The Life (49 page)

His older brother had never understood that – he was a man who saw nothing more than his own wants and needs. Now he
had nothing – he was a fucking pariah, and he was finding out the hard way that, eventually, everyone had to pay the piper.

In this case, it seemed, the piper was his Uncle Daniel, a man who, when roused, made Mad Frankie Fraser look like a girl guide.

Daniel Bailey was having lunch with his daughter, and he was watching her closely. He loved this girl, she was all he had left of his Lena. He sadly believed that Petey had been telling the truth. Lena had confided in him their daughter’s crush on her cousin; they had even laughed about it together, never believing for a second that Petey Bailey would take advantage of Tania. But he had done just that. Worst of all, Daniel knew that Petey would have
enjoyed
taking her down as a means of getting one over on
him
. Tania had been just another fucking way to spread his poison, another excuse for him to take what he wanted. But Tania had not said a word to him, and he could never let on that he knew the truth. Tania would need to keep that to herself more than ever now. Petey was dead and gone, and Daniel would have to draw a line under the whole fucking situation.

Peter and Ria arrived at the house as they were finishing their meal. Tania knew immediately that there was something radically wrong with her auntie. She stood up abruptly and went to her, and Ria put her arms around her niece, as she said in a broken voice, ‘My Petey, my boy. He was murdered last night. They shot him, they shot him dead. He was dumped in a skip in Walthamstow.’

Tania felt as if she was going to pass out; the news was so unexpected. She wasn’t sure if what she was feeling was relief;
all she knew was that she couldn’t really take it in yet.

Petey was dead, and she was carrying his baby.

Petey was dead, and she would never have to face him ever again.

She was relieved. She could feel it washing over her in waves. Her secret was safe.

Daniel Bailey went to his brother and, hugging him gently, he said seriously, ‘I’m sorry, Pete, I’m so very sorry.’

And he was. They both knew the truth of that.

She got a compact mirror

Stole it off her mother

She got her daddy’s overnight travelling bag

Always been told ‘If you wanna leave home, honey,

You ain’t ever, ever welcome back’

And now she’s down at the station, baby in her belly

Alabama 3, ‘How Can I Protect You’
Album:
Outlaw
, 2005

Woke up this morning

Got
herself
a gun

Mama always said you’d be,

The Chosen One

You’re one in a million,

You’ve got to burn to shine . . .

Born under a bad sign

With a blue moon in your eyes . . .

Martina Cole & Larry Love, George & Dragon pub,
July 2012 (Lyrics changed to fit with the book!)

2000

‘He’ll be all right with me. I ain’t in me dotage yet, for feck’s sake!’

Tania laughed; her nana was a real hardcase at times. ‘Imelda will be here soon. He’s staying the night at hers, but I need to get into work early – my dad’s expecting me.’

Theresa picked up her great-grandson; he was a beautiful child, and the apple of everyone’s eye, including her youngest son. Daniel took far more notice of this child than he had ever taken of his own squad that was for sure. Tania had named him Daniel
– that would have pleased her mother. Lena, God rest her, would have adored him.

Theresa had been worried for a while that the child’s looks might give away his parentage, but he was blond and blue-eyed. All he had of his father was his build. At two, he was tall for his age and strong as an ox. He was already very independent, and whatever he decided he wanted he went after with a tenacity that belied his age.

Tania had certainly grown into herself; since the baby arrived she had become a very beautiful woman. She worked in the family business now; Daniel had taken her under his wing and he had been pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had adapted
to her new role in the Life. She was his right-hand girl, and she seemed to be enjoying it. She still lived at home with her dad, and Theresa knew that Daniel couldn’t imagine his life any other way now. He needed this girl and her son – they were what kept him sane. He still missed Lena so badly it was painful to witness.

Tania kissed her little boy, and he hugged her tightly. ‘You be good now.’ She kissed her nana on her wrinkled cheek and said lightly, ‘Thanks, Nana, I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Theresa grabbed her arm; she was smiling as she said smugly, ‘Before you go, lady, how’s things going with your fella? I like him, and I think we can safely say that he likes you! Your dad thinks the sun shines out of his arse. You do realise that, I hope.’

Tania could feel herself blushing now. ‘We’re OK, Nana. It’s still early days.’

Theresa looked at the girl she loved like her own child, and she said softly, ‘If you want my advice, Tania, grab happiness every chance you get. Life is so fucking short, girl.’

Tania smiled happily. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, OK?’

As she left the house, Tania felt a wave of contentment wash over her; she was finally living her life, and she was enjoying it. After the last few years, she had not believed that she would ever feel like this. She was happy, really happy, and it felt so good.

Imelda was running late to pick up little Daniel; he was staying with her tonight and she was looking forward to it – he was the apple of her eye and she loved looking after him when Tania was working.

She scanned the ledger before her; as she expertly tallied up the different columns, it was clear that the Baileys were earning far more than ever before. As a cash business, they still did everything important by hand; all the money was still accounted for in old-fashioned ledgers. This was the era of software, yet her family still insisted on doing it the old way. Only the taxable incomes were put on to the computers. She realised they were probably right, and she actually enjoyed doing it; there was something very calming about numbers and working them out. Imelda prided herself on keeping the books she dealt with neat and tidy. It was soothing to see the lines of figures – they made sense, they could be resolved. Being so close to the money in this way made you far more aware of it, and where it was going. She was good at it, and she knew that.

She sat back and sipped her drink – a vodka and tonic, with ice and a slice.

Imelda had relaxed as much as she could in the past few years. She still worried about her son, but she had come to accept she couldn’t do anything about it. He was long gone from her; he was a part of the family, and that was all he really wanted. He
was another Bailey boy – the Life was ingrained in him, and she had to accept it.

