Buyers appeared, and often went straight to the tall boy, who somehow knew what they wanted. Most of the buyers blanked Jade, which suited her fine. She perched on the wall, swigging from the vodka bottle when the others were selling.
“Thought it would be busier tonight,” said the boy with the man-bun to the tall boy at around 10 pm. “Since we took down the Dimonts.”
The fat boy sniggered. Tall-boy stretched his arms out and yawned before responding.
“Yeah, well they were a bunch of amateurs weren’t they. They couldn’t even control their turf or stop me switching over to ‘Princesses’.”
“Bit of a weird name for a gang, isn’t it?” commented fat-boy.
“We’re not supposed to use that name anymore,” warned man-bun, as he scuffed his feet against loose paving.
“Yeah, true,” agreed tall-boy. “Whatever it’s called, I’m glad the boss forced Jack Dimont out. Him and his sons, always walking around New Grange like they owned it. They’ll get what they deserve. They snitched, and people know where he’s gone.”
“Where’s that then?” asked Jade, as she staggered towards the conversation.
“Oh, she talks,” jeered fat-boy, and the other two laughed. “What do you care, blondie?”
“I know them, the Dimonts. And when they come back, they’ll get you first. I’ll make sure of it,” she slurred. “You traitors.”
The three boys laughed back at her; anger bubbled through her veins.
“You’re here too, blondie, and as if they’d listen to a dumb thing like you,” growled tall-boy, flanked by the other two. Jade took a deep breath, a sip from her vodka bottle, and stepped towards them.
“They wouldn’t listen to little bitches like you either, ‘cos you’ll always be at the bottom of the pile. Selling drugs and going to prison, to make money for rich people who don’t give a shit about you.”
“Say that again, blondie,” dared fat-boy, as he stepped towards her with his fists clenched. Jade looked up and met his eye. At that moment, she didn’t care that there were three of them, or that they were bigger than her, or that they might hurt her.
“I said, you’re all bitches, and you’re all low life New Grange pieces of shit.” She revelled at the shocked and confused looks on their faces.
Before Jade knew it, something hard connected with the side of her head. The vodka bottle slipped from her hand and smashed against the ground as another blow hit her legs. She collapsed and felt more kicks all over her body. She heard a cracking sound, accompanied by a searing pain in her chest; at least one of her ribs had broken. When the boys finally paused for breath, she rolled over and vomited over the concrete. She felt a rough hand on her shoulder. Fat-boy ripped her jacket from her and pulled her jumper over her head, revealing her forearms.
“What the hell!” shouted fat-boy as he dropped her back to the ground. She could taste blood in her mouth, metallic and warm, as she struggled to stay conscious.
“Looks like she does have a death wish,” muttered tall-boy, as he looked down at her arms. “And someone’s coming, time to get out of here boys, grab the gear and run.”
She heard their footsteps running away as she tried and failed to sit up from the ground. Her throat was tight, and her whole body ached and burned. She tried to breathe in, but her chest tightened, and everything spun around her. Could she hear more footsteps running towards her, or was it her brain thudding against her skull?
In the distance, she heard someone calling her name. It sounded familiar, like Ethan’s voice. Her breathing became shallow, and her eyes dropped.
The sleep that she’d so desperately craved earlier was coming, but this time, against her will. She needed to get herself off the floor, but all the energy had evaporated from her limbs, and her eyes refused to open.
As she slipped out of consciousness, she felt a weight pushing on her shoulder. She heard her name repeated over and over again. With all the strength she had left, she fluttered her eyes and saw a blurred version of Ethan’s face in front of her. Then it all went dark.
Excerpt: Debbie Gomez questioning. Friday 21 December 2018 – 2.30 pm
Officer: Tell us again about this figure outside Dawn Smith’s house on Halloween.
Debbie: I’ve told you. They were tall, thin - slender, I suppose. All their clothes were black. Trousers, a hoodie, and they had one of those Guy Fawkes masks on. I’ve told you all of this.
Officer: Were they male, female?
Debbie: I don’t know.
