Aftermath (Dividing Line #6)

by Heather Atkinson

  “On my way.”

  When Rachel gave him a questioning look Ryan mouthed the word Jules.

  Rachel nodded and patiently waited for him to finish the call. Ryan was forced to listen to Shane’s heavy breathing as he rushed upstairs and barged through the door.

  “Estelle, Estelle, you alright?” called Shane.

  Ryan assumed she was when he heard her screeching and yelling. “The bitch, she took all my cash. Twenty fucking grand. She took Brian’s drugs too. He’s going to kill me. If I ever get my hands on that fucking little…”

  “She’s fine,” said Shane, Estelle’s tirade still audible in the background. “The couch has been slashed to fuck, that must have been where she was hiding her stash.”

  “Is she hurt?”

  “Looks like she’s been given a couple of slaps but nothing serious. Want me to find the woman?”

  “No, leave her be. Thank you Shane, I’ll ensure you get your money.”

  “Thank you Mr Law. If there’s anything else I can do…”

  “Carry on keeping an eye out on Estelle. Let me know if Brian gets nasty with her.”

  “Will do. I just wanted to say thank y…”

  Ryan hung up on him. “Jules turned up at Estelle’s, probably getting some home truths she really didn’t want to hear. She took the money we gave her as well as Brian’s stock.”

  “Oh dear,” she said with false sincerity. “Did she hurt her?”

  “No. I’d say she’s been damn lucky. Knowing Estelle she’ll have fed Jules some vicious bile about us to take the pressure off herself.”

  “You’re worried she’ll be coming for us?”

  “It’s a distinct possibility, we’ve always known that. I’ll speak to Battler and Bruiser, get them to keep a discreet eye out.”

  “I’m so glad they set up base camp here.”

  “Me too babe. There’s no one I trust more to look after you.”

  “I’ve fought Jules, I know her capabilities. She’s good but I can take her.”

  Ryan beamed with pride. “Damn right you can.”

  “If she does come here looking for revenge how do we play it? She’s your sister after all.”

  “We do what we agreed after the Alex incident. Anyone comes after us we take them first.”

  Rachel’s black eyes were flinty. “Agreed.”

  “I’ll come with you to the salon,” he said, getting to his feet.

  “Wanting to get your nails done?”

  “I want to keep an eye on you. For all we know Jules is headed this way and Katia’s still out there somewhere.”

  “I’ll be perfectly safe.”

  “I’m not having a debate about it. I’m coming and that’s that.”

  Normally Rachel would object to him dictating to her but she knew if she went alone he’d only sit there worrying until she got home. That wasn’t fair.

  “Alright, fine but don’t get in the way.”

  “I’ll just sit there quietly with my book. Or you could stay home and let me massage you?”

  “Then how would Daina get the experience she needs?”

  “Fine,” he sighed. “The book it is rather than a day of hot sweaty sex.”

  “The day’s not over yet,” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

  Rachel was very proud of her salon. Covering two floors it was tastefully decorated in soothing light blues and greens and had an elite clientele. The manageress, Tracey Baxter, was an effervescent lady with shoulder-length curly dark blond hair and talon-like light blue nails. Rachel liked her enormously. She was wonderful with the customers and the staff adored her. She also flirted shamelessly with Ryan, to Rachel’s amusement. It was nothing serious, she’d been happily married for years, but it reduced Ryan to a blushing little boy, something rarely seen.

  “Hi Rachel, ready to be experimented on?” smiled Tracey, taking her coat and handing it to one of the junior girls to be hung up in the back.

  “I’m sure Daina will be excellent.”

  “Yes I will,” said Daina proudly. “Nadia said I have got very good.”

  “She has actually, our star pupil,” said Tracey. Full of energy, she never stopped moving, her glossy curls continuously bobbing about her face as she spoke. “And here’s the man himself,” she grinned when Ryan followed Rachel in. “Are you here for a massage too? I’ll be happy to oblige.”

