by Jacqui Rose
Carefully, he moved forward and as he got closer, he realised what it was. He’d been in this business long enough to recognise that shape anywhere. It was a shape of a body taped up in black bin liners.
Putting his gun back into his jacket, Alfie suddenly jumped back as the shape started to move, then the next moment, he heard a muffled cry … A voice … And it sounded like a female voice!
Dropping down onto his knees, as quickly as he could Alfie pulled away the wrapping, as whoever it was continued to gasp and cry.
He spoke to them as he pulled away the gaffer tape from their head, tearing a hole in the plastic to let them breathe. ‘It’s okay. It’s okay.’ Then with one final tug, the bin liner came off and Alfie immediately saw it was a young girl. The same young girl he’d seen Wan bundle into the car.
‘Oh fuck. Oh Jesus, it’s okay … It’s okay … Can you talk, darlin’? Can you tell me if you’re all right?’
The girl didn’t answer but continued to cry and Alfie could see she was shaking. Realising she was naked, he quickly took off his jacket and pulled the last of the bin liners off her before covering her with his jacket.
What the fuck Franny had gotten herself into, he didn’t know, but he knew whatever it was, it was certainly shady, sinister and not something he’d ever imagine her to be any part of. Right now though, the only thing that mattered was getting the girl to hospital. Not that he could afford to get involved; he needed to keep his distance, so he would just drop her off anonymously. That way, until he was ready, he could still stay in the shadows.
With that thought, Alfie picked the girl up, bringing her into his chest to keep her warm, and ran as fast as he could back to his car.
25
Late Friday evening, Ellie slowly walked along the corridor of the house in Whitechapel that she shared with the other girls. She was tired and she felt ill but at least Wan would be happy with her, or she hoped he would anyway. She hated it when he was cross, hated it when he told her that they should be nothing more than friends. But more than anything she hated Sasha.
Right from the off, Sasha had tried to push her out and tried to be Wan’s favourite. Sucking up to him all the time. A lot of the girls did that. Wanting his attention. Well she didn’t think it was fair because there was no one who could love him the way she did, so she wasn’t about to let a cow like Sasha come between her and the only person who’d ever wanted her.
Suddenly she stopped and stared into one of the bedrooms, her face curling up into a sneer. ‘Look what the cat’s dragged in.’
Sasha, wearing a black Azzedine Alaïa open-back stretch-jersey dress, turned around and stared at her. ‘What do you want, Ellie?’
‘Why do I have to want anything? I can stand here – it’s a free country ain’t it?’
‘Can you just go?’
Folding her arms, Ellie ignored Sasha’s request and stepped into her bedroom. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
Sasha sighed and shrugged as she continued to stare at herself in the mirror. ‘Suit yourself.’
‘I will,’ Ellie said as she sat down on the bed. ‘Is that the dress Franny gave you?’
‘Yeah, it’s all right ain’t it?’
‘Yeah, if you want to look cheap. It looks like it’s something you picked up from Whitechapel Market.’
Spinning around, Sasha stared at her. ‘Why do you always have to say mean things? You’re just jealous.’
Ellie curled her face up again. ‘What! Jealous of you! I don’t think so.’
‘All the girls are right about you. You’re so horrible.’
Hurt by Sasha’s words but not showing it Ellie smirked instead. ‘You talking about girls like Louise or Sophie? Oh no, you can’t be can you, cos they’re dead.’
Sasha’s eyes filled with tears. She shook her head. ‘Why would you say that? How could you say something so horrible? There’s something wrong with you.’
‘I’m only saying what’s true.’
Taking a sip of her bottle of peach cola, Sasha wiped away her tears. ‘Just like when Wan told us all that he wanted to get rid of you because he was bored of you and you were too needy. Too desperate.’
Ellie’s eyes flashed with anger. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘I’m only saying what’s true,’ Sasha said mockingly. ‘You don’t like it when someone tells you stuff you don’t want to hear. It’s not nice, is it?’
‘Take that back.’
Sasha shook her head. ‘Why should I? I’m only telling you what he said.’
