Witness

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘Oh, yeah, sure,’ he said, his grin slipping as he got up. Hesitating, he said, ‘Have I said something wrong, Charlotte?’

  ‘Don’t call me that,’ she spat. ‘My name’s Holly.’

  ‘Well, I know, but it’s not really, though, is it?’ Colin blustered. ‘I mean, it’s not the name we—’

  ‘I said . . . my name . . . is Holly,’ she repeated slowly, a fierce edge to her voice. ‘And if you’re so happy to see me now,’ she went on coldly, ‘if you’ve been “looking for me”,’ she made quote-marks in the air with her fingers, ‘where were you all those times Anna and Devon got raided and I was sent to live with strangers? And why was there no mention of you trying to find me when I disappeared after they were murdered?’

  ‘Of course I tried to find you,’ Colin protested, his cheeks flaming. ‘Everyone was looking.’

  ‘You know I checked you out on Facebook the other week, don’t you?’ Holly replied smoothly. ‘Before they tracked you down.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Colin looked confused. ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘You’ve got an open page,’ Holly elaborated. ‘Which means I could see all your posts going back years. Thirteen years, to be specific. And there was no mention of me whatsoever.’

  ‘Well, obviously that’s not the sort of thing you’d post on there,’ Colin said. ‘It was an upsetting time, and I’m a very private person when it comes to that sort of stuff.’

  ‘Really?’ Holly raised an eyebrow. ‘If it was so upsetting for you, how come you were on there the whole time I was missing, posting pictures of your twins and gushing about them?’

  ‘They were babies,’ Colin protested. ‘Of course I was going to talk about them.’

  ‘But not about your real baby,’ Holly shot back. ‘The one you abandoned and never bothered with again, not even when social services contacted you to tell you I’d been placed in temporary care over and over again?’

  ‘That’s not true,’ Colin spluttered. ‘You’ve got to believe me, Charlotte, I—’

  ‘Stop calling me that!’ Holly yelled. ‘And stop lying, ’cos I’ve seen the social worker’s reports. They were concerned about my welfare for a long time before my mum – Anna – got shot, but you didn’t give a toss. They asked you to take me, but you told them you had to put your wife and her kids first; that you already had your hands full and didn’t need the extra responsibility.’

  ‘Char— Holly – listen,’ Colin held up his hands. ‘It was a long time ago, and your mother was involved with some very dodgy people.’

  ‘You know what, I don’t even care,’ Holly said dismissively. ‘You’re nothing to me, and you never will be. So, go on . . . get back to your wife and kids and forget you ever met me, ’cos I’m sure as hell going to forget you.’

  Half an hour later, when they had finished talking to Vicky and Jenny, Holly and Suzie headed outside. Pausing to light a cigarette, Suzie blew her smoke into the air and peered at her friend.

  ‘How you feeling, hon?’

  ‘Better,’ said Holly. ‘I’ve been dreading this for weeks, wondering if he’d even bother to show up. I could tell he only did it because it’s hit the news and he thought he’d better do the right thing. But it was way too little too late.’

  ‘Well, I think you handled it really well,’ Suzie said, hugging her. ‘Remember when we first met and I said I was surprised you were only fifteen because you’re mature? Now we know why, eh?’

  ‘I guess so.’ Holly smiled. ‘Still feels weird knowing I’m seventeen and I can do whatever I want.’

  ‘And what do you want to do?’ Suzie asked. ‘Because I meant it when I said you can stay with me.’

  ‘I know, and thanks,’ Holly said gratefully. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you these past few weeks.’

  ‘We’re friends, and I’ll always be there for you,’ said Suzie. ‘Speaking of which, have you got back to Bex yet?’

  ‘I spoke to her last night; told her to call round after school today – if that’s OK?’

  ‘Course it is,’ Suzie said, linking arms with her as they set off for the bus stop. ‘Subject of school, are you still going to go in and sit your exams next week?’

  ‘Yeah, definitely.’ Holly nodded. ‘I know I don’t have to, but I might as well try to get some qualifications. That was the thing my mum was always worried about: me leaving with nothing and having to take shit jobs like her.’

  ‘At least she got that right,’ Suzie said softly.

  ‘She got a lot right,’ Holly countered. ‘When she snatched me that night she was off her head with grief and guilt after losing her baby, and she convinced herself that I was Holly. She could have handed me back when she came to her senses, but she genuinely thought Dominic Cooper had seen me and would kill me if he found out where I was. That’s why she did what she did: to protect me from him. And that’s why,’ she added, ‘I’m going to look after her when she comes out of prison.’

  Suzie smiled and squeezed her arm. ‘She’s a lucky woman having a daughter like you.’

  ‘And I’m lucky to have a mum like her,’ Holly said.

  Arriving back on the estate a short time later, Holly smiled when she saw Gee, Carol and Carol’s four sons – Davy, Ben, Steve and Pete – waiting outside Suzie’s house.

  ‘Hey, how did it go?’ Carol asked, rushing to her and giving her a hug.

  ‘Horrible, but I said what I needed to say, so it’s all good.’ Holly smiled.

  ‘She was brilliant,’ Suzie said, unlocking her front door. ‘Anyone fancy a brew?’

  ‘I’d prefer a glass of this,’ Gee said, grinning as he produced a bottle of Prosecco from behind his back.

  ‘Me too,’ Holly beamed. ‘What . . .?’ She held out her hands when Carol raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m old enough.’

