by Jacqui Rose
‘What the hell are you doing lady?’ The car driver jumped out, his face red and his fist waving, ready to have a pop at Yvonne. The whole of the traffic had come to a standstill, including the bus Tariq was on. Tariq along with the other passengers, looked at Yvonne in astonishment. She ignored the driver, running nearer the bus and banging on the window.
‘Tariq, quick it’s Laila.’ She didn’t need to say anything else for Tariq to run off the bus.
Tariq panted as he followed Yvonne. ‘What’s happened?’
There wasn’t time for an explanation but she knew the name would say it all. ‘It’s Baz.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, both Yvonne and Tariq ran, escaping the shouts and demands of the angry drivers.
In Greek Street, Yvonne signalled Tariq to the walk-up.
‘I’ll go and find Johno. I can’t call him because my phone’s dead. It’s the first room on the left. Will you be all right whilst I go and get help?’
‘I’ll be fine.’ The words sounded more confident than Tariq actually felt.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Tariq banged into the room. The look on Baz’s face was as startled as the look on Laila’s upon seeing her brother. She managed to mutter the words ‘Tariq,’ before Baz ran in front of her, pushing her backwards on to the floor.
‘Oh here comes the hero of the hour.’
‘Leave her alone Baz.’
Baz laughed menacingly. ‘Who? My wife? You want me to leave my wife alone? We were just having a nice cosy chat. A little catch up to find out what she’s been up to. I was just trying to persuade her to come home with me without a fuss, but it seems like she’s got other ideas.’ Baz smirked nastily. Tariq’s face darkened as he spoke.
‘Just walk away.’
‘This is about honour.’
‘This has nothing to do with honour Baz; it never has had.’
Baz leant down, grabbing Laila by her arm. He dragged her up to her feet. ‘Move out of my way Tariq.’
Tariq looked at his sister. He could see the fear in her eyes.
‘Move.’
‘No.’
Neither of the men moved. From the corner of his eye Baz saw the metal pole of a broom handle and, seizing the opportunity, he grabbed it, taking a swing at Tariq who was caught off-guard. It knocked him sideways as the pole caught him on the side of his head. He staggered into the massage table, sending the bottles of oils flying.
Baz rushed him again, this time using the side of his body to push him against the wall. He grabbed Tariq’s hair, pulling his head back then, smashing it against the corner frame of the cupboard. Blood squirted out of Tariq’s nose as Laila screamed. He slid down to his knees, receiving a final kick from Baz in the back.
‘Stop, it! Stop it!’ Laila rushed over to Tariq who lay slumped on the floor. She cradled Tariq’s head in her arms.
The door swung open.
‘Laila, I should’ve said this before, but I’m saying it now. I ain’t one for words but I need to get this out, I lo …’ Ray-Ray walked through the door beginning to deliver the monologue to Laila that he’d been practising on the way over. He stopped dead, taking in the scene that greeted him in the tiny room.
‘Ray-Ray!’
Baz slowly turned his head as it dawned on him who this man was. He stepped forward slowly, back kicking Laila to move out of the way. His face was curled with hatred. ‘My wife is popular. First we have the hero and now the freak show’s arrived.’
Laila looked at Baz anxiously; she could see the venom in his eyes and she knew what he was capable of. ‘Ray-Ray, just go.’
‘I ain’t going anywhere.’
‘How romantic, beauty and the beast.’ Ray-Ray went to move forward but froze as he saw Baz bend down and pick up a green can from the bag he had with him. He watched in horror as Baz hurriedly shook out the contents all over Laila, soaking her in the strong-smelling colourless liquid. It was petrol.
Freddie Thompson couldn’t move. It was the same feeling he’d had when he was sitting on the deck of the boat, thinking Tasha had betrayed him; the same cold steel feeling lay in his heart as it did now. And as he had done then, he now decided it was best to do nothing apart from stare at the blank wall in front of him, knowing if he did move he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.
