by Crin Claxton
Tony saw Maya drop the gun and raise her hands, and then she was face first on the ground surrounded by policemen, for the second time in as many days.
*
Tony sat at the foot of a double bed with a black-and-white bedspread on it, drying her hair with a towel.
They’d been interviewed by the police for several hours and Jade had been seen at the local hospital. The consultant had insisted on keeping her in overnight for observation. Jade had flatly refused. Once her vital signs were confirmed as stable she was allowed to leave.
They’d headed straight for the Lochside Shopping Centre to buy dry clothes. From there, they’d checked into the nearest hotel. It was a chain. As long as Tony could get dry, get a shower, and get a meal, she didn’t care.
They were all exhausted. Jade had declined dinner and gone straight to her room.
A wave of tiredness hit Tony. It competed for her attention with the hunger nagging at her belly.
Maya stepped through the bathroom door, fanning steam into the room. Her long dark hair dripped water down her naked back. She had a white towel rather modestly draped around her waist. Tony couldn’t keep her eyes off her.
Maya dipped her eyes and smiled a sexy smile. She lay on the bed next to Tony and rested her head on Tony’s knees. Tony stroked Maya’s cheek. Looking down at her, Tony swallowed. She couldn’t bear to think what had nearly happened.
“I could have lost you,” she murmured.
Maya opened her eyes. “I thought I had lost you.” She stretched and sat up. “I thought they’d murdered you. I imagined all sorts.”
Tony shook her head. “What a sick pair they are.” Her stomach tightened. Suni was in custody. She was the twin that had shot up the windscreen. But in the confusion when the police arrived, Anita had escaped.
“Do you think they’ll tell us if they catch Anita?” Maya asked.
“Sergeant Lewis will,” Tony said.
“They scared me,” Maya murmured.
“Of course they did.”
“No, I mean, on a deep level. I asked them why they were drugging and controlling Jade. Their explanation was that they enjoyed it.”
Tony swallowed. “Do you think there’s ever an explanation for behavior like that?”
Maya bit her lip. “They played with me. It was a game to them. When I didn’t know where you were, they jumped on that and used it. They were completely in sync. One sociopath is frightening enough, but two, working together…” She shuddered.
“If we don’t know why people do stuff like that, it is terrifying. How do you help someone like that? We can’t even really punish them,” Tony said.
Maya’s eyes widened. “Tony Carson, that is very thoughtful.”
Tony smiled. “And if you don’t mind me saying so, that’s why you’re drawn to psychology. I have no idea what your childhood felt like, but I do know you need to understand why your father was how he was. And you need to make sense of your mother, for that matter.”
Maya exhaled. “Well, that would have been more empowering if you’d coached me to come to that conclusion myself. But, basically, you’re not wrong.”
Tony came in for a nuzzle. “All that communication and analysis must be rubbing off on me,” she mouthed into Maya’s lips.
Maya snuggled right into Tony. Then she started kissing Tony’s hair, breathing warm air into Tony’s ear.
Tony’s body responded with a vengeance. They hadn’t been intimate since the gang incident. Tony wanted Maya badly.
She kissed her hard. Maya opened to her, pulling her down onto the bed.
“Suddenly, I couldn’t care less about dinner,” Maya said against Tony’s lips.
“Me neither,” Tony said.
There was a knock on the door. Tony wanted to ignore it. She wanted whoever it was to go away. The knocking came again.
Maya pulled back. She was breathing hard. “Maybe it’s important.”
There was another tentative knock. Tony grabbed a robe.
Jade stood in the corridor, smiling weakly at Tony. Tony waved her in.
“I know how ridiculous this sounds,” she said. She looked lucid but still worse for wear. She swallowed. “Tony, I’m scared. That woman is still out there somewhere.”
“You want to sleep in here, with us?” Tony asked.
Jade nodded.
“Of course,” Maya said, getting up. The towel slipped right off her.
Jade looked startled. “I don’t think I’m quite up to a threesome,” she joked, smiling weakly again.
Maya quickly put a robe on.
“Do you want any dinner?” Tony asked.
