Respect (Mandasue Heller)

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘Fucking hope not,’ Rob said worriedly. ‘If they have, we’re screwed.’

  ‘Speaking optimistically,’ said Adam, his focus back on the laptop, ‘I’d hazard a guess that it was a one-woman operation. No respectable agency would hire an old boot like her. She had to have been a lone wolf.’

  ‘She said someone else had the footage,’ Rob reminded him.

  ‘Probably bluffing.’

  ‘What about the voicemail? There must be at least one other person working with her.’

  ‘Not necessarily. Could have been her hubby wondering why she wasn’t home yet. But there’s only one way to find out.’

  Rob pulled the mobile out of his pocket and listened to the voicemail.

  ‘Bill, it’s Chantelle,’ a girl’s voice machine-gunned down his ear. ‘I know you’re still annoyed with me, but I’ve just been watching the news and they showed some pictures of missing women. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m sure I’ve seen two of them with Rob; one last night, and the other on the first job. Please call me back when you get this.’

  ‘What the fuck …’ Rob pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in disbelief.

  ‘What’s up, bud?’ Adam looked up as he slotted a password-retrieval disc into the laptop’s CD drive.

  ‘No, that can’t be right.’ Rob shook his head. Then, looking at his friend, he said, ‘It sounded exactly like Julia – that girl I’ve been seeing.’

  ‘Really?’ Adam frowned. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Course I’m not fucking sure,’ Rob snapped. ‘I said it sounds like her.’

  ‘Play it again, on loudspeaker,’ Adam said, reaching for a pen. As the message began to play, he wrote down the number of the sender and pushed it across the desk. ‘Check it against Julia’s.’

  Rob pulled his own phone out of his pocket and compared the numbers. ‘It fucking is her,’ he said, the blood draining from his face when he saw that they matched. ‘Only her name’s not Julia, it’s Chantelle. Bitch!’ He spat the word out. ‘I’ve been seeing her for months; treated her like a fucking princess, and all the time she’s been spying on me. Christ, she reeled me right in with that sweet and innocent act. And here’s the best bit,’ he added indignantly. ‘When I first saw her I was planning on bringing her into the ring. But I liked her, so I changed my fucking mind.’

  ‘Oh, my,’ Adam murmured. ‘Seems the player has been well and truly played.’

  ‘Yeah, very funny,’ Rob said angrily. ‘Now what the fuck are we supposed to do? You heard her – she saw those tarts on the news. And how would she have recognised them if she hadn’t seen them? I thought she sounded weird when she rang me at the club last night. She must have been outside, waiting to catch me out.’

  ‘All right, calm down,’ Adam said, reaching for his drink. He took a swig and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. ‘Right, if it was her, then she must have filmed you on her phone, because the quality of those last shots is terrible compared with the earlier ones. Chances are she’ll still have it, so we need to get it off her.’

  ‘How?’ Rob demanded. ‘I never even got her fucking address. What an idiot!’ he hissed, slapping his forehead with his hand. ‘I thought I was being clever, keeping things casual, but I played right into her hands.’

  ‘Ring her,’ said Adam. ‘Arrange to meet her.’

  ‘She’s not going to take my calls now she thinks I’m involved with those girls going missing,’ Rob reminded him. ‘And she definitely won’t meet me – she’s not that stupid.’

  ‘Okay, well, she’s waiting for the investigator to call her back,’ Adam said thoughtfully. ‘Call her on that phone.’

  ‘What, and pretend to be a woman?’ Rob gave him a get real look.

  ‘Text her, then,’ said Adam. ‘Tell her you can’t talk because you’re still working, then ask her what’s going on.’

  Chantelle jumped when her phone’s text alert suddenly beeped, and when she saw Bill’s name on the screen she snatched it up.

  Just got your message, but can’t talk yet, still busy, the text read. What’s happened?

  I saw some girls on the news, Chantelle replied, repeating what she’d already said in the voicemail. They’ve been reported missing, and the police think they’re connected to a few more cases. One looked like the girl Rob was with last night, and another like the first girl I saw him with. What should we do?