  “Err, no thank you. I’ve just accompanied Rachel. I’ll sit here with my book if you don’t mind,” he said, indicating the comfortable couches set out in the waiting area.

  “Good idea. Sit right next to the window and let everyone see your pretty face. We’ll have the ladies flocking in.”

  “Errr…”

  “Come on, give Auntie Tracey your jacket. I’ll hang it up for you,” she said, stretching out her hand.

  Ryan shrugged off his cropped black leather jacket and held it out to her.

  “Would you like a drink while you wait?” she asked him.

  “Tea please Tracey,” he politely replied. “Milk no sugar.”

  “No need to tell me, I know how you like it,” she winked.

  Rachel’s lips twitched when he shuffled awkwardly.

  “Please take a seat Ryan,” said Tracey, putting one hand on his upper arm while pointing to the couches with the other. “Oh dear, how did that get there?” she said, nodding at her hand resting on his arm, which was taking the opportunity to have a good squeeze of his bicep. “It’s got a mind of its own. Now it refuses to budge.”

  Rachel sniggered when he blushed. “You can sit down, she’s only teasing,” she told him.

  “Oh right, very amusing,” he sniffed before taking a seat on the couch and burying himself in his book.

  “Bless him,” grinned Tracey. “Right Rachel, I’ll leave you in Daina’s capable hands.” With that she left them to greet another customer who had just walked through the door.

  Rachel followed Daina through to a room at the back, waving at Sabine as she passed through, who was cutting someone’s hair. Unable to wave back with her hands full she smiled and nodded.

  “You’re very tense,” said Daina as she massaged Rachel’s back. “Am I doing something wrong? I’m not hurting you, am I?”

  “No Daina, you’re very good. Just a lot on my mind.”

  “Do you want to talk about it? I am a very good listener.”

  “I know you are but no thanks. It’s something and nothing, just business.”

  “You have been so good to me, I want to help if you have trouble, so if you need me I am here.”

  “I appreciate that very much Daina, but it’s nothing for you to worry about and you don’t owe me anything.”

  However Rachel knew there was something to worry about. Jules was on her way to them, no doubt bringing with her the devastation of a hurricane. The woman had been intent on killing her in that barn even though she knew they were sisters-in-law. There was only one reason why she’d come after her again - to finish the job.

  “Have you heard about Rob Owen’s lad, John?” Tracey said to Ryan, perching beside him on the couch. “He’s disappeared.”

  “Yes. Rachel mentioned something about it.”

  “It’s so strange. That’s the eighth one in seven years. Something’s really wrong around here,” she said, frowning out of the window, as though she might see the person responsible.

  “People disappear,” replied Ryan. “More often than not they come back unharmed.”

  “John wouldn’t do that, neither would any of the others. They were all happy and well-adjusted with families, good lives. Because no bodies have turned up the police won’t get their fingers out. When the first one vanished, George Romer, they said he’d turn up safe and sound but he never did. More men keep disappearing and no one’s doing anything to stop it. What we need is someone with brains and a lot of power to look into it, discreetly of course. Someone who can handle themselves and isn’t afraid of getting their hands dirty.”
<
br />   Ryan dragged his eyes from his book to look at her. “Are you trying to tell me something Tracey?”

  The fun-loving Tracey he knew fell away to reveal a grave and very serious woman. “The third man who went missing was my brother, Luke. It was like he dropped off the face of the earth. We were so close, we told each other everything and he wasn’t suicidal, he was happy. He was a paramedic with a wife and son he adored.”

  “Had?”

  “I know he’s dead. I don’t need anyone to tell me.” She pressed a fist to her chest. “I can feel it in here. We’re trying to keep his disappearance in the public’s consciousness but everyone’s forgetting him. Someone needs to do something before any more families are put through the hell we’re going through. If only we knew for sure…”

  Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away when Rachel and Daina emerged from the back room. She got to her feet and plastered a huge smile on her face. “You haven’t forgotten about my fiftieth birthday party on Friday, have you? You and Rachel are still coming?”

