Darlene stroked Jason’s cheek. He had his dark shades on and looked so much like Don Johnson used to in Miami Vice. He had such a similar mouth and smile as Don. ‘I will do my best. Craig does listen to me, but he can be an obstinate sod at times. I reckon I can get you a pardon though. Leave it with me.’
‘You’re a star,’ Jason said, tenderly removing the lock of wig that had fallen over her eyes. ‘I’ve also done something else even more fucking stupid.’
‘What? You nutter,’ Darlene laughed.
‘Knocked up me wife’s best mate, ain’t I.’
Darlene gasped. ‘Oh, Jason. You silly, silly boy. When will you ever learn?’
‘Simon popped round earlier,’ Melissa told Tracey as she sat at the kitchen table.
‘And what did he have to say? I’m sure he is avoiding me.’
‘He isn’t, Trace. The news has only just sunk in, I think. He’ll be ringing you later, wants to meet up with you tomorrow. He’s ever so excited about the baby. His bird isn’t though; I think she’s ended it with him. Don’t tell him I told you that, mind. Let him tell you himself.’
Tracey had a feeling of euphoria wash over her. She didn’t want to be with Simon, but he would be far easier to exploit without his girlfriend sticking her oar in. ‘So what’s happened with you and Jase? You said you had an argument.’
Melissa told Tracey she’d caught Donte searching for his dad.
‘Wow! Do you think Donte will track Joel down? Bet if he does, Joel won’t want sod-all to do with him. Probably married with a family of his own now.’
‘That’s my point exactly. If I thought Joel was now a decent human being who would welcome Donte into his life and be a good influence, I would happily get in touch with him myself. My biggest fear is for Donte to be rejected by him. Imagine how he’d feel if he searched high and low for his father and then he didn’t want to know him. It would break Donte’s heart and mine. I worry about his studies. I really want him to do well in life and have a good career. If Joel messes with his head it’s bound to affect him at school. His work went downhill when Jason and I split up, so I dread to think how this will affect him.’
‘Donte’s a sensible lad deep down, mate. I wouldn’t worry too much. You were always unsure if Joel had given you his real surname anyway. Perhaps he won’t even find him?’
‘I hope not.’
‘So is that what you and Jase rowed over?’ Tracey pried. She was dying to know all the gossip.
‘No. Oh, Trace, I’ve done something really stupid.’
Dying to find out what, Tracey struggled to sound casual. ‘Don’t keep me in suspense then, spill the beans,’ she laughed.
‘I slept with Jason.’
The silly big grin on Tracey’s face literally evaporated within seconds.
Jason cracked open another two cans of lager and handed one to Darlene. ‘Been a brilliant day, ain’t it, babe? I could look at that sea for hours. It chills my bones.’
‘I meant what I said, Jase. You really do need to find a way of telling Mel about you and Tracey. She’s bound to hate you at first, but it’s better than lying to her and Simon. A secret as big as that is always going to haunt you and come out in the long run. That Tracey sounds like a right wrong ’un to me.’
‘She is, but I can’t talk about her any more today. Even the mention of her name makes my skin crawl. The beach is clearing now, look. What shall we do next? I don’t want to go home yet.’
‘Neither do I, but we must. I’m happy, but shattered. And you must go home and make up with Mel. She’ll be wondering where you are, seeing as you switched your phone off and left it in the car. You mustn’t let her worry, Jason. She sounds like a nice person.’
‘She is, but today is about us,’ Jason kneeled in the sand, his eyes twinkling with devilment. ‘How d’ya fancy staying down here the night? I’ll find us a half-decent hotel or B & B.’
‘No. We can’t. We mustn’t.’
‘Why not? We never got to spend the whole night together in all the years I was seeing you, did we? You always used to chuck me out in case Andy came home,’ Jason grinned.
Darlene smiled. If today was the day she took her last breath, she would die the happiest woman ever. ‘It was always my dream to spend the whole night with you and wake up with you in the morning, Jason. But that was then and this is now. I’m knackered, old, dying, and you have a lovely wife waiting for you indoors.’
