The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) by T. Belshaw (the best books to read .txt) 📗

‘Get the kettle on, will you? I’m parched.’

Nicola walked through to the kitchen, filled the kettle and plugged it in. ‘Tea or coffee?’ she called.

‘When have I ever drunk tea?’ he shouted back.

By the time she had made coffee and carried it through to him, he was up and dressed. Her best coat was in a heap on the floor. She picked it up, smoothed it down and hung it on the back of the door.

‘Do you remember Paul Austen and Neil Redmond? Are they still about?’ he asked.

‘Probably, if they’re not in prison. What do you want them for?’

‘Oh, nothing much. I just thought I’d catch up, that’s all. Do you have any idea where they’re be if they are around?’

‘Paul will be at home with Irene, his long-suffering mother, I imagine. I’m not sure about Neil but I can’t see any decent woman taking either of that pair on.’

‘Does she still live on Ironmonger Row?’

‘I don’t know. I think so. I haven’t seen her for a few years now.’

Bill sat quietly for a few moments. ‘Her house was the one with the red tiled roof, wasn’t it? They had to have a new one after Paul set fire to his attic bedroom.’

Nicola nodded. ‘I remember that. He was smoking in bed, drunk.’

‘Right, I’ll nip over to see him, it’s only a couple of streets away. I have to be careful still. I don’t want to bump into the Duncan brothers after what went on back then.’

‘One of them is in prison, for sure,’ said Nicola. ‘I think the other one was crippled in a gang related attack a couple of years ago. It was on the news at the time.’

Bill clapped his hands, grinned a huge grin, then picked up his coffee mug. He sniffed at it, then put it down again.

‘Cheap crap,’ he said.

At eleven o’clock, Bill set off to see if the Austens were still in the area. He returned less than half an hour later with a smile like a crescent moon on his face.

‘Get the beers in, Nic, it’s time to celebrate.’

‘I don’t have any money for beer… Bill. You took the last I had.’

‘Never mind,’ said Bill, pulling a twenty-pound note from his wallet. ‘I was saving this for emergencies, but I won’t be needing to now.’ He thrust the money into Nicola’s hand. Get more of that lager for me and grab yourself some cider… No! make it a bottle of wine, but don’t go over the top.’

Nicola folded the banknote in half and stuck it into the pocket of her cardigan. ‘You found Paul then. I take it that it’s good news?’

‘The best.’ Bill punched his left palm with his right fist. ‘I don’t think I’ll have to worry about money again after this week.’

As Nicola was crossing the road to the convenience store, she suddenly stopped dead. Was it Dougie Duncan that had been crippled in the gang fight or was it one of his attackers? She racked her brains but for the life of her she couldn’t remember. She decided to ask Mandy, who was on the till that lunchtime.

Mandy could remember the incident clearly. ‘No, Nic, Dougie walked away without so much as a scratch. One of the London gang had to have a leg amputated afterwards. Tony Duncan was jailed for his part in the melee, but Dougie got off scot free. He lives in a big place off the Gravesend Road.’

Nicola walked back to her house wondering how she was going to explain her mistake to Owen… no, Bill, she would have to stop calling him Owen. As she pushed the front door open, she decided not to mention the Duncan brothers for now. He was in such a good mood. She didn’t want to spoil it.

Chapter 22

Jessica slept in late on Sunday morning. She was woken at ten by the sound of a car horn. Slipping out of bed, she stepped across the landing and opened the curtain to look out onto the front of the property. Blinking in the bright autumn sunshine, she looked down onto the asphalt to see a long white van. Standing in front of it, waving up at her, was Gwen.

Jess threw on a thin, cotton dressing gown and hurried down the stairs. Greeting her with a hug on the doorstep she said hello to Alec, the driver of the van, and led the way to the lounge where the hospital bed was stripped and ready for removal.

As Gwen carried a pile of bedsheets out to the van, Alec and his son took hold of the special mattress that helped reduce pressure sores and, twisting it onto its side, lugged it across the room.

‘I can see you lads have done this before,’ said Jess.

‘Too many times,’ replied Alec with a grunt. His son had turned a little too early as he stepped into the hall.

Gwen stood aside as the two men came out of the front door with the mattress.

‘We’re going to try to get the bed out in one go,’ Alec said, grumpily. ‘We’ll be here all day if we have to strip it down to parts. I’ve got a darts match at twelve-thirty.’

Gwen hurried back inside and picked up a pile of pillows. Jess, looking guilty, felt the need to explain why she wasn’t helping.

‘I’m not really dressed for it. I’ve only got a short nightie on under this.’ She opened her arms to show her unfastened dressing gown. ‘I can’t find the belt.’ Too late, she realised that Alec and his son had re-entered the room.

‘Well, that was worth coming for at least.’ Alec winked at her as he passed.

The bed was easier to get out than they had thought it might be, and with a bit of manoeuvring and only a couple of scrapes on the doorframe of the lounge, they soon had it loaded onto the van.

‘There’s a massage mattress topper