by Mel Sherratt
Tamara wondered if Esther was as lonely as she was, and all the attention they’d been getting from Jack and his team might have taken its toll. She’d noticed Esther and Jack chatting in the garden, heads close together as if they were planning something, but when she’d asked her about it, Esther had shrugged and said she couldn’t recall what had been said. It seemed odd, but then again, with the champagne swimming around in Tamara’s veins at the moment, she doubted she’d remember much in the morning.
She slipped off her heels and threw herself on to the settee, laughing out loud. She was too wired up to sleep, wishing she could lie in tomorrow morning, but there was so much to do. Tamara had met many potential clients and she wanted to follow through with them while the leads were hot. So much for taking the day off!
She’d counted nine business cards that had been thrust into her hands that evening. One man asked if she would run the social media platforms for his business. Obviously, she’d told him she was inundated with work. She’d giggled to herself when he then said he would pay whatever it took.
She pulled herself up from the settee and went into the kitchen. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped back as much as she could. The iciness took her breath away and she coughed. But at least that might stop the headache being so bad in the morning.
Even when she went to bed, she couldn’t sleep. The evening was on replay through her mind, her ears ringing with the sound of music and conversation.
Things were finally turning a corner for her, the episode with Michael becoming a distant memory. She couldn’t be happier with how things were going.
But she had to admit, now that the ‘She Did It’ campaign was gathering momentum, it was actually down to Esther. No, she thought, she should give herself some credit. Esther might have started everything but it was because of her hard work and vision that they had succeeded.
Tamara had noticed in the short time they’d worked together that, although she was very focussed on some things, Esther lost interest in others rather quickly. Esther was always after the next shiny object, whereas she would prefer to sit back and work with what she had, rather than step on to the next bandwagon of ideas. Sometimes doing that kind of thing was a waste of time and effort. She was happy to try new things, but she didn’t have a lot of time to waste.
She smiled as she stretched out like a cat in the bed. Someone had actually called her driven that evening. She’d had to stop from laughing in his face. It was only when she was coming home in the taxi that she thought about it, and she was driven. She had found out the hard way how to become a success in business by making mistakes, learning from them, and carrying on. Other people might have given up a long time ago, admitted defeat. But no, she’d kept on going.
And she’d succeeded. Something’s Got to Give would be the making of her as well as Simone Byatt.
Things were definitely on the way up for her. She deserved her success because she’d proved that she was strong.
Whether that was down to her, or Esther giving her the confidence and belief she needed, it didn’t matter. For now, she would tuck away her niggles and doubts and celebrate her success.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Esther’s journey into work seemed to go on forever. Standing in a packed tube with a head full of banging drums and a mouth like a cesspit wasn’t her idea of fun. She’d thought of staying in bed, saying she was sick, but she also needed to know what she’d said and done. She could only remember the evening up until 10.00 p.m. when she had taken a little amphetamine to give her a lift.
She hoped she hadn’t embarrassed herself, but come on, assistant? She was so much more than that. She’d been well educated, enjoying school immensely and even though the incident had stopped her going on to further education and university, she’d relished the opportunity to learn later in life.
She heard her phone ring as she was coming up from the tube at Victoria and scrambled to get it out of her bag in time. Jack’s name flashed up on the screen.
‘I’m so sorry about last night,’ he said before she could speak. ‘I tried to find you again but Tamara said you’d left. I really didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘You didn’t. I was tired. It’s been a busy week.’ Esther wasn’t going to let him know he had got to her. At the same time, she sighed with relief. She must have behaved fairly decent or else he wouldn’t be sounding her out now. He didn’t have to ring her; he could have gone through Tamara if he was disappointed in her behaviour.
She heard him take a deep breath. ‘Natalie is away with the boys next weekend and I wondered if you wanted to spend Saturday with me, at the house?’
Her smile widened. ‘I’d love to, but I’m sure Natalie wouldn’t like it if I was there with you alone.’
‘I can switch the cameras off while you’re here. Hang on a moment.’ She heard him mumbling to someone. ‘I have to go. We’ll talk later?’
‘Oh, yes, I think we will.’
His laughter rang in her ears as she disconnected the call. The knot in her stomach untied itself and completely dissipated. She had Jack exactly where she wanted him. He had fallen for her act.
All her game-playing had worked. No one knew she had met Jack way before she had started to work with Tamara on the pitch for Something’s Got to Give. Esther had planned on seducing him over time but the day out at Ascot had been a bonus. Even going back to his house and the unfortunate scene with Tamara and Oscar could have been a disaster, but luckily it had all worked out, and everything had been forgotten.
You see, Esther wasn’t the loving type once you got to know her – really know her. Not the Esther she showed to everyone, but the person underneath. The one she kept well hidden.
And even though Tamara suspected her of trying to bag a rich man, she didn’t know the half of it. She was after revenge. The Maitland family was going to rue the day they heard of Esther Smedley, and Jack had come one step closer to getting her what she needed.
