Dangerous Promises

by Roberta Kray

  Velma had thrown back her head and laughed like a drain when she’d told her about Nathan coercing her into going to the dogs. ‘And you agreed? You actually said yes?’

  ‘What else was I supposed to do? I need to find out where Eddie’s living.’

  ‘Er, how about just bunging him a tenner for his trouble? That’s the normal routine, love. Money talks round here.’

  This option hadn’t even occurred to Sadie. ‘So why didn’t you tell me? Flutter your eyelashes, you said. Be nice to him. You didn’t say anything about giving him money.’

  ‘Sorry, hon. I just presumed you’d realise.’

  ‘And now I’m stuck with him for the whole damn evening.’

  Velma had laughed again. ‘Oh, come on, it could be worse. Look on the bright side. You get a free night out with supper and drinks thrown in. It’s hardly the end of the world. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a bit of that myself.’

  ‘Good. You can go instead of me.’

  ‘If I was twenty years younger.’

  Sadie had let out a groan. ‘I don’t even know anything about this guy. Is he… I mean, is he okay when it comes to women?’

  ‘As okay as any of them are, hon. No better or worse than most of the other blokes I’ve come across. I can’t say I’ve ever seen him with the same girl more than a couple of times, but then you’re hardly looking for love and romance.’

  ‘So he’s a bit of a player?’

  Velma had given a shrug. ‘More of a loner, I’d say.’

  Sadie hadn’t been especially reassured by this piece of information. Weren’t loners usually the ones with troubled pasts and dark secrets? Or maybe she’d just been reading too many crime novels. She was still dwelling on this when she saw a shiny black motor cruise past Oaklands and then pull in. Quickly, she grabbed her bag and headed for the stairs.

  By the time she was on the street, Nathan Stone was just getting out of the car. He was taller than she’d realised, an inch or so over six foot, and was dressed in a stylish grey suit, white shirt, no tie. He leaned his elbows on the roof of the car and grinned at her.

  ‘Didn’t change your mind, then?’

  ‘Why should I? We made a deal, didn’t we?’

  Stone smirked as he got back in the Daimler. ‘People don’t always stick to them.’

  Sadie climbed in too and pulled across her seatbelt. The interior, with its soft leather seats and generous leg room, was probably the most luxurious car she had ever been in. She made an effort not to look impressed. ‘And you?’

  He raised his eyebrows in a quizzical fashion. ‘Me?’

  ‘Do you always stick to your side of the bargain?’

  ‘Sure.’ He paused. ‘Nearly always.’

  There was a short silence while he manoeuvred the car into the line of traffic and set off along Station Road. Sadie could smell his aftershave, something subtle and expensive. She had meant to play it cool, but couldn’t stop herself from asking, ‘So have you found out where Eddie’s living?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Sadie’s heart gave a leap as she turned to stare at him. ‘You’re kidding?’

  ‘No one’s that hard to find if you know where to look.’

  She waited, but he didn’t say anything more. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me?’

  ‘Not until the end of the evening.’

  ‘You don’t trust me?’

  Stone grinned again. ‘I figure this way you won’t do anything to spoil the night.’

  ‘I wouldn’t.’

  ‘Well, who’s to say? Maybe you would, maybe you wouldn’t. I prefer to keep things simple – that way there can’t be any misunderstandings.’

  ‘I gave you my word, didn’t I?’

  His lips twitched as he glanced at her. ‘You haven’t met Cheryl Moss yet.’

  ‘Oh,’ Sadie said. ‘Is she the wife?’

  ‘Yeah, she’s Barry’s missus.’

  ‘So what’s wrong with her?’

  ‘Nothing, babe, nothing much. She can be a little… loud, that’s all.’

  Sadie frowned. ‘In what way?’

  ‘In a loud kind of way.’

  Sadie shrugged. In all honesty, she didn’t much care about Cheryl Moss. In a few hours, she’d have Eddie’s address and tomorrow she could go and see him. That meant – if she could persuade him to sign the papers – she could be on her way home before Sunday was through. Anything was worth putting up with for that. ‘And Barry? What’s he like?’

  ‘Oh, Barry’s sound. He’s a builder, got a big construction firm over Shoreditch way. We’re trying to put a deal together, a new development in Kellston.’

  ‘Houses, you mean?’

