The Life (41 page)

Everyone was in agreement, talking at once. Peter glanced around the Portakabin, and saw with quiet humour that nothing in there had changed since they purchased the place all those years ago – except for the blood that now coated everything.

‘This place will need to be gutted, Daniel. There’s enough mess here to keep the old London going on a Saturday night. Everything, from the carpets to the desks, will have to go.’

Daniel nodded. ‘Sorted. It’s being gutted tomorrow. I’ve got Delroy’s mate, Phillip Harrison, on it. He has an industrial cleaning outfit, and Delroy reckons he’s a fucking whiz with blood. Does crime-scene cleaning, by all accounts – earns a fortune, and it’s legit. Marvellous really, ain’t it, how you can earn a fucking crust these days?’

Peter had heard about the lad and, like his brother, he was amazed at how people could find a niche in such a market, but that was a sign of the times, he supposed. Murder made a lot of money, for a lot of people.

He could hear the rain hammering on the roof; it sounded like a machine gun. He glanced outside. He thought he saw
someone outside the main door; it was a few seconds before his brain registered that it was his young niece, looking for all the world like a drowned rat, her face blurred by the heavy rain that was lashing against the Portakabin. At first he had thought it was the lights outside playing tricks on him, until he saw her move. Then he realised that it was really her, that she had been watching everything as it transpired.

She was staring into his eyes now, and he saw that she did not seem fazed, she was looking at him through the pouring rain as though her being there was the most natural thing in the world. Turning from him abruptly, suddenly she was gone, making her way back hurriedly towards the small office.

Peter Bailey watched her as she ran, his mind racing with the implications of how much she had actually witnessed. He was so shocked that he hesitated for long moments, before turning to his younger brother and bellowing angrily, ‘What in the name of holy fuck is our Tania doing out here?’

Terrence Allen was surprised as well as appalled at how scared he was. Until now, he had believed he was incapable of feeling this much terror; he had perceived himself to be a man of substance, a man of character. He was now aware that he had been completely wrong about that and everything else; he wished desperately that he had never ignored the unwritten law which said you didn’t fuck over those who were stronger than you. He had made a fatal mistake believing he was the cleverest of them all.

He cut himself a line on the dirty worktop and, as he snorted the powder deeply, he felt the rush as it hit his brain. He sniffed it up higher, tasting the bitter flavour sliding down his throat, mingled as it was with his snot. He heaved involuntarily, and swallowed the mucus down, taking a deep swig from his bottle of beer to help it on its way.

The only light he could see at the end of a rather long and dark tunnel was his brother’s innate loyalty. Billy would not say a word, no matter what was done to him. Billy was a cunt like that – he lived and breathed being the quintessential hard man. As thick as shit, of course, but still a man of certain old-style principles and beliefs.

That wasn’t to say, though, that the Baileys wouldn’t find a way to break him. Daniel Bailey was known to be a man who could happily torture a subject while eating his lunch. Whatever people’s past issues with his style, now anything he did would be applauded by the same people who had formerly whispered that he was a fucking head case. His actions – taken to avenge his wife’s death – would only enhance his reputation.

He looked around the flat, and shook his head at the filthy state it was in, but it was a safe house, and that was what he needed now more than creature comforts. He had beer, Scotch, fags and drugs – the main requirements of a man on the run, and he
was
on the run. The flat was in Barking, and it was due for demolition, so he was the only tenant. He opened the curtains slightly, and looked out into the darkness; all he saw was rain and rubbish. The only light he had was from a few candles – and they were not exactly illuminating the place – and he was freezing into the bargain.

A Calor Gas heater was on low, but it would not last much longer; he wished he had made proper provision in case something like this happened. But there was literally nowhere else to go – the Baileys knew everything about them, and he didn’t know who in his circle he could really trust now. After all, he had fucked up big time; Lena Bailey’s death was not something that would earn him brownie points. Unless something drastic happened to the Baileys, he was persona non grata for the foreseeable future.

