Schemer (51 page)

‘How is Carla? Is she still a copper?’ Stephanie asked.

‘Oh, that was her name! I couldn’t remember it. Well, she ain’t a copper no more, but she works on the phones answering emergency calls, so I suppose that’s still police-related, ain’t it? Anyway, she said Tammy’s still living in Spain with Richard and is pregnant with their first child.’

Stephanie felt extremely melancholy as she digested the information. She and Tammy had once been so close and it was such a shame Steph had never seen or heard from her friend since that stupid argument in the restaurant. Unlike her thick self, her clued-up pal had seen through Barry’s façade, and time and time again had warned her that Barry was a nasty piece of work. Steph could kick herself now for not taking heed of Tam’s tip-off. Losing her dignity was one thing, but losing her best friend was something she would never forgive herself for. Steph let out a wistful sigh. ‘Try and think who it was that saw Carla, Mum. I would love to get back in touch with Tammy again. I know it’s been a long while and we’ve both got our own lives now, but I’m sure we could still be good friends again.’

‘I’ve got a feeling it was Lairy Mary who told me that she bumped into Carla,’ Pam said, blushing. She hated lying to Stephanie and wished now she had told her daughter the truth. ‘Tammy’s parents are only living in Romford, you know. Perhaps I could ask around to see if anyone knows their new address,’ Pam added helpfully.

About to reply, Stephanie was shocked when her mother started to swear like a navvy. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’

‘It’s Lin. I saw her staggering towards us and now she’s bastard well stacked it. I’m so embarrassed, Steph, there’s all posh people in ’ere. Go and help her up for me, please. I knew she was fucking pissed.’

Trying not to laugh at her mother’s obvious displeasure, Stephanie leapt out of her seat and went to her aunt’s rescue.

Barry had learnt how to charm the birds out of the trees as a young lad, and as he reeled off tales about his life in Spain he would sense that Dannielle was mesmerized by him. ‘Hark at me rambling on about meself. Tell me about your life, Dannielle. I want to know everything about you.’

Suddenly feeling nervous, Dannielle knocked back a large gulp of wine. Her life had been extremely dull compared to Barry’s and she didn’t want to start harping on about recently taking her exams or leaving school because it made her sound like a bloody child. ‘My life’s quite boring compared to yours. Tell me some more stories about your life in Spain,’ she replied shyly.

Barry grinned. ‘Why don’t we talk about when you were young, then? Tell me what you remember about my visits?’

Dannielle paused, then smiled. ‘I remember you coming to the house a lot and being there for us when my dad disappeared. I also remember you taking us on lots of fun days out, but apart from going to a farm once, I can’t recall where else you took us. I was only young, so my memory isn’t that clear, to be honest.’

‘Well, you must have remembered me singing “Incy Wincy Spider” to you, else you wouldn’t have known who I was when I said it in the car park earlier,’ Barry said, chuckling.

‘That is just soooo embarrassing,’ Dannielle said, covering her face with her hands to hide her blushing cheeks.

Laughing loudly, Barry stood up. ‘Have a look at the menu while I pay the Gentlemen’s room a visit. I already know what I’m having, so when I return we’ll order, babe.’

Seeing a couple of the other women in the restaurant glance at Barry as he sauntered to the toilets, Dannielle felt a warm glow inside. Because of their connection in the past, Danni had no idea if Barry was looking at her romantically or just being friendly, but the one thing she was sure of, even though she knew it was probably wrong because of the age gap, was that she fancied Barry something rotten.

Pam spent the entire cab journey back to Dagenham silently cursing Stephanie for having ordered an extra bottle of wine. Lin was incredibly drunk. Her eyes were rolling around in her head and she was driving the poor cabbie mad by asking him loads of questions, then constantly repeating herself. As the cab approached the Heathway and Lin asked the driver for the fourth time how many children he had, Pam finally lost her rag. ‘For Christ sake, Lin, leave the poor man alone, will ya? He’s trying to drive and you’ve got a case of verbal diarrhoea.’

Turning sideways, Lin’s head wobbled as she tried to focus on her miserable sister. ‘I’m only trying to be friendly to the cunt,’ she slurred.

Pat hated the C-word. She thought it was disgusting when a man said it, let alone a woman. ‘I am so sorry. My sister’s had far too much to drink this evening and she has no idea what she’s saying,’ Pam said apologetically, as the driver thankfully turned into the road where she lived.

