The Club (42 page)

‘Yes, of course,’ Leonard said, reluctant to leave now that he had seen the boy but knowing that he must for safety’s sake.

‘Oh, before I forget,’ Austin said as Leonard was about to turn away. ‘When you see JoJo, can you tell her I need to see her for a minute after work? I saw her earlier, but Fabulous chased us out before I got a chance to speak to her.’

‘Well, I’m not sure
I
’ll be speaking to her,’ Leonard said, his tone clearly conveying his disapproval of the slut. ‘Is it something I can help with?’

‘No, it’s just something she owes me that I need to get back before she forgets,’ Austin said evasively. ‘What’s she doing in there, anyway?’ he asked then, changing the subject before Leonard could ask what it was that she owed. ‘Only she came swanning in here like the cat with the cream earlier, showing off her new shoes and stuff, and I was thinking there’s no way she got them on our wages.’

‘She’s doing the same as she was doing in here,’ Leonard lied, aware that he was blushing. Not the best of traits for a politician when lying played such a major part in the game, but he hadn’t suffered from it so much in those days. Only now, speaking to people he liked on a personal level, had it become a problem.

‘Mmm,’ Austin murmured disbelievingly. ‘Well, I’d have a word with Mr A if I was you,’ he cautioned Leonard now. ‘Only I know how secretive he’s being about his business, and if she’s doing nothing different that ain’t the impression she’s giving everyone in here.’

‘Why, what are people saying?’ Leonard frowned.

‘That it’s a whorehouse,’ Austin told him quietly, casting another glance at Kalli and seeing that she only had one customer left to serve. ‘Look, you’d best go. Kalli’ll be over any minute, and she’s too nosy.’

‘Right you are,’ Leonard said, still frowning deeply. ‘I’ll meet you as arranged.’

‘Yeah, see you.’

Kalli reached Austin just as Leonard went down the stairs. ‘What did Mr Drake want?’

‘Dunno.’ Austin shrugged. ‘He was looking for Jenna, but I said I haven’t seen her.’

Kalli narrowed her eyes. He was lying, she could tell.

‘Are you going to stand there staring into space all night?’ Austin asked, nudging her. ‘Only there’s still two hours to go, and a shit-load of glasses to collect.’

‘Start collecting, then,’ Kalli snapped, marching away. Whatever he was hiding, she would find out sooner or later.

Outside just then, Phil Dixon had his head down and his collar up against the pouring rain as he approached Zenith’s front door. Tony had told him not to come to the club, but after several unsuccessful attempts to reach him on the phone over the last few weeks Phil was so pissed off that he’d thrown caution to the winds and had turned up to see him in person.

Bobby was standing in the doorway, his head barely covered by the arch. Looking Phil over when he reached the door, he shook his head. ‘Sorry, our kid, you can’t come in here wearing trainers.’

‘I’m not a punter, I’m here to see Tony,’ Phil told him, taking a last deep drag on his cigarette and flicking it into a puddle.

‘Is he expecting you?’ Bobby asked, guessing that he wasn’t or he’d have told the man to go to the door of The Diamond, which was around the corner, down the dark, narrow alley between Zenith and the café next door.

‘He knows me,’ Phil said, pulling his sleeve back and glancing at his watch. ‘No offence, mate, but I don’t wanna be standing around in this all night. Just give him a shout for us, will you? Tell him it’s Dix.’

Telling him to wait there, Bobby went inside. Seeing Fabian passing the clubroom door, he called, ‘Yo, Fabian. There’s a bloke out here asking for Mr Allen. D’you wanna deal with it?’

Already annoyed because Melody had been sitting with Jay Kay and his mates all night, making it impossible to get near her, Fabian tutted loudly. ‘Who is it?’

‘He said to say it was Dix,’ Bobby told him. ‘I’m not letting him in, though, ’cos he ain’t dressed right.’

Opening the door, Fabian jerked his chin at the man. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘Nowt,’ Phil said, blowing at the raindrops dripping off his nose. ‘I want to see Tony, so be a good lad and go tell him Dix is here, will you? And don’t take the piss and forget I’m here, or I’ll have to start making noise – know what I mean?’

Frowning, Fabian folded his arms, safe in the knowledge that Bobby was right behind him. ‘We don’t take kindly to being threatened in here, so why don’t you go away and come back when you’ve found your manners? Oh, and change the gear,’ he said then, looking Phil up and down. ‘We’ve got a dress code.’

‘Bit of a joker, eh?’ Phil sneered.

