Barking Boy Read online

  “I’ll pop down to the Dagenham Sunday Market and see if they’ve got anything we could use. There’s a stall over there that sells construction wear. They’re bound to have something useful.”

  “This is it then, lad. We’re all ready.”

  Tommy nodded. Thanks to Davey’s notebook and his own plans, they were as ready as they’d ever be.

  Janet bounced little Karen on her lap and smiled as she cuddled her close, taking in her familiar baby scent. “I could bloody well eat you up,” she grinned. Gazing up at her nana, little Karen gave a gummy grin, causing Janet to smile even wider. “She’s a beautiful child,” she remarked to Stacey.

  Proud as punch, Stacey nodded her head. “I reckon this one’s a boy,” she said, as she rubbed her hand over her ever growing bump.

  “I reckon so, too, and I’d been convinced it was twins in there.”

  “Nope, just the one,” Stacey smiled. “Thank God.”

  “Another cuppa?” Janet nodded her head at her daughter-in-law’s empty cup.

  “I’d better leave now. I don’t want to bump into him.” Stacey shook her head, declining the offer.

  Janet’s heart sank. Ten weeks Stacey and Tommy had been separated for, and still her son and daughter-in-law hadn’t met face-to-face to sort out the problems between them. “He still maintains he did nothing wrong.”

  “He would, wouldn’t he?” Getting up from the chair, Stacey rubbed at the small of her back.

  “Is your back still giving you gyp?”

  Lifting Karen onto her hip, Stacey grimaced. “It’s been worse today. Me mum reckons I’m doing too much.”

  “You’re not in early labour are you? You’ve still got at least five weeks to go.” Janet was thoughtful. “With my Tommy, all the pain was in my back.”

  “I bloody well hope not. It’s way too soon.” Bending down, Stacey kissed Janet on her cheek. “I’ll most probably pop in tomorrow, once he’s left for work.”

  “Okay, darling.” Standing up herself, Janet walked Stacey to the front door. “You take care of yourself, and don’t forget, if you need anything, you know where to come.”

  Watching as her daughter-in-law walked down the street, Janet sighed. What she’d like to do, is bang both their heads together. They were still married with a child and another soon to be on the way, yet they hadn’t said a word to each other in months. For the first two weeks, she’d heard Tommy cry himself to sleep every night, and had had to fight the urge not to get involved or interfere. But the longer the situation went on, the lower the chance of a reconciliation became. That was Janet’s biggest fear. The longer they lived without each other, the less they needed to be in each other’s lives.

  She closed the front door and returned to the kitchen, collected the empty mugs from the table and placed them in the sink. With a bit of luck, when the new baby was born, they would have to speak to each other. There wasn’t a chance in hell that Tommy would miss the birth, and Stacey could hardly go through the agony of labour and childbirth without saying a single word to him. She had a feeling this was the only thing keeping Tommy together, and her hunch was right.

  Bethany was sulking. She just couldn’t understand the reluctance in Gary. All he had to do was tell Tommy about Jimmy being gay, and then she could sit back and watch the fireworks. Never send a boy to do a man’s job. It was an old saying of her dad’s, and more than ever, Bethany believed it to be true. She’d even contemplated sending an anonymous letter addressed to Tommy Carter, but knew it would be better coming from Gary. That way, Jimmy couldn’t possibly lie his way out of it. The fact that she was willing to blow apart Jimmy Carter’s world, meant nothing to her. Tommy himself had blown her world apart when he had so callously told her that she meant nothing to him, other than being a whore who worked at his club.

  No, she’d had enough now. She’d given young Gary an ultimatum. He either told Tommy today, or they were over. He’d actually looked as though he was going to cry when she had told him that, which only angered her even more. She’d then sent him packing and told him not to come back until the deed was done. And despite the situation she now found herself to be in, she meant every word.

  Bethany glided her hand over the smooth skin stretched flat across her stomach. The fact that she had Tommy Carter’s own flesh and blood growing inside of her, meant absolutely nothing to her, and why should it? She wasn’t even sure she wanted this baby. To be more precise, she knew for a fact she didn’t want it. Let’s face it. Why would she want a child who would more than likely turn out to be as weak as its father? And besides, it had always been Tommy’s baby she’d wanted, not Gary’s.

