TRAPPED (28 page)

Tommy sneered at the photo of Frankie Taylor standing by a swimming pool somewhere, deeply tanned with so much bling around his neck he was surprised he didn’t fall over. The next photo was of Johnny holding a snooker cue in one hand and a silver cup in the other. Then Tommy saw what he’d been looking for. Her picture. He was drawn to her eyes. They were the same as he remembered them from all those years ago. And as he thought back, his head started to hurt and the voice came loud and clear. But it was no longer just a voice in his mind. He knew the voice had been real.

Putting the photo in his pocket, Tommy glanced around before quietly making his way back downstairs, ignoring a sleeping Lorna in the front room, and made his way out back into Berkeley Square.

Saucers had been knocked unconscious before. Many times before. But with each time she found it took longer for her to recover from it. Back in the day, once she’d come round she’d been able to get straight up and carry on with whatever she’d been doing. Maybe it was her age, or just Gary’s fist had hit the bullseye. But regardless of whatever the reasons were behind it, Saucers was hurting, and as she leaned over the tiny sink in her bathroom the cut on her eye refused to stop bleeding.

Looking in the mirror, her face was puffy and her eye was slowly closing. She knew she needed to get her thoughts straight. Nicky was in trouble and she had to find him before Gary did. She hadn’t been able to do anything last night. She’d laid on the floor most of the night and had only just been able to drag herself up onto the couch
in the
early hours of the morning where she’d slept until now.

The pounding of her head didn’t stop as she went to get her phone. Whether she got into trouble with Johnny or not, she didn’t care. All that mattered was Nicky. Johnny’s phone went straight to voicemail but she left a message. ‘Babe, it’s Saucers. You need to call me straight back … it’s important.’

The next person Saucers tried answered. ‘Maggie, it’s Saucers. Nicky’s in trouble.’

Maggie listened to Saucers talk as they both hurried along Greek Street. She’d had to call Gina to come and look after Harley when she’d received Saucers’ call.

Johnny’s phone had been off and there was nobody else to look out for Harley. She didn’t want to bring her mother into it; she knew if her father came home and found her mother not in at night there’d be trouble.

Johnny had told her to call Gina any time she needed to, and Maggie had presumed when she’d demanded her to come to the flat to look after Harley, there’d be the usual groans and melodrama as to why it was too much for her. However, when Gina had arrived at the flat she’d been
inexplicably
cordial to Maggie. ‘You know the score Gina, if you need to leave the flat; don’t. Me or Johnny will be in touch. I’m on my phone if you need me.’

‘You got it sweetheart.’

Maggie had looked at Gina suspiciously. This was not the Gina Daniels she knew – or anyone knew for that ma
tter. Gina
Daniels was a mean person, but as she stood in the kitchen opposite her, she oozed amiability.

‘What are you up to, Gina?’

‘Can’t think what you mean.’

‘You know exactly what I mean. All these smiles, it isn’t like you. You’re up to something.’

‘Can’t a person be happy without being accused of being undercover?’

‘If I find out you’ve done something, Gina, it won’t just be Johnny you’re worrying about; it’ll be me too.’

‘Charming.’

Maggie had just nodded and turned to leave, unaware of the money deal Gina had just made with Max Donaldson.

Saucers rushed up the stairs in front of Maggie as she finished telling her the story.

‘I tried Johnny but his phone was turned off.’

‘I appreciate you calling me, Saucers. I wish he’d told me how much trouble he was in.’

‘He was worried about what he’d done to you and Harley. He was ashamed of it.’

‘But I’m his sister. I know I’ve got a big mouth and my temper goes off like a spring but Nicky could’ve come to me.’

Saucers smiled but didn’t say anything as she headed up the stairs and past the walk-ups to the top floor where she knew there was a small crack den, one which Nicky hung out in.

When they were on the landing, Saucers turned to Maggie.

‘You know, I’m not sure if I should tell you this but Nicky told me Gina’s been putting pressure on him to give her the money she owes him. Threatening that if he didn’t, she’d tell Max about you and Johnny.’

Maggie’s face drained of colour and she grasped Saucers’ hand. ‘Oh my God.’

‘Listen, try not to worry. It’ll be okay Maggie.’

