‘I’m so glad you could make it.’
I shrugged. ‘Malika wanted to see what a real live English band was like. Thanks for letting us stay, by the way.’
‘No worries. I’ll chat to you later, we need to set up. I’ll be interested to know what you think.’
He continued dragging the equipment across the stage. I noticed Khaled was on stage now. I hoped there wasn’t going to be any trouble.
The room quickly started filling up and I went and got a couple more cans in case they ran out. Tess arrived with Josh. It was the first time I had seen them together. He was all in black, t shirt and jeans and his blonde hair was spiked up into points with gel. He didn’t look happy though, in fact Tess looked like she was giving him a lecture. He gave Tess a quick kiss before he made his way over to the stage to join the rest of the band.
‘Is he alright?’ I asked Tess as she came over. She frowned.
‘It’s his family. Even though they’re miles away they’re still getting to him. His sister’s split with her boyfriend and she keeps phoning Josh up. Honestly, she treats him like a therapist. There’s more to it than that, though.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘There’s something he’s not telling me.’
‘It all sounds a bit heavy,’ I said. Malika appeared beside us and started chatting to Tess. My mind was racing at the news about Sadie, when I heard a voice saying my name. I looked round. It was Fiona.
‘Hey,’ I said. She nodded at me.
‘Do you want to sit down?’ I asked. Her hair was swept up on the back of her head and she was wearing a denim dress and high sandals. She sat down in the seat next to me and pointedly turned her back to the stage. Things obviously weren’t any better with Khaled.
‘How’s it going?’ I asked.
‘Who’s that?’ She indicated Malika, who was deep in conversation with Tess.
‘She’s my sister.’
‘Sister?’ Fiona spluttered.
‘It’s a long story,’ I said.
‘You didn’t reply to my email. I thought we were supposed to be working together?’
‘There was a lot of stuff going on which I didn’t expect. Family stuff, you know. It’s not every day you find out you have a sister.’ Bubbles of irritation were starting to fizz in my stomach. ‘Tess told me about the party and the row with Khaled. Has anything else happened with you? Or Helen?’
She stared at Malika. ‘How can she be your sister? Oh whatever, I don’t really care.’ She swigged from her beer. ‘Helen’s mum phoned. She’s worried about Helen. She’s been having nightmares. Her aunt was puzzled by why she only wants to see us. I think it’s because Helen’s hoping we will find out what happened to Miriam. Some chance!’
Tess sat down next to us.
‘Malika’s gone to the loo,’ she said. The band were still warming up on stage, the crowd lively now. I recognised a few faces from school, but there were lots of people I had never seen before.
‘What can we do?’ said Fiona. ‘Has anything else happened?’ I told her what Tess had told me about Khaled at the party. Fiona nodded her eyes scanning the room behind me. We’d been talking for a while and Malika hadn’t returned. ‘Where’s Malika?’ I stood up and looked over towards the toilets.
‘She’s there,’ Tess pointed in the direction of the stage. ‘And look who she’s talking to.’
I followed her gaze. Malika and Khaled were standing together at the side of the stage. Fiona bristled beside me. I hoped she wasn’t going to cause a scene.
‘I’ll go get her,’ I said. I hurried over to Malika. Khaled saw me approaching and said something, they both turned around.
‘I wondered where you’d got to,’ I said. ‘Is he bothering you?’
‘Relax Jasmine man. You never told me you had a sister.’ Khaled was also wearing a black shirt and black jeans, obviously some kind of uniform adopted by the band. I had to admit he looked good. He was looking from me to Malika, his eyes moving back and forth. At that moment Des came over.
‘Khaled, we’re on now.’
‘Right,’ he said, ‘one minute.’ He beckoned me over. ‘I need to speak to you. Meet me in the interval. Outside, OK?’ Next minute the lights were turned down and the deep throbbing sound of the music started up. I took Malika’s arm and led her back over to our table. Fiona’s glare was steely through her thick black fake lashes. I ignored her and sat down with Malika.
‘He was nice,’ she said.
