Pinstripes (30 page)

Chapter Twenty-six

Virginia was early again, Ella was running late and Clara was wasted. When Virginia first saw her she was shocked by her appearance. Clara was as beautiful as ever but her eyes were frighteningly wild.

“So, Virginia, aren’t you going to thank me?” Clara was being bitchy already. Virginia didn’t know what was wrong with her this time, but Clara scared her.

“Thank
you.” Virginia sat on the sofa and crossed her arms. She wished Ella would turn up so she didn’t have to be alone with the maniac.

“
You don’t sound like you mean it. Anyway, who cares? At least I know I was the one who masterminded the whole thing. I was the only person with enough balls to put the plan into action. You and Ella are useless. You’re very lucky to have me.” Clara was waving her arms about; she seemed to have lost control. Virginia kept quiet, sat tight and willed Ella to hurry up.

When Ella arrived she looked at the scene in front of her and wished she had stayed asleep. Virginia was sulking on the sofa and Clara was doing some sort of rain dance and mumbling to herself.

“What’s going on?” Ella asked.

“
Nothing,” Clara said.

“
Clara, why are you dancing like that?”

“
I’m keeping myself amused. Being with her is like being with a corpse.” She gestured at Virginia.

“
I thought we were having lunch,” Ella said.

“
Oh, yes. Well, we’ll have to go out. I don’t have any food. Come on.” Clara picked up her handbag and walked out. Ella and Virginia exchanged a glance and followed her. They walked down the street in silence, Clara stalking ahead. She chose the first restaurant they came to, a pizza place. She ignored the door attendant and went and sat at a window table. There was a reserved sign on it, which she flicked on to the floor. She lit a cigarette and shouted, “Get over here,” at a waiter. Ella and Virginia were still silent.

“
I want a bottle of Chianti,” Clara said.

“
I’m not drinking,” Virginia said, and immediately regretted it.

“
Of course not. You’re far too boring to have a drink.”

“
Clara, what’s with you today?” Ella rubbed her temples, she had a headache.

“
Nothing. It’s you two. You’d think that you’d show me some gratitude, wouldn’t you? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have got Isabelle. But, no, you just act as if I didn’t do anything. Well, I fucking well did. I risked my relationship for you and you can’t even show me any gratitude.” The waiter nearly jumped out of his skin as he caught the tail end of Clara’s tirade. She grabbed the bottle of wine out of his hands, poured herself a glass and noticed he was still standing behind her.

“
Piss off,” Clara said. He did.

“
Of course we’re grateful, Clara, but can I just point something out? First, we thanked you before. Second, it isn’t over yet. We have to wait for Isabelle to lose money and lose her job. Third, we both warned you about using Josh, and fourth, I hardly think what you have with him is a relationship,” Ella said calmly.

“
You fucking bitch. How dare you come over all high and mighty with me? Maybe it isn’t over yet, but look how far we’ve come. And it will work, thanks to me. And how dare you say that Josh and I don’t have a relationship? What do you know about relationships? Nothing. Just because you once had one does not make you the world’s biggest authority. So fuck off.” Clara was standing up and everyone in the restaurant was looking at her. The staff were trying to decide what to do, but no one was brave enough to evict her.

Ella took control.
“Virginia, go and pay for the wine.” She handed her twenty pounds. “Clara, you have to stop this. I don’t know why you’re being like this, but you need to stop now.” She put her hand on her shoulder.

“
Get off me.” Clara pushed Ella’s hand away and collapsed in a heap of sobs.

They had to carry her home, where Virginia made coffee and Ella put her to bed, gave her Valium, which she hoped wasn
’t a mistake, and sat with her while she cried for an hour before suddenly falling asleep.

Virginia and Ella sat in the sitting room, exhausted.

“What is it?” Virginia asked.

“
I don’t know, but I think she has a problem with drugs.”

“
Alcohol, or cocaine?”

“
Cocaine. Shit, Virginia what should we do? She really lost it today.”

“
I don’t know if it was because we’ve actually achieved something or whether it’s Josh. I think he’s really got to her. She needs help.”

“
Well, I’m not going to be the one to tell her that. Look, we should stay until she wakes up, then leave and have a good think about calling it a day. If it’s going to have this effect on Clara, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Ella said.

“
I agree. But if the Isabelle scheme works, we
have
to get the others.”

“
And I don’t know that I could leave it now anyway. When Clara called me today about Isabelle I felt so good. We have to do something about her, though.”

“
But what?” Virginia asked.

“
How about telling her brother? If she really is an addict we can’t help her and she needs professional help. I can’t tell her that, neither can you, but perhaps she’ll listen to him,” Ella suggested.

“
Ella, Clara adores James. She’d die rather than have him know about any of this. I think telling him might finish her off. It would certainly be the end for us.”

“
You’re right. Shit, we can’t just leave her like this.”

