Guns Of Brixton (69 page)

    'A
flat. Just a small one. And I rattle around in that.'

    'Has
it got a bedroom?'

    'Of
course.'

    'Then
we can rattle around together.'

    'Sounds
good to me.'

    'I
like you, Jimmy. I've always liked older men.'

    'Shall
I take that as a compliment?'

    'If
you want. I mean it. It's always nice when punters are human.' 'But still
punters.'

    'That's
the way of the world. It's a hard life, Jimmy.'

    'Is
that a joke?'

    'No.
But it could be.' She was suddenly serious and leant over and placed her hand
on his. 'Let's forget about the music, shall we? Do you want to go home?'

    'Sure.'
Jimmy signalled for the bill and paid in cash.

    They
went back to the car and he directed her to his street. She parked j on a yellow
line and said: 'I'll have to be off early. I don't want a ticket.' j

    'Don't
worry about that. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll pay it.'

    'Oh,
Jimmy,' she said. 'I'm getting to like you more and more. You do spoil me. Now
it's my turn to spoil you.'

    They
went inside. She asked for a moment to freshen up and Jimmy j showed her the
bathroom, whilst he went into the living room, put some music on the little
stereo he'd bought, broke open a bottle of brandy and j poured two decent-sized
slugs into a pair of glasses.

    When
she joined him again, she'd taken off her dress and was \ wearing only black
stockings, red suspenders and red silk knickers, so. tiny as to be almost
against the trades description act. Jimmy smiled I when he saw her and felt
himself start to harden. 'Where's that coke?' she said. 'I need something to
get me in the mood for being really dirty. You deserve it.'

    'I'm
already in the mood,' said Jimmy, tossing the envelope on to the | coffee
table.

    'Don't
worry, I'll be with you soon. Then I'll be a real coke whore,' | she replied.

    'I
thought you already were.'

    'Cheeky.'

    Jane
found a credit card in her purse, wiped the table top with a tissue and poured out
a good quarter gramme. 'It's good and rocky,' she said. 'I like that.' She cut
it up fine, then pulled out four fat lines. She took a silver straw out of her
bag and handed it to Jimmy. 'You first,' she said. 'But I hope it doesn't make
you go soft.' 'With you around, impossible,' he replied, before snorting one
line, then another.

    'So
many compliments,' said Jane. 'I know this is going to be a fun night.'

    'And
a long one, I hope,' said Jimmy.

    'Trust
me.'

    The
coke was primo gear and went straight to Jimmy's heads - both his big one and
his little one - and he felt his cock swell even more in his pants. Jane
started to undress him and he loved the feeling of her soft, smooth hands on
his body. Finally she released him from his underpants. 'Nothing wrong with
that,' she said, taking him in one hand and caressing his balls with the other.
'You're going grey down there, Jimmy,' she said. 'Very distinguished.'

    'It
looks like Stewart Granger,' he said.

    'Who's
that?' she asked, and he laughed at their age difference.

    'I
bet you don't know who Manfred Mann is either,' he said.

    'Never
heard of him.'

    'He's
a he and a band,' said Jimmy.

    'News
to me.' And she knelt in front of him and took his penis in her mouth. The
warmth and wetness made him even harder and he leant his head back, opened his
mouth and groaned with pleasure.

    'Good?'
she asked as she let him slip out, a thin line of saliva still joining them.

    'Perfect.'

    'I
aim to please.'

    'And
you do.'

    She went
back to blowing him and he forced her head on to his prick until she gagged-
She moaned too, as he began to pump into her mouth, but she wrenched her head
back and said, in a voice thick with sex: 'No. Don't come. Not yet. It's too
early. I want more coke.'

    He
let her go, and she strung out more lines and they both indulged and he could
see that the crotch of her knickers was wet with lubrication. 'Are you enjoying
yourself?' he asked.

    'More
than I should. This is business.' 'Forget it. I want to fuck you.'

    She
found her bag again and fished out a condom.

    'No,'
he complained.

    'Oh
yes,' said Jane. 'I know what you boys get up to in prison. It's rule. No going
bareback.'

    'I'm
clean.'

    'So
am I. And I intend to stay that way. I told you that last time. Don't worry.
These are extra thin. You'll feel everything, just like the last time.'

    She
ripped off the foil packaging and expertly rolled the rubber up over his cock,
then pushed him back on the bed and mounted him. 'I love being on top,' she
said. 'Hope you don't mind.'

    By
this time Jimmy didn't care what position they were in as long as he could come
and she rode him like a pony until he spurted into the condom.

    'God,
but that was good,' he said as she gently lifted herself off. 'But it's too
early.'

    'I'm
not going anywhere,' she replied. 'Let's have another drink and I'll show you
how I can make you hard again.'

    Which
she did by whispering dirty stories into his ear. Stories he loved to hear and
he kissed her passionately and she responded in like style. 'You're a dirty
bitch,' he said.

    'And
you're a very dirty man.'

    'A
dirty old man.'

    'If
you like.'

    'I
do. And you're very naughty.'

    'So
what do you want to do about it?'

