by Sam Michaels
‘He’s easily turned by a pretty face. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me tonight? I’d be pleased of the company.’
‘I’m sure, thanks. I’m going to write a letter to Tim.’
‘He only left yesterday.’
‘I know. But I miss him. And I miss Dog too.’
Georgina baulked at the mention of Dog. She missed the soppy mutt as well but did her best to keep thoughts of him from her mind. Especially the memory of how she’d found him, dead with his throat cut. At least Jacob Flowers had paid for what he’d done. She’d enjoyed inflicting the same fate on him as he had on Dog.
‘Well, you have fun writing your letter. Say hello to Tim from me. I’d best get off,’ Georgina said and grabbed her handbag. She took a red lipstick out of it and stood in front of the mirror over the hearth to apply the colour on her lips. She then checked her stockings. The seams up the back of her legs were straight. She was pleased with the stockings and the three crates of them that she’d acquired. The popular but hard-to-come-by nylons were selling on the black market like hot cakes. There were still women who couldn’t afford them though, and would make do with drawing a black line up the backs of their legs. Georgina thought her gran would have laughed at that if she’d been alive to see it.
A car pulled up outside. Georgina looked through the nets to see it was Johnny. She was glad he’d brought her car and not his own. ‘Right, I’ll see you later. Don’t wait up,’ she said to Charlotte as she pulled her coat on.
By the time she was outside, Johnny had opened the passenger car door and was holding it, ready to close it after she had climbed in. He was trying his best to get back in favour with her but she was still angry at his lack of judgement lately.
‘Straight to The Penthouse?’ he asked once she’d sat inside.
‘Yes.’
‘Everything all right?’
‘No, not really, Johnny. I’ll be having words with your Elsie tomorrow. Charlotte said she’s been skiving in the café. She’s leaving Charlotte to do the lion’s share of the work and it ain’t fair.’
‘Has she? I’m surprised to hear that. Elsie comes home feeling pretty worn out. She said she’s been grafting too hard to make me any dinner.’
Georgina didn’t say anything but raised her eyebrows at Johnny. He started the car and drove off with a frown on his face, clearly digesting what he’d just been told.
They arrived at The Penthouse and Johnny was quick to jump out of the car and run around to Georgina’s side. She’d already opened the door herself and was climbing out by the time Johnny appeared.
The Barker twins looked half frozen but greeted her with warm smiles as they opened the entrance doors. ‘That Russian bloke is already here,’ Nobby said as she passed him.
At the cloakroom, the young lady Dina had employed appeared nervous. Georgina never really understood why she had that effect on so many people. It wasn’t as if she was an ogre! But, not wanting to keep Oleg waiting any longer, she didn’t have time to offer any reassurance to the girl now.
Johnny led the way down into the club, swaggering in his usual manner.
‘What’s the time?’ she asked him.
Johnny checked his watch. ‘Six-forty.’
‘We’re late. I hope Dina is keeping Oleg entertained.’
‘Poor Oleg,’ Johnny replied and guffawed.
Yes, poor Oleg, indeed, thought Georgina. But Oleg was one of the few people who seemed to enjoy Dina’s company.
When they walked into the club, Georgina’s eyes squinted as her focus adjusted to the dim lights. She spotted Oleg standing by the table where Lord Hamilton was seated and walked towards them with a wide smile. No doubt her Russian customer had already heard from Lord Hamilton that they had the painting he’d requested and trusted Oleg would be willing to pay handsomely for it.
‘Johnny, tell Dina to bring us a bottle of champagne,’ she said quietly.
Georgina glanced towards the bar. Dina was stood behind it, her hands placed on top, but something appeared amiss. Even in the low lights, she could see Dina looked distressed. Her eyes were wide with fear and was she crying?
‘Wait,’ Georgina whispered hastily to Johnny.
She walked towards the bar and as Dina became clearer, Georgina could see the woman’s mouth was taped. What was going on? Had Oleg done this? And why had Lord Hamilton allowed it? Perhaps Dina had given Oleg some cheek. That wouldn’t have surprised Georgina but the man had no right to treat her staff in this way.
