‘You can’t think like that, Becky,’ he replied. ‘It’s Cait’s money and we should be grateful that she’s treating us to the trip to Spain. I’d say that’s quite enough, wouldn’t you?’
‘No,’ Becky replied, taut and suddenly very defensive. ‘We’ve been friends with her and Naomi for a couple of years now, it’s how you and I met. Friends look after friends. They don’t get rich and leave them behind. Especially when they’re getting married.’
Becky had a weird logic which Matt couldn’t get his head around. He made the foolish error of trying to set her right.
‘Cait doesn’t owe us anything, Becky. Besides, the money she has is wonderful, but she’s hardly rich. It’s more like a cash windfall. She’ll be able to buy a nice house, put some in the bank, maybe even a holiday home. But it’s not enough to set her up for life.’
‘Why do you always support other people, Matt? You never support me. You’re going to be my husband soon. We’re a unit. We should be on the same page about these things.’
Matt saw the wild look in her eyes. It was time for him to back off. If he wound her up any more, what followed might get ugly.
He wondered if he dared to end it there and then. If he just walked out – right at that moment – would she just get over it? Would all the threats she’d made last time prove to be empty?
He shuddered when he thought back to it. He’d only mentioned how nice Harriet had been looking at a meal they’d been to as a smaller group. Becky had flown off the handle completely.
‘I don’t want you to see that slut again! She’s not good for you, she poisons your mind against me. She still wants you, even though she broke it off with you. Leave her alone!’
‘But we have to see her still, she’s part of our group. We can’t not talk to her. You at least have to be polite to her.’
‘She’s a whore and I want you to stay away from her. If you ever got together again I don’t know what I’d do. I’d kill myself, that’s what I’d do. If I lost you to her, you’d find me dead, right here in this house!’
Becky grabbed a kitchen knife with a serrated edge. She held it against her wrist and pressed down on the skin.
Only the week before, Matt had cut his finger on that knife. It was sharp and deadly, it had hurt.
‘Or maybe I’ll slit my own throat. That will show you how much I love you. Then you’ll regret ever being with that slag! I’d kill her too, that would teach her to try and steal you away from me.’
Matt didn’t know what to do. The knife was being waved around precariously, one slip and she’d cut herself.
‘Becky, darling, calm down. It’s over with me and Harriet. You said it yourself, she threw me out, she ended it. And now I’m with you. And we’re ... we’re going to be married soon.’
The words stuck in his throat as he said them.
Matt watched as Becky relaxed her grip on the knife.
‘I’m telling you, Matt, if you ever go back to that woman again, you’ll find me here hanging from a rope tied to the loft rafters. I’ve worked it all out, I don’t care. If it comes to it, I’ll either use the knife or hang myself on the landing. And you’ll be the one who’s responsible. You and Harriet.’
Becky and Harriet used to be friends. They would talk and laugh together, though when Matt looked back he realised that Becky had probably only tolerated Harriet to get to him. Perhaps she’d planned it that way all along, she was manipulative enough.
Matt tried to change the subject. He wanted Becky to put the knife away.
‘I thought you looked amazing tonight. I love that dress, it really suits you.’
The change in Becky was almost immediate. She placed the knife on the kitchen worktop.
‘Naomi complimented me on it too. She said it made my figure look stunning.’
‘I agree. I like your hair up like that too. It shows off your beautiful neck.’
Becky walked away from the knife, put her arms around him and pulled him in towards her.
‘I like it best when it’s just me and you,’ she said, kissing his neck. ‘We’re like little love birds and this house is our nest.’
Matt was relieved that the situation hadn’t escalated. He pulled Becky in towards him, not wanting to give her any inkling that his mind was elsewhere. It was Harriet he was imagining, pressed in close to him, her smell intoxicating, her body like an enchanting potion.
‘You know, Caitlen was really careless this evening.’
‘Why?’ Matt replied, wondering where this was heading.
