Boss Girl: A gripping crime thriller of danger, determination and one unstoppable woman

by Emma Tallon

  Freddie bit back the retort that he needed something a lot stronger than tea. It was the right suggestion – he needed to keep his head clear. There was so much going on right now, so many puzzles to solve, he couldn’t afford to be anything other than mentally sharp. He tried to curb his temper. It wasn’t Anna’s fault; he shouldn’t be short with her. He followed her into the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar whilst she put on the kettle.

  ‘It’s just one thing after another at the moment,’ he said.

  ‘I know. Do you want to talk about it?’ she asked.

  ‘Not really.’ Freddie stared into her eyes intensely until she looked away. Even despite all of this, the break-in, the money, Dale’s murder, the one thing that was burning him up more than anything was knowing that Anna was still keeping secrets from him. Her secrets were like an invisible wedge between them and he couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread. He needed to find out what she was hiding, and soon.

  21

  Paul walked down the cobbled path towards their Portakabin by the docks. A couple of the dockhands waved in greeting as he passed. Years they’d had this place. It was his brother’s favourite venue to conduct business, though not somewhere they took clients. The club offices were the warm, inviting rooms they used for meetings. The Portakabin was no frills and starkly furnished, but the views over the river were pretty spectacular. It was Freddie’s sanctuary, somewhere he frequented even more often when he was feeling stressed.

  The bright sunlight glittered on the moody waters of the Thames and he breathed in deeply. He understood why Freddie liked it so much down here. It wasn’t exactly fresh air, but there was a freedom in watching the life on the river and in feeling the breeze on your face.

  Paul opened the door and smiled in greeting as he saw Freddie seated behind the desk.

  ‘Alright, Paul, what’s ’appening?’ Freddie said.

  ‘Not a lot, Fred. Just met with Fraser to get an update and it’s not looking good.’ He sighed and sat in the chair opposite Freddie. ‘There’s really not much to tell you.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m hearing that a lot lately,’ Freddie replied, resignation in his voice.

  ‘I’ve seen to it that Jay’s been sorted. The Old Bill had nothing on him; they were holding him on a thin excuse. Toby did his thing and made sure he was released. They’re still hoping they’ll find evidence from what I hear.’

  ‘Which of course they won’t, because he didn’t do it,’ Freddie added.

  ‘Exactly. So that’s sorted. There’s no leads whatsoever on Dale’s case, not a single print or trace of any DNA other than what Fraser said he’d expect to find. Handles have all been wiped clean so they ain’t rookies.’

  ‘Anything on who broke into my house?’ Freddie asked. ‘That is one fucker I need to find.’ His voice turned hard. ‘I won’t rest until I have him in my grasp. No one breaks into my home, and then on top of that raids my fucking bank account. I mean, what is that cunt even thinking? I’m Freddie Tyler. What is he on, a death wish?’

  ‘He must be, Fred,’ Paul said, shaking his head. ‘I just can’t make sense of it. Do you have any ideas at all as to who it could be?’

  ‘No. Well…’ Freddie paused. ‘Not exactly. I mean, things have been peaceful for a while. No one already in play would stand to profit from all this and no one new would have the knowledge to pull all this off.’ He breathed out heavily. ‘The only thing out of the ordinary right now is Gambino. He’s rocked up this side of the pond, rolled out the red carpet then suddenly clammed up. No explanation, nothing. Now that’s odd.’ Freddie’s gaze was unwavering as he waited for Paul to process this. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, before blowing the smoke out into the air. It curled upward.

  ‘I can’t see it,’ Paul said eventually.

  ‘Nah, I can’t either,’ Freddie admitted, shifting his gaze out of the window over to the river. ‘But at this point, I think we have to consider every possibility. At the end of the day, he’s the only wild card and he also has the know-how. I can’t rule it out.’

  There was another knock on the door and Freddie called for whoever it was to enter. Seamus came in with an eager grin and joined them, sitting down in the last available chair around the desk.

  ‘Alright, Freddie, Paul.’ He nodded at them each in turn.

  ‘Hello, Seamus,’ Paul greeted him back.

  ‘You wanted to see me?’ Seamus asked, shifting his attention to Freddie.

