Schemer

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘I couldn’t say one hundred per cent, but I’m ninety-nine per cent sure that it is Steph’s daughter,’ Martin reported back.

  Barry took his change from the barmaid and glanced around furtively. Whoever the girl was, she couldn’t take her eyes off him, so he decided to test the water by grinning at her. She smiled back, then seconds later, stood up and walked towards him. ‘Go for a piss or something,’ Barry hissed at Martin. He could see the girl approaching, and up close with her lithe young body, she looked even more stunning than she had from a distance. Pretending to be watching the three fools who were prancing about on the stage trying to sing a Madness song, Barry feigned surprise as Dannielle tapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘Excuse me, but I have to ask you this. Do I know you from somewhere?’ she asked.

  Barry was unsure which way to play it. If he told Dannielle who he was, then she might run a mile. ‘I don’t know, babe. But, seeing as you’re the prettiest girl in this pub, you must let me buy you a drink,’ he said, deciding to be cautious.

  Dannielle felt her heart flutter as she looked into Barry’s soulful brown eyes. His stare was penetrating and was making her feel all funny inside.

  Aware of the effect he was having on the girl, Barry touched her arm gently. ‘What’s your name, sweetheart?’

  ‘Danni. What’s yours?’ Dannielle replied, feeling suddenly shy.

  ‘I’ll do a deal with you. You let me take you out for a meal tomorrow night and I’ll tell you my name and everything else about me. What do you say?’

  Apart from kissing a couple of boys from school, Dannielle was a complete novice when it came to the male sex. ‘I don’t know if I should. Where will you take me?’ she replied, nervously.

  When Martin reappeared by his side, Barry leant forward, squeezed Dannielle’s hand and whispered in her ear. ‘I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go. Meet me outside this pub tomorrow night at seven, OK?’

  Without waiting for a reply, Barry winked at her, then sauntered out of the pub with his pal.

  Open-mouthed, Dannielle stood fixated to the spot.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Stephanie was woken early the following morning by the phone ringing next to her bed. She knew without even looking at it that the caller would be her mother.

  ‘There you are! You OK? Worried the life out of me when I couldn’t get hold of you all day yesterday,’ Pam said, in a relieved tone.

  ‘You wasn’t trying to call me all day yesterday, Mum. You didn’t even start ringing me until after teatime.’

  ‘Well, if you knew I was ringing, why didn’t you answer the bloody phone?’ Pam asked, getting annoyed.

  ‘Because I wasn’t well, Mum. I had terrible period pains and was lying in bed with a hot-water bottle and a packet of anti-inflammatories. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up the phone, but I felt too rough to talk,’ Stephanie lied. She hadn’t gone to bed early at all last night. She just hadn’t really felt like talking.

  ‘So, are you well enough to go into work today?’ Pam asked.

  ‘Yeah. Maria’s opening up for me and I’ll go in about twelve.’

  ‘That’s good, ’cause me and Lin are popping down to see you later. David’s staying over his friend’s house tonight, so we thought we’d spend the evening with you. Lin was a bit down yesterday, she kept crying, so I cheered her up by telling her you’d give her one of them facials and a makeover. It did the trick; she’s ever so excited. If we get to you about four, we can have a couple of hours in the salon with you and then go out for a bite to eat. Me and Lin wanna treat you and the kids for once.’

  As much as Stephanie loved her mum and her aunt, she really wasn’t in the mood to socialize, but what could she say? Her mum sounded so buoyant over her and Lin’s spontaneous plan, she could hardly say no. ‘OK, Mum. I’ll see you both about four-ish then.’

  Dannielle Jackman had had the most restless night’s sleep she could ever remember having in her life. She couldn’t stop thinking about the good-looking older man she had met in the pub and had spent most of the night debating whether she should go out for a meal with him or not. The sensible side of Dannielle told her how stupid and dangerous it might be to go with a man she didn’t know. Yet her adventurous side told her how romantic and exciting the evening could be.

  ‘You awake, Danni?’ Stephanie asked, gently tapping on her daughter’s bedroom door. Dannielle quickly pulled the quilt over her head and pretended to be asleep. Her mum would kill her if she knew that she was considering going out for a meal with some strange man, and Danni didn’t want to face her in case the guilt of what she was debating showed in her eyes.

