Ruby's Palace

by KERRY BARNES

  Jesse was back in ten minutes with three bottles of vodka, cigarettes and plain crisps. She had spent the whole fifty.

  She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Jacob.

  “Poor Ruby can’t remember a damn thing, eh… can you, babe?” Jesse thought she was being clever, getting in before he said anything that would get them both locked up or worse.

  “Yeah, she was just saying,” he replied.

  “And the doctor says if it weren’t for me calling the ambulance when I did, well, she would be dead now.”

  Jacob raised his eyebrows, aware that it was Jesse’s father who had kicked the door in and found Ruby. Why was Ruby saying it was her mother who was the saviour?

  He gulped back his beer and put it all down to rumours. Perhaps Jesse did call an ambulance but had to use the phone box and, by the time she got home, the ambulance, along with Ruby’s dad, had been and gone. He finished another can of beer and followed that with a large vodka and coke.

  He gazed at Ruby. She was so sweet: her tiny dimples, even her little, pink scar looked cute. She could sense him looking her over. That was how it had been in the beginning, but unlike then she felt sickened by his glances.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As Jesse and Jacob slept soundly, armed police surrounded the flat and after a knock, which was ignored, kicked the door down and rushed in. Jacob, the first to wake up, nearly wet himself when he saw the police standing in front of him, wearing armoured flack-jackets and holding guns. His eyes widened and instantly he put his hands up.

  “Fucking ‘ell, man. Don’t shoot, I ain’t done nuffin!”

  Being woken up from such a deep sleep had put Jesse in a foul mood.

  “What the fuck is all the noise?” she croaked, and was still half asleep when a copper crashed into her room. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.

  “Put your hands behind your back!”

  “Get the fuck off me. What the hell’s going on?” She tried to struggle but the clink of the cuffs stopped her in her tracks. The officer marched her into the living room. Instantly, she came to her senses and scanned the room. She clocked Jacob, handcuffed, and a policeman carrying out a body search. He grinned as he pulled a clear bag containing white powder from Jacob’s pocket.

  Jesse laughed out loud. What a result! That’s what you get for pinching someone else’s gear. She now believed she was in the clear. They couldn’t nick her if the drugs were on him.

  Jacob turned a deathly grey and his legs buckled. His words were a desperate plea. “I swear, I don’t know where it come from!”

  He turned to look at Jesse, who smiled. He had the cocaine so she was scot-free.

  Amber, the sniffer dog, darted all over the place. She hadn’t found the powder on Jacob. She was searching for something else. Jesse then realised there was something more serious going on. The flat was now full of police. At that moment the dog stopped and sat down next to the fluffy toy. The room went quiet as everyone looked at the stuffed bear.

  Sergeant Hoskins put a pair of gloves on and picked up the teddy. As he turned it around, he could see the back gaping open and, clearly visible, the gun.

  Gently he retrieved it, holding the tip between two fingers, and slid it inside a clear bag.

  Jesse shook. It was a nightmare. She tried hard to focus and comprehend the situation but everything seemed to move in slow motion. One minute, she was having a drink with Jacob and… the penny dropped: the teddy, the deep sleep, and her cocaine in Jacob’s pocket. Ruby, the conniving bitch, had set them up. Just like her Aunt Francesca, all those years ago, now her own daughter had done the same to her.

  “That gun belongs to my daughter, Ruby! That’s hers, check it for fingerprints. You’ll see, it’s not mine, she planted it there.” Her voice was desperate.

  The police made way for Detective Inspector James, a portly man, with a red face. He liked his drink.

  “Well, well, if it ain’t Jesse Vincent… Oh, sorry, you’re not a Vincent, are you?”

  Jesse frowned. She had never seen him before but somehow he knew her. He looked around the room and smelled the air.

  He took off his black leather gloves and unbuttoned his long trench coat.

  “Are we all done, boys?”

  The sergeant nodded. “Yes, sir, we found a bag of powder in the bedroom, a set of scales, narcotics on him, and a gun concealed in a teddy.”

