The Feud (47 page)

Jed grabbed Frankie’s face and, not caring about the other diners watching, stuck his tongue down the back of her throat.

‘Do you mind? That’s disgusting,’ said a grey-haired woman sitting nearby.

Jed grabbed Frankie’s hand. They had eaten all their food and were ready to leave, anyway.

Never able to resist a parting shot, Jed grabbed the woman’s hand as he walked past her, and guided it towards his penis. ‘You’re only jealous, you old grunter. You want me and me cory for yourself, don’t ya?’ he taunted her.

‘Management! I demand you call the police. Never in my life have I been so insulted,’ the woman screamed.

Pissing themselves with laughter, Jed and Frankie ran from the restaurant.

Eddie was sitting opposite Raymond in Rosie’s Café along the A13.

‘Yous two are looking as handsome as ever, may I say,’ Rosie shouted out to them.

Rosie was a plump woman in her late fifties and Eddie always had a laugh with her. Rosie had a personality to die for and the biggest pair of tits he had ever seen in his life. ‘Rosie, put them knockers away, shut your trap and cook my fucking bacon,’ he shouted back.

Turning back to Raymond, Eddie filled him in on the plan. ‘So what we’re gonna do is turn up there when darkness falls in two separate motors. I want you to run in with a baseball bat and, if Jed starts, clump him over the
head with it. Then I need you to drag Frankie out the trailer, shove her in the car and take her home.’

Raymond shook his head. ‘That ain’t gonna work. Your Frankie’s like a wild fucking cat. You don’t honestly think she’s gonna come out gracefully and sing to the radio on the way home, do ya?’

‘I’ve brought a load of rope with me. I know she’s my daughter, but you’re gonna have to tie her up. There’s a gag in me boot: stick that on her as well,’ Eddie told him.

Raymond’s face was a picture. ‘So where do you come into all this? And what am I meant to do with her when I get her home? What’s Jess gonna say when I bring her daughter home looking like an escape artiste?’

Eddie smirked. Raymond had cottoned on to his sense of humour over the years – so much so that he could probably give Eddie a run for his money now. ‘I’ve sorted everything. When you get home, Gary and Ricky will be there. I didn’t really want to get ’em involved in this one, but I had no choice. You can leave Frankie with them, they’ll take care of her. Then I want you to drive back to Tilbury to help me clear up what’s left of Jed.’

‘Surely Frankie’s gonna realise you’ve killed him. She’s got a will of her own, that girl. Say she starts blabbing to someone?’

‘She won’t. I’m gonna tell her I gave Jed ten grand to get out of her life. He put it in his pocket and ran like a racehorse, I’ll tell her,’ Eddie said confidently.

Raymond had his doubts about the story. ‘She ain’t stupid, your Frankie. You don’t wanna underestimate her, Ed.’

‘She’ll be fine in time. Obviously, she’s gonna be upset at first, but once I persuade her to get rid of the baby, she’ll get over it. Hopefully, one day she’ll meet a nice bloke, have his kids and thank me for her lucky escape.’

Not agreeing with Eddie’s way of thinking, Raymond changed the subject. ‘If you shoot Jed in the trailer, we’re gonna have to burn it.’

Eddie smiled. He was clever and had thought of everything. ‘I’m gonna burn the trailer, but not Jed. You know what the filth’s like, they’ll find his teeth and work out it’s him. When you drive off with Frankie, I’m gonna kill him, then wrap his body up in plastic. I’ve got a hooky motor to use. When you come back, we’re taking the body over to Flatnose Freddie. Freddie disposed of many bodies for me dad over the years, and our pikey friend, Jed, is going into his big cement mixer. “Freddie,” I said, “the boy’s a traveller, he’s used to open space.” “Don’t worry, Eddie, I’ll prop him up in one of the flyovers I’m building. He’s out in the open for ever then,” Freddie assured me. Then Ray, we’ll burn the motor.’

Raymond said nothing as he sipped his tea. Eddie’s plan was good, but not infallible and Raymond had a terrible feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong.

A couple of miles away, Jessica paced up and down the living room. Joey had just left to stay with his grandparents. ‘Please, Mum, I wanna stay with you. What are you gonna do? Please tell me,’ her son begged her.

Jessica had waved away his fears. ‘Mummy’s not doing anything for you to worry about. All I’m going to do is ring Jed and speak to him and Frankie. If I can meet up with them, maybe between us we can sort things out,’ she told Joey honestly.

‘Please let me come with you. I miss Frankie so much,’ her son pleaded.

Knowing that Joey was an emotional wreck and certainly no tough cookie, Jessica refused. ‘You stay at
Nan and Grandad’s and as soon as I’ve met up with Frankie, I promise I’ll ring you and tell you everything.’

