‘Oi, oi! So how was last night, then, lover boy?’
Joey smiled as his sister entered his room and sat on the edge of his bed. He had spent the previous night at Dominic’s and told his parents he was staying at David’s to revise for his exams. ‘It was wonderful,’ Joey said, beaming.
‘Well, give us the gory details, then.’
Joey ordered Frankie to shut the bedroom door. He had stayed around Dominic’s once before, but his nerves had got the better of him. Last night, he had actually done it and had enjoyed every second. ‘It was fantastic, Frankie. Dom’s got a body to die for and his willy is absolutely enormous.’
Inquisitive by nature, Frankie was desperate for more detail. ‘So, what exactly happened then? I mean it ain’t like a girl and a boy, is it?’
Joey felt his cheeks redden. ‘What are you like, you nosy cow? I’m not discussing the ins and outs – it’s private.’
Frankie laughed at Joey’s embarrassment. ‘Go on, tell me more. Did you go all the way this time?’
‘Yes, and that’s all I’m telling you, so don’t bother asking me no more questions.’
Joey being gay didn’t bother Frankie one iota. She enjoyed winding him up, but was also genuinely pleased that he had met someone he liked. She had always got on better with boys than girls and would have hated Joey to have gone out with some bimbo she hated. That would have made her extremely jealous.
‘So, did you come?’ Frankie asked, desperate to know more. They had always had such a close, open relationship. Joey told her everything and vice versa.
‘Yes, of course. Now, can we shut up about it now, ’cause Mum’s calling us.’
Jessica smiled as the twins bounded down the stairs. ‘What are you laughing at?’ she asked Frankie.
‘Nothing important. Joey was just telling me about the biology homework he was doing last night.’
Jessica tutted. ‘You wasn’t being rude, Joey, was you?’
‘Of course not, Mum,’ Joey replied, kicking his smirking sister under the table.
‘I wanted to talk to yous about your birthday. You’re sixteen soon and Dad and I asked you ages ago what you wanted to do. Have either of you decided yet?’
Joey nudged Frankie. Their parents had wanted to throw a big party at home and invite all of their friends. The twins were totally against the idea. There was no way Joey could chance inviting Dominic, and Frankie reckoned it would be as boring as hell. There was a new place where everyone was going called the Berwick Manor. It had started a rave night on a Friday and the twins were desperate to go there.
Frankie smiled at her mum. ‘We have thought about it and we’ve decided we want to go out with our friends on the Friday, which is our actual birthday, then maybe have a smaller party here with you, Dad, Nan, Grandad and the rest of the family on the Saturday.’
Jessica found it hard to hide her disappointment. ‘Why don’t you want the big party for all of your friends? Dad could have done a barbecue and all your mates could have brought their costumes and had a swim.’
Frankie decided to be truthful. ‘Our friends like drinking, not swimming, Mum. They’ll laugh at us if they come here and only get offered soft drinks. We can still have a barbecue – we can do that on the Saturday with the family.’
Defeated, Jessica shrugged. She didn’t mind the twins having the odd drink or two, but she wasn’t about to let their friends do the same. Say one of them got drunk and was ill, how would she explain that to their parents? It would make her and Eddie look awful and tarnish their responsible reputation. ‘OK, I’ll let your dad know,’Jessica said miserably. The twins were at an age now where they wanted to do their own thing.
‘Where is Dad?’ Frankie asked. He never worked weekends and was usually glued to her mother’s side.
‘He’s popped out to see a mechanic. There’s a problem with the Land Cruiser and he wants to get it repaired. I should imagine he’ll be home soon – he’s already been gone ages,’ Jessica said.
Aware that his mum was upset about the birthday party, Joey stood up and hugged her. ‘Frankie and I aren’t doing anything today. How about when Dad gets back, we all go out for something to eat? Frankie and I will treat you and Dad for once. Because we’ve been so busy doing homework, we’ve saved loads of pocket money.’
Jessica smiled. ‘That would be lovely, Joey.’
Eddie Mitchell sat in the car park of the Robin Hood pub in Dagenham. He was looking for a geezer called Tommy Trott. Trottsy, as he was better known, was out of Canning Town and had borrowed five grand from Eddie six months ago. He had paid back the first three instalments, then had disappeared off the face of the earth.