  DI James smirked.

  “Take him away and leave her with me.”

  The police left the flat. Jacob, who was cuffed and in a bit of a state of undress, with his tracksuit bottoms falling down, was put into the meat wagon.

  Jesse sat down, with her hands securely tied behind her back.

  DI James pulled the front of his trousers up before he sat down. Heavier these days, he needed to adjust his clothes. His big belly hung over his belt and his collar looked like it was choking him. He hated wearing suits but it was expected now he was a DI.

  He smiled at Jesse, enjoying her expression of fear and anger.

  “So, it looks as if we’ve got you bang to rights, eh?”

  He pulled out a cigarette and tapped it on the box before he lit it with his new engraved silver lighter.

  “Listen, detective, that gun is not mine, I promise you that. I might have the odd toot and puff but, fuck me, do you really think I have a need for a shooter? And where the hell would I get the money for all that gear? Come on, mate, give us a break,” said Jesse.

  The DI took a deep drag on his fag and slowly let the smoke fall from his mouth. He nodded.

  “Yeah…” He looked around the room again. “Mmm, you don’t look like a big-time dealer.”

  Jesse smiled. He was on her side – but her newfound confidence was short-lived.

  “See, now you have to believe me. It was Ruby Vincent who planted all this stuff. I didn’t even know the gun was here… or the drugs!”

  He took another long draw on the cigarette and blew the smoke into her face.

  “So, if you saw your daughter, as you say, plant the gear, why didn’t you stop her? I mean, what sort of mother lets her child run around with a fucking shooter, and a bag of Class A? Try again, Jesse, but without the bull shit.”

  He laughed a loud chortle, which made him cough.

  Jesse was angry. “I didn’t fucking see her plant it. I just know she did. Must have drugged me or something!”

  “Now, Jesse, why would your daughter want to do a thing like that?” His voice was full of sarcasm.

  She avoided eye contact in humiliation. “’Cos I fucking left her in the flat when she got beat up, and I didn’t stay with her… but that still ain’t a good enough reason to set me up.”

  James stood up. “Well, I know what you did, Jesse – a proper cunt stunt, wouldn’t you say?”

  She looked up and noticed the hatred in the DI’s eyes.

  “I was the one who put Sam Vincent in prison years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. You scarpered and let that man serve time for you and his nippers. Ya see, those Vincents have morals like meself, so we understand each other, but you, Jesse Right, have none. In actual fact, you have to be the vilest woman I have had the displeasure of meeting.”

  Jesse’s jaw dropped. She remembered it too.

  “I have heard a lot about you over the years and, what sickened me the most was you leaving your own flesh and blood to die here, in this rotten, stinking flat. So, Jesse, if she set you up… well, shit happens. Oh yeah, and mark my words, I will see that you go down for a very long time. Now, Jesse Right, I am arresting you on suspicion of intent to supply Class A drugs and possession of a firearm. You have the right to remain silent…”

  She trembled, knowing full well she had no hope. The DI yanked her from the chair and practically dragged her to the car, with no compassion and no respect for the woman.

  *

  Ruby was back home within a few hours and sitting at the dining table in front of Jack, much to his relief. She s
pilled the beans, leaving nothing out.

  “Oh, Jack, I hope they don’t arrest me.”

  He laughed. “No, they won’t do that. The police won’t think for one minute that you – a fifteen-year-old girl – would plant drugs and a gun. I wish I could have seen her face when they arrested her.”

  Ruby, relieved and excited by the whole event, said, “You should have seen her when I knocked her out with those sleeping tablets. She looked gross. That is one ugly bitch. What Dad saw in her, I can’t imagine.”

  “By all accounts, she used to be a right looker,” Jack frowned. “So, when you called the Ol’ Bill, what did you tell them about the gun?”

  She smiled cheekily. “That bit was easy. I said that, when the crowd of girls were kicking me and punching me, all I could see was Jesse watching and, as soon as they ran off, she dragged me inside and forced me to take some tablets. When I refused, she held a gun to my head.”

