Snatched (20 page)

Gazing at the other women when Jackie had gathered up her things and left, Pauline said, ‘Now
that
’s what you call a good neighbour. And if we all thought like her, this estate would be all the better for it – don’t you think?’

Even Irene couldn’t disagree with that. But Carole could.

‘She’ll get nowt off me,’ she declared, munching on yet another biscuit. ‘And as for clothes for the kids, she’ll get plenty of handouts off the state, don’t you worry about that.’

Shaking her head in disgust, Pauline got up and snatched the biscuit tin out of reach. Slamming the lid onto it, she reached into her bag and took out her purse.

‘There,’ she said, resolutely slapping a twenty-pound note down on top of the tenner. ‘Not much, I know, but none of us is rich, and anything’s better than nothing . . . No matter how small . . . I’m sure it will all be gratefully received . . . Won’t it?’

Persisting until she’d shamed at least a fiver out of each of them – apart from Carole, who stubbornly refused to budge – Pauline gathered the money together and put it into a tin.

‘That’ll do for starters, but it’s not nearly enough. So, as chair, I’d appreciate it if you could all start thinking up ways to make more.’

‘How about some kind of function?’ Lynne suggested. ‘I’ve still got that man’s number – the one from the paper, who organised that thing to send my David to swim with the dolphins the other year. He might be able to get hold of some local celebrities if we ask him.’

‘That’s a belting idea,’ Pauline said approvingly. ‘Fetch his number round later and we’ll give him a call.’

‘Ooh, see if he can get Take That,’ Irene leered. ‘I’d love to see
them
in the flesh.’

‘Think you’ve still got it in you, do you?’ Carole muttered snidely.

‘Hey, don’t be fooled by appearances,’ Irene flipped back with a sly grin. ‘There might be snow on the roof, but the fire’s still burning down below.’

‘Jesus!’ Carole snorted. ‘I bet your Eddie’s never heard you talking like that.’

Raising a painted eyebrow, Irene said, ‘Why do you think he’s stuck around so long, my dear?’

Amazed that Irene and Carole were being almost civil to each other after years of open feuding, Pauline thought that she’d better seize the precious moment before it passed – which it would.

‘So, we’re all agreed?’ she said. ‘We’re going to do a fund-raiser, and we’re going to lay off Sue and help her get her life back on track instead of all the bitching and gossiping?’

Grinning from ear to ear when they all said yes, Pauline gave herself a mental pat on the back. It looked like something good might come of this tragedy, after all. And that was fantastic, because if there was one thing this estate needed it was for everyone to start pulling together instead of always pulling each other to bits.

And it was all down to her.

For the next week, John got to watch whatever he liked on the box without interference as, bit wedged firmly between her NHS teeth, Pauline busied herself with her fund-raiser. If he’d taken the slightest bit of notice of what she was doing, he might have been impressed as she managed to secure not only the use of the local community centre as a venue – free – but also the services of a local catering firm, who promised to supply a simple buffet – again free, providing their name was prominently displayed in any publicity.

Putting Irene in charge of setting up a refreshments tent, Pauline set some of the younger women the challenge of organising a jumble sale, and a bouncy castle, and various other activities for the daytime. Jackie Harris knew the wife of the man who’d been voted North-West’s Best Bingo Caller 2004, and Pauline was thrilled when she got him to agree to come along and give them a couple of games. Bingo was big business round their way, and it was sure to be one of the highlights of the event. That, and the live band called Street-Wyze that Lynne Jackson’s journalist friend had managed to line up for them. Pauline was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t somebody she’d actually heard of, but the journalist assured her that they were very well known among the younger generation, so she agreed to let them come – on the understanding that they didn’t start any of that head-banging nonsense, because she wouldn’t be putting up with any of
that
.

To finish the night in style, Pauline persuaded a local hospital-radio DJ to do a set, and was ecstatic when he offered to run an
X-Factor
-type karaoke competition – bound to be a massive hit, given how many Mariah Carey wannabes lived on the estate.

With all that in the bag, Pauline got a local printer to make a batch of posters to stick up around the area, and secured several mentions on the radio in the week leading up to the event. But her greatest achievement by far was to get herself interviewed by the
Evening News
. That really iced her cake, and made her feel like something of a local celebrity as people on the street started to recognise her from her picture on the front page.

All in all, it looked like they were heading for an enjoyable and successful event, and Pauline couldn’t have been more proud of herself – or her ladies – when the big Saturday finally came around.

9

Feeling younger and more vital than she had in years as she leapt out of bed that morning, Pauline ignored John’s groans of protest and drew the curtains back, smiling broadly when she saw that it was already fairly sunny outside – and dry, which was fantastic, because they’d been forecasting rain. She’d been dreading that, knowing that most of the people around here would rather sit at home and watch telly than risk getting wet. But there would be no excuse for absences today.

Peeling off the hairnet which had protected her newly styled hair throughout the night, Pauline was washed, dressed, and out of the house before John had a chance to rub the sleep from his eyes. Arriving at the community centre a short time later with her clipboard in hand and a bossy look on her face, she opened the doors with a flourish – all set to whip her volunteers into shape, and make this the biggest fun-day the community had seen in a long time.

Over on the neighbouring Grafton estate, Terry was still in bed. He’d been awake for ages, but he was struggling to summon up the energy and enthusiasm to get up. It was so hard to make yourself do even the simplest of things when every fibre of your being was resisting.

He really didn’t want to go to this fund-raiser of Pauline’s, and if he could have got out it, he would have. But he figured that things had been bad enough in the last year without making himself look like an ungrateful bastard by snubbing Pauline when she was making an effort to do something positive – even if she
was
one of the people who had made his life hell lately. Maybe not as much as her friends had, but she’d had her moments, and he hadn’t entirely forgotten – or forgiven – the things that had been said and done in the past.

