and Ruby looked about at the plush velvet red seats and the gilt mirrors hung on the wall. The bar was well-stocked, and she could imagine herself as hostess of the club, overseeing everything. She could just picture it now. All she had to do was try to convince her father.

  She might have had more luck if her mother was still around but goodness knows what was going on with her. She’d overheard snatches of conversation here and there between Tony and her grandmother. They had mentioned drugs, but Ruby knew her mother would never have anything to do with something like that, so it had to be a misunderstanding.

  No doubt, she would be out soon, and things would get back to normal. Or would they? Ruby wasn’t sure what normal was anymore.

  The situation couldn’t be too serious anyway because their father hadn’t bothered to summon Derek from school. Surely he would have if it had been important, or if something terrible was going to happen to their mother.

  Ruby stood to one side as Martin locked up.

  He seemed happier now, and Ruby hoped he stayed in a better mood for the rest of the day. Just being at the club cheered him up. He really loved the place, and Ruby could understand why.

  She slipped her arm through her father’s, and they walked together along Bread Street. As people turned to look, Ruby felt proud of her father. She was pleased to be the daughter of someone well known and respected in the East End. It made her feel important.

  They hadn’t gone far when they saw red-haired Freddie’s daughter, Jemima, just up ahead.

  Jemima looked as gorgeous as ever. She had curves in all the right places, and whenever Ruby saw her, she always felt a little self-conscious of her own figure. Jemima’s gorgeous r
ed hair cascaded around her heart-shaped face and when she saw the Mortons, she broke into a broad smile.

  “Hello, Jemima. Do you remember my dad?” Ruby asked proudly, beaming at Martin.

  Jemima blushed. “Of course,” she said with a husky voice.

  A look passed between her father and Jemima that made Ruby suspect they’d seen each other not that long ago.

  She frowned, looking at the pair of them and wondering what was going on.

  Martin took Jemima’s hand and pressed it to his lips, and it was all Ruby could do not to pull a face. That was disgusting. Jemima was only a couple of years older than Ruby.

  She gave a little shudder.

  “Where are you two off to?” Jemima asked, smiling, oblivious to Ruby’s reaction.

  “We’re going to the new Italian restaurant just off Chrisp Street,” Martin said, and he raised his eyebrows.

  Jemima and her father laughed as if they were sharing a private joke, and all at once, Ruby started to think that perhaps this wasn’t the first time her father had been to this new Italian restaurant, and she probably wasn’t the first woman he had taken there either.

  “You’re lucky. I wish somebody would take me out to lunch,” Jemima said to Ruby.

  Ruby glared at her. She’d always quite looked up to Jemima, and admired the way the girl looked, but today, all Ruby noticed was the fact that her cheeks had too much rouge, and her lipstick was far too bright red for daytime wear.

  Ruby pursed her lips, and as she did so, she remembered she’d forgotten her lipstick. She must have left it in her father’s bathroom in the flat over the club.

  She pulled her arm through Martin’s and said. “I need to go back to the club. I left something behind.”

  But to Ruby’s disappointment, her father didn’t offer to come back with her. Instead, he said, “You go on. I’ll wait for you here. I’m sure Jemima will keep me company.”

  Ruby didn’t bother to dignify that with an answer. She turned with a nose in the air and stalked back up the street towards the club.

  She had a mother who had been arrested, and now a father who was making a fool of himself with a girl half his age. Not for the first time since she’d been back in the East End, Ruby wondered whether she would be better off back at the bloody school run by nuns.

  * * *

  It was only her second day in Holloway, and Babs sat in the visitors room waiting for Frieda to get them a cup of tea. She had been so glad to see her. If there was one person she could rely on, it was her. As much as she loved her children, Babs couldn’t tell them everything. Frieda was a different story. No matter what Babs did, Frieda would always be on her side.

  She could also rely on Frieda to tell her the truth. She knew that Tony didn’t tell her everything because he wanted to spare her feelings, especially when it came to Martin’s actions. Frieda, on the other hand, had never really liked Martin Morton and was loyal to Babs and Babs alone.

  As Frieda returned with two cups of tea, she smiled broadly at Babs.

  “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be in here,” she said. “Look, they even let you have Garibaldi biscuits with your cup of tea.”

  Babs smiled. She had to admit they did make an effort with the visitors’ room. Apparently the new Governor was keen to improve the prison’s reputation. Sadly the same couldn’t be said for the cell blocks. They were awful. They were overcrowded and dirty. The inmates had to bathe in communal areas, which Babs thought looked like they could do with a bloody good scrub. And the whole place had a lingering smell of boiled cabbage.

  Still, she didn’t want to worry Frieda, so she merely nodded and thanked her for the tea, pulling her cup towards her.

  “It’s all been a terrible mistake, Frieda. I was only passing the boxing club…” Babs began and then her words died in her mouth as she caught the look on Frieda’s face.

  “Now, you’ve never lied to me before, Babs. Don’t start now, sweetheart. I’m on your side. No matter what happened, and no matter what you’ve done.”

  Babs’ shoulders slumped, and she looked down at the table.

  “It was all Martin’s fault,” she said bitterly.

