Gina stared into his worried eyes. Usually on a Sunday they ate out and spent the whole day together but, not wanting to kick up a fuss, she smiled and nodded. ‘No probs. I’ll pop across to Asda and make sure there’s a nice roast dinner on the table for you when you get back. Give me a ring when you’re ten minutes away.’
Eddie kissed her goodbye, got into his Range Rover and immediately rang Raymond. ‘Get your arse in gear and meet me at the Leonard Arms in an hour,’ he ordered.
‘Ed, I can’t. I’m going out for a meal with Polly and her parents and I’ve booked the restaurant for twelve.’
‘Well, best you fucking unbook it then, or let Polly do lunch with ’em on her own. This is important, Raymond, comprendes?’
Ending the phone call before Raymond had a chance to argue, Eddie rang his two eldest sons and told them to head to Rainham as well. Stuart hadn’t come home all night and Ed knew that he’d taken his new bird out.
‘Where are ya?’ he asked, as Stuart groggily answered the phone.
‘I’m round Emma’s flat.’
‘Yes, I know that, but what’s her address?’ Ed asked. Stu gave it to him and he wrote it down on the back of his hand. ‘Get your skates on and I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.’
Joycie Smith opened the front door with a silly big grin on her face. It had been Dominic’s birthday the previous day and she was so pleased when he and Joey had agreed to spend today with her and Stanley. It would be the first time they’d been over for a meal since her wanderer of a husband had returned.
‘Mmm, the meat smells nice. What are we having for dinner?’ Dominic asked.
‘I’ve cooked roast beef, leg of lamb and all the trimmings, and for dessert we’ve got homemade apple crumble or sticky toffee pudding.’
Joey handed his nan a gift bag that contained a bottle of Baileys and a box of Thornton’s chocolates. ‘Dom bought you these,’ he said.
‘Oh, you are silly. You don’t have to buy me bleedin’ presents. I’ll put the Baileys away for my birthday,’ Joycie said gratefully.
‘That’ll be gone by tomorrow,’ Joey whispered to Dom as his nan turned her back.
‘Now what do you want? Beer, wine, coffee or tea?’
‘Just a coffee for now, Nan. Where’s Grandad, by the way?’ Joey replied.
‘Where do you think? Out in the garden fiddling about with his cock, as per usual. I’ll give him a shout in a minute and let him know you’re here. Now, when do you want to open your present, Dominic? Now, or after dinner?’
Remembering the ‘Gay and Proud’ t-shirt his nan had bought him a while back, Joey couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ‘He’ll have it later. He needs a couple of glasses of wine first, Nan.’
‘What are you both laughing at?’ Joyce asked in a displeased tone.
Joycie’s annoyance only made Joey and Dominic laugh all the more. ‘You ain’t bought him a t-shirt, Nan, have ya?’ Joey asked, holding his sides.
‘Gertcha, you ungrateful little bastards,’ Joyce replied. Pretending to be furious, she stomped out of the room, shut the door, and then burst out laughing herself.
Eddie Mitchell had chosen the Leonard Arms for a reason. Big Pete who ran his salvage yard drank in there, and over the years Ed had often popped in for a bevvy or two, so his face was known. Also, if they were going to investigate for themselves, they needed to be somewhere near where O’Hara lived.
‘Did you get hold of him?’ Eddie asked hopefully as Stu got back in the motor.
‘Yep. I said exactly what you asked me to and he just said, “OK.” Fucking hell, Ed, that phone box has really turned my stomach. It reeked of piss and sick.’
Eddie chuckled, then drove towards the pub. ‘How’d it go with the bird last night? Do you like her?’
Last night was the first time Stuart had had sex since he’d got out of prison, and the thought of it made him break into a smile. ‘Yeah, Emma’s a very pretty girl.’
Eddie glanced at his sidekick and smirked. ‘I can see by the look on your face you got your nuts in, boy.’
Stuart laughed. ‘You’ve a charming way with words, Ed.’
Five minutes later, Eddie pulled up in the car park of the Leonard Arms. ‘Right, come in for a beer with me, then at quarter to one, go outside and sit in the motor. As soon as Baldwin turns up, ring me and I’ll come outside. If we’re standing in company, say you’re goin’ outside to ring your bird, OK?’
