Toxic

by Jacqui Rose

  He pointed to the garage and Sandra, her face pale, shook her head.

  ‘We’ll never make it, Alf. I can’t. I can’t.’

  Seeing the men walking around the grounds and coming ever nearer, Alfie looked at his sister. ‘We’ll never make it if we just stay here. They’ll kill us if they find us. I’ll look after you. I promise. Take my hand. It’ll be alright.’

  With only a slight hesitation, Alfie ran ahead, holding Sandra’s hand and stopping at the large tree. He turned to her.

  ‘You still okay?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Good. Then we’ll go on the count of five.’

  Sandra, her legs shaking so much she could hardly stand, watched Alfie count with his fingers from five to one before mouthing, ‘Go!’

  With a warm wind picking up, they sprinted across the lawn, neither of them looking back as they panted and ran for their lives.

  Getting to the side of the garage, Alfie slammed his body hard against the wall with Sandra split seconds behind. Then, breathing heavily, Alfie passed his gun to his sister.

  ‘Listen, Sand, I need you to cover me.’

  ‘What? I can’t.’

  Trying to reassure her, Alfie said, ‘You can. If anybody comes, just shoot. Just pull the trigger.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘I’m going to try to climb in and get the car out.’ Alfie nodded to the small window of the garage.

  ‘You’ll never make it through … Let me.’

  ‘No way. Sand, just go and hide in the bushes until I get the car.’

  ‘Alf, this ain’t the time to play the big brother. Let me do this.’

  Alfie looked at Sandra and then at the men stalking the grounds near the house.

  ‘No, I can’t! No way. I ain’t going to let anything happen to you.’

  ‘Alf, we ain’t got another choice. Just let me do this.’

  ‘I dunno.’

  Sandra’s voice was urgent. ‘Please.’

  ‘Fine, fine, but take the gun. You’ll find the spare keys to the car by the tool box. There’s also the spare garage door keys next to them. You can’t miss it. You ready? You okay?’

  Sandra gave a nervous smile.

  ‘Here, I’ll help you. I’ll give you a leg up,’ Alfie said.

  With her heart racing, Sandra managed to pull herself up on the ledge, tucking her legs in and through the small window before vaulting down onto the workbench and jumping down onto the garage floor.

  Sandra quickly looked around the garage. Seeing the keys by the tool box as Alfie had said, she grabbed them and jumped into the car as fast as she could.

  Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she pressed on the brake and pushing the start button to switch on the car, she pointed the remote at the sensors. Slowly and smoothly it began to open … then stopped.

  She spoke out loud to herself, her hands trembling. ‘No, don’t bleedin’ do this to me. Come on!’

  She pointed the remote, first shutting the garage door again before once more pressing open. This time the garage door didn’t move at all.

  ‘No, no way.’ She held her finger on the button, pressing it over and over again.

  ‘Sandra! Sandra! What’s going on?’

  Sounding desperate, she yelled, ‘The door won’t open!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The door, it won’t open.’

  ‘Look, I can’t hear you … But you got to hurry, they’re coming! Sand! Sand!’

  Revving the Range Rover, Sandra, her mind racing, stared at the door, then taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, pushing her foot right down on the accelerator, causing the car to speed off, crashing it through the garage door, ripping it off.

  She crunched the Range Rover into reverse, spinning it round and sending a spray of lawn and mud as Alfie ran, jumping in and scrabbling into the back-passenger seat. He yanked up the carpet from the floor, pulling out two small machine guns.

  The Range Rover weaved and snaked through the garden, throwing Alfie around and across the seat as Sandra sped over the lawn.

  ‘Fucking hell, Sand!

  Alfie looked behind him and saw some of the men running to their cars.

  ‘Head for the gates! The gates!’

  Sandra spun hard on the wheel. ‘Hold on!’ But directly in front of them there was a line of trees and for a moment Alfie thought Sandra was going to hit them straight on, but she slammed on the brakes, throwing him into the back of the driver’s seat. She put the Range Rover into reverse once more, speeding backwards, sending mud and flowers and plant pots flying everywhere.

  ‘Sand, be careful, they’re shooting!’

