Scorned

by Kerry Kaya

  Gary stared at her.

  Laughing, Bethany wagged her finger at him. “What’s wrong, Gary? Cat got your tongue?”

  “You wouldn’t do that?” His voice was small. “Me and you, we’ve got history. We have a son together.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, walked back across the room, sat down, and picked up the magazine once more. The fact that he was her son’s father meant absolutely nothing to her. He had only ever been a substitute, a prop to make Tommy jealous—a means to an end.

  Deep in thought, Gary chewed on the inside of his cheek. He knew without a doubt that if she went to the old bill, then he himself would be incriminated along with his brothers. “Wait,” he said.

  Bethany looked up.

  “Jimmy …”

  “What about him?” Bethany sat forward.

  “He’s planning a heist. It was something Tommy was working on. He’s planning to steal a haul of diamonds.”

  “And, how exactly does that help me?”

  Gary paused. After a few moments, he spoke. “If the old bill catches them on the job, and they get banged up, then the businesses will automatically go to me.” The fact that he was willing to sell his own brothers down the river, just to keep her happy, hung heavy in the air.

  Bethany smiled. This was more like it, and Gary had definitely piqued her interest. “Go on, tell me more. When are they doing this job?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked down at his wristwatch. He was supposed to have gone to a meeting at the scrapyard to work out the finer details, but instead had decided to tip it bollocks. “They’re having a meeting right now.”

  Bethany rolled her eyes. “Then what are you doing still sitting here?” She watched him jump up from the sofa, and not for the first time, did she consider him to be useless. “Just go,” she snapped, flapping her hand toward him.

  He walked toward the lounge door, his head hanging low.

  “Oh and Gary,” Bethany called after him, “make sure that you remember all of the details.”

  Gary nodded his head and left the house.

  * * *

  “So that’s about it then. Me and Jonny will take a trip to Hatton Garden this weekend.”

  The brothers nodded their heads.

  “We could pretend we’re buying Mum a present, a bracelet or something,” Jonny said.

  Jimmy stabbed his finger forward, a wide grin spread across his face. “Good thinking.” He looked down at his wristwatch. From the look of it, Gary wasn’t going to turn up, not that he had expected any different from him. He was about to dismiss his brothers, when the headlights of an approaching car shone through the office window. He glanced at his watch for a second time. Gary was over an hour late.

  “I’m sorry.” Gary burst into the office. All eyes turned toward him, and he wiped the sweat from his face. “Bastard car broke down,” he said in the way of an apology for his lateness.

  Glancing out of the office window, Jimmy looked over at the said car. “All sorted?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Plonking himself down beside Jonny on the battered leather sofa, he was all smiles as he looked around at his brothers. “So, what did I miss?”

  Chapter 16

  Karen weaved her way around the café. She smiled at an elderly couple as she placed mugs of tea in front of them.

  “You’re a long way from home, lass,” the man said, noting her accent wasn’t local.

  Karen nodded her head and bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying. It was the word “lass” that had got to her. It was what her Uncle Mad Dog had always called her. “Yes, I am,” she answered.

  She gave them a sad smile and made her way out to the staff toilet. Once there, she closed the door behind her, slid across the bolt, and turned on the cold water tap. It spurted out in short bursts, saturating the front of her sweater. Splashing the icy water over her face, she took a deep breath to quash her tears.

  “Karen!” Maria Mariano’s shrill voice rang out.

  “I’m coming.” Poking her tongue out at the toilet door, Karen groaned in annoyance. Her boss never let up. From morning until night, Maria made sure that she worked her fingers to the bone. She checked her reflection in the cracked mirror, smoothed down her hair, rung out the excess water from her sweater, and then opened the door.

  “Where have you been?” Maria shrieked.

  Gesturing behind her, Karen nodded toward the lavatory. It was pretty much self-explanatory, as far as she was concerned.

  “I don’t pay you to spend all day in the privy, you lazy little cow,” Maria said as she shoed Karen toward the sink. “Those pots need washing. Get on with it, you lazy bloody bitch.” She cocked her head to one side. “I’ll start docking your money, that’s’ what I’ll do.”

  Karen’s bottom lip trembled, and she blinked away the tears that filled her eyes. No one had ever spoken to her the way that Maria had before. The fact that her father was Tommy Carter was more than enough to guarantee that.

  Rolling up her sleeves, she delved her hands into the hot soapy water. She could feel eyes upon her, and glanced over her shoulder in time to see Marco staring toward her pert backside.

  She noted the longing in his eyes and quickly turned her head away, feeling not only self-conscious, but also uncomfortable. She gave a little shudder. Marco was beginning to give her the creeps and she made a mental note to buy herself a long sweater or cardigan to cover herself up.

  * * *

  Sitting inside his car, Cameron had parked up outside the estate agents, where Karen worked. It was here that they had met. It was here that his parents’ murderous scheming had begun. He pushed his light brown hair away from his eyes and craned his neck to get a better view of the office. He couldn’t see her, and his shoulders slumped downwards. Maybe she was out valuing a property? Maybe she was out to lunch with a new man?