  ‘Yeah, I’ve got a job for you.’ Freddie eyed the young man in front of him. Every day he was proving more and more that he had been a good candidate to bring into the fold. Eager, loyal and hardworking with a stomach of steel when it came to even the dirtiest of jobs. He was exactly the sort of person Freddie needed around. And he had proven his trustworthiness time and time again. Freddie was ready to try him out with a bit more responsibility.

  ‘One of our dealers is no longer around. Another man of ours called Jay will be picking up the slack, but I need you to help him out. You’ll be picking up deliveries once a week from a warehouse – I’ll give you the address – and meeting him with them at the Somers Town estate. You’ll be helping him to cut and re-bag the product, before he takes it on to the appropriate people. I can’t stress enough how important it is that you aren’t stopped for any reason whilst you have the packages on you.’ Freddie gave him a long, serious look.

  ‘Of course. What is the product exactly? Is it the funny flour?’ Seamus asked, in his melodic Irish accent. He was pretty sure they were talking about cocaine, but he wanted to be sure. He didn’t want to show up talking about the wrong thing and look like an idiot.

  ‘It is indeed, mate. Makes up the majority of our drugs trade these days.’ Freddie picked up a pen and wrote something down on a scrap of paper. He handed it to Seamus. ‘The top one is the address for the warehouse; the bottom is Jay’s address and his phone number. Save the number, memorise the addresses and then burn that. Got it?’

  ‘Got it,’ Seamus confirmed. He folded it up and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans.

  ‘Pick up the packages at 10 a.m. tomorrow, then take them straight over. Jay will be expecting you. Now, if something happens and you get caught—’

  ‘I say nothin’ at all, Mr Tyler,’ Seamus interrupted. ‘I don’t know you and I don’t know how those packages got in me bag. And then I call me da, which is a normal thing to do, who will then tip you the wink and sort me out a brief.’ Seamus nodded in confirmation of his words.

  The corner of Freddie’s mouth turned up in a wry smile. ‘Good man. That’s the ticket.’

  * * *

  Freddie drove home distracted by a million questions chasing each other around his brain and was surprised when he saw he had reached his destination. He supposed he must have been on autopilot. Parking the car, he took the lift up to the top floor. He was taking an evening off from the clubs and had left them in the hands of their more than capable managers. Everything else could now wait until morning. Tanya and Tom were coming over for drinks and he wanted to enjoy pretending that he and Anna were just a normal couple with normal problems for once.

  Freddie walked in and almost jumped out of his skin as Tanya screeched at him down the hall.

  ‘Freddie! Get out! Close your eyes!’ She ran towards him and twisted him round.

  ‘What? What the hell is going on?’ he asked, letting her turn him away, but not quite sure why.

  ‘Quick, in the bedroom!’ Tanya shouted back down the hallway in the direction she had come from. To Anna, Freddie assumed.

  ‘I hate to burst your bubble, Tan, but I have actually seen her naked before you know, if it’s her modesty you’re trying to save,’ he said drily.

  ‘Yeah, I actually got that, Fred. It was a bit of a giveaway when you moved in together.’ She rolled her eyes at him dramatically. ‘Your birthday present arrived early – we were just having a look at it before Anna hides it from you.’

  ‘What?’ Freddie twisted ou
t of Tanya’s grasp. ‘Let me see.’

  ‘No! It’s a surprise!’ She stepped in his way again, with a face that told him she would stand for no nonsense. ‘Go on, piss off. Tom’s on the balcony, go chill out with him. We’ll be out in a sec.’ Tanya pushed him towards the lounge and disappeared back towards their bedroom.

  Freddie shrugged and made his way out to the balcony to see Tom, as Tanya had so gracefully suggested. With everything going on lately, he’d forgotten it was his birthday coming up. Tom grinned at him as he stepped out.

  ‘Alright, mate? It’s safer out here,’ Tom said with a chuckle. He had overheard the exchange.

  ‘Yeah, seems like it,’ Freddie replied, bemused. He took out his cigarettes and lit one, offering one to Tom. Tom took one and thanked Freddie, lighting up and leaning on the edge of the balcony next to him. The pair stared out across London.

