The Front (9 page)

       
‘I was,’ Wendy snorted, a cynical smile twisting her lips. ‘Until Sam rang with some bullshit about the job going wrong, so I decided to come and get him.’ She flicked Suzie a sidelong glance. ‘You must know what happened? So come on – out with it.’

       
‘I don’t really know,’ Suzie croaked. ‘I didn’t know anything about it till they came back. Then Mal said something had gone wrong and he needed me to come back here and get his mask.’

       
‘You what!’ Wendy barked, gripping the wheel tight as she threw the car round the corner. ‘He sent you?’

       
Suzie pulled the seat belt on as Wendy put her foot down hard. ‘No. It wasn’t like that. I offered.’

       
‘Sure you did.’ Wendy sighed, shaking her head. ‘I suppose you asked for the beating too?’

       
Suzie blushed but said nothing. The sympathetic Wendy of earlier was obviously long gone.

       
‘Don’t worry,’ Wendy muttered, more to herself than Suzie. ‘I’ll get to the bottom of it.’

       
Turning in to the Crescents a minute later, Wendy pulled into the space alongside Lee’s car and killed the engine. Leaning over to the back seat for her handbag, she nodded towards the Escort.

       
‘I see shithead’s here. Hasn’t he got a home of his own?’

       
‘He’s not here,’ said Suzie. ‘Mal drove it back.’

       
Wendy opened the door and stepped out, shaking her dress down. ‘You mean to tell me that lazy little shite walked somewhere for once in his life?’

       
Suzie shook her head, keeping her gaze pinned to the concrete as she stepped out the other side. There was no way she was telling Wendy what had happened. She’d leave that unpleasant task to the others – let them weather the storm of her rage.

       
Wendy’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. There was definitely something funny going on here, and Suzie wasn’t telling. Well, she’d soon get it out of Sam.

       
Hustling Suzie up the stairs as fast as her belly would allow, Wendy waited impatiently for the door to be opened. The instant Suzie turned the key, she barged past her and marched up the short hallway, charging through the living-room door like a rhino and shocking the hell out of the men sitting around the money-laden table rolling spliffs.

       
‘Holy fucking shit, Wendy!’ squawked Mal, knocking tobacco every which way as he dived to cover the drugs. ‘I thought it was a raid! How did you get in?’

       
‘Suzie,’ Wendy snapped. Then, standing over them like a fearsome headmistress, hands on hips, she looked at each of them in turn. ‘Now, who wants to tell me what’s going on? Sam?’ She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

       
Mal glared at Suzie as she hovered nervously in the doorway. Shrugging helplessly, she mouthed: ‘Sorry.’

       
‘Well, Sam?’ Wendy tapped her foot impatiently. ‘I’m waiting!’

       
Mal motioned Suzie to the kitchen with his eyes, and, with a painfully thudding heart she went, sure that he would kill her for this latest gaffe. Seconds later, he joined her.

       
‘Why did you let her in?’ he hissed, flicking the door shut with his heel.

       
‘I’m sorry,’ she whimpered, leaning tight against the fridge. ‘I couldn’t stop her. She p-pushed past me.’

       
Mal glared at her for several moments. Then, remembering his share of the loot, he felt the anger seep away.

       
‘Ah, sack it,’ he said. ‘It’s not your fault. She said she was coming round. I just thought we’d be able to ignore her. Still, she’s Sam’s problem, not ours, eh?’

       
Suzie nodded quickly, relieved not to be in trouble again. She decided not to mention the fact that she’d spent the evening with Wendy drinking wine and smoking spliffs. If he thought they’d been discussing him he’d go really ape. She just hoped Wendy wouldn’t say anything.

       
Nudging her aside, Mal pulled open the fridge and rooted inside, pushing yoghurts and soggy lettuce aside. ‘I thought I had more beers in here,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘Where’ve they all gone?’

       
Suzie wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt. ‘There was a six-pack in this morning. You lot must have drunk them all.’

       
‘Must have done.’ Shrugging, he closed the fridge door, then thought for a moment. ‘Could be a blessing,’ he said at last. ‘Did Wendy bring her car?’

       
Suzie nodded. ‘Yeah, she picked me up on the way back from the shops.’