Georgina marched angrily towards the bar, throwing Oleg a filthy sideways look. She wasn’t sure, but she thought he smirked back at her. Tears were streaming down Dina’s face. Georgina whipped the tape from Dina’s mouth.
‘My hands, my hands,’ Dina shrieked, looking at them on the bar.
Georgina looked too. It took a few moments for her mind to comprehend what she was seeing. Dina’s hands were bruised and swollen. Blood oozed from the backs of them. And then, horrified, she realised why. Dina’s hands were nailed to the bar!
‘Don’t move,’ Georgina told her.
‘I can’t.’
Johnny had already reached into his coat and had pulled his gun on Oleg, aiming it across the room. Georgina spun to look at the man. He’d thrown his head back in laughter.
‘You won’t shoot me because I will blow Lord Hamilton’s head off before your bullet hits me,’ Oleg warned, his gun now pointed at Lord Hamilton’s face.
Georgina stamped towards them. As she drew closer, she could see Lord Hamilton’s hands were on the table. She had no doubt that he’d also been nailed to it.
‘What the fuck is going on?’ she screeched at Oleg. She noticed his gun had a long muffler on the end of the barrel, something she’d only ever read about but never seen. If Oleg fired his gun, the muffler would silence the noise. The Barker twins would have no idea of the bloodshed down here.
‘Tell your man to place his gun on the floor and kick it to me,’ Oleg answered slowly.
Georgina nodded to Johnny, who carried out the instruction but with obvious reluctance.
Oleg used his foot to drag Johnny’s gun closer and bent down to pick it up, keeping his own weapon aimed at Lord Hamilton.
‘And you, Georgina, do the same with your gun,’ Oleg said.
Georgina sighed, knowing she had no choice. She opened her bag, placed the gun on the floor and slid it towards Oleg.
Oleg picked it up and growled, ‘Take a seat,’ gesturing to the table. He then turned to Johnny, saying, ‘Lock the doors. We wouldn’t want to be disturbed by the pair of idiots upstairs.’
Georgina sat at the table as Johnny pulled a lock across the top of the double doors. As she’d feared, Lord Hamilton’s hands were nailed down just as Dina’s were. She placed a hand on his arm and could feel him trembling. ‘It’ll be all right,’ she whispered.
The only thing that moved were Lord Hamilton’s eyes as he glanced sideways at her. The rest of his body remained rigid with fear.
‘Right, you’ve got me where you want me. Now tell me what this is about,’ Georgina demanded.
‘Let us have a drink first. Dina, bring me vodka and champagne for Miss Garrett.’
‘I’ll get the drinks,’ Georgina said, scraping her seat back and knowing that Dina couldn’t move.
Oleg immediately pointed his gun at her. ‘No, Dina will bring them… or I will shoot her.’
‘You’ve nailed her hands to the fucking bar! How do you expect her to bring us drinks? I’ll get them.’
‘No. Sit back down,’ Oleg hissed. ‘Let me make myself clear, Georgina. I have no affinity with you. I will happily fire my bullets into your head, and then still make Dina bring me a drink. Do not be a martyr and waste your life for nothing.’
Georgina looked over to Dina, feeling helpless, and slowly sat back down.
‘Good. Dina, those drinks. Come now, I’m waiting.’
‘I can’t,’ Dina sobbed.
‘If I have to fetc
h the drinks myself, I will kill you. It’s your choice, Dina. Bring me vodka or die.’
‘But… I can’t… my hands,’ she cried, furiously shaking her head.
‘DO IT!’ Oleg barked.
Dina screwed her eyes shut and screamed in pain as she tried to lift her hands from the bar. ‘I can’t,’ she cried again.
‘Your choice,’ Oleg said and turned his gun towards her.
‘THAT’S ENOUGH,’ Georgina shrieked. ‘How dare you do this to her! Whatever your problem is, it’s with me and has nothing to do with Dina.’
Oleg laughed, a long, wicked laugh that made Georgina’s blood run cold. She thought the man was as mad as Billy Wilcox had been, and that sort of unpredictability scared her.
‘I want Dina to bring me a drink. It’s not too much to ask. It is her job,’ he said with a shrug. Without warning, he turned his gun back towards Lord Hamilton and to Georgina’s disbelief and horror, Oleg fired a single shot.
