Hearts of Stone

by Mark Timlin

  Then all of a sudden she climaxed with a muffled scream and a spasm, and lay still across me. I rolled her over and pulled the gag loose. It was soaked with spit.

  ‘Oh Christ, Nick, that was fucking wonderful,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Got a cigarette?’ She was sweating, and her make-up had run. She looked as sexy as hell, and she knew it.

  I untied her hands and found my Silk Cut and gave her one and lit it, and one for myself, and dropped the match into the ashtray. I lay back on the bed next to her and she snuggled up close to me.

  ‘God, I love being beaten,’ she said. ‘Do you think that’s weird?’

  ‘Whatever turns you on,’ I said.

  ‘What do you like?’ she asked.

  ‘Just about anything.’

  ‘I just bet you do. You’re a bit of a naughty boy yourself, aren’t you?’

  ‘Sometimes.’

  She wriggled about to get comfortable. ‘My arse is burning,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to come again.’

  ‘You will,’ I said.

  ‘I believe you.’ She reached over for the champagne bottle and drank straight from the neck. ‘Want some?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure,’ I said. I took it and did the same. It was getting warm, but it tasted good.

  ‘Do you mind me being a whore?’ she asked.

  ‘Why should I mind?’

  ‘Some men do.’

  ‘I don’t. I used to have a girlfriend who was on the game.’

  ‘You’re full of surprises. Didn’t you care?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘She did what she did, and I did what I did.’

  ‘Which was what?’

  ‘I used to be a copper.’

  She stiffened, and I felt her move back and study me through mascara-streaked eyes.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘They kicked me out.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Stealing,’ I said.

  ‘I said you were a naughty boy.’

  ‘Yes, I was.’ I was serious, but she thought I was kidding. That was OK. It went with the geezers I’d come in with.

  ‘What did you steal?’

  ‘Dope.’

  ‘What kind?’

  ‘What we were doing tonight. I used to be a heavy user.’

  ‘You still must be, if you’re in with those two.’

  ‘I only met them tonight.’

  ‘You’re honoured – being brought here.’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘I mean it.’

  She stubbed out her cigarette and took mine from between my fingers and did the same with it. ‘Take your clothes off,’ she said. ‘You’re on a promise remember.’

  ‘I remember.’

  ‘And don’t do anything. It’s your turn now. But I’ll have to put a condom on you. Sorry.’

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘And wash you, although that’s a load of bollocks really.’

  Literally, I thought, but didn’t say anything. She got up and went to the sink, filled it with water, and wet and soaped a flannel. Then came back and washed me, and dried me with the towel from the sink. She was very gentle, and got me more than interested.

  ‘God, but you’re big, Nick,’ she said.

  I had to laugh. ‘I bet you say that to all the boys,’ I said.

  ‘I do, but in your case it’s true.’

  ‘I bet you say that to all the boys, too.’

  ‘You’d lose your bet.’

  ‘Kylie, you’re a bloody liar.’

  ‘Sshh,’ she said, and went down on me. She knew exactly what to do. A real expert. Everytime I got close to climax, she squeezed my balls tightly.

  ‘You’re driving me crazy,’ I said. ‘I can’t stand much more.’

  ‘Wait.’ She took a condom out of her handbag, undid the foil, and expertly fitted it on me. Then she rolled over and lay with her legs open, and pulled the G-string to one side. ‘Come in me,’ she whispered.

  I did as I was told.

  She pulled me down close and whispered. ‘Fuck me, Nick. Fuck me hard. Batter me, you bastard. Come on.’

  I did as I was told again. I fucked her as hard as I could, and she loved it. She entwined her arms and legs around me, pulling me tightly into her body, and we found a rhythm that excluded everything in the world until I felt like a bottle with its cork about to explode, and she knew and, as I came, she came with me, and as she did she screamed my name in my ear.

