Eddie shook his head in disbelief. I told Paulie he should have stuck with me. Ronny"s been a laughing stock for years and there ain"t many borrowers that are gonna take the threats of an alcoholic cripple seriously. Shame Paulie never listened, Gary and Ricky have been raking it in while I"ve been away and he could have been part of all that, the silly b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Joan nodded. Reg has got a feeling that Paulie might come to you cap in hand for a job now you"re out. Would you take him back on, Ed?"
Eddie shrugged. No way! There"s too much water under the bridge, if you know what I mean. Maybe I can lend him some dough or something if he"s going through a sticky patch. Cut us another slice of bread pudding, will ya, Auntie? f.u.c.king handsome that was."
Joan studied Eddie carefully as she watched him devour his second slice of pudding. He looked ever so well, considering he"d only just come out of clink, and she had a feeling she knew why. Come on then, spill the beans. You"ve met a woman, ain"t ya?"
Eddie grinned. Joanie was a wily old f.u.c.ker and there were no flies on her. You remember that private detective that spoke up for me in court?"
Was she the pretty girl with dark hair?"
Ed nodded. That"s her. Gina, her name is, and we"re sort of giving it a go."
Joan was made up. Eddie had been in a terrible state over Jessica and she was thrilled he had managed to move on from such an awful tragedy.
Well that Gina"s certainly doing something right, boy. Got a right glow about you, you have. I"ve never seen you look so bleedin" well."
You are coming out for the family meal on Sat.u.r.day, ain"t ya? Gina"s coming with me and you can meet her properly. I might sit her next to you, with me on the other side."
Yep, I"ll be there. Is it common knowledge you"re with her? Or should I let you tell Reg and Vi?"
Eddie shrugged. Gary and Ricky are the only ones I"ve told so far and I"m gonna tell Raymond when I leave here. It"s a bit awkward, ain"t it? I"m not good at telling people that type of stuff. I dunno what to say, so I thought I"d just bring Gina to the meal and introduce her as a friend at first. I don"t want people thinking badly of me, Auntie. I"ll never forget Jessica, and Gina ain"t some kind of replacement for her, you know."
I understand, boy, and I should imagine all your family will be happy for ya. The only ones who might find it difficult to digest is the twins, I suppose."
Eddie agreed. Frankie ain"t coming on Sat.u.r.day, so I"m gonna take her out for lunch next week and speak to her. I don"t see Joey at all now, and I should imagine you know why that is."
Joan nodded. I heard the rumours and I couldn"t believe it at first. Funny old world, ain"t it?"
It sure is. I can forgive most of the things my kids do, but I can"t stomach that. I"ve disowned him; he disgusts me."
Feeling embarra.s.sed and also agitated, Eddie stood up. I"d best go now. I"ve got a thousand-and-one things to do today."
Joanie hugged Eddie tightly. He didn"t realise that she"d seen the tears in his eyes when he"d spoken about Joey, but she had. You"ve been a good father. Always remember that, won"t ya?"
Eddie smiled sadly. Thanks, Auntie, I will."
Back in Pitsea, Frankie and Kerry were having a browse around the local market. Georgie was at school, Kerry"s sister had her boys, so they only had Harry with them today.
Is Harry OK? I ain"t heard a peep out of him for hours," Kerry asked.
He"s still asleep, bless him," Frankie said, looking inside her son"s pushchair.
Spotting the record stall, Kerry stopped dead and grabbed her friend"s arm. That"s it. I"ve got it."
What you on about?" Frankie asked, bemused.
Kerry smiled and pointed to the record stall. Ca.s.settes. That"s what you can do, Frankie, tape "em."
Frankie didn"t have a clue what her friend was on about. What you talking about? Tape who?"
That man over there sells ca.s.settes and it"s just given me an idea. Why don"t you hide a tape recorder in Jed"s Shogun and record his and Sammy"s conversations? That"s the way to find out the truth about everything. Sally, that slag Julie we can even find out if her kid belongs to Sammy."
Frankie was unsure. The idea sounded extremely risky. Where am I meant to hide a tape recorder? And even worse, say Jed finds it?"
I"ll get you a small one and you can hide it in the back of the Shogun somewhere. You can put a blank tape in and press the record b.u.t.ton just before Jed goes out. It"s got to be worth a try, Frankie. How else you gonna catch him?"
I don"t know if I like the sound of it, Kerry. How am I meant to run out there and press "record"?"
Do it on a night when they"re supposedly working away. You can run out and do it while Jed"s having a shower, or you can pretend that Georgie or Harry has left one of their toys in the motor. Go on, Frankie. Can you imagine all the juicy conversation we"ll hear?"
Say they"ve got the music on? Jed always listens to music when he"s driving. We ain"t gonna be able to hear anything then, are we?"
Kerry shook her head. They won"t be listening to music if they"re going over to them two old tarts, will they? Oh, go on, Frankie, please say you"ll do it. I need to know if that Julie"s kid belongs to Sammy. I mean, my boys might have sisters and brothers dotted about all over the place, for all I know."
