The Downfall Series Box Set

by Edie Baylis

  “He’d been tied up and shot.”

  “Who did it?” The words left Maggie’s mouth before she could stop them.

  “No trace at all,” Zed shrugged and looked straight at her. “He’d obviously pissed someone off, but I expect it’ll go down as unsolved.”

  Maggie stared at her feet. She knew who’d done it. She didn’t need to be told, nor did she need any evidence.

  Jesus Christ.

  “DON’T WORRY ABOUT SETH,” Lee soothed, trying to placate Jane as she stormed around the kitchen.

  “I’m not worried about him!” Jane snapped, shaking with rage. “I’m pissed off with his fucking tantrums!” Locating the vodka bottle she took a long slug and tossed a pill into her mouth.

  “Yes, he does go a tad over the top sometimes!”

  “Sometimes?”

  “It’s you, woman!” Lee laughed. “I’ve known Seth for donkey’s years and he hasn’t been like this over any other bird. You’re a bad influence!”

  Jane scowled. “Oh so it’s my fault as usual is it?”

  “Hey come on,” Lee smiled, “I was only joking!” Pulling her towards him and feeling her tense body he stroked her hair. Jeez, if he had a woman like her, he wouldn’t be trying to drive her away. Quite the opposite...

  “It all gets too much sometimes,” she sniffed, the threat of more tears rising. As Lee pulled her into his chest, she felt herself relax for the first time all evening. It was nice to feel arms offering comfort for once.

  It took a few moments to register through Jane’s vodka-dulled mind that Lee had pressed his mouth down onto hers. She pulled away and stared at him in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

  “Come on girl!” Lee smiled and moved towards her mouth once more, his hand pushing roughly between her legs. “Seth won’t find out, besides he’s a stroppy bastard. I won’t give you grief.”

  Jane pushed Lee away with revulsion. For God’s sake! He was supposed to be one of Seth’s friends! Why did people think they could do what the hell they wanted? Who did they think they were? For one stupid minute she’d actually thought he cared about her feelings, but he’d just wanted to get in her knickers. Like everyone else.

  “I think you’d better go.”

  Lee looked at Jane disparagingly and straightened his shirt. “Suit yourself!” He’d misjudged that one hadn’t he, the miserable bitch.

  MAGGIE LAY BACK ON the caravan bed and happily yielded as Zed gently thrust into her. She ran her hand down his back, enjoying the sensations flooding through her. Sensations she hadn’t experienced for a long time. Feelings that made her feel wanted. Slightly overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions rushing through her stoned brain, she began sobbing quietly.

  Zed stopped, his grey eyes filled with concern. “What’s the matter? Don’t you want to do this?”

  Maggie looked into his worried face. Ok, so he wasn’t the best looking bloke in the world and his dreadlocks did honk a bit, but he was the first person in ages to treat her with any form of respect.

  Panic began to overwhelm her. What if he wanted to leave? She couldn’t be on her own tonight. “No!” she cried quickly. “I do want to!” Gripping Zed’s buttocks she pulled him deeper into her and tried to smile. “I do want you, it’s just...”

  “Just what, babe?” Zed muttered, picking the pace back up.

  “I-It’s just that...” Maggie knew she shouldn’t say it, but couldn’t help herself. “...I think I love you.”

  Zed tensed. Holy God. He liked the wench, but only wanted a shag. He was into free love, not relationships! Deciding that kissing her tenderly would save having to answer, he shrugged inwardly and got on with the job in hand.

  Maggie took Zed’s kiss as confirmation that he felt the same way as she did and a warm glow emanated from within her. Clinging onto him, she relaxed and began to move.

  “YOU’RE BACK THEN?” Jane slurred, glancing up from the television when Seth crashed drunkenly through the flat.

  Not bothering to answer, he slumped in the armchair opposite and began messily rolling a joint.

  “Don’t think you need anymore!” she muttered hypocritically, having finished the bottle of vodka after Lee had left.

  Seth eyes swivelled over, but remained silent. Wasn’t she going to even bother asking where he’d been? His fist clenched. “Where’s Lee or have you pissed him off too?”

