‘Georgio has told me a lot about you, my dear - may I call you Donna?’ Before she could answer he pressed on, ‘But he never told me just how beautiful you are. Why, I’m amazed a woman with your assets is still bothering with a man like Georgio. He is indeed a very lucky fellow. I was rather under the impression his taste in women was not so refined. It just shows you how wrong you can be, doesn’t it?’
Lewis was enjoy Georgio’s discomfort. He ignored him, secure in the knowledge his taunts had found their mark.
‘I hear you have taken over the businesses, too. My mother is a strong woman, Donna. I have always respected women, though I’m not a great lover of them in general. My tastes run more to masculine friendships, you understand. But now and again a woman comes along whom I like, and I have a feeling you’re going to be one of them.’
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Donna nodded graciously. Thank you, Mr Lewis, I shall take that as a compliment. Is your mother visiting you today?’
He shook his head. ‘Not today. Maybe on Monday. It’s a very tiring journey for her. She’s well into her seventies, but marvellous for her age. I have her chauffeured down every two weeks by a friend on the outside. It’s wonderful to have friends on the outside, isn’t it, Georgio? Especially attractive ones. They brighten up the dreary days in here.’
“I’ll look forward to meeting your mother, Mr Lewis, she sounds an amazing woman. I lost my parents when I was very young. I always feel that mothers are very special, particularly to their sons.’
For the first time ever Georgio saw Donald Lewis actually smile genuinely at someone, and he was even more amazed to find the smile bestowed on his’wife.
‘You’re a very astute girl and I see I was right in my first impressions. I think you and I will be great friends, Donna Brunos.’ He looked at Georgio. ‘I hope you appreciate this girl, Georgio?’
He relaxed visibly. ‘Don’t worry, Donald. I not only appreciate her, I depend on her in a lot of ways.’
Donna smiled sadly. Georgio depended on her. There it was, that word again. But this time at least, it didn’t frighten her so much.
Donald Lewis not only frightened her, he positively terrified her, but she kept on smiling and chatting to him, knowing that her husband’s stay in prison depended on this man’s goodwill.
As small and amiable as Lewis seemed at this moment, she could see the latent violence of his nature in the pointed way he talked to Georgio.
She was shocked at her husband’s obvious subservience in the presence of this man, and it made her all the more determined to get him out - and fast. Five minutes of Donald Lewis was wearing enough. What must it be like to have him watching over you day in and day out? Lewis was capable of murder, and she recognised that he was also1 capable of great charm. The combination of the two was more frightening than anything.
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them Chapter Twenty-One
‘Lewis is a terrifying guy, love. Believe me, I’ve had a few run ins with him myself over the years.’
Donna looked out of the car window, half-enjoying the changing scenery.
‘Well, he frightened me, I know that much. There’s a sort of pent-up menace about him, as if at any moment he could attack,’
Alan laughed loudly. That’s the understatement of the year, Donna. I could introduce you to a bloke in Soho who had what’s called in the trade “facial scalping”. No ears, no nose, the bare minimum of eyelids. That’s what happens when you upset Donald Lewis.’
Donna blanched. ‘You’re joking!’ Her voice was small, breathless.
Alan realised that what he had said would only make her more concerned for her husband. He flicked a glance at her, and seeing the strained white of her face, felt like kicking himself.
‘No, I’m not joking. But don’t worry, Georgio won’t get anything like that from Lewis. I can guarantee it.’
‘And how can you guarantee it?’
Alan lightened his voice. ‘Because the bloke it happened to was one of Lewis’s amours, that’s why. And he made the mistake of taking on a little friend. Lewis didn’t like that. He owns his boyfriends, you see; they’re his property. Especially when he’s laid out a small fortune on setting them up in a flat and playing at mums and dads, know what I mean? If he was going to hurt Georgio it would be done in a much more civilised way. He’d just have him killed.’
‘Well, that’s made me feel a whole lot better, I must say! Thank you very much, Alan, I really needed that today.’
He pulled on to the hard shoulder of the motorway. Cars and lorries whizzed past his Mercedes. Grabbing Donna’s arm, he pulled her round to face him. Sorry for the fear in her face, but also annoyed at her childishness.
