The Life (17 page)

Petey saw that his father was right, but he resented that his father did not pay his boys anywhere near what Daniel paid
his
sons. His father felt that they should live within the means he provided for them, yet he, himself, lived like a king.

‘I have listened to you, and I accept what you’re saying, Dad, but me and my brothers need to be paid the same as Uncle Daniel’s boys. You control everything about us – you always have, Dad, and we don’t like it. So, while we are being honest, let me say my piece. I want to be paid my due, and then maybe I wouldn’t have to scam for it. As for a wife and family, how could I keep anyone on what you weigh out to us? I can’t even keep myself. And, as for my cards, I’m a grown man, and that is my prerogative. I’m twenty-four, Dad, not a fucking teenager.
So, you think on what I’m saying, as I will on what you have said. I could get work anywhere and you know it.’

Peter Bailey saw the truth in his son’s words but it didn’t mean he trusted him, weak fool that he was. Gamblers would always look for the quick buck, the easy money; they only saw money as something you got in a win, not something you worked for. This son of his, his own flesh and blood, was everything he loathed in other people. That Petey had been the cause of trouble for one of Daniel’s sons weighed heavily on his mind. To know that he had bred a Judas like this was anathema to him. How could this have happened? How had he produced such a fucking loose cannon? He hated to think it, but this lad had a lot of Daniel in him; he had the same arrogance, the same need to be noticed. Except Daniel knew the strength of an earn, whereas this cunt wanted it on a plate.

Petey looked at his father, and he knew exactly what was going through his mind. He realised he had to rein himself in, but it rankled. He wanted to break out on his own, he wanted his own crew. He wanted everything, and sooner rather than later. His father was the past and Petey wasn’t willing to wait for years to take over the family business. He wanted it
now
. He didn’t have the firepower yet, but he would wait, and he would watch. Until then, he would toe the line – outwardly at least. For now, it was all he could do.

‘She’s gorgeous, Lena, look at her beautiful hair!’

Tania could hear the compliments coming her way, and she preened with delight. All her life she had been told how beautiful she was, how clever she was, and how loved she was. Despite that, she still felt frightened when she was alone. It was only when she was surrounded by her family that she felt secure. She was learning to dance and she loved showing off what she’d learned.

Lena watched her little daughter with absolute delight; this child was her life, the reason she got up in the morning. She was wholly Lena’s responsibility and, consequently, they were as close as they could possibly be.

‘She’s going to look a beauty in her Communion dress! We’d better get that sorted soon – you’ll help won’t you, Ria?’

Ria nodded, and smiled at her friend kindly. ‘Mad really, ain’t it? My grandson’s making his Communion at the same time as Tania! They will look a picture together.’

Lena nodded in agreement, but Ria knew she was dreading the actual day. Peter and Daniel would both be in the church together, and Ria knew that Peter would not acknowledge his brother in any way. Before the latest aggro it might have been a possibility, but now it was never going to happen.

Ria had never been that fond of Daniel, whereas Lena had become a close friend from day one. Ria loved the boys – they
were their father’s sons in looks, but none of them had inherited their father’s strange outlook on life, thank God. Daniel Bailey was a walking fucking psycho as far as she was concerned, and he was never going to change – Ria knew that as well as she knew her own name.

Peter had always felt the need to defend his brother, but even he had finally had to admit defeat. She was pleased about that. She hated herself for it, but she had to be honest with herself if not with anyone else. Daniel being out of the picture was something she had celebrated. He was a liability and she was convinced he would be the eventual cause of the Baileys’ downfall, if they were not careful.

‘I wish we could enjoy the day together, Ria. You know, celebrate as a family.’

It was the first time Lena had ever acknowledged the rift, which meant that Peter never visited this house now. Ria was so shocked at her words she didn’t answer her straightaway.

Lena continued, ‘It hurts, Ria. Holy Communion is a big day in a child’s life – accepting the Body of Christ for the first time, making their first Confession. It’s a big step for them, and I wish we were going to celebrate it together.’

