Visitors

by Woods, Karen

  Susie was watching the fight too and Helen could see her laughing as the other man fell to the floor for the eighth time. Tim left him in a bad way and the victim was lucky to be alive. The landlord phoned the police instantly and Tim was arrested shortly after that.

  Helen reached for her brew and dunked her chocolate biscuit inside it. With one bite the biscuit was gone. The chocolate was visible at the sides of her mouth. She was such a scruffy cow. Helen smirked at Susie, “I’m going to be helping you anyway love. Tim’s told me already, that if he got time I was to help you out.” Susie looked shocked. That was all she needed, his sister on her case. Helen was like Miss Marple and she knew she’d uncover her secret if she was with her twenty four seven. Susie held her head high and replied.

  “Thanks Helen, but I can manage. It’s just a shock at the moment. I’ll be sorted in a few weeks.”

  Helen wasn’t giving up that easy and continued. “I’m helping you and that’s the end of it. Do you hear me?”

  Susie backed down and agreed as she watched Tim’s mother nodding her head with approval. “Okay I’ll shout you if I need you.”

  Helen looked at her mother and nodded her head. “Our kid doesn’t have to worry about fuck all while he’s in jail. We can sort everything.” Tim’s mother Mary looked pleased and sat back in her chair. She knew all about her son running a brothel, everyone did. Mary turned a blind eye to all his antics.

  Helen’s son toddled into the front room. His wet nappy was dangling between his legs like a ton of bricks were held inside it. Green snot hung from his nose and his attempt to wipe it had caused it to spread all across his face. Susie screwed up her face as she clocked him. Helen clutched at her son’s anorexic arms. “Eww... come here you scruff. Look at the state of your snozzle.” The young child tried to fight her off as she used the end of her sleeve to wipe his nose. Susie shook her head and heaved. Helen was a minger. Once the child was free, he walked to Susie’s side. She squirmed as he ran his tiny fingers over her pants. These were her best River Island trousers and no way in this world was this kid going to ruin them. The family’s eyes were on her watching her every movement. She tried to move him away without being nasty. Her face raised a struggled smile. Sniffing hard she smelt a pongy aroma. Her nostrils flared as she looked at the child and located the stench.

  “I think he’s dropped a load Helen.”

  Huffing, Helen pulled her fat arse up from the chair. “Fucking hell Matthew, that’s your third turd today. What the fucks up with your arse?” Reaching inside a white plastic bag at the side of the chair she pulled out a new nappy and some baby wipes. The kid was squealing as she captured him in her grip. Lying his body flat on her legs she pulled the stinking nappy from his body. His two legs were now held in her hand as she yanked his arse up in the air. “Oh you dirty bleeder. Your arse is rancid. Oh my god this shit looks like King Kong’s finger,” she giggled. Susie yanked her shirt up to cover her nose. She was retching. Helen was using the old nappy to wipe the shit from his bum cheeks. He was caked in it. Everyone watched as Matthew screamed at the top of his lungs. His arse looked red raw and small blisters could now be seen all over his private area. Once he was clean, Helen flicked his frail body back onto the floor. “Shut up moaning, you mard arse, you’re done now.” The child ran to his nana for comfort. “Come here son,” she said with open arms.

  Helen lived not far from her mother’s house with her long- term boyfriend. She had three children with him. Her partner was a lazy fucker and just the word ‘Work’ made him sweat like a paedophile at a child’s party. Helen claimed benefits she wasn’t entitled to, and lived life from hand to mouth every day. She was so different from her brother Tim. Susie felt sickened to think she was even part of his life.

  The three women sat for a while discussing Tim’s sentence. Susie knew she would have to be two steps in front and one behind Helen to keep her out of her business. Yeah, she had just the thing for her if she ever tried interfering in her life. Susie held a cunning look on her face as she stood up to leave. “Right I’m going home. I better get used to being alone hadn’t I?” She was searching for some sympathy and it wasn’t long before she found it.

  Tim’s mother was by her side instantly, wrapping her two loving arms around her. Helen watched with jealousy in her eyes as her mother spoke. “We’re here for you love. Like I said, anything you need, just give us a shout.” Susie gave her an endearing smile and walked towards the front door. Helen was behind her edging to speak.

