The Jump (5 page)

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‘I promised myself I’d give you a visit on the day you were sent down. It gave me something to look forward to. I’ve got you now, Brunos, and I won’t ever let you go. I’m still investigating you. I know you could hold your hand up to a lot more robberies, and when I have the evidence I need, I’ll haul your arse back into that court so fast you’ll burn a fucking great hole in the carpet!’

Tell Wilson he’ll be seeing me.’

Laughton laughed. ‘I think he’s sussed that one out for himself. Well, I’m off home. I’m taking my wife out tonight to celebrate.’

‘Did you book your trough in advance?”

Laughton chuckled gently again. ‘Still the bravado. Still the hard man. Did you know you’re to be Category A? You’ll be in Maximum Security with the scum of the earth, so you should feel well at home. I’ll be seeing you again soon, Georgio. Look after yourself for me. There’s a Dover Sole with my name on it, so I’d better get off home. I’ll be thinking about you tonight when I’m eating and drinking and making merry.’

‘I hope you choke, you ponce!’

‘I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you. How about a little bet then, before I go?’

‘Fuck off, Laughton. You’ve had your gloat, now piss off.’

The policeman carried on as if Georgio hadn’t spoken. “I’ll bet you a oner your lovely little wife is taking on all comers by Christmas.’

Georgio launched himself at the man before him, his face twisted in hatred, but three uniformed men were on him before he could throw one punch. On the floor of the cell, with his hands pushed up his back and his cheek pressed on to the cold concrete, Georgio felt the rage explode uselessly inside him as he heard the Inspector’s shoes clomping heavily along the corridor and his deep laugh reverberating around the cell walls.

Donna sat in the El Greco restaurant in Canning Town. The whole family was there. In the harsh daylight, the faded paintwork and scratched bar surfaces were mercilessly revealed. Pa Brunos looked on his restaurant as his life’s work. His sons had all been waiters there at one time or another, his youngest daughter Nuala did the book-keeping, he and Maeve did the cooking. As he watched his family drinking Retsina and Ouzo, observed their different degrees of disbelief, he felt a tightening across his chest. Taking a small bottle of heart pills from his pocket, he unobtrusively slipped one into his hand and placed it under his tongue.

‘Come on, Donna. Eat something, love.’ Maeve’s voice was tired, low.

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them Donna shook her head. ‘I couldn’t eat anything, thank you.’ Her eyes were red with crying.

Maeve pulled her chair closer and placed a large meaty arm around her daughter-in-law. ‘He’s my son, God love him, but we have to keep our strength up. Tonight me and Pa will open up this restaurant, we’ll smile at the customers and chat with them. Life must go on. You must tell yourself that once his appeal comes up, Georgia will be back home. That is what I keep telling myself.’

‘I can’t believe it happened, any of it.’

Nuala gave a loud snort as she shouted: ‘It’s the police, Donna. They wanted him - they got him. They needed someone and he fitted the bill.’ ‘

Mario, her elder brother, shook his head. ‘Georgio was a fool; he mixed with the wrong people. I told him so. A few weeks before it all happened, I saw him with Jack Black. I mean, who in their right mind would cultivate him, eh? Jack Black, the biggest villain in Silvertown! But no, our Georgio wouldn’t listen. He knew best.’ Mario’s voice was high, almost girlish, and full of anger towards his brother.

‘What do you know, Mario?’ Patrick Brunos spoke up. ‘In his lines of business he had to mix with all sorts, surely you can see that? Jack Black has the ear on the building everywhere. He also has a haulage business. It was sound economics for our Georgio to deal with him.’

Nuala pushed back her short black hair. ‘That’s true. He’s right, Mario. You’re too hard on Georgio. You’ve always been hard on him, just because he’s done better than you. He’s done better than everyone.’

Nuala was upset and Donna closed her eyes. This family fought like other families loved. Yet they were closer than most families could ever hope to be.

‘What do you know, Nuala? Running around with that no-hoper Dicky Barlow. If you’re not careful, you’ll be visiting him and your brother together …’

Pa Brunos banged his fist on the table in front of him, knocking over a glass of red wine in the process.

‘Be quiet! You all hear me? No more of this! We have enough trouble as it is without you all arguing among yourselves. Where is my Mary? Why isn’t she here?’

Nuala’s voice was low now. ‘She had to get back. Geoff has to open his own restaurant tonight.’

