Barry crept downstairs and checked the front door first. It was still locked, so he then decided to check the other rooms. Stepping cautiously into the lounge, Barry gasped as a big hand grabbed him and covered his mouth.
‘One word and you’re dead,’ a voice said, as a gun was placed at Barry’s temple.
Jolene’s father was a scouser and there was no mistaking his voice. ‘I can explain,’ Barry tried to say, as thick black tape was put over his mouth.
Ordering Barry to lie face down on the carpet, Mickey tied his legs and arms together with the thick tape as well. Satisfied that there was no way Barry could move, Mickey crept upstairs to find the unwanted house guest. He’d heard a woman’s voice, and it had made his blood reach boiling point to think that his daughter was barely cold and the scumbag who had killed her had already moved on. Perhaps that was the reason why Barry had chosen to kill Jolene in the first place?
‘There you are. I was getting worried,’ Dannielle said, as the bedroom door slowly opened. Seconds later, she let out a blood curdling scream.
Stephanie glared at her younger sister as she followed their mother into her lounge. ‘I bet you’re loving all this, aren’t you? Must have made your year?’ Steph asked, sarcastically.
‘Actually, I’m not loving it. I might not know Dannielle particularly well, but my Aidan reckons she’s a lovely girl. I don’t want to see her come to any harm, hence why I went round Mum’s,’ Angela explained.
‘Now, no silliness, please. Come on, let’s go. What we waiting for?’ Pam said, standing up and motioning to Lin to do the same.
Stephanie stood up. ‘Actually, I would rather go with Angie on my own. I don’t want a big entourage with me. I need to sort this myself.’
A bit put out, Pam and Lin sat back down on the sofa. Both women had wanted to give Barry Franklin a piece of their minds, and now the opportunity to do so had been taken away from them. ‘I really don’t like the idea of yous two going alone. Say that pervert attacks you or something?’ Pam said.
‘I agree. That man is obviously a fucking animal and could be capable of anything,’ Lin added.
‘Don’t worry. I won’t leave Steph alone with this bloke,’ Angela promised. She was a bit confused as to why her mum and aunt were talking as though they knew Danni’s boyfriend. Perhaps he was a family friend or something? Angela wondered.
With an icy expression on her face, Stephanie turned to her younger sister. ‘Come on then, let’s go.’
Dannielle was petrified as the man put thick tape over her mouth and then around her hands and feet. Who was this man? What did he want? Worse still, had he hurt Barry?
Mickey picked up a mobile phone off the bedside cabinet and waved it in Dannielle’s face. ‘Is this yours?’
Trembling as though she had a bad case of Parkinson’s disease, Dannielle shook her head from side to side.
Guessing it must be Barry’s, Mickey spotted a handbag on the carpet next to the wardrobe. ‘Bingo,’ he mumbled, as he tipped it upside down and picked up what was obviously the girl’s mobile phone. Mickey very much doubted that Barry or the young girl would be able to escape because he had bound them up so well, but you could never be too careful. He had already checked downstairs for a landline when he had entered the house via the unlocked back door, and cut the phone wire. Clocking the ‘scared rabbit caught in headlights’ look in Dannielle’s eyes, Mickey felt a pang of guilt. The poor girl was only young – didn’t look much older than a schoolkid – and that made him hate Barry even more, if that were possible. ‘I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. Just lie down on the bed and I’ll untie you soon,’ he said, softly.
Mickey shut the bedroom door, took a deep breath, and leant against it. The petrified look in the girl’s eyes had thrown him a bit. The quicker he got on with the job he’d come here to do, the better. The girl might not thank him now, but little did she know by ridding the earth of her evil bastard of a boyfriend, he was actually doing her a massive favour in the long run.
