Friendless Lane

by Helen Black

  ‘She won’t let you in,’ said Lilly.

  ‘I’ll cave the fecking door in if I have to.’

  Lilly raised her eyes to heaven. ‘And you’ll lose your best witness in the process.’

  Jack thought for a second. Lilly was right. If he went in mob-handed, whatever the problem was right now, he wouldn’t see Kelsey for dust afterwards. He needed her safe and well, but he also needed her cooperation.

  ‘What about Alice?’ he asked.

  ‘She’ll be all right with Sam for an hour.’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘I’ll get my coat,’ Lilly said.

  [#]

  I was very young when I discovered that most people won’t resist being led. In fact, not only will they not resist it, they actually seek it out.

  Of course they won’t admit it. They see themselves as free agents, masters of their own destiny. But you only have to watch crowds of holidaymakers disembarking from their cruise ships to know the reality. Those sweaty, sunburned middle managers from Doncaster don’t want to explore Capri on their own, searching the cool backstreets for the best olive oil. No. They’d rather troop off their boat like the Mongol hordes, a sticker bearing the name of both their ship and themselves (lest they forget either) displayed on their chest, and do as they’re told in the midday sun.

  I was five years old when I first realized the way it is. I’d been cycling on the drive when I fell badly and broke my arm. Obviously I didn’t cry, but Mummy could tell by the strange angle of my shoulder that all was not well.

  On the way to Accident and Emergency, she was rather quiet. And I knew why. She’d promised Daddy that she wouldn’t take any more naps during the day, and when he found out that that was exactly what she’d been doing when I fell from my bike, he’d make her go away to ‘dry out’. Mummy didn’t like that idea at all. She much preferred being wet.

  ‘I don’t think we should tell Daddy that you were in bed,’ I said.

  She turned to me, her hands still on the wheel. I looked across at her, my misaligned arm and shoulder tucked into my anorak, the zip done up to my chin, the left sleeve flapping emptily and uselessly by my side.

  ‘I think we should say that you were making lunch and I sneaked out.’

  Mummy looked away. ‘He might be cross with you, Katie.’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘He’ll be too sad about my arm.’

  And without another word, that’s how it was between us. I took the rap and Mummy got to carry on having her little naps.

  Power had changed hands.

  Over the years, I’ve honed my leadership skills. Well someone has to, otherwise nothing would ever get done.

  The door to the recreation room opens and Jenny is there, muddled and puzzled, as if she’s looking for a signpost. Honestly, I’ve shown her time and time again how to hide her pills in the gum line above her teeth.

  ‘Hello, Jen-Jen,’ I call out.

  She waddles over, a frown still on her face.

  ‘Why so glum?’ I ask.

  She stands in front of me, flapping her arms by her sides, the palms slapping her thighs. Her lips are pushed together like two slices of cold ham.

  ‘Why don’t you whisper it?’ I push a few strands of hair behind my ear. I wish I hadn’t needed to cut it all off, but sometimes you have to do these things. ‘Ever so quietly.’

  She thinks for a second. Honestly, I can almost hear the gears of her brain grinding from first to second, then to third. Poor Jenny never gets to fourth, that’s for sure.

  At last she leans in and I can smell Pepto Bismol on her breath.

  ‘I saw the finch,’ she tells me, not especially quietly.

  I open my eyes as wide as I can.

  ‘The green one,’ she says, not even bothering to lean in this time.

  ‘Is it a message?’ I ask.

  She begins a flurry of flappy arms and I have to stroke her to make it stop.

  ‘You can tell me.’ I make a gesture of zipping my mouth, locking it and throwing away the key. ‘You can tell me anything, Jen-Jen.’

  She looks around her as if spies might be on every corner. Really, I know I should be patient, but sometimes it’s incredibly hard.

  ‘Someone is going to be hurt,’ she says.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘We don’t know yet,’ she replies.

  I nod slowly and take her hand. ‘I think I might know.’

  Jenny is stunned.

  ‘You see, I dreamt about the little green finch,’ I say.

  ‘He came to you?’

  I lower my eyes. ‘Yes, but I don’t think dream messages are as strong as real ones.’

  She shakes her head violently. ‘It doesn’t matter at all.’

  ‘Oh Jen-Jen,’ I say. ‘Now I feel very frightened.’

