"Is he actually being fucking serious?" I asked as we walked into our bedroom. I had stayed silent for the entire drive. We had dropped Arthur off at home, picked up the kids and put them to bed before I had said anything. "He stood there and accused every single one of us of betraying this family and he then has the audacity to hand out more jobs?" I fumed as we got ready for bed. "You know what he's like, Eve." John told me with a sigh. "It's a fucking joke, John." I replied as I went over to him and held my hair out of the way for him to undo the buttons.
"And before you ask, I didn't." I added, stepping out of my dress, revealing a dark blue satin slip, and going to my dresser. "I know. I trust you." he replied, casually. "I'm not sure about this train situation." I admitted, looking at him in the mirror as I removed my jewelry. "He said we weren't going to do it, something must've changed. Fuck knows what goes on in his head." John replied, sitting on the bed to take his shoes off. He had already removed the top half of his suit and I watched his back muscles ripple for a long moment. I placed my necklace in my jewelry tray and crossed the room to the bed, getting on it the opposite side from John. I crawled over the bed until I was on my knees behind John.
I placed a kiss on his neck, my hair falling over his shoulder as I continued to trail kisses down his neck and along his shoulder. "I just want you to be safe." I whispered against his warm skin. "I will be. Me and Arthur'll look out for each other. We always do." he told me, leaning back into my embrace. "Good." I whispered, placing one more kiss on his shoulder before pulling away, sitting back on my heels to let John finish getting ready for bed. "Where d'ya think you're going?" he laughed, turning and pulling me round onto his lap with a squeal. He pressed his lips to mine, our bodies pressed together. I pushed him backwards so he was laying down on the bed, his legs still off the edge and I was sat straddling his waist. His hands roamed my body until I pulled away from him, grabbing his hands and forcing them above his head. "Now, now, Mr Shelby. I believe it's my turn to be in charge." I told him with a wink. He responded with a grin.
Tommy was at the house early the next morning, thankfully we were already up with the children when he arrived. He hardly spoke two words to us, simply asking if I was ready. I had nodded, kissing John and the children before following him from the house. The car ride was made in silence and when I asked where we were going, I was met with more silence.
"How long are you and John going to pretend for?" he asked out of the blue. His question took me back for a moment. "Pretend what?" I replied, confused. "That you're one big happy family." Tommy countered, eyes still on the road. "We are happy, Tommy." I responded and he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Fuck you." I told him, shaking my head and crossing my arms against my chest. "It takes a bit more than a good fucking to straighten out a marriage." he told me. "What the fuck do you know about our marriage? And who are you to talk to me about pretend families? When was the last time you actually saw your niece or nephews outside of family events?" I asked, disbelief in my voice. "I know that you and him are different around each other. You can be all lovey dovey and affectionate but it's an act. We can all see that." he told me. "You have no right to talk to me about my marriage, Tommy. Now shut up and fuck off." I told him, turning away from him as we pulled into a barn. Alfies car was already there and his door opened as we got out of the car.
We walked to the centre of the empty space, my hands in my pockets as Tommy flicked his cigarette to the side. "I asked you to come alone and unarmed." Tommy told Alfie as he came to a stop before us. "Yeah, well, alone I ain't ever gonna do, am I? You're not alone, so why should I be, eh? And as for the cane, don't worry about it. That is just my sciatica. It always plays up around the winter and the summer solstice." Alfie replied before turning to me. "Evie, love, how are ya? Back with the family, I see." he greeted, a hint of contempt in his voice. I ignored his baiting, getting straight to the point of why we were there. "What have you got for us, Alfie?" I asked, looking at the older man with a neutral expression.
"What did you bring me out here for?" Alfie asked, avoiding the question. "It's on the way to somewhere I need to be in a hurry." Tommy replied, trying not to show his annoyance. "What have you got for us?" he repeated. "Well, seeing as you was prepared to pay such an exorbitant amount for this information, I decided to give you value for money." Alfie told him, taking a step forward and reaching into his pocket. "So, here are the names of all the men in England whom I would approach, right, if I had a Faberge egg for sale." he added, holding out the paper to Tommy.
I stepped forward taking the paper from his hand and looking over it, ignoring the look I got from the man. "And then, here's all the men on that list, you know, who would buy the old Faberge egg even if they knew that that item was stolen, eh." he said, handing me the other bit of paper which I looked over as well. "Then in come your curious fucking gyppo question. I won't ask, but, um.. Here is a list of the men who would buy a Faberge because of their wife's obsession. I'll give that to Evelyn as well, shall I?" Alfie continued, handing me another piece of paper.
I glanced down at the paper before sharing a look with Tommy. He put his hand in his pocket, drawing out the pile of notes and handing them to Alfie. "Oh, yes. Thank you, Mr Shelby, Mrs Shelby. Lovely doing business with you." Alfie grinned, placing the money in his jacket as Tommy drew his gun and pointed it at Alfie. I didn't bat an eyelid as Alfies companion decided to point his at me and not Tommy. "You left a name off the list, Alfie." I told him, looking up at the man that kept a straight face. "Did I?" he asked, his voice level.