“
Maybe it’s because so much is going on. When it’s all over she might stop,” Virginia suggested, but she didn’t believe it.

“
Or it might be too late.”

“
Well, I suppose the only thing we can do is keep an eye on her and try to keep her away from the drugs. God, I feel so helpless.”

“
Me too,” Ella agreed.

They spent the afternoon watching TV and trying to think of things to say to each other. At five o
’clock, Clara appeared. “Hi,” she said, and sat down in an armchair. “I’m so sorry about earlier. I don’t know what came over me.”

“
Clara, can I ask you something? Do you take cocaine during the day?” Ella was worried about the reaction she’d get but she had to ask.

“
Of course not. Gosh, Ella, is that what you think? No, it’s just that my period’s due and I get the most awful mood swings at this time of the month. Virginia, I’m sorry I was so foul. God, I’ll never be allowed back in that restaurant, will I?” Clara giggled.

“
So you’re OK?” Virginia asked suspiciously.

“
Yes, thank you. Listen, girls, Josh is coming over later, so I need to get ready. As I messed up today, I’ll take you to dinner tomorrow night. I’ll book somewhere nice. I’ll call you. Thanks.” Clara the demon had disappeared.

“That’ll
be fun,” Virginia said, thinking the opposite. She and Ella left and went their separate ways. Clara took more cocaine.

***

Josh turned up at seven. He hugged Clara, who pushed him away. The demon had returned.

“
What is it?” Josh asked.

“
I don’t want to see you anymore,” Clara said. She had decided this afternoon that she couldn’t cope with her feelings for him. And Ella had been right: she couldn’t cope with the idea of him and Isabelle.

“
Clara, what are you talking about? We’re just getting to know each other again.”

“
Well, I don’t like what I know about you. You’re an egotistical fucker and you still shag any woman you come across.”

“
I don’t. And if you’re referring to Isabelle, you asked me to sleep with her. No, you
told
me to sleep with her. You said if I didn’t then you wouldn’t see me anymore.”

“
Well, now I won’t see you any more anyway, so there.”

“
Clara, I think we need to talk.”

“
No. You need to fuck off out of my life.”

“
What is this?”

“
Which word don’t you understand? I know it’s not fuck.”

“
Clara, you’re being a class A bitch.”

“
And you’re a prick. I don’t want you. Do you find that so hard to understand? I guess no one has turned the wonderful Josh down before. Well, here you go. See how you like it.”

“
Is that what this is? You’re getting your own back on me for what happened between us before. Christ, Clara, that was ages ago, and I’ve changed.”

“
Don’t flatter yourself. I’m saying this because I feel like it. I want you out of my life.”

“
How could you do this? You get me involved in your hare-brained scheme by telling me that it’s the only way we can be together, and now you tell me you don’t want me. I really don’t understand you, Clara. I’m going now, but I don’t believe you. I know you still want to be with me. Clara, call me when you get your brain back.” Josh looked angry, then sad. He kissed her gently on the lips then left.

Clara sat on the floor with her back to the door. She started crying again. Now she
’d lost Josh. She knew she would eventually so she couldn’t risk leaving it until he got fed up with her. She knew he
would
get fed up with her. He was too nice for her, she didn’t deserve him.

She pulled herself together and went to get some coke. This was all she needed. Josh could go to hell; he could never compare with cocaine.

Chapter Twenty-seven

The following day, Clara decided to pull herself together and start having fun. She booked dinner at San Lorenzo and hoped that they might just manage to have an enjoyable evening. She called Virginia and Ella to arrange to meet them in Knightsbridge. She also discussed with them how they would monitor the success of their plan.

Then she phoned Toby and told him she missed work. She suggested that he might call her every so often to update her on what was happening. Toby agreed that he would. Ella and Virginia were going to study the
Financial
Times
and the financial pages of all the newspapers to see if there was any mention of buying in JF Technologies. They were also going to study the stock prices. If the price rose they would know Isabelle was buying. When the company went bankrupt, it would probably be in the press, but Clara felt there was no harm in keeping Toby as an extra information line.

***

Virginia stood outside the restaurant and glanced at her watch. She felt nervous that the plan was out of their hands. All they could do now was wait. She was worried that someone might find out what they had done, and although she didn’t know how anyone could, it made her nervous. She still hadn’t heard from her parents, which meant they had probably disowned her. She didn’t know why this bothered her so much, but it did. She was as alone as she ever had been. Unless you counted Ella and Clara, which Virginia would rather not.

Ella arrived, looking fed up, tense and strained. They nodded to each other, but neither spoke. Virginia didn
’t really understand what was going on: sometimes she thought they were becoming friends, at other times she disliked Ella and Clara as much as they disliked her. She knew they were only spending time together to wreak revenge, but she wondered how much longer they could stand it. She even thought selfishly that she was glad Isabelle’s revenge had been first.

Clara turned up fifteen minutes late, smiling broadly.

