Billie Jo (29 page)

Billie shook as she made Jamie listen to the message on
her answerphone.

'What are we gonna do? I'm so scared. Say he tries
to snatch DJ or—'

'Ssh.' Jamie stopped her in mid-sentence and protectively
wrapped his arms around her. 'Everything's gonna
be fine, Billie. Look, first things first. Marsha said we
have to report any threats to the Old Bill, so we'll go and
do that now. They'll advise us what to do next, and in the
meantime you can ring Marsha and see what she suggests.'

'OK.' Billie Jo felt sick with fear. Danny O'Leary was
a nutcase and she wished she had never laid eyes on him.

Michelle sat in Hazel's car and watched the people entering
the building.

'They all look like not-rights,' she said to Hazel.

'They're just normal people who have problems, Chelle.
They're no different to me and you.'

Hazel had found Chelle a list of AA meetings on the
internet. Chelle's solicitor had insisted that she attend.
He had told her it would do her forthcoming court case
the world of good if she were to make an effort. Chelle
had been totally against the idea.

'I'm not sitting round a table telling my innermost secrets
to a load of fucking gone-wrongs,' she'd obstinately told
Hazel.

'You have to go, Chelle. As your brief says, he can't
help you unless you're willing to help yourself.

Begrudgingly, Chelle had agreed. 'I ain't going to a
meeting round here, Hazel. I'm bound to be recognised
and I'm definitely not sitting on some council estate with
a load of fucking down-and-outs. Find me one in a well-to-do
area where there is a better class of drunk.'

Hazel chuckled. Typical Chelle. She searched the net
and found a meeting in Chigwell for her.

'Right, I'm ready. Wait here for me, Hazel, in case
they're a load of nutters. If they are, I'm not staying.'
Taking a deep breath, Michelle strode towards the building.

Debbie Jones put the quilt over her head and sobbed like
a baby. The bedding smelt of Danny's aftershave.
Breathing in his scent, she tried to fathom out why things
had gone so bloody wrong. Before he'd gone into nick,
their relationship had been great and he hadn't been able
to keep his hands off her. Since he'd moved in she rarely
saw him. He worked late most nights and sometimes
didn't come home at all. When he did come home, he
was distant with her. Being ignored Debbie could handle,
but him attacking her had been unexpected and totally
uncalled for.

Looking at her phone, she debated whether to tell her
mum. She quickly decided against the idea. Her mum
had always told her that she moved men in too quickly.
'I told you so' was the last thing she needed to hear at
this particular moment. Pregnant and alone, Debbie
sobbed herself to sleep.

* * *

Jamie drove slowly into the cul-de-sac, allowing Billie to
clock the numbers.

'Number eleven, that's it. Park here, Jamie.'

Obeying his girlfriend's orders, Jamie smiled at her.
'Now are you sure you don't want me to come in with
you?'

'I'll be fine. You stay here with DJ. I won't be long.'

Fighting her way through the overgrown front garden,
Billie tapped on the door. She had decided to ring Danny's
mum after coming out of the police station. 'Pop round
and see me, darling,' Brenda had insisted.

'Hello, lovey.'

Ushering her into the living room, Brenda moved some
toys off the sofa. 'Sit there, Billie, while I make you a
coffee. I'm sorry about the mess, my kids are a bloody
nightmare. No matter how much housework I do, the
place always looks like a shithole.'

Billie smiled to herself. The place looked as if it had
been ransacked. It was absolutely rotten. No wonder
Danny had liked it round her mother's house.

'Thanks,' Billie said, as she was handed a chipped mug.

'Where are the kids?'

'My Shane's got a girlfriend now, he's round hers.
Jermain, Brandon and Aleesha are out playing. Streetrakers
they are, I've no control over 'em whatsoever.
How's my grandson? Why didn't you bring him with you,
Billie?'

'I needed to talk to you alone, Brenda.'

Eyes filling up with tears, Billie filled Brenda in with
the latest news. She let her listen to all of Danny's abusive
messages. Brenda handed the phone back to Billie.

'Apart from apologising for giving birth to him, I don't
know what to say to you. What was he going on about
when he said you'd run off with his best mate?'