‘Listen, Donna, I know you’re a nicely brought up girl and all that, but at this moment you are on your way to meet some people even
Lewis would balk at upsetting. Now we both know Georgio is skating on thin ice, aad knowing him as I do, he probably brought it on himself. Well, that aside, me and you are in the throes of springing him from one of the most secure nicks in Britain. Now if you want to act like we’re going on a picnic, that’s your prerogative. Meself, I intend to watch my arse, my back, and anything else that I can watch without breaking me neck. I suggest you do the same. All this being frightened jind shocked and ladylike ain’t worth a piss. The sooner you realise that, the better off we’ll be. I can’t look after you all the time, and I don’t see why I should. Now I can drop you off at the nearest train station or I can carry on up this bleeding motorway towards Jockland. It’s up to you.’
Donna pulled herself free. Her face was pale, but this time with anger.
‘You bastard, Cox! You love all this, don’t you? You set out to scare me, and when you know you have succeeded, you always turn on me after. Well, I might be a little ladylike woman in your eyes, I am in mypwn. But if I wasn’t intent on what I’m doing, I wouldn’t be here. All the same, that’s no reason to keep pushing down my throat the danger we’re in. I know that, for Christ’s sake. I can’t sleep properly for thinking about it. But I’m here, and surely that must tell you something? I came with you, I’m trying to do my bit, and believe me when I say you are not making it any easier. You’re an arsehole, mate. A twenty-four-carat arsehole, and I wish at this moment I had never clapped eyes on you. You have no respect for anyone or anything, and worst of all I think you enjoy frightening me. Facial scalping! Are we talking about Lewis or bloody Haiti? Do you know what I think? I think all this violent talk is just to scare me off. I think you’re frightened - frightened I might just do it all right.’
Alan shook his head as if in sympathy.
‘Shall I tell you something, Donna? If I told you the half of it you’d wet your tiny scrap of knickers, and probably follow through as well. I ain’t told you nothing yet. Nothing! And, yes, I do wish you’d fuck off out of all this. Georgio must be going into fucking premature senility to want you on this team. But I promise you this much now: I won’t open me trap again. Let’s see how you get on with the Jocks. Then afterwards me and you can sort out once and for all whether you can kick all this or whether you want to sit out the last dance. How’s that?’
Alan stared into the miserable face before him, hating what he was doing yet unable to stop himself. The thought of this naive girl woman coming up against Lewis and others like him was anathema to Alan. He knew what they were really capable of. He knew exactly what was on the line here - not only the violence but the prison
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them sentence they could end up with, and he knew she wouldn’t last five minutes in a police station cell, let alone Holloway or even Cookham Wood. It was laughable, excruciatingly laughable, that Georgio could put this woman’s life and liberty on the line and still sleep at night. But then, he had always been a selfish bastard, only this Donna didn’t seem aware of that fact. Alan felt a strong urge to tell her all he knew, but buttoned his lip.
Mainly because she wouldn’t believe him, but also, he admitted to himself, because he admired her spunk. Well, he had done his bit, he reasoned, tried to stop her from becoming involved in every way he could. The ball was well and truly in her court now. He sighed deeply restraining an urge to apologise as he saw the fine lines around her mouth, the deep smudges under her eyes. But he consoled himself with the fact that it was Georgio who had put them there, not him. He would look out for her, it was all he could do. But at this moment in time, if Georgio was in front of him, he’d hammer him to within an inch of his life.
He put the car into gear and pulled back on to the motorway. As he turned on his CD player, the car was immediately filled with the sounds of Freddie Jackson singing ‘You Are My Lady’. Donna stared once more at the shimmering landscape. The day was suddenly overcast, the sun hiding behind thick cloud. She swallowed back frustration and tears and made a resolution.
She would show Alan Cox, and Georgio.
She would show them all.
Exactly what she was going to show them, she wasn’t sure.
They drove towards the Scottish hills in silence, Freddie Jackson’s haunting voice drowning out the purr of the car’s engine.
‘I would appreciate it, Mr Cox, if you would refrain from swearing at me.’
Alan nearly smiled as he marvelled at a woman’s knack of having not only the last word, but putting you well and truly in your place while having it.
Sadie sat with Donald Lewis in the recreation room. The TV was blaring. Neighbours’ Australian slang was reverberating around the room.