Pa Brunos nodded, his eyes closed. ‘Of course. The businesses must be seen to. You will need to look into Georgio’s businesses now,

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Donna. We don’t know when he will be home. Will you be keeping on that Mark Hancock or will you get someone else?’

‘I don’t know Pa. I haven’t really thought about it. All the time I believed Georgio would be coming home.’

Maeve pulled her into her arms. ‘And he will, darlin’, I promise you. I could cheerfully smack his face for him, big as he is. Getting involved with all this …’ Her voice trailed off.

Pa Brunos poked himself in the chest. ‘If you need me, just call, Donna. I will personally see to anything you want me to. It is the least I can do for you.’ ‘Thank you.’

Nuala poured out more Ouzo and said, ‘Why don’t you run the business, Donna? If nothing else it would keep you occupied. Then, when you visit Georgio, it will give you something to talk about. He’ll feel much better knowing you’re looking after things.’

Maeve nodded. ‘For once in your life, Nuala, you’ve opened that big galloping trap of yours and something intelligent has come out. After all the money your education cost, that bit of talk was like balm to me poor spirits.’

Everyone laughed at this. It broke the tension in the room. The second youngest Brunos son, Stephen, smiled at Donna.

‘I have a business degree, as you know. I’m quite willing to help you out in any way. We all are. As I see it, the building business is best put into the hands of a competent manager, then you can learn from them. As for the cars,, Georgio is in partnership with Davey Jackson. Davey will keep that sorted until you can get actively involved. He only has a twenty-five percent stake in the company so you have what’s known as the controlling interest…’

‘Jaysus, Stephen, what did you have for breakfast, a company report? Leave the girl alone. There’s plenty of time for all that once the shock wears off.’

Stephen shook his head. Taking off gold-rimmed glasses, he began cleaning them on a table napkin. ‘All I’m saying is, there’s a lot of money involved, Mum. Our Georgio had many business interests; his accountant is a known face in the City. I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave it too long. It’s been left for nearly nine months as it is. The sooner someone starts sorting everything out, the better. Georgio can run his business from prison, through Donna.’ ‘I don’t know if I could, Stephen …’

‘Of course you can, Donna. Georgio would be over the moon to think you were looking after things for him,’ Nuala said with finality. ‘We’ll all help in any way we can.’ Then once he wins his appeal, everything can get back to normal.’

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them Patrick’s voice was full of forced joviality. -

“I’ll drink to that.’ Stephen held up his glass of milky Ouzo, and everyone followed suit.

To Georgio’s homecoming.’

Donna lifted her glass and forced back the tears once more. She had these people, they were her family. With all of them behind her, things couldn’t really be that bad.

‘Eighteen years? The dirty bastards!’ Dolly’s voice was low, shocked. ‘I heard it on the local News. Nearly fainted away, I did. How’s his mum taken it?’

Donna sipped her tea. ‘Surprisingly well actually, Dolly. Maeve is strong. Stronger than people realise. Pa Brunos has taken it badly, but that is to be expected. Georgio was his pride and joy. Proof of all his adopted country has to offer. There’ve been a few phone calls from Rhodes. The papers there carried the story and, well, word gets round. I think he feels ashamed.’

Dolly shook her head. ‘Georgio was fitted up - he said so himself. Once we prove that, everything will be fine once more. Do you want a drop of scotch in that tea, love? You’re looking very white.’

She poured a good measure of cheap Tesco whisky into Donna’s cup. ‘You get that down your neck, girl. It’s going to be a hard few months. Before I forget, Davey Jackson rang. He’ll be round on Sunday morning.’

Donna sipped the warm tea, the bite of the scotch burning her tongue.

‘What am I going to do, Dolly?’ she asked hopelessly. ‘I feel as if my life is on hold without him. I hadn’t thought of him being sent to prison, I only thought of him coming home. How could they believe Wilson? Everyone knows what he is. Yet in a suit, with his hair all washed and cut, he looked so respectable. The things he was saying about Georgio! That Georgio had told them to shoot to kill, and threatened them all that if they botched up the job he would kill them. It was all kill, kill kill. I know Georgio, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Christ Almighty, he cried when we had old Sam put down. He loved that dog.’ Her voice broke again, and she swallowed back her tears.

‘Wilson was saving his own arse, love. I expect Laughton did a deal with him for a reduced sentence. He’ll get his comeuppance in the nick. No one likes a grass.’