Frankie pondered before reluctantly agreeing. You"re gonna have to find the smallest tape recorder ever invented, and don"t buy a cheap one, because we won"t hear sod-all."
Kerry grinned. I"ll tell my mum what we"re gonna do. She"ll pay for it, I know she will. Now let"s go and ask that man what are the longest ca.s.settes we can buy."
As Kerry dragged her towards the record stall, Frankie shook her head in disbelief. She must be mad to even consider Kerry"s idea. Jed would go mental if he found the tape recorder, and what Frankie had to do now was decide whether, if their plan went wrong, it was worth getting a good hiding for.
Stuck in the salvage yard in Dagenham, Raymond was chuffed to bits to see Eddie. Where you been? I thought you"d f.u.c.king emigrated," he said, as he gave him a bear hug.
It"s a long story. Lock up and let"s go for lunch. There"s stuff we need to discuss."
Raymond didn"t need telling twice. Just lately, working in the sc.r.a.p game had been boring him to tears and now that Ed was out he was hoping to work alongside him once more.
There were no decent food-based boozers in Dagenham, so Eddie drove into the lanes in Rainham and pulled up outside the White Hart.
If there"s no one we know in here, we"ll eat here. If we get recognised we"ll have a drink, f.u.c.k off and find somewhere else," Eddie said.
As luck would have it, there were only a handful of people in the pub and neither Eddie nor Raymond knew any of them. Ed ordered a couple of beers and handed Raymond a menu.
Order me the scampi. I"m just going for a slash," he told him.
Raymond ordered the food and sat down at a table at the far end of the pub. Over "ere, Ed," he shouted, as his pal reappeared.
Eddie sat down, took a sip from his bottle of Bud and grinned. It feels weird when you first come out of nick, Raymondo. It"s just so bleedin" wonderful to be able to pop into a boozer for a bit of lunch and a couple of beers. I never used to appreciate s.h.i.t like this before."
Raymond nodded understandingly. So, what you been up to since Monday? I rang the boys and they said they hadn"t seen you yet. You"re popping over to see "em later today, ain"t ya?"
Eddie nodded. I just wanted to get me head together, to be honest with ya. It"s strange when you first come out. It takes a while to get used to living in the real world again."
So, who you been stopping with? I thought you"d have gone to stay with Gary and Ricky."
Eddie shook his head. It was now or never, and even though he dreaded telling Raymond, he knew he couldn"t avoid it any longer. There"s something I need to tell you, something that you might not like. I can"t lie to you, Ray, so I"m gonna come clean with ya. Do you remember that Gina from my trial? You must remember, you dropped some dough off to her a couple of times for me."
The private detective bird?"
Eddie nodded. Well, after my case, I wrote to her and thanked her for her help and she came up to visit me. We just sort of clicked. I was stuck in nick and lonely, and even though I still miss Jessica like mad and think about her every single day, I had to try and move on with my life."
Raymond felt his stomach turn over. What are you trying to tell me, Ed?"
I"ve decided to give it a go with her, Ray. Gina rented a cottage out in the sticks and I"ve moved in with her."
Raymond stood up and pushed his chair away with force. He couldn"t quite believe what he was hearing. You don"t hang about, do ya? Two days you"ve been out, two c.u.n.ting days and you"ve bagged another bird already. You"re unbelievable, Ed, f.u.c.king unbelievable."
As Raymond bolted out of the pub, Eddie chased after him and grabbed his arm. Don"t be like this, Ray. I loved Jess, you know I did, and I wouldn"t hurt you for the world. Hear me out for f.u.c.k"s sake, will ya?"
Unable to stop himself, Raymond broke down. Jess was my sister, Ed. I loved her so much. How do you expect me to feel?" he wept.
Eddie felt awkward as he hugged his strapping pal. I"m really sorry I"ve upset you, mate. Go on, let it all out."
Feeling like a complete idiot, Raymond quickly pulled himself together. I"m sorry as well. I don"t begrudge you being happy again, I really don"t and I feel like a right p.r.i.c.k for making a scene, but I"m going through a s.h.i.t time of it myself at the moment. Me and Polly ain"t getting on all we do is argue. The salvage yard does me head in; I miss the excitement and the life that the old loan-sharking brought with it."
Eddie put an arm around Ray and led him back towards the pub. That"s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Gary and Ricky have done wonders while I"ve been away, but there"s only so much the two of them can do. I think me and you need to get back into the fold, don"t you? Let"s eat our lunch, then we can talk about it properly, eh?"
Frankie"s mind was all over the place as she picked Georgie up from school. She hadn"t made her mind up yet whether to go through with Kerry"s wacky idea and the indecision was making her feel ill. She had told Kerry that she"d do it, but had since had second thoughts about her ability to pull it off.
Georgie clambered into the back of the Shogun and slapped her brother on the head to wake him up. What"s for tea, Mum? I"m hungry."
You can have hot dogs or chicken nuggets."
I don"t want them. Can"t I have burgers?" Georgie whinged.
