The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  Jenkins looked from Serena to Casey, still shaking his head. He let out a groan and the phone on his desk began to ring.

  “Fine, you can stay on the case,” he said, edging closer to the phone. “But if I don’t get results soon, you’ll be out the door, I promise you that. I’m sticking my own head on the line here, don’t make me regret it. Now, off you go both of you.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Serena and Casey said, as they stood up and left the office, closing the door as Jenkins grabbed the phone and barked a greeting.

  Outside in the corridor, Serena turned to Casey, surprised to see that he was blushing.

  “I didn’t mean to steal your thunder,” Casey stammered. “It’s just -”

  “Don’t be silly, you were wonderful,” Serena said, smiling.

  “Really? You’re not annoyed then?”

  “How could I be annoyed?” Serena laughed. “We’re still on the case.”

  Casey was still blushing and shoved his hands in his pockets.

  “Thanks for supporting me in there,” Serena added.

  “No problem,” Casey shrugged, trying at nonchalance and failing. “If anyone can crack this case, you can. I owed it to Shaniqua Curtis to tell Jenkins what I thought. You’re going to catch whoever killed her, and I’m going to do whatever I can to help you.”

  Serena nodded, “Let’s go catch our killer then.”

  * * *

  The kitchen was filled with the smell of frying bacon and Troy watched from his seat at the kitchen table as his mother went from stove to washing machine, doing her Sunday chores as always. It would have seemed like any other Sunday morning, Troy thought, if it wasn’t for the fact that Brandy was still in bed, hidden on the covers, feigning tiredness when he knew that she had been unable to sleep last night, her body shaking against his and flinching at his touch in the dark.

  When the bacon was crisp, Keskia shared it out on four plates and passed one over the table to Troy. She glanced suspiciously at him for a moment before taking another two plates through to the lounge for Tyrese and Trent. She had sensed the tension emanating from her sons and had quickly deduced that Brandy’s absence from Troy’s side had something to do with it, and hadn’t asked questions. For all the love she felt for her sons, she knew that this was a time her questions would not be welcome and had kept quiet.

  Jessie, sitting at the end of the table, grabbed her own plate and eyed Troy with the same suspicion as Keskia had.

  “Good night last night?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light.

  Troy shrugged, not in the mood for his sister’s prying.

  “Brandy have a good night?” she pressed.

  “She’s fine,” Troy said through gritted teeth.

  Jessie, sensing the anger in her brother’s posture, went quiet and continued eating her breakfast in silence.

  The kitchen door opened and Keskia returned, a coat in her arms.

  “You off out mum?” Jessie asked.

  “Got to go get a few bits and pieces,” she replied, shooting a look at Troy.

  “Have fun,” Jessie called, as Keskia pulled her coat on and left the flat.

  When the door had closed, Troy dropped his knife and fork onto the plate of half-eaten bacon and went into the lounge.

  Tyrese and Trent were lounging on each sofa, already finished with their breakfast, the plates lying on the floor, the television showing the sports highlights from last night. When Troy sat down in the armchair, Tyrese grabbed the remote and muted the television, turning to look at him.

  “How is she?” he asked.

  Troy shrugged, “She didn’t get much sleep. Not much of a surprise, after what those twats did to her.”

  Troy winced as his voice shook, but he kept his eyes locked on Tyrese’s.

  “She said anything else?” Trent asked, his voice low.

  “No, she’s hardly said anything.”

  “She just needs time,” Tyrese said.

  “What about those guys? Sam and his mate,” Troy asked.

  Tyrese and Trent exchanged looks and Troy felt a moments anger at being left out. They’d obviously talked further about it whilst he’d been in his bedroom lying next to the lifeless Brandy.

  “Come on, what you going to do?”

  “We’ll sort it out,” Tyrese replied. “We asked around, we know where this Sam guy lives. We’re going to pay him a visit later.”

  “Teach him to underestimate us again,” Trent hissed. “He won’t know what’s hit him.”