Gary and Ricky had already bagged a table in the corner of the pub. Apart from them, there were only four other punters in there and no sign of Big Pete.
‘Get a round in, Stu, and get one for Raymondo an’ all,’ Ed said, handing Stuart a twenty-pound note.
Raymond walked in five minutes later with a face like thunder. ‘This better be fuckin’ important, as it’s probably just cost me me marriage,’ he groaned, plonking himself on a chair.
‘Of course it’s fucking important, and you really need to tell that old woman of yours that it’s what we do for a living that keeps her in designer shoes and handbags,’ Ed replied cynically.
‘Spit it out, then. What’s happened?’ Gary asked his father.
Glancing around to make sure there were no unwanted ears listening in, Eddie leaned forward. ‘Nothing’s happened, that’s the problem. Something’s gone tits-up, I can feel it in me bones. There ain’t been a mention of it anywhere and nobody could have kept it this quiet.’
‘I don’t wanna say I told you so, but you should never have trusted Baldwin in the first place. You don’t even really know the geezer and we should have just gone ahead with our original plan,’ Gary said knowingly.
‘Baldwin’s meeting us ’ere at one. Stu’s gonna wait outside for him. I’m positive he never fucked up, he was too certain that Jed was a goner. We’ll take him for a drive and go over it again with him. He can explain what happened, and you see what you and Rick think. I can’t believe Pat Murphy or Joycie ain’t rang me. I know I said none of us should go anywhere near O’Hara’s gaff, but I want you to pop in and see your mother, Raymondo. Just say you was passing or something and stay for a quick cuppa. Stu can go with ya and he can have a butcher’s at O’Hara’s gaff as you drive past it.’
‘I’d better go outside. It’s quarter to,’ Stuart said, standing up.
Gary and Ricky spent the next five minutes trying to convince their father that Terry Baldwin had messed up, big style. ‘He probably shot the horse in the back of the poxy box,’ Ricky said, sniggering at his own wit.
‘He’s ’ere,’ Eddie said as his mobile rang. ‘You and Stu pop round to Joycie now, Ray, while me and the boys take Baldwin for a little drive.’
Terry Baldwin was already sitting in the passenger seat of his Range Rover, so Ed walked over to the driver’s side. ‘You’re goin’ with Raymondo, Stu. I’ll meet yous back at the Albion. We can’t come back ’ere, it’ll look fishy.’
‘Have you heard something?’ Terry asked, as Gary and Ricky got in the back and Ed zoomed out of the car park.
‘Not a fucking dickie. Now, Tel, I’m only gonna ask you this once and I expect you to be truthful with me. Are you sure that you never dropped a bollock?’
‘May my Sally and Lukey rot in hell if I’m lying; I swear I killed Jed O’Hara. He had a baseball cap on and as I aimed the gun at it, I saw half his skull splatter everywhere. No one can survive that, Ed, and I shot him twice more after that.’
‘Well, how comes there’s been nothing on the news or in the papers then? We ain’t even had a phone call from anyone who lives nearby,’ Gary said accusingly.
‘I dunno why you ain’t heard nothing, all I know is that I killed him. I ain’t gonna lie to you, am I? And if I had cocked up, don’t you think I’d be lying on a beach in Spain somewhere by now? You made the consequences clear what would happen if I messed up and that’s why I made sure I did the job properly. I ain’t bloody stupid.’
Eddie went past the Circus Tavern, turned the Range Rover around and he
aded back towards Rainham. He could spot a liar a mile off and he was absolutely positive that Baldwin was telling the truth.
‘I’ll be in touch,’ he said as he dropped Baldwin off at the road next to the Leonard Arms.
As soon as Baldwin walked off, Eddie turned around to face his sons. ‘He ain’t lying,’ he said bluntly.
Gary and Ricky both shrugged. Neither knew what to say any more – the whole episode was a complete and utter mystery.
Joey pushed his dish away and undid the button on his jeans. His nan’s dinners were always delicious, but he should never have had the sticky toffee pudding as well as a slice of apple crumble.
‘Who fancies a Baileys?’ Joycie asked.
‘I’ll have one, love,’ Stanley replied.
‘I wasn’t asking you, I was talking to the boys. You can have another bitter, Stanley, a classy drink like Baileys is wasted on a man of your ilk.’