  With difficulty Seth pushed himself out of the chair and staggered over to the television. “Turn this shit off!”

  Misjudging the distance between the power switch and his hand, he fell heavily against it and with sparks flying from the back of the unit, the television landed with a crash on the floor.

  Jane raised her eyes towards the blood-splattered ceiling in frustration. “Nice mates you’ve got,” she sneered, watching as Seth stumbled towards the chair.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Seth clumsily righted the coffee table he’d tipped over earlier. Surely she could have picked that up the lazy bitch? Eyeing her suspiciously, he knew Jane was spoiling for a fight, but he’d now calmed down and didn’t want another row.

  Deciding not to give her a chance to answer and spoil his train of thought, Seth concentrated his mind in the hope he could still form an understandable sentence. “Jane, I’ve been thinking.”

  Jane couldn’t even be arsed to look at him. Raising a can of lager, she tipped it into her mouth. What was he going to accuse her of now? Should she tell him about Lee?

  Probably not. He’d go mad and she’d got to go to work in a couple of hours.

  Having not elicited any form of response, Seth took Jane’s silence to mean she was listening. “I think we should try for another baby.”

  Choking on the mouthful of lager she’d managed to get into her mouth, Jane spat it over the sofa. “WHAT?”

  “I thought you’d be pregnant again by now,” Seth slurred, disappointment audible in his voice.

  Jane really didn’t want to be having this conversation. Was he crazy? “Seth, I’m on the Pill!”

  “Well you were on the Pill last time weren’t you? Besides, I thought you weren’t taking it anymore?”

  “No,” she snapped. “You said I wasn’t going to take it anymore.”

  “But...”

  “I don’t want a baby, Seth. How many more times? Look at us for God’s sake!”

  As Seth stared at her uncomprehendingly, Jane realised she had the perfect way to change the subject. “By the way, your mate stuck his tongue down my throat earlier, but I told him to stick it, ok?”

  There. She’d said it. That would get him off the baby conversation. Jane scowled when Seth laughed. Why the fuck was he laughing?

  “Come on, Jane. If you’re trying to piss me off, surely you can do better than that?”

  “What?”

  “Lee’s my mate. He wouldn’t do something like that! Grow up and stop lying!”

  Getting out of the chair, Jane slammed the can on the table. “You’re fucking mental, Seth. The only person who’s lying to you is yourself!”

  Grabbing her cigarettes, Jane walked towards the door. “Oh, by the way, I mowed Debbie down tonight, but then I’m probably making that up for effect as well right?”

  “Whatever you say, Princess,” Seth chuckled, watching Jane stalk from the lounge.

  FORTY EIGHT

  AT THE PARTY THE MUSIC was at ear-blowing point and the walls reverberated with every beat of the AC/DC track that screeched from the stereo.

  Stuart leant against a wall, pretending to be interested in the stupid tart gyrating in front of him and reached over to grab his can gingerly balancing on a small ledge. He glanced into the next room and seeing Seth, laughed to himself. Did the stupid bastard really think he was ok about being cut up? If only he knew, the fucking idiot!

  Sneering, he watched Jane snort coke over the other side of the room and realised she hadn’t even noticed him. The silly bitch was probably too off her head to focus. With a snide smile he though
t about the row he’d heard the previous night through the wall. Although it had stopped him getting any kip, it had given him a warm feeling to know that Seth and Jane’s relationship was still well and truly fucked up.

  Stuart scowled. He’d been disappointed the raid he’d engineered hadn’t resulted in getting the cunts removed for the foreseeable future. He was even more pissed off that his car tinkering exploits hadn’t had the desired effect either, but he hadn’t finished yet.

  To top it all, Paul was really pushing his fucking luck. The dickhead had risked everything by staggering around to the flat in a right mess after taking a kicking from Seth the other night. He’d started shrieking that Debbie was dead and that everything needed to stop.

  For a start Stuart had been less than amused that the gibbering fuckwit had turned up in the first place and as for Debbie, well he didn’t give a flying fuck. He’d told Paul in no uncertain terms that he’d no intention of stopping anything for him or anyone else. Hoping no one was about, he’d dragged Paul from the flat and instructed him to stay the fuck out of his life from now on.

