‘Alex, what was you in Oakwood fer? Was it thievin’ like the rest of us? Yer never tell me when I ask, but what was yer in fer?’
Alex had learned fast how to impress. ‘Murder — I killed a bloke. Now, you got those sandwiches ready?’
Sid’s jaw dropped and he hurriedly packed up the food. ‘Christ, if old man Taylor snuffed it, you’d better stay well clear of the cops. Won’t be no reform school next time fer you, Alex, you’ll do time, real time, in prison.’
When Sid delivered the sandwiches, wanting to impress Johnny he told him what Alex had said. Johnny feigned indifference. ‘That right, Sid? Well, I always said the boy had somethin’. Maybe he should start looking out for me instead of that boozed-up Harry — I’ll talk to him.’
That night Johnny approached Alex with a proposition. Now they were making the rounds together every Friday, he wondered if Alex would like to start working even closer, on a day-to-day basis. He needed people he could trust. Alex was quick to agree.
Alex’s education gained a great deal as he went from house to house with Johnny, meeting all the girls Johnny and his gang controlled. They were all shapes and sizes, even, to Alex’s amazement, a black girl and two Chinese. They all seemed to dote on Johnny. Alex was seventeen years old and still a virgin, but no one would know it.
Sid was growing jealous of Alex. He was still making the sandwiches and running small errands for Johnny. When he complained, Johnny grinned and said if he wanted to do something more ambitious there might just be something suitable. ‘I need a lookout, little warehouse we’re gonna knock off, so stand by and I’ll give you the nod when I need you.’
Sid couldn’t wait to tell Alex, implying that Johnny had been keeping him under wraps for bigger things. Alex polished his two-tone shoes and listened, then said quietly, ‘I wouldn’t do it, Sid. Collecting cash from the girls is one thing, but getting involved in robbery is another.’
‘You mind yer own friggin’ business, Mister Big Shot, Mister Know-It-All... Johnny dropped me the wink that I might end up a partner in the business, so you just keep yer nose out of it. You do your job an’ I’ll do mine.’
Alex slipped his shoes on, saying nothing. He had outgrown Sid and he knew it. At the same time, he knew he owed Sid a lot. Without him he would never have met Johnny.
Alex took the takings to Johnny, forgot to knock on the door, and apologized when he saw that Johnny was in bed with a girl. ‘Sorry, Johnny, I’ll come back later.’
‘Not with my money you won’t, get yer arse in ‘ere, help yerself to a drink an’ I’ll get me trousers on.’ Johnny wandered around stark-naked, and Alex flicked an embarrassed glance at the bed. Dora lolled back and yawned. Alex poured himself an orange juice.
‘Now, that’s what I like to see, dedicated — see, Dora, offer the lad a drink an’ ‘e takes an orange juice! Good on yer, son. Alex, say hello to Dora.’
Alex knew who she was, Mrs Harris’ girl, but he flushed at her nakedness and looked down at his shoes.
‘Aw, bashful, ain’t ‘e?’
Dora hadn’t the slightest idea who Alex was, it had been ten years since she had seen him. His face had altered, anyway, his broken nose had been flattened in the fight with Mr Taylor.
‘Put something round yer tits, Dora, can’t yer see you’re embarrassin’ the lad?’
Hot under the collar, Alex still tried to avert his eyes, but felt himself drawn to Dora’s perfect breasts. Johnny laughed, and immediately knew it was a mistake. He saw Alex tighten, clench his fists. ‘Can I talk in front of her, Johnny?’
Johnny nodded as he pulled his socks on.
‘You really think it’s a good idea to use Sid on this caper next week? He’s only a kid, you know.’
Johnny stamped into his shoe. ‘Nobody’s makin’ him do it, Alex, it’s his choice, unless you want the job, do yer?’
‘No way, I’m nobody’s lookout, Johnny... here you go, fivers one packet, tenners the next, the ones in the big pack.’
Johnny caught the packets of money. ‘You’re a strange one, Alex, you know that? You got brains. What you after, eh? Somethin’ bigger? More’n a few cases of booze, yeah?’
Alex gasped as Dora casually flung off the bedclothes and wrapped a silk dressing gown around herself. He knew he was flushing bright pink so he made a hasty exit, saying he’d see Johnny later.
‘Where’d you find him, Johnny? He’s a good-lookin’ kid.’
Johnny was checking the accounts. As usual, Alex had done them in meticulous detail and he wasn’t ripping Johnny off, which made a change. ‘Never mind the kid, get yerself dolled up, Dora, and sharpish, I got a party of Yanks comin’ in ternight.’
He splashed cologne on his face and straightened his tie, and she threw off her gown and walked into the bathroom. She could see there was no point talking to him any more now, it was back to business. She ran water into the cracked washbasin and sighed; she wished Johnny didn’t make her work every night.
‘I’m off, sweetheart, clean yerself up, ta-ra!’
Dora stared at her lovely face in the fly-specked mirror, then rinsed out the face cloth and washed herself.
She was dressed up to the nines when she went to the basement club in Hackney. The place had been really smartened up, not like most of Johnny’s dives. This one had had real money spent on it, and there were quite a few punters already coming into the small bar. She saw Alex again, and smiled, asked if he’d like to join her for a drink before business started. He said he couldn’t, he had to go and collect from one of the other places.
‘Another time then, okay?’ Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she had a vague idea that she knew him from somewhere, but she forgot about it as the air-raid sirens sounded and the lights dimmed. They all waited to see if they would have to go to the shelter, but the all clear sounded quickly and the partying began.
Alex made the rounds. Everything Johnny was involved in was makeshift, all his properties were derelict, even the small office was a temporary affair. He lived in a small bedsitter next to the office. After his daily collections, Alex would go to Johnny’s office and work on the accounts. He had his own key and came and went as he chose. One afternoon he had just closed the door when he heard a voice from the bedroom. ‘That you, Johnny?’
Alex flushed as Dora appeared, wearing only a bra and panties. She was smoking as usual, and her hair was hanging loose like Veronica Lake’s. She looked around for an ashtray and Alex dived across the room to hand her one.
‘Well, ain’t you the gent, thanks. Why don’t you come an’ sit with me, it’s hours before I gotta work. Come on, you ain’t shy, are you?’ She smiled at him, puzzled. ‘I know you from somewhere, an’ I just can’t put me finger on it. You ever met me before?’
Alex knew exactly who she was, but he shook his head. She got up from the bed and came over to him, standing there in her brief underwear with her hands on her hips. She had the palest skin, unblemished, pink, and he wanted to touch it. But he kept his eyes lowered, staring at the tips of his polished, two-tone shoes. She started to laugh, but he wouldn’t look up, and suddenly she sat on his knee, simply sat down astride him, and held his face. ‘I’ve been wanting to do this since the first time I saw you.’
She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him, lightly and swiftly, and it took his breath away. He could smell her perfume and face powder. ‘Why don’t we move three paces across the room to the bed?’ she said.
Alex could hardly form the words, he coughed and said something about Johnny — what if he was to walk in? Dora hopped off his knee and locked the door. She strolled over to the bed and unhooked her bra. Standing with her back to him, she tossed it aside and lay on the bed, lifting her arms to him invitingly.