  “As soon as the kids are in bed tonight I’ll call round and see you. It’s a bit of company for you isn’t it?”

  Susie panicked. “Orr.. not tonight Helen. My heads in bits I just want an early night. Maybe tomorrow ay?” Helen looked like she wanted to jaw her there and then. You could see her clenched fist hung at the side of her legs.

  “Right no worries. I’ll just phone you instead for a chat. I know what it’s like when you’re upset. A problem shared is a problem halved, isn’t it?”

  Susie stood open mouthed, she was eager to get away. “Thanks you two, I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

  “Orr bless,” Mary whispered.

  Susie walked to the car. She could feel Helen’s eyes burning into the back of her head as she opened the door. “Fat interfering slag,” she muttered under her breath.

  *

  The time was ticking on and Susie knew she’d have to go and see Joan who ran the brothel. She was dreading seeing her and prepared herself for a load of abuse. Joan had always run things for Tim over the years. Susie knew she fancied the arse off her man and laughed at her sometimes, thinking Tim would ever look at her in a million years, she was an old hag. Pulling up at the house Susie searched for her mobile phone to tell Joan she was outside. She could hear a ringing tone. “Joan it’s me Susie, I’m outside your house. Are you in or what?” There was a muffled reply and Susie quickly ended the call. Checking her face in the wing mirror she left the car.

  Joan stood at her front door with a fag hanging from the corner of her mouth. Last night’s make up was still visible around her eyes, she looked rough. Susie tried to raise a smile but they both knew they hated each other’s guts.

  Joan was dressed in a long t-shirt that barely covered her arse cheeks. False tan could be seen smeared across her plump legs. She looked orange. Standing at the front door Susie waited for Joan to invite her inside. The woman stood with a cocky look on her face and it was Susie who had to make the first move. “Any chance I can come in for a minute love. We have a few things to sort out about work and that?” Joan flicked her cig into the front garden and trudged inside leaving the door open for Susie to follow. A strong smell of cat piss was in the air, Susie’s nostrils flared as she lifted her hand over her mouth.

  Joan plonked herself onto the grey sofa and kept her eyes focused on the TV. She was a right ignorant bitch, Susie looked pissed off. Placing one hand on her hip she began to speak. “Tim’s in prison. So I’ll be managing Delia’s from now on.”

  Joan sneered and looked directly at her. “You couldn’t manage a piss up in a brewery, never mind manage the girls love.” Susie bit hard on her bottom lip. This woman was taking the piss out of her and she knew she’d have to stand up to her once and for all. Susie was shaking inside and her voice trembled as she continued.

  “Listen Joan, things are going to be hard enough without you adding to it all. I know I don’t know how everything works, but I’m gonna have to fucking learn aren’t I?”

  Joan’s eyes pierced into Susie as she stuttered. “Well I’m not going to lie to you. The girls can’t stand you, so how do you plan to run things. Once they know you’re the new boss I’m sure the girls will fuck off.”

  Susie held her own and raised her voice. “If that’s the way they feel, then let them go. And if you have any problems working for me, you can do the same.”

  Joan looked uneasy. Sitting upright in her seat she tugged at her t-shirt pulling it over her knees. You
could tell she needed the job more than anything and started to backpedal. “You can rely on me love,” she cracked her knuckles. “I won’t give you any trouble. I can talk to the girls for you. They listen to me. I’m just saying there are a few of the girls you’ve upset in the past and it’s going be a hard battle to get them back onside. But I’ll do my best.”

  Susie looked confident when she answered her. “Well it’s my way or the highway. I’ve got to do my best while Tim’s in the clink, and if anyone, and I mean anyone,” Susie paused and stared at Joan a bit longer than she should have, “stands in my way or starts trying to fuck with my head, they’ll be out the front door as fast as lightning. So make sure you tell them that.”

  Joan lit another cig; she looked frustrated as she flicked her lighter more than once to get a light. Lifting her head, she replied. “Yeah I’ll have a word with them. Like I said before, I can’t promise they’ll listen.”

