Jakes Revenge ( Part 13)

It was another night of getting Stevie pissed and Jake just pretending. They eventually got back to the apartment at six, by three minutes past Stevie was unconscious on his bed.

Jake was exhausted, but couldn’t afford to close his eyes in case he overslept. He sat in his bedroom and picked up the scrap of paper that had all of Lenny Taylor’s phone numbers on it. He was convinced that somewhere on the list he would find what he was looking for. Surely Lenny would have the phone numbers of his two old company directors. He knew Karate Kid’s name was Paul Barrett but still had no idea who the quiet man was.

The list contained three Pauls. Paul, Paulie and Paul X. Next he started to look for obvious nick names. There was Big P, Tiger, Knuckles and Nutter. It could be any of them. He put the list away; he would have more time to go through it back home in a couple of days. Now he had to get rid of anything that connected him to Lenny. So his watch, chain and phone had to be gotten rid of, permanently.

He left the apartment at seven thirty and headed for the Marina. He’d noticed when they first arrived that the first sightseeing boat went out at eight o’clock. “See the Dolphins” was the large message on the sign, “Hourly boat trips along the coast.”

He got to the place with a few minutes to spare. There were only three other people waiting. A typical Spanish looking man wearing a sailor’s cap spoke to him in an almost perfect English accent.

“Come to see the Dolphins sir? Beautiful morning for it.”

“Yes mate, one hour trip is it?”

“Yes sir, one hour, twelve euros, obviously can’t guarantee about the dolphins but we’ll do our best. Come on board and sit where you like.”

“Cheers mate.”

Jake found a seat at the front of the boat well away from the other three tourists. It was a lovely morning, clear blue sky and already eighteen degrees. The boat set off and moved slowly out of the harbour. Twenty minutes later they were well out at sea and everyone’s eyes were looking for the elusive dolphins. Jake had the phone, watch and chain in a small plastic bag and when he was sure that no one noticed he lowered it over the side. He let go and watched it start it’s downward voyage. The weight of the gold watch and chain quickly made the bag sink out of sight. Now he could relax. For the next thirty minutes he slept soundly until the captain shook him gently.

“Sir, sir, the trip is over we are back at the marina.”

Jake woke and smiled.

“Thanks mate, best trip ever.”

The captain looked confused; they hadn’t spotted a single dolphin. Strange these English!

Jake returned to the apartment, fell onto his bed and was asleep in minutes.

It seemed he had just closed his eyes when Stevie woke him.

“Come on Jakey boy, we’ve only got a couple of days left, can’t sleep all day, fucking lazy bones.”

Jake rubbed his eyes.

“What’s the time?”

“Quarter past two, let’s go and get something to eat.”

Jake showered and dressed and the two of them walked the short distance to a local bar. Five euros got them each a full English breakfast and a pint of the local beer.

The next two days seemed to fly by, Jake was now more relaxed but still couldn’t let his hair down, he kept thinking about Lenny’s list. Stevie was drunk most of the time and when they eventually landed at Gatwick they were both completely exhausted.

It was mid-afternoon when he finally got back home to east London and the first thing he did was went to bed. He slept solidly till the next morning.

He woke early, he had things to do. Now it was time to get to work. He had a cup of tea with Mum and Dad and then went into town. He bought a cheap pay as you go phone with sim card and put fifty pounds worth of credit on it. He would also need a computer, he needed the internet and Mum and Dad could never afford one. He still had plenty of money left over and bought a laptop from PC World and a 3G dongle. He made his way to the pub. It was now after twelve. He got himself a pint and sat in a quiet corner while he set up the laptop.

He took the phone list out of his pocket and scanned it thoroughly. Somewhere on this list should be the names of at least one of the three amigos. He could discount a third of them straightaway. Names like Aunty Pat, Cousin Dave, Easyjet, Club Paradise, Billy’s Bar etc. So now he was left with twenty two names. He would concentrate firstly on the three Pauls and then go through the nick names.

He called the first Paul. The phone rang and was answered.

“Hello?”

“Is that Paul Barrett?”

“No mate.”

“Sorry, wrong number.”

Okay, one down two more Paul’s to go.He dialled Paul X.

“Yeh?”

“Paul Barrett?”

“No.”

Paul X hung up abruptly. Two down.

He rang Paulie. It rang and was answered but no one spoke, just silence.

“Hello, is that Paul Barrett?”

“Who’s this?”

“Is that Paul Barrett? I’m a friend of Lenny Taylor.”

“Lenny Taylor? What about Lenny Taylor?”

“Sorry Paul, I work with him in Spain, this is Paul Barrett?”

“Yeh, what do you want?”

Bingo.

“I’m so sorry to call you but I’m trying to contact as many of Lenny’s friends as possible, I’m afraid Lenny has passed away.”

“You’re fucking joking me, Big Lenny Taylor, gone?”

“I’m afraid so, I’m just going through his phone numbers and trying to let everyone know.”

“What was it, heart attack or something?”

“No, looks like a mugging that went wrong, that’s all the Police are saying at the moment.”

“Fuck me, he was as hard as nails was Lenny, you’d need to be a brave cunt to tackle Lenny.”

“I know, but you know what Lenny was like, never back off would he, might have been a few of them.”

“Cunts, poor old Lenny.”

“Lenny spoke of you often said you used to be in business together years back.”

“Something like that, when’s the funeral?”

“We’re not sure yet, the Police still need to do their bit but I’m going to send out all the details to everyone as soon as it’s arranged, if you give me your address Paul I’ll send them through as soon as it’s all sorted.”

“Spain or England?”

“England, I was thinking maybe we’d sort out a get together or something at the old rugby Club that you all used, I think Lenny would have liked that.”

“Yeh he would have, okay send the details to me at 146 Ridgepoint Road, Bexleyheath, Kent.”

“Thanks Paul, just one other thing. Lenny always mentioned another guy whenever he spoke about you, always talked about the laughs the three of you used to have, can you remember his name, I’d like to invite him as well if I can.”

There was a pause as if he was thinking.

“That would have been Charlie Spinks, no idea what’s happened to him haven’t seen him for about seven years now.”

“That’s it, Charlie, he mentioned you and him a lot, I’ll see if I can track him down, thanks for all your help Paul, I’ll be in touch.”

“Yeh, no problem, it’s a shame about Lenny, always thought he was indestructible, what’s your name son?”

Jake hesitated for a moment.

“Tony, Tony Watts.”

“Cheers Tone, let me know the arrangements and I’ll make sure I’m there.”

Jake switched off the phone.

He now knew where Karate Kid lived and had a name for quiet man. Charlie Spinks. He was ready for the next part of this journey.