Wes moved his hand across the table to touch her arm. Becky was so self-absorbed that she barely noticed it. He was a good listener, Wes. She thought his sensitivity probably explained why he was so good with music.
‘What will happen now? With Matt, I mean. Do you think he’ll make it up with you?’
‘No, the little rat always loved Harriet. I should have known it. I thought I could win him over, but she’s like a rash. Once you’ve got it you can’t get rid of it. I could kill him, honestly I could.’
‘Relationships, eh? Can’t live with them, can’t live without them!’
‘What about you Wes? What’s your story? We know very little about you other than that you play guitar and move around a lot. Is there anyone in your life?’
This was uncomfortable ground for Wes. He preferred to talk about other people. It kept the spotlight well away from him.
‘I’m a free spirit,’ he smiled. ‘There was someone special ... but, well, that didn’t work out for me. And so I’m a wanderer, I travel the globe and wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.’
‘You were good on stage tonight. Being a performer must be handy for meeting people?’
‘Yes, it’s great. You meet all sorts of people doing what I do. Some of them good, some of them trouble, if you know what I mean.’
Becky didn’t know what he meant, but she dismissed it as a figure of speech. There was an awkward silence. Neither of them had really thought things through beyond her calming down and getting away from the immediate stress of the fight in the street.
‘How’s your head? It looks sore, we should get that looked at. Does it hurt?’
Becky felt the back of her head.
‘Ooh, there’s a bump. Is it bloody, it feels a bit wet back there actually?’
Wes, gently placed his fingers on her head and moved them gingerly through her hair.
‘That feels nasty. Any double vision or anything like that?’
‘It was a bit of a crack when I fell on the pavement, it’s nothing a paracetamol or two won’t sort out. There’s one of those green, flashing crosses at the end of the road, can you see it? That’s a pharmacist isn’t it? Shall we see if it’s open?’
‘Good idea,’ Wes said. ‘Maybe we can get some antiseptic there too, and I can clean it up for you?’
‘Thanks Wes, I appreciate it. It comes to something when the people who are supposed to be your mates abandon you with someone you’ve barely met and you turn out to be the kindest one out of the lot!’
‘It’s my pleasure,’ Wes smiled, ‘Anything I can do to help.’
They drank up their coffees and Wes left a five euro note tucked under his cup.
‘Thanks for paying,’ Becky said, ‘I haven’t got any money on me. Cait’s paying for everything.’
‘Well, they paid me in cash this evening after I’d done my session. It was good money actually, so my treat.’
Wes held out his arm as he stood up to leave. Becky took up the offer and placed her hand on his biceps.
‘Blimey, you work out!’
‘Ha, yes, I have to keep in shape for my stage work.’
Wes was pleased that she’d noticed. He picked up his guitar case with his left hand and they made their way up the street, towards the pharmacy.
‘What’s the deal with Caitlen?’ he asked. ‘She’s very generous, but why is she paying for everything? Has she won the lottery?’
‘Something like that!’ Becky laughed, feeling the tensing of his biceps as they established a steady walking rhythm. She didn’t normally go for guys who worked out, but she liked it, it was new and quite exciting to her.
‘Have you heard of bitcoin?’ she asked.
‘A bit. I don’t know much. I know some people have got very rich from it. Why?’
‘She has bitcoin. She bought it several years ago, and now it’s worth a fortune.’
‘Wow, lucky Caitlen. How much is she worth?’
‘Almost half a million dollars – or pounds – I can’t remember which.’
She felt Wes’s biceps tense hard when she said that. For a few seconds, it was rock solid.
‘Either way, it’s a lot of money. This holiday was supposed to be a big treat for us all. Look how it turned out.’
‘How do you even spend bitcoin? Do you keep it in your wallet?’
Wes was immediately interested in the topic.