  Susie stood tall and flicked her hair round her shoulder. “Right,” she paused and looked at her watch. “Tell the girls I’ll be there tonight about half eleven.”

  Joan screwed her face up, “Yeah no worries.”

  Susie walked towards the front door and turned back slowly as if she’d forgotten something. Taking a deep breath she shouted into Joan. “Make sure all the girls are free to see me when I get there. You’re the manager, so let’s see you manage.” There was no reply from Joan as Susie slammed the door behind her looking pleased with herself.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Susie looked at the clock ticking away on the wall. It was nearly eleven. Slipping her shoes back onto her slender feet she stood to check her hair in the nearby mirror. Joan had already rung her to say the girls were expecting her. She sounded nervous when Susie spoke to her minutes before and she knew her visit was going to shake some heads.

  The house felt eerie. She was used to Tim being sat at home playing on his Play- station, but tonight she felt lonely. Her mobile phone started to ring and she glanced at the screen. It was Joan’s name flashing again. “You can fucking wait. You shag bag,” she shouted at the phone. Gripping it from the side she tossed it into her bag. With a quick squirt of her “Armani Diamond” perfume she was ready to leave.

  The night air was cold as it trickled around her body as she walked to her car. Opening the car door she heard a familiar voice shouting her name in the distance. “Susie, its Helen, wait up.” The sound of stamping footsteps could be heard drawing nearer. Susie looked pissed off as she shook her head in disbelief. Was this bitch watching her every movement from afar? Susie scanned the area. Nobody else was about. Helen was most definitely spying on her.

  “What are you doing out at this time?” Susie asked with a cocky face. She rolled her sleeve up to check the time.

  “I was just going to check you were okay. Good job I caught you innit?” Helen said.

  Susie stood waiting for her to speak again. She wanted to rip her head off. “Where you off to then?” Helen queried.

  Susie huffed, and opened the car door ready to get inside. “I’m going to meet the girls at Delia’s. I’ve a few things to sort out, why?”

  Helen sniggered and hurried to the passenger side and opened the car door. “Well I’ll come with you. Bit of back up, and all that.” She jumped into the car before Susie could get her words out. It was too late; Helen was now sat in the vehicle pulling her seat belt round her fat round body. Susie was livid and slammed her door shut letting her know she wasn’t welcome.

  Helen sat smiling and knew she’d rattled her cage. Susie sniffed up loudly. She could smell something strange. She followed her nose and it led her straight to Helen. “What’s that fucking smell?” she asked, as her face creased with sickness.

  Helen giggled as she waved her hand near her crotch. “Orr sorry about that. It’s my guts. I had a curry for my tea and now I’m paying the price. I can’t stop farting yanno. I’m like a walking gas bag.”

  Susie quickly pressed the button to open the window. She hated this woman with a passion. “Dirty cow,” she mumbled.

  They drove to Delia’s in silence. Helen was rooting about in the glove compartment and Susie told her straight. “Stop being fucking nosey and close it back up”. She was bugging her big time and she was losing her patience. Helen closed it back up and sat sulking. “I was only looking, for God’s sake, take a chill pill.”

  The traffic was quiet and they were soon there. Helen was dressed in grey tracksuit bottoms and a long discoloured white t-shirt. The food she’d eaten throughout the day was still visible all over the front of it. She was a scruffy cow without a shadow of a doubt.

  Pulling up into the car park Susie turned the car engine off. “You can wait here. I’m not going to be long and I don’t want it to seem as if I’ve brought you along for back up.”

  Helen sat thinking for a second and nodded her head. “Yeah I see what you mean. Well, I’ll sit here for ten minutes and if you’re not back I’ll come inside,” Helen’s face was serious. “I know what these girls are like yanno. They wouldn’t think twice about slicing you up.”

  Susie screwed her face up and spoke in a sarcastic tone. “Slice me up, get a grip will you.” Susie was more than capable of kicking some arse. She’d fought with Tim in the past and she knew some kick arse moves. Helen was so dramatic and Susie had to bite her lip to stop herself from telling her to shut the fuck up. She stepped out of the car and headed towards the entrance.

