Schemer (59 page)

‘Right, this is Mimi’s house and, honest Mum, I’ve calmed down a bit now. I would rather do the talking myself, if you don’t mind? I’m hoping Mimi’s mum, Carol, is in, because even though I’ve only met her a couple of times, I got on quite well with her.’

‘OK, but don’t start shouting your mouth off, whatever you do. Me and Lin will wait in the car for you,’ Pam warned her daughter.

Stephanie walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. ‘Is Mimi there please, Carol? I’m sorry to bother you, but something terrible has happened.’

Carol called her daughter and Stephanie immediately clocked the terrified expression on Mimi’s face as she walked down the stairs. ‘Mimi, Danni’s in real danger and I need to ask you some questions. Please don’t be worried that you’ll be grassing her up, as I’m already well aware of her relationship with Barry Franklin.’

‘Why don’t you come inside? Terry’s not home from work yet; probably in some wine bar up town with the lads,’ Carol said to Steph.

Stephanie walked into the lounge and explained to Carol the crux of what had happened. ‘Honestly, this Barry Franklin is a real nasty piece of work and that’s why I’m so worried about my Danni. She didn’t come home last night and I very much doubt she will tonight either. Barry is thirty-five, the same age as me, and I don’t know about you, Carol, but I find his behaviour towards my daughter bordering on paedophilia.’

Carol was absolutely horrified. She insisted Mimi tell Steph every little bit of information she knew.

Mimi was more worried about Danni’s safety than whether her friend would ever speak to her again, so immediately spilt her guts. She told Steph where Danni had met Barry, how he had asked to meet her the following evening, and how she had accompanied her pal to that date, but then never ended up going on it. ‘Once I knew that Danni knew Barry and she used to call him her uncle and stuff, I just surmised she’d be safe. I thought they were old friends,’ Mimi explained nervously.

Stephanie squeezed Mimi’s hand. ‘Please don’t be blaming yourself for not going with Danni that night. It’s really not your fault. Did Danni tell you where Barry lives, Mimi? If she did, you must tell me.’

‘Since Danni met Barry that night at the pub, I’ve hardly seen her at all. She popped round yesterday and we ended up having a big row over something. She stormed off, but before we fell out she did tell me that he’d just moved into a house in Chigwell. I don’t know the address though, I swear I don’t.’

Stephanie believed Mimi, but needed to know one more thing. ‘What did you fall out over, love?’

‘Barry, of course,’ Mimi replied, honestly.

Stephanie crouched down and squeezed Mimi’s hand. The girl looked very near to tears and Steph did realize what a difficult situation Mimi was in. She and Tammy had never grassed one another up over anything when they were young, but nothing this serious had ever happened to test that resolve. ‘I need to ask you one more question, Mimi, then I will leave you alone. I swear to you on both Danni and Tyler’s lives that I will never repeat this conversation to anyone, OK? So whatever your answer is, nobody else will ever know.’

‘You tell Stephanie the truth, Mimi,’ Carol said sternly. She was absolutely appalled by the whole thing, but even though she felt terribly sorry for Steph, she was so thankful that it wasn’t her Mimi that monster of a man had got his dirty hands on.

Stephanie looked Mimi straight in the eyes. ‘I need to know if Danni has had sex with Barry yet?’ she asked bluntly.

Looking fearfully at her mother, then back to Steph, Mimi nodded.

Not being able to stomach the thought, Stephanie immediately stood up. She felt drained, disgusted and physically ill. ‘Thanks, Mimi, and thank you, Carol. You’ve both been a great help,’ she said as she bolted out of the room.

Steph could barely breathe as she ran down the driveway. The thoughts racing through her mind were despicable. That disgusting shitbag had not only tricked Stephanie herself into bed, he had now taken her beautiful young daughter’s virginity. Leaning against a nearby wall, gasping for breath, Steph began to retch. The thought of her baby, who she’d had such high hopes for, lying naked in Barry’s arms, made her want to curl up and die. But she would never contemplate suicide again. Prison perhaps? Because as soon as she laid eyes on Barry Franklin, Stephanie knew without a doubt she would be capable of sticking a knife straight through him. Life in prison didn’t frighten her at all. As long as her daughter was free of that monster, Steph knew she would be willing to pay for her crime.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Unable to sleep, Marlene got up early and shuffled downstairs in her bright red nightdress and fluffy slippers. Arguing with Dennis had really upset her. It had also made her realize how much she had enjoyed living with a man again. Since Marge had married Frederick, Marlene had felt like an old spare part, but Dennis appearing in her life had changed all that. He made her feel wanted, sexy, and had definitely put the smile back on her face again. Taking her coffee into the lounge, Marlene put it on the table and picked up the phone. ‘Marge, it’s me. I didn’t wake you, did I?’

