Blood Ties, page 2
Louise put out a hand to help Denise up. Denise grasped at it, pulling herself upwards until she was on her feet. Just as she rose, Prison Officer Fox walked into the cell.
‘What’s going on here?’ she demanded.
‘Nothing,’ Denise and Louise replied in unison. ‘It was an accident,’ said Denise. ‘Louise shut the door as I was walking in and I banged my nose.’
Sly looked sceptically at her. ‘Aye, and pigs might fly,’ she said. ‘I hope you’ve not been fighting, my girl, or you’ll be in trouble.’ Then she assessed Denise before adding, ‘Get yourself cleaned up.’
Once Sly was gone, Denise covered her nose with her right hand. ‘My fuckin’ nose!’ she complained. ‘And look at the state of my top. It’s a fuckin’ mess.’
Louise looked at the blood spatters on Denise’s top. ‘Do you want me to get you a clean one?’ she asked.
‘Leave it for now! Help me clean up my face first.’
Denise’s dark complexion was smeared with blood. She was boyish in appearance, which was accentuated by her cropped hair, her clothing and her larger-than-average muscular physique. The only makeup she wore was thick black eyeliner, narrowing her eyes to menacing slits.
Louise was anxious to ingratiate herself, knowing it was her fault Denise had reacted the way she had. She should never have tried to kiss Adele, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. She knew there’d be repercussions from Denise, who was very jealous and possessive.
Louise hoped that Denise hadn’t seen everything. Fortunately for her, she was so slight that she had been hidden behind Adele’s body so all that Denise would have been able to see was Louise’s arms wrapped around Adele’s back and Adele stooping over Louise, comforting her. But that had been enough for Denise to lose it.
‘What the fuck were you playing at anyway?’ demanded Denise, while Louise dabbed at her bloody face with a damp flannel.
‘Nothing. She was just comforting me ’cos I was upset, that’s all.’
‘Well, in future, when you’re upset you fuckin’ come to me, right?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ said Louise. ‘I didn’t go to her anyway. She came in here, then before I knew it she had her fuckin’ arms around me.’
‘Yeah, well, that bitch had better watch her fuckin’ back if she knows what’s good for her,’ hissed Denise. ‘No one fuckin’ smacks me like that and gets away with it.’
‘Are you gonna get her?’ asked Louise, becoming animated.
The prospect of a bit of trouble excited Louise, as long as she wasn’t on the receiving end of Denise’s temper. In a place where boredom soon took a hold, the inmates found their own ways to entertain themselves.
‘No I’m not. What kind of a fuckin’ mug do you think I am? She’s a kickboxing expert, isn’t she?’
‘What you gonna do, then?’
‘I don’t know yet. Let’s just play it cool for now, pretend it’s all forgotten. Only, it isn’t, is it? And one day I will get her, when she least fuckin’ expects it.’
*
Peter took his seat at the head of the dining table in his plush apartment, and looked around at his men. To the left of him were Mickey and Sam, who had proved to be worthwhile members of the team since they started working with him. To his right was David, one of his oldest friends.
He and David had been through a lot together since they were teenagers. David, along with another friend, Alan, had accompanied Peter on some of his earliest crimes when they had started carrying out house break-ins and snatches on shopkeepers. At that time Alan was their unofficial leader – until he had stabbed a man to death during a house burglary. He was still serving his sentence for that crime.
Once Alan was inside, Peter had carried on working with David, using a squat as their base after Peter’s father had thrown him out. Then Peter had enlisted Mickey and Sam to help them carry out larger jobs together and they had continued working with him. They all regarded Peter as their leader.
The trouble with David was that he had always been a bit of a loose cannon and, as the years went by, he was getting worse. Peter was sure it had something to do with his drug habit although David would never admit it.
Further to Peter’s right and the next along from David sat Glynn, the newest member of the gang, who was puffing on a cigar. When he handed his cigars around Peter turned down the offer, opting instead for the cigarette he had already lit.
