Toxic (5 page)

“This is delicious. Do you want a bite?”

“I'm good, thanks.”

Todd's phone rang. He studied the screen, and then said,” I have to take this. I won't be a second.”

Suzy took another bite of hot dog as he walked away. She tried to hear what he was saying, but he had his back to her.

Somehow, she managed to eat the whole hot dog. She'd never felt fuller. Still, it had been worth it.

“Sorry,” Todd said. “There's something I have to do.”

“Is everything okay?”

If the look on his face was anything to go by, Suzy already knew the answer.

“Yeah. Everything's fine. Why don't you buy yourself some clothes and then make your way to the hotel? I'll be back later.” He pulled a handful of bank notes from his pocket. “Here.”

“I don't need your money.”

“Did you bring any clothes with you?”

“No, but—”

“Then don't be stupid. Buy some and then get a cab back to the Esquire.”

“They won't let me in.”

“I'll give them a call to make sure they do.”

“Why can't I just go with you?”

“You can't,” Todd said a little too sharply. “It's business. Meet me at the hotel. Okay?”

Suzy took the money, and watched him hurry away. When she counted, she found he'd given her four hundred pounds. She didn't like the idea of taking his cash—particularly after his 'whore' remark, but she'd need a change of clothes if she was going to stick around.

As Suzy made her way back to the shops, she called Lacey who answered on the first ring.

“We've just been on the London Eye,” Suzy said—her voice childlike with excitement.

“We?”

Whoops! Her and her big mouth.

“Did Todd turn up?”

“Errr.”

“Suzy! Stop pissing around. Is Todd there?”

“No.”

“I know you're lying.”

“Okay. He was with me, but he had to go somewhere.”

“Where?”

“He didn't say.”

“Suzy!”

“I promise. He took a phone call, and said he had some business to attend to. We're meeting up later.”

“Where?”

“He made me promise not to tell you.”

“You have to. Raw and Carol think he may be in trouble again.”

“He's not. He's just having a laugh. He's fed up of Rawhide and Carol checking up on him all the time.”

“What am I supposed to tell them?”

“Tell them Todd's okay and that he's with me.”

“That'll make them feel a whole lot better.”

“You can be such a cow.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean that.”

“Tell them I'll keep an eye on him. If he's in any trouble, I'll give you a call.”

Straight away? Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, the London Eye is really cool. You can see for miles from up there. We went on an open-top bus tour too.”

Chapter 6

Suzy could have spent a whole week on Oxford Street. There were so many more shops to choose from than back home. The pavements and shops were crazy busy, and everyone seemed to be in a rush. Normally, she had to plan her purchases from month to month. Having a pocketful of cash to spend was a weird sensation, but one she could definitely get used to.

Carrier bags in hand, Suzy tried to flag down a cab, but didn't seem to have the knack. They either drove straight past her or someone else beat her to them. She kept on walking, in what she thought was the general direction of the hotel, until she came across three cabs parked at the side of the road.

“Esquire hotel, Knightsbridge,” she said, as she climbed in.

No sooner had she settled onto the back seat, than the cab pulled up outside the hotel. If she'd have realised she was so close, she'd have walked. The ten quid fare seemed a lot for such a short journey. Was she meant to tip? She gave the guy a ten pound note and a one pound coin. From his expression, he'd probably expected a bigger tip from someone who could afford to stay at the Esquire.

This time, she got no hassle when she entered the hotel. Todd had obviously telephoned ahead as he'd promised. The doorman opened the door for her, and the receptionist smiled as she handed Suzy a key card. The hotel room was amazing. She'd had very few holidays as a child—although she did recall a caravan site somewhere on the coast. The only time she'd stayed in a 'real' hotel had been when she'd had a week long hen party in Ibiza. Three of them had shared a room barely big enough for one person.

The Persimmon Suite was huge. There were three bedrooms—all of them en-suite. The main reception room had a huge TV, two matching red leather sofas and a mini bar. How much did somewhere like this cost per night? It was easy to tell which was Todd's bedroom because his clothes were littered all across the floor. It was good to know she wasn't the only untidy slob.

Suzy took the bedroom next door to Todd's. After a quick shower, she began to try on the clothes she'd bought. As she was pulling on a pair of jeans, her phone rang. It was Todd.

“Suzy?” Where are you?”

“At the hotel. How long will you be?”

“Listen to me. You have to get out of there right now.”

“What are you on about? Where are you?”

“No time for that. Just get your things and leave now.”

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“No. Just do as I say. Don't leave through the main reception. Take the back staircase.”

“You're scaring me now. Where shall I go?”

“It's nothing to worry about. Just get as far away from the hotel as you can. I'll call you later.”

“Todd?”

The line was dead.

If this was his idea of a joke, it wasn't funny. Her instincts told her he wasn't fooling around. There had been something in his voice she hadn't heard before: fear.

Suzy fastened her jeans, put on one of the new tee-shirts, and threw the other clothes into a bag. She walked past the lifts and the main staircase, and carried on to the end of the corridor. The exit door had a small window in it. After it had closed behind her, she looked back along the corridor. Moments later, the lift doors opened, and two men stepped out: one, tall and slim, the other, shorter with a bald head. She watched them walk over to the Persimmon Suite, and begin to hammer on the door.