  Game over!

  Fixing his attention back to Eliza, Stuart suddenly realised this unexpected show of wantonness from Jane’s horrible friend would do nicely as an entrée. He stared into her stoned eyes as she traced her finger down his chest and swung her lithe body suggestively.

  He forced himself to smile even though he couldn’t stand the cheap slag. Her association with that hellion was enough to put anyone off, but fuck it. If it pissed Jane off then he’d happily screw the tramp.

  Chucking a malevolent stare in Jane’s direction, Stuart willed her to notice as he reached to touch Eliza’s hair.

  MAGGIE MOVED HER EYES around the dimly-lit room, struggling to see who was who and felt uncomfortable from those she could see, let along the ones she couldn’t.

  Raising a bottle of beer to her mouth, she took a swig and sparked a fag up for something to do. She’d got completely off her head last night, but had still been unable to blank her mind. So much for Jane’s pearls of wisdom of how to remove unwanted feelings. It didn’t bloody work!

  Maggie flinched as beer sloshed down her black leggings thanks to a naked man covered in tomato sauce running past. Making chicken noises, he raised his hand in apology and she smiled weakly back at him, trying not to question what the fuck he was doing.

  Well so much for true love. Zed had buggered off and she hadn’t heard or seen him since. She’d spent all day making excuses, but by kick out time at the Barrels with still no sign of him, she’d begun to think he’d binned her off.

  Maggie’s eyes darted around the room again in the hope he’d arrived in the five seconds since she’d last looked, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

  She’d played last night back so many times in her head she couldn’t remember what was real and what wasn’t any longer.

  Jane swigged down another gulp of vodka and smiled watching Eliza dancing drunkenly. As Stuart’s face became illuminated by a cigarette as the recipient of Eliza’s attention, her smile froze. What the fuck was she doing?

  “Hey babe!” Maggie shouted as she walked over, causing Jane to almost drop her gold case of powder on the floor. “Heard about Clint?”

  “When’s the funeral?” Jane muttered uninterestedly, her eyes fixed on Stuart who was staring directly at her while he kissed Eliza.

  Maggie searched Jane’s face for any tell-tale sign of involvement but found none. “Funeral? How did you know he was dead?”

  “Funnily enough because I heard he was!” Jane hissed. “Why else?”

  “Nothing,” Maggie mumbled and scurried away. Maybe her gut feeling was wrong, but she doubted it somehow.

  DESPITE HIS BETTER judgement, Stuart was enjoying himself immensely. The feel of a woman’s flesh around him was a nice change from his hand. Even if it was this skanky whore. He was also getting off on the glowering snarl plastered across Jane’s face.

  “Harder!” Eliza shouted as she clung to Stuart’s neck, trying to bite it.

  Grimacing, Stuart moved his neck out of the way in the hope that the tart didn’t get her rabies-infected molars into his flesh. He slammed into her harder and smiled. The tramp was totally off her tits and wondered whether he should get in a sheep dip after having his cock in it?

  This idea was promptly forgotten as Jane made her way over.

  “Jane! Hi!” Eliza yelled.

  “I need a word with Stuart.”

  “Can’t it wait?” Eliza whined, grasping onto Stuart’s buttocks.

  “Not really, no.”

  Disgruntled, Eliza hastily pulled her knickers up and tripped off unsteadily in the direction of the kitchen while Stuart pushed himself back into his jeans, more than aware Jane’s eyes were lingering on his exposed private parts.

  “Dear, oh dear...” Jane sneered, her eyes travelling from Stuart’s groin up to his face, which to her amusement had gone red.

  “What the fuck do you want?”

  Moving closer, she peered at the scars around his mouth that showed through his patchy beard. “Listen you cunt, I know it was you that fucked with my car.”

  Stuart smirked sarcastically and leant back against the wall. “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Oh yes you do!”

  Moving forward, Stuart grinned. “Think what you like, but you can prove nothing, bitch.”

  Jane felt rage bubbling. What she wouldn’t give to blow this fucker’s face off at point blank range.

  “Doesn’t appear anyone else thinks the same as you though does it?” Stuart glanced in Seth’s direction. “Even Lover Boy thinks you’re fucking unhinged!”