  She poked her finger into her stomach, pushing down as hard as she could, until she cried out in pain. The quicker it, as she referred to the baby, was gone from her body, the better. Bethany gave a wicked smile as a thought came to her mind. Once she’d gotten rid of it, she could use the baby to hurt the Carters even further. Yes, she decided. It was the perfect plan, albeit an evil, spiteful one. She would pretend she was still pregnant, and then use the baby as a pawn to ensure Gary did as she bade, otherwise she would threaten to abort their child. She almost laughed out loud now. Poor Gary would end up going out of his mind with grief. In fact, the poor boy wasn’t going to know what had hit him, and the beauty of it all, was she had only just begun in getting her revenge on Tommy Carter. One way or another, he would rue the day he’d called her a whore.

  Any other man would have wanted to know why Bethany Johnson was so hell-bent on Tommy Carter needing to know about his brother’s sexual preferences. Gary, on the other hand, young and naïve, was oblivious to his girlfriend’s evil scheming.

  Kicking a stone from underneath his shoe, Gary leant against the shutter of Tommy’s betting shop in Barking, and popped a cigarette into his mouth. He inhaled a lungful of smoke before blowing it out noisily. He was worried. Not only was he getting it in the neck from Bethany, but he also knew Tommy was going to go ballistic, and despite the problems he’d had with Jimmy over the past few months, they were still brothers, and he didn’t want anything to happen to him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Gary ignored the surprise in Tommy’s voice and shrugged his shoulders.

  Unlocking the door to the betting shop, Tommy ushered his younger brother through the doorway, before sliding the bolt across the door behind them.

  “Well, what are you doing here? It’s not like you to be up and out of bed so early.”

  “It’s Jimmy. I tried to tell you before but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “What about Jimmy?” Tommy raised his eyebrows.

  “He’s …”

  “He’s what? C’mon, spit it out for fucks sake, I ain’t got all day.”

  “He’s queer.”

  Tommy’s eyes were wide as he stared at Gary. “Do what?”

  “Jimmy’s gay.”

  Remaining silent, Tommy mindlessly picked up a stack of papers from the desk and shuffled them.

  “I said he’s as bent as a nine bob note.”

  “Yeah, I know what gay means,” Tommy snapped. “How do you know this? Did he tell you?”

  “Yeah, he did.” It was a slight exaggeration. Jimmy had only referred to the barman giving him his phone number. He hadn’t exactly admitted it. Gary’s heart was in his mouth now, as he waited for Tommy to erupt. He could see the anger flash across his face and momentarily felt sorry for Jimmy. “What are you gonna do to him?”

  “What am I going to do?” Tommy’s voice took on an incredulous tone, as he repeated back Gary’s question.

  “Yeah, what are you going to do?”

  Tommy slammed down the stack of papers onto the desk. He was deep in thought for a few moments before speaking. “I’m gonna go and have a chat with our brother, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

  Gary watched as Tommy stormed out of the shop. He was in half a mind to give Jimmy a heads up on the situation, but he knew Bethany wouldn’t want him doing tha
t. He sat down heavily and rested his arms on his knees. He hoped his girlfriend was happy now, because he certainly didn’t feel happy with what he’d done.

  Tommy was furious. He pulled the car to a screeching halt outside his parents’ house and climbed out. After slamming the car door shut, he stormed down the path and let himself into the house. He then took the stairs two at a time, and barged into the bedroom his brothers shared, before coming to stand over Jimmy. “Get up,” he said, pushing his brother roughly in the back.

  Groggily, Jimmy opened his eyes.

  “Get up and get dressed. I need to have a word with you.” Tommy’s voice broke no arguments. He walked from the room and began to make his way back down the stairs.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone to work.” There was alarm in Janet’s voice. The last thing she needed was for Stacey to turn up and bump into Tommy.

  “Yeah, I did. I came back to collect Jimmy.”