‘No, I was just about to suck Frederick’s cock,’ Marge replied, chuckling. ‘What’s up, mate? You sound miserable.’

‘I am. I had a big row with Dennis yesterday and I think I might have ballsed everything up. I was so angry, and you know how acid-tongued I can be when I go into one?’

‘What happened? What was the row over? I thought yous two were love’s young dream.’

‘It was over his bloody family. It was his sister’s fortieth yesterday and the whole family, including Dennis’s two daughters, were celebrating it in some restaurant in Clapham. I wanted to go with him, but he said I couldn’t. Apparently, his mum and sister are quite racist and he hasn’t told them I’m white yet.’

‘Oh dear!’ Marge said. She’d had no such problems with Frederick’s family; they had accepted her with open arms.

‘As Dennis left, I called him everything, Marge. “I’ll give you racist, you fucking black bastard,” I screamed, as he walked up the road.’

Unable to stop herself, Marge burst out laughing and repeated to Frederick what Marlene had called Dennis.

‘You should have called him Batty boy. He like Batty boy better,’ Frederick shouted out.

About to ask Marge if Frederick would ring Dennis up and try to smooth things out, Marlene heard a knock at the door. ‘Stay on the phone, Marge. Let me see who the fuck this is at the door and I’ll get rid of ’em. It’s probably the bastard God squad again.’

Marlene walked to the front door and flung it open with frustration. The man who was stood in front of her was quite tall, stocky, with a shaven head and a boxer’s nose. He looked rather like the doorman Marlene had had a brief fling with many years ago. ‘I know you from somewhere, don’t I?’ she asked, wondering if it was him.

‘You should do! I’m Jolene’s father. Now, where’s that murdering fucking son of yours?’ Mickey Jeffers spat, barging his way past Marlene and kicking the door shut.

‘Get out my house. I don’t know where Barry is. I have very little to do with him these days,’ Marlene yelled, hoping that Marge hadn’t hung up on her and would overhear the conversation.

When Mickey Jeffers put his hand around Marlene’s throat and pushed her into the lounge and onto the sofa, Marlene’s eyes bulged with terror. She always knew that her son would one day get his comeuppance, but she hadn’t expected to be quite so involved herself. ‘Get off me,’ she screamed, trying to claw Mickey Jeffers’ face with her false nails.

Mickey took a dagger out of his sports bag and shoved it against the side of Marlene’s neck. ‘I’ll give you two minutes to give me your Barry’s address, and if you don’t, I’ll kill you.’

‘OK. I’ll give it to you. It’s in my address book,’ Marlene admitted tearfully.

‘Where’s your address book?’ Mickey hissed. He didn’t really enjoy terrorizing women as a rule but, seeing as this bitch was responsible for giving birth to the bastard who had wiped out his baby girl’s life, Mickey was willing to make an exception.

‘It’s in my handbag,’ Marlene said, her voice trembling with fright.

Mickey tipped the bag upside down with one hand. He was still holding the dagger in the other. He picked the address book up and threw it at Marlene.

Hands shaking uncontrollably, Marlene flicked through the pages until she came to the one she was looking for. ‘That’s it there,’ she stammered.

Mickey snatched the book out of Marlene’s hands and stared at it. He tore the whole page out, threw the book on the floor and pointed the dagger at her once more.

‘Please don’t kill me, I beg you. Whatever my son has done isn’t my fault,’ Marlene wept, covering her face with her hands in trepidation about what was to come.

‘I’m gonna let you live, but if I find out that you’ve warned your son, or you tell the Bizzies about my visit, I swear I will come back and fucking kill you. Now, do you understand?’

Relieved that her life was about to be spared, Marlene’s head movements reminded Mickey of one of them nodding dogs he’d owned as a child. ‘I promise I won’t say a word to anyone,’ Marlene wept.

Approximately two minutes after Mickey left her house, Marge and Frederick turned up. Marge had a spare key that Marlene had asked her to keep hold of in case of emergencies. ‘Are you OK, mate? I knew something was wrong when I heard you yell, “Get out of my house.” So me and Fred quickly got dressed and came straight round. What happened? You look awful.’

