Friendless Lane

by Helen Black

  ‘Okay,’ said Hussain.

  ‘So he can say words other than no comment,’ said Jack.

  ‘Let’s just get on with the charade, shall we?’ said Jafari.

  They watched as the FME took the sample and sealed the swab carefully in an evidence bag. He wrote the details on the side and showed them to Jafari.

  ‘Are you happy that everything is in order?’ he asked.

  ‘Whatever,’ Jafari replied.

  The FME gave a small, precise smile and handed the bag to Jack.

  ‘Let’s get this to the custody sergeant,’ said Jack and headed out of the room.

  Once at the desk, he laid the evidence bag in full view. He was leaving no possibility for Hussain to challenge the forensics. The wee slimeball might have squirmed his way out of answering any questions, but he couldn’t deny cold, hard science now, could he?

  Hussain and Jafari stood behind him.

  ‘I’ve been in touch with the lab and they’re going to process this as a matter of urgency,’ Jack told the sergeant.

  In fact, he’d tracked down Cheney in the cinema, watching Betty Blue, and begged him to abandon the subtitles and head back to the lab. Beer, curry and Brownie points in the afterlife had been offered as incentives.

  ‘In the meantime, I’d like to keep Mr Hussain in custody,’ he said.

  ‘This is outrageous,’ said Jafari. ‘My client has been arrested on some trumped-up charge, with no evidence whatsoever, and now you want to keep him in the cells overnight?’

  ‘I’m allowed to keep him for twenty-four hours,’ said Jack.

  Jafari’s jaw tightened. ‘You’re going to lose your job over this, mate.’

  [#]

  Lilly lay on her bed, Alice by her side, Puccini’s ‘Humming Chorus’ gently washing over them. She was knackered, but every time she tried to turn off the music, Alice howled like the Hound of the Baskervilles. You’d think she would eventually exhaust herself and fall asleep. But you’d be wrong. No one had stamina like Alice.

  There was a knock at the bedroom door that made Alice growl.

  ‘Come in,’ said Lilly.

  Jack opened the door. ‘I did ring the bell.’

  ‘I didn’t hear you, what with the opera in progress.’

  Alice lit up at the sight of Jack, but his face was serious.

  ‘What’s up?’ Lilly asked.

  ‘Do you even need to ask?’

  ‘Clearly I do.’

  Jack stepped into the room and pressed it shut behind him with his shoulder. ‘What the hell is Kelsey Brand doing here?’

  ‘Long story.’

  Jack put up his hand. ‘I’m sure it’s a corker, Lilly, but Jesus, you can smell the weed from the drive.’

  ‘She didn’t smoke in the house,’ Lilly replied. ‘And Alice has been up here the whole time.’

  ‘And that makes it okay in your books?’

  ‘Come on, Jack. She’s doing her best to cut down on the class As; a bit of weed is pretty good going for Kelsey. Give her a break.’

  ‘A break?’

  Lilly sat up and brushed her fingers through her hair. It needed a wash. She needed a wash.

  ‘She did us a favour identifying the Bury Park boys, remember.’

  ‘She didn’t actually do that,’ Jack replied. ‘You did.’

  ‘She got scared,’ said Lilly. ‘And anyway, she as good as pointed them out to me.’

  ‘So what are you saying? We should let her take drugs around the kids because she did what any decent person would do?’

  ‘Jack.’

  He sank down on the bed next to her, his head bowed. Alice made little grunting noises and tried to shuffle towards him.

  ‘I’m sorry, Lilly,’ he said. ‘I’m all over the place. The Hussain interview was a complete waste of time.’

  ‘He didn’t talk?’

  Alice batted Jack with a pudgy hand and he took it in his own, his face melting.

  ‘Not a dickie bird,’ he said. ‘And the lawyer, Mary Mother of God, what a prick. Thank God we have the DNA.’

  Lilly ran her teeth over her bottom lip. She just hoped for Jack’s sake that the DNA did match.

  ‘Look, if you’re uncomfortable with Kelsey being here, why don’t you take Alice back to yours for the night?’ she said. ‘She’ll take your mind off things.’

  He leaned backwards so that Alice’s head was in the crook of his elbow. ‘You don’t mind?’

