At the sound of banging on the floorboards above, Fiona tutted, and said, ‘OK, I’ll give you one bottle and enough caps for two nights – in case you can’t get an appointment that fast. But my name had better not leave your mouth if you get sick, else you’re dead.’
‘I’d never grass you up,’ Josie insisted. ‘We’re mates.’
‘Being workmates don’t make us buddies,’ Fiona countered. ‘And I’m telling you this for your own good, ’cos it won’t be me who comes after you if I get raided, it’ll be my supplier – and he doesn’t fuck about. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
Desperate to get her hands on the painkillers and vodka, Josie nodded her agreement and licked her lips when Fiona walked into the kitchen, pushing the door shut behind her. She’d waited all day for this, and Fiona’s threats weren’t about to put her off. Where she would go once she got what she needed, she didn’t yet know. Her knee-jerk reaction after the argument with Holly had been to run away and never look back, but her conscience had stopped her and she had found herself here instead. She was exhausted and wanted to go home, but she couldn’t risk it until she knew what Holly had told Suzie. But she had no way of finding out while Holly was refusing to leave the woman’s house and Suzie had taken it upon herself to act as some sort of mediator. She’d already tried to force her to leave, and that hadn’t worked. And she couldn’t ask the police to intervene and risk raising their suspicions, so it looked like she was going to have to leave Holly where she was for now.
‘Here you go . . .’ Fiona came back from the kitchen with a bottle of vodka and a half-strip of tramadol capsules. Giving Josie a stern look as she handed them over, she said, ‘Don’t forget what I said. If anything happens—’
‘It won’t,’ Josie assured her, clutching the bottle tightly after sliding the silver strip into her pocket.
‘Er, I think you’re forgetting something,’ Fiona said sharply when she turned and made for the door. ‘That’ll be twenty-five quid.’
‘Twenty-five?’ Josie gulped, turning back to her.
‘That’s what I said.’ Fiona held out her hand.
‘Can – can I give it to you tomorrow?’ Josie asked. ‘I left my purse at home, and it’ll take an hour to walk there and back.’
At the sound of yet more banging from upstairs, Fiona yelled, ‘I’ll be up in a sec, Bri.’ Then, muttering, ‘Fuck’s sake,’ she turned back to Josie, and said, ‘OK, you can pay me tomorrow, but I want it first thing. If I’m not up when you get here, post it through the letterbox. And don’t let me down, or it’ll be the last thing you ever do.’
‘I won’t,’ Josie said, scrabbling to open the door. ‘First thing, I promise.’
Outside, Josie stood in the shadows at the side of the house and listened as Fiona locked and bolted the door. When the porch light went out, followed a few seconds later by the hall light, she peered at the houses on the opposite side of the road to check that none of Fiona’s neighbours were watching, then crawled back into the bin cupboard, pulling the door shut behind her.
As infuriating as it was that she couldn’t get to Holly tonight, there was nothing she could do about it, so she would see to her own needs and then go back round there tomorrow, when she felt stronger. And this time, Holly would leave with her – whether she liked it or not!
34
Suzie had taken the hot chocolate up to Holly and was on her way back down to the kitchen when someone tapped lightly on the front door. Guessing, from the timidity of it, that it was Josie, that the woman, embarrassed about her behaviour that morning, had come back with her tail between her legs to apologize, she was surprised to find Rob on the step.
‘Hope it’s not too late to call round?’ He gave her a sheepish smile. ‘I thought you might be in bed when I didn’t see any lights on, but then I saw your shadow through the glass and thought I’d take a chance.’
‘I’ve been sitting in the kitchen, that’s why the other lights are off,’ Suzie told him, shivering in the cold night air.
‘I thought we should talk,’ he said. ‘But I’ll come back tomorrow, if it’s not convenient?’
Noticing that he, too, was shivering, and that his teeth were tightly clenched, Suzie said, ‘No, don’t be daft. You’re here now, so you might as well come in.’
‘Cheers.’ Rob stepped inside. ‘I know you’ve got a lot on your hands right now, but . . .’ He paused and gave a tiny shrug. ‘Truth is, I felt bad about walking out in a strop earlier. I was jealous, and I acted like an idiot.’
