Toxic

by Lingard, Alice

  Her phone rang. It had better not be Todd saying he'd changed his mind.

  “Suzy?” Lacey said.

  “Hiya, babes.”

  “I went to the flat to pick up some things and found your note.”

  Shit! She hadn't expected her to go to the flat so soon.

  “Why didn't you call me?” Lacey asked.

  “Sorry, babes. It all happened in a bit of a rush.”

  “What did? Where are you?”

  Should she lie? Why bother? It didn't matter if Lacey knew.

  “On a train. On my way to London.”

  “Why?”

  “I'm going to meet up with Todd.”

  “He's in London? Where? Raw and Carol have been trying to contact him, but he isn't returning their calls.”

  “Oh.” Suzy stalled.

  “So where is he?”

  “I'm not sure.”

  “Don't talk crap, Suzy. How can you meet him if you don't know where he's staying?”

  “I'm meeting him at—” Think! Think! Where could she say? “Buckingham Palace.”

  “Buckingham Palace?”

  “Yeah. He's a big fan of the royalty.”

  “Suzy. This isn't funny. Raw and Carol are really worried about him.”

  Suzy scraped her fingernails back and forth across the phone. “Sorry. Going into a tunnel. I'm losing—” She ended the call. Almost immediately, the phone rang again. She ended the call again. It rang again, so she turned it off.

  Suzy had no idea what kind of reception to expect from Todd, but it was sure to end badly if she'd already grassed him up to his brother and sister. If he'd wanted them to know where he was, he'd have told them. She could just picture Lacey cursing her out.

  “Sorry, babes.”

  Chapter 3

  How did anyone ever understand the stupid Tube map? Suzy stared at the jumble of coloured lines—trying to work out which one she needed. It didn't help that she was being barged from side to side as other passengers tried to look at the same notice board. Was London always this busy? In the end, she gave up and asked a man wearing a uniform who without missing a beat, said, “Piccadilly Line.”

  After almost boarding a train headed in the wrong direction, she eventually found the platform she needed. Once on the train, she found a seat in between a middle-aged woman with an e-reader, and a young man who had his IPod volume set to eight on the Richter scale. Suzy recognised the names of several of the stations en-route to Knightsbridge: Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.

  Oh crap! They were never going to let her in. She was standing directly outside the hotel. The Esquire was posh with a capital 'P'. For the last five minutes, she'd watched people going in and out. Not one of them had been wearing a tee-shirt which had 'Shut up and Die' printed on the front. Nor had any of them been wearing cut-off denim shorts. And absolutely no one else had orangey green hair.

  A man wearing a grey suit and grey top hat was standing outside the main entrance. He'd already given her a few strange looks, and she hadn't even tried to get inside yet.

  Oh well. Here goes nothing. Maybe he'd mistake her for a pop star or reality TV star.

  “Excuse me, madam.” Top hat man stepped in front of her as she approached the doors. “Can I help you?”

  “No thanks, babes. I'm okay.”

  His smile was forced; he didn't offer to step aside.

  “Are you staying at the hotel, madam?”

  “Nah. Just visiting a friend.”

  “I see. May I ask what room your friend is in?”

  Shit. What room had Todd said? He'd definitely told her, so why hadn't she made a note of it? Because she was a stupid cow—that's why.

  “I can't remember.”

  “What's your friend's name?”

  She knew that one. “Todd.”

  “Does he have a last name?”

  Suzy opened her mouth, but then stalled. She caught a reflection of her goldfish impression in the glass doors. “Yes, he does.”

  “Would you mind sharing it?” His smile was wearing thinner and thinner.

  “His last name is—” Lacey had definitely told her Rawhide's full name. What the hell was their last name?

  “Yes?” His impatience even more evident.

  “I can't actually remember, but his brother's name is Raw.”

  “Roar?”

  “Yeah. Raw. He's some big deal business man. Chipmunk Pizzas—that's him.”

  “Chipmunk?”

  “You must have seen the vans. With the chipmunks on top.”

  His smile had now completely disappeared, and who could blame him? He wanted the mad chipmunk woman, with her orangey green hair, off his patch as quickly as possible.

  “I'm very sorry, madam.” He put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and began to walk her back down the steps. “I can't let you in unless I can verify who it is you're visiting.”

  “I've told you. It's Raw's brother. Todd. He rang and asked me to come over.”

  “Why don't you call him back and have him come to reception to meet you? Or maybe your friend could tell you his name,” the doorman said. “That would be very helpful.”

  Suzy glanced around and noticed a few people were watching them. “Okay, okay. Keep your pants on. I'll call him.”

  “Come on Todd! Pick up!” The battery on her phone was almost dead; she hadn't thought to bring the charger. “Answer the bloody phone!” The call rang out. She tried again—still no answer. As she stared at the red battery level indicator, she felt the first drops of rain. Then the heavens opened. “Great! Bloody great!”

  The prices in the coffee shop, which was located directly opposite the hotel, were twice what she was used to paying back home. How could anyone afford to live here? After ordering the cheapest drink she could see on the board, she surveyed the room until she saw what she was looking for.