Lord Hamilton slumped forward. His head hit the table hard. Georgina could barely bring herself to look but knew instantly that he was dead. His blood seeped from the bullet hole in his head and spread across the table before dripping onto the floor. She glared at Oleg in disbelief, only managing to croak, ‘Why?’
‘He was boring me,’ the man answered nonchalantly.
Dina had fallen silent. Johnny had lowered his eyes and was staring at Lord Hamilton’s blood that was inches away from his shiny shoes.
Oleg’s gun had hardly made a noise and Georgina realised that no one was going to come to her aid. Once again, she was alone and inwardly prayed, please, Lash, help me. For our children, help me get out of here alive.
‘You are so much more attractive when you’re not snivelling, Dina,’ Oleg said. ‘I won’t ask you again, bring me a vodka – or do you want to be shot dead like Lord Hamilton?’
‘Wait, Oleg,’ Georgina said quickly. ‘Dina will bring you a drink, but first I want to know why you are doing this.’
Oleg pulled out a seat and sat a couple of feet away from the table. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and cocked his head to one side as he scrutinised her. ‘You fooled me Georgina,’ he said. ‘And I don’t like to look a fool.’
‘Is this about the paintings I sold you?’
‘Of course it is. I bought them from you in good faith, believing they were originals. Tell me, did you see me as stupid? Did you laugh behind my back?’
‘No, Oleg. It wasn’t like that. I admit I sold you fakes and I regret that. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again. To make it up to you, I’ve managed to acquire the original painting you asked for.’
‘I know about the original, I have it, here, see,’ Oleg said and picked up the wrapped painting from another table. ‘As I put a six-inch nail through Dina’s hand, Lord Hamilton was eager to give me the painting. He said I could take it free of charge. He also offered me a refund on the first paintings I bought from you. Wasn’t that nice of him?’
‘Yes, it was, and as Lord Hamilton said, you’ll get your money back for the other paintings. You’ve also had an apology from me. Isn’t that enough?’
‘Yes, but I still haven’t had a vodka,’ Oleg said with an evil leer.
‘Dina will get you a drink if you promise to allow her to live.’
‘Of course. She brings me vodka, she doesn’t die.’
‘Good,’ Georgina said and looked over to Dina. ‘Bring Oleg a bottle of vodka and two glasses. One for him and one for yourself.’
Dina’s eyes widened in fear as she nodded. It was clear she knew what she had to do if she wanted to stay alive.
‘But one more thing, Oleg. How did you find out that the first paintings were fake?’
Oleg casually leaned sideways in his seat and placed his elbow on the armrest, his gun now aimed at Georgina, and answered, ‘Your artist. The Dutchman. He told me and I paid him.’
Georgina bit her lower lip as she seethed inside. Geert Neerhoff had sold her out and now Lord Hamilton was dead. She swore to herself that if she got out of The Penthouse alive, she’d kill the double-crossing Dutchman.
Georgina looked back to Dina and saw that her face was as pale as her hair. Georgina didn’t want to do it but there was no other option. ‘Dina, bring the vodka now,’ she ordered.
Dina’s jaw clenched and her eyes closed. She drew in a long breath and screamed in agony as she tried to pull her hands off the bar. Georgina couldn’t watch but when she looked, Dina had only managed to free one of her hands. She was whimpering now and looked close to passing out.
‘Dina, free your other hand. Do it. NOW,’ Georgina shouted, cringing at the thought of the pain Dina must be in.
Georgina admired her bravery as Dina gritted her teeth and drew in a long breath. With a determined but agonising scream, her other hand was finally free. She stood in shock, gaping at her bloodied hands and the holes that went through them where the nails had been.
‘Well done,’ Oleg congratulated her. ‘You see, Georgina, our Russian women are strong. Now, Dina, please, bring the vodka and join me.’
As Dina walked machine-like to fetch the vodka, Georgina wondered if the Barker twins had heard the screams, but as they were stood outside the club, she doubted they would have. But what about the new girl in the cloakroom? She must have heard something. Why weren’t the twins kicking down the doors?
‘Are you planning on staying for long? Only it will be opening time soon and I need to make arrangements to get the place cleaned up,’ Georgina asked coolly as she looked at Oleg’s gun, still aimed directly at her. Inside she was quaking, but she couldn’t let Oleg see her fear.