  Without warning she throws her arms around me. ‘It’s okay, Kate, I know how you feel.’

  And she does. The birds have been coming to Jenny since she was fourteen. Vatfuls of anti-psychotic drugs haven’t stopped them. Slicing into her skin with any available sharp object hasn’t stopped them.

  ‘We’ll get through this together,’ she says.

  I lay my head on her damp chest. ‘I’m so lucky to have a friend like you.’

  [#]

  Jack’s car screeched to a halt and Lilly jumped out. She raced towards the lifts at the foot of the tower block. She heard the beep of Jack’s car alarm behind her, then the pounding of his trainers on the path as he caught up.

  It was tipping it down again. Still no hood or umbrella. Brilliant!

  She stabbed the button for the lift, panting and dripping. Jack bent to retrieve a piece of paper disintegrating soggily on the floor. He turned it over and Lilly groaned. The words were wet and blurry: LIFT OUT OF ORDER.

  They headed for the stairs and took them two at a time. By the time they reached the fifth floor, they were both gasping for air.

  ‘I need to get back to the gym,’ said Jack.

  ‘I need to start going in the first place,’ said Lilly.

  They ran to Kelsey’s door and began hammering with their fists.

  ‘Kelsey,’ Lilly shouted. ‘It’s me and Jack, let us in.’

  There was no answer.

  ‘Kelsey, are you in there?’

  Jack took a step back. ‘I’m breaking it down.’

  He was about to shoulder-barge it when Lilly stepped into his path. ‘Don’t you remember all those locks? You’ll break your bloody arm.’

  Jack didn’t look like he cared, so she pressed a hand against his chest.

  ‘Seriously, that door isn’t shifting any time soon,’ she said.

  He nodded, moved to the window and started banging against it. Lilly cupped a hand over her eyes and tried to peer inside. The kitchen was in darkness but there was a light on somewhere beyond. Out of nowhere a dark figure darted across, momentarily blocking the light.

  ‘Someone’s in there,’ said Lilly.

  ‘Is it Kelsey?’

  ‘Not sure.’

  The figure moved again. Bigger than Kelsey. Taller and broader.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘Not Kelsey.’

  Jack hammered again. ‘This is the police,’ he yelled. ‘Open up, now.’

  There was still no answer.

  ‘I’m counting to three, and if you don’t open this door, I’m smashing the window,’ Jack shouted. ‘One, two …’

  ‘All right, all right.’ A muffled voice came from inside.

  There were sounds of movement, then the clunk of the locks being turned. At last the door opened and a black woman in her early twenties scowled at them.

  ‘What the fuck is your problem?’ she shouted.

  Jack flashed his card. ‘Where’s Kelsey?’

  The woman folded her arms. She had open cuts on each finger, circles of raw flesh glowing red against her black skin.

  ‘You can’t come in here without no warrant,’ she said.

  ‘Get out of my way or I’ll nick you,’ said Jack
.

  The young woman stood her ground. ‘And I’ll call my brief straight up, you get me?’

  Jack gestured towards Lilly. ‘Already brought one with me, sweetheart.’ In one movement he spun the woman round, pushed her against the wall, hand high up her back. Lilly was gobsmacked.

  ‘What’s your name?’ he yelled.

  ‘Get off me, man.’

  ‘I asked you to tell me your name.’

  He yanked the woman’s arm a touch higher and she let out a yelp of pain. ‘Talisa,’ she said. ‘Talisa Reid.’

  ‘Okay, Talisa.’ Jack held the arm in the same excruciating spot. ‘Where’s Kelsey?’

  ‘In the front room, for fuck’s sake.’

  He turned the woman and frogmarched her down the hall. In the front room, Kelsey lay sprawled on the sofa. Lilly pushed past and touched her. Kelsey’s skin was terribly cold.

  ‘Kelsey.’ Lilly rubbed her client’s face. ‘Kelsey, can you hear me?’

  ‘Is she alive?’ Jack shouted.

  Lilly didn’t know. Kelsey was shockingly pale, her lips grey. She put a hand in front of her mouth to feel for breath.

  ‘Of course she’s alive, man,’ Talisa shouted. ‘What the fuck are you two on?’

  Lilly reached behind Kelsey’s head and lifted her up. Her skull lolled backwards. Her frame was so slight it felt like it might crumble at the slightest touch, and all that would be left would be a pile of soft white chalk.

