‘Oh Suzy,’ she said. ‘You tell her this bit. I’m sick of it.’
‘OK,’ said Suzy. ‘Now, Antonia, brace yourself for a heavy shower of sleaze. Ready?’
I nodded.
‘Right,’ said Suzy. ‘There’s a small group of men here in Sydney who are into “girls” in a big way. They are sort of the high rollers of hookers. They’re all married, but “girls” are their hobby. When a fresh piece of meat arrives on the scene, they all have a go with her, before she can be released to the general sweaty mass. It’s prestigious to be the first with a new girl. Both our delightful husbands are in that little group.’
She looked at Dee, who raised her eyes to the heavens.
‘Frankie was the first – in Sydney – to have me,’ said Dee. ‘Back when I was seventeen – and he liked it so much he decided he didn’t want anyone else to have a taste. He made me his full-time mistress and eventually, against all odds, he married me. He needed a corporate wife with a past – so he could blackmail me with it, not to reveal any of the shit he gets up to.’
‘Well, bully for him,’ I said. ‘But why did you marry him?’
She looked me straight in the eye.
‘Money.’
‘Really?’ I asked, like the naïve twit I was.
‘Yes. I didn’t grow up with much and having shit loads of money is really nice, Antonia. You’ve probably been reasonably comfortable all your life, but you can’t imagine what it’s like to be loaded. It’s another world. And I was able to delude myself that Frankie’s dodgier dealings didn’t matter, because he would give me thousands to donate to charities and that sort of thing. Over time I really fooled myself that I was some kind of society dame, although deep down I knew I was as dirty as Frankie, for having anything to do with it.
‘That’s why I had to work so hard keeping up appearances. I was terrified if I let one little crack show, it would all come tumbling down. You’re lucky that you don’t know how great having loads of money really is, Antonia, because once you’ve had it, it’s very hard to do without.’
Suzy nodded, sighing deeply and suddenly looking very old.
‘It’s addictive,’ she said. ‘Just like smack and Roger and Frankie just OD’d. They always have to have that one last hit, men like them, that last big deal that’s finally going to be enough for them, but it never is enough. So here we all are.’
I was feeling really shaky from all the revelations and I made some more tea, just so I could have a break from it. As I was waiting for the kettle to boil, I remembered Frankie and Roger up at the King George that night and David Maier’s suggestion that they should go ‘somewhere more interesting’ rather than home to their wives in their horny state.
‘Did Frankie carry on with his interest in “girls” after he married you?’
Dee snorted derisively.
‘Of course he did,’ she said. ‘I think they invented Viagra with Frankie in mind. He’s worse than ever and now he has a new band of sleazy pals to play with …’
‘Which includes Roger?’ I asked Suzy.
‘Oh yes,’ she said. ‘He was well into it. He wasn’t when I first met him, I think he just got involved to be part of the big boys’ club. He so desperately wants to a “big man”, as I told you. Pathetic. He thought it was so great to be part of that sordid little gang.’
‘Is David Maier one of them?’ I asked.
‘God, yes, he’s the worst,’ said Dee.
‘How do you think he met Nikki?’ said Suzy.
My eyes popped open.
‘Was she …?’ I stuttered.
‘Still is, as far as I know,’ said Suzy. ‘God, how I loathe that woman. I was only friends with her because Roger insisted – he was buddy buddy with David, because David introduced him to Frankie and Pieter van der G, so I had to play along.’
‘I was a bit surprised that you were friends with her,’ I said. ‘Were the Frenchs in on it too?’
‘Totally,’ said Suzy. ‘Caroline’s another ex-hooker and Tony’s part of the sleazy bunch, although he’s not involved with their dodgy property dealings as well. He’s not quite that stupid.’
‘So that was why you were friends with those two?’ I said, relieved to find that my initial judgement had been spot on.
‘Yes,’ said Suzy. ‘Do you think I would have spent a minute with Nikki bloody Maier if I hadn’t been forced to? I’m just sorry I inflicted her on you. I suppose I was so used to hanging out with those deadheads by then, I didn’t think about it any more. It was such a relief when I met you.’