Officer: If you had to guess?
Debbie: Male, I suppose. Something in the way they moved after they saw me. But I’m not sure. Please, my children must have told you that I didn’t leave the car. I’ve explained how I got the phone, please, this wasn’t me.
Officer: Then who was it, Debbie?
Debbie: I don’t know. It’s someone at work. They’re putting these girls in danger. Janice, Caitlin and Dawn found out who it was, and then someone murdered them.
Officer: Karen Goldman tells us you suspected Renee Beck and Marie Webster?
Debbie: I did, but I have no proof. Renee’s cat is called Princess, and she’s been off work a lot recently. I saw her taking an envelope from Gillian’s husband which looked like it had money in it. Karen saw Marie spending loads of money in town. They all sound so silly on their own, but yes, I thought maybe they could be behind it. Renee is from New Grange, too, where the girls are from.
Officer: That’s all well and good but unlike you, we have no proof that Renee was at Dawn’s around the time of death and we haven’t found missing evidence in her wardrobe.
Debbie: Please, this wasn’t me! I was just trying to find out who it was; you have to believe me. It’s all linked: ‘Princesses’, the girls at work, Janice, Caitlin, Dawn. And those girls are still suffering because you have got the wrong person here. Talk to the girls. I’ll give you their names: Stacy Mackenzie, Louisa Cooper, Jade Dimont. Please talk to them.
23: The Masterplan
Saturday 22nd December 2018 - Ethan
Ethan stood outside the supermarket, two hours early for his Saturday evening shift. His eyelids drooped heavily, and he could feel the puffy, dark circles under his eyes. Images of the brutal attack he’d witnessed last night played over in his head, haunting him. Three boys, around his own age, kicking and punching Jade as she lay there, defenceless. He’d run as fast as he could, scared the boys off and called an ambulance. It made all his evenings of watching worthwhile. Though, he wished he’d been closer, rather than on a roof, and that he’d got there sooner.
Jade was unconscious when he reached her. He thought he saw a flicker in her eyes when he’d arrived, but after that, they wouldn’t open again. The ambulance raced through the bright Christmas lights towards the hospital. The paramedics had whispered urgently to each other and exchanged concerned looks. In those moments, they’d confirmed Ethan’s worst fears; they weren’t sure whether Jade would survive.
He had looked down on her tiny, broken body, her arms covered in self-inflicted cuts, and prayed that she would fight. There was a better future for her, away from the horrible world in which she’d become entangled. He’d run behind the medical entourage at the hospital until they whisked her into intensive care. He’d waited for hours, deep into the night, until a nurse informed him that they’d treated all her injuries. They would keep her sedated, in a critical yet stable condition for the rest of the night. Despite his protests, the nurse had insisted that he go home and return in the morning.
At 9 am, when visiting time started, he’d returned, and sat next to Jade again. Various machines and tubes were sustaining her and, hopefully, helping her to recover. He felt so guilty as he watched over her. He’d let her down by not finding out who was behind her misery and informing the police.
A couple of times, he thought he saw Jade’s eyes flutter open and he leapt out of his seat. But, when he stood up to move closer, they’d closed again. He’d have stayed longer if visiting h
ours hadn’t ended at 2 pm. At that point, he’d travelled to the supermarket, to convince another girl to report the crimes of the organisation called ‘Princesses’.
He entered the supermarket and battled through the crowds in search of Stacy. He wandered past the Customer Services, then the checkouts. He couldn’t see her through all the people finishing their Christmas shopping. He finally spotted her talking to Renee and Marie at the supervisor desk.
As he approached them, Renee and Marie stopped talking and stared at him with hostile, suspicious looks on their faces.
“Err, hi,” he said, and he looked directly at Stacy. She looked up at him and gave a weak smile, but then lowered her head back down again, eyes on the floor.
“You’re not working until five, Ethan, what do you want?” tutted Renee, who looked hot and bothered under a Christmas fleece.
“I need to speak to Stacy,” he replied. Marie raised her eyebrows and Renee folded her arms in front of her chest.
