by Martina Cole
He was disappointed at how easily she was tempted in, because he would have preferred to have worked for her attention. It was the girls that didn’t care who he was that really attracted him. Like his Lorna. She would have died before she would have lowered herself to frequent a place like this.
The girl was in front of him now, and she said huskily, ‘Hi, Angus, my name’s Diana.’
Angus looked at her beautiful face and her stunning body, and he started to laugh. He called Abad and his girls over and, as they sipped champagne at the bar, he said to Diana, ‘Nothing personal, but I’m going to have to swap you, darling.’ He pushed her into Abad’s arms and pulled one of Abad’s girls into his.
She was a tiny thing, with a beautiful smile and a neat little body – Abad’s cup of tea all right. She smelt of Chanel No 5 and Max Factor lipstick. He was well pleased with her; she was like a doll, and she was also very amenable.
As he stood by the bar, he accepted the accolades and the faux friendships offered to him from all and sundry. He saw Abad watching him closely, and he knew that Abad had experienced the same treatment at some point. He saw that Roy was always nearby, without being obtrusive. He also noticed three new guys who were obviously there in Roy’s employ. He admired the way the man had arranged everything, with the minimum of fuss. He would need the extra muscle after this night’s work. After tonight, he would have to watch his back. He was in the real world now.
Roy caught his attention and winked at him. The music was starting to get louder, and the VIP bar was filling up. He pushed past Abad and stood in front of Roy.
‘You OK, boy?’
He could see the worry on the older man’s face, and he felt the tug of love that told him he was with family.
Angus hugged him tightly, and kissing him on his forehead he whispered loudly in his ear, ‘What can I say, Roy? Thank you for everything.’
Roy understood that, at last, Angus Davis had learned the magic formula. He was finally learning that to be anyone in their world you had to know when to trust, when to share, and most importantly when to make that judgement. No matter who you were dealing with, you couldn’t always trust people, even those closest to you. You had to learn to read situations. Suss them out. Use your instincts, even with people you had known all your life. It was a hard lesson, but a lesson well learned.
Hugging him back, he said seriously, ‘I love you like my own blood.’
Angus knew that was true. He also knew that, until this trip to Marbella, he had not understood exactly how fucking lucky he was. This had been what his mum called a red-letter day. He felt like he could conquer the world.
This was in his blood, this was what he was born for. This was everything he had ever wanted.
Book Two
1983
Cruel he looks, but calm and strong,
Like one who does, not suffers wrong.
Prometheus Unbound,
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
Chapter Thirty
‘Oh come on, Angus, stop being a cunt.’
Angus was laughing, along with everyone else; he could take a joke at times. The trouble with Angus was, it depended on who was making the joke – and how funny it actually was.
Roy had noticed that, as the lad had grown into his role in the business, he had also grown into his role as a man. He was very like his father in looks, but he had the natural cunning of his mother. That was what made him so dangerous and so unpredictable. In their world, though, that made for a winning combination. Roy was proud of the man Angus had become, and he liked to think it was, in part, down to his influence. He was close to the lad, and he had seen him come into his own. One way in which Angus had matured was that he was willing to listen to advice. He might not take it, but he was open to other people’s opinions, and that showed he was growing up.
Diana still had some reservations, and Roy understood that. Overall, she was pleased with the way Angus was acquitting himself, but she was also a bit wary because he could be very unpredictable with people he didn’t like. That was something he needed to work on – and he was trying – but Angus didn’t suffer fools gladly, even if they could give him an earn. The arrogance of youth – and the fact that he was treated like the second coming everywhere he went because of his familial connections – didn’t help. Plus he was well liked by a lot of people because he wasn’t above a good night out with his workforce, and he was known for his generosity to the people who surrounded him – if they did an exemplary job.
Angus was sensible enough to reward the people who worked for him if they went that extra mile. He encouraged that and, consequently, loyalty towards him was a given. He kept himself busy, but he encouraged his workers to approach him, giving the impression that he was the all-round ‘nice guy’. He saw the value in being approachable; it guaranteed that the people in his orbit could talk to him should they feel the need.
Diana didn’t like that. She saw the value in being benevolent but also inspiring awe from a distance, but she missed the point. It was a different world now. Angus not only attended the raves, he made a point of being seen around and about. He was a visible presence in their world and the regular one. It was the new order, and Angus Davis was rewriting the rules.
Angus laughed once more, and looking at Roy he said teasingly, ‘If anyone else called me a cunt . . .’
The two men hugged tightly. They were closer than ever. Angus had learned just what a great asset Roy was to him. He was his surrogate father really, and they both understood that – even if it was never said out loud. But they were comfortable together and rarely apart.
Roy laughed. ‘Well, what can I say, mate? If the cap fits!’
They laughed together again before Angus said soberly, ‘I’m dreading this meeting, if I’m honest, Roy. This geezer gets on my fucking tits.’
They sighed in unison. Geoffrey Pole was a new Face on the scene, and he left a bad taste in Angus’s mouth. There was something really off about him, although there was no reason anyone could find to corroborate that feeling. It was deep in his gut, and he just couldn’t take to him.
