by Caz Finlay
‘Okay,’ Jazz replied as she took a seat next to her. ‘What is it?’
Grace took a deep breath and told Jazz about her involvement with the murder investigation, her conversation with Leigh and the possible connection to Sol.
Jazz stared at her open-mouthed for a few seconds as she digested the information. ‘Do Michael and the boys know you’ve been helping that DI with her investigation?’
‘Michael does, of course. But I haven’t told Jake and Connor yet. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to. I hadn’t intended to do any more than sort out the whole business with Number 69 and have a chat to the girls while I was doing it. But this case has got under my skin and I can’t stop thinking about it.’
‘I understand. It’s hard to walk away from someone who needs your help. Especially when you’re used to fixing everyone’s problems.’
‘What do you think about talking to Leigh?’
Jazz blew onto her mug of tea as she considered the question. ‘The thing is, Grace, I know a hell of a lot about Sol’s business. However, I’m not sure I want to be discussing any of that with some DI. But –’ she took a sip of her tea and stared at Grace ‘– I trust you. So, if you trust her, then I’ll speak to her. As long as you come with me too.’
‘Of course I will.’
‘And we go for some dinner and a few cocktails afterwards,’ Jazz said with a wink.
Grace laughed. ‘Deal. We’ll have to tell Connor and Jake though?’
Jazz raised her eyebrows. ‘I know,’ she said as she slipped off her stool. ‘Let’s get it out of the way then, eh?’
Jazz peered into Paul’s Moses basket and smiled at her beautiful sleeping boy. He looked so much like Connor, although he had her dark skin. When she was in her twenties, and had met her ex-husband Sol, she had thought she never wanted kids. The fact that Sol was seventeen years older than her, and had previously had a vasectomy, had seemed like the perfect combination. He had been her escape from a life of struggle and hardship. She had been a dancer at a club in Manchester when she’d first met him and although she was used to being groped by drunken punters on a regular basis, Sol had rescued her from one such chancer and had broken his fingers for daring to touch her. She had thought she’d found her proverbial knight in shining armour. It was only once she’d married him that she’d realised he was more a dragon than a knight.
It was only when her sister, Rose, had had children that Jazz had started to wonder if she had made the right decision in marrying a man who couldn’t and wouldn’t give her any of her own. She had pleaded with him to consider other ways of having a child but he had refused to listen. She had hated him by then anyway, but had thought at least a child would have made her life worth living. She had been lost and lonely, and wondering how she would ever make it through another week of being married to Sol, let alone the rest of her life, when she’d met Connor. Although he was nine years younger than her, they got on so well that she’d ended up talking to him for the whole night when she was supposed to have been out for a rare night out with his sister. She had met him again a few days later and when he’d kissed her, she had realised that she had never really known what it was to be in love. She had fallen for him hard. And then she had fallen pregnant.
Sol had always kept her on a very short leash, and he already suspected she’d been having an affair. He had beaten her regularly anyway, but had ramped up his efforts once he’d realised she was slipping away from him. But it had been worth it to keep seeing Connor. When her pregnancy had started to show, Jazz had known that Sol would kill her, Connor and their unborn baby when he found out, so she had planned to kill him herself. It had seemed like the only way out. She had a gun, and although she’d planned it all out to the last detail, and had an alibi in her sister Rose, she was prepared to be caught. Going to prison for murder was still a better option than staying with Sol, and it would protect Connor and their child.
The night she had been planning to kill Sol, Connor’s father Michael had turned up and killed him instead. Michael had saved her life that night and she would be forever in his debt because of it.
Jazz continued smiling as she walked over to the bed. She loved Connor more than she had ever thought possible. She adored their son. And she adored her new extended family: Michael, Jake, Belle, Oscar and especially Grace, who although only ten years older than Jazz, felt like the mother figure she had always craved but never had.