Although Glynn hadn’t been with them long, Peter liked and respected him. He was charismatic and smart, and was a savvy operator. His rugged good-looks enabled him to ingratiate himself with many people, especially women, but what impressed Peter most was his sharp mind and the fact that he was well-built and could handle himself.
In the few months since Glynn had worked with them, his input had been invaluable. Rather than just following instructions like the rest of the men, Glynn would come up with fresh ideas for ways to do things. It felt good to Peter to have someone so switched on. It meant that on the rare occasions that he missed something, he could almost guarantee Glynn would have it covered.
Peter had never appointed a number two but now he was considering doing so. As they became involved in increasingly lucrative crimes and he took on more men, it was evident that he would need someone who could help him lead them. The problem was that David, as his oldest friend, would automatically expect to be handed the job. But Peter was beginning to realise that Glynn was far more suited to the role.
David was already becoming demanding, asking for a greater share of the spoils for each job, though Peter wasn’t prepared to increase David’s share if he didn’t add anything extra to warrant it. They had almost come to blows when Peter had pointed this out.
As he surveyed his men through a thick pall of cigar and cigarette smoke, Peter knew that this was going to be one of his most difficult meetings. Someone had double-crossed him, and that someone was currently seated around his dining table.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘There’s a reason why I’ve called you all here today. It’s to do with the Binkley Warehouse job. We’re due to hit it next Saturday night, as you know. Only, some bastard’s beaten us to it.’
He watched the men’s reactions. Mickey, Sam and Glynn seemed shocked, whereas David remained unresponsive as he repeatedly tapped the edge of a coaster on the table top.
‘Not only that,’ Peter continued, ‘whoever did it had inside info. From what I’ve been told, their modus operandi was very similar to what we had planned.’
He paused for a few moments to gauge his men’s reactions before speaking again. ‘That can mean only one thing,’ he said. ‘Someone in this room was either involved or they provided information to the team that hit the warehouse.’
He heard one of the men suck in air as he digested his words, but it wasn’t David.
‘Might be a coincidence,’ David said.
‘I don’t fuckin’ think so!’ snapped Peter. ‘There were too many similarities.’
‘Like what?’
‘The day of the week. The time of day. And the method of entry.’
David didn’t say anything further, but continued to fiddle with the coaster, turning it over in his hands then tapping each of its edges in turn against the table top.
‘So, has anyone got anything to tell me?’ Peter asked.
‘Not me,’ muttered each of the men, apart from David, who carried on playing with the coaster.
‘David?’ Peter prompted.
‘What the fuck?’ David snapped back. ‘What you askin’ me for?’
‘Because you’re the only one who hasn’t denied it.’
‘Didn’t think I had to. How many years have you known me, for fuck’s sake?’
‘OK, so is that a denial?’ Peter asked.
‘Course it fuckin’ is. You shouldn’t even need to ask.’
In the silence that followed, Peter stared at each of the men in turn and the tension in the room grew. The only sound was the repeated tapping of the coaster hitting the table.
‘For fuck’s sake, put the bastard thing down!’ Peter ordered.
David slammed the coaster down hard on to the table top. ‘What you having a go at me for?’ he demanded.
‘Because it’s you that’s making that fuckin’ awful noise,’ Peter barked back.
‘Fuck this shit!’ cursed David, getting up. He then slammed his chair under the table and headed towards the door. ‘Let me know when you find out who it was,’ he said before he departed.
‘Wait, I haven’t finished yet!’ Peter shouted, but he was wasting his time. David kept going until he was out of the apartment.
Peter gazed at the other three men. ‘Well, any of you know who it might be?’ he asked.
The men shrugged and shook their heads. Peter’s interrogation was now half-hearted. He knew none of them would admit it, but someone knew something and he needed to find out who.
‘OK, you might as well go,’ he said.
The three men got up to go but Peter stopped Glynn. ‘Can I have a word, Glynn?’ he asked.
‘Sure, go ahead,’ said Glynn.
Peter watched the other two men leave the room and waited until he heard the sound of the latch clicking on the front door. ‘Hang on a minute,’ he said. Then he walked down the hall and peeped through his spyhole to check Sam and Mickey had walked away. He returned to the room and poured both Glynn and himself liberal measures of brandy into crystal tumblers.