“It’s urgent,” he muttered. “I need to tell Stace something in private.”
“If it’s about Jade, she already knows. I told her,” replied Renee. She moved her hand to her hip; her left arm now shielded him from Stacy.
“How do you know about that?” asked Ethan.
“She messaged me to say she couldn’t come in to work this evening. Gillian has gone on an early holiday and Debbie has got herself locked up, so someone needs to be in charge of this!”
Renee pointed aggressively towards the schedule in Marie’s hands.
“Anyway,” sighed Renee with a wave of her hand, before Ethan could reply. “I called Jade back, and she told me all about it. She got attacked, then found by you and taken to the hospital.”
She’s awake, thought Ethan, and a wave of relief swept across him. But why was Renee hostile and accusatory, rather than grateful that he’d been there?
“Yeah, that’s right,” he retorted. “I called the ambulance and went to the hospital with Jade. I was there last night and this morning. I saved her!”
“So,” interjected Marie, with a terse smile. “You just happened to be there late at night, when Jade was walking through the Croydon garages?”
“Yes, good question Marie!” added Renee, and she stared hard into Ethan’s eyes. “Bit of a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he answered, feeling his cheeks flush. “It’s a good job I was there, though.”
“Well, we don’t believe it was a coincidence, so leave us alone,” said Marie. Renee nodded and put a protective arm around Stacy.
“Stacy, please,” he begged. “Stace, I need to talk to you. It’s a-about ‘Princesses’.”
Renee and Marie glanced at each other as Stacy’s eyes widened in shock.
“What are you on about? What do you mean by that?” demanded Renee, but Ethan didn’t answer. Stacy stepped away from Renee and tiptoed towards him.
“Oh, Stacy, no,” sighed Marie. “I need you to take over from June. She’s due a break, and there’s no-one else here until 5 pm.”
“I’m sorry, Marie, I won’t be long,” mumbled Stacy.
“Ethan,” called Renee as he turned to walk away. “I am watching you. Five minutes max with Stacy, and you had better be here for your shift later. Karen’s covering for Jade, but she’ll need help.”
He nodded and led Stacy away. Behind him, he heard Renee swear loudly, and slam the schedule down onto the supervisor desk.
“Ethan, what the hell?” gasped Stacy as they hurried out of earshot of any other staff members or customers. He turned to her and put his hands on her elbows.
“Stace, you know we spoke a few months back, and a couple of times since then. I keep asking you if you were OK. But I know you’re not, I know about ‘Princesses’.”
“How? How do you know about that? Please don’t tell anyone. Promise you won’t say anything, Ethan.”
Her breathing quickened, and her cheeks flushed despite the chilly air.
“Please, calm down Stace, I’ve known for ages, and it doesn’t matter how,” he replied in a harsh whisper.
“There are other girls from the supermarket, forced to work at that old Castle building and sell drugs. I know you don’t have a choice, and I know it’s making you miserable.”
She nodded as tears started welling up in her eyes. Ethan pressed on.
“I’ve been investigating ‘Princesses’, looking into it, so I can tell the police and keep you all safe. I’ve got so much information on them; where they operate, where they store and sell the drugs. I know everything, apart from the main person running it,” he explained. “I don’t suppose you know who it is?”
“No, I don’t,” replied Stacy. “But it’s a woman. I heard the guy, the one who rings me, on the phone to her a few days ago when he dropped off the drugs. She sounded angry. Then he told us never to say the name ‘Princesses’ again.”
“I know you’re scared of her Stace; I bet they’ve threatened you, but we need to end this. We need to go to the police and tell them your story, and everything I know.”
“I can’t,” Stacy protested. “I’ve got younger sisters, and they know where I live. They’ll hurt them if I tell anyone or if I don’t turn up to work. You don’t know what they’re capable of, Ethan.”
“We’ll tell the police that,” he pleaded. “And they will protect you and your whole family like they did with Jade’s Dad and her brothers. And once the police have used our information to take them down, you’ll be free from them.”
Stacy started sobbing into her hands and shook her head from side to side.