‘I’m sorry Freddie, I ain’t never lied to you before. But what was I supposed to do? It was Tash you were asking me to deal with. Tash. I couldn’t do it.’ Eddie paused, knowing it wasn’t looking good for him. Freddie hadn’t spoken for the last ten minutes, but had just been standing by the marble sink, staring at the wall. And as Eddie went into more detail, explaining as gently as possible what had really happened with Arnie, he wasn’t sure if he was going to get out of this alive. And it wasn’t helping that Linda was sticking her two penn’orth in either. Her words spilled out in panic.
‘Freddie, listen to me. Tash, she wasn’t thinking straight. You know how difficult it was, what with you going inside and all.’
For the first time, Freddie spoke. ‘Oh so it’s my fault now is it Lind?’
Looking at Freddie’s demeanour, Linda thought it was best not to say anything else.
‘How long was she banging him for?’ Freddie shouted, and neither of them said anything, ‘I said, how long?’
It was Linda who spoke. ‘She wasn’t, not really. She never slept with him.’
‘You expect me to believe that?’
‘That’s what I said to her.’ Linda stopped, realising what she was saying wasn’t really helping. She changed tack.
‘She knew she’d done wrong Freddie. She loves you, she was just lonely.’
‘She made a right fucking mug of me. I bet she was pissing herself laughing. That’s why she wasn’t happy to see me. Spoilt her dirty plans.’
‘No Freddie, it wasn’t like that. She was scared of him.’
Freddie laughed loudly and Linda heard the edge of bitterness in it. ‘Do me a favour. So scared they’ve run off together?’
‘She ain’t, I swear.’ Linda stopped short of saying she would bet her life on it, not wanting to give Freddie any ideas.
‘There’s more.’ Eddie got the envelope which he’d picked up from Arnie’s flat out of his jacket. He threw it on the table. ‘The man’s minted. There’s all kind of documents there.’
Freddie pushed it away. ‘That ain’t of interest to me. All I’m interested in is payback time and once I’ve had that, then I’ll deal with you two.’
Linda and Eddie looked at each other and in a desperate attempt to placate Freddie she said, ‘Freddie, I know you’re pissed and in a way you’ve got every right to be, but if the flowers were from him, I think she’s in trouble.’
Freddie’s hard exterior didn’t falter as he stared at his sister-in-law. ‘And that’s my problem, how?’
‘I know you love her and I know you’re hurt but please Freddie, let’s just look for them.’
Eddie butted in. ‘I don’t buy it. I reckon they’ve just gone.’
‘Ask yourself, why the farce then? Why would Tash pretend she’s going on a date with Freddie if she didn’t believe it herself?’ Linda protested.
Freddie raised his voice, throwing the wine glass from the sink to the other side of the room. ‘I don’t know Linda. I don’t know anything any more. But I tell you what I do know, there’s no way I’m running after her. Even if what you’re saying is right, she deserves all she gets.’
‘Eddie, tell him, please.’
The hammering on the front door stopped all three of them. It was late, and all of them knew no one ever knocked on Freddie Thompson’s door like that unless they didn’t value their own life, not unless they were the police.
Linda pulled open the door. It was Johno.
‘Where’s Freddie?’
‘In the kitchen.’
Johno ran past her, pushing her to one side. ‘Freddie, there’s trouble at one of the walk-ups and Ray-Ray’s bang in the middle of it.’
‘
You want me to do what?’ Eddie looked at Linda in amazement. He didn’t need this. He was already worried about Ray-Ray but when he’d tried to go with Freddie and Johno, they’d refused point blank. Now Linda was adding to his anxiety by stressing about Tash.
‘Please, Eddie; help me.’
‘We’re in enough trouble already.’
Linda snapped at Eddie. ‘Then doing this won’t make the slightest bit of difference will it?’
‘Look, she’ll be fine.’
‘How do you know?’ Linda grabbed hold of Eddie’s arm as he turned away, not wanting to be drawn into it any more than he already was.
‘Even if I was going to help you, what makes you so sure Tasha hasn’t just run off? It seems a bit excessive darling. You lot are all the same.’
Linda looked at Eddie, shaking her head. ‘She ain’t Nora, Ed. I know my sister, and I know she’d tell me if she was seeing some other fella. She was piss scared of this geezer. Wouldn’t even talk about him. She couldn’t tell Freddie like she normally would if someone was bothering her, because she knew what he would do to her. So she was on her own.’
