The Club (20 page)

‘Do you know how many Brits spend their summers partying in places like that?’ Fabian said. ‘And then they have to come back to this damp, dark dump, with nothing but memories to carry them through to the next year. Imagine how chuffed they’d be if they found out we’d got one of the guys who was spinning the tunes when they were having the best time of their lives. They’ll
kill
to get in. You watch. He’ll wipe Vibes off the map in no time.’

Still smiling, Jenna kept her mouth firmly shut. Fabian could think what he liked, but in her opinion Vibes was going to be a hard act to follow.

Still, she didn’t have an awful lot of options right now and something was better than nothing. And if this guy didn’t work out she didn’t have to keep him.

‘I’ll leave it with you,’ she said. ‘But I hope you’re right about him being good, or we’re in trouble.’

‘Oh, he’s good, don’t worry about that,’ Fabian assured her. ‘I’ll go and give him a ring – and hope I catch him before someone else snaps him up.’

7

Tony was dressed and ready to go when he came out of the bedroom. Frowning when he saw Melody dozing on the couch with the TV blaring, still in her dressing gown, her unstyled hair as dry as a scarecrow’s, he reached down and gave her a rough shake.

‘Yo! It’s time you was getting ready. Eddie’ll be here in a minute.’

‘Uh . . . ?’ Waking in confusion, Melody struggled to open her eyes. ‘What time is it?’

‘Eleven.’ Lighting two cigarettes, he passed one to her.

Dragging deeply on it, she shivered. ‘Christ, it’s cold in here. Have you got the air-con on?’

‘Jeez, you
must
be ill. It’s hotter than a goddamn furnace.’

‘I’m freezing,’ she moaned, wrapping the gown tighter around herself.

‘Go to bed if you’re not feeling right. Sleep it off.’

‘No! I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.’ Jumping up, Melody stumbled into the bedroom.

Coming out of his own small room two floors up a short while later, Eddie trotted down the stairs and tapped on the door.

‘Ready?’ he asked when Tony let him in.

‘Near as dammit,’ Tony affirmed, pouring them both a drink and handing Eddie’s to him. ‘Just waiting on Mel.’

‘You get through to that guy yet?’ Eddie asked, going to the window to check if the taxi had arrived.

‘Yeah, he rang earlier. I said we’d meet him at the club.’

‘Reckon he’ll know anything useful?’

‘He’s got to know more than us,’ Tony said. Then, with a shrug, he added, ‘Whether or not it’s useful is anyone’s guess.’

Walking in just then, Melody peered at them suspiciously. ‘What you talking about, Tone?’

‘Nothing for you to worry about,’ he told her dismissively.

Casting a resentful glance at Eddie who was standing by the window, his face as impassive as ever, Melody folded her arms. These two were so far up each other’s backsides, it wasn’t even funny.

‘What you stewing about now?’Tony demanded, giving her a dark look.

‘I suppose
he
knows?’ she muttered accusingly.

‘Pack it in!’Tony barked, downing his drink and slamming the glass down on the table. ‘He’s family, so don’t fucking push it.’ Stalking to the door then, he jerked his head for them to follow.

Leonard and Avril arrived at the club at five to ten. Slapping his money down on the pay-desk, Leonard propelled Avril into the clubroom with a hand on her elbow.

Jerking her arm out of his grip, she said, ‘Don’t push, Leonard.’

‘“
Don’t push
”,’ he mimicked under his breath as she strode on ahead with her nose in the air. He’d push her, all right – right out of the bloody door with her suitcases if she carried on like this.

Following Avril up to the VIP lounge, Leonard headed for the bar while she went and found them a table. Glancing around while he waited for the waitress to fill his order, he spotted Tony Allen in a corner booth. The blonde hooker was with him again, and the weird tall man. But, thankfully, none of the sycophantic fan club was around for a change.

Scolding himself for feeling so nervous about this meeting, he reminded himself that once upon a time – many years ago, admittedly – he had prided himself on being able to tackle any situation head-on. He’d stood tall in his years as party news-spokesman, and had given confident, informative after-dinner speeches since retiring. So why on earth he was so nervous about approaching one man for a civilised chat, he didn’t know. Especially when the man had requested the meeting in the first place.

Telling himself to get a grip, Leonard downed both his
and
Avril’s drinks when they came, then tossed a ten-pound note to the waitress and marched across to Tony.