“You know Jade is caught up in this, too, right?” he pushed on, and Stacy nodded.
“I-I’ve seen her since we started selling the drugs. Was she at The Castle too?”
“Yes,” confirmed Ethan. His eyes stung again, and his lip trembled.
“Yes, she was. And she was selling drugs by the garages in Croydon last night. She got attacked by the guys who were with her, and I saw it happen. They nearly killed her, Stace. I was in the ambulance, and she almost died.”
His voice caught in his throat, as he remembered Jade lying on the cold, hard ground; bloody faced and unconscious. How long would she have been there if he hadn’t been watching her? What else could have happened to her if he hadn’t scared them off?
“We need to stop this,” he pleaded. “For Jade, for you all. Please, come with me to the police. I promise you’ll be safe. This is part of my plan to end this; it always has been.”
Stacy looked up at him, and he saw something steely in her glassy, blue eyes. She slowly nodded her head in agreement and he sighed with relief.
“Oh, Stace, thank you, thank you!”
“I need to start work now, though,” she whispered. She wiped her eyes and looked around to check no-one was listening to them.
“Of course,” he replied, and he moved his hand to her arm again.
“I’m starting in a couple of hours, too. Let’s keep this between us Stace, I mean it. Do not tell anyone what we’ve spoken about here. We’ll go to the police together tomorrow morning, OK?”
She nodded, and they walked back to the store together, towards the supervisor desk. Renee was still there, chewing the end of her pen and staring into space, deep in thought.
“Oh, you’re back!” Renee jumped as they reached the desk. “What did he say to you Stace? He hasn’t upset you, has he?”
Ethan wondered what he’d done to warrant so much dislike from Renee. She always seemed to think the worst of him.
“Nothing,” grinned Stacy convincingly. “He was trying to ask me out again. There’s a weird Princess themed bar in London he likes the look of.”
Renee looked from Stacy to Ethan and back, and burst out laughing. Ethan winced and blushed; it was a good cover story, but a humiliating one.
“Men!” exclaimed Renee, as she threw her arms up in the air. “All the bloody same. Till 17 please Stace, June needs a break.”
Ethan marched away from Renee, who was still laughing and shaking her head. He stepped outside and retrieved his phone from his pocket. There were no messages from Jade, which was strange. He’d left a few messages asking her to call him as soon as she’d woken up. Though, he thought, she may have only had the energy to send one message, and she did need to tell Renee she couldn’t come to work.
He dialled the number for Croydon police station. After a brief discussion, they confirmed an appointment with DS Joanne Harris at 10 am the next morning. He told them he had information related to organised crime in Croydon and New Grange. With or without Stacy, he was going to the police station tomorrow, to tell them everything he knew.
24: The Penny Drops
Sunday 23rd December 2018 - Joanne
“Your 10 am, Sarge, he’s downstairs.”
“Great. Thanks, Paula,” sighed DS Joanne Harris as she came out of a daze. “Ethan Hutchins, right?”
“That’s right, and he’s brought a young girl with him too. Tiny, blonde thing. Looks terrified.”
“Jade?” asked Joanne, in disbelief. Last Joanne had heard, Jade Dimont was at the hospital after a horrendous violent attack. Surely she wasn’t in any fit state to leave the hospital and come to the station yet.
“No Sarge,” Paula’s large fingers flipped through her notebook, trying to find her most recent page. “Her name is Stacy Mackenzie. She lives in New Grange and works at the Melwood supermarket with Mr Hutchins.”
Joanne’s eyes widened as she grabbed the most recent Debbie Gomez interview transcripts. In black and white, she saw Debbie recorded as saying: ‘speak to the girls. I’ll give you their names: Stacy Mackenzie…’
“You OK, Sarge?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine, sorry, Paula. Can you settle them in, and I’ll be right there.”
It looked as though Debbie Gomez would get her wish; Joanne was going to talk to Stacy. She shook her head as she thought of Debbie, who was still sticking to her story and pleading innocence.
Killer Princesses: Gripping and gritty, a twisty and tantalising thriller... Page 17