  ‘Mind? I’d be over the moon just to get a break from bloody Puccini.’

  Jack laughed, picked up Alice and kissed her three times on her head.

  [#]

  If an Alice-free night had left Lilly refreshed, the sound of Kelsey heaving in the bathroom took the wind from her sails. The retching rang out through the house, following Lilly into the kitchen. She pulled out a piece of bread for toast, but thought better of it.

  At last the noise subsided and Kelsey appeared. Her skin was so pale it shone with phosphorescence.

  ‘Tea?’ Lilly asked.

  Kelsey shook her head. ‘I need to get off and do a few things.’

  Lilly knew exactly what Kelsey needed to do.

  ‘Fine, but don’t stay at your flat,’ she said. ‘You’ll just end up using all day.’

  Kelsey’s face told Lilly that that was precisely how she would like to spend her day.

  ‘Think of your sisters,’ said Lilly. ‘Do your thing and come back here. Have a bath. Relax.’

  Kelsey wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach. ‘I don’t wanna be in the way or nothing.’

  ‘You won’t be,’ said Lilly. ‘I’m off to work and Sam will be in his room pretending to revise.’

  ‘Oi,’ said Sam, who had got up three hours before his usual allotted time.

  Lilly eyed his boxer shorts and T-shirt combo with distaste. ‘Sam, put some bloody clothes on, we’ve got a guest.’

  ‘I ain’t complaining,’ said Kelsey, chuckling, which made her double over with a guttural groan. ‘Shit, I gotta get out of here.’

  ‘You’ll come back?’ Lilly called after her retreating figure.

  ‘Yeah.’

  Lilly and Sam stood in the kitchen and waited for the sound of the door slamming. Lilly was sorry her son had had to see that, but on the other hand, it would hopefully put him off drugs for life.

  ‘I know you don’t want her here, Sam, but she shouldn’t be on her own right now.’

  ‘It’s fine.’

  ‘If you knew everything she’d been through, you’d understand.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ said Sam.

  ‘Oh.’ Lilly paused. ‘Right.’

  ‘She hasn’t got anyone to help her, has she?’ said Sam. ‘Just you.’

  ‘That’s about the size of it, big man.’

  He nodded and draped an arm around her shoulders. He was taller than her now.

  ‘I get it,’ he said. ‘After all these years I get it. For people like Kelsey, you’re the nearest they’ve got to a friend.’

  Lilly leaned into her son and smiled. He was growing up so fast.

  ‘I’m sorry I called Dad,’ he said.

  ‘Don’t be,’ she replied. ‘He loves coming over to see you.’

  ‘You’re right, though, he does talk a lot of shit.’

  They both burst out laughing.

  ‘An au pair!’ Sam shook his head. ‘How would I ever live that down at school?’

  ‘I suppose we could get a bloke. A manny?’ said Lilly.

  ‘Don’t even think about it,’ said Sam. ‘We’re fine as we are.’

  Chapter 9

  You can’t move.

  You try to wriggle free, but you can’t move.

  You’re on your back with Cal’s bare arm thrown over your chest. It pins you to the spot, like one of those dead butterflies in a glass case. It’s properly heavy. The skin brown and hairy. The elbow all dry and scabby.

  Somewhere along the corridor, someone crashes about. Then you hear the sound of throwing u
p, the splash of puke in the toilet bowl. It makes you want to join in.

  The toilet flushes again and again and Cal mumbles something. He opens his eyes and looks right at you.

  You freeze.

  He curls his lip at what he sees and turns over.

  Free at last, you take the chance to jump out of bed and throw on your clothes. Cal doesn’t try to stop you.

  You make your way to the toilet. It smells rank and bits of sick are floating on top of the water. You try the flush again. When that doesn’t work, you sit down anyway but you can’t have a pee because it burns. You reach over to the sink and run your hand under the cold tap, cup some water and throw it at your privates. Whatever Cal did last night, it’s set you on fire inside.

  You pull up your knickers as gently as you can manage.

  There isn’t a mirror in there, but you don’t need one to work out that your face is mashed. Your lip feels twice its usual size, and you bet you’ve got a black eye.