‘Yes I do. I know exactly what I’m saying,’ Lin mumbled, when Pam ordered her to get out of the cab.

When the driver pulled away, Lin turned to Pam and giggled. ‘Didn’t we have a laugh? Great night, weren’t it?’

Pam stared at her sister with a look of pure disapproval. ‘It was great until you performed and showed me up. Now, get up them stairs before I fucking brain ya.’

When Barry held her hand as they walked back to where he had parked the Range Rover, Dannielle honestly thought she had died and gone to heaven. Surely he must be looking at her through romantic eyes if he was holding her hand? Or was he just being a gentleman and escorting her to the motor? Having never had what you could call a proper boyfriend before, Dannielle wasn’t sure. But the one thing she was sure of was that she loved the feel of Barry’s skin touching hers. ‘It’s only quarter to ten and I told Mimi I wouldn’t be back until eleven, so shall we have a quick drink in a pub or something?’ Dannielle asked. She had enjoyed herself so much, she didn’t want their date to end.

‘I thought we’d go for a drive before I drop you back at the pub. I’m moving into a house in Chigwell tomorrow not far from where you used to live, so I thought I’d show you where it is, then you can pop round and see me, if you want? After I’ve shown you the house, I’ll find somewhere quiet where we can park up and have a little chat,’ Barry said.

‘But we’ve been chatting all night. Is it something important you want to talk to me about?’ Dannielle asked, nervously. She was terrified that Barry was going to tell her that he only wanted to be friends with her because she was too young for him.

Opening the passenger’s side door for Dannielle, Barry shut it and then got in the driver’s side. He then turned to her. ‘I like you, Dannielle, and I mean
really
like you. For all I know, you might think I’m some old codger. Do you?’

‘Of course I don’t! I really like you too,’ Dannielle said, tucking her hands underneath her legs. They were shaking with the excitement of it all, and she didn’t want to make herself look a fool.

Barry smiled. Dannielle had been looking at him all evening like some lovesick puppy, but he thought it only polite to ask her how she felt anyway. ‘Well, in that case there is only one thing, rather than two that we need to discuss.’

‘What?’

Barry leant across his seat, held Dannielle’s beautiful face in his hands and kissed her gently on the forehead. He then looked her in the eyes. ‘Your mother.’

Arriving home, Stephanie felt so much chirpier than she had the past couple of days. Going out had done her the world of good and her mum hadn’t mentioned seeing Barry any more, thankfully. Tyler was lying on the sofa watching a film, so Steph half leapt on him for a laugh. ‘What’s Mummy’s little baby doing home, then? Behaving himself, is he?’ she asked, planting kisses on his face.

‘Urgh, get off me,’ Tyler said, screwing up his face and closing his eyes.

Stephanie had known what her son’s reaction would be, and couldn’t help but giggle. She so enjoyed winding him up at times, especially if she’d had a couple of glasses of wine.

‘I mean it, Mum, get off me,’ Tyler yelled, as she tried to grab the cushion he had just placed over his face.

‘OK, I promise I’ll leave you alone, but only if you talk to me for five minutes.’

Tyler sat up and removed his cushion cautiously.

‘So, why didn’t you stay round Brad’s house? I thought you were comforting him because his grandad had just died,’ Stephanie enquired. She wasn’t too concerned about Tyler being indoors on his own. She worked long hours in the salon and couldn’t expect Dannielle to babysit her younger brother any more, so for the past six months or so, Tyler had been entrusted with his own key. Not once had Stephanie had a problem with Tyler when he was at home. The little sod only seemed to play up when he was outdoors.

‘Me and Brad had a row so I came home,’ Tyler replied.

‘Well, you shouldn’t have done that, boy, and you shouldn’t have argued with Brad either. If the poor boy has just lost his grandfather, I shouldn’t think he needs any more stress in his life at the moment.’

‘But it was Brad’s fault, Mum. I was only mucking about with him and he punched me, twice.’

‘You didn’t punch him back, did you?’

When her son sullenly shook his head, Stephanie smiled sadly. Tyler reminded her so much of Wayne at times, especially when he was upset or angry. ‘Good lad, and when you wake up in the morning, I think you should give Brad a bell and make up with him, OK?’

‘But why should I? He started it. He hit me and I never did nothing back. He should ring me up and apologize,’ Tyler replied adamantly.

