by Edie Baylis
THIRTY TWO
BEN PICKED HIMSELF UP from the park bench and trudged down the road. He was just glad he’d found an off licence open when he’d been released from the police station this morning. He’d needed that bottle of Tequila.
Last night he’d been found passed out in an alley and could barely remember what he’d done. He screwed his face up in concentration, but only the vague recollection of being in a pub and then picking up some random tart who’d tried to service him down the alley came to mind. Even then the details were sketchy to say the least.
Quickly feeling in his pocket to ensure the tart hadn’t robbed him, he relaxed as his fingers traced the outline of his wallet.
Ben had been at the desk in the police station this morning after receiving his caution for drunk and disorderly and was just about to be released when he’d spotted Marie through the glass corridor.
He’d watched as she’d walked with a copper and gone into a side room. It had taken all of his power not to call her name. Maybe her other half was a copper and she’d got him arrested last night? Maybe all of this shit was a set up?
Something strange was going on. Maybe she was a cop? An undercover cop? Ben nodded to himself. It all made sense. That was it. Marie was an undercover cop. She’d appeared from nowhere to work in his office. He’d heard they were a bit slack with the taxes. Then she’d disappeared overnight and showed up at a strip joint. Although doing what in there remained to be seen, because that bastard overgrown doorman had kicked him out.
He frowned. He’d tried to go back to the Glint last night only to be informed he was barred. He smiled nastily. Whoever ran that club wouldn’t like it if they learnt they’d got an undercover cop snooping around would they?
Ben stuck his finger down the neck of his collar to try and give himself a bit of room to breathe and rolled his eyes theatrically even though he had no audience. He’d have to put up with the Spanish inquisition from Shelley next. God knows what had happened to her. She’d turned into a right nag.
He tried to loosen the tension in his shoulders as he continued down the road. His muscles were too tight and he was on edge. He couldn’t fathom why Shelley was even at his place.
She was living with him because he’d apparently asked her to move in. He couldn’t remember that. Surely he’d have remembered asking her to move in with him? Personally he reckoned she was making it up.
Ben fumbled with the key to his flat and clumsily tripped over the step as he let himself in. He’d put off going home for as long as possible, but at least he’d now drunk enough to be able to cope with Shelley.
He made his way along the hall, thinking there might be a few beers left in the fridge he could carry on with. He glanced at the clock. Almost 11 and no sign of Shelley. She must be still in bed, the lazy cow. She couldn’t be at work – it was Saturday wasn’t it?
“Where have you been?”
Shelley’s voice made Ben almost jump out of his skin. He turned around as quickly as his drunkenness allowed and put his arm against the wall to steady himself. He glared at her and said nothing.
Shelley approached Ben looking concerned. She took in his bloodshot eyes and tried as hard as she could to ignore the strong smell of spirits emanating from him. She still hadn’t broached the subject of her pregnancy. It never seemed to be the right time.
She’d have to sooner rather than later as she estimated she was around twelve weeks gone. Furthermore, the appointment for her first scan had arrived and she wanted him to come with her. It was his child after all.
Her hand unconsciously moved to her belly which had developed a wonderful slight roundness to it. Everything would be perfect if he wasn’t in such a state and she wished she knew how to fix him.
“Are you ok, honey?” she said softly, running her fingers down Ben’s unshaven cheek.
Instantly irritated, Ben grabbed Shelley’s hand and was just about to push it away and snap at her to leave him alone when he remembered his plan. He looked at her face and saw the love in her eyes for him and smiled. He found it hard to believe this was the same girl he used to bed. Shelley, the good time girl. The No-Strings-Attached girl. The fun-time tart girl.
He focused his bleary eyes again and tried to pull himself together. He needed to concentrate for this one. He’d run through it very carefully whilst sitting on the park bench. If he could pull this off with Shelley he was half way there. Half way to fucking Marie up like she’d fucked him up. Half way to getting his own back.
