The Life (21 page)

She had ended up stripping, because she knew she had a good figure, and friends had introduced her to the world of Soho. Soho was a strange place; a girl could disappear there, and no one judged you too harshly. It was a world built on transients – people arrived, some stayed but most left. It was ideal for Amanda. All she had were her looks, and good looks and youth went a long way.

She did not claim money from the State, she paid for herself and her boy. The fact she did not accept money from the State meant that her parents could not find her when the fancy took them. Without claiming benefits, or paying tax, she knew she was living under the radar, and that was just how she wanted it. She was just another young girl trying to lose herself, and all she came from, and she had done a good job up to now of avoiding anything to do with the law, the courts, and the social services. She worked for her boy, her little Bernard. He was all that mattered to her.

Now, though, despite her good intentions, she had fallen for Liam Bailey of all people! She was just waiting for him to leave her, waiting for him to let her down. She was willing to enjoy him while she could, knowing that he would eventually break her heart, because even a few weeks of happiness were better than none; they would give her at least a few good memories for the future. She had so few memories of any kind of happiness that she was prepared to have her heart broken just to gather a few more. She was willing to grab any happiness she could from this man because she loved him – she loved him with a vengeance. He affected her in every possible way, from his looks to his voice to his demeanour. She worshipped him.

Liam had woken and was watching her. She looked so vulnerable; he could almost feel the anxiety emanating from her. He wondered, not for the first time, how such a beautiful girl could have such a low opinion of herself.

‘Any chance of a cup of tea?’

Mandy physically jumped at his voice. He instinctively grabbed her arm to calm her and, pulling her to him, he said sadly, ‘What is wrong with you? You’re so nervous all the time.’

She could feel his heartbeat. She loved the feel of him; he was so big he made her feel safe, and she loved that he was so kind, and he
was
kind. It was such a big part of his nature.

Bernard started to cry in the next room, and he felt her stiffen. ‘You make the tea, Mandy, and I’ll get the lad, OK?’

She nodded, her eyes wide. She had lovely eyes, deep blue and really beautiful, but they were always full of fear.

‘Make the tea, love. What does little Bernard have? Milk? Bring him his usual.’

Liam jumped out of the bed, and went into Bernard’s room. The flat was so small – only three rooms and a bathroom that was no more than a shower and a toilet. But she had made it lovely. She kept it clean and tidy, and had decorated it in creams and golds. She had good taste he thought, and he admired her for the way she worked for her little lad.

As he picked Bernard up from his cot, he saw how blond the boy was, and he smiled to himself – there was no way anyone would ever believe he was his dad. But he didn’t care, he was a nice kid, and he had a fuck-off little mum.

‘Hello, Bernie boy, it’s Uncle Liam again, and I think your mum is the nuts!’

Bernard Wright grinned; he liked this big dark-skinned man who spoke to him with kindness and who held him so tightly. Bernard snuggled into the man’s arms, he felt secure with him.
As he looked into Liam’s eyes he smiled widely, his huge eyes trusting, and when his arms wound their way round Liam’s neck, Liam knew that this was all he wanted; Mandy and her little boy were a team, and he wanted to be a part of that team.

He got back into bed, and he sat Bernard on his lap. When Mandy came back in with the tea, he smiled at her and said seriously, ‘All right, Mandy?’

She nodded; as always, she was quiet and grateful, and it frustrated him. She was a fucking diamond, she had no reason to put herself down.

‘He’s a great little lad, our Bernie boy, and I think he likes me!’

As he said it, young Bernard hugged him tightly and, wrapping his arms around the child instinctively, he smiled happily. He could see the pleasure on Mandy’s face, knew that she appreciated he was nice to her little lad. He was saddened that she was so grateful for so little, that she didn’t understand just how wonderful she was.

‘Listen, Mandy, I want to be with you all the time, and this little fella and all. Do you think you could find it in your heart to love me back, because I love you, darling, and this little fella too.’

