The New Friend

by Alex Kane

  She smiled her sweetest smile as she watched Arabella walk out to the main floor of the salon. Roxanne hadn’t lost her touch after all.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Charlene watched as Jez hung around outside the hair salon before turning and walking in the direction of the city; her stomach churned as she blinked away tears of anger.

  She’d followed him to the outskirts of the city, to a place called Dunmuir and then into the west end of Glasgow. The whole time, Charlene had been wondering if she’d got it wrong and that perhaps he really was only in Scotland on business. But seeing them together, seeing them in the street and how he pulled Roxanne back when she’d tried to walk away was like a kick to the gut. It brought it all back.

  Who should she confront first? Or should she just cut her losses and leave him, take the boys and her rightful share of the money and start somewhere new? But where? There were no real connections to Majorca other than Jez. And she had no one here, no family or friends. She’d given up everything to be with him.

  ‘I should have finished her off when I had the chance,’ Charlene said through gritted teeth.

  And I will, she thought. I’ll finish them both.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Just as Arabella was about to ‘do as she was told’ she turned back and stood her ground. This was her business, her life. She wasn’t going to let anyone ruin that.

  ‘You’re my friend, but I’m not going to let you do this. If you want to deal in drugs then that’s fine, but you’re not doing it on my property. It doesn’t matter what you threaten me with, Rox. Because you are involved too, and I know you don’t want to go back to Kirktonhill.’

  ‘Ha,’ Roxanne laughed. ‘You’d never have survived your ten pathetic little months at Kirktonhill if I hadn’t looked after you.’

  Roxanne took a step closer, like she was squaring up to her. Arabella noticed how the two teenage girls who were wearing the pregnancy suits didn’t know where to look. Although Roxanne had threatened her with them, she doubted that they would want to get involved in this row. And she definitely didn’t want them to hear what she’d done.

  ‘Roxanne, we’re supposed to be friends. You’re being vile right now.’

  ‘Vile? Sweetheart, you don’t know half of what I’m capable of and unless you want to find out, I’d suggest you do as I say and go out to the front of the salon. That way, you won’t see a thing, can’t pass comment on what we’re doing and we can continue to be friends. Run your mouth and I’ll have to shut it for you, understood?’

  Arabella felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. This wasn’t the Roxanne she knew, the woman she’d met in prison. But she knew Roxanne was right about two things. One, Arabella couldn’t phone the police. If she did, Roxanne could tell them that she’d killed that man. She could go back to prison for a long time. And two, Arabella really didn’t know what her friend was capable of. She knew nothing about her, only what she’d seen of her and learned in prison. Arabella had made the very mistake with Roxanne that had cost her her freedom. She’d trusted the wrong person, made friends with someone who was quick to stab her in the back. Because that was what Roxanne was doing right now, wasn’t it?

  ‘Och, come on, Arabella, put the crocodile tears away, will you? I’ve not got time for it.’

  Arabella tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She didn’t know if she was more upset at the way she was being spoken to, or at how far Roxanne was prepared to betray her. Maybe both. She’d never had a true friend before. Not until she met Roxanne in Kirktonhill. But that meant she had never had a true friend at all. So she really had nothing more to lose from this friendship. She’d been walked all over by people who called themselves friends her whole life. Well not now.

  ‘Don’t speak to me like that in front of people, Rox. In fact, don’t fucking speak to me like that at all. If you want to deal drugs then you can go and fucking do it somewhere else. Now get the fuck out of here.’

  Roxanne’s eyes widened in shock and Arabella didn’t know whether to feel exhilarated or terrified as her friend’s face reddened with anger.

  ‘Girls,’ Roxanne exhaled loudly. ‘Wait outside. I need a minute with Arabella.’

  The young girls did what they were told and left the kitchen via the back door as quickly as they could. Arabella couldn’t help but pity them. She knew what it was like to be them, to some degree. They probably just wanted to stay out of trouble, but this was the only way they could earn money. Being pulled into a situation you couldn’t get out of was a familiar scenario to Arabella.