Jason’s eyes stared into Darlene’s. ‘We haven’t got to do anything, babe. I just want to be with you, that’s all, and hold you in my arms.’
Grabbing Jason’s head, Darlene planted a kiss on his forehead. ‘OK, my love. Whatever you want.’
After getting over her initial shock that Melissa had slept with the man whose child she was carrying, Tracey was now doing her utmost to put a spanner in the works. ‘No way should you be apologizing to him, mate. If you were that drunk and you can barely remember the sex, then he obviously took bloody advantage of you. If you were a nasty person, you could even ring the police and cry rape for such behaviour. Lots of women would.’
‘Oh, don’t be so daft, Trace. He isn’t a rapist, he’s my bloody husband. I remember banging on about wanting another baby. Chances are I dragged him off to bed to make one. I just felt such an idiot when I woke up naked and he was lying next to me. Talk about let him straight back into my bed! I was determined to hold out for at least a month or so, now I feel like a desperado. That’s why I went on the turn with him.’
‘Try his number again. Only, if Simon can’t get hold of him and he isn’t in the shop, you can bet your bottom dollar he’s with a bird.’
Melissa’s heart sank. ‘Please don’t say that. I’ve had a bad enough day as it is.’
The B & B was hardly the Ritz. It was a typical last-minute booking you would expect on a baking hot day in Margate.
Jason chuckled as he bounced on the bed. ‘Jesus, Dar. This feels like concrete. You sure you don’t want to go elsewhere?’
‘It’s fine. The company is the most important thing, not the room.’
Jason flicked through his iPod and stopped at the sultry sound of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’. ‘Reminds me of being round yours as a kid, this does. You were always playing Bob.’
Darlene sat on the bed next to Jason and squeezed his hand. ‘I really think you should ring Melissa. She’ll be worried sick if you don’t go home.’
‘Fuck her. Let her worry. Anyway, there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be at this precise moment than here with you.’
Darlene held his handsome face in her hands. ‘I never stopped loving you, ya know. You’ll always have that special place in my heart.’
Tears pricking his eyes, Jason wrapped his arms around her. ‘Ditto, babe. I never stopped loving you either. You’ll always be my girl.’
CHAPTER THIRTY
‘Good morning, beautiful lady. Did you sleep OK? My neck’s as stiff as a board. Worth it to wake up with you though,’ Jason grinned. It had been a great day and evening. They’d reminisced and played music until the early hours. They’d kissed, cuddled, laughed and cried, but they hadn’t made love. ‘I don’t want to complicate your life, Jason. I’d also rather you remember my body the way it was,’ Darlene had insisted. She’d had a mastectomy and had slept in her clothes.
‘I went out like a light. Hardly surprising though, that’s the latest night I’ve had in ages.’
‘I’m starving. I think I’ll jump in the shower, then we’ll grab a bit of breakfast before we head home. Would you like to use the bathroom first?’
‘Yes, please. I have no appetite of a morning any more, but I’d love a strong coffee. Thanks so much for yesterday, Jase. It was brilliant. You really do know how to put the spring in the step of a decrepit old woman.’
Jason pecked her on the lips. ‘None of that talk. You’ll never be old and decrepit in my eyes. You’ve either got it or you haven’t, and you’ve always had it, Dar.’
Gingerly stepping out of the bed, Melissa was horrified to see it was gone ten o’clock. She’d stayed up until the early hours and wasn’t sure what time she’d finally staggered off to bed. Checking Donte’s room then Shay’s, Melissa was relieved to see they’d taken themselves off to school. Donte still wasn’t speaking to her, had even refused to come out of his bedroom to eat his dinner yesterday.
Melissa searched for her phone and found it in the kitchen. There was a missed call from Jason and her heart beat wildly as she pressed the call-back key. ‘All right, it’s me. I got your messages. Don’t bother ringing me back as I got a bit of business to sort out this morning. I’ll be home around lunchtime and we can talk properly then.’
