The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (33 page)

‘He obviously saw nothing wrong
in what he was doing,’ Dorothy surmised. ‘After all, in his mind he was only
taking his daughter for a stroll.’

‘Well, when you put it like
that,’ Vicky agreed.

‘Ah well,’ Dorothy said, ‘let’s
not dwell too much on the whys and wherefores or we’ll drive ourselves around
the twist. We’ll have another glass of port and lemon, drink a little toast to
Mark and hope that he’ll now rest in peace. He’ll be in the same plot as his
father and only a stone’s throw from where his mother, Amelia lies. So they’ll
be a reunited family in death as they could never have been in life.’

Vicky nodded, comforted that she
was spending time with the last person on earth who had seen Mark smiling and
happy.

***

Jane stroked her baby’s cheek and
smiled as Jessica snuffled contentedly and blew bubbles in her sleep. Loathe to
let her daughter out of her arms for any longer than was necessary, she looked
up as Sammy entered the bedroom and plonked herself down on the big brass bed.

‘How is she?’ Sammy lounged back
on the pillows beside Jane.

‘She’s absolutely fine, Sam.
Thank God.’

‘And you? You still look very
pale to me. Eddie told Roy that
you’re not sleeping too well.’

Jane sighed. ‘I’m terrified to
close my eyes. I keep thinking that unless I watch her like a hawk, someone
will take her again. Not only that, on the odd occasion I
do
nod off, I
hear Mark’s scream as he jumped. It was horrendous, and the very last word he
said was Jane.

‘He put us through hell, but I
didn’t want that to happen. I just wanted Jessica back safe and sound. When I
was with Mark on the cliff tops, I could see the madness in his eyes and I was
terrified. He really, really believed that Jess was Elinore,
our
child.
He needed help so badly. I’m sure he would never have knowingly hurt Jess, but
I couldn’t take any chances; that’s why I screamed for Ed when she fell
.
Mark
might not have jumped if I hadn’t panicked. I killed him.’

‘No, you didn’t.’ Sammy put her
arms around Jane and hugged her. ‘It was his choice to jump. There were enough
eyewitnesses to back that up. They say he didn’t suffer, his neck was broken
and he died instantly.’

‘I know, but I feel so bad about
the whole thing. I’m responsible for sending him round the twist.’

‘No, Jane! You finishing with him
was only one of many things that led to his breakdown. You mustn’t let Ed hear
you say anything like this. He thinks Mark’s done more than enough damage. Roy
said he’s struggling to get his head around seeing Mark kissing you. He told Roy
he would have willingly pushed him over the cliffs there and then.’

‘He keeps going on about it,’
Jane sighed. ‘He’s almost obsessed by it. But I would have promised Mark
anything to get Jess back, even though it sickened me to kiss him. At the end
of the day I expected the police to come to my rescue, but to Ed, stuck behind
that rock, it must have looked as though I was selling my soul to the devil by
kissing Mark.’

‘Ed will come to terms with it
eventually,’ Sammy said. ‘It’s been an awful time for both of you. You have to
try and put it behind you and move on. Roy and Ed have now agreed to Frank’s
suggestion of a minder staying with us when they’re away on tour in the future.
To be honest, I’d feel happier about it, especially now that Cantello junior is
on his way.’ Sammy patted her tummy.

‘You’re not supposed to be
counting your chickens until after tomorrow when you’ve seen the doctor.’ Jane
smiled through her tears, cheered by Sammy’s excitement.

‘Well it’s bound to be yes! I’m
three weeks late, throwing up for England
and we’ve been trying like crazy to get pregnant. So I must be.’

‘I’m inclined to agree,’ Jane
said.

‘Go and take a soak and I’ll
cuddle Jess here on the bed for you,’ Sammy suggested as Jane hesitated. ‘Go
on. What can possibly happen?
I’m
here; Eddie and Roy are in the music room with Tim and Phil, Pat’s across the
way reading Jonny a bedtime story. Go on, Jane, a warm bath will do you good.’