  Flicking the safety catch off the guns, Alfie bobbed down as the back window was shot out, sending tiny fragments of glass ricocheting around the inside of the car as the bullets continued to fire.

  The three Range Rovers trailed Sandra, making it impossible for her to get to the entrance of the house. Round and round the water fountain she went, tearing up the lawn as the other cars followed.

  She screamed out, tears in her eyes. ‘Alfie!’

  ‘Keep going, Sand, you’re doing good!’

  Leaning out of the window, Alfie started to shoot whilst a hail of bullets pumped out from the other cars. Covered from the spray of mud from the spinning tyres, Alfie fired a round of bullets at one of the oncoming Range Rovers. The bullets hit and blew out the front tyres, causing the driver to lose control, sending the 4x4 into the trees where it flipped in the air, twisting round and landing in the path of the other two cars.

  Seizing her opportunity, Sandra accelerated, driving through the bushes and through the gates and onto the road, heading into the darkness of the countryside.

  After a minute, checking they weren’t being followed, Alfie punched the air. He bellowed, charged and full of adrenaline. ‘Fucking hell, Sandra, I didn’t know you had it in you, I reckon we’ve lost them! You go, girl! You go … Sandra? You okay?’

  Sandra, looking in shock, spoke timidly. ‘I think I got some glass in me arm.’

  ‘Pull over!’

  ‘No, it’s fine.’

  ‘I said, pull over! Now!’ From where he was, Alfie could see a large piece of glass sticking out of Sandra’s arm. Blood pouring down. He quickly tore at her top to get to the wound, looking at her with concern. ‘We need to get you to hospital.’

  ‘I said, I’m fine.’

  ‘Look, don’t argue. I’ll drive you.’

  Sandra gave Alfie a steely stare. ‘I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell that was about.’

  Alfie’s temper began to rise. ‘Just move over so I can get you to the hospital.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You always were a stubborn mare, but now ain’t the time.’

  ‘Then tell me.’

  He thumped his fist against the door. ‘Looks like you ain’t given me much choice.’

  And as Alfie sat in the country lane telling his sister the story of the diamonds, he had a creeping suspicion Vaughn had been right. Maybe trying to sell the diamonds was opening a can of worms, far bigger and far stronger than they were.

  44

  ‘What happened?’ Eddie Styler glared at his wife who sat with her arm wrapped up in bandages. He was irritated by her as she lounged in front of the heatless flames of the white wall-mounted faux fireplace.

  Sipping on a mojito Sandra glared back at Eddie. She’d had strict instructions from Alfie not to mention anything about the diamonds, which she had to admit was proving harder than she thought because quite frankly she wanted to wring his neck.

  And it wasn’t only Eddie she was furious with, she was angry with Alfie as well. He’d explained about the lorry, the diamonds and about how he’d had them all along, but hadn’t told her simply because it came down to trust. He’d been worried her allegiances were with Eddie, which had been the biggest joke of all.

  She’d been hurt, and had given him an earful vowing never to speak to h
im again, but they both knew that wouldn’t happen. He was her brother and she loved him in the same all-consuming way she’d loved her other brother, Connor. So eventually she’d forgive him; after all, family was family and it had to be treasured.

  Eddie, however, was a different prick altogether, and one way or another he was going to have a mighty nasty fall. The more Alfie had told her, the more her hatred for her husband had grown. The diamonds, and the running up of debts in Reggie Reynolds’ name, along with remortgaging her house had been bad enough. But now that she’d discovered the spineless fool had used Barrie to get out and about, no doubt playing a part in his disappearance, Eddie was going to come a cropper.

  Alfie had asked her to find out if Eddie knew or suspected that he and Vaughn had the diamonds, and report back anything else of interest. Not that she’d agreed to it, she was too angry. But that was then. This was now and now was as good a time as any to start, but she knew she’d have to be discreet.

  ‘So, Eddie, about those diamonds.’

  ‘What? What are you talking about?’

  ‘Don’t try to kid me. I heard you. I heard you with Jason.’

  Eddie’s face contorted in rage. ‘You better not tell anybody!’

  ‘Oh, believe me, I won’t. I’m not having anybody trying to come and make a claim on those. I ain’t that stupid! But what I want to know is how you came to have your finger in such an expensive pie.’