  ‘Right, I’m sorry you’re all uptight about this, Arabella. Really, I am. But you’ve been in prison, for fuck’s sake. And you’re one of the lucky ones to get out and walk into a place like this, a business handed to you on a fucking plate. I’m not so lucky. I need money to survive and this is how I’m making it. I don’t have anywhere else to do this. You owe me fucking big time, Arabella. I covered up a fucking murder for you, so the least you can do is turn a blind eye.’

  Arabella watched as Roxanne’s eyes glistened. Was she about to cry? Jesus, she thought.

  ‘I’m sorry I was horrible to you. I don’t like to be that way but I felt backed into a corner. I don’t want us to fall out over this.’

  Shaking her head, Arabella sighed. Maybe her apology was genuine, but she’d still said some horrid things. ‘I don’t want us to fall out either, but you’re not giving me much choice.’

  ‘Let me make it clear for you,’ Roxanne lowered her voice. She stepped forward and before Arabella could stop her, she gripped a chunk of her hair and dragged her towards the chair in the corner before throwing her down on it.

  Stunned by fear, Arabella sat perfectly still as Roxanne pulled her mobile phone out and began playing a video. It was grainy, dark, but Arabella could see an image of a man lying face down on the ground. The sound of her own voice echoed out from the small speaker at the bottom of the phone, crying, wailing about him being dead.

  Arabella closed her eyes tight, trying to shut out the scene in front of her.

  ‘I will take this to the police, call it an anonymous tip-off. I have copies of this video in a pen drive and believe me, Arabella, I will use it if I have to. Don’t make me. Oh, and don’t bother telling your precious Eddie about this. He won’t be able to help you. He’s in on this too.’

  Arabella opened her eyes and stared up at Roxanne. ‘Eddie’s involved?’

  ‘He and Jake have come to an agreement.’

  Gritting her teeth, Arabella forced herself to stay quiet. She got to her feet, fixed her hair and turned her back on the woman she’d been fooled into thinking was her friend, before walking back out into the salon.

  Roxanne had her backed into a corner and a bloody tight one at that. This was a win-win for Roxanne and a lose-lose for Arabella. If the police got hold of that video, she’d go to prison. If they found out that her salon was being used to force teenagers to deal drugs, she’d go to prison.

  Arabella would keep quiet about it all. How could Eddie get involved in something like this? Why would he buy her a salon and then allow it to be used as a site for drug dealing? The thought angered her. She’d already killed one man. Arabella was sure that when she got home, she would kill her second.

  Reaching the reception desk, Arabella pulled her mobile out of her bag and sent Eddie a message. She typed out the text, jabbing at the screen angrily.

  You’ve got some fucking explaining to do. How could you do this to me?

  Glaring out of the window, Arabella saw the two teenage girls waddle across the road, their fake swollen bellies on show under their clothes. Their fake bellies stuffed full of drugs. Roxanne had got them all into deep shit and there was really nothing Arabella could do about it.

  She wanted to cry, to go after them and tell them to dump the drugs and run. But that would only achieve trouble, for them and for her. Roxanne had her over a barrel. Eddie had betrayed her.

  Her phone beepe
d and as she looked down, expecting a reply from Eddie, she saw the Google alert light up the screen.

  Woman found beaten to death in Glasgow flat.

  There were no real details, other than the fact that the police had cordoned off the scene. She recognised the street name. Leanne appeared by Arabella’s side.

  ‘Have you seen the news? Do you think that’s why Scarlett isn’t here? You think it could be her?’

  Arabella’s stomach flipped and she felt hot tears spring to her eyes. How could this be happening? It was like hell had broken through from below and was coming for her. Swallowing hard, she tried to remain calm.

  ‘No, it won’t be. But she’s not answering her phone. I’ll head over, she’s probably just got the flu, or a hangover and didn’t want to tell anyone. You know what it’s like when you’ve got the fear.’ She attempted a smile but failed miserably.

  Arabella took a steadying breath. So much had happened already in the last week. She’d killed someone, her friend was dealing drugs from her business and her boyfriend was in on it. Now there was a possibility that the manager of her salon had been beaten to death. All she could think right now was, what the actual fuck is going on?

