Текст книги "Rotten to the Core"

Автор книги: Casey Kelleher

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

              Glad to finally be of some use to her son, Sonia agreed, she also wanted to make sure that Kate was okay, and to warn her that it might not be a good idea to tell Jay that she had moved in, at least not yet. The boy seemed to have other things on his mind.

Sonia hurried off, leaving Jay to mull over what he was going to do once he was out of hospital. When he did get back out there he would be on his own, there would be no more backup for him, so he needed to get things organised.

14

Tanya had a major hump again. She felt as if she had the permanent hump. Billy had been out every bloody night now for the best part of this week, and she was fed up.

Scraping yet another of his dinners into the waste disposal unit, she looked at the clock above the oven; it was ten o’clock. She wasn’t the best cook in the world but she had made a real effort with dinner tonight, making chilli con carne, which was Billy’s favourite. She had mentioned to him earlier that she was going to cook for him tonight, and still he couldn’t be bothered to come home to eat with her. No guesses as to where he would be tonight, she sighed. Looking around her gleaming kitchen, Tanya felt depressed.

It had been a month now since Kate had moved in with Jay and his mum, and for the entire time Billy had been like a bear with a sore bleeding head, he was moody, on edge and had been down The Dog every night not coming home until the early hours.

Tanya scrubbed the already gleaming kitchen sides, taking her anger out on her pristine Italian marble worktops, forgetting in her anger that they had cost a fortune, just like the rest of her designer kitchen. Throwing the sponge into the sink, Tanya sighed to herself loudly. The night that Billy had the row with Kate had been unbearable. Apparently he had gone home to find that Kate had packed her bags and left. Fuming, Billy had called her mobile at least twenty times, although it kept going to voicemail. Pleading with her to answer her phone, she had finally done so and told him that she knew it was him who had beaten Jay up, and as far as she was concerned she had to make a choice for her unborn baby: Billy or Jay. She had chosen Jay. After informing Billy that he was no longer anything to her or her child and that she never wanted to hear from him again, she had hung up on him.

Billy couldn’t believe the way Kate was acting. He hadn’t laid a finger on that piece of shite. Billy was sure that Jay loved this. The smug bastard was probably laughing his mug off.

Even Tanya had to admit, only to herself of course, she wouldn’t dream of voicing her doubts to Billy, that she had her suspicions that Billy was behind Jay’s beating, especially after the way he reacted to the news of Kate being pregnant, but she knew that if Billy had done it, despite Kate’s reaction to the whole situation, Billy would have confessed to them both by now if it had been him. He was the type to stand by his actions, and Tanya knew he was genuinely upset by his sister’s reaction to him, because he really was telling her the truth, he really hadn’t dished out the beating to Jay. When he had found out that his sister had then gone and moved into Jay’s mum’s place he felt sick to his stomach, imagining that she would be round there attending to that scumbag’s every whim. He realised now that he had played it all wrong, now his sister had chosen that piece of filth over him. Hoping that in time Kate would calm down and reconsider, Billy had left her alone. He had no other choice, he didn’t want to lose her forever so he thought he would bide his time, although inside he was stewing. It had been a whole month now and there had been no word from Kate at all. His sister was all he really had, he had always been so protective of her, and growing up as the only man in the house he had kind of taken on the whole provider/protector role too. He wasn’t very good at being on his own, like most men, there was too much shit going round inside his head, being on your own meant that you had to think about stuff, and who could be bothered with all of that? So he had stayed most of the month at the flat with Tanya. He was getting in the way though, and she often had an irritated tone to her voice when she spoke to him. He just wanted to lounge around, chill out a bit, smoke a few joints, but Tanya was clean and tidy and organised, and she knew it was driving him nuts. He sometimes said she had OCD. He wanted her to be more chilled, loosen up a little. After this month living together, the cracks were definitely starting to show.

Tanya had been made up when he had turned up with a bag of his stuff in tow, she thought that maybe now Kate had pissed off and become someone else’s problem that she would have Billy to herself. She had planned quiet little dinners in, thought she could light a few candles, put on a nice bit of music, she couldn’t wait to spend every minute with her fella. But Billy was driving her crazy with his grumpiness and short-temper. When he was at home he mainly sat around making the place look untidy, constantly banging on about Kate, almost as if he were obsessed. He was her brother, but the way he had been acting you would have thought that he was her poor jilted lover. And he was getting worse. Tanya sighed; she knew that Kate meant a lot to Billy, but this was unhealthy.

