by Kerry Kaya
“Aye, lad, that’s it, Cameron.”
“Cameron.” Tommy repeated the name as he steepled his fingers in front of him. “That’s a bit strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“No,” Tommy shook his head. “It couldn’t be.” He gave a little laugh. “No, it definitely can’t be.”
“What?” Mad Dog narrowed his eyes.
“It’s just this bloke of Karen’s.” He shook his head for a second time. “No.”
“For fuck’s sake, Tommy, will you spit it out.”
His face pale, Tommy turned to look at the man. “It’s just this bloke of Karen’s,” he paused. “Well, he came over here from Spain to sell his grandfather’s properties. He now runs the businesses the old man owned. Until now, I didn’t see a connection.”
“I though you said his name was Jack?”
“It is.” Tommy laughed out loud for a second time. “Ignore me, I’m just overthinking.”
With his eyebrows raised, Mad Dog took his time in answering. “Are you though, lad? His surname wouldn’t happen to be Johnson, would it?”
His hand clasped over his mouth. Tommy flung open the office door and began to retch. That would make his little girl and Jack, Cameron, or whatever the fuck his name was, cousins. Hunched over, he wiped the back of his hand across his lips, his eyes wide. “Please tell me you don’t think I could be right?” he asked Mad Dog.
Mad Dog shrugged his shoulders. Even he had to admit that Tommy could be onto something. “I don’t know, lad. It does seem a bit suspect though.”
Retching once again, a thousand thoughts began to race through Tommy’s mind. He stabbed his finger toward Mad Dog. “If I’m right, and that fucking Gary had something to do with this, I will kill him stone dead.”
“Aye, lad.” Mad Dog didn’t doubt that for a second.
* * *
Sat behind her desk at the estate agents where she worked, Karen Carter couldn’t resist her eyes flicking down at her mobile phone. She hadn’t heard from her boyfriend, Jack, all day.
It was so unlike him not to return her calls or text messages, and she was starting to feel worried. She wasn’t supposed to make private calls while she was at work, but sod it, she thought to herself. She chewed on her lip, counted to three, then snatched up her phone, glancing nervously around her as she did so.
Quickly, Karen sent her boyfriend yet another text message, the fifth she had sent him just that afternoon alone. “Come on, answer,” she silently pleaded.
Receiving no reply, she tried her best to concentrate on the computer screen in front of her, but it was no use. She couldn’t resist thinking about Jack and why he hadn’t contacted her all day.
* * *
“Why do you hate him so much?” Cameron followed his mother around the house. “I just don’t get it,” he sighed. Admittedly, he had only been in Tommy Carter’s presence a few times, but from what he had seen of the man, he wasn’t that bad. Certainly not as bad as his mother made him out to be.
Bethany Johnson pointed her finger toward her son. “Tommy Carter is evil. That man ruined my life,” she spat.
“But how?” Cameron threw up his arms. “I get that he tried to split up you and my dad, but you could have worked it out, surely?”
“Tommy Carter couldn’t have me, and he didn’t want anyone else to have me either.” It was a lie that easily tripped off of Bethany’s tongue. The truth of the matter was that she had been obsessed with Tommy Carter all of her adult life, and as for her son’s father, Tommy’s brother, she had never wanted him. He had only ever been a pawn in the wicked games she played. She turned on the waterworks and allowed the tears to slip down her cheeks. “Don’t you see what that man has done to me?” she cried. “He took your dad away from me … he took away all of my happiness.”
Stunned, Cameron stepped forward. Cautiously, he pulled his mother into his arms. There had never been much physical contact between them over the years. In fact, he could never remember a time when she had willingly held him. “I’m so sorry, Mum,” he whispered in her ear as a way of comfort.
“It isn’t your fault.” Bethany wiped the crocodile tears from her cheeks, noting that thanks to her little performance, she would need to redo her makeup. “So,” she said, pulling herself away from her son. “Now you know why I hate him so much, and why he has to pay.”