Stephanie sighed. ‘Grief does funny things to people, son. It makes them behave in a manner in which they wouldn’t usually behave. Brad wouldn’t have meant to lash out at you. He just did it because his grandad had died and he wanted to take his frustrations out on someone. Trust me on this one, because if anyone’s an expert on the subject, I am.’

Tyler rarely mentioned his father or his disappearance, but guessing that was what his mother was referring to, he decided to ask some questions. ‘Did you hit people when Dad went missing, Mum?’

‘No, I didn’t hit anyone, but I did some stupid things like anybody would if they were grieving,’ Stephanie admitted, awkwardly. The shame of what she had actually done, Steph would take to her bloody grave with her.

‘But how could you be grieving if you didn’t know Dad was dead?’ Tyler asked inquisitively.

‘Because I was grieving the loss of your dad – you know, his disappearance. Now, shall I make you something to eat?’ Steph asked. The sudden interrogation was making her feel as guilty as sin, and she was desperate to leave the room.

‘Yeah, I’ll have a chicken burger,’ Tyler replied. ‘Mum,’ he shouted, as Stephanie walked out into the kitchen.

Praying that he wasn’t about to ask her any more awkward questions, Stephanie poked her head back around the door. ‘What, darling?’

‘If I ask you something, will you promise to tell me the truth?’

Feeling her stomach churn at the thought of what her son might be about to ask, Stephanie nodded.

‘Do you think someone murdered my dad?’

Walking towards Tyler, Stephanie crouched down in front of him. ‘Yes, boy. I do.’

Dannielle could feel her heart beating rapidly when Barry parked the Range Rover in a dark, desolate country lane. He had already shown her the house he would be moving into, and even though Danni felt incredibly apprehensive, she really hoped that Barry was about to kiss her properly for the very first time.

‘There’s stuff I need to tell you, Danni, stuff which you may or may not already know about. When me and your mum were young, we were boyfriend and girlfriend for a very short time. Nothing sexual happened between us, I swear it didn’t. We were only about fourteen years old.’

Dannielle felt the colour drain from her face. She’d had no idea that her mother and Barry had once dated and she did not know how to react to the confession. She tried to speak, but no words would come out of her mouth, and momentarily she thought she was about to regurgitate the Indian meal that she’d eaten.

Sensing the shock that had registered across Dannielle’s face, Barry took his seatbelt off and leant towards her. ‘Please don’t be angry with me, babe, but I like you so much, I felt I had to be truthful with you from the beginning. Me and your mum were children, nothing more, and we were only together for a matter of weeks. The relationship ended when my mum moved to Spain and I went with her.’

Dannielle had had the perfect evening up until now and, unable to stop herself, she burst into tears. ‘Why did you have to tell me that?’ she cried.

‘Because I think too much of you to bloody lie. Listen Danni, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I didn’t want there to be any secrets between us. If we are to have any future together, honesty is the only policy.’

Visualizing her mum and Barry kissing one another, Dannielle put her head in her hands. ‘I want to go back to the pub. Can you take me there now, please?’

Barry put his seatbelt back on, started the ignition, then drove along in silence. He’d had no intention of telling Dannielle about his relationship with Steph on their very first date, but he was glad he had. He could have quite easily left it until he had reeled her in hook, line and sinker, but his conscience had told him not to do that. Shagging Dannielle was not his aim, nor was breaking her heart or having his own smashed to smithereens. He liked her, really liked her, and that’s why he had to be truthful with her. Barry knew dropping a bombshell like he had could prove to be shit or bust, but it was better than loving her and losing her. ‘We’re nearly at the pub now, so please stop crying, babe. If you don’t, your mate is gonna think I’ve attacked you or something and she might call the police,’ Barry said, gently.

Realizing that Barry was right, Dannielle ordered him to pull over somewhere. She was acting like an idiot, and even though she was extremely confused, she didn’t want him to think that she was some stupid kid. ‘Thanks,’ she said, as he handed her a hankerchief.

‘Danni, I know this has been a shock for you, and if you never want to see me again, I understand, I really do. The ball’s in your court, sweetheart. You’ve got my phone number and you know where I’m moving to, so I’ll leave it entirely up to you. The only thing I do ask from you is to not say anything to your mother and make sure that mate of yours doesn’t either. Mimi doesn’t like me. I can sense she thinks I’m far too old for you, so when you get back to the pub, just tell her that you won’t be seeing me again.’