The Feud (12 page)

Whether the job was dangerous or not, Raymond had no intention of walking away from it. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this all his life, and he would do literally anything to impress Eddie and secure his place in the family firm.

‘Goodbye son, see you tonight,’ Stanley shouted.

Raymond sighed as his father shut the front door. How he could sit on that stinking bus every day, being abused by schoolchildren, Ray would never know. It was watching the old man come home moaning about his job every night that had given Raymond the determination to make something of his own life. He loved his dad dearly, but would rather die than end up like him.

‘Morning, darling. I’m so excited for you. Now, let your old mum cook you a nice bit of egg and bacon. You need to keep your strength up if you’re gonna be working with Eddie and his brothers.’

Raymond shook his head. ‘Thanks, Mum, but I’ve already eaten. I haven’t had a bath yet, so I’d best go and get meself ready.’

Joyce smiled as he bolted upstairs. Her Raymond working with Eddie and his brothers had made her the proudest mother in the universe and she couldn’t wait to tell her friends. Hilda and Rita would be so jealous. Both their sons had crappy jobs and not much to show for their lives. Raymond had always been far too intelligent to end up like them.

Eddie picked Raymond up at nine on the dot. ‘I’ve found you a flat. It belongs to a mate of mine who’s doing a bit of bird. It’s fully furnished and he only wants a score a week rent. I’ll take you there now, it’s in Dagenham, and it’s only ten minutes away from me and Jess.’

Eddie said very little as Raymond walked around the flat and studied the joint. It was very basic, but clean and certainly liveable.

‘Whaddya think?’ Eddie asked, once Ray had looked in every room.

‘Yeah, it’s OK. Beats listening to me parents argue,’ Raymond said bluntly.

‘Once you find your feet, you can get yourself somewhere better. It’ll do you until then, though. Get your stuff packed up tonight and I’ll pick you up in the morning and help you move in,’ Eddie told him.

Raymond looked at Eddie in amazement. He hadn’t expected things to move this quickly; he thought he’d be moving in a month or so. He hadn’t even told his parents that he was leaving home yet. ‘It’s a bit quick, ain’t it, Ed? Can’t I move in in a couple of weeks? It’ll give me more time to sort stuff out.’

Eddie shook his head. ‘If you’re gonna be working with me, you definitely need your own space. Too many eyes, too many questions, Raymond.’

Raymond nodded. He could hardly argue with Eddie, could he now? He forced a smile. ‘Tomorrow it is, then.’

The next step was Savile Row, where Eddie forked out on two suits, four shirts, three ties and a pair of black leather shoes. Eddie had known the guy who owned the tailor’s shop for years.

‘Seeing as my family are your best customers, how quick can you get one of them suits altered for me?’ he asked.

‘It’ll be done by tomorrow afternoon, Mr Mitchell,’ came the owner’s reply.

‘There’s nothing like people showing you a bit of respect, Raymond. One day that will be you, son,’ Eddie said, as he guided him towards a posh restaurant.

With the menu written in French, Raymond urged Eddie to order for the both of them.

‘And bring over a bottle of your finest champagne as well,’ Eddie told the waiter.

Sipping the bubbly, Eddie and Raymond chatted about Jessica and the kids until their food arrived.

Raymond, who was by now starving, bolted his down within minutes. ‘Nice bit of grub, ain’t it, Ed?’

Eddie laughed. ‘It’s OK, I’ve had better.’

Already loving his new life, Raymond gladly accepted the offer of another bottle of champagne.

Clearing his throat, Eddie decided it was time to drop the bombshell. In detail, he explained the conversation he’d had with his family and the task Raymond had been given.

‘So where do I find this Mad Dave?’ Raymond asked immediately.

‘He owns a two-bob car lot on an industrial estate in Leyton. He’s in a right remote spot at the back of it. There’s a young bird works for him, calls herself his secretary, but really he’s shafting her behind his old woman’s back. I can’t remember the bird’s name, but she’s about eighteen, a single mum and she leaves at three to pick her kid up from school. Mad Dave ain’t got many friends – horrible cunt he is – so chances are, once she’s gone, he’ll definitely be on his Jack Jones.’

‘How much does he owe you?’ Raymond asked calmly.

Eddie was pleased, but also quite taken aback by the kid’s attitude. He seemed keen to pass the task and Ed hoped that it wasn’t just the champagne talking.