  When Raz picked you up, you didn’t even ask where he was taking you. You knew. Just like you knew Cal would be waiting.

  There’s a crash in the kitchen and Leah swears, so you head in there. She’s bent over a broken glass, sweeping the shards into a dustpan. When she looks up at you, her eyes go wide.

  ‘Jesus.’ She stands and inspects your face. ‘What did I tell you yesterday? This lot can get well lairy and you need to treat them carefully.’ She lifts your chin with her finger. ‘Not as bad as it looks, though. Nothing broken.’

  She goes back to the dustpan, and when she’s collected up all the bits of glass, she takes it to the bin.

  ‘Fuck’s sake,’ she says, when she sees the bin is overflowing with crap.

  She shuts it and leaves the dustpan on top.

  ‘Wanna drink?’ she asks.

  You don’t answer so she just nods and pulls out two glasses from a cupboard. She half fills each one with vodka, then tops them up with orange juice.

  ‘It’s gonna hurt a lot less if you get that down you,’ she says.

  You take the glass and drink. Your lip is so fat, you dribble some down your chin. Leah laughs. You almost laugh too, but Raz appears in the doorway.

  ‘What a mess,’ he says.

  You don’t know if he means the kitchen or your face.

  ‘Cal hit me.’

  You don’t know why you even said that. Raz must know his friend did this to you. Just like he knew when Cal raped you the other night. By the look on his face, he doesn’t care.

  ‘He took my phone,’ you say. ‘The one you gave me.’

  Raz shrugs like it doesn’t matter.

  ‘My other one’s out of charge and I need to call my mum,’ you say.

  He snaps his head round and stares at you. His eyes are cold and dead. ‘Why?’

  You’ve made things even worse now. You shouldn’t have mentioned Mum. You should never mention Mum.

  ‘She just gets a bit worked up when I sneak out,’ you say. ‘I’ve told you that before.’

  He takes a step towards you. ‘She wouldn’t go to the police, would she?’

  ‘No.’ You shake your head hard. ‘No way.’

  He nods calmly, and you think you’ve managed to convince him when he reaches across to the bin, as quick as a flash, and snatches a piece of glass from the dustpan. With the other hand he grabs your hair and holds you tight. Leah gasps as he presses the sharp edge of the glass to your cheek.

  ‘You need to make sure she doesn’t,’ he says. ‘Do you understand?’

  You’re so frightened you can’t speak.

  ‘Do you understand?’ he asks again.

  You manage to nod once.

  ‘I’ll get your phone from Cal and you text her, okay?’ He yanks your head right back. Puts the glass just under your eye. ‘You tell her you’re staying at a mate’s house.’ You screw your eyes shut. ‘Otherwise I will kill you very, very slowly. If you don’t believe me, just ask Leah what happened to the last little bitch who wouldn’t do as she was told.’

  At last he lets go of you and throws the shard of glass at your feet. When he’s left the kitchen, you sink to the floor. You’ve wet yourself but you don’t care.

  He comes back with the phone and pushes it at you. Your hands shake so much as you type, you keep making mistakes.

  ‘Don’t mess me about,’ says Raz.

  At last you manage it. Raz checks the text, nods and pockets the phone.

  [#]

  It was dark outside. Roll on the spring. The endless gloom and rain clouds were enough to put Pollyanna in a bad mood.

  Worse, Lilly’s office smelled bad.

  She regretted not emptying the bins last night. The smell was reminiscent of the skips at the back of a kebab shop. Getting a new cleaner was now priority number one, or number two. Number one had to be to sort the bins out right this second before she collapsed into a Victorian faint.

  She rummaged through the cupboard under the sink for rubber gloves. She found an empty Fairy Liquid bottle, a packet of mouse killer (bait trays included), three Trainer Tamers and a broken sink plunger. No rubber gloves.

  No way was she going to put her hands in the bin without something wrapped around them. There was the discarded scarf still in the sink, but it was soaking and covered in tea bags. She ruled out toilet or kitchen roll, as both would disintegrate on contact with whatever was lurking amongst the rubbish.

