'I'm sorry about tonight, babe. I was pissed, I'll sort it all out tomorrow.'
She slipped on to the sofa beside him, and he automatically held her in his arms. He loved her so much. He could kick himself for worrying her like this. What the hell had he been thinking?
'Let him have them, Rick, nothing is worth all this, and anyway, we talked about you retiring and now seems the perfect opportunity. We could finally move to Spain, we've talked about it long enough. And I understand if we have to tighten our belts a bit, that won't bother me, as long as we're together, that's all that matters.'
He knew she meant every word and he felt the sting of tears at her utter loyalty to him and their marriage. 'We ain't going to be on our uppers, love, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same.'
He squeezed her to him again, and felt some of the tension leave her body. He knew she had mentioned Spain so he would have a legitimate reason for leaving the country and his problems behind. She was a good girl all right, bless her. He could only pray to God that he could salvage something from this mess, but he honestly didn't hold out much hope.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
'Calm down, Phil, getting aggravated ain't going to help us out now, is it?'
'All I've done for that ponce, and he shames me in me own house.'
'Well, I think that tomorrow in the cold light of day he will be on the blower, all contrite. We'll get the arcades, and at a song. I mean, let's face it, Phil, he's going to have to really fucking grovel after tonight's little fiasco.'
The thought cheered Phillip, and he finally broke into a smile. 'Yeah, you're right. He'll be at panic stations now, won't he, wondering how best to talk himself out of the trouble. I really thought he was going to go for it, though. And what was all that about other people thinking I had too much? I want to know exactly who they are.'
Declan had wondered how long it would be before the real nub of his brother's ire came out. Ever since that idiot Ricky had said those words he had known that Phillip would not let it lie until he had all the names, addresses and phone numbers of the people he would now see as his mortal enemies. He would then feel honour bound to let them know what he thought about them, and that could never be good for business. Declan knew that it was normal to be cunted when you were in the position they were, it was a natural reaction on the part of the people they were pushing aside. It always caused a bit of jealousy and resentment, it was better people let off steam with words than actions. After all, as their old mum had always said, sticks and stones.
Phillip, however, took what people said about him a bit too seriously, his whole life was about how he was perceived, about what people thought of him, and what he had achieved. Success meant a lot to Phillip, not just the money side of it, but also the lifestyle that came with it. He had always cared far too much about other people's opinions. Even poor Christine had become a casualty of Phillip's striving for perfection; no one could live up to his expectations, least of all a girl who was terrified of her husband, and had to pop pills just to get out of bed in the morning.
As much as Declan loved his brother, and he did love him, it was this part of his make-up that Declan always felt made him weak. A lesser man wouldn't care what people said about them, it would be enough to know they were feared and revered. Not Phillip though, he had to be feared, respected, and liked, and with the best will in the world Phillip was a lot of things, but likeable wasn't one of them.
Breda came in and broke the tension. She was red-faced from the biting wind, but Declan was pleased to see she looked up for anything, even at this late hour. He wondered which little Rasta's sex life had been interrupted by his summons.
Phillip nodded at her, and she sat down at the table quickly.
'Tomorrow, Breda, I want you to start asking around the front about people's opinion of us, especially me. It's come to my attention that we're being cunted up hill and down dale. I want to know who the culprits are, and then I want them dealt with. If we start letting people get away with insubordination we lay ourselves wide open to being mugged off. I want this nipped in the bud.'
Breda nodded sagely, wondering what the fuck Phillip was on about. She wasn't going to ask him though – Declan would fill her in on the score at a more appropriate time. She could see
Phillip was on one, and she knew the best thing to do was keep quiet, keep her head down, and agree with whatever he said to her.
Declan passed her a cup of coffee and she sipped the hot liquid gratefully. 'I'll get on it first thing, and see what I can find out.'
Phillip went on, 'Yeah, it pays to keep people on their toes. By the way, we're taking everything Ricky's got, and we're taking it for a third of its value. You need to find out exactly what that is. He'll accept, don't worry about that. But I want you to deal with him, OK?'
She nodded once more. Seems the big party night all ended in tears. Still, she would find out everything soon enough. 'I have the figures on me desk, I'll let you know first thing.'
'You're a good girl, Breda. How's that treacherous bastard Jamsie doing?'
She smiled sadly. 'All right. Mum's thrilled anyway. But, in fairness, Phil, he don't even drink a shandy these days, let alone snort anything. I think he's a changed man.'
'He would fucking need to be, wouldn't he?'
She didn't answer him, she knew he was looking for a reason to take his ire out on someone and Jamsie was not going to be his whipping boy tonight. Not if she could help it anyway. 'By the way, I got the firearms, they get delivered next Thursday. I've taken the liberty of renting some garages in Chigwell. They are down a little lane, and it's not somewhere the Old Bill frequent. They're owned by a retired colonel who's fallen on hard times. Basically he owes Benny the Bookie, who owes me a favour. I'm getting them all delivered there, OK?'
Phillip and Declan laughed together at her front.
'Fuck me, Bred, comes to something when even the Colonel Blimps have to resort to a bit of honest skulduggery to make ends meet.'
'I thought you'd appreciate the irony, especially as his daughter is married to the Chief Super's son.'
They were all really laughing now, and Declan could have kissed Breda – she knew just how to work Phillip, and bring him round to a better frame of mind. Even if they got a capture, the fact it was so close to the Filth would work in their favour. She was a shrewdie was Breda and she could find out anything about anyone, which she frequently did. Then she worked out how best the information could work in their favour. Declan knew he would have to put the hard word on her about not letting Phillip know too much about what was said about him. But he'd sort that as and when he had to.
'Suppose I'd better go up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire.'
As they all got ready to say goodbye, Phillip said thoughtfully, 'Shame really, ain't it?'
Declan slipped his overcoat on and said calmly, 'What is, Phil, what's a shame?'
'Ricky killing himself. That'll cause a ripple through the manor.'
Breda and Declan didn't say anything, both were digesting what he had said.
'Being so well liked, especially by all his mates, it'll come as a big shock to the local community, I can tell you that.' Turning to leave the room Phillip said over his shoulder, 'Lock up on your way out, Declan.'