The Broken_A gripping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat

by Casey Kelleher

  Only, Megan wasn’t reciprocating the gesture, and looking down at the girl’s face, Jenson suddenly could see why. Her eyes were bloodshot whites, pupils rolling to the back of her head.

  Her expression vacant. As if she wasn’t there.

  Jenson pulled himself backwards, away from the girl, still gripping her arms with his hands, trying to work out what was wrong with her.

  Megan began to slouch, her body slipping down the wall, jerking around like crazy.

  ‘What the fuck?’ Jenson shouted, panicking.

  He’d just been inside of her, mistaking her enthusiastic thrusting for enjoyments, and all the time she was fitting. He felt physically sick. Releasing his hold on the girl, he watched as Megan sank down onto the floor, head jutting loudly against the wall, then banging against it over and over again.

  ‘Fucking hell, mate, we having some sort of competition?’ Reece shouted to his friend, jovially, ’cause if we are, your bird’s fucking winning. What are you doing in there? Murdering her?’

  ‘Holy fuck, man! Reece! REECE! You need to get your arse in here now.’

  Hearing the panic and distress in Jenson’s voice, Reece hoped this wasn’t a wind up, he and Amber had been in full swing just then. He was almost at the point of no return.

  ‘You better not be shitting me up, Jenson,’ he said, reluctantly stopping what he was doing, and fastening up his flies.

  ‘Hurry the fuck up. The girl’s gone schizo on me. I think she’s having some kind of fucking epileptic fit.’ Jenson was frantically pulling at the door now, stepping over Megan to get the fuck out of there.

  Reece and Amber were both there then. Standing dishevelled in the cubical doorway, Amber looking instantly sober, sensing that something really wrong was up.

  ‘But she can’t be. She’s not epileptic?’ Peering in through the gap to see what Jenson was talking about. ‘Fuck. What’s happening to her?’ Amber screeched, catching sight of her friend writhing around on the toilet floor, her body jerking and twisting about, her skirt all pulled up around her waist, exposing herself as her body jolted repeatedly. A frothy liquid was seeping from her mouth. ‘What did you do to her?’

  ‘I didn’t do anything!’ Jenson said, shouting now, the panic evident in his voice. He should have known that the blame would come back down on him. ‘She just started fucking freaking out. You want to ask your fucking boyfriend what he did to her, more to the point!’

  ‘We need to help her,’ Amber said, ignoring Jenson’s comment and squeezing in through the gap of the door and pushing it wide open. ‘Help me get her out there onto the floor. She needs more room.’

  Seeing her friend in such a state, Amber was beside herself, while Reece and Jenson were just standing there, both of them staring at her without so much as moving an inch. Rendered useless, the pair of them stood there like spare parts.

  Amber dragged Megan out of the cubicle.

  ‘What the fuck are you trying to do to her?’ Reece asked as he watched Amber struggle to pull Megan’s body over.

  ‘I’m putting her in the recovery position, like they showed us at school. In case she’s sick. She’ll choke to death.’ Amber was crying then. Helpless, as the seriousness of the situation suddenly hit her. ‘Megan? Can you hear me?’ Tapping the side of Megan’s face, Amber tried to stop her friend’s head from jerking back. But there was no response.

  ‘Why the fuck are you calling her Megan? I thought her name was Olivia?’ Reece said then, clocking the change of name.

  ‘Yeah, well. We lied. She didn’t want anyone to find out who she really was. Her dad owns the nightclub. Alfie Harris. Fucking hell, Reece, stop standing there looking at her and help me. Please? What’s the matter with her? What’s happening?’

  Staring into Megan’s vacant-looking eyes, it was as if Megan wasn’t even there. Just her body, still convulsing violently. A trail of sick streamed down from her friend’s mouth.

  Holding Megan down onto her side, so that she didn’t choke, Amber started to cry. ‘We need to call an ambulance. We need to do something.’

  Reece was pacing the bathroom now. Marching up and down erratically, the palm of his hand on his forehead, the realisation hitting him – that he’d drugged Alfie Harris’s daughter.