  ‘Suzie . . .’

  Turning her head when she heard the call, Suzie groaned, and said, ‘What now?’ when she saw Rob running towards them, his face still bearing faint bruises from the savage beating he’d received from Dominic and Austin.

  ‘Can we talk?’ Rob asked when he reached them, flicking a hooded glance at Holly and the others, as he added, ‘In private.’

  ‘I’ve got nothing to say to you,’ Suzie said coolly. ‘I gave you a chance and you betrayed me.’

  ‘I didn’t,’ he argued. ‘It was Holly he was after, not you, so I knew you’d be safe.’

  ‘You’re so full of shit,’ Suzie sneered. ‘He wasn’t after Holly at all. He didn’t even know who she was until you stuck your nose in, trying to get rid of her and make some money. You make me sick.’

  ‘Please, babe,’ he implored, reaching for her hand. ‘Don’t do this.’

  ‘I haven’t done anything,’ she spat, yanking her hand away. ‘It was all you.’

  ‘I think that’s your cue to leave,’ Gee said, stepping between them and giving Rob a cold look.

  ‘So do we,’ Steve added, as he and his brothers flanked Gee.

  Aware that he stood no chance, Rob backed off. ‘This isn’t over,’ he said to Suzie. ‘I love you, and I know you still love me.’

  ‘If your definition of love is the violence I’ve been listening to through my wall for the last few months, you’ve got serious problems, young man,’ May Foster said, coming out through her gate to join the others on the pavement.

  ‘Spot on, May,’ Suzie said, smiling at the woman who, in the last month, had proved to be an exceptionally nice lady.

  ‘Why don’t you do us all a favour and fuck off back to psycho Angie,’ Holly piped up. ‘No one wants you here.’

  ‘Might’ve known you’d have something to say,’ Rob hissed, glaring at her. ‘Couldn’t wait to get rid of me so you could jump into Suzie’s knickers, could you?’

  ‘That’s news to me,’ Dan Spencer said, walking up behind the group wearing civvies. ‘Something you want to tell me, Suzie?’

  ‘Ignore him, he’s an idiot,’ she said, smiling as she r
eached up to peck him on the lips. He had called round to check on her a couple of days after the siege, and she had invited him in for a drink. They had talked for hours, and she had realized that he wasn’t only good-looking, he was also a genuinely nice man, so she had been happy to accept when he had asked if he could take her out for dinner sometime. They had been on several dates since then, but it was still early days, so she knew that the kiss was probably a bit forward. But he didn’t seem to mind, and the look on Rob’s face was priceless.

  ‘Let’s go in and get that bottle opened,’ Holly said, heading for the door. ‘Celebrate me getting my life back.’

  ‘There’s something else to celebrate, as well,’ Dan said, closing the door on Rob’s indignant face after they had all made their way inside. ‘Dominic Cooper’s going down for murdering your mum and—’

  ‘Anna,’ Holly corrected him, not yet comfortable about calling the woman who she now knew had pretty much neglected her in favour of Devon Prince her mother. ‘But how did you manage to link him to it? I thought you said he might walk?’

  ‘He probably would have if his sidekick, Austin, hadn’t told us everything in an attempt to secure a lesser sentence for himself,’ Dan said. ‘He gave us the address of a flat we hadn’t known about that Cooper used as a stash-pad, and we found enough there to pin him down. Anyway, we’ve got him for that murder and three others that had gone cold on us, so, all in all, Rob getting jealous of your friendship with Suzie did us a massive favour.’

  Pausing, he turned to Suzie and gave her a mock-frown, saying, ‘It is only a friendship, isn’t it? Only I don’t want to be treading on anyone’s toes.’

  ‘Pig’s got game,’ Davy chuckled, snapping his fingers in glee.

  ‘Shut up, you idiot,’ Holly laughed, slapping Dan’s arm playfully. ‘She’s fancied you from the first time she laid eyes on you.’

  ‘Holly!’ Suzie hissed.

  ‘What?’ Holly said innocently, following as Suzie, who was blushing brightly, headed into the kitchen and took glasses out of the cupboard. ‘It’s true.’

  Gee opened the bottle and a poured a measure into each glass, and Carol handed them round before raising hers.

  ‘To good neighbours.’

  ‘The best,’ said Holly.

  ‘The best!’ the others chorused, clinking glasses.

  WITNESS

  From the back streets of Manchester to the nightclubs and penthouses of the beautiful people, Mandasue Heller, author of the top ten bestseller Run, knows the world she writes. Born in Warrington, she moved to Manchester in the 1980s, where she found the inspiration for her novels. She spent ten years living in the infamous Hulme Crescents and was a professional singer for many years before turning her hand to writing. She has three children, three grandchildren, and still writes and records songs with her musician partner, Wingrove, between books.

  By Mandasue Heller

  The Front

  Forget Me Not

  Tainted Lives

  The Game

  The Charmer

  The Club

  Shafted

  Snatched

  Two-Faced

  The Driver

  Lost Angel

  Broke

  Respect

  Afraid

  Run

  Save Me

  Brutal

  Witness

  First published 2020 by Macmillan

  This electronic edition published 2020 by Macmillan

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan

  The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-1-5290-2429-6

  Copyright © Mandasue Heller 2020

  Jacket design by Anne Glenn

  Images © Shutterstock

  The right of Mandasue Heller to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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