  Janet looked up toward the top of the stairs. “Jimmy, get up now!” she bellowed, before racing down the last few steps and following Tommy into the kitchen. Quietly, she walked over to where her eldest son was stood at the kitchen window, as he stared out toward the garden.

  Without being prompted Tommy spoke. “We’ll be out of here within ten minutes. I know Stacey comes over once I’ve left for work. Jonny let slip that she brings Karen here most days.”

  Janet bit down on her lip. She wanted to curse her youngest son. She’d specifically told him to keep quiet about her daughter-in-law coming to visit her. “I was going to tell you, son, but what with the way things are between the two of yous, I thought it’d be best to say nothing.”

  Ignoring his mother, Tommy walked out to the hallway and called up the stairs. “Jimmy, move yourself. I’ll be in the car waiting for you.”

  Watching as her son left the house, Janet’s heart went out to him. The separation had hit him hard. She would need to have another word with Stacey, she decided. Her son and daughter-in-law couldn’t go on like this for much longer.

  Shrugging on his jacket, Jimmy closed the front door behind him, and walked down the path toward his brother’s car.

  “What’s all this about?” he asked, opening the car door. “Is it to do with the bank job?”

  “Just get in,” Tommy ordered. He started the engine and eased the car into first gear. He’d barely got halfway down the road, when he saw his wife walking down the street toward him. He was in two minds to pull the motor over and speak to her. Against his better judgement, he carried on driving, frequently checking her retreating back in the rear-view mirror as he did so.

  “Well, are you gonna tell me what’s going on, or am I supposed to guess?”

  Remaining silent, Tommy pulled into the scrap yard, switched off the engine and climbed out of the car. Jimmy opened the car door and followed suit. He still had no idea why he’d been summoned, and could feel a bead of sweat form across his forehead, as a sense of foreboding flooded through him.

  Quickly unlocking the office door, Tommy indicated for Jimmy to walk inside, then followed behind and firmly closed the door shut.

  “Well?” Jimmy sat down. “What the fuck is going on?”

  Tommy blew out his cheeks. “I’ve been asking myself the exact same question.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Jimmy shook his head. He couldn’t for the life of him think of what he’d done wrong.

  “I spoke to Gary. We had a nice little chat about you.”

  Jimmy’s heart plummeted. Now everything made sense. This could only mean one thing: Gary had told Tommy everything. “Did you?” he answered, his voice small. Looking down at his feet, Jimmy averted his eyes. He didn’t want to see the disgust spread across his elder brother’s face.

  “Yeah, I did.” Tommy took a step forward, before coming to a halt and leaning back against the door frame, creating a reasonable space between them. “So, you told Gary?”

  “What?” A cold shiver of fear ran down Jimmy’s back, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “I told Gary what?”

  Tommy struggled to keep his temper in check. “You know fucking what. Don’t play games with me, bruv. So, you told Gary, but you couldn’t tell me.”

  Jimmy’s eyes were wide. “What?” he repeated.

  “Stop saying what and answer my fucking question. You told Gary you’re gay, but you couldn’t tell me?”

  Jimmy’s mouth fell open. Tommy had finally uttered the word out loud. Stunned, he stared up at his brother. “I …,” he began. Unable to find the right words, he held his head in his hands and sobbed.

  “Did you honestly think that I hadn’t already guessed? That I didn’t know?” Tommy’s voice was gentle.

  Jimmy looked up, but remained silent. Tears slipped down his cheeks.

  “I know you as well as I know myself. There’s only eleven months between us and we’re not just brothers, we’re best mates, ain’t we?”

  Swiping at his tears, Jimmy nodded his head. He was unable to speak, the lump in his throat choking him.

  “So, why did you tell Gary and not me?”

  “I don’t know. I was scared, I suppose.” Jimmy’s voice was hoarse, as he swallowed the hard lump down.

  “Why the fuck would you be scared?” There was genuine confusion in Tommy’s voice.

  “I don’t know, and I didn’t tell Gary, he guessed, and has threatened me over it ever since.”

