by SD Saunders
“Oh how sweet, tell her, I’ll add it to my fridge door”.
Glancing at her watch, Sarah tutted. “I’ve got to get going too, she’ll be finished at school soon”.
Walking out of the house together, they promised to stay in touch, hugging tightly until they both parted, hurrying to their cars. Waving madly at each other, Mel drove away, the light-hearted feeling continuing as she drove home.
Joel pulled his car into the only available parking space in the busy residential street, the houses looked worn and old. Green and black overflowing wheelie bins dotted the pavement; checking the piece of paper, he noted the number he was looking for. By his quick calculations, number eighty-six, Albert Street should be three doors down. Grabbing his clipboard and locking his car, he headed slowly towards the house; no white vans, he mused, scanning both sides of the street. Arriving at number eighty-six, he took in the scruffy small stone front garden, the blue paint chipping on the front door, tired net curtains hanging limply at the dirty bay windows. A tabby cat sat on the low wall, watching warily as he walked up to the front door.
Gripping his clipboard tighter, he rang the bell and waited. The door opened, revealing a young woman standing there, a scowl on her face; peering in, he noted a communal hallway showing different numbered internal doors. Bedsits, he quickly surmised. “Can I help you”, she enquired, squinting in the sunlight and looking suspiciously at his clipboard.
“Hi there, I’m looking for a…”, he glanced at his clipboard, “a Mr Tim Abbott”.
She stepped forward, frowning at him. “And you are”? She snapped, seeming not at all pleased to be being disturbed.
Turning on a killer watt smile, he went into his role. “I’m from the A1 Employment Agency, Tim’s on our books for an up-coming event. I just need to go through a couple of items with him”.
“He’s not here, don’t know when he’ll be back either”, she pre-empted him, starting to close the door.
“Well, if he does turn up, will you give him this”, he handed her his fake business card, the burner phone number emblazoned on the front.
“Okay”, she reluctantly took the card and shut the front door.
Heading back to his car, he punched out a number. “It’s Joel, yes it’s the address, but he’s not here, from what I could make out it’s bedsits”, he spoke softly to the recipient on the phone. “Let Alex know and have him send someone to watch it, as soon as he can”. Ending the call, he jumped into his car and pulled away.
Melody headed into the department store, having taken Toby home, she had decided that a bit of retail therapy was just what she needed. Having purchased some underwear to wear under the gown, she felt pleased with her purchases. Wandering around, browsing, she selected some new chocolate bronze eye shadow and a golden quartz pencil eyeliner that the salesgirl assured her would bring out the amber in her hazel eyes. Heading to the perfume counter, she tried several samples, deciding on a bottle of Beautiful and matching body lotion by Estee Lauder, the delicate floral and vanilla notes reminding her of summertime and romance. Heading over to the hair salon, she booked an appointment for Saturday afternoon, deciding on an up-do, the stylist explained how they could pin her hair up and let a few curls escape to frame her face, the diamante clips Melody had bought that day would be scattered throughout creating a stunning effect.
Leaving the hair salon, Melody felt her excitement building up, her shopping and the hair appointment had gone better than she had expected. With only two days until the gala, everything was slotting nicely into place; stopping to gaze in at the jeweller’s, she felt her excitement turn to nervousness at the thought of wearing the emerald necklace. Shrugging off the fluttering nerves, she made her way back to the car, the excitement of the gala and her purchases drowning out her doubts, the image of herself in the rose pink gown, her hair swept up and her black venetian shawl draped over her shoulders, played over in her mind. “I really will feel like a princess”, she mused, flicking the radio on. Glancing at her face in the mirror, she fingered the now barely visible bruises; so glad that they would be gone in time for the gala. Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger’ started to play on the radio and she cranked the volume up as she drove away, singing along to the chorus, yes ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller’, she thought as she belted out the lyrics, feeling defiant and confident.
