The Victim

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘I’ll speak to Larry tomorrow. He’ll have a chat with her and then we’ll see if we can get her that good QC that’s representing you.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ Frankie said gratefully.

  When Eddie walked away, he heard Frankie shout his name. He turned around again.

  ‘Oh, and good luck for tomorrow. I hope you have a good day.’

  Surprised by his daughter’s sudden change of heart, Eddie winked at her. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he walked out of the room with a gigantic spring in his step.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Eddie Mitchell was as happy as a pig in shit the following morning. Planning Gina’s surprise was the lift he had needed after his awful Christmas, and being on good terms with Frankie again had only heightened his good mood. Next week would be very different, as that was when the shit would start to hit the fan, but for now, all Ed wanted to do was concentrate on the day ahead.

  ‘Wakey, wakey,’ Eddie said, as he snuggled up to Gina’s back.

  Gina turned around and grinned. Ed had been banging on about her birthday surprise for the past few weeks and the suspense was doing her head in. ‘Please tell me what it is now,’ she pleaded. All Ed had told her is that they were attending a friend’s wedding this morning, then later this afternoon she would receive her actual present.

  Eddie pushed his groin playfully against Gina. ‘You’re not having your wicked way with me unless you put me out of my misery,’ Gina joked.

  Eddie chuckled. ‘If I tell ya, I’ll have to kill ya, babe.’

  Stanley Smith had never been the bravest of men, so instead of collecting his beloved pigeons from Pat’s house himself, he’d sent his friend Brian to do his dirty work. His clothes he had taken on the day he had moved in with Joey and Dom. Pat the Pigeon had been very tearful that day and had practically got on her hands and knees begging him to stay, but there was no changing Stanley’s mind. The vile sex act she had attempted to perform on him had put him off Pat for life, so much so that he couldn’t even look her in the eye any more.

  Stanley stood at the window as though he was dancing on hot coals. He knew Pat would have taken good care of his beloved pigeons for him, but he couldn’t wait to see them again. Pat had given him one that he’d named after her, and he’d have to change that now. Joycie would be furious if he didn’t. Not only that, he wanted no reminder of Pat in his life ever again.

  Seeing Brian’s car pull up outside, Stanley ran out to greet him. ‘Hello, my little cherubs. Have you missed me?’ he crooned, as he opened the back doors of Brian’s van.

  ‘Pat was very upset that you didn’t pick them up yourself, Stanley. She started crying as I left and she told me to tell you that she’s sorry for what she did and she hopes that you and her can still be friends. Whatever happened between yous two, mate?’

  Feeling himself blush, Stanley busied himself by transferring the pigeon basket over to his own car. He’d already packed his clothes earlier, so once he got rid of Brian, he was ready to go home to Joyce.

  ‘Nothing bad happened, we just had a silly row that’s all. Anyway, I wanted to go back home to my Joycie, so I think it’s best I don’t come to the Orsett Cock any more. Also, if you can inform me which race meetings Pat will be attending, I would appreciate that as well. Me and her can’t be friends ’cause it ain’t fair on Joycie, so I’d just rather avoid Pat altogether in future, to be honest.’

  Brian nodded. He knew there was more to Stanley’s story than he was letting on, and he’d already made up his mind to ply Pat with a few G&Ts at the weekend to see if he could loosen her tongue a bit. ‘Well, good luck with Joycie, mate, and I’ll catch up with you at one of the race meetings. You’ll be coming to Peterboro’, won’t you?’

  ‘If Pat ain’t going, I will. Listen, I’d best make a move now, Joycie was expecting me home by eleven. Thanks again for today, Bri, I owe you a pint or two, pal.’

  As soon as Brian drove off, Stanley got into his own car and turned the ignition on. Then with a big smile on his face, he drove towards Rainham. Joycie would treat him like a doormat when he got home, he had no doubt about that, but he didn’t care because he loved her. However badly she treated him, he knew that living with Joyce was where he belonged and he never wanted to spend a day apart from her again.