  Disappointed, he started the ignition and moved the car forward. He wondered briefly if she still had any feelings for him. How could she, he decided. All thanks to himself and his parents, he had blown apart her world, and the worst part of it all was that he had done so willingly.

  * * *

  The next morning, Gary was at the scrapyard bright and early, much to Jimmy’s surprise.

  Climbing out of his car, Jimmy eyed his brother suspiciously. “What are you doing here so early?” he asked, slamming the car door closed.

  Gary shrugged his shoulders and gave a wide grin. “We’ve got a job to plan, haven’t we?”

  Taken aback, Jimmy made his way across the forecourt. He’d never known Gary to take such an interest before. In the past, he’d left all of the planning to himself and Tommy, and only turned up when he was required to do so. “Why are you being so nice?” he asked though narrowed eyes.

  “What d’ya mean?” Gary’s mouth fell open in mock surprise. “It’s down to you and me now, bruv. We have to make sure everything goes to plan, don’t we? The last thing we need is to get our collars felt.”

  “I suppose so.” Jimmy entered the office. He slung his jacket across the back of the office chair, took a seat, and steepled his fingers in front of him, all the while, his eyes remained firmly focused on his younger brother.

  “You know, I was thinking …” Gary slumped down onto the sofa, and looked across at Jimmy. “… The two boys, they should be involved.” He held up his hand to quieten Jimmy’s protests. “They have to start somewhere. Now would be the perfect time to show them the ropes.”

  “Nah, I don’t want them involved, they’re only kids.”

  It was what Gary had expected him to say, and he lifted his eyebrows as he continued to put his point across. “They’re around the same age we were when we did our first job. I was only seventeen, remember? I was even younger than Jake is.”

  “Yeah.” Deep in thought, Jimmy stared into space. It was true, they had been the same age as Tommy’s two boys. “I don’t know,” he said, faltering. “I still think they are too young.”

  “Now’
s as good a time as any,” Gary persisted, giving a wide grin. More than anything, he needed the two boys out of the way so he could take over. The last thing he needed was for them to have a claim to the businesses. “Let’s face it, twenty years ago, we were three spotty Herberts running around with guns.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Jimmy laughed. “You might have been spotty, but I fucking wasn’t.”

  “Yeah, well, neither was I,” Gary grinned. “But my point is, we were just kids giving it the big un, and running around the place, causing havoc.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Jimmy rolled his hand across his jaw, thinking it over. He could see Gary’s point. “I suppose we’d better get it over with then. We’ll get the boys in the office and let them decide if they want to be involved or not.”

  “Good. You know it makes sense, bruv.” Rubbing his hands together, Gary could barely keep the glee from his voice. He may as well kill two birds with one stone, he decided. His plan to rid himself of his entire family was beginning to fall into place nicely.

  * * *

  Liam Carter could barely believe what he was hearing. He looked around at his uncles, took note of the seriousness in their expressions, and turned to look at his younger brother. He could see the same shock he himself felt, echoed in Jake’s wide eyes. “Are you joking?” he asked.

  “Nope,” Jimmy’s tone was serious. “Your dad was one of the best armed robbers out there, and when it came to the planning,” he shook his head, as if recalling the amount of hours Tommy had put into planning each job out, even down to the tiniest of details, “he was the best.”

  Liam’s eyes widened even farther. Not once had he had an inkling that his dad and uncles were armed robbers.

  “Did you really think that we earned this much dough by collecting debts?” Gary asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

  “Well, yeah.” Liam shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. Not once had it entered his mind that the vast amount of wealth the Carter family had accumulated over the years could have come from anywhere other than the debt collecting, betting shops, and strip clubs.

  “The businesses are only the front for our real line of work.” Jimmy stated. “For all intent and purposes, everything we do is kosher, legitimate.”

  “But how?” Unable to get his head around this turn of events, Liam sat open-mouthed.

  Jimmy began to laugh. “Your dad saw an opportunity and he took it.”

  “With both hands,” Gary added, grinning at his own wit.

  “And now you want us to do it, too?” Jake chirped in.

  “Only if you feel comfortable with it,” Jimmy answered, sincere.

  The two brothers looked at each other. They nodded their heads. “We’re in,” they said in unison.

  “Are you sure? This line of work does come with risks, mainly that you, or rather we, could all end up getting our collars felt and subsequently banged up for a very long time if we’re caught.”

  “I still want to do it,” Liam said.

  “Me, too,” Jake agreed.

  “And don’t,” Jimmy said pointing his finger forward, “breathe a word about any of this to your mum. She’ll have my guts,” he chuckled.

  Both boys nodded their heads.

  “Right,” sitting back in his seat, Jimmy glanced around the room at his brothers. “That’s settled then. The boys are both in.” He had a sneaky feeling that Tommy wouldn’t have approved, and he swallowed down the slither of guilt he felt.

  Slinging his arm around his eldest nephew’s shoulders, Gary gave a maddening smile. “Welcome to the family business, boys.”

  Jimmy returned the smile. Gary was right, the boys had to learn the ropes at some point, and what better time than now.

