TRAPPED (29 page)

Saucers, seeing the confrontation and not wanting it to escalate even more, jumped in quickly. ‘It’s alright Jen, you can tell her.’

Jenny pouted her lips and checked her chipped nails, purposely making Maggie wait for the answer. ‘He was on one of his legendaries – clinging onto a bottle of whiskey like it was a flipping life raft. Anyhow, he said he was off home to see his baby. Lucky girl is all I can say. I wouldn’t mind having a piece of it. Some of the girls who’ve been with hi—’

‘Alright Jen, that’s all.’

Saucers stopped Jenny, not wanting her to say anymore. Johnny was like all the other men she’d known; though in fairness, his indiscretions only happened when he was on one of his legendaries. Unlike any other man she’d known, however, his heart was only with Maggie.

Saucers pushed Maggie away as she spoke, cutting her eye at Jenny who shrugged, not quite knowing what she’d done wrong.

‘Okay, well that’s good. At least we know Johnny’s gone to the flat to see Harley. You go back there and see him. I’ll go and see if Gary’s back.’

‘No, I think I should go with you Saucers.’

‘Listen, I’ll be fine. I ain’t stupid. He’s done all he wants to do to me and, besides, it’s not as if I’m going to advertise I’m there. I’ll keep me head down and if I see he’s in, I’ll give you and Johnny a call.’

‘Okay, if you’re sure. And Saucers; thank you.’

Maggie watched Saucers walk away until she could no longer see her, then made her way quickly through the streets of Soho towards the flat. As she turned the corner from Tottenham Street into Scala Street, Maggie froze, and then let out a piercing scream which would stay with the onlookers for a long time after.

Saucers ran up the stairs two at a time. So much for her keeping her head down. But she’d heard shouting as she stood in the stairwell and there was no mistaking the voices. Gary’s and Nicky’s. And by the sound of Nicky’s cry, there wasn’t any time to make a phone call to Maggie. She wasn’t going to wait. She already had enough guilt from kicking Nicky out. Perhaps none of this would be happening if it hadn’t been for her.

‘Get up, Nicky. Get up, you skanky motherfucker. Where did you think you were going, hiding out in a crack den like that? Did you think you could just run away without paying? People talk.’

‘Leave him. Leave him alone, Gary.’ Saucers ran in, speaking as she entered the flat and seeing the scene in front of her. Surprised by the intrusion, Gary turned to Saucers and hesitated for a moment to snarl at her, before lifting her off her feet with a hard backhand. The smack to her face split open her lip and she tumbled to the floor.

Not caring for herself, only concerned for Nicky, Saucers called his name as she attempted to crawl over to help her friend, who looked in a bad way. As she reached out her hand to him, Gary used all his strength to kick Nicky to the other side of the room. He rolled in agony, helpless and pathetic as Gary put his boot out, stopping Saucers getting nearer as he placed his foot on her head.

‘Don’t make it harder darlin’. He’s going to get what he deserves.’

‘Stop it please, Gary, please.’

Gary looked at Saucers as he pulled Nicky up by his hair to a kneeling position. ‘What did you think was going to happen when I caught up with him? Thought we’d all be having a tea party?’

‘Please, Gary. I’ll get you the money. I’ll work the
streets
for
you. Do anything you want to me but leave him alone.’

‘I don’t
want
to do anything to you because I don’t give a fuck about
you
. Never have, never will. So save the heroics babe.’

Saucers looked at Nicky. His face was distorted in pain. One of his eyes had swollen up so much he couldn’t see out of it. The other eye was bloodied and his lid was torn. His bottom lip had doubled in size and blood dripped from it, down his chin and onto the floor.

‘Nicky, I’m sorry. Nicky, please listen to me. I know you can hear me. I’m
so
sorry.’

‘What’s all this fecking commotion?’

Saucers felt sick as she saw Nicky’s head jolt towards the sound of Max’s voice coming into the room, along with an overpowering smell of petrol. She couldn’t do anything besides watch as he walked over to Nicky.

Max held up Nicky’s face towards him as he spoke, and Saucers saw his body trembling.

‘Remember when you heard the stories of kids being caught smoking? Their parents would make them smoke the whole packet to make them sick. Try to deter them from doing it again. Well here’s the thing, Nicky. You owe a lot of money because of the stuff you take, and I don’t think anything will deter you. Not me, not Gary, so you need something to stop you son. You need to get sick to stop you doing it again.’