‘Eight grand he’s fucked me over for. He brought a load of hooky motors off of me. He owed ten altogether, but he paid back two, then he came out with some cock and bull about the Old Bill nicking the cars off him. It’s a load of old bollocks, I know it is, but he’s been fobbing me off ever since. I try and be fair with people, Ray, but I’ll be honest with you, if I still hadn’t got me dough by the end of this month, I was gonna do the cunt meself.’

‘Can I take something with me to use if I need to?’ Raymond asked.

‘I’ll give you something to carry. I’ve got a cosh, a baseball bat – you can take whatever you want. Anyway,
you ain’t gotta worry. Me and the boys will sit just outside the gate. Any agg, we’ll be there like a shot, mate.’

Raymond smiled. He’d never suffered from having a nervous disposition and he wasn’t about to get one now. He needed this job and he would do whatever he had to, to prove his worth. ‘I’ve got me own tool, I’ll use that, and thanks anyway, but I’m sure I won’t need any help.’

Eddie was stunned by the boy’s coolness. ‘Be warned, Ray, Mad Dave’s a big old lump. A wanker he is, but a pushover he ain’t.’

Smiling, Raymond topped up both of their glasses. ‘To me and Mad Dave. May the best man win, eh?’

Two days later, all Savile Rowed up, Raymond sat in the back of a white transit van alongside Eddie, Ronny and Paulie. Uncle Reg had donned his check cap and pipe, and had offered his services to drive.

‘I wore this just in case we were seen. I look like some OAP on a jolly boys’ outing, no one’s gonna clock us with me driving,’ he laughed.

‘So you’re ready to play with the big boys are you, Ray?’ Ronny asked sarcastically.

Raymond could tell immediately that Ronny didn’t want him in the firm and was determined to prove him wrong. ‘More than ready,’ he answered politely.

‘Next on your right, Reg. You know where it is, don’t you? Straight down the bottom of that road.’

‘Don’t worry, I know I’ve semi-retired meself, but I ain’t fucking senile yet,’ Reg said jokingly.

Ronny nudged Paulie as they pulled up outside Mad Dave’s appalling-looking car site. ‘I’d love to be a fly on the wall, wouldn’t you?’ he whispered.

Paulie ignored him. Whatever the end result, this kid had bigger bollocks than most.

‘What tool did you bring?’ Eddie asked, as he opened the back door.

From nowhere, Raymond pulled out the biggest butcher’s knife Eddie had ever seen. ‘Fucking hell. Where did you get that from?’

‘I used to be a butcher, didn’t I? And I know exactly how to use it. Now, are you sure his bird’s gone home?’

Eddie urged Reg to poke his head around the gate.

‘She drives a light-blue Ford Fiesta and parks it just on the right as you go in.’

Within seconds, Reg hobbled back, giving the thumbs up.

Ronny sat quietly as Raymond stepped out of the van and strolled into the car lot like he owned the place. Flash little cunt, I hope he comes unstuck, he thought to himself.

With the knife tucked firmly down the inside of his jacket, Raymond spotted the Portakabin and marched straight in.

Mad Dave was sat on a black leather chair. He had his feet on a wooden desk, a beer in one hand and a copy of the
Sun
newspaper in the other. ‘Can I help you?’ he said, without properly looking up.

‘Yes, you can. I work for Eddie Mitchell and I’m here on his behalf to collect the eight thousand pound that you owe him.’

Mad Dave took a large gulp of beer, burped, then threw his head back with laughter. ‘You’re ’aving a giraffe, ain’t yer, mate? So you’re telling me that that mug Eddie Mitchell has sunk so low in his fuckin’ business empire that’s he’s sent some teenage kid round to threaten me?’

Raymond grinned. ‘I’m not a teenage kid and I’m not threatening you. I’m just asking for the dosh that you owe.’

Mad Dave cracked open another beer and downed it
within seconds. ‘Do yourself a favour, kid, and fuck off home,’ he told Raymond.

As Mad Dave stood up, Raymond felt a slight twinge of fear. The geezer was fucking ginormous. ‘I don’t want no aggro, just pay me the money and I’ll leave,’ Raymond urged him.

Laughing hysterically, Mad Dave walked towards Raymond and lifted him by his new shirt and tie. ‘Go away, you silly little boy,’ he said, as he dragged him towards the Portakabin door.

As fast as a greyhound chasing a hare, Raymond pulled the knife out and shoved it straight through Mad Dave’s guts.