  When Kelsey’s torso was against her own, Lilly thrust the girl’s head forward so it lolled over her shoulder. There was a rasp, a breath, a deep rumble. Too late, Lilly felt Kelsey’s stomach roll; the smell of vomit splashing down her back was already evident.

  Talisa burst out laughing. ‘That’s what I’m talking about.’

  [#]

  Kelsey perched on the end of the sofa, a mug of hot tea cupped between both hands, the handle missing. Lilly had had to make it black, as the milk in the fridge had turned.

  The vomit-stained coat had been dumped in the bathroom, but its smell still filled the room. Together with the sour milk, the odour made Lilly feel sick.

  ‘Sorry about that, Lilly,’ said Kelsey.

  ‘About what?’ Lilly asked. ‘The coat? Or the fact that you frightened Jack and me half to death?’

  Kelsey blew on her tea. ‘There weren’t no need to be scared. Me and my mate were just having a bit of a blowout.’

  ‘Some mate,’ said Jack. ‘Letting you get yourself into that state.’

  ‘Talisa’s all right,’ said Kelsey.

  Talisa had been allowed to leave once Kelsey came round, but they had been able to hear her swearing and threatening to sue them until she got to the stairs.

  On the floor at Kelsey’s feet was a crack pipe and four pieces of charred tin foil. Lilly tapped a piece with her shoe.

  ‘Fuck a duck, Kelsey, you’ve done enough here to fell an elephant.’

  Kelsey shrugged and brought the mug to her lips but didn’t take a drink.

  ‘Calm before the storm, ain’t it?’ she said. ‘I signed on for rehab.’

  ‘How’s that working out for you?’ asked Jack.

  Kelsey wrinkled her nose at him. ‘I haven’t started yet, have I?’

  ‘And in the meantime you thought you’d better do as much gear as you could lay your hands on,’ said Lilly.

  She sighed. How many clients had she represented who, knowing they were going down, had arrived at court drugged up to the eyeballs?

  ‘You can’t do this every day till your appointment,’ she said. ‘You’ll be dead by the weekend.’

  Kelsey put her tea down untouched and reached for a packet of fags. There was one inside, half smoked. She took it out and lit it.

  ‘I wanted them to take me in there and then,’ she said. ‘But it ain’t that easy. Nothing ever is, is it?’

  She blew out a plume of smoke, which didn’t help Lilly’s queasiness.

  ‘So what are you two doing here?’ Kelsey asked. ‘Fancied a night out in Luton, did you?’

  Lilly looked up at Jack. He needed to tread lightly. He gave the tiniest of nods.

  ‘Remember when you first came to see me about Gem?’ Lilly said. ‘You told me that some men had been in the club. That you had a bad feeling about them.’

  Kelsey took another drag. ‘Pakis. From Bury Park, most probably.’

  ‘Do you know their names?’ Jack asked.

  Lilly sent him a warning glare. He needed to leave this to her.

  ‘Nah,’ said Kelsey. ‘Why?’

  Lilly swallowed. ‘They found DNA evidence on Gem’s body and it looks like she might have been killed by a group of Asian men.’

  Kelsey finished her fag, leant down and ground it out in the ashtray at her feet. ‘You think it was them boys at the club that done her?’ She looked first at Lilly, then at Jack. ‘That’s what you think, don’t you?’

  ‘It’s possible,’ said Lilly. ‘Have you really got no idea who they are?’

  Kelsey groaned. ‘Look, the place is full of bleedin’ punters every night. That’s why it’s a good place to work. I don’t stop and ask for names, do I?’

  ‘You must have an inkling,’ said Jack. ‘People always talk.’

  Kelsey narrowed her eyes. ‘I said I don’t know who they are, and I don’t, all right?’ Jack put up his hands in mock surrender. ‘A lot of the gangs come in from Bury Park way.’

  ‘And what did they want with Gem?’ Lilly asked. ‘Was she buying drugs from them?’

  ‘Nah.’ Kelsey shook her head. ‘We don’t get our gear from that bleedin’ shower. Always charge too much, them fuckers do. That’s why nobody scores from them, except the sad fucking losers who actually live down that way.’

  ‘So what were they after?’ Lilly asked.

