The Feud (28 page)

Eddie cringed. Trust Ronny to be pissed and say something like that in the house of God. Frantically waving his hands, Eddie urged the organist to play the song that he had chosen. Harry’s all-time favourite was the old war time classic, ‘Heart of My Heart’.

‘When I pop me clogs, I want that played at me funeral. It was me and your mother’s favourite song, Eddie,’ his dad had told him.

Lots of tears flowed as everybody joined in with the words.

When we were kids on the corner of the street,

We were rough and ready guys,

But oh, how we could harmonise!

Feeling his eyes well up, Eddie did his best to hold back the tears. Every villain in London was here and he was desperate not to make a tit of himself in front of the world’s finest. Pulling himself together, Eddie joined in with the singing:

I know a tear would glisten,
If once more I could listen,
To the gang that sang
‘Heart of My Heart’.

As the chapel began to empty, Jessica squeezed Eddie’s hand. ‘It was a lovely send-off. Your dad would have been proud,’ she told him.

Eddie stood by the graveside, amazed by the number of people in attendance. There had been hundreds unable to fit inside the chapel and they had listened outside to
the service on a loudspeaker. Eddie stood between Sylvie and Auntie Joan. Both women were beside themselves and he had to nigh-on physically support them.

As his father’s body was finally laid to rest, Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. ‘God bless, Dad,’ he whispered, as he threw earth on top of the coffin.

Desperate to be seen as an important member of the family, Joyce grabbed Eddie’s arm. ‘Come and look at the beautiful flowers,’ she insisted.

Eddie let her drag him away and listened as she rattled on about who had sent what. ‘Look at that beauty that says BIG H; Freddie Foreman sent that. I love the LEGEND one, don’t you? That’s from the Krays. Look at that boxing glove, Ed, it’s massive, ain’t it?’

‘Who sent that?’ Eddie asked, completely disinterested.

‘Er, I can’t remember. Here we go: the card says Jimmy O’Hara and family.’

Eddie felt the blood in his veins run cold, ‘Give us that fucking card,’ he yelled.

Wondering what she had done so wrong, Joyce nervously handed it to him. Eddie stared at it. ‘To Eddie and family. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time. Jimmy O’Hara and family.’

Eddie was livid. He left Joyce standing with her mouth open and stomped over to his brothers. ‘The cheeky pikey cunt, he’s taking the fucking piss out of us,’ he yelled.

Raymond ran over and tried to calm him down. ‘Don’t say nothing here, Ed. If Jimmy’s done it to wind you up, you don’t want him to think he’s succeeded. There’s too many eyes and ears around. Just forget about it for now and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.’

Eddie brushed Raymond’s arm away. ‘Let’s get away from here. Tell the undertakers we’re ready. I need a fucking drink.’

As Jessica ran over to see what their father was upset about, the twins nudged one another. ‘I think our family is really weird, don’t you?’ Joey whispered.

Frankie burst out laughing. ‘I wouldn’t say they’re weird, but they’re definitely not normal.’

Joey smiled as he saw Auntie Joan, Auntie Vi and another lady heading their way.

‘Look at yous two. Ain’t you all grown up, and such handsome kids. Look Sylvie, these are Harry’s grandchildren. This is Frankie, who’s a ringer for her father, and doesn’t Joey look like his mother?’ Vi said.

Sylvie shook hands with the twins. ‘We have met before, but it was years ago and I’d never have recognised you now.’

Frankie and Joey both kissed her politely.

‘Kids, come on, we’re going!’ Eddie yelled.

‘Goodbye Sylvie, bye Auntie Joan, bye Auntie Vi. Are you all coming back to the pub?’ Joey asked.

‘No, lovey. It’s been a long day. Me, Vi and Sylvie are gonna toast your grandad indoors. We’re going back to mine for a drink,’ Joan told him.

Joey linked arms with his sister and led her back to where the cars were parked.

‘Dad didn’t look too happy, did he?’

Frankie giggled. ‘I shouldn’t fucking think so. He has just buried his father who happened to be brutually murdered in his own bed.’

‘I didn’t mean that – you know what I meant,’ Joey said, annoyed.

Frankie laughed. ‘Come on, I’ll race you. Last one back buys the fags later.’