  “Excuse me,” Suzy said with her sweetest smile.

  The young man in the designer suit looked her up and down. From his expression, he clearly thought aliens had landed.

  “You have the same phone as me,” she said.

  “Oh? Right. That's—nice.”

  “Could I borrow your charger? Just while you're drinking your coffee?”

  “I guess so,” he said, as he stole another glance at her hair.

  “Thanks, babes. You're a life saver.”

  The man gave her a nervous smile and went back to staring at his tablet.

  As soon as she had her phone on charge, she tried Todd's number again. No joy. She was going to kill him. She pulled up Lacey's number, and considered giving her a call to find out Todd's last name, but then she thought better of it. Lacey would want to know where Todd was. The 'I'm in a tunnel' routine wasn't going to work twice.

  Fortunately for Suzy, the guy in the designer suit spent a good thirty minutes drinking his coffee. He looked genuinely terrified when it came time to ask for his charger back.

  “Thanks.” Suzy flashed a smile which only succeeded in scaring him even more.

  Was there a world record for the longest time taken to drink a cup of coffee? If so, Guinness better get their arse down there right now because Suzy was about to break it. The coffee shop was quiet, and the staff didn't seem to care or even notice that she'd become part of the furniture. She'd tried Todd every twenty minutes, but without any luck—she was beginning to get worried. What would she do if she couldn't contact him? She had nowhere to stay. She might just about have enough to get back home.

  Suzy had been staring at the hotel's entrance for so long that she almost didn't notice him. He was half-way down the front steps of the hotel.

  “Todd!” she yelled.

  Everyone in the coffee shop stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Suzy smiled and then legged it outside, and along the road as she tried to keep pace with him.

  “Todd!”

  He couldn't hear her over the traffic.

  “Todd!”

  The pavements
were busy, and she was afraid she might lose him in the crowds. There wasn't a pedestrian-crossing in sight, so she waited until she spotted a gap in the traffic, and made a run for it. She didn't even notice the cyclist who had to swerve to avoid crashing into her.

  “Todd!” Suzy grabbed him by the arm.

  “Hey, honey. You look out of breath. What did you do at your hair?”

  “I've been waiting for you for ages.”

  “You should have come up to the room.”

  “I couldn't remember the—” She sighed. “Never mind. Where are you going?”

  “Going to get me some food, and then I'm going to win me some money.”

  'Food'. As soon as she heard the word, she remembered how hungry she was. “I'm starving. Is there a McDonalds around here?”

  “McDonalds?” He pulled a face.

  “What's wrong with McDonalds? I eat there all the time.”

  “I don't think so. Steak – that's what I fancy. There's a nice little restaurant down the road.”

  “I can't afford to eat at a posh restaurant. Are you paying?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Yeah. You can eat by yourself, and I'll stand outside with my tongue pressed up against the window.”

  “Guess it's going to be my treat then, honey.”

  The restaurant was quiet, so they had their choice of table.

  “Twelve ounce sirloin with all the trimmings for me, I think” Todd said. “What are you going to have?”

  “There isn't much choice for vegetarians.” Suzy had her head inside the menu.

  “You're a veggie?”

  “Of course I'm not.” Suzy smiled. “I'll have the same.”

  “Do you really think you can eat a twelve ounce steak?” Todd said.

  “Don't you think I can manage a big one?”

  “Come to think about it, you did manage my big one quite nicely.”

  Suzy glanced down at his crotch, and then back up at his face. “Sometimes a girl has to make do with what she can get.”

  “Make do? What do you mean make do? Big Todd has never had any complaints.”

  “Big Todd? You've given it a name?”

  “Him.”

  “You call him Big Todd?”

  He smiled.

  “Haven't you heard of the Trades Description Act?” Suzy said. “Maybe you should consider a re-branding? How about Teeny Todd? That has a certain ring to it.”

  “Teeny? What do you mean teeny?”

  “It's okay.” She put her hand on his knee. “I'm only kidding with you, babes. Big Todd it is.”

  The waitress, a pretty brunette with a huge bust, came over to take their order. They both ordered the sirloin: Todd asked for his to be 'medium-rare', Suzy said she'd have hers 'rare'.

  “I like me some blood,” she told the waitress.

  Todd ordered a double Jack Daniels, Suzy ordered a beer.

  “What colour eyes did she have?” Suzy asked when the waitress had left their table.

  “What?”

  “The waitress? Did you notice what colour eyes she had?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “Maybe if you'd looked at her face instead of her tits you would know.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Of her tits? No, I'm cool with these babes.”

  “I meant are you jealous of me checking out another woman?”

  “Why would I be?”

  “I wouldn't blame you if you were. All the girls like Big Todd.”

  “What the hell is wrong with your family? Your brother goes around calling himself 'Raw', and you refer to your cock as 'Big Todd'. What about your sister? What's her name?”

  “Carol.”

  “That's it? Plain old 'Carol'? Not 'The Carol' or 'Big Carol'?”

  “Why would she call herself that? That would be stupid.”

