Get Even (19 page)

Lenny and Reggie exchanged glances.

‘Keep an eye on him, and find out what he’s up to, will you? You know the old adage, forewarned is forearmed? Well, armed is exactly what you will need to be if Frank comes looking for you.’

‘Do you want us to pay him a friendly visit on your behalf, Jack?’

Jack Johnson smiled at the loyalty Lenny had to him. He had chosen well with this lad – he’d never had a moment’s doubt about that.

‘Nah. Just keep an ear out – see what he’s up to.’

‘God, I missed this, Reg.’

Reggie was sitting on the edge of his bed and they were having the egg sandwiches and coffee he’d made for them.

‘I know the feeling. How was it really?’

‘I can’t believe what I did to her, Reggie. Every time I looked at her poor fucking boat race I felt terrible. The kids were scared of me . . .’

Reggie sighed. ‘Well, you can’t blame them. It ain’t something they can brush off, is it? I mean, you really fucking lost it, Lenny.’

He nodded. ‘It was so hard, Reg, trying to win them back, you know? But I did it and I even managed to do a bit of business on the side.’ He laughed.

Reggie grinned sadly. He pushed Lenny’s hair back off his face and caressed the back of his neck.

‘I thought you might want to stop this.’ He motioned around his bedroom. ‘After what the Carters said, especially.’

Lenny bit into his sandwich with gusto and said through his chewing, ‘No way. Fuck the Carters and the Wilsons. Fuck them all.’

Reggie was glad to hear him say that.

Lenny finished his sandwich in two bites and placed the plate on the floor. Leaning back against the pillows, he said seriously, ‘I never would have believed that this would ever be me. But I am glad we have each other, Reggie.’

Reggie smiled. This was the nearest Lenny would ever get to saying, ‘I love you’.

Reggie changed the subject, as he knew that Lenny found it difficult to talk about feelings, particularly
their
feelings. He still had the innate fear of homosexuality that was present in many men, especially those who denied their true natures.

‘I wonder what Jack and Frank Barber got up to in their day?’

Lenny was lighting them up two cigarettes as he said, ‘I wondered about that too. We will have to ask about, see what we can find out. Jack can be very close-mouthed when the fancy takes him.’

‘I know. I heard a while back that he was a right handful when he was a young man.’

Lenny laughed at that. ‘He could be a right handful now and all, I reckon.’

Reggie laughed with him. He saw Lenny looking at his watch and knew it was the sign he had to go.

Reggie stood up and said casually, ‘I’ll get the shower going for you, and make you a fresh coffee before you go.’

Lenny was already up and out of the bed. Reggie hated this part of the evening, even though he knew this was how it had to be. He heard Lenny singing tunelessly in the shower as he rinsed out the cafetière in the kitchen.

Frank Barber was not a big man by any means, but he was mean. He had the look of one who was unpredictable and who could be capable of great violence. It was as if he was trying to hold it inside him, and that communicated itself to the people around him and made them wary of him. He had grey hair that was thick and wavy, and his eyes were a greeny-blue that gave him a claim to good looks. When he had been a young man he had been a fine specimen. Now he was in his sixties, but he still got the odd look from women.

Frank Barber’s saving grace was that he loved his kids with all his heart. His eldest son was severely disabled and Frank had taken him everywhere with him, as proud of him as he was of his daughters. His son had died while Frank was doing a nineteen and it was said that he’d cried like a baby. Then he had smashed the wing up and spent three months in solitary. One of the screws that had tried to contain him had lost an eye. He was a hero in the nick, but he had missed his son’s funeral.

Now he was out on the streets, eager to get back into the game and, as he stood in the pub, he wondered at how the world had changed while he had been banged up. A few of his old cronies had come to pay their respects and Frank had been shocked at how they all looked. Thanks to his own fitness regime in the nick, he was still in pretty good shape for his age. He was holding court when two big, dark and handsome men came over and introduced themselves.

He had heard of Lenny Scott and he was pleased at the way the boy and his companion respectfully shook hands with him. He liked the way they were deferential to the older men there and that they wore decent suits and good shoes. Things like that were very important to Frank Barber. After wishing him well, they said their goodbyes and left the pub quickly.