  Jack nearly choked. “Fuck me, Rubes, she will get a serious prison sentence for that one!”

  “So fucking what, she might as well have done it. Fucking ‘ell, Jack, I didn’t even know what time of day it was when she shoved those tablets down my throat. I don’t know what she or anyone else did to me after that.”

  He jumped up from the chair. “What do you mean ‘or anyone else’?”

  Ruby looked up at her brother. “Jack, our so-called mother has no scruples. She sells herself, and she might have even sold me for all I know.”

  Jack tried to hold back the tears of anger. His stomach churned with the thought of anyone touching his sister when she lay there dying.

  “You don’t really think that, though, do you?”

  Ruby bit the inside of her lip and shrugged her shoulders. “After the sleeping tablets kicked in, I only remember waking up with you and Dad in the room.”

  He paced the floor in a temper.

  “We will have to tell Dad, because you’re gonna have to testify in court… this ain’t the end of it.”

  Ruby smiled. “Actually, Jack, it is. Once Jesse gets locked away, along with that rat Jacob, I will be free to have a life!”

  Jack sat back down and thought about it all. His sister was absolutely right.

  *

  Sam was full of mixed emotions. He had come home from work to hear his daughter and son reel off the day’s events.

  At first he was livid and screamed at them. “You are so damned stupid! What the hell were you doing, letting your sister go over to that fucking estate with my gun… what are you, the fucking Kray twins?”

  Ruby defended Jack, as always. “Dad, he didn’t know I was going.”

  Sam poured himself a brandy and knocked it back. He slid off his tie and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Ruby, you have just played a very dangerous game. How the hell are we going to get out of this one? I’m gonna have to say it was me!”

  Jack and Ruby looked at each other.

  “But, Dad, they won’t think for a minute it was me. Besides, the gun has her prints on it.”

  “And how the fuck did you manage that?” His voice got louder.

  “Calm down, Dad!” shouted Jack.

  “Calm down, are you fucking serious?”

  “Dad, listen, when Jesse was asleep, I wrapped her hands around the handle, and then placed it in the bear. My prints ain’t on it. I wore gloves.”

  There was silence as Sam gulped back another brandy. He looked at his little girl – well, not so little now, is she, he thought to himself. In fact, he was staring at the double of his sister. Ruby was indeed a woman. Maybe he should give her more credit.

  He sat down on the sofa and loosened his top button.

  “Ruby, where is the teddy?” he asked calmly.

  “At Jesse’s. I put the gun inside it.”

  Sam thought for a while and sighed. “If they find the gun in the teddy, they could trace where it came from, and that will lead it back to you.”

  Ruby smiled. “Dad, I told the police that I was on my way to visit Jesse. When I reached the front door, I suddenly got flashbacks of what happened, so I ran as fast as I could to the cop shop to make a statement, just in case my memory went again.”

  “Did you mention the teddy?”

  Ruby smiled again. “No, I didn’t but, if they question it, then I will tell them it was a present for her and, as soon as I had those visions of the attack, I dropped it on the doorstep and ran.”

  Sam calmed down. His children were stupid to have taken on a set-up like this but, if the worst came to the worst, then they always had Francesca – the top dog lawyer.

  The three sat in deep thought when the doorbell rang. Each looked at the other.

  Sam got up to answer it.

  DI James admired the house, its big oak door and grand drive. He smiled to himself, remembering the day he had arrested Sam Vincent. Sam had had a fairly modest home then, but life since his time in prison had been good, along with his finances.

  Sam thought he recognised the man standing before him.

  “Hello, Mr. Vincent, I’m Detective Inspector James. Do you mind if I have a word? It’s about your daughter, Ruby.”

  Sam looked him up and down and then he remembered him. He was a good cop. He had tried to help Sam then. He just hoped he was on his side this time.

  “Yes, please come in.”

  James gazed around at the plush hallway and wished he had a home like this one. The sitting room was large. A huge marble fireplace and chunky cream leather sofas dominated the room. Every ornament and piece of furniture looked classy.