  Gulping down the tumbler of whiskey he’d poured himself, Eddie frowned. ‘Since when have you started asking me about me business?’

  Taking off her shoe, Sandra threw it at Eddie’s head. It skimmed the side of his temple before crashing into the glass decanters. ‘Since we had a bleedin’ gorilla knocking the door down. That Jason didn’t seem like he was having a laugh and the last thing I want is some comedian kicking in me Everest double glazing back door. So you Eddie, need to tell me exactly what’s happening, otherwise you and me are going to fall right out.’

  ‘Look, don’t worry about it, I’ve got it all in hand.’

  ‘The only thing you’ve ever had in your hand, Eddie Styler, is your cock, so don’t play the big businessman with me. You won’t be stepping into Richard Branson’s shoes anytime soon.’

  Snorting in anger, Eddie snapped. ‘Look, those diamonds are nothing to do with you.’

  Playing him like a fiddle, and wishing she could rub it in Eddie’s face that in actual fact it was Alfie and Vaughn who had the diamonds, Sandra said, ‘Are you joking? Three million quid will always be my business. Ain’t it you that tells me we’re married and as such what’s mine’s yours? It works both ways, Ed. So, come on, spill the beans, where are these diamonds?’

  Eddie stared at Sandra. The sooner he was able to do a moonlight flit the better, but at the moment everything rested on Johnny’s missus, so the pressure was on, and the last thing he needed or could cope with was Sandra sticking her nose in, because if she wasn’t careful he’d just have to chop it right off.

  His wife had always been a nosey cow, but her sudden interest in his affairs wasn’t about curiosity, it was about greed. The minute she smelled money she was like a pig in a trough, but if she thought for one minute that she was going to get her grubby hands on his bling, then he’d have to take her head out of her arse and make her think again.

  45

  It was dark apart from the moonlight as Bree crept into the barn. She stood in the doorway for a moment, making sure no one had heard her. The night seemed warm and the stillness of it felt comforting.

  Johnny was out and Ma was asleep, snoring heavily in front of the TV, so it was the perfect time to do what she needed to do and try to put her mind at peace.

  The contents of the bag she’d found in Kieran’s bag had played on her mind. The bones had been so tiny. The remains of what? She didn’t know for sure, but she’d had a bad feeling. She’d been worried, but instead of doing anything about them, because in truth she didn’t know what to do, she’d hidden them away in a box in the barn, thinking she could just forget she’d ever seen them. But she hadn’t. If anything, knowing that they were just lying there had made it worse.

  Each day she’d woken up and looked across at the barn. Each afternoon she’d fed the dogs and stared at the barn. Every night when she’d closed her bedroom curtains, all she could see was the barn, and the box, and the bag, and the bones.

  So, she’d decided to do something about it. She’d take them and post them to the hospital perhaps, to the police, to a church maybe, to somebody who’d know. But wherever she sent them tomorrow, at least they’d be away from here.

  Switching on her torch and being careful to shine it on the ground, Bree tiptoed into the barn. She could smell the hay and straw, the feed and the stable bedding piled up high. At the far corner of the barn, she paused, looking back at the doorway, making sure no one had followed. Confident, she was on her own, Bree climbed up on the haystack and carefully hauled the box out, pulling it down.

  Quietly she opened it. Then froze. The box was empty. There was nothing there. The bag she’d so carefully hidden had gone, somebody had taken it.

  Hearing a noise, Bree quickly slid the box to the side, hurrying out of the barn, not seeing the person in the shadows watching her.

  46

  ‘You’re having a bubble. You are off your head. You’ve lost the bleedin’ plot if you think I’m staying here! That mattress looks like it’s from a crime scene off CSI, the shower looks like it ain’t been cleaned since they invented running water and there’s more hair in that sink than a Saturday afternoon in Toni and Guy’s.’

  Alfie sighed as he looked at Janine who was standing, hands on hips, in the middle of the family room of the bed and breakfast in Southend. ‘Look, Janine—’

  Squawking, she interrupted. ‘No, you don’t. Don’t try and give me look Janine when you’ve brought me to this poxy place. I could be lying in a bath at home with me Jo Malones.’