Max let go of Nicky’s chin and went into his coat pocket, pulling out a paper package the size of half a bag of flour. Taking out his penknife, he cut it open and placed it on the table. The paper bag fell apart easily, spilling out its contents onto the wooden coffee table. Cocaine.

Max turned to Nicky. ‘There you go boy. Take it. I’m going to stand here and watch you take the whole fucking lot. And you can be sure of one thing son, you won’t be doing it again after that.’

Saucers screamed and without thinking ran over to Max and clutched his arm. ‘Max, please no, you’ll kill him. Nicky, don’t let them do this.’

Max grabbed hold of Saucers, pulling her hair and putting her in a headlock. He banged her face with his forearm and shook her neck hard, painfully clicking one of her vertebra.

‘You think you can challenge me? You think you can tell me what to do?’

A hoarse voice was heard. It was Nicky. ‘Leave her alone, you bully.’

Max’s fury turned back towards his son, letting go of Saucers who fell to the floor, crying. It was the first time Nicky had ever spoken back to him. Max scooped up a handful of cocaine, stuffing it into Nicky’s face; making him splutter whilst he tried to turn his face away as Max roared with anger. ‘Say it again son, I dare you. Say it to me bleedin’ face.’

Saliva, tears and cocaine spread across Nicky’s face as he yelled back. ‘Don’t call me son; you’ve never been a father. We were your kids and all you did was terrify us. Look at me, Dad, I’m a junkie. That’s all I’ve ever been, a junkie, and you were the one who did this to me. Look at Maggie, at Tommy, at Mum. You hurt us all. I’m not surprised Maggie ran off with Johnny Taylor. So fuck you and I hope you rot in hell, ’cos that’s where we’ve been living all this time.’

Such was the strength behind Max’s slap to his son’s face, that it made Gary’s arm judder as he held onto Nicky’s hair. ‘Very moving son. You should be a bleeding poet. Oh and don’t you worry; I’ll be sorting out Maggie and Loverboy. But until then, let’s get on with why we’re here. Take it.’

Max pushed Nicky towards the cocaine but it was all too much for Saucers; she ran out of the flat, down the stairs and into the street, searching the passing strangers, looking for someone to help her. She ran blindly, panicked and afraid, crossing roads without looking and as she ran across the junction of Soho Square, screeching brakes sounded in the deserted streets.

‘What the fuck? I could’ve killed you.’

The driver got out of the car and walked towards her. It was Frankie.

‘Frankie, Frankie, you’ve got to help me, please.’

Frankie Taylor stared in amazement at Saucers. He’d only seen her a couple of days ago laughing and joking in her usual manner, but now here she was in hysterics, her lip bust, dried blood covering her chin.

He put his arm around Saucers’ shoulders and led her to his car, wondering if there was any woman on earth who didn’t want something from him.

Max looked down at his son, who lay motionless and face down on the floor of Gary’s flat. Max went into his pocket to see if his cigarettes were there; they weren’t. He walked over to the drawn curtains and looked out, he had to get going. He had something very important he needed to do. He stretched and let out a loud fart before turning to Gary who talked in an excited manner.

‘We did well.’

Max strolled across to where Gary was standing, bending over to put some coke on his finger, rubbing it onto his gums, feeling the tingle on them as he spoke.

‘Well? My son’s lying dead on the floor and you’re calling that something good?’

Gary Levitt’s excitement dropped into an enormous sense of apprehension. ‘No … er … I didn’t mean it like that.’

‘Well what then?’

‘I just thought …’

‘There you go again, Gary; thinking. And that’s going to be your downfall.’

‘I won’t do it again.’

Max let out a roar of laughter. ‘What?
Think
? You’re a fecking sheep, Gary, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. What is a bad thing, is that you’d do this.’

Max pointed at Nicky.

‘Me?’

‘Yeah, you were happy to watch me kill my son. Stood back and did nothing. What sort of person does that?’

Max walked closer to a red-faced Gary and hissed through gritted teeth as he continued to talk. ‘I’ll tell you, shall I Gary? A man who’d be prepared to do anything to get ahead. A man who if I didn’t watch my own back would top me off.’

‘I wouldn’t do that to you.’

‘Wouldn’t you? Well we’ll never know now, will we?’

