by Jacqui Rose
Franny’s voice was cold and hard. ‘Believe me, Ma, I would do anything for Mia and I mean anything.’
Not liking how the conversation was going, Ma said, ‘I don’t want to speak to you anymore, I want to speak to Bree.’
‘Like I say, she’s too upset to talk.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that. I already know where she lives. Shannon told me. So maybe I’ll give her a knock.’
Franny’s head once again began to spin. How Shannon knew where Bree lived, she had no idea, but what she did know is that she needed to stay as calm as possible. ‘Do whatever you want, but she won’t speak to you.’
‘Then I’ll speak to Alfie.’
‘No!’ The minute she said it, Franny knew in that one little word, she’d spoken too quickly, had jumped too soon, had panicked too much. She chewed her lip, closing her eyes, hearing the pounding of her heart and hoping that Ma wouldn’t have picked up on her desperation.
A laugh came down the phone, loud and unpleasant. ‘Why not, Franny?’
Franny could feel that Ma had her on a hook. ‘Because, like Bree, he’s upset. Wouldn’t you be?’
‘Well, maybe getting a phone call from me will make him feel better.’
‘Don’t do that … Just don’t.’
Again, Ma roared with laughter, the sound mixing with Mia’s distressed cries. ‘He doesn’t know, does he? He doesn’t know about Mia.’
‘Of course he does. He’s her father, isn’t he?’
‘Or is it Bree he doesn’t know about?’
‘What are you talking about?’
Ma’s voice dripped with scorn although she spoke quietly. ‘Oh, Franny, who are you trying to kid? Something’s going on, I’m no fool. Bree was always a sly little bitch, and it doesn’t surprise me that you’re the same. And for one moment there I thought you had me … For one minute I really thought I’d have to hand back this little snot bag to you. But it turns out for one reason or another you don’t want Alfie to know what’s going on.’
Unable to hold her temper, Franny screamed down the phone, ‘Listen to me, Ma, you better just hand her over to me, you understand? This ain’t got nothing to do with Alfie.’
‘Why don’t we let him be the judge of that.’ The hoot of laughter from Ma incensed Franny more.
‘If you phone him, you’ll regret it. I’m warning you, Ma.’
‘No, Franny, I’m warning you: if you don’t give me what I want, then you’ll regret it because I will be phoning Alfie … Now this is how it’s going to go. I’m going to decide how much I want for Mia, and then I’ll call and let you know. Understand?’
Paling and barely able to speak, Franny nodded her head. ‘Perfectly.’
Ma chuckled nastily. ‘Good. And in the meantime, I think I’m going to pay that little mare a visit. I think it’s high time me and Bree had a chat about old times.’
And with that, Ma put down the phone, leaving Franny standing in the pouring rain. But a minute later, she began to run, jumping in her car and speeding off with only one thing on her mind.
22
Franny sat outside Bree’s maisonette. Her head was whirling from the revelation but if she didn’t lose it, if she didn’t panic, then she could get it sorted and get Mia back. She’d tried to call Charlie, not that she knew what she was going to say, but she needed to get to him before Alfie did, though she knew that was dangerous. The minute Charlie Eton smelt weakness, he was sure to take advantage of it.
Sighing, she looked at herself in the driver’s mirror. She could see the tiny line of stress forming between her eyebrows. She could see her skin was paler than usual and she could see the fear in her eyes.
‘Franny.’
She whipped round, her heart pounding. She was sure she’d just heard her name … No, no, she was just being silly. Maybe it was the wind, or someone in the distance shouting … but it had sounded so much like her name and it had sounded just like Bree’s voice … No, God what was she doing? She had to stop this. She was tired, that was all. She wasn’t going to start letting her imagination play tricks on her. But … No, no, she was only going to think happy thoughts. Mia. Yes, she would think about Mia and what they would do together when all this was over.
Taking a deep breath, she got out of her car, and ignoring the fact that she’d begun to tremble, ignoring the fact that a cold chill of fear ran through her body, she walked towards the flat in Ruston Road, pausing a moment at the communal door before letting herself into the entrance hall.