She finally understood her mother’s choices and, like her mother, she had decided to put her son’s life into her husband’s hands. She now realised the futility of trying to change him. The only thing she could do was hope and pray that nothing happened to him. He was his father’s son, and his mother’s darkest fear.

She truly believed that if she had known how it would all turn out, she would have grabbed her son, and taken him as far away as possible from her family and the Life. But it was too late to change anything now. Like her mum, she was involved in the Life, her husband and son had made sure of that, and she could never walk away and leave them. The only thing she could do now was hope against hope that her son never had to pay the price for his family’s mistakes.

Liam was shattered, but pleased with his day’s work. As his cousins came into the club, he grinned – they were like his brothers now, and he was glad about that. He enjoyed their company, and he was so much happier now he didn’t have to deal with his brother and clean up after him. Petey’s death had caused more than a few ripples in their world, but no one had really mourned him – except for his mum, of course, but that was to be expected.

Even Bernadette hadn’t been that bothered. She had been given the house – all paid for – she got to keep the car Petey had bought her – a Mercedes Sport limited edition – and she was now married to a civilian she met on holiday in Tenerife. She was living there running an upmarket restaurant and bar with him, having decided that the Life wasn’t as appealing as she had first thought.

Danny was laughing as he motioned to the barmaid to get them all drinks. ‘How’d it go, Liam?’

He was excited, and Liam knew that his news would be celebrated for the best part of the night.

‘It’s a mover.’

‘Fucking blinding news! I knew you could pull it off.’

He wished he had been as sure as his cousin. ‘I told them we
could cover the distribution, all they needed to do was guarantee the product. They were a bit wary at first but fuck them, we are the ones calling the shots. I’ve got to be honest, Danny, the Albanians are funny fuckers, but they are good at what they do. Very professional, albeit very fucking volatile.’

Danny didn’t give a fuck about that; they were safe as houses – the Albanians needed them far more than they were willing to admit. ‘This gives us the exclusive rights to the whole of the European market! It’s a fucking seriously big earn.’

Liam knew that better than his cousin – he had worked out the deal after all. ‘The coke they provide is really fucking top grade, and they seem to have an endless supply. I reckon we can start distributing within weeks. I’ve also warned them that if they sell to anyone else, the deal’s off. I did labour the point for effect, but they ain’t cunts – they know the score.’

Danny shrugged. ‘Fuck them. If they push it, we’ll just fucking demolish them. There’s plenty more where they come from.’

Liam laughed. Since Petey’s untimely death, the remaining boys had toughened up, and pulled together. They had realised that the main thing for them now as a family was to be seen as tighter, more impenetrable, than ever before. A lot of people in the Life believed that Petey Bailey had been taken out by his own family, and that suited them. None of them would ever confirm or deny the theory, but the whisper about town had given them an even more fearsome reputation; after all, if the Baileys were capable of taking out their own flesh and blood they were basically capable of anything. No one ever got a second chance
– one fuck-up and you were gone. It was a new regime, and it was working better than anyone could have expected.

The Baileys were now not just the premier crime family, but
also responsible for the most lucrative business in the game. They now had a stake in almost every activity that occurred in the British Isles. They had a workforce that could rival any major car manufacturing company, and they prided themselves on paying far better wages. The Baileys had never been so popular, and they intended to make sure they stayed that way.

‘You sure about this, Tania?’

She nodded. ‘’Course.’

She heard her father sigh and she smiled. ‘You know what, Dad? You make me laugh. You asked for my opinion on this, and I researched it and got you all the figures you requested. I know as well as you do that this is everything you thought it was
– and more. It’s also completely legit, but if we use our heads, we can organise it in such a way that we will have another avenue to launder the dirty money. It’s perfect really.’

Daniel Bailey was very proud of this girl of his; she was in possession of a natural talent to exploit every situation to the family’s benefit. He was amazed at just how quickly she had adapted to the Life. He had given her a job to keep her happy, get her out of the house, and so he could watch over her. She had wanted to earn her own crust and he respected that. But he had never believed she would be as shrewd as she had turned out to be. She was only twenty, and she was already turning over a good profit. Furthermore, she was crafty, ruthless and hard as nails if the situation warranted it. She was a true Bailey, all right.

‘I’m going to go and make us a cup of tea. You look over the figures again, Dad – I know you will bite my hand off for this.’

He watched her as she left the room; she was a very different girl to the one who had buried her mother. Having her son had changed her too – she had seemed to grow up overnight, but children could do that to a woman. Daniel had never let on that he knew the truth of his grandson’s parentage – she had never offered a name, and he had never demanded one. He had also made sure that none of the boys revealed it either.

He had been surprised at his feelings for his grandchild; from the first moment he had laid eyes on him he had adored him. His only regret was that Lena had not lived long enough to see him. The child had brought life back into a house that he had believed could never again know happiness. But he had been wrong. The child had united them all – even Ria had brightened when the child arrived. She had needed something to focus on, and little Daniel had fit the bill. She had filled the role of grandmother that should have been Lena’s.

Daniel had taken Tania into the Life because he needed her near him, and he knew that she had needed to be near him just as much. They were a good pair, and he was proud of how she had coped with everything that life had thrown at her. Now she was trying to branch out on her own, and he saw that he had to let her, just as he had been forced to let his boys have their freedom.

Petey Bailey’s treachery had brought home to him and his brother the danger of not letting go, of not accepting that there was more than enough to go round. He picked up the file and opened it, but the truth was he had already perused it, digested it, and made up his mind to pursue it. He just hoped that he wasn’t doing the wrong thing by giving his daughter so much responsibility. But he was convinced that she was more than ready to tackle it.