Rival

by Jacqui Rose

  Carter placed the menu very slowly down on the table. He stared at Vaughn, taking him in, and it was a good few moments before he spoke. ‘All right then, tell me about Harry Jacobs.’

  Vaughn stared back at Carter as if he’d lost his mind. ‘I don’t speak to coppers.’

  Carter sat back and whistled. ‘That’s not what I heard, though I must say I was surprised to hear that you’d been working with one of my ex-colleagues to get Franny Doyle sent down.’

  Vaughn shook his head. Part of him would always be ashamed he’d ever spoken to the police; after all it was breaking every rule in the world he lived in. No one snaked, no one grassed but, and here was the thing, he’d been prepared to break those rules to get Franny once and for all.

  And it’d been a good plan, a plan that should’ve worked. The problem had been not only did Franny have one of the best gangland solicitors around, the copper he’d been speaking to and had worked with had been bent to the point that a lot of his cases had been ruled unsafe and that had fucked Vaughn off no end, to say the least.

  So once again Franny had slipped through the net. Yes, she hadn’t actually really killed anyone, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t deserved all that had been coming to her. It didn’t mean that he shouldn’t have tried to get her sent down. Not that his failure to get rid of her had put him off attempting it again. Oh no, if anything the combination of having to work with Harry and Franny’s obvious smugness had made him even more determined. It was just a question of when.

  ‘I don’t want to talk about Franny. Just tell me what you want, Carter.’

  Carter stared down at his perfectly manicured fingernails then, having made Vaughn wait long enough, he said, ‘I’m here to clean this place up. I’m going to get Soho back to how it should be and unlike my predecessor I’m not willing to take any short cuts. I’m not willing to be in anyone’s pocket. So here’s the thing, Vaughn, you can either work with me or I bring you down with all the others.’

  Like Carter, Vaughn rested back on the faux leather bench. He’d known Carter for a long time, and at one point they’d even been friends. Good friends. They’d knocked about as teenagers, but now, things had certainly changed. They were on different sides of the track and whether they’d once been close friends or not, that was then, and this was certainly now.

  ‘You can forget me helping. Do what you have to do cos no matter what you’ve heard, I ain’t a grass and besides, I don’t know anything.’

  Carter nodded. ‘So, you can’t tell me anything about Harry Jacobs.’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘But you’re working for him, right?’

  Vaughn stared at Carter evenly. ‘As they say in the trade, no comment.’

  Not giving up, Carter glanced out of the window for a moment, then he turned back to stare at Vaughn intently. ‘That must be strange.’

  ‘What the fuck are you talking about now?’ snarled Vaughn impatiently.

  ‘Well, Harry, he’s married to Tia, isn’t he?’

  Vaughn didn’t move. The only thing that gave away any kind of emotion was the pulse in his jaw. The tension was palpable.

  ‘And you can’t tell me anything about Wan?’

  ‘Nope.’

  Leaning forward, Carter said evenly, ‘And you can’t tell me anything about Sophie?’

  Vaughn looked surprised. ‘Sophie? Who’s Sophie?’

  ‘A seventeen-year-old girl.’

  Still confused, Vaughn shrugged. ‘And what’s she to do with me?’

  ‘I don’t know, that’s what I’m hoping to find out. She was found dead in Kemps Court.’

  Not showing any emotion but genuinely saddened hearing about the young girl, Vaughn asked, ‘How did she die?’

  ‘There’s going to be an autopsy, but it seems like she might’ve overdosed.’

  ‘Shame.’

  Carter tilted his head as he put the menu back behind the tomato ketchup bottle. ‘The thing is, she’s the second girl in two weeks who’s overdosed. Two young girls both dead. What a waste of life, don’t you think?’

  In agreement but certainly not willing to be drawn in by Carter on any emotional level, Vaughn sat in silence listening to Carter continue.

  ‘So that’s why I want to talk to you.’

  ‘What’s it got to do with me? This is Soho if you ain’t remembered. That’s just the way it is.’

  As cool as Vaughn, Carter spoke. ‘You’re right, these things do happen but only if there are scumbags out there selling drugs.’

