by Jacqui Rose
47
Star opened her eyes but it didn’t seem to make any difference. It was dark and she couldn’t see anything. She lay still, until her back began to hurt. As she moved, she heard a voice.
‘Hello Star, I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.’ The light was switched on. ‘Remember me?’
Star took a short breath as she saw who it was. It was her friend; Alfonso. He’d come to save her. She was about to run to him but then she stopped. There was something different in his eyes. The way he looked at her. Almost in slow motion, she turned her head to see another man sitting next to him.
Alfonso gave a hazy smile. ‘This is my half-brother, Star. His name’s Julian. He’s come all the way from London to meet you. He’s been wanting to meet a little girl like you for a long time.’
Alfonso stood up and walked towards Star. He knelt down, taking her hand in his, then stroked it gently, staring into her eyes. ‘Don’t be afraid, Star. As long as you do exactly as we tell you then you’ll be fine.’
‘Please let me go home. Me dad will be worried.’
Alfonso shook his head, stroking Star’s hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. ‘That won’t be possible, Star.’
Star began to shake. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wrapped her jacket tightly round her as she felt her skin began to crawl. Alfonso put his hand on her lips. ‘Shush, Star. Don’t cry.’ He traced his fingers round her mouth. ‘No more crying. Understand?’
Star nodded frantically, her body trying to recoil from Alfonso. ‘Good. You better get some sleep, Star. You’ll need your rest, because in a few days’ time we’ll be going on a little journey.’
With a wink, Alfonso got up at the same time as Julian did. They walked to the door, but it was Julian who paused, turning round. He walked back towards Star, licking his lips.
‘I almost forgot about your good-morning kiss.’
Star waited until she couldn’t hear anything. As quietly as she could, she got off the bed – which wasn’t a bed at all. It was a long box with a thin mattress on the top of it.
On tip-toes, she went to the door and put her tiny hand on the door knob, turning it as slowly as possible; terrified to make a sound. She twisted it both ways. Both ways were locked. She had to find a way out. To get back home. Wherever that was. She couldn’t even remember how she got here, so how was she supposed to get back?
She tried so hard to remember. Remember something. Anything. But she couldn’t. A tear ran down her face, which she quickly brushed away. Alfonso had told her she shouldn’t cry and she didn’t want them to be cross with her if they came back in.
Sighing, Star tried again to think how she’d ended up locked in the room by Alfonso and the other man with the horrible yellow teeth and bad breath. She shuddered.
All she could remember was her dad not wanting to look at stars with her, Edith talking to her in the kitchen and then … and then, yes, she remembered. Edith had come into the garden where she’d been. Wanting to be nice to her. Wanting to talk to her. Wanting her to drink the pink lemonade she’d made for her. She’d drunk it to be polite. But it had made her feel sleepy and that was the last thing she remembered. Bugger.
As Star sat on the edge of the homemade bed she held her tummy. She needed to go to the toilet. She opened her mouth to call out but snapped it shut as the thought of Julian came into her mind again, almost biting her tongue. Star rubbed her wrists. They hurt. She could see the red and the bruises on them and she didn’t want to think about the other bruises, the ones on the inside of her legs. Covering her knees with her dress, Star curled back up on the bed. As she lay down, she felt something hard. She went into her jacket pocket and pulled out her spyglass. She still had it. Hugging it close, Star closed her eyes, dropping into an unhappy restless sleep.
‘Keep your hands off her, Julian. That’s what we agreed. They won’t want her if she’s been spoiled and then where will we fucking be? Julian, I’m warning you.’
Julian stared at his half-brother. He hadn’t changed. Always telling him what he could or couldn’t do. Even years back when they’d discovered they both had the same interest, Alf had told him what to do.
It’d only been by chance he’d discovered his brother’s interest when he’d gone in his bedroom looking for any money he might have stashed away. He’d found his stash all right but it hadn’t been money. It’d been photos. The same kinds of photos Julian himself had stashed away.
At first it had only been the two of them but as the internet had opened up, so had their world. Like-minded people. Like-minded groups from all walks of life. And it’d been through one of these groups that they’d first met Alan.