‘Do you remember when we’d all moved into the lounge and she was giving everybody their passwords?’
‘Yes. I can’t stop repeating mine in my head. I’m terrified of forgetting it.’
‘Remember when her mobile phone went off and she took the call? You were looking at the pictures on the wall.’
Matt nodded. They were still close together, he could look directly into Becky’s eyes. She was calm again now.
‘I took a photo of the full list. She just left it there on the table. I couldn’t resist it. She said that she shredded it after she’d spoken to all of us, but I have a photo of it. It’s on my phone.’
‘Damn, Becky, you shouldn’t have done that!’
She moved away from him. He’d felt her tense up the moment he’d dared to venture that he might have a different opinion.
‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘If Caitlen was stupid enough to leave it there in the open, that’s her lookout.’
‘But she trusts us, Becky. We’re her friends. She wanted us to help her keep that information secure. And now you’ve broken that trust. You should delete the image.’
‘Sod that!’ Becky laughed. ‘If she doesn’t help us out with the wedding of her own accord, I’ll tell her that I’ve got her precious bloody passwords. I’ll be fair, I’ll give her a chance to offer first. But if she leaves us high and dry ... well, screw her. I’ll either force her into giving us some or I’ll figure out how to take it for myself.’
‘You can’t do that, Becky! If the full password fell into the wrong hands, she could lose all her money. You don’t want that, do you?’
Becky had moved away from him now and was edging back towards the kitchen knife. Matt could feel himself sweating at the temples. Is this what domestic abuse is like? he wondered. Is this how it begins, with manipulation and threats?
‘If she’s as good a friend as she claims to be, she’ll help us out with the wedding without being prompted. We announced our engagement on the same night as she broke her news. She should be pleased to celebrate her good fortune with us. And if she’s not ... well, she’ll regret it.’
Matt looked towards Becky. In that moment he saw her for what she truly was. And it frightened him. He now had no idea what this woman was capable of or what else she might have been plotting in her disturbed mind.
Chapter Thirteen
Benidorm: June
As they walked into Erin’s Bar, things were in full flow.
‘I’ve fallen in love with Benidorm!’ Terry declared. ‘Not only is it not pissing with rain all the time, they serve John Smiths beer everywhere.’
‘What’s the big deal with John Smiths?’ Porter asked.
‘In the UK you can’t get a decent pint any more. Everything is either some speciality beer brewed by guys with beards long enough to sleep in or they’re flavoured with Himalayan herbs extracted from the arses of mountain goats. I just want a regular pint of beer, not some bloody concoction dreamed up by a youngster who’s barely out of school.’
‘Terry struggles with the modern world, don’t you, mate?’ Rhett laughed, placing his hand affectionately on Terry’s shoulder. ‘We went out for a coffee once and he insisted on getting a Nescafé. It was hilarious. They kept offering him espressos, lattes, cappuccinos ... the lot. And he was just standing there saying I just want a fucking Nescafé please! The sad thing is, the kids who were serving him didn’t even know what he was talking about.’
‘I wonder how Wes got on?’ Naomi asked, ‘I can’t see him anywhere, can you?’
‘This woman is very good. She looks just like Lady Ga-Ga!’ Harriet said, referring to the tribute act who was on stage performing covers of famous songs. The venue was packed. Caitlen was happy about the genial atmosphere, this was a good place to be.
‘I can recognise it from the telly,’ Terry said. ‘Look, that’s the bar with the fish tank. They’re always filming stuff over there.’
Porter had managed to find a spare table and Rhett, Becky and Matt had gone over to help him find some chairs. Harriet and Gina had got talking at the bar and Naomi seemed to be hovering while Caitlen was waiting for her own drink to be served and to settle up the bill.
‘You alright, sis?’ she asked.
‘I was hoping to have a quick word with you. It’s a bit loud in here. Can we step outside for five minutes?’
‘Sure. Is everything alright?’