‘Oh, yeah, I’m a regular comedian,’ Fabian said, his face dead straight. ‘But as the manager, it’s my decision who does and doesn’t get in, so I’d suggest you drop the attitude.’

‘Are you for fucking real?’ Phil snorted. ‘Just get your arse inside and get Tony before I knock you the fuck out, you cunt.’

Peering at him, Fabian was about to tell him to piss off when he caught sight of his gold earring, which had a tiny boxing glove hanging from it – just like the one Jenna had described when she’d been threatened in the yard. Letting his gaze slide surreptitiously down to the man’s throat, he saw the thick gold chain, but he couldn’t see if there was a dog at the other end of it because the man had the collar of his jacket turned up. It had to be the same man, but why was he here asking for Tony when Tony had supposedly warned him off?

Suspicions seriously roused, Fabian stepped back and opened the door to let the man in.

‘Sorry for being irritable,’ he said, forcing himself to smile. ‘I’ve been rushed off my feet tonight. But if you’d like to wait here, I’ll have somebody find Mr Allen for you.’

‘’Bout time,’ Phil grunted, brushing past him. Inside in the warm, he shook the rain from his hair and flapped his jacket.

Seeing the gold bulldog clear as day now, Fabian told him he wouldn’t be a minute. Going to Bobby, who was back outside now, he whispered to him to make sure that the man stayed in the foyer and didn’t go wandering. Then he went into the club-room and tried to reach Tony on his mobile. Getting no answer, he snapped his phone shut and gazed around. There was no point trying the adjoining door because they wouldn’t answer it, but there was no way he was walking around to The Diamond in the rain, and the doormen would laugh in his face if he tried sending one of them.

Austin passed just then. Grabbing him, Fabian said, ‘I need you to go round to the side door and tell Mr Allen that someone called Dix is here to see him.’

‘Like this?’ Austin gasped, holding his arms out to indicate that he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. ‘I’ll get soaked.’

‘Just do it,’ Fabian snapped.

Sighing loudly, Austin said, ‘Right, fine. But don’t blame me if I get pneumonia and can’t work for a month!’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll have your cards sent on if we don’t see you,’ Fabian told him, pushing him out through the foyer.

‘He won’t be a moment,’ Fabian said, giving Phil a tight smile. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a couple of things to do.’

Letting himself into the pay-booth then, so that he would be able to hear what was going on when Tony came back with Austin, he told the cashier that she could go. Sitting on her chair, he sank down as low as he could in the hope that Tony wouldn’t notice him, and started bagging up.

Austin was dripping wet when he came back a couple of minutes later. Shaking himself all over the polished floor, he looked around for Fabian. ‘Where’s he gone?’ he asked Phil in a loud whisper.

‘No idea,’ Phil said, lighting another cigarette. ‘Did you find Tony?’

‘Oh, are you Dix?’ Austin asked, giving him the once-over. ‘Yeah, he’ll be round in a minute. Couldn’t give us a quick drag on your ciggy, could you?’ he asked then. ‘Only we’re not allowed when we’re working, and I’m fucking gagging.’

‘Knock yourself out,’ Phil said, handing him the cigarette.

Turning away from the clubroom door, Austin took several quick drags and fanned the smoke away with his hand before handing it back to Phil. ‘Ta for that; I owe you one. Best get back,’ he said then. ‘If you see the funny fella, tell him to go fuck himself from me, will you?’ Giggling then, he said, ‘No, don’t! I’ll only get the sack.’

Smiling slyly, Phil said, ‘Don’t worry about it, mate.’

In the pay-booth, Fabian pursed his lips furiously. Just wait till he got hold of Austin. The little poof wouldn’t know what had hit him!

Tony came in just then. Seeing Phil, he jerked his head and took him off into a corner.

‘What the fuck are you playing at? I told you not to show your face in here.’

‘So try answering your phone,’ Phil retorted gruffly. ‘Look, I ain’t come for an argument,’ he said then. ‘I just want what you owe us, ’cos my lads are bugging me for it.’

‘I don’t appreciate being hassled,’ Tony told him darkly. ‘I said you’d get it, and you will.’

‘Don’t take the piss,’ Phil hissed. ‘It’s been fucking ages, and you ain’t been in touch once. Anyone’d think you was trying to avoid us, and that ain’t on, ’cos we did our bit.’

Sighing, Tony ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve had a lot on, it slipped my mind. Anyway, here, I guess you earned it.’ Reaching into his pocket, he took out a thick wad of money. Peeling off several notes, he thrust them into Phil’s hand, saying, ‘There’s a bit extra for waiting.’

