Ella turned up at half past five and smiled at the doorman, with whom she was on first-names terms now. She rang the bell and Virginia opened the door. “Hi.” She walked in.
“Clara’s not here,” Virginia said.
“Well, she said she’d be out,” Ella replied.
“Yes, but I’m nervous.”
“Me too,” Ella agreed, and sat down. They sat and waited, discussing Johnny but not getting far. They were aware that Clara had a plan and they were infuriated that they knew nothing about it. Then the telephone rang.
“Should we get that?” Virginia asked.
“It might be Clara,” Ella said, and picked it up.
“Hello.”
“Ella, it’s me,” Clara said.
“Where are you?” Ella asked.
“At the police station.”
“What?” Ella screeched, and Virginia leapt to her feat.
“I’ve been arrested,” Clara replied, quite calmly.
“What for, Clara?” Ella asked.
“Possession. A wrap of coke I didn’t even know I had fell out of my bag.”
“Your coke fell out of your bag?” Ella repeated. Virginia’s face drained of colour.
“I bumped into a policeman and dropped my bag. Can you come and get me?” Clara said.
“Clara, hang on. I don’t understand. What the hell? Oh, God.”
“Shut up and listen. Ella, my coke fell out of my bag. I didn’t know I had any. I haven’t taken any. The policeman arrested me and they charged me with possession. I promised I didn’t usually do this and I just bought the stuff from someone on the street. OK? They’re giving me a caution. I need you to come and get me because I don’t have any money and I don’t know how to get out of here.” Suddenly Clara was sounding hysterical.
“Where are you?” Ella asked.
“Kentish Town police station. It’s on Holmes Road, NW5-Do you know it?” Clara said.
“No, but I’ll find it. Fuck, Clara,” Ella replied.
“Just get here. “Bye.” Clara hung up.
“Come on. We’ve got to go and get her,” Ella said.
“But ...” Virginia started.
“I’ll explain on the way, but I’ll be fucked if I understand.” Ella grabbed her bag and ran out of the door.
After about ten minutes they hailed a taxi. “Kentish Town police station,” Ella said.
“This is too much for me,” Virginia said, as she sat down.
“Pull yourself together,” Ella retorted sharply, then explained what little she knew while ignoring the interested glances of the cab driver.
“Clara’s a liability,” Virginia said.
“I know,” Ella concurred.
“What are we going to do?”
“We are going to finish what we’ve started,” Ella replied, as calmly as she could.
“Right.”
“Then we’re putting Clara into rehab.”
“Right.”
‘”Then we’re going to therapy.”
“Right.”
“I know a good therapist,” the cab driver offered, and was met with dagger looks. God, he thought, those two look like they need a good seeing-to, never mind therapy. But he kept quiet and he kept driving.
They pulled up at the police station and saw Clara flirting with a policeman on the steps.
“Can you wait?” Ella asked.
“Sure” the cab driver replied. This was better than a film.
If Clara was stricken by her experience she didn’t show it. She was smoking a cigarette and waiting. As soon as she saw Ella and Virginia, she waved. “My friends are here,” she said to the policeman.
“Sorry, Officer,” Virginia said, immediately hating herself for it, and Ella rolled her eyes.
“It’s such a disgrace you don’t give us criminals a lift home.” Clara simpered at him. Ella grabbed her, dragged her to the cab and they got in.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ella asked, angry again.
“I told you, it’s a mistake,” Clara said innocently.
“What were you doing here?” Ella asked. “You told us your counsellor was in Mayfair.”
“So I lied. I was working on my plan for Johnny,” Clara said defensively.
“OK. Then tell us about it,” Ella commanded.
“I’ll explain tomorrow.” Clara folded her arms defiantly.
“Fine. But you’d better have come up with a good one,” Ella said.
“Oh, I have.” Clara smiled.
When they got home, Ella paid off the cab driver, ignoring his smirks. They walked inside in silence.
“Thank you again for rescuing me.” Clara giggled.
“Clara, just shut up. You’re in a lot of trouble,” Ella roared.
“Really? I’m scared.”
“You are still taking drugs,” Ella accused her.
“Well, tomorrow you’ll be glad I am. Now I’m going to bed.” Clara slammed the door of her room, although it was barely seven o’clock.
“What do you make of it?” Virginia asked.
“She’s been lying to us. There’s no counsellor, no plan, just a drug-dealer,” Ella answered simply.
“So what do we do?” Virginia asked.
“Virginia, I do not have all the answers.” Ella was sharp again.
“Well, I do. We wait until tomorrow and see if she has anything. Otherwise, we make our own plan. We’ve done it twice we can do it again.”
Virginia had raised her voice and Ella was surprised. “OK. Sorry,” she said.
“That’s fine. Let’s try to get along,” Virginia suggested.
“Shit, what happened to you?” Ella asked.
“I can’t tell you,” Virginia said, again thinking of James.
“Have you met someone?” Ella asked.
“Maybe but I won’t tell you yet. OK?”
“OK,” Ella replied, and settled down on the sofa.
They avoided proper conversation and watched television. They went to bed and woke the next day feeling unsettled.