  What she needed was a pair of plastic carrier bags, one for each hand. In the corner of the kitchen was a pile of them. She kept meaning to reuse them, but forgot them each time she went shopping. There was also a growing mountain of them in the cottage, taking up most of the available space in the shoe cupboard in the hallway. Naturally, their shoes were strewn around the house in trails, as if they were snakes shedding their skins.

  Lilly extracted two bags. An orange one from Sainsbury’s and a white one from Tesco. She put her left hand in the Sainsbury’s one, wrapped the handles around her wrist and tucked the ends in her sleeve. The right hand was trickier, as she tried the same manoeuvre with her now plastic-covered left hand. She wasn’t able to fasten the right-hand bag as tightly as the left, but it would have to do.

  Like a surgeon, she held her gloved hands in front of her, thumbs pointing out, fingers pointing up, and approached the first bin. On top were two empty milk cartons, but Lilly knew by the odour that there was rotting organic matter beneath. She picked it up, held her breath and dashed for the back door. Outside, in the small yard, she picked her way through the grey puddles to the main bin and shook the rubbish into it. Half tumbled out, but the rest stayed put, even after a good shake. There was no option but to plunge her hand in and drag out the detritus. The feel of a slimy banana skin, a decomposing avocado pear and handfuls of used tissues made her cringe.

  When she’d finished, the bag around her right hand was coming loose and a greeny-brown sludge was making its way dangerously close to her naked wrist. Trying not to gag, she trooped back into the office with the still filthy bin.

  When she got back inside, Julia Blythe was standing there, looking even more pinched than usual. She stared at the bags around Lilly’s hands, then wrinkled her nose, presumably at the stench.

  ‘Hi,’ said Lilly, and gave an orange-coated wave that rustled. ‘I’ll be with you in a second.’

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Julia asked.

  ‘Everything’s fine,’ said Lilly with as much cheer as she could muster. ‘Take a seat.’ She gestured to a chair against the wall, but the movement propelled a lump of ectoplasm across the room. It hit the wall and began to slide down.

  Julia watched for a moment, then took a seat at the other end of the room.

  Cursing, Lilly filled the bin with scalding water. Since the Fairy Liquid bottle was empty, she pumped in two squirts of handwash. She discarded the carrier bags and closed the kitchen door behind her.

  ‘So.’ She sat behind the desk in reception. ‘What did Velvet say about what happened at the polic
e station?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Julia replied. ‘She came home and ran straight to her room. I was just so grateful she was back in one piece, I didn’t dare rock the boat.’ She sighed. ‘She left first thing this morning, though.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Lilly.

  Julia drooped. ‘I wondered if you’d had an opportunity to speak to your contacts in the police about the registration plate I gave you?’

  Lilly put her hands on the desk, noticed that the cuff of her jacket was smeared with gunge and tucked her arms out of sight.

  ‘I did,’ she said. ‘Though in a funny way I didn’t need to.’

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘The police already knew who owned that car and were investigating him.’

  Julia’s hands flew to her throat and she scratched the white skin with her nails. There were already red weals from prior raking.

  ‘Who is he?’ she asked.

  ‘His name’s Khalid Hussain,’ Lilly replied.

  ‘That name sounds familiar.’

  ‘The thing is,’ said Lilly, ‘I know for a fact that he was not the person who was driving the car the night you noted his number plate.’

  ‘How?’

  Lilly wondered if she should explain. She was party to the information about Hussain’s arrest because of her relationship with Jack, and that information wasn’t for public consumption. Then again, Julia wasn’t Joe Public, was she? She was the mother of an abused and vulnerable girl.

  ‘He was in police custody,’ she said. ‘In fact, he’s still there.’

  ‘Then who was driving that car?’

  ‘Good question.’

  Outside on the road an engine started and the voice of a radio DJ boomed out the news that a prominent politician had been secretly filmed ordering two bags of coke and a rent boy for a party he was hosting in his penthouse flat in Kensington.

  ‘Well whoever it is, they’ve got Velvet again,’ said Julia.

  The image of Gem’s lifeless body sprang into Lilly’s mind, unbidden. The waxy sheen on her skin, the bloodless lips, the gashes on her face.

  ‘I’m going to contact Jack McNally,’ she said. ‘He’s got Hussain at the police station. Maybe he can get to the bottom of this.’