by Martina Cole
Donna sipped the thick aromatic coffee, grateful for its warmth and fragrance.
‘Off to Rhodes again, are you?’ she asked. ‘When’s Mario going?’
Maeve picked some clothes off the floor and placed them on the bed. ‘Stephen’s not off to Rhodes, he’s going on a short holiday to Sri Lanka. Booked it a few days ago.’
Donna felt the icy sensation at the back of her neck that denoted trouble. She said nonchalantly, ‘You lucky thing. I’d love to visit Sri Lanka. Georgio and I were planning to go before . . .’ she paused. ‘. . . before all this happened.’
Stephen had the grace not to look at her. ‘I just thought I’d go out for a break, that’s all. I’ve always liked it round there. I was in Goa last year if you remember?’
Donna nodded, watching him warily. ‘Whereabouts are you going to?’
Stephen lifted his shoulders in a gesture of forgetfulness. ‘Can’t remember the name.’
Maeve turned from hanging up the clothes and said, ‘Hikkadoa, isn’t it? Something like that anyway. I heard you telling Mario about it the other day and the name stuck in me mind.’
Donna smiled. ‘Never heard of it. Sounds nice though.’
Stephen put down the coffee mug with a clatter. ‘I wonder if they’ve interviewed Georgio tonight?’ he said suddenly. ‘If they turned this place over, you can bet they’ve dragged him off to be interviewed. What on earth could they have been looking for? Any ideas, Donna?’
Maeve watched them look at each other and sighed inwardly at the open animosity on their faces.
‘No idea whatsoever. Do you really think they’ll be questioning my Georgio?’
Stephen nodded. ‘I’d lay money on it, love. They don’t do all this on a whim. They must have something pretty good to get the warrant for this lot. You want to be careful now, they might be watching you.’
‘Why would they watch me?’ Donna’s voice was on the defensive.
‘I don’t know. All I can think is that they must believe you’re involved, to do all this. You said yourself they’d already turned the house over when they arrested him the first time round. Why do it again now?’
Stephen enjoyed Donna’s worried expression. Pleased he had finally taken her mind off Sri Lanka, he turned towards his mother and kissed her on the cheek.
‘I’d better be off, girls, I have a long journey tomorrow.’
After he left the room Maeve said gently, ‘He’s me son, Donna, but I’m finding it increasingly hard to like him these days. He’s gotten a slimy feel to him, do you know what I mean?’
Donna nodded into Maeve’s strained face and said, ‘Funnily enough, I know exactly what you mean.’
Georgio was put back on the Wing just as breakfast was being served. He walked straight to Lewis’s cell and strode in without the usual knock. Donald Lewis was eating a bowl of thin porridge, the Guardian spread out over the table in front of him. Without looking up, he said, ‘Hello, Georgio, I’ve been expecting you.’
Georgio ripped the paper off the table and screwed it into a ball.
‘What the hell was all that about last night, Donald? Don’t pretend you know nothing about it because I have sussed you right out, mate. Fucking right out!’
Lewis laughed. His small even white teeth looked yellow in the light of the cell.
‘Getting brave all of a sudden, aren’t we?’ He pushed his bowl of porridge away and said nastily, ‘Sit down, Brunos, and shut the fuck up. When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.’
Ricky stood inside the doorway. ‘Do you need anything, Mr Lewis?’
Donald shook his head. ‘If I need you, Ricky, I’ll call. Stand outside and keep nosy parkers at bay.’
Georgio sat down because he knew he had no choice.
‘Now, Georgio, me and you have been getting on very well since I’ve been out of hospital but there’s still the outstanding matter of my dosh. I have decided that I want it, and I want it soon. If I don’t get what I want then I’ll see that you never walk out of here again. I can fit you up as easy as I can eat my breakfast.
‘A young man called Danny Kilbride is on a murder charge. I’ve already arranged for him to co-operate with the police and now they’re talking manslaughter. I have got word to Kilbride to put all the blame on you for three robberies in the North of England. You might get off them, but it won’t do your appeal much good, will it?