  Ruby slouched on the chair, a typical teenager, with a copy of Heat magazine and nail varnish next to her. Jack, in his tracksuit, sat on the sofa playing with his mobile.

  James stopped and stared. “You must be Jack.”

  Jack looked and smiled.

  “Mr Vincent, I don’t know if you remember me…” Before he could continue, Sam interrupted him, “Call me Sam. Yes, of course I do, and I wish I had listened to you all those years ago. You were good to me, so I don’t forget a friendly face.”

  Sam poured the pair of them a brandy and invited him to sit down.

  Jack thought it best to leave the room, since this didn’t concern him.

  “We have arrested Jesse, and her sidekick, Jacob, for supply of Class A drugs and possession of a firearm, thanks to your daughter.”

  Sam nodded.

  “Sam… I want you to be aware that she has accused Ruby of planting the gun and the drugs.”

  “What?” spat Sam.

  James looked at Ruby. “You didn’t, did you?”

  Ruby shook her head.

  “Good. Now, I know you did visit with your mother on occasions, so there will be your fingerprints dotted about, but can you assure me they are not on the gun, or the drug packets we found in her flat? I need to be sure before I request forensics.” He paused. “Look, what concerns me is that Jesse is demanding that fingerprint tests are done. Why would she be screaming for testing if she had touched the gun?” His voice was calm and genuine.

  Sam guessed James was on his side.

  Ruby gave her most innocent expression. “I don’t know why but she held a gun to my face and made me swallow those pills.”

  DI James laughed. “Well, then, she must have been so out of her head on drugs she forgot that little matter. Never mind, if you’re sure her prints are on that weapon then we have her.”

  Sam stared at his daughter.

  “They must be,” she smiled.

  DI James finished his drink and thanked Sam. “It was nice to meet you again.”

  Sam nodded and watched as DI James walked up the path.

  James sat in his car, smoking a cigarette and looking at the wonderful surroundings. It was perfect for a young family to grow up in. He knew Ruby had planted the gun, maybe not the drugs, but she was too calm and her statement had already been written in her head. He smiled to himself. Who would have thought it? A fifteen-year-old schoo
lgirl gets revenge on her mother by sending her back to prison.

  The DI had been haunted by the thought of a kid being left for dead in that vile flat and kept asleep by tablets. He imagined his own daughter, Lindsey, lying there helpless. She had been only fifteen when she’d died. They had found her body, half decomposed, in a derelict flat. She had choked on her own vomit and lay undiscovered for weeks. A tear fell unexpectedly onto his fat cheek. He had never cried for her; he was too consumed by hate. He lit another cigarette with the one he was just about to put out. He coped by burying himself in his job and climbing the ladder fast. They never found who gave his daughter the drugs, or who was with her the night she passed away.

  Jesse would go to prison, of that he was sure.

  Ruby had no remorse for what she did to Jesse. The hurt went deeper than anyone could have imagined. For years she had believed her mother – deep down – was a good person.

  Now she could rest, knowing her family hadn’t lied to her. Jack had told the truth all along. She really was a spiteful, selfish druggie.

  *

  The court case was over in a day. Jesse had gone before the magistrates, who had then sent the case straight to the Crown Court.

  Francesca was Ruby’s lawyer and therefore nothing would go wrong. The Vincent family and friends filled the gallery. Jack sat eagerly in the front row. It would be the first time in twelve years he had laid eyes on his mother. But he also wanted Ruby to know he was there rooting for her.

  Mary, Sam’s mother, gripped Sam’s hand. “It’s gonna be all right, son, she will get what she deserves.”

  Fred and Dan sat together. They still couldn't get over the whole thing and whenever Fred thought about it, he grinned. “She’s just like our Francesca, a lot of balls, that girl.”

  Dan grinned. “Well, she’s a Vincent, I expect no less.”

  The men were dressed impeccably in dark suits and crisp white shirts. The court was ordered to rise and the judge sworn in. After the formalities the clerk brought Jesse up from the cells. There was silence in the courtroom as everyone stared intently.