‘Hello, there. I hope I’m not late?’

‘Bang on time,’ Tony said, peering up at him with a hint of amusement in his penetrating eyes.

Christ, the guy was ugly. And fat. And where the fuck all that
sweat
came from was anybody’s guess, but it sure wasn’t normal.

‘Take a seat,’ he said after a moment. ‘Drink?’

Squeezing himself onto the bench seat, Leonard said, ‘Yes, thank you, that’s very kind. Scotch rocks, please.’

Ordering their drinks, Tony sat back and peered at him. Intimidated by the scrutiny, Leonard slipped a finger into his collar to loosen it as a trail of perspiration snaked down the side of his face.

The sight of it, coupled with the pungent stench of fear and excitement coming from his sodden armpits, made Melody’s already sensitive stomach flip.

‘’Scuse me,’ she muttered, lurching to her feet and scrambling to get out from behind the table without touching Leonard.

‘Where you going?’ Tony asked her sharply.

‘To the toilet,’ she said. Then, to Leonard, who still hadn’t moved: ‘Will you
please
let me out!’

‘Yo!’Tony barked. ‘Don’t be rude to our guest.’

Melody opened her mouth to retort that Leonard was no guest of hers. But the look on Tony’s face stopped her.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbled instead, giving Leonard a tiny sick smile. ‘Could you please let me out? I really don’t feel too good.’

‘Thought you said you was better?’ Tony frowned.

‘I thought I was,’ she lied. ‘Must be a bug.’

‘Best go back to the hotel, then.’ Turning to Eddie, he clicked his fingers. ‘Take her back, will you?’

‘No!’Melody yelped. ‘I’ll be all right in a minute, hon – honest. I just need to go to the ladies’ and splash some cold water on my face. Really, I’ll be fine.’

Watching as she made a dash for the toilets, Tony jerked his head at Eddie. ‘Go see if they got any antacids in the first-aid kit, or something.’

‘Actually, I’ve always found that peppermint cordial works rather well,’ Leonard volunteered. ‘That’s what my, um, wife usually takes when she feels under the weather.’

Nodding at Eddie, Tony waited until he’d gone, then took out a pack of cigars and lit one. ‘So, you’re married?’ he said, offering one to Leonard.

‘Oh, yes.’ Leaning towards him for a light, Leonard sat back and pointed Avril out. ‘That’s my good lady wife over there.’

Glancing at her, Tony saw the crossed arms and furious scowl. ‘She don’t look too happy.’

‘She’s fine,’ Leonard assured him breezily. ‘She’s just got a few things on her mind, that’s all.’

‘What, like wondering where her drink is?’Tony chuckled, noticing the lack of glasses on her table. ‘Think we ought to send her one over?’

‘Well, I, um,
yes
, I suppose we should,’ Leonard spluttered guiltily. ‘I was actually in the process of ordering when I spotted you.’

‘What’ll she have?’ Tony clicked his fingers at yet another waiter.

‘G-and-T.’

Ordering a double and asking for it to be taken to her, Tony sat back and gave Leonard an amused smile. ‘Well, well . . . who’d have thought you was married? Tell the truth, I had you down as a queer.’

The blush covered Leonard’s face like wildfire. ‘God, no! We’ve been married for twenty-eight years.’

Nodding slowly, Tony surmised that his first impression was spot on. The man could have been married for ever, but he was definitely gay. And that he was so keen to hide it could prove very useful in the future.

Letting the squirming worm off the hook – for now – he said, ‘So, you’re a politician?’

‘Er, yes,’ Leonard said, recovering his composure with difficulty. ‘How did you know?’

‘I make it my business to know these things. So, tell me Lenny – don’t mind if I call you Lenny, do you?’

Thrilled by the familiarity, Leonard shook his head. ‘Not at all.’

‘Lenny it is, then.’ Tony smiled. ‘So, tell me, Lenny – what exactly is it that you do?’

‘Well, to be absolutely truthful, I’m retired,’ Leonard told him. ‘But I still have quite a lot of clout.’

‘How so?’ Tony squinted at him through the smoke.

‘Oh, you know . . .’ Leonard gave a modest shrug. ‘I still have irons in various fires. Most decisions that are made in local government fall to a panel of my closest friends, you see, so it’s inevitable that my advice should be sought from time to time. I’m
very
well respected.’