Ben could practically taste Shelley’s need for him and the worry she felt. Oh yes, she was totally in love - that much was obvious. He could make this work very well indeed, providing he didn’t fuck up what he was going to say.
“Shelley,” he whispered, forcing himself to brush his lips lightly over hers. He really just wanted to fuck her mouth, anyone’s mouth, until he could release his tension.
Feeling her melt into him he used the wall, which thankfully was behind him, as a way of staying upright. He put his hand gently on her face, hoping it didn’t smell too much of piss, other women or police cell floors. “Shelley, I....”
Shelley put a finger to Ben’s lips to quiet him. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried.” Her voice was quiet. Scared.
Ben put on the best contrite face he could manage and made a big deal of looking at the floor. He’d have to play this one well. Very well. He stepped back spotting a half-finished bottle of whisky on the table and reached for it.
“What? What is it?” Shelley cried, her voice showing signs of panic.
Ben looked up slowly. “Shelley, I need to talk to you.”
Shelley felt like she was going to pass out. He’d been with someone else hadn’t he? He was going to leave her. Leave her for someone else and she was pregnant. She couldn’t be on her own. A rush of cold fear streamed over her like a wave.
Unscrewing the top of the whisky bottle, Ben took a long slug and beckoned towards the chair. “You’d better sit down.”
Without saying a word, Shelley moved slowly towards the chair. Her legs felt like jelly. She didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to hear all the bad things he was going to say. Which was that he didn’t love her and that he was leaving.
Once Shelley had sat down, her eyes wide with fear, Ben knelt on the floor in front of her and took her hand, feeling its clamminess. He cleared his throat. Concentrate Ben! “Shelley, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I’ve come to a decision.”
Shelley averted her eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at him whilst he broke her heart.
“Will you marry me?” Ben continued.
Shelley’s head snapped up, not sure if she’d heard correctly. “What?” she squeaked, her heart pounding like a drum.
Ben smiled slowly and concentrated on not slurring his words too much. “I said, will you marry me?” That was the worst bit over at least.
Shelley stared gobsmacked. She hadn’t expected that. Relief coursed through her like a hurricane. “Yes, Yes! Ben of course I’ll marry you!”
Before Shelley could throw her arms around his neck, Ben stopped her. Holding both her hands, he focused on her face. “Before you agree for definite, I need to tell you what’s going on.” Now this was the bit he needed to get right.
Shelley slumped back in the seat feeling the fingers of dread creep back over her again like cobwebs.
“I spent last night in a police cell,” he began.
“What?” Shelley choked.
“Don’t worry, I’m not in trouble. I haven’t done anything, I swear,” Ben said using his best pleading voice.
He took another long swig from the whisky bottle. “I was in the pub last night. On my own I might add. I was trying to work out how best to propose to you. I admit I was trying to pluck up the courage.”
Ben glanced up, buoyed seeing Shelley’s expression softening. “I was procrastinating about whether to ask you. I know I’ve been a bit off the rails and hard work lately and I wasn’t sure whether you’d mar
ry me, the way I’ve been.”
“I will. Of course I will. Don’t be silly! I love you.” Shelley interrupted.
“Please Shelley, I need to tell you everything,” Ben insisted, taking several more gulps of spirit. Shit. It was nearly empty already. “Admittedly I got a bit involved with the drinks and had far too many. I was only supposed to have a couple for Dutch courage, but I was worried and unsure what your answer would be and I went over the top. Then I realised I was too drunk for you to take me seriously, so I got real depressed because I’d ballsed all my plans up again. Then I drank even more.”
Shelley sat and listened. Waiting.
“Then Marie turned up.”
Shelley’s blood ran cold. She knew there was more to it. “You’ve slept with her again haven’t you? I knew it!” Tears began to spill down her cheeks.
“No! No I haven’t! Course I haven’t. It’s you I love, not Marie. That was a crush that’s well and truly over.” He was doing well. Carry on.
“She could see I was both drunk and depressed and came over to talk to me. I didn’t want to be rude, but she started coming on to me and chatting me up.” Ben found the lies tripped easily from his tongue.