‘Yes, of course. I just felt that we should chat. Away from Terry and Rhett, they always turn everything into a joke.’
‘At least Terry does!’ Caitlen smiled.
They carried their drinks outside and were fortunate enough to be able to grab a small table and chairs which had just been vacated by a smoker.
‘What is it?’
Naomi looked uncomfortable, Caitlen sensed that something awkward was coming. She’d half expected it after their talk in the apartment. Naomi seemed to have something on her mind.
‘How are you planning to spend the money?’ she blurted out. ‘I mean ... are you planning to sha— will you be investing any of it?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Caitlen replied. She seemed to be speaking a lot about money recently. She hadn’t even got her hands on most of it yet, and already she could feel the vultures getting ready to circle. Most of them hadn’t said anything. But she could tell it was preying on their minds, like an itch that they just couldn’t scratch.
‘Do you think ... will you be sharing any of it out?’
‘What do you mean?’ Caitlen replied tersely. She hadn’t even settled on her own plans yet and already everybody wanted to spend her cash for her already.
Naomi took a large sip of her G&T and finally said what she wanted to say.
‘Will any of it be coming my way? Me and Rhett, will we be getting any of it?’
Her face reddened. She’d clearly been working her way up to this.
‘Does Rhett know we’re having this conversation? Did he put you up to it?’
‘No – yes ... no, not really. I just wondered, only ...’
‘Only what?’
‘I just wondered, that’s all. It’s a lot of money and I just thought that you might be sharing some of it out.’
‘What, more than I have done already you mean? I’m paying for this holiday already, Naomi. What else did you have in mind?’
‘I just thought—’
‘Look, I can’t even think that far ahead. I told you where I’m up to with Terry. Every crass fucking thing he’s done on this holiday so far makes me cringe. I’m going to finish it when we get home, I can’t do it here, it would be horrible for the rest of you. But I haven’t got my hands on it yet. It’s not even in my bank account, how can I even think about what I’m spending it on before I see how much I’ve got? It’s not like real money, you know. It’s more complicated than that. Besides, I was going to treat you again once you’d all handed back the passwords that I’d given you. As a thank you.’
Naomi looked chastened, she knew that she’d overstepped. But they’d missed their second mortgage payment that very morning. She’d switched on her mobile phone as she got off the plane and it was the first message waiting for her when the backlog of messages started coming in. She hadn’t even told Rhett yet. She was getting desperate.
‘I was going to give you all a weekend break as a thank you. With a five hundred pound budget. Don’t tell the others yet, will you? I don’t want to mention it before I tell Terry. I don’t want him making plans for the future.’
At any other time, the holiday in Benidorm and a weekend away with Rhett would have been more than enough. It was only because of their financial difficulties that matters were so pressing. And then she saw it, the link between the people. The connection which was going to give her the leverage that she needed. She was keeping Terry and Emmy’s dirty little secret. They’d agreed to stay quiet after they discovered her working in the burger bar and she’d said that she would reciprocate. She was also keeping Caitlen’s secret. That she was going to leave Terry, empty-handed too. They were allies in this, between them they had several passwords. Without the passwords, Caitlen had none of her precious bloody money.
‘It’s okay, Cait, I shouldn’t have said anything,’ she said, picking up her drink. ‘You’ve been more than generous, thank you. I’m sorry I said anything.’
Naomi stood up, touched her sister on the shoulder to show that there were no hard feelings, then went back into the bar. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she brushed straight past Porter who was slinking in the corner, puffing on his vaper. He went to speak to her but thought better of it. He’d caught the gist of the conversation from afar, he thought it best kept to himself. He turned away so that he was looking down the street. He didn’t want Caitlen to spot him.
Caitlen decided to nurse her drink a little longer.
‘Hello you, I wondered where you’d got to!’
It was Gina, she pulled Caitlen away from her thoughts.
