The Downfall Series Box Set

by Edie Baylis

  It was no secret she wanted to retire, but it wasn’t as easy as that. She’d got enough money, that wasn’t the problem. It was because she was very protective of her work and responsibilities. After all, it had been her life for nearly thirty years and a large part of the success of the Glint was down to her conscientiousness and loyalty as well as pure hard work and dedication. She knew it and so did Bill.

  No, she had to find a way to comfortably hand over the reins to a replacement. Taking a sip of her tea, Sheila smiled. ‘Right. Who’s for another milkshake?’

  Ordering a drink, Jane sat down at the table. She hadn’t planned to go in to the café, but as she’d walked past on the way to work she’d made the decision not to go near that office again.

  Retracing her steps, she’d pushed open the café door and through the fug of steam and cigarette smoke she’d seen a table free.

  Pouring herself a cup of tea from the metal jug, Jane sighed. What had gone on with Ben last night had woken her up to the fact she could no longer pretend to be something she quite clearly wasn’t.

  The thought flashed through her mind as to his welfare after she’d whacked his skull, but quickly came to the conclusion she didn’t much care. He was a liability - snooping and following her about. Becoming dangerous. It had to be stopped. There had been no choice. He’d get over it.

  “Do you like my hairclip, missus?” a little girl asked, staring intently at Jane from the next table.

  Jane smiled as best as she could. “It looks beautiful sweetheart,” she said quietly and smiled at the woman sitting with the children before taking a deep drag of her cigarette.

  She wiped her clammy hands down her skirt and looked back down at the paper she’d been blindly staring at as a decoy for something to do, hoping fervently the small child would lose interest.

  Signalling to the waitress for a second cup of tea, Jane attempted to focus on the paper once more, but the words swam in front of her eyes. She needed to get another job because there was no way she could last long without one.

  “What’s your favourite colour?” piped up the small voice again from the next table.

  Pulled from her thoughts, Jane glanced back over at the dark-haired child and smiled. “Red I think.”

  “Katie! Leave the lady alone please. She’s trying to read.” Sheila pulled at the little girl’s arm and looked over to the woman. “Sorry about this.”

  Jane smiled easily as she connected eyes with the older lady. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. I’m not really reading. I can’t concentrate this morning.”

  Sheila felt quite taken aback. Although the young woman was pretty and composed, she recognised something behind her eyes that she hadn’t seen for a long time. She’d instinctively learnt to read things from eyes over the years and there was an unmistakable tinge of sadness mixing with the monsters in the windows of this woman’s soul. It was intriguing her as well as giving her a feeling of an almost instant connection that she was unable to explain.

  “Are you ok, love?” Sheila asked, unable to stop herself. She wouldn’t normally ask such a question to someone she didn’t know, but felt strangely compelled.

  “I will be. Just haven’t worked out how yet.” Jane laughed. Looking down at the children, she smiled. “How about a cake then?”

  CHARLIE GLANCED AT Carter as he sat in his apartment with a face like a slapped arse. Although he’d been expecting Matt and Pete to get a kicking like he’d arranged, he didn’t need to exaggerate his shock when he’d entered the room. Jesus, they were a state.

  He took in the blackened swollen mess of Matt’s face and grimaced watching him wince as he painfully shifted position on the armchair. He then turned his attention to Pete as he sucked in his breath reaching for his glass of whisky with the hand that hadn’t been mangled. As well as sporting a completely battered face, he’d also had his right hand skewered.

  Charlie shuddered eyeing the blood still freely weeping through the gauze and bandage wrapped around Pete’s damaged hand whilst continuing to keep the sombre expression plastered across his face. He acknowledged with satisfaction that Dan’s instincts about this Jim character had been completely correct.

  “Those cunts will pay for this,” Ernie growled, making everyone jump in the previously silent room. “Benson’s made a very big mistake,” he continued, turning his gold lighter around continuously between his short fat fingers. “How dare they mess with Ernie Carter!”

  Charlie managed to keep from pulling a face at the futility of Carter’s words. “So what exactly happened?” he asked innocently, wondering what their take on all of this was. “Who did this?”

