Widows

Eddie arrived at Jimmy Nunn’s, exhausted and sweating. The bus hadn’t come and he’d had to run over a mile. When Harry opened the door, he dragged Eddie in by his scarf, tightening it so hard that Eddie’s face went blue. Eddie feebly pushed at Harry’s solid shoulders, but Harry didn’t shift an inch.

Harry spoke calm and low. ‘You’re a fucking waste of skin, Eddie, you know that? If I killed you right here and now, who’d miss you? Eh? The bookies. And that’s only a maybe.’ Eddie’s eyes bulged in his head as his face turned purple and his hands screwed Harry’s jumper up in his fists. Harry stared into Eddie’s eyes and waited for him to stop moving.

From behind Harry, Bill spoke. ‘This ain’t a good place to remove a body from, Harry. Way too busy.’ Harry released his grip on the scarf and Eddie fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Bill helped him up onto the sofa and sat beside him.

Harry paced up and down in front of them, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. ‘If she’s gone — if the money’s gone — I’m going to kill the pair of you. Starting with you.’ Harry pointed his finger at Eddie.

Eddie was terrified. Inadvertently, he let out a small giggle. Harry tore across the room, ready to beat him to death. Bill stood up and stepped in between them to catch Harry. With all his might, he pushed the furious man backward.

‘I said not here!’ Bill shouted, hoping to God that Harry would listen. ‘I’m trying to help you, Harry! He might be a useless piece of shit, but this is your home. Your girl and your kid are just through there. If you want him dead, fine, I’ll do it meself when all this is over. When we got the money and Dolly’s got what’s coming to her for making you look like a fool. It’s her you’re angry at, Harry, not him. He’s nothing.’

The red mist faded, Harry slowly calmed down and turned away from Eddie to stop himself losing it again. Bill glanced at Eddie and gave him a small wink. It was like being smiled at by a crocodile before heading in for a swim.

‘We’re going to go back to the house,’ Harry said, ‘and we’re going to tear it apart.’ He snatched up his coat. ‘COME ON!’

From the bedroom, Trudie raced out and grabbed Harry’s arm. ‘Please, Harry! It’s daylight. I’m begging you not to go out. If anyone sees you, that’s it. It’s all over.’

Harry lurched toward Eddie and grabbed his scarf again. Eddie nearly pissed himself on the spot but Harry put the scarf round his own neck, pulling it up to cover his nose and mouth.

For a split second, it had occurred to Bill that he and Eddie might stand up to Harry together: he couldn’t take the two of them on in a fight. The thought was short-lived as he watched a quivering Eddie rub his sore neck and attempt to walk in a straight line, and the two of them followed Harry out of the flat.

Trudie ran to the window just in time to see the three men get into Jimmy’s BMW. As Trudie watched Bill drive off, she noticed a car parked a short distance away pull out at the same time. It stopped and didn’t move off again until another car was sitting between it and the BMW. At the end of the road, the BMW turned left, the car immediately behind it turned right but the suspect car waited for a van to pass and sit behind the BMW before it pulled out, also turning to the left.

Trudie slammed her hands on the window. There was nothing she could do. She didn’t even know where Harry had lived with Dolly.

The baby screamed from the bedroom. Trudie knew exactly how he felt: she too wanted to open up her lungs and let it all out. It was all going horribly wrong. Harry had been so careful for so long, and then Dolly soddin’ Rawlins had to go and do one of his robberies! The stupid cow. The stupid, old, ugly cow!

Trudie raced into the bedroom and shouted, ‘SHUT UP!’ The baby, who was sitting in his playpen, howling for no apparent reason, turned up the volume. Trudie felt as if her world was about to collapse around her and she suddenly snapped and slapped the child hard. Instantly mortified, she picked him up and squeezed him tight. Shaken by the slap, the baby fell silent, while Trudie sobbed her heart out.

Shirley waited nervously at Heathrow as the bus driver lifted the cases from the luggage compartment. Just wait till I see her, she thought angrily to herself. I’ll tell her what I think. And I’ll tell the girls that she left me in the street. Linda will hate her even more when she hears that! She realized that she sounded like a petty, sulky child but, right now, this anger was helping her keep her focus.