She shook her head and lit another cigarette from the end of the last one.
‘You know,’ she said, ‘I was surprised when Nikki actually married that creep Maier – they lived together for a while first, but she forced him to marry her. I was surprised because I thought she was holding out for someone bigger, someone much richer. But I reckon she thought if she could get into the social scene with David she might find husband number two the legitimate way – you know, stealing someone else’s. She’s sucked Roger off loads of times,’ she paused and glanced at Dee. ‘Frankie too, I imagine, Dee?’
‘Oh God, yes,’ said Dee. ‘She laid it all on for Frankie and lord only knows who else, but it never worked for her, because they all know where she came from. The difference with me was that they didn’t and that was the hold Frankie had over me. He was the only one who knew how he met me and, as a result, I held on to the pathetic belief that I could leave it all behind. But I couldn’t. I was always looking over my shoulder. And I still am – look at me, holed up here like a terrified fox hiding from the hounds. I can’t live like that any longer so I’m glad you both know about my past. I feel less ashamed now I’ve told you, Antonia. It’s nothing to be ashamed of really, I don’t know why I was so hung up about it.’
She sighed deeply, looking very sad, but then she perked up suddenly and looked at us both, grinning.
‘And you know what?’ she said. ‘I am stoked that Frankie’s going down – because I am so getting out.’
‘Me too, babe,’ said Suzy. ‘Gimme a high five, baby.’
And they smacked hands like a couple of basketball players.
We sat and talked about what they were going to do when it was all over. Suzy said she didn’t really think the two of them would be charged with anything, but the trials would still be pretty traumatic – they’d have to give evidence.
Dee said she wanted to do the Fine Arts degree she had always dreamed of doing, but she’d also like to carry on with Anteeks – if I didn’t mind being associated with the wife of a soon-to-be-convicted criminal. Which I thought was pretty funny, considering what James had recently told me and I looked forward to telling her all that one day.
‘I would be heartbroken if you didn’t carry on at Anteeks,’ I said. ‘And think of all the free publicity the trial will bring us.’
Suzy said that after she’d finished her memoirs and her kids were safely packed off to uni, she was going to shave her head and backpack around India. Considering what they both had been through, I thought, they were inspiring to listen to.
I was just making us all a third cup of tea, when there was the most incredible commotion from outside. There was a tremendous roar followed by lots of ugly male shouting, right in front of the house.
‘Hide,’ I hissed at Dee and Suzy, who were already on their way to the bathroom.
I ran over to the front window, flattening myself against the wall and peeped round the edge – just as James had shown me. There were about twenty-five bikies outside. Some of them were still on their ‘hogs’, as I’d learned their motorbikes were called, the others were viciously kicking two men, who were writhing on the ground.
As I watched, horrified, one of the bikies broke away and came up to the front door. Just as I was about to join the other two in the loo, I realized it was the tattooed bald guy who had come to the shop and given me James’s address. He hammered on the front door and I opened it. I rec
koned he was probably on our side.
‘You all right?’ he asked.
I nodded, glancing over at the two men who his mates were now holding pinned down. They had blood pouring down their faces. The tattooed man gestured at them with his head.
‘You were lucky,’ he said. ‘They were just about to break in and find you. Is your girlfriend here?’
‘Who wants to know?’ I asked him.
‘Your old man, among other people. Because if she stays up here, they’ll just send in another team of goons to find her, so you’d better tell her to get out now, while she has us as an escort.’
I swallowed.
‘OK, I’ll get her – actually there are three of us. Is that OK?’
‘Sure, just get a bloody shift on, will ya?’
I took a couple of steps and then turned back.
‘How the hell did you know where to find us?’ I asked him.
‘Apparently, you haven’t rung home for over three hours,’ he said. ‘We’re just acting on instructions.’
‘But how did he …?’ I started.
‘Just go and get your friends, would you? We don’t have much time.’
