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'What's the time, babe?'

Lil had just finished getting herself ready when she heard her husband's voice.

She laughed loudly. 'Time you bought a watch.'

It was just on five and she was finally ready to go. The kids were wound up like watch springs. Usually, it took so long to get them all ready, especially the twins, that she never had enough time to sort herself out. Today though, she was determined to look her best and, even with her lump, her reflection told her that she did.

As she walked down the stairs, she saw Patrick's face and, smiling at him, she saw as always the longing for her in his warm blue eyes. Whatever people said about her husband, he had made her so happy.

Lil laughed once more when he wolf-whistled at her and Annie saw the deep love they had between them. As always, it made her feel like an outsider. Even Pat Junior and the twins were quiet as they watched their parents embrace each other.

The depth of her daughter's devotion to the man she had married and his utter and complete love for his wife never ceased to amaze Annie. That
her
Lil,
her
daughter, could command that much love from a fine piece of manhood like Patrick Brodie made her feel a jealousy that she hid well, but which ate at her at times like this.

Her own marriage had been devoid of anything remotely resembling love. She had got caught out and she had married the first man who had wanted her. She had spent her whole life without ever having a man hug her, make love to her with passion, or even just chat to her about her day.

That her Lil, the bastard child conceived during a one-night stand where Annie had lost not only her virginity but her pride as well, was capable of having a life that most women could only dream about, was almost impossible for her to believe. It was so unfair, life was so bloody unfair. Her feelings for her daughter swung between pride and hate and she wished that it wasn't so. She prayed for her yearnings to subside and for peace of mind. But the knowledge that her life had been so barren ate away at her. Annie still felt the urge inside her that only a man could satisfy. She still dreamt of being in love and of someone loving her back and she knew it was never going to happen. The nearest she had ever got to true love was with the birth of Lance and, even though she had strong feelings for the others, he was the boy she had always needed, he
wanted
her.

'Get the camera, Annie, and take a photo of me and my best girls and my number one son. Then we'd best get our arses in gear and deliver me boy to his party.'

As Patrick spoke, Annie hurried to get the camera from the kitchen. When she came back with it she saw Lance standing at the top of the stairs in his pyjamas and he called out to his brother softly, 'Have a good party, Pat. Happy birthday.'

Patrick walked up the stairs to his brother and the twins followed behind him as they always did. Lil was tempted for just a few seconds to let him go to the party; he looked so young and so vulnerable it was hard to believe he was capable of harming a fly, let alone another human being. But she reminded herself that he was an accomplished actor and liar and if they allowed even one chink to appear in their armour he would walk all over them for the rest of his days.

The two boys hugged and even Patrick felt moved by their closeness. They
were
close those two; Pat Junior was the only person other than the twins that Lance genuinely seemed to care about. It was obvious the boys had a bond of sorts, whatever may have happened in the past. Annie thought he adored her, but she would learn the hard way that Lance, his own son, was a mutant, a quirk of nature. He had too much Brodie in him; it grieved him to admit that but the truth was the truth.

Annie stood quietly in her finery and let her eyes drink in the first sight of her grandson in what seemed like months, though it was only a matter of days. She wished they would allow him to go tonight, wished he could join in with the rest of his family and friends. Although she would not say this out loud, she felt this was a cruel and unusual punishment for the child, and he was, when all was said and done, just a child. They seemed to forget that and she resented the fact she had no status in the family to argue his case for him, dispute his punishment.

There was a knock on the front door and Annie opened it wide. Must be the driver Pat had arranged. He could take the picture of them and she would be in it as well.

Jimmy Brick was getting anxious; the hall was filling with people and presents, the DJ kept playing Slade for two fifteen-year-olds dressed as twenty-year-olds, and the buffet was being eyed-up by a bunch of teenage degenerates with cropped hair and painfully new trousers. The tables were nearly all taken now and people were busy with drinks and snacks and were settling down for the night's entertainment. The parish priest was wandering around like a junkie with a giro and the bar staff, like the priest, were already half-pissed.