  Freddie loved standing on the balcony listening to the sounds of life buzzing away below him, the traffic and sirens, the quiet dull beat of music coming from somewhere. He could watch the twinkling lights from buildings and street lamps and the endless train of cars for hours. It soothed him, the same way the view at the docks did. He really didn’t want to leave this place; the thought saddened him. But if it was the only way Anna would feel safe again then there was no choice. He blew out a trail of smoke and watched it curl away into the night air.

  ‘How’s things with you?’ He turned his body towards Tom and studied his face. Although Tom had repeatedly expressed that he was fine, Freddie wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure that the knowledge and involvement he’d had so far wasn’t going to turn him into a nervous wreck. It could easily happen. It had happened to many men before him and it would to many more in the future. Not everyone was cut out to cope with this life.

  Tom nodded. ‘Everything’s good.’ He knew Freddie was watching him. Everything really was fine. He had spent a lot of time coming to terms with the way things had gone down. All he was trying to do now was stay close and watch out for the next opportunity.

  ‘Good.’ Freddie gave a curt nod and turned back towards the view. ‘Everything on schedule with the build?’

  ‘As close as it can be,’ replied Tom. ‘I’ve spoken to Ralph about moving the opening a bit, but only by a couple of days, nothing major. We lost a little time with late material deliveries, but we’ve made most of it up.’

  ‘Brilliant. That’s good to know.’ Freddie had a lot of plans for the businesses that were going to take root in the new complex. He and Ralph stood to make a lot of money, so long as everything ran smoothly. It was even a completely legal venture, all above board – if you overlooked the shortcuts on the building paperwork, of course.

  ‘You can come in now,’ Tanya’s voice wafted through to them from the lounge. She was holding a bottle of champagne. ‘Bubbles, boys?’

  ‘Yeah, go on then,’ Tom replied with a grin, and the two men stepped inside.

  Anna and Tanya were standing with a young woman that Freddie hadn’t seen before. He deduced that this must be Izobel, Anna’s new friend. Anna had told him she would be inviting her this evening to meet them all. He smiled in greeting.

  ‘Freddie, this is Izobel,’ Anna introduced them with a warm smile.

  ‘Ahh, yes, nice to meet you,’ Freddie said pleasantly, as Tanya handed him a freshly poured glass of fizz. ‘How’s things?’

  ‘Great, thank you,’ Izobel replied.

  ‘Anna mentioned you’re new to the city. Where is it you’re living?’ Freddie asked, curious to learn more about this girl. He understood why Anna wanted to befriend her; he remembered when it was Anna who was the new girl on the block. Izobel seemed nice enough too, but he was still always wary of newcomers. He had to be.

  ‘My flat is in Finsbury Park,’ Izobel replied. ‘It’s not much, just one bedroom, but it’s home for now.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s a bit bare at the moment though. I was actually going to ask you’ – she turned back to Anna – ‘where can I go to buy some nice things for around the house? I want to make it more homely. I have the next couple of days off work, so I wanted to do some shopping.’

  ‘Well, I guess it depends on what sort of stuff you want and your budget,’ Anna said. ‘There are a few places not too far from you. I tell you what, I’m not up to much tomorrow. I can come with you to look around if you like?’

  ‘Oh, that would be fun,’ Izobel exclaimed. ‘Yes, let’s do that. A girls’ day.’ She smiled happily.

  ‘Brilliant. Tanya, are you free?’ Anna asked.

  ‘No, I’ve got too much on, sorry,’ she replied.

  ‘OK, just the two of us then.’ Izobel clapped her hands together and raised her glass. ‘I make a toast, to new friends and fun times.’ Her eyes were bright as she looked at Anna.

  ‘New friends and fun times,’ everyone chanted.

  Tanya sipped at her champagne and watched Izobel thoughtfully. She had been excited to meet her, this new friend of Anna’s, but there was something about her she didn’t like. She’d seen the look of annoyance flash across Izobel’s face when Anna had asked her if she could join them. And when the girl had made the toast to new friends, she hadn’t once looked at the rest of them. Tanya and Anna had many friends, both together and apart, but Tanya was getting the feeling that this new one wanted Anna all to herself. She filed this thought away to talk to Anna about later. It could wait for tonight.

