by Carol Wyer
Ellie scowls at her. She’s a bit annoyed she hasn’t got the same freedom as Roxy. Her mum will be home in the early hours and she’ll have to be back by then.
‘They’d all go ballistic if they knew I was with you,’ Roxy drawls.
‘I’m not scared of your brothers,’ he replies.
‘You fucking should be. They’ll murder you if they find out about us.’
‘Can you two shut up and let us in? Someone will see us,’ says Habib, pulling Ellie closer to him. He’s had his arm around her since they left the youth club and she can feel the heat rising from his body. He smells lovely – all clean and sexy.
‘We’ll go in first and double-check,’ says Tucker, and while the girls wait on the driveway outside, they unlock the entrance and disappear into the darkness.
Roxy slips her arm through Ellie’s. ‘All right, babe? It’s going to be mega. Isn’t this the poshest place you’ve ever seen? And we get to do it here.’
‘I’m not sure. I like Habib a lot but I’m not sure I’m ready for sex,’ Ellie whispers.
‘You’re plenty old enough and he’s gorgeous. Besides, he hasn’t done it with that snotty Nadia Fryxell yet, and you’ll be his first proper girlfriend. He’ll probably dump Nadia afterwards.’
Tucker reappears and hisses at them to come inside. Roxy squeezes her friend’s arm and they sneak in. The place is massive and Ellie is overwhelmed by it immediately. She’s never seen a house like it, and when Tucker opens the door to the entertainment room, she gasps. It’s like a private cinema with massive settees and a ginormous flat-screen. Tucker leaps onto the settee furthest away; Roxy squeals in delight and hurls herself down beside him. Habib is more grown up and takes Ellie by the hand, leading her to the other settee.
Tucker lifts the control and snuggles back like he owns the place. ‘What d’ya fancy watching? They’ve got Sky.’
‘Anything,’ says Roxy, unscrewing the lid on the bottle of vodka she’s brought with her and taking a good slug before passing it around. ‘Got any fags?’
‘Yeah, but we can’t smoke in here. They’d smell it as soon as they got home,’ Tucker replies and takes the bottle from her.
She pulls a moody face then suddenly smiles wildly. ‘Good thing I brought these then,’ she says and waves a bag of pills at them.
‘What the fuck are those?’ he asks, taking the bag and examining the contents. ‘Hey, Habib, she’s brought some Xanax.’
Habib gives a thumbs up.
‘They any good?’ asks Ellie. She’s never tried them.
Habib looks at her with dark eyes that make her insides go liquid. ‘Sure, I’ve taken them a few times. They’re not dangerous. They make you calmer… like you’re floating.’
Roxy’s already swallowed a couple with the vodka, and Tucker flicks two into his mouth then throws the bag across to Habib.
‘I’m not sure…’ Ellie begins.
‘They’re fine… trust me,’ Habib replies. ‘Look.’ He downs one with the vodka and passes the bag to her.
She takes one and swallows it with a slug of vodka too, then they repeat the procedure. A film is chosen and the bottle passed around and then a second bottle opened. Before much longer she feels Habib’s mouth on her neck as he covers it in kisses, and her earlier inhibitions depart in that instant. She wants nothing more than to be his girlfriend, and judging by the noises coming from the settee next to them, Roxy and Tucker have gone beyond heavy petting. She doesn’t glance over. Habib’s hands are on her and she is lost in the moment.
It is only when they’ve had sex and are spent that the mood changes. Habib pushes her arm off him and suddenly seems more aloof.
‘What’s up?’ she says, searching for the romantic mood again.
‘Nothing. It’s just I shouldn’t have gone so far. I didn’t intend to. I like you a lot but I didn’t mean for this to happen.’
‘What did you expect to happen?’ she hisses.
‘Make out a little, not go all the way. I have a girlfriend.’
‘You didn’t give her a thought when we were shagging.’
‘I got carried away – the pills, the booze…’
She is furious. How dare he treat her like this? She looks for her bra and blouse, suddenly ashamed to be seen naked. Roxy and Tucker are fast asleep, spooning like two naked lovers, and now she’s even angrier with Habib.
