The Front (39 page)

       
The Man took the notes and turned to Suzie. ‘Where did you get these?’ he demanded.

       
Suzie’s mind was racing. She knew this was really heavy and debated telling them about Mal and Lee. But, remembering that Ged and Sam were at the flat, she decided against it. She couldn’t put them in danger. And surely this man wouldn’t do anything bad to her?

       
‘I said, where did you get it?’ The Man repeated.

       
When she didn’t answer, he motioned to Jake with his head. Grinning, Jake stepped up to her and grabbed her hair in his hand, forcing her head back until she was staring up at The Man.

       
‘Where?’ The Man said.

       
‘At the p-post office,’ she said, gritting her teeth against the pain. ‘I got it at the post office when I cashed my giro this morning.’

       
Still holding her hair, Jake brought his other hand up and slapped her hard.

       
‘Where?’ The Man said again.

       
‘The p-post office!’ she sobbed, her mind reeling from the blow.

       
Slap
!

       
‘Try again!’

       
‘I did! I swear I did!’

       
The Man curled his lip and sneered at her. ‘I ain’t playin’ games wi’choo, bitch! Now tell me, or I’m gonna let my man here—’ he gestured towards Jake ‘—take you for a long ride in the country!’

       
Suzie glanced at Jake and the smile she saw on his face chilled her to her soul. Her heart began to rattle and the breath constricted in her throat. Jake leaned over, staring into her eyes with his strange green ones. He smiled at her terror.

       
‘I’ll take her now, boss!’ he whispered evilly.

       
‘NO!’ Suzie yelped, imploring The Man with her eyes. ‘Please, no!’

       
Ranjit reached out and touched The Man’s arm. ‘We can’t keep her here. The police were round earlier, asking a load of questions. And they had a picture of her.’ He nodded towards Suzie. ‘Asked if we knew her name and address.’

       
The Man motioned Jake to let go of Suzie’s hair and checked his watch. It was only four o’clock. It would be an hour before it started to go dark. They couldn’t stay here if the police were sniffing around – they had to get her to a safe place. But where? They couldn’t take her to his flat because Patrice was due back in the morning. And they couldn’t take her to Jake’s in case they had to go out again. If she was alone, she might get free and raise the alarm.

       
Then he thought of the ideal place.

       
‘Right, we’re out of here!’ he said, grabbing Suzie by the front of her coat and dragging her from the desk. He glared down into her face. ‘We’re walking out into the yard now, bitch, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t draw attention to us, yeah?’

       
Suzie nodded quickly, too terrified to speak. She flicked a glance at Jake and saw the disappointment on his face. She knew that whatever happened next, she’d escaped something terrible just now. She could see as clear as day what had been running through Jake’s mind, and knew she would be lucky to see another day if he managed to get her out into the countryside.

       
Her whole body shook with terror as The Man had a hushed conversation with the Singh brothers. Then he hauled her outside and shoved her onto the back seat of the Jag.

‘Suzie’s been an awful long time,’ Ged commented, glancing at his watch.

       
‘Tell me about it!’ Mal snapped. ‘Bitch! I only asked her to get something to stop me bleeding shits. It’s a good job it’s stopping by itself, or she’d be in for a right good slapping! Anyway, fuck her!’ He got to his feet, rubbing at his sore stomach as he went for his mirror. ‘I’m having another line. Who wants one?’

       
‘Me!’ chorused Lee and Elaine.

       
‘I knew
you
greedy gits would,’ Mal said. ‘I was asking Ged and Sam.’

       
‘No, thanks, man.’ Sam shook his head. ‘I’d better get back to mine and see what kind of mood Wendy’s in now.’

       
‘Yeah, and I want to go and see Caroline, see if she’s had any word from Linda,’ Ged said. ‘She’s been in a right state.’

       
‘Thought we was going looking for that Simon bloke?’ Mal said, pulling his bag of coke out of the drawer. ‘Bloody Hell!’ he exclaimed loudly, holding it up to the light. ‘That’s gone down quick!’ He shot a look of suspicion around the room. ‘Have one of you thieving bastards been at this?’

       
‘Behave yourself!’ Ged pushed himself up from the chair. ‘You’ve necked it all!’