Most of the
real
guests had arrived and these were seated near Patrick and Lil's table, as arranged. He had a few blokes moving through the place, watching out for the first hint of trouble and under strict instructions not to harm anyone physically until they had been removed from the premises. Once they hit the car park, however, it was open season but, until then, it was arm up the back and smiling faces if that was at all possible.

The Palmers were there, their kids all getting ready to slide across the wooden dance floor in their brand-new white socks and the degenerates Jimmy had been keeping his beady eyes on had already whipped a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of trifle from the buffet table. He hoped they were not thinking of coming back for seconds in the not too distant future because he was not in the mood for polite conversation.

Things like this could be treacherous if it was not policed properly, and he was making sure that this party went off with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of enjoyment.

The lights were dimmed; Spider and his girlfriend were chatting with the Brewsters, a large family from south London who were into pornography: books and videos of course. Lenny Brewster, an old mate of Patrick's from childhood, was telling filthy jokes at the top of his voice and, like Spider, he was watching the door. Jimmy glanced at his watch and realised that it was nearly six o'clock. Patrick was cutting it fine, but that was his prerogative of course. They were only down the road and they were probably being waylaid by well-wishers.

The birthday cake was a work of art; it was a large, iced confection that was a replica of Wembley Stadium and the grass looked real from a distance. The baker said, off the record of course so as not to offend anyone, that if he never saw green icing again until the next St Paddy's Day, it would be too soon.

Jimmy Brick was pleased with the turn out and he knew that Pat would be as well; every invitation sent out had been eagerly accepted and Faces and civilians were mixing together easily. The atmosphere was already buzzing with talk and laughter and, since he had delivered a few choice threats to the DJ, decent music. It had a real party feel to it and he was glad that Patrick and his family would be walking in to so much friendliness and camaraderie. He could feel himself relaxing now; he had done his job and once the main man arrived, he could cut himself a bit of slack.

There was also a nice little bird he had his eye on; she was wearing a deep-green chiffon dress and her high heels showed off her slim ankles to their greatest advantage. She had a decent pair of tits on her but he was a leg man and always would be. She had given him a saucy little wink earlier and, on closer inspection, he had observed that she wouldn't frighten anyone on a dark night. All in all, he had a feeling this was going to be a good party for everyone concerned once the guest of honour arrived.

Annie saw the man at Lil's front door and for a split second she wondered if she was imagining things, but when he shoved past her and she saw three other men come bundling into the hallway behind him, she realised that her first impression had been correct.

The first man was covered in blood and she heard Lil scream out as she was knocked flying. Then she saw that the men had knives and saw them start stabbing Patrick. He was trying to fight back, was attempting to stay on his feet, but they had the advantage; there were four of them and he couldn't take them all on at once. As he lashed out they were laughing at him. Then she saw the blood that was suddenly everywhere and she fainted.

Pat Junior and Lance watched the gruesome spectacle while holding their little sisters in their arms, pushing the twins' faces into their shoulders to try to spare them the sight of the carnage below. Pat Junior saw his father shouting and threatening the men; the men he recognised as the Williams brothers. He could hear the men yelling obscenities at his father and the squelching noise as the knives were plunged into his father's head and chest over and over again. Patrick was on his knees now and attempting to crawl away. The boys watched in shocked disbelief as Ricky Williams kicked him in the guts with all the force he could muster, lifting him bodily off the floor. Then, pushing Kathleen into Lance's arms, Pat Junior shouted at him to take them in the bedroom and stay there. Running down the stairs he threw himself on to the nearest of the men, his new shirt already stained with blood and skin. They were still hacking at his father and now laughing at his childish attempts to stop them.

Pat Junior saw his mother on the floor, saw her fear and terror and he felt so useless but he didn't know how to make it all stop. The biggest of the men threw him bodily against the wall and the pain shot through him. Lying on the floor he saw what was left of his father's face and he knew then that his father was dead, knew that the slashing and stabbing was just overkill, was for these men's own enjoyment. He knew that the blood and the laughter would never leave him, knew his life would never be the same again.

