by Jacqui Rose
Taking a deep breath, Alfie said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, and anyway, I can’t do anything about Huang right now, but I can do something about Taylor. I’ll think about that lot tomorrow, when Taylor’s safely back.’
‘You’ll be all right, especially as we know now from Charlie that Barry isn’t going to be at the auction himself. It might be easier for you …’ Franny didn’t add that it certainly would be easier for her knowing Barry wouldn’t be there, instead she said, ‘I can’t imagine anyone with a higher bidding power than you, either. Not at the level Barry’s operating at, though I understand you can’t be too careful. But it’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.’
‘I hope so. Did Charlie say anything else? Did he say why Barry wasn’t coming?’
‘No, when I went in to see him they were just about to take him down to theatre again. Something about stopping a bleed, so he didn’t have time to say much. But I guess it’s safer for Barry not to be there; I doubt he’ll want to do another stretch. Maybe he’s feeling edgy.’
Alfie frowned. ‘Does that mean Taylor won’t be there?’
‘I don’t know. I’m not sure how it’ll work. But I do know, well according to Charlie, that it’s all going ahead and it’s a genuine sale. No bullshit, no messing about. Barry is looking to earn some money, and using Taylor is perfect for that. He got him cheap, and Alan doesn’t care what happens to him as long as he gets his money for gear … By the way, I forgot to ask, did Alan go for his little trip with your friends?’
Alfie gave Franny the briefest of glances. ‘Yeah, I got a call from them. It all went to plan. They said they made it painful and slow. They also said he cried like a baby, which is pretty ironic considering who he is … rather who he was.’
Franny, pleased at the news, nodded, then turned her attention back to the auction. ‘And are you sure you’re all right that I’m not going to come in with you? The idea of going into that place sickens me.’
‘Yeah of course, I understand. If you wait outside and take all the cars’ registrations as planned, then once we’ve got Taylor, we can send the info on to the police. That way no one who’ll be there tonight will get away with it, but at the same time there won’t be any risk to Taylor. And hopefully, if all goes well, within a couple of hours that boy will be safe for the first time in his life.’
Having driven for over an hour, Franny and Alfie found themselves in Essex. They followed the GPS, which took them through quaint country villages and long winding roads until they got to an old disused farm and warehouse on the outskirts of the village of Boxted, where they drove slowly along Lower Farm Road, looking out for the turning.
They continued along in silence for a few more miles, crossing over the river Stour, heading towards Dedham. Suddenly Alfie slammed on the brakes, peering through the darkness and towards the copse of trees to see a barn lit up.
‘I think that’s it.’
Franny spoke in a whisper. ‘Yeah, I think you could be right … Look, over there, you can see a load of cars.’
Alfie stared but as he did so, a sudden wave of nausea rushed over him. He quickly opened the driver’s door, and retched, vomiting up the contents of his stomach.
‘Alf, are you okay?’
Wiping his mouth with the tissue Franny handed him, Alfie answered quietly, feeling his body tremble. ‘I will be once this is sorted. It’s just difficult because …’ He trailed off.
‘I know, Alf, I know. You don’t have to explain, but let me tell you something: I think you’re really brave. You should be proud of yourself. You’ve conquered things you didn’t think you would … And, Alf, no matter what happens, never ever forget I love you. Always hold on to that.’ She stretched across, kissing him gently on his cheeks, once more having to close her eyes and fighting back her tears as a wave of love for Alfie crashed in on her and it was another couple of moments before she eventually opened them and said, ‘Do you want to wait another minute?’
‘No, let’s do this. I’m ready.’
44
At the entrance of the old barn, Alfie could see the place was well lit and a crowd of men stood or milled around.
‘Ticket.’ The man at the doorway stared at Alfie. He was well built and looked like he was in his mid-sixties, with deep-set eyes and a pockmarked face, and he blocked Alfie’s way, repeating what he’d just said. ‘Ticket.’
Alfie tightened his fist in his pocket. Everything in him wanted to throttle the man, but instead he pulled out the blue dummy along with the blue ribbon from his pocket, passing it to the man who nodded and stepped out of the way.
