Get Even (9 page)

Reggie smiled and said, ‘About eight OK?’

Lenny nodded and, giving Janey Dornan one last ferocious glare for good measure, he left the scene as quickly as possible. He had done his job, and all was right with the world.

Lenny Scott sat at his kitchen table holding his sleeping son in his arms. Reggie Dornan was sitting opposite him, sipping a bottle of Sol. They were chatting amiably when Sharon came in to take the baby; it was time for him to go to bed. Reggie watched as Lenny kissed the sleeping child gently, and saw the smile he exchanged with his young wife. He felt a stab of jealousy at the way this man lived. The flat was decorated beautifully and spotlessly clean. There was really nice furniture and fittings everywhere, and even homemade cake visible under a glass dome on the counter. It was certainly an eye opener.

‘Right, my little man’s off to bed, the wife will be watching that pile of shite
Dallas
, so you and I can have that chat in peace.’

Reggie smiled; he felt at ease with this man, which was strange considering how they had met.

‘That was nothing personal today, and with respect your mum . . .’

Reggie held his hand up to indicate he understood exactly what Lenny was trying to say. ‘Honestly, Lenny, you are preaching to the converted where she is concerned. I mean, I love her – I have to, she is my mum – but she is a fucking nightmare at times.’

Lenny nodded in sympathy; he wouldn’t like a mother like that.

‘Thing is, she was only fifteen when I was born. She’s only forty and she’s had eight kids. My nan – her mum – is not exactly what you would have called a good role model. Mum was dragged up, and she is now dragging us lot up.’ He laughed ruefully. ‘Some of the stunts she’s pulled. You wouldn’t believe the half of them. Once, she locked the gas bloke in the cupboard, in the pitch dark. He never came near again. She had boyfriends over the years who always disappeared with her purse, the telly or, in one strange fucking case, a fish tank full of tropical fish!’

Lenny was laughing now; it was said in a really jokey, funny way and he understood that this was Reggie’s way of coping with it all. If you could laugh, it couldn’t hurt you too much.

‘She has had a hard life really, Lenny. No one to depend on, you know? Never had anything or anyone that lasted. Except us kids, of course. She can be a really nice person when she ain’t had a drink. I mean, whatever people say about her, she loves her kids.’

Lenny didn’t know what to say. This was getting a bit deep for him now.

Reggie took a long pull from his bottle of lager and said quietly, ‘So what’s this business you were talking about?’

Lenny sat forward in his chair and looked intently at the other man. He was clearly genuinely thrilled at the prospect opening up for him. He felt instinctively that Reggie Dornan wouldn’t waste any chances he was given – he was far too shrewd for that. Lenny had asked around, and word on the pavement was he had kept his head down and done his bird without a murmur. He was also said to be close-mouthed and that was imperative in this game.

Lenny opened another couple of beers and Reggie smiled to see him carefully binning the used bottles. His old woman had him well trained, and why not? He lived there too.

Lenny settled himself back in his seat and said seriously, ‘Whether you take this job or not, you don’t tell a fucking soul I asked you, OK?’

Reggie nodded impatiently as if that was a given.

‘I have been given a debt that will be difficult to reel in. They are being seriously slippery, but I have tracked the fucker down, and I need someone the person concerned doesn’t know to lure him out and give him the business with me.’

Reggie digested this bit of information before saying quietly, ‘Who is it?’

Lenny grinned mischievously before answering. ‘Jason Prior.’

He saw Reggie’s eyebrows shoot up and understood that this was something he needed to think about. Well, he could wait.

‘Fucking hell, Lenny. He’s a fucking nutter.’

Lenny nodded his agreement. ‘He is also into a friend of Jack’s for forty grand. Jason has it – he is a fucking premier drug dealer, for fuck’s sake – but he is also a gambler. Never liked gambling myself, a fucking mug’s game. Some of the stories my Sharon tells me about the cunts that frequent the betting shop. Anyway, I digress. How do you feel about it?’

‘Shooters?’

Lenny laughed then, a genuine belly laugh. ‘’Course! No one would go near that ponce without being tooled up.’ Lenny sipped his beer daintily before saying, ‘Jack bought the debt for five grand. That means he owes us forty-five smackeroons. Your cut will be about five grand – danger money, if you like. But I understand if you don’t want any part of it. He is, as you say, a fucking nutter.’

Reggie took a deep gulp of his beer before saying, in a sunny manner, ‘Fuck it, that’s good poke. I’m in.’

Lenny grinned and stuck his hand out. ‘Put it there, mate. Now we have to strategise. See how we can lure the fucker out into the open.’

‘I can actually help with that, Lenny. He is knocking off my little sister Geraldine.’ He saw the amazement on Lenny’s face and he laughed then. ‘He’s trying to get her on the bash, I think. This is working out well for us all.’

‘Let’s drink to that.’

And they did.

‘Oh, Mum, will you stop fucking going on!’