Donna smiled through her tears. ‘You sound so knowledgeable, Dolly, like an old jailbird yourself!’

‘After years with my old man, I know all the jargon, my love. Now

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if he had got eighteen years, I’d be celebrating me drawers off. How about I run you a nice bath, put in some Radox, and while you’re soaking, I’ll cook you a light meal? An omelette, say. You’ve got to eat, to keep your strength up. The appeal will take up all your time, and the businesses. Come on, I’ll run the bath while you get stripped off.’

As they stood up Donna grabbed at the older woman’s hand. “I’m so glad I’ve got you, Dolly. This house is so empty without him.’

‘I know my little love. Believe me, I know.’

Davey Jackson turned up at eight-thirty on Sunday morning. Donna was in her conservatory, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette, when she heard Carol Jackson’s strident voice. She closed her eyes wearily. Davey Jackson was all right, she could cope with him, but Carol Jackson was a different kettle of fish. Donna loathed her and she loathed Donna.

‘How you feeling, Donna? Gutted, I bet. Bags of shit, the lot of them, bags of stinking shit!’

Donna was surprised to see genuine concern in Carol’s face.

‘Sit down, Davey, you make me nervous looming over us like that. I tell you something, Donna, me and you have never seen eye to eye, but if ever you need a shoulder, girl, well, mine’s always there for the taking.’

Donna was inordinately grateful. Over the last nine months she had been gradually dropped by most of her friends. Bunty and Harry Robertson had looked right through her only a week previously when she had met them in the village. She had said hello and they had ignored her, leaving her deep red with embarrassment and hurt. Over the years they had both courted Georgio’s friendship. Now they wanted nothing to do with him or anyone connected to him. Even Donna’s neighbours had stopped waving if they drove past and she was on her driveway.

Thanks, Carol, I appreciate it.’ The truth of the statement came over in her voice and Carol smiled.

‘You find out who your mates are at times like this, girl. I remember when me brother got a big one. Twelve years. Mind you, he had done the robbery - got caught red-handed with the guns and the money. But all that aside, his wife really took some stick. Mind you, for saying that, she was batting away from home within six months. Takes some of the wives like that. Lonely, see. You keep your mind occupied and your legs crossed, girl. The filth will come out of the woodwork now, A few of Georgio’s mates would have liked a crack at you. Now he’s banged up they’ll think the field is clear. So

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them be careful when men start offering you a bit of help: When is the appeal? I take it he is appealing?’

‘Oh, yes. As soon as we get a date I’ll let you know. Can I offer you some refreshment?’

Carol Jackson laughed her loud, cackling laugh. ‘ “Can I offer you some refreshment”! You’re a riot, Donna, if you only knew it. I’ll have a cup of Rosie. I’ll just pop in and see old Dolly for a bit. Leave you and Davey to sort out your business.’

Dorina watched her plump frame, encased in skintight leather, wobble from the conservatory on impossibly high heels. Her long bleached-blonde hair, screaming with split ends, was backcombed into a mass of knots visible from behind.

Davey finally spoke. ‘She ain’t a bad girl really, my Carol. You’ve just got to know how to take her. She’s a good wife and an excellent mother.’

Donna nodded. ‘I realised that a long time ago. You don’t have to defend her to me, Davey. In fact, she’s one of the few people who actually seem concerned about me and Georgio.’ —

‘She’s right in what she says, you know, Donna. You’re an attractive woman, so be careful. Even Georgio’s mates are now suspect, remember that. That’s why I brought Carol with me this morning. Georgio will hear everything, who’s in here and who ain’t. Don’t ask me how he’ll know, but believe me when I say that he will.’

Davey paused for breath and drew on his cigarette before continuing. ‘If any of his business associates come round, make sure you’re not alone, or that they bring their wives. If possible, meet them in a pub or a restaurant. It’s the rules you live by when your old man’s banged up. Be especially wary of blokes who turn up on spec. Don’t let them over the doorstep. Georgio’s brothers will keep an eye on you, so don’t be too worried, just wary. You understand?’

Donna was stunned. Davey was talking as if she was some kind of gangster’s moll. As if Georgio really was a villain.

Carol tripped back into the conservatory with two mugs of tea. She gave one to Davey and sat down at the table. Lighting herself a cigarette, she picked up Donna’s Sunday Times and began turning the pages.