‘You ready?’ she asked softly. Bobby nodded. He shoved his balaclava and black gloves into the bag. He gave her a last look before leaving, a look halfway between regret and fear.
‘Just a one-off,’ she whispered to herself. ‘Once this is done we’ll ’ave some money in our pockets and things will work out.’ Even as she said the words, she wondered if she was trying to convince herself.
Ruby saw him in her mind’s eye, walking to the pub for a pint and to meet Freddie and his accomplice. She saw them walk down to the warehouse she had already cased out on the Isle of Dogs. She imagined him finding the safe in the back office, kneeling down next to it and working his magic until click, click, click, the door swung open and its contents were quickly stuffed into Freddie’s bag. She saw the accomplice keeping watch at the side door, a sawn-off shotgun in his hand. She saw Bobby lock the safe again before him and Freddie left the building. Bobby would turn the outside alarm system back on to make it look like an inside job, which had been Ruby’s idea. She had no notion of where it came from.
CHAPTER 14
ROBBERY! POLICE SAY IT’S AN INSIDE JOB!
The headline screamed out from the front page of the local newspaper. Ruby, who was on her way to the supermarket with George in his pram, snatched up a copy, her eyes scanning the front page. It had to be the job Bobby had done only a few days earlier.
‘Oi, you goin’ to buy that or what?’ the newsagent shouted over at her from inside the shop.
‘Oh, yes I am . . .’ she said, fumbling in her handbag to find her purse. ‘There you go, no need to get stroppy with me!’ Ruby’s hands were trembling as she stepped inside and handed over the coins.
‘Sorry, love, didn’t mean to frighten you. You OK?’ the shopkeeper, a young Asian guy added. He obviously thought he’d been the one to unsettle her.
‘What? Oh, don’t worry, it ain’t you,’ Ruby muttered. She dashed out to the pram and stood in the street, reading every word of the news story.
It was the same job.
Then she gasped. One line of the text stood out. She read it again to make sure she’d understood, then as comprehension dawned, fury rose within her like a striking snake.
‘Oh my God, he’s mugged us off. Freddie Harris, you don’t know what’s comin’ to you, but I won’t let ya get away with this.’ Ruby could hardly believe her eyes and yet she’d known not to trust him. She’d known Freddie was a weasel, but this? This was something else.
Quickly, Ruby headed back to Star Lane, all thoughts of getting supplies of milk, bread and nappies forgotten. Once she’d settled George, she whacked the paper down onto the table as if the table itself was to blame, then paced around the house for the next two hours, waiting for Bobby to come home. She couldn’t settle on anything. She showed George his picture books, but her mind raced and she couldn’t concentrate. She cleaned the kitchen and lounge, but that bought no respite. In fact, her agitation increased as time wore on until, eventually, she heard the key turning in the lock.
The minute his footsteps sounded through the front door, Ruby grabbed the paper and ran to greet him.
‘Whoa there Rube, what ya doin? Pleased to see me at last?’ Bobby grinned. He’d clearly had a good day at work and was mellow from a drink in the pub. Bobby had been welcomed back into the pub and the community as soon as he’d agreed to the safe break. No longer were Ruby’s family seen as outsiders. Now they were complicit. They’d crossed the line, become as crooked as everyone else. Well, Ruby was about to ruin his good mood.
‘Look,’ she hissed. ‘Look how much money was in that safe!’ She thrust the paper under her brother’s nose. Bobby’s mouth turned into a perfect ‘o’ shape as he understood why Ruby was so angry.
‘Ah . . .’ was all he said. He’d clearly seen the same paper, or heard the gossip in the pub and was hoping Ruby hadn’t.
‘Ah? AH? What ’appened when I had to leave you and Freddie together to agree the deal that night, eh, Bobby? Did ya lose yer brain?’
Bobby sighed a long, drawn-out sigh. ‘Listen, Rube, Freddie offered me a grand to do that job. It was more than enough to put food on the table, pay the leccy and have money left over for the . . .’ Even as their mum’s health worsened, Bobby still couldn’t say the word ‘funeral’.
‘He mugged you off, and he mugged me off. That’s what ’appened when I left you two ’ere in our kitchen to go and see to George. He took you for a fool, and me with ya.’
Bobby walked slowly into the kitchen, slumping down onto a chair.
‘Rube, I shook ’ands on the deal. It was what we agreed. A one-off job to get money.’
Ruby stood next to him. She was too angry to sit. Her pulse was hammering in her head. Her blood was up. She started to read the article out loud, as if somehow that made it clearer.
‘“. . . the company chief executive said that the robbers had taken staff wages amounting to £10,000.” Ten. Thousand. Pounds. And how much did you shake on with Freddie? A mere thousand. It ain’t right. They would never ’ave got into that buildin’ without ya. You were the most crucial part of the operation. Freddie knew this, and he let ya shake on a thousand.’ Ruby was shouting now.
Bobby glanced round, guessing that George was napping. ‘Shh, you’ll wake the baby. So what if I got less? It doesn’t matter, Rube.