‘Jealous?’ Suzie was bemused. ‘Of Holly?’
‘Yeah, I know, I’m a dick.’ He grimaced. ‘But we’d been getting on so well, and . . . I dunno. I just thought we were getting somewhere – you know?’
Suzie wasn’t listening. She had spotted three angry red marks on his neck and, concerned that he’d been fighting, she said, ‘What’s happened?’
‘What?’ Rob looked confused.
‘Your neck,’ she said, turning him to face the mirror on the wall. ‘They look like scratches.’
‘Oh, right . . .’ he murmured when he saw them. ‘That was me. Don’t laugh, but I was sitting in a cafe earlier, thinking about you, and the bloke at the next table kept itching like he had fleas or something. It set me off, and I guess I must have got carried away.’
‘You’re not kidding you got carried away,’ Suzie said, shaking her head. ‘They’re pretty nasty. I’m surprised you didn’t notice.’
‘Ah, well, it’ll teach me not to let my nails grow so long in future.’ Rob grinned. ‘Anyhow, I only came to say sorry, so I’ll let you get back to whatev—’
‘Rob, shut up.’ Suzie sighed.
‘Sorry,’ he apologized. ‘I wasn’t trying to—’
‘I said shut up,’ Suzie repeated, stepping closer to him. ‘And bloody kiss me.’
‘What?’ He tipped his head to one side and gave her a questioning look.
‘You heard me,’ she purred, sliding her arms around him and gazing up at him. ‘Unless you don’t want to? Because I—’
Rob pressed his lips down on hers before she could finish and, holding her against him with one strong arm, shrugged the rucksack off his shoulder and wriggled out of his jacket. Dropping both to the floor, he lifted Suzie off her feet, his mouth still covering hers, and walked her backwards towards the stairs.
‘Not up there,’ Suzie whispered, pulling her head back. ‘Holly will hear us.’
Rob glanced up the stairs, as if expecting to see the girl standing there. Then, kissing Suzie again, he turned and walked her into the living room, kicking the door shut behind him.
Falling onto the sofa, Rob tugged Suzie’s pyjama bottoms down while she unzipped his fly.
‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he groaned, climbing on top of her.
‘I’ve missed you, too,’ she gasped, arching her back when he bit her neck and slid his hand under her top to caress her breasts.
‘ROB!’ a woman bellowed, followed by a flurry of raps on the window pane. ‘GET OUT HERE, YOU CHEATING BASTARD!’
Suzie’s eyes popped open, and a cry escaped her lips when she saw that the blinds weren’t fully closed and a woman was staring at them while hammering on the glass with her fist.
‘What the fuck . . .?’ she spluttered, grabbing a cushion to cover herself when Rob leapt up and grabbed his jeans off the floor. ‘Who is she?’
‘Stay there,’ he growled, shoving his legs into the jeans and heading for the door. ‘I’ll deal with this.’
Suzie wanted to know who the woman was and why she was here, so she pulled her pyjama bottoms on and followed him out into the hall.
‘I knew it!’ Angie Scott roared, glaring at Rob when he opened the door. ‘I fuckin’ knew you were still screwing her, you lying piece of shit!’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy bitch,’ Rob hissed, physically pushing her away from the door.
‘Fuck you!’ Angie yelled, her alcohol-laced spittl
e covering his face when she slammed her hands against his chest and pushed him back. ‘This is why you started that fight with me earlier, isn’t it? So you could nick my money and sneak round here to shag your bit on the side!’
‘What’s going on?’ Suzie asked, looking from the woman to Rob.
‘Nothing,’ Rob said through gritted teeth.
‘He’s my boyfriend,’ Angie cried at the same time.
‘Rob?’ Suzie gaped at him.
‘Tell her,’ Angie ordered. ‘Tell her you’re with me!’
‘You’re pissed,’ Rob said, gazing down at her in disgust. ‘I suggest you go home and sleep it off.’
‘Is that a bruise?’ Suzie frowned and pushed past Rob when she spotted a flash of purple beneath the mascara streaking the woman’s cheeks.
