Visitors

by Woods, Karen

  Susie lifted her head up and stared at her. “I hope so love, for your sake.”

  Cupping her hands together Joan offered them both a drink. She wanted Susie away from the books as soon as possible. She needed a drink to calm her nerves down, she was on edge. Ashley ears pricked up, he looked like a dog waiting for its owner to return. He was ready for a drink and stood up, bouncing about. “Where’s the beers then?”

  Joan liked Ashley and smiled at him anxiously. He was a man’s man and she’d had a laugh with him and his mates when they were in days before, painting the brothel. Ashley was a rum fucker. Joan clapped her hands like a seal at the Zoo. She loved a drink and always made sure she always had a stash of Stella and vodka on the go. “Follow me then,” she said with a giggle in her voice as she looked at Susie still concentrating on the figures. Ashley now pulled her away from the books.

  “Come on Susie. Get a drink down ya neck to chill you out. You looked stressed.”

  Walking down the corridor, Pippa’s door opened. Susie hid in the shadows and kept her head low, she didn’t want Jenkins to spot her. Pippa was holding the man up, escorting him to the exit. She could be seen winking at Ashley as she passed him. The man looked in a world of his own and his eyes were nearly closed as he tried to focus down the dimly lit corridor.

  Joan’s office was a mess. Lots of empty cups were all over the place. The bin was heaving with finished bottles of vodka. Susie sniffed hard and her nostrils flared slightly. “Fucking hell, it smells like someone’s died in here. Can’t you open a window or summit?” Ashley agreed as his face squirmed. “You need a plug-in air freshener in here Joan. It smells of arse.” Joan giggled and stretched her bony body up to open the small window at the side of her. She stood on a chair to open it. A slight breeze now entered the room. Susie rubbed at her arms. Goose pimples were now visible on her skin.

  A red sofa was positioned at the back wall of the office. It had seen much better days and was ready for the skip. It stank of cat piss. Susie plonked herself down on it and she didn’t look pleased as she wiped the fluff from her clothes.

  Ashley swigged rapidly at his can of Stella, he could see Susie wasn’t happy. Her face looked red and he knew something was wrong. “What’s up with your mush?” he said finally when Joan nipped out to greet a punter.

  “She’s ripping us off big time, the tart.”

  “Who is?” he asked with an absent look on his face. Ashley could be so thick at times. She kept her voice low and whispered as her eyes kept focused on the door.

  “Fucking yo-yo knickers that’s who.”

  Chewing on his lips his eyebrows rose to the top of his head. “You mean Joan?” he asked.

  “Yeah, ya dizzy bastard. Who else would I mean? She’s bang at it.” The door opened and Joan came back into the room with a cig hanging from her mouth. Reaching for her beer she swigged a long refreshing gulp. Wiping the spillage from her lips with a quick swipe, she made a loud burp. “Sorry,” she giggled.

  Susie paced the room looking like all hell was about to break loose. Turning her head slowly she spoke with a suspicious tone. “Has it been busy tonight?”

  Joan swallowed hard. She’d caught her off-guard. “Erm… It’s been a bit quiet. It doesn’t start picking up until later on. Why what’s up?” Joan was pulling at her clothes looking agitated.

  “Nowt, just asking that’s all.” Silence filled the room. You could have heard a pin drop. Ashley was in his comfort zone and necked one beer after another. He wanted to be out partying and looked like he had something to say. Coughing to clear his throat he got Susie’s attention.

  “Do ya fancy coming out for a bit. I’m in the mood now for a few beers?” Susie nodded her head slowly as her eyes pierced into Joan’s face. She was pissed off, and wanted a well deserved night on the tiles.

  “Yeah fuck it, why not.” Joan blew a laboured breath. Her hand covered her face trying to hide her relief. She wanted Susie gone from there as soon as possible. She was pissing on her parade big time. “Right Joan, I might call back later if that’s alright?” Walking back to the reception Joan replied “Yeah love whatever.” in a matter-of- fact voice. As they came through the door into the waiting area Susie could see another four men waiting. Each of them held that guilty look of infidelity on their faces. One man was around sixty-five and Susie wondered if he might have a heart attack on the job.