‘No, just for one drink. Your club is of no interest to me and we have concluded our business. I suggest you stay out of art dealing from now on, Georgina. You’re not very good at it, and if he could speak, I’m sure Lord Hamilton would agree with me. By the way, you will need to find yourself a new attendant for the cloakroom. Your lady is with me now.’
So that explained why the girl was so nervous, Georgina thought, wrinkling her nose like she had a bad smell under it. Yet another person easily bought.
Dina approached the table, her sore hands shaking as she carried a tray. As she placed it on the table, Georgina heard a terrific bang and to her great relief the double doors to the club burst open. Rapid gunfire sounded overhead. Georgina threw herself under the table, grabbing Dina’s arm and dragging her down too. Holding her body over Dina’s, she looked across to see Johnny had ducked under the next table. She could hear bullets ricocheting off the walls, glass lampshades smashing and wood splintering.
‘Keep down,’ she told Dina, shielding her, then mouthed to Johnny, ‘Who is it?’
He shook his head, obviously with no idea. She knew it wasn’t the Barker twins. They didn’t have that sort of gun power.
The firing ceased as Oleg’s body fell beside her. He had at least three bullet holes in his chest. Georgina gasped at the sight of him. His eyes were open but empty. Thank goodness he was dead… but who the hell had killed him?
‘Stay down,’ Georgina whispered to Dina before carefully climbing back to her feet. She glanced around. Her club had been badly shot up and standing in the doorway, her eyes fell on Temi Zammit. He had two men on each side of him, all of them sporting firearms.
‘Is he dead?’ Temi asked, looking at Oleg’s lifeless body on the floor.
‘Yes, he is,’ Georgina answered. She picked up Oleg’s gun, thinking that the muffler would come in useful. As she unscrewed the silencer, Temi saw Lord Hamilton slumped across the table.
‘Oh, shit, we didn’t kill him too, did we?’ he asked.
‘No, Oleg did that.’
‘Fuck, we were too late. But I’m glad to see you’re alive.’
‘How did you know?’ Georgina asked.
‘Our artist friend, Geert Neerhoff. He dropped off a painting today and told me he was in a position to clear his debts to me. I was curious to know how, so I made sure he told
me. He said he was working with a Russian man. You know me, Georgina, I make it my business to know everything that is going on and I knew you had sold Oleg some dodgy artwork. He’s not a man I’d ever work with. I know his past. I knew he’d kill you and I couldn’t allow that to happen.’
Georgina’s legs felt weak and her mouth dry. She lowered herself unsteadily onto a seat. ‘But what if you’d come bursting in here and killed my customers? What if you’d got it wrong?’
‘I never get it wrong. Your men on the door are turning away any customers tonight. I suggest you pour yourself a stiff drink and get this place cleared up. Good night, Georgina.’
‘Wait,’ she called after him. ‘Why? Why would you do this for me?’
Temi walked over to her and leaned down. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek as he whispered in her ear, ‘Because you’re going to kill The Top so I need you alive. And now, you owe me.’
23
‘I’m warning you, Elsie, don’t be late for work today. As it is, Miss Garrett intends to have words with you. You don’t want to upset her more than she already is,’ Johnny said as he pulled on his coat. ‘Come on, get up.’
‘But, Johnny, it’s so cold. I want to stay under these warm covers,’ Elsie answered and pulled the blankets up to her chin.
‘Get dressed, that’ll keep you warm.’
‘I had a lovely, thick dressing gown when I lived with Jacob. He bought it for me from Harrods. It had matching slippers too.’
‘’Ere,’ Johnny said impatiently. He took his dressing gown from the back of a chair and threw it on the bed. ‘It ain’t from Harrods but it’ll have to do.’
Elsie looked at the dressing gown with disdain. ‘I want a new one. My own one.’
‘Then get out of bed, go to work and you can buy yourself one with your wages. Christ, Elsie, what you earn is for you to spend on yourself. It’s not like I’m taking money from you towards bills and food, is it?’
‘Huh, even four weeks’ wages from the café wouldn’t be enough to buy anything from Harrods. Don’t you want me looking nice?’