  “I want to come too,” Troy said.

  “No,” Tyrese shook his head. “Only me and Trent.”

  “Why not?” Troy asked, hating the fact that he sounded like a petulant child.

  “You need to stay here and look after Brandy,” Tyrese said.

  “She’s fine,” Troy said. “I want to come, I want to look in his eyes when I kill him.”

  “You’ll be a liability,” Tyrese said sternly.

  Troy must’ve looked hurt, because Tyrese continued, his voice gentler.

  “You’re emotionally involved, we’re not. You might get us caught, and we don’t want that, eh? You stay here, and leave Sam and his ponce mate to us.”

  “We’ll teach him a lesson, don’t worry,” Trent added.

  Troy took a moment before nodding slowly. He knew his brothers were right with what they said, but that didn’t make it any easier. Letting them have all the fun, whilst he was stuck here babysitting Brandy.

  “When are you going?” he asked.

  Tyrese looked at his phone, clocking the time.

  “Soon, don’t worry.”

  Troy nodded again and retreated into his bedroom, as Tyrese turned the volume back on the television and his brothers settled down to watch the highlights again.

  In his room, Troy looked at the pile of covers that hid Brandy. He sighed and sat down on the end of the bed.

  “You all right babe?”

  The pile of covers quivered for a moment, but she didn’t reply.

  Fuck, Troy thought. This was what he would be dealing with whilst his brothers got to pay Sam a visit.

  “You getting out of bed today?” he asked.

  No reply.

  “Fucking hell, Brandy, speak to me,” he said, trying not to lose his temper.

  The covers flew off the bed and Brandy was on her feet, pulling on some clothes. Her bruises had faded beneath her dark skin, but her lip was still swollen and the scratches had turned purple, standing out on her face and thighs.

  “You going to speak to me yet?” Troy persisted.

  Brandy remained silent as she pulled on some trainers and grabbed a thin white jacket off the back of the chair, pulling it on. She tied her hair up in a loose ponytail and went for the door.

  “Oi, where you going?”

  He grabbed Brandy’s arm, spinning her around.

  “Get off me,” Brandy snapped. “I’m going out.”

  “Out where?”

  “Just out,” Brandy replied. “Now, are you going to let go of me?”

  “Not until you tell me where the fuck you’re going.”

  “Why does it matter? Anywhere is better than here, with you going on and on.”

  “All right, I won’t talk, just go back to bed,” Troy said, keeping his voice soft.

  “I want to see Zoe,” Brandy said.

  Troy reached for his trainers, but Brandy stopped him.

  “By myself.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Brandy said and opened the door.

  “Brandy -” Troy began, but she had left the bedroom, and he daren’t show his softness in front of his brothers.

  He heard the kitchen door open and close, and then the front door. She had gone. Troy picked the covers up off the floor and replaced them in a pile on the bed. The sound of the football highlights from the lounge reached him and he went into the lounge to join his brothers.

  * * *

  Ou
tside the flat, Brandy leant against the railing that looked down over the cement courtyard and steadied herself. Her legs felt weak but she forced herself to remain standing. It would be so easy to give in and collapse on the floor and be returned to Troy’s bed, hidden from daylight and Troy and everybody else by the thick duvet, but that would be quitting. And she wasn’t a quitter, Brandy forced herself to remember, over and over again, like a mantra. Anyway, the duvet couldn’t block out the images she wanted to hide from. Golden teeth in a grinning face.

  She looked down at her hands and realised how tightly her hands were gripping the railing. Taking a deep breath, she forced her hands to relax and shoved them in her jacket pockets. Her fingers found something soft to the touch and she pulled it out, a cigarette. She found a lighter in the other pocket and lit it with relief, inhaling the smoke with relief.

  She looked back at Troy’s front door. She could go back in and spend the day with Troy, watching television and having a laugh, which a few days ago would have been perfect to her, but she wasn’t in the mood today.