Mandy Wright looked at her son’s blond head, and watched as he laughed as Liam Bailey tickled him. Putting down the mug of tea, she sat on the bed, and started to cry. She was sobbing, unable to believe what he was telling her.

Liam pulled her into his arms and, kissing her forehead, he said honestly, ‘Mandy love, this was supposed to make us all happy.’

Hugging him tightly she said eventually, ‘Oh, I am happy, Liam, that’s the trouble.’

‘Delroy, if you fucking don’t tell me the truth, I will kill you stone dead, I swear it.’

Imelda was in one of her jealous rages and Delroy was determined not to let her cause him any trouble; he loved her with a passion, but she knew better than anyone that he could never be completely faithful. ‘Stop it, Mel, I
mean
it. This is a fucking stupid enterprise, and we both know it. I love you, and you will always be my number one woman. But if you cause murders for any length of time, I
will
fucking leave – I’ll walk out. I love you and my boy more than life itself, but I will not be a part of all this shit. The girl came for a job, no more and no less. If I was on the nest with someone else, do you really think I would be stupid enough to let you know about it? Would have them nearby? Give me some credit, for fuck’s sake. Now, please, let this drop.’

Imelda looked at the man she had loved since the first time she had laid eyes on him, and she knew that no matter how she felt, she had to let this go. Delroy would not let himself be dragged into any arguments about his fidelity, he had told her that from day one. She knew he loved her but, as time went on, it was getting harder and harder to overlook his failings. She knew in her heart that if he was seeing someone else, he respected her far too much to ever put her in a position where she might actually come into contact with the person. Oh,
there’d been whispers over the years, but never anything concrete. Then, two days ago, she had seen him dropping off a girl at the club in Brixton. It had been like a physical blow. The girl had been young, white and lovely. Imelda had felt so bad because the girl had been fresh and young, and Imelda couldn’t compete. She hated herself for letting him know she had seen him, for letting him know how much she cared, but she couldn’t help herself.

Delroy understood her fears; he knew Imelda so well, but he was not a man to be curtailed in any way. He loved her but, in all fairness, he had never promised her fidelity and he wasn’t going to start now. He wouldn’t lie to her either – not unless he really felt he had to. Even so, he hated to see the hurt on her face, the pain of betrayal in her eyes.

‘I love you, girl, you know that. You’re my woman, the mother of my child, and you know that there ain’t no one who can compete with that.’

Imelda couldn’t answer him because, for the first time ever, she was convinced that he was lying to her.

‘I want this Communion to be really great, Lena. Tania is our only daughter, and for the first time ever you can pick out a dress. With the boys it was so different, I know – just nice suits and shirts. But this time you get to go over the top! So I will leave you and Ria to sort it out.’

Daniel could sense the strained atmosphere between his wife and his sister-in-law because of the state of affairs between him and Peter, and he knew that his presence would not make it any easier. He needed Lena and Ria to be friends – it gave the illusion to the world that all was well with the Bailey brothers, even if people knew the real score.

As he left his house, he looked around him, and he saw the home he had provided as other people would see it. At the front door he paused and, turning round he looked at the hallway, saw the tired carpets and the grubby wallpaper. The kitchen door was open and he saw the old-fashioned units, as if for the first time. He wondered at Lena then; she had never really bothered about their surroundings – it was clean and cheerful but it was also dated and cheap. It had never bothered him before; now, though, he felt that his home should reflect him and his success, and a little bit of him resented Lena for never wanting that for herself. She still salted money away, and he had been grateful for her thriftiness in the past, God knew. But now he suddenly felt that his home should have been
upgraded a long time ago to befit a man of his standing, and reflect his status.

Peter lived like a fucking king; he had always said that a house was an investment, and he had bought and sold many over the years, so that now he had a seriously big drum. Electric gates and the privacy that only money could buy. Daniel could easily have the same – he had enough legit businesses to cover any costs he incurred.