‘I want me fucking money, Georgio, and I want it as soon as possible. The ball is well and truly in your court. By the way, your house was turned over last night - floorboards up, the lot, turned over by Laughton, your old friend and mentor.
‘I’ll give you so much grief, boy, you won’t know whether you’re coming or fucking going by the time I’m finished! I’ll have your parents’ restaurant razed to the fucking ground and I’ll have your sister Mary and her kids go on the missing list. I swear before God now, either me and you make an arrangement and become bosom pals again, or I’ll make you into my biggest enemy - and you know what that’ll mean in here, don’t you?’
Georgio felt the dryness in his throat. He didn’t need this now. In another two weeks he’d be out of this place, home and dry. Lewis would be just a bad memory . . .
Lewis watched Georgio battle it out with himself, then he played his trump card.
‘Don’t give me all that old fanny about if I kill you I’ll never get the money. I ain’t doing this because of the money any more, Brunos. This has become personal now. I’ll kill you if I don’t get it, and Timmy’s death will seem like a joy after what I’ve dreamt up for you, boy.’
Georgio knew that Lewis was telling the truth. After the attack on him, he had to come back bigger and stronger than ever. Georgio knew that people on the Wing had heard the rumours about him owing Lewis money and now Lewis had to push the issue to save face. To show his strength. Georgio didn’t even hold this against him. It was prison law, far more binding than the law of the land.
‘So what’s it to be, Georgio?’
He bowed to the inevitable; after a swift planning session in his mind, he smiled in a defeated manner.
‘I’ll have the money for you within twenty-eight days. I’ll have to get someone to fetch it for me, but that won’t be a problem. I want your word, however, that this will be the end of it all. Me and you trundle along nicely, I don’t want us to fall out after this.’
Lewis held out his hand. He had won the game and could afford to be magnanimous.
‘No hard feelings, Georgio. I’ll call the Old Bill off your back and me and you can get down to planning what we’re going to do on this Wing. It needs a shake-up and between us I think we could do the job perfectly adequately.’
Georgio grinned. ‘You won, fair and square, Donald. Now about those two nonces . . . Can I have your word that you’ll let me have them? I’ve been racking me brains for a way to do them and I think I could really liven this place up at the same time. In your name, of course.’
Donald picked his teeth with his fingernail. ‘Of course.’
Georgio and Lewis grinned at one another and Georgio winked. He could afford to be as friendly as he liked. All in all, it couldn’t have worked out better for him.
From now on Lewis would be like his Siamese twin. He wanted his money and Georgio wanted to cause a disturbance the like of which Parkhurst had never seen before.
‘Shall I get us both a nice cup of tea?’ he offered.
Lewis nodded happily.
‘Why not?’
Alan saw Donna before she saw him. He studied her sitting by the window table of his restaurant, sipping mineral water and watching the world go by. He smiled to himself in pleasure. She really was a very good-looking woman. She was as usual, dressed immaculately, her plain black dress cut high at the neck, tailored and smart. She wore sheer black tights and high black shoes. She looked businesslike yet painfully vulnerable at the same time. She wore a deep red lipstick and the slash of colour gave her a childlike appearance.
H
e walked over to her, smiling in welcome and waiting to inhale the fragrance of her perfume. The Chloë smell had become uniquely hers to him. Flowery, cool and crisp. That summed up Donna Brunos.
‘Hello, Donna. I didn’t expect to see you here today.’
Donna looked up into his face and he saw the worry in her eyes.
‘They busted me, Alan.’ Her voice was low. Taking the seat opposite, he signalled to the waiter.
‘I heard. But it’s all sorted now. According to a friend of mine, Lewis set it up for Georgio. He owes Lewis a large amount of money.’
Donna nodded.
A tall dark-haired girl came over to the table, dressed in the regulation black skirt and white blouse. Donna saw the smile for Alan and felt a moment’s jealousy at the girl’s easy way with men.
‘Bring us a bottle of red wine - a half decent one, Charlotte, if you don’t mind. And the menu, OK?’