Alfie walked in and was greeted by smiles and nods from the other men who looked just like him. Just like his neighbour. Just like his barber. Just like the man on the street. And it made him want to throw up. He wanted to scream. He wanted to take the gun that was in the back of the car and blow them all away, but that wouldn’t save Taylor, and that’s what he was here to do.
He could feel the sweat dripping down his back as he looked around. The old crumbling walls of the barn decorated with fairy lights and paper lampshades, a wooden table full of bottles of wine and paper cups, a murmur of chatter all around; so normal, all so seemingly innocent, yet so twisted and dark.
Alfie walked to the back of the barn, and although he knew it was a cold and chilly night, he felt like he was burning up. He pulled at his shirt, trying to loosen an already loose top, and wiped the perspiration from his brow.
‘Are you new?’
Alfie spun round and came face-to-face with a cheerful-looking man in his late forties, smartly dressed, with olive skin, and wearing a wedding band.
The room began to spin and Alfie reached out and leant on the damp, stone wall for support. ‘Excuse me?’
The man smiled again, apologetically and politely – so polite to Alfie it seemed surreal, as if he were asking the time. ‘Sorry, it’s just that when I noticed you come in, I thought I hadn’t seen you before. Often in these places you get to see regular faces, although most of the time you never get to know anyone’s name, so let me introduce myself, I’m Rupert. I’m very much looking forward to this, aren’t you? Apparently this product is well worth bidding for. Young and fresh, though not so sure about the fresh – often by that age they’ve already been broken in.’
Rupert laughed as Alfie swallowed down his bile. He knew he should say something, anything, as he didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself than necessary, but the words wouldn’t come out. He felt his legs beginning to shake, and the tightness in his chest felt like it was crushing down on him.
‘Are you all right? You look a bit peaky.’ Rupert stared at Alfie with a concern that only made the moment so much worse for Alfie. It was vile, twisted, perverse. The caring attitude Rupert showed was abhorrent because any minute now, Rupert would start bidding on Taylor without care or concern.
Forcing himself to say something at the same time as he swallowed hard, making sure he wasn’t going to throw up on Rupert, Alfie, knowing he didn’t even sound like himself, spoke in a small, strained voice, ‘I … I had something to eat on the way over; it hasn’t agreed with me. But to answer your question, yeah I’m new here, I’ve never done … I’ve never been to an auction before, I usually …’ He stopped, unable to bear what he was saying, but seeing Rupert looking at him with interest, he continued. ‘I usually sort it out another way. Through clubs and parties, though often the … the products there are older. I’m a friend of Sally and Anthony, by the way.’
Rupert grinned, his upper-class voice at odds with Alfie’s. ‘I haven’t met them, but I hear they’re good people, and how exciting for you that this is your first real auction; well you’re in for a treat. The action can get very heated. Though it’s a shame they’re not actually bringing the boy here because when they do, even if you don’t win the bid, if you’re lucky, often you’re able to …’
Alfie cut in, ‘Sorry, sorry, I don’t feel very well …’ And with that Alfie ran out of the sid
e entrance to be sick.
He dropped on the ground to his knees, feeling the wet grass as he leant his head against the large, stone wall of the barn. He closed his eyes, trying to stop himself from shaking. He didn’t know if he could do it; he didn’t know if he could go back in there.
The tears rolled down his cheeks and he watched them drop onto the earth. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he just pull himself together? ‘Come on, come on, you can do this, you can beat this.’ He spoke out loud to himself in a quiet whisper, hating himself for being so weak, hating the fact that Taylor needed him to be strong yet here he was, crying. Here was the great Alfie Jennings crying, but then he wasn’t so great, was he? If he couldn’t do this without turning into a trembling wreck, what use was he to anybody? To Taylor. To Mia. To Franny. Shame not greatness was the only thing he felt.
‘Gosh, make sure you give me the name of that restaurant, won’t you? Then I can make sure I never go to it.’ Rupert stood above him, chuckling at his own joke.
Alfie turned his head, wiping his tears. He stood up and nodded and with a cold look he flatly said, ‘Yeah, sure.’