  “Err, yes we are,” said Ryan, thrown by the sudden change in her demeanour.

  “Thanks, it means a lot to me.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it, would we Rachel?” he smiled when his wife approached looking a lot more relaxed. God bless Daina. Rachel had seemed much more tense since their conversation about Jules but now she looked her old self again.

  “Miss what?”

  “Tracey’s birthday party.”

  “No way. The big five oh. We’ll be there.”

  “Great stuff. The Macro Bar, seven thirty. I’ll be expecting my birthday kiss,” she told Ryan. “How was your massage Rachel?”

  “Wonderful. Daina’s excellent.”

  “She is. I’m going to miss her and Sabine when they get their own salon. I don’t know how I’ll replace them.”

  Rachel’s smile of pride was almost motherly. “They’ll be a hard act to follow.”

  “They will that.”

  “I’ll book in again with her next week if there’s a slot free?”

  “Same time and day?” said Tracey.

  “Please.”

  After scribbling Rachel’s name in the diary Tracey walked Rachel and Ryan to the door. “See you Friday then.”

  “You will,” said Rachel.

  “Oh, how did that get there?” said Tracey, removing her hand from Ryan’s backside.

  “I’m going to spend Friday night getting molested, aren’t I?” said Ryan when they were outside on the pavement.

  “Probably,” grinned Rachel, taking his arm. “She’s only playing. She’s madly in love with her hubbie.”

  “I know.” He took out the car keys and beeped open the black Range Rover. “She told me something interesting, about the men disappearing.”

  “And what was that?” said Rachel as they climbed into the car.

  He hesitated before starting the engine. “One of those men was her own brother, Luke.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “She said the police aren’t doing anything about it and someone with wealth and power should.”

  “She meant you?”

  “Yes I rather think she did.”

  “What can you do? You’re not a police officer.”

  “Thank God,” he said with distaste before gazing out of the window.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “That maybe someone should look into it.”

  “Come on Ryan, haven’t we been through enough? I think it’s very noble of you but please don’t. We need some time to be normal, the kids need it too.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of me,” he said, starting the engine. “I was thinking of paying someone to look into it. Let’s go and see Battler and Bruiser. I want to discuss the Jules situation with them as well as these disappearances.”

  Relieved, she sat back in her seat and smiled, pulling on her sunglasses. “I like your thinking.”

  CHAPTER 15

  The brothers had set up their security consultancy headquarters in the town of Torquay, a twenty minute drive from their own village of Newton Abbot. Their lack of a criminal record meant they’d had no problem getting all the licences and permits required and their business was thriving, the brothers themselves a great advert. Battler’s slightly gruff charm combined with Bruiser’s silence had unwittingly cultivated for them a strong, reliable image. Just by looking at the brothers you knew they were more than capable of not only taking care of themselves but anyone else they were paid to protect. They’d also piqued the interest of all the desperate housewives in the area who came to them when they’d lost their cat or the milkman made them uncomfortable.

  Their offices were smart, spanning two floors of a converted Georgian manor house. Their security firm covered not only the south west of England but most of the north too, having set up an efficient network of employees and area managers to oversee some of the work for them. This had been their big retirement plan to get out of the gangster life, they’d been preparing for it for years, consequently no detail had been ignored and they ran their company with ruthless efficiency. Not only did they provide bodyguards but they also dealt in event and retail security, mobile patrols, alarm response, key holding and nightclub door supervision. They organised training courses for those wanting to get into the security business too. Their reputation was second to none.

  The brothers shared a large airy office on the ground floor and Rachel and Ryan found them both behind their imposing oak desks, suit jackets hung neatly over the backs of their chairs, white shirt sleeves rolled up to their elbows to reveal enormous tattooed forearms.

  “I hope we’re not interrupting?” said Rachel.

  Battler got to his feet to embrace her. “Not at all. We’ve always got time for you love. Take a seat.”