‘Yeah, it is,’ Angie spat, glaring at Suzie now. ‘He punched me – because of you and those filthy messages you’ve been sending him! Why can’t you leave him alone, you home-wrecking whore? You must have known he had a girlfriend?’
‘What messages?’ Suzie was genuinely confused.
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know,’ Angie yelled. ‘I’ve read them, you stupid bitch!’
Embarrassed when she noticed Carol from across the road watching with a smug grin on her face, Suzie said, ‘I haven’t sent him any bloody messages, and I don’t appreciate you coming round here making a scene.’
‘And I don’t appreciate you fucking my BOYFRIEND!’ Angie screeched in her face.
‘When are you going to get it into your thick head, I am not your boyfriend?’ Rob yelled, shoving her away from Suzie when she swung her arm back to hit her. ‘Now quit stalking me and get a life, you fucking nutjob!’
‘You weren’t calling me that when you were screwing me earlier, were you?’ Angie cried, whacking his arm. ‘I should’ve known you were only using me to get at my money, you lying bastard!’
‘Rob, what’s going on?’ Suzie asked, suspicion in her eyes. ‘I want the truth.’
Turning to her, his own eyes angry, Rob took a deep breath and held up his hands. ‘OK, I’m not gonna lie,’ he said quietly. ‘I did have a one-night stand with her. But it only happened once, and it was after we split up. I was pissed out of my head, or I would never have touched her, I swear. I felt sick straight after and told her it was a mistake, but she won’t let it go. She’s been following me, and harassing my mum.’
‘You liar!’ Angie squawked.
‘Oh, really?’ Rob pounced. ‘I’m lying, am I? How come she messaged me about it last night, then?’
He scrolled through his messages until he found the one he’d received from his mum the previous night – the one he had initially missed, because it had come in the middle of the flurry of messages from Angie.
‘“Robert,”’ he read out loud, ‘“whoever that woman is who turned up here shouting the odds and demanding to see you, I’d appreciate it if you could tell her not to bother us again. Reg has a bad heart, and he doesn’t need the stress. Mum.”’
He turned the phone round when he’d finished, so Suzie could see that he hadn’t made it up.
‘OK, so maybe I did go round there,’ Angie spluttered, her face scarlet. ‘But only because I thought you’d gone there after we had that fight about your phone last night. I admit I shouldn’t have done it, but I’d had a drink and I wanted to see you.’
‘Save it for your therapist,’ Rob said coldly. ‘I’ve tried to be polite, but you’ve gone too far this time, and if you don’t leave me the fuck alone I’m going to apply for a restraining order.’
‘Rob, please don’t leave me, I’m begging you,’ Angie cried, grabbing his arm and trying to drag him back out when he made to go inside the house. ‘I’m sorry for following you here, but I had to see you. Please . . . I’ll do anything—’
‘Go home,’ Rob hissed, shaking her off. ‘You’re making a show of yourself.’
‘Do you think we should call someone to come and get her?’ Suzie asked when Angie threw herself onto the floor at his feet.
‘No, leave her,’ Rob said, pulling Suzie inside and slamming the door in Angie’s wailing face. ‘Seriously, babe, she’s been driving me mental. I just hope she’ll see sense now she knows I’m with you and quit stalking me.’
Suzie followed when he walked into the living room and watched as he drew the blinds before closing the curtains.
‘Were you telling the truth out there?’ she asked. ‘Was it really only once? You haven’t been living with her?’
‘Babe, I swear on my life,’ Rob said, making the sign of the cross on his chest. ‘You saw her face when I caught her out about going to my mum’s. She’s a fantasist.’
‘I know she lied about that, but—’
‘Listen,’ Rob said, peering down into her eyes. ‘I didn’t have to tell you I’d been with her, ’cos we weren’t even together when it happened, but I wanted to be honest with you. If I’d known she was going to go this far, I’d have had her arrested at the start of it, but I honestly thought she’d quit if I ignored her for long enough.’
‘Why, what’s she done?’ Suzie asked, sitting down.
‘Texts, phone calls, following me,’ Rob said, sighing as he sat beside her. ‘I tried to let her down gently, but she must have taken that as a sign that I liked her and was playing hard to get, or something. I’ve been avoiding her, but today . . .’
‘What happened today?’ Suzie prompted when he paused.
