Running scared, p.26
Running Scared, page 26
‘If we could trust you, we wouldn’t need to keep tabs on you,’ Rachel replied spikily.
‘It’s open,’ Nicole said after tapping in the number.
‘Who are all those messages from?’ Rachel asked, leaning over to look.
‘Some of the guys on his crew,’ Nicole said, scrolling through them. Then, jaw clenching, she said, ‘And her.’
‘Lexi?’ Rachel frowned.
‘Fucking two-faced bitch,’ Nicole spat. ‘Acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about when I confronted her about seeing Ryan, but they’ve obviously been talking. Listen to this message she sent him last night,’ she went on furiously. ‘Sorry I missed your calls, my phone was in the house and I couldn’t get it till the police left,’ she mimicked. ‘I tried to call you back on Theo’s phone, but he’s not answering, so I thought I’d best try yours instead. Just wait till I get my hands on her. And as for him . . . I’m gonna kill him!’
‘I told you she was trash from day one, and I never trusted him,’ Rachel said.
‘Morning,’ Adam drawled, strolling in and shrugging his jacket off. ‘Wha’pp’nin’, fam?’
‘Seriously?’ Nicole gave him a withering look.
‘Chill, Sis; you’ll get wrinkles,’ he teased, ruffling her hair as he passed, then wiping his hand on her shoulder. ‘Anything for brekkers, Ma?’ He gave Rachel a hopeful look as he sat down. ‘I could murder one of your famous fry-ups.’
‘Fat chance of that when your sister’s got the fridge full of stupid power drinks and frozen shite,’ Rachel sniffed.
‘Pardon me for trying to stay healthy,’ Nicole muttered, aware that it was another dig to add to the ones her mum had already made about her furniture and the decor.
‘You just missed the police,’ Rachel went on, ignoring Nicole. ‘They were asking for you.’
‘You what?’ Adam’s smile slipped. ‘Why?’
‘You tell us,’ Danny said, instantly suspicious when he clocked his son’s expression. He knew him inside out, and the guilt was seeping out of his pores like sewage water.
‘Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t done anything, I swear,’ Adam blustered. ‘That bastard’s probably said something to try and drop me in it.’
‘Like what?’ Danny asked.
‘It won’t be Ryan, it’ll be this bitch,’ Nicole said, holding up Ryan’s phone. ‘Listen to this voice message she sent him last night after that text.’
She pressed play and put it on loudspeaker.
Ryan, where are you? Lexi’s voice was hushed, as if she didn’t want whoever she was with to hear her. I’m getting really worried now. I saw Adam and some man outside my house earlier, and I heard someone coming in, so I had to run. I don’t know what to do. Please ring me. I’m scared.
‘So she was in the house when you went round there, but she spotted you, dickhead,’ Danny said, giving his son an accusing look. ‘And who’s the bloke she said you were with?’
‘No one, I went on my own,’ Adam lied. ‘I did see someone walking down the road when I pulled up, so she must have seen him and thought we were together.’
Unsure if he believed him, Danny said, ‘Well, thanks to you she’s gone into hiding, so what we gonna do now?’
Adam dipped his gaze. He’d been on a high when he first came round, not only because he’d managed to score some really pure gear that had given him the old rush he’d been craving, but also because he’d fucked Tina into a near coma – visualizing Lexi James’s face with every thrust. On top of the world when he’d left her place, he had decided to forgive his dad for that dolly jibe and start over. But, yet again, he was in his dad’s bad books – and all because of that fucking whore, Lexi!
The doorbell rang.
‘I’ll get it,’ Rachel said, walking out into the hall.
‘Sorry to disturb you,’ DI Benson said, flashing her badge. ‘We called round a few minutes ago.’
‘Yes, I know. You spoke to my husband.’ Rachel gave her a frosty look. ‘What do you want now?’
‘We were driving past on our way back to the station and noticed the Lexus,’ Benson said, gesturing to Adam’s car, which was now parked alongside the Range Rover. ‘We did a quick check and it’s registered to Adam Harvey.’
‘And?’ Rachel folded her arms.
‘If he’s here, we need to speak to him,’ said Benson. ‘It shouldn’t take long.’