  He sat them before his desk, fussing around them with coffee before retaking his seat. “So, what can we do for you?”

  “Jules turned up at Estelle’s flat in Nottingham,” opened Ryan.

  Battler’s expression was flinty. “Is she okay?”

  “Fine. Jules nicked some cash and drugs off her.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “The lad I asked to keep an eye on her flat called me. Unfortunately I don’t know what Estelle told Jules…”

  “Which is what’s worrying you?”

  Ryan appreciated how Battler always got to the heart of the matter. “Yes. We think she’s headed this way.”

  Battler looked over at his brother, who nodded. “We agree. The question is, what will she do when she gets here?”

  “Exactly.”

  “You want us to keep an eye out?”

  “Please,” said Rachel.

  “Me and Bruiser will take this on personally. If she enters Devon we’ll know about it.”

  “Thank you. If you let us know of any expenses…”

  “Rachel love, there’s no charge for this,” said Battler. “You’re like a daughter to us both and we’ll do anything to look after you and your family. This is personal, not business.”

  She grasped his hand. “I don’t know what we’d do without you two.”

  “You’ll never have to find out, I promise you that.”

  Rachel smiled at him adoringly.

  “There was one other thing,” said Ryan.

  “We’re listening.”

  “These disappearances.”

  “Yes, that is strange,” said Battler while Bruiser nodded. “John Owen has disappeared now. Nice lad. I go in his shop a lot.”

  “Tracey who manages Rachel’s beauty salon said her brother is one of the missing men. Apparently the police are doing sod all about it. She hinted someone should. Something’s not right.”

  “Funny you should say that but last week we were hired by one of the victim’s mothers to see what we could find out.”

  “Victim?” said Rachel.

  “Those men are dead,” replied Battler. “No two ways about it. It’s just a matter
of time before a body turns up.”

  Rachel stifled a shiver.

  “I understand your investigation is confidential to the client,” said Ryan, “but have you found anything yet?”

  “Not yet. The abductions, which is what we’re certain they are, were done well. Nothing was left behind telling us who took them or where they might have been taken to. But we’ll keep digging and we’ll find something.”

  “I’ve no doubt you will. Keep us informed, will you?” said Ryan.

  “Of course. I just hope our worst fears aren’t confirmed.”

  “And what are those?”

  “That there’s a serial killer running loose.”

  Loud protests from the queue waiting to get into the nightclub started up when someone dressed in tight black jeans, leather jacket and black jumper with the hood pulled up walked straight past them and through the door.

  “You can’t come in here like that, there is a dress code and a sodding line,” said Wolf, the head bouncer. The huge man swallowed hard when the figure pulled back their hood. “Venom, I didn’t realise it was you.”

  “Obviously not or you wouldn’t have stopped me,” said Jules. “Is he in?”

  “Let me check.”

  “Don’t give me that shit. I want to see him. Now.”

  “Are you carrying any weapons?”

  “I suggest you mind your own fucking business.” She glared at him until he looked away.

  “Alright, go on up.”

  “I always knew you had a brain in that big thick skull of yours Wolf,” she said before stalking past him.

  Only when she had her back to him did Wolf give her the finger.

  The theme in Club Decadence that evening was uniforms, consequently the dance floor was packed with police, military, schoolgirls, firefighters, nurses and doctors. The only difference was these uniforms were composed of skin tight PVC and accompanied by stockings, suspenders and chains. But it was Venom who drew the odd looks in her plain clothes. As she made her way through the dimly lit club, skirting the cages containing scantily-clad dancers, the people around her barely registered on her consciousness, they meant nothing to her.

  She barrelled her way across the dance floor, glancing up at the big slab of dark glass that looked down on the club. The one-way glass reflected back the dancers, impossible to see into but she knew the man himself was there, watching her from behind it. Wolf would have already called to warn him she was on her way. Pity, she would have preferred to take him by surprise.