It had been at this point that one of the families had some drug deals going on in London and had needed some fresh faces to help see over things. Paul had felt it was best for Alex to escape for a little while just to take the heat off a little and the rest was history. Alex had become Paul’s right-hand man, and when Paul had eventually come to England, they had eaten and drunk together, like a family. Paul could see that everything was running smoothly, and Alex did his job well. There was never a penny missing from the dealings, unlike Paul’s own brother who helped himself constantly, which Paul had to cover up. If the other families had ever found out he was skimming from them, they would have shot him themselves. Rule one: you never steal off each other. Rule two: you don’t shit on your own doorstep.

A fly in the ointment had been Maggie who had been beautiful, blonde and cheeky. Both Paul’s brother and Alex had admired her, but she had chosen Alex. Paul had expected it all to blow over – they were all still so young, but Alex had announced that he and Maggie were getting married.

Alex had made Paul godfather to his children, who had quickly followed the marriage, and everything had seemed to be running smoothly with business booming. Until the day Paul’s brother had been alone with Maggie, and having had too much to drink, not only had he made a pass at Maggie, but he had also beaten her and attempted to rape her. Paul had been determined to sort it out eventually, but thought a warning to his brother might have been good enough for now. Alex had taken the law into his own hands and had killed his brother horribly. There was nothing more that Paul could do than to put out a contract on Alex for the sake of the family name. Alex was a dead man walking and so was his family. It was a sorry affair, but in revenge, Alex had handed himself in to the police, informing them of all the dealings, accounts and murders that Paul had asked him to commit. He’d even told them where the bodies were hidden, and when drop-offs were being made, for the sake of his own family’s safety. He had been angry that Paul hadn’t stood by Maggie, and so the battle lines were drawn.

And now Paul was behind bars pending a trial and Alex was in hiding. Was it worth it? he thought to himself. He doubted it. Alex’s hot blood and love for Maggie had spurred him on, and Paul’s own family loyalty and the Pereira name had done likewise. Only now it was personal. Alex had betrayed him and put him in prison.

A knock at his cell door brought Paul out of his reminiscence. Sitting up, he saw the door open and Barrow stood at the opening. ‘I just came to see how things were? It’s been a while since we last had a chat,’ Barrow said.

Paul knew Barrow wanted to know if his story had been checked out and whether he would be getting his payment in full. ‘Close the door,’ he whispered. On doing so, Paul nodded. ‘You have done well my friend, and you will definitely get what is coming to you. You can be certain of that.’ He smiled. Satisfied, Barrow turned and left his cell.

Paul looked at the back of the closed cell door. He had to create a diversion and make sure Barrow would never be able to speak again. No one particularly liked him, and so it wouldn’t be too hard to get someone to finish him off accidentally. Alex could wait, he mused. This needed sorting now.

Walking out onto the landing, Paul looked down. He could hear some argument had broken out below him and two prisoners were fighting. It was a daily occurrence, but a thought crossed his mind. There was the diversion he needed.

‘Ola,’ Paul greeted the other prisoners in the dining hall. Everyone stood back, letting Paul walk through unhindered. They were surprised to see him; he never joined them for meals in the hall.

He reached a table, and everyone sitting down stood up to leave.

‘Not you.’ Paul spoke to a Jamaican man just about to stand up. ‘We need a little chat.’ Everyone else hastily moved on, silently thanking their lucky stars Paul hadn’t wanted to speak to them. ‘I hear you have a grudge against one of the men in here.’

‘No offence to you Mr Pereira, but that is our business. It doesn’t involve you.’

‘Indeed, it doesn’t. I am not interested in your petty squabbles, although I am surprised you haven’t taken it further. You’re like a pair of housewives scrapping in the street. Handbags at dawn as it were.’ He laughed at his own joke.

‘I hear you’re due to be moved out of here to another prison. Aren’t you going to make your mark before you leave? Other prisons could be harsher than this one, but if your life was made more comfortable, with a few home comforts, these places can be bearable.’ Spying the man, Paul knew he had him hooked.

There was a silent pause between them and the man picked up his plastic mug of tea and took a sip. ‘What do you want me to do?’

Pulling his chair closer, Paul smiled. ‘Now that is a good question.’ In a hushed whisper he outlined what he wanted the man to do, then pushed back his chair and left.

The man sat there in silence. What Paul had asked of him didn’t seem too harsh and he was already doing a ten-year stretch, and wouldn’t be due parole for years. If life on the inside could be made easier, then Paul knew the man would take this opportunity while he could.

Friday night was movie night and something all of the inmates looked forward to. It gave them all a chance to mingle with other inmates. No sooner had the evening meal been eaten and cleared away than they were all called to stand in line on their landings, before being instructed to form an orderly queue and go to the cinema room, as they called it.

As each whistle blew, the Jamaican man watched the steam rise from his kettle, full of boiling water and sugar. It was an old trick and used regularly, but he had been given short notice to prepare anything else. Quickly grabbing his kettle, he ran down the landing and threw the boiling water mixture at his enemy. Hearing his howls of pain as the boiling mixture burnt and melted the man’s skin, the prison guards ran forward and wrestled the Jamaican man to the ground. Hearing another high-pitched scream, everyone looked on in shock as Barrow fell from the highest landing. As he landed in an odd position on the ground floor, with his neck at an odd angle, it was clear that he had fallen or been pushed from the top landing and was dead. The mad panic that ensued by the guards to get everyone back to their cells caused mayhem. Only the Jamaican man lying face down on the floor with his arms behind his back in handcuffs raised his head slightly and saw Paul on the top landing. Paul nodded his head in approval, and then walked back into his cell.