The girl was exquisite. Her perfect skin glowed and Donna knew it was not thanks to foundation.
‘Certainly, Mr Cox.’
Donna closed her eyes. To add insult to injury the girl had a very attractive French accent.
‘Pretty girl.’
Alan nodded in agreement. ‘Very pretty. Only twenty, but she’s as clever as Einstein. Should do well.’
Donna sipped at her mineral water again. ‘Do you know why Georgio owes Lewis money?’
Alan shrugged, not committing himself. ‘I’ve heard a few rumours, of course. Nothing concrete.’
The girl came back with the wine and Donna caught a subtle hint of Coco perfume. Charlotte expertly opened the wine and poured it into the glasses. She placed a menu before each of them and, smiling once more, walked away.
Alan sipped the Mouton Cadet and licked his lips.
‘So what’s the score with Lewis and your old man?’ he asked.
‘Georgio went into business with him in Sri Lanka and Thailand. They were to build hotels and jump on the tourist bandwagon, Georgio after all was a builder, as you know. It was to be legal, all legal, he explained it to me.
‘Well, the rub is, Alan, the man out on site tucked him up. It turned out that he had no permission for the sites, no government agreement, nothing. Georgio lost a small fortune, and unfortunately so did Lewis. That’s why Georgio got involved with the robbery. He had been stripping the other businesses for capital and nearly ruined himself, Alan. Well, you know the rest.’
He didn’t speak for a while but allowed the information to sink in, wondering how much was true and how much was Georgio’s idea of a good story.
‘What do you know about Sri Lanka and Thailand? Have you any documentation, anything that can corroborate this story?’
Donna shook her head. ‘Nothing much, just a few letters and brochures. I received a fax the other day saying they were in trouble. Then last night after the police left, Stephen turned up and I find out that he is off to Sri Lanka. That seemed very suspicious to me. I don’t trust him.’
She gulped at her wine as if it would give her some kind of help, and finished: ‘If Stephen is involved I would bet my last halfpenny that something illegal is going down. The fax also had another message on it. It said “stopped shipping until further notice”.’
Alan grabbed her hand. ‘Cheer up, girl, we’ll find out the score, especially once Georgio’s home. I admit that Stephen can be a pain in the arse, but for all that he’s shrewd. Maybe Georgio wants him to sort it all out, especially if Lewis is on his back. I must admit if you were my wife, I wouldn’t want Lewis coming after you, whereas I wouldn’t worry too much about Stephen. You concentrate on the jump. It’s not long now and then we’ll all know what the score is.’
The waitress came back again and asked them if they were ready to order.
‘Give us two house specials and have Julio set a table in my office. Open another bottle of wine and then leave us in peace, love, OK?’
The girl’s face was a picture and Donna felt a moment’s pity for her. Alan picked up the wine glasses and the bottle and Donna followed him up the stairs to his office.
He sat her on the small sofa and she watched as he directed Julio where to put the table. When he finally sat beside her she was smiling.
‘You’re a real busybody, Alan Cox - has anyone ever told you that before?’
He chuckled. ‘My wife used to say that. I’ve always been an organiser. It’s in my nature.’
‘Would you ever marry again, Alan?’
He was surprised by the question and she saw it.
He shook his head negatively. ‘Not on your nelly, girl. I’d never get tied to anyone again. Would you?’
Donna frowned. ‘Would I what?’
‘Ever get married again?’
Donna sat back on the chair, amazed that she even had to think about the question.
‘But I’m not divorced, am I? I’m still married!’
Alan stared into his glass as if it had become the most interesting thing in the world.
‘Of course, I’d forgotten that!’
They laughed easily together, both aware that she had got out of answering the question.
‘What do you think is going on in Sri Lanka?’ Alan asked her.
Donna shrugged. ‘I really don’t know. I was a bit sceptical about Thailand, I must admit. Especially now with Stephen being involved. I wouldn’t put it past him to have a brothel out there to be honest. But not Georgio. I know he was involved in Talkto but that was only on a sponsorship level. He is a sleeping partner.’
