Bolton opened his mouth, but closed it again and remained quiet.
Charley was getting impatient with Bolton. He had been annoyed that she had booked them an appointment at the council to sort out getting a flat and had nearly refused to come with her. He had insisted that he had been sorting it out, but Charley had gone behind his back and arranged the meeting anyway.
Though she knew that Bolton was frustrated, Charley didn’t feel guilty. Living with her mother was becoming almost unbearable. Life with her had always been difficult; given that Toni seemed to despise her, but since she had found out about the pregnancy she had outdone herself with rude remarks and was still as unpredictable as ever.
She had even gone as far, a few weeks ago, as banning Charley from attending church with the rest of the family. She had ranted for hours about how Charley’s pregnancy would bring shame on them and that God did not want unwed pregnant teenagers in His holy buildings. Charley, who had never much liked church anyway, wasn’t that bothered.
Just this morning, Toni had flipped out when the post had arrived. Charley, trying to be nice, had asked her what was wrong and had been screamed at and told to mind her own business.
The assistant came out and called a couple forward. The couple beside Charley rose to their feet and followed them down the corridor and into an office.
“This is taking ages,” Bolton said, looking at his watch again. “Some of us have got jobs to do, don’t they know that? Any longer and I’ll have to get going.”
“You can’t leave me by myself; I’m rubbish at interviews.”
“They’re not going to ask you anything difficult, babe, just about the baby and stuff.”
Charley shrugged. She was feeling flustered. The room was hot and stuffy, and the breeze coming from the window that Bolton had opened a few minutes ago did little to cool her down.
Bolton glanced at his watch again and Charley felt annoyed. Surely this was more important than whatever he was doing to make money. This was their future home they were trying to sort out, his job was just a temporary way to make some money until he could find something else, he’d said so himself.
Bolton felt Charley’s irritation and squeezed her hand. He guessed she was annoyed because of the hormones. Dante had mentioned that to him a few days ago. Pregnant women were hormonal and that made them moody and irrational, even though they didn’t mean to be. She obviously couldn’t help herself, and Bolton didn’t want to give her a reason to start an argument and kick off, not here of all places. Not when he had to be gone soon. He and Dante had a meeting with Uncle Jasper and he couldn’t be late for that. No way.
In the month since he’d started working for Uncle Jasper, Bolton knew that he had impressed his boss. His natural charm made him a borne salesman and he knew that sales in coke were going up; Kareem had told him a few nights ago.
Not only that, but the money was rolling in now. Well, it was nothing compared to what Uncle Jasper made, but it was more than he’d thought it would be, and it was a hell of a lot more than he’d earned working for Harley.
He had been able to start paying his mum a decent amount of rent and she was thrilled. She had seemed uncomfortable at first, wondering where he had got the money, but she knew better than to ask questions.
His phone began to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
“Where you at man? I tried yours but your mum said you were out with Charley. You better not have forgotten about meeting Uncle Jasper today.”
It was Dante.
“I ain’t forgotten, don’t worry. I’m just at the council with Charley, trying to sort out our flat and that. Where are you?”
Charley was glaring at him, as if daring him to leave her by herself.
“I’m just driving round, waiting. You need a ride?”
Bolton looked at Charley and opened his mouth, but she spoke first.
“Just go,” she said, shaking her head so that glossy black curls fell over her face. “It’s obviously something more important than us getting a flat.”
“Thanks, babe, you’ll be fine,” he said, then spoke to Dante, “Okay, man, can you pick me up now?”
“No problem, meet me out front in a few minutes.”
Bolton stood up and kissed Charley on the lips.
“I’ll see you later, find out how it went,” he said, as he backed down the corridor.
“Whatever,” Charley said, watching him go. “Just ring me when you’re finished with whatever you’re up to.”
Bolton nodded and was gone. Charley stared at the wall in front of her. Posters of all shapes and sizes and colours gave advice and help-line numbers. Charley hated these places. They made her feel stupid, like a kid waiting outside the headmaster’s office for a telling off.
“Miss Brunns?” the assistant called.
Charley looked up in surprise and followed her into an office.
* * *
Toni sat in the kitchen, ignoring the creaking of the wooden stool beneath her. She sipped at her tea but her gaze remained focussed on the letter in front of her.
She was alone in the flat and was grateful for that. She had deliberately waited until everyone had gone before reading the letter. As soon as Torey had brought the post to her, she had recognised the untidy scrawl on the small envelope addressed to her.
So he knew where she lived.
She rose to her feet, the wooden stool scraping noisily on the floor. The washing machine, on its last legs, gave off a whine and started to rattle loudly as the washing went through its final cycle.
Crossing to the sink, Toni poured her tea down the drain and rinsed the mug. Her back ached and the twinge in her ankle irritated her rather than pained her today.
She had been expecting the letter but it still made her nervous. It was so unwelcome, especially with everything else that was going on. Charley was pregnant and still flouting her rules by spending every unsupervised moment running around with Bolton. Torey was fast reaching womanhood and Toni knew she would have to put a stop to any ideas she might be having about boys. Huw was still young, which was a relief. Asher was the only one she could depend on, could say with all of her heart that she loved unconditionally.