Maggie smiled weakly at Saucers and spoke, her voice small and frightened. ‘What about Nicky? Do you think we’ll find him before Gary does?’

‘I don’t know, but we’ll have a damn good try.’

‘Hello son. Didn’t think you’d see me again, did you? You look fucking pitiful. A little bird’s been telling me a few things. What you’ve been up to and how you’ve been using my name to get stuff and not pay for it, but then we all know how much you like the gear. Whole of bleeding Soho knows it.’

‘I’m sorry Dad … I …’

Max looked across at his son in disgust, as Gary bundled him into the car. He’d got a call from Gina telling him where he was and he’d been straight round to the crack den to collect him. Gary had dragged him out of the place, and now here was his son sitting in his car blubbering away, when nothing had even happened to him yet.

‘Stop the whimpering, Nicky, or in a minute I’ll have to stop the car to check and see if you’ve got a pair.’

His father craned his neck slightly backwards as Gary drove back to his flat. ‘Let me out Dad, I’ll get your money. I promise.’

‘Son, you’re one big joker ain’t you? You must think I’m the
bleeding clown.’

Nicky implored more to his father; his eyes wide from the pipe he’d been smoking and from the terror he felt.

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘I don’t want anything, Nicky. Not that you can give me anyway. It’s out of me hands now; I’m leaving it to Gary.’

‘What if I were to tell you something. Would you let me out then?’

‘There’s nothing I want to hear.’

‘There is, but then if I tell you, will you let me out?’

‘You’re starting to do me head in son. If you don’t want me to brain you here and now, shut it.’

‘It’s about Maggie.’

Hearing his daughter’s name was always of interest to Max, especially if it was something he didn’t know about. Looking at his son with drips of sweat running down his pallid face, it was clear to Max the terror that his son was feeling would make him sell-out his beloved sister.

Max watched the traffic go by as Gary weaved expertly through it. He didn’t look at his son as he spoke. ‘Go on then, because I’m sensing the only thing I’ll hear coming from your North and South is bullshit. But I’m listening, and this better be good. Then we can see about letting you out.’

Nicky swallowed and talked in a whisper, not wanting to hear the words which would betray Maggie, but ones which hopefully would get him out of the mess he was in.

‘Maggie. She’s seeing Johnny.’

Max’s fists clenched. He bit down on his lip to try to stop himself smashing the passenger window. He turned to Nicky and spoke through gritted teeth, spitting fine droplets of stale saliva as he did so.

‘Go on Nicky, carry on.’

‘There’s nothing else …’

Max bellowed, startling Gary who hadn’t heard any of the conversation. ‘I said, carry on.’

Nicky closed his eyes and Max saw Nicky’s lips move. As Max watched him, he thought he caught what he was saying. He could be wrong, but Max had a strange suspicion he’d heard his son say some of the words from the prayer of contrition, the prayer of forgiveness.

After a moment Nicky opened his eyes. With a blank stare he turned to Max and spoke slowly and painfully as he pictured his sister’s sad blue eyes. ‘They’re married. Maggie’s no longer a Donaldson; she got away, Dad. They’ve got a flat together, off Tottenham Street, the new build … Now will you let me out?’

Max couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Johnny and Maggie. His daughter. The liar. She’d gone behind his back. All this time she’d been sneaking behind his back with a Taylor, and clearly she was ready to leave. Well, she wasn’t going to go anywhere. He would put a stop to Maggie’s plans and as he and his men had been watching the Taylors for the past couple of weeks, he knew exactly how.

Ignoring Nicky’s pleading to get out of the car he spoke to Gary. ‘Stop the car, Gary. Take Nicky to your flat. I’ll catch you up, but there’s something I need to go and do.’

Johnny Taylor was messed up. Messed up to the extent that he couldn’t remember where he lived, but something in the back of his mind told him he didn’t want to know.

His phone had rung several times. From Maggie, from Saucers, but mostly from his mother. What she’d said to him, he remembered only too well. He didn’t think he’d ever forget that.

Johnny sat in one of his father’s clubs, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a double Rizla joint in the other.

‘On one of your legendaries babe?’

