The Feud (41 page)

She knew he was drunk. It wasn’t often Eddie got like that now, but she could always tell when he was by the amount of noise he made and the length of time it took him to reach the top of the stairs.

Something was troubling him, she knew that. Eddie hadn’t been himself for weeks and Jessica wondered if he had raked up some new information about his father’s murder. He hadn’t even slept in their bedroom, but had gone into the spare room.

As Jessica banged the kettle against the worktop, Eddie stopped eating his cereal and tried to cuddle her. ‘I’m sorry about yesterday. It took me hours to find Buster and then something else cropped up. I’ll make it up to your mum and dad, I promise. Got a lot on me plate at the moment, I have, Jess.’

Jessica was angry. Men were so full of themselves at times. ‘And so have I, Ed. I’ve got a lot on my plate, as
well. Have you forgotten that I’m carrying our third child? I’m sick of clearing up after everyone here. The twins don’t lift a finger and since you brought them dogs home, the place is a tip. Full of hairs, it is, and I now have to clean twice a day, instead of once. Also, I’m worried about Frankie. I know she’s turned sixteen now, but I don’t like her staying out all night. I’m sure she’s got a boyfriend she’s not telling us about. I asked her outright the other day, but she denied it, of course.’

Eddie felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He had enough problems with Joey without Frankie being at it as well.

Joey walking into the kitchen stopped the conversation dead. ‘Morning Mum, morning Dad,’ Joey said brightly.

The sight of his son put Eddie off the remainder of his cornflakes. Joey disgusted him and he would never forget those photographs as long as he lived.

‘Do you want me to make you some breakfast, love?’ Jessica asked Joey.

‘Not really hungry, Mum. You got any fruit? I fancy a banana.’

Remembering the snap where Joey had his hand around his boyfriend’s nether regions, Eddie threw his cornflakes into the bin and stomped upstairs.

‘What’s up with him? Yous two had a row?’ Joey asked his mum.

Jessica shrugged. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter with him. Don’t worry, it can’t be anything to do with you, Joey. If Dad had found out anything about Dominic, he’d have said something to me, I know he would. Maybe it’s to do with Grandad Harry. Perhaps he’s heard some rumours about what happened to him, or something.’

Joey hugged his mum. He had always been closer to
her than he had to his father, and since she had supported him over his sexuality, he loved her more than ever.

‘If I ask you something, Joey, will you tell me the truth?’

‘Of course, what do you want to know?’

‘I know Frankie’s got a boyfriend and I want to know why she’s being so secretive about him.’

Joey didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t drop Frankie in it, so made up the first excuse he could think of. ‘Frankie gets embarrassed, Mum. All she’s told me is his name. She’s never had a proper boyfriend before, so I think it’s all new to her. His name’s John, apparently, and I’m sure in time she’ll bring him home so we can all meet him.’

Jessica pushed Joey’s hair off his forehead. He was such a sensitive boy and had a gift for putting her mind at rest. ‘Where you off to today?’ she asked him.

‘I’m going shopping in Romford. Its Dom’s birthday next weekend and he’s taking me to a posh restaurant to celebrate. He bought me a lovely bracelet for my birthday, Mum. I’ve hidden it upstairs, but I’ll show you it later,’ Joey whispered.

Jessica smiled. Her son was in love and, in her own way, she was pleased for him. She would rather Joey be in love with a girl, but he was sixteen now and old enough to make his own choices in life. ‘I wish you every happiness, Joey, I really do,’ Jessica whispered back.

Aware of Eddie’s footsteps approaching, Jessica told Joey to sit down and eat his banana.

‘I’m going out now. Got a lot of work on today, so I dunno what time I’ll be home,’ Eddie growled.

Not able to be in the same room as his son, Eddie turned on his heel without waiting for an answer. The quicker he got out of the house, the less physically sick he would feel.

* * *

Frankie woke up feeling like nothing on earth. She was meant to be going over to Kent with Jed to drop off a horse that he’d sold, but she felt too ill to do so. She rang him up to explain. ‘I’m so sorry, Jed. I’ve been as sick as a pig. Do you feel OK? I think that Chinese we ate last night was a bit dodgy.’

Jed laughed. ‘You see me, Frankie – never had a day’s illness in me life. I ain’t even on no doctor’s books. I’ve told you before, you don’t eat enough meat. Meat makes you strong, makes you healthy, it does. Fit as a fiddle, I am.’

‘How long will you be in Kent for? Can I see you when you get back?’ Frankie asked, changing the subject. Talking about meat was making her feel worse than ever.

