The Good Life (27 page)

Cain Moran, on the other hand, didn’t think that was a good idea. He knew Jason of old and if he was murdered there would be too many people wanting retribution. It would get too personal, and that was the last thing anyone wanted at this juncture. They needed to be reasonable – to try and come to some kind of arrangement. It would avert all manner of trouble.

Cain had known from the off that the Osmans didn’t like Jason very much. He was a man with a big sense of humour, often at the expense of other people. He could imagine that the Osmans would not like his brand of joke-making – especially young Ali who often took umbrage over any imagined slights. Still, this was a situation that could not be allowed to get out of control.

‘Look, Hasan, I’m categorically saying no. You cannot take Jason down without causing fucking murders. His brothers will go all out for revenge and I don’t think the fucking Russians will be too pleased either. Try to work with me on this. Let me talk to Jason and see what I can come up with.’

Hasan was being his usual cautious self. ‘Let me talk to Ali, Cain, then I will call you back.’

Cain clicked off his mobile phone and pushed it into the pocket of his tracksuit bottoms before joining the kick-about. He had every reason to be worried. Things had been going well for a long time and this was something that, if ignored, could result in all-out fucking war. The Biggses were not a family to cross, unless you were willing to accept the untold aggravation they would be sure to give you. It was at times like this that being banged up brought home the limitations on the power you wielded in your particular world.

Cain Moran Junior was in his twenties, and was now the double of his father at the same age. He was also a very self-assured young man who had worked hard at school, gone on to college and carefully inveigled himself into his dad’s business. It seemed that criminality was in his genes. He liked to think it anyway.

He had become a collector and general factotum for the Osmans and, on rare occasions, his own mother. It seemed Jenny Moran had a nose for the businesses she oversaw, which were booming just within the law. She needed a minder for certain meetings and, as her son was a big strapping lad, she often took him with her. The Osmans were pleased with him – he reminded people of his father, and that was no bad thing.

Cain himself was proud as punch that his son wanted to follow in his footsteps – he’d always dreamed of bringing him into the business. And, from the reports he had heard, his boy was good at what he did. He didn’t balk at violence and never opened his mouth unless he had something useful to say. These were good attributes in their line of work. Cain Junior was a liked and respected young man. Cain Senior had high hopes for the team the Moran family would make when he got out. They would be unstoppable.

Cain Junior was about to meet up with a girl called Linda Lloyd – a petite redhead with deep blue eyes and a figure to kill for. They had met while he was collecting the take for one of his betting shops and he had been bowled over by her looks and fiery personality. Linda was nineteen, loud and funny, and she also very small-boned – only a size two shoe – and she had the smallest hands he had ever seen, perfectly manicured. Her red hair was a thick mass of curls as hard to tame as she was. This was only their third date but he was falling for her big time. As they sat together in the restaurant and she chattered on about her job, her life and her family, he felt happy as the proverbial Larry. She really was a special girl – always so upbeat and cheery. It was infectious.

To cap it all, Linda already understood the Life so there was no fear of her worrying about his late hours or what he was doing for a living. That was the problem with the straight girls – they really didn’t get the economics of the criminal world. He wanted to settle down with someone he could relate to and who could relate to him, not someone he’d have to lie to about what he was really doing. Linda would have the brains not to ask too many questions; what she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. He had really fallen on his feet with this girl – she was what his mother would call a ‘keeper’. He wanted to keep her all right, for the rest of his life. Cain Moran Junior had fallen in love and it felt good.

Linda Lloyd, for her part, felt exactly the same. She’d had her eye on Cain for longer than she cared to admit, and he was her perfect man in every sense. She came from a local family, so she knew exactly who he was, who his parents were and what he did for a living. But this did not put her off – if anything it added to his allure.

She liked his dark hair and his fierce blue eyes, she liked his five o’clock shadow and the fact that when he looked at her it was as if he couldn’t quite believe his luck. They were a match made in heaven and, as they ate their lunch together, each knew they had found their soul mate.

Jenny Moran was tired out and happy to have reached the end of a busy run of meetings. As she walked around her flat turning on lights and putting on a pot of coffee, she sighed happily. This had been a really good day; she was looking forward to a light supper, a long bath and an early night. It was a bonus when she had a day like this, as it left her feeling genuinely weary and ready for bed.

She often had trouble sleeping; her brain seemed to turn itself on as soon as she switched off the light and then the oblivion she craved eluded her. It was natural she supposed. But she would never change her life. She made the best of her days, and enjoyed them for the most part.

Sometimes, though, she missed her husband so much it was like a physical pain. It seemed amazing to her that he had been away for twenty years. Occasionally time flew by, other times it crawled, but it always passed eventually. That was the thing she had to tell herself in the darkness of night, when everything seemed hopeless and she wondered if she was wasting her life waiting for a man she loved to distraction. When she had waited this long, what difference was another few years? That was the conclusion she always came to, usually as dawn was breaking, and she felt exhausted from another restless night.

Cain Junior had called to let her know he was going to be in for his supper. If she was proud of anything in her life it was her handsome son. Even though she had been reluctant to see him becoming embroiled in the Life, she had come to accept that it was what he wanted to do. She had little other choice; he was his own man and his father’s son in more ways than one. He looked so like her Cain that it broke her heart to look at him sometimes.

Cain Junior had taken well to the Life and he was respected. He had a natural ability for his work and she suspected that was down to his father. They had become a lot closer in recent years – once he entered the business it was as if Cain Junior had recognised that he needed his dad – and that had pleased Jenny and Cain no end. She constantly reminded herself that she had a lot to be grateful for: they lived like kings, and rarely had to go without.

Even that nut-job Caroline had slowly started to leave them alone. Though there were still the late-night drunken phone calls to contend with, it was harder for her to get hold of their mobile numbers when Jenny changed them so often. It was a pain in the arse but what could she do? Caroline was not a woman to let things lie.

