The Victim (35 page)

‘But how positive? I asked you before if you’d seen the cunt’s face and you said no,’ Eddie yelled, inches away from Terry’s face.

‘Listen, you told me that Jed would be with Jimmy that night, and I know it weren’t him I killed. He had a youngster’s baseball cap on, for fuck’s sake. If what this girl is saying is true, then it ain’t my fault. If I’d have known that his cousin was gonna be with him, I’d have made sure I clocked Jed’s face when I shot him. All I know is that I killed the driver and he was a young ’un. It most certainly wasn’t Jimmy O’Hara.’

‘Terry’s right, Ed. If we gave him the wrong information, then it ain’t his fault,’ Raymond said, bravely defending his colleague.

Stuart, who was usually the one to sit back and let all the others do the talking, was getting angrier by the second. ‘This is fucking ridiculous. Poor Frankie is sat upstairs in bits wondering if her kids are coming home and all we’ve done so far is sit here blaming each other. Why don’t we just concentrate on bringing Georgie and Harry home, eh? Surely that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?’

Eddie felt a bit guilty as he ran his hands through his hair. Stuart was right, and had made him feel like a complete moron. ‘I’m sorry, Stu’s right, so let’s get cracking. This is the plan.’

Everybody listened intently as Eddie began to explain. ‘I suggest we use two untraceable vans with stickers down the side again. I’ll ring Flatnose in the morning to sort those out. Once we’ve got the motors, we drive straight up to Scotland. I’ve already found out the proper name of the boozer that Jimmy O’Hara supposedly drinks in. It’s called the Babbity Bowster and the tart on directory enquiries said there’s nothing of a similar name, so that’s got to be kosher. What we do then is follow Jimmy back from the boozer – he’s bound to be half-pissed, so won’t be that vigilant. We can take it in turns to tail him, and I’ll make sure Freddie gets us two completely different vans, that way Jimmy won’t notice anything following him. Once we find out where the cunt’s living, we keep watch on his gaff. We wait for Jimmy and Jed to both go out, snatch the kids and bring ’em home. Job done!’

Gary and Ricky glanced at one another. Their father made everything sound so easy, but in their minds his plan was full of pitfalls.

‘How we gonna know what the kids look like now? There could be hundreds of kids living there, for all we know. You know what these pikeys are like, they bang ’em out one after the other,’ Ricky said.

‘We’ll know. I’m gonna go out tomorrow and purchase the most expensive binoculars money can buy. Georgie and Harry have gotta be living with Jimmy and Alice, Jed, or both. They’re my flesh and blood, I’ll fucking know ’em when I see ’em, don’t you worry about that,’ Ed snapped.

Gary picked up the bottle of Scotch and topped everyone’s glasses up. ‘If Jed is still alive, he’ll be down ’ere like a rocket trying to snatch the kids back. Even if he ain’t, Jimmy will. We need to kill ’em, Dad. It’s the only way to end it once and for all,’ he said.

‘Don’t you think I know that? We are gonna kill ’em once the dust settles. Remember, we’re gonna have to inform the authorities that the kids are back home, and if Jed and Jimmy disappear at the same time Georgie and Harry are snatched, the Old Bill will be all over us like a swarm of bees. I know pikeys don’t usually deal with the filth, but that fat slag Alice will be on the phone to ’em as quick as you can say Bob’s your uncle if her whole family vanish. What we’ve got to do is bide our time just for a couple of weeks, sort ourselves out with strong alibis, and then deal with Jed and Jimmy.’

‘I doubt they’ll stay on the same site or wherever it is they’re living, Ed. Not if they know you know where they are,’ Terry added.

‘I know that. That’s why you’ll be staying up in Scotland watching their every movement, Tel,’ Ed replied, enjoying the look of shock on the man’s face.

‘I can’t do that, Ed. I can take it in turns with someone else if you like. My Anne will go apeshit if I fuck off for weeks on end. She moans that I’m always working all the time as it is.’

‘She won’t go as apeshit as I will when I find out for definite that you’ve shot the wrong bloke, so I’d button it if I were you and do as you’re told. Anyway, if you ain’t made a cock-up, then you won’t need to stay up there, will ya? And if you have, you wanna think yourself lucky I don’t blow your kneecaps off.’

Recognising the look of fire in Eddie Mitchell’s eyes, Terry Baldwin didn’t argue. ‘OK, mate, I’ll do it,’ he replied wisely.

‘Anyway, you won’t be on your own, Stu’s gonna be with you,’ Ed informed him.

‘Why me?’ Stuart asked. The thought of not seeing Frankie for weeks made him feel instantly depressed.

‘Because you’re single. I can’t let Tel do this on his own. Say the O’Haras spot him following ’em, and he goes missing or something? We never work alone, you know that, boy.’