  Pippa was leaning on the counter. Her shimmering legs could be seen sticking out from beneath her red silken housecoat. The punters were eager to have sex with her and the oldest man had already decided he was the one who was going first. He looked edgy waiting for the brass to look at him. Pippa’s eyes were all over Ashley like a rash. Flicking her hair across her shoulders she grinned at him. Ashley made sure Susie couldn’t see him and smiled back.

  “Are you going already, babes?” she asked in a seductive voice. Ashley went red in the face and nodded. Susie was by his side now protecting her man.

  “Yeah he is going, what do you want?” Pippa held no fear for Susie, unlike Joan who was running about like a blue arsed fly. She reached for Ashley’s arm and stroked it invitingly.

  “I just wanted to see if you fancied coming back later on to pick me up, that’s all.” Ashley was going under. He was crumbling. You could tell by his face he wanted to ram his cock deep into Pippa, but how could he say yes, when Susie was by his side. He chuckled with nerves. Dragging his fingers through his hair he replied.

  “I can’t tonight chick. I’ve got too much on. Maybe some other time, ay.”

  “Your loss,” Pippa huffed.

  Susie walked to the exit gritting her teeth. Waving her hand above her head she said goodbye to them all without turning her head. Walking down the staircase Susie froze and turned back to face Ashley. She clenched her fist and dug it into his waist. “Do you think you’re smart?”

  “What?” he said holding his hands up in the air to pledge his innocence.

  “You know exactly what I’m going on about. Don’t play the fucking innocent with me because it won’t wash.” His face held a smirk as she carried on down the stairs. Once outside she marched to her car in a full blown strop.

  Ashley had already told Susie where they would meet. She had to go home first and drop her car off. Starting the engine she watched Ashley drive off with speed from the car park. His tunes were pumping and she knew it was going to be a long night. Ashley and Susie both sniffed Cocaine on a regular basis. Her body was already craving it as she drove to the junction. Indicator on, you could hear the clicking noise of it. Susie sat forward in the driver’s seat. As she pulled out into the main road, her head was turning left then right waiting for a gap in the traffic. She looked like she was watching a tennis match. Susie paused. There was a gap in the traffic and she should have pulled out but she found herself staring at a man swaying down the road. Screwing her eyes up she realised it was Jenkins again, the screw from Strangeways prison. Crawling out onto the road she watched his movements as he tried to walk. The man seemed to be taking two steps forward and ten steps back. Pulling up out of sight, she lit a cig.

  Susie was late. She’d watched the screw for over half an hour. She looked relieved when she saw him entering a house. She could see him struggling to find his front door keys and watched him fall into the nearby bushes on a few times. The man disappeared from view as he finally unlocked the door. Susie clocked the address and quickly typed it into her phone. Nodding her head, she smiled like the cat that had got the cream; Jenkins was going to pay through his front teeth for his infidelity. Now it was party time. Pulling back onto the road, she headed home at speed. Cocaine was calling her and she was excited at the thought of feeling the white dust filtering through her body.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Tim lay in his cell tapping his fingers to the ‘NDUBZ’ tune that was playing on the radio. “How do ya find the words to say that it’s over?” His voice was low as he sang along to the track with a dull tone. His bitch of a girlf
riend had left his sorry arse to rot in jail; there was no two ways about it. Two months had passed and he’d only seen her twice. Susie had told him straight she was no letter writer and his mail and visits would be few.

  The cell was his home now and as he looked around the four grey depressing walls he wanted his life to end. A window in the middle of the room was his only contact with the outside world. Tim spent hours looking out from it hoping he would see a familiar face. He never did. His cell faced Bury New Road and he could always see members of the public trotting about. He would have given his left eye to be free at the moment.

  His pad mate was lay asleep at the side of him. He was an alright lad and they seemed to get along fine. He was in for drug dealing and had already kicked the arse out of his seven year sentence. Snoring could be heard. It was pissing Tim off big time. He placed his hands over his ears to try and dismiss the grunts from his pad mate. Launching his shoe at him with full force he yelled “Will you shut the fuck up snoring. You’re doing my bastard head in?”