"Yeah. We've already spoken to our people in the jewelry quarter, experienced dealers. They told us that there are only three men in Britain whose wives are obsessed with Faberge. Makes them good customers. You only gave us two. You missed the richest one off the list." I told him, not faltering under his gaze. "Yeah, well, if you knew already how come you dragged me all the way out into the fucking oggin, mate?" Alfie retorted, turning on Tommy. "Two reasons. Reason one, by withholding a name that you most certainly know, you've proven to me that you have done a deal with the Odd Fellows. It was you who told them about the tunnel. You who told them abut the fucking deal with the Soviets. Reason two, the name of the man that you are withholding must be my enemy otherwise you wouldn't be protecting him. He is now a man I can use." Tommy explained, his voice level.
"Listen, sweetie, you can't take a man..." Alfie started, turning to me. "You gave them information in exchange for a share. Information that could've got my family killed." I interrupted, my eyes hard. "Evie, there were things in that treasury, right, that God himself, spoke to me. He said, 'Alfie, you are meant to have these things.'" he reasoned. "Did he also say to fuck over the people that are helping you? You crossed the line, Alfie. I trusted you and you crossed the fucking line." I replied and his face went hard. "You fucking what?" he asked, glaring at me. "You crossed the line." I repeated, matching his hard glare. "The line?" Alfie repeated.
"They're using my boy! They could be coming for Evie's kids. Did you fucking know?" Tommy shouted, shifting his gun in his grip. "Yeah, I knew, you know. Why do you think they went for yours and not one of Evies? They were gonna go for all three, yeah, but I told them your boy would hurt more. But damned as I am, it made no fucking difference to me mate." Alfie shouted back and my blood ran cold. Tommy lunged for him, knocking Alfie on the floor as Alfies companion went for Tommy. I was helpless, Tommy had told me to come unarmed and I had. I could only watch as Alfies companion pulled Tommy off him and place his revolver under Tommy's chin.
My eyes were wide as a shot rang out and I closed my eyes as warm liquid splattered onto my face. I opened my eyes slowly, fearing the worst but I could quickly see that Tommy was alright and it was Alfie's companion that had been shot. "Oh, for crying out loud." Alfie groaned as my eyes locked with Michaels. His breathing heavy as he lowered his pistol to his side. "What the fuck is going on?" Alfie asked, getting up from the ground and my eyes were drawn back to him. Tommy got up off the ground, aiming his gun at Alfie.
"What is the matter with you, Tommy, eh? Eh? You got fucking angry, ain't you?" Alfie shouted, walking over to Tommy and getting in his face. "Yeah, I got fucking angry…" Tommy replied, pressing the barrel of his gun into Alfie's temple. "Tommy!" I shouted, going over to the pair "It's in your fucking head, mate!" Alfie shouted as I reached them. "Tommy, stop!" I told him, trying to get between the men. I tried pushing Alfie away from Tommy and this earned me a backhand around the face, sending me crashing to the ground and my head bounced off the stones.
"Tommy, I know this bastard deserves it!" I could vaguely hear Michael, Tommy and Alfie shouting as my head span. "Michael, stop him." was all I could say as I struggled to clear my head. Then Michael was by my side, helping me up and putting his hands either side of my face. "Evie, are you okay? Can you hear me?" he asked and I nodded, shaking away the cloudiness in my brain. "You got nothing to worry about when it comes to the old scary London boys." Alfie was saying before Michael turned on him.
"Which fucking side are you on, Alfie?" Michael shouted, approaching the older man. "I do not give a fuck right now, kid, right? I do not want him to spare me because of some fucking peace pact!" Alfie shouted as I made my way to Tommy. He looked at me as Alfie continued shouting. "Are you alright?" he asked, wiping some blood off my cheek. I nodded, giving him a small smile that hurt my cheek. "I want him to acknowledge that he who fights by the sword, he fucking dies by it, Tommy. So, what, they took your boy, did they, eh? They got your boy?" Alfie asked, approaching me and Tommy. "And what fucking line am I supposed to have crossed?" he shouted in Tommy's face as Michael came and stood behind me, ready to move me out of the way in case the two started fighting again.
"How many fathers, right, how many sons, yeah, have you cut, killed, murdered, fucking butchered, innocent and guilty, to send straight to fucking hell, ain't ya? Just like me!" Alfie shouted as Tommys face stayed blank. "You fucking stand there, you judging me, stand there ad talk to me abut crossing some fucking line. The three of you there lecturing me on crossing a line, yeah, it's fucking comical, mate. If you pull that trigger, right, you pull that trigger for a fucking honorable reason. Like an honorable man, not like some fucking civilian that does not understand the wicked way of our world, mate." Alfie continued.
"Look, Tommy, the killing of Alfie Solomons is not going to help." Michael said from behind me, his body was against my back and there was something in his voice that I had never heard before. "It'll be very bad for business." he added. "Michael, go and call Inspector Moss." Tommy said, looking down at me. "Tell him it's Palmer." he added, Michaels presence moved from behind me and signalled for me to go as well. I gave him a final look before going with Michael. I put a hand on Michaels arm as he paused over the body. He didn't look as me as he continued walking.