  “Don’t know who the geezers were who jumped us,” Matt mumbled, his voice difficult to understand through his swollen mouth. “But there were lots of them.”

  “Lots of them?” Charlie questioned.

  “At least five,” Matt mumbled. “We stood no chance.”

  A likely story, Charlie thought sarcastically. Although he was yet to meet up with Dan and Jim, he knew no one else had been involved. Even the bouncers had been instructed by Bill Benson to keep well out of it.

  “The wankers jumped them from behind,” Ernie added angrily.

  “So were these Benson’s boys?” Charlie pressed, enjoying asking questions he knew the answers to.

  Ernie snatched his drink from the coffee table. “No one who was recognised.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t anything to do with Benson?”

  “Don’t be so fucking stupid!” Ernie barked, slamming his glass back down loudly on the table. “Who else could it be?”

  Charlie’s eyes narrowed slightly, not appreciating Carter’s tone, but forced himself to remain amicable. He needed to see this through.

  “Besides,” Ernie continued. “Matt and Pete were told in no uncertain terms they would not be supplying the Glint.”

  Charlie nodded, furrowing his brow. “Maybe it was the other suppliers then?”

  Pete shook his head and immediately winced. “I don’t think so,” he mumbled. “They’d already delivered earlier in the week and being as they aren’t local, they wouldn’t have still been in there would they? It wasn’t as if anyone knew we were coming.”

  Ernie watched Charlie nod again and turned towards him. “Unless of course someone tipped them off...”

  Charlie put on the most enraged expression he could muster. “I hope you’re not suggesting any of us would do that Ernie?” he snapped. He didn’t need Carter getting suspicious all of a sudden. That would not be good.

  Ernie suddenly looked rather deflated. “No of course not. I think it’s obvious you’re one of us Charlie. I just don’t understand who these people are. I don’t think there’s one of Benson’s henchmen who I couldn’t place and from the descriptions these two gave, I don’t know any of them.”

  Charlie sparked up a cigarette. “So what now?”

  Ernie exhaled a long stream of smoke from his cigar and necked the remains of his whisky. “Well there’ll be one almighty payback when my coke is collected back and then I’ll be gunning for Benson.”

  Charlie hid a smirk. So they lifted the coke as well? Absolute quality.

  “In the meantime I’ll get myself down Crystals and give it a shakeup. Those two aren’t much use for fuck all for a day or two.” Ernie gestured towards Matt and Pete. “And we all know that plastic bitch Eliza is no longer on the scene to do her fucking job.”

  Charlie went cold. Carter couldn’t go to Crystals. Fuck. If he did his cover would be well and truly blown. As it was he was on edge that word would somehow get back via the sluts there. Even though the other day he’d made sure it had been spelt out to them that if Carter found out Eliza was there, they’d have him to answer to and he’d make sure they didn’t work anywhere this half of the country again.

  He hoped he’d got a menacing enough reputation to pull that off, but whatever happened he needed to stop Carter from going anywhere near the place himself.

  Leaning
forwards casually, Charlie smiled. “Listen Ernie, don’t you think you’ve got enough on your plate at the moment without worrying about Crystals?” he said as Carter looked over in his direction questioningly. “Why don’t you let me help out and run that side of things until you get this shit sorted with the Glint and Matt and Pete are in better shape?”

  Seeing Carter about to reply, Charlie continued. “Look, I’m not trying to push myself on you or anything. It would only be temporary, but I can handle all of that stuff and they all know me there.” He smiled again. “It’s the least I can do. You’ve been good to me and trusted me enough to allow my involvement in the firm, so I’d like to be able to repay you by helping where I can.”

  Yeah right. Just need that little bit extra time. Charlie raised his eyebrows questioningly and awaited Ernie’s response.

  SHELLEY HAD TOLD NATALIE she’d been planning on seeing Ben after work. He hadn’t been in the office today and neither had Marie. Again.

  She was getting a bit sick of Natalie’s barbs to leave all this Marie and Ben stuff alone. Said she was getting obsessed. Shelley gritted her teeth. She wasn’t obsessed, she was just looking out for Ben.