  Nothing! Bill’s answer came through quickly. I’ll look into it, and if I think you’re right I’ll call the police. Probably turn out to be nothing, but I’ll need your phone in case they want to see the film. You have still got it, haven’t you?

  Yeah, was going to delete it, but forgot. Where do you want to meet? Chorlton Road or office?

  Chorlton Road. And don’t tell anybody anything.

  I won’t. I know I was stupid about the whole Rob thing, but it’ll never happen again, I promise. You can trust me.

  Hope so. See you in 20.

  Chantelle was glad that Bill had taken her seriously, although she was already starting to doubt that the girls she’d seen on TV could be the ones she’d seen with Rob because it just seemed too far-fetched. Even if they were, she seriously doubted that Rob had anything to do with their disappearance. As much as it hurt to know that he’d used her, he had always been an absolute gentleman so there was no way he could be involved in something like that. More likely he’d met them and charmed his way into their knickers – just as he had with her. They probably weren’t even missing but had just decided not to bother taking the jobs they had come over for, choosing instead to let rich men like Rob pay their way.

  Annoyed with herself for letting her imagination run away with her, Chantelle went out into the hall and pulled her boots on. Then, tapping on Leon’s door, she popped her head around and gave him a guilty smile when she saw him lying on his bed with his arms behind his head.

  ‘Sorry for chasing you out before,’ she apologised. ‘I’ve been in a weird mood all day, but I’m going for a walk to shake myself out of it. Will you be all right while I’m gone? Shouldn’t be too long.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m cool,’ Leon grunted, adding under his breath, ‘So long as you’ve cheered up when you get back. Can’t be doing with all these girly mood swings.’

  Amused that he was putting her moodiness down to hormones, Chantelle let herself out of the flat and walked quickly down the stairs.

  She had almost reached the end of the road and was about to cross over to the corner where Bill always picked her up. When she saw an all-too-familiar car sitting directly opposite, she stopped in her tracks. Oh, no, what was he doing here? Had he been trying to call her to let her know that he wanted to meet up, and she hadn’t heard it because she was walking?

  Chantelle slid her phone out of her pocket to check, and was confused when she saw that there were no missed calls or texts. She’d told Rob that she lived behind the shops he was facing, but he surely couldn’t just be sitting there on the off chance that she might walk past?

  Unless Yvette had kicked him out and he’d left his phone behind and hadn’t been able to call her?

  In which case, had he come to tell her that he was now free to be with her, or had he somehow found out that she was behind the photographs being sent to his wife?

  Rob suddenly turned his head and looked straight at her, the hairs on the back of Chantelle’s neck stood on end when she saw the rage in his eyes. And when his headlights immediately came on and she heard the roar of his engine as he pressed his foot to the floor, her instincts screamed at her to run – and, remembering Bill’s warning never to ignore her instincts, she turned and fled back the way she’d come.

  Terrified when she realised he was really close behind, Chantelle detoured down an alley between the houses she was passing and raced through the backstreets. In her panic, she dived down another alley, but this one was blocked off at the other end. It was too late to go back out into the open, so she forced her way through a half-open back ga
te into a pitch-dark yard and squatted down in the shadows.

  A couple of minutes later she heard footsteps walking past slowly and bit down on her hand when she heard Rob calling softly, ‘Julia …? Where are you?’

  The footsteps faded as he walked to the other end of the alley, but then became louder again as he came back. They stopped a short distance away from the yard and Chantelle squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that he would think he’d lost her and go. When his phone suddenly started to ring, she held her breath and cocked her head to listen.

  ‘Yeah, I saw her, but she did a runner,’ he said quietly. ‘She can’t have got far, though, ’cos I was right behind her.’ He paused now, obviously listening to what his caller was saying. Then, sounding jubilant, he said, ‘Oh, you fucking genius!’

  When his footsteps moved briskly away now, Chantelle stayed put, afraid that he was trying to lure her out of her hiding place by making her think he’d gone. She heard a car door slam shut in the near distance, but decided to give it a few more minutes before she risked breaking cover.