Yes, there"s some in the freezer, Georgie."
Don"t like your burgers. Can"t I have McDonald"s burgers, Mum?"
No, you can"t. Now shut up, because I"m trying to drive."
As Georgie began rambling on about not wanting any dinner, Frankie ignored her for once. She was far too worried about her own problems today to worry about her daughter"s fussy eating.
Frankie sighed. She desperately needed advice and the only person she could think of to turn to in her hour of need was Joey.
Raymond was buoyant as Eddie outlined their plans for the future. So, what we"ll do is have a meeting with the boys on Sunday. I"ll arrange everything. If you can just hold the fort at the salvage yard until after the weekend, I can sort someone to come in and take over from ya from Monday onwards."
Raymond nodded. I"ll tell Polly tonight. I"m gonna be straight with her and if she don"t like it, she knows what she can do. I do love her, Ed, but she"s doing my head in over this baby thing. The doctor told her to relax and it"ll happen naturally, but she"s like a woman possessed."
Eddie laughed. He hadn"t told Raymond that he"d proposed to Gina and had no intention of doing so until the time was right. I need to ask you something. I"d like to meet with your parents and speak to them in person. I know I can never make things right for what I did, Ray, but I"d like to try. Can you organise a meet with them for me?"
Raymond held his hands up. I dunno about that, Ed. Me dad"s still very bitter about the whole thing. I can have a word with me mum, if you like. She asked after you only last week, funny enough."
What did she do with all me clobber out of the house, do you know?"
Gary"s got it all. Put it in storage, he did. I thought he told you when you first went in nick."
He probably did. I was on a different planet when I first got banged up, weren"t I?"
Raymond smiled. Me dad goes to his pigeon club tomorrow night. Shall I ring Mum while he"s out, see if I can get her to meet up with you?"
Eddie nodded. I will truly understand if she don"t wanna see me, but I desperately need to apologise in person. It"s what Jessica would have wanted, I know it is."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR.
On Sat.u.r.day morning, Frankie dropped Georgie over at Alice and Jimmy"s house.
Ain"t you leaving Harry "ere as well?" Alice asked abruptly.
No. Joey and Dom want Harry to stay at theirs. They"re taking him out for the day tomorrow."
Alice was pleased. Jimmy had gone off to some horse fair and if Harry wasn"t stopping over, it meant she had Georgie to herself for the day.
Frankie said goodbye to her daughter and headed towards South Woodham Ferrers. She was glad that her brother had offered to look after Harry, as she knew Joey and Dom would take proper care of him.
Alice and Jimmy had always favoured Georgie and for that reason alone Frankie didn"t like leaving her son with them.
Driving along the A13, Frankie heard her mobile ringing.
All right? It"s me. Are you alone?"
Frankie smiled when she heard Kerry"s dulcet tones. Yeah. I"ve just dropped Georgie off at the sc.u.mbags" and I"m on me way over to Joey"s. Him and Dom are gonna babysit Harry for me tonight. Are you OK?"
I"m fine. I"ve got it."
Got what?" Frankie asked.
The tape recorder. Me mum"s mate"s boyfriend got it for us. Somone ch.o.r.ed it for him. It"s perfect, Frankie, it"s only little, but it"s like one of them small ones what the police use when they"re undercover."
Frankie was still undecided whether she could go through with their plan. I had a look around in the Shogun when Jed was in the shower yesterday and I don"t think there"s anywhere to put it, Kerry."
You can"t back out now. Please, Frankie, do it for me. I need to know if Sammy"s got a kid with that slag before I let him have access to the boys. If Jed finds it, just blame it on me. Say I did it or forced you to do it or something. You"ll find somewhere to hide it. Why don"t you stick it under the driver"s seat or you can always hide it in the back of the motor somewhere."
Frankie had a better idea. Why don"t we go back to Rush Green and hunt down that Julie? We can threaten her or something, and we"ll make her tell us if it"s Sammy"s kid."
No. She ain"t worth getting nicked again for. Anyway what about Jed? He"s got to be at it as well. You can"t just shove your problems under the carpet, Frankie, you need to confront "em head-on, otherwise you"ll end up living a lie like I did."
Frankie knew what Kerry was saying made sense, but she was keen to speak to Joey about what she should do first. Look, I"m nearly at my brother"s now. I"m gonna ask his opinion and then I"ll ring you when I leave."
Kerry was a bit annoyed. She had gone to a lot of trouble to put their plan into action and had even borrowed fifty quid from her mum to pay the bloke who had nicked it. I"ll tell you something, Frankie. If you bottle out of doing this, I shall come over to Wickford and plant the thing my b.a.s.t.a.r.d self. Sammy and Jed are utter sc.u.mbags and I, for one, won"t rest until I know every detail of their sordid f.u.c.king lives."
Unaware that his youngest son was currently living only a few miles away from him, Eddie groaned as he shot his load inside Gina. They had discussed using contraception, but had decided not to bother. What was the point when they"d both agreed to having kids?