  22

  Anna checked herself over in the mirror with a critical eye. She felt like crap so had made a big effort with her appearance in the hope it would make her feel better. Her thick, dark hair shone where she had styled it to perfection and her make-up was flawless. She puckered her red lips and checked that they hadn’t smudged anywhere they shouldn’t. Satisfied that she looked as good as she could, despite being thoroughly exhausted, she stood up straight and ran her hands down her dress.

  The buzzer sounded and she skipped down the hallway to answer it.

  ‘Hey, it’s me! I have a taxi waiting, are you ready to go?’ a voice crackled through the line.

  ‘Yes, just about. I’ll be down in a sec.’ Anna quickly grabbed her handbag from the kitchen side, slipped on her shoes and travelled down to meet her new friend.

  The lift doors opened and Izobel stood waiting with an excited grin.

  ‘OK, let’s go! I have so many ideas about what I want to find.’

  ‘Well, let’s get started.’ Anna stepped into the black cab and gave the cabby the first destination. Izobel joined her, closed the car door and settled into the seat opposite as the cab pulled away. As the cab moved into the traffic, Izobel rummaged around in her large handbag and pulled out a bottle of something.

  ‘I took the liberty of making something special.’ She handed over the evil-looking green smoothie and Anna pulled a face.

  ‘What is that?’ she asked warily.

  ‘I know what’s wrong with you,’ she said, lifting an eyebrow. ‘I used to be a nurse. And of course, I’m a woman,’ she added. ‘This is a special recipe that my grandmother used to make for women in the village who suffered with morning sickness. They called her a miracle worker.’

  Anna felt her heart skip a beat and grow cold. She squeezed the phone she was holding in one hand, hard. There was a heavy silence. ‘How did you know?’ she asked eventually. She hadn’t told a soul except for Tanya, not even Freddie. Even Tanya only knew because she had been the one to suggest taking the test.

  Izobel rolled her eyes. ‘I’m not blind,’ she said, laughing. She held the drink out to Anna. ‘Seriously, try it. It doesn’t taste amazing, admittedly. But it really does work. Just knock it back in one.’

  ‘Really?’ Anna wasn’t sure, but then again she really did feel terrible. ‘What’s in it?’

  ‘Mostly vegetables and herbs. Some egg. But it is the way it is cooked that releases all the vitamins to work in a way that helps to balance your extra hormones. It calms the stomach.’ She nodded encouragingly. ‘Go on, drink it all
down so it can get to work. Then rest, and by the time we get to the shops you’ll feel as good as new.’

  Anna grimaced but decided to give the vile concoction a go. After all, what did she have to lose? The worst outcome was that it didn’t stay down, and after a couple of close calls she now always travelled with a plastic bag, just in case. Closing her eyes she tipped the bottle and gulped it down quickly without stopping. The taste was horrendous, like rotten cabbage on a hot day, but she ignored that. Old family medicinal recipes were hardly going to come sugar-coated.

  ‘There.’ She passed the empty bottle back to Izobel and shuddered. ‘Let’s just hope it works.’

  ‘Oh, it will,’ Izobel said. ‘Why don’t you rest?’ she offered, her tone soft. ‘Close your eyes a while and I’ll wake you up when we get there.’

  Anna was about to protest that she felt fine, but suddenly she felt even more tired than she had before. A wave of exhausted nausea washed over her. For the hundredth time she wished she could have been one of those lucky women who carried babies easily; the ones who told everyone that pregnancy actually gave them energy instead of sucking it away, and who sailed through without a problem in the world. But that was not the case for her. She had been suffering more and more as the days went on. She was surprised no one else had noticed really, though Freddie had been so distracted lately she wasn’t sure he’d even notice if she dyed her hair pink and tattooed her face. She rubbed her forehead and the cab span a little before her eyes. Perhaps she did need to close her eyes for a bit, like Izobel said. It was refreshing to be around someone that she didn’t have to hide her true condition from.

  She relaxed back in the wide seat and leaned against the tinted window. Closing her eyes, she could taste the bitter flavour of the drink still in her mouth. She needed water, a drink to make it go away. She tried to ask Izobel if she had one, but she suddenly wasn’t able to get the words out.