Читать книгу Jacqui Rose 2 Book Bundle - Jacqui Rose, Jacqui Rose - Страница 28

Gina Daniels was smiling as she looked at her nephew, Gary, on the other side of the room. He was beginning to make a name for himself and once he did, she’d have the name too.

Gina leaned back on the table, stretching out her puffy legs and feeling a twinge of cramp in her calf. She glanced around, noticing how much of a mess Gary’s flat was in, but the difference between his mess and other people’s was what it was messy with.

Lab burners, glass vials, measuring jugs, pans and packets of opened baking powder lay scattered about the room in disarray. Then of course there was the cocaine. The cocaine to make the crack.

Gone were the days of Gary having to buy a few rocks of ready-made crack, earning so little it didn’t even pay for a week’s grocery shopping. He was moving up in the world. Here he was with his own crack lab in his kitchen, and Gina Daniels couldn’t have been prouder.

‘Come over and help me. No good just bleedin’ sitting there Auntie Gina, you know I was never good at cooking.’

The joke was lost through the white mask Gary wore, guarding his lungs against potent crack fumes. He bent over the pan and watched the combination of water, baking soda and cocaine sizzle and bubble as it started to form white solid lumps. On occasion he’d put white candle wax in the mix to help the crack keep its off-white colour and to help it to form into small solid pieces. Today though, he could tell from the pungent smell – which managed to seep through, even with the mask on – that the coke was already cut with more than enough shit to risk adding anything more. He needed his clients to be able to smoke the stuff, not make a Madame Tussauds waxwork out of it.

He wanted to get the crack cooked and out on the streets. If people were going to take him seriously there needed to be a constant supply. That way no one would get it into their head that it was alright to muscle in on Gary’s turf and start serving up to his customers.

He wasn’t the biggest coke and crack dealer around by any means, but Gary Levitt reckoned he was the most ambitious. He had a game plan to take over all the clubs in Soho and the West End and he wasn’t prepared to settle for anything less. To do that though, he needed to get a certain person on side. Unfortunately that person was none other than Max Donaldson.

Thinking about Max naturally brought Gary’s thoughts to Nicky. The roughing up he’d received the other day had sent him underground, no doubt worried about the money he owed. No one had seen him.

He needed teaching a lesson. Gary certainly didn’t want people to think he was being soft on Nicky because he was Max Donaldson’s son. He couldn’t have anyone thinking he was afraid to do what was necessary. Of course, in truth there was a part of him that was afraid. He’d have to think about how to handle the situation very carefully, especially if he wanted Max to give him the go ahead to start serving up in the clubs.

Pouring the mix into a muslin cloth to drain away the excess water, Gary suddenly felt tense.

‘What’s the matter Gal, you look bunged up?’

‘Have you seen that junkie mate of yours lately? I want a word with him.’

‘Nicky? I’m seeing him later in the cafe, got a little bit of business to sort out. Do you want me to give him a message?’

‘Yeah, tell him if I don’t have my money by the end of the week the only thing he’ll be banging on will be a fucking coffin lid.’

Gina walked along Wardour Street. The early summer sunshine was nowhere to be seen as a dark rain cloud came and stayed over the one square mile of Soho. She thought about the money Nicky owed Gary and it worried her. She liked to get what was owed to her. For two weeks running Nicky had short-changed her, pretending Johnny hadn’t paid the amount he usually did for Harley. She wasn’t stupid but Johnny was thinking Nicky would be more trustworthy than her when it came to money just because Maggie was his sister. She knew exactly what was going on. Unlike her nephew Gary, she didn’t have the ability to beat it out of someone, but what she did have though was more powerful than any clenched knuckle. She had information. Information she knew neither Johnny, Maggie or Nicky would want reaching either Max or Frankie’s ears.

As she continued to walk Gina suddenly caught a glimpse of Nicky at the top of the street and immediately broke out into a half-hearted jog, amusing the group of builders standing outside the amusement arcade on the corner of Winette Street with her feeble efforts.

‘Nicky! Nicky!’

Finally, Nicky turned around, giving Gina a quick smile whilst his eyes darted back and forth.

‘Nicky, I hope you weren’t trying to ignore me? We had an arrangement to meet in the cafe, remember?’

‘Listen, can we make it later? I have to be somewhere.’

‘This ain’t got anything to do with the money you owe is it? Not trying to hide away?’

‘No.’

Nicky blushed.

‘Why am I getting the feeling you’re not quite telling me the truth?’

Nicky didn’t answer; he found it was always best to do that. Let the other person say what they needed to say and hope they’d be satisfied with that. Gina pulled Nicky into the quiet of St. Anne’s court as she continued to walk towards Lola’s Cafe.

‘Anyway, I’ve got a message for you; Gary says he wants his money and if you ain’t got it, then there’ll be ructions.’

