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  ‘So, you say you wanted an audience with me?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Jim replied.

  Freddie chewed the inside of his cheek before responding. It had been a long time since he had heard anyone talk about his dad and that had piqued his curiosity. ‘OK, then. There’s a café up here. We can talk there. Come on.’

  Slipping the blade he was holding back into his jacket pocket, Freddie strode off towards the small café. Jim followed and the pair walked in silence until they were inside and sitting at a table in the window.

  The woman behind the counter bustled over with her order pad, flipping to a fresh page as she reached the table. ‘Hello, Freddie,’ she said with a grin. ‘What will it be today?’

  ‘I’ll have a tea please, Sheila,’ he replied, ‘and a…’ He rose one eyebrow at Jim in question.

  ‘Oh, I’ll have the same, cheers,’ Jim said.

  ‘Two teas then,’ Sheila confirmed. ‘Coming right up.’

  Waiting until she’d left, Freddie stared at Jim, his expression hard and unreadable. Jim held his gaze, seemingly unfazed by this.

  ‘So, go on,’ Freddie prompted.

  ‘Right, yeah.’ Jim repositioned himself, lacing his fingers together on the table in front of them. ‘I’ve er, well, I’ve recently got out and to be honest life out here has changed a lot. It’s been twenty-five years since I last roamed these streets.’ He half smiled. ‘And as for my bosses, the men who used to rule round here, one of them is dead and the other can’t remember his own name anymore.’

  Freddie felt his muscles tighten at the reference to his mentor, Vince Castor. Back in the day, Big Dom and Vince had ruled the central belt together. They had built the foundations of the empire that the Tylers had taken over and paved the way of life that they all now lived and breathed. Vince had groomed Freddie as his successor from an early age after seeing his potential and, unlike Big Dom, still lived, but was no longer the force to be reckoned with that he once had been. A few years ago he had moved into a retirement home after the untimely death of his young wife, then a couple of years later, whilst Freddie had been in prison, he had developed dementia, a cruel strain which had ripped like wildfire through his brain. Some days he remembered things, but most of the time he no longer had any idea what was going on. It had broken Freddie’s heart to see how much he had declined in the time he had been inside.

  ‘When I went away, Big Dom saw me right for my troubles. He paid off some debt I had and put some money aside for me, for when I came out. And I’ve got that,’ he added, ‘but what was a decent sum twenty-five years ago don’t really go far today.’ He shifted uncomfortably. ‘So, I need a job.’

  ‘You want to work for me?’ Freddie asked.

  ‘Pretty much,’ Jim replied.

  There was a long silence as Freddie studied Jim across the table. Jim looked to be easily in his late fifties and whilst – if his back story was the truth – he might have been handy back in the day, everything worked differently now. It would be like teaching a rookie everything from the very start again, which was not easy with the young ones, let alone an old dog like Jim.

  ‘I know I might not be your most exciting prospect,’ Jim continued, picking up, rightly, on Freddie’s initial reservations, ‘but I’m not looking to jump into the sort of position I was in before. I’ll take anything you’ve got, even if it’s just as a runaround. I just want to be on someone’s payroll again, somewhere with a chance my skills might come in useful. And I do still have skills,’ he pushed. ‘Plus, after doing a twenty-five year stretch for Big Dom, you wouldn’t be able to question my loyalty.’

  Freddie nodded. This was true. If Jim’s story checked out. The question was, though, how exactly was he going to verify those details? It wasn’t like they kept some sort of historical HR record on all the criminals who had worked for the firm through the ages. And aside from Vince, who was no longer a viable source of information, everyone from that golden age of villainy was either dead or had retired abroad and was off the radar.

  Sheila bustled over with the teas and set them down on the table. ‘Here we are. Sugar’s in the pot.’

  As she walked away Freddie rubbed his face and thought through his options. He could just decline, tell the old man ‘no’ and send him on his way. He might have worked for Big Dom and Vince, but Freddie didn’t owe him anything. Then again, wasn’t loyalty the backbone of their firm? Did it matter that it had been twenty-five years and the old faces were gone? Freddie was only in the position he was in now because of Vince and Big Dom. And so, it would seem, was Jim.