  As she heard the sound of her mother’s footsteps traipsing down the stairs, Dannielle sat up and put her head in her hands. She was an extremely indecisive person – she always had been. Danni hadn’t told any of her friends the previous evening that she was considering going out for a meal with the man she had met. They would have ribbed her something chronic, so she had decided to keep schtum. Knowing that she needed to get advice from someone, Dannielle considered speaking to her brother, then quickly dismissed the idea. Tyler was so protective over her when it came to her love life, he’d probably have found fault if she told him she had a date with Robbie Williams. Grabbing her mobile phone from her bedside cabinet, Danni got back under her quilt and dialled Mimi’s number. ‘Are you awake?’ she asked stupidly, as the phone was answered.

  ‘Well, I wasn’t, but I obviously am now, you div, if I’ve just answered me own mobile. What’s a matter? Is something wrong?’ Mimi asked.

  ‘Yes and no. Look, I really need to talk to you in private, but you must promise me you won’t tell the other girls. Can I come round yours about lunchtime?’

  ‘Yeah, course you can, but please don’t tell me this is something to do with the old wrinkly you met in the pub last night, Dan?’

  ‘I can’t talk now, but I’ll explain everything when I get there.’

  ‘Oh my God! It is, isn’t it?’ Mimi exclaimed.

  Dannielle couldn’t help but giggle. ‘You’ll just have to wait and see.’

  Barry was shocked and upset to see how ill and thin his father now looked. Barry hadn’t expected throat cancer to give his old man a glowing complexion, but seeing as the last time Barry had met up with his dad he had been built like a brick shithouse, his now skeletal appearance and gaunt expression nigh on brought tears to Barry’s eyes. ‘So, what do you wanna do today, Dad? I treated meself to a Range Rover this morning, so shall we go for a spin then and have a bit of lunch in a nice boozer somewhere quiet afterwards?’

  ‘Can’t really eat normal food no more, boy. I’ve been living on soups and milkshakes. Your Auntie Jean has been good, mind. She keeps bringing dinners round that she’s mixed up in one of them food processors. I can’t eat much of ’em though. Reminds me of fucking baby food.’ Clocking the worried expression on his only son’s face, Smasher gave him a playful punch on the arm. ‘I can still bloody drink, smoke and have a bet though, so it ain’t all bad. I’ll tell you what, why don’t we go for a spin in this flash new motor of yours, then we’ll stop at the bookie’s and go to the Working Man’s Club and watch the horse racing in there? Got one of them big screens, they have, and I could murder a few whiskies.’

  Barry chuckled. His old man might resemble a walking corpse, but at least he still had his fighting bulldog spirit.

  Mimi ushered Dannielle inside her house and told her to go into the lounge. ‘My mum and dad are going out in a minute, so we can sit in there, have a chat, and listen to Kiss FM on me dad’s new stereo system,’ she whispered.

  Dannielle kissed Mimi’s parents, then said hello and goodbye all in one sentence. As soon as the front door slammed, Mimi turned to her friend. ‘Come on then, tell me the gossip.’

  Dannielle had told her friends very little about her conversation with the man in the pub the previous evening, but as she explained to her pal exactly what he had said to her, Mimi sat open-mo
uthed. ‘I’m sorry, Dan, but I am not letting you go out alone with some old bloke when he wouldn’t even tell you his name. He might be a paedophile or a rapist. He sounds well dodgy, if you ask me.’

  ‘Mimi, I’m sixteen not twelve, so you can’t call him a paedophile. Anyway, I wasn’t going to go for a meal with him alone. I want you to come with me.’

  Mimi was aghast. ‘You don’t honestly think that I’m spending the evening sitting in a restaurant with you and some old pervert, do you?’

  ‘Don’t be like that! I’d do it if the boot was on the other foot, you know I would. Honestly, Mimi, he was such a nice guy and I just know we’ll have a fab night with him. I’ve definitely met him before somewhere, and if I don’t go tonight, it’s gonna bug me forever where I know him from. He was rich, I could tell that by his clothes, so I know me and you won’t have to pay for a thing. And, because he’s older, we can get served lots of alcohol. Please Mimi, say you’ll come? I will never ask you another favour in my life if you do this for me. Pretty please?’