  They’d shared a lot of stuff over the last year and she was just making sure he didn’t get turned over by that horrible bitch. It wasn’t because she was jealous. It was because Ben was a friend - nothing more and if Natalie couldn’t see that, then she wasn’t much of a mate was she?

  Besides, how could she not feel something for Ben after being with him for so long? Well, ok they hadn’t been in a ‘relationship’ so to speak, but she’d got so used to being with him every Friday night and Saturday morning that if she was totally honest, it had felt like a relationship. Of sorts anyway.

  When he’d cut her off without any explanation, how could she not have been put out? She just wanted things back the way they’d been before Marie had arrived on the scene.

  Shelley was glad she’d thought to buy a bottle of Tequila from the off licence on the way to Ben’s flat because she’d been genuinely shocked when, after ten minutes of repeated knocking, the door had finally opened.

  Ben was in a right state with a lump the size of an egg on the side of his head. He was already drunk when she’d got there and now, after several large tequilas, he was even drunker.

  “I still can’t believe she did that to you!” Shelley exclaimed, completely livid it was Marie who had been responsible.

  Ben sat swaying slightly with his head in his hands and she ran her eyes over his muscly shoulders clearly visible through his T-shirt. It irritated her profusely that he didn’t even appear to be angry with the bitch. Just distraught.

  “It was my fault though,” he gibbered. “I shouldn’t have kept on. I pushed her over the edge.”

  “What a load of bollocks!” Shelley snapped, moving closer to top up Ben’s glass. “She’s a nut job. You don’t go around smashing people over the head with bottles because they annoy you!”

  Looking at Ben’s miserable expression she felt like ripping Marie’s face off, but remembering the beating she’d got, thought perhaps that wouldn’t be her finest idea. She also wished Ben had the sense to see through the woman. Why on earth was he making excuses for her, for God’s sake? “You need to pull yourself together!” Shelley continued, irritated. “You surely can’t think this sort of shit is normal? You should phone the police.”

  Ben looked up startled. “Police? You said her fella was a copper.”

  Shelley took a swig out of her glass, her hand resting lightly on Ben’s thigh. “I didn’t say that. I said he might be.”

  A trace of a smile flickered across Ben’s mouth. “So she might not be with someone else after all?” he said hopefully.

  Shelley scowled, angry the man was still desperate for the little tart. “No, she’s definitely got someone else,” she muttered, trying to backtrack. She needed to get Ben’s mind away from that woman because she wanted him. There. She’d admitted it.

  Casually topping up his glass once more, she forced a smile and began stroking Ben’s thigh, her fingers trailing casually along his inside leg. “I’ve seen her with someone else,” she lied, “but I don’t know whether he’s a copper.”

  Ben sat back, a fresh expression of hurt washing across his handsome face. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whined, his voice slightly slurred.

  “Oh babe,” Shelley purred, trying to act sincere. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I know you liked her.”

  Knocking back the full tumbler of tequila, Ben placed the empty glass on to the table and put his head in his hands.

  To Shelley’s horror he began sobbing openly. “Oh honey, come on,” she soothed, moving close. Putting her arm around him, she felt his muscles under her fingers and pulling his head towards her, laid it against her chest.

  Feeling his tears fall on to the bare skin of her exposed cleavage, she was glad she’d purposefully worn a very low-cut top. Her nipples began to harden as Ben’s hot breath travelled across her skin. “Ben, babe,” she continued, her fingers tousling his hair. “You need to get over Marie you really do.”

  “But I love her!” he slurred.

  “She doesn’t love you though does she?” Shelled pushed and squirmed slightly in the chair as her arousal escalated. She needed him badly.

  Fresh tears spilt out of Ben’s eyes as he burrowed his face deeper into Shelley’s cleavage like a child.

  “She doesn’t want you,” Shelley murmured. “There’s something weird going on with her. We should find out what it is and use it to drop her in the shit.” There was definitely something going on with that woman which wasn’t on the level, even if Ben was too stupid to notice and she fully intended to find out exactly what it was.