  Making a decision, Freddie straightened up. ‘Look, I might have a job going behind the bar at the club. Come by around eight and I’ll talk you through what shifts are going spare.’

  Jim blinked and his face dropped. ‘That wasn’t really the kind of job I was hoping to get. I can pick up bar work anywhere – I’m talking about working for the firm. I might be long in the tooth but I’ve still got all the same skills I did back in the day,’ he argued.

  Freddie looked at his watch and took a deep gulp of the hot tea in front of him, before standing up and straightening his jacket. ‘I’m sure you do, but I don’t know you from Adam, mate,’ he said. Pulling a ten-pound note out of his pocket he gave it to Sheila. ‘I’ve got to shoot, keep the change.’

  ‘Oh, thanks, love,’ Sheila replied with a warm smile. The Tylers were always so good to her when they came in. Her favourite customers.

  Jim stood up too, his face a picture of dismay as he realised his time with Freddie was up. ‘Just give me a chance. I ain’t fussy about what I do, so long as I’m back in the game. You must need someone, a runner, anything. I ain’t cut out for the legal lifestyle.’

  ‘Eight o’clock, if you decide you do want those shifts,’ Freddie repeated, walking out of the small café. The door clanged shut behind him.

  As Freddie made his way back to the club he pulled out his phone. He hadn’t really needed to go out, but after Sarah’s warnings that he was being followed he had started to notice Jim’s presence more clearly. He’d been coming to the club quite often, always alone, always watching. Freddie had made a slow, preoccupied exit today in the hope the man would take the bait and follow. His gamble had paid off. This was the man who’d been following him, watching him, all this time. It still seemed a bit fishy, though, the way he had gone about things. Why not just introduce himself in the first place?

  Placing a call, Freddie waited for it to connect, glancing behind to make sure Jim hadn’t followed him out. He hadn’t, this time.

  ‘Hey, Bill. I need you to look into someone for me. A Jim Martin. Reckons he just got out from a murder stretch and used to work for Big Dom. Find out what you can and get back to me ASAP, yeah? Good man.’

  Freddie put the phone away and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Jim said he’d known his dad. More than anything, he’d wanted to ask the man to tell him everything he remembered, to share stories and give the father Freddie missed so badly life again, just for a few minutes. That was why he’d offered him the bar shifts instead of telling him to sling his hook. It had been many years since Richard Tyler had passed, Freddie had only been ten years old, but not a day went by when he wasn’t reminded of his absence in some way. They had been close, the pair of them. Freddie had been Richard’s little shadow, looking up to him, wanting to be just like him. It had been a cruel twist of fate that had taken him from them so early on.

  Shaking off the pang of grief that still shot through him whenever he thought of his dad, Freddie walked into Club CoCo. There was a time and place to dwell on old memories, and it was neither here nor now. What he wanted to know now was whether or not Jim’s story about working for Big Dom and taking the rap for one of the murders was true. Part of him was inclined to believe it was – it was unlikely someone would be stupid enough to make up something like that to someone as dangerous as Freddie Tyler. The man would have to have some kind of death wish.

 
; But still, there was something that didn’t sit quite right about Jim. And Freddie couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Suddenly, he hoped that Jim did show up for the bar shifts he’d offered. Because if nothing else, at least having him in the bar meant he could keep a closer eye on the puzzling newcomer. Was he friend or was he foe? Only time would tell.

  Ten

  The sound of drilling on the floor above finally stopped and two pairs of feet pattered down the stairs. Patting her hair and checking herself over one last time in the mirror, Josephine walked out of her small flat and locked it behind her. Bill and Tanya reached the bottom of the stairwell leading up to the attic and smiled at her in greeting.

  ‘Alright, Josephine?’ Bill said.

  ‘Where you off to?’ Tanya asked.

  ‘Oh, just the shops. Need to get some food in,’ she answered.

  ‘OK.’ Tanya glanced at her watch. ‘Will you be about tonight?’

  ‘Yes, what’s happening?’

  ‘Anna’s just asked that you stay down with the girls and keep them out of the way of the back stairwell. Anything they hear, they need to unhear. That OK?’ Tanya replied.

