The Traitor (58 page)

Gina squeezed Eddie’s hand and winked at Joey and Dominic. ‘Wonders will never cease! Your father’s a changed man, Joey.’

‘I’m really proud of you, Dad,’ Joey said sincerely.

As Dom, Joey and Gina all praised him, Eddie glanced at his watch again. The only reason he’d chosen to come by taxi was so the driver could be a witness if need be. Eddie looked up and, aware of his family all grinning at him, grinned back. That old saying was right: ignorance was most certainly fucking bliss.

Alice O’Hara breathed a sigh of relief as she walked outside the church. The service had been sad, but beautiful and, considering she’d seen a lone magpie on her windowsill this morning, she was thankful it had gone without a hitch.

Jimmy led Alice back to the funeral car. They had chosen a church a mile away from the cemetery, so had to travel a short distance for the burial.

‘Are you OK, love?’ Jimmy asked.

Alice dabbed her eyes with his hankerchief. ‘I’m as OK as I can be. I’m pleased the service went well and the sun’s come out for him, Jimmy. It would have been awful burying him in the rain.’

Jimmy agreed. Considering it was nearly November, the weather had been extremely kind to them. ‘There ain’t arf some people ’ere, Alice. The Smiths have come all the way from Cardiff, and I saw Sonny Tyler and his family, they live on that site up in Glasgow.’

Pleased that her son had got such a wonderful turn-out, Alice gave a weak smile, then burst into tears again.

‘What’s a matter, Alice?’

‘I’m dreading seeing my Marky be put in that ground. Go and find Jed: I just wanna get the burial over with, then I’ll be OK. I’ve still got a bad feeling, you know, it won’t go away. Say they drop his coffin and he falls out of it or something? That magpie was pecking at the window, trying to get in the kitchen. You know my phobia of them poxy birds – one for sorrow, two for joy.’

Jimmy kissed Alice on the forehead. ‘You’ve gotta calm down, love, or you’ll make yourself ill. Nothing is gonna go wrong with Marky’s burial, I promise you that faithfully.’

Dressed in biker leathers, Gary Mitchell was crouching down by a big headstone at the back end of the cemetery. His father has chosen a spot where the graves were old, covered in moss and the names of the deceased unreadable.

‘No one’s visited these poor fuckers for years, so you ain’t gonna bump into no visitors. This will do just nicely and it’ll only take you two minutes to get from here over the wall,’ were Eddie’s exact words.

Gary stared through the scope of the rifle. His dad had brought the untraceable gun here late last night and had hidden it in some undergrowth. He’d also put some paint on either side of the wall, so Gary knew exactly where to climb over and also where to find the gun. Gary felt his heart-rate quicken as he spotted a hearse pulling into the main gates. This was them – he could see Jimmy O’Hara’s ugly mug in the car behind.

Aware that he was sweating profusely, Gary put down the rifle, took the binoculars out of his pocket and glanced around the rest of the cemetery to ensure he couldn’t be seen. He could see a couple of old dears standing by graves, but they were probably half-blind and also a good couple of hundred yards away from him.

Gary picked up the rifle again and turned his attention back to the O’Haras. He gasped as Jed got out of the car holding Georgie and Harry’s hands. He had prayed the kids wouldn’t be here, but he still had to go through with it whether they witnessed their father’s death or not.

Relieved as Georgie and Harry left Jed’s side and skipped along in front with another little boy, Gary focused solely on Jed. It was nearly time now. Ten more minutes and Jed would be out of his family’s life for ever.

Back at the restaurant, Eddie and Joey were discussing Frankie. ‘I’m sure she knows that Jed’s got the kids, Dad. She screamed at me last night and called me a liar, and Kerry said she did the same to her. She told me that someone had told her that the kids were with Jed. I didn’t admit it, in case she was trying to get me to own up, but she ain’t stupid, you know.’

Eddie put a comforting arm around his youngest son’s shoulders. ‘You’ve done great, boy, and stop worrying, ’cause Frankie will be out tomorrow, and she’ll have her kids back in no time.’

‘How can you be so sure? And even if she does get bail, it doesn’t alter the fact that she still tried to kill Jed. I mean, she’s bound to be sent back to prison again when her trial comes up, ain’t she?’

Eddie shook his head. ‘Once we get Frankie out, we’ll get her to open up, tell us what really happened. Jed must have done something pretty bad to make Frankie flip like that, and I’m determined to find out what it is. I’m paying for the same QC who represented me. You must remember him – posh, cocky, clever bastard called James Fitzgerald Smythe.’