‘Well, if you ain’t coming, I might have to take me other bird with me, so I might not be back till tomorrow,’ Jed goaded her.

Knowing he was only winding her up, Frankie managed a smile. ‘Don’t muck about, you tosser.’

‘I’ll be back this afternoon. I’ll ring you when I’m through the tunnel. Tell your mum and dad you’re staying at your mate’s tonight and stay at mine.’

‘OK,’ Frankie said immediately. Even though things were getting awkward at home, with her mum asking all sorts of questions, she still couldn’t resist spending the night with him. Waking up with Jed in the morning was the best feeling in the whole wide world. Frankie said goodbye to him and struggled onto the landing.

‘Mum, I feel really ill. I’ve been sick twice, I think I’ve got food poisoning. Bring me up some medicine, will you?’ she shouted.

When the kids were younger, Jessica used to be frantic if they had any kind of illness. Since they had got older, she didn’t worry too much. She was sure that alcohol
played a part in many of their little off days. They drank like fish indoors, so Christ knows what they were sinking when they were out gallivanting with friends.

Fishing through the cupboards, Jessica took a box of tablets upstairs. ‘I’ve got some Setlers. Take two of them,’ she said, handing Frankie the box.

Seeing how washed-out her daughter looked, Jessica sat down on the edge of her bed. ‘You’re having too many late nights and you’re drinking too much, that’s your trouble. You’re only sixteen, Frankie, your body can’t cope with being abused on a regular basis.’

Frankie took the tablets, and then lay flat on her back. She felt like death warmed up and a lecture from her mother was the last thing she needed. ‘I’m staying round Stacey’s tonight, but I promise I won’t drink,’ Frankie lied.

Jessica squeezed her daughter’s hand. ‘Don’t fib to me, Frankie. I know you’ve got a boyfriend and I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with him. If I’ve accepted Joey’s relationship, what makes you think that I wouldn’t accept yours? You’ve left school now, so you’re entitled to have a boyfriend. Why don’t you bring him round for tea one day, so me and your dad can meet him?’

Overcome by anxiety, Frankie burst into tears and put her head under the quilt. ‘Just leave me alone and go away,’ she yelled.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Jessica said no more. She stood up and left her daughter to her tantrum.

Sitting outside the pub in Islington, Eddie sipped his drink and stared at the flats across the road. For the last hour he had been watching every bastard that entered the building and there was still no sign of gay boy Dominic. He had buzzed number fourteen earlier, but there was no
reply. He guessed Dominic was working. He was a lot older than Joey and, from what he could remember of seeing him at his house, the boy seemed intelligent and well dressed.

Eddie sighed. If Frankie had brought Dominic home, he would have been reasonably happy about it, but not fucking Joey.

Thinking back to when his son was young, Eddie knew that the signs had always been there. He had wanted to stick his oar in years ago and toughen the kid up but, frightened Jessica would leave him again, he had kept his trap shut. Ed had let Jessica bring the twins up in the way she thought was right and now he could have kicked himself.

A son needed a dad to take him in hand, show him what the world was all about. Eddie had missed out on all that with Joey. He had been out working a lot and Jessica had cracked the whip, not him. Trouble was, she hadn’t cracked it hard enough. Lost in his thoughts, Eddie almost did a double take as he saw the tall, dark-haired geezer letting himself in the security door.

‘Who’s a pretty boy then?’Eddie mumbled as he walked back into the pub for a refill.

Dominic had been indoors just over an hour when the buzzer sounded. He hated travelling on the underground; all those sweaty people made him feel grubby and he had just got out of the bath. Throwing on his white dressing gown, Dominic rushed to answer the door.

‘Hello, who is it?’

‘Royal Mail, mate. I’ve got a delivery for you.’

Dominic was perplexed. He had nothing on order, to his knowledge. Suddenly it came to him. Joey must have sent him an early birthday present. His boyfriend was such a sweetie sometimes, he really was.

As Dominic opened the front door, the force of Eddie’s fist sent him the full length of the hallway. As his dressing gown flew open, he quickly tried to cover his glory. ‘What do you want? Please don’t hurt me.’ he sobbed as he recognised Joey’s father.

Eddie shut the door. ‘You got a stereo, Pretty Boy?’ he asked.

‘It’s in the l-l-living r-r-room,’ Dominic stammered. It wasn’t just his voice that was shaking, his whole body was quivering like an unset jelly.