Alex paced back and forth in his office, the news from Joel had been good; now he had arranged for Peter, one of their workers, to watch Tim Abbotts’ home. It would only be a matter of time till they had him under surveillance, if he so much as sneezed in the wrong direction, they would know. He checked the security detail of the up-coming gala for what felt like the millionth time, everything looked good. He just could not seem to shake his feeling of unease, he impatiently pressed the intercom. “Jane, I’m heading out to check the security layout of the Crafton Hotel again. When Joel comes back, will you let him know I’ll be heading home after”.
“Sure boss, no problem”, Jane’s voice crackled over the intercom. Grabbing his keys and phone, he headed out to his car.
After doing a walkthrough of the hotel and double checking every detail with the manager hovering patiently by his side ready to answer any and all of his questions, Alex finally relaxed, “all looks good here”. Alex informed the manager, who nodded and smiled, a look of relief on his face. With just a couple of last-minute adjustments sorted out with the manager, he left the hotel, his mobile beeping pulled him from his reflections and scowling at it, he read the text from Jane.
“Hey boss, don’t forget to pick up your tux from the dry cleaner’s”, a smiley face emoji finishing the text making him smile. A glance at his watch made him hurry his step, he would just about make it. Texting a quick thank you back to Jane, he gunned his SUV and headed towards the dry cleaners.
Melody stood looking at herself in her full length mirror, the gown she wore transforming her into someone she could barely recognise. The rose-pink satin bodice peeked out beneath the black venetian lace that fitted over it, hugging her body, the sweetheart neckline hinting at her full cleavage. Touching her neck, she imagined the emerald necklace placed there; it would look so startling against her lightly sun-tanned skin. Worrying her bottom lip, she turned and scooped up the black Venetian lace wrap, draping it over her arms. “We’ll damn well get him, Christina”, she swore, standing a bit taller and lifting her chin defiantly, the words of the song she had sung on the way home strengthening her resolve.
Taking the gown off, she hung it back on her wardrobe door. Pulling on a pair of jogger pants and a fresh t-shirt, she sat at her dressing table, emptying the new make-up from the bag. She looked at her scrubbed face, the bruises now barely visible. Tying her hair up into a messy bun, she leaned into the mirror and applied her new makeup. The sales girl had been right, she thought staring at her eyes, the gold picked out the amber in them; her sultry eyes looking so different from what she was used to seeing.
The new lipstick worked perfectly with the look, just adding a touch of colour to her full lips; smiling at herself, she thought of Sarah, ‘the rule of makeup’, her sister would always state ‘if you have dramatic eyes your lipstick should always be subtle, or run the risk of looking like a clown’ taking a quick selfie, she added a quick text, “trying out gala make-up”, and sent the photo to Sarah. The ping from her mobile was almost instant as she looked at Sarah’s reply.
“Beautiful sis, don’t forget a little blusher”. Picking up another brush, she applied a little blusher to her cheekbones, then rubbed most of it off leaving just a trace of it behind. “No clowns here, sis”, she laughed, standing to leave.
Heading downstairs, she met Toby waiting for her at the bottom. “Hey boy, what do you think”, she crooned, hunkering down beside him and dramatically batting her eyes, his wagging tail thumping against her leg as he snuffled his nose into her his only response. “Glad you approve”, she laughed, leading him to the kitchen and grabbing
his bowl. Scooping some dog food into it, she placed it down for him. The sound of Toby crunching his food followed her around the kitchen as she poured a glass of wine and pinned up Lucy’s drawing on the fridge, the picture bringing thoughts of Alex to her mind as she headed into her craft room.
Timothy turned the van into his street, the bottle of whiskey he had purchased safely stowed on the passenger seat, tapping his jacket pocket he felt the packet of sleeping pills still there. His plan was so easy, he smiled, pleased with himself, a few glasses of spiked whiskey and then Owen would be rendered unconscious for at least eight hours, and the beauty of it, he would have no memories of it, just a bad hangover, leaving Timothy in the clear. A sense of foreboding crept over him as he neared his bedsit, the navy sedan car parked across from his house seemed out of place, the man sitting in it slunk low in the seat, stepping on the accelerator, he sped past only easing up when he was sure he was not being followed.
