by Kerry Kaya
Pushing his hand through his wiry hair, Ronnie took a deep breath, before unpinning everything relating to the case from the board. This was the first case to have gotten the better of him, and after months of trying to solve it, it was now being scaled down.
Lee Hart’s mugshot was the last item he took down. He looked down at the photograph in his hand. “I will find you,” he muttered, before flinging it inside the brown cardboard box with the rest of the paraphernalia relating to the case.
With a heavy heart, he sealed up the box, and waited for it to be moved to the storage room, to sit alongside the rest of the cold cases.
* * *
As usual, The Albany Tavern was crammed full with punters. Moray, Danny and the rest of the lads, had gone there to drown their sorrows. They had just come out of court, after the sentencing of Aaron and Colm Garner. Fourteen years a piece, the two lads had received.
Moray had shook his head sadly, as his two boys were taken down. As easy as it was to put all of the blame onto Lee Hart, he had to blame his own sons, too. Their greed had caused this, and as a result, they had been caught, bang to rights. As much as he hated to admit it, the boys would have to pay the price for their actions, and ultimately, as a result, they would lose their freedom.
Raising his arm in the air, Moray gave a little wave. Leaning into Danny’s ear, he spoke. “Now she,” he said, grinning for the first time that day, “is the future Mrs. Garner.”
Danny was stunned. He followed Moray’s gaze and watched, as Sophie walked toward them. “I thought you said you’d been there, done it, had the T-shirt, and that you’d never marry again?”
“I did,” Moray grinned. “But now, I need to make an honest woman of her. She’s pregnant.”
Danny’s mouth fell open. “Fucking hell, mate! Congratulations,” he said, shaking Moray’s hand.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Moray hugged Sophie toward him. “Let’s hope it’s a girl, a lot less trouble,” he winked.
“I’ll drink to that.” Danny grinned back, knowing full well that if the baby was indeed a girl, then Moray would never know a day’s peace again. Over-protective father, wouldn’t even come into it.
* * *
Big Tone laughed, as he listened to one of Callum Riley’s stories. The man was a natural-born storyteller, and was sure to have everyone in fits of laughter. He sipped at his pint of lager, mindful not to drink too much. He, Terry Stevens, Lloydy and Mick Johnson were off shortly to do a big job for Danny, and it felt good to be back in a trusted position, once again.
He knew this was an important job they had been chosen to do, and he’d felt a sense of pride, when Danny had stated that he’d picked them out specifically, because he knew the four men from old, therefore, knew he could trust them explicitly not to talk about the task in hand to anyone, not even Moray.
All they had to do was wait for the nod from Danny, and then they would set off toward the border of Essex and Suffolk. From there, they were to drive to a disused country pub to collect a stash of guns, which Danny planned to purchase.
Laughing once again, Big Tone tipped the remainder of his lager into his mouth, before wiping the back of his hand across his lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
* * *
Glancing at his watch, Danny made eye contact with Big Tone. He nodded his head, indicating it was time for the four men to leave. He watched, as they drained their drinks, then followed them out of the pub.
“You know exactly where to go?” he asked.
“It’s all up here,” Big Tone grinned, pointing to his temple.
Satisfied, Danny smiled. He shook their hands, and watched, as they climbed into Big Tone’s Range Rover. As they pulled out of the car park, he leant against the door frame, and waited until he could no longer see the car’s tail lights in the distance. Only then, did he allow the smile upon his face to turn into a snarl. If there was one thing he was, it was a man of his word.
The truth was, there were no guns. He’d vowed, a long time ago, that these four men would pay the price for the attempt on his life, and the murder of the Greek lad.
In fact, the only thing they were going to find at the Suffolk pub, were the Carter brothers, and the four men would definitely not be returning, he’d made sure of that.
The beauty of the situation was that none of it could come back on him. He had the perfect alibi. He would be staying in this packed boozer until closing time. More than enough witnesses would see him, generously buying drinks for all, and sundry.
He walked back inside the pub, in time to hear Callum telling one of his stories.
“And so my mate, massive West Ham United fan he is, and he’s always wanted a season ticket. Anyway, Christmas comes along and the wife has only gone and bought him one for his present, but what the silly mare did was, she bought it at the start of the season, and kept it hidden until Christmas morning. Nearly half the fucking season he missed out on. That’s women for you.”
Danny laughed along with the rest of the lads, before looking around him. With all of the top players of Freddie’s firm dead, or very soon to be disposed of, he truly was the Top Dog now.
He downed his brandy, before ordering them all another round of drinks. The devil himself couldn’t have done a better job, than what he’d achieved, in such a short space of time.
In fact, he was certain that when people spoke about him, they would say the situation couldn’t have turned out any better, than if he’d planned it all out. Of course, he would laugh it off. He would be a fool not to. But then again, just maybe they were right, and he had planned it all along.
The End.
About the Author
Kerry Kaya is a British gangland crime author, born and raised in East London.
She is an avid reader and has a passion for books. From an early age she began writing stories, in her later years those stories went on to become full length novels and novellas.
Kerry lives with her partner, Jimmy, and teenage daughter, in Essex.
You can connect with me on:
https://twitter.com/KerryKayaWriter
https://www.facebook.com/KerryKayaAuthor
Also by Kerry Kaya
Against his parent’s wishes, nineteen-year-old Tommy Carter throws away a promising career as a professional boxer to work for local villain Davey Abbott. Slowly he climbs the ranks and is promoted from collecting debts to working the protection rackets and strip clubs. When Davey’s old adversary Dean Johnson comes on to the scene hell bent on revenge, Tommy must take action and do everything he can to survive. When his boss is murdered in the crossfire, Tommy is stunned to learn that Davey has left his business interests to him. Recruiting his younger brothers to work for him, the Carters become a family that are both feared and respected. But its bank robberies that Tommy really excels at and staying one step ahead of the police, Tommy plans out the robbery of all robberies when he plans to steal from the Top Dog of the East End Freddie Smith. After months of planning will it become one robbery too many when as a consequence everyone Tommy loves is at risk from the backlash of Freddie Smith and his henchmen.