I went and knocked on the bathroom door.
‘Dee, Suzy, let me in, it’s Ant, it’s OK.’
Dee was white-faced when she opened the door.
‘We’ve got to leave, now,’ I said. ‘They’ve found us. There were two guys out there, who were just about to break in, but … um … some friends of mine came along and they’re going to get us away from here.’
‘Shit,’ said Suzy, striding out of the bathroom. ‘I’ll get my stuff.’
Dee was less convinced. ‘Who’s out there?’ she said, looking anxious.
‘Look, I can’t explain now,’ I said. ‘It would take too long, so you will just have to trust me.’
She was shaking. I put my hands on her arms.
‘Have I ever given you reason not to trust me, Dee? I really believe your life will be in danger if you stay here. We must leave while we can with protection. Please?’
‘Come on, Dee,’ said Suzy, reappearing with a small weekend bag. ‘Let’s get out of here now.’
Dee seemed to snap to her senses.
‘OK,’ she said, ‘I’ll come right away. I don’t need to pack anything.’
She locked the back door and put the key in her pocket, picked up her handbag and a jumper and shrugged at me.
‘Let’s go then,’ she said.
‘There’s just one more thing I should tell you both,’ I said, as we walked to the front door. ‘Try not to be put off by how my friends out here look. They’re on our side, honestly.’
When I opened the door the bikies had their hogs lined up in formation, like a flight of Spitfires. The two thugs were slumped at the side of the road. Tattoo man revved his engine and gestured to us with his head.
‘Get a bloody move on,’ he said.
Suzy grinned at me and headed for the nearest bike.
Dee looked at me momentarily in complete shock and then she threw her head back and laughed.
‘They can’t be worse than Frankie,’ she said and jumped on behind tattoo man like it was the most normal thing in the world.
25
‘But how did you find us?’ I asked James, as I paced around the drawing room much later that night. Dee sat quietly in an armchair, nursing a strong vodka and tonic. James was in his usual position on the sofa.
Suzy had gone straight home, head up, to face the TV crews and reporters who would be waiting on her doorstep. She said she was ready for the media – she had already put a call to the Women’s Weekly editor, to negotiate the fee for her story, in the car from the airport.
I was still waiting for James to tell us how he had known where to send his pals to rescue us.
‘Well?’ I asked him, getting impatient.
‘Grasshopper,’ said James, holding out his hands in exasperation, ‘I don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s what I do. I find out where people are when they don’t want me to.’
‘But tell us how?’ I whined. ‘It was weird, wasn’t it, Dee?’
‘It was wonderful,’ she said. ‘Thank you, James. I think you saved my life.’
He tipped his imaginary hat at her.
‘All part of the service, lady,’ he said.
I couldn’t contain myself, although I knew I sounded like Tom going off on one.
‘Please, James, pleeeeease,’ I said. ‘Just tell us how.’
‘OK,’ he said. ‘First, I listened in on the downstairs phone when you made the plane reservation, so I knew where you were going.’
‘I knew it,’ I said triumphantly, snapping my fingers. ‘I heard it tinkle. But how did you get back to the sofa by the time I got back downstairs?’
‘I can shift quite fast on these crutches when I want to, but most of the time I prefer to let you help me, because I can feel you up while you’re doing it.’
He grinned at me. Dee giggled into her drink. She’d been quite skittish since our ride to the airport as bikie molls. It had been quite thrilling actually, especially as we weren’t wearing helmets and were totally illegal. It was the most illegal thing I had ever done.
I still wasn’t satisfied with James’s explanation. I paced around with my hands on my hips.
‘OK, so you knew where I was flying to,’ I said. ‘But how did tattoo man find the house, and at the right time?’
‘OK, Miss Marple,’ said James. ‘I checked out who I knew who was up in Byron and it happened to be him. I’ve got quite good contacts up there – remember that beach house we stayed in that time?’
I nodded.
‘What’s that got to do with it?’ I said.