  ‘Fuck that, man! They’ll inform the Old Bill. Or worse, her old man. They’ll find out it was us that gave her the gear. I’m not getting stitched up for dishing out Es,’ Reece said, debating his options.

  ‘Es? What do you mean? As in Ecstasy?’ Amber said then, staring at Reece with a look of disgust. ‘You never said anything about Ecstasy. You said you were just going to give her something to make her relaxed: happy pills you said.’

  ‘What do you think Ecstasy is, Amber? You don’t get a pill much happier than that! We’ve all had them tonight and none of us are freaking the fuck out!’ Reece said.

  ‘I haven’t had one,’ Amber screeched, as the realisation suddenly hit her then that she’d been feeling more than drunk tonight. Only, she had never suspected for a second that Reece would do that to her too. ‘You gave me one too? You arsehole!’

  ‘Oh, chill out, Amber, seriously you’re overreacting. I only slipped half a pill in yours. Just a little something to get you in the mood.’

  ‘Oh I’m in a fucking mood all right,’ Amber said, shaking her head, suddenly terrified that she might have a reaction like Megan was having. ‘What if this happens to me?’ she said, her voice high-pitched with panic.

  ‘Nah, you only ingested a quarter of the strength of the pills that Megan had. Fuck. I didn’t know she was going to react like this, did I? I just thought I’d teach her a lesson, you know. Stop her from being so stuck-up and self-righteous. Looking down her nose at us all, as if she was better than everyone. I thought it would bring her back down to reality. So I slipped her a couple.’

  Only, Reece hadn’t factored on the silly cow OD’ing on the shit. She looked a right mess too. This wasn’t going to fare well for him if he got caught supplying. What if she died? He’d get done for murder then, too.

  ‘What the fuck was that shit, man?’ Reece shouted at Jenson now, figuring if he was going to get in the shit for something, then he’d be taking this fucker down with him.

  ‘It ain’t the gear. It’s quality shit. Trust me, I got it from a decent source,’ Jenson said adamant. ‘She’s just having a bad reaction. Fuck knows, with all the vodka she’s been knocking back. Maybe she’s had some sort of chemical reaction?’

  Reece was pacing the bathroom then. Unsure of what the fuck to do, there was no way he could take the rap for this.

  ‘We all need to get the fuck out of here,’ Reece said, grabbing at Amber’s arm and trying to pull the girl away. ‘Seriously, just fucking leave her there, Amber. Let someone else call a fucking ambulance; someone will come in here in a minute and then they’ll stitch us up for this. We ain’t got time to hang about.’

  ‘Are you having a fucking laugh?’ Amber said, tears streaming down her face as she realised how severe the situation really was. Megan was in trouble. Big trouble, and Reece was just going to ditch her. Leave her here writhing around on the cold, filthy toilet floor. Lying in a puddle of her own vomit.

  What sort of a man did that?

  ‘We can’t just leave her. She’s having some sort of a fit. What if she dies?’ Amber was hysterically crying now sinking to her knees on the floor alongside her friend.

  ‘Reece’s right. You knew that he was going to spike her drink, Amber, that means that you are responsible for this too. The police will lock you both up for this.’ Seeing Reece and Amber both in a state of pure panic now, Jenson realised he was the only one trying to remain calm. This was bad, really bad and this would all come back onto them.

  ‘What about you? You fucking sold me the gear in the first place,’ Reece said, not willing to be the one to take the rap for this. There was no way that he was going to let Jenson set him up to take the fall alone. ‘What the fuck did we give her? You mu
st have had some sort of a dodgy batch? You’re to blame, too, you know.’

  ‘Fuck this,’ Jenson said, deciding that he didn’t trust Reece not to fucking grass on him. He’d deal with that two-faced prick later. Grabbing at Amber, he pulled her roughly up onto her feet. ‘Come on, Reece’s right. Someone will walk in any second. These toilets are always busy. She’ll be found in a few minutes and taken to the hospital before you know it.’

  Amber stared at Reece. Her so-called boyfriend had already left her, currently heading out of the bathroom door to save his own arse.

  ‘Come on, we’ve got to go. Trust me, the last thing you need is to get in trouble too. It’s better this way. Olivia or Megan, whatever her name is, will be fine.’