Eddie had no other option than to book the Flag for the wake. His father had spent so many hours of his life in
there, he would have come back and haunted Eddie if it had been held anywhere else. Obviously there was a free bar, but the size of the pub was a problem. With so many mourners, there weren’t enough staff behind the bar or enough room for people to stand comfortably. Eddie made a quick phone call and organised another free bar in the Ordnance Arms, which was also an old haunt of his dad’s. People could make their own mind up where they wanted to go. If they weren’t happy being squashed like sardines in a tin, they could have a drink in Harry’s memory down the road.

Jessica stood in the corner of the pub with Vicki. Dougie was up at the bar with the men. Neither Vicki nor Jessica were annoyed that their husbands had deserted them. On this type of occasion the men always clubbed together and the women were left to their own devices.

‘Where are the twins? Can you see them? I have to keep my eye on them, as they do like a drink, you know,’ Jessica said to her friend.

Vicki craned her neck. ‘I can’t see them, but I’m sure they’re fine. How old are they now? Nearly sixteen, aren’t they? I was drinking in pubs at their age, weren’t you? I wouldn’t worry about them too much.’

Jessica nodded. The twins were a bit too streetwise for her liking and she couldn’t help but worry about them.

Eddie stood up at the bar with all the old school.

‘Can I have a quick word with you, Eddie?’ Patrick Murphy asked him.

Eddie followed the big Irishman outside the pub and they found a quiet spot. ‘Please don’t think I’m sticking my nose in your business, Eddie, but I’m telling you now, your father’s murder had nothing to do with the O’Haras. I was round at Jimmy’s on Christmas Eve. His sons were there, his brothers, his cousins. I didn’t leave there till
three in the morning. I know this must be awful for you, Ed, but you’ve gotta look somewhere else for your answers. You know as well as I do that when Alice left Jimmy, he lost his swagger. I know you’ve had a feud with him in the past, but he’s a changed man now. He don’t want any grief, especially now Alice has agreed to give him another chance.’

Eddie put his thinking cap on. Maybe the stress of what had happened to his father had caused him to bark up the wrong tree. If the whole of the O’Hara clan were at Jimmy’s, then maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t them. Rubbing his tired eyes, Eddie looked at Patrick for answers. ‘Apart from the O’Haras, I can’t think who else had a massive grudge against my dad. I mean, if someone would have blasted his brains out, I could have dealt with it, understood it. But battering the life out of him – who would do a thing like that? It ain’t exactly our style, is it?’

Patrick handed Eddie a cigar. ‘No, it’s not the work of people like us, Eddie. This is what I’m trying to tell you. I know Jimmy’s a traveller, but he’s a family man and, like us, he has rules. I know your old man shot his, but if he wanted revenge, he would have returned it the same way. Can you honestly see him ransacking your dad’s house and torturing him? Jimmy ain’t a bad geezer deep down and that ain’t his style. He has standards, for fuck’s sake.’

Eddie accepted a light and urged Patrick to go back inside. ‘Shout me up a large Scotch. I just need five minutes to meself,’ he told him.

Patrick nodded. ‘Promise me you’ll think about what I’ve said, Eddie. I’m friendly with both you and Jimmy and I’d hate to see your feud reignited for no reason. You’ve got to think of your wife, Eddie, your children. Do you really want to put them in danger?’ If you start
a war, how do you know your family won’t be caught up in the crossfire? You’ve got to let sleeping dogs lie on this one, Ed. Jimmy O’Hara never killed your father.’

Eddie watched the big man walk away. Patrick Murphy was no man’s fool and deep down, Eddie knew that what he was saying made sense. Waiting for the police to release his dad’s body had made his brain go all wonky. It couldn’t have been Jimmy O’Hara, it wasn’t his style and he had a cast-iron alibi.

As Jessica walked towards him, Eddie smiled at her.

‘Are you OK? I was worried about you. Why are you out here on your own?’

Eddie held his arms out and hugged his wife tightly. Jessica was his life and he’d never do anything to endanger the welfare of her and the kids, not in a million years.

In the weeks that followed Harry’s funeral, Eddie got himself back into his usual routine.

As he and the police had drawn a blank on the identity of his father’s killer, Eddie had little option other than to throw himself into his work. Since Christmas, he had let things slip, but he was determined not to fuck up the Mitchell reputation his dad had fought so hard to create in the first place.

The nightmares of what had happened still haunted Eddie. Many a night, he would get up about 3 or 4 a.m. and sit downstairs drinking endless cups of tea. Jessica had been a real star. She was very supportive and, if he was having a black day, she was gentle and understanding.

‘For fuck’s sake, Dad. Three times I’ve asked you the same question and you still ain’t answered me.’