‘Do you realise who he is?’ She shook her head.
‘That’s Khaled,’ I hissed.
She stared at me. ‘No way! He’s really nice.’
‘What did he say?’
‘Nothing much, he asked who I was, how long was I here for. He’s not how I expected. He looks familiar somehow. Where are his parents from?’
‘I don’t know. He wants to speak to me in the interval. Fiona will really like that. You remember she split up with him recently, so she’s a bit touchy around him. I’m surprised she’s here actually.’
‘Can we go and watch the band now?’ asked Malika.
‘Well don’t expect too much,’ I said. ‘Let’s join Tess over there.’
We pushed through the crowd who were gathered round the stage, cans in hand, dancing to the music. I felt relaxed, my third beer slipping down easily now, the music pulsing deep inside me. It was good to be home. I watched Malika out of the corner of my eye, she was clearly enjoying herself. I shouted in Tess’s ear, telling her about Khaled.
‘Look after Malika when I go outside will you?’ She nodded, still singing along.
‘Josh is great isn’t he?’
‘How’s it going with you two – apart from the counseling sessions?’
A big smile lit up her face. ‘Great. I really like him and he says he likes me too. Can you believe that? We have a lot of fun. Too bad his family are due back soon.’
‘When?’ I asked.
‘Sometime next week. I’m not looking forward to it – they probably won’t approve of me. You should see the amount of stuff his sister has, clothes, perfume, shoes. She actually has a room just for her clothes! Josh isn’t like that at all, he’s really down to earth.’ I rolled my eyes at her, although I was thrilled to hear about Sadie’s bedroom; I had pictured it so many times before. Maybe I could even get to see it?
‘Sorry, I know I can’t stop talking about him. How about you? How did it go with your Dad?’
‘It was getting better actually. He was trying and I was starting to understand why he left.’
We listened to a few more songs, then Mark announced that the band were taking a short break.
‘Don’t go away,’ he announced to the room, before bounding off the stage. Tess and Malika headed off to get some more drinks and I wandered outside. I wondered where Fiona had got to; I hadn’t seen her for a while.
It was dark now, so I stood in an area which was lit up by the street lamp. Should I be wary of Khaled? The door swung open throwing a burst of laughter and music into the air. A shape appeared silhouetted in the doorway, becoming Khaled as he wandered over to me, pausing to light a cigarette. The glow illuminated his face momentarily. He blew a stream of smoke into the air as he came towards me. I turned my nose up.
‘Gross,’ I said, ‘watch where you’re puffing that thing. What do you want?’
He smoked silently, flicking constantly at the butt of his cigarette.
‘I heard about the party,’ I said.
‘So you know about me and Miriam?’ he asked.
I nodded. ‘Is that why you attacked Tess?’
‘I didn’t attack her….well I didn’t mean to. I was wound up and the police had been round questioning me and I thought she must have told them something. Now I realise it was Fiona all along. What did I ever see in her? Getting back at me like that could put me in jail.’ He took a long drag of his cigarette.
‘It wasn’t Fiona.’ I said quietly. He looked at me, his eyes boring into mine.
‘So who was i
t then?’ he asked.
‘I can’t tell you but it was nobody you know.’ No way was he going to hear Helen’s name from me.
‘Jasmine, give me a break.’ He threw his cigarette butt to the floor and ground it out aggressively with his foot. ‘The police came to see me. Again. I came clean. I told them I went out with Miriam and everything that happened.’
‘Which is?’
‘I saw her on the Saturday night when she was on that course. I walked her back to her hotel, only I couldn’t go right to the door in case Fiona saw me. I dropped her at the corner of the street, just round from Euston road. She was supposed to text me the next day if she had a chance to meet up with me again. It never happened. That was the last time I saw her.’
‘Is that what you told the police?’
He nodded. He looked tired, his eyes heavy.
‘So there’s nothing you haven’t told them?’