As he hit the floor, Mad Dave’s eyes rolled straight into the back of his head. Raymond bent down to check on him; he had seen enough dead animals to know when someone was brown bread. Desperate not to get the man’s blood on his new suit, Raymond knelt to one side as he searched through Mad Dave’s pockets. He’d spotted the safe when he first came in and it was one of them cheapies that wasn’t coded by numbers. Finding a massive bunch of keys, Raymond walked towards the safe and tried numerous ways to unlock it. ‘Come on,’ he said, as he turned key after key.

Finally, Ray felt the lock turn. He quickly grabbed all the money from inside, pocketed it, and washed the blood off his hands in the sink. Spotting a tea towel, he wiped the safe, the desk and the door. He hadn’t touched anywhere else, he was sure he hadn’t. Washing the blood off the knife, he put it back inside his jacket. His new suit was ruined. He’d caught his pocket with the knife and ripped it, and not only that, it was also sprayed with blood.

With the tea towel firmly attached to his hand, Raymond opened the cabin door. He then ran for his bloody life.

Waiting for Raymond to return was the longest wait of Eddie’s life. Ronny hadn’t helped with his stupid comments and jokes. Willing the kid to come through for him, Eddie smiled as he saw him running towards the van.

‘Drive, quick, go,’ Raymond said, as he leaped into the back.

Paulie and Ronny were stunned to see splashes of blood on Ray’s suit. He didn’t have a mark on him, so it couldn’t be his.

‘Are you OK? What happened?’ Eddie asked nervously.

Raymond was aware of his arms shaking as he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out bundles of £20 notes wrapped up in elastic bands. ‘There’s ten bundles there. I should imagine there’s a grand in each,’he managed to stutter.

Ronny couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘What the fuck? What did you do? Whose blood is it?’

Raymond put his head in his hands. ‘I had to kill him, I had no choice.’

Uncle Reg nearly took the van straight up the kerb. He’d seen some newcomers over the years, but none like this kid. ‘Don’t worry, son. We’ll get rid of the knife and your clothes and clean you up round mine.’

Seeing the shocked expression on the faces of his brothers, Eddie burst out laughing. ‘I think Raymond’s passed his little task, don’t you boys?’ he asked sarcastically.

Paulie immediately held his hand out to Raymond. ‘Well done, mate. Welcome to the family.’

Ronny had no choice other than to do the same. ‘I can’t believe you killed the cunt. How did it happen?’ he asked in awe.

Having by now composed himself a bit, Raymond repeated what had happened in full. ‘I knew he was dead immediately. Remember, I know by the eyes, I used to chop up dead animals, didn’t I?’

Thrilled by the way Raymond had come through for him, Eddie grabbed him in a playful headlock. ‘Well you certainly chopped up a big animal back there, didn’t you, eh?’

Uncle Reg lived in Bow, and within the hour, Raymond was as good as new. A bath had scrubbed the blood away, the knife was long gone and all his clothes, including his socks, pants and shoes, had been burnt to cinders. As he sat on the armchair wearing Uncle Reg’s clothes, Raymond was enjoying being the centre of attention.

‘You can’t go out like that. You look like fucking Alf Garnett,’ Paulie chuckled, as he handed the hero a large Scotch.

‘Thank God you moved into your new flat. Can you imagine your mother’s and father’s faces if you came home from work looking like that?’ Eddie said, ruffling his hair.

Raymond smiled. He had already got over the shock of what he’d done, but the adrenalin was like a drug and he felt high with all the excitement. His parents had been shell-shocked yesterday when he’d moved most of his stuff out.

‘What will you eat? Who’s gonna cook for you and wash and iron your clothes?’ his mother had said.

‘He’s moving out to become a proper villain. He’ll be locked up for murder before you know it,’ he’d heard his father shout.

Raymond smiled to himself. If he had the choice of killing people and making loads of money or killing his own soul by driving around in a bus, then he’d definitely choose option A.

As Ronny counted the money, the Scotch flowed around the room. ‘There was two grand in each bundle, there’s twenty grand here, not ten,’ Ronny shouted out.

Eddie filled Raymond’s glass right up to the very top. ‘I think you should come and stay with me and Jess for a few days, just in case the Old Bill come sniffing around.’

Raymond agreed immediately. He’d already been given an alibi and he knew exactly what to say. Auntie Joan was covering for him and she had already been briefed to say that he’d been round at hers.

A knock on the front door spelled the arrival of Harry Mitchell. Hearing the story in full, Harry shook Raymond’s hand and hugged Eddie. ‘I told you throwing him in at the deep end was the right thing to do,’ he told his son.

Eddie laughed. ‘So you’re taking all the credit for our new addition, are you? I don’t think so, Dad – in your dreams, mate.’