Glancing down at the money and seeing how much extra there was, Phil grinned widely. ‘Anyone else you want heavying, you know where I am.’ Holding out his hand then, he said, ‘Nice doing business with you.’

Shaking Phil Dixon’s hand, Tony showed him out. Turning to Bobby with a furious scowl on his face when Phil had gone, he said, ‘Who sent that waiter round to my club?’

‘Fabian,’ Bobby told him.

‘And did he let that other dickhead in here?’

‘Er, yeah.’

‘Cunt!’Tony growled. ‘I’ll break his fucking legs when I get my hands on him.’

Marching inside, he stormed through to the clubroom in search of Fabian. Not finding him on the lower floor, he went up to the VIP lounge and stood at the head of the stairs, peering around narrow-eyed.

‘Tony!’ Brenda Thompson cried, coming over to him and pulling him into a hug. ‘You’ve been neglecting us. Come and have a drink and let’s catch up.’ Linking her arm through his, she tried to pull him towards her table.

‘Sorry, doll, I’ve got no time,’ Tony said, gently peeling her hand off his arm. ‘I’m looking for someone.’

‘Who?’she asked, not giving up so easily. ‘Maybe I’ve seen them.’

‘Fabian,’ he said, his teeth gritted.

‘The cutie?’ Brenda said, sighing lustfully. ‘He was here a few minutes ago. I can never see enough of those toned buns of his. They’re so delectable, it makes you want to bite them.’

‘Huh!’ Tony snorted. ‘Probably ’cos they see so much action.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘He’s an ass raider,’ Tony elaborated scathingly.

‘
Fabian?
’ Brenda gave a deep husky laugh. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, darling. The boy’s as straight as a die.’

‘Believe me, he ain’t,’ Tony told her. ‘Melody’s in showbiz back home, and she’s got a nose for that kind of thing. Anyway, you’ve only got to look at him to know he’s got more woman in him than man.’

‘My darling, I too am in the business,’ Brenda reminded him. ‘With a good few years on
your
little chickie, I might add. And I assure you that Fabian is no more gay than you or I. He may take care of his appearance,’ she went on, with a theatrical shrug. ‘But that, my love, is because these young ones have at long last realised that we girlies like a good-looking, sweet-smelling man in our beds, whose hair is clean enough not to stick to our inner thighs like glue and leave us with a nasty mess to clean up afterwards. Anyway,’ she said then, flapping her hand, ‘he’s had several of my girlfriends, so I know he’s straight. And they all gave such
glowing
recommendations that I’d be tempted to go for him myself if my little gigolo wasn’t already wearing me out. Worth it, though,’ she added with a satisfied sigh. ‘So very liberating to pay for what you want and not to have to bother with the tedious endearments. Don’t you think?’

Tony wasn’t listening; he was too busy mulling over what Brenda had just said. If she was telling the truth – and there was no reason for her not to be – then Melody had either been mistaken or had lied outright when she’d told him that Fabian was gay. And he suspected the latter, because she’d have known full well that he wouldn’t have let her dance with the cunt if he’d known that Fabian was straight. He didn’t know what kind of idiot they took him for, but they would both be sorry if they’d been fucking around behind his back.

Filled with white-hot fury now when he spotted Melody flirting with a scruffy pop star whom he vaguely recognised, Tony shook Brenda off and made his way over to her table.

‘Yo!’ he barked, snapping his fingers at her. ‘A word.’

‘What’s the matter, Tony?’ Melody said, her eyes huge with fear when he dragged her over into a quiet corner. ‘I wasn’t doing nothing. He was just telling me about his tour. They’ve been in LA, and we were—’

‘Shut the fuck up,’ Tony yelled, gripping her arm tightly. ‘I’m not interested in him. I want to know about the other fella – your fucking dancing partner.’

‘Fabian?’ Melody gasped. ‘What do you mean?’

‘What’s going on with you and him?’

‘Nothing!’ she yelped when he tightened his grip. ‘You’re hurting me, Tony!’

‘I’ll do a damn sight more than hurt you if you fuck me about,’ he snarled. ‘You told me he was queer.’

‘He is,’ she whimpered, petrified now. ‘Please, Tony, you’re hurting me. And people are looking.’

‘I don’t give a fuck,’ he said, bringing his face down close to hers. ‘I’ve just had it on good authority that your friend is no more queer than
me
. So what’s the game, Mel? You been fucking around with him?’