Eddie had received a phone call only yesterday, telling him that the cheeky bastard had resurfaced in Dagenham and was larging it in the Robin Hood. Usually Eddie dealt with the mugs who tried to knock him alone, but Trottsy had annoyed him more than most, so he’d brought Raymond with him. Eddie had known Trottsy for years and had helped him out on many occasions in his younger days. That’s why Trottsy’s deception was that much worse.
Raymond looked at his watch. ‘What time did this geezer say Trottsy normally gets here?’
Eddie tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in annoyance. Twelve o’clock was the information he had received and it was now quarter to one. ‘He’d better hurry up. I told Jess I wouldn’t be long, she thinks I’m getting the car fixed. Twelve, I was told. We’ll give it another half-hour and if there’s still no sign of him, we’ll have another bash tomorrow.’
‘I can’t make tomorrow, Ed. Polly’s dad has a boat and we’re all going sailing,’ Raymond said awkwardly.
Eddie nodded. He was a good boss and didn’t expect any of the lads to work at weekends, unless it was unavoidable, of course. ‘Don’t worry, Gary and Ricky will have to get their lazy arses out of bed or, worst ways, I’ll bring Paulie with me. So, how’s things going with Polly? It sounds serious.’
Raymond smiled. He was a deep person at times and didn’t like to give much away, especially when it came to relationships and stuff. His mum was brain damage and Eddie was a piss-taker, so he always kept his cards close to his chest. ‘It’s going all right. She’s a nice girl,’ was all he said.
About to pry some more, Eddie was stopped by the appearance of Trottsy walking towards them. ‘Here he is, the low-life cunt, just crossing the road. Go and grab him, Ray, put your arm around his shoulder and lead him over here. There’s tons of traffic about, so be careful. Any probs, show him the gun under your jacket.’
Raymond had never met Tommy Trott before. ‘Is that him? The geezer in the denim jacket?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, go on, quick as you like,’ Eddie replied.
Whistling as he walked, Tommy Trott crossed the busy road and stopped to spark up a Rothmans. He didn’t see Raymond approach him – he was too busy trying to shield his lighter from the gusty wind.
‘Who are you? What the fuck do you want?’ he yelled, as Raymond grabbed hold of him.
‘Shut the fuck up and walk with me. A mate of mine wants a little word with you,’ Raymond said calmly.
‘I ain’t going nowhere. I’m –’
The gun being thrust into his ribs stopped Tommy in mid sentence. Immediately, he realised that Eddie Mitchell must be involved.
‘I’m gonna pay Eddie back, I’ve just been a bit short. I lost me job, I was paying him up until then,’ Tommy whinged.
‘Shut up and tell him yourself,’ Raymond said coldly.
As Raymond and Tommy walked towards the motor, Eddie smiled as he switched on the ignition. Trottsy’s face was a picture of panic, the fucking moron.
Longbridge Road was far too busy at this time of day for Eddie to do the business, so he ordered Raymond to put his prey in the back and sit beside him.
‘Long time no see, Tommy boy,’ he said sarcastically.
‘Ed, I’m so sorry, I lost me job. I’ll get your money. Next week I’ll pay you, I promise,’ Tommy pleaded.
Eddie drove down to the bottom of a road that led only to high-grass wasteland and turned off the engine. Relieved that there wasn’t anyone in sight, Eddie opened the driver’s door. ‘Get out,’ he ordered the shivering wreck previously known as big, bold Tommy Trott.
‘I will pay you back, Eddie. Please don’t hurt me,’ Trottsy begged.
Eddie laughed as his expensive black leather shoe repeatedly made contact with Trottsy’s head. As Tommy’s front teeth flew onto a nearby rock, the blood running down his throat hampered his speech.
‘Please, Eddie, please! I’m sorry,’ he slurred in pain.
Realising that Eddie was losing the plot, Raymond tried to drag him away. ‘Come on, Ed, you’ve made your point. Give him a chance to pay up,’ Ray shouted.
‘Made me point, made me fucking point! I’ve known this cunt for years. Taken the right piss out of me, he has. Fuck the money, I want him dead.’