Tutting, Rachel turned her head and yelled, ‘Adam, the police are here again. They want to speak to you.’
In the kitchen, Danny leaned across the table and grabbed Adam’s arm as he made to stand up.
‘Whatever’s going on, you tell them fuckers nothing – do you understand?’
Swallowing the sickly taste in his mouth, Adam nodded. Then, straightening up, he faked a nonchalant smile and went out into the hall.
‘Mr Harvey?’ Benson asked when he joined his mother at the door.
‘Yeah. Can I help you?’ Adam said, looping an arm around his mother’s shoulders. ‘If it’s about Ryan, I’m afraid he’s already left for work.’
‘So I believe,’ Benson said. ‘Could you tell us where you were between the hours of two and three a.m. yesterday morning?’
‘At the club,’ Adam said. ‘I own The Danski in Cheetham Hill,’ he elaborated when Benson gave him a questioning look. ‘I’m there every night; usually lock up around three.’
‘And were you there until three yesterday?’
‘I went to my girlfriend’s straight from there, so it was probably more like quarter to, to be honest.’
‘Was anyone with you who could verify that?’
‘No, my employees leave before me, and I cash up before locking up,’ Adam said. Then, frowning, he asked, ‘Do you mind telling me what this is about, only this is starting to sound like I’m being accused of something?’
‘Just routine,’ Benson assured him. ‘This girlfriend you mentioned . . . could you tell me her name and address?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Adam said. ‘It’s Toni – sorry, Tina Klein. I call her Toni as a joke,’ he added, thinking on his feet when he saw the detective’s eyebrow twitch. ‘I used to date a girl called Toni before her, and I called her that by mistake one time when we were . . .’ He paused and flashed a hooded glance at his mother, before saying, ‘Not the kind of convo I really want to be having in front of my mum, but I’m sure you get the gist.’
‘Address?’ Benson asked.
When Adam and Rachel returned to the kitchen a couple of minutes later, Danny was on the phone.
‘What did they want?’ Nicole asked quietly.
‘To know where he was when that woman was murdered,’ said Rachel, refilling the kettle to make a fresh brew. ‘But it’s OK, ’cos he was with his girlfriend – weren’t you, son?’
‘Really?’ Nicole gave Adam a funny look. ‘Since when have you had a girlfriend?’
‘I don’t tell you everything,’ he replied, avoiding her eye as he lit a cigarette.
‘That was Mash,’ Danny said, his expression dark as he came back to the table after finishing his call. ‘They’ve been staking out the place where the deal was supposed to be going down, but no fucker turned up.’
‘I told you it was bullshit,’ Rachel said. ‘You shouldn’t have sent them.’
‘And what else was I supposed to do?’ Danny shot back angrily. ‘If we don’t catch them, the money’ll be gone – along with this house and every other fucking thing we own.’
‘I’ve got an idea,’ Nicole said. ‘Lexi doesn’t know we’ve got Ryan’s phone,’ she went on when they all looked at her. ‘If we message her pretending to be him, we’ll be able to flush her out.’
‘She’ll know it’s not his voice, idiot,’ Adam sneered.
‘I’m talking about a text not a voice message, dumb shit,’ Nicole retorted icily.
‘Saying what?’ Rachel asked, carrying four cups of coffee to the table and handing them out before sitting down.
‘I don’t know.’ Nicole shrugged. ‘But if she thinks he’s going to come and save her, she’ll have to tell him where she is.’
‘But she clearly doesn’t know where he is, or she wouldn’t be begging him to ring her, so what’s the point?’ Adam asked. ‘She’s got his dad’s number, an’ all, don’t forget, so as soon as she realizes it wasn’t him, she’ll warn them. And she left him that message hours ago, so she might have already spoken to them by now and found out that Ryan’s not got his phone.’
‘It’s worth a try,’ Danny said thoughtfully. ‘If she doesn’t answer, it’s a fair bet she knows it’s not him. But if she does and we play smart, we can find out where she is and go get her.’
‘Then use her phone to trick Ryan into coming to meet her,’ said Rachel.
