Dirty Dealings

by Gillian Godden

  ‘Not now, Ralph. Please,’ Tony pleaded. Wasn’t this enough to cope with without Jake finding out she had been in Paris with her lover ripping them all off?

  ‘Yes. Now, Tony. That woman has got to go. She is a ticking time bomb and I don’t want her around to stir up anymore shit. Show him it.’

  ‘What’s happened, Tony? Jake was puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Ralph was shouting or why Tony was pleading with him. ‘What recording? Just what is it you think you’re protecting me from?’

  ‘Sharon, mate. After you left Paris, I found out that she has been ripping us off and telling her bloke and his pals all about the money laundering. I’ll get the recording for you. Believe me, Jake, I never wanted you to find out like this.’ Leaving the room, Tony went into the bedroom to get the recording. He had brought it to the apartment because he didn’t want it found at home. The safe in the apartment was secure and as far away as possible from prying eyes.

  Jake froze as he stared at the screen. There was his wife with another man. The very woman that he loved had betrayed them all. Tears fell down his cheeks. He felt sick inside.

  ‘Ralph. All I can say is that I’m sorry that all of this shit has landed on your doorstep. You’re right, I had an idea there was a man on the scene and yes, I hoped once it was out of her system everything would return to normal. I admit that. I’m not a weak man, Ralph, you know that. But, I suppose like all of us in this room, we have our weaknesses and well … Sharon was … is mine. We’ve been together since we were kids.’ Jake’s shoulders shook as he started to sob. Ralph and Tony looked on as tears rolled down Jake’s face. He didn’t seem able to stop himself. He stood up and turned his back on them both, trying to compose himself.

  ‘That was a close shave tonight for you both. Personally, I am only guilty by association. It’s Jake’s wife and your club. What do you say, Tony?’ Ralph’s tone dripped with sarcasm and disdain for Sharon.

  ‘I agree, Ralph. I don’t know why she has done this, I can only think she has been influenced by that guy.’ Tony tried sparing Jake’s feelings but it was impossible. ‘We need to find her. Where do you think she has gone, Jake?’ Tony hadn’t wanted Jake to find out like this. But Jake’s bubble was well and truly burst now and, what was more Ralph was blaming him for the situation.

  Turning around, Jake shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I doubt she has gone to family, knowing that is the first place we would look. She hasn’t got any clothes with her and the only money she’s got is what’s in her purse. We could easily trace her through her bank cards, I suppose.’

  ‘Bollocks!’ They both turned and looked at Ralph. ‘That is utter crap. Everyone was screaming, shouting and swimming their way to the exit. No one was paying any attention to anyone else. That is why they call it blind panic! Have you checked your safe, Tony?’

  Daylight was dawning on Tony. He put his hands to his face and rubbed it. ‘No, I haven’t checked the safe or the tills. Sharon has the keys to the safe. She has also had a couple of hours to go home, pack and fuck off to God knows where. Everyone was outside, standing on the pavement. And where was that slippery bitch and her musketeers? As drugged up as she was, she knew it was over!’

  ‘I don’t care if she was off her face. All that commotion would have sobered her up.’ Ralph was angry, but made a fair point. He had obviously been weighing all of this up in his mind, hence the silence. ‘We’ll be able to trace her through her credit cards. That money won’t last forever. So, wherever she has gone, we will find her.’ Ralph was angry and determined to bring Sharon to justice, whether it hurt Jake or not.

  Tony opened the door and made his way down the stairs. The cold water on his feet made him wince. Now he was warm, it felt even worse. On opening the safe in his office, he saw that Ralph was right. Running his hands through his hair he stared at the safe. Oh, God, no! It was empty! Sharon and her friends had taken everything!

  Running out to the bar, Tony saw the till drawers were open. There was some cash on the floor, floating in the water. But yes, they were empty, as well. Ralph was right. What with that and any money she still had from what she had stolen from the casino, there would be no way of tracing Sharon. She wouldn’t need credit cards with all that cash.

  CHAPTER 17

  THE FALLOUT

  As he walked through the door the next morning, Tony was greeted by Francesca. She had hardly slept all night.