  Mimi sighed. She could tell how important this evening was to Danni and the thought of sitting in a nice restaurant, eating free food and drinking lots of alcohol, was enough to make Mimi change her mind. ‘OK, I’ll do it. But, remember Dannielle Jackman, you owe me one.’

  Lin felt like a cross between Victoria Beckham and the Queen as she was pampered and fussed over by her niece and her staff. Stephanie’s salon mainly did beauty treatments, but she had recently employed a girl who solely did makeovers, and when Lin looked in the mirror, she squealed with glee. ‘Christ, I can’t even recognize meself,’ she said, grinning at her older sister.

  Pam put an arm around Lin’s shoulders. ‘You look absolutely stunning, don’t she, Steph?’

  ‘Aw my gawd! What was that?’ Lin asked, as she heard a loud bang behind her.

  ‘It’s champagne for the lady,’ Stephanie said in a posh voice as she handed Lin a glass. ‘We only give this to our most important clients.’

  ‘Christ, I could get used to this, love. When can you book me in again?’ Lin asked, laughing.

  Pam winked at Steph as a sort of a thank-you gesture. She hadn’t seen Lin this happy since Keith had passed away.

  Hearing the salon door open, Stephanie poked her head around the booth and was thrilled to see both her children walk in. ‘Look who’s here,’ she said to her mum and aunt.

  ‘Wow, Lin. You look so elegant,’ Dannielle gushed, hugging her aunt.

  Tyler stood with his arms by his side when his nan gave him a cuddle. He was loyal, protective, and loved his family, but he had always found it difficult to show or receive affection of any kind.

  ‘I’ve just opened a bottle of champagne. Would you like a little drop?’ Stephanie asked her daughter.

  ‘I want some too,’ Tyler chirped up.

  ‘No, you’re too young,’ Stephanie said, immediately.

  Seeing her grandson’s crestfallen expression, Pam ruffled his hair. ‘Just give him a little drop, Steph. You and your sister used to have a little sip of wine at Christmas and on special occasions when you were his age.’

  About to remind her mother it wasn’t bloody Christmas, nor was it a special occasion, Stephanie opted to keep the atmosphere sweet by handing Tyler an extremely small drop of champagne in a glass. ‘I took the initiative and booked the Bel-Sit in Woodford for seven. I know it’s your and Ty’s favourite and I know Nanny and Lin will love it there as well,’ Steph said to Danni.

  Dannielle immediately felt flushed. Neither her nor her brother were going out for the meal. That’s why they had shown their faces in the salon to say hello to their nan and aunt. If they hadn’t, their mum would have deemed them rude and gone apeshit. ‘Please don’t be angry with us, Mum, but I’ve promised Mimi that I’d stay with her tonight. Her mum and dad have gone to a do up town and they’re not coming home till tomorrow. Tyler wants to stay with Brad because his grandad’s just died and Brad’s really upset about it. You don’t mind, do you, Mum?’

  ‘So, what you trying to say? Neither of you want to come out for a meal with us?’ Stephanie asked, shirtily.

  ‘It’s not that, Mum. Mimi hates being alone in that house because she swears it’s haunted and Brad’s parents rang me at home earlier and asked if Ty could stay at theirs to cheer Brad up a bit,’ Dannielle replied, awkwardly. The haunted house story was obviously total fiction, but she was telling the truth about Mimi’s parents going out and Brad’s grandfather dying, which made her feel slightly less guilty.

  ‘They’re all grown up now, Steph. You can’t expect ’em to wanna spend their time with three old biddies like us,’ Lin said, trying to defuse the situation.

  Stephanie sighed, then smiled. She knew Dannielle would never lie to her about anything. If Tyler had told her Brad’s grandad had died, she would have rung up and checked with Brad’s parents before she let him stay out the night. ‘Go on then, sod off the pair of ya, and make sure you both behave yourselves.’

  Feeling her guilt increase, which then made her face redden, Dannielle grabbed her brother by the arm so they could make a quick getaway. ‘Bye everybody, and I promise we’ll both behave, won’t we, Ty?’

  As his sister dragged him out of the salon, as rapidly as if a bomb was about to go off inside, Tyler stared at her suspiciously. Danni had been acting weird all day and, as her clued-up little brother, he was absolutely positive that she was up to no good.