  The body in the bed near him stirred. The man looked in his early forties. Peter kicked his sheets from his bed and looked angry. “You nob-head. What have you woke me up for?”

  Tim ran to his side. He was in his face now, teeth gritted. “I’m sick of it. Every day and every night it’s always the fucking same.” Heads were touching as they both pushed harder at each other with their foreheads. They looked like two bulls with their horns locked. None of them seemed to be backing down and they looked ready to fight.

  The cell door flew open just in time to stop them fighting. A screw stood there with a stern face. They both backed away from each other cautiously. “What’s going on here?” the officer asked. He could tell they were both upset and sniggered as he entered the pad. His eyes were all over the place.

  A few more screws joined him now, and they could be seen putting white plastic gloves on. One warden escorted the two prisoners outside. It was a cell raid. Mattresses were being tossed up in the air and you could see the prison officers searching every nook and cranny for illegal items. “Fuck all,” one of them shouted as he searched the small bedside cabinet. Tim and Peter were stood outside with their backs held up against the wall. They looked like they were shitting their pants. Tim prayed they didn’t find the last bit of sniff he was storing. He was having a crap day, and this was all he needed, a nicking for drugs. There was nothing the convicts could do to stop their cell being turned over. They tried causing a scene at first, but they didn’t stand a chance because the screws were pinning them up against the wall not listening to a word they had to say. This was an everyday occurrence in prison life.

  Mr Pollit had been a screw for over five years, and he was used to the goings on inside Strangeways prison. He knew some stories that would have made your toes curl. He often told the younger officers about his dealings with inmates. Prison life was hard, and he knew he would always have to watch his back as he walked the prison landings. The inmates inside there wouldn’t have thought twice about slicing him up the moment his back was turned. He was a wise old soul.

  Mr Politt’s colleague’s seemed to be taking instructions from him as they searched every inch of the cell. Twenty minutes passed and nothing was found. The screws left the pad empty handed much to their disappointment. Throwing the inmates back inside the room they spoke to them as if they were pieces of shit. “We’re on to you two, don’t worry. Next time we’ll have ya.” The screw nodded his head at Tim and shot him a look. Tim pushed past him. His shoulder skimmed Jenkins’ chest as their eyes met. His blood was boiling and he could have easy pummelled his fist into the cocky bastard’s face.

  The two men now started to clean the mess up. Peter flung his mattress back on the bed and quickly turned to Tim. “That was a close shave, wannit?”

  Tim nodded. “Sorry about before mate. I’m so stressed out over Susie. She’s doing my fucking head in big time.”

  Peter knew exactly what he meant and accepted his apology. His own girlfriend was the same. Once he’d been slammed his woman seemed to change too, it seemed like she didn’t give a flying fuck about him anymore. “Women ay mate. The best thing to do is to not let her bother you. My Mrs is exactly the same. She’s never in when I phone. And when I do speak to her, she seems in a rush to get rid of me.” Tim was hanging on Peter’s every word. The man was talking sense. Susie was just the same as his girlfriend. Every time he spoke to the bitch, she was always just going somewhere or just doing something. Tim stood from his bed and checked the screws were gone. Placing his ear to the door he couldn’t hear a thing. He walked back to his bed and grabbed a nearby trainer. Lifting it up in his hands his fingers yanked at the sole of it. Tugging hard, his face looked strained and his fingers were going red. Eventually he pulled enough of it away to grab the small plastic bag concealed inside it. “They didn’t get this baby though, did they the wankers!” Tim swung the drugs about in his fingertips as if he was holding a dead mouse’s tail.

  Peter was checking outside the door. He didn’t feel safe and his eyes were all over the place. The screws knew they were hiding something and he looked at his pad mate with concerned eyes. “They must have had a tip off. Why else are they onto us?”

  “It’s that bastard Jenkins. He’s got it in for me, I know he has. Have you seen the way he looks at me? The man’s pure evil.”

  Peter knew Tim was right; the screw he was talking about was always on his pad mate’s back. He was making his life a misery. “I wonder what his problem is.” Peter whispered.