Joey and Dominic both wanted to laugh but didn’t. ‘So how have you and Nan been getting on Grandad?’ Joey asked, when Joycie left the room.
‘How do you think? Been leading me a bleedin’ dog’s life she has. I’m surprised she ain’t built a kennel and made me sleep in the poxy garden.’
‘I’m sure she’ll mellow in time,’ Dominic said, kindly.
‘You’re having a laugh, ain’t ya? The old witch ain’t mellowed since the day I bleedin’ well married her,’ Stanley said, chuckling.
‘You’re not talking about me in there, are you, Stanley?’ Joycie shouted out.
‘No, dear,’ Stanley shouted back, winking at the boys.
Joyce put the flowers in a vase that Raymond had brought round, then giggled as she lit the candles on the cake. Her mate Rita’s sister baked them to order and Joycie had ordered a very special one indeed.
‘Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Dominic, Happy birthday to you,’ she sang as she placed the cake on the table in front of Dom. Joey took one look at the cake and burst into hysterical laughter. Dom didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he saw Stanley’s confused face.
‘What’s that on the front, then?’ Stanley asked innocently, twisting his head one way then the other.
The cake was facing Dominic and Joey and Stanley couldn’t make head nor tail of what it was meant to be.
‘It’s a willy, Stanley,’ Joyce replied proudly.
Stanley looked at his wife. ‘What, Free Willy?’ he asked, referring to the whale in the film he and Joycie had taken Georgie and Harry to see last year.
‘No, a willy, as in a penis. Well, there was no point me getting boobies or naked women iced on the front, was there? Dominic’s a gay man and he likes a willy, especially our Joey’s.’
‘That’s disgusting! It’s immoral! And do you have to spout filth like that? The shop that sold that cake to you wants bloody reporting to the police. As for you buying the bleeding thing in the first place, there must be something wrong with you, woman.’
‘Oh shut up, you miserable old goat. I bet that old slapper Pat weren’t complaining when you was waving your willy at her, eh Stanley? That’s what you call bloody immoral, especially when you’re married to somebody else.’
Feeling his cheeks turn beetroot red, Stanley stood up. ‘I’m busting for a wee, it must be all that bitter,’ he said, as he bolted from the room.
Joycie looked at Joey and Dom and all three of them burst out laughing.
‘You shouldn’t wind him up like that, Nan. You’ll give him a heart attack one of these days,’ Joey said seriously.
‘Good! Serves the philandering homophobic old bastard right,’ Joyce cackled.
‘Well?’ Eddie asked, as Raymond and Stuart sat down at the table opposite him.
‘Swarming with Old Bill,’ Stuart said, grinning.
‘We came back a different way. We didn’t wanna drive past there again,’ Raymond added.
Eddie felt a sense of relief rush through his veins. ‘The Old Bill didn’t clock ya, did they?’
‘Nah, they were all inside the driveway,’ Stu replied.
‘Well, thank fuck for that. I told you Baldwin weren’t lying, didn’t I?’ Eddie said, beaming from ear to ear.
‘I’m gonna get us all a large Scotch to celebrate, then I’m gonna have to gel, Ed,’ Raymond said.
As Raymond walked up to the bar, Eddie’s phone burst into life.
‘All right, Mr Murphy? What you up to, mate?’ Ed asked grinning. He put his forefinger to his lips to warn the others to keep schtum. Within seconds, Ed’s grin had disappeared and his healthy-looking complexion had turned a deathly shade of white. ‘You what? They can’t have. Are you fucking sure?’
Gary and Ricky glanced anxiously at each other. Whatever news Pat Murphy had was obviously not good. Stuart ran up to the bar to tell Raymond. ‘Pat Murphy’s on the phone to Ed. Something’s gone wrong, I think,’ he whispered, grabbing two of the drinks.
Gary, Ricky, Stuart and Raymond all stared at Eddie as he continued and then ended the conversation. ‘Whatever’s wrong?’ Gary asked his father.
Overcome by shock, Eddie felt physically sick as he gulped back his Scotch in one. He slammed the glass on the table. ‘The O’Haras have gone. They’ve done a runner and they’ve taken Georgie and Harry with ’em.’
‘What about Jed? Did Murphy say he was dead?’ Ricky asked.