She almost skipped into work, blowing a kiss to Raj as he was pottering around in the hallway. It more or less felt as if she was falling in love with Jack when in actual fact she was high on getting even.
Tamara was on the phone when she let her in. While she continued her conversation, Esther made their usual drinks and sat down across from her. Tamara’s hands were waving about as she talked. When she disconnected the call, she smiled at her.
‘I have so many offers of work coming in!’
‘That’s great news!’ She smiled. ‘I hope that means you’ll need staff too!’
‘Possibly.’
‘Well, if you need a partner, you know I’m your woman.’
The look on Tamara’s face wasn’t the reaction Esther was after. Her smile had disappeared, quickly replaced by a frown. Did she doubt her? Why wouldn’t Tamara want to employ her permanently? Hadn’t she done enough to prove herself? Wasn’t she worthy of a job with her?
Esther’s throwaway comment had backfired. Even though she wasn’t going to stick around for much longer, her good mood evaporated in seconds.
###
The look on Esther’s face shocked Tamara. When Esther had said she wanted to partner up with her, she wasn’t sure if she was joking or being deadly serious. Either way, she must have shown her horror as Esther quickly put her head down and got back to work.
Tamara tried to make eye contact with her for the next half hour or so to give her a smile, gauge how she was feeling, but she never looked up. Not once.
‘Do you have the latest graph with the Amazon rankings and the Neilson figures?’ she asked for want of something to say.
‘I can get them for you,’ Esther said, still avoiding eye contact.
‘Great, I’ll make coffee while you do.’
When she came back into the room with the drinks, Tamara gave in. She couldn’t sit through the silence and awkward atmosphere any longer. It unsettled her, made her feel inferior.
‘Esther, have I upset you in some w
ay?’ she asked.
‘No.’ This time Esther did look at her and her smile was as bright as ever. It didn’t seem to reach her eyes though.
‘That’s funny because you’ve been really quiet since you made your remark about being my partner.’
Esther waved off the remark. ‘That was a joke.’
‘Good, because I’m really sorry but it can’t happen. I enjoy working with you but I can’t hire anyone else permanently. If any of this work does actually come my way, I would definitely still continue to employ you on a temporary basis.’
‘It really was a joke,’ Esther insisted. ‘All I ask is that you give me a good reference when you no longer require my services. I like temping and getting to work with different people anyway. Learning keeps me on my toes.’
It was Tamara’s turn to wave away the comment. ‘I have no intention of letting you go yet.’
‘Understood.’ Esther held out her hand. ‘Is that my coffee?’
Tamara gave her the mug. Again, Esther disappeared behind the laptop, avoiding her eye. She sighed inwardly. Having staff to look after was more difficult at times than she’d envisioned.
The room dropped into another awkward silence. Tamara disliked them and usually went to fill them first, but this time she didn’t. It lasted over an hour before Esther spoke to her and everything returned to normal.
When she had left for the day, Tamara sat back and thought about what had gone on. Having Esther around all the time made her mood swings more noticeable. One minute she was up and the next she would be downcast.
She tried not to laugh out loud as she realised that she was about to quote the book title they were working on in her mind.
But it was apt because something had to give if their working relationship was to continue.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Monday, 13 March
Danny Bristol lived two streets away from Ewan Smith, in an identical block of twelve flats, four to each floor. Before they had left Smith’s flat, a CSI had mentioned there were several sets of prints coming up already. A knock on a few of the doors of the remaining flats had unveiled that there had been a party a few nights ago. Music had been blasting until 2.00 a.m., despite protests from some.
Danny Bristol lived in flat 309 with his sister, Lindsay Copperly. Max knocked on the door and a scrawny-looking woman with a screaming toddler hoisted on to her hip opened it. She rolled her eyes at them, even before she had seen their warrant cards.
‘Will you shut up for one minute,’ she roared to someone behind her who was competing with the noise level. Then she gave out an exasperated sigh. ‘He’s not here,’ she snapped. ‘I haven’t seen him since yesterday.’
‘Can we come in for a moment?’
‘You don’t believe me?’ Lindsay held open the door. ‘Be my guest, check wherever you like.’
They followed Lindsay inside. Carley checked the two bedrooms first and held her breath as she stepped into the bathroom. But at least the kids looked clean, and the living room was tidy, despite the stale smell of lingering body odour.
‘Do you know where he was last night?’ Max asked. ‘Or where he will be now?’
Lindsay shook her head, hoisting the crying child up further on to her hip. Carley held in a grimace as snot from the little boy’s nose ran into his mouth. Lindsay caught her looking, pulled a tissue from the sleeve of her jumper and wiped it clean.
‘I don’t know where he is and I don’t really care,’ she said. ‘He took my social money last night. It’s supposed to last a week and he left me with a tenner. What the hell can I buy with that? It won’t even cover my fags.’
Carley let out an irritated sigh. ‘Did he say where he was going last night?’
‘Out with his mates.’
‘Do you know where?’