Roy poured them both a drink. He understood exactly what Angus meant – he felt the same. But like Diana and every other business person in London, he knew they had to deal with him. Geoffrey Pole was a fucking serious earn.
His main problem was he was a flash geezer and a poser, and that didn’t sit well with a lot of the people he dealt with. He was a piss-taker, but he had a knack of seeing an earn before anyone else did, working out the next big thing – and in the clubs that was invaluable. He knew exactly which DJs to promote and the right people they needed to frequent the clubs. He made sure they got column inches, because they had soap stars and now footballers in the VIP areas, as well as up-and-coming singers and bands. They were given a free night out, and they guaranteed photos in the tabloids; it worked well for everyone.
Geoffrey saw the value of the minor celebrities. These people encouraged every wannabe to frequent their premises. Girls came from far and wide in the hope of catching the eye of the latest heart-throb, and they dressed to impress. If the girls were particularly lovely they were offered access to the VIP lounge, and they lapped it up.
In truth, Angus loved being in there with West Ham players – he was a Boleyn Boy, after all. But he still couldn’t bring himself to trust Geoffrey Pole, even if the man was bringing in a fortune.
He looked around the bar. Even in the afternoon this place looked classy. The carpets were cleaned regularly, he made sure of that, and the bar itself was always shining brightly. This place was like all his premises: spotlessly clean, and with books that the taxman couldn’t fault. No matter how hard they tried!
This was the VIP bar in Celebrities, one of their clubs in East London. It was on three floors, and it was a storming success. They didn’t need to con, they were coining it in. They had to turn people away from the doors. Thanks to this Geoffrey Pole, they were getting the exposure they neede
d. So why couldn’t Angus take to the fucker?
He sipped his drink and looked around him once more. He had asked the chef to come in early to make some canapés. He watched as one of the waiters placed the platters on the bar. They looked like something from a top restaurant and that pleased him – he wanted to make an impression. He knew that Geoffrey Pole only drank Bollinger champagne, so there was a bottle on ice and another in the chiller. He hoped the second one wouldn’t be needed.
‘You ready for this?’
Angus shrugged and smiled wryly. ‘’Course. Let’s get it over with.’
Chapter Thirty-one
Diana was with Lorna, who was heavily pregnant and not in the best of moods.
Lorna was a beautiful girl, but she was what Diana classed as ‘high maintenance’. Ever since the wedding, she had been asserting herself in more ways than one. Diana didn’t appreciate the girl’s belief that she had any kind of say in her business. What did she know about any of it? It was her business, until she said otherwise, meaning she passed the yoke permanently to her son. Even then, she would make sure that this girl only ever got the benefits, never a share. She was intelligent, but she didn’t have the street smarts needed for their world.
Lorna was also a natural-born killjoy. She didn’t know how to just let go and enjoy herself; everything in her life was a trial in some way. She had a beautiful home, a prestige car, she had money, and she had carte blanche where the house was concerned. But if you listened to her talk, life was one big, terrible drama, from the minute she got up till the moment she went to bed.
Lorna was her mother’s daughter all right, they could both squeeze the joy out of a sock. Consequently, that meant neither Angus nor anyone within his circle, including Diana, could enjoy their lives either. Lorna seemed to wallow in her morning sickness, her backache, her swollen ankles – she was making pregnancy seem like a terminal illness. Gabriel called her a ‘born-again moaner’. Even at the house in Marbella, she found fault with everything, from the swimming pool to the way the kitchen had been laid out. Considering she came from a council house, it took all of Diana’s willpower not to point that fact out. But Angus was obsessed with her – that was the only way she could describe her son’s feelings for this girl.
At first she had thought Lorna would be a steadying influence on her son. But in the year since the marriage, it had been hard to keep her mouth shut at times. Lorna had shown herself to be so controlling and so self-righteous that Diana had begun to question her son’s choice. She just knew she had to keep her opinions to herself though because if she ever voiced them, there would be more fights than Rocky. Since the wedding, Lorna had become like an old woman in her fussy ways.
Diana saw that this didn’t faze her Angus. He kowtowed to her, because he thought that was how she should be acting. She was the ultimate good girl, and that was what had attracted him from the outset. He didn’t see that it was because she was the antithesis of all the other women in his life – strong women who worked and did their whack. He thought that she needed looking after, and Lorna needed a lot of things – especially materially – but being looked after wasn’t one of them.
Lorna Davis got what she wanted through a mixture of making people feel guilty and acting like the big bad world was her enemy. When Lorna went off the deep end it was not a pretty sight.
Diana knew her son was already being unfaithful to her. She didn’t like it but what could she do? He had begun sniffing out strange within weeks of the honeymoon. He wasn’t interested in them romantically, they were simply a means to an end. She could only assume he was getting off them what he wasn’t getting at home. God help them if and when Lorna found out. But she didn’t like to dwell on that. What she did know was that when all was said and done he worshipped this girl, and more so now that they had a child on the way.
Today they were at a private clinic in London to see the doctor who, according to Lorna, delivered the babies of royalty and the rich and famous. It wasn’t cheap and, even though Diana wasn’t short of a few quid, she resented paying out this kind of money to a doctor who was as bent as a two-bob clock, as her mother would say.