Gary’s voice was panicked. ‘What … what are you going to do?’

‘Let me worry about that. You’ve nothing to worry about; not any more.’

They were the last words Gary Levitt ever heard, as Max Donaldson expertly fired the bullet between his eyes.

The moment Frankie Taylor saw him he recognised him. Nicky Donaldson looking well and truly croaked, almost blue. As for the other one, he couldn’t tell who that was. He was lying face down but he could see from the side he’d had a bullet through his head. It was pointless even checking him. He was a total goner. Frankie looked at Nicky again and saw Saucer’s terrified expression.

‘Is he alive? Frankie please, is he breathing?’

‘I dunno darlin’ but I’m out of here. Donaldsons aren’t my territory.’

Frankie turned and walked out of the flat but within a minute of leaving, Saucers ran up to him, tugging on his coat.

‘You can’t leave, you can’t.’

‘Try stopping me sweetheart. Don’t take me for a mug.
You know I can’t get involved and we’ve got a conversation
to have; I don’t take kindly to anyone I know having contac
t with this sort of scum. Makes me wonder about their loyalties.’

Frankie tried to move away but Saucers stayed holding onto him.

‘Whatever you think of me is fine, Frankie, but I need your help. Yes, I know him. He’s my friend but then so is Johnny, and I thought you were my friend too.

Frankie grabbed hold of Saucers’ face.

‘Playing games with dangerous men babe will get you into trouble. And no Saucers, we ain’t friends; you’re just some two-bit whore who works in one of my clubs.’

‘Think what you like, Frankie. Say what you like, but please help Nicky.’

Frankie pushed Saucers away and marched down the stairs, but Saucers was relentless in her pursuit and manoeuvred herself in front of Frankie as he was opening the communal front door downstairs.

‘What if that was your son up there? What if that was Johnny?’

‘It wouldn’t be, because he ain’t bang on it.’

Walking out of the door Frankie heard Saucers cry out to him but he didn’t turn round, only listened.

‘No, and you know why that is? Because Johnny’s lucky. He’s lucky he’s got you. I know you love Johnny and Johnny loves you, there ain’t no denying that, but Nicky’s had no one. Who do you think did this to him eh, Frankie? It was Max. That’s what his dad does. So you see there’s never been anyone to look out for Nicky the way you looked out for Johnny; nothing’s ever come close. So I’m begging you Frankie, help me; help Nicky. Give him the chance he never had. Please, Frankie, I’m begging you … I’m begging you for him, but I’m also begging you for me … because I love him and I’ve never had anyone to look out for me either. I’ve never loved anyone before.’

Without looking back, Frankie Taylor walked to his car, trying to shut out Saucers’ cries.

Gypsy Taylor had a bad feeling; more than a bad feeling, and it wasn’t helping not being able to get through to Johnny. She was angry with herself. Why had she told him – or at least why had she told him that way? After all these years of keeping it a secret, she’d blurted it out like that, but she’d been scared, terrified by what he’d told her.

The years of Johnny growing up had been so difficult and with each passing birthday her fear had grown as she hoped and prayed for her son to turn into the image of Frankie.

Johnny had grown, tall and charming, with dazzling eyes and a thick head of hair. Handsome to the point of turning heads, but Gypsy hadn’t been able to see either Frankie or Max in him and over time she’d tried to push it to the back of her mind.

She’d known to keep it to herself. There was no way she’d ever contemplated telling her friends, though there’d been times when she’d looked at Frankie and longed to talk to him. Wanting to share her fears and heartache instead of carrying the secret on her own. But Frankie was old school; there’d be no small talk, he would’ve put Max at the bottom of the Thames – which hadn’t been particularly her worry – but the love between Frankie and Johnny was so strong. After being brought up in care, having a family of his own was central to who Frankie was, so the truth would’ve destroyed him. For all he loved Johnny, if he’d found out he wasn’t his real son, the pain of that would’ve made Frankie reject him and drive him away.

She’d kept quiet for all these years because she’d wanted to protect Frankie and not lose him. But now because of Lorna having read the test results it’d all been pointless – she’d lost him anyway.

But when you keep a secret it starts to consume you, so Gypsy had decided that knowing couldn’t be worse than not knowing. And in a way she’d convinced herself it was all alright. It’d taken her just over three years to work up to doing it and when she had, it’d been relatively easy to get the samples she needed.