Schemer

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘What am I going to do, Ty? I mean, how am I going to find out who this boy is if Dannielle doesn’t want to tell me?’ Stephanie wept, clinging to her son.

  ‘If you don’t make me go to school this week, then I can find out who he is for you. Brad’s got the week off ’cause his mum said he don’t have to go back till after his grandad’s funeral. He’ll help me.’

  Pulling away from Tyler, Stephanie looked him in the eyes. ‘How are you going to find out who he is though, Ty? And I don’t think you should really be skipping off school, boy.’

  Tyler thought about his answer before he blurted anything stupid out. ‘Danni’s bound to come back today when she thinks you’re at work for a change of clothes, Mum. I can then follow her and see where she goes.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, Ty. Say the boy don’t live locally and she gets a bus or train to meet him or something. She’s not been using my cab firm, I’ve already checked.’

  Desperate to have another week off school, Tyler decided to disclose a bit of inside information. ‘She don’t get a bus or train to meet him. He picks her up in his motor.’

  The word motor immediately sent chills down Stephanie’s spine. One of her best clients at the salon, Sherri, had lost her youngest daughter in a car crash last year. The girl had met a lad who had just passed his driving test and Sherri’s daughter had been killed because the silly little sod of a boyfriend had been racing with another car. The lad had survived with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises, and a slap on the wrist from the courts, but for Sherri’s poor daughter it had been curtains. ‘Where does he pick her up from, Ty? Have you actually seen him? What does he look like? How old do you think he is?’ Steph asked, frantically. She knew she was bombarding her son with too many questions, but such was her anxiety, she couldn’t help herself.

  Tyler didn’t want to reveal everything he knew, as he felt that his mum would not only go off her head, but also take matters into her own hands and follow Dannielle herself. ‘Let me have the week off school and I promise you I’ll get you photos of the geezer and his motor.’

  Desperate to know how old her daughter’s boyfriend might be, what he looked like, and what car he drove, Stephanie nodded her head. ‘OK, you can have this week off, but if you don’t get me any evidence, Ty, and I find out you’ve said all this just because you don’t want to go to school, I swear I will kill you.’

  Tyler stood up. ‘I won’t let you down, Mum, I promise.’

  Dannielle groaned with delight as Barry flicked his tongue against her clitoris and gave her another wonderful orgasm. Twice last night they had made love, and twice again this morning, and each time they did so, the sex between them just seemed to get better and better. The only bit that Dannielle hadn’t really enjoyed so far was when Barry had encouraged her to put his penis in her mouth. She hadn’t really known what to do. However, it didn’t taste that bad, and she was sure that in time she would get used to it. Dannielle sighed and laid her head on Barry’s chest. ‘I think I’ll pop home and get changed soon; then if you want we can go out for lunch somewhere.’

  Barry kissed her on the forehead. ‘Your wish is my command, Princess. What you gonna do tonight? You gonna stay here again or face the wrath of your mother?’

  ‘I’d best go home tonight and see how the land lies, Barry. If Mum kicks off badly, I can always come back.’

  Lifting up the arm that Stephanie had dug her nails into, Barry planted gentle kisses on the small grazes. ‘If your mother attacks you again, she’ll have me to deal with next time,’ he said protectively.

  ‘My mum didn’t mean to hurt me, Bal. She was just angry and it was her nails’ fault, not hers. If my mum didn’t wear false nails she wouldn’t have hurt me at all.’

  ‘OK, you believe what you want,’ Barry replied rather abruptly.

  Desperate for them not to have their first lovers’ tiff, Dannielle decided the best way to avert it was by pleasing her man. She knew Barry had been quite disappointed when she had only put his penis into her mouth briefly last night, so she decided to try again.

  ‘Ahh, Danni,’ Barry whispered, as he felt her sweet young lips connect with his prize asset.

  As Dannielle forced herself to give her first-ever proper blow job, Barry Franklin couldn’t help but smirk. He loved Danni dearly, but he still got a kick out of wishing Stephanie could see her daughter right now.