Eddie shrugged his shoulders. ‘I dunno.’
Linda’s eyes pleaded with Eddie as she spoke. ‘Well I do. Please. I know you care about her.’
‘Where would we even start to look? Did she tell you where she was going tonight?’
Linda shook her head. ‘No, she just went off all excited.’
‘Then we’re stuck. It’s been hours. She could be anywhere. We can go by the place he was staying at, but he’s probably long gone, so unless you can think of something, it’s pointless. I’m sorry.’
Linda sat on the edge of the couch feeling deflated and chewing her fingernails. She rubbed her eyes, not sure what she was supposed to do next. She had to think. Problem was, Tasha had talked so little about Arnie, she didn’t have a clue. Then it came to her. Something Tash had said. Linda looked up at Eddie.
‘It ain’t nothing much but she did say he talked about some place of his father’s a lot. He was always asking her to go there with him, but you know Tash, she ain’t exactly a wellington boot and mud kind of gal. It was somewhere up north.’
Eddie’s face changed from an intense frown into a relieved smile.
‘Baby, you’d be surprised how sometimes an ain’t nothing much can turn into something important.’ Eddie picked up the envelope Freddie had thrown on the table. He pulled out documents and letters, discarding most of them until he came to a tatty piece of paper. He scanned it with his eyes. ‘Here it is. I knew I saw it. Sole benefactor to his old man’s estate.’
Linda snatched it, reading it over. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Go where?’
Linda waved the piece of paper at him. ‘Here. To this place in the country.’
‘What? You want to go all the way there on a long shot?’
‘No, I want us to go on a long shot. Eddie, what else have we got?’
He looked at Linda and saw the worry in her eyes. How the hell he’d ever got involved in the first place he didn’t know. Women. They’d always been his downfall. With a roll of his eyes, Eddie grabbed his coat. As he got to the door, he saw Freddie’s car keys to his brand new Porsche lying on the side. Shrugging his shoulders he grabbed them too. He already had a lot of explaining to do, so he might as well do it driving a hot set of wheels.
Freddie ran along the street, not caring that he didn’t have his shades on. All he wanted to do was get to Ray-Ray. He didn’t know what kind of trouble Ray-Ray was in or who this woman was, but all that mattered was that his son needed his help. And he was the one who was going to sort it.
Freddie and Johno pulled out their guns and crept up the stairs, leaving Yvonne who was already waiting for them at the entrance. The wooden steps creaked underfoot and Freddie cursed under his breath. At the top of the stairs he could hear voices inside. Pushing his head against the door he listened, wanting to hear how many people there were.
Ray-Ray was frozen with fear, his eyes fixed on the flame of the Zippo lighter which Baz was holding in one hand. His other arm was tightly around Laila’s neck. Baz laughed cruelly. He could see the terror in Ray-Ray’s eyes and it served only to spur him on.
‘Now tell me something. How was my wife when you fucked her? I always found her to be a frigid little bitch. I’m curious to know, was she worth losing your face for? Very quiet, aren’t we?’
Freddie burst into the room aiming his gun at Baz who didn’t move, just said coolly, ‘Hero, monster and now here comes the cavalry. London really is the entertainment capital of the world.’
Freddie stared dangerously, his tone of voice reflected in his eyes. ‘Let her go.’
Baz shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. I think you’re the one who’s going to move away. I’m taking Laila with me. Come any closer … and whoosh!’
Freddie stared at Laila properly for the first time, who was shivering in fear. Then he realised what was happening. She was drenched in petrol. The smell was overpowering. He glanced at the flame which was held a few inches away from her; any closer and she would catch fire.
‘Listen pal. It’s gone past that mate. The minute you get my son involved, you get me involved.’
‘How touching. It’s a shame you weren’t there to protect him before.’
Freddie looked at Ray-Ray, then at Baz, then back to Ray-Ray as it started to dawn on him.
‘You? It was you …’ Freddie felt the pain rise up in him. His hand shook as he pulled back the safety catch on the gun, not caring if the tears were falling. His voice quivered as he tried to keep his emotions under control. ‘You ruined my son’s life and now I’m going to kill you.’