Ever the actress, Marlene laid it on good and proper as she relived the story. She even added bits on and told Marge that she had thought her unwanted guest was going to rape her. When she got to the bit where Mickey had pointed the dagger at her, to dramatize the effect, Marlene said he had a gun.

Marge was stunned. If Jolene’s father had turned up gunning for Barry, it proved that Marlene’s theory about her son murdering Jolene had been right all along. ‘Go and get a bottle of brandy from the shop round the corner, Fred. She’s in shock, bless her,’ Marge said to her husband.

When Frederick left the house, Marge held her traumatized friend in her arms. ‘I’m sorry I ever doubted you about Barry, mate. I just never wanted to believe he was capable of murder, I suppose.’

‘Oh, I always knew he was. I want no more to do with him after this little turnout, Marge. I never want to set eyes on him again.’

‘I don’t blame you, mate, but don’t you think you should just warn Barry that Jolene’s father is on his tail? I know what Barry’s done is bang out of order, but he is still your son, mate. I’ll ring him for you if you like?’

‘No, you fucking won’t! After what that little bastard has just put his poor mother through, he can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned,’ Marlene said callously.

Marge eyed Marlene suspiciously, but said nothing. Knowing her pal as well as she did, she couldn’t help but wonder if Marlene was hoping to get her hands on her son’s fortune. Barry had no children, neither was he married, and if the lad popped his clogs, Marlene would more than likely cop the lot.

Stephanie was awoken by her mother coming into her room with a breakfast tray. On it was a mug of steaming hot tea and a boiled egg with toast. The toast was cut into what she used to call soldiers as a kid, and the fact that she had carried on the same theme with Dannielle immediately made her feel very sad. ‘Thanks, Mum, but I’m really not hungry. I’ll drink the tea though,’ Steph said, lifting it off the tray.

Pam put the tray down on the carpet and sat on the edge of Steph’s bed. ‘Probably a silly question, but how did you sleep?’

‘Bloody awful! Every time I closed my eyes, I had the most terrible thoughts going through my mind, so I tried to keep them open. I was still awake at six, so I must have dozed off just after that. I checked on Tyler about four times in the night just in case he’d been sick. I was worried about him choking on his own vomit.’

Pam squeezed her daughter’s hand. Tyler had arrived home about ten o’clock the previous night and had been so drunk he could barely stand up. ‘Ty’s fine now. He’s just gobbled up a big plate of egg and bacon I cooked him, so he certainly ain’t suffering from any after-effects. I was gonna give him a bollocking, but I’d thought I’d best leave that to you.’

‘Ty getting pissed is the last of my worries at the moment, Mum. I think I’m gonna take a drive around Chigwell, see if I can spot that Range Rover. We’ve got most of the registration in the photograph, so it’s either that or ring the police and report Danni missing. I cannot spend another day worrying. I need to find Danni and tell her the truth about everything.’

About to reply, Steph’s landline rang. ‘You answer it, Mum. Unless it’s Danni, I don’t want to talk to anyone. Just say I’m ill.’

‘Hello,’ Pam said.

‘Oh, I’m glad it’s you, Pam. It’s Cath.’

‘Everything all right?’ Pam asked, guessing that Cathy had just rung up to check if things were OK her end.

‘Well yeah, but I had to ring you in case this might be important. Your Angie turned up at yours late afternoon yesterday. Anyway, I heard knocking, so went outside to investigate. I just said you were out ’cause I know you don’t like her knowing any of Steph’s business. Anyway, she turned up again this morning and knocked on my door. I never said anything to her, I swear I didn’t, but she asked if you had stayed at Steph’s and then said she had some information about Dannielle for you. She said it’s really important and she asked if I could ring you. She’s sitting outside in the car as we speak. Do you wanna talk to her?’

‘Go get her and put her on the phone, Cath,’ Pam said immediately.

‘Who is it?’ Steph whispered.

‘It’s Cath. Angie has turned up round there. She reckons she has some important information about Danni.’

Stephanie jumped up as swiftly as a jack-in-the-box. ‘I don’t want that bitch knowing anything. She’ll fucking love it, she will,’ she spat.

‘Let’s just see what she has to say. Surely finding Danni and getting her home safely is more important than yours and your sister’s bloody feud?’ Pam replied, sensibly.