  Amber shook her head, unable to comprehend Jenson’s words. What had she done? Why had she ever listened to Reece? He’d told her that spiking Megan’s drink would just be a bit of fun, that there would be no harm in it. Reece had said that it would be a laugh, and Amber had only gone along with his idea because she wanted Megan to lighten up a little and have some fun. She’d never in a million years meant to hurt the girl. They were best mates.

  ‘No, you go. I’ll stay with her? To make sure she’s okay.’

  Jenson shook his head. Not a chance. Amber would sing like a fucking canary once the plod started asking her questions. All they’d have to do is lay on a little bit of pressure and they’d all be in the deepest of shit.

  ‘If you stay, you’re going to make the situation a million times worse. Stop being fucking stupid, and move, Amber. NOW. Do you not understand the fucking trouble we’ll all be in, Amber? We’ll do time for this. All of us.’

  Amber was torn. She looked back down at her friend, her skin tinged blue now, her body still jerking on the floor. Amber knew in her gut that she should stay. Her friend needed her, and if that meant facing the consequences of her actions tonight, then so be it. But she knew what Reece and Jenson were saying was also true. They’d all get done for this. They’d go to prison. Amber would be sent to one of those young offenders institutes. Megan would be just fine when the ambulance crew arrived. The paramedics would make sure of it. Maybe Jenson and Reece were right: what was the point of making the situation even worse?

  ‘Amber!’ Jenson said, his tone commanding. If the girl didn’t leave with them now, they were going without her. ‘Come on.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Megs. Please forgive me.’ Amber mouthed through her sobbing tears, before turning on her heels and running as fast as she could.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The loud shrill of the telephone ringing on the nightstand dragged Alfie Harris from his deep sleep. Leaning over to answer it before it woke up Jennifer, who was lying fast asleep in the bed beside him, he eyed the clock on the bedside cabinet, surprised to see that it was only just gone one a.m. He must have nodded off after Jennifer had persuaded him to have his wicked way with her for a second time that evening.

  To be fair, he’d been exhausted even before they had finished dinner. Working at the club was starting to take its toll. Which is why he’d agreed to take the weekend off in the first place.

  He was glad that he had now.

  Tonight, with Megan staying over at her mate’s house, Alfie and Jennifer had had the rare opportunity to actually spend some quality time together. At home. Not out at some fancy, stuffy restaurant, or in a wine bar surrounded by loud pretentious hangers-on. It had been just the two of them, a bottle of wine and a home-cooked meal, and boy, could Jennifer cook.

  And for the first time in a very long time, Alfie had actually thoroughly enjoyed himself. Jennifer Dawson was a stunner in every way. Extremely witty and smart too. Alfie really liked her. It was funny because he hadn’t been looking for anything serious, initially, but they’d been seeing each other for a few months now, and their relationship had become exactly that.

  Alfie picked up the receiver. Annoyed that he couldn’t seem to have just one night off without interruption.

  ‘This better be good!’ Snarling into the receiver at whoever the unlucky caller was, he made no disguise of the fact that he was in no mood for pleasantries.

  ‘Boss, it’s me.’

  Alfie rolled his eyes on hearing Gem Kemal’s familiar voice. He should have guessed. Gem Kemal had insisted that he had everything in hand down at the club tonight, only that was a fucking joke considering that this was the third phone call Alfie had received from the bloke in as many hours.

  ‘You do know that I took the weekend off, don’t you, Gem?’ Alfie spat, well and truly irritated. He was in half a mind to shove his suit on and storm down to the club anyway. He was wide awake now.

  ‘Seriously, Gem, this is the third fucking time you’ve called me? First the security system’s code, and then wanting to know where the keys to the safe are. You’re head of fucking security, Gem. You should fucking well know these things. What is it now, huh? Do you need instructions on how to wipe your fucking arse properly?’ He’d left Gem in charge of the place because the man had assured him he could handle looking after the club for one night. Only, it had become apparent that the bloke clearly didn’t have a clue what he was doing at all.