With Joey now safely out of the house, Jessica rang Jed’s number. Joey had found it the day before; it was written on a piece of paper in Frankie’s bedside cabinet.

As Jed answered the phone, Jessica spoke calmly and rationally. ‘Please don’t put the phone down, Jed. It’s Frankie’s mum and I want to help you.’

‘We’re fine. We don’t need your help,’ Jed said coldly.

‘Listen, Jed, and listen carefully. I need to meet up with you. Eddie’s on the warpath and I’m worried about your safety. I swear he doesn’t know that I’m ringing you and if you see him, please don’t tell him.’

Jed swerved onto a kerb and, holding his phone between his legs, repeated the conversation to Frankie. Although Frankie used to be a daddy’s girl, she knew that her mum was the one she could trust. ‘Let me speak to her,’ she urged Jed.

Reluctantly, Jed handed her the phone. ‘Mum, what’s up?’

Jessica repeated what she had already told Jed. ‘I’m really worried, Frankie. Your dad’s planning something stupid, I saw it in his eyes.’

‘Well, he won’t find us,’ Frankie said adamantly.

‘Aren’t you at Jed’s house?’ Jessica asked surprised.

‘No, we’re miles away. It’s remote where we’re staying, sort of in the middle of nowhere.’

‘Please Frankie, tell me where you are and I’ll come over and sort things out. I understand how you feel about Jed and the baby, I really do. I felt the same about your dad and you and Joey when I fell pregnant. I want you to be happy, Frankie, and if you want to marry Jed and have his baby, then it’s fine by me. We still need to convince your father, but if I can come over and speak to you and Jed, between us we can make things right.’

Frankie held her hand over the phone and spoke to Jed. ‘Look, I know she’s not setting us up, my mum’s not like that. We can’t stay away forever, Jed. I miss Joey and I’m gonna want contact with him. If anyone can make my dad see sense, it’s my mum. Please Joey, give her the address and let her come over.’

Against his better judgement, Jed told Jessica where they were staying and told her not to drive there until it got dark. ‘And don’t come in your own car. Borrow one off someone else, or we ain’t got a deal,’ Jed told her as he abruptly ended the call.

‘Thanks, Jed,’ Frankie said, squeezing his hand.

Jed snatched his hand away. ‘’Ere, cacker, you’ve done a wrong ’un there, Frankie, I’m telling ya. I’ve got a terrible gut feeling that tonight is gonna be one almighty disaster. Things ain’t gonna go cushti, I just know they ain’t.’

Eddie and Raymond sat in a grotty pub in Tilbury. The weather was awful. It was meant to be midsummer, but the rain was bouncing off the ground.

‘How did you know that Frankie and Jed were in Tilbury?’ Raymond asked, sipping his pint.

‘I hired a private detective. I need you to go and pay her for me tomorrow. She’s got the hots for me, so I ain’t going meself. I can’t anyway – I’ll be too busy indoors sorting Frankie out. I’ll ring Jess tomorrow morning, get her to come home. She’ll know what to do.’

‘Are you gonna tell Jess the same story as you’re telling Frankie?’ Raymond enquired.

‘Of course. No one must ever find out the truth. I’m not even gonna tell Gary or Ricky. The less anyone knows, the better with this one.’

‘Do you want another pint?’ Raymond asked.

‘Nah. I’ll just have an orange juice. We’ve got a big night ahead of us and we need our wits about us,’ Ed replied.

Raymond felt himself shudder. Kidnapping Frankie, murdering Jed – something didn’t feel right. Even the weather seemed against them. ‘Be careful, Ed. Something feels wrong about all this to me.’

Eddie laughed. ‘You know your trouble? You worry too much, Raymondo.’

Jessica sat in Vicki’s house drinking a strong black coffee. Her nerves had been shattered last night, which had led to her feeling faint and weak.

‘So, is Joey at home?’ Vicki asked concerned.

‘No, me dad picked him up earlier. He didn’t want to go – he wanted to stay with me – but what could I do, Vicki? It’s not right, him being in the house with all this going on.’

Vicki gave her best friend a hug. Jessica told her everything and vice versa. They trusted one another implicitly and what was said between them, was never repeated to either of their husbands. ‘So, how exactly is Ed going to get Jed to stay out of Frankie’s life?’

Jessica shrugged. ‘Ed says he’s going to offer Jed money to stay away. The thing is, Vicki, I think Jed and Frankie are truly in love. If Jed knocks back Eddie’s offer, then I’m petrified of what might happen next. I need to sort it, but Jed said I can’t take my own car.’