Mickey walked back down the stairs. He already knew the exact story he was going to tell the Old Bill. The gun his pal had lent him was just a replica. He daren’t have carried a real one, as he knew as soon as he’d set eyes on Barry’s cocky face, he would have shot him to pieces. Serving a life sentence over that piece of shit was something Mickey wasn’t willing to do. Stabbing Barry to death with the dagger that his pal had also given him was a much better option. It enabled him to tell the courts he had acted in self-defence. The plan was, he was going to force Barry to hold the dagger in his grubby little hands, so it had plenty of his fingerprints on it. The dagger was fingerprint free at the moment. Mickey’s pal had worn gloves to handle it and so had he. Mickey wasn’t stupid; he knew he had to look like he had fought Barry hard, so he was going to head-butt a door and stab himself in the arm a couple of times to make the situation look realistic. His story to the Old Bill was going to be: he had taped Barry up to find out the truth about what had happened to his daughter, Barry had managed to break free, then had attacked him and tried to kill him. Mickey had been pissed off when he had first heard the female voice upstairs and realized Barry had company. Now, though, he had a feeling it might work in his favour, as he could tell the Old Bill that Barry had escaped when he had taped the girl up.
Walking back into the lounge, Mickey smirked as he caught sight of Barry Franklin. With his bare chest and arms tied behind his back, he reminded Mickey of a Christmas turkey waiting to be put in the oven. Taking the replica gun out of his pocket, Mickey walked towards his victim. Before calling the police, he needed to hide the gun in a bush somewhere nearby, so his pal could collect it later. Neither Marlene nor Dannielle had seen the gun and, seeing as Barry would be dead before he called the police, the Old Bill had no need to search for it. Barry put the handle of the dagger in between Barry’s hands. ‘Hold it,’ he ordered.
Guessing that Mickey was planning to kill him and then cry self-defence, Barry let the dagger slip through his fingers and shook his head vehemently. He desperately wanted to speak, but couldn’t because of the tape over his mouth. All Barry could do now was hope and pray that Mickey Jeffers removed the tape before killing him. Barry could then tell the stupid scouse bastard the truth.
Stephanie sat in silence as her sister tried to make polite conversation with her. Angela had just asked her if she knew who the bloke was who Dannielle was dating. And Steph had completely blanked the question. Knowing what a bitch her sister could be, it would not surprise Steph if Angie had recognized Barry Franklin herself and turned up today just to milk the horrendous situation.
‘I’m sure this is the right way now. I recognize that big house on the corner,’ Angela said. She had got lost and had to turn around a couple of minutes ago, and had clocked the look of displeasure on her sister’s sour face.
‘I bet you don’t even know where the fucking house is. You probably only turned up to stick your beak in and gloat,’ Steph said nastily.
Sick of her sister’s pissy attitude, Angela chose to stick up for herself. ‘You are so bloody wrong about me, Steph. I know I was a bitch in the past and I’m sorry for that, but since moving back from Greece and building a relationship with Aidan, I really have changed. I’m a much nicer person now than I used to be.’
‘Yeah, and pigs might fly,’ Stephanie mumbled under her breath.
‘This is it! This is the road where I followed Danni to,’ Angela exclaimed.
‘Which house is it?’ Steph spat, undoing her seatbelt. She had the meat knife she had sharpened the previous day in her handbag, and if Barry Franklin refused to let Danni go, she would shove it right through his heart.
Angela pulled over on the corner of the road and put the handbrake on. ‘It’s the house opposite the red jeep. Providing this bloke’s at home, you will see the black Range Rover on the drive. I’m coming with you, Steph. I can’t let you do this alone,’ she insisted, putting her car keys in her handbag.
Stephanie
stared at her sister’s perfectly made-up face and shook her head. Angie might have been a cow over the years, but she was still her sister and there was no way Steph could involve her in a murder charge. ‘Go back to mine, Ange. Mum and Lin are gonna need you more than I do.’
As Steph slammed the car door, Angela felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She had clocked the unhinged look in Stephanie’s eyes and guessed she might be planning to do something stupid. Grabbing her handbag, Angie leapt out the car. She had to stop Steph from ruining her life. She owed her that much at least.
Mickey Jeffers crouched down next to Barry and ripped the tape off his mouth. ‘Did she suffer?’ he asked, his face contorted with grief.
Barry took deep breaths. He had truly thought he was going to die momentarily, and the thought of never seeing Dannielle again was far worse than the thought of death itself. ‘Jolene’s still alive! I swear I can prove it if you give me my phone. I’ve got a number for her now. She’s staying in Marbella with a girl called Ellie.’
‘Don’t fucking lie to me, you slimy little cunt. My Jolene would never put me and her mother through the hell we’ve been through the past month or so if she were still alive. She would have contacted us, I know she would,’ Mickey yelled.