  Jed and Sammy were in a jolly mood as they drove back towards Essex. They’d just returned to work and had had quite a successful day yesterday. They had made friends with three old people who all lived alone and seemed potentially easy to con. Jed was the one who had decided to move their business activities away from the Essex area. Their last victim, Mr Franks, had been just about to leave Jed and Sammy everything in his will, when his nosy next-door neighbour had got involved and threatened to call the police. As luck would have it, Mr Franks had no idea of Jed or Sammy’s surnames or where they came from. If the will had already been made, Jed and Sammy could have been caught red-handed, and they’d had a lucky escape in the end. Cambridgeshire was a perfect area for them to now start all over again. There were lots of old people living there and they were far less clued-up than most of the old people who lived in London or Essex.

  ‘I reckon that fucking old grunter, Mrs Marsh, is loaded, ya know. Out the three of ’em, I reckon we should sting her first. Them antiques and paintings she was showing us must be worth an arm and a leg alone,’ Sammy said excitedly.

  Jed agreed. Mrs Marsh had said she had no family whatsoever and she lived in a cottage and owned a couple of acres of land. There were no neighbours to poke their trunks in, which was a plus point for Jed after what had happened with Mr Franks. ‘We’ll go back on Saturday and mend that leak in her roof she was telling us about. Then we can paint the room she said the damp’s got into,’ Jed suggested.

  ‘What shall we charge her? We’ve gotta hit her for, say, five grand just for the roof and we won’t have to do ought, we’ll just patch it up as best we can,’ Sammy said, chuckling.

  ‘Let’s not hit her for too much wonga to start with. We’ll charge her two or three grand for the roof and see how she reacts to that before we sting her good and proper,’ Jed said cautiously. Some of these old people were slightly less senile than they seemed and he didn’t want any alarm bells to start ringing in that wrinkled old head of Mrs Marsh’s.

  Pulling up outside his parents’ house, Jed was greeted by his mother running towards him. The battery on his mobile had died a death yesterday afternoon and he’d forgotten to take his spare with him.

  ‘Whose truck is this? And why are you both wearing overalls and baseball hats?’ Alice asked suspiciously.

  ‘The truck belongs to Sammy and me and we’re dressed like this ’cause we’ve been grafting,’ Jed explained. The truck was actually a ringer that couldn’t be traced to either him or Sammy. Neither lad had wanted to use their own motor this time, in case there was a repeat of the Mr Franks fiasco.

  ‘Now, don’t have a go at me, but I’ve taken Georgie out of that school, boy.’

  ‘You’ve done what?’ Jed spat angrily. Part of his custody conditions was that Georgie returned to school and then Harry would also go as soon as he was old enough.

  ‘Daddy!’ Harry screamed, as he got out of his little car and ran towards him.

  Jed picked his son up and turned back to his mother. ‘So, what happened, then?’

  ‘The headmaster rang me up and asked me to go up and see him. He reckons that Georgie ain’t settling in and needs to go to one of them special units. I was fucking livid, Jed, so I told him where to go, and brought Georgie girl home with me. I ain’t having her go to one of them divvy places! Bright as a button she is and I ain’t having her mix with a load of dinlos.’

  Jed sighed. He needed to find Georgie another school double quick, or else Frankie’s solicitor would start creating havoc for him again. ‘You should have left this for me to deal with, Mum. I’ll shoot up and have a chat with the headmaster, see if I can sort it out. What exactly did you say to him?’
/>   ‘I told the four-eyed old shitcunt to go fuck his grandmother.’

  Jed felt his face redden with fury. ‘You stupid woman! If Frankie gets visiting rights because of this, I will never forgive you, Mum, and I truly fucking mean that.’

  * * *

  Eddie Mitchell asked the taxi driver to drop him and Gina off at the entrance of Brentwood Registry Office. Years ago, his pal Dougie had surprised his wife Vicki in exactly the same manner and Ed had admired his cavalier style.

  ‘I didn’t realise all your family were going to be here today as well. How did you say you know these people that are getting married?’ Gina asked innocently.

  Eddie paid the driver, got out the car and opened the door for Gina. She looked an absolute picture in the cream pencil skirt suit she had bought especially for the occasion. She’d moaned like hell because she’d had to buy a size twelve instead of a ten, but considering she was now fifteen weeks pregnant, she still looked amazing in it.

  ‘The groom’s dad was one of my dad’s best pals. That’s why all my mob are ’ere. Now, I need to have a quick chat with the boys. You’ll be OK with Joanie and Vi for five minutes, won’t ya?’