Pleased that her parents were taking her idea seriously, Nicole flashed Adam a smug smile. She had tried to warn Ryan, but he obviously thought more of that bitch than he did of her, and she was starting to realize just how bad life was going to be if her dad didn’t get his money back, so it was Ryan’s tough luck if he got what was coming to him. Let Lexi mop up the blood and cry at his funeral. Nicole was done with the lying, cheating bastard!
40
Lexi had slept fitfully in the single bed in Poppy’s room; her dreams plagued by images of Adam and other men whose faces she couldn’t see chasing her around her house. Grateful to Jamie and Jen for allowing her to stay, but desperate to get out of there before she brought harm to their door, she checked her phone when she woke up to see if Ryan had replied to the message she’d sent before going to sleep, asking him to call her. Heart leaping when she saw that he’d sent her a text message a few minutes earlier, she sat up to read it.
Sorry I didn’t get back to you last night, only just got my phone back. Can’t talk right now, but things have gone a bit weird with my dad. I think him and Danny have done a deal, so don’t call him and don’t answer if he tries to call you, ’cos I think he’s trying to find out where you are to send Danny after you. He might even pretend to be me to get you to open up, so be careful! I’ll text you when I’ve found somewhere safe to meet up xx
Alarmed, and upset to think that Theo would turn on her like that when he claimed to care so much about her, Lexi’s hand was shaking as she typed out a quick reply, telling Ryan that she wouldn’t contact Theo again and would, instead, wait for Ryan to contact her.
Ryan sent a text straight back, and she frowned when she read it.
I’ll call you tonight darling. Love you xx
The intimacy of the words made her wonder if he’d actually meant to send that message to Nicole and had sent it to her by mistake; and that, in turn, made her wonder if he was really trying to help her, or if he was the one she ought to be wary of. He was married to Danny Harvey’s daughter, after all; and he’d shown that his loyalty lay with them in the past, when he’d denied all knowledge of Adam attacking her, making it look like she’d made the whole thing up. But the way he’d opened up to her when he’d called round at her place that day had felt sincere, and her instincts told her that he genuinely did like her, so would he really conspire to put her in danger after sending her those voice messages warning her not to go back to the house?
Confused, and filled with dread about what might happen next, Lexi got dressed and made her way into the living room, where Jen was playing on the carpet with Poppy.
‘Hey, you’re awake,’ Jen smiled, jumping up. ‘Did you sleep OK? I know that bed’s a bit lumpy.’
‘It was fine,’ Lexi assured her. ‘And thank you so much for letting me stay.’
‘It’s our pleasure,’ Jen said, reaching down to lift up her daughter. ‘Say hello to Auntie Lexi,’ she said when the child stared at her guest.
‘Hello, Poppy.’ Lexi smiled. ‘Aren’t you the prettiest little girl in the whole world?’
‘Aw, look,’ Jen said when Poppy grinned and held out her arms. ‘She wants to come to you.’
Awkwardly, because she hadn’t held a small child in many years, Lexi took her, and was surprised when the child planted a kiss on her cheek.
‘Wow, you’re honoured,’ Jen said. ‘She’s usually really shy around strangers.’
‘It’s probably because she’s in her own home and feels safe,’ Lexi said, picking up the sweet scent of apples from the child’s silky hair.
‘Come through to the kitchen and I’ll make you a brew and some toast,’ Jen said, already heading for the door.
‘Tea will be fine,’ Lexi said, carrying the child, who was now playing with her hair, after her.
‘Stop acting like you’re putting us out,’ Jen chided softly. ‘Jamie’s absolutely made up to have you here – and so am I. You obviously don’t realize what an impact you had on him when he was a kid,’ she went on, waving for Lexi to take a seat at the table as she bustled around the small clean kitchen. ‘He told me you were the only one who ever spoke to him like he wasn’t a piece of S-H-I-T.’
Smiling at the way Jen had spelled out the word instead of swearing in front of her child, Lexi said, ‘He had something about him, even back then. And now look at him; all grown up, with a beautiful family. You’re a lucky woman.’
‘I know,’ Jen agreed, the light in her eyes whenever she spoke about Jamie a clear indication that she considered herself blessed.
‘Where is he?’ Lexi asked, cuddling Poppy when the child rested against her and put a thumb into her mouth.