Jade shook her head. “I just want to sleep. If I can.”
“Well, this is a family room. And you are family. There’s that single bed, or you can sleep in the double with Maya?”
“Or with Tony,” Maya said quickly.
“Such an obliging couple. Always quick to offer each other up to anyone who comes knocking,” Jade said. She was joking like she always did, but her eyes were flat. “I’ll be fine over there, guys. Thank you.”
Jade went over to the single bed, got in, and pulled the covers up.
Maya sat on the edge of Jade’s bed. She stroked Jade’s arm. Jade’s breathing slowed, and her face relaxed.
Tony’s tummy rumbled.
“Room service?” she whispered to Maya.
Maya nodded.
*
When Tony and Maya woke, Jade had already got up. She wasn’t at breakfast.
Tony found her in the grounds of the hotel, sitting on a bench, her face up to the sun. The rain of the previous day had melted away. It was clear and bright, and warm enough to sit comfortably in a T-shirt. Jade was wrapped up in a tight-fitting fleece, zipped up to the neck.
“I wondered where you were. Did you go to breakfast early?” Tony asked. She sat next to Jade on the bench. It looked out to green rolling fields, where shaggy brown cows chewed lush grass.
Jade smiled. The smile didn’t chase the sadness from her eyes. “I’m not hungry. I feel weird.” She spoke quietly, like she had no energy.
“I’m not surprised. Maya said they’ve been pumping you full of all kinds of drugs.”
Jade’s eyelids flipped shut for a second. “I can’t think straight. My brain can’t handle much.” Jade’s lip trembled.
“Jade, I really screwed up,” Tony said. “I wasn’t there for you.”
Jade shrugged. “Maya said they changed my phone details and hid my tablet.”
“Yeah, they did. That didn’t help. But I should have come to see you.” Tony swallowed. “Jade, something happened the night we saved Repo.”
Jade held her gaze.
“They threatened me, those boys. They threatened to rape me.” Tony spoke low. She stumbled over the words. “They didn’t. Well, one of them groped me, my breasts, my…groin area.” She wanted to find the youth all over again and beat him senseless. “Bastard.”
Jade looked at Tony with horror. “I didn’t know, Tony…” She trailed off, her voice choked with tears.
Tony took her hand. “I know you didn’t. I couldn’t tell you. That night I was ashamed. And then, oh, Jade, I can’t explain it, but I shut down. And this is awful, I blamed you somehow.”
“Me?” Jade sounded like a child.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know it wasn’t your fault. Of course it wasn’t, but when I knew you were there at the time, talking to Repo, maybe watching…” Tony couldn’t carry on speaking. Nausea rose in her throat.
Jade squeezed her hand. “I wanted to come to you straight away. I knew I should have.” She was angry. “I believed that ghost boy. He said the gang wouldn’t listen to me; they’d only listen to Repo. That’s why I didn’t come to you. And I didn’t see anything, not when I was on the walkway. I would have come down there and kicked their arses, man.”
Tony smiled. “That’s what I should have done,” she said quietly.
“Tony, you did what yo
u could. You kept yourself safe, didn’t you?”
Tony shrugged. “I suppose so, but you had to rescue me. I shouldn’t have gone there on my own. I was stupid.”
Jade blew air through her lips. “You’ve been stupid for a long time,” she joked, then she caught Tony’s eye. “You want to talk stupid? How about trusting a woman who turns out to be an evil twin, whose twin is just as evil? You weren’t stupid. Reckless, maybe.”
Tony nodded. “Yeah. Well, that’s something for me to think about. And how I closed down to you. You’re family. You’re everything to me, Jade.”
Jade pulled Tony to her. Jade’s body was trembling. Tony wasn’t scared of that bitch Anita. If she came anywhere near Maya or Jade, Tony would act first, answer to the police later.
“It’s lovely to be hugged so tight, but your grip is ridiculously strong, and I think my ribs are starting to bruise,” Jade mumbled into Tony’s shoulder.
Tony pulled back. “Sorry.”
Jade sat back and cast an eye over the rolling hills. “Back home then?”