Jazz pulled back the covers and climbed into bed beside Connor, who lay with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. She could feel the tension in his body as she ran her hand down his chest. He hadn’t taken the news well that Grace was helping out the DI who had arrested him and Jake a few months earlier for murder. He had been even less impressed when Jazz told him that she was going to speak to DI Moss too. She could understand his feelings, but this was important to her and something she felt she needed to do.
‘Are you angry with me?’ she asked softly.
He turned to look at her. ‘No. Yes. I suppose I am a bit, Jazz,’ he said with a sigh.
‘But you understand why I need to do this? If Sol was involved in that woman’s murder? I know he did the other things that detective thinks he did, and no one can do anything about that now. But if I know something that could help find out who is killing these women, Con, then I have to help. That could have been me,’ she said as her eyes filled with tears.
He turned on his side and looked into her eyes. ‘No, it couldn’t,’ he replied with a frown.
‘It could, Connor. I told you about my past and where I came from.’
‘But you didn’t go down that road, did you? You could have, but you didn’t.’
‘Only because I had some good friends around me and I ended up dancing. But it was a slippery slope, Connor. I saw lots of the girls I worked with doing extras just to make ends meet.’
‘I’m just worried about you, that’s all,’ he said as he placed a hand on her cheek and rubbed her skin with the pad of his thumb. ‘Leigh Moss is a copper, and I don’t trust her at all.’
‘Neither do I. But I trust Grace. And she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me – to any of us. You know that?’
‘I know. I love you so much, Jazz. If anything ever happened to you…’
‘Nothing is going to happen to me, Con. I’m only going to talk to her. It will be a one-time deal and it will all be off the record.’
‘Just make sure it is a one-off, Jazz. If anyone gets a sniff of you and Grace talking to the filth, it could cause a fucking war.’
‘I will,’ she said with a smile before she leaned forward and kissed him. ‘I love you too, Con. I would never do anything to jeopardise our family.’
He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him until she was pressed against his chest. ‘You have me wrapped around your little finger, don’t you? How do you do that?’ he said with a grin.
Jazz laughed. ‘Well, I do have my charms.’
‘Is that what you call them?’ he said as he looked down at her breasts.
‘You’re such a boy, sometimes.’ She laughed again as she pushed him onto his back and moved to straddle him.
‘A boy?’ he said with a flash of his eyebrows. ‘Well, let’s see about that, shall we?’
Jake sat in the back of the car while one of his bouncers drove him to The Blue Rooms. He’d left his car at his mum and Michael’s house. He had planned on staying the night, but his mum’s revelation that she was helping out that copper Leigh Moss, the very same one who had arrested him and Connor, had pissed him off no end. He’d had to get out of there before he said something he’d regret. He could hardly believe she had just sat there and casually told them that she was helping out the filth with their investigation. He could understand, to some extent, why she might want to help find out whoever was killing prostitutes in her own backyard, but doing it by helping out Leigh fucking Moss – he couldn’t fathom it. And now she was trying to drag poor J
azz into it too. And Jazz was going to do it.
Jake stared out of the window and wondered what the hell had got into her. His mum was usually the person who had all of the answers. He could go to her with any problem and she would help him work out the solution. She was one of the most level-headed and logical people he knew. Nothing fazed her. Nothing was too big an issue for her to solve. So, why had she suddenly lost her mind?
‘You okay, Boss?’ Timmo, his driver asked.
‘Yeah. Nothing a few whiskies won’t fix, mate,’ Jake replied.
Timmo nodded and returned his attention to the road. Jake hoped he was right about feeling better after a few whiskies. He didn’t drink a lot any more. Not since losing Paul had almost turned him into an alcoholic and junkie. He was much more measured and restrained these days – but tonight he would make an exception. He hated drinking alone though and had phoned Danny and Luke to see if they fancied joining him. They didn’t work the doors on a Monday night as a rule, so he knew they were free. He’d woke Luke up and received a yawned ‘No thanks.’ Danny, however, had been up for a night out and was also on route to The Blue Rooms.