  ‘Tony, I’ve been so worried about you. How is everything? More to the point, how are you? Your beautiful club is ruined. And the police accusing you of drugs.’ Francesca welcomed him with open arms. And Tony was more than happy to find solace in them.

  ‘The club doesn’t matter, Francesca. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed. It needed a make-over anyway.’ Tony sounded almost nonchalant; he walked over and picked up Adam. ‘How is my big guy?’

  ‘Do they know what started it? What set off the alarms? Where was the fire, Tony?’ Francesca persisted even though she could see Tony didn’t want to talk about it.

  ‘I don’t know, Fran. They are looking into it. My guess is that someone was having a crafty fag somewhere and set the alarms off. Or it was some kind of practical joke. I don’t know. I’m just shattered. I’m going to get my head down for an hour, if that’s okay.’

  ‘Of course. Go and get some sleep.’ After wearily climbing the stairs, Tony threw himself face down on the bed. He was physically and mentally drained.

  ‘Do you think that’s what happened, Elle? Doesn’t Tony have smoking rooms in the club? I have seen people smoking in there. Dear God, I could have lost him. What would have happened to Adam if Tony and I had been in the fire?’ Francesca’s mind had worked overtime, although none of it made any sense.

  ‘You’re tired too, Fran. It was probably just some drunk who pushed the fire buttons or something. We’ll find everything out when the insurers go in. It will all be sorted out in no time.’ Trying to soothe Francesca’s concerns, Elle put her arms around her. ‘Nothing was going to happen to you or Tony. There was no fire. These things happen. Those alarm things can be so sensitive. I am always having to stop mine from going off when I’m cooking.’

  ‘You’re right, Elle. No harm done. I am always having to do the same.’

  Francesca felt at ease now that Tony was home. Last night had been such a shock in more ways than one. Everything would be okay now. She had been silly to worry and Elle was right. Smoke alarms did seem to have a life of their own.

  Tony eased himself up on his elbows. He was bleary eyed but beginning to stir. He still lay face down, fully dressed, on the bed. He looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that there was a cup of coffee there, too, that had gone cold. Then it dawned on him it was 5 p.m. God, he had been asleep all day!

  Pulling himself to the edge of the bed, Tony sat up and rubbed his face to wake himself up even more. They had talked for hours last night. It was all ifs and buts, but most definitely maybe. Sharon could have got them all arrested.

  Tony heard noises coming from downstairs, but decided to shower first before he went to see what was going on.

  ***

  ‘Oh, love, you look better. I was just going to put some food aside for you. I did come up once or twice but you were spark out.’ Francesca started setting his place at the table.

  ‘Long night, love. And now there is a lot to do. The club will be closed for a couple of weeks. It’s a good excuse to have everything refurbished, anyway. My base is mainly the casino, so no change there. Come here.’ Cupping her heart shaped face in his hands, Tony kissed her. It was a heartfelt kiss. Things could have gone so horribly wrong last night.

  ‘Oh, get a grip, Lambrianu. Leave her alone and put her down.’ Julie was sitting at the table with a bored expression on her face. ‘Read this if you want something to do with your hands.’ She was waving a newspaper in each hand.

  ‘Yes, Dad. You have to see this. That poor commissioner is all over the newspapers. God, there are going to b
e a lot of red-faced coppers at the station.’ Katie was as eager as Julie for Tony to read them.

  The commissioner was pasted all over the front pages, outside of the club. Another picture was of him face-to-face with the female arresting officer. His face looked angry and the camera had caught him just at the right angle. The snarl on his face was better than any headline they could have come up with.

  Of course, the main headlines were about ‘Lambrianu’s nightclub in fire scare’. There were lots of pictures of sodden customers standing on the pavements.

  ‘Bloody hell, Julie. Have you read this?’ Tony flopped into a dining chair and carried on reading. The headline on one of the papers was earth-shattering: ‘Commissioner Davies involved in drug arrest’. Running his hands through his damp hair, Tony looked across the table towards Julie. ‘Has Ralph seen this?’

  ‘Yes, course he has. He hasn’t been sleeping all day like you, Goldilocks. He’s been busy apologising and wiping the arse of that commissioner.’