‘I know very little about it. Other than that it’s not like real money. The reason we’re all here is that she shared out her passwords with us. I’ve got two words to remember, pasta and shipwreck. It’s crazy stuff, she had this big master password made up of lots of random words. And that’s how she gets her hands on all that cash. Oh, and she has some USB drive or bitcoin gadget which she keeps all the digital money on. You can’t get at it unless you have the full code. It’s crazy if you ask me. Your money is much safer in the bank!’
‘Wow, it seems mad, I know nothing about it. So, I assume those two words that you have are useless without everybody else’s, is that right?’
‘Yes, but here’s the thing. Can you keep a secret Wes, I’m not proud of myself for this?’
‘Yes of course I can, Becky. You’ve had a tough enough night already, I’m not going to make it worse by sharing your deepest, darkest secrets.’
‘When Matt and I were going to get married ...’
She stopped dead in the street.
‘I guess that’s not happening now is it? The bastard!’
Sensing that Becky was about to head off at a tangent, Wes diverted her.
‘Look, the pharmacy is shut, but there’s a supermarket across the street there. They’ll stock some basic first aid kit. What were you saying about the bitcoin?’
They continued walking towards the supermarket.
‘Oh yes, I was saying, I’m not proud of it, but I took a photo of all her passwords. We were at her house and she was sharing them out privately. And she just left this big list of them out on the table. I couldn’t resist it. I was angry with her at first, I wanted her to offer to chip in for the wedding. Well, I don’t need to worry about that any more. I can’t believe I actually suggested to Matt that we should steal some of it. Can you believe that? I must have missed my meds that day.’
‘You mean you can actually get your hands on all that cash with just Caitlen’s USB device and the list of passwords?’
‘Yes! It’s remarkable isn’t it? She’s terrified she’ll lose it all. Who the hell wants to buy bitcoin if it’s that unsafe? I’ll stick with the banks thank you, at least you know where you are with them. What’s the occasional financial crash between friends?’
They entered the supermarket. It was quiet, they were able to locate what they were after straight away.
‘Here, cotton wool, disinfectant and plasters. Everything we need.’
‘You sure you’re okay to pay for it, Wes? It seems a shame to spend the money you just earned on something as stupid as that.’
‘It’s no problem, Becky, honestly. I’m really enjoying our time together. Do you still have that photo?’
‘Yes, it’s on my phone.’
Becky touched the pocket of her jacket, instinctively checking that it was there.
‘I should delete it really, I shouldn’t have taken it. Poor old Cait thinks she’s created her own Fort Knox and here I am wandering around with the keys to the castle. It appeals to the devil in me though. All those fuckers desperately trying to remember their bit of the password to protect Caitlen from some Russian hacker or massive heist, and here I am with the key to all of it. It’s ludicrous, Caitlen should know better. Talk about misplaced trust. I reckon if push came to shove, we’d all steal her money if we could.’
‘Don’t delete that photo for now,’ Wes said, paying for the first aid kit at the counter. ‘We should show it to Caitlen, maybe give her a fright. It might encourage her to take more care. I mean, at least she can trust you. Imagine if it fell into the hands of someone th
at she couldn’t trust?’
Wes seemed keen to change the subject after they left the supermarket. He got her talking about Matt again and the anger was back straight away, all thought of the bitcoin and the photograph long gone.
As Becky raged about Matt’s treachery and described in detail the things that she’d like to do to punish him and Harriet, Wes’s mind was elsewhere completely. All he could think about was Caitlen and her incredible good fortune.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Benidorm: June
‘Where have we been? Do you think it slipped out of my bra?’
‘You had it taped in didn’t you?’
‘How important is that device? Can I still get my money without it?’
‘Yes, but you need that big code word. I hope you trust all of your friends, because you’re going to need those passwords back now. The full set of codewords is the only thing that can recover your money if you’ve lost the device. It’s a lot easier with them than without them.’