‘Thanks, Sam. I know I’ve got to
learn to relax again. A bath would be such a treat. I’ve only taken quick showers
lately because I don’t like being away from her.’ She kissed Jessica’s downy
head and handed her to Sammy. ‘I’ll nip to the music room and put in an order
for drinks all round. I can sip mine while I’m soaking.’

‘That’s the idea. But make mine
an orange juice please. Alcohol knocks me sick at the moment.’

***

Eddie looked up as Jane entered
the music room. ‘You okay, darling? Where’s Jess?’ He put his arm around her
and squeezed her affectionately.

‘On our bed with Sammy. She’s
looking after her while I take a bath.'

‘That’s good. You need a little
break and Sammy needs to put some practice in.’

Roy
puffed up with pride at Eddie’s comment and winked at Jane. ‘You okay,
sweetheart?’

‘Fine thanks, Roy.
How about
you
getting a bit of
practice in? Jess needs changing.’

He screwed up his face. ‘I’ll
leave that sort of thing to Sammy. Anyway, I’ve done my bit.’

‘So it would appear.’ Jane raised
an amused eyebrow. ‘Sammy’s even refused a drink tonight. So, Ed, cider for me
and Pat and orange juice for Sammy, please.’

‘We’ll finish what we’re doing
and then your wish is my command. Be with you in five minutes.’ He dropped a
kiss on her lips.

***

‘She’ll get there, mate.’ Roy
patted Eddie’s shoulder. Tim and Phil voiced their agreement.

‘I know she will. I just hate
seeing her so uptight. She was so happy and contented before Fisher took Jess.’

‘Well it’s done with now, Ed. The
worst is over and behind you. Life can only get better for you both,’ Phil
said, putting down his guitar.

Roy
nodded and handed round cigarettes. He held his lighter out to Eddie and said,
‘It’s strange though, both yours and Jane’s ex’s are dead, and they were so
young, too.’

‘Yeah!’ Eddie nodded. ‘It just
goes to show that it’s a good job you don’t know what’s lurking round the
corner. Like you say, Phil, the worst is over. Neither of them are a threat to
Jane and me anymore.'

***

CHAPTER
THIRTY

Sammy strolled into the kitchen,
threw down her keys and burst into tears.

Roy
sprang immediately to her side. ‘What is it, Sam? Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.
Don’t cry, there’s all the time in the world.’ He drew her into his arms and
planted a kiss on her lips. ‘We’ll try a bit harder. We’ve got our wedding to
look forward to. That’ll take your mind off babies for a while.’

Sammy smiled at him through her
tears. ‘We don’t need to try harder, Super Stud! We did it. You’re gonna be a
daddy, Roy. I’m crying because I’m so bloody happy.’

‘Women!’ Tim muttered to Eddie,
raising an amused eyebrow.

‘Yes!’ Roy
yelled, punching the air. ‘Oh, yes! I love you, woman. When?’

‘Middle of May,’ Sammy said,
laughing at his excitement.

‘The month before Jessie’s first
birthday,’ Eddie said. ‘They’ll grow up together, like we did. Well done, mate,
and you too of course, Sam.’

‘Sammy, I’m so pleased for you,’
Jane said, sniffing back tears of joy.

Pat threw her arms around her
stepsister. ‘Well done, Sam and you too, Roy.
I feel quite left out, but I’m not ready for a baby yet. Maybe I’ll go for a
career change instead.’

‘You could give up work and baby
me,’ Tim suggested, slinging his arm around her waist. ‘I’d like us to spend
more time together. If you changed your career we’d probably see less of one
another.’

‘We’ll see. Who knows what’s in
store? This last year has been like nothing I could ever imagine, not in my wildest
dreams,’ Pat said. ‘It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride at times,
especially this last month.’

‘You can say that again,’ Eddie
said as the others nodded their agreement. ‘It’s not a month I’d like to repeat
in a hurry.’

