by Lee Martin
‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Kate. ‘Or I’ll kill you myself.’
Robbo was silent. He’d seen what she was capable of, and didn’t want any more.
‘And Ali,’ said Kate.
‘Yes.’
‘Sorry love, but it’s just me, Poppy and Sadie now.’
‘What?’
‘I’ve had enough of men. You’re just another bloke Ali, just like Robbo except you don’t smack me. All you wanted was to use me for information, well that, and for the sex. Shame for you that I’m good at more than just sucking cock.’ She turned her gun on the Asian policeman. ‘On the floor. You can keep Robbo company. You deserve each other. Now. Sadie, I’ll drive.’
‘Best idea I’ve heard all day,’ said Sadie in reply.
And that’s just what they did, taking Poppy with them, and gently putting her into the truck.
51
Kate jumped behind the wheel, whilst Sadie cared for Poppy who lay across the double passenger seat. The van screeched through the back streets towards the A12, wheels spinning and gears crashing. ‘Slow down Kate,’ Sadie yelled. ‘You’ll have old bill on us.’
‘Sorry,’ said Kate as she eased off the accelerator. ‘Christ, that was bloody awful wasn’t it.’
Sadie nodded, holding her hoodie onto Poppy’s wound.
‘How is she?’ said Kate, taking her eyes off the road for a moment.
‘She’s breathing and her pulse is strong,’ replied Sadie. ‘I think she’s going to be all right.’
‘Christ, I hope so. Is the bullet still inside her?’
‘No, it went right through. That’s why there’s so much blood.’
‘Are they huge holes?’
‘No. The one at the back’s a bit bigger. Lucky it was only a small gun. And I think our Poppy has put on a bit of weight round the middle. I think it’s just a flesh wound.’
‘Then why won’t she wake up?’
‘Shock I think. I don’t know Kate, I ain’t a nurse.’
‘You’re doing a good job though.’
‘I’m doing my best. That fucking Joseph. He got what he deserved.’
Kate nodded. ‘What are we going to do? We can’t take her to hospital can we?’
‘No. We’d have to dump her, and she doesn’t deserve that.’
‘What then?’
‘I know a bloke. A mate of Eddie’s.’
‘He would be.’
‘Yeah, I know. Struck-off doctor. He’ll fix her up.’
‘You think he can make her better?’
‘Course he can. He’s done it enough times. It’s where all the chaps go when they’ve had a bit of trouble. Bet your dad knew him.’
‘Probably,’ Kate replied as she swung onto the three-lane section of the A12 heading towards the Blackwall tunnel. ‘Is this right?’ she asked as she slid the truck into the middle lane. ‘Where are we going? Is it far?’
‘Not far,’ replied Sadie. ‘East Ham. Down the High Road. He’s got a place above Iceland.’
‘Will he be there?’
‘He’s always there love. Agoraphobic.’
‘Jesus.’
‘Yeah, I know. Get on the inside and take the A13.’
Dutifully Kate did as she was told and took the slip road and headed east. ‘What are we going to tell Poppy about Nik?’ she asked as they neared East Ham.
‘The truth, what else? She died getting revenge.’
‘That was our Niki all right. Then what? If Poppy gets better?’
‘When she gets better, you mean,’ said Sadie.
‘That’s what I meant. Sorry.’
‘S’alright. Look, we’ve got loads of dough. We can find somewhere to hide out until Poppy can travel, then we’re off, right. Like we said. Somewhere warm and safe. We’ve all got new passports, and she’s on her own now. But she won’t be. She’ll have us. We’re fucking family now Kate. Remember that.’
Kate nodded again, and Sadie relaxed the pressure for a moment and found cigarettes in her pocket. ‘Want one?’ she asked.
‘Better not,’ said Kate, slowing as she turned on to East Ham High Street.
‘Why not. You smoke like a chimney.’
‘Not any more.’
‘Why not?’
‘Well, as it goes Sade, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m pregnant.’
‘For Christ’s sake. Are you kidding?’
‘No.’
‘So, who’s the daddy?’
