The Traitor (44 page)

‘All right, I get the hint. I can get something to eat in the café. Me and Sammy have got to go to Newmarket today to look at a couple of trotting mares. I’ll probably be back around teatime or something.’

As Jed started the engine, Frankie glanced at the clock. The cassette was an hour long; surely that would be enough time for Jed and Sammy to hang themselves.

Frankie sat the kids at the breakfast table and handed them each a bowl of Rice Krispies. She then picked up her mobile and went into the bedroom.

‘Kerry, it’s me. I’ve done it.’

Within days of being back in the fold, Eddie Mitchell had found out exactly where Albie Clark was living.

Gary and Ricky had done a fine job of running the firm while Ed was inside. They were his sons, extremely well respected, and no one dared knock ’em, apart from one silly man called Albie Clark.

Eddie had known Clarky, as he was better known, for many years. An arrogant piece of shit, Clarky had owned a builders’ yard in Bromley-by-Bow, but had recently gone skint.

If Eddie had known that Clarky had come to them cap in hand, he’d have warned the boys not to lend him a penny. Gary and Ricky hadn’t known who he was, had lent him twenty grand and the bastard had done a runner with it.

‘It was a one off, Dad. Everything else has gone smoothly. We would have told you before, but we didn’t want to upset you while you were in nick,’ Gary explained.

It had taken Eddie only two days to find out where Clarky had done a runner to. He’d sold up, moved to Gloucestershire and had bought a cottage and a garden centre.

Ed took the bit of paper out of his pocket. ‘Slow down, Ray, I think it’s along ’ere somewhere. This is it, Bluebell Cottage. Don’t pull in, hide the motor around the corner.’

Eddie grinned as Clarky’s wife Martha answered the front door. Years ago, Martha Riley, as she was then known, had been the local bike in Canning Town. Eddie had shagged her when he was only fourteen years old. She had been thirty when she seduced him and he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Soon afterwards, both Ronny and Paulie had shafted her too, and Ed immediately lost interest in her. Even as a teenager, he didn’t want his brothers’ sloppy seconds.

‘Hello, Martha. Long time no see.’

‘Eddie! What do we owe this pleasure?’ Martha squealed in delight.

‘I was just passing through the area. I’d heard you’d moved ’ere, so I thought I’d pop in and say hello. Your Albie about, is he?’

Martha gave a naughty giggle. ‘He’s just called. He’ll be back in ten minutes. Come in, boys. I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.’

Eddie sat down at the kitchen table and glanced around. The place was certainly worth a few quid and wasn’t the mark of a man on his uppers. ‘Cheeky cunt, he ain’t short of a few bob,’ he whispered to Raymond.

Martha handed them both a mug of tea and smiled as she heard the front door close. ‘This is Albie now. He’ll be so surprised to see ya, Ed.’

‘Hello, Clarky. Nice place you’ve got here, mate,’ Eddie said chirpily, when Albie opened the kitchen door.

Albie Clark’s face immediately drained of colour. ‘Eddie, I heard you were out. In fact, I was gonna come and see you next week,’ he said shakily.

Eddie sipped his tea and grinned. ‘What a coincidence! No need now, is there? I’ve come to see you, me old cocker.’

Gina ended the phone call and jumped up and down with glee. ‘I’ve been in contact with the owner of your property,’ the estate agent informed her. ‘And he said that he is willing to sell if you up the offer by ten thousand pounds.’

Gina had no doubt that Eddie would stump up the extra cash. He had some grovelling to do, especially after smashing up her new car the other day.

Thinking of their wonderful relationship, Gina grinned. Eddie was everything she had expected him to be and much, much more. Gina hadn’t been frightened by Eddie’s behaviour the other day. She had known what he was all about from the beginning. The only thing that did frighten her was the strength of her feelings for him. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone and no matter how bad his temper became, she knew she would always forgive him. Eddie Mitchell was like a class-A drug to her and, whatever happened in the future, she knew she was hooked on him for life.

Back in Gloucestershire, Eddie Mitchell stood over Albie Clark with a kettle of boiling water in his hands. Clarky was kneeling on the kitchen floor and quickly covered his face with his arms as he realised what Eddie intended to do.

‘Please, Eddie, don’t hurt me. I’ll pay you back every penny, I promise. I’ve got five grand upstairs and I can get you the rest by the end of next week.’

Eddie laughed sarcastically. Raymond had taken Martha upstairs, so he and Clarky could talk in private.