Chapter Forty-two
Virginia was up first, and Ella found her cleaning the kitchen.
“Morning,” Ella said, trying to sound more cheerful than she felt.
“Morning,” Virginia replied. They looked at each other awkwardly.
Ella put the kettle on and made coffee. She handed a cup to Virginia.
“Thanks.” They lapsed back into silence.
Soon afterwards, Clara appeared. “Hi,” she said, looking ashamed.
“Well, hello,” Ella replied.
“I’m sorry,” Clara announced.
“What for?” Ella asked.
“For last night,” Clara replied.
“Oh. You mean for being arrested and acting like a total moron?”
“Leave it,” Virginia said.
“Why?” Both Ella and Clara asked it at the same time.
“Because this isn’t getting us anywhere.”
“The oracle has spoken,” Clara said sarcastically.
“Shut the hell up,” Virginia shouted. “Clara, we know you’re still taking coke. We don’t believe any of this counsellor shit. And don’t ask us to trust you because you’ve never given us a reason to. Ella, stop pushing. Either we leave each other now or we carry on. That’s our choice, the only choice we can make.” Virginia stopped, and the others just looked at her.
“Well, you’ve certainly found your voice,” Clara said.
“Yes, I bloody well have, thanks to you. God, you guys snipe at each other all the time and usually I cower, but not now. Never again. If you don’t start to behave then I’m out,” Virginia said angrily.
The other two were shocked. Virginia had never stood up to them before.
“Clara, have you been using cocaine?” Virginia asked.
“Yes, but later you’ll see that I’m not an addict,” Clara answered.
“Right. You’re a bloody fool then,” Virginia snapped.
Clara looked im
pressed. “Gosh, you’ve sworn twice in one day. That must be a record,” she said.
“Fuck you, Clara. At least I wasn’t arrested. At least I didn’t risk everything we’ve worked for. You’re a bloody liability,” Virginia barked.
“I said I was sorry. I’m not what you think. I’ve worked out the Johnny plan, I promise. I’ll tell you tonight,” Clara pleaded.
“You’d better not let us down,” Virginia said sternly.
“You can be quite scary when you’re riled,” Ella said.
“Yes, I can, can’t I?” Virginia replied, and they all collapsed into giggles.
They spent the day sitting around trying to be nice to each other. At one point Clara-went off to call Gavin. She told him to be there at five that evening. She received a call from Johnny. With raised eyebrows from the other two, she went into her room and told him she missed him but was working hard. He asked for her work number. She told him to call her mobile as she was never at her desk; he seemed pacified. She said she would see him later that week and he said he might be available. “Of course you’ll be available, you sad fuck,” Clara said to herself.
***
Virginia was sitting on the sofa, looking and feeling awkward, Ella slumped in an armchair while Clara was pacing the room maniacally. She had sneaked a couple of lines of cocaine, and although the others had noticed, no one said anything. Ella was unsure what to do. She was angry with Clara, but she knew that Clara was not easily convinced of her wrongdoing. She decided that she would wait and watch and hope that a miracle intervened. Clara was excited about her plan and feeling very clever. It was time to fill the others in.
“OK. We’ve had two successful results. You masterminded the last two attempts, although I know I helped. You see, I really only had a little bit of involvement, and then I was arrested and you two are worried about me. But you don’t need to worry, I’m fine. Just a little keen on the old recreational drug, but that’s nothing, really, and I’ve got to say thank you for Tim, which was better than I ever imagined. And, well, you guys did a great job, and Isabelle, although that wasn’t my personal vendetta, I still feel very happy she got what she deserved, so now I’ve planned the last one myself to say thank you.” At last Clara stopped to draw breath.
“Clara, we’re in this together, we all contributed, and we think it works because we all put forward different ideas.” Ella could see that Clara was out of control.
“Yes. I think it might be better if we all think this through together,” Virginia said in support.
“Don’t be silly. Anyway, I have Johnny’s revenge all worked out. It’s so great and you’ll be so pleased with me.” Clara resumed the pacing.
“Well, are you going to share it with us?” Ella asked.
“Of course. I found a man who looks like a woman. Well he does when he dresses like one. Which he does sometimes because he’s a prostitute. And he’s gay. But he’s really stunning and I thought he was a woman, gosh I was so shocked when I found out he was a man. He even sounds like a woman. So we are going to get him to seduce Johnny and videotape them together. We’ll send the tape to your old desk, Ella, and he’ll never be able to show his face again. Or anything else.” Clara shrieked with laughter.
Virginia and Ella did not.
“That is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. How on earth is Johnny going to let himself be seduced by a man and how on earth are you going to video them? This is ridiculous,” Ella said, and Virginia was speechless.
“Ella, you’re such a drag. Of course it’ll work. All Gavin – that’s his name – has to do is meet Johnny in a bar and chat him up. You said he was egotistical so he’s bound to fall for it. Then all he has to do is to take him home and put some sleeping stuff into his drink, undress them both and video them in bed together.” Clara was still smiling. The others weren’t.
“That’s date rape. Christ, Clara, that’s illegal. So far we haven’t broken the law and we have not used drugs and rape. My God, I feel sick at the thought.” Ella was furious.
