The Club (24 page)

‘Aw, Tone, that’s not fair,’ she complained. ‘They wouldn’t dare go back there – not after what Eddie did to them. Anyway, Gay-Boy will look after me.’

‘He didn’t do such a great job of it the other night, did he?’Tony reminded her flatly. ‘You ain’t going – period. Anyway, you’ll have to stay put to make sure no one gets at our stuff. And there’s plenty to occupy you at the hotel till we get back.’

‘What, like, facials and flaming massages?’ Melody muttered. ‘Yippee!’

Still sulking when they reached the club that night, Melody ignored Tony’s friends when they swarmed around him as usual. She hated them all. Especially those who were doing well in the soaps, because every last one of them was shit, and she didn’t see why they should be allowed to get on with their stupid little careers when her much bigger, brighter one was in tatters.

Grunting a reluctant hello when Leonard Drake brought his wife over to introduce her, Melody folded her arms and glared at the floor when Avril took the chair beside hers. All she wanted was to get to Fabian, but there was a fat chance of that with Tony watching her. And now she was stuck with Granny Grump.

Greeting Leonard warmly, because he’d decided he could potentially be of use to him, Tony said, ‘Hey, everyone, meet my friend, Lenny. Some of y’all probably know him already. He’s one of your big-shot politicians.’

Leonard felt like a king when everyone turned to look at him. And no humiliating smirks this time, just interested smiles.

‘I know you,’ Brenda Thompson said, peering up at him. ‘Where from . . . where from . . . ?’ She clicked her fingers suddenly. ‘That time in Brighton with Tony and Cherie. We all went on to the hotel afterwards and got blitzed on champagne, and everybody ended up in the swimming pool.’

Leonard was about to tell her that she’d attached him to the wrong party, but decided against it. Why burst the first little bubble of recognition he’d had in years?

‘Wonderful night,’ he lied, taking her hand and kissing it. ‘And you’re looking just as lovely now as you did then.’

‘Oh, you old flatterer.’ Brenda laughed huskily.

‘And so it begins,’ Avril muttered, rolling her eyes and sighing heavily.

‘
What
?’ Melody said irritably.

‘Oh, nothing, dear. Just talking to myself.’

‘What’s everyone drinking?’Tony asked, looking around for a waiter.

‘Champagne,’ Brenda said, putting her arms in the air and swaying to the beat of the music. ‘More champagne for everybody!’

‘I think she’s had more than enough already,’ Avril murmured under her breath.

Ordering several bottles of champagne, Tony said, ‘So, how’s it going Lenny?’

‘Pretty good,’ Leonard said, squeezing past Brenda to sit beside him. ‘I’m glad you’re here, actually,’ he said then, lowering his voice to add, ‘I’ve been thinking about our little discussion last night, and I’ve got a couple of suggestions.’

‘That right?’

Back on their side of the table, Avril said, ‘Leonard tells me you’re coming for dinner?’

‘Mmmm,’ Melody murmured, not wanting to get into a conversation.

‘I’m looking forward to having you,’ Avril went on. ‘It’ll be such a relief to have some good female company while they
man
talk.’ Sighing now, she shook her head. ‘You know, I spent
years
listening to Leonard prattle on about politics and high finance, and when he retired I actually thought I’d heard the last of it. Then he met
your
chap, and now he’s back on the business buzz like he’s never been off it.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Melody muttered. ‘Tony’s always yapping on about it.’

Leaning a little closer, Avril whispered, ‘You wouldn’t mind, but they’re so
boring
, don’t you think?’

Casting a resentful glance at Tony, Melody thought,
Too right he’s boring
.

But Tony hadn’t always been like that. In fact, he’d been a lot of fun to start with, always dragging her out to the casinos and nightclubs, and showering her with flowers and gifts. And he’d been proud to show her off to his high-rolling friends back then, too, relishing the look of envy in their eyes as he paraded her around with the fantastic new face and body he’d paid for. But there had been none of that over here. And after that fight, she doubted she’d ever see the fun times again, because he’d made it quite clear that he had no intention of going home any time soon. And there was nothing she could do about it, unless she fancied more of what he’d given her the other night. And she knew enough about him to know that he could do far, far worse than give her a cut lip.