“Yep.” Tony nodded once. She stood.
As Tony started walking back to the hotel, Jade slipped her arm through Tony’s.
*
Rose Henderson had been put in a side room off the main ward. She was sitting in the armchair next to her bed, leafing through a women’s magazine.
She looked up when Tony came through the door and smiled.
Rose’s face was shocking. It was a swollen mass of cuts and bruises. One eye was half shut. Both cheekbones and eye sockets were deeply bruised. The bruises were turning from dark purple to yellow. Her lips were cut and a dark bruise ran around her jawline.
“How are you feeling?” Tony asked in a hushed voice.
Rose rolled her eyes. “I was feeling fine until you rocked up and gave me the fragile treatment. This magazine is boring as hell, though. Do tell me you’ve brought a book of juicy lesbian stories. You know, the kind where they get down and dirty.”
Tony laughed. “No, sorry.”
Rose patted the bed. “Well, at least sit down and tell me a juicy lesbian story. I’m going out of my mind here. Everyone’s very nice, they’re treating me like royalty actually, but I just want to go home now. I’m going to discharge myself.” She stared at Tony thoughtfully. “They won’t let me go home by myself, even in a cab, but they might release me into your custody. Will you tell them you’re going to look after me?”
“Sure, but don’t you need someone to, I don’t know, make sure you don’t…”
“What? Have a fall and break my hip? Die in the night from the terrible shock of it all? Suddenly collapse from complications they didn’t know about?”
“Well, yes,” Tony said. “Any of the above.”
Rose took a breath. “I’m fine, Tony. I bloody well hurt everywhere. That bastard got some kicks and punches in. He took me completely by surprise.”
Tony sat on the bed. “What happened?” she asked.
Rose looked sheepish. “It was partly my own fault. I couldn’t resist calling him, could I?”
Tony frowned. “You have his number?”
Rose grinned. “Yes. I’ve been calling him for years. I never say anything, just leave this heavy silence on the line. Drives him mad.”
“You’re a hoax caller,” Tony said.
“Non-violent direct action, it was called in my time,” Rose said.
Tony loved Rose’s power. Even bruised and beaten, she was a gutsy woman.
“I couldn’t resist telling him about the confession. I didn’t think he could do anything. I had no idea he knew my address. That evening, I was watching the telly when I heard someone kicking the front door in. I ran out to the passage, and there he was, glaring at me. ‘I’ve come to talk to you about that confession,’ he said. ‘I want it. Where is it?’
“That’s when I knew he was Somers. ‘It’s in my bedroom,’ I said. Of course it wasn’t, but that’s where my mobile phone was and I wanted to call the police. I bent to get it off the bedside table when he hit me from behind. He caught me off guard. All I remember as I went down, and the blows kept coming, was him saying, ‘This is how your precious Frankie died, just like this. You can go and join her now, you bitch.’”
Tony swallowed. “That’s horrible. Did you tell the police that?”
Rose shrugged. “I did. But I don’t think they’ll do anything.”
“They might. I’ve got a contact in the police; she’s in our gang,” Tony said.
Rose raised her eyebrows. “What, in both our gang, yours and my gang?”
“She’s a lesbian, yes. Anyway, she told me they’ve charged Somers with assault, and the Crown Prosecution Service is looking into the confession.”
“Well, that’s something. I’d love to see him get what’s coming to him,” Rose said, sinking back into the chair. “How did you get hold of that confession, anyway?”
Tony had devised an updated cover story. “I’m a private investigator. Somers worked with another guard, John Smith.”
Rose looked thoughtful. “I remember that name from the early days of the campaign.”
“His family found the letter addressed to you when they were clearing out Smith’s house. They phoned my agency because they were worried about contacting you directly. Subsequently, they found the confession.”
“So you lied to me, you naughty thing.” Rose pretended to be annoyed. “I’m finding it hard to understand why Frankie said she’d made it up about Somers, when clearly she hadn’t.”
“Me too,” Tony said. “I can only think she didn’t want you to worry.”