  “Dunno mate. I think he’s after shagging my arse or summit. The gay fucker.”

  Peter laughed out loud as Tim chopped them each a line of sniff. He didn’t have that much left and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.

  Two white lines now lay on the small mirror in Tim’s hand. The men took turns in snorting the lines of Charlie with a small rolled up piece of paper. Tim’s body looked fierce as the whiff took effect. Every muscle in his arms seemed to be pumping. He looked invincible.

  Both of them lay on their beds. Peter was pouring his heart out and holding nothing back. The drug had unleashed his emotions. “Women can’t be trusted mate. I caught my Angela at it before I got slammed. She was fucking the brains out of my best mate, yanno.”

  Tim bolted up from his bed and was hanging on his every word. He was dragging his fingers through his hair in disbelief. “What she shagged your best mate? How did you find out?”

  Peter started to make a roll- up. Sprinkling the tobacco into the Rizla paper he looked sad and shook his head slowly. “I think I knew summat was going down. Every time they were together they were always laughing and joking.” Popping the thin roll- up into his mouth he flicked the lighter. The flame struggled and he quickly sucked at it to get a light. “I wasted her mate, when I caught her.” Tim looked shocked as he continued, “I came in one night earlier than I should have and knew something didn’t feel right. She’d got rid of the kids and the house was in complete darkness. I could hear noises coming from upstairs and at first I thought we were being robbed.” He passed Tim half of the cig. Tim’s cheeks sunk in at each side as he struggled to get a drag of it. Peter lay down on his bed. Folding the pillow underneath his head, his eyes stared at the ceiling as if he was remembering every sordid moment. “I crept up every single stair. My baseball bat was in my hands and I was getting ready to whack the thieving fuckers heads right off. Opening the bedroom door was the worst thing I could have done.”

  Tim was gripped. “Why mate, what happened?”

  Peter rolled on his side and stared at Tim. His face looked white and he sighed as he clenched his fist. His knuckles were turning white. “He was banging my missus wasn’t he?”

  “Who?” Tim urged with an angry voice eager for him to continue.

  “Jona. My best mate,” he said as he spat in the bin at the side of him.

  “No way,” Tim gasped. He sprang from the bed. Cocaine was filtering through his veins an
d he looked stressed. “The cheeky bastard. I hope you wasted him?”

  Peter chuckled. His voice was menacing. “Oh don’t you worry Tim. He was dealt with good and proper. I let him have it royal. My baseball bat whacked him to fuck, all over his body. She was screaming her head off for me to stop.”

  Tim nodded his head; anger was all over his face. “Fucking hell man. How did you cope with that?”

  “I didn’t mate. It still haunts me every fucking day. I should have really have fucked her off but I couldn’t. I don’t know why.”

  Tim huffed as he cracked his fingers. “I couldn’t have done it mate. Fucking hell. Shagging your best mate. That’s lower than a snake’s belly that is, she must have more front than Blackpool.”

  Peter threw a pillow over at him laughing. “I’ve shagged most of her mates anyway. So I suppose it was payback. Plus I gave her Chlamydia, so I think we’re equal now.”

  Tim relaxed. “You’re a right fanny magnet aren’t you?”

  Peter sat looking proud. He gave Tim a cocky glance and nodded his head slowly. “Yeah man, I could never be faithful. These birds are too hot to miss out on. I swear I’m like a dog on heat when I’m on the out.”

  Tim jumped on his bed. His head seemed to be doing overtime. The drugs he’d taken weren’t helping him and he was becoming paranoid. Stroking the photograph of Susie on his wall he spoke to her as if she could hear him. “You better not start any of that shit love, because trust me, I’ll do you and your lover boy right in. Do you hear me?” his voice was chilling.

  Peter giggled. He was adding fuel to the fire and loved winding his pad mate up. “Women are all the same. The minute your back’s turned their knickers are down and they don’t give a fuck about you.”

  Tim screwed his face up. His Susie was a lot of things but she was never a slag. He tried to defend her. “Well maybe the women you know are mate, but my Susie will stick by me no matter what.”