  ‘I had better go and see him. Help him out. Anyone heard from Jake?’

  Julie gave Tony a sideways glance. It was pretty obvious that Ralph had filled her in on all of the details and she knew everything. ‘No, he’s probably tired, like you.’ Again, Julie’s stare said it all. Whatever Ralph had Jake doing today, it wasn’t to be discussed around the dining table in front of Francesca and the kids.

  ‘Oh, Papa, we were so worried about you. No wonder you’re tired, you must be stressed out. What is all this about drugs? Where did that come from?’

  Again, Julie and Tony exchanged glances as Scarlet asked the obvious. It was all over the newspapers. There was no escaping what had happened.

  ‘Well, if they were going to ask the commissioner to do a drugs test that would have been laughable. When it came back negative he would have had to change dealers!’ Julie’s laugh lightened the atmosphere in the room. ‘Let’s be honest, Tony. They could have tested you, Jake and Ralph and they would have found nothing. Well, apart from Ralph’s vitamins.’ Julie glanced around the room, avoiding Francesca’s eyes.

  Nodding, Tony realised she was right. It was as though there were two conversations in the dining room. Yes. That drug squad could have tested them all and come up with nothing. But if Sharon had still been in the back room, surrounded by all of that cocaine … Well, who knew?

  ‘Absolutely, Julie. I’m sure it will be investigated. Some stupid mistake. But it could have been an expensive one. Once a club is tarred with a drugs label it could be finished. No one wants to go into a club full of junkies. Even if the people inside were taking it, they don’t want to be associated with it. Right, Elle. What are we eating?’

  ‘I’m not staying. I have to see Ralph. Bye, girls.’ Julie kissed Fran on the cheek and started to leave the room.

  ‘Excuse me,’ Tony barked. ‘I do live here, too. Have you noticed, Francesca? She never says goodbye to me. I always have to prompt her.’

  ‘Oh, shut up, you sulky schoolboy.’ Julie walked back and planted a big kiss on his cheek, leaving a bright red imprint from her lipstick. Pouting then laughing, she mocked him some more as she was leaving the room. ‘Bye, Tony.’

  Tony picked up a newspaper and threw it across the room towards the doorway as she was leaving. ‘Bugger off!’

  Julie’s mocking laughter filled the hallway as she left and slammed the door behind her.

  ‘I’m right, though, Fran. You must have noticed, too, Elle,’ he continued, waiting for someone to agree with him. ‘Whenever she leaves, she never mentions me. I do live here, you know.’ Feeling a little disgruntled, Tony looked down at the plate of lamb casserole Elle had put in front of him. He was famished. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten.

  Everyone turned to look at each other over the dining table and smiled. Everything was back to normal. Scarlet started sniggering. ‘Why do you let her get to you, Papa?’

  ‘I’m thinking of charging her rent. She’s here more often than she is at her own house. Every time I turn around, she’s there. God. Even when we’re in bed, Fran, I look over my shoulder in case she’s stood behind me looking at my arse.’

  ‘Tony!’ Francesca held up her hand and pointed towards Adam. ‘And I don’t think the girls appreciate what you’re saying.’

  Again, Scarlet started to laugh; It was infectious and everyone joined in. The very thought of Tony looking over his shoulder in the bedroom was enough to make them all laugh out loud.

  ‘Is she the bogey man, Papa?’ Scarlet carried on.

  ‘Fucking old witch. She gets on my nerves.’

  ‘Tony!’ said Francesca.

  ‘Is Julie a witch?’ Although Adam was eating his dinner he was listening to the conversation.

  ‘I give up.’ Francesca turned to Elle. ‘God knows what kind of things Adam says at school, after being surrounded by this lot.’

  ‘Is Julie a wicked witch, Daddy?’ Adam persisted and looked up at Tony. Everyone waited for Tony to answer, Francesca most of all.

  Looking a little sheepish and smiling so broadly his mouth must have ached, Tony said, ‘No, Adam. Not at all. Aunty Julie is like a good witch, a fairy even.’ He was digging himself a hole, trying to appease Adam.