‘She didn’t contact you because if I didn’t get back with her, she wanted me dead. She said if she couldn’t marry me and have my kids, then she’d make sure that no other woman would. Just take the tape off my hands and I’ll ring her and prove it to you, Mickey. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Jo’s lost the plot, I’m telling you. She only gave me her fucking number because she thinks I’m gonna get back with her now. I’ve even booked a ticket to fly out to see her on Friday because I wanted to sort this shit out. I don’t want all my old pals in Spain to think I’ve bastard well killed her, do I? As soon as I got there, I was gonna make her ring you,’ Barry insisted.
‘I’ll ring the fucking make-believe number,’ Mickey said, snarling as he took Barry’s mobile out of his own pocket. The young girl’s phone was pink, so there was no getting them mixed up.
‘No! Please! Just let me ring her. If she hears your voice, she’ll end the call. Give me the phone and I’ll put it on loudspeaker so you can hear every word she says. Honest to God, I am not lying to you, Mickey. Why would I make all this stuff up when I know if I couldn’t prove Jo was alive, you would shoot me anyway?’ Barry said. If Mickey didn’t let him make this phone call, he was as good as a dead man.
‘If she don’t answer, you’re dead,’ Mickey growled, cutting the tape in between Barry’s hands.
Barry said a silent prayer as his shaking hands scrolled through his phone. He had been ringing her four times a day just to keep her sweet, and every single time, she had answered within seconds. Breathing a massive sigh of relief as he heard the familiar sound of her voice, Barry pressed the loudspeaker button.
‘Why didn’t you ring me earlier at the time you said you was going to?’ Jolene asked accusingly.
Absolutely gobsmacked, Mickey Jeffers sat on his haunches and put his head in his hands. Half of him was so happy that his beautiful daughter was still alive, yet the other half of him wanted to kill her himself for making such a fool out of him and putting him and her mother through such heartbreak.
Hearing his daughter start to interrogate Barry again, Mickey snatched the phone out of Barry’s hand. ‘Jo, it’s your dad. You’ve got some fucking explaining to do, girl, I know that much. Ring your mother immediately and let her know you’re OK. Then I expect you to go straight home and apologize in fucking person to her. Broken our hearts, you have.’
When Jolene began sobbing like a baby, Mickey heard a frantic banging on the front door.
‘Danni, Danni, open this door now. I know you’re in there. I know everything,’ a woman’s voice screamed.
Recognizing Stephanie’s dulcet tones, Barry snatched the phone off Mickey and ended the call. ‘Quick, get this tape off me legs. Where’s Danni?’
‘Upstairs, I taped her up as well. I’ll go and set her free,’ Mickey said, cutting the tape around Barry’s ankles.
‘I’ll free her meself. You just put that dagger and gun away and get rid of all the tape. The woman knocking on the door is Dannielle’s mother, and I don’t wanna give her any more reason to kick off than she already has,’ Barry spat, darting up the stairs.
‘I know you’re in there, Barry. I’ve just heard your voice, you paeodophiliac murdering bastard. I know what you did to my Wayne. I know it was you who killed him,’ Stephanie screamed hysterically.
‘Stop, Steph. Please stop it, or you’ll hurt yourself,’ Angela said, as her sister picked up a brick and smashed it against one of the bay windows.
Stephanie turned to Angela. ‘I thought I told you to go back to mine and look after Mum and Lin for me. Fuck off. Go on, fuck off,’ she yelled.
‘I’m not leaving you like this, I can’t,’ Angela said. Stephanie looked and was acting like a mad woman, and for the first time ever, Angela was truly concerned for her welfare. Why was she rambling on about Wayne being murdered? It didn’t make any sense.
‘Where is he? Where’s Barry?’ Stephanie yelled, when a shaven-headed man opened the front door.
Angela was stunned as she followed her sister into the lounge and recognized Barry Franklin. No wonder Stephanie had been so upset.
Stephanie felt physically sick as she saw that her daughter was sitting on the sofa, holding hands with Barry. She wanted to take the knife out of her bag and repeatedly stab Barry with it, but she couldn’t do that in front of Dannielle. It would scar her daughter for life. ‘Get away from him, Danni. You don’t know him, he’s evil,’ she screamed.