Johnny tried to focus his eyes on the person who was talking to him, but between the darkness of the club and the flashing lights on the strip show stage it was impossible. So he just raised his bottle in hazy acknowledgement.

The room started to spin and Johnny lay back on the sofa in the club feeling the loud beat of the bass going through his body. But no matter how drunk, he couldn’t stop thinking. As he took a swig of Jack Daniels out of the bottle – half of it spilling over his face – he knew no amount of whiskey would blank it out.

It all made sense now. Why his mother had never allowed his father to drop the fight with Max. All this time she’d had to carry the pain on her own. And the first person she’d told was him – and what’d he done? He’d looked at her like scum before walking out of the room and out of the hotel without saying a word.

He wanted to kill Max for what he’d done. But that of course was the easy part. What wasn’t easy was what it meant by Max being his father. It meant Maggie was his … He couldn’t think about it. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He refused to. His head wouldn’t get around it. It was too awful, too shocking to think what he and Maggie had done. What they’d produced together, albeit without knowing.

But what gave him the most enormous amount of pain was the fact that he and Maggie, the woman he’d loved from the very first day they’d met, the woman he’d held in his arms and the woman he’d die for, could never be together again. He could never be Harley’s father anymore, never be Maggie’s husband. It was over before it’d had the chance to begin.

He curled himself around the bottle of Jack Daniels and openly
let the tears fall. As he stared up to the ceiling, he suddenly felt the need to go and see Harley. He didn’t know if he’d be able to see her again. He didn’t know what was going
to happen and before he gave Maggie the news, he wanted to
see his daughter in the innocent light she was. He wanted to remember her the way she should be remembered.

He staggered up, still holding the whiskey and walked towards the exit. The hostess on the door purred at Johnny.

‘Going somewhere? Sure you should be walking about in that state? If you’re looking for company, I can sort you out sweetie.’

Johnny took another swig of the JDs and grinned as he swayed unsteadily on his feet, slurring his words as he spoke.

‘Thanks for the offer darling, but I’m off home to see my baby.’

And with that, Johnny Taylor stumbled out of the club, trying to remember how to get back to his flat.

‘He ain’t answering darlin’. Saucers smiled softly at Maggie who looked like she was going to drop.

‘Where could he be?’

‘You know Johnny. He’s always doing his disappearing acts.’

‘I need to speak to him, put some boys on the lookout for Nicky. Christ, Saucers, I’m worried.’

‘I know babe. But listen, maybe you should get back home. I don’t know where else we can look. We’ve been to all the crack dens, all the clubs he hung around in. None of the girls have seen him. He’ll turn up.’

Saucers hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt. She’d thought they’d have a hope of finding him, presuming someone must have seen him but no one had, and to Saucers it was a bad sign. A very bad one.

Her face was still hurting and she didn’t doubt Nicky would have some of the same but a whole lot more of it.

‘Maybe we should go back to Gary’s? See if he’s come back. I ain’t scared of the likes of him. Not once my temper’s up. Honest to God Saucers, I’ve been keeping it under wraps. It deserves a bit of airing.’

Saucers grinned. There were very few people Maggie Donaldson was scared of but she was no bully. She was a loving friend, a loyal, caring woman who’d had to deal with more shit in her life than the London sewers. And even after all Nicky had done to Maggie – betraying her by sniffing Harley’s wellbeing up his nose – she was still running around London wanting to save him.

As they walked past one of Frankie’s clubs, Saucers waved to the hostess on the door, whose name was Jenny.

‘Alright girl, how’s tricks?’

‘It’s a bit quiet tonight but I’m not complaining. Frankie’s not in and I saw Johnny go off a while ago; he’s on one of his legendaries.’

Maggie spoke up. ‘When? Do you know where he was going?’

Jenny eyed Maggie suspiciously. She was aware who she was and knew her reputation of being a hard bird but it still didn’t make it alright for her to butt into the conversation she was having with Saucers. She answered, wanting to make sure Maggie knew she was annoyed with her, but not too much that Maggie would take offence. She’d no wish to be on the other side of a Donaldson. Especially one whose temper preceded them.

‘I might do.’

Maggie stepped forward narrowing her eyes, remembering to count to ten as she spoke. ‘Don’t play games with me. Do you or don’t you? I won’t ask you again.’