Lovers and Liars (67 page)

She began dialling the number. Pascal hesitated, then shrugged. ‘Oh, very well, very well - but for God’s sake keep it casual. Talk about something else first. Then say you ran into McMullen or something and he mentioned Lise’s name. Don’t make it obvious, Gini. I don’t like you calling her now. It’s almost Sunday. For all you know, John Hawthorne could be with her. I_’

He broke off, as Gini began speaking. She had hardly begun on her first sentence, before she was interrupted. She stopped, and stood listening in silence. Pascal could just hear the sound of Mary speaking rapidly.

‘Oh, I see/ Gini said. ‘I didn’t realize. I’ve been out a lot. When? Oh, Mary, I’m not sure. I … It’s rather short notice.’

Pascal moved a little closer to her. Gini had paled, he saw, and on her face was an expression he knew of old, a closed, blank, defensive look. She moved so her back was towards him, and began to twist the cord of the phone. Her answers became monosyllabic. He could hear and see that she was attempting to resist something, and then giving ground.

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I” I Finally she replaced the phone, and turned back to him. The #Iteration in her demeanour was startling. A confident young “Woman now looked like a nervous child. Only one person produced that effect on Gini. Gently, Pascal took her hand.

‘Your father,’ he said. ‘You were speaking to your father, weren’t

‘That’s right. Mary passed him the phone.’ She turned her away. ‘He’s in London, passing through. Seeing some pub-

’01sher about his Vietnam book. He’s been trying to get hold of for two days. He wants to see me at Mary’s. Tonight. Not tor long - they’re going out somewhere. just for an hour or

00.,

There was a brief silence. Pascal watched her face. He said quietly, ‘Gini, when did you last see him?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Two years ago. Two and a half.’ ‘Does he call you? Does he write?’

‘No. ‘But now he’s passing through, so you have to drop everything find go running.’

‘He said it was urgent, Pascal. Important. I’ll have to go.’

‘Oh, I’ll bet it was important. And urgent. He knows you’re orking on the Hawthorne story, Gini. It’s just more pressure. liawthorne’s roped him in.’

‘ ‘He never mentioned Hawthorne.’

‘Come on, Gini! He and Hawthorne go back a long way. You ,,know perfectly well what your father wants to talk about. He’s ing to tell you to stay off Hawthorne’s private life, and for

AGod’s sake don’t start digging up anything to do with a certain ‘Incident in Vietnam-2

‘Oh you think so?’ She swung around to face him. ‘Fine, well, !,shall we just wait and see before we decide that? It might be oothing to do with this story at all. You’re pre-judging him, Vascal, the way you always do. It could be anything. He could

1,6 ffl-!

‘Oh for God’s sake, Gini.’ Pascal waved his hand in exas’peration. ‘He turns you into a child again and he always damn Well did. You talk to him for five seconds, and suddenly you have no mind of your own.’

‘That’s not true! It’s not fair!’

‘Darling, he can twist you around his little finger. One word of praise and you’d die for him. One threat and you toe the line. He ‘knows that - and I’ve no doubt that by now Hawthorne knows it

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as well … GiniT He tried to put his arm around her, but Gini pushed him away. Pascal stepped back. He sighed and gave a helpless shrug. ‘You agreed to goT

‘Yes. I did. I had to. just for an hour, no more than two-‘ ‘Fine. OK. I’ll come with you.’

‘No, you won’t.’ She rounded on him. ‘Pascal, stop this, will you? Can you imagine what would happen if you came with me? He’d go totally mad.’

‘So let him. Are you frightened of that? Why? Let him shout and bluster. You don’t have to listen now. You’re not fifteen any more.’

‘It isn’t a question of that. And I’m not frightened of him. I simply want to hear whatever it is he has to say, and then go. Mary will be there. Please, Pascal, don’t fight me on this. I have to see him. Don’t make it any harder than it is already.’

She held out her hand to him as she said this. Pascal took it. He looked down into her face with an expression of angry concern.

‘Darling, whyT he said, and caught her in his arms. ‘Why? I still don’t understand. Why do you let him do this to youT

Gini bent her head. She let him lock his arms around her, but she did not reply. Pascal held her close. She could feel the tension in his body; she could feel the beating of his heart.

Then the telephone rang. With a muttered exclamation Pascal went to answer it. Suzy was punctual, it seemed, and was now waiting at the front desk. In the three minutes it took her to reach their room, Gini had time to answer Pascal’s final question

- though she did so silently, and to herself.