Billie felt embarrassed as she explained the situation
to Brenda. 'Jamie's been so kind to me and DJ.
Honestly, Bren, without him I don't know what I would
have done. I tried everything I could to make things
work with Danny, but all he ever did was throw it back
in my face. I told you at the party what he did to me.
He raped me, cheated on me and hit me. Jamie is so
different to him. Please don't think badly of me, will
you?'

Brenda stood up and moved next to Billie. Putting an
arm round her, she smiled. 'If you've got a chance of
happiness, you grab it with both hands, girl. Me, I never
had that chance. Bastard after bastard I picked and look
how my life's ended up. Part of me blames myself for the
way Danny is, you know. I was on the game when he was
a kid. He had a terrible childhood, I know he did. I
was off me head on drink and drugs most of the time,
whilst Danny was left to fend for himself.'

Billie noticed a couple of tears running down Brenda's
cheek and hugged her tightly.

'Don't go beating yourself up over the past. Don't blame
yourself, Brenda. You're a lovely person and it's not your
fault that you had a hard life.'

Wiping her eyes, Brenda smiled. 'That's the nicest thing
that anyone's ever said to me.'

Billie stood up. 'I'd best being going now, Jamie's
outside waiting for me. I'm gonna leave you both of my
phone numbers, Bren.'

Billie took a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag
and scribbled them down. 'Ring me any time you want.
I'd like to take you out for lunch, just me, you and DJ.'

'I'd love that.'

Billie walked to the door. 'If you do see Danny, please
don't tell him I've been round, will you?'

'Never in a million years. You're my friend, Billie, and
I would never betray you.'

Waving goodbye, Billie knew that Brenda was telling
the truth. She could sense that the woman was loyal and
Billie was positive that their newly found friendship was
the start of something special.

Over in Chigwell, the meeting was coming to an end and
Michelle was asked to stand up and speak. 'Hello, my
name's Michelle and I'm an alcoholic.'

'Hello, Michelle,' said the seventeen other cheery voices.

Anna, the team leader, noted Chelle's embarrassment
and stood up.

'Michelle is a new member, everybody. This is her
first meeting and I think she deserves a round of applause.'

Michelle smiled as everybody clapped and quickly sat
back down. She desperately needed a drink, but obviously
this was the wrong place to ask for one. Glancing
to her right, she noticed the old girl next to her had nodded
off. What the fuck am I doing here? she thought.

'Now, Michelle. Is there anything you want to tell us
today?' asked Anna.

'No,' Chelle replied, glaring at her. Chelle had hated
the team leader on sight. She'd singled her out from the
word go.

Fat, with glasses, Anna had a face like a smacked arse
and a voice you'd like to throttle.

'Well, that's it for today. All that's left now is for us
to say our prayers.'

Michelle bowed her head and unwittingly joined in.

Jimmy the Fish walked into the Ship and Shovel pub in
Barking. He ordered a drink, made his way to a corner
table and looked at his watch. He was ten minutes early.

Sid the Snake had rung him this morning to arrange
a meeting.

'It's urgent, Jim,' Sid had told him.

Jimmy didn't have a clue what Sid wanted, but instinct
told him that the news wasn't going to be good.

'What do you want to drink?' Jimmy asked as Sid
arrived.

'I'll have a Scotch.'

The two men sat down facing one another.

'Come on then. What's up?'

His face etched with worry, Sid finally spoke.

'Look, Jim, I didn't wanna be the one to tell ya, but
someone has to. It's Danny, he's becoming a bit of a
problem, mate.'

Jimmy sipped his drink. 'In what way?'

'He's being very loud, Jimmy. I've been hearing lots
of rumours about him. Bang on the gear he is and his
tongue keeps running away with him. If we're not careful,
he's gonna get us all into a lot of trouble.'

Jimmy the Fish wasn't a man of many words. Finishing
his drink, he slammed the glass onto the table.

'Don't worry, Sid. It's dealt with.'

Four Months Later

Billie Jo applied her lipstick, brushed her long dark hair
and slipped on a little beige jacket. 'Me and DJ are going
now, Jamie,' she shouted up the stairs. Jamie came down
and kissed the pair of them goodbye.

