‘What about Barry? Have you seen him go in or out at all?’ Stephanie asked.
‘Nope. Not seen hide nor hair of him. Chantelle’s there though. She’s just ordered a pizza and paid the man at the door.’
Thanking her mother for keeping look-out, Stephanie ended the call and punched in Wayne’s number. She had rung him six times in the past couple of hours but he hadn’t answered any of her calls. ‘Bollocks,’ she mumbled, as the phone rang and rang once again. She felt desperately inadequate. Say Barry had done something awful to Wayne? If he had it would be all her fault. She was the one who had forced both men to become part of a sordid love triangle in the first place.
‘La you, Mummy,’ Tyler uttered softly, as the tears rolled down Stephanie’s cheeks.
Stephanie held her son close to her chest. ‘I love you too, boy. Let’s just both pray that Daddy will be OK, eh?’
Tyler had no idea what his mother meant by the word pray, but seeing that she seemed so upset, he decided nodding was the best thing to do.
Stephanie ruffled his hair. Tyler was such a handsome boy. With his blond hair and piercing blue eyes, he would have made a fabulous child model had he been better behaved.
‘Da be OK,’ Tyler said, trying to repeat his mother’s words.
Stephanie smiled. Her son might not know what he was saying, but he was right. Of course his father would be OK. Wayne was no man’s fool and Steph was sure that any mud Barry Franklin chose to throw at him, her big, strapping fiancé was more than capable of slinging back twice as hard.
Wayne Jackman stared at the paralytic man and woman who were getting louder and louder on the next table. There was so much he wanted to say to Barry and it was only the surroundings that were stopping him from doing so. ‘Are you in a rush to get back to your sister’s, Bazza? You gotta be anywhere later on?’
‘Nope. I ain’t gotta be nowhere.’
‘Look, tell me to fuck off if you want, but I know a cushti little Indian restaurant over in Chadwell Heath. The geezer who owns it used to train down my gym and I get treated like a king whenever I eat there. Why don’t we go there? We can order a nice curry and a few bottles of bubbly. It’s got to be better than sitting in this dosshouse, eh?’
‘Yeah, fuck it, why not?’ Barry replied. Anything was better than going back to the refuge tip his sister called home. Barry downed the rest of his lager in one, urged Wayne to do the same, and then led him to where his car was parked.
‘Nice set of wheels, Jacko,’ Barry said, as they approached Wayne’s flash new BMW.
Wayne nodded. He couldn’t believe how nice Barry was being towards him. He hadn’t really known what to expect, but Barry was acting as though the Steph love triangle had never happened, and Wayne couldn’t help thinking that his old pal’s acceptance of the way he had once betrayed him was slightly too good to be true. Wayne started the engine and drove over Heathway Hill in silence. Barry hadn’t mentioned Stephanie yet, neither had he, but he knew the subject would have to be discussed sooner or later and decided to broach it in the restaurant, rather than in the car. ‘So, tell me about Jake the Snake. I know you told me bits in the pub, but I couldn’t concentrate on what you were saying because of that lairy pair of pissheads next to us.’
‘To put it in a nutshell, Jake upset some extremely heavy people. He was involved in a bit of this and that and, apparently, had his hands in the till. I’ve no idea who actually bumped him off, but I keep hearing the rumours why. I think one or two of the lads he was involved with thought he was a snitch an’ all, hence the bullet through his head, I suppose.’
‘What was he dealing in? Drugs? Were you involved an’ all?’ Wayne pried.
‘Yeah, I think so, and no I weren’t! Not my scene, that shit,’ Barry replied, honestly. As a lad, Barry had envisaged ending up in that type of world, but in the end he hadn’t needed to. He’d saved his earnings from the bar and had an eye for a run-down property. Since buying and selling his first for a tidy profit, he had never looked back, and even though some of his dealings were shady, especially when it came to the taxman, Barry always described himself as a self-made property entrepreneur.
‘So, is your mum proper upset over his death? What about you? Were you close to him?’
‘You know what my muvver’s like, Jacko. I think she was more upset about her dress being ruined by bloodstains, than poor old Jake getting shot. I shall miss him though. I wouldn’t say we were exceptionally close, but he was OK. My old girl’s dated worst geezers in her time, put it that way.’
‘How’s your old man, Bal? He must be due out again soon?’ Wayne asked, changing the subject.
Barry’s father, Smasher, had been in and out of prisons all his life. His most recent stretch was for GBH and he was due for release in April. ‘Got about ten weeks left to serve, he has. I’m going to visit him next week and I can’t wait. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen him in over two years. What about your old man? He’s out now, ain’t he?’ Barry asked Wayne.
‘Yeah. He got out last year, but we had a big barny and he fucked off abroad somewhere. I tried to find him ’cause I wanted him at the wedding, but …’ Realizing that he had just mentioned his forthcoming nuptials, Wayne stopped in mid-sentence.
‘It’s OK. I know you and Steph are getting married,’ Barry said, trying to defuse the awkward moment.
Wayne knew that now he had brought the topic up, it was only right that he apologized. ‘I’m really sorry about what happened, all them years back, Bazza. I didn’t mean to fall for Steph, but when you left and we carried on spending time together, it just happened if you know what I mean? You must have thought I was such a cunt at the time and I can’t say I blame you.’
Barry stared out of the window at the passing traffic. He could never forgive Wayne for what he had done to him, what real man would? But he would never give his old pal the satisfaction of knowing how he felt.
‘This is the restaurant. Are you OK, Bazza?’ Wayne asked, nervously.
Managing to compose himself, Barry turned to Wayne and grinned. ‘Of course I am, mate. Listen, what happened with me, you and Steph was donkey’s years ago and I’d nigh on forgotten all about it until you just mentioned it.’
Wayne breathed a huge sigh of relief. When Barry had gone quiet on him, Wayne had glanced his way and was positive he had seen a vicious expression on his old friend’s face. ‘Thanks for not hating me, Bazza. It means a lot.’
Barry stared deep into his pal’s eyes. ‘How could I hate the geezer who saved my life, eh?’
Over in Chigwell, Stephanie was completely beside herself. She wasn’t that much of a drinker since she’d become a mother, but was now so worried about Wayne’s whereabouts that she had managed to sink a whole bottle of wine by herself. Dannielle and Tyler were both fast asleep, and after trying Wayne’s phone for what seemed like the hundredth time, Stephanie rang her mum again. ‘What am I gonna do? His phone is still switched off. Do you think I should call the police?’
‘You know what Wayne’s like, love. I know he don’t go out that much, but when he does, he’s a sod for coming home at a decent hour. Me and Cath have still been keeping tabs across the road and there’s been no sign of Barry either. You can bet your bottom dollar that they’re pissed and having a whale of a time somewhere, so if I was you I’d stop worrying.’
‘But say Barry’s done something bad to him? For all I know, Wayne could be lying dead in a ditch somewhere with a bullet through his brain.’
‘Oh, don’t be so silly, Steph. You sound like bloody Angela! Of course Barry hasn’t done anything bad to Wayne. Why don’t you get yourself to bed, love? I can tell you’ve had a good drink because you’re slurring.’
Stephanie said goodbye to her mum, then rang Tammy. There was no answer