‘No one mugs me or my sons off. You took a fucking liberty and now you’re gonna pay, you cunt.’

Clarky screamed as Eddie poured a couple of splashes of boiling water over his right leg. ‘Stop squealing like a schoolgirl, get your fat arse upstairs and get me that five grand. Don’t even think of doing a runner, Clarky, ’cause if you do, I’ll kill ya stone dead.’

Jed O’Hara was not in the best of moods. Driving up to Newmarket had been a complete waste of time. He could trot faster himself than the two horses he’d just seen.

‘Why didn’t you knock the geezer down on the price, Jed?’ Sammy asked him. ‘If you’d have offered him a grand apiece, we could have took ’em to Southall and flogged ’em for twelve, thirteen-hundred each.’

Jed disagreed. ‘Dog’s meat, mate. That’s all them two nags were fit for, to be chopped up and put in cans of Chum.’

‘There’s a boozer over there. Let’s stop and have a beer,’ Sammy suggested.

Jed shook his head. Usually he was up for a beer whatever the time of day, but today he was in a rush to get back.

‘What’s a matter with you? You’ve been a miserable bastard all day,’ Sammy said.

Jed shrugged. ‘I just wanna get home.’

Sammy laughed sarcastically. ‘What, to Frankie? You usually can’t wait to get away from her.’

Jed stopped at the red traffic light and turned to his cousin. ‘I’m clued up, ain’t I, Sammy boy. Frankie’s been acting really strange recently. She’s up to something, I know she is, and I won’t rest until I find out what.’

Albie Clark lay on the floor, writhing in agony. He had just given Eddie the five grand and, instead of being grateful, Eddie had chosen to pour the kettle of boiling water over his head.

‘I think I’m dying. Call an ambulance,’ Albie mumbled. His skin was on fire and he could already feel the blisters forming on his face.

Eddie crouched down next to him. He could see that Albie was on the verge of losing consciousness. ‘I’ll be back next week for the rest of the dosh. Fifteen grand you owe me, plus an extra five for causing me so much inconvenience. If you don’t pay me on time, Clarky, I will douse you in petrol, set you alight and watch you burn. Do you understand me?’

‘I promise, I’ll pay,’ Albie whispered. He could barely speak through pain.

Martha screamed when she ran into the kitchen and saw the state of her husband. His face was red raw and his shirt was stuck to his body.

‘Help me, Martha,’ Albie croaked.

Raymond came flying down the stairs with his hands over his groin. ‘Sorry, Ed, she kicked me in the bollocks and got away.’

Martha picked up a frying pan and lunged towards Eddie. ‘What have you done to him, you bastard? Look at his face! You’re an animal, Mitchell.’

‘I’m sorry, Martha. He knocked me for money, so he had to be taught a lesson,’ Eddie said, grabbing the frying pan out of her hands.

‘Whether he owes you money or not, he don’t deserve to be disfigured for life, does he? Get out of my house,’ Martha yelled.

‘I’ll be back next week for the rest of my dough,’ Eddie said, pushing Raymond towards the front door.

‘Give us that frying pan,’ Martha said, chasing after Eddie.

Eddie handed it to the distraught woman and laughed. ‘I suppose there’s little chance of a bunk-up for old time’s sake, is there, sweetheart?’

Frankie’s heart turned over when she returned home from picking Georgie up from school. Jed had told her he wouldn’t be back until teatime, so something must be wrong.

Petrified in case he had found the tape recorder, Frankie walked nervously into the trailer. ‘I didn’t expect you back yet. How did you get on in Newmarket? Sorry about the state of the place, I’m gonna do the housework in a minute,’ she gabbled.

Jed sat on the sofa with a can of lager in his hand and a smirk on his face. He could sense Frankie’s nervousness. His premonition was right; she was definitely up to no good, the bitch. ‘I thought you were doing the housework this morning. That’s why you wanted me out of the way early, wasn’t it?’ he asked sarcastically.

‘I didn’t get time in the end. Georgie wouldn’t eat any breakfast and by the time I got some down her and got Harry dressed, it was time to drive to the school.’

Jed stood up and ordered Georgie to take her brother into the bedroom. ‘Go and play with your toys while I talk to your mum, there’s a good girl.’

Frankie felt incredibly apprehensive as Jed kicked the bedroom door shut and walked towards her. ‘What are you doing? What am I meant to have done?’ she asked, as he pushed her up against the fridge.

