Born to Dance (16 page)

Foxy Gordon drove back to the gym with a satisfied grin. Quite by chance, he thought he’d found where Gerry Pike had stashed the money from the robberies. How very neat. He hadn’t been able to turn the tailor’s dummy upside down, but he felt sure that at the base, which had been broad, he would find a keyhole. He had tried to lift it but it weighed a ton, as opposed to the others which were much lighter. Now what was he to do with the information? No way would he touch it. He was running a legit business these days, and the last thing he wanted was to lose this status – not with a world-class boxer in his stable. But he didn’t want Wally Cole to have it either.

The police received an anonymous call later that day that caused much excitement. The Detective Inspector in charge of the bank robberies’ case called a meeting immediately.

‘With regard to the bank robberies, we have received information about the stolen money.’ He then told his men about the phone call. ‘It would seem that the villain responsible was, as we thought, young Gerry Pike. If our informant is correct, the money is hidden in a tailor’s dummy in Whitechapel. We, of course, will have to examine said dummy, and then if our informant’s guess is correct, we’ll have to wait for it to be collected. There is word going around that the cash is due to be laundered soon, so if we’re lucky we won’t have too long to wait.’

Plans were then put in place for the tailor’s shop to be visited by two detectives, and if the information was solid, a rota would be set up so the shop would be watched twenty-four hours a day.

Young Barry Williams was having the time of his life! He’d spent the night sleeping at Miss Bonny’s flat with her and her friend Shirley, and now, after a hearty breakfast, he was to go out with Mickey O’Halleran to another place. If only Jackie was here too, he thought.

Mickey slipped the lad out of the flat the back way and into a waiting car, before making for the gym.

‘Am I going to learn to box?’ asked Barry excitedly.

‘Would you like to?’

He turned his head on one side to consider the offer. ‘I’m not sure … You get hurt sometimes if you box, don’t you?’

Mickey pursed his lips. ‘I’m afraid so, my son. It’s part of the game.’

Barry shook his head vigorously. ‘Then I don’t want to. I don’t like to be hurt.’

Putting a comforting arm on the boy’s shoulder, Mickey said, ‘That’s fine and I don’t blame you one bit. What do you like?’

‘I like comics! And sweets.’

‘Then that’s what you’ll have if you are a good boy and do as you are told. OK?’

‘OK.’

Once Barry was settled at the gym and seemed content, Foxy and Mickey sat down together.

‘I really feel we should let Jackie know his brother’s safe,’ Mickey suggested.

‘No, we’ll wait a while, it won’t be for long,’ Foxy insisted. Then he told Mickey about his call to the police. ‘Gerry is about to move the money; I heard about it this morning. The police are just waiting for him to do so, then Jackie will be fine, and Barry too. Just be patient, it’ll soon be over.’

With a frown Mickey asked, ‘What happens if Wally Cole finds out he lost the stash because of you?’

With a shrug Foxy grinned. ‘How will he find out? The call was anonymous!’

Wally Cole now knew where Barry Williams was being hidden! The two men watching Bonny and Mickey had been unaware of his presence in Bonny’s dressing room, as the lad had slipped in there before she had arrived and therefore the theatre had not been under surveillance, and neither had they recognized Barry leaving the theatre dressed as a woman, when Shirley had taken him home. But they had seen Mickey enter Bonny’s flat, and the man watching the back entrance had seen the boxer take the boy to a waiting car and had then followed him to Foxy’s gym.

All this had been reported to their boss, who was livid that Foxy had become involved. ‘That bastard is interfering with my business!’ he shouted. ‘I’ll make him pay dearly for that.’ He was already
frustrated, as Jackie had been unable to find the hiding place where the ill-gotten gains were being hidden.

‘What do you want to do about the boy, guv?’ asked one man.

‘Leave him where he is. Jackie is obviously oblivious to the fact that he’s safe, so he’ll keep digging.’ But the situation was unsatisfactory. Cole was aware that the money would have to be laundered – and soon. But where the hell was it?

The villain didn’t have to wait long for his problem to be solved, as a few days later Gerry went to the tailor’s for a fitting, with his right-hand man in tow, and left carrying the tailor’s dummy. As he tried to load it into the back of his car, the waiting police pounced, taking it and both men to the local police station for questioning.

