The Locksmith Linda Calvey (phonics readers .txt) 📖

Ruby glanced over at Charlie. She knew just what he was thinking. If those paintings cost a few million then she would bet anything that Marcus would be paid that at least to rob them from his own client. He had to offer them more. But was it worth the risk? There was big money at stake – but big repercussions too. There would be a lot of attention on this theft, more than any job they’d done before. If they got caught then they’d be in for a long stretch. Who would look after George if they went to prison?

Ruby sat back. She stared over at the summerhouse, which she’d had repainted and surrounded by beautiful urns spilling over with flowers. She saw what crooked money had bought her so far. She knew there was always a risk, but was this too dangerous?

Charlie sensed her fears. ‘Listen, Ruby, I wouldn’t put you or your family in unnecessary danger. This job is one hundred per cent, and I’ll guarantee that.’

Marcus nodded. ‘Ruby, it’s easy pickings, just very lucrative pickings. Yes, sure, you don’t want to get caught, but none of us do.’

Ruby looked between the two men. She took her time, weighing up the situation. There was more risk for Bobby and, by extension, for her and George. Their fee had to reflect that.

‘All right, if we do this job, and I ain’t sayin’ we will, but if we do it, we want a bigger cut,’ she said.

‘How much bigger?’ Marcus asked.

‘Name your price, Ruby,’ encouraged Charlie. ‘This job will change your life, and your little brother’s. You won’t ever want for money again.’

It was certainly a persuasive argument.

‘Bobby will do it if you pay him half a million pounds. We won’t take any less,’ Ruby said, feeling her cheeks flush with excitement and terror. She was glad of the sun’s glare, as no one would be able to tell.

Charlie nodded discreetly, a gesture she caught out of the corner of her eye. She felt giddy at the sums being discussed, but she knew she had to let Marcus know she wasn’t some mug who was glad of the work. Her entire family was at stake – they couldn’t mess this up. It was a far cry from her wage at the import office, almost an inconceivable amount of money. Charlie was right. It would change their life for ever.

At that moment, Bobby reappeared, holding George, who was reaching his arms out for her. She stood to take him from Bobby, planting a big kiss on his chubby cheek, and turned to Marcus. ‘Do we ’ave a deal?’

Bobby looked over, taking in the tense silence, the look of expectation on Charlie’s face, the frown on Marcus’s.

‘We have a deal, Miss Murphy,’ the art dealer said eventually, planting a smile on his face, and coming over to kiss Ruby’s cheek. In another world, perhaps another time, I would fall for your charms, but not now, thought Ruby to herself as she raised her cheek. She brushed her lips against his fashionable stubble and almost laughed out loud. Five hundred thousand pounds! An absolute fortune.

She raised her glass. ‘Cheers. To another successful business arrangement.’ She flicked her eyes over to Bobby, who raised his eyebrows, wondering what they were celebrating. He knew enough by now though to judge Ruby’s expression and so he stayed silent, picking up his glass and bringing the bubbles to his lips.

‘Cheers, ’ere’s to business,’ Charlie said, ‘and I’d better not forget to say, but you’re all invited to our villa in Spain. Maureen is most insistent. You won’t disappoint her, will ya?’

‘To business,’ Marcus echoed.

‘. . . and pleasure.’ Ruby smiled. ‘Of course we’d love to join you in Spain.’

She moved off with George, leaving the men to their conversation as the sun shone. She knew that every job they did meant their future was more and more secure.

CHAPTER 22

‘Come on, girl, ’ave another glass,’ Charlie grinned as he held the bottle of champagne. ‘We’ve got to celebrate another successful job, and the biggest one yet!’

Ruby giggled. The bubbles had already gone to her head. The heist had gone as planned. Bobby had worked his magic, disabling the alarm system and opening the door to the apartment where the paintings were being stored. Within five minutes the two paintings had been cut out of their frames, rolled up and stashed in the bag carried by Bobby’s accomplice, one of Marcus’s best men.

‘And now we can go shoppin’ for a villa for you,’ Maureen beamed, raising her glass. ‘What a shame Bobby couldn’t ’ave been ’ere too, but I bet he’s enjoyin’ doin’ the house up while you’re away.’

Ruby shook her head. She could hardly believe her luck. They were sitting on one of the balconies of Charlie and Maureen’s villa in Spain, the remains of a seafood dinner cooked by their resident chef on the table, as the sun went down. They’d arrived only a few hours earlier but already she felt like she might never want to go home.

The fee had already been siphoned through a crooked accountant contact of Charlie’s, who’d run it through various offshore accounts. By 12 p.m. the next day, the money would be clean and polished, and sitting in Ruby’s new, legitimate account in the UK, minus the twenty per cent accountancy fee, of course.

‘Look, you need somewhere to put that money,’ Charlie said, ‘and we’ve come up with the perfect place. This is a very exclusive development, very expensive and no questions asked. I’ve already ’ad a word with the bloke who owns it, another crook originally from Poplar too, and he’s ’appy to take your money. So, tomorrow, that’s settled, you and Maureen can chose a holiday home.’

‘How can I refuse?’ Ruby laughed.

She’d swum in the sea for the first time in her life that afternoon as Maureen built a sandcastle for George on the beach. The next morning, Ruby