       
Mal suddenly remembered the reason she’d been out. ‘Oh, yeah. How was it? Did you find it?’

       
Suzie nodded, pulling the damp mask from her pocket.

       
‘Oh, you beauty!’ Mal snatched it from her and kissed it with sheer relief before throwing it into the bin. As an afterthought, he pulled the bag out and tied the neck in a tight knot.

       
‘Better take that to the rubbish chute,’ he said, handing it to her and shooing her out of the way as he made for the door. ‘I’ll get Wendy to drive over to the all-night Spar for a few bottles. I think we’ll have some real nice stuff to celebrate my little windfall, eh?’

       
Leaving Suzie to deal with the bag, he went back to the living room where he found Wendy still grilling Sam – and Sam, the wuss, giving it all up like Mr Loose-gob. Mal sighed. It was time for a bit of the old diversionaries.

       
Coming up behind Wendy, he put his hands on her hips and squeezed, cooing seductively: ‘Wendy, darlin’, if I didn’t know you were a married woman, I’d be very tempted to—’ nuzzling his mouth to her ear, he whispered the rest ‘—
fuck the arse off you
!’

       
‘Maaaal!’ Wendy jumped, squirming as his hot breath tickled her neck.

       
Sam’s face reddened. He might not have heard the words, but he could imagine what they were. Sometimes he really hated Mal. He was a disrespectful bastard. And as for Wendy – she wouldn’t be acting like that if she knew what a git Mal could be. Look at what he’d done to Suzie.

       
‘Couldn’t do me a favour, could you?’ Mal was saying now, his voice pure silk.

       
‘Oh yeah?’ Wendy smiled coyly. ‘And what would that be, then?’

       
‘Go down the Spar and get us some bottles?’

       
Wendy looked at his puppy-dog eyes for a moment, then sighed and held her hand out for the money. Taking two of the twenties from the pile on the table, Mal, folded them into her hand with a suggestive wink.

       
‘Anyone ever tell you that you are an angel of mercy?’ he crooned, herding her out of the door.

       
Seconds later he came back, rubbing his hands together as he told Sam, ‘I reckon you owe me one, mate. I’ve just bought you a bit of time to have a line without your jailer breathing down your neck!’ Nudging the still-glum Sam with his elbow, he laughed. ‘Come on, you sad git! Put a smile on it – it might never happen!’

       
Sam tried to return the smile but only managed a grimace as Mal disappeared into the bedroom to get the last of his stash – which he didn’t mind sharing now he had money to get a whole load more.

       
Suzie came back from the rubbish chute while he was gone and perched on the arm of his chair. Lighting a cigarette, she gazed at the carpet, exhausted by the events of the night.

       
Ged watched her with a frown of concern. ‘You all right, sweetheart?’ he asked quietly.

       
‘Yeah, thanks, I’m fine.’ She smiled without meeting his eye.

       
‘Did you have any problem finding the mask?’

       
She shook her head. ‘It took a while, but I got it. I’ve just dumped it down the chute.’

       
‘Oh no.’ Sam slapped his forehead. ‘I forgot! You could have got mine out of the car while you were down there.’

       
‘I’ll get it now if you want?’ she offered, standing again. ‘I’ll take yours too, Ged.’

       
‘No!’ Jumping up, Ged put his hands on her thin shoulders and gently eased her back down. ‘I’ll sort it out. You’ve done enough already. Just sit down and relax for a bit, okay?’

       
She nodded gratefully. ‘Okay, thanks.’

       
‘Was the place crawling with cops?’ Sam asked.

       
‘No,’ she said, mid-yawn. ‘It was deserted.’

       
Ged was almost at the door when he heard this. He turned back. ‘What? There was no one about at all?’

       
‘No one,’ she confirmed. ‘I was thinking maybe they’d already been and gone, but there was no sign of anything.’

       
Ged considered this, one eyebrow raised, then smiled. ‘Well, I suppose that’s good.’

       
‘What is?’ Mal asked, coming through the door with his stash in his hand.

       
‘Suzie says there was no one down by the shops,’ Ged told him. ‘No coppers, nothing.’