  * * *

  Wrapping her jacket around her, Arabella took the fifteen-minute walk towards Scarlett’s flat and while she did, her mind began to wander. What if the body of the woman mentioned in the news report was Scarlett? What then? And who would want to do something like that to her? She was a good woman, kept herself to herself and had run the salon for years before Arabella came along. But then, Arabella didn’t know a lot about her, so perhaps there was an abusive husband or partner?

  She reached the area of the west end of the city where Scarlett lived and headed up the hill towards her flat. She could already see the police presence, the crime scene tape.

  ‘Jesus,’ she said out loud, remembering the scene just a week previously when she’d gone to see what she’d done to the man she’d killed. She still couldn’t remember it. But Roxanne had footage, her voice, her wailing cry as she stood over the body.

  Arabella pushed herself to keep moving towards the scene. She had to know for certain if Scarlett was all right.

  Standing at the edge of the tape, she saw an officer stood at the bottom of the stairs which led into the sandstone building. He looked straight ahead, his expression steady, his eyes unblinking. Crowds of people had gathered to watch what was happening and Arabella felt sick.

  ‘Excuse me?’ Arabella said. ‘Has there been a murder?’

  ‘This is a crime scene, you’ll have to step back,’ the officer said.

  ‘My manager didn’t show up for work today, I haven’t been able to contact her and she lives in this building. Her name is Scarlett.’ Arabella felt the muscles in her jaw tighten when she saw the man’s eyes flicker. He’d reacted to the name. ‘I just need to know if she’s okay.’

  A sound came from behind her then. A sound that chilled her to the core. A woman, crying hysterically and calling the name that Arabella hadn’t wanted to hear.

  Turning, she watched as a woman collapsed to the ground. Someone attempted to cradle her. She was screaming Scarlett’s name and the lump in Arabella’s throat cracked. Tears pooled in her eyes as she realised that the woman she was watching was likely to be Scarlett’s mother.

  Turning her back on the building, Arabella hesitated. What was she supposed to do? Stand here and wait? Wait for what? The inconsolable woman wouldn’t know who Arabella was, and it would be inappropriate for her to approach a grieving mother right now.

  Go home, she thought. Just go home, curl up in a ball and block it all out. Scarlett, Roxanne, Eddie. All of it. She would text one of the girls at the salon and ask them to lock up. She just couldn’t face them now.

  Arabella began walking away from the scene, failing to stop herself from shaking. Tears poured down from her eyes and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She didn’t feel safe around anyone, couldn’t trust anyone.

  Arabella’s life was careering down a dangerous road at high speed, and she couldn’t find the brake.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Roxanne took the cash from Stephanie and Selina and smiled as she counted it. They’d managed to get their stash sold in no time at all and she shared the triumphant smile spread across their faces. Although they were young, they were resourceful. Stephanie and Selina had said that their scheme was crawling with druggies looking for their next fix and that they had older siblings who would be able to sell to the people that Stephanie and Selina wouldn’t be able to handle if they got a bit rough. Roxanne had warned them that if they fucked her over on this, it would be the last thing they ever did. In truth, Roxanne had faith in them. They were a lot like her when she was their age. The job she’d tasked them with was the same as the job she’d done before she’d left for Spain. It was one of the reasons she and Charlene had left Glasgow. Of course, Charlene had got to live the life they’d planned for themselves. Roxanne hadn’t and had returned to Glasgow. But when she did, she’d sworn to herself that she wouldn’t go back to those jobs, she would rise to the top. Meeting Jake had only accelerated that.

  ‘My sister Kelly sold most of mine,’ Stephanie said. ‘She said she’d be up for doing it again but she’d want to meet you first.’

  Roxanne looked at Stephanie, her interest piqued. ‘Well, give her a call and bring her here then.’

  Stephanie smiled widely. ‘That’s the thing, you see. She’s outside waiting on me. She’s quite impulsive. When she gets an idea in her head, she kind of runs with it and—’

  Roxanne held up her hand and Stephanie stopped speaking. Roxanne opened the back door to reveal a girl standing outside. She was smoking a cigarette and Roxanne noted the lines at the corners of her eyes, how shifty she seemed.