At Bree’s front door, her hands shook as she fitted the key in the lock. She paused again, forcing herself to breathe out. To be calm. To think of Mia. That’s what she needed to focus on. Nothing else.
Then pushing the door open, Franny stepped inside.
Taking a sharp intake of breath as the darkness encased her, Franny quickly switched on the light, pushing herself against the wall as she closed the door, somehow trying to distance herself from the scene in front of her. The eerie silence surrounding her.
Bree’s body was lying exactly where she had left it, but even in this short space of time, it had already started decomposing. Her skin had changed from porcelain white to a blotchy purple and red, her face no long slender, rather puffy and bloated, and Franny could clearly see that rigor mortis was setting in.
Not looking at Bree as she walked past her, Franny, still trembling, and swallowing down her wave of nausea, went up the stairs, getting the large suitcase out of the bedroom cupboard.
She began to collect all of Mia’s and Bree’s belongings, not wanting to leave any trace of them being there, and methodically but as quickly as she could, she went into all the cupboards and drawers, fridge and wardrobes, taking everything there was, leaving no evidence that Bree had been there at all.
Half an hour later and satisfied that everything was collected, Franny pulled on a pair of gloves and set about wiping everything down, and by the time she’d finished not only had it gone dark outside, but she’d also missed a call from Alfie.
After taking the suitcase and putting it in her car, which was parked directly in front of the flats, Franny hurried back, grabbing the roll of gaffer tape and thick plastic sheeting she’d picked up from a DIY shop on the way over.
Back inside the flat, Franny, quaking, leant on the door. She stared at Bree and right then and there Franny knew that the hardest part was just about to begin. Though as much as she didn’t want to do what needed to be done, she knew that she just couldn’t leave Bree’s body lying there, especially as Ma might decide to pay Bree a visit.
Taking another deep breath and unwrapping the large, thick plastic sheet, Franny placed it onto the floor. Then with only a slight hesitation, Franny bent down, pulling Bree onto the sheet.
Bree’s body was surprisingly light, though it was stiff, but Franny supposed that was to be expected after this number of hours. About to continue pulling Bree onto the sheet, Franny froze, staring in horror at the large bloodstain on the floor that had been hidden under Bree’s head.
Panicking, Franny snapped herself out of her thoughts and ran upstairs, charging into the small kitchen set just off the lounge. She looked under the sink, quickly getting the scrubbing brush and a bowl full of soapy water before running back down to the private hallway.
Placing both the bowl and brush on the floor, Franny knelt by Bree just as her phone began to vibrate. It was Alfie. She’d already missed his call and even though she’d rather not speak to him, after everything that had happened, she reckoned it was best to have him on side, not wanting to add to any more of his suspicions.
She pressed answer at the same time as she began to scrub Bree’s blood out of the carpet and with a great deal of effort to sound calm, she said, ‘Hey Alfie, hey honey, sorry I missed your last call.’
Alfie’s voice was monotone. ‘Where are you, babe?’
Exhaling, Franny tried to keep it light. ‘I just went for a drive. I couldn’t sleep. My head’s a wreck.’
; ‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything, have you? About Mia?’
Without being able to stop it, a shrill tone came into her voice. ‘No, no, not yet but I’ll let you know if I do. You’ll be the first person to know.’
Alfie’s concern was palpable. ‘I’m so sorry, babe, this must be so stressful for you. I wish I could do more to help. Have you spoken to her mum?’
Franny sounded shocked. ‘Her mum?’
‘Yeah, Mia’s mum, you need to tell her.’
A wave of relief hit Franny. She had to keep her head. She knew she was beginning to let panic dictate her thinking. ‘Oh yeah, her mum. Yeah of course, I spoke to her mum and as you can imagine she’s in a real state.’
‘Who is she anyway? What’s her name?’
With anxiety making her sound breathless, Franny continued to scrub the floor. ‘What? What do you mean?’
‘Fran, are you okay?’
‘Yeah … well no, not really. It’s just difficult to talk about it.’