Rupert spoke in a clipped voice, brimming with excitement. ‘Anyway, just thought you’d like to know the auction’s going to start at any moment. The screen’s all set up.’
Alfie frowned. ‘Screen?’
‘Yes, the wonders of technology. Barry’s going to FaceTime in; he’ll be projected on the wall by all accounts. A larger-than-life Barry, who’d have thought? Marvellous isn’t it? Come on …’
Taking a deep breath, Alfie followed Rupert inside the barn. A feeling of dread crept all over him as he prepared himself to sit and watch a larger-than-life image of the monster who’d haunted his waking dreams.
45
With the bag of money on his lap, Alfie held on to his chair, squeezing it hard as the projector threw the image of Barry onto the massive screen at the far end of the barn.
He watched and listened, hearing Barry talk – the first time he had done since the court case all those years ago.
Barry waved and grinned as he sat in what Alfie thought looked like an empty room, purring with pleasure as he FaceTimed the awaiting crowd of bidders. ‘Pleased so many of you could make it. As you know I haven’t been around for a while. I was a bit busy, you know what her majesty’s like – likes to take her time, likes to do things at her pleasure. Twenty-two years of fucking pleasure!’
The crowd laughed while Alfie paled, trying to keep his shaking to a minimum whilst Barry continued to talk. ‘Anyway, I’m delighted to be back, and I’m hoping that I’m going to be around for a while this time. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me … and my products.’
The crowd broke out into applause and Alfie bit down so hard on his lips that he could taste the blood in his mouth.
‘Anyway, enough of my chat, gentlemen – let the bidding begin. But before we do, I’m sure you want to see exactly what your hard-earned money is going to buy. Am I right?’
A resounding cry of, ‘Yes, yes, show us!’ was heard around the room.
Barry grinned and from the side of him and off camera, he pulled Taylor into shot.
On seeing Taylor, seeing his haunting, bewildered eyes look out at the crowd, look out at him, the bilious, nauseous sensation engulfed Alfie again. He rubbed his eyes, wiping the sweat that had trickled down into them away, and he fought the urge to run.
Barry, chuckling, and still holding on to Taylor’s arm, said, ‘Whoever is the lucky winner, let me tell you, you won’t go wrong with this product. Quiet and no trouble at all. And the best thing, gentlemen, is that the original owner of this product is comfortable with the deal. It’s a clean slate, so once it’s yours it’s yours. In other words, no one will be looking for it. So, with that in mind, who wants to start the bidding? Any takers for fifteen thousand?’
‘Fifteen here!’ A man Alfie couldn’t see properly raised his hand over in the far corner.
‘Twenty-five!’ A louder shout from the front caused the crowd to titter with laughter as he waved both hands in the air enthusiastically.
The room fell silent causing Barry to intervene. ‘Come on, twenty-five grand – that’s a giveaway.’
‘Fifty.’
A couple sitting in the shadows raised their hands and Barry giggled. ‘Now that’s more like it. Do I hear sixty?’
A large fat man, who was as well dressed as Rupert, raised his hand. He spoke with a Scottish accent. ‘Here, I’ll offer sixty.’
Rupert who was bouncing on his seat with delight and sitting next to Alfie, suddenly shouted, ‘One hundred thousand pounds!’
Around the room, oohs and ahhs were heard, and Rupert, smelling of expensive aftershave, smugly leant over to Alfie and whispered in delight, ‘I reckon he’s mine. I know none of this lot will go that high. I tell you what, when I pick him up, you can come with me if you like, have a bit of fun.’
He squeezed Alfie’s leg then winked at him to which Alfie said, ‘No thanks, mate, and I’d appreciate it if you’d get your fucking hand off me. Wouldn’t want it broken, would we?’
Rupert’s face drained of colour. He looked taken aback and retreated into his seat.
‘So, at a hundred thousand pounds, going once, going twice,’ Barry shouted out to the crowd.
‘One hundred and fifty!’ Alfie’s voice boomed out as he waved his hand in the air and from the corner of his eye, he could see Rupert looking agitated, an expression of fury on his face.
