Gangsters Wives (13 page)

‘I don't want them in the house!' Sadie cried angrily.

‘This is difficult Mrs Ross. I've had my instructions. Mr Ross was adamant.'

‘And so am I. No one gets in.' And with that she stormed out of the office.

Communication with Eddie then became impossible. No phone calls. No visitor's order, and the letters she sent remained unanswered.

A young man from the estate agent called to value the place. Sadie explained what was going on, and although he was sympathetic, he was unmoved by her protestations, and she was forced to seduce him in the master bedroom to get him to agree to delay the sale as long as possible. He was nervous and inexperienced, and Sadie felt like shooting him and burying his body in the basement.

Things were definitely going downhill when she couldn't even get a decent fuck.

So she called up her closest friends, Kate, Niki and Poppy to see if they could help.

They met in a Cantonese restaurant in Custom House. A huge, lavish place where she'd been once with Eddie in better times, and which had booths down one side to allow for privacy. Sadie had ordered a table for four, and she sat next to Kate, whilst Poppy and Niki who had arrived together sat opposite. They hadn't all met since the trial and the first half hour was spent catching up, although they were each careful to keep their secrets to themselves.

Finally, when they'd been served their duck with pancakes and plum sauce, and the second bottle of wine was open, Sadie began to tell the truth. ‘I'm broke, girls,' she said. ‘Skint. Boracic. That fucking bastard Eddie spent every penny, or at least that's what he says. And now he's put the fucking house up for sale without a word.'

‘Behind your back?' asked a stunned Poppy.

‘Yeah. You're not surprised are you? Those men don't give a shit. Look at what Joseph done.'

Poppy nodded.

‘But Eddie wouldn't do that,' said Kate. ‘He's your husband. And that's where you live.'

Sadie laughed. ‘That's what I thought too. But he'd found out what I was up to with those blokes. Fuck knows how. Some little shit probably saw me at it, and grassed me up. I was a bit careless, if you know what I mean.'

‘We did warn you,' said Kate.

‘I know. I suppose none of you lot let anything slip…'

‘No chance,' said Kate. ‘Me, tell Robbo? You're having a laugh.'

Niki and Poppy both shook their heads emphatically. ‘You know we would never do that, babe,' said Poppy in a soft voice.

‘I didn't think so,' said Sadie. ‘I know I can trust you girls.'

Poppy and Niki exchanged nervous glances and Kate looked studiously at the tablecloth, each of them thinking of their own clandestine lives.

‘Eddie told me to get a job, what a laugh,' said Sadie. ‘What could I do? Stack shelves at Asda for a minimum wage? That ain't going to get me out of the trouble I'm in. We owe everyone. I'm on the fucking run night and day.'

‘I've got some dough,' said Kate. ‘Not much. Maybe five thousand, but you're welcome.'

‘Me too,' said Poppy. ‘A few grand.'

‘Sorry Sadie,' said Niki, ‘but you know how I'm fixed.'

‘I know love,' said Sadie. ‘And thanks girls, but I need a small fortune. That'd be like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg. But one thing Eddie did do. A sort of parting gesture was to tell me about a blag he's planned. A four-hander, plus a couple of muppets.'

‘What kind of blag?' asked Kate.

Sadie lowered her voice. ‘A truck full of old money up for burning. From a bank. Millions. Eddie gets fifty pence on the pound, no danger. The chaps are doing it. I saw your Connie,' she said to Niki. ‘Cunt told me to fuck off. Sorry.'

‘You don't have to apologise to me Sadie,' said Niki. ‘You know what I think of him.'

‘When?' asked Kate. ‘When's it supposed to be going down?'

‘Christ knows,' replied Sadie. ‘When the inside man gives the word. I thought one of you might know.'

The other girls looked at each other. ‘They're always about making mischief,' said Poppy. ‘But you know they don't let us mere women in on what's happening.'

‘Fuckers,' said Sadie.

The dishes were taken away and the next course served, and then the next bottle of wine opened, and things at the table were beginning to get a little messy. As all the previous tensions eased it was almost like old times, with Sadie cracking filthy jokes and eyeing-up the gorgeous young waiters. ‘So what's happening girls?' said Sadie. ‘Come on, I know you lot too well. There's something up, don't say there isn't. Is it something I did? I know I've been a bit of a stranger since Eddie went away, but there's reasons. Come on, there's no secrets here. You girls are my best friends. What's the story?'

Niki and Poppy had kept their affair a secret so far. They booked into expensive hotels for an afternoon whenever they could, but they both knew that eventually the truth would come out, and when it did, they were in for big problems. Poppy's credit card bill was hitting its ceiling, and when Joseph sussed that out, questions were going to be asked. Serious questions, such as why Poppy was checking into luxury hotels two or three times a week. Joseph may not have wanted her, but he certainly wouldn't want to lose face with his mates by letting her shag another man, let alone a woman. They had talked long and hard about what to do, and the only answer seemed to be to vanish. Collect together what cash they could and disappear into the sunset. Poppy suggested South Wales, and Niki, who hadn't travelled in the UK very far, agreed. She didn't know Wales from a hole in the ground, but Poppy was convinced they could get lost there. But it was a risky business, and both the women knew that Connie for one wasn't going to take his wife running off lightly. And, like Joe, it would probably drive him into a murderous fury. Niki being the wife of one of his mates would make it even worse.