Calling him and giving him agro wasn’t Tanya’s style, she would bide her time, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to take much more of this from him, but was well aware that this was actually his place at the end of the day, and she loved this flat, it was her very own little oasis. If things carried on the way they were going and Tanya lost it, Billy would just end it with her, and she’d lose it all. She had no intentions of going back to nothing. She had a status now, when she went out with the girls, which wasn’t very often these days, she had got into the habit of being home in case Billy wanted to come by. She was treated like royalty when sge was out though. They knew she was Billy’s girlfriend, and as everyone wanted to keep him happy, they knew they should keep her happy too. Tanya was sure that her beauty also played a part in the attention she got; she couldn’t help but notice the looks she got from other men when she was out. It was a shame Billy didn’t appreciate what he had.

Tanya was glad when Billy did finally bugger off out to The Dog in the afternoons, she was enjoying the peace and quiet. Reaching for her glass of wine, Tanya gulped it down, loving the coolness and the feeling of familiar numbness taking over. She had felt more and more like a kid lately, having to sneak a drink whenever Billy wasn’t looking. She was careful when Billy was home, he didn’t mind her having a drink, and in fact he had commented a couple of times that she was more chilled when she’d had one. What Billy didn’t know was that she could quite happily do a whole bottle in an evening just to herself and sometimes if she was having a shit day she did have the odd glass, even if it was still morning, though that had only happened a few times. Well, maybe more than a few, but she wasn’t addicted or anything like that, she wasn’t an alky. Alcoholics sat on benches drinking Special Brew, they were low down in the food chain. She was in control. No, she didn’t have a problem; she just enjoyed a few drinks every now and again. After another long swig of wine, her mood started to lift. She loved the calm that swept over her. At least when Billy wasn’t here, she could have as much as she liked without feeling guilty or having to justify it to him. Pouring another glass, she smiled to herself as she remembered a saying her nan used to say to her all through her childhood: “Be careful what you wish for; because one day, Tanya, you might get it”. She finally understood the meaning, taking the rest of the bottle into bedroom Tanya prepared herself for yet another fun-filled night of watching telly in bed, alone.

15

Kate smoothed her crisp white shirt down over her tiny bump, smiling as she felt the flutter of movement. She had had a good pregnancy so far, her skin was glowing, her energy was high; she was quite enjoying it. She was over four months gone, and she loved that she now had the tiny start of a little baby bump. No one else had mentioned it but Kate could clearly notice it, especially as her trousers were becoming so tight she was worried that if she sat down, she might split them. She needed some new clothes.

Mentally adding trousers to the long list of everything else she was going to need to buy, she looked into the mirror again, giving herself the once over, and began to worry that perhaps she was a little over-dressed. She looked as if she was going for a job in a law firm or something, very formal and well turned out, maybe she was overdoing it a little. The job advertisement had been for a cleaner, it was part-time hours and cash-in-hand, and most importantly it was local. Kate knew that in her present condition she would be lucky if she could get the job. A lot of employers wouldn’t employ a pregnant woman if they could help it, especially someone halfway through their pregnancy; it wasn’t worth all the hassle. So she figured that for her interview this morning she needed to make an extra good impression.

Kate had been at Jay’s house now for a month, and to say that it hadn’t been going that well would be an understatement. He claimed that he didn’t know who had attacked him that night. Kate had even started to think that maybe she had been wrong, maybe her brother hadn’t been behind it after all, that perhaps she had over-reacted.

Kate missed Billy so much, and sometimes really needed him around. But on speaking to Jay one night after a very rare early night together, he had all but implied that it had been Billy who had attacked him. He wouldn’t discuss it with her, and he didn’t actually say the words, but he had implied it clearly enough to her. Maybe that was half of Jay’s problem with her at the moment, she thought, he had been really funny with her when he had first come home from hospital, he had gone nuts at Sonia for letting Kate move in without consulting him, and Kate had felt very unwelcome. Then he had spent the next few days constantly telling her not to go through his stuff, and that she wasn’t to be poking around, he was acting very odd.