  The steak was delicious. It was the best meal she'd had for longer than she could remember. Throughout the meal, Todd had flirted with her non-stop, and although Suzy had pretended not to notice or care, she'd actually enjoyed the attention.

  “Do you have brothers or sisters?” he asked out of the blue. “

  “Nah. I'm an only child. Mum took one look at me, and thought 'fuck it, I don't want any more of those'.”

  “You're lucky. Mine are a pain in the arse.”

  Suzy almost reminded Todd that it was Raw and Carol who had rescued him from a Spanish prison, but she thought better of it.

  “What about your parents?” Todd gestured to the waitress for another Jack Daniels.

  “My dad's a bastard,” Suzy said. “He used to knock Mum around. Then he walked out on us. Haven't seen or heard from him for years. Mum started to drink and screw around after he left, and she hasn't stopped since.”

  “Parents? Who'd have 'em?”

  Suzy finished her beer.

  “You want another, honey?”

  “Why the hell not? How come you don't get along with Rawhide and Carol?”

  “Not worth talking about.”

  “Come on. I've told you my sad, shitty story. Least you can do is tell me yours.”

  “Carol's okay, but she's always sticking her nose in.”

  Todd took a swig from his glass.

  “And Rawhide?”

  “It was okay when we were kids. We used to do stuff together, you know.” He took another drink. “Then Dad decided to play favourites. He spent all his time with Raw, and more or less ignored me. He said it was because of the business, but I knew better.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dad didn't want another kid. They had the perfect family—one boy—one girl. Then I came along and screwed it all up.”

  “Did he actually tell you that?”

  “He didn't need to. It was obvious. Raw was with Dad all of the time, Carol had her own friends, and I was—” Todd stared out of the window as though lost in his thoughts for a moment. “It didn't matter. I preferred my own company anyway. I still do, but those two won't let me be. Every time I look over my damn shoulder there's one of them checking up on me.”

  Suzy could sense his anger growing, so decided it was time to change the subject. “Are you stinking rich?”

  Todd smirked. “You're very direct aren't you?”

  “Don't ask, don't find out. Are you?”

  “Not like Raw. I get a measly allowance each month.”

  Suzy suspected that her idea of 'measly’ and Todd's idea were probably very different.

  “Fucking allowance!” Todd's temper resurfaced. “They're still treating me like a kid even now.”

  “I wish someone would pay me an allowance.”

  “It's my money, but I can't get my hands on any of it except for the monthly payments. Dad deliberately set up the Trust that way.”

  “He probably thought you'd blow it all on booze and women,” Suzy said.

  For a moment, she thought Todd was about to explode with anger, but then a smile crept across his lips. “He'd have been right. What a way to go though.”

  “I'll drink to that.” Suzy raised her glass.

  “To booze and women.” Todd clinked his glass to hers, and then drained it. “Another beer and another Jack Daniels,” he called to the waitress.

  “Do you think maybe we should call it a day?” Suzy said.

  “Hell no.”

  Chapter 4

  Suzy wasn't drunk when they left the restaurant, but she had one helluva buzz going on. Todd had paid the bill in cash, and had left a twenty pound tip for one very happy waitress. That had reminded Suzy of the fifty pound tip Rawhide had given Lacey when she'd delivered pizzas to his penthouse. At the time, Lacey had been convinced the bank note was a fake.

  “Thanks for the meal,” Suzy said.

  “No problem, honey.”

  “What's with the honey all the time?”

  “Don't you like it?”

  “It sounds stupid.”

  “Okay, babes,” Todd mocked. “I promise not to call you
honey again.”

  She punched his arm. “What are we doing now? Are you going to give me a tour of London?”

  “I thought we'd go win some money.”

  Suzy looked puzzled.

  “Have you ever been to a casino?” he asked.

  “I've been in the arcades at Blackpool.”

  “That's why I like you. You're so classy.”

  “Hey. I can do classy,” she said. “Will they let me in looking like this?”

  “They will if you're with me. I'm one of their best customers.”

  “Are they open at this time of day?”

  “They never close.”

  “Wow!” Suzy mouthed, once they were in the main gaming room of Napoleon's. She'd only ever seen casinos on the television before. Beautiful women in low cut red dresses circled the room offering free champagne to all of the customers (or guests as they insisted on calling them).

  “Where shall we start?” Todd looked like an excited kid who'd just been given the keys to the candy store.

  “You're the one with the money. You choose.”

  “Roulette then. You'll be my lucky charm.”

  “I wouldn't bank on it.”

  “Here.” Todd patted the seat next to him. “Sit next to me.”

  “It's okay. I'll stand here and watch.”

  “Sit down,” he insisted, as he handed a wad of banknotes to the croupier in exchange for a pile of chips. “You can play with these, honey.” He divided the chips into two piles, and pushed one pile over to Suzy.

  “Seriously?”

  “Why not?”

  “Cool. What do I do?”

  “Just watch me. You'll soon get the hang of it.”

  “How much are each of these worth?” Suzy picked up one of the chips.

  “Ten pounds.”

  “How much money did you change?” She glanced down at the two piles of chips.