One of the men there, Davey Foster, said sagely, ‘That is Jack Johnson’s blue-eyed boy.’

Frank nodded. ‘I know all about him and that young Reggie Dornan. They are the new guard, mate. Nice enough lads, though.’

The men agreed with him, as they had to – whether they really did or not. Frank wasn’t a man who took kindly to being mugged off in any way, shape or form.

‘I hear Jack has done well for himself.’ No one elaborated on what he said and he smiled. ‘I’m going to see him soon. We go back a long way, me and Jack Johnson.’

Still no one said a word either for or against him.

‘I think he needs a lesson in etiquette personally, and I might be the one to give it to him.’

Then he ordered another round of drinks and the talk changed to other subjects. Everyone had forgotten how mercurial old Frank could be. They wouldn’t do that again in the future.

Lenny was quite taken with Frank Barber. He admired the old fucker; he had done a nineteen without too much trouble and he seemed a nice enough bloke.

‘I can’t imagine being banged up for nineteen years, can you, Reg?’

Reggie laughed. ‘Can I fuck! I’ve only done a few years and that was hard enough. But the thing is, Len, once you’re in there, you got no choice, mate. You have to wipe your mouth and get on with it. It’s a mindset really.’

Lenny nodded. ‘I suppose so. If we had a capture for some of the stunts we’ve pulled, we wouldn’t get out ever!’

They laughed together at the truth of it.

‘If it did come to that, there’d be nothing for it but to knuckle down and make the best of it, I suppose.’

Reggie laughed again. ‘Turn it off, Lenny! You’re giving me the fucking heebie-jeebies.’

Lenny lit them both cigarettes and passed one to Reggie before saying, ‘I had a chat with Dennis Dunmore last night. I met him outside the off-licence near my mum’s house. Interesting man.’

Reggie frowned as he said, ‘In what way?’

‘Well, he didn’t exactly come out with it, but I got the impression that Jack started his businesses on what was, in effect, Frank Barber’s money.’

Reggie whistled through his teeth. ‘That might be why Jack is so interested in seeing what Frankie Boy has in mind.’

Lenny nodded. ‘Maybe. I don’t like to think that Jack tucked someone up. I think we need to get the full SP before we start wondering about things that as yet don’t even concern us.’

Reggie dropped him outside his house and they smiled at one another.

‘Shall I pick you up tomorrow?’

Lenny shook his head. ‘Nah. I’ll drive meself. See you in the morning.’

Sharon was waiting up for Lenny again. As always, she had her hair done and make-up on; she still made the effort. He knew that he was lucky to have her, but if he had his time over, he would have waited before marrying her. He loved her, but he wasn’t in love with her any more. They had been kids, as her mum had pointed out, playing at being grown-ups. But he loved his sons too, and he knew he couldn’t leave her. Nevertheless, it was getting harder and harder to pretend that he was really content with this life at home.

‘You look nice, Shaz. How was your day?’

It was what she wanted to hear and, as he sat and ate the food she had so lovingly prepared for him, he tuned her out. Reggie had once said that his sister Gerry prattled on, and that was exactly the word for Sharon’s scintillating conversation. Prattling. He knew he was being unfair but couldn’t help stifling a yawn. She instantly became quiet.

‘Shall I run you a bath, Len? You look like you could do with an early night.’

He was overwhelmed with guilt again and so he said jovially, ‘Only if you get in with me!’

He jokily leered at her and she laughed with genuine happiness.

‘I think that could be arranged!’

He smiled once more. ‘That’s a date then, darling.’

She removed his empty plate and started to load the dishwasher. He watched her movements; she was still a good-looking girl. Suddenly he wanted her, wanted her underneath him. He stood up and, before she knew what was happening, he was inside her, pushing into her as she leaned against the sink.

She loved it when he was like this, when he took her without warning. It proved to her that he still desired her. That he still loved her.

He had to shush her as she started coming in case the two boys came down. They finished together and, as he held her to him, feeling her heart galloping in her chest, he wished he was anywhere in the world but his own kitchen.