Melissa burst into tears. She needed to get a grip on her life otherwise their marriage was never going to work. And what must the kids think of her? She always got up to make their breakfast and see them off to school.
Thinking of the conversation she’d had with Tracey the previous day, Melissa opened the remaining bottles of wine and poured the contents down the sink. Jason was right. Tracey was a bloody shit-stirrer. There had been no need for her to insist Jason was with another woman and if she hadn’t got on the wine, she wouldn’t have taken any notice of her friend’s scare-mongering. Well, enough was enough. It was time for some major lifestyle changes. Donte deserved better than having a lush as a mother, that was for sure.
As Melissa threw the empty bottles into the bin, she had no idea that her lifestyle would soon change in the most incredible way ever.
Having taken a couple of Alka-Seltzers to clear the fuzziness in her head, Melissa was mopping the kitchen floor when she heard the key in the front door. ‘That you, Jason?’ she shouted.
Jason sauntered into the kitchen. ‘I don’t want to argue, but you were bang out of order, Mel. I would never disrespect a woman sexually. You know me better than that, girl.’
‘I know and I’m sorry. I felt embarrassed the next morning and took it out on you. I’ve decided to knock the drink on the head for good, Jase. It doesn’t agree with me lately and I want to be the best wife and mother possible from now on.’
‘You don’t have to give it up; just don’t be so greedy with it. It’s only when you’re really pissed you tend to go on the turn.’
‘No. I’ve made my mind up. Where did you sleep last night?’
‘At the shop,’ Jason lied.
Tears stinging her eyes, Melissa asked, ‘Can we start all over again? I do still love you and want to make us work.’
‘Yeah. I don’t see why not. Listen, I need to take this call. It’s business,’ Jason said, as Craig’s number popped up on his personal phone again. He’d left his other phone in the glove box and knew this must be important as Craig never rang on this line as a rule.
‘OK. I’ll put the kettle on.’
Jason walked out into the garden and pressed Craig’s number. ‘Whassa matter?’ he asked.
‘Ring me on a different phone,’ Craig barked, ending the call immediately.
Telling Melissa he’d left something in the car, Jason went out the front and rang Craig on his other phone.
‘I need you to get hold of your estate agent mate and pick up a spare set of keys for the Dagenham gaff. The klutz who is running stuff there has lost his set. You got a pen and paper?’
‘No. Why?’
‘To take the geezer’s number. Once you have the keys you can arrange to drop ’em off to him.’
‘I ain’t going nowhere near that flat, Craig. I’ll meet you and you can drop ’em off to him.’
‘I’m up in Liverpool at a funeral. Just drop ’em off for me, eh? Either that or my guy’ll pick ’em up from your pal. Sort it and I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.’
Not wanting to put his pal in a predicament, Jason reluctantly agreed to drop the keys off himself. He ended the call and sighed. The quicker Darlene spoke to Craig and got him out of this mess, the better.
‘Cheers, Paul. Sorry about this,’ Jason said, as his pal handed him the keys through his car window.
‘No worries. I will have to send someone round to get the locks changed though. The owners are abroad and I’m acting landlord of the property.’
‘No. Don’t do that. I’ll make sure the locks are changed and give you another set of keys. Don’t go near the gaff, Paul, seriously.’
‘OK. Not being funny, Jase, but I think I’ll have to pull out of this agreement of ours soon. My wife will chop my balls off if I get arrested, and it all sounds a bit too cloak and dagger for my liking.’
‘No probs. I want out myself, between me and you. Nothing worse than constantly looking over your shoulder.’
‘Too right. Drop the new keys in to me ASAP, Jase. Take care, mate. Look after yourself.’
Jason drove away from the rear of his pal’s shop and stopped the car. With the untraceable phone, he rang the number Craig had given him. ‘Hiya. Is that Smurf?’
‘Yeah, man.’
‘Your boss asked me to drop off some keys. Can you meet me at the Bull pub car park?’
‘No can do. Here on my own at the moment.’