Vicki said nothing. She had heard loads of rumours about Eddie Mitchell over the years and knew he was ruthless and dangerous. ‘Look, you can take my car. If anyone can sort this mess out, then it’s you, Jess. And don’t worry too much about Eddie – he’ll be too frightened of losing you to do anything stupid.’

Jessica’s face momentarily lit up. ‘Do you really think so, Vicki?’

Vicki smiled. ‘Of course I do.’

Lying was Vicki’s only option. She could hardly tell her best friend that Eddie would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. What Jessica didn’t know couldn’t hurt
her, and as her friend, it was Vicki’s job to protect her from the awful truth.

Back in Tilbury, the bonfire was burning brightly.

‘Do us a favour, Frankie. Most of this wood’s wet. Go and see if you can find some dry bits,’ Jed told her.

Frankie stared at the fire. ‘It’s burning OK. Do I have to, Jed?’ It gave Frankie the heebies where they were staying and she didn’t fancy walking around in the dark on her own.

‘No one’s gonna abduct you, you dinlo. The only reason the fire’s burning is ’cause I cleared some of me dad’s old tut out of that room. I’ve got nothing left to burn now.’

As Frankie walked off, Jed ran into the trailer, grabbed the incriminating photographs and threw them onto the fire. ‘Burn, you bastards,’ he mumbled, prodding them with a stick.

By the time Frankie ran back, the evidence was in ashes. ‘All right? Where’s the wood?’ Jed asked her.

Frankie fell into his arms. ‘I saw a rat and I hate them. It was staring at me, Jed.’

Jed held her tightly. ‘I can’t stand ’em either. Longtails, I call ’em. Evil little bastards, they are.’

‘You don’t think there’s any watching us now?’ Frankie asked him.

‘Look, there’s one there,’ Jed yelled, making Frankie jump out of her skin.

Jed laughed. ‘Come on, let’s go inside and have something to eat. You can tidy up a bit before your mum gets here.’

Two miles down the road, Eddie could feel his adrenalin levels rising. ‘This orange juice is making me feel
queasy. Get us a large Scotch, Raymondo. Get yourself one an’ all.’

As Raymond went up to the bar, Eddie gave Gina a call. ‘Well, are they still there?’

‘Yes. They’ve lit a fire outside, so I think they’re settled for the night.’

‘You can pull off now. My colleague will settle up with you tomorrow. I know we agreed on a price, but I’ve stuck a few hundred quid in extra for all your hard work.’

‘Thank you, Mr Smith, that’s very kind of you, but I would rather be taken out for dinner,’ Gina said boldly.

‘I’m very busy at the moment, but as soon as I get a bit of free time, I’ll call you,’ Eddie lied. He had to keep her sweet, as he didn’t want her blabbing. ‘And Gina, not a word to anyone. My friend’s a very violent man and if any of this got out, it would make him very angry,’ Eddie said threateningly.

‘I understand,’ Gina replied.

‘Well, I’ve gotta go now. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,’ Eddie said, before ending the call.

Raymond handed Eddie his drink. ‘Who was that on the blower?’

‘The private detective. I’ve just sent her home. It’s getting dark now, so I suggest we have a couple more drinks, then make our move.’

Oblivious of what was about to happen, Jed and Frankie were munching crisps and discussing baby names. ‘Whaddya think of Chantelle for a girl?’ Frankie asked.

Jed turned his nose up. ‘Don’t like it, sounds like a fucking porn star.’

‘Well, you think of some, then. You ain’t liked any of mine so far,’ Frankie said sulkily.

Jed pushed her onto the bench settee. ‘Getting the hump, are we?’ he said, tickling her.

As he kissed her passionately, Frankie immediately responded. ‘I really do love you,’ she told him as he pulled away.

Jed smiled. He needed to butter her up to ask his next question. ‘Frankie, if we have a boy, can we call him Butch, after my grandad? I know you never met him, but he was a good old mush and I was always close to him.’

Frankie paused before answering. She didn’t particularly like the name, but it obviously meant a lot to Jed. ‘I don’t see why not, but let’s decide for definite nearer the time,’ she said smiling.

Jed grinned as he cuddled her. Baby Butch would be the most idolised kid in the travelling community. His grandfather had been a legend amongst their own and by giving his son the same title, the name Butch O’Hara would carry on for years to come.

Frankie stood up and peered out of the window. ‘I’m sure I just saw headlights. Go outside and have a look, Jed, it might be my mum.’

Seeing a figure walk towards her, Jessica turned the beam down and squinted. She had had terrible trouble finding her way here and had stopped on numerous occasions to ask for directions.