‘He didn’t say. All the Old Bill would tell him was there’d been an incident, the family had disappeared and he said the police seemed to be swarming around the horse-box like flies. They wouldn’t let him inside the gates, obviously.’
Eddie put his head in his hands. He looked up seconds later, his eyes brimming with tears. ‘How the fuck am I gonna tell Frankie?’
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Unaware that her children had all but disappeared off the face of the earth, Frankie had spent the night dreaming about them. They’d all been at the zoo together and Georgie and Harry’s presence had been so real that when Frankie was awoken by a piercing scream, she thought one of the children had fallen over and hurt themselves. Sitting bolt upright, Frankie immediately realised that it was Babs in pain.
‘What’s a matter? Is the baby on its way?’ Frankie asked, dashing over to her bedside.
‘I don’t know, it don’t feel like contractions,’ Babs mumbled fearfully.
When she let out another tortured cry, Frankie immediately ran to the cell door and pummelled her fists against it. ‘Help! Quick, we need help!’ she shouted at the top of her voice.
Seconds later, two screws ran in and, seeing Babs, face covered in sweat and contorted with pain, they immediately called for medical assistance.
‘I think my baby’s dying. It’s in trouble, I just know it is,’ Babs sobbed.
Frankie mopped her friend’s forehead with a wet flannel. ‘Sssh, your baby is gonna be just fine, Babs, I know it is.’
When the prison doctor finally appeared, Babs was swiftly whisked away and Frankie begged to be allowed to go to the hospital with her.
‘No, Mitchell, you know the rules,’ one of the newer screws barked, slamming the cell door in Frankie’s face.
Exasperated by the woman’s callousness, Frankie kicked the cell door. ‘Bitch!’ she screamed as she sank to her knees. Frankie clasped her hands together, looked up at the ceiling and prayed. ‘Please God make my friend Babs and her baby both be OK. And also God, give Jed his comeuppance for what he did to my grandad. Amen.’
Over in Rettendon, Eddie Mitchell was sitting at the kitchen table gingerly sipping a strong black coffee. His initial reaction to Pat Murphy’s phone call the previous day had been one of pure shock, but within minutes, the shock had turned to anger. He’d wanted to drive round to the O’Haras’ himself to stick a bullet up the Old Bill’s arses to find his grandkids, but Raymond had managed to stop him.
‘Don’t do anything stupid, Ed. Ring Larry and ask his advice before you go charging round there like a bull in a china shop.’
Larry was kept in the loop about most things that went on in Eddie’s world and he immediately warned him that under no circumstances should he go anywhere near the O’Haras’ house.
‘Just leave it with me to deal with, Eddie. I’ll make some phone calls and find out exactly what’s going on. If I get no joy over the phone, I’ll drive straight down to Rainham first thing in the morning. You do not go anywhere near that house, OK?’ he had insisted.
‘Why didn’t you come up to bed last night?’ Gina asked, as she sat down at the table opposite her husband.
The news of Georgie and Harry’s disappearance had literally knocked Ed for six and he’d spent the whole of last night knocking back the Scotch and planning how he was going to break the news to Frankie. Finally, he’d passed out on the sofa.
‘I was drunk. I didn’t wanna disturb ya,’ Ed replied.
Gina leaned across the table and held his hands. ‘Please let me cook you a decent breakfast, Ed. You didn’t touch your dinner yesterday and you’ve got to eat something.’
‘This must be Larry. Cook some bacon sandwiches or something and bring ’em into the lounge,’ Ed replied when the doorbell rang.
Larry followed Eddie into the lounge and sat down in one of the armchairs. He’d got up at four o’clock that morning and had been in Rainham by daybreak. Still, he couldn’t complain as, like his father before him, Eddie paid him a handsome yearly wage, which over the years had kept him in the life of luxury he was now so very used to.
‘What’s the score, then?’ Eddie asked.
‘I couldn’t find out a great deal at first, to be honest. All the police would tell me was there had been an incident at the house and nobody was aware of the current whereabouts of the family. I then got on to an old pal of mine who’s as bent as a nine-bob note to make a couple of phone calls. He called me back and reckons, due to the amount of blood found in the horse-box and on the driveway, the police are positive they are dealing with a murder inquiry, although they are yet to find a body.’
The Victim Page 29