Shelley’s eyebrows knitted together. The bitch! She just couldn’t leave things alone could she?
“I told her I wasn’t interested and tried to leave. This was about 10.30. I walked outside and she followed. She started pushing me and shouting. Calling me all the names under the sun.”
Ben frowned. “I lost my temper. I didn’t hit her though, I swear Shelley. I didn’t lay a finger on her. I just shouted at her. Told her to leave me alone. That I wasn’t interested. That I loved you. That I’ve always loved you.”
Shelley was listening intently, but Ben couldn’t tell whether she believed him or not. “She stomped off and I stayed in the alley trying to sort my head out before I came home. The next thing I knew, the police turned up and arrested me.”
“She had you arrested?” Shelley cried. “What for? Did you attack her? You attacked her didn’t you?”
“I never touched her. I swear! I don’t know whether she had me arrested or not, but I was done for drunk and disorderly. Put in the cells overnight.” Ben fished out the caution paperwork the police had given him. “Look. Here. Being as you don’t believe me and if it wasn’t to do with Marie, then how come I saw her in the police station this morning all pally with the coppers then?”
“So she set you up?” Shelley muttered, scanning the piece of paper and getting angrier by the second.
“Well, this is the other bit I don’t get. Remember what you told me before about her going in and out the police station? You said she was with a copper.”
Shelley swallowed uncomfortably. “I didn’t know that for sure. I just thought she might be.” She didn’t want to have to admit she’d made that up purely to put him off.
“Well, whether she is or isn’t, I found letters for other people in her bag and I think she may be an undercover cop.”
“An undercover cop?” Shelley cried. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Think about it. It makes sense.” Ben continued and poured the remains of the whisky bottle in to his mouth. He needed another one. “Something underhand is going on. Find me something else to drink will you babe?”
Shelley got up from the sofa and rummaged around in the cupboard. She didn’t want Ben to drink any more. He was already well gone. However, she wanted to keep him talking. She needed to get out of him exactly what had gone on.
A warm glow radiated from her insides as she looked at him on the chair, loosening his collar. So he wanted to marry her did he? She smiled. She knew they’d be alright.
Her hand passed lightly over her belly, thankful he was obviously coming through the other side of this awful phase he’d been in the last couple of months. She’d now be able to tell him about the baby and they could get on with their lives. Properly.
Shelley paused as she bent down to retrieve a bottle of rum she’d spotted lurking at the back of the cupboard and glanced around. She’d have to do something about that bitch Marie. There was no way she’d stand here and allow the cow to muscle back into Ben’s life and take him from her. Not now. Not ever. She’d insist he sort it out once and for all.
“Come on, Shelley!” Ben muttered. “I’m gagging for a drink here. Get yourself a glass too.” He wasn’t half as mashed as he needed to be.
“Well, I want to know what you’re going to do about Marie.” Shelley snapped.
Ben’s eyes narrowed, then forced himself to put on a neutral expression. “The first port of call is to get our hands on some of this stuff she’s hiding.”
“Oh and how do you profess to do that? Unless you’re going to get back with her?” Against her will, Shelley felt her hackles rising.
Ben rolled his eyes. He wasn’t going to bite. He needed to keep her on side. At least for now. “Well, if she is an undercover cop, then the strip joint she’s working at won’t be best pleased she’s wormed her way in there under false pretences. They’ll have her guts for garters.”
Shelley face contorted into a grimace as she fought the urge to cry. He’d been going to strip clubs to see Marie? “Enjoy yourself in there did you? When have you been going there? Whilst I’ve been sat at home worrying about you, you selfish bastard!”
She couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t bear it. He’d been going there to look at Marie writhing her perfect fucking body around a pole and getting off on it hadn’t he?
“For God’s sake Shelley, it wasn’t like that,” Ben slurred, easily gulping down mouthfuls of the rum. “I happened to be coming home the other week and saw her going in there, so I thought I’d check out my suspicions. And no, I didn’t see her taking her clothes off.”