  Tyler was playing a game of Virtua Fighter on his PlayStation with Brad when his hussy of a sister arrived home. ‘Where you been?’ he shouted out, casually.

  ‘Out,’ Dannielle yelled as she ran up the stairs.

  ‘Right, let’s go. We can play this again later,’ Tyler said to Brad. They had already concocted a plan between them. Tyler was going to wait at Loughton Station and Brad was going to be the one to follow Dannielle in case she took a detour. Both lads now had disposable cameras. Tyler had made his mother leave him a score this morning, in case he needed the money to complete his task successfully.

  ‘We are still gonna buy some fags and lager later with all that money you got left over, ain’t we?’ Brad asked his pal.

  ‘Yeah, of course we are. Now, I’m gonna shoot off to the station and you hide where I told you to. Keep your hood up at all times and keep in touch with me by phone. If Danni sees you, just walk the other way, then ring me.’

  Brad jokingly saluted Tyler. ‘Sorted, boss.’

  Unable to concentrate on work, Stephanie asked Maria to see to her latest client for her.

  ‘Are you OK? You look a bit peaky today, Steph,’ Maria asked, concerned.

  Stephanie was not one to discuss her personal life with her staff, so chose to tell a small white lie. ‘I’ve got a feeling I’ve got the start of a bug or something. I’m going to sit out the back for a while as I need to make a few phone calls. Give me a shout if you have any problems, Maria.’ Steph shut the door and sat in the room she had converted into her little office. She hadn’t wanted to speak to her mother when she had rung her at home this morning, so she had made Tyler take the call and tell his gran that Steph was busy and she would call her back later.

  ‘You all right, Mum?’ Steph asked, as Pam answered the phone.

  ‘I’m fine, love. Me, Cath and Lin have been rolling up. The old slapper and the black man have just had a full-scale argument in the street. “Fuck off to your precious family of racists then,” Marlene screamed out. Then, as her boyfriend walked off she shouted, “And don’t bother coming back ’ere, you black bastard.” Talk about airing your dirty washing in public, and how has she got the front to call him racist names if they’re living together? I know I don’t like the woman, Steph, but she is pure entertainment and I’d hate her to move. I enjoy watching her more than I do EastEnders. So, how are you today, darling? Did Danni come home after I spoke to you late last night?’

  ‘Nope, not seen hide nor hair of her still,’ Stephanie replied miserably.

  ‘Oh dear! Shall me and Lin come over to the salon?’

  ‘No, don’t worry. I’m gonna shoot off home in a minute and leave Maria in charge. I’m not in the mood for work today.’

  ‘So, have you rung Danni to see where she is?’ Pam asked anxiously. Stephanie had never had a moment’s worry with Dannielle in the past, and it was so out of character for her granddaughter to behave in such a rebellious way.

  ‘No, there’s no point me ringing her because if she answers, she’s only going to lie to me, and then I’ll go off me head at her again.’

  Pam sighed. She knew exactly how her daughter was feeling. ‘Look, the best thing you can do is try and calm down a bit, love. I know it’s difficult because when you and your sister were Danni’s age, many a time I felt sick and out of me mind with worry. The more you lose your temper with her though, Steph, the more you’re gonna push her into this boy’s arms – and you don’t want that to happen, do you now? Take my advice and don’t lose your rag no more, and I bet within the next few weeks, Danni will introduce you to this l
ad of her own accord. Better still, the relationship might have even fizzled out by then.’

  ‘Let’s hope so, Mum. The thing that has worried me more than anything is this morning Tyler informed me that this lad has a car.’

  ‘How does Tyler know that? Did Danni tell him?’ Pam asked, suspiciously. She knew what a wind-up her grandson could be at times.

  ‘He wouldn’t tell me how he knew, but he swears he can find out who this lad is for me, so I’ve let him have the week off school.’

  Pam couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘He’s a thirteen-year-old boy, Steph, he ain’t bleedin’ Inspector Morse. What’s the betting the little sod’s pulling a fast one just so he can have another week off?’