‘Sorry, Rick, I was miles away, son. What were you saying?’

Ricky stood up. ‘Forget it. It’s my round. Same again?’

Eddie nodded. It was his forty-seventh birthday today. Jessica was at home preparing for a dinner party for him. It would be the first time they’d entertained at home since his dad’s untimely death.

Gary and Ricky had declined the invitation of a quiet
night in. ‘We’re going to a rave up town, Dad, but we’ll take you out for a beer in the day,’ they’d told him.

Eddie hadn’t minded. They were only in their early twenties and he had been exactly the same himself at their age.

Ricky handed his brother and father their drinks.

‘What exactly is all this rave shit you keep on about?’ he asked his sons.

Gary laughed. ‘If you ain’t heard of raves, Dad, then you must be getting old.’

‘They’re a new thing out. Word has it, they’re gonna sweep the country this summer. The music’s blinding, Dad. They play house music. Everyone gets out of their nuts and they go on all night long,’ Ricky added.

‘You two ain’t fucking taking drugs, are you?’ Eddie asked.

Gary shook his head. ‘We just get pissed and pull all the birds, Dad,’ he lied.

Neither Gary nor Ricky were really into drugs, but ecstasy tablets were a new thing out, and they liked to drop an occasional one. They liked the ones called American burgers. They were proper happy pills and you could dance all night on them. These raves went on for hours and without something in your system to keep you going, you’d be as out of place as a pig in a synagogue.

‘So, who’s coming round yours tonight?’ Ricky asked his father.

‘Raymondo’s bringing Polly, his bit of posh, round. We ain’t met her yet. He was bringing her round Boxing Day but, obviously, when Grandad was found dead, he didn’t. Vicki and Dougie are coming and I’ve also invited Patrick Murphy and his old woman.’

‘Well, I hope you have a good night, Dad. How are the twins? Will they be there?’ Gary asked.

Eddie smiled. ‘They’re OK. They didn’t wanna sit in with their old dad, either, so they’re pissing off out. Jess worries when they go to these parties and stuff, but they’re nearly sixteen and all their friends are allowed to go and come home late. I always give ’em cab money to get themselves home, mind. I’ve told them the day I find out they’ve been pocketing the money and walking home is the day I put me foot down.’

As their dad went to the toilet, Ricky turned to Gary. ‘Shall we give him the present now?’

Gary took the black velvet box out of his pocket. The lads had clubbed together and brought their father a new watch. It was a Rolex and had cost them a fucking fortune.

‘Happy birthday, Dad. That’s from the two of us,’ Gary said, as Eddie returned to the table.

Eddie was choked as he opened the box. ‘Fucking hell! It’s beautiful, but you shouldn’t have spent that kind of dough. A shirt would have done me. I’d rather see yous spend your money on yourselves.’

‘You’ve always been a great dad to us and this is the first year we’ve been in a position to buy you something decent,’ Gary insisted.

Eddie took his old watch off and put the new one on. ‘I love it,’ he said truthfully.

Ricky glanced at his brother. ‘We’re gonna have to go in a minute, Gal. We promised Mum we’d be there by three.’

‘How is your mother?’ Eddie asked.

Gary sighed. ‘She ain’t been well, Dad. The doctor’s told her she’ll be dead in two years if she don’t knock the drink on the head. She’s so thin now and her skin looks kind of yellow.’

Eddie shook his head sadly. ‘I know me and your mother were never Romeo and Juliet, but I’m sorry to
hear that. Go on, yous get going, and tell your mum, if she needs money or anything, she knows where I am.’

Gary and Ricky said their goodbyes and left. Eddie ordered himself another drink and sat at the table alone. He’d met his sons in a pub in Aveley where no one knew him. It was nice to have a quiet bevvy and be anonymous for once. Glancing at his new watch, Eddie smiled. Gary and Ricky had always been thoughtful and generous. From the age of five upwards, they’d made or bought him nice presents. Frankie and Joey were the opposite. The twins had been given far too much from an early age and they’d grown up in their own little world. They rarely remembered his or Jessica’s birthdays and, even though they received plenty of pocket money, they never bothered spending it on anyone other than themselves.

Deep in thought, Eddie didn’t notice the man walk towards him.

‘Eddie, how are you, mush? I was sorry to hear about your father. Our families might never have been muckers, but your old man didn’t deserve to die like that. This is Alice, my wife. Can I get you a drink?’