  ‘Well, yeah, but don’t forget to introduce me to the bride and groom before they get married, Ed,’ Gina said haughtily. She guessed that the people getting wed must have known Jessica, which made her feel a bit awkward. Not only that, she also felt a complete tit attending the wedding of two faceless strangers without as much as a formal introduction beforehand.

  ‘Don’t she look beautiful?’ Vi commented, nudging Joanie.

  Ed winked at his aunts and kissed Gina on the cheek. ‘I promise you faithfully I will introduce you to the bride and groom before the ceremony, OK?’

  ‘OK.’

  Eddie walked over to Joey. He was feeling a bit edgy now and was desperate for the day to go without any hitches. ‘Is everything on cue? Has everyone turned up?’

  ‘Yep. Uncle Albert and Uncle Reg have gone to the toilet. Your mates are all standing around the back and the only person I ain’t seen yet is Flatnose Freddie. Oh, and Raymond and Polly are on their way; Ray just rang and said he’d be here in five minutes.’

  ‘What about Stuart?’ Eddie asked.

  Joey nodded and, ignoring the bored expressions on Gary and Ricky’s faces, led his father inside the building.

  ‘Dominic and Stuart have been entertaining Gina’s family and friends and I checked with Claire that everybody on Gina’s side had arrived. Her brother’s a nice guy, so are her mum and dad, but they’re proper Irish and I can’t really understand what they’re saying, to be honest.’

  Eddie chuckled. Apart from Claire, he had never met any of Gina’s family or friends and he just hoped that they liked him and vice versa.

  ‘Do you wanna go and meet them now, Dad?’ Joey asked.

  ‘No, I think I’ll let Gina introduce me. I’m sure she’d prefer it that way.’

  ‘Well, you wait here and I’ll go and round everyone up, including Gina. Has she still not got a clue?’

  Eddie shook his head and grinned. ‘She might have been a private detective once upon a time, but she ain’t as clever as me, boy.’

  Joey smiled. ‘Good luck, Dad. I really like Gina and I’m so happy for you both.’

  Eddie looked at his son and felt his eyes well up. Gary and Ricky had been extremely pissed off when he’d asked Joey to be his best man, but he was so glad that he had gone with his heart. Years ago, when Joey was growing up, Eddie had never understood his son. He had been desperate for him to be more like his Gary and Ricky, but Joey was his own person, and once Ed had got down off his high horse and accepted his son for what he was, he’d realised for the first time just how much he adored the boy.

  Eddie pulled his son into his arms and slapped him on the back. ‘I love you, boy, now jog on outside and get the others before I make a complete fucking prick of meself.’

  Joyce was on tenterhooks as she peeped through the corner of the curtain, waiting for Stanley to arrive. He was fifteen minutes late and she prayed to God that he hadn’t had a last-minute change of heart. Finally, his car pulled onto the drive and Joyce jumped away from the curtain, ran into the kitchen and began sweeping the floor with her broom.

  ‘One minute,’ she shouted as Stanley rang the doorbell.

  Stanley stood patiently on the doorstep. He hadn’t asked Joyce if it was all right to bring his pigeons back home and he hoped she wasn’t annoyed that he had just presumed it would be OK. His pigeon shed was still in one piece in the back garden, thank God. Once, years ago when he’d walked out briefly, Joycie had smashed his old shed to smithereens with a massive bloody hammer.

  ‘Oh, it’s you, Stanley,’ Joyce said with a surprised expression on her face.

  ‘Are you expecting somebody else?’ Stanley asked politely. Surely she hadn’t forgotten he was coming home today.

  ‘No, I just didn’t remember what time you said you’d be back,’ Joyce lied.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind, love, but I brought me babies home with me. Is that OK?’ Stanley asked cautiously.

  ‘Yes, I suppose so. Walk them around the back, though, I don’t want them coming through the house any more.’

  Stanley obediently did as he was told, then returned to the car to unload his clothes and other bits and bobs. ‘Shall I take these straight upstairs to my old room, love?’

  ‘Yes, in a minute. Come and sit down first. I’ve made us a pot of tea and I want to go through my list of house rules with you.’

  Stanley felt like a naughty schoolboy as he sat on the sofa opposite his wife.