The detectives working on the case gathered round with great excitement as the key was removed from the belt Gerry was wearing, inserted in the lock under the base of the dummy … and opened. Neatly packed inside were thousands of pounds in bank notes, each stack wearing a paper band with the stamp of the bank on it.

Detective Inspector Phillips smiled at Gerry Pike. ‘You’re nicked, mate!’ And then he read him his rights.

Wally Cole went berserk when he heard the news. ‘That crafty little bugger! Whoever would have thought to look around a tailor’s shop for the loot?’ But he had the consolation that Gerry and his associate would go down for the robbery, thus removing the young blade from causing him any more trouble for quite a while. But he wondered just how the police had known of the money’s whereabouts. Who had discovered the secret? He pondered over this for a long time and then decided to pay a call on Foxy Gordon. He had a niggling suspicion that the fight promoter was behind it in some way. Call it a gut reaction …

Foxy Gordon was like a cat with two tails, he was so delighted with the outcome of his anonymous call to the police. Gerry Pike would be behind bars, there would be no gang war between the two factions, and Cole hadn’t been able to get his hands on the money. Terrific! He looked at his watch and then made his way downstairs to the gym. He was more than a little surprised to see Wally Cole himself and a couple of his henchmen walk in. With a scowl he asked, ‘What are you doing here?’

Cole studied him closely. ‘I wondered if you had been to Whitechapel lately – to be measured for a suit, perhaps?’

Gordon’s eyes narrowed as he met the other’s gaze. ‘I don’t understand the question.’

But knowing Foxy of old, Wally was certain that his gut feeling had been correct. ‘I know you’re hiding young Barry here.’ He noted the surprised look on the other’s face. He prodded Foxy in the chest. ‘I don’t like it when anyone interferes in my business. You of all people should know that.’

‘You mean like when young Gerry Pike turned over the two banks on your patch!’ Foxy couldn’t hide the note of triumph in his voice.

And then Wally Cole knew for sure that Foxy had been meddling. His expression was thunderous as he stared at the promoter. ‘You’ll pay for this, I promise.’

‘Pay for what?’ Foxy couldn’t hide his grin, which only infuriated the villain more.

Wally turned and stormed out of the building.

Shortly after, Jackie was reunited with his brother. Mickey had put a note through the door of Jackie’s house telling him where Barry was, and finding it later, he had driven over to the gym immediately.

No one could doubt the love the two had for each other when Jackie was taken upstairs to see Barry. The young lad threw himself into his brother’s arms. ‘Where have you been?’ he demanded. Then, without waiting for an answer, told Jackie how he’d spent a night with Miss Bonny and then driven with Mickey to the gym.

‘I’ve had lots to eat!’ he proclaimed, ‘and I’ve had sweets and comics.’ He looked accusingly at his brother. ‘You didn’t come back!’

Jackie tried to explain. ‘I wanted to but I had to try and find something for Mr Cole first. Unfortunately I didn’t, and then I heard you’d run away. I didn’t know where you were or I’d have come to see you.’

Barry looked at him with a sulky expression. ‘I didn’t like it there with that man. You should have come and taken me away!’

Mickey intervened. ‘He couldn’t help it, Barry. He had to do as he was told, just like you had to when you came here. Anyway, your brother’s here now and you’ll be able to go home.’

The lad looked around. ‘I like it here. I think I’ll stay!’

Laughing, Mickey said, ‘Sorry, son, you have to go. We are now very busy and there would be no one to buy you comics or sweets any more.’

The boy’s face fell. ‘Oh, in that case I’ll go with Jackie. He’ll buy me some, won’t you?’ he asked, turning to his brother.

‘Only if you behave. Now, thank Mr Gordon for having you, and then we’ll be off.’

It was the night of Mickey O’Halleran’s defence of his title and the excitement in the arena was palpable. Would the champ beat his opponent, Jake Forbes? Forbes was no pushover and Mickey knew he would have to box to the best of his ability to outpoint him.

As the fight was taking place late on a Saturday night, Bonny was unable to be present until after the show was over and hoped she would be there in time to see Mickey box. There were minor bouts taking place earlier in the evening, building up to the grand climax.

