Frederick's Coat Read Online Free

‘What’s the big hurry? Have you told her what you do for a living?’
    ‘I told her I work for you and that you’re a bookie.’
    ‘But I bet you didn’t mention the life she’ll be signing up to. Why do you think I brought you up on my own? I’ll tell you. Because it’s not fair on a woman to have children while her man’s risking his liberty breaking the law.’
    ‘I thought you booted her out because of her drug problem?’ Johno meant his mother.
    ‘That’s right. But I didn’t bring in a replacement, just girlfriends who didn’t stay long, and you only ever took to one. Why not just live with the girl?’
    Johno wasn’t blind to the fact that over the years his father had treated his girlfriends more like trophies to show off to his mates, and the less heard of the better. ‘Because she’s pregnant,’ Johno said.
    ‘God almighty,’ said Laurie. ‘You’re hardly out of nappies.’
    Shane’s reaction was similar. ‘Married with a kid before you’re twenty-one is kind of too fast, isn’t it?’ Johno guessed maybe he felt pushed to the side.
    Shane was much relieved when Johno said, ‘We’ve still got the fun part of our crim careers to come.’
    Seemed to Johno he could have it both ways: live with the girl he loved and be a professional criminal, especially when they landed the job smack dab in with the crooked dock workers at the Balmain wharves. Course he could have it both ways.
    Try making seventeen thousand — each, he and Shane — from just getting into a truck and driving it off the wharf to a warehouse out in the west, and see if your feet stay on the ground. You feel invincible and so fucking clever. On their first job, nervous wrecks wearing stevedore orange overalls, making out they were helping unload a cargo ship, fooling around badly with mooring ropes thick as a man’s thigh while they waited for the signal to make it official: membership of the underworld, no less. When, really, it felt ridiculous, and it wasn’t as if they were up against any form of resistance or threat.
    A few hours later, mid-afternoon, unable to stop laughing, gettingfits of the giggles at what a cinch the job was. Now it was over, business done, paid by the fence, handed over the fifty per cent dockies’ share in cash, settled into a pub known as an underworld watering hole, downing schooner after schooner, patting their bulging pockets, unable to stop laughing.
    Shane wanting to haul his wad of dough out. ‘Can I just flash it, J?’
    No, he fucking couldn’t. Not that Johno didn’t feel like doing the same, but he didn’t entirely banish common sense, even at a moment like this, and he didn’t like showing off.
    But nor did he go home to his new bride that night either; he and Shane picked up some girls and went back to their place. And because Evelyn didn’t give him such a hard time over it, since he lied and said he fell asleep on the sofa at Shane’s house, he thought he could set the rules — and always would. He loved her, of course he loved her. But that growing belly had taken away something. And for all his promises to be a good dad, he just couldn’t make a bond with little Leah when she was born. Maybe it had something to do with his own mother being absent, except for her one shock appearance rising from the grave.
    Next, the duo accosted by three detectives in summer police issue short-sleeved white shirts, two with loosened ties, one no tie, all big blokes. ‘Still living with your mummy and daddy, Shane McNeil?’
    Covering up his surprise, Shane said, ‘So would you once you’d tried my mum’s cooking.’ Got a hard stare from the detective, but Shane blinked first — only at an eye signal from Johno.
    ‘And you, Johno Ryan? Does your old man charge you and your granddad board at your Balmain residence? Nah, wouldn’t take money off his own family, would he? He’s a Ryan before he’s anything. All his good-for-nothing life going on about being honourable. Yet