It was Saturday night, Lenny was out with the lads, and Sharon’s mum was doing her head in. Anyone would think Lenny was out every night of the week to hear Ivy Conway go on. He rarely went out without her – they had a babysitter and he would take her out for meals or to a nice wine bar. She was pleased he was out with his mates; it made a nice change for her as well. She could watch what she liked on TV instead of bloody
Match of the Day
, and she could have a relax in a nice bath and catch up on her beauty regime.

Ivy Conway didn’t like it. She was a woman whose own husband had been and done whatever he liked because she had not had the sense to nip it in the bud. She didn’t want Sharon to make the same mistake – that was all she was trying to say. But Sharon was having none of it.

‘I’m sorry to get cross, Mum, but I am a married woman now. I have my own home, a baby. It’s up to me what I think and how I choose to live my life. And Lenny is bloody good to me.’

The problem was, Ivy knew the girl was speaking the truth. Lenny Scott was a wonderful provider, and he adored his wife and his little son. There had never been a hint of scandal about him. It occurred to Ivy that maybe she was a bit jealous of this daughter of hers. Sharon already had more than Ivy had ever hoped for. There was a small part of her that resented this and Ivy felt ashamed.

‘Do you want a glass of wine, Mum? I’m having one as soon as this little sod goes to bed.’

‘That would be lovely, darling.’

She watched her daughter take her grandson from the room and sighed heavily. Sharon had turned the council flat into a palace, all big TV sets and sound systems, wall-to-wall carpets and expensive drapes. It looked like something from a magazine. Well, it had been copied from a magazine! She pushed the thoughts away, but there was no denying that her daughter was certainly a very lucky girl. A very lucky girl indeed. Del thought the sun rose and set on this pair, and he doted on that child. So did she – she loved her grandson. But this feeling that her daughter was getting it all a bit too easy plagued her. No one could be this lucky. Happiness came at a price; everyone with half a brain knew that.

Sharon came back into the room with two glasses of ice-cold Chardonnay and, giving one to her mum, she clinked their glasses gently as she said happily, ‘Cheers.’

Ivy sipped her wine, and wondered at how her daughter had developed this habit of drinking wine in the evenings. Honestly, she was like something off
Play for Today
.

But she drank the wine anyway.

Geraldine Dornan was a very good-looking girl with a spectacular figure, and a mouth like a Tilbury docker. Lenny could certainly see what had attracted Jason Prior, especially if he was looking to rent her out. She had the face of an angel, and the body of a porn queen – a lethal combination by anyone’s standards. She was on the ball though; she was listening intently to her brother as he explained what she had to do, and he respected the fact that she asked how much she would be getting paid for it.

Jason Prior surrounded himself with the lowest of the low. And so even though he might be mob-handed, none of the people with him would put themselves in danger to save his sorry arse. He lived just off the Railton Road in Brixton, in honour of his black roots. He was a mongrel – a bit of Jamaican and a bit of Mexican, with a white mother. He had grown up a troubled boy and he was now a seriously damaged man. Jason was known as a good earner; he could get his hands on literally any pharmaceutical known to man, which he did regularly.

The downside of Jason Prior was that he was a degenerate gambler and, like all true gamblers, he had no conscience. When he lost large amounts, he was not inclined to pay the debt. He would be angry with himself for losing, and with whoever gave him the means to blow said money. He would be granted the honour of writing a chit, promising to pay the poke back within fourteen days, and he would then tip whoever had given him the tick a resounding bollocks. He was fast running out of people to borrow from, even though they knew he was good for it. His failure to pay had caused a lot of bad feeling and resentment. Jason was a man for whom that upset meant absolutely nothing – he genuinely didn’t care. Or, in his words, he didn’t give a flying fuck. If they wanted their money, let them come and get it, simple as that. If they were mug enough to give it to him, then that was their lookout. Jason was a ferocious man, with an even more ferocious temper, so the odds on that happening were slim. He was a bona fide nutter, and that had always been his biggest asset as far as he was concerned. But now he was finally going to pay the price for his bad behaviour and, as the word was coming from Jack Johnson this time, Jason needed to wise up. Jack only asked once.

This was what was going through Lenny’s mind as he saw Geraldine waiting outside Jason’s house. It was a nice drum – with three storeys it had the look of a substantial property. Lenny was waiting over the road, his shotgun hidden by his long overcoat. He nodded towards Reggie who was opposite him. They had agreed it would be best to come at Jason from the front and the back to give him no chance of escape. He was a slippery fucker at the best of times.

As Jason tripped happily down his front steps, smiling widely at Geraldine, both Reggie and Lenny moved into place. Geraldine started running away and Jason stopped short for a few seconds, wondering what the fuck was going on with her. It was then that he saw Lenny Scott and the shotgun. For a few seconds his face registered shock, and then he dropped to his knees, pulling out a weapon of his own. As he took aim, both Lenny and Reggie started blasting him. He didn’t have a chance. No one on the street took any notice – they just moved away as quickly as possible.

While Lenny kept an eye out and watched the dying man at his feet, Reggie ran into the house and collected all the money he could find. Within ten minutes it was over. The money and the guns were in the boot of the car, and Lenny and Reggie were laughing their heads off; they had pulled it off without a hitch. It was a great feeling. The euphoria was infectious and they were almost hysterical.