by S M Mala
Running past his brother, he headed down the stairs and realised the side door was open. There were voices coming from it.
‘She knows!’ hissed Estella. ‘What did you think she was going to do?’
‘You made her walk away! You made her leave me! I bet you twisted it!’
‘She won’t even speak to me now because of what you said! It’s a bloody lie!’
‘It’s your fault I’m in this mess!’ he shouted loudly and Kit pushed the door open so he could hear more clearly. ‘I know you’re trying to stitch me up in the business but it won’t work.’
‘You did that all on your own,’ she snarled. ‘And barging in here, calling the shots! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? You’re nothing but an ambitious thug. Don’t you think I don’t know what you’ve been up to!’
‘I’ll make sure you never see her again,’ he said, his voice now deep and threatening. ‘She’ll come to my way of thinking.’
‘I doubt it.’
He heard footsteps then sobs.
Estella was crying, bracing herself up against the wall, her hand over her face. The woman was trembling as Kit walked closer, making sure Cameron was gone.
‘What have I done?’ she cried. Kit touched her arm as she turned to look up at him. ‘The people Sasha thought she could trust have let her down, including me. What sort of mother am I?’
‘You’re her mother?’
… he gasped, unable to hide his shock. ‘You?’
Estella let out a little laugh through her sob.
‘You look surprised.’
‘I…’ He couldn’t speak.
‘Let’s get out of here. I need a drink.’
They sat in the pub at the corner of the road, her drinking a large gin and tonic and Kit sipping a coffee.
He was confused and didn’t know where to start.
Glancing at Estella, he could see no resemblance. There was nothing to show a genetic connection.
‘I know what you’re thinking. She looks like her father,’ sighed Estella, sitting up straight and staring at Kit. ‘I know she told you about me.’
‘You seem so ordinary,’ he said, trying not to say something rude. ‘I thought you owned health spas and beauty parlours.’
‘I do,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘What did you expect?’
‘I don’t know,’ he honestly replied.
‘I’m a respectable business woman.’
‘But-.’
‘Let’s just leave it at that, okay?’
Her tone was quiet but forceful enough for Kit to realise he should refrain from asking more questions about her line of work.
‘Are you feeling better?’ he asked gently, seeing she had regained her composure. ‘Is there anyone you need me to call?’
‘I’m fine. That man has a way of winding me up. He’s said too many things to make my only child think I’m some sort of monster.’ There was a slight quiver in her voice before she sipped her drink. ‘I’m trying to protect her and he’s just picking away, hoping she’ll do what he wants.’
‘Which is what?’
‘Marry him,’ she said exasperated. ‘And for what? So he can get his hands on her money and lead her a terrible life? He thinks he loves her but he doesn’t. Cameron thinks if he takes control of Sasha he takes control of other things, other people. I’m not going to let that happen.’
Kit looked around the empty pub, a million questions burning in his head about what was going on.
‘I’ll make it easier for you,’ she said, leaning closer to him. ‘I knew about her being taken away for those few weeks. We had to do something. He was pushing her to the point where I don’t know what would have happened next. But there was a change in Sasha. For the first time in ages she seemed happy.’
‘Cameron didn’t know you attended the classes, did he?’
‘He’d have found a way to stop her. I have contact with my child every day except right now.’ She looked hurt as she said it. ‘Too many people telling her different things, filling her head with stories and lies.’
‘Why is it such a secret?’
‘Because he wants control of my daughter. I knew from the first moment I spotted that man he would be trouble. Always he wanted Sasha’s affections and she gave it, but only as a friend. I remember the wedding day very clearly,’ Estella said, deep in thought. ‘If ever I saw the look of hate on someone’s face it was on Cameron’s when he glanced at Paul. Henry, Paul’s father, saw it too and we knew something was up but never did I think it would go this far.’
Kit stirred his coffee and realised she was staring.
‘I know you spotted her with Vanessa outside the toilets. Do you want to know what they were doing, Kit?’