  “That fucking Gary. I’ll kill him,” Tommy spat.

  “So, what happens now?” Jimmy’s heart was in his mouth. He looked toward his brother warily. More than anything, he was afraid that despite Tommy’s words, this would change everything between them.

  Tommy took a few moments to think. He knew for a fact this meant Jimmy wouldn’t have an easy time of it, once word got out that he fancied men and not women. However, being his brother, he’d always watch out for him and have his back if need be, not that Jimmy needed his protection. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. “Nothing happens. You’re my brother and nothing changes that fact. We carry on as we always have, but,” there was a twinkle in his eyes, “don’t you fucking dare become someone’s bitch.” He pointed his finger toward him. “You’re a Carter. Remember that.”

  Jimmy gave a half smile. “I won’t,” he said, before bursting out laughing. He wiped his fingers across his tear-stricken eyes. “That ain’t ever gonna happen.”

  “Good.” Tommy reassuringly gripped Jimmy’s shoulder, before pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we’ve got work to do, and don’t think this will get you a day off, because it won’t. So stop with the tears, okay?”

  Jimmy nodded his head. He felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had Tommy’s approval in a roundabout way. It was just their parents who needed to be told now.

  As if reading his brother’s mind, Tommy spoke. “If you want me to tell Mum and the old man for you, I will.”

  Jimmy smiled his gratitude. “Thanks, bruv.” Instinctively, he knew it would be better coming from Tommy.

  Bethany was livid, and felt like screaming in frustration. She’d fully expected Tommy to want to bash Jimmy’s head in. Instead, it had transferred that he’d always known his brother was gay and was just waiting for Jimmy to tell him. She looked across at Gary, and had to hide the anger she felt. Sporting a blackened eye and a split lip, he was feeling sorry for himself. Well, if he was looking for sympathy, he’d come to the wrong place.

  “See, I told you me brother would be like this.” Gary gingerly touched his eye. “Battered me, Tommy did, for threatening our Jimmy.”

  “Oh, just fuck off, Gary.”

  “What have I done wrong now?” Gary’s eyes were wide in alarm.

  “You can’t do anything right, can you? One thing I wanted you to do and even that you fucked up. Now piss off,” she screamed, dragging Gary to his feet and pushing him out of her bedroom.

  Slamming the door closed in Gary’s face, Bethany t
hrew herself onto the bed. She needed to think. She had to up her game. That was exactly what she needed to do. She climbed back off the bed and raced out of her room. “Gary, I’m sorry.” She purred as she tore after him. “I didn’t mean what I said. In fact, I think it’s time we made it official and I met your family.”

  Jimmy looked down at his watch. It was dead on five-thirty.

  Sat forward in his seat, Tommy rested his arms against the steering wheel. “See, what did I tell you? Like fucking clockwork every single night.” The two brothers were sat in Tommy’s car down the street from the Building Society.

  Jimmy whistled through his teeth. “This is gonna be like taking candy from a baby.”

  “You can say that again, bruv.” He started the ignition and began to drive forward. “Look, can you see? There’s three cameras, one pointing to the left, one to the right, and one that points directly down from above the door. There is fuck all pointing straight ahead, and that is the way we’ll be going in and out.”

  Jimmy nodded his head. He could see exactly what Tommy was referring to. The Bradford and Bingley was situated on the corner of the street, and there was a vast area the cameras failed to pick up on. As far as Jimmy could tell, this job was easy pickings and theirs for the taking. “What if someone out on the street spots us going in though? Won’t we look out of place if we turn up in boiler suits and balaclavas?”

  “Nah,” Tommy shook his head. “I’ve already sussed that out. We’re going in suited and booted, and once in, we’ve got thirty minutes to do the job. We need to be out of there by five thirty, and trust me, when we walk out of that place, we’re gonna look like any other joe average bank clerk locking the place up for the night.”

  “We ain’t gonna hurt anyone though, are we?” Jimmy narrowed his eyes, as he glanced across at his brother. It was the first time he’d asked the one question, which had been troubling him ever since Tommy had decided to see the robbery through.