‘Nothing, I swear. My girlfriend has been murdered and I couldn’t tell anybody.’ His voice caught in his throat. ‘It’s hard, man. I’ve been all over the place. I’m sorry I had a go at Tess, it’s not her fault.’
‘Have you told her that?’
He shook his head. ‘I’ll talk to her. Are you coming to the party tomorrow?’ He nodded. ‘Maybe you can speak to her then?’
‘Yeah. I like that idea.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I need to get back.’
A loud rustling sound behind me made us both turn round. The yard was empty. Khaled’s eyes narrowed, glinting in the dark. I followed him towards the door, the noise from inside welcoming now. He paused at the door.
‘Your sister, Malika, is she coming tomorrow?’
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘Cool,’ he said and went inside. I noticed he had developed a spring in his step. I sighed and followed him in. Why did I have a bad feeling about this?
CHAPTER 29
Malika cooked a delicious meal before we went out the next evening. It made a change from grabbing a sandwich, or the remains of whatever happened to be in the fridge. We’d had the place to ourselves as Mark had stayed with Des, and Tess had left for Josh’s this morning. Malika was in the shower and I helped myself to a beer from the fridge. My phone beeped, it was a text from Fiona:
Are you going to the party?
I replied:Yes!
Are you at Mark’s?
Yes.
I’m on my way.
I liked the way she didn’t give me a choice. It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang for the second time and I got up to let her in. Her hair was loose tonight, very straight and she was wearing amazing heels.
‘Nice hair,’ she smirked, looking at my head. I ran my fingers through my hair. It was sticking out at funny angles. It had been hidden under a hat last night. Malika was still getting ready. I couldn’t be bothered to make much effort. My jeans were clean and I was wearing a new sweatshirt I’d bought in Paris – that would have to do. I offered Fiona a drink. She declined. I poured myself another and put some music on. I was getting in the party mood.
‘So what did Khaled want last night?’
‘He told me what happened with Miriam the last time he saw her.’ I repeated what he had told me.
‘I bet he made that up,’ she said, scowling.
‘Why?’
‘You know why. He’s a liar.’
‘Look, I know he’s hurt you but I believed him. He looked really upset when he talked about Miriam, how hard it was for him because he couldn’t tell anyone.’
‘Did he say anything else?’
‘No,’ I said.
‘Liar!’ she spat out the word.
‘What’s the matter with you? I told you what he said.’
‘You didn’t say what he said about apologising to Tess.’
‘Oh that, I forgot. Hang on, how do you know…. it was you wasn’t it? You were listening in last night! I thought I heard something. What’s the matter with you? Get out of here now if you don’t trust me.’
Fiona hung her head. ‘Alright, I thought you were still hiding stuff from me and I wanted to be sure.’
‘Have you forgotten what I said yesterday already? There’s a lot of family stuff going on that’s all. I told you what happened at the parties. If we’re not honest with each other and what we find out then we’ll never discover what’s happened. I think Khaled was telling the truth. If you can’t get over him then maybe we should carry on without you. Why are you going to the party anyway? Isn’t it difficult seeing him all the time?’
‘Why should I stop going out because of him? I want him to see me and realise what he’s missing.’ She tossed back her hair; she had clearly spent ages getting ready. Now I knew why.
At that moment Malika came in, the raised voices must have attracted her.
‘Remember Fiona?’ I asked.
Fiona glared at Malika. I turned on her. ‘Malika spoke to Khaled last night, that’s all. One conversation. No big deal. She also spoke to Tess and Josh and Mark – do you see how ridiculous you are being?’
‘OK, OK,’ said Fiona. ‘I get it. Hi.’
Malika smiled. ‘I like your dress Fiona. Shall we go?’
Fiona attempted a smile and they waited in the hall while I turned everything off and locked up. Excitement shot through me despite all my good intentions; I was going to Sadie’s house – and she wasn’t going to be there. Finally I had the chance to have a good poke around.
The house lights were visible from way down the street as we approached Josh’s house and music spilled out into the air. I was buzzing. Fiona had been making an effort with Malika on the bus down and I left them to it, lost in my own thoughts.