Hearing a dog bark, Raymond grabbed Eddie and shook him. ‘There’s someone coming. Let’s go, come on. Think of Jess, for fuck’s sake.’
The mention of his wife’s name and a Rottweiler bounding towards him was enough to snap Eddie out of his violent trance. Tommy Trott’s face was barely recognisable as Eddie aimed a farewell kick at it. ‘Next week I want my money or you’re dead, you cunt,’ he spat.
Raymond bundled Eddie into the passenger side of the Land Cruiser. Both men had clocked that the Rottweiler was sniffing around Trottsy, licking his wounds. ‘Buster, Buster!’ its owner was yelling in the distance.
Raymond jumped into the driver’s seat and did a speedy three-point turn. Putting his foot down, he pulled away just as the dog’s owner came into full view. ‘That was close. You don’t think Trottsy will say ought, do you?’
Eddie smirked. ‘What do you think? The mug’s jaw is smashed to smithereens. Would you say ought? I bet he can’t even speak for a month.’
Raymond headed towards his new house. He had recently purchased a property in Gidea Park, Romford. Meeting Polly had prompted him to move out of his previous address. Polly had class and he wanted to show her that he had it, too. ‘We’ll go to my house. You’re covered in claret, you can’t go home like that. You can borrow something of mine, it’ll save Jess having kittens.’
Having now calmed down, Eddie couldn’t stop laughing. ‘Did you see that fucking Rotty? I’m sure it swallowed Trotty’s teeth. It was sniffing at them and then I saw them disappear. They were lying on that big bit of rock beside him.’
Eddie’s laugh was infectious and Raymond quickly joined in. ‘The funniest bit was when the dog was licking his face and then had a shit not two yards from his head.’
Eddie had been too focused on his victim to see the dog have a dump. ‘How fucking funny is that? Top dog! I must invest in a Rottweiler, Raymondo, I really must.’
‘Ring Dad again, Mum. Me and Joey are starving,’ Frankie whinged.
Jessica tried her husband’s mobile for the umpteenth time. ‘It’s still switched off,’ she said worriedly.
Bored out of her brains, Frankie urged Joey to follow her upstairs. ‘We’re going to listen to some music, Mum.’
‘Give us a shout when Dad gets home,’ Joey shouted out.
Frankie put the radio on. House music was a new thing out and she and Joey loved listening to the local pirate radio stations that were playing it.
Frankie shut her bedroom door. ‘Thanks, Joey. Now we’re stuck going out with Mum and Dad tonight and, if that ain’t bad enough, you’ve said we’ll pay for it.’
Joey shrugged. ‘I felt sorry for Mum. You could have explained about the party in a kinder way.’
‘Well, what was I meant to say? You know as well as I do that she would have embarrassed us. Can you imagine our friends drinking lemonade, playing pass the parcel and eating jelly and fucking ice cream? Well, no, neither can I. I explained it the best way I could. You always leave it to me, Joey, so best you do it in future.’
Joey sighed. He had always been the coward out of the two of them and left Frankie to it. ‘Sorry, sis,’ he said kindly. He and Frankie rarely argued, and on the odd occasions they did, they were friends again within the hour.
Frankie hugged him. ‘I wish Dad would hurry up, I’m ravenous.’
Joey smiled. ‘Me too.’
By the time Eddie arrived home, Jessica was a bag of nerves. ‘Where have you been? I was so worried!’ she exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.
‘Sorry, babe. The car needed a new part and the mechanic had trouble getting it. I should have called, but me battery on me mobile went dead and I couldn’t find a phone box that worked,’ Eddie hated lying to her, but on odd occasions like these, he had little choice.
‘Why are you wearing different clothes? You had your grey trousers on and your white shirt earlier.’
Eddie smiled at his wife’s bemused expression. She was so naive and he fucking loved her for it. ‘I had to help the mechanic fix the bastard motor. The boy that normally works with him phoned in sick. Covered in oil, I was. Raymondo popped down to keep me company, so I went back to his to get changed. You know how I hate being dirty.’
Jessica smiled. ‘You’ll never guess what. The kids are taking us out for a meal tonight and they’re paying for it.’