‘Come on, Lorna, let me help you up the stairs, darling.’
She knew the girl was more than capable of walking up the stairs on her own. Even at eight months pregnant, she was still as thin as a rake. She was on a special diet that she had heard was used by people like Madonna to keep them slim and attractive. But Lorna liked the attention, and Diana would make whatever fuss was needed for her daughter-in-law to keep the peace.
They walked into the foyer and the receptionist in her faux nurse-type uniform smiled widely and walked them through to the doctor immediately, leaving everyone else waiting for their turn.
As they walked into his surgery, Lorna put on a tragic expression and said plaintively, ‘I’m still suffering from morning sickness.’
Diana rolled her eyes and plastered a smile on her face.
Chapter Thirty-two
Geoffrey Pole wasn’t a man who inspired friendship, but that didn’t bother him. He didn’t need friends.
He was invaluable, whatever people thought of him, and he genuinely didn’t care about being popular. The Angus Davises of this world needed him; he knew his worth, and he also knew the people he needed to get behind him so he could achieve his goals.
Agents paid him a fortune to get their clients in the papers. It was what he was good at, and it was also something he actually enjoyed. The tabloids relied on him to give them gossip, and Angus Davis – with his family connections – was a gift, in more ways than one. He gave the stories the element of danger that had been sadly lacking since the days of the Krays and the Richardsons.
Geoffrey actually liked Angus, even though he was aware the feeling wasn’t mutual, and Geoffrey knew that it wasn’t because he was gayer than a Mexican tablecloth. He had understood from day one that his sexuality didn’t bother Angus Davis. It had amazed him, if he was honest. Normally, the criminal elements were terrified of people like him; he was out, he was proud, and more flamboyant than Danny La Rue on amphetamines. No, Angus just didn’t like him as a person, and he could live with that.
Geoffrey deliberately held his hand out dramatically. And Angus, because he had had a few drinks, held Geoffrey’s hand in his and kissed it, as if the man was a princess. Geoffrey was so taken aback that he laughed delightedly, and Angus, who had followed the drinks with a couple of lines of coke, laughed with him. Roy Rogers smiled – he knew that Angus was determined to find something to like in this man.
‘Champagne all round.’
Geoffrey was aware that he was making headway, so he said generously, ‘That sounds good to me, A.’ He always called Angus ‘A’ – and, for some reason, Angus allowed it.
Geoffrey’s entourage were all gay, but they were also hard men if the situation warranted it. Angus acknowledged that, and even though he didn’t like Geoffrey, he did respect him and what he had achieved. It was why he dealt with him; Geoffrey knew his job, and he did it well.
They were standing in the bar with glasses of champagne, and Angus smiled that easy smile of his that secretly made Geoffrey go weak at the knees. Raising his glass, he said, ‘To you, Geoff, and a big thank-you for the sterling work you do.’
Geoffrey knew that it had not been easy for Angus to do what he had just done, and he appreciated that he had bothered to do it. He understood far more than the men he worked with would ever even guess.
He put on his best camp voice as he cried, ‘I never thought I would see the day! We will be on a date next!’
Angus laughed heartily and, taking a big draught of his champagne, he held it aloft once more. ‘Oh come on now, Geoffrey, I’m a married man!’
Geoffrey grinned. ‘I’ve heard that before, darling!’ Everyone was laughing, some more than others, when Geoffrey waved his people away, saying, ‘My priest is as bad. He said to me on Sunday, I prayed for you last night! I said, you should have f
ucking rung me. I’d have been straight round!’
Angus had always appreciated a good joke. He spat his champagne all over the place and laughed so much he had to wipe his eyes.
‘Get yourselves a seat, I need to talk business.’
Angus was reminded that Geoffrey had a lot more going for him than anyone might think. He would be a fool to underestimate this man. He might be as camp as Christmas, but he could also have a row, should the situation warrant it. As he’d said to Angus, in the early days, ‘I’m queer but I’m not a fucking cissy. You get my drift?’ Angus had respected that, and it had stood both of them in good stead since.
When it was just the three of them at the bar, Geoffrey smiled at Roy and said quietly, ‘I know you will stay, and I want you to. What I have to say needs a witness, because you two aren’t going to be impressed.’
Angus filled up their glasses and raised his eyebrows expectantly. ‘News of the World again?’
Geoffrey sighed theatrically and sipped his champagne before saying seriously, ‘I’m here to do you a big favour.’
Angus didn’t answer. He just waited for him to say whatever was on his mind.
‘You never heard this from me, right? But it’s come to my attention, through an old associate of mine, that Joey Barbossa is looking to move in on your clubs in Spain.’ Angus made as if to speak, and Geoffrey held his hand up to stop him. ‘Joey is a penny-ante dealer, we all know that. But I don’t like disloyalty, and I know you are giving him a wage. He’s been seen with the Juarez family, and you and I know what that means. I’m warning you because you played fair with me. And as I said earlier, I don’t like disloyalty. What you do with this information is your business, but I got this on very good authority. Whatever happens, it never came from me.’