Joey nodded. Dominic and Gina were both still deep in conversation and it was good to have five minutes alone with his dad to talk about Frankie. ‘Go on.’

‘Well, Larry took me to see Smythe earlier this week. He reckons, worst ways, we can go down the old self-defence route. Obviously, Frankie will have to tell the court that Jed used to beat her up on a regular basis, and Kerry will also have to stand up and testify the same. I know for a fact Smthye will get Frankie off. Charging me an absolute fortune he is, but from experience we know he’s worth every penny.’

Joey lifted up his glass. ‘To Frankie coming home.’

Eddie glanced at his watch. Jed should be taking his last breath any time now and that moment definitely needed celebrating. He clicked his fingers. ‘Waiter, bring us over a bottle of your finest champagne, mate.’

Gary put down his rifle and looked through the binoculars once more. The O’Haras seemed to be taking for ever to move; they weren’t even anywhere near the graveside yet. Glancing around the rest of the cemetery, Gary’s bowels loosened as he saw a man heading his way with flowers in his hand. As the man suddenly turned to his left, Gary breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t wait to get the job done and get out of this bastard place.

Hand in hand with Sally, Jed followed his parents and Marky’s wife and sons on the sombre walk towards his brother’s graveside. The burial had been slightly delayed due to the number of people who still hadn’t arrived back from the church. Travellers’ funerals were always big affairs, and Marky’s was no exception.

Billy and Shannon walked alongside Jed and Sally. Sammy had come alone, and had turned up late.

‘There’s no fucking room anywhere. The car park’s chocka and so are all the roads outside. Half the mushes, including most of Dad’s family, ain’t even back from the service yet,’ Billy moaned.

Jed ignored his brother and turned to Sammy. ‘Where was you this morning? I thought you were coming to the house.’

Not wanting everybody knowing his business, Sammy pulled Jed to one side. ‘The gavvers turned up at Julie’s with some bitch jobsworth of a social worker. They threatened to arrest me unless I gave the boys back to Kerry. They took ’em there and then. I’m fucking gutted, Jed. How can they hand ’em over to that slut when they know she’s a violent psycho?’

About to offer Sammy some words of comfort, Jed was interrupted by his own kids tugging at his trouser leg. ‘Luke fell over and cut his knee, Daddy,’ Georgie said.

Jed bent down to examine Luke’s knee, and at that precise second, the distinct sound of gunshots filled the warm autumn air. Mayhem quickly ensued. Frightened for their lives, the pallbearers dropped Marky’s coffin and ran for cover. Women, children and men were screaming. Even the vicar dived behind a gravestone while chanting extracts from the Bible.

Sally was hysterical. Jed was covered in blood, lying on his back, cuddling Luke. ‘Call an ambulance. Jed’s been shot,’ she screamed.

When the shots had been fired, Jimmy had automatically thrown himself on top of Alice to protect her.

‘Why us? I knew it. I knew something bad would happen today. Where’s Jed and Billy? Where’s Georgie girl? Why didn’t you listen to me?’ Alice sobbed.

Jimmy stood up and ran to where a crowd had gathered. He spotted Billy and Sammy standing nearby. ‘Where’s Jed?’ he yelled. Billy pointed towards the crowd. Filled with dread, Jimmy pushed his way through. Jed was covered in claret, but was sitting up, cradling Lukey boy in his arms.

‘Are you OK, boy? Where you been shot?’ asked Jimmy.

Tears were streaming down Jed’s face as he looked up. ‘Lukey’s dead, Dad, he’s gone.’

Alice breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Georgie girl and Harry huddled together. They were sitting on a grave crying. Desperate to find Jed, she ran past them. Sally was lying in a crumpled heap on the grass. ‘Sally, where’s Jed and Luke?’

Sally sat up in a dazed state. She’d vomited when she’d seen Jed covered in blood, then she must have passed out. ‘Jed’s been shot, Alice,’ she whimpered.

‘Jed! Where’s my boy?’ Alice screamed hysterically.

‘Jed’s OK. He’s sitting up,’ someone yelled.

Alice helped Sally up and, with the sound of sirens nearing, they both pushed their way through the crowd.

Spotting his wife, Jimmy stood up. Lukey boy had taken a bullet through his skull and he couldn’t let Alice see him like that, it would crucify her.

As Jimmy tried to lead her away, Alice pushed him as hard as she could. ‘I wanna see my baby. Jed, are you OK?’ she yelled.

‘Please, Alice, Sally, don’t move any closer,’ Jimmy warned.