Giles Gilmore had laid on a car to take him and Bonny to the arena immediately the final curtain fell, knowing that Bonny wouldn’t rest until she was seated at the ringside, and he wanted to ensure that his star was happy. He had been making overtures to those who mattered on Broadway about taking the production to New York. So far, the interest had been favourable and he was excited by the prospect.

At last the performance came to its conclusion and Bonny hastily removed her stage make-up, swiftly changed, climbed into the car with Giles and headed for the arena, her heart pounding. She felt more nervous for Mickey and the outcome of his bout than when she was waiting to go on stage and she would be glad when the whole thing was over.

Settling into their seats, Giles turned to Bonny and, seeing the tension in her eyes, patted her hand. ‘Relax, Mickey will be fine.’

‘I can’t help worrying that he will be hurt. Boxing is a brutal sport, but it’s Mickey’s life.’

The trumpeters suddenly began a fanfare and a buzz went round the crowd as first Jake Forbes made his way to the ring, shadow-boxing as he went. The announcer, resplendent in evening dress, heralded Forbes’s arrival over the microphone from the ring and the crowd cheered. Then, after another fanfare, Mickey was announced and the crowd got to their feet and cheered wildly.

Mickey walked sedately to the ring, waving to his fans as he did so, but once he was in the ring he shadow-boxed to loosen himself up, ready for the fight. He walked to his corner and looked down at Bonny. He winked and blew her a kiss. The flash of the many newsmen’s cameras caught the gesture, which would make front-page news the next day.

The champion glanced around the ringside seats and saw Foxy sitting fidgeting in his seat, busily talking to the man beside him, and a couple of rows back sat Wally Cole. Mickey felt his hackles rise, thinking how the villain encouraged young Charlie Black to gamble. Mickey was convinced Cole was behind the young boxer’s death, although a verdict of suicide had been brought in by the coroner. Wally Cole returned Mickey’s gaze, his expression cold and calculating.

The two boxers were called to the centre of the ring where the referee spoke to them. ‘I want a clean fight, no low punches, and when I say break I mean it!’

The men walked back to their corners and the seconds left the ring. The bell rang for the first round … and Bonny held her breath.

It was a fight that would go down in the record books as memorable. Forbes was a canny boxer with a powerful left hook, which he used as often as possible But O’Halleran was quicker on his feet. The men were fairly equal in the opening rounds until Mickey pulled slightly ahead in the markings.

Bonny was exhausted watching. Her stomach was in knots as she watched Mickey duck and dive and prance around the ring. But she jumped to her feet with a cry of surprise, as did hundreds of others, as Forbes caught Mickey a sharp blow to the chin and the Irishman was knocked to the ground!

‘One, two, three, four,’ counted the referee.

Bonny thought she was going to be sick.

‘Five, six …’

Mickey got to his feet to cheers that rang round the venue, echoing in every corner. Bonny sank back in her seat, barely able to breathe. Her relief as the bell rang for the end of the round was her saving grace.

‘Are you all right?’ Giles asked anxiously, seeing how pale she looked.

‘No, I’m a nervous wreck! I thought Mickey had had his chips then, he took so long to get up.’

‘He was waiting to get his breath back, that’s why he stayed down.’

‘Really? I thought he was in trouble.’

‘He just caught a lucky blow; he’ll be fine, just you wait and see.’

‘I’m not sure I’ll live long enough!’

It was round eight and Forbes was tiring. O’Halleran certainly looked the fitter of the two, despite being dropped to the canvas earlier. The champ was now scoring more points and suddenly his fist shot out and caught Forbes on the point of the chin. The boxer sank to his knees and the referee sent Mickey to a neutral corner.

Bonny covered her mouth with her hand and quietly kept count with the referee. ‘Seven, eight, nine … ten!’ She jumped to her feet, yelling at the top of her voice, which was drowned by the cheers of the other spectators.

The referee caught hold of Mickey O’Halleran’s arm and held it aloft. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the winner – and still middleweight champion … Mickey O’Halleran.’

Bonny threw her arms around Giles and hugged him.

People of note, and other champion boxers, climbed into the ring to congratulate the winner. A microphone was put in front of Mickey and he was asked how he felt about the fight. ‘Jake Forbes was a great opponent and I had to be on top of my game to beat him.’ The two men shook hands. ‘But I would like to dedicate this fight to my beautiful fiancée, Miss Bonny Burton!’ He smiled down at her and threw her a kiss.