busy. I caught him watching us. After the man had left Lev
told me I should think of staying away from the area for a bit.’
‘Why?’ Carter asked.
‘He wouldn’t say. He just shook his head with a “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” type of look.’
‘Did it worry you?’
‘Me?’ Melvin laughed. ‘No, of course not. I’ve lived with worse than him. He ought to have been here with the Kray generation.’
‘These new ones are a lot worse, believe me,’ Carter said. ‘Keep yourself safe, Melvin. You’ve done enough for me now. If you see this guy Marco coming your way, then
turn round.’
Melvin snorted. ‘I can’t do that, no way. This is my business we’re talking about. I’m not going to alter my route just to suit him. If he keeps hanging around here,
that’s his problem.’
Chapter 15
‘Something you want to get off your chest, Harold?’
Harold had asked if he could speak to Tony in his office. He left the others arguing around the dinner table. After a few drinks, past grievances were exhumed for a re-examine, but proved just
as rotten as when they were buried first time round. Sandra was hell-bent on getting as drunk as possible; she was quietly fuming that Della had talked to her like that. Laurence was brooding and
Debbie was doing her best to be a good hostess.
Tony opened his desk drawer and took out a bag of cocaine. It expanded onto the desk like a collapsing snowball.
He tore open the top and shovelled out a large mound with his fingers. He set about the process of chopping and cutting, scraping it and smoothing any lumps with a diligence that consumed him
for ten minutes while Harold watched and waited. Finished, Tony rolled a note and offered it across to Harold who half-heartedly snorted up a part of a line and wiped it back out of his nose into
his hand.
‘We shouldn’t be treating Eddie’s widow like that.’
Tony’s head swivelled back and forth, as if he were trying to free his neck from a tight collar, and then his eyes settled on Harold.
‘Like what?’
‘You intend taking everything she has away from her? Can you do that? Take everything from Della?’
‘Everything.’ Tony smiled sickly sweet. He stood.
‘Why take the business from her? At least leave her that.’
‘I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on that business and all the other little projects that Eddie thought I didn’t know about.’
‘The police will never stop watching it, if you have anything to do with Paradise Villas,’ said Harold. ‘You won’t be able to launder money through it. You won’t
even be allowed to build a garden shed. It’s no use to you now.’
‘Laurence will run it. It’s time he earned his place in this family.’ Tony was getting irritable with Harold’s continued questioning of his methods. ‘Laurence is
even more respectable than Eddie was.’
‘Maybe, but I can’t see Della going quietly. We both know she’s clever, stubborn.’
‘Leave it to me,’ Tony said with a sigh, as if it always came down to the same solution. Tony had to do everything himself.
‘What do you want me to do when I get back to the UK? We have to do something about Eddie, people are expecting it. I don’t know if they’re going to believe that Francisco got
the payment.’
‘Yes, they will, at least for a few days. This is a good opportunity for these young gangs. We’re going to need some men we trust around us when it gets bigger than we can handle. We
act fast and furious and we kill the fuckers before they kill us. Promise them a part of the drugs distribution after it leaves here. Promise them anything but make them kill every last one of the
Mendez cartel in the UK.’
Harold shook his head, worried. ‘How do we know they killed Eddie?’
‘Who else could it have been? You have any suspects you want to name?’
Harold shook his head. He stayed where he was. Tony leaned back in his Italian leather chair and rocked as he continued
told me I should think of staying away from the area for a bit.’
‘Why?’ Carter asked.
‘He wouldn’t say. He just shook his head with a “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” type of look.’
‘Did it worry you?’
‘Me?’ Melvin laughed. ‘No, of course not. I’ve lived with worse than him. He ought to have been here with the Kray generation.’
‘These new ones are a lot worse, believe me,’ Carter said. ‘Keep yourself safe, Melvin. You’ve done enough for me now. If you see this guy Marco coming your way, then
turn round.’
Melvin snorted. ‘I can’t do that, no way. This is my business we’re talking about. I’m not going to alter my route just to suit him. If he keeps hanging around here,
that’s his problem.’
Chapter 15
‘Something you want to get off your chest, Harold?’
Harold had asked if he could speak to Tony in his office. He left the others arguing around the dinner table. After a few drinks, past grievances were exhumed for a re-examine, but proved just
as rotten as when they were buried first time round. Sandra was hell-bent on getting as drunk as possible; she was quietly fuming that Della had talked to her like that. Laurence was brooding and
Debbie was doing her best to be a good hostess.
Tony opened his desk drawer and took out a bag of cocaine. It expanded onto the desk like a collapsing snowball.
He tore open the top and shovelled out a large mound with his fingers. He set about the process of chopping and cutting, scraping it and smoothing any lumps with a diligence that consumed him
for ten minutes while Harold watched and waited. Finished, Tony rolled a note and offered it across to Harold who half-heartedly snorted up a part of a line and wiped it back out of his nose into
his hand.
‘We shouldn’t be treating Eddie’s widow like that.’
Tony’s head swivelled back and forth, as if he were trying to free his neck from a tight collar, and then his eyes settled on Harold.
‘Like what?’
‘You intend taking everything she has away from her? Can you do that? Take everything from Della?’
‘Everything.’ Tony smiled sickly sweet. He stood.
‘Why take the business from her? At least leave her that.’
‘I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on that business and all the other little projects that Eddie thought I didn’t know about.’
‘The police will never stop watching it, if you have anything to do with Paradise Villas,’ said Harold. ‘You won’t be able to launder money through it. You won’t
even be allowed to build a garden shed. It’s no use to you now.’
‘Laurence will run it. It’s time he earned his place in this family.’ Tony was getting irritable with Harold’s continued questioning of his methods. ‘Laurence is
even more respectable than Eddie was.’
‘Maybe, but I can’t see Della going quietly. We both know she’s clever, stubborn.’
‘Leave it to me,’ Tony said with a sigh, as if it always came down to the same solution. Tony had to do everything himself.
‘What do you want me to do when I get back to the UK? We have to do something about Eddie, people are expecting it. I don’t know if they’re going to believe that Francisco got
the payment.’
‘Yes, they will, at least for a few days. This is a good opportunity for these young gangs. We’re going to need some men we trust around us when it gets bigger than we can handle. We
act fast and furious and we kill the fuckers before they kill us. Promise them a part of the drugs distribution after it leaves here. Promise them anything but make them kill every last one of the
Mendez cartel in the UK.’
Harold shook his head, worried. ‘How do we know they killed Eddie?’
‘Who else could it have been? You have any suspects you want to name?’
Harold shook his head. He stayed where he was. Tony leaned back in his Italian leather chair and rocked as he continued
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