The Good Life (11 page)

Cain nodded sagely. ‘He will go far that lad, you mark my words.’ Then he laughed again, as he said seriously, ‘Beware of cunts in cravats. I told you that was an outrageous way to dress in this day and age. I knew it would come to no good!’

They were both laughing, high on adrenaline, as they travelled towards their respective homes.

Jenny Riley was still chatting to Cain’s mother.

‘There is a kindness in him that most people don’t see. But I do, Molly. I feel his goodness every time I see him.’

As much as Molly Moran loved her son, she wasn’t so sure but she kept her own counsel. She knew her son was capable of literally anything if he was in a tight corner or felt he was being mugged off.

‘I know about his reputation, but I see a different side to him, you see.’

Molly smiled sadly. ‘Jenny love, what has brought you here really, darling?’

Jenny looked at Cain Moran’s mother and she started to cry again.

Molly sighed heavily and, pouring herself another stiff drink, she said lightly, ‘When’s it due?’, all the while thinking that this was the last thing any of them needed.

Things had never been so good for Cain Moran and Johnny Mac. Word on the street was they had taken out Jimmy Boy Banks and two others, namely Micky Two Fags and Richie Jakobs, but it was pure speculation. Lily Law had not even bothered to give them so much as a sniff so they knew they were free and clear and ready for the next phase of their operation.

Peter Parkes had been given a boost up in as much as he was now operating one of their recently acquired clubs and, according to the reports, doing a good job of it. They were pleased with him as they were with life in general − everything they touched seemed to turn to gold and they had more money than they knew what to do with.

They had found a crooked estate agent who was helping them launder their black money by buying cash properties and then remortgaging them. They had also invested a lot of money over in Spain, and they were now property tycoons. It was taking off over there big time and Cain and Johnny were determined to be in on the ground floor. It was a profitable time to have disposable income. Opportunities were limitless, every day a new scheme evolved, and they were, naturally, offered their percentage as top dogs. It was as if they were being watched over by a benevolent god who was determined to see them succeed.

But while things were going well in his work life, Cain’s private life was deteriorating on a daily basis. Since the shock news of Jenny’s pregnancy, he had been a man on a mission to get out of his marriage. When Jenny had offered to abort the child to make things easier for him, he had seen the sheer terror in her face at the prospect of such an act. The fact she was willing to do that for him in any case told him all he needed to know. Every time he saw her he fell more in love with her, and the relationship that she had with his mother was the icing on the cake. There was no way Molly would be rowed out of this baby’s life. His mother, the raving Catholic, condoning his adultery was mad enough in itself, but his mum and Jenny had a genuine friendship built on love and respect and it pleased him no end.

Jenny didn’t care that his mum had a past because her mother’s was so similar. He wondered if that was why they got on so well; both Jenny and Cain had lived through the humiliation of having been looked down on all their lives. They knew the pain that caused a child and how, no matter what, they still loved the offending parent in their own way. For all Eileen’s faults − and they were legion − Jenny adored her and he understood that because he felt the same about Molly. His mum, God love her, had taken to Jenny big time; they were always together these days. He could sense his mum’s excitement at the thought of having a grandchild whose life she would actually be a part of. That was heady stuff after the way Caroline had treated her over the years. It made him feel ashamed, because he should have nipped Caroline’s treatment of Molly in the bud but he had just wanted a quiet life. He had a feeling he would get exactly that with Jenny.

A part of him hated himself for the way he was willing to abandon his marriage, his lawful wife and even his first-born child. But Cain Moran wanted Jenny Riley more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before in his life. Every time he touched her, even heavily pregnant as she was now, it was like a revelation. It was as if this was what he had been put on this earth for − to be with this girl and share his life with her.

Loving Jenny Riley was the easy part; it was telling his wife he wanted a divorce that was going to be the killer. But tell her he must, and sooner rather than later. It was still only months since she had lost her mother, and that was making things difficult for everyone. Caroline was milking her mother’s death for everything it was worth. She was like someone from a Victorian novel, lying around all day, comfort eating. She was gaining weight and blaming Cain for it.