  ‘Right, what is it?’ Rob asked when he’d started the car and had the sat-nav ready to type in the address that Adam had found after finally managing to hack into the PI’s laptop.

  ‘Four thirty Mayfield Court,’ Adam told him. ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Go and get her,’ said Rob, peering at the sat-nav screen. ‘Christ, it’s literally around the corner,’ he said when the route had been calculated. ‘No wonder I couldn’t find her, she was probably already home.’

  ‘You can’t just go round there,’ Adam cautioned. ‘She told you she lived alone, but she’s lied about everything else, so she could live with mummy, daddy, and four strapping brothers, for all we know.’

  ‘So what am I supposed to do?’ Rob asked irritably. ‘I can’t just leave her with that film, or we can kiss goodbye to everything.’

  Adam thought it over for a minute, then said, ‘Okay, she thought she was supposed to be meeting her boss to hand her phone over, so text her again …’

  Chantelle was about to come out of hiding when her phone beeped. Trembling all over at the thought of what would have happened if Rob had still been standing outside the yard, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and saw that it was a text from Bill.

  Sorry couldn’t get there, still working, it read. Are you okay?

  I am now, Chantelle answered. Rob saw me and chased me, but I got away. About to go home, but don’t want to risk coming out again tonight in case he’s still hanging about. Can we meet in morning instead?

  Of course. Have you called police?

  No. Do you think I should?

  Absolutely not! came the quick reply. We need to know what we’re dealing with first. Is anyone going to be with you when you get home?

  My little brother, but Rob doesn’t know address, so we’ll be okay.

  Good! Stay safe, see you in morning x

  Chantelle smiled when she read the last message. It was the first time Bill had ever put a kiss at the end of a text, and it was nice to know that the woman cared about her as a person and not just as an employee. She was so glad that Bill wasn’t still angry with her for flouting the rules, and she prayed that she would get the chance to work with her again so she could make it up to her.

  She checked the time now and then slid the phone back into her pocket. Rob had been gone for a few minutes, but she would wait a few more to make sure that he wasn’t still driving around.

  28

  Leon turned his music down when he heard a knock at the front door and crept out into the hall. He hadn’t seen Damo and Acky since that day with the gun, and Anton had promised that it was sorted. But Chantelle wasn’t the only one who was scared that they might just be biding their time, and so he was always nervous whenever he was alone in the flat at night.

  He peeped out through the spyhole and called, ‘Who is it?’ when he saw a white man he’d never seen before on the step.

  Rob had been looking around to make sure that no one was watching. He turned to face the door when he heard the voice and, expression serious, said, ‘Sorry to call round so late, son, but does Chantelle live here? Only there’s been an accident, and—’

  Leon yanked the door open before the man could finish his sentence and gazed at him in dread. ‘Is she all right? What’s happened?’

  ‘She was hit by a car,’ Rob told him, assessing that he was around ten or eleven years of age. ‘Look, is there anyone else here?’ he asked, needing to make sure that Chantelle had been telling the truth about the kid being alone. ‘Mum or dad?’

  ‘No, just me.’ Leon was visibly shaking. ‘Where is she?’

  ‘She’s been taken to hospital,’ Rob told him. ‘I’m Detective Inspector Jones.’ He pulled out his wallet and quickly flashed his credit cards, sure that the boy wouldn’t be able to see any details in the dim light. ‘I’ll be going over there in a minute, but she asked for somebody to come and let you know. I can take you over there, if you like.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Leon said without hesitation, his concern for his sister overriding any suspicion that he might have ordinarily felt about a stranger turning up in the middle of the night and claiming to be a copper. ‘I’ll just get my shoes and coat.’