  We collapsed into a sweaty tangle of limbs and lay still, breathing hard. She leant up on one elbow and put her mouth so close to my ear I could feel her breath inside my head. ‘That was great sweetheart,’ she said. ‘The best. And I swear I don’t say that to any of the boys. Now, have a sleep and I’ll take care of you.’ And she reached over and pulled the duvet off the chair and tugged it over us.

  14

  I don’t know how long we lay there for. Maybe half an hour, maybe longer. I was half asleep, half drunk, and half speeding like a car in neutral with the accelerator pedal hard on the floor. Then Kylie got up, prepared another warm flannel, disposed of the condom, and gently washed me again. ‘After-sales service?’ I said.

  ‘That’s right.’ When she’d finished, she said, ‘I’ve got to go to the loo. Can I borrow your shirt?’

  ‘Sure.’

  She put it on, and picked up her handbag and went to the door. ‘I won’t be a minute,’ she said, and blew me a kiss.

  I sat up and lit another cigarette. It tasted lousy. I was getting a headache and my mouth was dry. I picked up the champagne bottle and shook it. Empty. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and put on my socks and shorts. I got up and pulled on my trousers and put on my shoes. I went to the window and pulled back the curtain. The room I was in was at the back of the house. It was surrounded by dark office blocks, but the sky was red with reflected light from the city. I stood there looking into the blackness until Kylie came back. She’d washed her face and put on fresh make-up. She took off my shirt and picked up her basque from where she’d thrown it.

  ‘Do me up, will you?’ she asked. I did up the hooks at the back and she produced a fresh pair of stockings and a clean G-string from her handbag and bundled up the dirty ones and pushed them to the bottom of it. ‘You don’t mind all this, do you?’ she asked. ‘You can go back downstairs if you want to.’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ I said.

  ‘Good. I hate men who fuck and run.’

  I had to laugh. I picked up my shirt from the bed where she’d dropped it, and put it on whilst she finished dressing. It smelt of her perfume and her sex. ‘Got a comb?’ I asked.

  ‘A brush.’

  ‘That’ll do.’

  She took a hairbrush from her handbag and gave it to me. There was a lot of blonde hair caught up in the bristles. I went over to the mirror and brushed my hair back into shape. Then re-tied my tie and put on my jacket. She checked herself in the mirror too and, once satisfied, we were both ready.

  ‘Let’s go see how the party’s doing,’ she said.

  We went downstairs, where the music on the speakers was louder and faster. When we got into the club it was much busier than when we’d left. There was an older, brassier woman behind the bar, there seemed to be more girls around, and half a dozen men in suits were drinking at the bar or talking to the girls.

  ‘Business is booming,’ I said.

  ‘It’s quiet tonight,’ said Kylie, waving hello to a couple of the punters. ‘Stay here. I won’t be a minute. I want to speak to Lily.’ She went up to the woman behind the bar and said something. A short conversation ensued and then she came back and joined me. ‘Just adding myself to the bill,’ she said. ‘Your friends are upstairs. They asked you to wait. They won’t be long.’

  ‘Do you want a drink?’ I asked.

  ‘Sure.’


  ‘Champagne?’

  ‘Of course.’

  We went over to the bar together. ‘A bottle of Moët,’ I said to the woman.

  ‘Yes, dear,’ she replied.

  ‘Lily, this is Nick,’ said Kylie. ‘He’s with Roy and Pat.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Lily. ‘Roy told me to put everything on his bill. One bottle of Moët coming up.’

  ‘Everything?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, love. Everything your heart desires is what he said.’ She produced a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

  ‘Give me a beer, Lily,’ I said. ‘This stuff’s too rich for my blood.’

  ‘Heineken or Beck’s, dear?’ asked Lily.

  ‘Beck’s’ll do,’ I said.

  She went back to the fridge and got me a bottle. She put it and a glass on the bar in front of me. Meanwhile Kylie was soaking up the champagne like raindrops on a hot pavement.

  ‘Do you work here every night?’ I asked her when Lily went off to serve another customer.