‘It’s about David,’ he said, sitting back down at the table.
Glynn nodded.
‘I’m worried about him. He’s getting a bit too fuckin’ trigger-happy for my liking. And cocky, too. It’s ever since he started doing coke.’
‘I know what you mean,’ said Glynn. ‘There was no need for him to use the gun on that last job.’
‘I fuckin’ know it. He’s becoming a liability, and he’s getting fuckin’ worse. I might have to let him go. I can’t risk having the cops breathing down my neck. But I know the shit will hit the fan once I do it. You saw what he was like.’
‘Yeah, doesn’t like being put on the spot, does he?’
‘Dead right. But there’s more,’ said Peter, his voice dropping. ‘I almost don’t even want to say this but… I think it’s him.’
‘What, you mean…?’
‘Double-crossing me, yeah.’
‘Shit!’
‘I know. I can’t fuckin’ believe it after everything we’ve been through together. I’ve known him since we were kids. I can’t believe he’d betray me.’
But even as Peter spoke those words, he thought back to a time when David had betrayed him previously. It had been when they were kids. They’d been lifting lead from the roof of an abandoned factory with their friend Alan, and David had fallen through one of the skylights. His injuries were so bad that Peter and Alan had called an ambulance, then fled the scene once it arrived.
Peter had known there was no need for David to have given his and Alan’s names to the police. But, nevertheless, he had done so. Peter had shrugged it off at the time. They were only kids, after all, and David would have been shaken up by his injuries.
Glynn’s voice broke him out of his reverie. ‘That’s the trouble once they’re on the fuckin’ coke,’ he said. ‘They lose all reason. I know what you mean, though, mate. You and him were good mates, weren’t you?’
‘Yeah. We were once,’ said Peter, taking a comforting swig of his brandy.
‘What makes you think it’s him?’ asked Glynn.
‘Just intuition and the way he’s been acting.’
‘OK. Well, let’s not jump the gun on this, Pete. You don’t wanna miss summat while you’re suspecting the wrong guy, do you?’
‘Suppose not. But, I don’t see who else could have done it.’
‘I know, but it’s best to make sure. I tell you what, why don’t I do a bit of sniffing around; see what I can find out? Then we’ll know for sure.’
‘Good idea, mate,’ said Peter.
‘Do you mind if I ask the name of the firm that beat us to it?’ said Glynn. Peter looked at him suspiciously until Glynn added, ‘It might help me find something out.’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Peter said. ‘It was the Millers.’
‘Aah, makes sense,’ said Glynn. ‘It’s their type of thing.’
‘Yeah, they’re fuckin’ slimy enough to nick someone else’s job, as well,’ Peter replied. When Glynn shrugged, he added, ‘Oh, and thanks,’ leaning over to clink his glass against Glynn’s.
‘No probs, mate. It’s for the good of the firm,’ said Glynn.
Peter’s disappointment in his friend David had made him drop his guard. Glynn was making all the right noises so he willingly put his trust in him. After all, Glynn hadn’t given him a reason not to. Yet.
Chapter 3
Adele returned to her cell ready for lock-down. Her cellmate, Anna, was already inside and looked as though she had been there a while. As usual, she was splayed out on the bottom bunk wearing only her ill-fitting underwear. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
Adele averted her gaze from Anna’s obese body as she walked into the cell. She didn’t want to encourage her. Although Adele had made it obvious to Anna that she wasn’t interested in any sexual encounters inside prison, it didn’t stop Anna from flirting. Adele couldn’t imagine anybody being attracted to Anna but it seemed that she remained ever hopeful.
‘I see you’ve been with Caroline again,’ she commented.
‘So, what’s the problem?’ Adele replied.
She knew that Anna was jealous of her friendship with Caroline. Putting any sexual attraction aside, Anna was still drawn to Adele. Once she had found out about Adele’s crime, she had spent the first couple of weeks of Adele’s sentence parading her around like a pet pony, proudly showing off her friendship with a violent killer.