Ria grasped her friend’s hand. Lena was looking older than her years lately; she still kept herself nice, but the weight of her worries had taken its toll. ‘I know, mate, and I wish it could be different too.’

Lena held her friend’s gaze as she said quietly, ‘He ain’t right, Ria, he’s worse than ever. I’m worried about him.’

Ria was absolutely dumbfounded at Lena’s words. In all the years they had known each other, Lena had never once discussed her husband in any way other than to praise him. For her to admit there was a problem of any kind was unheard of. If Daniel Bailey had murdered his neighbours with an axe, in front of an
audience of fifty people, Lena would say, ‘Well, they must have upset him.’ She had never once said anything even
remotely
critical about the man she was married to. Now here she was, admitting the truth of the situation out loud. Ria knew it was her way of asking her to talk to Peter about it.

Tania watched the exchange between her mother and her auntie. Even though she didn’t know what the problem was, she understood enough of the conversation to know that the problem could only be solved by her Auntie Ria. And Tania, as young as she was, could see from the way her Auntie Ria was shaking her head slowly, that she wasn’t going to do anything to help at all.

Tania slipped her hand into her mother’s and, holding on to her tightly, she wondered why she was suddenly feeling frightened again.

‘It’s between them, Lena, you know that as well as I do, mate.’

Lena nodded; she had expected nothing more if she was really honest. Looking down at her daughter, she smiled sadly, as she said with forced gaiety, ‘Who fancies a Wimpy, then?’

Tania nodded in agreement, but she could see the glimmer of tears in her mother’s eyes. This must be about her dad, but she couldn’t for the life of her understand what was wrong because her daddy was the nicest man she knew.

Her Uncle Peter was a nice man too, she thought. She knew that he was her father’s brother, even though she had never seen them talk to each other. She only ever saw them under the same roof at Mass, when they did not even look at one another. When she had asked her mother why that was, her mother had told her quietly and seriously – almost angrily – to never ask her father or her brothers that question.

She had said it was something that was for the adults to know, and for children to mind their own business about. It was the
one and only time her mother had seemed to be cross with her, and she had learned then not to ask
any
questions about the family.

There were so many things she didn’t understand, and she accepted that she was too young to have them explained. But it didn’t stop her from taking in what was happening around her, and wondering what was going on. She was frightened of the unknown, but she knew that her mum would never let anything happen to her and neither would her daddy or her brothers. They were so much older than her but she knew they adored her – and they treated her like a princess. She worshipped her brothers – especially Davey – and she loved it when they were all around the house for their dinner, making a big fuss of her and her mum.

But any happiness at the prospect of the treat in store was lost as Tania could feel the tension in the room. It was clear that her Auntie Ria was feeling as bad as she was, and that just made it seem ten times worse.

Daniel poured himself a large Scotch and, as he sipped it, he looked around him at his offices. They were a far cry from Peter’s upmarket domain, but he’d decided he preferred being in the heart of East London. He felt he could see to things much easier from here. That they were in a scrapyard, and the offices consisted of two Portakabins berthed side by side, meant nothing to him. All he saw was the fact that they were well guarded, not just by guard dogs, but by a large metal fence and electric gates. No fucker was coming in here without his knowledge, and that was just how he liked things.

He heard the cars that heralded the arrival of his sons, and he watched warily as they parked up, and walked slowly towards his lair. He wondered what had brought them all to see him – together. They looked as miserable as sin.

‘What the fuck is the matter with you lot?’

‘You know what’s wrong with us, Dad. Davey told us what you did to Derek Thomas, and we’ve come to tell you that none of us is going to put up with your fucking stupid behaviour any more.’ Danny spoke for them all.

‘Hang on a minute, are you fucking threatening me?’ Daniel Bailey’s voice was bordering on the incredulous, and as he looked at his four sons it occurred to him that he was actually outnumbered. For the first time ever, he saw that his boys were not kids any longer.