Why? Because her father indeed made her feel like a child again - and a few other things besides, such as unloved, in the way, irritating, a nuisance, a bore … Maybe this time, she thought, maybe this time it will be different - and then she turned away sadly. For that hope, of course, was the source of his power over her, no matter how many times she had hoped, and been disappointed, before.

Suzy, when she entered, looked young and nervous. She was dressed as if for a job interview, in a neat cream suit with carefully matching accessories. Her fair hair was newly washed, her makeup minimal. It was only on closer inspection that the wariness in her eyes became apparent, and only when she spoke that the illusion of youth and innocence was destroyed.

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She came into the room with a few light remarks about the hotel, and a slow measuring glance at Pascal. Then she saw Gini, and her whole manner altered. She stopped two feet inside the door. Her face hardened.

She said, in a sharp voice, ‘What is this? I don’t do threesomes. Not for this money. Fuck you.’

It took nearly ten minutes to persuade her to stay. In the end, after lengthy explanations and assurances, she seemed to hesitate. She gave Gini a long hard look, then gestured at Pascal.

‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll talk to you, but not with him here. On our own, all rightT

Pascal, at a sign from Gini, left the room. He did not seem pleased to do so. Suzy waited until the door closed, then crossed to a chair opposite Gini. She sat down, and lit a cigarette.

‘I don’t like men,’ she said in a matter of fact way. ‘I don’t trust men. I screw them, but I don’t trust them. How about youT

‘I trust some of them. Occasionally.’

‘It’s your funeral.’ She shrugged. ‘I’d rather talk to a woman any day. Before we talk, let’s get one thing straight. I’m older than I look. I’ve got two kids to support. OK, so I’m not in a pension Plan, but I can make good money doing what I do. It’s a service industry, as far as I’m concerned. The clients buy my services not me.’

v ‘Fine. I understand.’ Gini hesitated. ‘I can’t explain why I’m asking these questions, but they are important. Part of a much larger story.’

That’s OK.’ Suzy exhaled a cloud of bluish smoke. ‘I don’t care. t You’re paying for my time. I don’t mind telling you what happened. Bloody swine … Send the photographs on approval. Sit in a hotel lobby on approval.’ She spoke with sudden vehemence; her eyes glittered with resentment. ‘I mean, this was the third time this guy had booked me, right? And he’d already cancelled twice.’

Gini leaned forward. ‘What happened that third timeT she asked. ‘You didn’t just sit in that hotel lobby for half an hour, did youT

‘No way. That’s what he told the agency he wanted me to do. That’s what I told them I had done. But it wasn’t like that at all.’

She hesitated, drawing on her cigarette. ‘Look/ she went on, ‘let me tell it from the beginning, then maybe you’ll understand.

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This was back in December last year. I was sitting there in the lobby, just the way he asked, all right? For fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. I was wearing this suit - I keep this for my work. I was sort of curious, you know? I get all kinds of requests, but this one was something new. I was trying to work out which of the men in the lobby was my client - and there were a lot of candidates. it was a busy time. Scores of blokes going through. Then I saw this woman, standing by the front desk. Staring at me. Watching me … I

‘A woman? Can you describe her?’

‘About thirty. Very attractive. She had long fair hair, cut a bit like mine. She was wearing beautiful clothes - ever such beautiful clothes. A dark navy suit, a cream silk shirt, pearls, expensive shoes - oh, and one of those famous handbags, like that movie-star used to carry .

‘A Grace Kelly bag? HermL-s?’

‘That’s it. In crocodile. Two thousand quid a throw. Plus, she was wearing dark glasses and I thought that was odd. It was December, for God’s sake. OK, it was a fine day outside, but indoors she still kept them on. She kept them on all the time .

‘Did she approach you? Talk to youT

‘Yes. She did. She came over, and she said she knew I must be Suzy because she’d called the agency herself. She said there’d been a change of plan. My client did still want to see me, but in his room. Would I mind going upstairs with her.’

‘And you agreedT

‘Sure.’ Suzy gave her a sharp glance. ‘I thought, maybe the guy had been in the lobby earlier to check me out. I thought, maybe it turned him on, he wants to screw … ‘ She hesitated. ‘I thought if he did, keep mum, no need to pay the agency commission. Why give them twenty per cent? They need never know. Besides, it was a ritzy place. I’d never been there before. I wanted to see the rooms.’