  Thinking about it, Adam licked his fork. ‘Cos Aunty Julie said you were a prick earlier. Didn’t she, Mummy? What’s a prick, Daddy?’

  Putting her hands to her face, Francesca tried to hide her laughter. But it was too late. Everyone fell about laughing. Adam looked bemused and Tony looked sheepish and red-faced, knowing that he couldn’t answer the question.

  ‘Eat up, Adam. Your dinner will get cold.’ Tony smiled at him as best as he could. Adam seemed unaware of the laughter he had caused and carried on. Only Francesca could hear Tony muttering under his breath about how he was going to wring Julie’s neck!

  ‘How’s things going at the salon, Scarlet? Everything going okay?’ Elle intervened; She could see Tony was drowning and needed help.

  ‘It’s great, Elle. Things are going really well ... and now Julie has been to the salon ...’ Scarlet stopped and looked towards Tony, knowing mentioning Julie would cause him to have another grumble. ‘Well, now Julie has been to the salon, other people are following in her wake. They all want to get a bite of the cherry. Plus, we nicked all of the other salon’s customers. Christopher was right. He said I should start giving out my card and number to people who specifically asked for me.’ Scarlet’s face flushed with excitement as she spoke of her salon. It was good to see that something had finally caught her interest for more than two minutes. ‘Dominic is going to see Chris next week. They are going to discuss him starting up his own business.’ Scarlet’s eyes lit up when she mentioned Dominic’s name. It was clear to Francesca and Elle this was something else that held her interest. ‘Oh, God, everything is coming up roses.’ She punched the air with excitement and did a little dance.

  After dinner, Tony went into his study to call Ralph.

  ‘You’ve had a busy day, sitting on your arse, Tony. But no, sorry, lad. You deserve it. Good bit of thinking, setting off the smoke alarms and the sprinklers. Still thinking on your feet. I like that. I have just stepped outside to take this call. I am at the commissioner’s official retirement party with his family and friends. Remember? The one I told you about. He is blowing off a lot of steam, but he’s the one doing all of the apologising. Make sure he gets a nice retirement present. We’ll meet up soon, Tony.’ With that, Ralph ended the call.

  Next, it was time for Tony to ring Jake.

  ‘Jake, how’s things? Sorry I haven’t been in touch earlier. I slept late and then had dinner. Where have you been all day?’

  ‘No worries. I’ve been trying to find Sharon, although I must admit I am afraid of what Ralph will do to her when I do. He’s not happy. But she’s disappeared, Tony. I’ve tried everyone I can think of, even Jack doesn’t know where she is. She hasn’t been in touch. Hell, I’m sorry, Tony.’

  ‘Oy, shut it. This
is not your fault. You’re a victim here.’ Tony could have bit his tongue. Victim was not the word he wanted to use. ‘Look, this is nothing to do with you, and I won’t have you blaming yourself. I do know, though, that if Sharon has been selling that stuff we need to find it before the investigating fire crew do. Where the hell would she stash it?’

  ‘I don’t know, but you’re right. Let’s meet early and see if we can scour the place.’

  ‘Where are you, Jake? What are you doing tonight?’ Tony’s concern was obvious. He didn’t want Jake doing anything silly.

  ‘I’m back at the house. Might as well, Sharon isn’t coming home anytime soon. I know we have a lot to do, but I also need some time to myself. I need to get my head around all of this.’

  ‘Yes. Sure, mate. But if you need me and all that. Yeah, right, well, tomorrow it is.’

  ***

  ‘Well, darling. Everyone has their plans for the night. You did well at dinner and Adam is in bed. Why don’t we have a long soak?’ Holding out her hand to him, Francesca waited for him to stand so she could lead the way up the staircase.

  ‘Sorry, Francesca. I didn’t realise I had been in the study so long. I got caught up with a few things. What do you have in mind for me being a good boy?’ The grin spread across his face.

  ‘Let’s see what pops up, shall we?’ Francesca walked him into the bathroom, where she had already put a bottle of wine in the cooler, run the bath, and lit candles around it for effect.

  As she got in the warm soothing water she couldn’t help but laugh out loud as Tony quickly pulled off his clothes before jumping in the bath, splashing water and bubbles everywhere.