Anna was one of those people who was always desperate to impress. For her, having a callous killer for a cellmate was exciting and gave her bragging rights amongst the other inmates.
Adele hadn’t figured Anna out at first. She had appeared intimidating because of her size and her manliness, and it had taken Adele all her courage to stand up to her. But it soon became obvious that it was all a front. Deep down Anna wasn’t tough at all.
When Anna had read about Adele’s crime and found out that she was the sister of notorious gangster Peter Robinson, she held her in high esteem. Within no time most of the prison knew what Adele was inside for, thanks to Anna, and those who didn’t know of her reputation soon found out when her brother turned up at visiting time.
‘No problem,’ Anna sniffed in response to Adele’s question, pulling a newspaper up to cover her face.
Adele stepped over and pulled the top of the newspaper down, revealing the smirk on Anna’s face. Anna knew something, that was obvious, but Adele realised that she wouldn’t reveal what she knew straight away. Instead she’d enjoy the feeling of power at withholding the information.
This was one aspect of Anna’s character that Adele didn’t like. It was pitiful really. Anna wasn’t too bright and didn’t often get the chance to get one over on anyone. She therefore made the most of any chances that came her way. Adele, recognising this, was gradually learning how to play her.
Anna had her good points, too. She was fiercely loyal, and once you were a friend of Anna’s you had a friend for life.
Adele decided to ignore Anna’s remarks and feign disinterest. Anna would probably be so anxious to string her along that she wouldn’t be able to resist feeding Adele a few more snippets. Adele had guessed right.
‘Like two peas in a pod, you and Caroline, aren’t you?’ asked Anna after a while.
‘Don’t know what you mean,’ Adele responded.
‘Well, you’ve got a lot in common,’ said Anna.
‘Really?’ asked Adele, taking care to keep her voice calm.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Anna added enthusiastically.
Adele grabbed a book and climbed onto the top bunk, smiling to herself as she waited for Anna to continue, confident that she would.
It was several minutes before Anna spoke again. ‘Well, for a kick-off, you and Caroline are both brainy.’
‘Yeah, and there’s ten years between us.’
‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Anna. ‘You both don’t do drugs.’
‘She’s got children, I haven’t.’
Adele could hear Anna pant as she rushed to provide an alternative statement. ‘You both dress nice,’ she gushed.
‘She’s fair, I’m dark,’ Adele countered straight away, stifling a giggle. She was enjoying playing with Anna.
There was a pause before Anna added her next morsel of information. ‘You’re both in for a long stretch.’ This time there was a confident edge to her voice.
Aah, now we’re getting there, thought Adele. It was obviously something to do with Caroline’s sentence.
‘I’ve got a temper, she hasn’t,’ said Adele.
‘Ha-ha,’ chuckled Anna. ‘I hope for your sake that she never fuckin’ turns on you, then.’
Now Adele was intrigued. ‘Go on, what’s she in for?’
‘You mean you don’t know?’ asked Anna.
‘It never seemed the right time to ask.’
Now Anna was winning the game and Adele could hear the glee in her voice as she said, ‘Well, if she’s not gonna tell yer, then it’s not my business to.’
‘Why not? You didn’t mind telling everyone about me.’
Anna sniffed. ‘Yours was common knowledge anyway. It’s been all over the fuckin’ papers.’
‘Right. So, you’re not going to tell me?’ Adele asked, becoming a little irritated.
‘No. It’s none of my business who you choose to spend your time with.’
Although Adele felt a little annoyed with Anna, she decided not to play along any more. She wouldn’t give her the pleasure. Adele felt confident that if she left it long enough, Anna would tell her anyway. She wouldn’t be able to help herself.
Instead Adele tried to focus on her book. As she lay on her bed one of the guards came and announced that it was time for lock-down. Adele heard the heavy metal cell door slam shut and she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It always had that effect on her, even though she’d been inside for a few weeks now. As usual, she tried to rein in her anxiety and took deep breaths to steady her racing heart as she thought about being locked inside the tiny cell overnight.