‘Is everything all right, dear?’ Avril asked her quietly.

Sighing heavily, Melody shrugged. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. Time of the month, that’s all.’

‘Oh, I don’t envy you,’ Avril murmured. ‘Mine have finished now, thank the Lord. Not that
Leonard
’s noticed. But that’s okay, because I can still use the old PMT as an excuse for biting his head off if he annoys me. If only more of us knew how to use it to its best advantage, we’d have these buggers whipped in no time, eh?’

Smiling now, Melody actually looked at Avril for the first time. Whether it was the fickleness of Hollywood rubbing off on her, or just her own innate vanity, but women who fell on either side of the sixteen-to-thirty-five threat range were usually invisible to her. But Avril was quite nice-looking for her age – which Melody guessed to be around fifty. Her skin was reasonably smooth, except for a few crow’s-feet around the eyes, and a slight sagging of the jawline; her eyes were a lovely purply-grey shade; and her hair was a nice rich auburn, which looked almost natural, Melody thought.

And she was actually talking
to
Melody, not at her or about her, like the rest of the snotty bitches around the table. Jenna was all right, but apart from her, and now Avril, not one woman had actually given Melody the time of day since she’d got here.

Sensing that the girl was scrutinising her, Avril smiled. They were of a different generation – although maybe not as far removed as their appearances might have anybody believe, because Melody was obviously older than she looked once you saw her up close. But Avril recognised the look of frustration and boredom in the younger woman’s eyes, and guessed that she, like Avril, had secret depths of which few were probably aware – least of all the men they had chosen to saddle themselves with.

Leonard was a blustering, self-important man, with not the least understanding of the female psyche. To his mind, women should be exact replicas of his late mother, Ethel, who had been the epitome of the good Conservative wife: never less than perfect in appearance; her food never less than Michelin standard; her home never less than immaculate; her husband never less than the most important man in the world to her. How she had managed to maintain those standards into her eighties and still manage to walk, talk, and breathe fire, Avril did not know, but she was the reason that Avril would be forever lacking as a wife in Leonard’s eyes.

And this poor girl’s partner was no better, Avril thought, looking at Tony Allen now. He might have a different approach than Leonard, in that he was obviously a lot livelier and far more self-confident, but the controlling edge was undoubtedly there. She could see it in his eyes when he looked at Melody: a dark, watchful sharpness that betrayed his need to know that she was doing only that of which he approved. And Melody’s obvious depression, combined with the tarty clothes and makeup, told Avril that she had probably succumbed to his demands. She was the classic fantasy whore: there to satisfy her man’s sexual desires, but not expected – or allowed – to have an opinion of her own.

‘You girls ready for another drink?’ Tony called over just then, breaking into their thoughts.

Smiling politely, Avril said, ‘That would be lovely.’ Turning back to Melody then, she muttered, ‘
Girls
, indeed! My dear, if that man’s penis is even
half
the size of his ego, you must surely be the luckiest woman alive.’

Laughing, because it had been so unexpected, Melody said, ‘I can’t believe you just said that!’

‘I haven’t always been an old trout,’ Avril told her amusedly.

Nudging Leonard as he watched their women chatting, Tony said, ‘They seem to have hit it off, huh?’

‘They certainly do,’ Leonard said quietly, his eyebrows raised with amazement. Avril usually took time to warm to new people, but he would never in his wildest
dreams
have imagined her giving Tony’s sluttish girlfriend the time of day. But then, she knew how important his friendship with Tony was to him, so she was probably pushing her distaste aside for his sake.

To be fair, he had to admit that she’d been quite pleasant today. She’d discussed his plans for the dinner party with more enthusiasm that he’d anticipated, and had even suggested that he buy himself a new suit for the occasion, pointing out that his wardrobe needs might have
changed
a little over recent months. Which was rather diplomatic of her, he thought, given that she
could
have just said that he’d let himself get fat, as he knew to his shame that he had. But he was pleased that
she
had suggested it, because he’d been wanting to update his wardrobe since they’d started coming to the club but had resisted for fear of raising her suspicions about his motives.