‘It’s actually my house.’ He grinned like a naughty little boy. I wondered how many more fascinating facts he had to spring on me.
‘Anyway,’ continued James, clearly starting to enjoy himself. ‘So I found out Bald Matt was up there – that’s his name, by the way, the fellow you call “tattoo man” – and he followed you all the way from the airport to Dee’s house, and you didn’t notice. Not a very good pupil, are you?’
I pulled a face at him.
‘Continue,’ I said, in a schoolteacher voice.
‘Oh, I love her when she’s angry,’ he said to Dee.
‘You were saying, Mr McLoughlin …’ I said imperiously.
‘OK, hold your horses. Bald Matt followed you to the house and then he went round the corner and called his buddies for back up and then they waited. And when I hadn’t had a call from you for over three hours, I sent them in.’
‘Oh shit,’ I said. ‘I completely forgot to call you.’
‘I rest my case,’ said James.
‘But how come they got there just as the goons found us?’ I asked, warming to my lady detective role.
‘That, Grasshopper, was pure luck. You both need to thank your lucky stars about that one and please, Antonia, my darling, I have saved your arse twice now and I don’t ever want to have to do it again, so if I tell you that something is dangerous in future, please listen to me. OK?’
I hung my head and nodded like a guilty child.
‘And now I’d like one of those drinks Dee’s having. If I’m going to live here, with curtains and sofas and other people, I might as well be completely corrupted by your bourgeois lifestyle,’ he said. ‘And while you’re at it, stick this in the video.’
He chucked a video tape at me. There was nothing written on the box.
‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘You’ll both find it fascinating.’
I came back with drinks for us all and put the video on. I nearly snorted vodka down my nose when the first frame came into view. It was Nikki Maier, naked but for a white lace G-string, sitting on a bench with her legs wide apart and … well, it was disgusting anyway. Let’s just say it would have been a good commercial for her Brazilian waxer.
The tape was roughly edited and very poor quality, but as it carried on in
the same vein, with the odd change of outfit and position, I suddenly realized what I was looking at.
‘Oh my God,’ I cried out. ‘It’s the changing room at the Carlton Spa.’
I looked at James. He was smiling broadly.
‘This is a good bit,’ he said, nodding at the screen just as Caroline French came into view. She sat down next to Nikki and they started performing as a double act. I watched frozen for a moment, then glanced at Dee who was shaking her head, knowingly.
‘Can you turn that filth off?’ I asked James. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘It’s the tape from the security camera in the ladies’ changing room,’ said James, pressing stop on the remote.
‘Oh, no,’ I said, remembering Nikki massaging body lotion into her breasts that time I’d been in there with her. I’d thought it was weird at the time. ‘So they knew they were being filmed?’
Dee snorted with laughter.
‘I told you she was after a bigger fish,’ she said. ‘You know who owns that gym, don’t you?’
I shook my head.
‘Pieter van der Gaarden,’ said Dee. ‘I think we were just watching Nikki’s idea of a first date.’
‘Whatever she had in mind,’ said James, ‘Spider’s making a fortune with these tapes. Maybe she’d like to marry him.’
Dee stayed with us for a while, until she found a place of her own near the shop. With her and James in residence, it was a full house, but at least it took a while for the reporters to find out she was there. They had the shop staked out from day one, but I just said ‘No comment’ every day on my way in and on my way out, until one of them was smart enough to follow me home. Then we were rumbled.
It was weird having them camped outside, but we just got on with life – which for Percy meant having a flirtathon with a couple of rather handsome cameramen – and eventually they lost interest.
We even had a party – to celebrate the removal of James’s plasters – mixing all of our weird friends together. Percy and I invited Antony and that little gang, Dee brought all her beauticians, hairdressers and manicurists, Tom had Vita and her mummies and Suzy came on her own. James invited all his pals, including Spider and Stacey – and Jasmine, whom I had really come to like. I should have known that James wouldn’t have gone out with someone horrid, I told myself.
Mad About the Boy Page 30