Rupert called out, ‘Two hundred thousand.’ He side-glanced Alfie with a sneer.
‘Two hundred and fifty.’
As Barry’s face was projected on the screen it was clear to Alfie that Barry couldn’t believe his luck.
‘Three hundred thousand!’
‘Three-fifty!’ Alfie shouted again, hoping Rupert would back down, desperate for him to.
‘Four hundred thousand!’
Alfie turned to stare at Rupert, feeling the whole crowd looking at them with interest and amusement at the spectacle. ‘Four-fifty. Four hundred and fifty thousand pounds.’
Furiously, Rupert hissed at Alfie, ‘You better make sure you have the money. I’ve seen what they do to people who don’t pay. They check you know, so whatever’s in that bag of yours, make sure it’s enough.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about me – I’ve got the money all right. The question is, have you?’
Haughtily, Rupert turned his nose up at Alfie. ‘Damn right I have … Four-eighty!’
The tension rushed through Alfie. He had only another twenty thousand before he reached his top bid and ran out of money. Taking a deep breath, he called out, ‘Five hundred thousand! I offer five hundred thousand pounds.’
A scream of excitement sounded somewhere in the room as Rupert leant in to Alfie.
‘Whenever anyone starts to go up in twenties, I’d say they’re running out of money, wouldn’t you?’
Alfie shook his head, speaking quietly through the side of his mouth. ‘I think you’re speaking about yourself there, Rupert. I’m just being sensible. How about you?’
He held Rupert’s gaze as his heart pounded in terror – this was it. There was no more, and he couldn’t even pretend there was. Panic stifled him as he watched Rupert raise his hand in the air, a wide smile spreading across his face. ‘Five hundred thousand … and …’ He paused and rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a ten-pound note. He glared at Alfie then shouted. ‘And ten pounds.’ The crowd cheered but Alfie buried his face in his hands as the room began to spin, his whole body beginning to shake. He’d almost done it, he’d almost saved Taylor, but now what would become of him? In horror he listened to Barry count down as well as listening to Rupert giggling next to him. ‘Five hundred thousand and ten pounds, going once, going twice …’
‘Wait! Wait! Wait!’ Alfie yelled out as he suddenly remembered the change he had in his pocket. Frantically, he jammed his hand into his jeans pulling out a ten-pound note along with some pound coins
. He called out again, his voice tinged with slight hope. ‘Five hundred thousand and … and … thirteen pounds.’
He glanced at Rupert, whose smile had dropped, replaced by an expression of fury as he hissed, ‘I’m out. All out.’
And as Rupert stood up and stormed towards the exit, Alfie once again buried his head in his hands listening to Barry count down the bid. ‘Five hundred thousand and thirteen pounds from the gentleman at the back, going once, going twice, going three times … Sold!’
And with that, Alfie Jennings was promptly sick again.
46
Alfie drove with his foot right down on the accelerator as he sped through the villages, heading towards the outskirts of Ongar in Essex, to the disused airfield.
As he took the corners at speed, anxiety mixed with adrenalin rushed through him. He knew he couldn’t be complacent now. Until he had Taylor, he couldn’t relax.
After the auction they’d checked his money, making him give half of it there and the rest he had to give to Barry when he handed over Taylor, in less than twenty minutes.
Hitting ninety miles an hour, Alfie concentrated on the road ahead, knowing that taking the roads this fast with the rain pouring down was dangerous, but there was nothing else he could do. They’d warned him if he were late, then there was a chance Barry might not be there, and not only would he lose his deposit, but more importantly he would lose Taylor.
‘I think we’ll be there in about fifteen minutes,’ Franny said as she looked at the inbuilt GPS. ‘Take the next right, Alf, it’s coming up in half a mile.’
Going too fast, and concentrating too hard to answer, Alfie nodded as he focused on the dark, wet road ahead, part of him knowing that having to work so hard on driving would stop him having to think; think that within the next twenty minutes, he’d be coming face-to-face with Barry.
The disused airfield was down a long country track with dips and potholes and Alfie now drove slowly, steadying his breathing as he dipped his headlights. The rain continued to lash down and the windscreen wipers worked overtime.