Jed stood an inch away from her. His breath was hot and it stank of cigarettes and beer. ‘You’re up to something and I wanna know what it is,’ he snarled.

Frankie could feel her legs shaking. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jed, I swear I don’t.’

Enjoying her fear, Jed grabbed her around the neck. He smirked and gently squeezed her windpipe. ‘If I ever find out you’ve been out with another bloke, I will take the kids away from you and you will never see ’em again.’

‘I swear I’ve never even looked at another bloke since I’ve been with you,’ Frankie said honestly.

Frankie breathed a gentle sigh of relief as Jed released his grip on her and walked away. He was barking up the wrong tree, and as long as he hadn’t found the tape recorder, nothing else mattered.

Over in rural Essex, Gina ran to the front door and threw her arms around Eddie’s neck. ‘The estate agent called today. I tried to ring you, but your phone was switched off. The owner wants to sell, but he wants ten thousand more. Can we still buy it, Eddie? Please say yes.’

Eddie picked Gina up and carried her into the living room. Usually there was nothing more Ed liked than bartering over a deal, but on this occasion he couldn’t be arsed. If Gina was desperate for him to buy this property, then he wasn’t going to balls it up by refusing the old couple’s asking price. Ed put her down on the sofa and gently manoeuvred himself on top of her.

‘I’ve had a rethink, I don’t really wanna buy it now,’ he lied.

‘Why? What’s changed your mind?’

‘Them people in the local pub that were calling me a murderer. How dare they be so callous? We’re gonna have to move further out than here,’ Eddie said, laughing.

Gina playfully punched him. Ed could be such a joker at times. ‘So, it’s a yes, then? Can I ring the estate agent back in the morning?’

‘Of course it’s a yes. And my pal’s coming to take your car tomorrow to fix it,’ Eddie replied.

Gina hugged him and stroked his short dark hair.

‘What’s for dinner? I’m starving,’ Eddie said, leaping up.

‘Salmon steaks and salad. Shall I prepare it now?’ Gina offered.

Eddie nodded and followed her out into the kitchen.

‘So, how was your day?’ Gina asked.

Opening a bottle of red wine, Eddie poured two glasses and handed one to Gina. When he had been with Jessica he had rarely talked about his business, but with Gina, he felt he could open up to her a little bit more. Jessica had been quite naive, whereas Gina was much more clued up about what went on in his world.

‘I went to see that geezer down in Gloucestershire, you know the one that owed me money.’

‘Oh, that’s right, yeah. He owed you quite a bit, didn’t he? Did he pay you all right?’

Thinking of the mess he’d left Albie Clark’s face in, Eddie sniggered. ‘Oh, he paid all right. In more ways than one.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Frankie sat on the sofa and stared aimlessly at the TV. Concentrating on the actual programme was an impossibility – she had far too much on her mind.

Jed had just popped next door to Sammy’s and had taken the kids in there with him. He had barely spoken to her at all this morning and, as Frankie mulled over her fucked-up life, she suddenly realised that she no longer loved him. As she thought back over their relationship, she finally admitted to herself that things hadn’t been right for years. Jed’s affair with Sally, the beatings she’d received at his hands, his recent deception, which she was yet to find out the truth about: everything had now taken its toll and this time there was no going back.

Frankie stared at her handbag. She had retrieved the tape recorder from the Shogun last night and couldn’t wait to listen to it. As soon as Jed and Sammy went off to work, she would take Georgie to school, then drive straight over to Kerry’s so they could hear the evidence together. It didn’t matter that Harry would also be there. He had only just turned three and was far too young to understand what was going on, or what a bastard his father was.

Leaving Jed was not going to be easy. He’d threatened on numerous occasions that he’d never let her take the kids away from him. ‘Them chavvies belong to me and don’t you ever forget that. If you ever took ’em away from me, I’ll snatch ’em back and make sure you never set eyes on ’em again,’ he’d warned.

Spotting Jed coming out of Sammy’s trailer, Frankie sighed. Proof was what she needed, proof of his indiscretions and, surely, once she had that in her hands, he would have to set her free.

Over in Rainham, Stanley was distraught. Ernie and Ethel were his two favourite pigeons; he’d had them since they were squabs. This morning, Stanley had gone down to the shed at the usual time and found Ernie lying at the bottom of his coop. Stone cold, he was. He’d obviously croaked it in the night.