‘OK, I said I’d be honest, so I will,’ Rob said, reaching for her hand and stroking her fingers with his thumb. ‘I’ve been keeping my phone on silent since she started harassing me, ’cos she goes on one when she’s drinking – as you just saw. Anyhow, I checked it after I left here this morning and she’d sent another load of messages. As I was deleting them, I saw the one from my mum, and I thought I’d best go round to check she was OK and apologize for getting her caught up in it. She wasn’t in, so I walked into town and mooched about for a bit before going to the pub. I was in there a while, but Angie must have followed me, ’cos she was waiting when I came out. She was pissed and she started yelling at me, and people were watching. I felt like a right cunt, so I tried to walk away, but she went mental and attacked me.’
‘Is that where those scratches on your neck came from?’
‘Yeah.’ Rob nodded and dipped his gaze. ‘I didn’t want to tell you ’cos I was ashamed, and I didn’t think you’d believe me.’
‘Answer one thing – honestly,’ Suzie said, peering into his eyes. ‘Did you punch her?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Rob insisted. ‘I don’t blame you for thinking it after what happened with us, but I meant it when I said I’ve changed. Losing you broke me and I hated myself for what I’d done. That’s why I took that anger management course. I didn’t think it was going to work, but it did, and now, if someone pisses me off, I walk away instead of flying off the handle – like I did earlier when I went into that strop over Holly. Knowing Angie – and I wish to God I didn’t – I wouldn’t put it past her to have done it herself after she saw me coming in here. She probably thought it’d put you off me. But I hope it hasn’t worked, ’cos I couldn’t bear to lose you again so soon after getting you back.’
Suzie stared down at their hands entwined on her lap and thought everything over. The woman had sounded really convincing and she would probably have believed her if Rob hadn’t proved her to be lying about going round to his mum’s place. Her instincts were telling her that Rob had slept with the woman more than the one time he’d admitted to, but if it had happened while they were apart it was none of her business.
‘No, it didn’t work,’ she said after a while, aware that Rob was holding his breath beside her. ‘But if anything like this ever happens again, you need to tell me so I’m prepared, because that was horrible.’
‘Believe me, if I’d known she was going to turn up like that I would have told you,’ Rob said. ‘And I swear I’ll tell you if anything else happens. Bu
t hopefully she’ll give up now she’s had her card marked.’
‘She better had, or it’ll be me who punches her next time,’ Suzie said, only half joking.
‘My little warrior queen,’ Rob chuckled, leaning towards her and planting a soft kiss on her lips. ‘I don’t know about you, but I could really do with a drink. Don’t suppose there’s any of that wine left?’
‘One and a bit bottles,’ Suzie said, getting up when he did.
‘You mean you necked the rest by yourself?’ Rob gave her a mock-disapproving look.
‘It’s your fault for walking out and leaving it with me,’ Suzie said, walking over to the window and peeking out through the blinds. ‘She’s gone.’
‘Good,’ Rob grunted, following as she made her way to the kitchen. ‘And let’s hope she stays gone.’
The laptop was still open on the table, and Suzie hurriedly closed the lid on it before taking another glass out of the cupboard and filling it for Rob before topping up her own.
‘Hiding something?’ Rob teased, nodding at the laptop as he took a seat. ‘Don’t tell me . . . you’ve been ogling naked men on the Net again, haven’t you?’
‘Behave!’ Suzie tutted.
‘Well, you closed that pretty fast, so there must be something on it that you didn’t want me to see,’ Rob persisted. ‘I thought we were going to be honest with each other from now on – or does that only apply to me?’
He was smiling when Suzie looked at him, and there was no anger in his eyes, only curiosity. She knew Holly didn’t want her to tell him anything, but it would be good to get his opinion on her theory about Josie’s connection to the murdered couple.
‘OK, I’ll tell you,’ she said. ‘But you’ve got to promise you won’t mention it to Holly.’
‘My lips are sealed,’ Rob said, pulling his chair up beside hers when she sat down and opened the laptop.
Suzie showed him the article she’d been looking at before he arrived. After quickly reading it, he said, ‘I thought you said it was about Holly, but there’s no mention of her.’
Witness Page 21