Gangster's Paradise (Peaky Blinders)

Favours

Nancy stopped tapping, her mouth getting ahead of her brain. Truthfully she didn't even have a will. She had no children nor any siblings left. She was alone with a few scattered cousins and an uncle on her father's side. She wasn't even entirely sure exactly who she would leave her estate too. But Sabini didn't know that.

He smiled again, as though the idea of killing her was tempting. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, cousin."

A moment of understanding crossed between them. Nancy hid her unease behind a half smile. "Feel free to come in, but don't bring no trouble. No fighting. And don't ask to do business with me again."

"You'll be hearing from me again, Nancy," he replied, rising from the chair. "Guardati le spalle." Watch your back.

Nancy gritted her teeth, remaining seated as he headed towards the door. "Likewise..."

*

The phone rang nonstop all day with well-wishers and businessmen. Some were legit, and some sounded downright dodgy. Nancy declined them all. The casino was running fine on its own without the assistance of any gang. Unbeknownst to Nancy was exactly how her husband had kept it so clean. There was rarely any trouble. Sabini stayed away, as did the Jews, she sometimes wondered if partly that was because of her, before deciding that such a thought was foolish. While Sabini promised to stay out of her way, stopping his men from gambling in her casino made no sense. They posed her no harm.

A gentle tapping sounded from the glass pane on the door, Nancy knew straight away it was Edna. "What is it?" she called out.

"Visitor," the girl replied from the other side.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Let them in." She rose from the desk at the moment the door opened, walking over to the window to admire the view. "Casinos not for sale," she blatantly said, not caring who had walked in.

"I'm not here about the casino," an unfamiliar male voice replied. Nancy turned at once to look at him. She couldn't work out who or what he was from a first glance. "Major Campbell," he greeted, extending his hand towards her.

"Major?" The word rolled over her tongue, like poison in her mouth.

"I was hoping we could talk." He looked her up and down in her black attire, shaking her hand when she finally extended hers. "I wanted to ask you a few more questions about your husband's murder."

Nancy sank back into her chair, her hand on her chest. For a moment she had almost forgotten. The reminder came like a gunshot, striking her down. "P-please, sit." She motioned to the seat opposite her where Sabini had been sat only hours ago.

"Thank you, Mrs Fitzgerald."

"W-what did you want to ask?" Nancy felt it must be something important when a Major was assigned to the case. She wondered if they were getting closer to the truth.

He produced a notepad, riffling through several pages. "It is my understanding that you expressed concerns to your groundskeeper, Alexander Royce, about the Shelby family having something to do with the murder or Darby Sabini-"

"It wasn't him," she interrupted, surprising both herself and him. "He came by earlier, told me himself he had nothing to do with it."

"And you believe him?"

She shrugged. "He's family. We share a great grandfather."

He looked at her like she was mad, perhaps she partly was. The sleepless nights and constant worrying was slowly driving her insane. "Right, well, back to the Shelby's. I've been investigating them for some time now, they're the reason I've been assigned to your husband's murder."