“It’s not rape because nothing will happen. It’s just that it will look like it has on the videotape, two men sleeping side by side. That’s all. He’s not going to actually do it. There’s nothing illegal at all. I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
‘drugging someone is illegal. What happens when it all blows up? If Johnny goes to the police, says he was kidnapped and drugged, your Gavin will blow the whistle on us and we’ll be done for. I do not want to take that risk. I’m not doing it.” Ella was furious.
“Nor me,” Virginia agreed.
“Oh, God. Here I am with two little Miss Perfects. Listen. When Johnny wakes up Gavin will be wearing girl’s clothes and will tell him he passed out, Johnny won’t suspect a thing until he sees the videotape. What do you mean date rape? That won’t stand up in court,” Clara was furious that they weren’t grateful.
“Clara, this is the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Ella said, and Virginia nodded in agreement.
“Ella, this is exactly what it’s about. We set out to destroy the lives of the people who tried to destroy ours. We did it with the other two and we’re going to do this now. My way. Even if you two don’t agree, this is going ahead and it’s going to be the best. But, of course, why should you trust me? No one else does. Everyone expects me to mess up – my parents, Tim, now you two. And I thought we were beginning to trust each other. I thought we were all we had. But you just think I’m useless, like everyone else in my life. Thanks, girls, thanks a lot.” Clara stormed off.
“She’s mad,” Virginia exclaimed. “What are we going to do?”
Just then the doorbell rang. Ella answered it and found herself staring at an attractive woman.
“I’m Gavin,” the “woman” said. Ella let him in, lost for words.
Clara had returned from her bedroom. “Gavin darling, how are you?” she gushed, and kissed Gavin’s rouged cheek.
“Fine, darling. Have you told them?” he asked, looking at Virginia and Ella.
“Yes, but they’re a bit worried about it,” Clara replied.
“Why?” Gavin asked.
“Oh, they think he’ll go to the police and try to pin date rape on you,” Clara explained apologetically.
“Well, that won’t work, will it? I’ll say nothing happened,” Gavin giggled, “and he passed out as soon as he got to my flat. I’d defy him to prove otherwise.”
“That’s exactly what I said. Drink, Gavin?” Clara asked, and left the room.
“You don’t look like a man,” Virginia said.
“Do you want to see my penis?” Gavin offered.
“No,” Virginia said quickly.
“We’re just worried about the legalities,” Ella said.
“And I’m worried about the money. Do you want me to do it or not?” Gavin enquired, stroppy now.
“Yes,” Clara said, as she returned.
“How do we get them together?” Ella asked reasonably.
“That’s easy. I’ve been seeing him,” Clara replied, pouring wine for everyone.
“You’ve what?” Ella was appalled.
“Look, I know I told you I was seeing a counsellor, but I wasn’t. I was seeing Johnny.”
“How could you?” Virginia asked.
“Because we had to get him, and to get him we needed to know where he was and what he was doing. I was doing you a favour.”
“Clara, tell me you haven’t slept with him,” Ella said, her head in her hands.
“I screwed him. It was brief and horrid and, I did it for you,” Clara screeched.
Gavin looked on with interest.
“I’d never ask you to do that,” Ella said, horrified.
“Well, I bloody did,” Clara replied.
“So am I going to do it or not?” Gavin asked calmly.
“No,” Virginia and Ella said.
“Yes,” Clara shouted.
“Well, which is it to be?”
“Gavin, I said we would do this a
nd we will. Please excuse my ungrateful friends. I’ll call you tomorrow to set it up,” Clara said. “How do you get your boobs to look so real?”
“I’ve had this thing for ages. It’s a bra with built in squidgy things, like water really or silicon. Do you want a feel?”
“No,” Virginia and Ella shouted in unison.
“I do.” Clara got up to inspect them. Virginia buried her head in her hands and Ella stared in silence. “Gosh, they feel real as well. How clever. Oh Gavin, what name do you use when you’re being a woman?”
“Crystal,” Gavin said proudly. Virginia groaned from behind her hands. Ella shook her head.
“Crystal. What a perfect name.” Clara sat down again.
“Anyway darling, I must go to work now, I’ll wait to hear.” Gavin kissed Clara, scowled at Virginia and Ella, and left.
“We can’t do this,” Virginia said, after he’d gone.
“We’re doing it,” Clara replied.
“It’s madness,” Ella said.
“No, it’s not, it makes perfect sense.”
“It makes no sense,” Ella said tightly.
“I’m sick of people not trusting me!” Clara shouted.
“Clara, calm down and think this through,” Ella begged.
“I fucking well am calm and I’m going to do this. I’m doing it for you, Ella, and if you don’t agree then that makes me sad.” Clara burst into tears.
“Oh, God.” Virginia rolled her eyes.
“Oh hell, Clara, I’m sorry.” Ella was not ready to tip her over the edge.
“Please, please let me do this,” Clara implored.
Virginia and Ella looked at each other. They knew it was a bad idea, but they had no alternative to offer.
“OK,” Ella conceded.
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