  The night was cold and the area was pitch black except for one lonely lamp post that gave off very little light. She started to jog to the front door of “Delia’s”. The sound of her heels clicking on the concrete pavement could be heard. Pressing the small silver button on the intercom with her long pink nails, she shivered as she waited for someone to answer. A voice could now be heard, Susie spoke quickly into it with her mouth almost inside the speaker. “It’s me. Susie. Can you let me in or what? I’m freezing my tits off out here.” The sound of a buzzing noise could be heard. The door opened.

  Facing Susie was a flight of stairs. The lighting was soft and you could just about make out each stair. Holding the wooden banister she trudged towards the top of the staircase. Susie could smell damp. e Her facAs the light got clearer she could see the red carpet on the top of the stairs. It looked hanging. Dirt was visible all over the floor covering and it made the place look cheap and nasty. A black door now stood facing her. Taking a deep breath she opened it with caution.

  The room was bright, and she could see a reception desk and a few leather sofas scattered about the area. Joan now came into sight looking flustered. “Oh right you’re here. Just let me go and get the girls for you.” Susie knew by her face she was in a bad mood. “I hope you’re not going to keep them long, because they have a job to do yanno,” she moaned.

  Susie parked her arse on the sofa giving Joan a stale look. As she left the room, a few girls now came to join her. Each of them looked spaced out. They wore silk housecoats that hung from their frail bodies. Tim had told Susie that brasses were hard to come by these days, and judging by the girls in front of her, he was right. These women were the dregs of the brothel chain.

  Joan now came back to join her. She looked on edge. She was flexing her fingers that hung by her side. “Right it’s just Pippa we’re waiting for now, she said she won’t be long she’s just with a punter. I popped my head inside her room and the guy’s arse was like a fiddler’s elbow so she’ll be with us soon.” Susie raised a smile. She could feel eyes burning into her from every direction. The prostitutes looked as hard as nails and you could see Susie swallowing hard as they all gathered round her.

  A man now walked past them all tucking his shirt into his black nylon pants. He hung his head low, and you could tell he felt ashamed of his guilty pleasure. “Bye,” Joan shouted to him, but he never replied and hurried through the exit like a rat leaving a sinking ship.

  Pippa now came to join them. Susie lifted her head up and looked at her in more detail. Tim hadn�
��t mentioned he had a new girl working for him. She was gorgeous and she had a figure to die for. Flicking her long blonde hair round her shoulders she placed one of her long slender legs on the table. Pippa pulled out her fags from her stockings and stuck one into her mouth. “Anyone got a light?” she asked. One of the girls hurried to pass her a lighter. She was treated like royalty amongst them. Flicking the flame she dipped her head to light her cigarette. Taking a long deep drag she sat next to Susie blowing the smoke into her face with a malicious look in her eyes.

  Susie looked uncomfortable; she sat forward cupping her knees in her hands. Her fingers waved about near her face as the smoke hit it hard. She coughed slightly and shot a look towards Pippa that could have killed. Susie could see Joan smiling from the corner of her eye and knew this new girl was big trouble. She swallowed hard and coughed to clear her throat.

  “Right ladies, I’m not going to keep you long. As you all know Tim has just got three years in prison, so I’m going to be running things until he gets out.” Susie could hear giggling at the side of her and quickly spun her head to see the culprit. Her face looked on fire. “What’s so fucking funny love?”

  The woman smirked. Looking at the other girls she gasped and spoke to them all shaking her head. “How the fuck can you run this gaff. You don’t know the first thing about it!”

  Susie stopped her dead in her tracks. She bolted to her feet and made sure all the women could see her face. She was fuming. “Girls you don’t seem to be fucking listening to me. I said I’m running things now. This isn’t a fucking interview for you all. I’m the boss okay.”

  The brasses all seemed to be looking at Pippa for support. As they watched her she stumped her cig out in the ashtray and sat back swinging her legs out in front of her. Pippa gasped and everyone was hanging onto her every word. They wanted her to bring Susie down to earth with a bang.

  Pippa became cocky as she stroked her calves slowly. “Listen Mrs up your own arse. We girls have been in this game for a long time and we don’t need no wannabe Madam starting to try and change things. Why fix what’s not broken?”