  ‘No. Why?’ she asked innocently. As if she didn’t know.

  ‘Just interested. Are you involved with anyone at the moment?’

  ‘No. I’m free, white and single. Why?’ All innocence again. But she couldn’t keep from smiling.

  ‘The same. Just interested. I thought I might be round Brewer Street one evening soon, and I could buy you a meal. There’s some very good restaurants round there.’

  ‘That’s true.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘What?’ She wasn’t even trying to hide her amusement by then.

  ‘You know what.’

  ‘Mixing business and pleasure can be fatal,’ she said.

  ‘It’s the same with smoking and drinking and fucking, or so they tell me.’

  She smiled. ‘I’m free Wednesday,’ she said.

  ‘Me too,’ I said. I didn’t know if I was, but I would be.

  ‘What a coincidence,’ she said.

  ‘Isn’t it? So what do you say?’

  ‘OK, Nick. Wednesday then. Do you know a pub called The Sun And Seven Cantons?’

  ‘Sure I do. It’s just round the corner isn’t it?’

  ‘Great Pulteney Street. Meet me in there at eight.’

  ‘Don’t you want me to call for you?’

  ‘No. You’re a punter, Nick. A very nice punter, I won’t deny. But still a punter, and I don’t give punters my address.’

  ‘Or phone number?’

  ‘No. Let’s take it easy. If I get to like you, you’ll get it all.’

  ‘Don’t you like me now?’

  ‘Yes, I do. That’s the trouble. I never date guys from here. That’s my rule. I’m making a big exception with you.’

  ‘Will you change your mind?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Shall I give you my number, just in case?’

  ‘Good idea. Something might crop up, and I don’t want you to have a wasted journey.’ She took a small address book from her bag and found the ‘N’ page. ‘Nick what?’ she asked.

  ‘Sharman,’ I replied.

  I gave her my home number and the number of the bar. ‘You work in a bar?’ she said. ‘The last thing I’d’ve taken you for was a barman.’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ I said.

  ‘Tell me on Wednesday. I do want to know about you – I wasn’t lying.’

  ‘I thought that was just a line.’

  ‘It is. But sometimes even a line can be the truth. Hey, here’s your friends back.’

  15

  I looked round, and Seeley and Hughes were coming back through the door. Seeley was with Steph, and Hughes was with a girl who looked like she might get to the age of consent within a year or two. All four of them came over to us.

  ‘All right, Nick?’ asked Seeley, who seemed to be in high good humour, and totally out of his mind.

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘You?’

  ‘Never better. Me and Pat have been taking advantage of the amenities.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ I said.

  ‘You too, eh?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Enjoy yourself?’

  ‘Yeah.’ I looked over at Kylie and she winked.

  ‘Not letting on, eh?’ he said. ‘I like that. A man of few words.’

  I nodded.

  ‘That’s good. I like a bloke who can keep his gob shut. I see you’ve got some more booze in. I’m ready for another myself. Lil,’ he called, ‘a couple more bottles of bubbly over here.’

  ‘Right, Roy,’ she answered. She brought out another pair of dark green champagne bottles and four more glasses, and filled them all up.

  ‘So, Nick,’ said Seeley when he’d three-quarters emptied his, ‘what do you think of the old place?’

  ‘Top of the shop,’ I said.

  ‘I know a couple of places like this, but Sonny’s is the best. Best girls in London, eh, Steph?’

  ‘That’s right, Roy,’ Steph agreed. The state she was in she would have agreed to anything. And probably already had done.

  ‘So what are we doing?’ asked Hughes.

  Seeley looked at his watch. ‘I’ll have to be off soon. You know how it is?’

  ‘I know,’ said Hughes. ‘What about you, Nick?’

  ‘Me too,’ I said. ‘I’m working tomorrow.’

  ‘Jesus! What a pair,’ said Hughes.

  ‘You want a lift, don’t you?’ Seeley said to me.