Alfie’s concern oozed down the phone. ‘Yeah, of course, I understand. I was just wondering whether maybe it would do some good for me to speak to Mia’s mum. I don’t know, reassure her and take the pressure off you having to do everything. I just feel useless that I’m not doing more to help.’
Franny felt the sweat running down her forehead as she talked. ‘No, no … no. I … I’ve got it covered, but thanks for the offer, Alf … Anyway, you don’t know her so it’d be a bit strange. I mean, I was surprised to hear from her myself, you know when she asked me to look after Mia … She’s someone I knew from way back, the daughter of my dad’s friend. So you see, it’s best just to leave it to me.’
‘Okay, well if you’re sure, but it’s good you spoke to her. Hopefully whoever has got Mia will be in touch again to let us know what they’re really after … It’s going to be okay, Fran.’
Looking at the bloodstain on the carpet, which was no longer so obvious, Franny answered quietly. ‘Yeah, I think it will be.’
‘That’s my girl – and, Franny, I know I don’t say this often, but I’m really proud of you. I’m a lucky man to have you.’
Feeling flustered and uncomfortable, Franny hurried her words. ‘Listen, Alf, I’ve got to go. I’ll be home later but I ended up driving all the way to … to …’ she paused as she quickly thought of a place ‘… Richmond. Can you believe I ended up in Richmond?’
‘Fran, baby, I’m worried about you. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do right now? I can come and get you if you like.’
A thought suddenly crossed Franny’s mind. She spoke carefully. ‘Yeah, actually there is. I was thinking about Charlie.’
Alfie’s voice hardened. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be paying him a visit. He won’t even know what’s hit him.’
‘Well that’s what I was going to say, Alf. Maybe I was too quick to point the blame at Charlie. We can’t be sure, can we? We don’t actually know if he started the fire.’
Alfie sounded adamant. ‘Oh, I’m sure all right. More than sure in fact. The more I think about it, the more certain I am. Who else is it going to be?’
‘Look, I know your mate said the fire was deliberate, but we don’t know that for sure. Nothing official has been said yet. Why don’t we wait? We don’t want to make things worse with Charlie, do we? Promise me, Alf, you won’t go and see him until I come back. Please, I can’t cope with any more stress right now and an all-out war with Charlie is something neither of us need.’
There was a pause before Alfie said, ‘Okay, if that’s what you want.’
‘I do, and not only that, but it’s the right thing … I’ll see you later.’
Franny put down the phone, but immediately it rang again. ‘Hi, did you forget something?’ There was no answer. ‘Hello, Alf? Alf?’ She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen. Rather than it being Alfie as she first thought, the number had come up as private. She spoke again, though much more tentatively. ‘Hello?’ Again, there was nothing and trying not to feel alarmed, Franny clicked off the phone, frowning and staring at it once more before quickly pushing it down into her jeans pocket.
Bringing her focus back to Bree, Franny, feeling a pain in her neck from the stress, began to roll Bree up in the sheet but the rigor mortis caused Bree’s body to take on a strange and awkward shape; her legs were still angled and bent back from her fall. They were locked in position, making it impossible for Franny to straighten them out.
Unable to get Bree in the sheet as she was, Franny, chewing nervously on her lip, closed her eyes, steadying herself, then tried to think of nothing at all. With all her strength, she grabbed hold of one of Bree’s legs, forcing it straight, forcing it down, listening to the sound of Bree’s limbs cracking and breaking as she straightened her up.
Taking hold of the other leg, Franny again pushed down with all her weight on Bree’s hip. She heard a pop as it dislocated out of its socket. A wave of nausea ran through her, sweet saliva rushing into her mouth. She slammed her lips shut, swallowing down her vomit, and with hands shaking she began to wrap Bree’s now broken-boned body tightly up in the sheet, gaffer-taping it closed.
Wanting to finish the job as soon as she could, Franny stood up and ran outside, opening the boot of her car before wedging the front door partly open.
She checked up and down the street, and seeing it was deserted, she quickly rushed back into the flat and scooped up Bree’s body, then after the count of three, Franny ran to her car, throwing Bree into the boot and slamming it closed.
She breathed out, bending over, resting her hands on her knees. Emotions washing over her as her whole body shook.
She stayed like that for a minute, letting the nausea pass over as she tried to get her trembling under control. She sighed, knowing that there was still a long night in front of her. But she also knew that she needed to keep going. There was no time to waste.
Gathering herself together, Franny ran back inside the flat and looked around, giving it one more check to see if everything was back in place.
She locked up carefully, shutting the communal door behind her before jumping back into the car and speeding away into the night. But what Franny Doyle didn’t see was that someone was following her.
23
After spending the past half hour trying to get through to Vaughn on the phone, Alfie stood at the door of Charlie’s club. He still couldn’t believe Vaughn had left the way he had done. Okay, they’d been at loggerheads over Franny, and he’d been like a dog with a bone, but for Vaughn just to go off like that without saying anything, well if he was truthful, not only had it pissed him off, but it’d hurt too. Really hurt. They’d been through so much together and for it to end up like this felt like a real low-down blow.
He’d left a few voicemails for him, and no doubt Vaughn would eventually call back once he’d licked his wounds. Though of course, there was still the question of the money. According to Franny, Vaughn had been ripping them off, which was a pretty tough pill to swallow. But then, maybe Vaughn hadn’t seen it like that. Maybe Vaughn had decided he was still owed over a million pounds and as he wasn’t getting anywhere by asking for it, well, he’d just help himself.
And there was a part of him that didn’t blame Vaughn. These past few months had been a mess. He’d been a mess, what with the letters and Bree leaving him; perhaps Vaughn had just had enough of all the drama and wanted to get away himself. He had to admit, right now the idea of disappearing seemed very appealing. Still, the fact that he saw Vaughn’s point of view didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give him a hard time when he did eventually see him. A really hard time. Alfie style. For now though he had another little bird to catch: Charlie Eton.
Pushing himself back into the shadows, waiting and watching for Charlie’s men to leave, Alfie braced himself and hurried in, going up the back stairs of the seedy club Charlie had been running for the past few years.
At the top of the back stairs, which were strewn with empty condom
wrappers and smelt of urine, Alfie pushed open the large, metal fire door. He walked along the corridor to the far end, quietly going through another door, not wanting to attract attention.
‘Oi, mate! Do you mind! We’re busy in here! Now piss off!’ A large, balding fat man sitting naked on a chair in the middle of the room sneered at Alfie as a young girl, who Alfie guessed was no more than seventeen, knelt at the man’s feet, attempting to give him a blow job.
Angrily, Alfie strode up to him, clutching hold of the man’s thinning hair, pulling back his head. ‘Do you want to say that to me again, mate?’
Terrified, the man gave the smallest shake of his head. ‘No, I’m sorry … no harm meant.’
Ignoring him, Alfie looked around the dark, bare room and seeing the man’s trousers lying on the floor, he walked over to them, picking them up before going into the pockets and bringing out a brown leather wallet.
‘Let’s see how sorry you are, shall we?’
Opening it up, Alfie pulled out a wad of notes before walking back to where the man was watching him wide-eyed. He smiled at the girl who was still kneeling on the floor, and handed her all the money. ‘Here, darlin’, take this.’
‘Oi, there’s five hundred quid there. You can’t give her that! She ain’t even finished yet!’
As the girl got up and hurried out of the room, Alfie bent down, staring at the man square on in his eyes. ‘Funny that, mate, cos that’s exactly what I’ve just done … You got a problem with that?’
Reaching between the man’s legs, Alfie grabbed hold of the man’s balls, squeezing them hard and causing him to cry out in pain.
Alfie sneered. ‘I said, have you got a problem with that?’
The man was barely able to speak. ‘No … no.’
‘Good, that’s what I thought you’d said. Now where’s Charlie?’
‘Upstairs … he’s upstairs.’
Smirking, Alfie stood up, wiping his hand on his trousers before leaving the pathetic, terrified man squirming about in agony.