  Josephine nodded with a humourless smirk. Of course Anna wanted her out of the way. ‘Sure,’ she said, plastering a fake smile on her face for Bill’s benefit.

  ‘Great, OK, well…’ Tanya looked at Bill and the pair moved on down the hallway. ‘I’ll catch you later.’

  ‘What’s going on with her and Anna?’ Bill asked Tanya under his breath as they walked out of hearing range.

  ‘Oh, don’t ask.’ Tanya rolled her eyes. ‘It’s all to do with women’s problems,’ she whispered conspiratorially.

  ‘Oh, OK.’ Bill clamped his mouth shut and Tanya hid a grin. It was amazing what those two little words could do.

  Josephine watched as they disappeared and sighed heavily, hugging her arms around her chest for a few moments. She lived in a busy brothel with people all around her, but she felt more alone than ever right now. Most of them had no idea of the trauma she had been through or the grief coursing through her veins, and those who did were doing their utmost to bury all evidence of it. She understood why, but it meant that she had to process everything that had happened and mourn the loss of the only man she had ever loved entirely on her own.

  Sniffing back the tears that threatened, she pulled herself upright and forced herself to walk down the stairs and out of the building. She found the best way to contain her emotions was to carry on as though everything was normal. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. And right now, that meant going food shopping. She would walk into the supermarket and place the tomatoes and the cheese and the bread in her basket. She’d check the expiry date on the milk cartons and tut at the price of oranges as if the few pence that had been added since last time actually meant anything.

  She closed her eyelids for a second, allowing them to be warmed by the sun. The horn of an impatient taxi driver forced her attention back to the pavement. The streets were filled with the usual buzz of Central London life and seemed to pulse with an unseen energy. It brought a small smile to Josephine’s lips. Whatever else was happening in her life, the sights and sounds of the city on a sunny day were always a welcome distraction.

  As she walked, Josephine reached into the oversized pocket of her thin summer jacket and checked she still had her shopping bag, folded away neatly there for just this occasion. Distracted by this as she turned down the side road that led towards the supermarket, she didn’t notice the big black Range Rover following at a crawl, a few metres behind. The pathway thinned and she stepped into the road to allow a young couple to pass and didn’t register the sound of the engine roar as it sped up behind.

  ‘’Ere, watch out,’ a voice yelled.

  Someone grabbed her by the elbow and jerked her out of the road, swinging her round so roughly that she nearly hit the wall of a nearby shop. Almost losing her footing, Josephine reached out to the wall with her other hand and steadied herself.

  ‘What the hell?’ she asked, as the Range Rover screeched off angrily down the road and around the corner, disappearing out of view.

  ‘You OK?’ the same voice as before asked, and Josephine turned to the man who had pulled her out of harm’s way.

  ‘Yeah, thanks for that,’ she said, straightening her dress and jacket. ‘What a bloody maniac.’

  ‘What you done to piss them off, then?’ the man asked.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Josephine frowned.

  ‘Well, they were crawling along till they saw you step off the pavement. Looked like they were aiming for ya,’ the man replied earnestly, scratching his head. ‘It was only ’cause I was looking that I caught you in time.’

  ‘Oh.’ Josephine blinked. ‘I’m sure it’s probably just coincidence. I’ve never even seen that car before.’

  The man pulled a face, not convinced. ‘If you say so, love.’ He carried on walking and Josephine’s frown deepened.

  The man was being paranoid. Probably a conspiracy theorist looking for something to gossip about. Because she didn’t have anyone who would want to run her over, not any more at least. Did she?

  Eleven

  ‘Seems his story checks out,’ Bill said, as he sat down at the desk opposite Freddie. ‘From what I could find so far, anyway.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes, offering one to his boss and lighting up. Taking a deep drag, he blew out a long plume of smoke. Freddie did the same and settled back in his big leather chair, biting his lip thoughtfully. ‘Obviously there’s no paper trail connecting him to the firm,’ Bill continued, ‘but he did just get out after a stretch for Tom Long’s murder. Tom Long was one of the rebels who tried to overthrow Vince and Big Dom back in the day. They got rid of him just at the right time, but the body was found. An investigation was launched and there was a lot of talk of gang wars. Big Dom was even taken in and questioned – his mug was all over the papers at the time. But then the following stories say that Jim just walked into the station one day and handed himself in for it. The case was closed and the firm was out of the limelight.’