  “I don’t give a fuck who thinks what! I know what I know,” Jane glowered and pointedly took a swig out of her vodka bottle. She stared at Stuart with level eyes. “AND I’ll repay you four-fold.”

  “Are you threatening me?” he laughed, slowly blowing smoke into Jane’s face, proud that so far he’d resisted the urge to smash the bottle into her teeth.

  “No, you piece of shit. I’m promising you.” Jane turned to walk away, but Stuart grabbed her arm. She swung around, her eyes blazing. “Don’t touch me!”

  “I was just going to say how very sorry I was to hear you lost the baby.” Stuart’s cold voice dripped with sarcasm and his eyes danced seeing pain jolt behind Jane’s eyes. “At least that’s one less genetic fuck up the world has to deal with isn’t it?”

  Jane smacked him hard around the face. “You bastard.”

  Forcing herself to stalk away from Stuart, she felt Seth’s eyes burning into her from the other side of the room.

  SETH WAS HAPPY HE’D finally got away from the bloke in leopard-skin spandex who for the last twenty minutes had been trying to wrap a python around his neck. He leant against the wall and wondered why he kept getting accosted by weirdos.

  He snarled inwardly. It made sense now why Jane had whacked Stuart around the face. All this time she’d banged on, accusing him of all sorts and it was because she wanted him wasn’t it? It explained her obsession. Pretending she hated him indeed?

  He was sick to death of Jane taking the fucking piss. What the fuck was wrong with her? Why was she trying to turn him against all his friends? Did she just not want him to have any?

  Glaring as Jane laughed with some people lying on the floor, Seth’s teeth clenched. Was she fucking laughing at him? The vein in his temple throbbed, his mood getting worse by the second and he snorted angrily. He’d be telling her he knew all about her and Stuart.

  Squinting harder, Seth ground the joint out on the carpet and pushed himself away from the wall.

  JANE STOMPED INTO THE garden. She needed some air. She couldn’t believe Seth had whacked the guy she’d been talking to.

  Leaning up against the cool brickwork, she was thankful no one else was around and took several deep breaths of cold night air in a bid to slow down her thumping heart and raging anger. As for him accusing her of fancying Stuart - if anyth
ing could have insulted her more she didn’t know what it would be.

  Jane was so preoccupied that she didn’t notice anyone approaching until a hand was around her throat.

  “Listen, hell cat,” Stuart hissed, his face inches from Jane’s as he pinned her to the wall. “Don’t ever try to humiliate me again!”

  Jane didn’t flinch and stared defiantly into his face. “Get the fuck off me!” She gripped at Stuart’s hands around her neck which were beginning to hurt. “I know what you are, even if no one else does,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

  As Stuart applied more pressure, Jane hawked and spat into his face. In shock, he released his grip and raised his fist.

  Jane stood unmoving. Let him hit her. That way everyone would see him as she saw him. Bring it on.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Digger roared, pulling Stuart backwards by his collar and slamming him against the wall. “Well?” he snarled, baring his teeth.

  “She needs a fucking slap the nasty little....”

  “That’s ENOUGH!” Digger screamed, his voice hoarse. He didn’t like this dickhead at the best of times but really disliked him right now, the greasy skinny little shit.

  “It’s ok, Dig.” Jane smoothed down her hair and smiled sweetly. Only her eyes showed the hatred she felt. “Stuart and I disagree on a lot of things, but I think he’d just decided to leave, hadn’t you?”

  Glaring, Stuart yanked his collar down and tried to rid himself of Digger’s grip, his face a mask of rage. “You bitch!”

  Digger released his grip and jutted his bull-head forwards menacingly. “Fuck off out of here then, you cunt!”

  Smiling sardonically, Jane laughed in Stuart’s face knowing full well he’d take it up the arse and leave.

  SETH GLANCED AT HIS knuckles, seeing that silly fucker’s teeth had cut them. Scowling, he wiped his bleeding hand down his jeans angrily and stared dispassionately at the man who’d gone down like a sack of spuds. If the prick had wanted to keep his front teeth he shouldn’t have been talking to Jane should he?