He tried Petey Bailey’s mobile once more, but it was either turned off, or the battery was dead, so he left yet another message, and hoped against hope for the best.

Maybe Billy had convinced the Baileys that they were a pair of innocents. Unfortunately, his behaviour at the engagement party had not been appreciated – he had shown his hand far too
soon. Arrogance was his biggest failing. He had believed at the time that he had something to be arrogant about. Now, the people he had been working with all these years would readily serve him up without a second’s thought.

Terry dropped down heavily on to the greasy old settee that looked and smelled like it had been purchased some time during the Korean War, and he waited.

It was the waiting that was the worst part.

Petey Bailey looked at his young cousin and smiled. He had not realised how pretty Tania had become, or how much she had matured physically in the last couple of years. Even like this, soaked to the skin and shivering with cold, she looked good.

He had insisted on taking her home, and she had been so grateful, refusing to go with anyone else but him. He had been glad to leave the scrapyard; now he looked like the hero of the hour. His father had been beside himself with anger about her being anywhere near the place. But with everything that was going on, Petey could see how she could be lost in the middle of it. These were not normal times, as he had pointed out to his father and, as such, normal behaviour was not to be expected.

But it was Tania who had really shocked him; she had argued her point with passion and a strength that he had never believed possible of her. She had really let rip, reminding them that her mother was dead and she had every right to know who was responsible. She had also pointed out that she had been a Bailey all her life and, as she wasn’t deaf, dumb or blind, she had sussed everything out from a very young age. She was nearly eighteen and, like young Delroy, she had as much right as the rest of them to be treated as an adult.

He had left them there, arguing the toss, insisting that she needed to get home and warmed up before she caught pneumonia or worse. He had been the perfect knight in shining armour.

‘You all right, Tania?’

She nodded sadly.

‘How much did you really see, darling?’

She shrugged, thrilled at his calling her darling; she had imagined him saying that to her so many times. He was such a big part of her life; he didn’t know that she thought about him all the time. He was larger than life – her equivalent of a rock star or actor. Petey was everything that she believed it was important for a man to be. It wasn’t just his good looks, but the way he treated her; he was the whole package.

The car was getting too hot now, and Petey really wanted to open a window and let some cold air in, but he knew she was probably freezing. She had been a handy little tool tonight, bless her – she had got him away from all the fucking shit.

‘I don’t know why they think I’m some kind of fragile doll.
I
lost my mum, remember? I don’t care who suffers, as long as we find out who did it.’

He could hear the determination in her voice, but it was mixed with a girlish whine that just proved how young she still was. She was trying hard to be strong. Petey guessed, rightly, that she wanted to be a part of the family firm because she needed to feel like she was doing something constructive, rather than just grieving. He understood how she was feeling; she was, as she pointed out, more of a Bailey than they realised. She had the same genes, and her grandmother’s strength of character. One day, he was sure, she would be a woman to be proud of.

‘You shouldn’t have poked your nose in. You should have listened to your brother, and waited patiently like he asked you.’

She snorted in annoyance. ‘I thought you were on my side.’

He laughed then, a quiet, exasperated little laugh. ‘I am, Tania, believe me I am, darling. But you need to understand that knowledge can be a very dangerous thing, and you know something now that really isn’t good for you to know. Suppose the Filth were to pull you in? Suppose they stuck you in a room, and said unless you told them what they wanted to know, you could get banged up, eh? What about that?’

She didn’t answer him for a moment. Then she said sarcastically, ‘Like that’s ever going to happen! Our dads wouldn’t let them anywhere near me – you know that as well as I do.’

He was impressed with her logic, and her trust in her family’s ability to protect her. ‘Fair enough. I’ll concede that. But what if Terrence Allen snatched you off the street, and wanted to know where his brother was? And what if this same Terrence Allen decided to use brute force to find that out? Do you think you could keep your trap shut like his brother did? If he threatened to cut your fingers off, say? Would you tell him what he wanted to know?’