This time Nicky swallowed hard.

‘Why are you looking worried, Nick? Don’t tell me you ain’t got his dough?’

‘It’s fine. I told him I’ll sort it and I will.’

‘Well then you ain’t got anything to worry about. Come on, you can buy me a bacon sandwich, I’m starving.’

Nicky sat opposite Gina Daniels in Lola’s Cafe and felt sick. He pushed the toast on the plate away from him. It seemed every week he needed to keep making a new notch on his belt to stop his trousers falling down. The cocaine had taken his craving for food away. It’d taken his craving for everything away – everything but the coke.

He looked at Gina with her knock-off cream Burberry coat done up to the top button and saw she was happy to eat for the both of them. She hungrily grabbed his unwanted toast, stuffing a piece in her mouth and squirreling the other piece onto the blue chipped sideplate.

‘Maggie wants to talk to me.’

‘Well then, talk. I don’t know what you’re worried about Nicky; we’ve got her eating out of our hands like a dog. I don’t think Johnny’s bothered. He hasn’t come to visit Harley in almost nine months, plus he certainly won’t want people knowing about her. As for Maggie, well any nonsense from her and I’ll just tell her I won’t look after Harley. That’ll soon shut her up.’

Nicky glared at Gina. He disliked her and always had done but no more so now in the way she was talking about his sister. Then he supposed he was no better. He and Gina were two of a kind when it came to money – albeit for different reasons.

He didn’t like the situation he’d found himself in but what could he do? He loved Maggie and never wanted to do anything to hurt her, but he was in debt up to his eyeballs to Gary and he was starting to owe Gina money after spending her cut of the cash Johnny gave him on coke. Not to mention the odd person here and there from in and around Soho. He needed at least a couple of hundred a day to feed his habit but that was nearly impossible to find.

‘Perhaps Johnny isn’t bothered about Harley – but he will be about his money. What happens when he does find out? He won’t be too chuffed when he realises the money went on designer clothes instead of his daughter.’

‘Don’t try to lay the blame on my bleedin’ doorstep. I’ve got enough dust sitting on it without you adding more. I don’t seem to remember you worrying about your niece when you were sticking the money up your nose.’

Nicky stared at Gina. He was feeling hot and anxious and the steamy cafe on Bateman Street wasn’t helping. He looked around, seeing a throng of workmen having a laugh with the waitress. He saw a well-dressed couple deep in conversation in the far corner and there was Lola leaning against the greasy counter, seemingly oblivious to the dirty plates piling up behind her as she sang along to the tune being played on the radio. All content in their own worlds. Nicky Donaldson would’ve happily exchanged his life with any one of them.

‘I’m not saying it’s all you Gina, but what part of the money did you actually spend on Harley?’

Gina turned her head and sniffed loudly. Nicky grabbed her hand hard, making her yelp and bringing them a quick glance of attention from the builders.

‘Look Nicky, how much does a three year old need?’

‘She’s four.’

‘Yeah well, whatever.’

Nicky narrowed his eyes and wiped his forehead with the crumpled paper napkin.

‘It was her birthday two months ago. You told me you were going to do something for her. Are you now going to tell me you didn’t? You were supposed to get her a cake and a present, remember?’

Gina screwed up her face.

‘Yeah, well I didn’t. What’s the point? She’s a child, not a fucking calendar. She don’t even know what day it is let alone when her birthday is. It’s not like she won’t have another one is it? It was a bleeding waste of time, so I got myself a new Mulberry handbag off the girls in the sauna. The way I saw it, if I was happy then that little mare would be.’

Nicky shook his head. He wanted to be horrified but it just didn’t cut it. He was as much as to blame as Gina, if not more. After all, Harley was his niece, she wasn’t Gina’s blood.

‘Okay, maybe you’re right Gina, but we need to be more careful. At least look like you’re buying Harley something. I picked up Johnny’s money from one of his men this morning. Apparently he was a little short so it’s not as much as usual …’

Nicky trailed off, feeling Gina’s eyes boring into him. He could tell she didn’t believe him and she was absolutely right not to. It was coming to something when he had to rip off the person he was in league with in order to rip someone else off.

He took the cash out of his pocket and discreetly counted it out on the table, feeling the inquisitive eye of Lola Harding looking at him. Gina quickly took the money, wetting her fat finger to separate and count out the notes. She spoke as she mentally counted.

‘Nicky, this is the third time in a row now you’ve pulled me up short. I suggest for your sake this is the last time. I’ve got two rules. Never trust a junkie and never trust a bloke who’d rip off his family. You, darlin’, fall into both them rules. There’s a hundred short here and I want it.’

Nicky rubbed his eyes. This wasn’t who he was but it certainly was what he’d become. He hated dealing with the likes of Gina, hated avoiding his sister, and most of all, hated not being able to give his niece the life she deserved. It was if his own shitty childhood was happening all over again – only this time it was happening to Harley.