Satisfied with the outcome, Paul poured himself a well-earned whisky and shut his cell door to drown out the noise. Gulping back his drink, he laughed to himself. ‘One down, one to go.’

17 SUSPICIOUS TIMES

‘Now, now tiger, rein it in,’ Maggie laughed as she stood at the worktop making a cup of coffee with her back to Alex. His arms had wrapped around her waist and found their way up into her vest top, while he nuzzled her neck.

‘Why?’ he murmured in between kisses while he massaged her breasts. ‘The kids are at school, it’s still early and no staff are in yet.’

Putting her hand behind her, she could feel the hardness of his manhood against her back and felt her own excitement building, as his hand slipped down her leggings and stroked her gently. Turning around to face him, she kissed him lovingly. ‘I love you, Alex.’

‘I love you too. So does that mean I’m in with a chance?’ Alex asked, kissing her now exposed breasts.

Maggie felt her pulse racing. ‘We don’t have time to go back to bed.’

Slipping down her leggings, Alex steered her towards the dining table and bent her over it, while unzipping his trousers. ‘We don’t need a bed,’ he said and within a moment they were locked in passion as he thrust himself inside her.

‘Jesus Alex, where did that come from?’ Maggie panted as she stood up afterwards and straightened her clothing.

‘You’re a very sexy woman Maggie… what can I say?’

‘Well, whatever it is, keep doing it. You’re like your old self again. Where has this sudden burst of energy come from your randy bugger?’ She laughed and went to freshen up.

Sitting at the kitchen table to catch his breath, Alex thought about what she’d said. It was true that for a long time now he had been in a slump. Possibly even a bit of depression had crept in without him knowing it. But suddenly, since he had met Luke, he had adrenalin racing through his veins. He had money stashed away and felt more like his old self again. Life was dangerous, but it was fun and he had something to get up for in the mornings. Now he had his own things to think about and it had given him a new lease of life. Not only had he saved Luke’s life, he had breathed fresh air back into his own.

True to form, Luke had acquired two mobile phones for them which made life easier. And he’d done a few more jobs for Mark over the last couple of weeks too. Mark had brushed off the woman’s missing car. The woman had confirmed that Mark had picked it up and presumably delivered it and when the police had told her that her car was burnt out, she was happy to claim on her insurance.

It was the end of the month and that meant payday when everyone went out for dinner for with their kids. This meant they were busier than ever. People liked the food, the ambience and the friendliness of the staff. Sighing to himself, he waited for the call from downstairs asking for his help behind the bar.

Today, he really didn’t mind. The day had started off great and so he could afford to be benevolent. Checking himself in the mirror, he admired his pink shirt and sprayed on just a touch more aftershave.

Walking behind the bar and flashing a row of perfect white teeth at everyone, he walked up to one of the regulars who seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

‘What’s up, Martin? It’s payday, shouldn’t you be smiling?’ Picking up a glass, he started pouring him a pint of lager. ‘Where are your friends?’ Alex had nicknamed the three middle-aged married men who stood at the bar constantly moaning about their lives but doing nothing to change them, the witches’ coven.

‘They’re on their way. I’m on a taxi shift today, but Mick’s due in any minute now.’ No sooner had he said it than Mick walked in laughing. ‘Has he told you then?’ Mick bellowed.

Puzzled, Alex looked up. ‘Told me what?’ he asked.

‘Martin’s fed up because his wife hasn’t been giving him any since they stopped sleeping in the same bed. He tried his best yesterday and she totally pissed on his parade, didn’t she pal?’ The third member of the coven walked in and waited for his drink. Mick was about to carry on, but Alex held up his hand to stop him. ‘Hang on a minute, lad. Why don’t you sleep with your wife Martin?’ The very thought of not sharing a bed with Maggie was alien to Alex.

‘Snoring.’ Martin rolled his eyes to the ceiling while his friends burst out laughing.

‘What, yours or hers?’ Alex laughed. Blushing at being the brunt of the joke, Martin did his best to stop Mick from carrying on.

‘No way Martin, Alex has got to hear this. He’s been banished to the spare room cos she’s fed up of the noise. Anyway,’ Mick laughed while trying to tell the story, ‘he told his wife he had been cold in bed last night and thought about getting in with her. And what did she do Alex? She went out this morning and bought him an electric blanket!’ Everyone burst out laughing, even the customers who were eavesdropping.

‘Fuck her, she’s crap in bed anyway,’ mumbled Martin, trying to save face.

‘She’s fucked you up big time!’ bellowed Mick. ‘Look at Alex here, with that grin on his face. I’d say he’s getting it regular. Take a tip from him.’

‘You either have it or you don’t.’ Alex winked. And he definitely had it, he thought while casting a glance at Maggie who seemed to have an extra skip in her step today.

After a couple of hours, Alex looked at his watch. It was nearly his allotted time to speak to Luke. They always arranged a specific time to chat, that way Alex could be near his mobile. Spilling beer down his shirt purposely, he made his excuses to Maggie about changing it and headed to the bathroom. There behind an old vent he had stashed the mobile and he saw the mobile already lighting up with Luke’s call. Running the shower to hide his voice, Alex answered the call.

‘Alex mate, can you get out later? I want you to come to my place. You haven’t met my brother Kev yet, have you?’

‘No, why? I’m not sure about tonight, but what’s your brother got to do with anything?’

‘You need to meet him. We’ve had an idea and as I’m supposed to be dead, that’s where you come in. And don’t give me that shit about being tagged Alex. You’ve broken that curfew of yours more than once.’

Cursing himself, Alex realised he had fallen into his own lie, but intrigued, he couldn’t help asking, ‘Go on Luke, give me an idea. You can’t leave me hanging.’