Davey, Noel and Jamsie were sitting together on the black leather sofa that had cost an arm and a leg. It was a huge piece of furniture, but still not big enough to hold his three youngest boys comfortably. They were seriously big lumps, grown men, and they were now, it seemed, prepared to front him up. Danny, his eldest, was standing by the doorway, as if he was keeping guard, making sure he couldn’t leave. It was fucking ludicrous! No one could stop him doing anything he wanted, surely they knew that by now?

‘No one’s threatening you, Dad. But we have to sort this out, once and for all.’

Daniel Bailey looked at his eldest son; his words were so outrageous he was sure that he must have imagined them. He laughed incredulously. ‘
What
did you just fucking say?’

Danny sighed heavily before repeating the words once more. ‘I said, no one’s threatening you, Dad – not yet anyway – but we have to sort this out, once and for all.’

Daniel Bailey looked at his sons again, warily now. He licked his lips slowly, contemplating how best to deal with the situation he was in, and wondered how he’d reached the point where his own kids felt they were within their rights to question him as if he was a fucking romancer, a fucking no one. He shook his head in disbelief.

His sons waited, on tenterhooks, aware that if he went off they would need their wits and their combined strength to subdue him. He was a hard old fucker – there was no doubt in any of their minds about that – but he was also a liability, and they were all agreed that this was something they had to address, no matter what the result might be.

Noel raised his right hand instinctively to his chest. Daniel was stunned to see the boy caress the outline of what was obviously a gun.

He challenged him. ‘What, you going to fucking shoot me, son? Is that what this is about?’ He was almost laughing as he spoke to him.

Danny sighed. ‘We all carry guns, Dad, remember? You were the one who
insisted
on it. No one wants to have a fucking row about this, but we will if that’s what it’s gonna take. You nearly killed Derek, and there was no fucking need for any of it. Now we are back to square one, you wiped out in a fucking afternoon everything we have achieved over the last couple of years. All our credibility has disappeared, Dad. No one will want to deal with us in the future, because they won’t feel fucking safe, they will think you will fucking take umbrage over fuck-all, and they will be the next person you decide to batter senseless. This is about
us
working together as a team and about
you
giving us the respect we give you.’

Daniel Bailey was looking at his sons as if he had never seen any of them before in his life. A detached part of him realised that they were boys to be proud of. They were trying to talk to him as men – as men who saw themselves as his equal. But it was a shocker because it occurred to him just how much he had taken them for granted; somehow along the line he had missed them growing up, growing away from him. They had all grown closer to each other and now they were a formidable team. He had never truly appreciated them, and that was a mistake he was now paying for big time.

Daniel Bailey had only ever shown real affection to the women in his life and, of course, his brother Peter. He had only ever seen his boys as a potential workforce who would, one day, run his businesses alongside him. And, as his flesh and blood, he had assumed that they would always be as easy to manipulate, to manage, as they had been as children.

Well, he had certainly fucking got that wrong! They had
become great big lumps who he now saw he had seriously underestimated. He had to diffuse this situation, he knew that much.

‘Are you going to answer me, Dad?’

Daniel Bailey nodded, his whole demeanour changing in an instant, as he attempted to appear contrite. ‘Derek fucking mugged me off, and you know me, boys – I don’t take kindly to people who think they can take advantage of my good nature.’

‘Look, Dad, it’s not just us who have had enough of your fucking antics, right? Uncle Peter has asked me to tell you that he is not impressed with your behaviour either. He makes sure you have your earn, and we, my brothers and me,
your
sons, are trying to keep up with Uncle Peter and his lads. We could be earning a lot more if you weren’t hanging round our necks like a fucking albatross. So you think twice before you threaten us in the future, because if we walk away, you won’t have fucking no one.’

Daniel Bailey saw that if he wasn’t careful he would lose them once and for all. They were good earners, he knew that better than anyone. His eldest lad had a flair for negotiating with people, and he was fair. He had a lot of Peter in him actually, had his brother’s understanding of people’s weak spots, and how best to utilise them to his own advantage.