‘I didn’t think he’d go that far, I swear it.’ Junior was gasping, struggling for breath, he was shaking so hard. ‘He just paid me… paid me…’
Max was watching Junior with disgust. ‘Yeah, for what?’
‘He wanted me to do him a couple of favours in return for cash,’ Junior managed to get out. He looked at Max and sneered. ‘Mum’s right. Your old lady is a stuck-up cow. She deserves some shit, always swanning about like Lady Muck. Rufus got me to do a couple of jobs, that’s all.’
‘What jobs?’ asked Max.
‘Nothing major. Little things. I put the paper thing in Layla’s Filofax, and chucked a lit fag in the bin at her office. He told me it was a wind-up, nothing serious. And I thought, why not?’
‘Why not?’ echoed Max. He pushed Junior hard against the fence, crushing him. ‘You miserable, ungrateful little turd. Annie thinks the world of you.’
‘Ow… don’t…’ Junior pleaded, his face screwed up in pain. Seeing the murderous look on Max’s face, his cocky bluster dissolved into nothing. There were tears in his eyes now; he looked scared to death.
Max thought of Layla’s mate Precious, laid up in a hospital bed. It was terrifying to think that Malone had been in the same building as Layla, being helped by this treacherous little tick. He yanked Junior away from the fence.
‘Come on, you,’ he said, and dragged him back up the path to the house.
‘You can’t do this,’ complained Kath, chins wobbling in indignation at the kitchen door. ‘You can’t come in here and start knocking people about.’
‘Get out of my fucking way,’ said Max.
Kath took one look at Max’s expression and stood aside. But Molly was in the kitchen too, and she flung herself at Max with a shriek. Tony moved forward as Max fended her off, but it gave Junior just the chance he needed.
‘Fuck it!’ said Max loudly as Junior tore along the hall and out the front door.
Tony moved to follow, and Molly started throwing useless punches at Max’s head. Kath joined in, shouting and screaming: it was bedlam. Max grabbed one of Molly’s flailing arms and dragged her off down the hall after Tony.
The front door was wide open. Out on the road, Junior was behind the wheel of a cheap car, swerving away from the pavement with a squeal of tyres. The engine was revving hard as he shot away.
Tone was off down the path and throwing open the Jag’s door. Max stopped and pointed a finger at Kath. She flinched away from him.
‘Stay here,’ he warned. ‘If I hear you’ve been mouthing off to anyone, you’re in trouble.’
Then he hauled Molls out to the car, threw her in the back seat, ran round to the front passenger door and climbed in. Tony hit the accelerator, and the Jag roared into life.