  Alfie shivered at the image. ‘You could be, but you ain’t, and you won’t be able to until this mess is sorted. It’s not safe to go back home.’

  ‘Ain’t safe! And you’re saying this place is. It’s a bleedin’ health hazard. Look at all those bugs in the bathroom, it looks like an episode of Life on Earth. I’m half expecting to be sitting on the carzey and David Attenborough to come crawling up into the bowl.’

  ‘For God’s sake, Janine! Can’t you put a sock in it? So it ain’t the most salubrious of places but what it has got going for it, is the fact that nobody will know we’re here. Janine, all I care about is keeping you alive.’

  Lola gave Janine a sympathetic smile. ‘Alf, she’s got a point, this place is a dump.’

  Janine threw up her arms in the air. ‘Finally, someone’s talking sense.’

  Alfie glared at Lola, though he kept his voice quiet. ‘Look, I ain’t denying it’s a dump, but it ain’t really clever for us to check in at some big hotel just so she can get a perfumed pillowcase. It won’t be for long, but for now, it’s the safest bet. And at least it’s a big enough room so we can all shifty up together.’

  Vaughn was sat on the edge of the bed, now regretting it due to one of the mattress springs catching and scratching his leg. ‘This wouldn’t be happening if you’d just listened to me.’

  Alfie shot Vaughn a stare. ‘And that’s helpful how?’

  ‘It ain’t supposed to be helpful, but what I was going to say to Janine is, Alf’s right. I know it ain’t a great situation we’ve got ourselves in, and more to the point, got you and Lola in, but I’m sorry, we can’t afford to let anything happen to you. Those geezers coming to the house is probably just the start of it. It ain’t safe for you to be there, these guys won’t be messing. For three million pounds’ worth of gems they’ll be willing to put a bullet in yer head before you’ve got time to put yer hands up. Until word gets out that we’ve got rid of the diamonds, they’re going to keep on coming. Whether it’s busting into your house, or trying to take you off the r
oad late one night, even kidnapping you, they won’t be satisfied until they have them in their hands or they know the bling has been sold. With it being only me, Alf and Frank, we’re no match at the moment for every foot soldier out there. So we hide, keep our heads down, make the most of it until we manage to sort this out. And we will.’

  Lola looked at Vaughn, appreciating his care. ‘Wouldn’t it be better for us to get out of the country? Maybe go to Marbs?’

  Vaughn shook his head. ‘I wish, but it’s not so easy to slip you out of the country without anyone knowing, and staying in some big place ain’t sensible. The Costa will be just as bad as here. Word travels. I’m sorry.’

  Janine pulled down her pink cashmere jumper and gave a small smile. ‘At least someone’s sorry.’

  Frankie nodded as he looked around for a smoke alarm, and seeing there wasn’t one, he lit up a large cigar. ‘Janine, we’ll sort this as soon as. I’ve got a couple of contacts we can try to sell the diamonds to, hopefully they’ll bite, even if it means coming down in price a bit. We’ve got a two-million-pound target we need to hit, so it might take a bit of time. But one way or another we’ll get rid and then it’ll be safe to go back. Just give a week or so.’

  Vaughn turned to Alfie as he headed for the door. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘I have to go out.’

  ‘Go out where? I thought we were all going to go out later for some food.’

  ‘Not everything’s about bleedin’ food.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  Irritated, Alfie snapped. ‘I don’t have to explain meself to you.’

  Vaughn leapt up, blocking Alfie’s path. He gritted his teeth angrily as he spoke. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, mate.’

  ‘I’d move if I was you, Vaughn.’

  ‘I don’t think so. After what Franny did, let me tell you, I don’t trust you completely anymore, and I hold you responsible for this shit. We are always cleaning up your mess and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of you doing things behind me back. Bringing Frank into the business without telling me when we were supposed to be partners. I don’t know why I thought you’d changed, Alf. Maybe the offer of Reginald’s business blinded me from the truth of who you are. And the worst thing is, I can’t even pull out now because I need to make this work, and that means knowing what’s happening. So you need to tell me exactly what you’re doing and where you’re going. None of us want any more surprises.’