       
Mal shook the bag, peering suspiciously at the half-inch of powder lining the bottom. ‘Bollocks! I’ve never done all that by myself!’

       
Ged laughed. ‘Come off it, man. Every time I see you you’ve got a tube stuck up your schnoz – you and the other two Musketeers there!’ He flipped a thumb at Lee and Elaine. Shaking his head, he turned to Sam. ‘You coming?’

       
‘Yeah,’ Sam said, jumping to his feet. ‘Have you got your car, or do you want a lift?’

       
‘You can give us a lift,’ Ged said.

       
‘You’re coming back to go and sort that pervy bastard out, aren’t you?’ Mal asked again.

       
‘Yeah. When it’s dark,’ Ged said. ‘See you later.’

Caroline still had no news, and she’d worked herself into a state by the time Ged got there. He tried his best to reassure her that everything would turn out all right, but she burst into tears and said she had an awful feeling she was never going to see Linda again.

       
‘She must have been so unhappy,’ she sobbed as Ged fussed around her, making her take a cup of sweet tea and lighting a cigarette for her. ‘All I ever did was yell at her and tell her all the bad things she was doing. How could I have been so selfish?’

       
‘Hey,’ Ged grinned softly. ‘Selfish is my line, isn’t it? Now, come on, stop blaming yourself. You’ve done everything you could. If this is anyone’s fault it’s mine. I walked out on you. It’s me who wasn’t here when Linda needed guidance.’

       
After half an hour, Caroline had cried herself to sleep. Ged covered her with a quilt and sat watching her while he waited for Sam to pick him up. She was becoming so thin, almost withering away by the day, it seemed, and he wondered if she was eating. If he wasn’t so worried about Linda, he’d give her a bloody good hiding when he found her, for what she was doing to her mum.

       
Before he knew it, Sam was honking his horn outside. Ged wrote a quick note telling Caroline he’d see her later and propped it up on the coffee table before quietly letting himself out.

Ged asked Sam to take him back to his own flat before they went to Mal’s. He desperately needed to eat. Sam was very quiet on the drive, and Ged asked how it had gone with Wendy. Sam said she’d been strange when he got home. She looked like she’d been crying, and she hadn’t given him any grief, even when he said he’d be going out again. He’d expected ructions, but she’d accepted it without a word, and now he was suspicious.

       
‘What do you think she’s up to?’ he said. ‘You don’t think she’s planning to take off with the kids while I’m out, do you?’

       
‘She wouldn’t be that cruel,’ Ged said. ‘Anyway, she loves that house. She’s not going to walk out because you’ve had a row, is she?’

       
‘I don’t know,’ Sam said. ‘I don’t know what she’s capable of at the moment.’

       
‘She won’t,’ Ged said with quiet certainty. He peered across at Sam’s worried face. ‘It’s really getting to you, isn’t it? Not just Wendy – all this Pasha stuff.’

       
‘It’s everything,’ Sam admitted. ‘Mal and Lee acting like they’ve done nothing wrong. Suzie being weird. And now Wendy. I can’t take it. It’s all getting out of control. And it was bad enough that it happened, but it’s really spooked me, them telling Elaine. God! If they could tell a big mouth like that, they’re capable of anything!’

       
Ged nodded. ‘It’s put the wind up me, too. The only good thing is we didn’t actually do it. And that’s about the only thing we’ll have going for us if this blows up, so just keep reminding yourself. As for Elaine – the way she’s necking the coke, with any luck she’ll do herself in before too long. Maybe someone should suggest she tries mainlining?’ Sam shot a worried look at him. ‘Just wishful thinking!’ Ged assured him.

       
‘And as for Suzie,’ he went on. ‘I reckon those three have upset her. Have you noticed the way she looks at them?’

       
‘That’s Mal,’ Sam said. ‘She’s terrified of him.’

       
‘Yeah,’ Ged agreed, frowning. ‘But I’m sure it’s not just him. She really hates Elaine. I’ve seen the way she looks at her. And look at all that business with the laxatives. Why would she give it to Lee and Elaine if she wasn’t upset with them as well?’