Still, he’d agreed to go, so he would. But there was no way he was staying till the end. He’d show his face and thank those who deserved thanking, then slip quietly away before people started to get tanked up and loose-lipped.

And, despite Pauline’s insistence that everyone was coming along to show their support and not to cause trouble, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe that they had all miraculously dropped the grudges they’d been harbouring all year. Someone was bound to start mouthing off before the day was through, but he planned to be long gone by then.

He just hoped that Sue didn’t turn up before he managed to escape, because she was one person he could definitely do without seeing again this side of the millennium.

It still infuriated him when he thought about her turning up at the hospital with Dave on his visiting day. And it didn’t help that he’d since found out that Leanne could have prevented it, if she’d only remembered to pass on that message. But, contrary to what Leanne had thought, he hadn’t given a toss about Sue and Dave, and whether or not they had been
together
together; his anger had been aimed wholly at Sue, for waltzing off for an entire weekend without giving the kids a second thought.

As it happened, Carole had confronted Dave and he’d denied that there was anything going on with him and Sue. He’d merely bumped into her on the way to the hospital and given her a lift, he’d said. And Carole reckoned it was true, because, despite splitting up, Dave still visited her regularly for sex, and she
always
knew when he had another tart on the go.

Leanne had calmed down a bit after hearing that, happy to go back to her ‘my dad wouldn’t betray me’ fantasy. But Terry wasn’t so happy, because Sue hadn’t let him see Connor since. She had whisked him straight round to her mate’s flat, knowing full well that Terry didn’t know where it was. And just in case he somehow found out and decided to turn up, she’d made damn sure that he knew he wouldn’t be welcome by sending that exact message through Tina – which had caused yet
another
argument with Leanne, who was furious that Sue had given his number out to anyone, never mind to another woman.

All in all, it had been one of the most stressful weeks of Terry’s life. He felt like he had a noose wrapped around his throat and Leanne and Sue were pulling at it from opposite ends, choking the life out of him. And if it hadn’t been for the kids, he’d have been tempted to turn his back on the pair of them. But there was no way he could take off while Nicky was still missing. However long it took, he had to be here for her when she came home. And he had to be here
now
for Connor.

And that was the real reason he’d agreed to go today – to see Connor, and make sure that he was all right; that he was eating and sleeping properly, and maybe even talking again, which would be great.

Looking forward to that – and only that – Terry got up at last. Creeping around the room, because he didn’t want to disturb Leanne who was still curled up on the other side of the bed, he gathered his things together for a shower. She’d been fairly mellow for the last couple of days, and he was hoping that the good mood would still be with her when she woke up today, because it was going to be hard enough facing all his old enemies without her adding to the stress by starting the day off in a strop. And to give himself a running chance, he decided to let her sleep for a little while longer, then wake her with a cup of tea and a cigarette – giving her no excuse to moan about anything.

Unfortunately for him, Leanne was already awake, and she’d been lying there for ages doing exactly what he’d been doing: thinking about how much she didn’t want to go to the fund-raiser today. But where Terry had Connor to motivate him, Leanne’s only reason for even considering it was to support him. And given that she was already highly suspicious about his motives for agreeing to go in the first place, when he started creeping around the room now she immediately suspected that he was going to try and sneak out without her.

Jerking up in the bed when Terry tiptoed out into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind him, Leanne listened out for the sound of the front door opening. But all she heard was the sound of the radio going on in the living room, followed by him whistling his way into the bathroom. Unaware that he was forcing himself to whistle in an effort to cheer himself up so that Connor wouldn’t see how upset and worried he was, she took it as a sign that he was happy about going out today – which just made her all the more suspicious.

Coming back ten minutes later, Terry’s heart sank when he saw the look on Leanne’s face. Sighing when she snatched the cigarette he’d lit for her out of his hand without thanking him, he put her tea down on the bedside table and walked back round to his side of the bed. Taking a set of fresh underwear out of his drawer, he pulled it on without speaking, because there was no way he was going to ask what was wrong and risk having her bite his head off.

Watching as he went across to the wardrobe and took out his suit, Leanne puffed agitatedly on the cigarette. After her run-in with Zak at Goldie’s party, she’d been determined to show Terry how much she loved him. So she’d told her friends to stay away so that they could spend some quality time alone together, and had thrown herself into pampering him, cooking and cleaning, and making an effort to look really nice when he came home from work. And she’d even been supportive when he’d talked about his kids, even though she couldn’t stand them and wished they’d never been born. But, hard as she tried to pretend that she and Terry were the only two people who existed, something always seemed to get in the way.

Like Sue trying to trick her way back into Terry’s life by turning up at the hospital on his visit, knowing full well that Leanne wouldn’t be there.

And Connor needing constant attention because he still wasn’t talking – and Leanne knew the little brat was putting
that
on.

And the cheeky bitch of a policewoman turning up any time she felt like it, asking for Terry, and refusing to discuss what she wanted with Leanne if he wasn’t there.

Right down to Tina flaming Murphy ringing him on his mobile to pass along messages from Sue. And that had
really
pissed Leanne off, because no woman should have had that number except her.

So, despite her very best efforts, the last two weeks had been difficult. And today looked set to be even more so, as, seeming not to care about how she was feeling, Terry continued to get dressed.

Feeling a bubble of rage well up in her chest when he calmly zipped up his trousers and took
her
favourite lilac shirt out of the wardrobe, Leanne jumped out of bed and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Exhaling wearily, Terry buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his pants. Then, looping his tie around his neck, he picked up his jacket and followed her out. She was sitting on the couch, with a deep scowl on her face.

‘Don’t you think you should start getting ready?’ he said.

‘I’m not going,’ Leanne replied tartly, folding her arms.