  Taking another drag, she began down the landing with no idea where she was walking. She needed to be outside. As she reached the stairs, she remembered climbing them last night, sick on her shoes and clinging to the wall as if her life depended on it.

  She had been vulnerable last night. She’d been weak and pathetic. Walking down the stairs, she resolved that she would never again be weak. She was Brandy, after all. Girlfriend to one of the Banks brothers. That was some serious shit. She had a reputation to maintain.

  Nobody else would ever know about last night.

  * * *

  Aurora poured herself a glass of water, careful not to disturb her mother, who was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping at a clear liquid that could have been water or vodka.

  “Have a nice night?” Marlena asked, her voice hoarse.

  “Yeah, it was okay,” Aurora said.

  Of course, it had been perfect, but Aurora couldn’t tell her mum that. Her dreams had been filled with images of Clint and she had woken up smiling, finding a text from Clint when she had looked at her phone.

  “How was the baby?”

  “Baby?” Aurora repeated, stirred from her memories.

  “Weren’t you supposed to be babysitting?”

  “Oh right, yeah, Sienna was great,” Aurora said. “Slept all the time, so I didn’t really have to do anything.”

  Marlena nodded, and Aurora felt a rush of heat as she remembered what she had done last night.

  “You seem different,” Marlena said, eyeing her shrewdly.

  “Don’t be stupid. I’m just the same as always.”

  “I’m sure,” Marlena sighed, “Any plans for today?”

  Aurora shrugged, “I might go and see Zoe.”

  “You sure spend a lot of time with this Zoe.”

  “She’s one of my friends.”

  “Right.”

  “You got plans today, then, mum? We could go to the park later or something, if you want?”

  Marlena shook her head.

  “Sorry, love, I’m too tired. Maybe next weekend.”

  Aurora sighed and watched as Marlena took another gulp of the clear liquid.

  “Pass me my tablets,” Marlena said, pointing to the counter where she kept them hidden behind the toaster.

  Aurora fetched them and passed the packet to her cautiously. Marlena fumbled with the packaging and popped three tablets into her hand.

  “Are you sure you’re supposed to take three?”

  Marlena shrugged, “It helps me.”

  “The doctor only said to take two though,” Aurora protested.

  “Two didn’t help, three did.”

  “Mum, you can’t just medicate yourself, go see the doctor and tell him they’re not working.”

  “I’ve told you, three works.”

  She put the tablets in her mouth and swallowed them down with a gulp of the liquid.

  “That’s better,” Marlena said, “I’ll be right as rain in a few minutes.”

  Aurora looked at her mum and sighed. It was a sad sight, looking at the state of her mother.

  “I’m going to lie on the couch, rest my back,” Marlena said, standing up unsteadily.

  As she passed with the glass of liquid, Aurora caught a whiff of vodka. So it wasn’t water then.

  “I’ll be off to see Zoe then,” Aurora muttered.

  “Have fun,” Marlena said over her shoulder as she retreated to the lounge. “Although I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.”

  Aurora groaned and went back into her bedroom to get changed.

  “Don’t need me for anything now,” Marlena said softly, muttering to herself as she settled herself down on the sofa and took another sip of vodka. “Only person you need now is that Jackson boy.”

  * * *

  The speakers were blaring and the drink was flowing. The curtains were closed, blocking out the harsh daylight and hiding the cardboard sheets that had been used to cover the broken window panes.

  The overhead light flickered and Sam watched from his perch on the edge of the sofa as his guests danced in the unfurnished room he used as a lounge. Crates of beer were piled in one corner of the room, the stereo in another, and the sofa he used as a bed was across the far wall, against the curtains, with a perfect view of the whole room and the only door.

  Looking at the dozen grinding bodies in front of him, Sam felt a stab of anger. He had rung Jayden hours ago, but still hadn’t heard back from him. He’d tried Corey, the ponce-ass, but still nothing. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered with them, but the thought of deserting them was always quickly pushed aside. He wasn’t scared of them, and he rarely had respect for them, but he knew he was better off with them than without them.