Cameron nodded his head furiously. “I understand.”
“Good.” Bethany allowed a smile to spread across her face. “And the girl, Karen, you won’t see her again?”
Dutifully, Cameron shook his head. It wasn’t entirely what he wanted. He’d grown fond of Karen. He would even go as far as to say he had fallen in love with her. “No, I won’t see her again. I promise.”
Satisfied, Bethany reached out and touched her son’s arm, swallowing down the repulsion she felt at his touch. “You are a good boy,” she grinned.
* * *
“So, what are you going to do, lad?”
Tommy gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he finally answered. “I need to find out for certain if this kid is Gary’s son. But how do I do that?”
Mad Dog shook his head. He heaved himself up from the chair and slowly made his way across the office toward the rickety filing cabinet and pulled out the bottle of brandy he knew that Tommy kept there. “You could always ask him,” he said, filling two tumblers with alcohol.
“Ask who? Gary?” Tommy took the glass Mad Dog handed him and gulped the brandy down in one go. Dragging the back of his hand across his lips, he raised his eyebrows. “With the mood Gary’s been in lately, I don’t think that’ll go down too well, do you?”
“There isn’t much else you can do.”
Tommy was thoughtful. It all made sense now. Bethany Johnson’s sudden reappearance was the trigger as it always had been for Gary’s latest mental downfall. “He’s Gary’s kid, all right. I knew there was something off about him. It all makes sense now … the way he always watches me. I even told my Stace something wasn’t right about him.” Tommy blanched at the memory. “He’s definitely Gary’s son.” He gave a bitter laugh. “Either that, or he’s old bill.”
Mad Dog raised his eyebrows. Out of the two, he didn’t know which one was worse.
Chapter 6
With an exuberant air, Sadie strolled inside the Underground Club. He gave a little wave to the cleaners, as he walked across the main floor, with a wide smile plastered across his face.
Walking around the back of the stage, he entered the narrow corridor where the changing rooms were situated. He pushed open a door and poked his head inside.
“Has anyone seen that boy?” He stepped inside the room. “The one with the beautiful blue eyes?”
About to draw on a thick layer of black eye-liner across his bottom eyelid, Candy C sat poised. Between his fingers, he held a kohl pencil. “Do you mean the bugger who pulled down the curtain?” he asked, his perfectly shaped eyebrows raised questioningly. Despite his womanly appearance, Candy C’s voice was deep, manly, and pure Cockney.
“That’s the one.” Sadie kept his own voice light.
“No, and there’s been bloody tantrums over that curtain. It’ll come out of his wages,” he warned, eyeing Sadie in the mirror.
Sadie smiled sadly. He had a sneaking suspicion that paying for the curtain was the least of Jake’s problems. “If you see him, then tell him I need a word. I’ve got something that belongs to him,” he added as an afterthought.
Candy C nodded his head, before resuming the task of applying eye-liner. “Oi,” he said to the young lad who sat beside him, picking at his grimy fingernails. “You’re meant to be watching and learning.”
Feeling suddenly depressed, Sadie watched the young lad nod his scruffy head. “When would it all end,” he asked himself.
* * *
At that precise moment, Jake Carter was once again on the receiving end of Ronald’s vicious temper. “How many times do I need to ask you?” he roared. “How do you kn
ow those men?”
“I don’t.” Close to tears, Jake curled himself into a foetal position. He held his hands across his head, in a bid to protect himself. “I keep telling you, I don’t know them.”
Spittle gathered at the corners of Ronald’s lips. He held his fists above his head. “I know you’re lying! They knew you.” He forced himself to remain calm, despite the fear that had begun to grow inside of him. Yanking the boy upward, Ronald could feel his temper begin to rise even further. It was only the fact that he knew Jake was lying to him that he was allowing the boy to live. He needed to know who the men were. He needed to know why they were looking for him. And who it was that had tipped them off in the first place.
He threw Jake away from him, and began to stalk the apartment, his anger escalating with each and every step he took.