She sighed as she started to prepare a Caesar salad for her and Cain Junior. She just wasn’t in the mood for cooking tonight. She’d much rather a glass of wine and a long bath, in that order. It would be nice to eat with her son though – it was rare to have him home at a decent time these days. She wondered if he had a bird in the offing; he had certainly been taking more time over his personal appearance lately and he was forever on his phone texting someone. Good luck to him. He was at the age where he needed to start thinking of settling down with a decent girl.

Cain Junior had started looking at flats to buy. He wanted to branch out on his own, and she could understand that. In some ways she couldn’t believe he had stayed living with her for so long, but she knew it was mainly because he worried that she would be lonely. He was good in that way, and she appreciated that he looked out for her. They had spent so much of their lives together, just the two of them, and were so close. It would seem strange when he finally flew the nest, though she knew it was inevitable. Kids grew up and moved away – that was the way of the world. She just hoped he didn’t go too far; he was all she had in many respects. He would go his own way, that was certain. He was his father’s son, after all.

Hasan Osman was coming round to Cain Moran’s way of thinking, but his brother Ali wasn’t so sure.

‘Why the fuck do we need to step back, Hasan? Who the fuck does this Biggs think he fucking is? Are we expected to roll over while he treats us like cunts? Not happening.’ Ali’s voice was loud, aggressive and determined.

Hasan listened with growing unease to his little brother. Ali had a temper that defied logic. Once he believed something, nothing could dissuade him from his course of action. But this was a time when Hasan really didn’t think his brother was looking at the big picture. He had a bad feeling and, even though he had no reasoning other than Cain Moran’s opinion, he felt that this could all get completely out of hand and he didn’t want that any more than Cain did.

Ali and Biggs felt a natural animosity for one another; it happened sometimes with people. From the second they met, there had been an element of dislike and, more to the point, distrust between the two of them.

Jason Biggs had made it evident that he didn’t like dealing with the Turks – he felt they were always trying to have him over, even though it had never once happened in the years he had dealt with them. It was only Cain Moran’s involvement that had kept the peace for so long. Now it was all falling out of bed and, once the talks broke down, it would be open warfare.

In Hasan’s view, Cain was talking sense when he said there were too many Biggses on the scene for them to take out Jason without fear of retribution. They couldn’t police the entire north of England in any case. That would be an impossible task, especially from London.

‘Sorry, Ali, but I’m with Cain on this. You need to let things go on this occasion and see if we can come to some kind of understanding. Whether you like it or not, Jason Biggs is too much for us to handle at the present time. Our strength comes from being able to supply fucking good gear. That is what keeps us at the top of our game. I don’t think the Russians will be too pleased if we go in guns fucking blazing and take out their new best mates. This is a compromise situation.’

Ali Osman looked at his brother as though he had just grown another head in front of his eyes, such was his shock and disappointment. They had never gone up against one another on anything before; they had always backed each other to the hilt. Ali was younger by five years and had grown up worshipping his older brother, but nowadays he wanted more of a say in their daily dealings. Hasan seemed to be thwarting him at every turn, and it was only now he was starting to realise how much that bothered him.

‘A fucking compromise? With that cunt Biggs and his fucking brothers? Are you serious? All a ponce like him recognises is a show of force – if we don’t get in there and give it to him first, we will have to deal with the fucking Russians. Is that what you want?’

Hasan rolled his eyes in annoyance. ‘Truthfully, Ali? No, I do not want to deal with the Russians. They are too fucking organised for us, end of story. We need to salvage what we have and not push our fucking points across. This was inevitable – it was going to happen at some point. Get over it, will you, and use your fucking brains.’

Now Ali was insulted as well as angry.

Hasan sighed heavily. ‘That is my final word. We’ll arrange to go up there, have a meet with Biggs. See what kind of compromise we can come to. If we have to sell the drugs cheaper then we will, but I for one don’t want the Russians getting their toe in the water up there. It is as simple as that.’

Ali was too angry answer his brother. Cain Moran was banged up and yet he was still calling the fucking shots. There was a moral in this story somewhere but he was fucked if he could see it.

‘She’s beautiful, Mum.’

Jenny listened to her son extolling the virtues of Linda Lloyd and tried to suppress a smile. She knew young Linda; she was a beautiful girl, and a good little worker with the brain of an accountant. Numbers worked for her, which is why she oversaw big bets for their shops, as well as laying them off and working out the more difficult odds. She came from a nice family and she knew the score. Jenny’s son had chosen well.

It never worked when straight girls were brought into the mix; they weren’t familiar with the Life and that caused untold problems. If a girl couldn’t understand why she wasn’t told every detail of her boyfriend’s life, and why he kept nightclub hours, their relationship would be fraught with difficulty.

‘She is a beautiful girl, son, especially with all those red curls. Lovely nature she has too and her head’s screwed on. I’m pleased for you.’

Cain breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I know it’s early days but I want to get engaged. We are off to Paris for the weekend and I am going to ask her there. No point hanging around – I know she’s what I want and I think she feels the same.’

‘Very romantic. She will love that, darling.’

Jenny couldn’t help feeling a deep yearning inside – her son was thinking of marriage and here was she, practically a virgin. She had waited out the best years of her life for a man she loved, but it had been a very high price to pay. She hoped that this would never happen to her son and his girlfriend, because Jenny knew that women like her were few and far between.

‘I’m sure she will say yes, Mum. Honestly, it’s like we were made for each other . . .’

As her son continued to wax lyrical about his girl, Jenny felt tears stinging her eyes. She prayed that they had a much easier time of it than she had with Cain. She wouldn’t wish her lonely existence on her worst enemy.