‘I’d give her one.’
Someone called out from the card table. ‘You’d give my fucking granny one!’
Timmy glowered at Lewis and Sadie as he watched them playing dominoes. Sadie caught his eye and Timmy read the hopelessness there. Sadie’s hair was back in a neat pony tail, and her face was
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devoid of make-up. She was wearing a regulation denim shirt and tight-fit jeans, nick fashion for a gay’s straight clothes. Gone was the shirt tied under the breastbone, the swaggering walk, the thick eyeliner. She was conforming to what Lewis wanted in a partner.
Everyone was amazed at Lewis’s decision to take Sadie on board. He liked young fresh-faced boys with muscular bodies and clean-cut good looks. There was method in Lewis’s madness, but as yet no one had sussed out what it was. ‘Get me a cup of tea, Timmy, there’s a good lad.’ The room was static with tension as Timmy hoisted his huge bulk out of his chair and stood up. Every man in the room, screws included, knew that old Timmy loved Sadie in his own way. Outside the confines of prison Timmy wouldn’t have given her the time of day. But as a man who had spent over half his life locked up in top security, he had two sets of principles, one for the inside and one for the outside.
Outside Timmy had his wife and children, whom he adored in his own rough fashion. Inside, he always picked himself up a galboy. He liked the sex, the friendship, and the fact that the boy needed him.
Timmy didn’t know the exact meaning of love, could not have explained it to himself or anyone else. What he did know was he liked being with someone, liked looking after someone, and they took the place of his wife, Vi. He could share confidences with them, and they made the time pass that bit quicker. Sadie had been his wife, lover and child all rolled into one.
Now she was with Lewis, and it was small consolation that he knew Sadie wasn’t pleased about it. Another galboy might have enjoyed the notoriety Lewis could afford them, but Timmy knew that Sadie had a lot of affection for him. She was genuine, in a world where that was a hard-won commodity. Sadie was a diamond.
Lewis watched Timmy amble from the room, his hugeness a balm to Lewis’s ego.
‘What’s the matter, Sadie, missing your old beau?’ She concentrated on the dominoes. ‘You know me better than that, Mr Lewis. But Timmy and I were good friends.’
Lewis outlined the delicate features of her face. ‘Do you know why I picked you, Sadie?’ He watched her shake her head.
‘I picked you because for all you look like a little tart, and I know that you are one, you have a certain vulnerability I like. I can be a bastard to you, and as much as I’ll enjoy it, I’ll also feel a tinge of guilt. Which makes it all the better. I don’t expect you to understand that, but I decided to tell you anyway.’
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them Sadie looked full into his eyes, and Lewis was surprised at the understanding in them.
‘Mr Lewis, people have been doing that to me since I was a child. I know more than people think. Whether it was the businessman I picked up for a quick blow job, or a big hairy-arsed plasterer, ashamed at what he wanted to do. I cashed in on it in the end because it became all I knew how to do. You scare me, Mr Lewis, but for all the wrong reasons.’
Sadie wondered if she had gone too far. Lewis’s face was tight now, the skin shiny over the cheekbones. She knew Lewis was gritting his teeth.
He smiled then.
‘As long as you’re scared, Sadie, that’s all that matters. Why you’re scared is your own affair.’ His voice rose. ‘Now where’s that cup of tea?’
Timmy walked in slowly, holding the thin cup and saucer, careful not to let any tea slop over. He placed it beside Lewis with exaggerated care.
Lewis looked into the cup as if worried what he might find in there.
‘Where’s Sadie’s cup of tea then, Timmy?’
Sadie barked out. ‘I don’t want a cup of tea, Mr Lewis, thanks all the same.’
There was an argument going on in Neighbours, the voices loud and strident in the already tense atmosphere of the recreation room.
‘Turn that crap off!’ Lewis’s voice was harsh. The TV was turned off immediately. In the silence of the room, his words were menacing.
‘If I say you want a cup of tea, Sadie, then that is exactly what you want. Get her the tea, Timmy.’
Georgio watched the changing emotions on Timmy’s face, before he saw him turn and walk from the room. Twenty pairs of eyes watched him leave, amazed at his calm acceptance of what had taken place. Yet not one man felt any less respect for him; they all knew they would do the same. Would have to do the same to survive.