Ellie stood up slowly. ‘I said, take that back!’
‘No!’
For a split second Ellie didn’t move and then she raced across the room to Sasha, pulling at her dress. She shoved her hard, sending her sprawling across the floor. ‘You bitch, I hate you!’
Trying to defend herself, Sasha put her arms up, stopping Ellie’s fists. ‘Stop! Stop! Ellie, stop! Leave me alone!’
‘Not until you take that back! He loves me. Wan loves me!’
‘You’re crazy!’ Sasha shouted as Ellie continued to attack her. Then she screamed even louder as Ellie grabbed her hair, dragging her onto the bed with her head feeling like it was on fire. ‘Please stop, Ellie, Ellie! Don’t! You’re hurting me!’
Crying hysterically Ellie yelled into Sasha’s face as she slapped her around. ‘Then leave him alone. He’s mine!’
Blood trickled into Sasha’s mouth from her nose. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Just leave Wan alone. You hear me? He’s mine. You ain’t taking him away from me. He’s mine!’
With her mouth full of blood, Sasha began to cry. ‘Okay, okay.’
‘He’s my boyfriend, Sasha, mine! Remember that. So, you shut your mouth about him. You’re nothing but a slag.’
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’
Ellie shook her head as tears rolled down her face as well. ‘I don’t think you are though, cos that’s what you said before, but you keep on talking shit and you need to be taught a lesson …’
26
Early Saturday morning Harry sat and stared at Tia over his double bacon and eggs. She looked tired, edgy, and she couldn’t even look at him. Last night he’d got into bed with her and it had been like he’d been fucking a corpse. She’d just lain there motionless, and even after he’d got pissed off with her, and given her a slap, she’d still acted like she was on the mortuary slab.
In the end, he’d gone to relieve himself with Tammy, though as usual that had enraged him – staring at the face of Tia but with Tammy’s eyes – so he’d got up and gone to the sauna and had a couple of grams of cocaine along with a blow job from some miserable-looking whore.
Of course he would rather have had one of Wan’s girls but after the other night, he wasn’t sure if that was going to happen again anytime soon. Wan had called him up giving him a bollocking for the way they’d left the girl, tied and strapped up. And in truth Wan’s attitude had pissed him off. He’d really thought that the girl might have croaked on his doorstep and there was no way he wanted a dead whore in his house.
So, getting rid of her before it got messy was the most sensible thing to do. How was he supposed to know that not only would she pull through but also start complaining to Wan about the way they treated her? It was a fucking joke. A joke for Wan to give him an earful, especially as he knew that when it suited Wan he was just as likely to dispose of the girls himself.
Sighing, he glanced at Tia again. He could see the bags under her eyes, although that didn’t deter him from seeing what a sort she was. But there was something wrong, something more than usual. Maybe she was sulking. Yeah, that was probably it. Sulking that it hadn’t all gone the way she’d wanted it to.
That didn’t mean she had to be a miserable bitch. It wound him up no end. But if he were honest with himself, he supposed in truth what really got under his skin was that she didn’t seem to need him and if given the chance, she’d walk out of the door without looking back.
> She hadn’t even said anything to him properly since she’d come home that day from court and that pissed him off as well. All he’d gotten was cold looks and begrudging conversations.
Sighing, wanting to get her attention and knowing that he might get a rise from her, he said, ‘Have you heard from that daughter of yours, Tia? Have you heard from Milly?’
Tia raised her eyes slowly to look at Harry. ‘You know I haven’t,’ she replied, lying through her teeth but knowing that she couldn’t possibly tell Harry that she’d seen Milly, let alone that she was still in regular contact, let alone that she was paying for her daughter to be close enough so that she could see her when she had the chance.
Shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth before taking a huge slurp of tea, Harry smirked at her.
‘I ain’t surprised. Milly was always an ungrateful little bitch. Like mother like daughter, hey?’