  Not wanting to stay and talk any longer, Vaughn began to get up. ‘Whether you like it or not, people will always take drugs.’

  ‘That might be the case, but when it seems the drugs have been laced with crap, then it’s my job to look into it. And as you hang around with the likes of Harry and Wan …’

  ‘Let me stop you right there,’ said Vaughn. ‘I don’t hang out with Wan.’

  Carter blinked. ‘Seems like he’s a touchy subject. Any reason?’

  ‘Listen, do all your detective shit elsewhere. I ain’t interested.’

  Vaughn turned to go but Carter, still sitting at the table, grabbed him by his sleeve as he walked past, though he didn’t look up at Vaughn as he spoke quietly. ‘I meant what I said. I don’t want to bring you down, Vaughn, but I will if I have to, so it’d be in your best interests to work with me, because otherwise, there’ll only be one loser, and I promise you, it won’t be me.’

  19

  Wan and Harry leant back on the red couches in one of the private rooms of Wan’s West End club. The music was turned up loud and the lights were turned low and even through the leather, padded door, Harry could still hear the hum of the punters on the other side.

  Taking a large drag of his cigar, Harry, feeling more relaxed after his run-in with Tia, yawned. ‘I hear that you had a problem with one of the girls the other day.’

  Wan shrugged, his handsome face not showing any emotion. ‘Problem, how?’

  ‘You had a blow-out, one of them keeled.’

  Thinking about Sophie overdosing immediately turned Wan’s good mood into a foul one. ‘That’s the problem with shit gear, it has a way of biting you in the arse.’

  Harry raised his eyebrows. ‘You sure it’s the gear? More likely the ketamine you cut in it. That stuff knocks out horses.’

  Wan gave a wry smile before taking a large sip from his glass of brandy. ‘Yeah but how else am I going to knock them out?’

  ‘Have you tried a cosh?’

  Both men laughed and Wan said, ‘The problem is they get greedy for it. Once they like the taste, they’re snorting it up like it’s oxygen. Sophie did anyway.’

  ‘You just need to be careful, that’s all. I remember how good a worker you said Sophie was. It’s a shame to kill off all the good ones,’ Harry said with a grin and a wink.

  Wan shrugged. ‘Maybe I’ll change suppliers just to be on the safe side … You sure you don’t want to get back in the business? Your powder was always good. Quality coke.’

  Taking another drag from the cigar, Harry shook his head. ‘I’d rather not step on any toes. The Russians won’t like it if I mess around in their territory. I already had a little warning last year from one of the bosses, or rather, an ultimatum,’ Harry said. ‘Still, if things change, or I get desperate, I’ve still got a few kilos I can get rid of, but until then, I don’t fancy having my face blown off.’

  Wan regarded Harry and for a moment he didn’t say anything as different thoughts raced through his head. Then with a cloying smile he asked, ‘So how is that lovely wife of yours? How’s Tia?’

  Trying to hide the bristle of irritation he felt when any man asked about his wife, Harry nodded. ‘Same as usual. Still chewing me ear off, but then that’s women for you, ain’t it?’

  ‘Well it’s certainly Tia.’

  Not enjoying the familiar way he was speaking about her, Harry sniffed and shrugged. ‘It is what it is.’

  ‘Yeah, but it’s good to see
that you’ve got your house back in order. You know, with her doing a runner. You should’ve put your foot down with her a long time ago. It’s a dangerous thing having such a beautiful wife.’

  Wan was trying to wind him up and doing a good job of it. Harry narrowed his eyes. He leant forward, locking the other man’s stare as he spoke through gritted teeth. ‘Women and marriage are complicated things, Wan, and although I appreciate your input, I’d rather you save the advice for someone who fucking wants to hear it.’

  Before Wan could answer, two girls walked in, wearing only flimsy G-strings. It was Ellie and Sasha.

  Wan winked, tapping his knee. ‘Hey, Sash, why don’t you come and give me one of your massages.’

  With a delighted look in her eye, Sasha walked across to Wan, sitting down on his knee. She wrapped her almost naked body around him and began to massage his shoulders, much to the disgust of Ellie who raged inside, giving Sasha daggers.