‘Dunno. Like I told you, Robbo’s been amorous recently and so has Ali.’
‘Well, we’ll know when it pops out. You are keeping it?’
‘Course.’
‘Cos this bloke does a nice line in abortions too from what I’ve heard.’
‘Shut up.’
‘Sorry love. But what a turn-up.’
‘I know. I was so scared about getting hurt today.’
‘So we really are a family. Christ, who would’ve thought it. You, pregnant. That’s the place,’ said Sadie suddenly. ‘Iceland, see. Park up.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Go and knock on his door of course.’
‘What happens if he says no?’
‘I’ll take this gun I’ve got in my pocket, stick it up his arse and blow his brains out.’
‘You’re covered in blood Sade,’ said Kate. ‘Want me to go?’
‘No. He don’t know you. Give us your jumper.’ She peeled off her blood soaked gloves and dropped them on the floor, then took Kate’s hoodie and pulled it over her stained T-shirt. ‘Don’t show too much on my trousers does it?’ she asked.
‘No. they’re black. No one notices anything anyway.’
‘OK, wait here and I’ll find the good doctor. Keep holding my hoodie on Poppy. Keep the pressure on.’
‘OK. Hurry up. We don’t want to lose Poppy, too.’
Sadie hopped out of the truck, and Kate held the garment on Poppy’s side, applying firm pressure to staunch the blood flow. A moment later Poppy groaned and opened her eyes. ‘Thank God,’ said Kate. ‘Poppy darlin’ are you OK?’
‘Oh Jesus, I hurt,’ the girl replied. ‘Where am I? What happened?’
‘You got shot.’
‘Is it bad?’
‘Sadie says no. We’re getting you seen to.’
‘Hospital?’ Poppy cried.
‘No. Some geezer Eddie knows. He was a doctor. Is a doctor, I mean. You’ll be fine.’
‘Where’s Niki? I need Niki,’ said Poppy, plaintively.
Kate held Poppy’s hand. ‘Oh Poppy,’ she said. ‘Niki’s not here. She got hurt.’
‘Where is she then? In the back?’ For the first time Poppy seemed to notice where she was.
‘No love. She didn’t make it. She died saving you.’
‘Who did it? Who shot me? Who killed Niki?’
‘Joseph. Then Niki killed him. With that knife. I got it for you.’
Poppy started to weep.
‘Don’t take on love, she loved you. She protected you right to the end.’
‘Oh God, I wish it was me.’
‘Don’t say that. You don’t mean it,’ and Kate took Poppy gently in her arms and kissed her hair. ‘We’re here now. Me and Sade. We’ll take care of you, I promise.’
Poppy just cried harder.
Once across the road Sadie body-swerved through the pedestrian traffic and rang the doorbell of the flat above the shop. There was no answer, so she rang again, and hammered hard on the wood with her fist. After what seemed like forever she heard shuffling footsteps from inside and the door opened a crack on a chain to expose a rheumy-eyed face topped with thin grey hair. ‘Hello Doc,’ she said. ‘Remember me?’
‘Who?’ croaked the man through a mouthful of brown teeth. ‘Who’s there?’
‘Sadie Ross. Eddie’s wife.’
‘Eddie Ross. It’s been a long time.’
‘He’s not here Doc. He’s away. But I’ve got someone.’
‘I don’t do that any
more.’
‘Five thousand quid in Euros Doc, says you do.’
‘No Sadie,’ and he went to close the door, but her Doc Marten was in the gap.
‘Yes you fucking do. I’ve got a friend that needs you.’
‘Newham Hospital’s not far.’
‘Fuck off Doc, you know I wouldn’t be here if I could take her to a hospital.’
‘Her?’
‘A mate. Family. Ten thousand.’
He thought for a moment, then said. ‘I suppose you’d better come in. You can take your foot out of the door now, I need to release the chain.’
‘No tricks,’ said Sadie.
He gave her an old fashioned look, pushed the door to, released the chain, then opened it wide. ‘Bullet I suppose,’ he said.
Sadie nodded.