He knew every neighbour’s car in his street, and he had a sixth sense that this was not a coincidence, he was sure now he was being watched. “Not today, arseholes”, he grimaced, angrily pulling into the underground car park and killing the engine. Pacing around the shops, he killed time watching for anything out of place. After buying a few necessities and stowing them in the van, he decided he would have to check out if the sedan was still parked by his house. Two hours later, he made his way back to his street on foot, turning into his street, he skulked partway down the path coming from behind where the sedan had been parked. “Damn”, he swore as he spied the sedan still parked in the same place, the man still sat hunkered down in the seat, his head trained on Timothy’s house. Turning abruptly, he headed back to the underground car park. “Now what”, he mused, knowing that returning to his bedsit was out of the question. Two days until he could execute his plan, so close to his goal, he could not be rumbled now. Grabbing his phone, he looked at hostels close to him, selecting the cheapest one. He started his van and headed to it. Laying low was going to cost him but he would not risk blowing his plans now.
Chapter 15
Melody sat in her garden, the morning sun warming her, dressed in aqua shorts and a white spaghetti strapped t-shirt, she decided a little break was just what she needed. The morning so far had been busy, she had laid out her gown and underwear for the gala that evening. Alex would pick her up at seven, bringing with him the emerald necklace for her to wear, and escort her to the gala at the hotel. She double checked that her hair appointment was booked for later that afternoon, with last minute nerves causing butterflies to stomp around in her stomach, she kept herself busy with housework that had taken up a nice bit of her time. Now swinging her legs onto the lounger, she relaxed back, watching as Toby rolled on his back, rubbing a smell he seemed to find intriguing all over himself.
Her thoughts turned to Alex, making her smile as the memories of yesterday’s visit to Christina washed over her; they had spent Friday afternoon reuniting Christina and Jack. Picking up a nervous Jack and driving him to Christina’s had felt overwhelmingly surreal as Alex made small talk, trying to ease Jack’s nervousness. Later, watching as they had embraced, it was as if all the years apart had simply melted away. She felt a lump in her throat as the touching scene replayed in her mind, the look of love in their eyes undeniable. Alex had squeezed her hand as if knowing she was imagining them at that age. Excusing themselves, they had gone for a walk in Christina’s garden, she could almost smell the sweet scent of roses as if she were still there now. Taking a seat on the stone bench, they had enjoyed the quiet garden, holding hands, no words had been necessary; it felt like love was in the air. He had turned to face her and the look in his eyes had almost stopped her heart, remembering the look, she felt her toes curl in delight, the way he raised her hand to his lips and kissed each finger, never once breaking eye contact.
“I love you Melody”, his voice was rough with emotion. The moment magical, sitting in the beautiful garden surrounded by flowers, a rose archway as a backdrop, would stay with her always.
“I love you too”, she had whispered back. The kiss had been so tender and full of love, she felt herself falling even deeper in love.
Jack and Christina had found them sitting there gazing at one another, a chuckle from Jack alerting them to their presence.
“Love is definitely in the air”, Jack quoted, his arm around Christina as they smiled down at them. They had made a stunning looking couple, she had thought looking at them. His tall athletic frame dwarfing Christina’s small frame, his distinguished grey hair and moustache belying his age, light blue eyes twinkling mischievously at them. Holding Christina close to him, she was dressed in a floral tea dress, her green eyes sparkling with happiness, she looked younger and happier than Melody had seen her before. The sadness that had been present in her eyes on their last visit had vanished completely.
They had spent the next couple of hours reminiscing on how their lives had changed, and all that they had been doing; as they made to leave, Melody promised Christina that they would stay in touch. Jack had pulled Christina to the side and shared a few private words with her, reluctantly joining them in Alex’s SUV. The mood on the drive back to Jack’s place had been so different, a new energy seemed to spark off him.