‘OK,’ Stuart said, knowing he had no choice but to agree.

‘How we gonna grab the kids? I mean, they ain’t toddlers no more, are they?’ Raymond asked.

‘The same way you grabbed Frankie that night in Tilbury. We bundle ’em in the van and, if necessary, tie ’em up, Raymondo. We’ll go well prepared; we might need to use duct tape on ’em or something to stop ’em screaming. They’re bound to be frightened and kick up a fuss, ain’t they?’

‘You can’t tie ’em up like hostages. They’re only young and they’re your grandchildren,’ Ricky piped up, horrified.

Eddie smirked and shook his head in amused disbelief. He knew exactly what type of children he’d be bringing home with him, but nobody else seemed to have a clue.

‘I don’t care if we have to drive the whole journey with canvas sacks over the kids’ heads, as long as we get them home. They ain’t gonna be normal children, you know. How can they be when they’ve been dragged up by them scumbag cunts? They’ll be loud, wild and probably fucking violent. You won’t recognise their nature, and neither will I. They’ll be out-and-out gypsy kids. Getting ’em home is the easy part; getting them to adjust to living a normal life will be far more difficult. You mark my words on that one.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Forty-eight hours later, Eddie and the boys set off for bonny Scotland. Stuart drove the blue van, accompanied by Terry Baldwin and Raymond. Ed drove the white one and was joined by Gary and Ricky.

‘So did you book us somewhere to stay in the end?’ Ricky asked his father.

‘Yeah, I booked us three rooms in a B&B in the town centre. I rang up a few and this one was a bit dearer than the others, so it should be OK. It’s only five minutes from the boozer that Jimmy supposedly drinks in.’

‘Why don’t we ring up the pub later and ask if Jimmy’s in there? Or do you think that’s a bit dodgy?’ Gary asked.

‘It’s way too dodgy, and for all we know he might be using a different surname now. Jimmy’s a slippery cunt and the last thing we wanna do is alert him that someone’s looking for him. If he does another runner, we’re fucked.’

‘Have you let Larry know what’s going on?’ Ricky asked.

‘Yep. Providing things go to plan, I’ll bell him as soon as we’ve got the kids and are on the way home. He’s gonna get Carol Cullen involved again, and he’ll notify the Old Bill. I got that Blyth bird’s number off Frankie, so he can ring her directly.’

‘Just think, this time in twenty-four hours, Frankie might be reunited with her kids,’ Gary said in an upbeat manner.

‘Let’s hope so, boy, but let’s not build our hopes up too much, ’cause nothing’s ever fucking straightforward when it involves Jed and Jimmy O’Hara.’

* * *

Frankie put the quilt over her head to shut out the light that was peeping through the gap in the curtains. She’d had an awful night’s sleep, and every time she dozed off she’d dreamed about her kids returning home, which had then woken her up again.

‘You awake, sweet child?’ Babs asked, opening the bedroom door with a tray in her hand.

‘You ain’t cooked me breakfast, have you?’ Frankie asked, sitting up.

‘Two boiled eggs and two slices of toast. You have to eat something, Frankie, or you’ll make yourself ill.’

‘I can’t face food until I hear some news. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach and I keep feeling sick.’

Babs sat down on the edge of the bed and handed Frankie a slice of toast. ‘Please, just eat that for me,’ she urged.

‘I spent the whole night wondering what they might look like now. When they were kids, Georgie was the extrovert out of the two. Harry was quite timid. Do you think they’ll recognise me? Say they’re happy living with Jed and they don’t like me or something?’ Frankie said anxiously.

Babs put the tray on the floor and hugged her worried friend. She had been astounded when she’d returned from her mum’s house and heard Frankie’s news, and she just hoped that at long last there would be a happy ending for Frankie. ‘Obviously it’s gonna be a little strange for Georgie and Harry at first, but they’ll soon adapt, kids always do. I’m sure they’ll remember you, mate, and I bet they’ve wondered how you are millions of times over the years. They are gonna love you, Frankie, everybody does, so stop worrying that pretty head of yours. Now, shall we go out and do something today to take our minds off things? How about going to the pictures or having a browse around the shops?’

Frankie shook her head. ‘I can’t concentrate on watching a film and I couldn’t face going shopping. I think I’ll ring Joey, get him to come over. He’s a great comfort to me when the going gets tough, he always has been.’

The journey up to Glasgow took Eddie and the boys seven-and-a-half hours. They’d spent over an hour stuck in rush-hour traffic, and had also stopped at a service station for some much-needed breakfast.