When Maggie had got nicked he’d been inconsolable, blaming himself for her predicament. He knew that if he’d only picked up the pills within the hour like he’d said he would, rather than getting wasted on coke, his sister would’ve never been nicked in the first place. Maggie had been warm and understanding as always, but the kinder she was to him the more it’d sent him spiralling.

Nicky could deal with cruelty, with hatred, with pain – but he couldn’t handle compassion. So he’d taken more and more coke, sometimes for days on end without sleeping. Then one day he’d woken up covered in his own blood after being bang on it for three days and he knew then he was in trouble. Not that he hadn’t known it before. He’d been taking the stuff since he was twelve but it was only then he’d realised he wasn’t ever going to get out of it alive.

Harley had been a problem after Thelma had left. Johnny had been desperate for her to be looked after but also desperate to distance himself from the whole situation, and not having Maggie around had thrown him. Then Johnny had asked Nicky if he could help out. Apart from having plenty of time for Johnny after seeing the way he made Maggie happy, he’d immediately seen it as a way of earning a quick buck. He’d spoken to Gina about having Harley and the moment she’d known there was something in it for her, she’d been onboard, sticking to it like a whore on a dick.

His mother had been happy to go along with the idea as well; unable to look after Harley on her own, she was more than happy for someone else to take on the responsibility. Everyone was happy to turn a blind eye to what was going on. Everyone, including himself, was happy to let down Maggie. The one person he knew that deserved so much more. So much more than anyone had ever given her.

At first, Johnny had given him two hundred pounds a week for Harley; more than enough for a little girl, though not enough to feed his habit as well as Gina’s greed. Nicky had pushed for more, until he’d been getting almost six hundred pounds a week from Johnny.

Most weeks he divided the six hundred pounds equally between Gina and himself but sometimes like today, he’d skim a little bit extra. It’d all been working nicely until he started to get into debt and Gina had started to feed nothing much more than beans on toast to his niece, not bothering to buy any clothes or toys for her either.

‘She’s lucky she’s got felt pens, Nicky. When I was a kid I had nothing but me own bleeding shadow to play with and sometimes even that didn’t want to play with me,’ had been Gina’s reply when he’d confronted her for the way she was looking after Harley. He could do nothing else but settle for her answer. Slowly he’d stopped bothering to ask any questions.

Nicky pulled back his head in disgust from the stinking belch Gina let out.

‘Nicky, I want me money otherwise I’ll have to start opening me mouth. And another thing, I hope you don’t think you’ll put me at the bottom of the list with the money you owe. Don’t think I’ll be a soft bleeding touch; I ain’t a cashmere jumper. When Gary gets his money, I want mine – or like I said, I’m talking. And the first person I’m opening me mouth about is Maggie.’

Nicky was so angry with himself. How the fuck had he got himself into this mess? He couldn’t let Gina serve his sister up on a plate – he’d already done enough damage – but how he was going to stop it, he didn’t know.

‘Listen Gina, leave Maggie out of things. She’s only just come out. I’ll sort your money.’

Gina leant over the table and poked Nicky in the chest, feeling how skinny he was when she did so.

‘Well that’s my point: she’s only been out a few days and she’s already causing problems. Coming round to me as if she’s the bleeding Gestapo.’

‘She’s just worried about Harley.’

‘I like our arrangement and I don’t want Maggie spoiling it, but I also want to get what’s properly owed to me. Stop playing the dumb fucking blonde Nick, and then there won’t be a problem.’

‘You’re a nasty bitch, Gina Daniels. You can have a problem with me but don’t have one with Maggie. She doesn’t deserve it, so leave her alone.’

‘I don’t give a shit what you think about me, Nicky. You were quick enough to come to me before and I’m happy to continue our little set-up. But I won’t be ripped off. I’m telling you you’ve got two choices; either come up with the money quickly, or I’m talking. And to add to your problems I’ll set Gary on you like a pack of hungry fucking dogs.’

Nicky could feel the cold sweat running down his back.

‘Leave it with me Gina, okay?’

‘Fine by me. Anyway I’ve got to get back. Maggie’s with Harley and she asked me to be back by three. Oh and Nicky, no hard feelings eh?’

Gina got up, struggling to remove herself from behind the table. Nicky knew that if he was going to try to save Maggie and stop Gina doing anything stupid he was going to have to come up with a good plan – and quickly.

Nicky felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Lola standing next to him, a look of concern on her ageing face.

‘A word of advice, love, from an old brass. There’s only one thing you’ll get from Gina Daniels and that’s trouble.’

Nicky smiled weakly at Lola, her words resonating in his head. He didn’t need to hear it because he already knew it.

Trouble was coming at him from all angles, and he didn’t know what the hell he was going to do.