CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

 

While Oona enjoyed Christmas with her family, Vinnie Kelly was having a miserable time in Leicester. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and he couldn’t ever remember feeling so cold. Snow and ice gripped the country and the newspapers referred to it as the Big Freeze.

He wished he hadn’t been so hasty; he should have stayed in Dublin at least until after Christmas and enjoyed some festive fare from the hospitable Irish. Instead, he was holed up here with a woman whose cooking skills did not match her physical attributes. He had picked her up soon after arriving in the city. She lived close to the railway station, which suited him for now; easy access to the city and the dole queue.

His own room, at best, felt warmer, but he’d left owing a month’s rent and couldn’t go back. He blew into his cupped hands and peered out through the grimy curtained window, cursing the incessant snow. Without a shilling to heat the place, the cold seeped through his overcoat. He kicked a chair across the room. It made a crashing noise against the wall and splintered, doing nothing to relieve his frustration. Why couldn’t he have gone for a woman with a bit of cash, instead of one who drank and smoked most of what she earned? Her jewellery was junk, she’d nothing he could sell. He flung open the fridge. It was empty apart from a couple of bottles of cider. He drank one and dropped the other into his coat pocket.

 

After weeks of trying to track down Roly, who had committed the robbery with him, he was desperate to get his hands on his share of the money. According to a trusted source, there had been sightings of him in Leicester. And eventually, he wouldn’t be able to resist a visit to his family. Roly was a sucker like that. When that happened, Vinnie would be waiting.

At the time he’d agreed to drive the getaway van, he had known the gang members were intent on armed robbery. It had made no difference to him; he wanted the money as much as they did. Roly had managed to give the police the slip, while Vinnie had paid with two years of his life. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that, and he still harboured resentment towards Roly and the accomplice who’d helped him.

He clenched and unclenched his hands, anger burning through him. One way or another, he would not return to Dublin empty-handed. The snow was still falling. If he stayed here much longer, he would freeze to death. The only way he could keep warm was to mope around the shops until lunchtime. Then he would pay her a visit at the cafe where she worked, near the market. She might take pity on him, slip him a free dinner as she usually did.

His stomach rumbled as he closed the door behind him and trudged through the snow and treacherous conditions. He could barely feel his feet. As he walked, his mind drifted back. He hated to admit Oona was out of his league; it only made him want her more. But there was a time when he felt sure she had loved him.

How easy it had been to win her trust back then. He hadn’t been truthful with her about his past – he didn’t want to lose her. The first Christmas after they had met, she had

invited him to her house for dinner. Just thinking about the food made his mouth water and he imagined himself sinking his teeth into one of her mother’s pastries.

He lingered outside the window of the pork butcher’s. People hurrying past out of the snow stared at him. He realised how desperate he must look. The wonderful smell of the pork pies made him drool and his hunger pains came back stronger than ever.

Being broke was all due to other people letting him down. Things might have turned out differently had he waited until he was financially secure before contacting Oona. But, once he knew she had been widowed, he hadn’t been able to wait to see her again. Her rejection had bruised him badly.

Next time, his approach would be different. Next time, he wouldn’t fail. Once he arrived in Dublin, he’d rent a nice flat, surround himself with expensive ornaments and tasteful art; buy some fashionable clothes, a gold ring, or two. She was bound to be impressed and realise he was serious about winning her back, and the boy too.

He’d often wondered how they were but he’d never done anything about it, then time passed. He felt a pang of regret. He could have had it all – Oona, the boy, a nice home to come back to at night.

She had parents who cared about her, a family and friends as he remembered. No doubt she still had. Who did he have? The kid! The kid was his, all right. All he could lay claim to for now. He’d never known his own parents. As far back as he could remember he’d been fostered, and discovered early on he’d been put into care soon after birth. No-one ever came looking for him. Why should he care about anyone? He’d take what he could from life, wherever he could, and think no more of it.

At sixteen, the authorities had disowned him and sent him out onto the streets of Dublin to fend for himself. He’d tried working for a while, but then he’d turned to petty crime to make ends meet. One thing had led to another, and before long he had found himself in trouble with the Gardí. Even now, he had to watch his step, because he was known to the police on both sides of the Irish Sea.

He arrived at the Town Hall Square, his stomach rumbling. He shook the snow from his shoulders and sat down by the fountain to smoke his last cigarette, drawing the smoke around his numbed fingers. He glanced at the clock, willing the hands to move. She’d told him not to turn up at the cafe before twelve, and he had to keep her sweet.

If Roly didn’t show soon, he thought, it would be a pleasure to pay his family another visit. The weekend might be a good time to make his move. Sure as hell, he wasn’t leaving Leicester until he’d been paid, and paid in full. Right now, he wasn’t particular what he’d have to do to get it.