“Oh I forgot,” Shelley snapped. “You’ve seen that before haven’t you! Wanted to again no doubt?” A jealous tear rolled down her cheek. “And you expect me to believe that do you?”
Ben stood up unsteadily and slammed the bottle down on the table. “Oh for fuck’s sake Shelley, you stupid cow, you don’t get it do you. I want to set her up.” Lies. He wanted Marie under him. Wanted to feel her soft flesh as he pounded into her. Wanted to see her big eyes looking up at him with need, want and love. He wanted her to look at him the way he looked at her. Because he loved her.
His groin tightening with the image in his mind, Ben reached Shelley and grabbed her wrist. “Baby, come on. I need you.” He guided her hand down to feel the hardness in his crotch.
“I’m not in the mood Ben, I need to know what’s going on,” Shelley snapped and attempted to pull away from him.
Pulling her into the bedroom, Ben smiled. “I want you to break into her flat and find the dirt on her. Then we can get rid of her and be together.” He quickly yanked Shelley’s skirt up. “Get on the bed.”
Shelley was confused. She wanted Ben. Of course she did. It was just, well – this all felt wrong. Uncomfortable. Was he lying?
“I’m not getting on the bed, Ben. You can’t come in here, pissed as a fart before lunchtime. Disappearing all night. Telling me you’ve been locked up, but conveniently you’ve seen Marie - after I might add, you’ve been following her and then propose to me and expect me to be ok with all that. It’s not ok. You’re with ME aren’t you?” Shelley raised her hand and slapped him around the face.
Ben’s face contorted into a sneer. He’d had enough of this. Throwing Shelley on to the bed, he’d pulled her knickers off before she could even process what had happened.
He ran his eyes over her. “And you wonder why I’ve been watching strippers? You’ve turned into a right nag! Look at the fucking state of you. You’re getting fat.”
THIRTY THREE
DAN WASN’T SURE WHAT was going on. He looked at Maggie asleep in the bed beside him and found himself touching her hair. He quickly pulled his hand away. What the hell was the matter with him?
He grabbed his packet of cigarettes from the bedside t
able and lighting one, lay back against the pillow, blowing the smoke slowly up towards the ceiling.
At least he didn’t have to listen to Jim shagging. At Maggie’s it was peaceful and he could, for a short amount of time, forget about all the shit that was going on. The stuff that he wasn’t anywhere near happy about.
He’d always been fairly confident in what was going on in his life, but since Jim had got involved he’d felt everything was spiralling out of control. He knew damn well Jim wasn’t levelling with him on, well, just about everything, but worse, he couldn’t actually say exactly what he was being kept in the dark about.
There were too many things which weren’t adding up. That bloke who had turned up out of the blue was one and when Dan realised Jim was the guy Sally had been involved with it had completely knocked all of his theories out of the water.
He glanced at Maggie again as she shifted slightly and mumbled something in her sleep. He smiled. At least she was consistent. He admitted he’d begun to have deep feelings for her which had surprised him. But then, why not? She was a nice looking girl. And sweet. Plus it seemed she was the only one who had the decency to be honest with him.
He wanted to get her to agree to work at the Glint, but the times he’d broached the subject, she’d looked horrified saying she’d never have the confidence.
She’d better hurry up and find the confidence from somewhere though because he needed to divert some attention away from Jim.
Dan had had his eye on a position with Bill for some time and thought involving Jim would have earnt him brownie points, but that had backfired. Bill didn’t have a clue who he even was and wasn’t fazed about changing that either.
Bill was interested in Jim though, wasn’t he? Oh yes, Jim had managed to happily step into the place he’d worked hard for, so if he could get some nice fresh girls into the Glint then that should impress Bill. Something had to.
JANE SAT AT HER KITCHEN table and ground out the tenth cigarette of the morning into the ashtray. She casually cut another line of coke on the table mat and meticulously snorted it through a rolled-up tenner.