  ‘So he did take the rap for them, like he said,’ Freddie mused. He took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly.

  ‘Seems so,’ Bill answered. He eyed his boss’s expression critically. ‘You still ain’t sure about him though, are ya?’

  ‘No, I’m not.’ He flicked his ash into the crystal ashtray on the desk. ‘All this following business is a bit off. He’s been in here for weeks, had plenty of opportunity to approach me.’

  ‘Could just be wary. He’s been away a long time. Prison does things to ya. You know that as well as anyone.’

  ‘True,’ Freddie conceded. He took no offence at this statement. Bill had done time himself, a few years back. He flicked his ash once more and took another drag. ‘He wants a job with the firm. I’ve offered him bar work. Can’t just take on a complete stranger, we have no idea if he’s friend or foe.’

  ‘I can’t see any benefit for him to be a foe after already taking a lifer for the firm,’ Bill said.

  ‘Me neither, if I’m honest. But there’s something off about him.’ He frowned. ‘I’m only entertaining him at all because he helped out Big Dom, but that don’t mean he gets an instant in.’

  There was a short silence. Freddie wasn’t sure what it was that bugged him so much, but there was something not quite right. Why had Jim acted so shady? And if he had known his dad and been part of the firm, why had they never heard his name before now? Surely someone who had taken one for the team at that level should have been celebrated, gone down in underworld history as a hero?

  ‘Well, if he turns up he can have a few shifts. But chances are he won’t bother. He ain’t after straight work.’

  ‘Can’t say I blame him,’ Bill replied.

  ‘By the way, we’re a man down on the dealer tree,’ Freddie informed him.

  ‘Yeah, I heard.’ Bill stubbed out his cigarette.

&n
bsp; There was a knock at the door, before it immediately opened and Sammy walked in. ‘Alright?’ he said with a grin.

  ‘Yeah, good. I’ve got an odd one for you,’ Freddie said, ‘but it might just work out to our advantage—’

  There was another knock at the door, a light rapping, and Freddie frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone else for at least another hour. Surely Jim hadn’t turned up early?

  Tanya’s head peeped around the door and her body swiftly followed as she walked in. ‘Oh hey, I was hoping I’d find you here,’ she said to Freddie. Nodding at Bill and Sammy she strode confidently across the room as fast as her restrictive leather wrap dress would allow her. With no more chairs readily available, she leaned against the desk and crossed her shapely legs, resting one hand on her hip and turning her head towards Freddie.

  ‘I hear you’re a man down on the dealer tree,’ she said, cutting straight to the point.

  ‘Everyone has, apparently,’ Freddie replied, bemused.

  ‘Anna mentioned it this morning and I had an idea. Alice, one of our girls, is up the duff and starting to show. We’re moving her over to waiting staff until she has the baby, but obviously it’s cut back her income a bit. She’s looking for something extra on the side. If you want, you can use her until you’ve sorted out something long term. She’s trustworthy,’ Tanya pressed. ‘One of our best. And she’d really appreciate the money.’

  Tanya took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, causing her generous bosom to rise and fall above the low cut of her dress. She arched her back slightly and pulled her thick red hair over one shoulder. Sammy, sitting directly in front of her, raised his eyebrows and held her stare with an amused glint in his eye, when she finally looked his way. It was subtle, but not that subtle and Freddie hid a grin.

  ‘And you couldn’t tell me this over the phone?’ he asked, tongue in cheek.

  ‘What, and miss the opportunity to come and say hello to such good friends in person? That wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?’ she replied, giving him a cheeky wink and a grin. ‘Oh, and I almost forgot.’ She stood up and straightened her dress, running her hands over her hips. ‘Anna and I were talking; we should have a get-together tomorrow night at Club Anya. We have the VIP space free, so thought we might as well make use of it.’