Rose looked sad for a moment. “Maybe. I suppose it doesn’t matter now. What’s really important is that we got justice for her, in the end.” She shifted in the chair. “Right, dear. Do you think we can go see that cute nurse on reception and try to get my parole sorted out?”
*
It was a glorious day. Tony sat on Jade’s deck, lazily watching a pair of ducks paddle between the houseboats. Every so often, their heads disappeared under the dappled green water for insects and weeds. The sky was the pale blue of a baby’s blanket and wispy with cloud. A warm breeze stirred the air.
Tony stretched. Her hands and shoulders were still sore, and she hadn’t quite caught up on sleep, but life was starting to feel good again. She’d had a long talk with Maya. In the wake of all the miscommunication, Tony could see why Maya banged on about listening skills. Tony didn’t know how quickly she could change a lifetime of ignoring what was right in front of her, but she was committed to having a go.
Jade and Maya had stepped out for croissants and pastries. They had spent the previous few days clearing, cleaning, painting, and repairing the damage on the houseboat. Jade’s pagan friend had done a cleansing ritual. Tony had no idea what it entailed, but the whole boat smelled of sage.
Tony glanced at her phone. She had a new email notification.
She opened her email app and clicked on a message from Amy, her ex-girlfriend and the other mother of Tony’s child, Louise.
Tony’s mouth dropped open as she read that Amy was bringing Louise back to London.
Whoa. That’s going to change things.
Tony couldn’t be happier for her daughter to come back home, but Amy?
A movement to her left made Tony turn her head. Frankie White was leaning casually against the cabin. She tapped two fingers to her forehead and gave Tony a little salute. Deirdre dropped in beside Frankie and then strolled across to an empty deck chair. She perched herself on it.
“You didn’t give up. I appreciate that,” Frankie said.
Tony responded with a nod. “Why did you say you’d lied about Ron Somers harassing you?”
Frankie sighed. “I needed Rose to move on. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Tony turned to Deirdre with a frown.
Deirdre pushed huge round sunglasses further up her nose. “Being pulled to Rose all the time was hurting Frankie. It’s disturbing for a
spirit to be haunted like that by the living. What could she do? She couldn’t talk to her. She couldn’t be with her. It’s nice when people think of you fondly. But when they won’t let go of their grief, especially intense grief, it hurts. All that pain, thrown at a spirit, it’s not cool. We expect it, initially, but if it goes on and on, it ties us to the living and it’s painful.”
“I just couldn’t take it anymore. Plus, I got to thinking I was wrong about Somers. I don’t remember him beating me up that night. It’s all confused in my mind. I didn’t know for sure that Somers let me die till now. She told me.” Frankie pointed to Deirdre, who reclined gracefully into the deck chair. “I suspected, but I didn’t know he set up the fight. If I’d known all that, and if I’d known about the confession, I’d have asked you to go after him.” She shrugged. “But you did, anyway.”
“Something was keeping you here. You probably knew on some level that you needed justice,” Deirdre said.
“But being here was driving me nuts. I needed Rose to let go, and I thought my way was best,” Frankie said. “It turns out your way was better. Thanks, mate.” Frankie ran a comb through her hair and smiled openly at Tony. She looked carefree and relaxed, like she did in the photo of her on the motorbike. With a final nod to Tony she vanished.
“Forgiven me yet?” Deirdre asked. She bit her lip tentatively.
Tony smiled at her. “Yes. Some people would say I’m lucky to have you. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that some people would.”
“Hmmph!” Deirdre snorted. “Oh, and sign Maya up for the agency. You never know when you might need some actual detecting.”
“Jade and I were talking about that…” Tony said, but Deirdre disappeared too, just as Maya and Jade stepped onto the boat and tossed a bag of warm croissants in Tony’s direction.
Jade’s appetite was back. Her skin looked vibrant, and the dull look in her eyes had almost disappeared. She was halfway through a pain au chocolat, letting the molten chocolate dribble over her fingers.
Tony’s mobile rang. The caller ID said Carol Lewis. Tony spoke to her while Maya made coffee and Jade started on another croissant.