       
Sam smiled and shook his head. ‘Funny, though, wasn’t it? She’s got a right little vicious streak in her!’

       
‘Good for her!’ Ged said. ‘It’s about time Mal got some of his own medicine! Anyhow, don’t worry about Suzie. She can obviously take care of herself if it comes to the crunch. The thing you need to sort out is this business with Wendy. It’s not good for you, her or the kids.’

       
‘That’s what’s bothering me,’ Sam muttered.

       
‘Well, the way I see it,’ Ged said, ‘Wendy’s doing her best to give her kids a decent future. Think about it, Sam. She’s stuck by you through everything. Even now, with all this shit with Mal and Lee. And yeah, she nags, but she’s only trying to help you. Hassling the council for that house, doing her damnedest to keep people like Lee away. And what do you go and do? You invite him in, and let him think it’s only Wendy who’s got a problem with him. Anyway, do you think she’d have gone to all this trouble to keep you if she didn’t love you? Don’t make the same mistake I made.’

       
Sam turned to look at him. ‘Do you regret leaving Caroline?’

       
Ged shrugged. ‘I’ve spent the last year telling myself that it was the right move. But, if I’m honest, I’ve missed her. Oh, I know I’ve slagged her off, but I suppose I was just shifting the blame away from myself. These past few days have shown me what I’ve thrown away. I look at her and see the girl she was – especially now she’s so vulnerable. But she looks awful, Sam. I’m worried about her.’

       
‘Enough to go back?’

       
Ged bit his lip and stared out of the window. ‘I’ve been thinking about it, but I don’t even know if she wants me back. It’s not exactly a good time to ask, is it?’

       
‘It could be exactly the right time,’ Sam said quietly.

       
‘I envy you,’ Ged said. ‘Seeing you with your kids and your wife, at home – having dinner, watching telly. Normal family stuff. I really wish you could see it through my eyes. You don’t know how good you’ve got it. Don’t lose it. I mean, what’s the alternative? Hanging around with tossers like Mal and Lee?

       
‘Anyway, enough of the lecture. Let’s get something to eat, then we can pick up the tossers and go sort out the bastard who’s got my Linda!’

       
‘Do me a favour,’ Sam said as he turned onto the road that would take them past Greenheys. ‘Put your seat belt on. They can fine me now for not making you.’

       
Ged pulled the belt on and glanced at the station. ‘Maybe we should go and grass them up, eh? Get them collared before it all goes pear-shaped?’

       
‘You don’t think they’d go down without taking us with them, do you?’ Sam snorted. ‘No, Ged. The further we stay away from the police the better.’

As Sam and Ged passed by just feet away, Paul Dalton was tapping away at a computer in a secluded office, painstakingly trying to access the recorded owners of BMWs in the Manchester area. It was a painfully slow process, given that he could only type with one finger and he had very limited time because his shift was due to finish in ten minutes. He jumped when the door opened, but was relieved to see that it was just Eddie.

       
‘What you up to?’ Eddie asked, coming in and closing the door behind him.

       
‘Looking for a needle in a haystack,’ Paul said, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

       
‘You want to get Diane to do it,’ Eddie suggested. ‘She’s a little whiz on that thing. What you looking for, anyway?’ He leaned over Paul’s shoulder and peered at the screen. ‘Looking to buy a motor? BMW, eh? Bit upmarket for you. Got someone special to impress? Your little nurse friend – Jane, for example?’

       
Paul elbowed him in the ribs. ‘Jane’s a mate, that’s all. Anyway, I don’t think you should be joking about
my
nurse friend, do you?’

       
Eddie raised his hands and took a step back. ‘Whoa! Let’s not go there. I won’t mention Jane again if you forget all about that other . . .
thing
! Deal?’

       
‘Deal,’ Paul laughed. ‘Anyhow, I’m not trying to get rid of you, but I want to get on with this. I’ve only got ten minutes and I’m nowhere near finding what I want.’

       
‘Here, let me have a go,’ Eddie said, nudging Paul aside. ‘You’ll be here for ever with your one-finger shit. Now me – I’ve got skill, I have! You’re doing it wrong, anyway, just asking for the make. You want the CC and colour too. Let’s see now  . . .’