‘You fucker! You used me!’
‘I didn’t. I never meant for us to go this far… you encouraged me.’
‘What? Oh, that’s it! You are a complete wanker. Roxy! Wake up. We’re going.’
Roxy murmurs something unintelligible.
‘Roxy!’ She pulls on her jeans and slips her sandals back on, then crosses the room to Roxy and Tucker. Her friend is out for the count. She tries again. Tucker comes to and mumbles they’ll follow on in a few minutes. Habib asks her to wait for him. He’s getting dressed. He tells Tucker to get a move on. Ellie tries to wake Roxy again who brushes away her hand and rolls over. Tucker is now on his feet, searching the floor with vacant eyes for his clothes.
‘Roxy! We’re going. Come on!’ The girl doesn’t reply. Ellie tries again but Roxy only mumbles goodbye. Fuck her! Fuck them all! Ellie checks to make sure she has everything and makes for the door, but Habib is there, blocking her way.
‘Get out of the way,’ she demands.
‘You can’t go on your own. I’ll walk you to the bus stop.’
‘What? You feeling guilty or something?’
‘Yes.’ The solemn look on his face halts her in her tracks. ‘I’m really sorry. You’re really lovely, Ellie.’
She begins to bristle again. How dare he give her compliments but tell her he isn’t interested in her?
Behind them Tucker is pulling on his socks. ‘Wait up. We’ll come with you.’
She doesn’t want to spend another minute in the house. Roxy still hasn’t come to and she isn’t going to hang around to wait for her.
‘It’s the pills, Ellie. I shouldn’t have taken them. I wanted to spend time with you and get to know you. That was all. Can we at least be friends?’ Habib pleads.
‘Are you for real? Fuck off out of my way.’ She barges past him, down the hallway and out through the huge entrance into the cool, where she stands still for a moment and inhales the night air. Then she hastens down the driveway and across the road onto the other side, distancing herself from the house, Habib and the memory of what she’s just done. It’s darker here beside the bushes that line the road and she feels hidden and safe. She remains close to the foliage and collects her muddled thoughts. It’s quiet. Nobody is about. She can walk to the bus stop and catch the night bus alone. She doesn’t need any protection. She heads away from the house, Habib and from Roxy, who is to blame for all of this. A rustling sound behind her causes her to quicken her pace.
A voice hisses, ‘Ellie, wait up.’
She ignores Habib, who catches up with her and tries to converse as if nothing has happened between them. She continues up the road, heartsick at what has happened. Habib pulls at her wrist and draws her to a halt and speaks to her again, but she isn’t listening. She wonders what she ever saw in him. He isn’t that good looking and there are plenty of other nicer boys than him at school. Time halts for a while as she studies his face, his large nose, the over-gelled hair and the pathetic look he is giving her, and she decides that she’s been an idiot. She doesn’t acknowledge him and walks off again, takes the road on the right that heads to the church and back to the bus stop where only a few hours earlier she’d arrived. She is angry at that Ellie, the girl who was excited at the prospect of getting serious with Habib. She wishes she could turn back the clock. Habib has caught her up again. This time he sounds surprised.
‘Did you spot who I just saw headed towards the house?’
She wants to ignore him but she is curious. ‘No. Who was it?’
‘I’m pretty certain it was Roxy’s stepfather.’
‘What would he
be doing here?’
‘Maybe he’s found out about her and Tucker. He’ll kill her if he sees them together.’
‘You’re mental. How could he know? You were seeing things. Or making it up. Just leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you ever again. Go back to your girlfriend.’
Ellie shook her head as if to clear it. ‘When I found out Roxy had died, I knew it had happened at the house. I thought you were going to say she’d overdosed. I didn’t dare ask what had happened to her in case you saw how scared I was. Then I found out there’d been a fire, and I thought maybe Roxy had lit up a fag and accidentally set fire to something and wasn’t able to get out of the house in time. Then… her mum died… and then Habib died and now I can’t get it out of my head that I’m going to be next.’