All in all, Leonard was quite pleased with
every
thing just now. He was beginning to feel like his old self again and, with Tony Allen as a friend, he had no doubt that he would soon be right up at the top of the social tree.

Avril was having a hot flush. ‘Phew!’ she said, fanning a hand in front of her face. ‘That wine is rather strong. I think I’d better go and powder my nose.’

Seeing a chance to escape from Tony’s watchful gaze, Melody reached for her handbag. ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘Just going to the little
girls’
room,’ Avril told the men as they passed. ‘Won’t be long.’

Strolling off to the VIP toilets together, Melody’s mind went into overdrive, wondering how she could get away from Avril for long enough to find Fabian.

As luck would have it, there was only one free cubicle. Telling Avril to go ahead and take it, Melody waited a second, then tapped on the door.

‘The sanitary-towel machine isn’t working,’ she called through. ‘I’m just nipping down to the other toilets. Won’t be a minute.’

‘I’ll wait here for you,’ Avril called back. ‘I need to touch up my make-up, anyway.’

Hissing a jubilant ‘Yes!’ under her breath, Melody cracked the main door open and peeped out to make sure that Tony wasn’t watching. Slipping out then, she darted down the stairs.

Fabian jumped when Melody ran up behind him and grabbed his arm.

‘What are you doing?’ he hissed, glancing nervously around for Eddie.

‘I haven’t got time to chat,’ she hissed back, tugging him towards the office door. ‘I just need you to give me something.’

‘
I
haven’t got time, full stop,’ he retorted, prising her hand off his arm. ‘We’re busy, and I need to be on the floor.’

‘It’ll only take a minute,’ Melody persisted. ‘
Please
, Fabian. I’m desperate.’

‘I’m not in the mood for sex,’ he told her bluntly. ‘Anyway, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, because I think we should quit while we’re ahead. It’s been great, but it’s getting too dangerous. You
do
know you were being followed, don’t you?’

‘Yes, I know,’ she said, frowning now. ‘But Tony’s busy right now, so stop messing about. Anyway, I don’t want sex, I just need some coke.’

‘Keep your voice down!’ Fabian muttered, taking his keys out. ‘Okay, I’ll give you some, but this is the last time, Melody – and I mean it. I thought I was going to get my legs broken the other night.’

Peering up at him, Melody’s frown deepened. ‘Hang on . . . how did
you
know I was being followed?’

‘I saw Eddie watching you.’

‘Is that why you took off?’

‘What did you expect me to do? Wait for you to start mauling me, so Tony would know for sure there was something going on?’

‘I do
not
maul you!’ Melody retorted indignantly.

‘Yeah, whatever.’ Unlocking the door, Fabian ushered her quickly through.

Taking his stash out of the safe when they reached his office, he ripped a square of paper off a letter-headed sheet and tipped a little of the coke onto it.

‘I need more than that,’ Melody told him, taking one of the fifty notes she’d stolen from Tony out of her bra and thrusting it into his hand. ‘Just give me the bag.’

Looking from the money to the bag, Fabian frowned. If he gave all the coke he had to her he’d have to go out and score again when they’d closed – which was a ball-ache,
and
dangerous at that time of night. But fifty quid was fifty quid.

‘All right,’ he agreed, tipping the wrap back into the bag and handing it to her. Taking the money, he slipped it into his pocket and waved her to the door. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Do you have to be so cold?’ she asked, giving him a reproachful look. ‘I thought we were friends. And I won’t see you for a couple of days, so the least you can do is be civil.’

Sighing, wondering why she was determined to make this difficult, Fabian said, ‘Look, I’m not being funny, Melody, but I can’t take this. It won’t be long before your boyfriend puts two and two together – if he hasn’t already.’

‘He doesn’t know about us,’ Melody assured him. ‘But, yeah, you’re right, he
is
watching me. I think he thinks I’m doing drugs, or something.’

‘Oh, great!’

‘Don’t worry, he doesn’t know it’s coming from
you
,’ she said, slipping the bag into her bra before he got any ideas about taking it back.

‘Oh, come on, Melody, you’re not exactly discreet, are you?’ Fabian retorted. ‘You’ll probably neck most of that before you go back up to him and make it really bloody obvious that you’re off your head. How long before he links it back to me?’