‘The only time I left my bra ... damn, it was hanging off the back of your sofa while I was showering. I took it off last night before I went to bed. I didn’t even think to check it, my mind was elsewhere.’
‘Well, I haven’t got it, it was perfectly safe in my apartment. Maybe it fell onto the floor?’
‘I’d have seen it, surely? And we left the door ajar too didn’t we? Just in case there was any movement from the others out in the corridor.’
‘Surely nobody could have found it in that time, Caitlen? I was getting dressed in the bedroom while you showered. It can only have been unattended there for five minutes?’
‘Well, I sure as hell need that password from everybody now. But will the buggers let me have their secret words after everything that’s happened? They probably hate me so much, they’ll deny me just to be spiteful.’
‘We should retrace our steps and make sure it didn’t fall out in the street. Is there any chance of that, do you think?’
‘Hello darlin’, can uzz get yooz both a coffee?’
One of the guys who’d been entertained by the bra searching had come over to chance his luck.
‘Fuck off!’ Caitlen screamed at him.
‘Jesus luv, I didn’t know yooz were both lezzers!’
Caitlen stood up, furious now and stared angrily into his eyes.
‘Shut the fuck up with the luv stuff. Just because I don’t want to shag a spotty, greasy dickhead of a man who thinks a woman checking her bra is a come-on to everybody with a pair of balls does not make me a lesbian. Alright?!’
‘Yeah, yeah, sure luv.’
He backed off and returned to the table.
There were sniggers and Caitlen caught the tail end of a ‘time of the month’ comment. It wasn’t the best time to test her. She was feeling furious enough at her own stupidity, losing the precious device. She could see her new fortune going up in flames already. So when she heard the comment, the chuckling idiots were just the sort of target that she needed to vent. Before Gina could stop her, she ran towards their low, wicker table – on which were placed eight pint glasses and various discarded plates on which the debris from fry-ups had been left – and she flipped it over, sending everything crashing to the ground.
‘And this is what happens when a woman is on her period and she has to listen to a bunch of tossers like you sniggering away.’
Caitlen’s face was pressed right up to the man’s, as if it was a face-off. Observing the owner of the establishment head directly for the phone, the group of young men decided to back down. They each quickly placed a ten euro note on the table next to theirs and made their exit.
Caitlen was charged with adrenalin, but seeing them walk away made her burst into tears. Gina walked directly over to her, stunned at what she’d just witnessed.
‘Hell, Caitlen, remind me never to piss you off. I take it you’re not on your period, by the way? You never get to see scenes like that in the Bodyform adverts, do you?’
Caitlen burst out laughing, a stream of mucus shooting out as she half-cried and half-shrieked. This is why she loved this woman. Gina was just the type of friend she needed in her life. Her new life. The one she’d just screwed over because she couldn’t keep a small electronic device safe.
A police car drew up outside the beachfront bar.
‘Shit, Cait, that’s for you I think.’
Caitlen’s focus had been entirely on her immediate environment, it was only when Gina said those words that she began to take in the impact of what she’d done. For starters, there was the mess on the floor. Several of the older people had stood up and backed away, scared that they were about to witness violence of some sort. The owner was used to English idiots kicking off on the beachfront, so he had the local police on speed dial.
‘Oh, I am so sorry everybody ...’
Caitlen looked around, horrified at what people must be thinking.
She moved over towards the upturned table to begin to start clearing up, but one of the police officers had now taken her by the arm. The second officer was speaking to the owner, who was nodding in Caitlen’s direction.
‘It’ll be alright, Cait, don’t worry, they’ll just take you to the station.’
Caitlen nodded, aware now that she would have to take any punishment on the chin.
‘English por favor?’ Gina spoke to the first officer.
He shook his head.
‘You go to the station with them, I’ll find an interpreter. I’ll settle up with the owner and pay for the damage, it’ll be okay Caitlen, honestly, they’ll just do the paperwork and you’ll be on your way. I’ll meet you at the police station, okay?’