The girl dissolved into gasping sobs.
‘It’s okay, Ellie. Take deep breaths. You’re perfectly safe.’
‘If Paul saw Habib, he’ll have seen me too. I know this doesn’t make any sense but it does to me.’
Murray was about to intervene but Lucy shot him a quick look. Ellie trusted her. She’d confided in her. Lucy had to see this through to the end. ‘Ellie, listen to me. Nobody is going to hurt you. We won’t let that happen. Do you understand?’
The sobs eased a little although the panic was still visible in her reddened face, scrunched up like a hungry baby’s screaming for attention.
‘I didn’t believe Habib. I figured he was winding me up. Now I do. He even said Paul was probably hunting for Roxy, and if he found her with Tucker, he’d murder her. I just thought he was being an idiot.’
‘You didn’t see Roxy’s stepfather on the road or near the house?’
‘No… but if it was him and he killed Roxy because of her being with Tucker and then went after Habib, he’ll come after me.’
‘No, Ellie. He won’t.’ The girl was hysterical and what she was saying made little sense. It was unlikely Paul knew about Roxy and Tucker, let alone that the teenagers were in the house in Linnet Lane. There were too many question marks hanging over that theory: why would he set fire to the house, how did Tucker escape and why was Roxy left behind? She spoke evenly to the girl. ‘You’ve done the right thing to tell us. We can make sure nothing happens to you.’
‘Please don’t tell my mum about Habib, about what we did.’
‘I don’t think she needs to hear that information from us, but you’re going to have to explain why you were at the house Saturday night.’
The girl snuffled into a tissue.
‘Is there anything else you can tell us?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘Did Roxy ever say she was scared of Paul?’
‘No. It was Seth who scared her, but all her family hate Habib and Tucker. I think they really would have killed her if they’d found out she’d slept with Tucker.’
These were a young girl’s theories based on stories from her best friend, but there was still enough here to cause concern.
‘We talked about this before, but did Roxy mention anything about where she’d got the drugs?’
‘Crystal and Sandra. She said they were really cool and knew where to get something that would help us enjoy the evening even more.’
It seemed they’d uncovered another small piece of the puzzle. It was possible that Crystal and Sandra had supplied the Xanax that Roxy had taken along to the house. The next step would be to talk to Paul Sadler.
Lucy gave the girl a smile. ‘You’ve been brave talking to us. Roxy would be proud of you.’
Ellie nodded and then, hunching over, again began to cry softly.
As soon as they were outside, Murray spoke. ‘I’ll deal with Crystal and Sandra.’
‘Good idea. I’ll let Natalie know what’s happened.’
‘Good work.’
‘You reckon? Poor girl is in a lousy state.’
‘She opened up to you. She’ll feel better now she’s confessed about what happened. It took a lot for her to tell us about Habib. I think you pulled it off well.’
‘There’s hope for me, then?’
‘In what way?’
‘As a parent.’
‘I don’t know why you worry about it. You’ll ace it.’
‘We’ll see about that.’
Thirty-Two
Wednesday, 4 July – Afternoon
Tucker was now in a holding cell waiting to be charged for drug possession with intent to distribute and having sex with a minor. Natalie had given the command to bring in Paul Sadler. Messages were piled up on her desk but she had little time to deal with them because Gavin and Kirk Lang had returned from London and turned up at reception. She put aside the document marked ‘urgent’ and headed back downstairs.
Natalie and Ian were going to deal with Gavin first. As she headed into yet another interview room, Natalie felt like she was running on a treadmill that was slowly increasing in speed.
The whites of Gavin’s eyes were pink, and not even the strong smell of aftershave could disguise his sour breath: the aftermath of a heavy night of drinking mixed with black coffee.
He made no apology for being out of contact and started on the defensive. ‘I hope this hasn’t been a wasted trip. We’re busy people.’
‘Too busy to answer your phones,’ Natalie answered coldly.
‘I already apologised to DS Anderson. We were networking all afternoon and night. It’s not a good look to be on your mobile in those situations. We’re here now, aren’t we?’