‘Where is she?’ he asked
‘In that truck over there. She’s out cold.’
Just as she said it, Kate arrived at her side. ‘She’s awake,’ she said. ‘But she’s hurting.’
‘Can she walk?’ asked the doctor.
‘I reckon.’
‘How many of you are there?’
‘Just three.’
‘There’s a loading bay for the shop at the back. You can get your vehicle through. I’ve got a back door, but she’ll have to climb the stairs.’
‘We’ll make it,’ said Sadie. ‘And thanks Doc.’
‘Don’t thank me yet. And bring the money, I like to get paid in advance.’
Kate ran back to the truck as Sadie followed the doctor up a steep flight of stairs, through a kitchen that looked like it hadn’t seen a mop and bucket for a year, and he shoved open a half glass door that looked over the Iceland car park at the back. There were some vans and motors parked up, but no sign of life. A steep flight of rusty steps led down to the ground. ‘I hope your surgery is cleaner than your kitchen,’ said Sadie.
‘Take it or leave it.’
Just then the truck came through an arch and Kate drove it close to the steps. Sadie ran down and helped Poppy out of the passenger door. She groaned in pain, and between them Sadie and Kate helped her up the stairs. ‘Get some dough for him Kate,’ said Sadie when they were inside. ‘And mind the truck. The last thing we need is for it to be nicked.’
‘That would be unfortunate,’ said Kate as she went back out again. ‘I’ll just be a minute.’
She came back with a pile of notes. ‘How much is this in real money?’ she asked.
Sadie took the money and said, ‘Christ knows. But I reckon the Doc’ll be happy. Now get back down. I’ll be with you as soon as he’s had a look at her.’
The doctor had led Poppy deeper into the flat and Sadie found her lying on a grubby sheet on an old hospital bed in an otherwise empty room. The doctor had pulled off her T-shirt and was examining the wound. ‘You’re a lucky girl,’ he said. ‘Not much internal damage from what I can see. I’ll clean out the wound, bandage you up, give you some antibiotics, then you can go.’
‘Will it hurt?’ asked Poppy.
‘Oh yes,’ he replied. ‘It’ll hurt all right. Have some of this.’ And he handed her a half-full bottle of brandy.
And it did. But Poppy was stoic although her face was the colour of the sheet she was lying on. Grey and sweaty. But the doctor was as gentle as he could be and Sadie held her hand throughout, and afterwards there were deep cuts from Poppy’s nails on her palm.
Within an hour Poppy was bandaged and, although she stumbled as she got off the bed, she managed to walk back down the stairs with only Sadie’s assistance. They left the doctor counting the Euros with a smile on his face. The first they’d seen since they arrived.
Once inside the truck, Kate drove again, and said. ‘What do we do now?’
‘Find somewhere safe to lie low, let Poppy get some rest, and we need to get rid of this truck and get another motor.’
‘If Niki was here she’d steal one,’ said Kate.
‘But she’s not,’ said Poppy, her voice faltering.
‘I’m so sorry, Poppy,’ said Kate, gently.
‘We’ll hire one,’ said Sadie. ‘I got myself a new driving licence too, just in case.’
‘You’re a genius,’ said Kate.
‘I like to think so. And then we’ve got to get this money sorted. We can’t carry it around for the rest of our lives.’
‘What are we going to do with it?’ said Kate. ‘Christ, I never thought of that.’
‘I did,’ said Sadie. ‘I opened a bank account in my new name.’
‘You thought of everything,’ said Kate.
‘I had a good teacher in Eddie. Now just drive Kate. Let’s get out of London and find a car-hire firm. Stanstead should do. Then we’ll head north and dump this bloody truck somewhere.’
And that’s exactly what happened.
* * *
Three weeks later three women boarded an early morning Eurostar to Paris. Two travelled together. An attractive dark-haired white woman in her mid-thirties with a fashionably short haircut, and a smaller, coffee coloured girl who walked with the aid of a stick, travelled first class. Down in second was another dark-haired girl in her twenties who was in the early stages of pregnancy. All paid for their tickets in cash, were expensively dressed, and carried only hand luggage. Once in Paris they took two taxis to the Eiffel Tower where they greeted each other like old friends, before taking another cab to the Charles De Gaulle airport where they purchased three first-class one-way tickets to New York, also with cash, and when they arrived they hired a limo and vanished into the metropolis.