But would he still love her if he knew?
No, she couldn’t risk him finding out. God knew it was bad enough, but if Asher deserted her she would have nothing left to live for.
Nathaniel Okoro was the past. He had only sent the letter to cause trouble. Toni tried to convince herself but she knew it was useless. He was not only a clever man but he was sly as a dog. Dangerous. She couldn’t let him destroy everything, not like he had done before.
She strode back to the table and picked up the letter. She tore it into shreds and dropped the pieces into the bin, covering the fragments with kitchen roll so they couldn’t fall into the wrong hands.
With the letter gone, Toni felt relieved. It was as if the letter had represented an evil presence in the room and that it had been exorcised with the destruction of the letter.
She picked up her coat and handbag and decided to go to church. She was sure that he wouldn’t dare to contact her again if he didn’t get a reply, but it couldn’t hurt to say a few prayers. If he contacted her again, well, she would have God on her side at least.
It was a delicate matter and she knew that she had to handle it with the utmost care and caution. At the moment, she held all the cards. But past experience had taught her that one wrong move and everything could come crashing down around you.
* * *
Bolton felt the familiar butterflies in his stomach as Dante parked the car on the side of the road. They were a few minutes’ walk from Uncle Jasper’s base.
Even though he was no longer as nervous as he had been the first time he’d met Uncle Jasper, Bolton still felt his palms go sweaty and had to urge his feet forwards across the concrete. Beside him, Dante was uncharacteristically quiet and he knew he was feeling the same. Although he would never admit i
t to his friend, Bolton was glad for the silence. In the car, Dante had kept up a catalogue of reasons why he should get out of Charley’s ‘trap’ before the baby was born. It had been the same story ever since he’d heard about the pregnancy and Bolton wasn’t sure he could take much more of his friend’s advice.
They reached the block and let themselves in.
The staircase was gloomy, the light from outside struggling to penetrate the grimy windows. Bolton led the way, Dante a few paces behind him.
He followed the route they had come on their first visit to the block, leaving the staircase on the fourth floor and winding their way down the corridors until they stopped outside Flat 39.
He knocked and smiled reassuringly at Dante. Dante looked paler than usual but his eyes were alert. Bolton knew that it was the cocaine. Dante had done a few lines before the meeting to get over his nerves. Bolton had refrained. Whilst he was partial to a few lines at parties, he wanted his full faculties whilst meeting Uncle Jasper. And he knew that Dante had been skimming the packets of cocaine they had been delivering. A few lines from each packet before the delivery, and Dante was quite happy. Bolton disapproved but he knew that Dante meant no harm, and so far none of the customers had complained.
The door swung open and Barry stepped aside. He scrutinized them. Bolton sighed as he stood still whilst Barry patted him down. Dante did the same, but he was frowning and Bolton worried that he would cause problems. Then Barry was leading them through the beaded curtain and Bolton felt his pulse quicken.
Uncle Jasper sat in his armchair, his usual jewellery on his fingers and around his neck and wearing a crisp white suit and shirt that was unbuttoned on his chest, showing a thicket of curly black hair. His large stomach strained against the shirt and his hands rested on it, folded delicately, as he eyed them closely.
“Morning, boys,” he said, gold teeth shining. “I’m glad you were prompt. I hate tardiness, don’t you?”
Bolton nodded, as he knew he was supposed to. He sat down on the sofa opposite Uncle Jasper and Dante did the same.
A tall, thin man sat on Jasper’s right. He was dark and lean, wearing a dark suit and pointy leather shoes. His face was stern and Bolton noticed a large purple scar running down the side of his face. He looked at it, wondering what had caused it, but saw the man watching him and glanced away.
“This is Ritchie Masters,” Uncle Jasper said, gesturing towards the man. “He’s my deputy. Sorts things out for me, makes sure everything runs smoothly.”
Bolton nodded towards him, but Ritchie’s face remained impassive.
“Now I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here?” Uncle Jasper said, looking at Bolton, who nodded. “Well, it’s been a month since our last little chat and I thought another was due. I like to get to know whose working for me. Check that everyone’s happy, not having any problems.”
Bolton nodded in understanding but beside him, Dante appeared to be frozen.
“You were having a baby?” Uncle Jasper said, surprising Bolton. “How’s that going?”
“Fine, thanks, sir. She’s four months gone and –”
“Excellent and what’s your lucky lady’s name?”
“Charley, sir.”
“Nice name,” Uncle Jasper said, smiling at Bolton and observing him closely. “And how are you finding your new income? I bet Charley loves it?”
Bolton nodded.
“It’s brilliant, thanks.”
Uncle Jasper nodded, as if thinking over his answer.
“Now, I have a proposition for you, boys.”
Uncle Jasper said it casually, but Bolton knew that he was watching them carefully for their reaction. He kept his face impassive, trying to hide his excitement and nerves.
“You’re interested?” he asked.
Bolton and Dante nodded.
Uncle Jasper smiled, but Bolton noticed that Ritchie shot him a dark look and frowned.