At first Kate had put it down to her being a little over-sensitive, with her hormones and everything, but it had just gone from bad to worse. Then she had thought that maybe some of it was resentment for what her brother had done to him, that they were just experiencing what most couples did from time to time, a rough patch. It was all new to both of them, this baby stuff; Kate was more than aware of just how scary it all was. Perhaps Jay was scared of becoming a dad, settling down, and supporting them all. Kate just wanted to see him smile at her like he used to, and to want her like he used to. Jay seemed not to be that bothered at all by her, and he didn’t seem to be interested in the baby either, but after long talks with Sonia, Kate felt a bit more reassured about that one.

Sonia and Kate had become good friends over the past few weeks and often spent the mornings gossiping over mugs of tea and buttered toast. Sonia was obviously excited about being a grandmother; she was forever coming up with cute baby names, hoping to inspire Kate, and making suggestions about places they could take the baby once it was born. She was a tonic and Kate would have felt lost without her. When Kate had been close to tears one morning because of Jay’s total lack of interest in the baby‘s first kick, Sonia reassured her that while women feel an instant connection with the life that was growing inside them, men sometimes didn’t have any feelings towards the baby until it was actually there. That was when the baby became ‘real’ to them. It made sense in Kate’s mind, and she hoped that when they did have the baby, Jay would be a good dad.

There were times when loneliness washed over Kate. She hadn’t heard from Emma now for five weeks, the last two times she had been round there Emma had been acting really oddly, and now Kate knew for sure that she was taking something, she decided to keep away, she didn’t want anything happening to her baby and hopefully Emma would realise that if she wanted to see her then she could, but only if she wasn’t off her head on drugs.

The biggest hole had come from cutting Billy out of her life, and now Jay was becoming even more distant, Sonia seemed like Kate’s only friend, and as nice as that was, Kate needed more. She didn’t want to burden Jay even more than she already had, so she had decided that she needed to make her own money. Kate was bored of sitting around all the time, she was pregnant not ill, so when she saw this little part-time job advertised, she decided that she would apply for it, earn some cash to buy her baby some nice things, and get out of the house for a bit too.

Kate had decided not to tell Jay about the interview yet, as she wasn’t holding out much hope of getting it, but she was sure that he would be made up for her if she did get it. He would be pleased that she could pay her own way. Sonia had insisted that she needn’t worry about paying rent while she lived there, and Kate had decided to earn her keep and help out around the house, washing dishes, doing the laundry, whatever needed doing, it was the least that she could do.

Kate had never realised how lazy Jay was; most days he laid in bed until midday, then he would slob about for a couple of hours, drinking strong coffee and chain smoking, despite her asking him to stop because of the baby. Then from about three o’clock most afternoons he was gone, “doing business,” he would vaguely add when asked, and Kate rarely saw him again until the early hours when he crawled into bed next to her.

              Things needed to change; this wasn’t how Kate had seen her and her baby’s future, and fingers crossed if she did get this little job, things would be better for them all. Maybe she would treat Jay to something with her first pay to show him that she really loved him. Once they were back on track things would be fine.

              Feeling better, Kate picked up her bag and made her way to the interview; she was going to arrive a few minutes early, to show willing, she had loads of time to get there; besides, Goldie’s nightclub was only a few streets away.

16

Opening her eyes, Emma looked around the room. Had he gone? The bedroom door was open, and she couldn’t hear anything in the house. Relief washed over her; he had gone, thank God. Emma was aching all over, her head was pounding and she felt as if she had been run over by a truck. Emma rolled over on her bed and tried to sit up but pain seared through her. Reaching over to her side table, she saw the fifty pound note on the side; biting her lip to stop the tremble, she couldn’t help but feel the insult. She reached down to the drawer in the table and took out her little bag of gear and struggled to keep from crying, it was almost empty. Snorting the contents and laying back against the stale, grey sheets, she felt the drug run through her body, helping to block out the last few hours of torture she had to endure.