Ed wasn’t overawed by the vans that they’d acquired. Flatnose Freddie knew that Eddie didn’t like using big beasts for anything undercover, but because the vans had to be got at short notice, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and a Renault Trafic was all Flatnose could come up with. ‘They’re both newish, clean and untraceable, so stop worrying, they’ll be fine,’ Freddie had assured him.

The B&B was clean, tidy, but also very basic.

‘Hardly the fucking Ritz, is it?’ Raymond complained to Eddie.

‘It’ll do us. Hopefully, we’ll only be here a couple of days – if all goes well, that is.’

Eddie unpacked his bag and hung his clothes up in the musty, old-fashioned-looking wardrobe. ‘Smells fucking rotten, that does. I’m glad I never brought any good clobber with me,’ he moaned.

Raymond laughed. ‘Come on, let’s go and meet the others.’

Gary, Ricky, Stuart and Terry were already waiting in reception. Seeing Terry in deep conversation with the owner of the B&B, Ed strolled over.

‘So you’re property developers, are you? Your friend was just telling me about your plans to build flats,’ the woman commented.

Eddie smiled politely. He could tell the woman was a nosy old cow and made a mental note to find somewhere else for Stuart and Terry to stay when he and the others went home. ‘We have to go now. We musn’t be late for our meeting,’ he replied, dragging Terry away.

‘Don’t forget, breakfast is served at eight,’ the woman shouted out.

Eddie ignored her, and half-shoved the lads out the door. ‘I don’t like her one little bit. If we don’t get no joy in a day or two, I’ll check us into a hotel somewhere.’

‘She was all right. She was only trying to be friendly, I think,’ Terry said.

‘Nah, she was a complete wrong ’un. I can sense ’em a mile off, mate,’ Ed replied knowingly.

‘So, what’s occurring now? I dunno about yous lot, but I could kill a quick pint. My mouth feels like a nun’s fucking crotch,’ Ricky said blatantly.

‘We ain’t ’ere to party. We’ll pick the vans up and plot ourselves somewhere near that boozer. The quicker we find O’Hara, the quicker we get home,’ Ed snapped.

‘But it’s only one o’clock. Jimmy ain’t gonna go for a lunchtime pint and leave this early, is he?’ Ricky replied.

Ed glared at his son. ‘I don’t care if we stake out that boozer until ten o’clock tonight. We’ve come ’ere for one reason only – to get them kids back – and the quicker we achieve it, the better.’

Unaware that Eddie Mitchell was on his tail, Jed O’Hara was in an extremely buoyant mood. Marrying Lola had been the best decision he’d ever made and, for the first time ever, Jed was loyal to his woman, and felt no urge to play around with others. ‘I always told you you’d be happy with a nice travelling girl, didn’t I? We need to stick with our own kind, not them gorjer shit-bags,’ his mum told him on a regular basis. Jed had to admit that for once she was right.

Sammy’s murder had knocked the stuffing out of Jed for a very long time. The bullets were meant for him, he knew that, and if it wasn’t for his psychic mother having one of her premonitions, he would now be six feet under. His mum’s tearful phone call was the only reason Jed had swapped seats with Sammy on that fateful night. He had been driving the horse-box in a very drunken state, and after he’d spoken to his mum, he’d allowed Sammy to take the wheel to ensure they got home safely. Picturing his cousin’s smiling face, Jed sighed. He would never forget all the blood and gore, and the look of death on Sammy’s face. The images of those particular things would live with him for ever.

Sammy’s father had been the one to collect his son’s body and Sammy was given a private send-off less than twenty-four hours after his death. Jimmy had known the bullets were meant for Jed and had begged his brother not to involve the police. ‘If you involve the gavvers, all our lives will be in danger. We’ll sort things in our own time and in our own way,’ Jimmy had promised, before heading up to Scotland.

‘You’ve been quiet today, Jed. Are you OK?’ Lola asked, walking into the bedroom.

‘I was just thinking about life, but I’m OK. I’m not working today, so shall we do something? We can take Shelby out somewhere if you want.’ Since moving to Scotland, Jed had given up his previous career of conning old people. Without Sammy by his side, it just wasn’t the same and he was also afraid of getting his collar felt and blowing his cover. These days he earned his dosh buying and selling horses and motors and he also did a bit of roofing here and there. He was by no means rich, but was reasonably well off, and was happy enough with his lot. Jed stood up, put his arms around his wife and smiled.

‘Well, whaddya think?’

‘I think it would do you good to go out for a drink with your dad and the boys. I might take Georgie shopping. Your mum can look after Shelby for us, can’t she?’

Jed looked into his wife’s beautiful face and, not for the first time, thought how lucky he was. At twenty years old, Lola was seven years younger than him. She had naturally curly, long dark hair, pale blue sparkling eyes and a sunny, upbeat nature.