  She hated Sasha; she was a bitch, trying to take Wan from her. Who the hell she thought she was Ellie didn’t know, but what she did know was it should be her, not Sasha, sitting on Wan’s knee. After all, she was Wan’s girlfriend, not Sasha.

  Maybe he was trying to punish her for chatting to Franny the other day. He’d certainly been angry with her. He’d even given her a slap. Not that she’d told him that she’d shown Franny the bruises on her legs, but for some reason he’d been pissed off that she’d told Franny that they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

  As Ellie stood there in her red G-string, Wan, playing with Sasha’s hair, looked up at her. He frowned as he saw the look on her face. ‘Aren’t you going to say hello to Harry? Anyone would think you had no manners and didn’t want to be welcoming to my friends.’

  With a tight smile, Ellie shrugged. ‘It’s not that …’ She trailed off, fighting the urge to cry, fighting the urge to scream at Sasha who was busy kissing Wan’s neck. She loved Wan and Sasha was trying to get in the way and it wasn’t fair.

  She’d never had anyone care for her in her life. Not her mum – she didn’t even know her dad – and certainly not the social workers who’d come in and out of her life. So no, she wasn’t going to give Wan up without a fight. He made her feel loved and that was something she wasn’t ready to let go.

  ‘Well go on then, be nice. We had this chat earlier didn’t we, El? About giving a little bit and helping me out now and then.’ Wan paused then winked at her adding, ‘I thought we had an arrangement, but like I said to you before, it’s your choice.’

  Wanting to please Wan above all else, with one last glare at Sasha, Ellie, without saying anything, went to move towards Harry who grinned and stubbed out his cigar in the nearby silver ashtray before dragging her onto his lap, groping her breasts.

  He pulled her into him, nuzzling his face into her neck at the same time as pulling at her G-string before growling, ‘Like Wan says, you could make me feel a bit more welcome. You’re acting like I’m fucking contaminated,’ Harry said as he stopped to look at her.

  ‘Sorry,’ Ellie muttered as she felt Wan’s glare on her.

  As Tia suddenly came into his head, Harry snarled, ‘Yeah well, you know how to cock block don’t you?’ He gave her a hard shove, pushing her onto the floor, and she let out a yelp as he stood up and looked at his watch. ‘Anyway, fuck this, I’ve got to get on.’

  ‘You have to excuse Ellie. Sometimes she needs a bit of something to help her relax, don’t you, El?’ Wan said as he gave Ellie another hard stare.

  Nearing the door, Harry shrugged. ‘Whatever. I ain’t got time for this shit.’

  ‘I tell you what, Harry, how about I get Ellie to make up for it? Leave it with me; you’re in for a treat …’

  20

  Franny crept up the back stairs of the large house in Whitechapel, one of the places in which Wan kept his girls. This was the first time she’d been here, though she’d been to the other places he had, and to all intents and purposes the houses felt like homes. Bright and clean, each girl with her own bedroom and bathroom, or only having to share with one other girl. PlayStations, Xboxes, Apple televisions, gadgets galore and free access to come and go as they pleased.

  There was no doubt that the place seemed a safe haven to a lot of these girls. Maybe the best place they’d ever been able to call home … At first, anyway.

  Of course she knew there’d always be hookers and whores; she certainly wasn’t standing in any kind of judgement. It didn’t make a bit of difference to her. Hookers were just part of the life she was in; women were friends with them and men slept with them. It was as simple as that. But this, this was different. What Wan was doing was darker. Much, much darker.

  She knew there was an air of secrecy around it because when she asked the girls anything, they clammed up. The problem was that she knew it was a dangerous line she was walking by asking questions. A lot of the girls were vulnerable and she would go as far as saying a lot of them were brainwashed. Brainwashed into thinking that Wan was their saviour.

  She guessed that compared to the life they’d been in, he might be. Wan Huang, redeemer and rescuer. It was a joke. A fucking joke; feeding them drugs, proclaiming undying love to girls who were so desperate for it, it was hypnotic to them. Wan was hypnotic to them.

  When she’d first started working for Wan, she’d thought the girls were only working in the clubs. She’d also thought the girls were much older than they were. Slapped with make-up, hair extensions and designer gear that could make the most innocent of teenagers look like young women with experience.

