A Family Scandal (32 page)

‘Then I don’t understand why you’re all questioning what happened that night,’ Mavis cried, and with that she bent to pick up her bags and left the room.

Chapter Thirty-One

Jean walked over to Rhona in the canteen when they were on their lunch break. She was halfway through a packet of crisps, and she offered them to the younger woman. ‘Go on, you still need building up. Mind if I sit here?’

‘Of course not and thanks,’ Rhona said as she took a handful. She’d chosen a big bowl of oxtail soup, keen to warm up after hours standing in the chilly packing room. ‘Well? Did you ask him?’ She’d suggested to Jean that her fiancé might like a portrait done of her now that their wedding was drawing closer, not sure if he’d dismiss the idea as nonsense.

Jean beamed. ‘I did. And guess what? He said yes. He was dead keen, and was really lovely about it. He said he wants to remember how I look now when we’re old and grey together. Isn’t that romantic? Don’t pull that face, Rhona, he’s a kind man and I love him, even though I know he’s too staid to be your type.’

‘Type? I don’t have a type. I’m off men,’ insisted Rhona, flicking her hair, but secretly she was delighted. She was a little embarrassed that she hadn’t managed to hide her opinion of her boss’s boyfriend, but by the looks of things Jean didn’t hold it against her.

‘Of course you are.’ Jean gave her a meaningful glance. ‘You sort out when your painter friend is free and I’ll get my best twinset ready. Might even put on a bit of lippy.’

Rhona paused in the act of dunking a bread roll in her soup. ‘Never seen you in lippy, Jean. Didn’t even know you had any. What about mascara? Do you want to borrow my false eyelashes too? I don’t have no use for them now.’

Jean threw back her head and laughed. ‘You’ve got to be joking. Those old things? Ugh, thanks but no thanks. But yes, of course I’ve got lippy. There’s just no point in wearing it round here, the dust will only stick to it.’ She gave Rhona a determined look. ‘I’m going to get all dressed up then your friend can go to town and make me look gorgeous for posterity.’

‘Oh, hark at you,’ Rhona laughed. ‘Posterity! Have you swallowed a dictionary and gone all posh now that you’ve been promoted?’

Jean just smiled and Rhona finished her soup, wiping the bowl with the rest of the roll. So her idea had been a good one after all. She’d keep on asking around to see how much business she could drum up for Mavis. If they ended up losing the house it certainly wouldn’t be for lack of trying.

It was late when the doorbell rang and Mavis hesitated as she made her way along the corridor. Pete and Lily were out, and Bobby had jumped at the chance to sleep upstairs, so the ground floor was empty and echoed with her slow footsteps. She didn’t like it when she didn’t know who it was calling at this hour and tensed with nerves.

The nights were drawing in and at first Mavis could barely make out the shape of the person on the doorstep. By the way he stood he was almost blocking the light from the streetlamp as she opened the door, but then the moon came out from behind a cloud and she could see him more clearly. His hair was greasier and longer than when she’d last seen him and he had put on more weight, but there was no question as to who he was.

She gasped, pulling her threadbare cardigan more tightly around her. ‘Larry Barnet. What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?’ Nervously she found the light switch and turned on the bare bulb that swung from the hall ceiling. Lily had already pawned the glass shade.

Larry smiled thinly. ‘That’s no way to greet an old friend, is it? Aren’t you going to invite me in?’ He made as if to step inside.

Mavis folded her arms and stood her ground. ‘After what you tried to do to me last time, I don’t think so, Larry. Now what do you want?’ She managed to keep her voice from shaking but she could feel her legs were trembling.

He leaned against the door jamb. ‘So that’s how you want to play it. No skin off my nose, Dumbo. I can do what I came here to do from here or you could make it easier for all of us by asking me to come up to your lovely flat.’

Mavis shook her head. Every cell in her body screamed out against letting this foul man into her property and any closer to the children. ‘You aren’t coming in, Larry.’

He shifted his weight slightly. ‘Pity. I’d like to see what sort of love nest you and that murdering boyfriend have got up there. It was so easy to follow you back from the school playground. Didn’t even think to look behind you, did you?’

‘Larry Barnet, you stay away from my children,’ hissed Mavis, instantly on her guard where their safety was concerned.