The door was opened by a boy who I had never seen before. He didn’t speak, just turned around and left us to shut the door behind us. This looked like my kind of party. I went straight through the house until I found the kitchen and dumped the bottle of wine I had found in Mum’s cupboard on the side where it joined a mix of various bottles and cans, mostly alcoholic. Malika looked concerned. ‘Take it easy, Jas, won’t you?’
‘Of course,’ I said, ‘stop fussing, I’m used to it.’
We found Tess and Josh in the living room, where most of the furniture had been removed and music was pumping out of a sound system which appeared to be wired throughout the whole house.
‘Jasmine,’ said Tess, rushing over and giving me a big hug.
‘Where can I leave my stuff?’ I asked. I indicated the jacket I was carrying and my clutch bag.
‘Upstairs. Let me take it.’
‘No, you’re alright, I’ll do it myself.’ I took Malika’s jacket too and left her with Tess. A couple was sitting on the bottom of the stairs, their lips sealed together. I clambered over them, knocking the girl in the shoulder as I went, but she didn’t stir. At the top of the stairs was a room, clearly Josh’s, where a couple of coats were already on the bed, obviously the cloakroom for the night. I ignored that room and carried on to the end of the corridor. There were another three doors on this level. I opened the first two, another bedroom and a toilet. The third room was hers. I opened the door and held my breath. It was a large white room, very bare, with mirrors lining one wall, tiny light bulbs around the edges, like I had seen in pictures of theatre dressing rooms. There was a double bed in the middle of the room and a large black and white photo of Sadie dominated the wall. I took out my phone and quickly took a picture of it, followed by a couple of shots of the room. A door led off the bedroom into a walk in shower room, all dark metallic tiles and steel, with a beautiful sink. Without hesitating I went straight over to the bedside cabinet. It was incredibly tidy, containing just a bottle of perfume and two magazines. I opened the small drawer underneath which contained her passport and some bank statements.
A noise outside made me jump. I closed the drawer and stood up and waited a moment. I was imagining things. Another door grabbed my attention. I opened this one and stared. I would die for this room. It was a walk in wardrobe. A room f
ull of Sadie’s clothes. My eyes were assaulted by a rainbow of colours, with boxes and boxes of shoes on a shelf above. I fingered the skirt of a silver dress, which shimmered in front of me, the fabric soft against my skin. I was just reaching up to lift another dress down, one I had seen on Sadiestyle and had never been able to track down, when a voice made me jump out of my skin:
‘What are you doing?’
I whirled around. It was Fiona. Panic almost made me lose my balance.
‘Hi,’ I said lamely.
‘What the hell are you up to?’
I held my hands up.
‘Snooping,’ I said. ‘You’ve caught me. Thank God it was only you. I should have told you. I wanted to see if there were any clues in the house.’
‘Clues. How? This is Josh’s sister’s room isn’t it? That Sadie one who had her hands all over Khaled.’
I sighed. ‘She knows him, doesn’t she? So she’s connected. You never know. I just thought I’d take the chance while I was here.’
My heart was pumping furiously, but she seemed to believe me.
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘I guess this detective stuff is all new to me. Have you found anything?’
I shook my head. ‘Let’s get out of here before anyone notices we’ve disappeared.’
We headed back downstairs and I cast a wistful look at Sadie’s room before I closed the door, trying to etch the details into my memory. The snogging pair had moved from the stairs and was now on top of the pile of coats on Josh’s bed.
‘That’s Tina,’ said Fiona. ‘She’s such a tart.’ The party had livened up since we arrived and people were dancing in the living room and quite a few people were outside by the pool. It was a breath taking sight. Fiona and I went to the kitchen and got some more drinks. I looked around for Tess, but couldn’t see her. The kitchen was uncannily like the picture I had conjured up in my head. I was high just being in Sadie’s house.
In the end I found Tess in the garden, deep in conversation with Khaled. I hoped he was making his peace with her. She saw me and waved. ‘Jasmine, over here.’
Someone Like me Page 13