‘Hi Gina, I’m pleased it’s you. They’re wearing me out that lot in there. We’re supposed to be friends, but you can’t really be best friends with everybody can you?’
‘What do you mean?’ Gina said, pulling up a chair.
‘Well, we call ourselves a group of friends. But no group of friends can like every other member equally, can they? I mean, Becky plays polite with Harriet, but the two of them hate each other. Porter comes as part of the package with Emmy, but he’s a bit of a prat if truth be told. Matt fancies Harriet still and looks like he can’t wait to push Becky over a ledge. And Becky ... well, I’m not even certain if she really likes anybody, herself included. Kasey seems to be the only universally liked person in the group. Yet we call ourselves a group of friends.’
‘Where did all this come from?’ Gina asked, genuinely concerned. The women had established an immediate rapport, she liked Caitlen.
‘Oh, I don’t know. Have you heard of bitcoin? It’s a cryptocurrency, you’ve probably seen it mentioned in the papers.’
‘Yes, I own some. How do you think I manage to swan around like I do? Sure I work, because you can’t play all the time. But I bought some myself. It’s been very good to me.’
‘Where do you keep yours?’ Caitlen asked, immediately interested that her new friend knew what she was talking about.
‘You have to be careful with it, it’s very easy to steal. It’s best not to tell people where you keep it. It’s a precarious business, if you leave it all on your laptop, you can be hacked and have it all stolen.’
‘Well, I found that out for myself. That’s why we’re here, in Benidorm. All my friends have part of my password. No one person has the entire thing. I was terrified of leaving it on my phone or a computer. I did some research. And I have it all stored on a special gadget, like a USB drive but more secure. That’s the best way to do it as far as I can tell.’
‘Well, your instincts are right, and you’ve done your research well. But I hope you’ve put your USB drive in a safe place. If that gets stolen or hacked, you’re in big trouble.’
Gina saw from the look on Caitlen’s face that she hadn’t done that.
‘Don’t tell me, where did you leave it? Not under the mattress, please, not under the mattress?’
‘No, not as
bad as that. I was scared of losing it. I thought about leaving it at home, but I panicked at the last moment, I wanted to keep it in my sight.’
‘Where is it?’ Gina asked. ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, of course. But please, put it somewhere really secure.’
‘Seriously? That seems a bit over the top?’
‘Do you have a decent amount of money on yours?’
‘Enough to make a difference, yes.’
Caitlen adjusted her bra strap, it felt tight all of a sudden.
‘You haven’t, have you?’
Caitlen’s face reddened. She nodded.
‘It’s in your bra?’
‘Wrapped in tissue and taped to my D-cup, yes. It’s the only place I could think of where it would be absolutely safe. Well, the only hygienic place, at least!’
‘Promise me, you’ll come into town with me tomorrow morning and we’ll place it in a private mailbox? I’ll talk you through it, and you need to do the same thing when you get back to the UK. Promise?’
‘Yes, I promise,’ Caitlen replied sheepishly ‘It’s just that that seemed the safest way to protect it. And who else do you trust if you can’t trust your friends?’
Chapter Fourteen
Benidorm: June
Gina spotted it first. They were topping up their drinks at the bar, and she’d offered to pay for the round.
‘Is that chap called Porter, the one who’s just sat down next to Becky?’
‘Yes, why?’ Caitlen asked.
‘His arse is on fire, that’s why!’
‘Oh Jesus, his vaper is smoking in his back pocket.’
Caitlen rushed over to the table, but Porter had already figured out what was going on. He was screaming so loud it could be heard over the music. There was a new cover band on, they were playing Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. Even as she helped Porter, she thought how good they sounded.
Everybody was standing up now, helping Porter. Becky, Matt, Rhett, Kasey and Naomi all fussed around him. It caused such a commotion that the band leader stopped halfway through the song to make sure everything was alright.
Two Years After ; Friends Who Lie ; No More Secrets Page 23