    'I
think I should smack your arse.'

    'Do
you? Well, go on then,' and she lay across his lap, her pert bottom sticking up
in the air.

    'God,'
he said. 'I don't think I've ever done this before.'

    'There's
always a first time,' she replied. 'Go on, daddy. Punish me.'

    So he
did. He raised his right hand and brought it down hard on her left cheek.
'Oww,' she cried. 'Ooh, that hurts.'

    'But
you love it.' 'No, I don't.'

    'Yes
you do,' he insisted and spanked her hard until both buttocks glowed pink.

    She
rolled off him and when she sat up she said: 'That really stings.'

    'Come
on,' he said. 'Let's do it again.'

    'You're
the boss,' she said. 'How do you want me? On my back or all fours?'

    'I
don't care.'

    'So
let's do both.'

    And they
did. Their sex going on half the night until Jimmy, at least, was exhausted. 'I
can't keep up,' he said as a distant clock struck four. 'I need some sleep.'

    'Do
you, old man?' she said. 'Can't we just do it once more?'

    'I
don't think so.'

    'Fair
enough. But don't say I didn't offer.'

    'I'll
never say that.'

    They
climbed into the wreck of the bed and Jimmy was soon asleep. Jane lay next to
him until she saw the beginning of the dawn, and then she too closed her eyes.
Tomorrow is another day, she thought, looking at the man lying next to her.

    Earlier
that day, someone else had been looking at Jimmy. But this time on a tiny
screen in the back of Gerry Goldstein's shop. Mark Farrow had telephoned first
thing and caught the jeweller as he'd opened up. 'I need to see that tape,'
he'd said.

    'OK,'
said Goldstein. 'I'm free this morning 'til twelve.'

    'I'll
be right over,' said Mark. He left his hotel and drove up to the city.
Goldstein let him in and took him through to the back room, where he played the
tapes showing Hunter's two visits to the shop. Of course, Gerry Goldstein being
Gerry Goldstein, the CCTV he'd had installed years before was tired and old and
the tapes had been used so many times, they were almost transparent. The small
monochrome monitor wasn't exactly state of the art, either. Jimmy hadn't helped
matters by keeping his face out of the frame most of the time. Whether this was
deliberate, by accidental or through instinct, Mark didn't know. But
occasionally was a clear shot of him. The first time, Mark frowned and said:
'I] that geezer. Where the hell…?'

    Then
it struck him. It was the man walking by Linda's house previous afternoon.
'Well, I'll be fucked,' he said.

    'What?'
said Goldstein.

    'He
was there,' said Mark.

    'Where?'

    'Never
mind,' said Mark. 'But I could've mullahed him, no problem.' He laughed.
'Bugger me,' he said. 'Talk about missing your chances. But I'll know the
fucker next time.'

    The
next morning, Jane was awake, up and dressed by nine and shook Jimmy until he
opened his eyes. 'Time to go time,' she said.

    "What
time is it?' he asked with a mouth gummy from booze and drugs.

    'Nine.'

    'Do
you have to?'

    'Sure
do. The clock's running.'

    'Can
we do it again?'

    'Any
time, Jimmy. I enjoyed myself.'

    'Me
too.'

    She
leant down and kissed him on the cheek. 'You're all stubbly,' she said.

    'That's
life.'

    'Call
me,' she said as she went to the bedroom door. 'I'll find my own way out.'

    'Hope
your car's OK,' he said.

    'You
promised to pay the ticket if it isn't.'

    'And
I will.'

    'So
I'll see you?'

    "You
will,' he said, and she blew him a kiss and left. He heard the front door slam
and he lay back on his pillow.

    Outside,
Jane rescued her car - which was ticketless - turned the stereo up as loud as
it would go, and roared out of the street.

    Further
up the road from Jimmy's flat, a man sitting alone in a nondescript motor saw
her leave and jotted down the number of her car in a little notebook he'd taken
from his jacket pocket.

    When
Jimmy was totally awake, he washed, shaved and put on water for coffee. He
checked his wallet and realised how much last night had cost him, and when he'd
had his breakfast, he phoned Gerry Goldstein.

    'How
long before we go?' he asked once the jeweller had identified himself.

    'You'll
find out soon enough.'

    'I
need some cash.'

    'And
you'll get it. Relax.'

    'Just
as long as you haven't forgotten me.'

    'How
could I, Jimmy?'

    'As
soon as you know something, call me.'

    'Of
course I will. Trust me.'

    'OK,
Gerry. But I hate waiting.'

    'It's
out of my hands, you know that,' said Goldstein.

    'I
know. All right. I'm just getting impatient. It's been a long time.'

    'Soon,
I'm sure.'

    'Right.
Speak to you later.'

    'Later,
Jimmy,' replied Goldstein, and they both hung up. Goldstein sat and wondered
just how he'd got himself into such a mess. What with Jimmy on one side, and
Mark Farrow on the other, he felt he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
And that wasn't even taking Butler and his mob into consideration. If it was
ever discovered that he was playing both sides against the middle… well, he
knew it wouldn't be a good time to start getting interested in TV serials.