  ‘Yeah, houses and flats. Where the old asylum is. Do you know it?’

  Sadie shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘It’s round the corner from where you’re staying. Silverstone Road. The place used to be the local Bedlam. It’s been derelict for years. There’s a lot of land there just going to waste.’

  ‘Sounds like a project.’

  ‘It is. Or it could be.’

  ‘And if Barry’s not interested?’

  ‘Barry is interested. If there’s money to be made, he’ll have his snout in the trough.’

  Sadie gazed out of the window as they passed through the streets of Kellston. The area, with its litter-strewn pavements and graffiti-covered walls, had that air of desolation that comes from high unemployment and long-term poverty. ‘It’s a risky time for that sort of investment.’

  ‘People need places to live. That’s never going to change.’

  Sadie wondered how dodgy the deal was. Very, she imagined, seeing as Nathan Stone worked for Terry Street and Terry was, apparently, the top-dog villain round here. ‘But interest rates are high at the moment. What if people can’t afford to buy the houses you build?’

  ‘You giving me business advice now?’

  ‘Just making conversation.’

  ‘I didn’t realise you were an expert.’

  ‘You don’t need to be an expert to offer an opinion.

  ‘Well,’ he said dismissively, ‘maybe you should stick to commenting on things you actually know something about.’

  Sadie gave a snort of derision. ‘What, like shoes and handbags? Or what to make for dinner?’

  Stone lifted and dropped his shoulders. ‘You said it, darling, not me.’

  Sadie suspected he was deliberately goading her. She gave him a long hard stare. ‘You do realise that it’s 1985?’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘Meaning that we’re not living in the dark ages any more.’

  ‘No need to get snippy,’ he said. ‘What are you, some kind of feminist?’

  ‘Depends what you mean by feminism. But I reckon women are as smart as men – given the opportunities.’

  ‘You won’t be saying that after five minutes with Cheryl.’

  Sadie huffed out a sigh. ‘And that doesn’t help.’

  ‘I’m not trying to help. Just warning you, babe. It’s always best to be prepared, don’t you think? That way you don’t get any nasty surprises.’

  ‘So why me?’

  ‘Why you what?’

  Sadie lifted her hand in a vague wave of exasperation. ‘Why ask me to come along tonight? You barely know me and this meeting’s clearly important.’

  ‘It’s just a jolly,’ he said. ‘Something to oil the wheels, make things run a little more smoothly.’

  ‘You mean a bribe?’ she said caustically.

  Stone shook his head. ‘Hardly that. It’ll take more than a night out to get Barry Moss on board.’

  ‘So why bother?’

  ‘Because it’s to do with building trust, getting to know someone better. You think those flash guys in the City seal their deals over the boardroom table? No, they do it at the Ivy or the Savoy with a big juicy steak and a bottle or three of champagne.’

  Sadie raised her eyebrows. ‘And you’re taking Barry to the dogs?’

  ‘Barry l
ikes the dogs.’

  ‘Just my luck,’ she said. ‘And you still haven’t answered the question. Why me? Why ask me to come along?’

  ‘I already told you. The girl who was coming got sick.’

  ‘And so you thought you’d ask a total stranger. That doesn’t make sense.’

  Stone gave a nod. ‘Sure it does.

  ‘And how do you figure that?’

  ‘Because you’ve got something to lose if it doesn’t go well.’ Stone reached into his pocket with his left hand, took out a slip of paper and flapped it around. ‘Eddie’s address. I’ve got it and you want it. Therefore…’

  Her eyes followed the slip of paper, resisting the urge to try and snatch it from him. ‘Therefore, you think I’ll do anything to get it.’

  ‘Not anything,’ he said. ‘Just this one thing. You help me make tonight run smoothly and in return I’ll give you what you want.’ He put the address back in his pocket and grinned at her. ‘That’s fair, isn’t it?’

  ‘In your world, maybe.’

  Stone’s grin stretched a little wider. ‘It’s good to know we understand each other.’

  ‘Couldn’t be clearer.’ Sadie looked away, returning her attention to the outside. The rain had stopped but the pavements were still wet, shimmering in the orangey light of the streetlamps. Where were they now? Somewhere in Hackney, she guessed. Her resentment at being forced into the arrangement had returned. Stone was too smug for his own good. Sharply, she turned her face towards him again. ‘How do I know you’re even telling the truth? You could have any old address written on that piece of paper.’