Clambering backward, Jake cowered from the man. He warily eyed the kitchen knife Ronald had placed down on the coffee table, and knew instinctively, it was only the fact that he was keeping the knowledge of who the men were to himself that he was still alive.
He inched his body closer to the knife. For the first time in a very long time, he wanted his dad. He glanced across at the knife for a second time, and reminded himself that he, too, was a Carter, and that had to count for something, didn’t it? And even more importantly, he didn’t intend to die in this flat. No, Jake Carter had already made up his mind—come flight or fight—he would fight for his life to the bitter end.
* * *
Stacey was worried. It was now early evening, and still Jake hadn’t returned home. “Where do you think he is?” she asked her daughter.
Karen shrugged her shoulders. She flicked her long, brown hair from her eyes and looked across to the front door. What with her boyfriend and brother both on the missing list, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. “This is Dad’s fault,” she snapped. “He’s too tough on Jake. He’s always going on at him about his hair and making snide comments about him, and look at how scared our Jake was when Dad had him up the wall over the drugs palaver.”
“You can’t blame your dad for everything, Kal.” Stacey dismissed Karen’s words. “Maybe he’s with Liam?” There was more than a hint of hope in her voice.
Pulling out a chair, Karen sat down at the oak kitchen table. “I doubt it,” she answered absentmindedly. “They’re not exactly the best of friends these days, are they?”
“Well, where the bleeding hell is he then?”
Karen reached her hand across the table and clasped her mother’s slender hand in hers. “He’ll be okay, Mum,” she said sincerely. “Our Jake is a big boy now. If it was Liam who hadn’t of come home, you wouldn’t be worried would you?”
With a shake of her head, Stacey glanced up at the clock on the wall. “I’m going to give him ten more minutes, and then I’m going to ring your dad and your Uncle Jimmy,” she said. “If anyone can find him, it’ll be them.”
* * *
As quickly as he could, Tommy filled Jimmy in on the recent revelation of Gary and his son. He was driving toward his home in Epping, Essex, with Jimmy sat beside him in the passenger’s seat.
“Nah,” Jimmy shook his head. “Even for Gary’s standards, which I admit are usually fucking low, this is going way too far.”
“I’m telling you, Jimmy, I’ve worked it out. Jack, Cameron, or whatever he calls himself, is Gary’s kid. It all adds up.” He flicked the indicator to turn toward Epping. “And I’m telling you now, this, I won’t forgive. Gal has gone a step too far this time.”
Jimmy couldn’t get his head around this new revelation. “I don’t buy it, bruv. I mean, we both know that Gary is as mad as a hatter, but there’s no way he would have been able to keep that little gem to himself, and deep down, you know what I’m saying is true. Let’s face it, he would have taken great pleasure in parading the kid around.”
Turning to look at his brother, Tommy continued talking. “Yeah, but look at it this way, Gary wouldn’t be the driving force behind it, would he? And we all know how weak he is when it comes to that cunt Bethany. We both know he would do whatever she tells him to, including keeping quiet about the kid.”
Jimmy could see Tommy’s point, and it was true, Gary was weak when it came to Dean Johnson’s daughter. “But to use Karen in his sick little game?” Jimmy clenched his fist; he was particularly close to his niece. “If he has done this, then I’ll kill him myself.”
Tommy gave a bitter laugh. “You’ll have to get there before me then, bruv.” He pulled onto his drive and stepped his foot on the brake, bringing the car to a halt. “How the fuck do I tell Karen?” he asked, looking up at his house.
Shocked to the core, Jimmy looked across at his brother. “You can’t tell her something like this, bruv. What are you trying to do, scar her for life?”
“Then what do I tell her?”
Jimmy was quiet for a few moments. “You’ll have to tell her that you don’t like him. Tell her she’s banned from seeing him again.”
“She won’t buy that. She’s twenty-two for fuck’s sake, and probably got more Carter attitude in her than both of us combined.” He turned in his seat. “What a fucking mess.”