'Ring me when you wanna come home, babe, and I'll
come and get you.'

'OK,' she replied as she closed the front door. Dragging
a dawdling DJ by the arm, Billie headed to the flats a
few blocks away to knock for her friend Tina.

Tina Perry was a plain, overweight girl with ginger
hair and freckles. When Billie first met her, she'd found
her quite hard going. All that had changed, though, when
DJ had started at a little playgroup called Daffy Ducks.

Tina's little boy Alfie had befriended DJ from the very
first day and the boys had since spent hours playing
happily together. Billie and Tina had started to talk more
and more and had now become quite close. Apparently,
Tina had kept herself to herself because the flat she was
living in was in fact a safe house.

Tina had been terrorised and nearly left for dead by
Alfie's father. She'd only got away from him when she'd
testified in court against him raping a schoolgirl. He'd used
Tina as an alibi at the time, but Tina had her suspicions,
remembered him coming home in a right old state on
the evening in question and had gone to the police
behind his back. The police had managed to pin four
other rapes on him and had been so grateful for their
capture, they'd moved Tina from her native Glasgow to
a secret address in Essex. Billie was the only person
that Tina had told about her not-so-nice past. Billie had
then felt comfortable enough to tell her about the shit
life she'd had with Danny. Hence the solid bond of
friendship between them.

'Sorry I'm late,' Billie said, fondly kissing her friend
on the cheek.

Tina linked arms with her and led her towards the main
road. It was a nice day and they'd chosen to walk into
town. 'Any news of your mum yet, Billie?'

'Nothing. Hazel rang me early this morning and apparently
we should know more by the end of today.'

Billie Jo had been dreading the outcome of her mother's
imminent court case. The last few months had been a
strange time for their relationship, but thanks to Michelle
cutting down on her drinking and regularly attending AA
meetings, they had, against all the odds, started to build
an understanding and act like mother and daughter. Chelle
had begged Billie to attend the court hearing with her,
but Billie had chosen not to.

Part of her wanted to be there for her mother, but it
was the thought of coming face to face with the dead
woman's family that Billie couldn't handle. In the end,
Hazel had offered to do the honours. Billie was relieved,
but felt guilty at the same time.

Danny O'Leary sat in his local and looked at his watch.
He's taking the piss, he thought to himself, as he realised
that Jimmy the Fish was running over an hour late.

Danny had been summoned to a lunchtime meeting
with Jimmy the Fish and he knew deep down he was in
shit-street. Deciding to front the whole thing out to save
face, Danny glanced at his watch and larged it to the two
geezers he was sitting with.

'He's taking the piss, this cunt. One o'clock lunchtime,
he told me to meet him and it's now ten past two. I've
had no phone call or fuck all from him.' Downing the
last out of his bottle of lager, Danny stood up. 'You staying
in here a while?' The two fellas he'd been drinking with
nodded silently. Both were clever lads and could feel
trouble brewing. 'If Jimmy turns up, tell him I waited
over an hour and had to go. If he wants me, he can fucking
ring me.'

Danny walked out the pub and sped back to his bachelor
pad. He'd left Debbie, the silly whore, months ago
and was now living rent free in one of Jimmy's properties.
He'd had a right result last night when he had
enticed home an eighteen-year-old lap dancer and he was
licking his lips in anticipation of a repeat performance.
Kiki was an out-and-out babe and Danny hadn't been able
to believe his luck when she'd made a beeline for him.
Six foot tall, as black as coal, with legs up to her armpits,
he'd brought her home and shagged her all night.

'I've gotta pop out for a business meeting, I should
only be an hour,' he'd told her this morning.

'Can I wait here for you, Danny?' she'd asked.

'Of course you can, babe.' She was so hot he'd have
agreed to anything she wanted.

Danny opened his front door and was greeted by
silence. 'Kiki, I'm back, babe.' His cock was already
jumping to attention at the thought of her. Walking into
his living room, he guessed straight away he'd been had
over. The place had been turned upside down.

'I don't fucking need this,' he said out loud as he dashed
into the bedroom to check for the wonga. He had inconveniently
left ten grand of Jimmy the Fish's money in his
bedside cabinet. 'Bollocks, the fucking thieving slag,' he
said. Taking the wrap out of the inside of his jacket, Danny
did a line. He felt fucked. He hadn't had a wink and
needed a livener. What was he gonna say to Jimmy?