He wiped a hand across his face as if to banish the thought of her. Then, getting up, he walked into the en suite bathroom as quietly as possible; the last thing he needed was Caroline awake at this hour of the morning, shouting the odds. But luck wasn’t on his side and he heard her voice as he started his early morning piss.

‘What time did you finally roll in?’

He rolled his eyes with annoyance. ‘Yeah, good morning to you too, Caroline. You know I was at a meet last night. You spoke to Johnny about it.’

He heard the grunt of disbelief that told him she still thought Johnny Mac was a part of some conspiracy against her. If only she knew that Johnny was about the only person who counselled him to think long and hard before he broke up his marriage. He was Caroline’s sole supporter.

‘You getting up today?’

He heard her sigh heavily.

‘Why? What is there to get up for? You tell me that.’

He gritted his teeth and said as evenly as he could, ‘Little Michael, how about him? Your auntie Dolly can’t stay here for ever, can she?’

Caroline sat up in the huge bed and yawned loudly. He looked at her as he walked back over. He was tired having been out late the night before but, instead of getting in to have a longer sleep, he bent down and picked up his jeans off the floor, slipping them on quickly. She was getting to be the size of a house. He saw the chocolate wrappers on the night table on her side and knew she must have had a midnight feast. Her face was fuller and, even though she was still a good-looking woman, her permanent expression of discontent was marring her features.

She had suffered a blow, he accepted that. But she had so much else in her life and she was just wasting it. Wallowing in self-pity, she had become a fucking nightmare − and she hadn’t been all that easy to start with, temperament-wise.

‘Actually, Cain, she
can
stay here. I’ve already asked her and she’s over the moon.’

He bit back the retort he wanted to make, because in some ways Dolly moving in would make things easier for him in the long run.

‘Shouldn’t you have discussed that with me, love?’

Caroline pulled herself from the bed and padded to the bathroom quickly.

‘Now why would I do that, Cain? Since when have I had to have your fucking permission to do anything pertaining to this house and our lives? It will make my life easier having her here. Little Mike is a handful and I need to grieve.’

He could hear her taking her Valium − he hated the sound of that pill jar opening. She was eating them like sweets and they zonked her out. She needed a swift kick up the jacksie, but no one was going to do that any time in the near future. Everyone around her allowed her to do what she wanted, even at the expense of living their own lives. She moaned constantly, but she had always been a complainer. Caroline dripped negativity; it seeped out of her pores and it infected everyone around her. When he thought back now at how she manipulated every situation, he was amazed that he had never comprehended it before.

He made his way downstairs where Dolly was already giving Michael his breakfast. He was a handsome boy, and he smiled widely at his dad as he walked into the kitchen.

‘I’ve got boiled eggs, Dad.’

Cain kissed him on the top of his head. It would be hard to leave his little lad; he loved him with all his heart.

‘Lucky boy.’

Dolly, in a flowery dressing gown, was making a pot of tea and, smiling kindly, she said, ‘Sit down, I’ll do you a bit of egg and bacon.’ She placed a mug of tea in front of him and he sipped it gratefully.

‘So, I hear you’re moving in then.’

Dolly turned to face him, the smile gone. ‘I think it’s for the best, don’t you?’

The air was loaded with tension suddenly and he realised that she knew about Jenny.

‘She will go fucking ballistic when she finds out and, if you value your life or that girl’s life, you had better make sure she don’t get her hands on either of you. Pregnant or not pregnant, Caroline will hammer the fuck out of her.’

Michael was looking over his father’s shoulder and, as he shouted, ‘Dad!’, Cain felt the full force of his wife’s fist hit the side of his head. She was strong and he felt himself lifted out of his seat. As he crashed heavily to the kitchen floor, she was on him. Little Michael was wailing, Dolly was screaming and Caroline was almost incoherent with rage. She was straddling him now, tearing the hair from his head, and he had to use every ounce of his considerable strength to buck her off him.

After a while he managed to hold her down and, when she finally stopped struggling, he relaxed his hold a little. She spat into his face, a huge globule of spit. It smelled of minty toothpaste and he left it there, not willing to loosen his hold on her any further. Caroline could fight like a man and she was angry enough now to be capable of anything.