“Hello, girls,” she said, and led them into the restaurant. Clara was all charm as she flitted with the waiters and ordered champagne. Virginia flinched when she looked at the prices on the menu even though she knew this was Clara’s treat.

“
Let’s drink a toast to our first success, which I know won’t be long in coming,” Clara said.

“
I wonder how long it will take,” Virginia said.

“
I should think two or three weeks. If, as we predict, Isabelle buys shares for herself and her clients, the price will rise due to the buying activity. When the company is declared bankrupt the shares will be as good as worthless. It may even take less time than that.”

“
Oh dear. Does that mean we’ll have contributed to the company’s downfall?” Virginia looked worried.

“
No. Josh said it was beyond saving, but a few shareholders will get some money back, courtesy of Isabelle, so we’re doing someone a favour.”

‘t
hat’s one way of looking at it,” Ella said.

“
The Clara way,” Virginia pointed out.

“
Anyway, don’t you want to know about Josh?” Clara asked.

“
What?” Ella asked.

“
I finished it,” Clara said.

“
What?” Ella repeated.

“
Yes. I realised we weren’t suitable for each other so I thought it was easier to finish now.”

“
I don’t believe you,” Ella gasped.

“
Well, it’s true.”

“
Are you ready to order?” The waiter interrupted them. They ordered main courses. Clara had decided they didn’t need starters and the others didn’t argue.

“
Go on, Clara. Tell me why you felt you should end it with Josh,” Ella probed.

“
Because he wasn’t right. Or something. I don’t know, it just wouldn’t have worked out.” Clara couldn’t quite remember why she’d done it.

“
If I had a guy like Josh I wouldn’t let him go,” Virginia said bravely.

“
That’s hardly likely, is it?” Clara looked at Virginia.

“
Clara! Anyway, she’s right. He was lovely and he seemed to adore you, although I can’t think why,” Ella riposted.

“
Oh, shut up. Can’t we change the subject?”

“
Do you think we should start talking about our next plan?” Virginia asked.

“
No. Not until we know the first one has worked. It may be jinxed if we move on now.” Ella felt unusually superstitious.

“
She’s right. So until JF goes bust we don’t need to see each other. If there’s any information, we can call. Otherwise we’ll have a couple of weeks off.” Clara smiled. Ella smiled. Virginia didn’t. How was she going to get through a fortnight on her own?

Clara ate nothing, drank more than half of the champagne and the best part of a bottle of red wine. She a
lso made two trips to the ladies. Ella and Virginia were sober and worried about Clara. At one point when they were alone, Virginia turned to Ella. “I think she’s got a real problem.”

“So
do I, but what can we do?”

“
I don’t know, but we should do something.”

“
If we suggest anything to her now she’ll just go mad. At least we can keep an eye on her.”

“
What about Josh? I’d feel happier if he was around.”

“
So would I,” Ella agreed.

Clara summoned the bill; she was swaying.

“Do you want to come back to mine for a nightcap?” she offered. The others agreed – they didn’t think she would make it on her own.

They got a cab, which Ella paid for. When they got out, Virginia kept hold of Clara, who was on the verge of passing out, but Clara broke away from her and tried to walk to the front door, clutching the wall for support. Virginia and Ella watched as she searched her bag for her keys. Eventually she tipped it upside-down on the step outside the front door and giggled. Virginia bent to pick up lipsticks, a mobile, a purse, a compact and the rest of its contents. Clara stepped over her, grabbed her keys and opened the door. When they reached Clara
’s flat door, she couldn’t get the key to work.

“
Give it here,” Ella said and opened the door.

Inside the flat, Ella said,
“I’ll get her some water,” and went to the kitchen.

“
I don’t want water, I want booze,” Clara shouted, and passed out on the sofa.

“
Shit. Look at her.” Ella tried to wake her up, but failed, so they carried her to her bedroom. They gave up attempts to undress her and leaving her fully clothed they pulled the duvet over her.

“
I hope she’s going to be OK.” Virginia was upset.

“
Who knows?” Ella replied, and went to call a cab.

***

After dropping Virginia off, Ella went home, glad of her empty flat. She had a long bath and thought about what was happening. Events were taking over. What had started as their plan was now just something going on in the background of real life, and even that didn’t feel very real at the moment.

After her bath, Ella went to the living room and pulled out a pen and paper. It was time for Sam
’s letter. She was going to keep sending him a cheque every month; she had enough money. Although she didn’t know if he needed it, it made her feel better for him to have it. In the letter she told him how much she missed him, how much she longed to speak to him. She assured him she was still fine, but she didn’t mention losing her job.

As she addressed the envelope her hand shook, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wasn
’t so different from Clara. She loved her brother more than anything in the world, but she still wouldn’t allow herself to talk to him or see him. She still needed to be punished for Tony. She was the same as Clara in many ways. Completely and utterly mad.