  ‘If they ain’t making enough money selling gear, they’re soon gonna change to a new product,’ Kelsey replied.

  Lilly exchanged a glance with Jack. If that new product was young girls, the theory that Gem had been killed by a grooming gang had just gained even more traction.

  ‘Would Reggie know who the men were?’ Jack asked.

  Kelsey laughed. ‘Might do, yeah. But he ain’t gonna tell you, Jack.’

  ‘One of his girls has been killed,’ said Jack. ‘Surely that must count for something.’

  Kelsey laughed again. ‘You always were bleedin’ daft, Jack. Reggie looks after his girls ’cos we make him money, but once we ain’t making him any money, he ain’t too worried what happens to us.’

  ‘And Gem’s no longer making him money,’ said Jack.

  ‘At last he catches on.’ Kelsey turned to Lilly. ‘He ain’t exactly sharp, is he?’

  ‘How about if I put some pressure on him?’ said Jack. ‘Gem was underage, after all.’

  Kelsey shook her head in disgust. ‘He’ll probably just tip them Bury Park boys off and chuck me out. I might get a kicking into the bargain for telling you lot anything.’

  Lilly tried to think. Maybe Kelsey could go through the files of mug shots and identify the men from there? Trouble was, if their DNA wasn’t on the system, the chances were they’d never been nicked and their photos wouldn’t be on the system either. How else could they do this?

  When it hit her, the simplicity of it almost made her laugh.

  ‘How about if Kelsey goes to work as normal and just gives you a call when they come in?’ she asked Jack.

  He smiled at her. ‘That could work.’

  ‘Hold on a minute.’ Kelsey held up her hands. ‘I can’t be grassing up punters in front of everyone. Not if I want to live to tell the bleedin’ tale.’

  ‘No one need know,’ said Lilly. ‘All you have to do is call Jack, describe them, then he’ll arrive and arrest them.’

  ‘Simple as that?’ Kelsey looked sceptical.

  ‘The DNA would prove if it was them or not,’ said Jack. ‘If it matches, they’re bang to rights.’

  Kelsey thought for a second. ‘If I did this, I’d b
e doing you one massive favour, right?’

  ‘You would,’ said Jack.

  ‘So you’d owe me big time.’

  Jack raised his eyebrows and Kelsey laughed.

  ‘No one gets nothing for nothing in this life, Jack,’ she said. ‘If I do this for you, I want you to speak up for me when I apply for contact with my little sisters.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I want you to tell the judge what a good person I am,’ she said. ‘And that you recommend I be allowed to see them.’

  Jack looked at Lilly. She knew she was grinning as broadly as her client. It was a fair exchange. Quid pro quo.

  ‘All right, I’ll do it,’ he said, and Kelsey punched the air. ‘But you must call me the minute these men come into the club. We need to put them away as soon as possible.’

  [#]

  The next evening Kelsey arrived at Orlando’s with her heart racing. She’d had a couple of jellies before she set off but they hadn’t touched the sides. Christ, she’d kill for a rock, but for one thing that would just make her more paranoid, and for another, she didn’t have any readies.

  She’d spent all her cash yesterday. Pooled it with Talisa and bought three rocks apiece and two baggies of brown. Then they’d done the lot, although Kelsey had seemed to do most of it.

  She pulled back the velvet curtain and tried to control her breathing.

  ‘What’s up with you?’ Reggie asked, lugging a crate of glasses across the stage.

  ‘Don’t know what you mean,’ said Kelsey, way too fast.

  When she’d agreed to ID the Bury Park boys for Jack, it had seemed like a good idea. Now it didn’t seem too cute and she was bricking it.

  ‘So where were you last night?’ He put the crate on top of the bar.

  ‘Nowhere.’ Kelsey struggled to keep her voice normal, but it sounded fake. Like an answering machine or something. ‘I just felt a bit tired.’

  Reggie nodded and started to unload the glasses. The girls didn’t have to come in every night. Since Reggie didn’t actually pay them, he didn’t much care. As long as there were enough dancers to keep the punters happy, he didn’t give a shit which ones they were.

  When she got to the foot of the stairs, Reggie called out to her again.

  ‘No sign of your little mate, then?’

  Thank God Kelsey had her back to him. She could imagine what her face looked like. She forced herself to calm down. At this rate, Reggie was going to guess something was up.