‘Thank you for coming in. I’d like to ask you about Paul Sadler.’
‘Who?’
‘Does that mean you don’t know who he is?’
‘Can’t say I’ve come across the name.’
‘Paul is Cathy Curtis’s partner.’
‘Cathy?’
‘Don’t fuck me about. Cathy was at the ladies’ free entry night on December the second. You were very interested in her.’
‘Oh, that Cathy. She was interested in me.’
‘So you claimed last time. Do you know her partner?’ She lifted a photograph of Paul up so he could see it.
His reaction was unexpected. He put his hand to his chin and rubbed the length of it. ‘Yes. I know him.’
‘How do you know him?’
‘He’s one of the dickheads who used to come into the club.’ His use of a derogatory term led Natalie to suspect there’d been some trouble.
‘You said “used to”.’
‘That’s right. He was a nuisance so we banned him.’
‘What did he do?’
‘It doesn’t matter what he did.’
‘Did he challenge you about flirting with Cathy?’
‘No! I wasn’t flirting. I keep telling you that. I didn’t even know she was his partner.’
Things didn’t add up for Natalie. Why would Paul go to an expensive nightclub in Armston when he claimed to rarely visit the town? He definitely didn’t seem the clubbing sort. There could only be one reason he wanted to visit Extravaganza: lap dancing.
Crystal sat on the kitchen stool and rested her head in her hands. Murray felt like a giant in such a tiny space. If he lived here, he’d spend all the time knocking into cupboards, the fridge, door handles or the cooker every single time he turned around. He’d asked about Roxy again and told Crystal she’d been in possession of Xanax, pills they believed to have come from the club.
‘Have you any idea who gave them to her?’
She emitted a painful sound, a low moan that lasted an age.
‘Did you give the pills to her?’
‘Give? No. No way! I stupidly left some in my spare room in the top drawer in a bag. She took them. I didn’t say anything when you asked about her. She was dead. It didn’t matter that she’d stolen some pills. At least, I didn’t think it did.’
‘Can you prove she took them?’
She let her hands fall to her knees in one tired gesture. ‘No.’
‘You know how this really seems to me, don�
�t you?’
‘I would never give a child any pills or drugs. That’s all I can say in my defence. Anyone who knows me, knows I wouldn’t.’
‘When did you realise they were missing?’
‘Not until the police wanted to check the room. I went to hide them and discovered they’d gone.’
‘Why would she take them?’
‘She chanced upon them.’
‘No. She told her friend that she knew somebody capable of getting her something to help her “enjoy the evening more”.’
‘That could mean anything.’
‘She came looking for you. She must have thought you’d be able to supply her.’
‘I don’t know why she’d even think that unless…’
‘Unless what?’
‘The first time we met her, under the bridge. We took her to McDonald’s and then she came back here. She went to the toilet.’ She shut her eyes to try and think back. ‘Shit, I can’t remember properly. It was months ago but Sandra had some gear she’d bought.’ Her eyes opened and she continued. Murray watched for signs of fabrication of the truth but nothing gave her away. He had little reason to doubt her words. ‘It was quality gear and she gave me my share. I took it to the spare room and put it in my drawer and… I remember Roxy standing in the doorway. She’d turned the wrong way out of the toilet and had come up the corridor instead of down to the kitchen.’
‘It’s not a huge flat!’
‘I know but she was upset and I thought she was confused. I walked back to the kitchen with her. Do you think Roxy overheard us talking?’
‘She might have caught a drift of your conversation if she was still near the kitchen when you were talking.’
‘That’s the only explanation I can come up with.’ She looked him straight in the eye and he believed her. It made sense. Voices would carry easily from the kitchen to the hallway, and if Roxy had lingered, she might have picked up on the conversation and then heard Crystal in her room, opening drawers.
‘Let’s try it out,’ he said. ‘I’ll go into the hallway towards the toilet. You say a couple of sentences in a normal voice and then go to your room and open the drawer you used to stash the drugs.’