Fighting the hurt, Tia ignored Harry, knowing exactly what he wanted her to do. He wanted her to react, to bite at his words, to see her defend her daughter. But she wouldn’t, because she didn’t have to, because knowing Milly was nearby was enough reason for her to sit here and keep her mouth shut, no matter what Harry threw at her.
She took a sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice, not wanting to look at him longer than she had to. Last night he’d hurt her, forcing her as usual to have sex with him; as usual she’d just lain there but it was even more difficult than usual. Every time she saw his face, she thought about the woman she’d seen being thrown into the car boot and the guilt she felt for not having done anything sat on her like a heavy weight.
She wished she knew what had happened to her. She didn’t even know if she was alive. She didn’t know if Harry’s men had just thrown her into the Thames and the worst part was, maybe she would never find out.
Even though it had been a long shot, she’d looked at the newspaper and listened to the radio in case anything had been reported. But of course, there hadn’t been anything there. It wasn’t Harry’s style or his men’s style. Harry liked to hide his dirty laundry, which probably meant she was buried in some shallow grave.
‘Hi, guys, now ain’t this a lovely picture of domestic bliss?’ Laughing as she walked into the kitchen, dressed in skin-tight white jeans along with a skin-tight top, Tammy smiled as she sat down.
She reached for the coffee pot and stared at Tia who looked pale and drawn.
‘How was your little trip the other night, Tia? I haven’t had the opportunity to ask you until now.’
To Tia it felt like her blood had just run cold. She could almost hear the sound of her panic. The sound of the silence in the room. She stared back at her sister, feeling Harry’s sudden renewed interest as his glare burnt into her.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to laugh it off, tried to stay calm but even to Tia she knew it sounded put on. She could hear her voice trembling. ‘What are you talking about now, Tammy?’
Tammy took a sip of coffee, enjoying making her sister squirm and giving an even bigger smile. ‘Oh I’m talking about the other night. You went out, didn’t you? Surely, you can’t have forgotten already?’
Tia was sure that it wasn’t just her imagination that her face had turned red. ‘Don’t be stupid, of course I didn’t. You like to talk rubbish sometimes.’
Tammy cocked her head and smiled. Since she’d seen Tia sneaking out, she’d begun to follow her, wanting to know what she was up to. So far, nothing had come of it. She’d drawn a blank, but sooner or later her sister would trip up, she just knew it. In the meantime, she was going to have some fun. ‘Do I? That’s odd, because unless we’re actually triplets not twins, it was you I saw going out and not coming back in until well after three in the morning.’
The loud crunch from Harry biting on a piece of toast, made Tia jump. She shook, wondering why Tammy hated her so much. She glanced at Harry who was still staring at her.
‘Go on, Tia, I want to know what you have to say. I’m interested in this,’ Harry said in a voice that spelt danger.
Trying as hard as she could to keep her tone light, Tia shrugged. ‘I don’t know what she’s talking about.’
Suddenly, Harry, driven by anger along with an all-consuming jealousy, leapt across the table, crashing the breakfast dishes on the floor. He grabbed hold of Tia’s pink shirt, pulling her towards him, bringing her up off her chair and onto the table. ‘Who were you with? Who were you fucking, Tia? Is that what you do when I’m not here? You go behind my back? Is it?’
Trembling, Tia looked at Harry, desperate to appease him. She whispered as she spoke, her face inches away from his. ‘Harry, please, she’s making it up. I never went anywhere. Where would I be going, anyway?’
Harry’s eyes bulged with rage. He shook her hard. ‘I have no idea but I do know you’re lying to me.’
‘I’m not, I’m not, Harry! I swear I don’t know what she’s talking about. You know what she’s like; she’s always wanting to cause trouble between you and me. Come on, Harry, I wouldn’t be so stupid as to try to sneak out. I’ve got too much to lose.’
Harry looked between Tia and Tammy. Then he brought Tia so close her nose was touching his. ‘You better not know what she’s talking about. Because trust me, Tia, it will be the last thing you ever do.’
He turned to Tammy and said, ‘You sure you saw her go out?’