‘So you went upstairs with the womanT

‘Right. First, she says she’ll just show me the way. Then, when we get there, she comes in too. It was a suite. Really glamorous. Lovely thick carpets, silk covers on the chairs, huge great vases of flowers … Then I noticed something weird. It was mid-morning and all the curtains were closed.’

‘You didn’t notice that right awayT

‘No. Too busy pricing the furniture maybe.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘Hotel rooms are often dark. And there were table lights

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switched on. Only part of the room was dark . She paused. ‘This woman, she sits me down, next to a lamp. And then I realize: we aren’t alone. There’s this man, sitting over in the corner. In the ,.shadows. just sitting there. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t move. Legs crossed, watching me. And the whole time I’m in there, the bastard never says one word.’

‘Can you describe him, Suzy?’

‘No. Not too well. I’m short-sighted. He was sitting in shadow. “Well-dressed - a black overcoat, unbuttoned; a dark suit. Fortyish Ixnaybe. Tallish. Fair hair.’

‘Handsome? Tanned? Blue eyes? Brown eyesT ‘I couldn’t say.’

‘OK. What about the woman? She was still there? Did she say anything?’

‘Oh, she was still there all right.’ Suzy’s tone hardened. ‘And stures speak louder than words, right? You know what she Jid? She opened that handbag of hers and inside, it was full of money. She held it out, so I could see. She lets me look at it for a bit, then very slowly, she starts taking it out. It’s fifty-pound notes. In bundles of ten. She says: “Now, I want you to undress, pot completely, just down to your underwear. That’s worth five ,hundred. Then, if you do what I tell you, that’s another five hundred. If we’re pleased with you, there’s a bonus. One more bundle. That’s fifteen hundred pounds. No-one will touch you. Then you can leave. Do you agree?” ‘

Suzy paused. ‘She had this really quiet, polite, voice. It was like she was asking me some special favour. Every time she said ,five hundred, she took another bundle out of the bag, and put it down on the table next to me. I looked at it, and I looked at it … You know how long it’d take me to earn that kind of money usually? Four clients. Five. A week of them mauling me about, or me jerking them off. Sometimes weeks go by, and there are no clients. I have to pay a mortgage. School fees. I like things nice. I agreed.’

‘Tell me what you had to do, Suzy.’

Again that look of angry resentment passed across her face. She shrugged. ‘First, I had to get bought. I think that was it. it gave her a thrill, buying me. Him too, maybe. He was watching all the time. Anyway, I did what she said. Slowly, the way she asked. I had to stand facing him, and take my clothes off. She kind of hovered around me, all the time I was doing that. It was like she wanted to touch me all the time. And she stared at me

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too, really stared, like she was memorizing me for some fucking identity parade. She helped undo my skirt. She even touched my hair - she said I had really beautiful hair. She stroked my breasts a few times - and that turned her on. If I’m honest, it turned me on too. I like to do it with women.’ She paused, and her eyes slid across to meet Gini’s. ‘How about youT

‘I prefer men. Generally.’

Suzy shrugged. ‘Any time you change your mind let me know. Anyway, this woman, she starts stroking my breasts, but she does it in this really weird way, standing a bit to the side, so the guy can get a really good view. It’s like she’s displaying me for his benefit, right? And she’s starting to shake. Then all of a sudden, he sighs, and she gets control of herself. She tells me to sit down. Facing her friend .

‘She called him thaff

‘Yes. Some friend. Fucking deviant. All the time she’s touchin

9 me, he’s got his hands in his pockets - and put it this way, he wasn’t checking his wallet. Or finding his keys.’

‘Fine. I get the picture. Go on.’

‘Look,’ Suzy shot her a hard glance, ‘so far, it’s not that unusual, OK? I get plenty of jerk-off merchants. The ones who want to watch. I figured, sooner or later, he’d want to watch us fuck, the blonde and me. Well, I was wrong. She might have liked the idea, but that wasn’t the scenario. Not at all.

‘The woman had to do all the talking/ she continued, ‘all right? And I had to stay silent. She said that was the rule.’

‘She used that term? “Rule”T

‘That’s right. So, I sit down. She sits down - away off to my right, so she doesn’t spoil his view. Then she starts giving me instructions. And she’s so polite. So odd. Like a bloody robot. Like she’s speaking from some script she’s learned by heart.