‘At work,’ Jen said, placing a cup of tea on the table before going back to butter the toast. ‘He’s an outreach worker for at-risk kids; those who’ve got troubled home lives, or have been excluded from school, and what have you.’
‘Wow.’ Lexi was impressed.
‘He’s so good with them,’ Jen went on proudly. ‘He’s only been doing it for a year, but he’s really helped some of the kids round here. It helps that he was once in their shoes, because they sense he’s one of them and not some stuck-up social worker who’s learned everything from a book but knows nothing about the realities of trying to survive abuse and neglect.’
‘Sounds like you should be doing it yourself,’ said Lexi.
‘I’m happy just being a mum, for now,’ said Jen. ‘But when Poppy’s old enough for school, I’m thinking about training to be a yoga teacher.’
‘Ah . . .’ Lexi smiled knowingly. ‘Like your mum?’
‘She wasn’t a teacher, but she really should have been,’ Jen said. ‘I know people round here thought she was cuckoo, but she had pure magic going on in here.’ She tapped her temple.
‘I’m sorry I never got to meet her,’ Lexi said. ‘I used to see her out back in the rain, and I’ve got to admit I was one of the ones who thought she was cuckoo. But she’d have seemed perfectly normal in Hebden Bridge.’
‘Is that where you were living before you came back?’ Jen asked, scooping an almost asleep Poppy out of her arms after placing her plated toast on the table.
‘Yeah. My last foster placement was there, and I liked it so much I decided to stay.’
‘Do you miss it?’
Feeling a sudden longing for the simple way of life there compared to the stresses she’d encountered after coming back to Manchester, Lexi nodded. ‘Yeah, I do. But there’s no work there, and you can only kip on friends’ couches for so long before they get sick of you, so . . .’ She tailed off and shrugged.
‘That won’t happen with us,’ Jen assured her. ‘When we said you can stay as long as you like, we meant it.’
Dipping her gaze when she felt the sting of tears in her eyes, Lexi murmured, ‘Thank you.’
‘I’m just going to put Pops down for her nap and let you eat your breakfast in peace,’ Jen said, touching her shoulder softly before heading out.
Alone, Lexi sighed as she bit into a slice of toast. She envied Jen and Jamie. They lived in this place she herself had considered a shithole when she was growing up, but she’d have given anything, right then, to go back in time and be back in that draughty flat with her mum.
‘I heard your phone ringing,’ Jen said, coming back a short time later with the phone Lexi had left in the bedroom. ‘Sorry I didn’t get to it in time.’
‘It’s OK,’ Lexi said, drying her hands on a tea towel after washing her plate and cup. ‘It won’t be anything important.’
Opening the screen, she saw she’d had two missed calls off Theo and bit her lip as she contemplated calling him back. Still unsure who to trust, she decided to wait until Ryan rang her later and let her instincts guide her once she’d heard his voice.
41
Theo had still been sleeping – and snoring – when Ryan woke up at just gone 9 a.m. Guessing that his dad and Lee must have carried on reminiscing into the early hours when he headed into the living room and saw the empty bottles on the coffee table and the numerous spliff-dimps in the ashtray, he shook his head as he made his way into the kitchen to make a brew. Now more than ever his dad needed to be on the ball, but the man would be lucky if he could think straight after knocking back that much overproof rum. Still, they weren’t going anywhere just yet, so he supposed one blowout wasn’t going to hurt.
Coffee in hand, he pulled his dad’s phone out of his pocket as he made his way back into the living room and took a seat on the sofa. Lexi hadn’t sent any messages or tried to call during the night, and she hadn’t picked up when he’d tried to call her twice while waiting for the kettle to boil. Remembering that she’d been wearing pyjamas when he’d seen her at the police station, and figuring that she probably hadn’t had a chance to grab her phone before leaving the house, he tried not to worry too much about the ongoing silence from her end. It was entirely likely, given that it was a murder investigation, that the police would still be at the house, so he had to assume that she was safe for now. But he would try her again later, just to make sure.
Looking round when the door opened behind him, he said, ‘Morning,’ when Lee walked in.
‘Jeezus!’ the man squawked, almost jumping out of his skin. ‘I totally forgot youse were here.’