‘No, he’s not! Look, Mum, I’m sorry I lied to you, but I love Barry and we just wanna be together. I need you to accept our relationship. Can you do that? Please, for me?’ Dannielle asked, in an adult manner. She was showing no signs of the frightening ordeal she had just been through. When Barry had untied her, he’d told her that the shaven-haired man was his ex-girlfriend’s father, and him turning up today was just a silly misunderstanding. He said he would explain properly later. He had also said that she needed to be and act strong when facing her mother.
Stephanie shook her head. ‘I will never accept you being with him, Danni, and I mean never. Has he told you that he killed your father, has he?’ she yelled. She wanted to add ‘and slept with your mother’, but was far too ashamed to do so.
Seeing her daughter’s eyes well up with tears, Steph was relieved to see her daughter snatch her hand away from Barry’s. ‘Barry is a wrong ’un, darling, a murderer. You can’t date a man who is responsible for killing your own father, can you now? Just get your stuff together, Danni, and come home with me.’
‘You didn’t kill my dad, did you?’ Dannielle asked Barry. To say she was astounded over the awful accusation was an understatement.
Angela, Stephanie and Mickey all glanced at one another as Barry began to laugh. Wondering if he was about to lose the plot, Mickey decided to make his escape. ‘I’m gonna go now, Barry. I’m sorry about the silly misunderstanding. I can’t apologize enough. Are we OK?’
Still laughing, Barry stood up and turned to Mickey. He was enjoying himself now, really enjoying himself, and the best bit was yet to come. ‘Yeah, we’re best buddies, you muggy cunt. Go on, fuck off, and do me a favour, keep that loony of a daughter of yours away from me in future. If I have any more grief from her, I shall have to hold you entirely responsible, comprende?’
Mickey Jeffers was no man’s fool. ‘Who you calling a muggy cunt? You cockney twat,’ he said, lunging at Barry.
‘Leave him alone or I’m calling the police. I’ll tell them everything,’ Dannielle screamed, as both men fell to the floor, brawling.
The word police was enough to make Mickey see sense. He’d just tied two people up, had a dagger and a fake gun on him, and had also terrorized Marlene. He stood up, picked up his bag and bolted out of
the front door. His old woman would kill him if he got banged up. The quicker he jumped on the first available flight back to Spain, the better.
Barry decided to let Mickey go rather than chase after the cheeky bastard. ‘Me and you ain’t finished, Jeffers,’ he shouted. Turning back to Stephanie, Barry grinned. ‘Where was we before I was so rudely interrupted? Oh yes, we were talking about your wonderful doting fiancé, wasn’t we?’
‘Don’t you dare take the piss out of my Wayne. He was a lovely man and a good partner. We would have still been extremely happy now, if you hadn’t fucking done away with him. It was all about revenge for you, wasn’t it, Barry? Revenge, because I chose Wayne over you at fifteen years old. You’re sick, do you know that? And I know that is why you’ve now got your claws into my daughter. You don’t want her, nor do you love her; you just want to get back at me once again for what happened when we were kids,’ Stephanie said, walking over to Barry and smacking him around his cocky face.
‘Leave him, Steph. He ain’t worth it, sis,’ Angela said, pulling Stephanie away.
‘For your information, I love your daughter more than I’ve ever loved any other woman in my life,’ Barry said, truthfully.
‘She ain’t a woman. She’s a child, you perverted piece of fucking shit,’ Steph said, lunging at Barry, fists flailing.
‘Stop it, Mum. Stop it,’ Dannielle screamed.
Grabbing Stephanie’s wrists, Barry glared at her. ‘If anyone’s a piece of shit here, darling, that’s you.’
‘Stop it, the pair of you. You’re upsetting Danni. Look at the state of her,’ Angela said, cuddling her niece.
Dannielle’s thoughts were all over the place. Barry was so kind and loving towards her, she could never imagine him hurting a fly. But if what her mum was saying was true, then she would have to finish with him. She didn’t really remember her dad that well, but sharing a bed with the man that murdered him made her feel sick to the stomach. ‘I need to know what happened with my dad, Barry. What is Mum talking about?’ Dannielle asked, dreading the answer.
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