Alan had unlocked a lot of doors for them, able to use his position in life to get access to the weak and the vulnerable, as well as the downright naive. And it’d been Alan who’d taken them from just photographs and videos to the real thing.
Julian turned his thoughts away from Alan, whom he still hadn’t managed to get hold of, to his brother. ‘I brought you in on this, Alf, don’t try to play fucking hard ball.’
‘No, let’s get it straight. You needed a girl for keeps. I found you one. I called you. I could’ve kept her all for myself but you know why I didn’t?’ Julian shook his head as Alfonso stared at him. ‘’Cos we’re family. And family stick together.’
Julian thought of Star again and salivated. ‘What harm can it do, Alf? As long as I don’t actually put my …’
‘No! No! Nothing. You don’t go within a few feet of her. You’ve already been too rough with her.’ Alfonso flicked open his knife, growling at Julian in his cockney accent. ‘Are you listening, mate, ’cos I ain’t going to say it again. Otherwise …’ Alfonso trailed off as he held the blade in his hand, not needing to say any more for Julian to understand his intentions.
Alfonso stubbed his cigarette in the ground. Star had fallen into his hands thanks to Edith’s greed. If he hadn’t followed her, wanting to sort her out, he would never have known she was hiding Star. It was amazing what you found in the woods.
He looked across at Julian. There was no way he was going to miss out on nearly three quarters of a million just because his brother was too eager. Once they’d taken Star to the clients and they’d got the money, they could do whatever they liked. Go to Thailand. The Philippines. There were plenty of places where the government turned a blind eye to men with their tastes. But for now he was going to keep a close eye on his brother and in the meantime he had to think of the best way of getting Star out of Spain.
48
‘Star’s gone! Star’s gone! She’s fucking gone.’
Del stared in horror as he saw Edith stumbling out of the pine thicket covered in sweat, her clothes sticking to her body.
‘What? What the fuck are you doing here? Get out of here. Get out of here. You’ll fucking ruin everything.’
Edith struggled to get out her words as she grabbed hold of Del’s arm. ‘She’s gone, Del.’
He pushed her off. Desperate not to be late. Desperate not to miss dropping the money off and the chance to get his precious daughter back. ‘Get off me, woman.’ With a huge effort he slung her off, sending her careering into the rocky wall.
Edith grabbed him again. ‘No! Stop. Stop.’
His face red with rage, Del exploded.
‘I swear to God if you don’t get out of here, Edith, I’ll knock you out. Now get the fuck off me!’
‘But you don’t understand. You’ve got to listen to me. Star’s gone. She’s really gone. Someone’s taken her.’
Both Del and Edith turned at the sound of the scream. They watched as Bunny collapsed into Claudia’s arms.
Del stared at Bunny, not knowing where she’d appeared from. He hadn’t wanted her to know. He’d wanted to call her when everything was sorted but now she was here, wailing in Claudia’s arms. His head was wrecked, although he didn’t have time to think about it now. He needed to go to the drop off, but Edith was in his way. ‘Move, Ed
ith. I’ve got to go.’
‘Listen to me, you’ve got to listen. She was there, I swear she was and now she’s not.’
‘What do you mean she was there? You found her? Where? Edith, you’re not making sense.’
‘I’m trying to tell you.’
Del’s voice was urgent. He shouted at her, fear causing him to look around him, agitated. ‘Edith, I have to go. If you’ve seen Star somewhere …’
‘She was in the shed.’
Del shook his head. ‘Which shed, where? Quick, show me.’
‘She’s gone. She’s really gone.’
Del looked at Edith as if she were mad. He didn’t have time for this. He began to march down the road.
‘She’s gone – because I took her!’
Del froze. He stared at the ground for a moment, not allowing himself to turn round.
‘It was me who took her. I was the one who wrote the note. You were always going to get her back … but she’s not there now.’