‘I really do love you, girl. I’ll go and give the old man a knock now. I fancy a pint or six.’

Lola grinned. ‘You just make sure you have fun.’

Back in Essex, Frankie sat staring at the phone, willing it to ring. Her dad had told her not to call him, but had promised to call her if and when he had anything important to disclose.

‘Will you stop it, Brett? You’re getting on Mummy’s nerves today,’ Frankie shouted, as her son strummed his toy guitar and sang a silly song at the top of his voice.

‘Why can’t I go to school with Kelvin?’ Brett asked sulkily.

‘Why don’t I take him to McDonald’s? It’ll give you and Joey a chance to have a good natter,’ Babs offered.

‘I dunno. My dad said not to let him out of my sight until all this is over,’ Frankie replied anxiously.

‘Yeah, McDonald’s!’ Brett shouted, jumping up and down excitedly.

‘I know he said don’t send him to school, Frankie, but the boy needs a bit of fresh air. Anyway, nothing will have happened just yet, your dad would have called you if it had.’

Frankie shrugged. ‘Go on then, but don’t be too long.’

As the front door closed, Frankie’s eyes welled up and she fell into her brother’s arms. ‘What if Katie was lying to me, or say Dad gets killed or something. And what about Stuart? He might get murdered as well, or Gary and Ricky,’ she said.

‘You’re thinking silly now. Jed might be an arsehole, but he’s hardly a mass murderer,’ Joey replied, stroking his sister’s hair.

‘He is. You don’t know him like I do.’

‘What you talking about, Frankie? Who has he meant to have killed, then?’ Joey asked concerned.

Knowing she had already said too much, Frankie shook her head and wiped her eyes. Her family would never forgive her for keeping her grandfather’s death to herself, so what was the point of upsetting everybody? ‘No one. I’m sorry, I’m just being over-dramatic.’

Eddie Mitchell was becoming extremely impatient, but more excited by the minute. He’d recognised Jimmy O’Hara as soon as he’d got out of a grey Shogun and strolled into the pub, but he hadn’t recognised Jed. Raymond had, though, he’d sworn blind it was the little shit, and Ed could barely wait to follow them home.

‘Over four hours they’ve been in there now. Surely they can’t be much longer if Jimmy’s driving?’ he said to the lads, who were all sitting in the back of the van. It had been decided that Stuart would drive the Renault with Baldwin in the back, and Ricky would drive the Merc with the rest of them in the back.

‘One good thing about ’em taking so fucking long is they’re bound to be pissed and less alert,’ Gary replied.

‘The door’s just opened again,’ Ricky said excitedly.

They could clearly see the pub from where they were parked, but were far enough away to avoid suspicion. Having said that, a few locals had given them the odd glance earlier.

Eddie looked through his binoculars. ‘Nah, that’s some old boy. Hang on a minute, this might be Jimmy following him out, I think. Yep, he’s walked over to the Shogun. Right, lads, get in the other van and you pull away before us.’

‘Is Jed with him?’ Raymond asked Eddie.

‘Not sure, someone’s just followed him out, but I can’t see who, he’s got his back to me now.’

When Jimmy switched the lights of the Shogun on, Eddie jumped in the back and waited for Stuart to drive past. ‘Go, Ricky, and whatever you do, don’t lose the cunt.’

Oblivious to the fact they were being followed, Jimmy and Jed were in an inebriated, jolly frame of mind.

‘I love my Lola, you know. Never messed her about, Dad, not once since the day I met the girl,’ Jed slurred.

Jimmy chuckled. He was glad Jed had found happiness, but he’d only been with Lola for three years, and he doubted his son’s abstinence from other women would last for ever. ‘The thing with us travelling men, Jed, is poking the same hole for years on end gets boring, boy. I mean, good luck to ya if you can do it, but if you can you’re a better man than most.’

‘I wanna be a good role model to my chavvies and their partners. Georgie’s found herself a good ’un with that Ryan Maloney, and I’m gonna have a man-to-man chat with him now they’ve got serious. I won’t let him mess her around, Dad. If he does, I’ll beat the granny out of him.’

‘You can’t be beating the granny out of Ryan, Jed. He’s Mickey’s boy and we don’t wanna upset him, do we now? Anyway, our Georgie’s too young to be getting overly serious with lads. Your mother nearly had a cardiac when she spotted that ring on her finger.’

‘My Georgie’s mature for her age. She knows what she wants and she won’t open her legs to get it. I bet her and Ryan get hitched as soon as she’s sixteen. I don’t worry about Georgie at all, Harry worries me more. Proper little fucker he is lately, he’ll chore anything that ain’t nailed down. I don’t mind him choring, but I don’t wanna see him getting nicked.’