  When his parents had both been sent down for dealing, nobody had wanted to help. Some of his friends had known Jayden and Sam had found not just a group of friends who understood him, but a family that looked out for him and in return, he looked out for them.

  Now he could deal without fear of reprisals or competition, and in return he gave Jayden a cut of the profits, which seemed fair considering the unrivalled status he had on the street as dealer Number One. That and he now had an excuse to use his violent temper in a constructive way. Before he’d fallen in with Jayden, he’d found his penchant for fighting and unprovoked violence a problem, getting into trouble with all the wrong people and taking more than his fair share of beatings as a result.

  Associated with Jayden he could get away with far more than he had ever done before, and any rival of Jayden’s was a rival of his. He took things personally and he found this useful. Any enemy that Jayden came against, Sam took it upon himself to sort them out. Not that Jayden couldn’t handle himself, but Sam enjoyed the rush he got when he took out somebody who’d been causing them problems. It was dignified, in a way. The Banks brothers were definitely enemies, and last night he’d enjoyed taking that stuck-up bit of skirt down a few pegs.

  She’d thought she was so fucking untouchable just because she was shagging the youngest brother. Troy. He wasn’t even a name yet, which made it all the more grating that she’d looked down her nose at them. He’d done it as much for his own reasons as he’d done it for Jayden and the gang. Maybe it would teach the Banks boys a lesson or two about keeping their women on a leash.

  That was why it stung that Jayden was seemingly ignoring him. Maybe he was busy, but a text or a quick call couldn’t hurt, could it? Sam crunched the empty can he’d been drinking from with his hand and crossed the room to get another. He popped the lid and downed half the can in one.

  Smacking his lips he returned to his usual perch.

  Two girls in short skirts stumbled over to the sofa and sat down heavily on the cushions, clearly the worse for wear. One of them, a blonde, looked at him with big eyes and her lips twitched. Sam winked back at her.

  Another bonus of being associated with Jayden and his gang was that he had
a reputation. And with a reputation came girls, and plenty of them. Easy and emotionally distanced, which was exactly what he was looking for.

  “You having fun?” he asked the blonde, leaning forward.

  She turned and smiled, “I am now.”

  He was in there. So easy.

  “You’re Sam right?” the blonde asked, licking her lips.

  Sam nodded.

  “You know that Jayden Healy right?”

  Sam grinned, flashing his golden teeth. “We’re like this,” he said, twisting two of his fingers together and holding them up.

  So what if Jayden wasn’t answering his phone, that wasn’t going to stop him getting laid.

  “Wow,” the blonde said, clearly impressed. “You want to hook up sometime?”

  “How about now? I’ve got a mattress next door.”

  The blonde smiled and rose to her feet, readjusting her skirt as she stood.

  “I wouldn’t bother with that,” Sam said. “You won’t be wearing it in a minute.”

  * * *

  Tyrese looked up at the dilapidated house and felt disgusted that anybody would voluntarily choose to live somewhere like this.

  “This place is a shit hole,” Trent said from beside him, echoing his thoughts.

  The white paint was cracking and half the windows were knocked out, replaced with damp cardboard. The curtains were all closed, but the front door was ajar, an invitation to the party they knew was taking place on the first floor of the house.

  “Why would anyone live here?” Trent laughed. “I know it’s abandoned so he don’t have to pay any rent, but I wouldn’t even live here if you paid me.”

  “He’s one of Jayden’s scums,” Tyrese said. “Probably thinks it’s a mansion or something.”

  “You reckon there’s more than one of them in there?”

  “Nah, just Sam and some losers who came to his party,” Tyrese replied. “Sam ain’t important enough to get enough interest from Jayden and the rest. He’s bottom rung.”

  “Probably thinks he’s top dog though,” Trent laughed. “Pathetic.”

  “You ready to do this?”

  “Sure am,” Trent replied, twisting the baseball bat in his hands.

  “Right, let’s teach this guy a lesson.”