‘Put the gun down or she goes up in flames.’ Baz held Freddie’s stare, hate cemented on to his face.
Ray-Ray glanced at his Dad, knowing full well what he was capable of. ‘Dad, put down the gun.’
Freddie snapped at Ray-Ray, keeping his eyes on Baz the whole time. ‘Listen to your son. He’s got more sense than you. Now move it.’
Baz began to edge along the wall, keeping his eyes firmly on the people in the room. Laila began to whimper. ‘Ray-Ray, help me.’
Baz pulled on her neck. ‘Shut up. Loverboy isn’t going to help you. I warned you I’d kill you if you ever left me.’
Laila’s big brown frightened eyes fixed on Ray-Ray, silently pleading with him. Baz dragged her along as her knees gave way in terror.
‘Dad, do something!’ shouted Ray-Ray.
Freddie stepped back as Baz shuffled past him. He shook his head, feeling totally powerless, something he’d never felt in his life. ‘There ain’t nothing I can do son.’
Baz backed down the walk-up stairs, pulling a crying Laila with him as Freddie, Johno, and Ray-Ray stood at the top of them, their facial expressions mirroring each other as they followed down the stairs.
Yvonne, at the entrance to the walk-up, screamed as she saw her friend in a neck lock, the lit flame inches from her. She could smell the petrol as Baz kicked out at her. ‘Stay back, Yvonne.’
‘Laila!’
Laila was too terrified to speak; her breathing shallow as her airway was constricted by Baz’s strong hold. The night air hit her and she saw the passersby bolt in amazement, but she was only half-aware of them as Baz began to shout loudly. She could see a crowd forming around her.
The neck hold was suddenly released. Laila fell towards the ground but was held up by Baz’s strong grip on her hair. She screamed in agony, watching the startled faces as they looked on. In the distance she could hear the sounds of the police sirens.
Baz began to shriek, beside himself in anger as she was forced to kneel in the middle of Greek Street. She watched the flame, seeing Baz’s hand shaking as he held the lighter.
‘I want everyone to see you for what you are. See! See! This is what I was given. A whore for a wife. A whore who has brought shame and dishonour to my family.’
Baz saw some people moving forwar
d towards him. ‘Stay back! Stay back!’
Laila was shaking violently, the petrol covering her body, burning her skin, deep into her pores. She looked up through her soaking wet hair. ‘Help me! Please somebody help me!’ The circle of people stood still. No one moved.
Freddie felt Ray-Ray lurch forward but he held him back, fearing for the girl. All eyes were on Baz and the lighter in his hand. All eyes on the flame. The whole of the crowd had horrified looks on their faces; drawn with fear and curiosity. A child began to shout, but was quickly silenced by his mother putting her hand over his mouth. No one dared to move, realising something terrible was about to happen. The sense of terror and helplessness for Laila was palpable, time seeming to pass in slow motion.
Baz stopped shouting for a moment to look down at Laila, his face contorted with rage. He whispered something under his breath, causing Laila to scrunch her eyes tightly shut. He looked up at the crowd, staring at them in angry disdain. He looked up to the sky then yelled. ‘God is great! God is great!’
The next moment, a scream was heard as Laila Khan was engulfed in flames.
Ray-Ray ran forward at the same time as Freddie and Johno. He could see them jumping on Baz, and he stripped off his jacket, trying to smother the flames. He could hear Laila screaming underneath the heat of the fire.
‘Roll, Laila, roll! Someone bring some water quick!’ The flames began to subside but they were still too hot for him to be able to get close. A second later he felt some water being thrown and looked up to see one of the restaurant owners holding an empty bucket.
‘Laila? Laila, talk to me.’ Laila didn’t move. Ray-Ray rested his head forward, talking quietly to her. ‘Laila, please. You’re safe now. Please say something.’
Ray-Ray watched the ambulance drive away. He’d wanted to go with her but Yvonne had been so upset he’d let her go with Laila and Tariq to the hospital instead. He sighed, turning to face his dad who was turning away from the chaos, worried the Old Bill would recognise him.
‘I’ll kill him. Don’t worry Ray-Ray, I’ll get some of me contacts to turn him over in prison. He won’t see daylight.’