Alan grinned, displaying his large white teeth.
‘You mean, you’re a sleeping partner. Remember, that’s all yours now. Even the hotels are in your name if I know Georgio.’
Donna stared at him from under her eyelids.
‘They are. In fact, I’m quite a rich woman on paper.’
‘Should I make a play for you then, before all the toyboys arrive?’
He looked at the door as if expecting them to rush through it and Donna grinned.
‘Toyboys? Do I look that old?’
Alan placed a hand gently on her cheek.
‘You look lovely, Donna, you always do to me.’
He stood up abruptly and refilled their glasses. Both were aware that he had stepped over the boundary line. Neither was sure how to react now that he had. Alan returned to his seat and lit himself a cigar.
‘So Stephen’s off to Sri Lanka then? I wonder what they were shipping? Stephen’s into so much it’d be hard even to guess what he’s doing out there, wouldn’t it?’
Donna nodded. ‘If it’s Stephen, it’s bound to be something disgusting. It always is with him. In fact, I was thinking of going out there myself. I own the properties along with Lewis so I have a right to see what’s going on. But Georgio wants me to leave it until he’s on the outside, so that’s what I’d better do.’
Alan nodded vigorously. ‘That’s what I’d do - leave it all. Let Georgio clear up any mess that’s left. It’s about time he pulled his bleedin’ weight!’
They laughed together.
‘This wine’s gone to my head, Alan. I haven’t eaten anything today.’
She lay back against the sofa once more and closed her eyes. Her face in repose was so achingly lovely in the lamplight that Alan felt a constriction in his chest. Leaning across her, he brushed her lips with his. Donna’s eyes flew open and as she looked into his deep blue gaze she opened her mouth to accept another kiss. A real kiss, a deeply sensuous one.
Losing herself in the sensation of being touched by a man who wasn’t her husband, she allowed him to begin caressing her, feeling the fullness of her body rise up to greet his. She felt his hand pushing between her legs and opened them involuntarily, wanting the touch of him. As his fingers explored her thighs there was a knock at the door.
Donna pushed him off her as if he was a rapist and jumped up from the sofa, knocking over her glass of wine. She straightened her clothes and tried to control the trembling inside her body, in her hands.
Not trusting herself to speak, she walked into his bathroom and shut the door quietly behind her. Leaning against it, she placed her forehead on the cold painted wood and took deep breaths. She could hear Alan directing the waiter about the food. Splashing cold water on to her face, she stared at herself in the small mirror. Her eyes were bright, her skin pleasantly flushed. Her lipstick was gone, kissed away by Alan Cox.
She knew that if the waiter had not knocked she would have been unable to refuse Alan. She had been too long without a man, too long without the company of her husband. The drink and the circumstances had proved too much for her and she swallowed deeply as she realised just what she had been willing to do. And God Himself knew, she had been willing! In her mind’s eye she played out the scene, allowing it to reach a conclusion, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, she still wanted it to happen.
She realised she had wanted Alan for a long time. The shock to her was the fact that he felt the same way about her. He wasn’t a man who would take her lightly. Not Georgio’s wife.
For him to want her, it had to run deeper than that and even as the thought thrilled her, she was frightened because she felt out of her depth. Never a woman to encourage men, she wondered how she had encouraged Alan Cox. She must have done, because he wouldn’t touch his friend’s wife without thinking he had the right. Her permission and Georgio nearly home! She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.
Opening the door, she walked back into the room. Alan was sitting at the table eating a steak as if nothing had happened.
‘All right, girl? Come and eat your meal. You’re right, the wine went to both our heads, I think.’
Donna picked up her bag and walked to the door.
‘I’m sorry, Alan, but I think it’s best if I go now. Let’s forget about tonight, it was just a moment’s madness brought on by too much wine.’ She kept her voice light.
Alan cut another piece of steak and shrugged. ‘Whatever you say, love. You’re in charge.’
Donna walked from the room, her heart heavy in her chest because more than anything, she wanted to stay there. Stay and re-enact the scenario that had played in her mind minutes before.