The sounds of Peppa Pig exploded into the room. Lindsay grabbed for the television remote that her eldest child had switched on to full. ‘Will you leave that thing alone!’ she yelled before turning to them again. ‘Look, I told you I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning. If you see him before me, tell him that he’s a dead man walking. I’m sick of him and his thieving.’
They left minutes later, fully satisfied that he wasn’t in the property. ‘Do you believe her, sir?’ Carley asked once they were heading down the steps to the ground again.
Max shrugged. ‘I think I do. So, if he didn’t stop here and he isn’t at Ewan Smith’s place, where the hell is he?’
‘Sleeping off a hangover, no doubt.’ Carley had arrested Danny for drunk and disorderly on many occasions.
‘Can you check the CCTV footage around Smith’s flat if there is any, see if we can pick anything up?’ Max said. ‘Start from his street and work your way out. Someone will have seen him leaving his flat and at what time. Or maybe even walking home, grabbing a bite to eat. We need to know who he was with last night.’
‘Seems funny, Sarge, doesn’t it?’ Carley said. They were at ground level now and broke out into the open area. ‘First Kerrigan and now Smith. It’s as if the gang is imploding.’
‘Or someone is making it seem that way.’
‘Re: Kerrigan, we have prints on record from numerous people in the room. We’ve ruled out some of them, but most were in a group of squatters in an old church hall in Shoreditch. They’ve been moved on from there since it was demolished earlier this year. Shall I keep trying to locate them?’
Max paused for a moment, before nodding. ‘Yes, keep looking. It seems strange that two of the three in the same group of friends have been wiped out. But I’m not ruling out that any of them had a hand in Ewan’s death. Not until we’ve spoken to them all. Put a call on the system to locate Bristol. We’ll soon nab him.’
Carley nodded as they got to the pool car. ‘They’ve all got records a mile long.’
‘Keep digging.’ Max started the engine. ‘Keep on top of forensics and let me know when they have come back.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Monday, 10 July
It was past 9.00 p.m. when Esther got home that evening. The rest of the weekend had been hectic after the book launch, and she had worked above and beyond her hours of contract. She felt exhausted but it kept her mind occupied. Also, Jack had been texting her throughout the day, so much that she’d been forced to put her phone on silent and reply only when Tamara was out of the room.
They’d met for a drink after work. Things were going fine between them, and she reckoned she’d be able to move things along a step quite soon, get the incriminating evidence she required.
On her way into the house, she collected the mail from her box, walked upstairs and let herself into her flat. Flicking a light on and closing the door with her foot, she opened the first letter. Her shoulders dropped. The direct debit for her electricity bill had been rejected again.
She sighed, wondering if she should ask Tamara for a loan as she wasn’t due to be paid for another week. She wasn’t going to use her own money and it was partly Tamara’s fault anyway. Now that Esther was going out most evenings to launches or dinners as she integrated herself into the crowd, she had to have more clothes. She had to wear expensive outfits to blend in with her new crowd, didn’t she?
The next letter wasn’t any better.
‘Shit!’ Esther sat down at the tiny kitchen table and read it all through before groaning loudly. It was an eviction notice giving her twenty-eight days to clear the property. She screwed up the letter and threw it to the floor. Then she poured herself a neat whiskey and downed it in one. She wanted it to calm her, so that she didn’t have to take anything.
Why did this have to occur now, especially after what had happened with Danny, buried in the garage? She needed more time, a month, two at the most. It was imperative that she kept the roof over her head until then. There was no way she could go back on the streets, and she couldn’t carry her money around with her. It was too dangerous.
She reached for her phone and, thinking positive vibes, rang
the number on the letter.
‘Mr Ripley, how are you? It’s Esther Smedley,’ her voice rang out. ‘I was—’
‘You got my letter, I presume?’
‘Yes, I’m terribly sorry for the mix-up. I’ve started a new job and had to work a month in hand. My wages should have gone in on time but I can’t see them. I’ll be chasing this up first thing in the morning. I’m so embarrassed.’
‘It’s too late. This is the second month you’ve missed. I have tenants lined up who will pay on time.’
‘But surely you can give me a few weeks? I’ve paid up until now.’
‘And what happens if you don’t pay then?’
‘I’ll get it sorted first thing in the morning.’
‘I’ve heard it all before.’
‘I won’t let you down,’ she said.
There was a pause on the line. ‘If the money is in my account by the end of this week, then fine. If not, you’re out on your ear in twenty-eight days.’
‘It will be there.’ Esther sounded confident but inside she was fuming. She had lived in so many squats in her late teens and early twenties that had been better than this and rent-free. He wasn’t having a penny more from her for living in this dump. She’d given him more than he deserved already.
She had kept up with her rent for three months purposely, but it seemed it wasn’t long enough to garner trust. She now knew that her landlord would throw her out in an instant rather than end up out of pocket. She’d never liked him; he was a sleazeball. Renting out this kind of hovel, his sort always were.
She disconnected the phone, dropped on to the settee, arms folded and glared at the wall in front of her. Just as she thought everything was going well, something always came up. Twenty-eight days wasn’t enough!