Caitlen was crying again now. She despised herself for what she’d just done. The thought that people might have been scared of her horrified her. The damage that she’d done to somebody else’s property was unforgivable. And it was all because of her own stupidity. How could she have been such an idiot?
‘I’ll pay you back for the damage,’ Caitlen said as she was gently guided over to the police car. And please pay for everybody’s food and leave a big tip too. And say sorry to the owner ...’
The car door was slammed before she could finish off her list. Gina had got the gist. She was sorry.
The second police officer had closed his notebook now and looked like he was finishing off with the owner.
‘English por favor?’
Gina tried her luck again. She felt quite capable of dealing with everyday Spanish requirements, but lacked the lingual confidence to shoot for a legal conversation in Spanish.
‘A little,’ the owner said, as the second officer shrugged.
‘Will you press charges?’ she asked.
The owner shrugged, he didn’t understand what she was asking.
‘Will my friend be in a lot of trouble?’ she rephrased. ‘We would like to apologise and give you some euros.’
‘It is okay,’ the owner continued. He explained something in Spanish to the officer, who nodded.
‘Your friend is – how do you say it – sad, I can see. The policeman he must write the papers – do you understand?’
‘Do the paperwork, yes, I understand,’ Gina nodded.
‘But she will not be in trouble, she is very sad – upset, I think you say – I can see.’
‘Thank you,’ Gina said, touching his arm and genuinely grateful for his compassion. ‘I will come back today with some money to pay you for all this ...’ She gesticulated to make it clear what she meant. The owner nodded, getting the gist of what she was suggesting.
‘I have sixty-four euros now, let me pay for all these meals,’ she continued, speaking much louder now. There were about eight people in the beachfront area, she reckoned that would take care of most of it.
There was general approval all round. Only the English would consider a free morning coffee a fair exchange for a fight breaking out right next to their table.
Gina shook the hand of the owner, handed him the euros, th
anked him profusely then walked over to assist the waiter who’d come out to start clearing up the mess. The police officer surveyed the scene, nodded, exchanged a few words with the owner and walked over to the car. Caitlen was staring through the rear window, looking very sorry for herself. She gave a half-hearted wave to Gina as the car moved off.
‘Where is the police station?’ Gina asked.
The owner gave her directions and she was relieved that it was a reasonable walking distance. It was not a service she’d had to engage with since arriving in Benidorm. Having managed to put the table back and assist with the clearing up of the mess, Gina was about to leave the bar when she noticed that Caitlen had left her phone at their table.
She walked over to pick it up and put it somewhere safe. Gina did a double-take when she noticed what time it was, then saw that Caitlen had not yet adjusted the time to take account of the one hour difference with the UK. The phone was unlocked still, so instinctively, Gina opened up the settings and manually changed the settings so that it displayed the correct Spanish time. Not wanting to interfere any more, Gina locked the phone so that it couldn’t be tampered with any further.
‘She’ll thank me for that later,’ Gina thought as she walked off, ‘I can’t believe she put up with it like that for so long.’
As Gina walked along the beachfront, she pulled out her own phone and found the number of an interpreter that she’d used on a couple of occasions to sort out the contract on her apartment and take care of a few basic banking issues. Fortunately, the interpreter was available, and Gina arranged to meet him up at the police station. They’d have Caitlen out of there in no time. It was one of the joys of being in Europe, she’d get a rap on the knuckles, a short cool-off time in the cells and she’d be out of there by mid-afternoon.
It was a twenty-five minute uphill walk to the police station, Gina reckoned she’d manage it in twenty if she got a move on. She considered how anxious Caitlen must be feeling with all those Spanish voices and little idea what was going on around her. She took a left turn off the beachfront to begin her journey, winding across the town to her destination. The streets were becoming busy already, the sun had reared its head and was threatening a punishing day of heat and brightness.
Friends Who Lie Page 14