  ‘Kelly?’ Roxanne asked.

  ‘Aye,’ Kelly replied, taking a step forward.

  Roxanne stood in the doorway and regarded the girl for a moment before moving to the side and allowing her to step into the small salon kitchen.

  ‘Kelly, this is my boss, Roxanne,’ Stephanie said, as though they were all about to sit down in an official interview. Roxanne stifled a laugh. She liked Stephanie. There was something about Kelly that didn’t sit well with Roxanne though, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  ‘Your sister said that you helped her out with some sales?’

  ‘Aye,’ Kelly replied. ‘Some of the folks in my scheme are older than her. I didn’t want her getting in trouble with some of the chancers, you know?’

  ‘And you can handle yourself better than Stephanie can?’

  Kelly knitted her brow, in an ‘of course I can, you idiot’ kind of expression. ‘Well, she is twelve years younger than me. And I know the tricks of the trade to dodge the polis. Had to do it a million times before and not once have I been caught.’

  Nodding, Roxanne pulled her mouth into a thin line. ‘You’re very sure of yourself, Kelly. I like that.’

  ‘Have to be in this line of work, don’t you? You have to pick off the weak ones to keep yourself out the jail.’

  Roxanne couldn’t disagree. She would have to think about what to do with Kelly. Perhaps give her a bigger run than her younger sister. Maybe Stephanie could punt Jake’s own cannabis grow, rather than the class A drugs.

  Terminating the interview so abruptly that she could see Kelly was shocked, Roxanne bent down and pulled a pay-as-you-go mobile out of the holdall on the floor and handed it to Kelly.

  ‘What’s this?’

  ‘It’s what I’ll use to contact you on. Don’t use it for anything other than taking calls from me. Don’t give the number out, don’t switch it off and do not put it on silent. I need to be able to get hold of you at any time and if I can’t…’ Roxanne left the words to hang between them.

  Kelly nodded and turned to her sister Stephanie who said, ‘Just do what she says and we get paid. We get to feed ourselves, keep the flat. It’s b
etter than what Maw’s doing for us now, what she’s ever done.’

  Something clicked in Roxanne’s head then, as to why Stephanie seemed older than her sixteen years. She’d had to fend for herself for a long time, the same way that Roxanne had when she was that age and younger. Her own mum – ‘the village bike’ as she’d later found out she’d been nicknamed – was only interested in earning enough money to buy herself booze and drugs for the weekends when Roxanne was a kid. It seemed that growing up on the scheme was a way of life for Kelly and Stephanie, as much as it had been for Roxanne back in the day. Kelly was tough and she saw a little bit of herself in there.

  These were the type of people that Roxanne could pull in to do the job. These were the kind of people who would want to do it. It was fast, easy money so long as they kept their heads low.

  Kelly turned to Roxanne, a controlled expression on her face. ‘You call, I’ll answer. We need the money, so you don’t have to worry about any fuck-ups on our end.’

  Roxanne nodded. She was glad to hear that kind of attitude. She needed girls like this for the job and if Kelly did well, then Roxanne would ask her if she knew of any others who would be up for the challenge. As much as Roxanne didn’t like Cole, there was every possibility that this arrangement could see her and Jake become very wealthy.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Sinking back on the sofa, Jake stared down at the screen of his phone. Cole could end his life as he knew it at any second, regardless of the job. Cole knew enough people to replace him in the deal and Jake would bet his life savings on Cole going ahead with the threat just because he could.

  The way Jake saw it, he had one of two choices. Tell Roxanne everything, cut his losses and leave Glasgow. Or end Cole before he got the chance to ruin him. Jake was a private person and Cole had exploited him. It had been easy for Cole to do what he did. Finding out Jake was gay was one thing, but to be as sick in the head as to film him with his lover, that was something else entirely. Jake knew that Cole was always looking forward, making sure he had insurance – dirt on people so they could never say no to him.