Melody’s mobile phone alert brought her out of her reverie. Picking it up, she looked at the text message scrolling across the screen, “hey hun, have a fun time tonight, love, Linds”. Another text popped up from Alex. “Hey babe, miss you x”. Replying to them both, she sighed contentedly, deciding to head in and make a quick call to Sarah. Half an hour later, she hung up the landline; Sarah had been in a great mood, chatting excitedly about the trip she was going to be making to London on Sunday with a few of her and Lucy’s friends to see the maritime parade of a thousand boats on the river Thames, a fact that it was just one of the many festivities being held for the queen’s diamond jubilee, Sarah recited as Lucy’s excited voice in the background informed her that she would be wearing her red, white and blue jubilee scrunchie making her smile. With Sarah promising to take loads of photos, she had said goodbye to them both.
It had been so good to hear them both happily planning their trip, the feeling of excitement rubbing off on her. Heading up to her room, she showered and changed into cream cotton capris and a blush pink shirt, leaving her face free from makeup and her hair down; she slipped on her matching blush pink canvas pumps and headed downstairs. Making sure Toby had water and enough toys to keep him occupied, she grabbed her bag and mobile phone, locking up the cottage and setting the alarm, she headed out to the car and to her hair appointment.
Alex stared at the text from Melody, “miss you too, can’t wait till I see you tonight”, a line of four kisses making him smile.
“Everything okay”? Joel’s voice broke the spell.
“Yes, so we’re all set”? His voice was brisker than he had meant it to be.
“Yes, everything has been checked and double checked. All you need to worry about now is turning up”, Joel teased as Alex thoughtfully rubbed the velvet box containing the emerald necklace.
“Having second thoughts”?
“Just a bit”, Alex sighed, the feeling of the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“It’s going to be fine, we’ve all got your back, just try to relax”.
Grunting he picked up the box, “I’ve just got to make a quick stop before I head home, you’ll be okay to lock up here”?
“Sure Alex, just got to make a couple of calls and I’ll be heading off myself”.
Turning back to look at Joel, he asked, “Have we any updates from Peter”?
“Still no movement on the place”, Joel grimaced, adding, “that Tim fellows probably just given up by now”.
“I don’t think so”, Alex scowled, a feeling of unease gripping him.
Leaving Joel at the office, Alex headed to his car, the velvet box now safely stored in his briefcase. They would be ready if he did make a move, each of their se
curity men had a full description of Tim Abbott now, he mused, relaxing a little at the thought. A quick stop at the jeweller’s and then home, he thought, smiling to himself at the thought of finally seeing Melody in her gown.
Timothy stared at his reflection in the mirror, his hair now bleach blonde had gone a shade lighter than it had stated on the packet, grabbing a pot of gel, he applied it to his short new haircut, spiking the ends till he was satisfied he had got the look exactly right. Grabbing the uniform and name badge, he dressed quickly, a sly smile spreading over his face as he looked at his reflection. “Well Owen, you look damn good even if I do say so myself”. Checking on the drugged Owen one last time and finding him still slumped on the bed where he had left him, he chuckled to himself. “Sweet dreams, mate”. On impulse, he grabbed Owen’s car keys and left the apartment; he headed over to Owen’s beat up ford fiesta, “this will do nicely”. Jumping in, he started the car and headed for the Crafton hotel.
Melody made her way carefully down the stairs, the full tulle skirts of her gown brushing against the wall and banister; after having her hairstyle done at the salon, she had spent the rest of the time getting herself gala ready, the delicate scent of the perfumed body lotion she had rubbed in all over her body enhancing the light spray of perfume she had applied later. Stopping at the end of the hall, she watched as the front door opened. Alex stood in the doorway, dressed in an immaculate black tuxedo, his crisp white shirt pleated down the front, a black bow tie and cummerbund finishing the devastatingly handsome look, his black leather polished shoes gleamed in the evening sun. His hair slicked back with just a touch of brylcreem, making it look darker than normal, his strong clean-shaven jaw in profile as he turned to look at her; taking a step towards him, she felt the air almost crackle with their unspoken attraction.