Jake walked through the entrance of The Blue Rooms and into the bar. The music thrummed loudly in his ears, but the place was quiet as it always was on a Monday. He saw Danny sitting at the bar with a blonde hanging off his arm – and no doubt on his every word. Jake grinned. Danny Alexander had a different woman for almost every night of the week. Not that Jake blamed him. He was young, had no ties, and he was good-looking. If that wasn’t enough, he filled a suit like a sausage filled a roll, and he was the new Managing Director of Cartel Securities. All of that rolled into one package made him a fanny magnet.
Jake patted Danny on the shoulder when he reached him and Danny spun around on his stool with a look that Jake could only describe as pure relief.
‘Jake. I thought you’d never get here,’ he said as he removed the blonde’s hand from his thigh.
Jake laughed. ‘Relax. I’m here now, mate.’
Danny slipped off his stool. ‘Sorry, babe, but we’ve got to get to work,’ he said to the blonde.
‘Oh,’ she said with a pout. ‘Call me later, Danny.’
‘Yeah, will do,’ he said as he looked at Jake pointedly.
Jake played along. ‘Come on then. We haven’t got all night,’ he said and walked through the club to his office in the back with Danny close behind him.
‘What was that about?’ Jake asked when he and Danny were in the safety of his office.
Danny shook his head. ‘I took her home on Friday night and she’s been back here every night since hoping for another round.’
‘But Danny doesn’t do seconds?’ Jake started to laugh.
‘I do – sometimes!’ he protested. ‘But she’s really not my type.’
‘Well, you’ve made me forget about my shitty night, anyway, mate,’ Jake said as he picked up the half-empty bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label from the small bar in his office.
‘Oh? What’s up?’ Danny asked as he sat down.
Jake poured two large whiskies and handed one to Danny. ‘Oh, nothing. Nothing that I can be arsed talking about anyway. Family drama.’
‘At least you have family to have drama with,’ Danny said as took a swig of his whisky.
Jake nodded. Danny only had his sister, Stacey. Although he and Luke were as close as brothers. Jake knew that Danny would have liked to be part of a big family, as he’d told him one night after he’d had a few too many whiskies. ‘I just wish my mum would think about how what she does affects us all sometimes,’ Jake said.
Danny put his glass on the desk and stared at Jake open-mouthed. ‘Are you kidding me?’
‘What?’
‘I would literally kill to have a mum looking out for me the way yours does for you. She does nothing but put you lot first.’
Jake stared at Danny and realised there was some truth in what he said. He noticed that the anger he’d felt when he’d left his mum’s house earlier had already eased. He always found himself relaxing around Danny. He was easy to talk to. He reminded Jake a little of Paul and that made him feel both happy and sad at the same time.
‘It doesn’t mean I don’t get to be pissed off with her on occasion though,’ Jake said.
Danny laughed. ‘Well, of course you do, mate. But, if you don’t want to talk about it, how about we get pissed and talk about the footy instead?’
Jake raised his glass. ‘Sounds good to me.’
Danny smiled at him and Jake had to remind himself that Danny liked women.
Grace watched as Michael closed the door to the bedroom and started to undress.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked.
He stared at her for a few seconds, his jaw clenched shut as though he was carefully considering his response.
‘What is it?’ she asked. Her revelation that she’d been assisting Leigh with the Liverpool Ripper investigation had gone down like the proverbial lead balloon after dinner. Jake and Connor had taken it particularly badly. And then Jazz had told them she was going to speak to Leigh too and it suddenly felt like someone had sucked the atmosphere out of the room with a giant vacuum.