At no time during their journey did anyone pay them any more attention than would normally be given to three beautiful women.
52
The beaches are wide and white in Ipanema, where the tall and tanned girl went walking; lined with hotels for tourists and longer staying visitors. Poppy, Sadie and Kate lay on sun loungers under brightly coloured umbrellas sipping pre-lunch drinks and watched the world go by. Poppy and Sadie on cocktails, Kate on straight orange juice. Poppy wore a black, one-piece bathing suit to hide the scars from Connie’s bullet, Sadie wore a tiny bikini, and Kate wore a bikini too. But a slightly larger one, and over it a sarong to protect her swelling belly.
‘Look at the arse on that,’ said Sadie as a waiter in white shorts and T-shirt took drinks to a neighbouring table. ‘I could eat my breakfast off it.’
‘Don’t you ever think of anything else?’ said Kate lifting her sunglasses off her eyes and checking out his behind.
‘You’d be surprised,’ said Sadie. ‘What I think about.’
‘No I wouldn’t,’ said Kate. ‘Do you think they’re still looking? The men I mean.’
‘Count on it. We fucked them up, killed a couple of them and nicked their dough. Left them to rot. Course they’re still looking.’
‘Do you think we killed the wrong ones?’ asked Kate.
‘Who knows? Maybe we should’ve killed them all, let God sort them out.’
‘No. I liked the way we left Ali and Robbo together. Bastards.’
‘Good result though,’ said Sadie with a smile. ‘I looked on the net. All hell broke loose at home.’
‘Not a good result for Niki,’ said Poppy.
‘Sorry, darling,’ said Sadie. ‘You know I didn’t mean it to sound like that.’
‘I know,’ said Poppy. ‘Only I miss her so much.’
‘We all do,’ said Kate. ‘We were family.’
‘Still are,’ said Sadie.
‘Forever,’ said Kate. ‘And when baby comes, it’s Nicholas if it’s a boy, Nikita, if it’s a girl.’
Under her shades, a tear rolled down from Poppy’s eye.
‘Don’t cry girl,’ said Sadie, touching her hand. ‘We’re here for you. Always.’
Poppy nodded, but the tears kept coming.
‘You lot still carrying?’ asked Kate, changing the subject.
‘Not many,’ Sadie lifted the handbag by her side and hefted it in her hand. ‘Nine
mill. You? Apart from junior, I mean.’
‘I sleep with a 45 under my pillow.’
‘Handy. Me, I find it’s a bit of a passion-killer when a man finds a gun in bed.’
‘Is that a pistol in your knickers or are you pleased to see me…’
Sadie laughed. ‘You got that right. What about you, Poppy?’
‘I’ve had enough of guns,’ she replied, sadly.
‘Course you have.’
‘What would you do if Eddie or Robbo, or Ali came down those steps there?’ Kate pointed at the flight leading to the bar of the hotel. ‘Right this minute.’
‘Shoot the fucker, leave everything and head for the airport. I’ve got my passport, or at least Susie Armstrong’s, whoever she is, in my bag, cash, traveller’s cheques and a packet of three. What else does a girl need?’
‘Not much I’ve discovered. Poppy and I would be right behind you.’
‘That’s my girls. But they’re not going to. Or at least I hope not. I’m looking forward to lunch and a siesta with the cabana boy.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ said Kate.
‘Nor did Eddie. But he believes me now. Another one of these, girls?’ She tapped her glass with a long fingernail.
‘Why not?’
‘Yeah, why not?’
First published in 2007 by No Exit Press
an imprint of Oldcastle Books
PO Box 394,
Harpenden, AL5 1XJ
www.noexit.co.uk
This ebook edition published in 2012
All rights reserved
© Lee Martin 2007
The right of Lee Martin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
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