When they set off to lunch, they had no intentions of telling Sadie and Kate what was going on, but a combination of too much wine and the stress they were living under finally made them come clean.

When Sadie asked what was going on, Poppy put her hand on Niki's and said nervously, ‘We're together.'

Sadie and Kate looked across the table from Poppy to Niki and back again, like spectators at a tennis match. ‘What?' said Sadie. ‘What do you mean?'

‘If this is a joke,' asked Kate, ‘I don't get it.'

‘Niki and I are lovers,' said Poppy. ‘We love each other.'

‘You're lesbians?' said Kate. ‘But what about Joe? What about Connie?'

‘Fuck them both,' said Niki. ‘Joe only cares for his child and its mother. And Connie. He's a bastard who thinks because he paid for me to come here, he owns me. I hate him.'

‘And I hate Joe,' said Poppy.

‘But what are you going to do? Connie will kill you, Nik.'

‘Not if I kill him first.'

‘Are you having a laugh?' asked Kate, concerned for her friend's sanity. ‘He's a maniac.'

‘So am I,' said Niki. She picked up her handbag, fished inside and came out with a long bladed knife. One side had a saw edge, the other a cutter. The handle was bound with tape and it was stained a rusty brown.

‘What are you doing with that?' said Sadie. ‘You'll have us nicked. Are you crazy?'

‘If you like,' said Niki. ‘I may be crazy, but if Connie tries to stop me going, or comes after us, I'll cut his throat. And the same goes for Joe. I've done it before, and I'll do it again.' She dropped the knife amongst the dishes and cutlery on the table where it lay as dark and dangerous as a shark in a swimming pool.

‘What the hell is that? And what do you mean, you've done it before?' exclaimed Kate.

‘What I say,' said Niki. ‘Don't underestimate me.'

‘I don't get this,' said Sadie. ‘When did this happen? Going the other way I mean.'

‘A few weeks ago,' said Poppy.

‘And you're going to fuck off together?'

‘That's the plan,' said Poppy.

‘Where?'

‘Far away from here.'

‘And that money you offered me.'

‘That's our pot,' said Poppy. ‘It's not much, but it'll get us started.'

‘And you'd have given it to me?'

‘If it helped. You've been a mate,' said Poppy. ‘We'd have found some other way to get some money.'

‘I don't believe this,' said Sadie. ‘What about you Kate?'

‘I've got someone too,' Kate blurted as she poured more wine. ‘And put that bloody thing away Niki. It's giving me the creeps. Is that blood?'

Niki nodded, and slid the knife back into her bag.

‘Hold on,' said Sadie, grabbing Kate's arm. ‘What do you mean you've got someone too?'

‘I met someone. Well, he met me. He nicked me for hoisting up West weeks ago.'

‘A copper?' Sadie exploded. ‘You're going out with a fucking copper?'

‘I wasn't going to tell,' said Kate. ‘But when Poppy and Niki owned up… Well. I've told you now and that's all there is to it.'

‘Fuck me,' said Sadie. ‘This is like waking up and finding yourself in the land of Oz. Let's get another fucking bottle, and you can tell me everything. And Niki, did you really kill someone with that knife?'

Niki nodded. ‘If you like I'll tell you about it.'

And she did.

Kate told the other three about being given a pull, and what had subsequently occurred. The only thing she left out was that Ali was Asian. In fact she never mentioned his name. ‘And he took you out to lunch?' said Sadie. ‘Cheek of the man. Then up to a hotel room.'

‘Seemed like a good idea at the time,' said Kate. ‘And at least he doesn't raise his hand to me like Robbo. He's kind and gentle.'

‘He obviously raises something though,' said Sadie with a dirty laugh. ‘You dirty bitch. Looks like you three are getting a bit of the other, and there's me all alone.'

‘What about your blokes?' asked Poppy. ‘You were always at it.'

‘Soon as the money ran out, so did they,' said Sadie. ‘Fuckers. Or not, as the case may be.'

‘Men,' the other three chorused in unison, and they all burst out laughing, relaxed and drunk from the copious amounts of wine.

‘I don't believe all this,' said Sadie, as the waiter popped the cork out of the sixth, or was it the seventh bottle of Chardonnay? She waved away his offer of a taste. ‘If it ain't right we'll let you know,' she said. ‘Just leave it.'

When their glasses were filled they tapped the glassware and toasted each other drunkenly. ‘Christ,' said Sadie to Kate. ‘What would happen if Robbo found out you were screwing a bill?'

‘He'd kill me too,' she said.

‘Looks like us girls are living close to the edge,' said Sadie. ‘And all our blokes have pissed on us one way or another.'

‘Well, we're pissing on them now,' said Kate.

‘Listen,' said Sadie, lowering her voice again. ‘I've had an idea. This robbery. Why don't we piss on them once and for all?'

‘What do you mean?' asked Poppy.

‘I know the details. Or at least most of them.' She briefly explained what was going to happen according to Eddie's plan. ‘Now, you three are going to know when something's kicking off. You must. You know what they're like when they've got something big planned. You could find out exactly when the drop off is going to be. When they've got the clean money. We could take it off them.'

‘Oh yeah,' said Kate. ‘What with? Niki's knife, and a couple of chopsticks off the table?'

‘I've got weapons,' said Sadie. ‘And enough ammunition to start world war three.'

‘What weapons?' asked Niki, suddenly interested.

‘Three Glock handguns and an Uzi semi-automatic.'

‘Where did you get them?' asked Kate.