  * * *

  Switching off the ignition, Jimmy had parked his Mercedes in Kirby Street, a short few minutes’ walk away from Hatton Garden. He clicked the fob to activate the central locking system and then looked across to Jonny.

  Dressed in a dark grey tailored suit, with a black shirt, and highly polished expensive handmade black leather shoes, he looked the part. Equally, Jonny was dressed to impress, wearing a navy-blue suit, crisp white shirt and soft grey tie. The two brothers looked as though they had money, and a lot of money at that, which just so happened to be the case.

  Casually, they made their way down a tree-lined avenue. Clad either side by expensive golden coloured shop fronts, the area screamed out wealth. For the right price, anything from diamonds, to precious stones, to gold, could be bought. Stopping briefly to look in shop windows and pointing at the pieces in the glistening display cabinets, to any passers-by, the two brothers didn’t look out of place. They looked like business men and that was the general plan.

  Finally, they made their way inside a jewellers at the far end of the street. The scent of furniture polish hit their nostrils as they entered.

  Either side of the shop housed glass display cabinets. Diamonds and precious jewels twinkled underneath the fluorescent lighting. Toward the back of the property was a white viewing table and three light grey velvet covered high backed chairs.

  * * *

  Melissa Coleman had been sales assistant of the year for the past three years running, and she was damned if she was going to lose her reign. She smoothed down her glossy blonde locks, plastered a smile across her heavily made up face, and pushed past her colleagues to make her way across the main floor. She’d spotted the two men as soon as they had entered the premises. Both were tall, dark haired, and extremely handsome.

  “Gentlemen,” she smiled up at them. “Do you require any help?” she asked, her clipped tones masking a North London accent.

  Turning to look at her, Jimmy turned on the charm. He matched her smile, showing even white teeth. “We’re looking for a present for our mum.”

  Melissa’s smile widened even farther. “In that case, you have come to the right place.” She held out her hand, indicating toward one of the display cabinets. “Do you have something in mind?”

  It was Jonny’s turn to answer, and he gave her a bright smile. “I was thinking a bracelet.”

  “Perfect choice.” Melissa nodded her golden head. “This way then, gentlemen.” She led them toward the back of the premises and gestured to one of the cabinets. “Do you have a price range?”

  “No,” Jimmy answered. “Just whatever takes our fancy.”

  Melissa’s eyes lit up. She could barely believe her luck. Not only were they handsome, but they were obviously loaded, too. In her manicured hand, she held a large keyring, holding the keys to the display cabinets. “Has anything caught your eye?”

  Jonny grinned and casually leaned against the display cabinet. “Maybe,” he said, holding her gaze.

  Feeling her cheeks blush, Melissa giggled. Was he flirting with her?

  Leaving Jonny to work his magic, Jimmy took this as his opportunity to glance around the shop and take note of where the security cameras were. From his position, he could see three cameras pointing down onto the shop floor, and one that pointed down directly above the entrance door.

  “What do you think?” Between his fingers, Jonny held a diamond and ruby tennis bracelet.

  “I think it’s perfect.” Jimmy flashed a smile. “And it has our names written all over it,” he added, with a tiny flick of his eyes, to indicate that he’d sussed the gaff out.

  Paying for the purchase, they gave over a false name and address. They thanked Melissa for her time and walked out of the shop.

  “What do you think?” Jimmy asked, as they made the short walk back to his car.

  “I think that she’s a bit of all right and definitely a bit of me,” Jonny winked, as he glanced over his shoulder back to the shop. He was in half a mind to race back there and ask for the sale assistant’s telephone number.

  “Keep your mind on the job,” Jimmy chastised. He came to an abrupt halt and grasped the front of his brother’s shirt in his fist. “This ain’t the time for you to be chatting
up random fucking women. So I’ll ask again, what did you think of the place?”

  Jonny sighed. With each passing day, Jimmy was beginning to sound more and more like Tommy. “There’s a lot of dough in there.”

  “Yeah, there is.” He released his brother, took out his car keys, and leaned his forearms on top of the car roof. “Is it doable though?”

  Jonny shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno. Tommy must have thought so though, eh?”

  “Yeah,” Jimmy answered. He climbed into the car. The problem was, he didn’t have Tommy’s acute mind when it came to planning out a robbery. Starting the ignition, he turned to look at his brother. “We’d better call a second meeting.”

  * * *

  Stacey rubbed at her eyes. She had a blinding headache, and despite taking painkillers, she was unable to shift it. She looked around her empty home and felt like screaming out loud. She contemplated actually going through with it for a moment. After all, it wasn’t as though anyone would be able to hear her if she did. Situated at the end of a long driveway, the house was desolate and far away from any neighbouring houses.

  Once upon a time, the house had been a hive of activity. She could still recall hearing the children as they ran up and the down the oak staircase, their tiny feet sounding like a herd of elephants. She could still hear them screaming with delight, could still hear their laughter, and more often than not, the arguing or crying, because their games had become too rough and someone—just as she had often warned them would happen—had ended up getting hurt.