‘Coffee, everybody?’ Jane got up
to fill the kettle as the phone rang.

Tim strolled across the kitchen
to answer. ‘Oh hi, Frank! Yes, we’re all here except Phil. Fucking hell! That’s
fantastic, brilliant. - Yes I’ll tell them. See you soon.’

He turned to face the others who
were staring at him with shocked expressions.

‘What?’ Eddie and Roy chorused
curiously. Unlike the rest of
The Raiders
,
Tim hardly ever swore. It must be something serious.

‘
You Give Me That Feeling
is number one in the States,’ he
announced, grinning broadly.

‘Fucking hell!’ Roy
echoed Tim’s expletive. ‘Forget the bloody coffee, Jane! Get the champers out.
We’ve two things to celebrate now.’

‘Christ, I don’t believe it!’
Eddie exclaimed. ‘Are you sure you heard right, Tim?’

‘Course I did. Right, that’s it;
I’m going to order my dream car. E Type Jag Convertible, here I come.’

***

The Raiders
released their
third single,
The Girl’s in Love with Me
the second week of December. They were beaten by
The Beatles
Day Tripper
in
the race for the Christmas number one.

‘This year, lads,’ Frank
announced in January, following the New Year break. ‘You’ll do it Christmas ’66
or I’ll eat my best hat!’ He took a gold cigarette lighter from the top drawer
of his desk and lit a cigar, contentedly puffing circles of smoke into the air.
His secretary Helen waltzed in with a tray of coffee and flashed him her secret
lover’s smile. He winked at her as she closed the door and left him to his
meeting with Roy and Eddie.

‘I’ve been having a good think
over Christmas,’ Frank said. ‘Those tapes you brought me a few months ago from
that jam session you had with young Carl. Have you ever considered having him
on board as a permanent band member?’ He lounged back on his swivel chair in
his plush Manchester office,
looking proudly round. The ivory painted walls were adorned with silver framed
photographs of his stable of artistes past and present. He drew on his cigar,
waiting for their reaction.

Roy
spoke first. ‘That’s bloody amazing, because as a group we’ve been thinking
exactly that. It gave us a whole new sound and we loved it! Carl and his girl
are coming for dinner tonight, so we’ll drop it on his toes, see what he
thinks. He’s not a very confident lad, but he’s a bloody good piano player with
a real boogie style. With him on board we could really let rip with our
Rock’n’Roll numbers.’

‘Well in that case, let’s haul
him in for a meeting. You lot will soon boost his confidence. Run the
suggestion by him tonight, let me know tomorrow.’

***

‘We’ve a bit of a favour to ask
you, Carl,’ Roy began, rolling an
after dinner joint. ‘How would you like to be our keyboard player? Our agent,
Frank was knocked out with the jam session tapes we gave him.’

‘You didn’t let your agent hear
them, surely?’ Carl stuttered, his face flushing a deep crimson.

‘Oh we did,’ Eddie said,
grinning, ‘and he loved ’em. So, how about it, Carl, wanna be a Raider? You’ll
have to give up your job with F and G’s of course.’

‘I can’t believe I’m hearing
right.’ Carl looked stunned as he gazed at Roy
and Eddie’s smiling faces. ‘Me, a Raider? What about my hair, it’s always such
a mess.’

‘I’ll sort it out for you, Carl,’
Cathy said. ‘Just tell them yes, for God’s sake.’

‘Can you cope with a musician for
a boyfriend, Cath?’ Roy asked.
‘Angie couldn’t.’

‘I’m not Angie,’ Cathy said
firmly. ‘And if it’s what Carl wants - I’m right behind him.’

‘Good on you, girl!’ Eddie hugged
her affectionately.

***

An ecstatic Carl joined
The
Raiders
during the last week of January. A short tour was organised, along
with TV appearances and newspaper interviews, to help launch him gently into
the world of stardom.

Cathy, proudly looking after the
boy she adored, taught Carl how to blow-dry his hair. She also dyed it a rich
auburn and encouraged him to grow it longer.