His mother’s words had penetrated and he
was
genuinely trying to look at the world through his sons’ eyes. They wanted him to toe the line, and he was
trying
desperately to do just that; it was fucking hard going if he was honest. But he was determined to keep a low profile as such, and listen to the boys’ advice and, by doing so, he hoped to eventually fit in with the rest of his so-called peers. He’d cut down on the drugs for a start – he still did the odd line but he felt like he had a clearer head now.

Shutting his front door gently behind him, he decided that he was going to upgrade his living accommodation and his transport. He would also accept the boys’ advice on getting new offices – though he would still keep his scrapyard. He would never relinquish those premises for anybody; not only were they ideal for certain types of meetings, but he also knew that he would need a bolt hole from time to time.

As he sat in his car, he looked up at his house, his home, where he had been very happy and contented, and he wondered at how he had never noticed before just how scruffy and unkempt it actually was. No wonder people didn’t see him like they did his brother Peter – he must have looked like the poor relation, even though he had earned just as much as his brother.

It had never bothered him before; like Lena, he had never craved the trappings of wealth. Now, though, he finally
understood the psychological advantage of being seen as a person who earned a good living. People saw what you had and they then saw you as successful and, because of that, they believed that they could earn through you; they trusted you because you already had what they wanted.

He sighed, wondering why it had taken him so fucking long to understand the Life he was involved in. He was annoyed with himself; he didn’t have the nous to see things in the same way other people did – he accepted that, and now he was willing to listen to other people. He was determined to address the problem even though, in all honesty, he was finding it very hard.

He started the car and, as he pulled away from his house, he hoped against hope that he could keep a lid on his temper, and that he could keep up with this new way of life. He was certain of only one thing – that his little Tania would grow up in a home that befitted her, and his Lena was going to have to get onboard, whether she liked it or not.

‘I’m telling you, Petey, it’s like he’s had a personality transplant. You can assure your dad that we are keeping him sweet.’ Danny could hardly believe it himself.

Petey laughed. ‘It’s mad, ain’t it? I keep hearing good things about you all! My old man is amazed at your dad’s transformation. He’s pleased, obviously, but he is also a bit sceptical, you know.’

Danny swallowed his anger; he could see first hand that his father was really trying to work with them, and he knew just how hard it was for him.

Petey Bailey, his cousin, who he loved dearly, was arsehole-lucky that he had a father who was not a fucking hair’s breadth away from the nuthouse. But they had to work together; the fact that they were the go-betweens for their old men was as important as it was sad. That was the way it was, and there was nothing they could do about it.

‘I told you I would keep him in check, and I am. Now, what’s the score with the new clubs? I know we talked about coming into Essex next, and I have just the place actually. It’s as cheap as chips – the bloke who owned it fucking slung most of his profits up his nose. He is a complete cunt. He also owes a big amount of wedge to us and, as luck would have it, he now owes a fair amount to Davey. I got Davey to offer him an out, so he gave him enough money to cover the interest on his original
loan, that means now, of course, he has
two
loans that he can’t pay. It’s just a matter of assuring him that we will forgo the debts if he signs the premises over to us. He will be glad to get shot, I think. He made the cardinal mistake: he opened a club and saw it as his personal hangout, not as a business. It was only a matter of time before he fucked up.’

Petey smiled; he loved Danny’s knack of sniffing out a bargain. ‘Sounds good to me! Bailey Enterprises are on the up, eh? Where’s this place located?’

Danny lit a cigarette and, taking a deep pull on it, he said nonchalantly, ‘Ilford High Street. Used to be Colin Farmer’s drum, now it’s ours. Run properly it could be a gold mine.’

Petey was impressed; Colin Farmer came from a good family – they would have bailed him out if he had asked them to. Evidently Danny had convinced Colin otherwise, and he wondered what he had used to lean on him. It had to be something big – much more than the debts alone.

Danny could almost hear his cousin’s brain crunching as he tried to work out the score, and he grinned, deciding to let him in on the secret. ‘I pointed out that his coke habit was not something his family would embrace, and that his penchant for young boys might cause a few raised eyebrows.’