Eddie laughed. ‘Well, that’s a first. Are they fucking ill? Or are they hiding a terrible secret?’
A couple of hours later, Eddie was sitting in a restaurant with his wife and kids. ‘Ain’t this nice? Me, you and the twins,’ he said, squeezing his wife’s hand.
Jessica smiled. ‘It’s lovely.’
The waiter approached the table. ‘Are we all ready to order?’ he asked.
Ever the gentleman, Eddie urged Jessica and the kids to order first.
‘And you, sir?’ the waiter asked.
Usually, Eddie liked his steak medium rare. Thinking of the state he had made of Trottsy’s face earlier, he smiled. ‘I’ll have a T-bone. I want it cooked rare, and bring us over a bottle of your finest champagne, please.’
Jessica and the kids all turned their noses up as Eddie’s steak arrived.
‘That looks like a live animal, Dad,’Frankie complained.
‘Your plate’s smothered in blood,’ Joey moaned.
‘You don’t normally have your steak like that, dear,’ Jessica commented.
Eddie savoured the taste as the steak mixed with blood slipped down his throat. Now he knew just how that Rottweiler had felt earlier.
TWENTY-SEVEN
On the morning of the twins’ sixteenth birthday, Eddie was up at the crack of dawn.
‘Where you going? You promised you weren’t working today,’ Jessica said sleepily.
‘I’m not. I’ve gotta go out and pick up a surprise for the twins,’ Eddie replied.
Jessica sat up with a bolt. ‘But they wanted money and I’ve already got them a load of surprises to open.’
Eddie put on his tracksuit. ‘I won’t be long, probably about an hour or so. I’ll have a shower and shave when I get back. What time are your parents coming?’
Jessica was bemused. ‘They’re not coming till tomorrow, about one. What have you got to pick up for the kids?’
Eddie laughed. ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out.’
Jessica was annoyed as he ran down the stairs and slammed the front door. She hated being kept in the dark and she hoped he wasn’t bringing home something impractical. He had a devious glint in his eye and that was never a good sign with Eddie.
Jessica had a quick shower, then woke the twins up. ‘Come on, birthday boy and girl. I haven’t allowed you to have a day off school so you can lie in
bed all day.’
‘Oh, leave off, Mum, I’m tired,’ Frankie moaned.
Joey jumped out of bed. Filled with excitement, he ran into his sister’s room and leaped on top of her. ‘Come on, Frankie, let’s go and open our presents,’ he pleaded.
‘Drop dead, Joey,’ Frankie mumbled.
Knowing how his sister hated being tickled, Joey did just that. ‘Come on, sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Get your miserable arse out of bed, you boring cow.’
Fully awake by now, a defeated Frankie got up.
Tutting, Jessica went downstairs to cook the twins a nice birthday fry-up. The way they spoke to one another was beyond belief at times, but she knew they didn’t really mean what they said. They had inherited their father’s warped sense of humour, unfortunately.
Frankie plonked herself down at the kitchen table. ‘Where’s Dad?’
‘Gone to pick up your birthday surprise and don’t ask me what it is, because I haven’t a clue,’ Jessica told her.
‘Can’t we open our presents before breakfast?’ Joey pleaded with his mum.
‘No, Joey, wait till your dad gets back. He’ll be upset if you open them and he’s not here. Now, do you both want a sausage as well as some bacon?’
Frankie threw her brother a sardonic look. ‘Let Joey have mine, Mum, he likes a nice juicy sausage.’
Joey aimed a sly kick Frankie’s way. ‘Bitch,’ he whispered.
Eddie smiled as the two new additions to the family sat quivering on Raymond’s lap.
‘Fucking hell, Ed, slow down, will you? One’s just pissed all over me.’
Eddie dropped his speed. Raymondo had a nice wet patch on the leg of his trousers.
‘What time is Polly coming? Is she staying with you tonight or arriving tomorrow?’ Eddie said, struggling to contain his laughter.
‘I’m picking her up early tomorrow morning. She’s working today,’ Raymond replied, annoyed that his £100 trousers were covered in slash. He was dreading tomorrow. Eddie and Jessica had already met Polly, but his mother and father hadn’t.
The Feud Page 24