‘She said it was a vitamin shot,’ he replied, unconvinced.
‘Vanessa takes her blood, once a week, so I can see if there are any traces of drugs. There was a point when Sasha didn’t know what day it was and I decided I had to check. It couldn’t be done publicly. For months, it’s been good and she’s getting better. He drugs her. She knew it and realised it had to stop.’
‘I see.’
‘Once a month she’s checked by a specialist, a full medial overhaul. Sasha does it because she knows I’m worried one day he’ll over step the mark,’ she said, glancing away. ‘To date, he hasn’t.’
‘You mean drug and sleep with her.’
‘That’s putting it nicely,’ Estella replied, sipping her drink. ‘Probably try to get her pregnant. Who knows?’
‘You know about me, my involvement?’ he quietly asked, fearing she’d think he took advantage of Sasha. ‘We never hurt her. She wasn’t forced-.’
‘I know that,’ she gently replied. ‘She was safe and he had shaken her really badly the day before. Because she didn’t want to upset me, she called Jeremy and told him. Sasha was scared, thinking Cameron would go to her home. We made sure there were people to stop him. She doesn’t really know much about what happens around her.’ Clearing her throat for a moment she smiled. ‘And the best thing Jeremy did was to find people who would keep her safe while we tried to smooth things over. And, of course, her being with you.’
He closed his eyes.
Kit didn’t want to reveal how upset he felt on hearing it.
It was something he would never forget, the time with Sasha.
‘I saw her over three weeks ago,’ he eventually said.
‘Really?’ she asked, looking surprised. ‘How?’
‘I got a note telling me to go to this hotel. I thought it was to meet with Jeremy Wilton. It was his company’s compliment slip. I turned up and she was there.’ He half smiled, remembering the feeling of being with her that afternoon. ‘She said she had to catch a train and before I know it, she disappeared. I’ve not heard from her since.’
‘How was she in herself?’
‘Wonderful,’ he honestly replied and noticed a faint smirk on Estella’s lips. ‘She looked well but I didn’t tell her something I should have. I’ve not heard from her since.’
‘I know she likes you Kit. I realised it from the first moment she saw you.’
‘I thought she was odd.’
‘I know she mentioned you seemed very preoccupied with Ingrid and Angela. Even I wanted to laugh at how wrong you got it. Jeremy tried to point it out to you without being blatantly obvious.’
‘Yeah, well, he seemed to think that me looking after her wouldn’t be a problem.’
‘Oh, yes, that,’ Estella said, nodding slowly. ‘All better now I take it?’
‘I-.’
He didn’t want to reply to the female god mother of an allegedly large criminal syndicate about the sex he’d had with her daughter.
Kit wanted to keep his knee caps.
‘You don’t have to say anything. I know you slept with her and it was mutual.’
Now he couldn’t stop his face burn with embarrassment.
‘Jeremy must have known she was coming back to town.’ E
stella took a deep breath. ‘That bloody man! Sometimes he thinks he’s her father, not a bloody in-law. I’ve known him and his family for years. We’ve had our ups and downs. Did Sasha say anything else?’
‘She said someone murdered her children and she was going to find out who.’
Estella immediately put her hand to her mouth, trying to hide her tears.
‘Cameron told her the accident was done on purpose by someone who wanted revenge on me. It’s a lie, I know it is!’
‘But you accumulate enemies, don’t you?’ he quietly asked. ‘That’s what I thought happened.’
‘If you’re a good business person, people respect and fear you, not want you dead. Thing is, he told Sasha it was my fault and now she won’t speak to me. I don’t know where she is and it’s awful, this price tag on her head.’
‘Who’s done it? Who put the money out there?’
‘A group of people thinking that this would cause a major problem. I wasn’t happy when I found out but they know, harm a hair on my child’s head, they will suffer the consequences.’ Estella let out a deep sigh. ‘She always said the accident wasn’t right, something didn’t make sense. We never took any notice as she was going through a few mental and health issues. Grieving I put it down to but she must have had such doubt over the accident. For four years she’s been trying to find out. I didn’t realise until a few weeks before she was put into safety. All she wants to know is who killed her children and so do I.’