Suzy took the stairs two and even three at a time. By the time she was outside, she was gasping for air. Which way should she go? She chose to go left which brought her back to the front of the hotel.  As she hurried past the hotel's main entrance, the door of a blue Volvo opened directly in front of her. She was walking so fast she ran straight into the man who had stepped out of the car.

“Sorry,” she said.

The tall man mountain, dressed in a stylish designer suit, glanced down at her. “My fault.” He said, and smiled displaying two gold front teeth. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Suzy stepped around him. “Thanks.”

As soon as she was a few streets away from the hotel, she called Todd. No answer.

“Answer. Damn it!”

She tried several more times, but with no more success. What was she supposed to do now? What had Todd gotten her into? Those guys in the hotel hadn't looked as though they'd dropped in just to say 'hi'.

She was so on edge that she almost dropped the phone when it rang.

“What the hell, Todd?”

“Are you okay?”

“Apart from almost having a heart attack? Yeah—just dandy. What's going on?”

“It's complicated.”

“Everything with you is complicated. Where are you?”

“I'm in a bar in Soho called Rock It.”

“Rocket?”

“No ROCK IT.”

“I don't even know where Soho is from here.”

“Get a cab.”

“Okay.”

“Wait! Suzy!”

“What now?”

“Make sure no one is following you first.”

“You're freaking me out.”

“Get here as quickly as you can.”

Suzy looked around to make sure there was no sign of little and large. This time she didn't give the cab driver an opportunity to ignore her. She stepped out into the road with her hand held up in a 'halt' gesture.

“Are you crazy?” The cab driver wound down his window. “You're going to get yourself killed.”

“Do you know Soho?”

“Is this a wind-up? What do you think?”

“Sorry. Course you do. I need the ROCK IT bar.”

“The ROCK IT bar it is.”

The fare was ten pounds again, but this time Suzy gave a two pound tip. It was just as well she'd taken the cab otherwise she'd have never found the bar. From the street, the only thing visible was a small sign above a red door. Once inside, she walked down a flight of stairs which led to the basement. The bar was so dark it took several minutes for her eyes to adjust. It appeared to be deserted except for two middle-aged men sitting on stools beside the bar. Both of them were staring at her as though they'd never seen a woman before. The bartender was seventy if he was a day. She looked around nervously, and almost jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder.

“Jees Todd. You scared me to death.”

“Sorry, honey.”

She gave him the death-stare.

“I mean Suzy.” He gestured for her to follow him.

The alcove was at the far end of the room—out of sight of the bar. There was a bottle of Jack Daniels and two glasses on the table.

“What the hell is going on?” Suzy said in a whisper.

“Drink?”

“No. Just tell me what's happening.”

“It's nothing to worry about.”

“Oh that's okay then.” She thumped the table. “I want to know what's going on right now!”

“Calm down. Take a chill pill.” He took a long drink of whisky.

“Who were those men at the hotel?”

“What did they look like?”

“One was tall. The other guy was shorter and bald.”

“Just the two of them?”

“I didn't see anyone else. What do they want?”

“It's all a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about.”

“If it's nothing to worry about, why did you tell me to get out of there?”

“I'm going to sort it out. Everything will be A-OK.”

“If you don't tell me what the hell is going on in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to call Lacey, and tell her what's happening. Then I'll go back to the Esquire, and I'll bring those guys here myself.”

“Okay. Okay.” Todd finished his drink and poured himself another.

“I owe some people some money. It's not a problem.”

“It felt like a problem back there. I only just got out before they turned up. What would have happened if I'd still been in the room?”

“They wouldn't have hurt you. Those two are the admin guys. They just issue the warnings. If they were serious, they'd have sent 'Goldie' around.”

“Goldie?”

“Yeah. If he gets involved you know you're really in trouble.”

 “Oh shit,” Suzy said. “Pour me a drink.”

“What?” Todd did as she said.

Suzy knocked it back. “I think I may have run into Goldie.”

“You said there were only two of them.”

“In the hotel—yeah. Outside, I ran into a big guy with two gold front teeth.”

“Oh shit.”

Todd's whole demeanour changed. He seemed to shrink into his seat.

“Why don't you just pay back what you owe?” Suzy said.

“Great idea. Why didn't I think of that?”

“I don't know, Todd. Why didn't you?” Suzy spat the words. “Why don't you pay your debts instead of blowing your money in the casino?”

“A few thousand wouldn't make any difference.”

“How much do you owe?”

“A lot.”

“How much?”

“Two.” He picked at a nail.

“Two hundred grand?”

 “Two million.”

“Are you serious?”

“Just under two million actually.”

Suzy picked up the bottle, poured herself a large measure, and took a swig.

“Holy crap. How can you owe two million?”

“It's—.” He hesitated.

“Complicated. I bet it is. Can you get your hands on that kind of money?”

He laughed.

“What's funny?”

“Don't you think I'd have paid them back if I could?”

“What about Rawhide?”

“What about him?”

“Couldn't he help?”

“It's got fuck all to do with him.”

“How do you get to owe two million pounds?”

Todd picked up the bottle, but Suzy grabbed his hand, and forced him to put it down again. “Getting pissed isn't the answer.”

“It's the only answer.”

“Why do you owe them two million?”

“Gambling debts.”

“Jees, Todd.  How do you lose that much money?”