  Stroking his hand rhythmically, Shelley guided it up her short skirt.

  “Shelley?” Ben muttered drunkenly and began to pull his hand away, but she held it fast, pushing herself against his fingers.

  Unable to help herself she began moving against Ben’s hand and hoped he’d go with it. “Oh Ben,” she panted breathlessly. “Please. Come on. Like old times?”

  His body betraying his drunken mind, Ben felt his fingers easily slip into Shelley’s wetness, his cock hardening on cue.

  At his response, Shelley let out a loud moan. Fucking Bingo! She’d even let him come over her face tonight if he wanted. She knew he had a penchant for that which she’d always refused, but not tonight.

  Quickly pulling her top down and freeing her breasts as Ben’s fingers probed deeper, Shelley gasped. “Oh God, Ben, make me come. Let’s get your mind off all this shit.” Her breathing grew faster. “Do what you want with me, baby. Anything!”

  Pushing himself up, Ben unsteadily unzipped his flies and freed his cock. He looked at Shelley’s flushed face and felt a little better as he drunkenly pulled her towards him.

  Parting her buttocks, he quickly entered her and smiled hearing her yelp in pain. He was in control of his life tonight for once.

  NINETEEN

  BILL LEANT AGAINST THE reclining back of his leather office chair and took a long drag of his cigar. “Well son, have you got things arranged?”

  “I’ve one of my best guys on standby for you and I’ve put the feelers out to contact the other one,” Phil said from the other end of the phone.

  Digger had posted the letter to the new address Seth had supplied and as far as he was concerned, he’d be heading up there next week.

  “He’s not local then?” Bill asked.

  Phil chuckled. “He used to be, but has moved around a lot. In fact, he’s closer in location to you at the moment. I guarantee he’s one of the best and the right one for the job.”

  “If he’s as half as good as the bloke I used here the other night I’ll be pleased.” Bill had made sure he’d witnessed at least some of what had transpired the other night with those losers sent by Carter and he hadn’t been disappointed.

  He’d wanted to ensure Charlie was getting the right sor
t of people to do the work and he’d been pleased to say that he’d delivered nicely. As to why he hadn’t heard of this Jim beforehand he’d no idea because from what he’d seen, the man was undoubtedly a professional.

  Whatever happened he’d be keeping a close eye on him with the premise of getting him involved further down the line. Some fresh unknown muscle wouldn’t go amiss, but for the time being he’d had a quiet word with Barry that a free night at the club with full run of the girls was available to the men for a job well done.

  Telling Phil he’d be in touch soon, Bill smiled and topped up his whisky. All he had to do right now was relax, sit back and wait with amusement to see what the twat Carter tried to execute as revenge.

  PULLING ON HER ANKLE boots, Sally checked her reflection in the mirror and fluffed out her blonde hair. She was due to meet Maggie in the Traveller’s Arms shortly, but figured she’d got time to first finish off the bottle of wine she’d started earlier.

  She absentmindedly picked up the three envelopes on the mat she’d previously stepped over and retraced her steps back to the small kitchen. Grabbing the half empty bottle of white wine she hadn’t long put back in the fridge, she fished her glass from the sink.

  Sally sat down at the small two seater dining table and poured herself a glass, flicking through the day’s post: Littlewoods mailshot. Readers Digest offer. Letter for Jim. Fuck. Who was writing to Jim?

  Glancing about as if somehow people had mysteriously manifested in her flat to watch her, she contemplated whether to open the letter. It wasn’t hers after all, but then it wasn’t like Jim was here anymore.

  Quickly ignoring the lump forming in her throat, Sally shook her head. It wasn’t like she knew where he was to pass on the letter either was it? Besides, even if she did, it was unlikely he’d give her the time of day anyway. Feeling tears prick the back of her eyes, she hastily shook them away and took a gulp of her wine. That decided it.

  Ripping at the envelope before she could change her mind, Sally pulled the letter out with shaking fingers and scanned the contents. She frowned as she read the scruffy handwriting: