by Jacqui Rose
‘You’re going to kill him!’
‘And now?’ Alfie bared his teeth, pulling the belt with all his might.
‘Stop! Stop!’ she cried. ‘Stop!’
‘Why? I thought you’d said I could do anything, so it’s pointless me stopping, ain’t it?’ Alfie began to whistle as Anthony, starved of oxygen, started to judder.
‘Okay, okay! I’ll tell you, just leave him alone!’
‘That’s what I thought you’d say!’ And with that, Alfie released the tension in his belt before kicking the chair Anthony was tied on over onto the floor, causing him to smash down on his side as he coughed and spluttered for air.
Feeding his belt back through the loops in his jeans, Alfie sat down again, resting his foot on Anthony’s head, who was having difficulty breathing.
Angrily, Sally said, ‘Look what you’ve done to him. You bastard!’
‘I could do more. I could do the same to you if you want? I usually don’t lay my hands on women, but I could make you an exception to the rule. You want me to show you?’
Sally, her eyes full of fear, shook her head.
Alfie grinned. ‘Good, I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out. So now, what I want from you are answers, and if I think for a moment you’re not telling me the truth, you and Anthony here will be spending a painful afternoon with me? Do you understand what I’m saying?’
‘Yeah, yeah.’
‘So first off, who does this baby belong to?’
Sally glanced across to the toddler who Franny was still holding. ‘He’s … he’s my grandson.’
Alfie put his weight into his foot, crushing and pressing down on Anthony’s skull. As Anthony let out a scream of pain, Alfie leant in towards Sally. ‘Wrong answer. Try again, and this time you better get it right or your husband here is really going to suffer.’
Sally’s eyes darted about. ‘Okay, we’ve been looking after him, for a friend.’
Alfie shook his head. ‘You really are testing my patience.’ He raised his foot to bring it down again on Anthony but as he did so, Sally began to speak again, her words rushing out.
‘No, don’t! Stop! I’ll tell you, just please don’t hurt him anymore … The kid belongs to a couple, or he did.’
Alfie, already feeling ill and not really wanting to ask any more questions but knowing he had to, said, ‘What do you mean, he did?’
‘They sold him, and we’re just looking after him until the new owners come and get him. I swear he’s fine. Look at him – he’s well looked after. He’s a happy boy. I always change him, I always …’
Alfie bellowed, cutting into the woman’s words. ‘Shut up! Shut up, you warped bitch! Do you hear what you’re saying to me? Do you understand what shit is coming out of your mouth? You’re talking about him as if he’s just about to go to Disneyland instead of going to be abused by God knows who for God knows how long.’
‘It’s not always like that!’
With his face curled up with hatred, Alfie hissed, ‘I don’t care if it’s like that only once. Once is too much, you hear me?’
‘I’m only saying.’
Alfie lunged out and grabbed Sally’s face. He squeezed it hard between his fingers, fighting back the tears. ‘Don’t push it. Don’t push me. Because I am so close to putting a bullet in your head. Do you understand?’
Terrified, Sally nodded as Alfie let go of her. She continued to talk. ‘What I mean is, sometimes we look after kids who are simply changing hands. You know, someone can’t afford their kid, or don’t want them and the dealers buy them and then ask us to look after them until the new parents are found.’
‘You make it sound like it’s all rosy.’
Sally shrugged. ‘I’m just trying to explain the difference, that’s all.’
‘And what about the others? Because, fuck me, what you’ve told me is bad enough, but what about the other side of that coin? What about this kid here?’ Alfie nodded towards the toddler and as he did so he caught a glimpse of the strain on Franny’s face. He tried to smile at her, but he couldn’t manage it; what Sally was saying was too unbearable.
‘He’ll be all right. The person who bought him lives in Japan. They’ll give him a good home … but there are the others who get sold for other reasons.’
Alfie rubbed his head, which was now pounding with a migraine. ‘What is wrong with you? How can you live with yourself?’
‘It’s money, ain’t it? We all have to earn our keep.’
Alfie stood up and began to pace, anger and disgust running through him in equal measure. ‘I could be starving on the fucking street and you would never get me to come even close to doing what you do. I would rather die.’
The woman’s eyes flashed with irritation. ‘It’s not like I’m the one who’s abusing them though, is it?’
Alfie charged up to Sally, inches away from her. Everything in him wanted to put his hands around her neck and throttle her, but he held back as he felt the tears cutting at the back of his throat. ‘You might as well be, because you’re part of it. You know what’s happening to these kids, yet you’re still willing to be involved.’
‘At least I look after them properly! At least they get food and a bit of care. Sometimes it’s more than they’ve had in their entire life.’
Roaring out in anger, Alfie smashed his fist against the wall, resting his head against it as he tried to breathe and shut out the enormity of what Sally was saying with such aloofness it felt surreal. He spoke in a whisper. ‘Franny, I can’t talk to her anymore. You do it, because otherwise I’m going to fucking kill her.’
Franny, placing the sleeping toddler in the cot in the corner, nodded. She walked across to where Sally sat, reassuringly touching Alfie’s back as she walked past him.
Her voice was icy cold as she spoke to Sally. ‘Let’s talk about Barry, shall we?’
‘I don’t know who he is.’
Incensed, Franny slapped Sally hard across the face. ‘Don’t play games with me. I’m not like he is – I won’t just kill you, I’ll make every second as painful as I can too. Now, tell me about Barry Eton.’
With Anthony still on his side tied to the chair and Alfie resting against the wall with his eyes closed, Sally spoke, the tension in the air between the two women palpable. ‘I’ve only done business with him a couple of times. He’s just one of many clients that ask me to look after one of their products.’
‘How do you know him?’
‘My husband was in prison with him. Not on kiddie charges, he’s not into that either, but for GBH. Anyway, he met Barry and they got talking, and Anthony told him what we do.’
Franny stared at Sally. ‘How long have you been doing this?’
‘A long time. I mean, before the internet really became popular we did it, but it was much harder. Now it’s easy. People from all over the world are on the dark net, and there’s always a supply and demand with this.’
Franny felt revolted, as she was sure Alfie did, but she didn’t let her emotions show. ‘And what about a baby? A little girl, she was … she is four months old. Blonde curly hair, the palest of skin, blue eyes. She’s beautiful, really beautiful. Have … have you seen her? Recently, it would’ve been recently.’
Sally shook her head. ‘No.’
Franny exploded, her face turning red. She shouted as she trembled with anger. ‘You’re lying! You’re fucking lying.’
Seeing the rage in Franny, Sally, becoming frightened, began to stutter her words. ‘I … I … I don’t know. I’m telling the truth!’
Overcome with emotion, Franny’s voice cracked with hysteria, rage and hurt, panic and fury rushing through her. She pulled out her gun and pressed it under Sally’s chin. ‘Then where is she? Where’s Mia?’
Petrified, Sally shook her head. ‘I don’t know … I don’t know!’
A manic look came into Franny’s eyes. ‘That’s no good to me, Sally, because I have to find her. You hear me? I have to find her so scum like you, scum like Anthony, like
Barry can never, never put their hands on her. Do you understand that?’
‘Yes … yes.’
Still with the gun underneath Sally’s chin, Franny leant down and hissed, ‘Then tell me where she is, Sally.’
Sally’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I can’t tell you, because I don’t know. I don’t. I promise I don’t.’
‘Save the tears and don’t fucking insult me. Don’t insult those kids you took in, don’t insult any of us with your crocodile tears, because I don’t care, and I have never hated anyone so much in my life as I hate you right now.’ Franny paused, images of Mia flashing through her mind. She took a deep breath before saying, ‘Carry on telling me about Barry.’
Trying to regain her composure, Sally’s tone was edgy. ‘Well, it’s only recently he’s got out of prison; he hasn’t been trading long, though I’m not sure if he’s really got the money to.’
‘What do you mean?’
Sally shrugged, sighing and sounding like a woman defeated. ‘Unless you’re the middle man, which he isn’t anymore, a lot of the contacts he did have, well, he would’ve lost touch with them. Then if that happens, you have to shell out for the products – the kids – yourself, before you can sell them on. Plus, sometimes you have to pay people like me if you don’t have a buyer straightaway.’
Franny glared at Sally. ‘I was under the impression Barry did filming, streaming, rather than just buying and selling.’
‘I dunno, but if he does, he won’t be the main player. He’ll be working for someone else just to earn a few bob.’
Hating the conversation, Franny said, ‘Why doesn’t he do it himself though?’
Glancing down at her husband, Sally said, ‘Because you really have to know what you’re doing to set yourself up on the net. Of course, if you’re computer savvy then it’s easy enough and you can make yourself a fortune, but otherwise, the police will be able to track you straightaway, and I don’t think Barry wants to end up inside again.’
‘So, what’s his game?’
‘From what I understand, he wants to be a dealer.’
‘So, has Barry paid you a visit recently?’
Taking a deep breath, Sally nodded. ‘Yeah, he was here yesterday. He came to collect a little boy I was looking after for him, though the kid was only here a couple of nights.’
Franny, almost unable to look at Sally, asked, ‘So where’s the boy now? What’s going to happen to him?’
‘Look, I shouldn’t be saying any more.’
Without hesitation, Franny raised her voice. ‘Just tell me!’
‘If people find out they can’t trust me, I’ll be in trouble.’
Franny pushed up against Sally, her eyes blazing. ‘Listen to me, Sally, these people will be the least of your worries if you don’t continue talking, so you might as well tell me.’
Gazing up into Franny’s face, Sally simply said, ‘There’s going to be an auction. Barry’s going to auction off the boy.’
38
Alfie, having recovered slightly, sat staring at Sally. He spoke to her as Franny fed the toddler – who’d woken up hungry – a bottle of milk.
‘Have you a photo of this boy?’
‘No.’
Alfie – his patience non-existent – kicked the legs of Sally’s chair. ‘I said, have you a fucking photo of this little boy?’
Nervously, Sally nodded. ‘Yes … yes, it’s on my phone. We don’t usually take photos. It’s too risky but …’
‘But what?’
‘Barry wanted me to because it was a way of drumming up business. He thought that as I know the right people, maybe I could ask about, see if anyone’s interested. You know, show them the photo because obviously the more people go to the auction, the better for him. The more money it will generate.’
Alfie spoke, but it was more of a statement than a question. ‘And you’ll get a cut of that. A bonus.’
Sally nodded as Alfie continued to talk. He spoke thoughtfully. ‘Let me see the photo.’
With only a slight hesitation, Sally said, ‘My phone’s over there. The code is 7, 6, 9, 7, 4, 1.’
Alfie stood up and strode across to pick up Sally’s phone. Still wearing gloves, he punched in the numbers. He scrolled through Sally’s photo album, shaking his head at the inoffensive pictures on it. Seaside snaps, holiday snaps, fun days out that only emphasised to Alfie the horrific reality of the whole situation.
Suddenly he stopped. His whole body froze as he stared at a photo of a little boy sitting on a couch. The same little boy he’d seen in the warehouse, with his same haunted eyes – the same look of fear in them. He whispered to no one particular. ‘That’s him … that’s the boy. I think we’ve found him.’ He quickly showed the photo to Franny before turning his attention back to Sally. ‘This is the boy Barry brought to you, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, sweet little thing. No trouble. Didn’t cry once. Come to think of it, he didn’t say anything.’
Snorting in derision, Alfie snapped, ‘Are you surprised? He was probably terrified … What’s his name?’
‘Taylor.’
‘And who does he belong to?’
Sally blinked, looking more uncomfortable than she did already.
Alfie tilted his head and, frowning, spoke with dangerous menace. ‘Who, Sally? Who does he belong to?’
‘Alan.’
Shocked, Alfie stared at Sally. ‘Alan? Barry’s friend?’
‘Yeah. He’s a druggie and he’s known Barry for a while. Anyway, Taylor’s mum went off when the kid was a baby and Alan had him.’
‘What about what he went inside for? I don’t get it. Surely, social services must’ve known he’s not safe to be around kids?’
‘Don’t ask me. From what I understand they thought he’d been rehabilitated. You know, saw the error of his ways. So, he got the kid back and moved away from the area. I suppose the authorities lost touch with him. Happens a lot.’
‘So, Alan sold Taylor to Barry?’
‘Yeah, for a thousand quid. No doubt Alan’s already pissed it away on gear. But Barry’s quids in. A kid like Taylor will go for a lot of money.’
Alfie sat down, letting the information wash over him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was one thing being a drug addict and another thing being a cruel, heartless, calculating monster. A thought came to him. ‘But hang on, you said, the more people go to the auction. He’s not doing it online?’
Sally spoke flatly as Anthony lay motionless at her feet. ‘No. A lot of people who aren’t big players prefer to do it more discreetly. That way they know who they’re dealing with. Online, it could be anyone, anywhere in the world, and like I mentioned, you really have to be sophisticated, know what you’re doing, otherwise the police will be knocking on your door before the auction’s even over.’
‘So where and when is Barry holding it?’
‘I don’t know.’
Alfie sneered. He bent down to Anthony, putting the gun against the man’s head. ‘Come off it, Sally, you said yourself that he wants you to drum up business, so all it will take is a call from you to let him know a regular client is interested in Taylor. Either that or I do what I’ve wanted to do since I walked in here. What’s it going to be?’ Alfie undid the safety latch on his gun. ‘Your choice.’
‘All right … all right. It’s going to be held in a couple of days’ time at a warehouse in East London. I don’t have to call him though because you just need to take an entrance ticket and they’ll let you in.’
‘And how do I get one of those?’
‘They’re over in the drawer. That large drawer under the television.’
Alfie walked across to the far side of the room and bent down to open the drawer. He frowned and looked at Sally. ‘Is this some kind of fucked-up joke?’
‘No, that’s what you need to take. That’s your ticket to get in. That will get you into the auction.’
A wave of nausea rushed over Alfie as he bent down, taking a blue dummy with
a blue ribbon tied to it out of the drawer.
39
Having called the police anonymously from outside the flat, and having waited and watched them arrive, Franny and Alfie drove back to London in silence, both of them traumatised and wishing they could turn back the clock and un-hear what they’d been told in Sally and Anthony’s flat. But both of them realised what they’d heard would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
By the time they arrived in Soho Square, it was the early hours of the morning and tiredness hit them.
Outside the house, Alfie turned off the engine and just sat and stared ahead, and it was a number of minutes before he spoke his first words in over two hours. ‘We need to sort this.’
‘I know, but how?’
‘It’s too risky to leave it for the police; by the time they’ve done their investigation, Barry will be long gone, so I’m going to go to that auction. We’re going to go.’
Rubbing her temples and taking a quick sip of her warm can of Coke, Franny, feeling exhausted, asked, ‘But what about Sally and Anthony? What if he hears something?’
‘If Barry does hear anything about Sally and Anthony being arrested, he certainly won’t think it’s anything to do with him. He’ll probably just be pleased he took Taylor out of there before there was a raid. Though I expect word won’t get out for a few days, if not more, and by that time Barry would’ve taken Taylor to the auction.’
‘So, what next?’
‘We’re going to go and bid for him. However much it takes. Whatever it takes, we’re going to make sure we get Taylor back. And once we’ve got him, I’ll take him to my friend Claire. She fosters kids and stuff, you know through social services, so she’ll know exactly what to do with him. If we do that he’ll be safe, but we’ll be able to keep our names out of it. She won’t say anything about us.’
Worried, Franny stared at Alfie. ‘That’s all fine, but ain’t you jumping the gun a bit? The auction’s tomorrow night – you won’t be able to lay your hands on enough money that quickly. Things have been difficult.’
‘Like I say, whatever it takes, I’ll do it. We’ve got a good few grand in the safe and …’