Last night had been a bad one, a fucking bad one. The guy Jay had sent had been a nutcase, a proper loon. He had tied her up to start with, using black masking tape, and at first she had made a few light-hearted jokes about him being kinky, but he had breathed really heavily and stared at her, hate gleaming from his eyes. She’d started to get scared then, asked him to untie her, told him that this was not how she did things. But he had bound her even tighter. She had begged him, but he had just covered her mouth with the tape too. He had whispered in her ear, while he gagged her that she was a dirty slag and he was going to teach her a lesson. After dozens of punches, he grabbed her so tightly around the throat that Emma passed out, and then he brutally took her while she was out cold. She was sore beyond belief, looking down at her top she saw that it was torn almost in half and winced at the sight of one exposed breast, covered in bite marks and bruises.

He hadn’t looked odd when Emma had first let him in. He had said his name was Alan. At first, he had been very quiet, and on first impressions, Emma would have had him done as some sort of nerdy train spotter. Guess you never can tell about people on looks alone. She rubbed the red marks on her wrists; the binding had been so tight. She had never been so scared. The reality of her ordeal was sinking in; he could have killed her. But then to leave money, Emma couldn’t believe it. He had paid to rape her. And somewhere in her mind, to leave only fifty pounds was an added insult.

Emma was out of her depth. God knows what she would do next. She couldn’t work out how she had let it get this far. One minute she was in bed with Jay, thinking that she had a chance with him and doing her upmost to please him, the next thing she knew, Jay was persuading her to “entertain” one of his wealthy “friends”. Jay had made it sound glamorous. He said that he had “friends” who would pay good money for Emma’s company, “friends” who wanted someone young and eager like Emma. Not only would she make lots of cash, but he promised that he would keep her in a constant supply of coke.

The first time it had actually gone quite well, it was a businessman from the USA, he was gorgeous, loaded, and in fifteen minutes Emma had earned two hundred pounds. He hadn’t really spoken to her, he had just got what he wanted and left. Not the most mind-blowing sex she’d ever had but definitely the quickest money she’d ever made, and with the guy being so good looking it was hardly a chore. Jay had given her a big bag of gear as a thank you and told her there was more where that had come from. It had seemed so easy. Emma thought that she could handle it, and that with Jay by her side she would be okay. That was the plan, anyway; the reality was far from that.

Jay had sent her some real weirdoes lately, lots of them. She had told him that she wasn’t doing it anymore. It had been a novelty at first, but she was beginning to feel used and dirty, but Jay wasn’t having any of it, he stopped giving her the gear knowing that she had become totally addicted to it now.

When she had tried to score coke elsewhere, she had found that it wasn’t the same as Jay’s stuff, it wasn’t as potent; it didn’t give her the hit she craved. So after a bit more persuading from him, she had agreed to see some of his “friends” again, but this time Jay said he would make things easier for her, he’d deal with the money, and arrangements, look out for her, but he would also be taking a cut.

The condition was that she would have an endless supply of gear and still make good money. She didn’t really feel she had much of a choice; she was desperate to get some decent gear off Jay again, and to feel that buzz once more. She knew what she was doing, knew what she had become, but she didn’t care; all she could think about was getting her next hit. She had no idea that the coke she had become hooked on, was actually China White: a form of heroin, she was completely oblivious.

Emma had done a bit of speed and a line or two of coke when she was out with mates in clubs, and she had indulged in the odd joint, all pretty harmless. But this stuff was different, she craved it. She felt that she needed it as much as, if not more than, food and water. It was the first thing she thought of when she woke up, and the last thing she thought about when she went to bed. Jay had convinced her that it was well-cut coke, but she had tried coke from some of her more generous clients and nothing compared to the stuff Jay gave her. Emma had her suspicions that it was cut with something else, but no idea that it was heroin that she was now hooked on: he had her right where he needed her.

Getting up to go to the toilet Emma saw blood trickling down her thigh. Fucking bastard, he really had been rough with her. She had almost passed out from the pain. Feeling totally alone, Emma started to cry. There was nobody who would help her. No point calling the police, how can a prostitute, who’s been paid, have the cheek to cry rape? She knew she needed to go to hospital, God knows what damage this sick bastard had caused.