       
Mal smiled. ‘See, I told you it’d be cool. It’ll give us more time to move the car.’

       
‘Well, don’t leave it too late,’ Ged warned grimly. ‘It won’t be long before someone finds them. On the subject of which, I was thinking – maybe we should go back to see to Lee?’

       
‘You can if you want,’ said Mal. ‘But I’m not going anywhere near the place. It’s way too risky.’

       
‘And what if he’s alive?’ argued Ged. ‘ ’Cos if he is and someone finds him, you can bet your life the police will squeeze everything out of him in two seconds flat.’

       
‘Come off it. Lee wouldn’t grass.’

       
‘Don’t be so bloody stupid!’ Ged barked, his voice booming loud in the quiet room. ‘He’s not gonna take the rap for us.’

       
Mal shrugged casually. ‘Think what you like, but I still reckon it’s too risky going back.’

       
‘And
I
reckon it’s too risky leaving him there,’ countered Ged. ‘I’m going back.’

       
‘See you later, then.’ Mal gave a dismissive wave and turned back to his drugs.

       
Ged glared at him, fighting down the overwhelming urge to grip his scrawny neck and throttle the life out of him. Turning his anger onto himself instead, he cursed himself yet again for getting involved with this stupid scheme in the first place. Easy money, Lee had said. Hah! He should have known better. Nothing ever came that easy.

       
Which reminded of something that had been nagging him all night. The money. Sixty-eight grand was too much for a skanky little estate supermarket to take in one week. Even if it was the only shop in the area – which it wasn’t – it couldn’t be taking that much. There was definitely something not right about all this. He was on the verge of mentioning these suspicions when a car pulled noisily into the parking lot down below.

       
With the tube hanging from his nostril, Mal motioned Suzie to the window.

       
Sam licked his lips nervously. ‘Hurry up, man. It’s probably Wendy. Let me do mine before she comes in.’

       
‘It’s all right,’ Suzie told them. ‘It’s only that bloke from upstairs. The weird one with the dogs.’

       
Mal laughed and passed the tube to Sam. ‘Chill, baby, chill! You’re gonna land yourself in an early grave, the way you’re going on.’

       
Sam snorted his line quickly, then held the tube over his shoulder for Ged who was still in the doorway.

       
‘No, thanks,’ Ged snapped tensely. ‘I’ve had enough of that shit, and so have you, Sam. As for you—’ he jabbed a finger at Mal ‘—you’re just losing the bleeding plot, you are!’

       
‘What you talking about?’ Mal snapped back. ‘
You
’re the one who’s losing it. Look at you, standing there like the self-appointed voice of fucking morality!’

       
Ged’s nostrils flared dangerously. ‘Rationality, I’d say.’

       
‘Yeah, well, whatever,’ said Mal. ‘You’re doing me head in, going on all the time. Anyhow,’ he went on, ‘I’ve figured a way to sort this.’ Turning to Suzie, he said, ‘Get your coat on, doll. You can go back and check on Lee.’

       
‘You’re not serious?’ Storming back into the room, Ged pointed at Suzie. ‘Look at her, man. She’s dropping on her bloody feet. She needs to go to bed, never mind back there!’

       
Mal didn’t appreciate Ged’s interference. What him and Suzie did was nothing to do with anyone else. Snapping his fingers at Suzie, all the time staring at Ged, he growled: ‘I said get your coat on!’

       
Suzie desperately didn’t want Mal and Ged to fight over her. Getting up quickly, she crept past Ged into the hall, wishing with every fibre of her body that she could just crawl back into bed and sleep for ever.

       
‘See, Ged?’ smirked Mal. ‘She’s my girl, and she wants to help me. Your obvious concern, touching as it is,’ he placed a hand on his heart and bared his teeth in a malicious grin, ‘is beginning to perturb me somewhat!’

       
Ged laughed mirthlessly. ‘Have you heard the crap you start spouting when you fill your head with that shit?’

       
‘Sticks and stones, me boy!’ Mal pulled a childish face. ‘Sticks and fucking stones!’

       
As Suzie opened the front door, Ged shouted for her to wait, then turned back to Mal. ‘Mal, I’m telling you, man—’