  But as more time went on, being around Wan and the clubs – and especially around the girls – the more she heard and found out the more sinister it all felt.

  Of course she didn’t know everything – very little in fact – but she was beginning to put the pieces together. And the truth was, no matter what they were or weren’t doing, having underage girls was and always had been a big no-no to her.

  And the worst thing was, if they chose to, they could just walk out of the front door. But they didn’t. They saw this as their home, and saw Wan as family. One thing was certainly clear to her: no matter how he treated them, they were willing to put up with it, just to be around him. Nothing could be worse for them than not having Wan around.

  Getting to the top of the stairs, Franny felt the familiar sense of anger rush through her. She walked down the corridor, carrying a bag full of designer clothes. She’d decided if Wan or his men caught her here, then at least she could say she was dropping off some bits for the girls.

  Though she suspected no one else was around. That was the thing. Wan didn’t have anyone patrolling the place or keeping the girls under lock and key, they were free to do what they wanted – at least on the face of it they were.

  To her though, it was obvious Wan was an expert in playing these girls, giving them just enough attention mixed in with fear to get them to want him. After all, he was rich, handsome, strong, possessive and controlling. A toxic combination for the girls who were clearly vulnerable. And she knew only too well that although they may not see it and they might think staying here was their choice, it was clear Wan had them under lock and key with psychological chains.

  She sighed and continued quietly up the landing, hoping that her instinct would be right and no one would be around, because although it wasn’t out of the question that she’d pop in to see the girls, she could tell that Wan was starting to not trust her. She had to be very, very careful, otherwise she’d be in big trouble. And having any kind of trouble with Wan meant being put in a shallow grave on the far side of Epping Forest.

  ‘Franny, what you doing here?’ A voice behind her made her literally jump with fright.

  She spun around and saw it was Ellie. She hadn’t realised that Ellie lived here along with Sasha, who she’d actually come to see.

  Recovering from the fright, Franny smiled. She kept her voice down as she talked. ‘Oh hey, Ellie, how are you? I thought I’d just come and see Sash and brin
g her a few things. You know, cheer her up a bit.’

  Ellie scowled. ‘I don’t know why you’d bother with that stupid bitch. You should’ve seen her earlier, like she was Queen fucking Bee. I hate her.’

  ‘I thought you were friends?’ Franny said, surprised at Ellie’s venom.

  Ellie crossed her arms and walked to the first room off the corridor, which turned out to be her bedroom.

  Dressed in red pyjamas, she sat on her unmade bed and stared at Franny as she followed her in. ‘Who told you that?’ Ellie replied, still scowling.

  Sitting down on the large, pink velvet chair, which was in the shape of a throne, Franny shrugged. ‘I just assumed.’

  ‘Why?’

  Franny watched Ellie take a drink from the bottle of peach water by her bed. She was so defensive and it was obvious by her manner that she didn’t trust what she was hearing. Not that it offended her. Ellie was just a kid and no doubt most of her life she’d had to battle for survival. Franny’s heart went out to her. She could see that the kid was messed up and she could also see how Wan was clearly using it to his advantage.

  ‘I don’t know why, I thought most of you girls were friends.’

  ‘Not when they’re bitches.’

  Franny gave a sad smile as she looked around the room and maybe she was overthinking it but although it was nicely decorated, the whole place had a clinical, sinister vibe. ‘I don’t think Sasha’s a bitch, is she? She’s always seemed so sweet to me.’

  ‘Well that’s you and you don’t know her like I do. She goes around mouthing off and talking shit.’

  ‘We can all do that at one time or another. I know I do,’ Franny said warmly.

  ‘Yeah, but you don’t go around telling everyone that you’re Wan’s girlfriend, do you?’ Ellie said, her eyes filling with tears.

  Choosing her words carefully, Franny answered as delicately as possible. ‘No, but maybe she thinks she is.’

  ‘Well she fucking ain’t – she’s just a desperate slag. She’s always draping herself over him, she’s that desperate to get his attention, but he’s only got one girlfriend and that’s me!’ And with those words, Ellie burst into tears.