‘Or what, Mavis? You can’t get your boyfriend to scare me away a second time?’ He leered at her in the pale light. ‘He’s not here to protect you anymore, is he, nor is he here to tell his snitching tales. No, Tommy can’t help you now.’

Despite herself she shuddered. ‘What do you want, Larry?’

‘What do I want? What do I want? Now there’s a question. I think you know
one
of the things I want.’ He tried to come nearer but she managed to half-close the door on him. He laughed. ‘That won’t help you, Dumbo. You know I can get in if I want to. Like this.’ He shoved the door and it swung open, leaving the corridor horribly exposed. Mavis wanted to shrink back against the wall but something told her he’d take that as an invitation. Instead, she forced herself to keep still.

‘Just tell me,’ she breathed. ‘Let’s not pretend you’re here for a social visit, Larry. Tell me what you’re after then go.’

He reached forward and stroked her face menacingly. ‘Maybe you will keep, Dumbo. You’ll still be around, won’t you? I can make myself wait. I can come back here any time I like if you ain’t got your protector hanging around.’ He arched his back slowly. ‘So, I need you to pass on a message to your precious boyfriend in the nick. The word is he’s going to be sent down and when he is, one of my very good friends is going to be waiting for him along with a few of his mates. Really looking forward to that, he is. Has a score to settle. Name of Fenton. Got that, have you, Dumbo? I know you can’t write it down, but see if you can get it to stick in that thick head of yours. Fenton.’

‘Why should I?’ demanded Mavis, suddenly angry at being told to be a messenger for the man and his criminal mates.

‘Because if you don’t you’re going to be very sorry,’ said Larry, leaning in so that she could feel his foul breath on her face. ‘And it’ll be the worse for Tommy too if you don’t. As I said, Fenton and his mates are waiting for him and at least this way Tommy will be prepared. They’ve got a special welcome for him, and they are very much looking forward to it.’

‘What … what do you mean?’ Mavis asked, faltering despite herself now. She drew back from his fetid stink.

‘They’ve got a few nice weapons stashed away and they’re keen to try them out,’ Larry said confidently. ‘They’ll get Tommy at close range, and as they’ll be behind closed doors, there won’t be anywhere for him to run. So you be a good girl and pass this on to your lover boy the next time you see him.’

‘So … so … Larry, what you’re saying is … your mate Fenton and his accomplices have got hold of some weapons, hidden them, and when Tommy’s sent down they’re going to use them on him?’

‘Blimey, Dumbo, maybe you’re not so thick after all.’ Larry pretended to clap. ‘That’s exactly it. I managed to let it be known that your darling Tommy made the phone call that got Fenton banged up. Of course he isn’t happy that Tommy got the information about him because of me and my big mouth, but I’m not too worried about that. Fenton and his cronies can’t touch me while they’re in prison, and I can soon disappear again when they get out.’ He stretched and smiled. ‘Still, at least they’ll be delighted to take some of their revenge out on Tommy. They’ve still got a few mates on the outside that I’ve managed to steer well clear of, and some of them in uniform have done what they could to make things difficult for Tommy while he’s been on remand, making sure he was moved from place to place. But that’s nothing compared to what Fenton and his mates will do to him when he’s on the inside proper. It’ll give them something to look forward to and who knows, it might take the heat off me. Your man thinks he got them all turned against me but let’s see how funny he finds it once he’s in their hands.’

Mavis stood up straight. ‘Did you get all that?’

Larry looked puzzled. ‘Get all what?’

There was a noise from further down the hall and Rhona emerged from the staircase, swinging her handbag. ‘Yeah, got the lot. Clear as anything.’

‘Who are you? What do you mean?’ Larry blustered. He was thrown off his stride by this other young woman. He was happy to bully one at a time but he didn’t fancy taking on two. And this new one looked like trouble.

‘It doesn’t matter who I am,’ she said, ‘but I know who you are. I’ve heard a lot about you and there are quite a few people who’d like to know you’re back, ain’t there? So don’t you go making threats to Mavis.’

‘I’m not worried about a couple of bloody women,’ snarled Larry, unsure which of them to look at.

‘Suit yourself.’ Rhona shrugged and tossed back her hair. ‘We’ll just tell the police about your friend Fenton and let them know how we came by the information. It’s up to you.’

Larry laughed derisively. ‘Yeah, right. As if they’d believe you. They can come looking for me if they like, I’ll deny everything.’