  ‘If you’re going my way.’

  ‘I’ve got to get back to Dulwich. I’ll drop you off. Pat, what about you?’

  ‘I’m not under the cosh like you,’ said Hughes. ‘I’ll catch a cab later.’

  ‘You going to settle up, then?’

  ‘Course.’

  ‘I owe you…’ I said, reaching for my wallet. ‘Keep your money, Nick,’ said Seeley. ‘It’s on us tonight. You can pay next time. I said we’d had a good week. Pat’ll take care of everything.’

  ‘You sure?’ I said. ‘I don’t want to ponce off you.’

  ‘Sure I’m sure. Like I said, next time it’s your shout.’

  ‘All right, then,’ I said. ‘Thanks. It’s been a good night.’ Then to Kylie, ‘Looks like I’m off.’

  ‘Take care,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll see you again.’ She knew what I meant.

  ‘Sure you will.’

  Seeley tapped me on the arm. ‘Come on, Nick. Leave her alone. Let’s go if we’re going.’

  I said goodnight all round and we left. On the way back to Tulse Hill, Seeley’s driving was even worse than it had been earlier. We were lucky not to get a pull. He dropped me off outside my place just after three.

  16

  I went straight to bed when I got in, but I couldn’t sleep at first. Too much coke in my system. I just lay in bed and dozed. I finally fell asleep properly around eight, and didn’t wake up until noon. I got up and went out to get a paper and some milk. When I got back, Brady’s Porsche was parked behind the Cosworth. He was leaning against his car waiting for me.

  ‘Oversleep?’ he asked.

  ‘Late night.’

  ‘Sonny’s?’

  ‘How the hell do you know?’

  ‘I know everything. Can we go inside? I fancy a coffee.’

  We went up to my flat and I put the kettle on. ‘Black or white?’ I asked.

  ‘White. One sugar.’

  I made him a coffee, and tea for myself. ‘Am I being followed?’ I asked.

  ‘That’s right. I must say you didn’t waste any time getting to know our boys. I like that.’

  ‘They got to know me. The car worked just like Endesleigh said it would.’

  ‘Shrewd bloke. Youngest DCI in the country.’

 
; ‘Is that right?’

  ‘It is. So, how was Sonny’s?’

  ‘Interesting.’

  ‘You get fucked?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘Kylie.’

  ‘Oh, Kylie. Hot stuff I believe.’

  ‘You know her, too?’

  ‘Course I do. I know all the tarts who work there. I told you I like to know the territory.’

  ‘Bit of a waste for you, isn’t it?’

  ‘Don’t get funny.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘So what’s the strength with Seeley and Hughes?’

  ‘We’re going out again. It could get pricey. I’ll need some exes. I am supposed to be a bit of a ducker and diver, after all. Break into the contingency fund.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can do. How much?’

  ‘Well, last night’s little caper must have cost the best part of a grand. They paid for everything.’

  ‘Including Kylie?’

  I nodded.

  ‘You did have a result. And you want exes money as well. What were you drinking?’

  ‘Champagne.’

  ‘The real stuff or the crap?’

  ‘The stuff we drank had Moët on the label, and it tasted real enough to me.’

  ‘Moët, eh? It’s about a ton and a quarter a bottle at Sonny’s.’

  ‘How much?’

  ‘A ton and a quarter, or thereabouts.’

  ‘Straight up?’

  ‘Straight up.’

  ‘Then the bill must have been well over a grand. They said they’d had a good week.’

  ‘I bet they fucking did,’ spat Brady.

  ‘And that’s not counting the coke we had. Seeley had a bagful big enough to choke a donkey.’

  ‘You had some, did you?’

  ‘What do you think? I had to. Protective colouring they call it. And next time I’m supposed to be paying. You’d better get me some scratch. I need all my money for my old age.’

  ‘What, next year?’

  ‘Very good. I’ll have to remember that. So?’

  ‘I’ll get you some cash. Don’t worry.’