‘I’ll pull up nearby and you can run downstairs then.’
‘I ain’t got no key to get back in and no way am I leaving the door open. Anything goes wrong, it’s my head on the chopping block.’
‘OK. I’ll come up the stairs.’
Vigilant on the journey, Jason was relieved when the motorbike he’d spotted behind him carried on down Church Elm Lane as he turned off. He took no notice of the Water Board van parked up near the flats. Neither did he get an inkling somebody was clicking away with a camera.
Simon Champion complimented Tracey on how glamorous she looked and held open the passenger door. ‘I know you like fish, so I booked us a table at the restaurant adjoined to the Top Oak. The lobster’s good there. I hope that’s OK?’
‘Yes, that’s fine. How have you been? Has the news sunk in yet?’ Tracey asked.
‘It sure has. I’m extremely excited now, to be honest. A client of mine’s wife is an interior designer and she’s offered to turn one of my rooms into a nursery. I want the child to have sleepovers at mine – that’s OK with you, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, of course. You can have weekend access, if you want. That will give me a break.’
‘I would love that. I know it’s too early yet, but are we going to find out the sex beforehand? Don’t get me wrong; as long as our baby is healthy, I would be equally as happy with a boy or a girl. How about you?’
Thinking of Jason, Tracey replied, ‘Boy.’ Watching another man raise his son would be difficult for Jason and she knew it. Especially after Bobby’s death. Once that kid was walking and talking he would truly regret the way he’d treated her. ‘I’m not sure I want to know the sex beforehand, I’ll think about that. There’ll be lots of things to decide between us though. We’ll need to discuss names, write a list and choose some we both like. I don’t want to raise our child in Collier Row either, Simon. It’s gone downhill since I first moved there. The kids near me are all little ragamuffins and I want better for ours.’
‘I completely agree. I own a couple of flats in Loughton that I rent out, so I was going to suggest I put one of those on the market and buy a place for you and our child to live in. It won’t be a mansion, but I can stretch to a two- or three-bedroom property. Obviously, our nipper will need a decent-sized garden for when he or she starts walking.’
‘Will the property be in my name?’ Tracey asked.
‘Erm, no. We’re not married, Tracey. We aren’t even together. I will pay all the bills though, so you won’t have to worry about that. Our child isn’t going to want for anything. I will make damn sure of it.’
‘OK, thanks. I would prefer a three-bedroomed to a two- though. Be nice to have a spar
e room for when our child is older and has friends over to stay. The estate Mel and Jason live on is nice, and you’ve got the security at the main gates for peace of mind.’
‘Repton Park is way overpriced in my opinion, Tracey. I was thinking more Epping, Ongar or Abridge. You get some nice properties around those areas that are far more value for money than the ones on Repton Park.’
‘OK. When can we start viewing some?’
‘Not yet. I haven’t even put my flats on the market yet, and I’ll need to give the tenants notice. I actually think the contract is due up for renewal in September, so that would work perfectly. When is the baby due? Have they given you an exact date yet?’
‘No. But my friend Kim said it’s pointless taking any notice of their exact dates. It’s quite common to be way overdue when it’s your first – she was three weeks late with hers,’ Tracey lied.
‘Wow! That’s a long time. I remember my sister was late with her first. My mum was having kittens, ringing me up every five minutes. I told you about my sister, didn’t I? She emigrated to Australia.’
‘Yes. I think so. Do you reckon you can buy me a new car as well, please? No way will a pram or pushchair fit in the boot of my Mini.’
‘Yes. But I think we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves, Tracey. All in good time. We literally have months to sort all these things out before the baby arrives.’
When Tracey fell silent, Simon turned the music up. Jason had warned him that Tracey would try to extract every penny out of him she could, and he was right. Simon wasn’t too bothered though. He could easily afford her demands and besides, she was carrying the one thing he’d always craved – his very own son or daughter.
Melissa and Jason were having a much-needed heart to heart. Not just about themselves, but about the kids too.
Life of Crime Page 26