  ‘I thought that at first, but I’ve got a feeling Ty already knows more than he’s letting on, Mum. We shall see if he comes up with any evidence. He asked me for twenty quid to buy some of them throwaway cameras and he swore to me that he would get pictures of the boy and his bloody car. I’m petrified this lad has just passed his test and is racing about like some loony, Mum. He might drink and drive or anything. Worried sick, I am. So much so that, apart from half a chicken sandwich yesterday, I’ve not eaten anything since Saturday evening.’

  Pam sighed. ‘You must start eating, love, else you’re gonna make yourself ill. You sure you don’t want me to come over?’

  ‘I’m fine, Mum, honest. I’m not much company at the moment and I promise I’ll get myself something to eat in a minute. Are you in all day?’

  ‘Yep, not going anywhere.’

  ‘Well, as soon as I hear from Tyler or Danni comes home, I’ll ring you,’ Stephanie said.

  ‘OK darling, and try and keep your chin up. Things will sort themselves out in the end – they always do.’

  Tyler was standing in view of the station when he saw the black Range Rover pull up. He immediately put the hood of his sweatshirt up and rang Brad. ‘He’s here, Brad. Danni ain’t seen you following her, has she?’

  ‘No, she ain’t even left the house yet.’

  ‘Blinding! Right, get your arse down ’ere and then I’ll start clicking away with the camera. I want you to ask the man if you can have a photo taken with his motor. That way I can take a few and get him in the picture an’ all,’ Tyler told him.

  ‘I don’t really want to ask him. Can’t you ask him and I’ll take the pictures?’ Brad asked, nervously. He didn’t like the look of the man they’d seen in the Range Rover one little bit.

  ‘No, because if he lives local he might know what I look like. For all I know, Danni might have shown him some family photos or something. Just bowl up to him and say nice car, mate. Then ask, is it OK if my pal takes a photo of me standing next to it? I doubt the old codger will say no, then I can make sure I get him in the photo an’ all. Once we’re done we can go get some beer and fags.’

  ‘Danni’s just opened the front door, Ty,’ Brad replied.

  ‘Well fucking hurry up then. Quick, run.’

  While waiting for Dannielle to arrive, Barry decided to give his mate Martin a call at work. ‘How’s it going, big man? When you gonna pop round and see me new gaff?’

  ‘When I get a proper invitation,’ Martin replied, chuckling. ‘So what’s been occurring? How’s it going with the new girlfriend?’

  ‘Yep, all good.’

  ‘What about Jolene’s father? You received any more threats?’ Martin asked.

  ‘No, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s flying over to England today to try and track me down. Been running around Fuengirola telling everyone I’m a murderer, the mug has, and it sounds like people have started to believe him.’

  ‘Well, I suppose it don’t look good on your behalf if Jolene ain’t been since you took her out on the boat, does it? What you gonna do if he turns up at your gaff?’

  ‘I truly hope the cock does find me now, ’cause I’ve got a nice little surprise waiting for him if he does.’

  ‘Enlighten me?’ Martin asked, intrigued.

  ‘I’ll fill you in properly tomorrow, Mart. I’ve got some nuisance of a kid banging on me window and Danni will be ’ere any sec. Laters, yeah,’ Barry said, opening his window. ‘What do you want, boy?’ he asked.

  ‘I love your car, mister, it’s well cool. Is it OK if my mate takes a picture of me standing next to it, please?’ Brad asked politely.

  Barry grinned. The kid had a right cockney accent and reminded him of himself as a lad. ‘I’ll go one better than that. You jump in the driver’s seat, get your mate to stand next to you and I’ll take a picture of the pair of you,’ Barry said, leaping out of the motor.

  ‘He wants to take a picture of both of us,’ Brad shouted to Tyler.

  Academic Tyler wasn’t, but quick-thinking he most certainly was. ‘I need to take it because it’s for a school project. We’re doing a photography lesson and our teacher said we have to take all the photos ourselves,’ he said, walking towards Barry.