Picking up the phone, Emma decided to call Jay. He was supposed to be looking out for her; this would be one mess that he could help her out with. He owes me big time for this one, she thought. He could take her to hospital for starters and she was sure that after what she had to suffer because of him and his dodgy fucking “friends“, he owed her a big bag of gear too. She was going to use this to her advantage. As he picked up the phone, Jay could hardly make out what Emma was saying through her sobs, the last thing she had heard him say was that he would be there in five before he hung up on her. Now she just had to wait.

17

Paul Goldie didn’t quite know what to make of his morning, but it had just started to improve, and greatly. For starters, he wasn’t even supposed to be here. Suzy, his promotions manager, was supposed to be here doing all these interviews for him. They had had a good night last night, the place had once again been packed, and Paul knew that his staff had been working extra hard lately, and extra hours, as they were short staffed due to illness.

The place was making a real name for itself, he had lots of new faces using the gentlemen’s lounge upstairs and even a few celebrities treating Goldie’s like their local haunt.

Goldie’s had been mentioned loads on Twitter and had a massive following on Facebook too. As great as it all was, Paul was knackered; he had got home at three thirty this morning, and had only put his head down for a few hours when Suzy had rang him to say she couldn’t come in. Her son was sick, and as Suzy was one of his best workers she would have felt terrible about calling him.

He had needed to sort some paperwork out anyway, so when he got Suzie’s call he thought that instead of doing a ring around and seeing if he could get one of his senior members of staff to do the interviews, he may as well do them himself: keep an eye on who was being employed.

They only needed cleaners for the morning, a couple more dancers/hostesses for the gentlemen’s lounge, and two more bar staff. Paul had done a few interviews already this morning, employed a couple of girls who had just starting out dancing: they were pretty and young, and seemed naive, but then they usually all were to begin with. Then they wised up and got shrewd, earning some decent cash. The gentlemen’s lounge was proving to be a real hit, his regulars loved it. He wanted to keep it fresh; get a few more girls up there. A couple of older girls had come about the cleaner’s position; they seemed to be hard workers who said they wanted regular money. Up until about five minutes ago, the morning had been a bit of a chore. Now that had changed. Sipping his coffee, he looked across the table to where Kate was sitting; yes, now things were looking up. She was gorgeous. He looked her up and down once more, taking in the view; she was very classily dressed, Paul had thought that she was here to apply for a dancer or hostess position at first, she had the looks and figure for it, and Paul could see that she would get a lot of attention from the gentlemen, but once he started talking to her, he realised that he had got it wrong. There was an air of innocence about her, not only that, she seemed smart. Kate had come about the cleaning position, which Paul couldn’t understand. She had been speaking for a couple of minutes now and he could tell that this girl had little idea of just how stunning she was.

              “I’m happy to work whatever hours you have going, Mr Goldie, I’m a really reliable worker.” He didn’t doubt that. “You can even put me on a trial or something, see how I get on?”

              Paul smiled and wondered why such a beautiful girl would want to spend her time picking up empty bottles and scrubbing toilets, when she could be out there doing anything she put her mind to. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, Kate, but why exactly do you want to work here? Obviously Goldie’s is a great place to work, though.” He laughed. He didn’t want to say that cleaning was beneath her. “You could do pretty much whatever you wanted,” he added.

              “I just need the money, Mr Goldie.”

Kate fidgeted in her chair. She had decided against telling him that she was pregnant, she thought that if she could get her foot in the door, she would tell him then, and hopefully by then he would have seen what a great worker she was and would let her keep her job. She really needed a break, and she wasn’t sure how the man sitting opposite her now would respond to her situation; most employers would rather do without the hassle, and then there was health and safety, etc.

              Paul wasn’t convinced that it was all about the money for Kate; there was something not quite right here; she seemed like an intelligent girl, why was she aiming so low? She was so young, didn’t she have greater ambitions?

              “So, do I have the job, Mr Goldie?” Kate interrupted his thoughts.

              Paul made up his mind. The girl intrigued him. “I’m sorry, Kate, I’m afraid that the cleaning position has already been taken.”