“Well, boys, I’m expecting a delivery soon,” he explained. “A big shipment of coke, and I need it picked up and brought back here. I need someone trustworthy to help me out.”
“We’ll do it,” Bolton said.
“Excellent, good answer boys,” Uncle Jasper said. “Kareem will be going with you to supervise. The men we deal with are, unfortunately, a little untrustworthy at times. They might try and take the piss, and as you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t get where I am today by letting people take the piss.”
Bolton felt his excitement mounting. This was an important task. Uncle Jasper obviously thought highly of them and that meant they’d made a good impression so far. He wondered whether he knew about Dante ripping off the customers, as he seemed to be speaking to Bolton alone, barely glancing at Dante.
“You’ll be well compensated, of course,” Uncle Jasper said. “Financially, that is. And if you do well, it could become a regular thing for you.”
“We won’t let you down,” Bolton said.
“Make sure you don’t.”
* * *
Charley watched her mother out of the corner of her eye. She was being unusually quiet and it unnerved her. Since Charley had come back from the council, Toni had barely said two words to her. It made her suspicious, but Charley ate her lunch quietly, determined not to disturb her mother. Whilst it was unusual, it was a pleasant change for Toni not to be making remarks and Charley wondered how long it would last.
“How was your meeting?” Toni asked.
Charley looked up at her mother’s back in surprise. Her mother didn’t turn around, remaining focused on the washing-up.
“It was all right. They said they’d let me know in a few weeks.”
“Right.”
Charley finished the last of her sandwich and hesitated. She wanted to leave the room as quietly and quickly as possible and retreat to her room before her mother’s relative pleasantness wore out. On the other hand, something was clearly on her mother’s mind.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
Toni turned around, her eyes narrowed.
“Why do you ask that? What are you getting at?”
“Nothing,” Charley said hastily. “I was just wondering.”
“Everything is fine.”
Charley stood up and took her plate to the sink. Toni snatched it out of her hand and placed it under the hot water to soak without looking at her.
“I might go out later,” Charley said. “Is that okay?”
Toni shrugged and continued doing the washing-up.
Charley sighed and left the kitchen. As she lay down on her bed, she wondered about her mother’s mood. She had briefly thought that it might have been because, a few weeks ago, she had dropped out of school. The school had questioned her about her pregnancy and she had sworn at them. After that, they had made a mutual decision that Charley was excused from school, which suited her fine.
Toni had not been happy when she’d been called into school and was told about the decision, but it was too late for anything to be done. She had been furious by the time she’d gotten home and the argument that night had been so bad that Charley had stayed at Bolton’s.
She closed her eyes and wondered what Bolton was doing. She hoped he wouldn’t take too long to ring her. She wanted to tell him about her meeting with the council. Stupid twats, they were. They’d put her on a waiting list for a flat but hadn’t been able to give her a specific date or make any guarantees. What had been the point in going?
She dialled his phone, but it was off. Charley sighed. Since he had started his new job, he had been distant and busy. She didn’t like it but she knew that he was doing it for her and the baby, so she tried not to let it bother her.
* * *
In the kitchen, Toni finished the washing-up and pulled the yellow rubber gloves off and hung them over the tap to dry. Music started playing from Charley’s room but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her off. She was going out, so she’d be out of her hair in a while anyway.
She filled the kettl
e and waited, tapping the Formica counter impatiently. Charley was too nosy for her own good, that much was for sure. Torey and Huw were the same and she was dreading their return from school.
She would sit them down to do their homework and there would be no arguments, she decided. Any questions and she would quash them instantly. The last thing she needed was them to start asking awkward questions.
Asher was working a long shift today, so he wouldn’t be back until the evening. He was a good boy, though; he wouldn’t cause her any aggravation. He might have questions to ask, but he would keep them to himself. That was good. She just wished the others would take a leaf out of his book.
“Mum, I’m going out now,” Charley called from the hallway, startling her. “See you later.”
Toni heard the front door open and close. The flat fell silent apart from the kettle, which was rattling as it began to boil.
She couldn’t get Nathaniel Okoro off her mind. The letter.
The kettle finished boiling and she poured herself a cup of tea.
Taking a sip, the hot water burning the insides of her mouth, Toni forced herself to snap out of it. She had got rid of the letter. There was no way the kids would know anything about it. The panic was over and she just needed to get back to normal.
Still, a part of her knew that it wasn’t over yet. She knew Nathaniel too well. He wouldn’t give up. The letter was gone, but it wasn’t over. It was just the beginning.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Bolton listened to Kareem’s instructions carefully. He didn’t want to miss anything important. This was a big break and Uncle Jasper had enlisted his help. That meant something. If they did well, they would be rewarded and Uncle Jasper would know he’d made the right decision in trusting them. If they failed, Bolton knew that there would be hell to pay and he didn’t fancy having his legs broken.
“You got that then?” Kareem asked, eyeing him closely.
Bolton nodded.
“We pull up and stay in the car. Wait for them to arrive. We don’t get out the car until they do. They’ll open the boot. We check the amount. I wait by the boot whilst you show them the money in our boot. When they’re happy, we shake hands and I get the bag of coke and we get back in the car and get the hell out of –”
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