  Rob took another look around when the boy rushed back inside to get his things. Nobody was about, and he was pretty sure there were no CCTV cameras covering the area. Adam was a genius for telling him to ask Julia, or rather Chantelle, if she’d be alone when she got home. Left to his own devices, Rob would have dived in head first and potentially got himself slaughtered. But once he’d heard that the boy was alone it was simply a matter of getting to the flat before her. She obviously had no intention of facing him, and would probably have called the police by now if her boss hadn’t told her not to – and no doubt would call them as soon as her boss’s body was discovered, which could be any time now. But if she realised that her brother was in danger she wouldn’t dare open her trap. Rob just had to get her to come to him so there would be no witnesses when she handed the phone over.

  Leon’s eyes widened when he and the detective walked out from under the block a couple of minutes later and he saw the car they were heading for. ‘Is that yours?’

  ‘Sure is,’ Rob said, smiling when he heard the awe in the boy’s voice. ‘I take it you like cars?’

  ‘Love them,’ Leon affirmed, looking the car over as Rob unlocked the doors. ‘It’s mint. Must have cost a bomb.’

  ‘Probably,’ said Rob, opening the passenger-side door for him. ‘Luckily, I didn’t have to pay for it, because the force picks up the tab,’ he added after closing the boy’s door and going around to the other side.

  ‘Wow, I’m gonna be a copper if they give you motors like this to drive,’ Leon said, awed all over again by the car’s luxurious interior.

  ‘Good for you,’ Rob said approvingly as he locked the doors.

  ‘Which hospital’s she at?’ Leon asked when they set off.

  ‘Trafford General,’ Rob lied, smiling as he drove away from the flats. Nobody had seen him and the boy together, he was sure, so it wouldn’t be long before this whole sorry mess was cleared up and he and Adam could get back to business.

  Chantelle missed Rob’s car by just seconds as she scuttled around the corner with her head down and walked quickly towards the flats. Her heart was beating wildly as she rushed up the stairs, and she was flooded with relief when she let herself in. She slammed the door shut and then leaned her back against it for several moments to catch her breath.

  Leon’s bedroom door was open, the light spilling out into the otherwise dark hall. Calmer now, Chantelle popped her head inside to check on him. He wasn’t there and, guessing that he must be in the bathroom, she walked up the hall and tapped on the door.

  ‘Are you going to be long in there, ’cos I really need the loo.’

  When no answer came, she tried the door, and was surprised when it opened. After going to the toilet
, she went into the living room to see if Leon was in there. When she saw that he wasn’t, she checked the kitchen, and then her own and her mum’s bedrooms, before going back to Leon’s room.

  ‘Are you hiding?’ she asked, looking around. Then, frowning, she said, ‘Leon, just come out, this isn’t funny any more.’

  When he didn’t pop out of the wardrobe, and she heard no give-away giggles, she began to feel scared. Leon had hardly left the flat since all that stuff with the gang, apart from to go to and from school, and he still hadn’t made up with Kermit, so she couldn’t think where he might have gone. She just hoped he hadn’t taken it into his head to go looking for her. Rob wouldn’t know him if he saw him, but there were plenty of freaks out there who would love to get their hands on a cute kid like him.

  ‘Okay, stop it,’ she scolded herself as her imagination began to run away with her. Leon was young but he wasn’t stupid, so there was no way he would be wandering the streets at this time of night. If he was worried about her, he would probably have gone to see Anton, she reasoned. The man was his hero, so it was the logical place to start looking for him.

  Anton was in bed but not yet asleep. He’d been out earlier, playing snooker with the lads. But he was working in the morning, so when they had gone on to a club in town he had opted to come home instead.

  Thinking that it was probably Shotz when he heard a knock at the front door, he pulled on his dressing gown before going to let him in. His friend had been pretty wrecked when he’d left him, so the dude was bound to be smashed out of his skull by now and in need of a place to crash, because he wouldn’t want to face his ma while he was in a state.

  He drew his head back in surprise when he saw that it was Chantelle and not Shotz. He had seen her a couple of times since he’d helped her and her brother out that day, but only in passing, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her now.

  ‘Hey.’ He smiled. ‘Long time no see, stranger.’

  ‘Sorry, am I disturbing you?’ Chantelle asked when she saw that he was dressed for bed.