Читать книгу The Young Gangsters - E.J.P Murphy - Страница 6

JIMMY DAY WAS BORN IN HACKNEY TO AN IRISH MOTHER, KATHLEEN. BESIDES JIMMY, SHE ALSO HAD A DAUGHTER, ALICE. WHEN JIMMY WAS BORN, ALICE WAS NEARLY FIVE. HIS DAD, BILLY DAY, WAS TEN YEARS OLDER THAN JIMMY’S MOTHER. HE WAS A LABOURER ON ANY BUILDING SITE THAT WOULD EMPLOY HIM; HE WAS A LAZY BASTARD, ALWAYS DRUNK AND NEVER HAD MONEY IN HIS POCKETS. HE STOLE HIS WIFE’S MONEY, WHO (POOR SOUL) WORKED AT FOUR JOBS, CLEANING OFFICES AND HOUSES EARLY MORNING UNTIL LATE. SHE LEFT THE KIDS WITH HER MATE, MARY, WHO LIVED TWO DOORS AWAY. SOME SAY BILLY, JIMMY’S DAD, WAS KNOCKING MARY OFF.

They had lived in a two-room apartment in a block of flats off Mare Street, Hackney. It wasn’t too bad; Jimmy’s mum kept it spotless, and like most Irish mums, she took pride in her home. Kathleen Day was a lovely woman. She came over from Ireland when she was 17, but as Jimmy once said to his sister, “out of sheer bad luck she met Billy Day”. He got her pregnant; the rest is history.

Two years after Jimmy’s birth, Mark was born. After his mum’s death the young family were left with a drunken arsehole of a father.

He soon got them into debt, leaving the bills, rent and everything else unpaid. They were finally evicted and sent to a badly run-down estate in Camden Town.

There was virtually nothing coming into the house, so Jimmy, who was by then 12, started to steal from shops or anywhere he could get money from. His sister, Alice, was doing a paper round to help, Social Services paid the rent but most of the food money they gave Jimmy’s dad was spent on booze or women. Over the next few years, Jimmy started to loathe his dad, and his only thoughts were for his brother and sister.

Jimmy started to stay out late, even though he was then only 14. He also started to drink and smoke, having formed his own gang of kids who lived around the area.

At night, they used to go down the West End snatching handbags, and stealing from shops and stores. While watching a film one night at his mate’s house, Bertie Cooney’s, he got the idea of wearing long coats and baseball hats and forming a proper gang. A protection racket was his first idea; going into vulnerable shops run by Asians and people who couldn’t fight back. It was to prove a great money-maker.

Alice left home just after her mum died and was now married with a baby boy, but Jimmy never saw much of her, as she lived in Manchester. He phoned her up once in a while, but she never came down to London.

* * *

Jimmy was in the bathroom getting ready to go dancing with his mates and his brother Mark. Bertie and Dave had come back to his flat and had a drink. At 5pm they had gone home to get changed. Before they left, Jimmy handed Dave five envelopes. “Here, give these to Bertie and the boys, bit extra for you and Bertie, OK? Had quite a good week.” He smiled.

“Thanks, Jimmy, going to get me a nice sweat with that, I’ll see you at the pub later!”

Jimmy looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He was tall for his age, just over 6ft and quite heavy, 11st in weight, pretty fast on his feet, good with his fists, but better with the cut-down baseball bat he carried up his sleeve, held there with a strong elastic band. He was also handsome, with very dark hair and blue eyes. “You’ve got Mum’s good looks,” his sister had said to him once. Jimmy knew he was handsome and used his looks to snare the girls. They were always flocking around him and he loved it.

Tonight he had donned a pair of Ralph Lauren jeans and light T-shirt, new Reeboks, and a dark cotton jacket.

“Snazzy,” he said to himself, combing back his short dark hair.

“Jimmy,” his brother’s voice broke the silence.

“Yeah, Mark,” he shouted back.

“Can I borrow your Reebok sweatshirt, just for tonight?”

“OK, but just tonight, and hurry up, it’s nearly 8.00, time to meet the rest of the boys down the pub.”

It was just after 8.30pm when Jimmy and Mark walked into the Nag’s Head just off Camden High Street. It was packed to the rafters.

The landlord turned a blind eye to the young ones who drank in his pub; they brought good money in, and he didn’t want to lose it.

“Let’s get around the bar, bruv,” he said to Mark. “I think the boys should be over there.”

“Jimmy! Hey! Over here,” a voice boomed over the noise in the bar.

“Over there, Jimmy,” his brother said to him, “It’s Micky the Ferret.”

They pushed their way way over to the corner of the bar. Micky was standing on a chair.

“Here, Jimmy, Mark,” he kept waving to them.

“For Christ’s sake, I wish he’d shut up,” Jimmy said to his brother, as they reached Micky and the rest of the boys.

Paul stood up as they came across. “Here, Jimmy, have my seat.”

“Na, na, you’re all right, mate,” Jimmy shouted to him above the noise. “I’ve got me new Ralphs on, don’t want to crease them, know what I mean? Thanks anyway.”

Dave was sat next to his girlfriend, Jenny. She was only 15 but drank and smoked like a trooper, and other things, too.

“Whatcha, Jimmy,” she said to him, eyes sparkling, “See you have your little brother with you tonight.”

Jimmy looked at her, smiling. “Yeah, it’s his fourteenth birthday tomorrow. Me and the boys sorta taking him out ‘celebrating’, know what I mean?”

“Gotcha,” she replied.

Jimmy knew she was half-pissed and left it at that. He looked across at Bertie and nodded his head for him to come over. Bertie stood up, picked his drink up and walked over to him. Bertie whistled, “You look smart, mate, got a date?”

Jimmy smiled. “Not really, I’ll most probably pull a bird inside the club. Anyway, the night’s young yet, let’s have a drink anyway, and get the boys over here. I want to have a word.”

They were all gathered around Jimmy near the bar, each of them had a drink in their hand.

“Listen, I want no trouble tonight, OK? It’s my kid brother’s birthday treat, so let’s put business and fighting aside, unless we’re provoked, then we’ll go in and sort it.”

“Yeah, sure, Jimmy. We won’t spoil it for him, don’t worry… will we, lads?” Paul said looking around at the others.

“Not likely,” piped up Jackie Sweeney.

“No way, Jimmy,” shouted Dave, who was at the bar buying more drinks. The others all agreed with him and the night went on.

It was just after 12.30am and people were coming out on to the streets from the clubs. Jimmy and his pals came out from the Palais, most of them with girls, except Mark, Jimmy’s brother and Pete Higgins.

“Listen, Pete, take Mark home will ya, for me? I’ve got to take this bird home.” The girl he was with was about 20, but as Jimmy said, “Age don’t matter, they’re all the same laying down, and if they’re ugly, well, you don’t look at the mantelpiece when you poke the fire.”

“OK, Jimmy,” Pete said to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Come on, Mark.”

“I’ll see you later, Mark,” Jimmy said to his brother. “Won’t be late. Did you have a good time?”

“Thanks, bruv, it was great,” said Mark as he walked away with Pete.

Jimmy shouted after him, “Look under the bed when you get home, Mark, and Happy Birthday.”

Jimmy turned to the girl he was with and said, “I’ve got him a new tracksuit and a Ralph Lauren jacket, you know. Come on, I’ll take you home.”