Grace had fielded all of their questions, explaining why she felt the need to help Leigh find the killer, and had thought they’d at least understood, even if they didn’t agree with her decision. Jazz had persuaded Connor to stay the night as Paul was fast asleep but Jake had left, unable to hold his tongue. It was better than then arguing about it, Grace supposed. Her son could be a stubborn bugger when he wanted to be. But she would speak to him in the morning and smooth the whole thing over. What she hadn’t counted on was Michael’s sudden issue with it. He’d been aware of her decision to help Leigh, and while he didn’t fully agree with it, he’d supported her anyway, as he always did. So why was he looking at her like that?
‘It’s one thing you getting yourself embroiled with that copper, Grace, but dragging our kids into it is an entirely different matter,’ he snapped.
‘I’m not dragging our kids into anything!’
‘Oh, really?’
‘Yes! Really! I asked Jazz if she wanted to speak to Leigh and she agreed to of her own free will. They’re going to have a quick chat and that’s it.’
Michael shook his head and stalked past her towards the en-suite.
‘I didn’t drag anyone into anything,’ Grace went on.
Michael turned on his heel and Grace saw the anger in his face. It made her take a step back. ‘Do you honestly think she would ever say no to you, Grace? You, of all people?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
He walked back towards her and threw his T-shirt onto the bed. ‘It means that people don’t say no to you. They can’t!’
She blinked at him. ‘Of course they can.’
He started to laugh then, but not his usual laugh that she loved – the one she felt in her bones. It was full of sarcasm and anger. ‘You really think Jazz had a choice when you asked her to do this for you?’
She scowled at him. He was starting to piss her off now. Making out like she was some sort of tyrant. ‘Of course she did!’ she snapped.
Michael frowned at her as he took another step towards her. He towered over her. ‘Do you have any idea what will happen if anyone finds out you’ve been speaking to Leigh Moss? Maybe you might be able to smooth-talk your way out of it, but Jazz and the boys won’t. They will be the targets if this ever gets out. Not you!’
Grace closed her eyes as his words washed over her and she felt the anger swell inside her chest. She inched closer to him and craned her neck to look into his eyes. ‘Are you seriously suggesting that I would put our children’s lives at risk?’
His eyes darkened as he glared at her. ‘You already have.’
She shook her head. ‘But you knew what I was doing. You were fine with it.’
‘You told me you were going to speak to the girls at Number 69. You never said it would go further
than that.’
‘So, what am I supposed to do now? Just walk away when there’s a chance I could help?’ she asked.
‘Yes Grace!’ he shouted. ‘You cannot fix everything for everyone. When are you going to realise that?’
His words stung and she felt her hackles rise. He knew how to push her buttons so well. ‘Maybe when people stop asking me to fix things, Michael! Don’t you think I’d love to run away from it all? I tried that once. Don’t you remember? And look how that worked out for me!’
‘Oh, right? Are you talking about the time you fucked off to the other side of the country without telling me you were pregnant with my child?’ he snarled. ‘That time?’
‘Yes,’ she hissed. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I ever bothered to come back!’ She regretted her words immediately, as soon as she saw the hurt flash across his face. She had gone too far. But she couldn’t back down now. The adrenalin and anger were still coursing around her body and her heart pounded in her ears.
‘Is that so?’ he growled.
No, of course not, she thought, but didn’t say. Instead she glared at him, furious that he would suggest she would put Jazz and the boys at risk.
‘Well, maybe you should fuck off back to Harewood then. But the kids will be staying with me!’ he snarled before he stormed out of the room.
‘The hell they will,’ she shouted after him.
It was a few hours later when Michael finally came back into the bedroom. Grace lay still, wondering whether he would make any attempt to wake her. Or whether he would slip his hand over her hip and onto her stomach as he always did when he came to bed later than her. Then he would pull her body against his and kiss her shoulder blade and she would nestle against him.
He didn’t. He lay facing away from her and soon she heard his breathing slow as he fell asleep.
Chapter Eighteen
Grace and Jazz walked into the back room at Stefano’s, where Leigh Moss was already waiting for them.