This was the second time he'd ballsed up in the last
month and he knew his days of being Jimmy's right-hand
man must now be well and truly numbered. Opening a
can of Stella, he downed it in a minute. He had no idea
how he was going dig himself out of this one. The only
thing he did know for sure was that every bad thing that
had happened to him in the last few months was Billie
Jo's fault. Lying back on his bed in his drug-induced
stupor, Danny could only think of one thing.

Fuck Kiki, that bitch meant nothing. All he could think
about was getting his own back on Billie. He'd kept away
from her for the last couple of months on the advice of
his solicitor. He had a court case coming up in a couple
of weeks, to claim visiting rights to see his son. Billie
had logged all his threats and abusive phone calls to the
police so Danny had taken his brief's advice and kept
well and truly clear. He knew where she lived now. He
had even sat outside a couple of times and watched her
come and go with his child and that cunt Jamie. How
he'd stopped himself from getting out of his mate's car,
taking his son into his arms and knocking seven colours
of shit out of the pair of them, only God knew.

He had been to see his solicitor a couple of weeks ago.
'I need to see my boy. It's doing me head in, I can't wait
any longer.'

His brief had given it to him straight: 'You can't go
near her, Danny, and if you threaten her again, she's within
her rights to have you nicked. If that happens, you've had
it. A judge will always stick up for the mother in these
cases, I'm afraid.'

Danny pulled the quilt over his head. He was fully
clothed but dozed off after a few minutes.

Billie said goodbye to Tina outside the cinema. They'd
taken the boys to watch a cartoon film in Romford
town centre. Tina had some shopping to do and had to
go to the bank. Billie had arranged to meet Brenda for
lunch.

Brenda and Billie had kept in regular contact. They
met up a couple of times a month so that DJ could see
his gran. Jamie wasn't particularly happy about the situation,
but Billie was insistent.

'I know she's rough, but she's a nice person deep down,
and I'm not denying her seeing her grandson,' she'd told
him.

'What if she tells Danny? He is her son at the end of
the day,' Jamie had argued.

'She won't,' Billie said confidently. 'I'd trust her with
my life.'

Jamie had unenthusiastically agreed and that was that.
Billie spent the next couple of hours nearly crying with
laughter. Brenda might be as common as muck, but Billie
had never met anyone as funny in all her life. As Billie's
phone rang, her mood changed instantly. 'All right,
Hazel?' she asked nervously.

'Not really, Bill. Your mum got a year. They're taking
her to Holloway I think. She was distraught, babe.'

Billie put her mobile back in her bag. All the years
she'd hated her mother disappeared.

Billie felt guilty as she sat in the restaurant. 'She won't
cope there, Brenda, I know she won't. She's used to Jimmy
Choos, Gucci, caviar and champagne, so how the hell is
she going to manage in prison?'

Brenda squeezed her hand across the table. 'She'll be
all right, you'll see, Bill. I know a lot of women that have
been in Holloway and to be honest, it's like a holiday
camp in there. It's that easy in there, if it weren't for me
bleeding kids I'd have got meself sent there long ago.'

Billie managed a half-smile. 'She won't be able to deal
with it, she's not a strong person, my mum.'

Brenda looked at her fondly, thinking what a kind,
sweet girl she was and wondering how the fuck she'd ever
got herself lumbered with her Danny in the first place.
'Trust me, she'll be fine. You'll be surprised, honestly. If
she's got a year, she'll only do six months and I don't
mean this nastily, Bill, but it might give her a wake-up
call, do her a favour like. From what you've told me,
experiencing a bit of the real world won't hurt your mum.
It'll do her good, girl.'

Billie watched DJ climb up onto his nan's lap and
marvelled at the sight of Brenda's love for him. Bringing
Brenda into their lives had brought pleasure to both her
and her son.

Pouring the last of the bottle into her glass, Billie
thought about what Brenda had said. She hoped more
than anything that she was right. Would prison make
Michelle a better person? Billie doubted it, but you never
know, miracles can and do sometimes happen.