  Watching Jennifer stir now, Alfie slung his dressing gown around him and quickly left the room so that he wouldn’t disturb the girl’s sleep. Closing the door quietly behind him, he was well and truly pissed off. He should have known Gem wouldn’t be able to cope with running the place. Saturday night was the highest profile night of the week at the club. The place would be packed to its capacity.

  He should be there.

  ‘Seriously, Gem, right now I’d have difficulty believing that you could run a fucking bath, let alone my fucking club.’

  ‘I’m sorry, boss, really I am, but we’ve got a huge problem down here, and I knew you’d wanna know about it ASAP.’

  Alfie raised his eyes, the irony of Gem’s words totally going over the other man’s head. Talk about state the fucking obvious.

  Alfie did have a huge problem. With Gem.

  This had better be important.

  ‘Go on…’

  ‘We’ve had an OD, boss, in the toilets. They think it’s Ecstasy,’ Gem said, the panic suddenly evident in his voice as he relayed the dramatic events of the night that had just played out. ‘Someone called an ambulance, and the Old Bill have just turned up too. They’re crawling all over the place.’

  ‘Fuck’s sake!’ Alfie interrupted, running his hand over the top of his head, as if trying to contain his frustration. ‘Oh, that’s just typical, isn’t it? The one night I stay at home and pande-fucking-monium has bloody broken out!’

  The Old Bill would be loving every minute of this. Snooping around his club while he wasn’t anywhere near it. What a night to leave Gem Kemal in charge. Alfie should have known that something like this would happen in his absence. It was always the way. As much as he’d loved spending time with Jennifer this evening, he should have been at the club tonight. Keeping an eye on the place. This probably would never have happened if he’d been there. It didn’t matter that he had the best team of security on the door and the top bar staff running the place, The Karma Club was his baby and he should be the one there overseeing that everything ran smoothly.

  ‘There’s more, Alfie. They’ve ID’d the girl but they reckon she’s underage. Sixteen, at the most. Just a kid,’ Gem continued, knowing full well that his boss would be fuming when he heard the rest of the details that he was about to divulge. Knowing how hot-headed his boss could be, Gem had been dreading making this phone call.

  ‘Well what the fuck are you lot doing letting fucking kids in the club? I thought your doormen knew better than that. Everyone’s ID’d on the door. That’s fucking paramount, you all know that; so unless one of you lot has a death wish the Old Bill must be mistaken? Maybe she just looks younger than she actually is?’ Alfie hoped that was true.

  The last thing he needed was to have his license revoked for allowing underaged kids to somehow
blag their way in to his club. Alfie had always made sure that his doormen were extra vigilant for that very reason. His staff knew how meticulous he was at making sure entrance was only permitted to over 18s. There was no way that any of his men would be dumb enough to let a kid in. It was more than their jobs were worth.

  ‘That’s just it though, boss, she did have ID on her. But the police reckon it’s a fake…’

  Alfie bit his lip. He just wanted Gem to shut the fuck up now. The more the bloke spoke the worse the situation was becoming. One thing Alfie did know was that someone hadn’t done their fucking job properly tonight, that was for certain. Heads were going to roll for this, Alfie Harris would see to that personally.

  ‘Well, at least we know that this girl didn’t get Ecstasy from any of our men. She must have brought it in with her, or got it from some other fucker that somehow managed to get it past the doormen.’ Personally, Alfie didn’t have time for drugs at his club; they were nothing but a mug’s game but they came part and parcel with the territory, he knew that.

  The music and gear went hand in hand. That’s what the club scene was all about.

  Though Alfie Harris had never been keen on that side of the business, he’d allowed Jimmy Byrne and Alex Costa to run that side of things and, up until now, they’d never once had a problem. But then, they only sold the best quality cocaine that money could buy.

  ‘Make sure the club’s clean. The last thing we need is the plod tracing this shit back to our doormen or, even fucking worse, to me. If they find out who’s dealing, we’ll all be royally fucked. Get Jenson and Danno out of there,’ Alfie said, deciding to get the two dealers that Jimmy and Alex had put in place as doormen as far away from the club as possible. So at least that way, there was no chance of this OD coming back in any way at his club. ‘Tell them to knock off early. The last thing I need is the plod catching the doormen dealing shit.’