  ‘Why you got your hood up on a hot day like this?’ Barry asked, chuckling.

  ‘Because it’s the fashion. So, can I take the photos please?’ Tyler replied. He was worried that Dannielle might appear at any second.

  When Barry nodded, Tyler quickly started clicking away. He then held out his right hand to Barry. ‘Thank you, and what’s your name, mister, in case my teacher asks whose motor it is?’

  Barry laughed. ‘Me name’s Barry, lads, but me pals call me Bazza.’

  ‘Cheers, Bazza. Come on, we gotta go now,’ Tyler said, grabbing Brad’s arm and half dragging him away.

  As the boys ran down a nearby street, Tyler burst out laughing. ‘That was well wicked. I got about three close-up pictures of him.’

  ‘Getting his name was well cool. Me and you make a great team, Ty. We should be private detectives when we’re older and start our own business,’ Brad suggested excitedly. ‘Shall we get the lagers and fags now? David Smith’s brother said he’ll go to the offie for us. I asked him this morning.’

  Out of breath through excitement, Tyler leant on a nearby wall. ‘We need to get the photos developed first. That shop I showed you had a sign saying that they’re ready in one hour. We can get the beer and fags after.’

  Brad grinned. ‘Come on then, let’s go.’

  Stephanie was forcing herself to eat a prawn mayonnaise sandwich when her mobile phone rang. Her heart lurched when she spotted the caller was her son. ‘What’s happened? Has she come home?’ she asked, on tenterhooks.

  ‘Yep, she came home, got changed, went out again, and I’ve got the photos I promised you.’

  ‘Go and get them developed, Ty. I’ll give you some more money, boy,’ Steph said, her heart beating nineteen to the dozen.

  ‘I’ve already got ’em developed, Mum. I’m looking at ’em as I speak.’

  ‘Oh my God! Well done you! Where are you now, Ty?’

  ‘I’m heading back towards home.’

  ‘Well, stay where you are and I’ll pick you up to save you walking.’

  ‘Nah, don’t do that, Mum. I think it’s best that I meet you at home.’

  ‘Why? What’s the matter?’

  Tyler screwed his face up. He was dreading telling his mother this piece of information, but she was going to find out soon enough anyway. ‘You ain’t gonna like this, but Danni’s boyfriend is really old.’

  ‘Really old! How old? Does he look about twenty? Twenty-five, or what?’

  ‘He actually looks older than you, Mum,’ Tyler said bluntly.

  Stunned and horrified, Stephanie dropped the phone in shock.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Unaware that her distraught sister had just gone zooming past her in her BMW, Angela Crouch pulled into the car park of Ye Old Kings Head in Chigwell. Angela was with her old school pal, Chloe Martin, who had recently moved into a house nearby on the Limes Farm Estate, and after lunching in Buckhurst Hill, the girls had decided to stop at a pub on the way back to Chloe’s house.

  ‘Oh, I don’t like the lo
ok of this, Ange. There ain’t many cars here and it looks a bit old-fashioned. Shall we find somewhere a bit more modern and lively?’ Chloe suggested.

  ‘Anywhere particular you fancy trying?’ Angie asked. She didn’t care where they went.

  ‘I don’t really know anywhere round here yet, mate. Have a look on that list you bought with you,’ Chloe replied.

  Angela was no expert on the area, so had printed out a list of nearby pubs and restaurants that she had found via the internet. ‘Where did I put that list, Chloe?’ she asked, as she searched through her handbag.

  Chloe was too busy watching the handsome gangster-looking bloke and the young girl who had just walked out of the pub grope one another to answer her friend’s question. ‘Ere, look at them two, Ange. He’s well old for her and I bet he’s a drug dealer or something. Look at his flashy motor and his expensive-looking black suit and sunglasses.’

  Angela looked up just in time to see the dark-haired bloke get into a spruced-up black Range Rover. The girl was also about to get in, but suddenly turned on her heel and went back inside the pub. ‘Oh my God!’ Angela exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the girl.

  ‘What’s up? Do you know them or something?’