‘I imagine so,’ Tony lied, paying the waiter when he brought the drinks over and ordering the same again.

‘Oh, yes,’ Leonard went on, gaining in confidence as the drinks he’d already had began to loosen his tongue. ‘I was quite the high-flyer in my time, so people tend to take my opinions seriously.’

Reaching for his drink, Tony took a long sip and peered at him over the rim of the glass. Was this guy for fucking real? One minute, sweaty little mouse; the next, raving egomaniac.

‘So, that other shit you mentioned,’ he said. ‘The local-government stuff. What kind of influence would you say you’ve got with that?’

‘Oh, plenty,’ Leonard told him conceitedly. ‘I’ve been at it for a long time, you see – know all the ins and outs.’

‘That’s good to know,’ Tony murmured. ‘’Cos that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. See, I’ve been thinking about investing in something over here, but I don’t know too much about your laws, and I don’t want to get started on something only to hit a brick wall.’

‘Confidentially,’ Leonard said, leaning toward him and lowering his voice, ‘every law can be, if not broken, then certainly
manipulated
. If you know the right people, of course.’

‘That right?’

‘Oh, yes. Because everything comes down to a human decision in the end, and every man can be swayed.’

‘You mean bought?’

‘In some cases,’ Leonard conceded. ‘But it’s not always necessary for actual cash to change hands. Quite often it’s a simple case of favour for favour. You rub my back, I’ll rub yours – so to speak.’

‘So, say someone was thinking about setting up a casino over here,’ Tony said smoothly. ‘Who would he have to know to get a smooth ride?’

‘Oh, it would be terribly difficult,’ Leonard said knowledgeably. ‘They’d have to have a considerable amount in the bank to begin with.’

‘Say that wasn’t a problem?’

‘Well, then an application would have to be made to the Gaming Commission – which is top-level security stuff.’

‘Not like the “old friends” stuff
you
’ve got going, then?’

‘Oh, no, I’m afraid casinos are way out of my league,’ Leonard admitted. ‘It involves all sorts of legal bodies, you see. Police, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue.’

‘I see,’ Tony murmured. ‘So, they’d want to know all sorts of stuff about you.’

‘
Every
thing,’ Leonard affirmed. ‘And, believe me, there is
nothing
they can’t uncover once they start delving. The gambling industry is notorious for its connections to organised crime, and this government has to be seen to be taking a stand. If the individual concerned were foreign,’ he went on, guessing that Tony wasn’t asking hypothetically, ‘they would have to provide records from the police in whichever country they had come from, too.’

Taking all this in, Tony nodded slowly. The casino idea was an obvious non-starter: there was no way he could allow anyone to delve so deeply into his affairs, because there were far too many things in his past that needed to stay buried. But just because
that
was out of the question, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t get involved in something else.

‘What about a gig like this?’ he asked, flicking his cigar ash casually onto the floor. ‘How easy would it be for a foreigner to set up a nightclub?’

‘Somewhat easier than a casino,’ Leonard told him. ‘But you’d still have to undergo the security checks, I’m afraid, because you’re still talking alcohol and entertainment licences. If that were going to prove
problematic
,’ he said then, ‘my advice would be to consider investing in a going concern, which would allow you to build a credit history on the back of somebody who had already been passed by the relevant boards.’

Nodding thoughtfully, Tony mulled this over. There was no way he could put himself under any kind of scrutiny, and he knew enough about Melody’s background to know that she had several convictions on her record from when she’d lived here before, so it might not be so easy to open something in
her
name, either. What he needed, it seemed, was to find somebody squeaky-clean to hook up with. Somebody who would be the public face of respectability while Tony sat back and watched his dirty money get clean.

Reaching for his glass, he raised it. ‘Cheers, Lenny. You’ve given me food for thought there.’

‘Well, I really haven’t done much of anything,’ Leonard said. ‘But anything I can do in the future, you need only ask.’

‘Much obliged.’ Taking another puff on his cigar, Tony said, ‘So, tell me about yourself. Got kids?’

Flattered that Tony seemed so interested in him, Leonard said, ‘Yes, two. Boy and girl. They’re both grown now, of course, with families of their own. But they’re doing well for themselves. Son in banking, daughter married to a stockbroker.’