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Frieda said, sarcasm dripping from her words.

  “We were supposed to be getting a cut from the Pattersons. I’d spoken to Gerald Patterson about it, and he never once mentioned anything about drugs. To be honest,” Babs said, lowering her voice and leaning close to Frieda. “I think Dave Carter was behind the whole thing.”

  Frieda frowned. “But how is that possible?”

  “I think he only pretended to be interested in the Pattersons, knowing full well his interest would spark ours. He’s had history with the Fangs, and they go back years, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d tipped them off.”

  Frieda folded her arms and leaned heavily on the table as she shook her head. “But why the police, Babs? It doesn’t make sense. Dave Carter would never have done that.”

  Babs nodded. She thought the same way as Frieda. People in the East End didn’t grass. They kept their mouths shut when it came to the police, and they sorted out their troubles between themselves.

  Babs shook her head. “All I can think was that they were keeping tabs on Gerald Patterson already, and I just happened to get caught up in the middle of it.”

  Frieda sighed heavily and reached out to pat the back of Babs’ hand. “Have they given you a date for your hearing yet?”

  “It’s still two months away. It’s going to drive me crazy being stuck in here for two months, but according to my brief, if it all goes badly, I could get two years. Two years, Frieda. I won’t be able to stand it.”

  Frieda shook her head. “You won’t have to. It won’t come to that.”

  Babs took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “I hope you’re right. Have you seen the children?”

  Frieda nodded. “I’ve seen Ruby, and she’s a tough girl. She’ll be all right. She is missing her mum of course.”

  Babs sniffed feeling even more sorry for herself. “And Derek?”

  Frieda pursed her lips and then said. “No sign of him. He’s still at school as far as I know, and Martin hasn’t told him. Now, I’ll follow your lead, but I was thinking… if he doesn’t let the boy know soon, I will personally go down to Surrey and knock on the door of that school. No one will stop me telling Derek what’s happened.”

  Babs smiled tearfully at the thought of Frieda going out of her way like that. She could picture the expression on that snooty headmaster’s face if someone like Frieda Longbottom turned up at the gates of his school. The very idea made her smile.

  “Thanks, Frieda. Tony has promised to let him know by the end of the week if Martin hasn’t.”

  Frieda nodded, satisfied.

  “Tony has been an absolute rock,” Babs said. “I misjudged him. I don’t mind saying so. I don’t know what I would have done without him. He sorted me out a good brief while Martin has just left me to rot in here, Frieda. I swear, when I get out of here, that bastard is going to pay.”

  Frieda took a bite of her Garibaldi and grinned. “That’s my girl.”

  CHAPTER 47

  A fter Jimmy had sneaked around the back of Martin Morton’s club, he wrapped his jumper around his arm and crept up to the back door. There was a window just next to it, and Jimmy reckoned if he could break the window, he’d be able to reach in and unlock the door from the outside.

  He looked over his shoulder, making sure nobody was watching. But the streets were empty, and the houses at the back weren’t high enough to see over the fence.

  He drew his arm back and thrust his elbow through the window pane. It felt good to smash the glass, and as it shattered, Jimmy felt a little thrill of excitement as he imagined Martin’s reaction.

  He carefully removed the last shards of the glass and then reached through to unbolt the door. It took a little while because although he turned the key in the lock, he hadn’t at first r
ealised it was also bolted. Eventually, his fumbling fingers found the bolt and pulled it across, and he was able to open the back door.

  He stepped into Mortons’ club and held his breath. Waiting. He’d never been inside, and he wondered if his mother had been. Jimmy was sure Martin deserved what he was about to do. The thought of his mother gave Jimmy confidence, and he walked straight into the main area of the club, holding his canister of petrol.

  The inside looked ever so posh. There were red velvet seats and gilt-framed mirrors on the wall hung over fancy-patterned wallpaper.

  Jimmy could tell that Martin Morton had a lot of money, and it made him feel even more bitter. His poor nan had struggled to bring Jimmy up alone. Money was always tight, and here Martin Morton was absolutely rolling in it and not once had he offered to help them out. Jimmy no longer believed Martin didn’t know he was his son. He knew all right. He just didn’t care.

  Jimmy’s hand shook as he reached down and picked up the canister of petrol. Then he took a deep breath and rushed over to one of the large red velvet sofas, pouring the petrol all over it so it soaked into the fabric.

  Jimmy was quite fond of the smell of petrol. It reminded him of the cars he loved so much, but now the smell was overwhelming and tickled the back of his throat.

  He caught sight of a movement outside, and for a moment, he froze.

  Perhaps he was silly for doing this during the day. People were passing by the club all the time, but this was the only period where people wouldn’t actually be inside the club. Jimmy didn’t want to hurt anybody apart from his father. He wanted to punish Martin Morton by taking away one of the things he loved most in the world — his club.

  He needed to get on with it. At any moment, somebody might see him inside or catch sight of little Georgie keeping watch on the other side of the road and wonder what was going on.

  He rushed over to the bar and picked up a packet of matches. They had a large M on the front, and on the back, they had the address of Mortons’ club. Jimmy smiled and opened up the box of matches as he walked back over to where he’d poured the petrol.