‘I asked her what she’d do if she found out.’
‘And I’m worried that whoever did this might decide to silence Sasha,’ Estella sobbed. ‘That’s what I’m really scared about.’
‘I can’t sleep,’
… Kit said to Yvette, standing in her kitchen just after six in the morning. ‘I know you get up early so I thought I’d pop in.’
‘You look awful,’ she said, putting a hand on his cheek. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Too much,’ he said, shaking his head from side to side and sitting at the table.
‘I’ll make you some tea.’
He didn’t know where to go.
All he could think about was Sasha since speaking to Estella before the weekend.
And he was desperately worried he would never see her again, someone would hurt her before he got the chance to tell her how he felt.
A cup of steaming liquid was placed in front of him. He stared at it for a few minutes, wondering what he was going to do.
‘Kit, I know something’s bothering you. If you don’t want to say that’s fine but I’m really worried,’ she quietly said. He felt her hand on his shoulder before she sat down next to him. ‘I thought things were good with you.’
He smiled weakly at her.
‘I’ll never be able to thank you for all you did for me. Your savings and everything. I should have sold my bar instead of letting you put the cash up,’ he said, turning to look into her eyes. ‘I got a refund on an insurance policy I forget about so I can give you the money back.’ Kit noticed his mother’s scowl. ‘And I’ll pay you extra.’
‘I don’t want your money,’ she flatly replied. ‘That slut of a wife of yours wasn’t willing to help. And your bar is your income, your future, something for you to focus on. It was either that or let you carry on and die. That’s why they’re called ‘life savings’. I chose to save your life with the money.’
‘Mum!’ he said, unable to stop the sob bubbling in his chest. ‘I’ve done a bad thing and I can’t sort it out. I don’t know what to do.’ Kit cried into his hands. ‘I thought I found someone but I lost her.’
‘Woman troubles, aye?’
He felt his insides quake, crying at the kitchen table, feeling his mother’s warm body against his. She stroked his head then kissed it.
‘Tell me what it is.’
‘I don’t know if you’re going to kiss or kill me if I do.’
It took twenty minutes to tell her everything. From Peter Dooley’s involvement to the conversation with Estella. He carefully decided to omit revealing anyone’s involvement in a business Yvette would find distasteful.
His mother didn’t say a word, just stared. Then she stood up and switched the kettle back on, retying her dressing gown cord.
‘Makes some of my stories seem rather boring,’ she said, turning to look at him. Kit felt exhausted telling her the whole truth. ‘And Justin doesn’t even know?’
‘Not even Sean.’
‘And that poor woman thinks someone murdered her children? That’s awful, a truly terrible thing.’ Yvette then moved closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘You know, you could get into trouble because of this.’
‘We didn’t kidnap her. She was kept safe until they sorted out some kind of business. This Cameron, well, he was a bit heavy handed with Sasha and someone thought she needed to be put in a safe place.’
‘So all this need to take up tap dancing again was a lie?’ He didn’t want to face his mother, knowing he’d be met with a look of disappointment. ‘And Justin? What sort of trouble have you got him into?’
‘It’s all over and done with.’
‘And Sasha is the woman you really liked?’
‘I liked her before I knew she was the target.’ He placed his head on the table. ‘When she needed me, some reassurance about how I felt, I couldn’t do it. I know she wanted to focus on being with me but I never told her how much I cared. I might never get the chance again. I’ve fucked up, sorry mum, again.’
Yvette made another two cups of tea and placed them on the table, this time sitting opposite Kit. Her eyes were bright and alive as she smiled.
‘Because you didn’t tell her how you felt, how would Sasha ever know? You’re quite a difficult character to read at times. If she asked if there was a future with you and you didn’t answer, I could hazard a guess she thought it was out of the question.’