For both Del and Bunny, time stood still as the realisation of what Edith was saying sank in. Bunny, still on the ground in Claudia’s arms, stared in shocked disbelief as she watched Del, in what seemed like slow motion, grab hold of Edith, then scramble to get his gun out of his leg holster.
Del held the gun, sticking it hard into the side of Edith’s cheek, concaving the flesh. He shook his head; words were not enough.
‘No Del, she ain’t worth it,’ Claudia shouted, leaving Bunny on the ground. She ran forward, trying to take the gun off Del, who began to speak in dazed bewilderment.
‘You took my baby. You took Star.’
As Claudia tried to stop him, Del’s strength overpowered her and with one shove he knocked her away. Turning back round, he pushed Edith into the gravelly ground, his knee digging into her side. His gun still pressing into her face.
‘I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done.’
The sound of Del pulling the trigger back cut through the air.
‘No, Del. No!’ Bunny’s voice was urgent but she managed to keep calm. She shook her head, her eyes focused on Del. She ignored Edith’s terrified sweat-drenched face, continuing instead to talk to Del. She reached out her hand to him. Slowly. ‘No, doll. Give me the gun … give it to me.’
Del’s face was a mix of rage and tears as his finger rested precariously on the trigger. ‘But she took my little girl.’
Bunny bit on her lip, holding Del’s wide-eyed, frightened gaze.
‘I know she did … I know. And now I need you to help me get Star back. I need you to stay with me. Wherever she is, we’ll find her. You and me. But I can’t do it without you. I need you to be strong. Star …’ Bunny’s voice cracked. ‘Star needs you to be strong. Now, more than ever. Can you do that? Can you give me the gun?’
‘I …’ Del trailed off.
‘Don’t do it, baby; she’s not worth it, Del. Just give me the gun.’
Bunny’s outstretched arm hovered in mid-air. She spoke again, this time the desperation creeping into her voice.
‘Please, Del. Please give me the gun.’
Like a child, Del nodded his head, handing the gun to Bunny in a blur of tears. He sat on the floor, burying his head into his hands.
Letting out a huge sigh, Bunny turned to Edith. ‘After we find her, and we will find her, after that, Edith, I ain’t going to stop him pulling the trigger.’
Fat Man leaned forward, looking puzzled as he whispered into Claudia’s ear. ‘So let me get this straight. Edith’s working for the Russians?’
Claudia, talking just as quietly as Fat Man, shook her head as they sat in the kitchen. ‘No. She took Star.’
‘From the Russians?’
‘No. She wrote the letter.’
‘For the Russians?’
Exasperated, Claudia raised her voice slightly but immediately lowered it again as Del cut her a stare. ‘No! She wrote it to get some money for herself.’
‘So how do the Russians come into it?’
Claudia stood up, deciding not to bother answering Fat Man’s question. She didn’t want to be rude but her nerves were on edge and trying to explain to this man the ins and outs of the horrific situation they found themselves in was too much to deal with.
She walked across the large marble-tiled kitchen to pour herself a soft drink. At any other time she’d admire the luxury of the place with its wide sweeping views overlooking the hills and sea, but as she watched Del and Bunny, sitting, saying nothing, all she could focus on was the pain they were in.
Sitting back down, Claudia handed Fat Man a drink of homemade lemonade. ‘Here you are, darling. I put some extra sugar in it. You need to keep your strength up if you’re going to help look for …’ Claudia stopped, finding she couldn’t say her name.
Fat Man smiled sympathetically. He liked this bird. There was something straight up about her. She was old school.
He whispered again to Claudia. ‘So how do you come into things?’
‘I’m Bron— I mean, I’m Bunny’s mum.’
Fat Man nodded, processing the information. ‘Well it’s nice to meet you, Bunny’s mum, though it’s a shame it wasn’t under better circumstances.’
Claudia, grateful for Fat Man’s warmth, smiled back. ‘My name’s Claudia by the way.’
Fat Man winked. ‘And my name’s Arthur – but people call me Burkey.’
* * *
Bunny closed her eyes. She couldn’t sleep. She almost couldn’t think. It was as if her whole life had been building up to this moment. The fear. The guilt. The sense of powerlessness. But more than anything, her inability to care for and keep anyone she loved safe.
