Trail of Sin
Page 22
‘No, I can’t,’ I said, wondering what the hell to say. ‘Not this evening.’
‘OK then, I’ll talk to both sets of parents and –’
‘Simon, please . . . I’ll give you whatever you want, but don’t involve Jackie.’
‘Be here at six o’clock, both of you, or there’ll be trouble.’
‘Are you blackmailing my sister?’ Ali asked as she emerged from the bushes.
I stared open-mouthed at her, dumbfounded for several seconds. ‘Ali, I . . . are you . . .’ I stammered.
‘Don’t worry about him,’ she said, brushing her long blonde hair away from her face. ‘If I have to, I’ll meet your parents and tell them that I was the girl in the photographs. I’ll also tell his wife what he gets up to.’
I watched Simon clamber to his feet and walk away. Then I stared hard at the girl. ‘You’re just like me,’ I said, shaking my head in disbelief. ‘So, you are my sister?’
‘No, I’m not,’ she said. She stood in front of me. ‘It’s incredible, Ali. It’s no wonder that people mixed us up. But I’m not your sister.’
‘You might be,’ I suggested.
‘Anything’s possible, but I’m sure that we’re not related. As far as I know, I was born in Sheffield where I lived with my mother for a couple of years. She was a whore and I was taken away and put in a home.’
‘So you don’t remember if there was another child in the house?’ I asked her hopefully.
‘I was only two years old so I don’t remember much. There was another girl who . . . I think she was a neighbour’s kid.’
‘You don’t remember her name?’
‘No, I don’t. So, we meet at last. I’m going to Birmingham later today, so this will be our only meeting.’
‘I feel as though I’m looking at myself in a mirror,’ I said softly, shaking my head again. ‘It’s uncanny. We must be sisters.’
‘Whether we are or not doesn’t matter, does it? Besides, if you are my twin, then your birth mother was a whore.’
‘Do you have any contact with your real mother?’
‘No, and I don’t want to. I’ve heard that she’s still a whore. Mind you, so am I. Like mother, like daughter,’ she quipped, giggling. ‘That’s what they say, isn’t it?’
‘I’m a whore too,’ I confessed. ‘Maybe it runs in the family.’
‘Are you actually on the game? I’ve heard that you are, but I wasn’t sure.’
‘Yes, yes, I am.’
‘In that case, take this.’ Ali opened her bag and passed me a small diary. ‘Names, phone numbers, times, addresses . . . it’s a list of my clients.’
‘Why are you giving this to me?’
‘As I said, I’m moving away. You might as well take on my clients.’
‘Thanks – thanks very much.’
‘Don’t take any crap from them. Make them pay up front and charge them over the top. They all have money so they’ll pay whatever you ask.’
‘Ali, we need to talk,’ I sighed. ‘There are so many unanswered questions.’
‘Hang on, I’m just going into the bushes for a pee.’
I sat on the grass by the stream and flicked through the diary. There were dozens of names and addresses, all of them local, and I knew that I was now fully set up in business. I also knew that I wouldn’t be hearing from Simon again. Ali had saved the day, I thought happily. By threatening to go to his wife she’d sent him scurrying off like a frightened rabbit. Things were turning out far better than I could ever have hoped for.
I slipped the diary into my bag and decided to ask Ali for her phone number. Even though she was moving to Birmingham we could at least keep in touch. I was sure that she was my sister, and there were ways of proving it if she agreed. The likeness was incredible. In a way it had been quite frightening to stand in front of her and look at myself. I rose to my feet and began to wonder where she’d got to. I called out for her. As I made my way through the bushes I knew that she’d gone. She was elusive, I thought. Would she phone me? Would she ever make contact with me again?
I walked through the woods to the park, looking around, but there was no sign of Ali. I’d been thinking about her for so long and when I’d finally got to meet her all we’d had was a two-minute chat. As I made my way home I felt despondent. I’d met my twin sister, or my lookalike. At last I’d met her, and yet . . . I wasn’t sure what I felt as I neared the flat. I had Amy to think about, and Jackie. What did the future hold? I wondered as I let myself in and found Jackie sitting in the lounge.
‘You were a long time,’ she said, looking up at me from the sofa.
‘Was I?’ I said softly.
‘Where have you been?’
‘Out and about, that’s where I’ve been. How did it go with Alan?’
‘He was disappointed because you weren’t here, but it went all right. The money’s on the mantelpiece.’
‘Oh, OK.’
‘Are you all right?’ Jackie asked me. ‘You seem . . .’
‘I’ve just met my sister,’ I told her.
‘God, what did she say?’
My mobile phone rang and I answered it. I was pleased to hear Amy’s voice. ‘Hi,’ I said. ‘How are things?’
‘Can you meet me tomorrow morning in the woods?’
‘Yes, I’ll be there at nine.’
‘Is Jackie with you?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘I want to suck your clitoris, Ali. I want to suck it and –’
‘That would be wonderful,’ I sighed as my young womb contracted.
‘I’ll take you to heaven with my fingers and my tongue and –’
‘OK, I’ll see you tomorrow.’
I dropped my phone back into my bag and smiled at Jackie. ‘That was my sister,’ I lied. ‘I’m seeing her tomorrow morning.’
‘That’s great,’ Jackie said, beaming. ‘Will I ever get to meet her?’
‘No, I don’t think so. She . . . she’s a funny girl. I hope to be seeing quite a lot of her.’
‘I’m sorry that I went on about Amy.’
‘That’s all right, Jackie. I’m not interested in Amy. I have my sister now. And you, of course.’
‘Shall we go to bed?’
‘Yes,’ I said softly, grinning at her. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
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In real life, make sure you practise safe, sane and consensual sex.
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