It was Tammy’s turn to look from Harry to Tia and then back to Harry. She shrugged. ‘Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe it was someone else wearing those plain clothes she likes to wear.’
With tears pricking at her eyes, from relief, Tia pushed Harry off her. ‘See, I told you. I told you I never went anywhere. Next time, trust me.’
Nodding more to himself, Harry wiped off the crumbs from the baby blue Ralph Lauren shirt he was wearing. ‘Well just let that be a warning to you, Tia. Cos if you ever go behind my back and I do find out, your life won’t be worth living. Understand? And as for you, Tammy, don’t be a fucking wind-up, otherwise you’ll find yourself out on the fucking streets.’
Harry turned and marched out of the kitchen, leaving Tia and Tammy alone.
The moment he had gone, Tia turned to Tammy and smiled warmly. ‘Thank you. Thank you for saying it wasn’t me.’
But Tammy didn’t return the smile. She scowled, and her eyes darkened as she stared at her twin sister. ‘Oh don’t thank me, Tia, because I didn’t do that for free. You owe me now.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I want you to leave.’
‘Tammy, are you crazy? Harry will never let me go.’
‘Find a way, otherwise I’m going to tell him that you went out. Your choice, Tia. Do it the easy way or the hard way.’
Tia shook her head. ‘And then what? You and Harry can play happy families?’
‘Basically, yes, because like I told you, whether you like it or not, I’m going to tell Harry about the baby.’
‘And like I told you,’ Tia said, ‘if you do, Harry is going to kill you.’
27
Later that day, Vaughn – having once again been instructed by Harry to keep an eye on Tia – looked in the rear-view mirror. She was sitting in the back looking tense, looking like there was something on her mind. A huge part of him wanted to ask her, to find out what was wrong. But the other part of him knew to get involved was stupid. He had enough shit on his doorstep without embracing someone else’s.
Turning in to Mount Street, Vaughn drove slowly, passing the restaurants and Catholic church as he made his way towards Park Lane in Mayfair. Then, unable to stop himself and having never been any good at uncomfortable atmospheres, he spoke. ‘You all right, Tia?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘You don’t look it.’
Tia gave a rueful smile. ‘Oh thanks.’
Vaughn shrugged as he slowed down enough to wave an old man across the road. ‘You know what I mean.’
Tia glanced out the window as they continued down Mount Street, passing the various
clothes shops. ‘I need to ask you something.’
‘Go on. Ask away.’
Taking a deep breath, Tia said, ‘First, you got to promise me not to say anything to Harry.’
Pulling over in front of a large block of flats, Vaughn spun around in the cream leather front seat. ‘That depends what it is.’
‘Please, Vaughn. Just promise me.’
Once again reminded of how much he hated being in this situation, Vaughn nodded. ‘Fine. Fuck’s sake, Tia. Fine. I promise I won’t tell him anything you say, but Jesus, girl, you’re putting me in a position that I ain’t comfortable with.’
‘Oh and I am?’
Sighing, and not wanting this to escalate, Vaughn began to drive again. ‘I’m not saying that …’ He trailed off, waiting for Tia to speak.
‘I need you to drop me off and pick me up in a couple of hours.’
‘You know I can’t do that.’
‘Vaughn, please. I just need to do something.’
‘And I need to look after you.’
Tia shook her head, biting down on her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. ‘It’s too late for that now, don’t you think?’
Looking in the driver’s mirror again, Vaughn rubbed his head, now wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut and driven to Harrods as arranged. Give him a department store over women’s emotions any day, and that was saying something.
‘Vaughn, you just don’t get it – this is a matter of literally life or death. Please.’
Vaughn sighed. ‘I think you’re being a bit dramatic, darlin’. Buying a new Prada handbag might be up there with your life emergencies, but it ain’t up there with mine. I reckon you’ll live,’ he said as he indicated to pull over.
‘Don’t you dare, don’t you dare condescend to me! You have no idea what’s going on,’ Tia screamed as she hit the back of Vaughn’s seat.
He swivelled around and stared at her. A look of shock on his face. ‘What is your problem?’