Unclipping his seatbelt, Jimmy exhaled slowly. “You can say that again.” He was thoughtful for a few moments. “You’re gonna have to tell her that you don’t like him. It’s the only thing you can say, bruv, and let’s face it, it’s a lot better than the alternative, eh?” He screwed up his face, just saying the words out loud sickened him. “How else are you going to do it? You can’t exactly say, ‘Oh, by the way, Karen I thought you might want to know that your boyfriend is actually your cousin.’”
Tommy followed suit and reluctantly unclipped his own seatbelt. He nodded his head toward his house as he did so. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s got to be a lot better than the alternative.”
* * *
Hearing a key turn in the lock, both Karen and Stacey jumped up from their seats. They looked toward one another, before walking from the kitchen and out to the hallway.
On seeing that it was her husband and brother-in-law, Stacey was the first to speak, her eyes were wide with fear. “Our Jake hasn’t been home since last night.” She spoke fast, barely catching her breath.
“What do you mean, he hasn’t been home? Give him a bell then, and see where he is.”
“We’ve already tried to phone him. He isn’t answering.” It was Karen who answered.
For the first time since arriving home, Tommy turned to look at his daughter. He quickly glanced across at his brother before speaking. “I need a word with you,” he said.
“What about?” Karen asked, looking from her father to her uncle.
“I don’t want you seeing your boyfriend anymore. As from now, today, it’s all over between you and him. Done, finished, end of.” There, he’d said it. That was the hard part over and done with.
Stunned, Karen stood with her hands on her hips, staring at her father. “I’m not a child. You can’t tell me who I can and who I can’t see.”
Just as shocked, Stacey’s mouth fell open. “Karen’s right, you can’t say something like that, Tommy.”
“Well, I just have and that’s my final word on the matter.” He pushed past his wife and walked through to the lounge, throwing his jacket across the back of the leather chesterfield sofa.
“What do you mean, your final word?” Karen screamed. Despite her earlier protests that she wasn’t a child, she had to resist the urge not to stamp her foot. “It was you.” She pointed her finger toward her father. “I knew it. You’re the reason Jack hasn’t spoken to me all day. What have you done, Dad? What have you done to him?”
Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t done or said anything to him. I’m just telling you how it’s going to be from now on. I don’t like him. He isn’t welcome in my house, and I don’t want you seeing him again. In fact, I forbid you to see him.”
“Your house?” Stacey gave a bitter laugh. “I think yo
u mean, our house,” she stated.
“Nope.” Tommy shook his head, barely giving his wife a second glance. “It was my hard-earned cash which paid for this place, so therefore, it’s my house.”
Her mouth falling open, Stacey stared hard at her husband. “What the hell has gotten into you?” She looked to her brother-in-law for help. “What’s going on, Jimmy?” she asked.
Jimmy rubbed his hand across his jaw, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to say. “Tommy’s got his reasons,” he finally answered. His arms reached out to catch hold of his niece as she tried to swing for her father. “Calm down,” he scolded. “Lashing out won’t help matters, darling.”
“Calm down?” Karen screeched. “I’ll never forgive you for this!” She began to sob and pulled herself out of her uncle’s arms. “You’ve hurt him, I know you have, and I will never, ever forgive you.”
Tommy closed his eyes for a brief moment. “That’s okay, Kal, I don’t expect you to understand right now, but one day, you will see that I’m right and you will thank me.”
“Never,” Karen spat. She broke down for a second time before being led out of the room by an equally startled Stacey.
Turning toward his brother, Tommy shook his head sadly. “It had to be done, bruv. Someone had to do it.”
Even though the deed had been badly executed by his brother, Jimmy couldn’t help but agree. In the long run, Tommy had done the right thing, and the consequences should he have not said anything, didn’t bare thinking about. Still, seeing his little niece so heartbroken was hard for him to swallow.
* * *
Karen sobbed into her pillow. “I hate him, Mum,” she cried. “I will never, ever forgive him for this.”