Biting his lip, he glanced at the cup and stirred it slowly.
‘Kristin hurt me really badly. I thought she loved me for who I was but she didn’t. It left me in pieces and I can’t go through that again. I’m not sure if I can trust anyone.’
‘How do you know it’s going to be the same? She’s a madam and treats people like dirt but Sasha? She had her family wiped out and it left her broken. When I used to see Sasha after the accident, it’s as if she was half alive. She reminded me of you.’
Yvette gulped hard before sipping her tea.
‘In what way?’ he asked, noticing the sadness in his mother’s face.
‘Broken. A shell of a human being, a lost soul.’ She forced a smile. ‘Don’t let this situation make you go back to your old ways. I’d hate to think that someone like Peter Dooley has forced you into something that will ultimately hurt you.’
‘I hurt myself,’ he quietly replied. ‘By falling in love with someone I can’t have.’
‘Kit, I’ve told you time and time again, you can have anything you want. You’re in control of your own destiny.’
‘But I don’t know what I’m destined for and, right now, I really don’t care.’
‘That’s foolish talk,’ she laughed. ‘You care about Grace and your business, not to mention us. Why don’t you try and track her down?’
‘I know Sasha will try to protect me from getting involved and-.’
‘Well, that’s a little bit late isn’t it?’ his mother scowled. ‘You’re very much involved whether you like it or not.’ Yvette tapped her fingers on the table. ‘Why couldn’t you tell her how you felt? What’s stopping you?’
‘It’s just me, I guess.’
‘Not all women are like Kristin. We don’t chew people up and spit them out, though I hear that was one of her sexual specialities,’ she hissed before pulling a face. ‘I’m not sure how Grace turned out to be so wonderful. I take it there was a bypass on the DNA and she got all of ours.’
‘Mum!’
‘Sometimes Kit, you have to risk your heart. I’m sure Sasha’s worth taking a risk. She ce
rtainly took a risk on you, considering you have a medical problem that might not be helpful if you want a loving and sexually fulfilling relationship.’
‘Do we have to?’ he asked, grimacing at her comment.
‘I write about sex. I know about sex. If you don’t want me to talk about sex, fine. But it’s a very important part of a relationship so, in time, you will-.’
‘We made love,’ he mumbled, quickly glancing at his mother. ‘She was patient but she didn’t need to be. It happened pretty quickly.’
‘Premature ejaculation? Your father used to suffer with that.’
‘Oh my god! Why did I come here?’ he asked, slapping his hand on his forehead then sipped his tea.
‘Because I give good advice,’ she smirked. ‘And once upon a time, good head.’
Kit choked.
‘But first my darling,’ she said, slapping his back hard. ‘You need to track down your one true love who hasn’t got the foggiest idea of how you feel. That would make a good story for one of my books. And how many times did you do it with her?’
‘I don’t know where she is,’
… Captain replied from the kitchen. ‘Just leave it alone.’
Kit managed to meet Captain at his home after some persuasive talking. It was a two bedroom terraced house in Chalk Farm, a nice part of London. The interior was exquisitely decorated with antique pieces scattered throughout.
‘This is a beautiful place,’ Kit said in full appreciation. ‘How long have you been here?’
‘Six years,’ he replied, walking back. He’d placed a teapot, milk jug, sugar bowl, cups and saucers, all handmade china, on a silver serving tray. ‘I had a lot of work done to it but it’s a nice place and the garden is a good size.’
Today Captain was dressed in his usual manly attire. Tight t-shirt, dark blue jeans and the only giveaway about him was the fingernails and now a very smooth porcelain face, devoid of any beard.
‘I just need to see her again to tell her something,’ Kit said, waiting for Captain to place the tray on the coffee table. ‘You must have an idea.’
‘How?’ he replied, sitting down and gesturing Kit to do the same. ‘I think someone must know you saw her a few weeks back and I guarantee you’re being followed.’