  ‘You’ll just have to trust me.’

  ‘And why should I do that?’

  ‘Because how else are you going to find him? Kellston’s a big place. You could be tramping the streets for months.’

  ‘Maybe I’d prefer that.’

  ‘You want me to stop the car? You can get out now if you like.’

  Sadie knew that he was calling her bluff. She was almost tempted to go through with it, to tell him to stop, but then she thought about Joel and what it would mean to go home empty-handed. ‘I didn’t say that.’

  ‘That’s settled then,’ he said with a triumphant smile.

  A few minutes later they drew up outside the brightly lit stadium. Sadie gazed out through the windscreen, looking at all the people milling about. As Stone killed the engine, she took a deep breath and prepared to face the night ahead.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  ‘As I’ll ever be.’

  ‘You could try and look more cheerful about it.’

  Sadie painted a fake smile on her face. ‘Will this do?’

  Stone gave a shrug. ‘If it’s the best you can manage.’

  Sadie gritted her teeth as she got out of the car. Had she ever disliked anyone more than Nathan Stone? She doubted it. Just a few hours, she told herself, and it would all be over.

  7

  Mona Farrell sat on the edge of the bed, watching as her mother put on her make-up. She twisted the silky cover of the eiderdown between her fingers and picked at the gold and turquoise threads of the embroidered peacocks. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Dinner with the Jensons.’

  ‘The Jensons are boring. Stay here. We can watch TV together.’

  Christine Farrell dabbed some powder on her nose before reaching out for the vodka and tonic that was always by her side. ‘Don’t be silly, darling. Your father can’t go on his own.’

  ‘Why not? Tell him you don’t feel well. It’s only a stupid dinner.’

  ‘We won’t be late.’

  Mona gave a sigh. ‘The Jensons are boring,’ she said again. ‘You know they are. All they ever talk about is how much money they’ve got. You’ll have to sit and listen to them droning on for hours and hours and hours.’

  ‘It’s not just the four of us. There’s going to be other people there.’

  ‘They’ll be boring too.’

  Christine Farrell inclined her head and stared at her daughter in the mirror. ‘So what have you been up to today?’

  ‘Nothing special,’ Mona said. ‘I went to see a friend.’ She tried to keep her voice calm even though she felt tumultuous inside. It had been the best thing she’d done in ages, following Sadie around. She’d felt like her protector, her guardian angel, making sure that nothing bad happened to her on the mean streets of Kellston.

  ‘That’s nice, dear. Anyone I know?’

  ‘No. She’s someone… someone I was at college with. I bumped into her again and we were just hanging out. Coffee and that. Her name’s…’ She paused, wanting to say it out loud – Sadie, Sadie, Sadie – but forced herself to bite her tongue. ‘Sheila. That’s her name. She’s called Sheila.’

  ‘It’s always nice to have friends,’ her mother said. ‘You should invite her round.’

  Mona, thinking of the plan that was starting to take a more solid form, gave a nod. Her lips parted in a small secret smile. ‘Maybe I will one day. She’s kind of busy at the moment, though. She’s getting married next year.’

  ‘Oh, she’ll have a lot to do then.’

  ‘It won’t be a big do or anything. Nothing flash. They’re not those sort of people.’

  The conversation was interrupted by the sound of her father’s voice booming from outside the door. ‘Christine? Are you ready?’

  ‘Five minutes.’

  ‘We haven’t got five minutes. I told you we were leaving at seven. The car’s here. Get a move on.’

  Christine gave her face one last look in the mirror, made some minor alterations to her hair and rose to her feet. She leaned over her daughter and kissed her on the top of her head. ‘Have a nice evening, darling.’

  ‘It’ll be nicer than yours.’

  ‘We’ll be back by midnight.’

  As soon as she’d gone, Mona got up and fetched the glass from the dressing table. With her back against the headboard, she sipped on what remained of the vodka and tonic and gazed around the room. She liked it in here. It was pretty and warm and as comforting as a cocoon. Above all, it was the one place in the house, apart from her own room, that was completely devoid of him. Her parents slept separately, had done for years, although sometimes – usually when he was drunk – the fat bastard would lurch across the landing to claim his conjugal rights.