Eddie made Dominic get up and turn the stereo system on. ‘Find a decent radio station, like that new one, Capital Gold. Turn it up loud, then kneel on the floor,’ he ordered.

‘I don’t k-k-know the frequency,’ Dominic whimpered.

Eddie forced Dominic to lie flat on his face next to the stereo. Ed liked to whistle while he worked and Capital Gold played all the oldies that he liked. Putting his boot on the back of Dominic’s neck to stop him from moving, Eddie found what he was looking for.

‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ by Procol Harum was playing and as Eddie turned Dominic over, he thought how appropriate the song was. The colour of Pretty Boy’s face was whiter than fucking snow.

‘Please d-don’t kill me. I p-p-promise I will never see Joey again, if that’s what you w-w-want,’ Dominic begged, terrified.

Eddie smiled. ‘Got any beers?’ he asked.

‘In the f-f-fridge.’

‘If you move, I’ll kill you,’ Eddie told him.

Bringing in a pack of four, Eddie handed one to his son’s lover. ‘Drink it,’ he said, as he sat on the sofa.

As Dominic got up to sit on the armchair opposite, Eddie threw an unopened can at his head. ‘Get down on the floor, you cunt. I never said you could get up, did I now?’

‘Sorry. I’m so sorry,’ Dominic pleaded, as he lay on his front.

Eddie sipped his lager. Trust Pretty Boy to only have Carlsberg. Weak person, weak lager.

‘Turn over on your back,’ Eddie ordered him.

Shivering, Dominic clutched his dressing down around himself and did as he was told. He was so petrified that his voice had temporarily gone on holiday.

Finishing the lager, Eddie crushed the can in his right hand and smiled as Dominic flinched. ‘Do you know what this song’s about?’ Eddie asked him.

Capital Gold was now playing the Bee Gees’ classic, ‘Gotta Get a Message to You’.

‘No. I don’t k-k-know m-many oldies,’Dominic managed to whisper.

‘It’s about someone who’s gonna die and wants to send a message to their loved ones,’ Eddie informed him.

‘Please d-d-don’t kill me. I bbeg you,’Dominic pleaded. ‘I p-p-promise, I’ll do whatever you ask.’

Knowing that Dominic was telling the truth, Eddie decided to give him just one last little scare. He had no intention of killing him. After the unfortunate Terry Palmer incident, he had to let his bullets lie low for a while. Eddie didn’t fancy a stretch inside. Not only that, Jess leaving him would break his heart, and she was worth more to him than Pretty Boy was.

Taking the carving knife out of the inside pocket of his leather jacket, Eddie bent down. ‘Open your dressing gown,’ he demanded.

Dominic’s hand shook like a leaf as he tried to undo the belt, but couldn’t. Not one to see a man struggling, Eddie did the honours for him.

‘Please, no!’ Dominic screamed, holding his hands over his penis and shaking his head from side to side in fright.

As Eddie looked at Dominic’s flaccid dick, he tried to erase his son from his mind. One thought of Joey wanking it or sucking it, he would chop the bastard thing off in a flash.

As Dominic screamed in anticipation, Eddie turned the radio up a bit louder. The geezer was a typical weasel, and Eddie didn’t want the neighbours knocking on the door.

Lifting Dominic’s cock up with the knife, Eddie held the blade to it and stared deeply into his victim’s eyes. ‘You ring Joey tomorrow and you tell him it’s all over. I want you to let him down as kindly as possible, just say he’s too young or something. If he won’t accept that, you tell him you’ve met someone else.’

‘I will, I will, I p-p-promise,’ Dominic wept.

Eddie smiled at Dominic’s anguish. Unable to resist terrorising Dominic even more, Ed flopped his penis over and made the slightest of cuts on the tip. ‘You see that? Look, it’s your blood.’

‘I can’t look. I c-c-can’t, I’ve got a phobia of b-b-blood,’ Dominic whispered.

‘Well, I’ll tell you something, shall I? If you ever set foot within a hundred yards of my son again, I will hunt you down and chop that little knob of yours off for you. Then I’ll pick it up with me bare hands and ram it straight down the back of your throat until you choke on it. Now, do we understand one another?’

‘I u-u-understand. I’ll tell Joey t-tomorrow. You h-h-have my w-word,’ Dominic sobbed.

With a wry grin on his face, Eddie wiped the blood off his knife onto Dominic’s dressing gown. He then turned the radio up full blast and calmly left the flat.

From the moment Joey received the phone call from Dominic, he was totally inconsolable. He couldn’t eat or sleep, and for the next forty-eight hours refused to get out of his bed.