  Barry Franklin parked up his Range Rover and went inside the pub to get a drink. He had no idea if Dannielle was going to turn up or not and he had already decided if she didn’t show, he would go to the karaoke night again next weekend in search of her. Since meeting Dannielle last night, Barry had barely been able to focus on anything else. He liked her, really liked her, and that had nothing to do with wanting to heap more misery on Steph. Danni being her daughter just happened to be a bonus. Ordering himself a Scotch, Barry sat near the window, so he could partially see the car park. Martin, his pal, had joked with him in the Indian restaurant the previous evening by saying he was hell-bent on getting the ultimate revenge. ‘What better way to ice the cake, eh? Can you imagine Steph’s reaction when she finds out you’ve been shagging her daughter?’ Martin had said, laughing.

  Barry had chuckled rather than disclose his true feelings. He had always had an impulsive streak when it came to knowing what he wanted. Up until now, he had only ever been in love once properly in his life, and that had been when he had first met Stephanie. Barry had thought he had loved Jolene when they had first got together, but even though he had found her incredibly sweet and beautiful, he now knew what he had felt for her was not love. Clapping eyes on Dannielle last night had left Barry with feelings he thought he would never experience again. Barry wanted the girl, wanted her badly – and what Barry wanted, he usually got.

  Tyler Jackman and his pal Brad put their hoods up as Mimi’s front door opened. ‘See, I was right. Look how dolled up Danni is. She said her and her mate were staying in to watch films and I knew she was bloody well lying,’ Tyler said, angrily.

  ‘I still don’t think we should be spying on her, Ty. I mean, I know we like spying on people, but it ain’t right to spy on your own sister. I bet she’s just going to the pub or something.’

  Ducking his head back behind the bush as his sister walked down the pathway, Tyler was furious as a minicab pulled up outside the house and the girls got inside. ‘Oh, bollocks. Danni ain’t just going to some pub, Brad. She knows I drink, I know she does, and she would tell me if she was going out on the lash. I know my sister and it’s only today she’s been acting weird. Something dodgy’s going on and, seeing as we’ve got this week off school, me and you are gonna find out what.’

  Dannielle was a bundle of nerves as the cab drove down Manor Road. She had no idea if the man she had met would be in a cab, his own car, or on foot. Nor was she even sure he would turn up. ‘Say he was just winding me up? He might have thought I was some stupid kid or something an
d decided to play a prank on me,’ she said to her friend.

  Mimi glanced sideways at her pal. She and Danni had met at secondary school, had been best pals ever since, and Mimi had never known Dannielle to be as nervous and sickly over any boy or man before. Noting that her pal’s hands were visibly shaking, Mimi squeezed them for comfort. ‘Of course he’ll turn up,’ she said. Mimi then shut her eyes and silently prayed that Mr Whateverhisbloodynamewas didn’t. He had already had a strange effect on her best friend and Mimi could sense that, whoever the bloke was, he was going to cause Danni nothing but bloody grief.

  Unaware that her daughter was about to meet up with her very worst nightmare, Stephanie was surprisingly having a jolly time with her mum and Lin in the restaurant. She really hadn’t felt like socializing at all earlier, but getting out and forgetting all her troubles had actually done her the world of good.

  ‘Well, I have to say that was one of the nicest pizzas I have ever eaten in my life,’ Lin said, polishing the last piece off.

  ‘Yous pair aren’t in a rush, are you? Shall I order us another bottle of wine?’ Stephanie asked.

  ‘Yes please! I thought I was in the Sahara desert,’ Lin replied, cheekily.

  Pam didn’t see the funny side of her sister’s humour. ‘I don’t think you should have any more, Lin. Don’t forget we’re going home by train and I can’t carry you if you end up getting pissed.’

  Stephanie chuckled. ‘Mum, you are not going home by train. I’ve got an account now with a local cab firm. I set it up so I know that Danni’s always safe when she’s out gallivanting and it’s handy for business purposes as well. You’ll be getting a cab home tonight, and I’m sure if Lin collapses the driver will help you get her out the car.’

  Pam relaxed. ‘We’re still paying for the meal and drinks though, aren’t we, Lin?’ she said, nudging her sister.