Gods and Monsters

XV

Wembley, London – 10 days later

It was Peggy's first time back at Nick's house since the day he had died. The stain his blood had created had mostly been cleared, although a slight crimson tinge still remained. She'd been advised not to come back so soon but felt she had to. She wouldn't get any closure, but it was better than nothing; a way she could be close to Nick until the funeral. She sat in the same spot that she had held Nick's hand in, still confused about who it was that had taken him away from her. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

She looked over at a picture of the two of them together that she could see in the living room. She got up and dragged herself over to it. It was from two years earlier. Nick had asked Peggy to be his date to his cousin's wedding. Nothing was too serious then, Nick just didn't want to be the only one in his family to turn up without a date. It turned out to be a great night, and it was the first time he had ever kissed her, albeit on the cheek and just to say goodnight. A sudden, furious anger grew inside Peggy as she realised she'd never be able to have any more experiences like that with Nick again. She threw the picture to the ground with a loud smash as the glass exploded into a million pieces, dragging the TV down onto the floor next to it. The lamp was next, as it found itself shattered first across the wall and then on the floor. Nothing was stopping Peggy now. She grabbed hold of the bookcase that lay in the corner of the room, using all her strength to pull it down, making a loud crack as it hit the floor.

Peggy slid down the wall now, tears streaming down her face. She used the remainder of her strength to kick the now empty bookcase to the side. She slumped down against the solid beige wall, panting for breath, waiting for her strength to return. She had so many thoughts going through her head that it was tough to focus on anything in particular. She decided to try and divert her attention from her thoughts so she looked at the damage she had just caused. The bookcase had been so heavy, it had broken a floorboard in half. Peggy crawled over to the now cracked floorboard, pulling it out of its place. There was something underneath. She clawed away at the surrounding floorboards, pulling them up so she could reach in and grab what was there. Pulling upwards, Peggy found she had grabbed hold of a bright red toolbox.

What the fuck? Peggy wasn't sure she even wanted to have a look inside. She undid the latch on the box, swinging the lid open to find a handgun. This stunned Peggy almost more than anything she had seen before today. What was Nick doing with a gun? He didn't have any firearms training, as far as Peggy knew, and if he did, why was it hidden in a toolbox underneath his floor? She grabbed a towel from the downstairs bathroom, not keen on using a kitchen towel after what had happened last time. She picked the gun up using the towel and put it to one side, revealing what else lay beneath. A bag of cash, possibly a couple of thousand pounds lay underneath, alongside some newspaper clippings, and a small navy box with some beautiful silver and gold embroidery. Peggy thought she knew what was in the box, but couldn't bring herself to open it.

She focused on the newspaper clippings instead. They were generally all about the Krays, the notorious London brothers who ran organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 60s. There was nothing too out of the ordinary here. A few headlines about crimes they were being accused of and a few about which celebrity had been spotted in Esmeralda's Barn, the nightclub they owned. She dug a little deeper using the towel to avoid getting her fingerprints on anything until she found a few photos, seemingly cut from the newspapers, which were now being kept together with an elastic band. Peggy knew she couldn't look through them all now, but the first picture was enough to shock her. A picture of Ronnie and Reggie Kray with some of their known associates. Among them, one face stood out. The man's dark skin and shaved head were instantly recognisable to Peggy.

"It can't be," Peggy muttered under her breath as she looked long and hard at the picture until she was sure it was who she thought. The man just to the left of Ronnie Kray was William Yates, Peggy's boss, looking not a day older than he did now.

Continued in Part 15