  Joyce cleared her throat. ‘Rule number one. I am not getting in that stinking, pigeon-shit-infested car of yours any more. Keep it to use for carting your pigeons about by all means, but I am going to choose a car out of the money we have in my bank account and I expect you to take me anywhere I wish to go in it, any time I ask.’

  ‘Yes, dear,’ Stanley replied immediately.

  ‘Number two. I don’t mind cooking for us on weekdays, but unless we’re having guests over, I expect to be taken out for meals at weekends in future and I expect you to pay.’

  ‘Yes, dear.’

  ‘Number three. I want you to apologise to Jock for what you did to him. You were bang out of order blaming that man, he’s been a good friend to you, Stanley.’

  ‘OK, I’ll call him first thing tomorrow,’ Stanley said sheepishly.

  ‘Number four. I want you to help me with the garden and the housework from now on. I don’t see why it should all be left to me.’

  ‘But I ain’t no good at gardening, Joycie, you know that,’ Stanley said, alarmed.

  ‘Well, like it or not, these are my rules and you either abide by them or piss off back to your old tart’s house.’

  Stanley flinched at the mention of his old tart. Praying that Joycie didn’t have many more rules, he nodded his head.

  ‘My fifth rule is, you must never utter another bad word about Eddie Mitchell in this house ever again. That man’s been bloody good to me since you did your vanishing act and I am determined that he’s going to be part of my life from now on and I’d like him to visit this house whenever he wishes.’

  ‘But he’s getting hitched again today. I hope you ain’t gonna invite that new wife of his around here. It ain’t right – this was our Jessica’s house,’ Stanley complained.

  ‘I’ll decide what’s right and wrong. This house belongs to me and, like it or not, you’re just the lodger here now, OK?’ Joyce said adamantly.

  ‘OK. I suppose if Eddie’s been good to you, then it’s only right that you keep in touch with him,’ Stanley replied reluctantly.

  ‘Number six is –’

  ‘How many more are there, Joycie?’ Stanley asked, dismayed. He was thrilled she’d allowed him to come back home, but this rule lark was getting beyond a joke now.

  ‘Shut up. Don’t you dare interrupt me. Rule number six is my last. I want you to call your
solicitor and cancel that divorce. Even though you and I know you’re only the lodger, Stanley, I will not have our friends and family under the impression that we are living in sin. It’s not morally acceptable.’

  Stanley smirked at this rule. ‘Yes, dear.’

  Proud of her set of ground rules, Joyce put her pen and paper on the glass table and smiled at her husband. ‘Right, hurry up and finish your tea. I need you to cut the grass in the back garden for me.’

  ‘But it’s freezing out there, Joycie. The ground will be bleedin’ rock hard.’

  ‘I’ll decide whether the ground’s rock hard or not. Now drink that tea, come on, chop chop.’

  Stanley gulped the rest of his tea down and bolted outside to get the lawnmower out of the shed. His life would be hell from now on, he was well aware of that, but he also knew that deep down, his Joycie still loved him. Why else would she stop their divorce?

  When Eddie opened the registry office door, Gina stood open mouthed as she spotted all her family and friends. ‘Oh my God!’ she exclaimed as the realisation of what was happening finally hit home.

  Forever the charmer, Eddie took Gina by the hand and led her to the two front rows where her family and friends were sitting. He stopped right in front of her parents and dropped to one knee.

  ‘Soppy cunt,’ Gary whispered to Ricky.

  Raymond squeezed Polly’s hand and Stuart grinned. In prison Ed had been such a hard nut and it was nice to see a softer side to him.

  ‘Ahh, bless him,’ Joanie said, wiping her eyes.

  Reg and Albert glanced at one another in amazement. Had Ed lost his marbles? they both thought silently.

  Eddie cleared his throat. ‘Gina, I love you so much, darling, that I couldn’t wait any longer for you to become my wife, so would you do me the great honour of marrying me right now?’

  Overcome by a mixture of shock and emotion, Gina burst into uncontrollable tears. ‘Yes. Oh Ed, this is the best birthday present I’ve ever had,’ she sobbed.

  Ricky nudged Gary. ‘Fuck this for a game of soldiers – let’s go outside and have a fag.’