Jane thought the style and colour
suited Carl so much better and told him so.

‘You look lovely Carl, quite the
good-looking young man.’

‘Thank you, Jane.’ Carl blushed
as Roy and Eddie whistled when he
strolled into the kitchen. He was proving to be a superb pianist, and took his
role with the group seriously.
The Raiders
were proud to have him
onboard, and Carl, likewise, was equally proud to be a Raider.

Life at Hanover’s
Lodge was good. Sammy and Roy were happily married and looking forward to their
new baby. Jessica was fast growing and trying to crawl. Jonny was chatty and
happy, and Jane and Eddie were working hard to put Jessica’s kidnapping behind
them.

Pat and Tim moved into a new
house in the smart suburb of Westlow, and Tim proudly took delivery of his
dream car. After much persuasion on Tim’s part, Pat gave up her job to spend
more time with him. It was a move she had no regrets about doing and it meant
she was now free to accompany him on tour.

Jane took her driving test and
passed first time.

‘Well done, babe.’ Eddie handed
her the keys to his beloved Beetle. He’d treated himself to a Mercedes
Roadster, but couldn’t bear to part with his first car. ‘When I’m mega rich
I’ll buy you a Porsche and myself a red Ferrari.’

***

During the month of March the
group toured America
accompanied by Cathy and Pat. Jane, the kids and a heavily pregnant Sammy waved
them off at a fan besieged Ringway Airport,
before making their getaway back to a peaceful, but very empty, Hanover’s
Lodge.

‘Fancy having to have a bloody
police escort back to our car,’ Jane grumbled, helping Sammy out of the
passenger seat. ‘We can’t do anything normal anymore.’

‘Well it won’t be forever,’ Sammy
said, struggling to her feet. ‘The fame will be short-lived, so they might as
well make the most of it while they can and earn some decent money. What time’s
Harry Bennett due? Roy said he’d be
here when we got back from the airport, but there’s no strange car on the
drive.’

Harry Bennett, Frank James’s
appointed minder, was due to arrive that day to look after them during Roy and
Eddie’s absence and they’d made up the bed settee for him in the music room.

‘Here he is now.’ Jane squinted
down the lane as a vehicle came into view and the driver parked discreetly
beneath the trees.

‘Thank God for that,’ Sammy
muttered, hitching her lump into a more comfortable position. ‘I can relax now.
Though I suppose, taking all things into account, nothing like Jess’s
kidnapping is likely to happen again. That was Mark’s illness, not because he
was a deranged fan out for money.’

‘Well I’d rather not take any
chances,’ Jane said. 'And Harry looks the part if any fans wander up the lane.
One look at the size of him with his boxer’s nose and cauliflower ear and
they’d run a mile.’

‘Morning, ladies,’ Harry called
as he lumbered towards them, holdall in hand. ‘Did the lads get off alright?’

‘Morning, Harry,’ Jane said as
Jonny squealed with delight, ran towards the big man and wrapped himself around
his legs. ‘They did, thanks, but it was chaos at the airport, total chaos.’

‘Ah well, make the most of it.
I’ve seen stars come and go like you’d never believe. You have to take the
rough with the smooth while they’re at the top. Now then, young man.’ Harry
placed his bag down on the ground and swung a giggling Jonny into the air.
‘I’ll put my stuff inside and then we’ll have a game of football, give Mummy
and Aunty Sammy a bit of peace.’

‘Have a coffee first, Harry,’
Jane said, leading the way indoors. ‘Show Harry to his room, Jonny, while I
brew up.’

‘Oh no, excuse me, please!’
Sammy’s hand flew to her mouth and she pushed past them, shutting herself in
the downstairs cloakroom.

‘Still chucking up?’ Harry
frowned. ‘Poor kid, my missus was only sick for the first few weeks with our
two. Right, young Jonny, lead the way to my room.’ He smiled down at Jonny who
was pulling on his hand. ‘He’s eager for his game of footy, aren’t you?’