Desperate to comfort both her son and Jed, Sally ducked under Jimmy’s arm. ‘Jed! Luke!’ she screamed.

Weeping tears of pure pain, Jed was still sitting on the ground with Luke clutched to his chest. ‘I love you, boy. I love you so much,’ he wept.

Realising for the first time that it was her son who had copped the bullet, Sally let out a piercing scream. ‘Let me see him. Let me hold my baby,’ she shrieked.

The police and paramedics urged the crowd to move out of the way, and then witnessed a scene that would stay with most of them for the rest of their lives. Two hysterical parents sitting on the ground, cradling their dead son was a picture most of them had witnessed in the past. But the boy literally having had his brains blown out at a family funeral was a shock to virtually all of them.

In Whitechapel, Gary and Ricky were upstairs in Joanie’s house. They were in the room they used for their meetings and, since Gary’s return, they’d already necked half a litre of neat Scotch between them. Neither were drunk, just in a state of stupefied shock over what had happened.

Ricky glanced at his watch and then stared at the phone. Their dad was due to ring soon, and then the shit would really hit the fan.

Gary jumped as the phone rang a few moments later. His hands shook as he lifted the receiver.

Eddie immediately launched into their pre-planned code. ‘Is Joanie OK? Has she sobered up?’ he asked, fully expecting Gary to say yes.

‘No, she’s not OK,’ Gary croaked.

Ed’s heart skipped a beat. Surely Gary hadn’t bottled it, or fucked things up. ‘Do you want me to pop up and see her?’ Ed asked. This meant, Is the coast clear?

‘Yes, come up and see her,’ Gary replied.

Gina was watching the episode of
Blind Date
she’d recorded the previous weekend. ‘Where you going? You aren’t driving, are you?’ she said, as Ed snatched his keys off the coffee table.

‘I’ve got to pop out. Joanie ain’t well,’ Ed lied.

‘Be careful, you’ve had a lot to drink today.’

Ed pecked her on the lips. ‘I’ll try not to be long.’

‘Oh, Ed, Raymond just rang on the landline while you were upstairs. Says it’s urgent, he wants you to call him back.’

Eddie slammed the front door. If Gary was at Joanie’s he obviously hadn’t got nicked, so what the fuck had gone wrong? Wondering if Raymond had heard something through the grapevine, Eddie got in the motor and punched in his number.

‘Ray, it’s me. What’s up?’

‘Have you heard what happened, Ed? At O’Hara’s son’s funeral?’

Eddie went cold. ‘No, what?’

‘Someone tried to shoot Jed, but killed his son, Luke, instead. Pat Murphy told Dougie, and Dougie rang me. Pat Murphy was at the funeral, said it was fucking chaos. The kid took the bullet straight throught the head, apparently. Gruesome, eh?’

Ed dropped the phone in shock. What in God’s name had Gary done?

Auntie Joan glanced at her pattern, then checked how many stitches she’d cast on. ‘Shit,’ she mumbled, as she realised she’d made a cock-up. Chucking her knitting on a nearby chair, Joan walked over to the TV and turned the volume up. Gary and Ricky were still upstairs and she knew by their mood and demeanour that something had gone dreadfully wrong.

Deciding to make herself a mug of Horlicks, Joan went into the kitchen. Seconds later the newreader’s voice made her jump in shock.

‘Police are hunting the killer of a four-year-old boy who was gunned down in a gangland-style shooting at Upminster Cemetery earlier today. Detectives particularly want to trace the driver of a white BMW, registration . . .’

Joan stopped listening as the doorbell rang. She turned the TV off and peeped through the net curtain. It was only Eddie, thank God.

‘Where are they?’ Ed asked, his face as black as thunder.

‘Upstairs. Do you wanna cup of tea, love?’ Joan replied.

Eddie ignored Joan’s question and flew up the stairs. He ran into the room and grabbed Gary by the neck.

‘What the fuck have you done?’ he screamed.

Gary’s face turned red with fury. ‘Get off me, I ain’t done nothing.’

Ed let go of his eldest boy, slumped on a chair and poured himself a Scotch. ‘How could you be so stupid? You know how to shoot, so how the hell did you manage to kill the cunting kid?’

Gary looked at his father in total amazement. ‘What kid? What you on about?’

‘Jed’s kid, Luke. The kid you fucking shot.’

‘It weren’t me. I was staring through the rifle waiting for ’em to get nearer to the grave when all hell broke loose. I heard the gunshots and then I saw Jed slump to the floor. I thought he’d been shot. I panicked and legged it.’