Pushing through them, Pat Junior flung himself across his father's bloody carcass. Tommy Williams had the knife raised again ready to plunge it into Brodie's face once more, when Dave stayed his hand. Dave suddenly saw the terrified child lying across his father's body and the enormity of what they had done crashed into his head with the force of a sledgehammer.

'Stop, stop it. You nearly fucking stabbed the kid, you mad cunt.'

Dave's voice seemed to be the catalyst for them to stop and they were now silent, their ragged breathing loud in the quietness. Pat Junior was wracked with sobs and he heard himself crying and calling out 'Dad, Dad', over and over, even though he knew his father would never answer his call again.

Lil, lying in the doorway that led to the kitchen, had watched her husband die as she felt the baby inside her kicking as if trying to escape the madness around them. She kept attempting to pull herself up but she couldn't move; she was a ball of white-hot pain and it was a while before she realised her waters had broken.

She saw Dave sitting on the stairs, his head in his hands as he stared down at what was left of her husband's body. He was unrecognisable as a man, they had literally hacked him to pieces. It was only then that she saw her son, her Pat, dripping with his father's blood and lying across his father's body with his little arms spreadeagled, trying to protect what was left of his father's carcass. It was like a nightmare and she was convinced that at any moment she would wake up and they would be going to the party as planned and none of this would have really happened.

But it had happened. Patrick had been butchered in front of her eyes and her son had been witness to it all and had tried to protect his father. It was his birthday, it was her little Pat Junior's birthday and he was drenched in his father's blood. His new, white shirt that he had been so proud of, his first Ben Sherman shirt, was now crimson and dripping his father's blood all over the hall floor. As Lil looked around her she saw the blood sprayed up the walls and on the staircase. She could hear Dave Williams heaving, watched him empty his stomach contents on to the floor. She knew it was all true, she knew that her husband, her soulmate, was really dead and she was about to deliver his child into the world and he would never see it. He would never hold his child. It was then that Lil started to scream and it was her screaming, the sheer animal ferocity of it, that seemed to snap the Williams brothers out of their combined stupor.

Pat Junior saw them leave the house as if they were going for a stroll. There was no sense of urgency, no fear of capture; they walked out quietly, closing the front door behind them gently, as if all their anger had been spent on his father, which of course it had.

Patrick Brodie Junior was still crying, only it was now a dry, tearless sobbing. Getting up off his father's body he went to check on his mother. With her screams still resounding off the walls he finally managed to stop shaking long enough to ring 999.

Chapter Eighteen

Spider walked out of the hospital with Jimmy Brick; both of them were still in shock. Lil, God help her, had given birth to another boy; that was all she needed now, another fucking kid. They had hung about and stayed with her because they had not known what else to do. When the driver had come in and told them what had happened they had thought it was some kind of macabre joke. When they had gone round there and seen the carnage for themselves, it had still been unbelievable.

Patrick's death had been such a shock that no one seemed to believe it was true. They were still unsure, although Spider had identified the body. But it had been unrecognisable as a human being, let alone Patrick. Cain's death had hit Spider hard but Patrick's death had hit him in more than just an emotional sense; it was the catalyst for a whole new set of problems.

As Jimmy and Spider stood in the cold air they looked at each other and neither knew what to say about the night's events. It was so unbelievable that Patrick Brodie had been taken out by the
Williams brothers:
that it had been well-planned and well-executed was outrageous enough but that it had been the Williamses behind it was staggering. It seemed Ricky Williams was a law unto himself and within hours of Brodie's death he had made himself busy. He had been ingratiating himself with Pat's main contenders and displaying an acumen and intelligence that had brought for him, if not the friendship he craved, the respect that was his due off the people who mattered. The police had made a point of investigating the event with as much fervour as they would a black-on-black killing, meaning they wouldn't break a sweat. Which told them that someone was already onside with the Williams brothers and that whoever it was had plenty of sway where it counted.