‘Who is it, Cain? Do I know her?’

He looked down into his wife’s wild eyes, and said gently, ‘I’m so sorry, mate.’ He meant every word he said and it pained her even more to know that.

‘And it’s pregnant, is it? How many months?’

‘Nearly seven. Honestly, Caroline, I never meant for any of this to happen.’

She snorted nastily. ‘You really want this bird so much?’

He nodded.

Suddenly it was as if the fight left her body and she slumped on to the floor. There were no tears in her eyes, no emotion in her voice, as she said wearily, ‘You better go to her then.’

The only time he smiled that day was when he went into the offices in Soho and Johnny Mac, taking in his black eye and split lip, said airily, ‘I take it Caroline’s found out?’

As they laughed together at the absurdity of it all, Cain felt the pressure leaving his body. The word was out, and now he could look to the future. His future with Jenny.

Jenny Riley could not believe what had happened. She was standing in her mum’s front room staring at Cain Moran, wondering if she was imagining the whole scenario. She had dreamed of this moment, never believing for a second that it would actually come true.

Eileen grinned. ‘She didn’t take the news well then?’

Cain gingerly touched his swollen face. ‘I’ve had worse.’ He tried to make light of his condition, of the whole situation. Jenny was white-faced as it was − no need to go into the gory details.

Eileen surveyed him shrewdly. Against her will, she had a sudden respect for him; she had been convinced he was bullshitting her daughter about being with her one day. Fuck knows she had heard it all before, but it seemed her Jenny had the magic touch. She only hoped he was worth it in the long run − most men weren’t. Once the sex dwindled, it was like going to work; men were a job you had to do every day of your life. Still, that was for Jenny to find out for herself.

She went out into the hallway and shrugged on her coat, calling out, ‘I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.’

Cain looked at Jenny, his lovely Jenny, and, as she slipped into his arms, he felt the happiest he had in years. He still couldn’t believe that Caroline had let him go – he would make sure he did right by her and his boy. He felt the baby kick and laughed delightedly. ‘Seems little Junior here is fed up of his cave already.’

Jenny laughed with him. ‘He takes after you, Cain, keeps nightclub hours.’

‘Come on, pack a bag, you’re moving into the flat with me.’

Jenny Riley didn’t need to be told twice.

Peter Parkes was an ambitious man, and he understood the business instinctively. He knew who to trust, who to avoid and, most important of all when you ran a nightclub, he knew who had the real money to spend.

He always treated the high-rollers well, even putting in a VIP bar on the top floor. It was a good money-maker, but it was also perfect for private meetings, for separating people who held grudges against each other, and for impressing the constant array of little birds he was knocking off.

Tonight, being a Sunday, it was being used for a very important meeting and Peter Parkes was thrilled to be the person arranging it. A big Face from Liverpool had requested a meeting with Cain through Peter, and he had brokered it, feeling like a million dollars to be approached by such a name as Lenny McAvoy. The man was a living legend whose name could inspire fear in the most valiant of hearts. He had the reputation as a torturer of his enemies, and he was also known as a man who dealt with friction personally − a lot like Cain Moran.

Peter Parkes assumed that was why they were in the position they were. He wanted to be a part of the upper echelons of villainy just like them. After tonight, he was already on his way, and that excited him.

Cain and Johnny Mac were the first to arrive. Peter stood behind the pristine bar and got ready to make them drinks; he already had a good bottle of Scotch on the counter, anticipating Cain’s choice of beverage. Peter Parkes now drank Scotch himself in homage to his idol. He knew he had to create a persona − it was the main requisite for a Face. He had taken up smoking too, for the same reason.

He poured Cain and Johnny their whiskies and watched as they settled themselves at a table by the doorway. Peter noticed that both the men were packing guns, which surprised him. This was supposed to be a friendly meet. He had liked the sound of Lenny McAvoy in their phone conversations; he had come across as all right. But, as he had to remind himself, this was nothing to do with him and, until Cain or Johnny asked his opinion, he would be wise to keep his thoughts to himself.