She was unable to answer him with complete honesty, because she knew that he was right – she would be terrified. They were silent until they reached the house and, once inside, she turned to him and said quietly, ‘I think I would be sensible enough to act the innocent, make him believe that I knew nothing of any merit. But if Terrence Allen was fool enough to come after me, take me off the street or whatever, then I think he would know as well as I would that he could never let me go home again. So it’s a moot point really, don’t you think?’

Then she started to cry, the truth of his words penetrating her mind, while Billy Allen’s screams filled her head. Running to her cousin, she threw herself into his arms, and he held her,
impressed with her logic, and aware that she was indeed growing up fast.

As he stroked her hair, he could feel her body as she pushed against him. She was holding him tightly to her, and she was ripe, all right – he knew she was as aware as he was of the reaction she was getting from him. He was excited; she was not only young and up for anything, but she was also dangerous, very dangerous indeed. She was his cousin, she was his uncle’s daughter, his baby, and she was offering herself to him. And, even though he knew what he was doing was wrong, he couldn’t help himself. He had always loved the chase, loved the conquest, and this was the ultimate forbidden fruit; it would taste all the sweeter because of that. He liked being first, and he liked them young.

When she put her arm around the back of his head, forced his face down to hers, and kissed him, Petey Bailey forgot everything except that she was there, she was willing, and no one would be interrupting them for the next few hours.

‘It’s like he’s disappeared – no one’s seen or heard from him.’ Delroy sounded as frustrated as he felt.

Peter and Daniel had expected as much. Now, as Daniel changed his clothes after showering in freezing cold water, he knew they could do nothing but wait. All their lads were on the hunt now – dragging people out of bed, visiting every club and pub they could think of, and offering a reward that was big enough to tempt even the most prosperous of their counterparts. But it was still a waiting game, and that was the hardest part.

‘He must have found out we were on the lookout. He’ll know his brother’s been lifted wherever he is – he must be shitting it.’

Delroy sighed. ‘I reckon he has to have someone else in it with him – he wouldn’t dare to fucking do this on his own. What we need to do is work out who he might be in league with. It has to be a real Face, someone he feels has the manpower as well as the guts to take us on. There’s literally no one I can think of this side of the Watford Gap. Even the Northerners haven’t got anyone with that kind of fucking clout behind them. But there
has
to be someone in with him, and it
has
to be someone we know.’

Daniel Bailey looked like a man who was reaching the end of his rope, and Delroy could see that he was barely managing to keep himself together.

Daniel cracked his knuckles loudly, before saying with chilling certainty, ‘I think that whoever it is, Delroy, they are closer than we would believe. Think about it – who else would fucking dare to try and take Peter out? Oh, we know them, all right
– it wouldn’t take a blind dog long to sniff that out. What we need to do now is work out who stands to benefit the most from it.’

Peter nodded in agreement. ‘He’s right, Delroy – it’s got to be someone in the firm. Someone we trust.’

Daniel grinned nastily. ‘And when I track the cunt down, they will pay for their fucking sins, I’ll take a fucking oath on that. If I have to take each one of our fucking senior staff to pieces with a fucking ball-peen hammer and a pair of pliers, then so be it. But I
will
get to the bottom of this, one way or another, and I don’t give a fuck who goes down in the fray.’

Delroy and Peter exchanged glances. Daniel would not rest until he got to the bottom of this. But they understood – the way Lena had died was a good enough reason for any of them.

Tania was over the moon. She had finally got what she wanted – Petey was lying beside her, and she could feel his heart beating in sync with hers. He had his arm around her, and she had never felt so happy. It was as if her whole life had been leading up to this moment.

She was sore, and she could feel the wetness of him between her legs, but the pain and discomfort just reminded her that she was a girl no longer. No matter what happened to her after this, she would always remember that he had been her first. She had given herself wholeheartedly to this man, and he had taken her gently and slowly, proving to her that he loved her.