              “Oh!” Secretly, she was a little relieved, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

              “But, Kate, there is something else I could offer.” Paul grinned at her, and she could see his laughter lines, which made him more handsome.

              “Oh?” Kate was more than a little surprised, and she was starting to regret coming for the interview now. She hated lying and felt that Paul knew her secret.

              “I need someone to do some of the paperwork… make calls, help organise stuff a little better. I need an assistant.” The more Paul spoke, the more he realised that he could do with things being a bit more organised. There were piles of paperwork and contacts scribbled on bits of paper lying around the office, so many things that he didn’t get round to doing himself. There was just something about Kate that made him want to help; something in her tone that was more determined than desperate. She sounded as if she could do with good luck.

              Kate’s eyes lit up. This was so much more than she could have expected.

              “There is one condition though, Kate, and it is quite an important one,” Paul said seriously.

              Go on, thought Kate; what’s the catch?

              “You must call me Paul; all this Mr Goldie is making me feel really old.” He laughed now, and relieved, Kate laughed too.

              She left shortly afterwards, and Paul was surprised at how grateful Kate had been, she had seemed over the moon at getting the job.

Paul smiled, feeling very happy all of a sudden. Kate was starting on Monday, so he could leave all his paperwork until then, seeing as he was going to have to find things for her to do. He was still smiling, as he locked up as he left, thinking: if this is how it feels to do a good deed, I should do one more often.

 

 

18

Jay lost his grip on the sill and fell back down onto the muddy verge beneath him. It was dark now, particularly around the warehouse where there were no street lamps. He got to his feet once more, pulling himself up again to the window. He swung his leg up and this time he was in: fancy having electric gates and fancy alarm systems set up and then going and leaving a window open. Jay tutted; he’s almost invited me in, he laughed, although it was more of a nervous giggle. He knew he had to get in and out quickly, because if Billy or one of his lads turned up he would be dead this time.

              Looking around, he didn’t know where to start. He hadn’t really had a plan; he had been getting high with a couple of mates at one of their flats, and on his way home had kind of just stumbled this way. The open window had seemed a sign, enticing him in; too easy, he thought.

              The warehouse was huge. Looking at all the boxes and containers, he could see that the men must be busy. He knew the lads did run a legit business, shipping goods overseas and providing a courier service and storage. But Jay also knew that if he looked hard enough he would find out the not-so legit goings on, then he could play Billy boy at his own game.

Billy had put the word out on Jay, he had been collecting information on him, but unfortunately for him he had pissed a few people off himself along the way, and not everyone was as loyal as he would have liked to think. Lifting up the lid of a big box, Jay whistled. It was full of what looked like very expensive jewellery. Dipping into the box, he picked up a long gold chain with a butterfly pendant embedded with crystals. Jay put it in his pocket, hoping to get cash for it later. He put the lid back on and then made his way to the office. Jay looked about, impressed. The office was every guy’s dream workplace, decked out with the state of the art gadgets, a big plasma screen on the wall, leather sofas, expensive Macs.

Jay was envious. There were days when he would be rolling in dough and other days when he had to trawl through shit to get what was owed to him. He had cash stashed away, but nothing that could set him up like this. This was what he wanted. Billy must be rolling in it; his legit business alone must be bringing him and his lads in a fortune. There was a lot about Billy that Jay envied, not that he would admit that to a living soul.

Billy had had a proper family growing up; he had his lads to back him up, ones that he’d been friends with since he was a boy. You couldn’t buy that kind of loyalty. He had all of this, too. Jay looked out to the warehouse floor once again. It was filled from floor to ceiling with all sorts of things. But most of all, what Jay envied the most was that people feared Billy; respected him. Jay could scare people, he could bribe and blackmail them, threaten and rob them, but that was as far as it went. He was a dealer, and no-one respects a low-life dealer, they feared him but they had no respect for him. People were only nice to Jay when they wanted something, and if he was honest with himself he would admit that he used them too. Even his dad had used him, teaching him all sorts of corrupt stuff, putting him in dangerous situations as a child. His dad hadn’t encouraged him to do well at school, or have a better chance at life in any way, but to act as his own accomplice, and now he was dutifully following in his old man’s footsteps.