Mavis nodded. ‘Yes, you can try. But I think you’ll find they will definitely believe us.’

Larry glared at her as if she was still the stupidest girl in the class. ‘Dream on, Dumbo. You was always good at making up stories. The police have got nothing on me and you can’t change that. If it’s my word against yours, with your boyfriend accused of murder, who do you think they’ll believe?’

‘Tell him, Rhona,’ Mavis said.

Rhona pulled what looked like a little black plastic tube out of her bag. ‘See this? Do you know what this is?’

Larry barked out a laugh. ‘Somewhere you keep your make-up, is it, darlin’?’

Rhona shook her head. ‘Oh, no. It’s way better than that. It’s a microphone.’

Larry shook his head in bafflement, none the wiser.

‘It’s really clever,’ Rhona went on. ‘It picks up sound and records it on a little tape. When we play the tape to the police, they’ll hear every word you said and Bob’s your uncle.’

Larry swung around, cornered. ‘They won’t know it was me,’ he said wildly.

‘But your name’s on it. If you remember, Mavis said your name several times so it’s got everything recorded that they’ll need.’ Rhona shrugged. ‘So, Larry, you’d better piss off back to where you came from, and we’ll make sure that this tape is good and safe. If you make any more threats against Mavis or anything happens to Tommy, you’re done for.’ She pointed at the street. ‘Better go before you say anything else.’

Larry’s eyes darted here and there as if weighing up his options, but then he saw a man walking along the street and knew he couldn’t risk it. If they screamed it would attract attention, and he remembered from their previous encounter that Mavis wasn’t shy of fighting back. There were also two of them, along with the bloke drawing closer who might come to their rescue.

Larry hesitated for another moment. He wasn’t totally sure what the younger one was talking about, but he’d heard of these portable tape things even though he’d never seen one. With a howl of frustration he ran off, but not before shouting, ‘You fucking bitch! Tommy’s fucking welcome to you. He’s going to be inside for life anyway and if he ever gets out I pity him coming back to a dozy mare like you.’

Mavis collapsed on Lily’s sofa, trembling but elated at the same time. ‘We did it, Rhona,’ she said. ‘We got rid of him. I can’t quite believe it. We did it.’

Rhona was too wound up to sit still. ‘I know. It was brilliant. How lucky was that, me bringing the tape recorder round to show you this evening? And you were so brave, just standing there and taking all his bullshit. I was afraid he was going to hit you and I’d be too far away to help.’

‘Yes, I thought so as well,’ Mavis admitted, ‘but he was too full of himself and thought he had me just where he wanted. You were so clever to follow me down like that. What a good job Jeff lent you that little machine. I know you were meant to use it to learn chords but the timing was spot on.’

‘Yeah, I’ve gone and recorded over the tunes he did for me now,’ said Rhona, ‘but it don’t matter. I don’t know what it’ll sound like as I was so far away so you might not be able to hear what was going on. Still …’

‘As long as Larry thinks we recorded him saying all that, it won’t matter,’ Mavis said decisively. ‘The man’s a bully, and bullies are cowards. He won’t dare do anything now.’

Rhona sank down on the sofa beside her. ‘We did it. Blimey, I’m sort of deflated now. It must be all that excitement.’

‘I know what you mean. I feel the same.’

‘We had better get back upstairs then. We can’t have you flaking out down here. It’s a big day tomorrow and you need your beauty sleep. You’ve got to do that painting for that woman, what’s her name,’ Rhona asked.

‘Yes, I know, and her name is Melina.’

‘Yes, that’s it. I thought she was going to be a bit of a mare to be honest. She looked a bit stuck up what with those glasses and the hairdo, but when you got talking to her she was all right. I don’t know what you’re so nervous about. You’ve got a knack for it.’

Mavis laughed. ‘I don’t think so. It was worse outside Grace’s school when I tried to talk to her about her husband. I thought she made an excuse to walk away because she didn’t trust me, but now I know I was making a mountain out of a molehill.’

‘Yeah, well, we’ve all done that.’

‘In a funny way I’m looking forward to tomorrow. While I’m painting her, I might be able to dig a little to find out if she can tell me if her husband has made a decision about who is going to get the contract for the new housing project. Grace likes Melina’s little girl, and you never know, when Melina shows her portrait to her friends, it might bring me more commissions. There’s also that commission you got for me to paint Jean and I hope her fiancé will like it.’