‘Thought this morning sickness
was supposed to last for three months,’ Sammy complained, strolling back into
the kitchen. ‘I’m okay after
midday
,
but I dread waking up some mornings.’

‘You’re just unlucky,’ Jane said,
handing Sammy a mug of tea and a plate of dry toast, her second breakfast that
morning. ‘Here, see if you can keep this lot down. I hope Pat and Cathy keep
their eyes on Eddie and Roy while they’re in The States.’

‘They will and they’ll phone us
as soon as they can,’ Sammy said. ‘My main worry’s drugs, I hope the lads don’t
get caught with anything on them. I told Roy
not to take anything with him because of going through customs. He’s trying so
hard to give up. Do you know, I could throttle Mac for getting him started in
the first place.’

‘Roy’s
doing his best, Sam. At least he’s not doing heroin like Mac was. Eddie told me
he’s stopped taking speed now before a gig. All you can do is support him
through it and thank your lucky stars that he didn’t get on to the hard stuff.
That would have been a disaster, both for
you
and the group, not to
mention your new baby.’

‘Roy and I are going to have to
think seriously about leaving here when this baby arrives,’ Sammy said,
changing the subject. ‘There won’t be enough room.’

‘We’ll be okay for a few months.
It can sleep in your room while it’s tiny but you won’t want it in with you
when it’s older. It’ll cramp your style and you know what you and Roy are
like,’ Jane teased.

‘
Were
like, you mean,’ Sammy sighed. ‘Couldn’t manage it if I tried.
I look and feel like a bloody beached whale! Roy
said he’s enjoying the rest, but I think he’s saying that to be nice to me.
Hope he doesn’t go astray out there.’

‘He won’t, not Roy.
He’s devoted to you, always has been. Come on, let’s visit our mums and then go
shopping. Can we leave Jonny with you, Harry?' Jane said as Harry, with Jonny
on his shoulders, appeared in the kitchen. 'He hates shopping,’

‘Of course,’ Harry replied as
Jonny screwed up his face. ‘Shopping’s not a man’s thing, is it, lad? We’ll
play footy for a while. I’ll take him fishing for tiddlers in that little pond
out in the woods later.’

‘That’s very kind of you,’ Jane
said. ‘His fishing net’s in the laundry room and you’ll find a couple of jam
jars for the catch in there, too. But no frogs, please, or we’ll have Sammy
giving birth tonight!’

‘Understood,’ Harry said as Jane
pulled a shuddering Sammy to her feet. ‘Get any bigger, Sammy,’ he added, ‘and
we’ll need a crane to hoist you up.’

***

‘Christ, I’m pissed off with
this!’ Roy gazed out of the top
floor window of The Hotel Plaza in the centre of New York,
at the mob of screaming girls below. ‘We’ll get ripped to shreds if we go out
there.’

‘Yeah, it’s not exactly how we
dreamt our first trip to America
would be all those years ago,’ Eddie said. ‘I wanted a wander round some of the
more obscure record stores. And there's no way we can come to New
York and not visit The Brill Building. But short of
wearing a disguise we haven’t a chance of moving from here.’

Tim looked up from his Playboy
magazine and smiled. ‘Good job the suite’s nice,’ he said from the confines of
a plush leather sofa, one of three grouped around a low glass topped table. The
tastefully furnished Penthouse Suite, with its striking colour scheme of rich
brown, cream and turquoise, was airy and spacious with a well equipped bar for
their personal use.

‘There’s the press conference
this afternoon,’ Tim continued. ‘We’ll ask Frank to help us get out after that,
or we’ll end up seeing bugger all at this rate.’

‘If I don’t get a shag soon, I’m
gonna go mad!’ Phil groaned. ‘Hundreds of crazy women out there and not one of
’em looks over sixteen. All bloody jailbait.’

‘In some states in America
its legal at fourteen and under,’ Carl chipped in. ‘Jerry Lee’s wife Myra
was only thirteen when he married her.’