She could feel a stabbing pain. Her wounds, although almost healed, were hurting. By rights she should’ve still been in hospital, but as the days of ignored phone calls had gone by she’d began to worry. Finally the worry had got the better of her and she’d discharged herself, to the sound of Claudia’s loud protestations. She’d allowed her to come to Marbella only if she came along too.
The doctors hadn’t been happy with Bunny discharging herself either. They’d told her the baby was all right and everything looked normal but she had to be especially careful and rest a lot during this trimester due to the trauma already suffered. But she couldn’t rest. She knew she would never be able to until Star was safe, happy, and back in her arms.
Bunny glanced at Del who sat as he had done for the past forty minutes, staring out into the distance. She had a sudden thought.
‘What about Alan? He knew you were coming here. What if he’s got …’
‘Alan’s dead.’
Shocked, Bunny sat up in her chair, looking around at Claudia who shrugged, mirroring the amazement on Bunny’s face. Even Fat Man’s face was a picture of surprise. This was the first time he’d heard anything about it.
‘Dead?’
Del’s voice was flat. ‘That’s what I said, Bun.’
‘How … how did it happen?’
‘What difference does it make? That’s what you wanted wasn’t it? It’s over.’
Angrily, Del got up. He didn’t want to think about Alan because it caused the images of Bunny and the other children to pop up into his head. And now, more than ever before, he couldn’t allow them to creep into his mind.
Stomping out into the kitchen, Del went into Edith’s bedroom, where one of his men was keeping guard. He certainly wasn’t going to let her sneak off anywhere.
‘Tell me again. What happened?’ Del yelled at Edith, pacing up and down in the large luxurious bedroom.
‘I’ve told ya.’
‘Then tell me again!’
Edith sighed, exhausted. It was never supposed to be like this. This was never supposed to happen. All she’d ever wanted was to get her money. No one saw how she’d been treated badly in all of this. Between Del and Alfonso … Where was Alfonso, anyway? She hadn’t seen him for a while. Between both of them she’d been treated like a second-class citizen. Edith, working herself up,
shouted back.
‘If you’d just given me what was mine …’
‘Don’t you dare! Don’t you fucking dare turn what you did around on me, you sick bitch.’
‘How did I know someone would take her?’
Exploding, Del grabbed Edith. ‘You’re just not getting it are you?’
Edith sniffed. ‘Perhaps you’d do better looking for Star than shouting at me. But then, that’s what you’ve always done ain’t it?’
Del covered his face with his hands, trying to contain both his fury and his fists. After a moment, he took his hands away from his face. ‘I don’t know what I ever saw in you. The best thing I ever did was leave you.’
Haughtily, Edith answered. ‘I think you’ll find it was me who left you.’
‘At this moment, Edith, I don’t give a rat’s ass who left who. It could’ve been the fucking Israelites leaving Egypt for all I care.’
‘Well living with you was like enduring the bleedin’ plagues of Egypt anyway, I’d have gladly parted the fucking waves myself just to get rid of you.’
‘Get rid of me? You’ve got some fucking front. I’ve been trying to dislodge you since we met, but you’ve clung on that hard you’d put a boa constrictor to shame.’
‘She’s not worth it.’ It was Bunny’s voice. She stood at the door, tired and full of fear. Edith’s eyes glinted, hatred showing in them as she looked at Bunny.
‘Well that’s where you’re wrong. I’m worth it all right. I’m worth every bleedin’ penny … you should understand that.’
‘Why, Edith? Why did you do it?’ Bunny spoke, her eyes pleading with Edith for answers.
‘I ain’t telling you nothin’ darlin’. Make up your own stories on it.’
Edith sneered as she saw Bunny take a deep breath, trying to control herself, but it was Del who leapt forward. ‘What is wrong with you, Edith? When did you become so evil?’
Bunny walked fully into the room, taking Del’s hand off Edith’s top. ‘Leave it. The authorities can deal with her.’