Schemer (44 page)

Unaware that her daughter and Barry were currently in the first throes of passion, Pam was busy discussing their relationship with her sister. ‘I wish Steph would just stop faffing about and make a go of it with him. She’s gonna regret it if she don’t and Barry sods off back to Spain. Between me, you and the kitchen sink, I think he is far better suited to Steph than Wayne ever was. Don’t get me wrong, Wayne weren’t a bad lad, but there was something about him that I could never truly take to, if I’m honest. He was always polite enough, but I always got the impression that he weren’t into the family side of things and sort of wanted Steph all to himself.’

Lin nodded. ‘Wayne was always OK towards me, but we never saw a lot of him really, did we? I remember him being round ’ere quite a lot when they first got together, but after him and Steph moved to Collier Row, he never seemed to come round again, did he? I always thought he’d got a bit above himself when he started raking it in, to be honest. I often wonder what’s happened to him though, Pam. God, if my Keith ever went missing, it would kill me. I know your David’s death was a terrible shock for you, but can you imagine how you’d have felt if he’d just disappeared off the face of the earth? Not knowing what has happened to someone you love must be the worst feeling in the world, and perhaps that’s why Steph’s not ready to move on just yet.’

‘I often wonder if Wayne’s done a runner, you know. Perhaps he got cold feet because of the wedding, or something. The police asked Steph a few weeks ago if they knew where his dad was in Greece. I mean, why would they be trying to trace his father if they thought Wayne had committed suicide in England? I reckon the Old Bill must be suspicious,’ Pam said, bluntly.

‘I shouldn’t think he’s run off to Greece, Pam. If Wayne didn’t wanna be with Steph, surely he would have just ended their relationship? I mean, he’d still want to have contact with his kids, surely?’

‘Yeah, I suppose he would. I didn’t really think much of it at the time, but when Angie went off to Greece as well, it did make me wonder if she and Wayne had run off together and were being harboured by his father.’

‘Surely even Angie wouldn’t stoop that low?’ Lin replied, shocked at her sister’s suggestion.

‘To be truthful, I don’t think my Angie could be bothered to give Wayne the time of day now, but I’ll tell you something, Lin, if I ever find out that her and Wayne had run off together, I would find ’em and – may God be my judge – I’d kill the pair of ’em with me own bare hands.’

‘Barry, I’m ever so thirsty. Let me go downstairs and pour us both a drink, eh?’ Stephanie suggested. She and Wayne had been quite rampant when they had first got together, but their lovemaking sessions had never gone on for hours on end, as this one with Barry seemed destined to.

‘Go and grab that bottle of champagne. I bought three and there’s one still in the fridge. Don’t you be too long though. I’ve waited a long time for this moment and I ain’t finished with you yet.’

When Stephanie skipped happily from the bedroom, Barry put his hands behind his head, lay back on the pillow and grinned. He was an expert when it came to making love to women and Stephanie’s cries of delight only added to his glee. Another few hours, he would be out of here, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on Steph’s face when he said his piece and left. It would be truly and utterly priceless.

Marlene and Marge had been so excited about their holiday that they had got to the airport three hours before their check-in time. Bored with sitting with the two blokes who had latched onto them, but were too tight to buy them any drinks, Marlene put her hat back on and went to look at the information board. Thrilled when she spotted the words, BOARDING NOW, Marlene tottered back to Marge as fast as she could. Her five-inch stilettos definitely weren’t designed for running. ‘Come on, let’s go.’

‘But these men are just gonna get us a drink,’ Marge said. She quite fancied the dark-haired one with the moustache.

‘Sod the drink. We’ve been sitting with ’em for the past half-hour and the tight bastards never offered to buy us one then, did they?’ Marlene hissed in her friend’s ear.

Marge stood up.

‘Perhaps we can all meet up when you get back off holiday?’ the man with the moustache suggested to Marge.

Sensing that her pal was about to give her phone number out, Marlene had another little word in her ear. ‘What do you want, some big, strapping handsome black geezer whose cock is eight inches when soft? Or, that skinny, tashy-faced twat who has probably only got four inches on the hard?’

Marge immediately turned her back on the men. She and Marlene had been drinking all day and had earlier made up their own lyrics to the old Seventies classic by Typically Tropical.

‘You didn’t say where you was going?’ the man with the moustache shouted out.

Turning around, both Marge and Marlene broke into song. ‘Woh, we going to Barbados. Woh, to find big black man. Woh, we like big penis. Woh, near the sunny Caribbean sea.’

Roaring with laughter at the shocked look on the men’s faces, Marlene and Marge linked arms and strutted off.

Barry smirked as he ejaculated inside Stephanie for what he’d planned to be the very last time. She was on the pill, had even showed him the packet, so he’d decided to ride her bareback to give himself maximum pleasure.

If Steph had any doubts beforehand about whether what she was doing was wrong, she certainly didn’t have them now. The sex between her and Barry had been fantastic – mind-blowing, in fact – and even though Steph felt incredibly guilty having sex with another man while her fiancé was still on the missing list, she knew she would never have allowed herself to fall for Barry in the first place if she hadn’t been so intent on giving her children the life they deserved. That’s what mothers were meant to do, weren’t they? Put their children’s needs before their own. Falling for Barry and enjoying the sex was just an added bonus. ‘I’ve got something to show you,’ Steph said, leaping out of bed.

Barry laughed as Steph produced the half of the jagged gold heart Barry had given her all those years ago. He could not believe that the silly bitch had done what she had done to him, yet still had the brass neck to keep it. Knowing now was the perfect time to leave, Barry stood up.

‘Why are you getting dressed? Don’t tell me you’ve kept the other half of it and you’ve got it in the car?’ Steph asked, happily.

Barry ignored the question. ‘Do you feel guilty about Wayne at all?’ he asked, as he zipped up his jeans.

‘Yeah, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t. But, as my mum said, Wayne isn’t coming back, so I need to get on with my life. Why do you ask? Do you feel guilty?’

‘No. I just wanted to know how you felt.’

Throwing her arms around Barry’s neck, Stephanie grinned. ‘I think you know the answer to how I feel, and to prove how serious I am about you, why don’t you move in with me? I know it’s early days, but I hate being here on my own of a night. I get really nervous. I’m sure the kids would love it if you moved in permanently as well. They adore you, so do I, and I don’t care what other people think, do you?’

‘Yeah, I do actually. Unlike you, I have standards, Steph. Anyway, I’m going back to Spain to marry my beautiful girlfriend,’ Barry said, icily.

Positive that Barry was joking, Stephanie playfully punched him on the chest. ‘Give me a big kiss,’ she said, throwing her arms around his neck.

Grabbing her wrists, Barry squeezed them tightly and stared coldly into her eyes. ‘Know how it feels now, you slag, do ya?’

Stephanie froze as she noted his chilly expression. ‘Whatever’s wrong, Barry? Have I said or done something to upset you?’

Barry laughed nastily. ‘Yes, darling. Many years ago you did something that upset me immensely. Remember?’ he said, letting go of her wrists.

Feeling faint, Stephanie sat on the edge of the bed and made a grab at Barry’s hand as he tried to put his T-shirt on. ‘Why are you being like this? I thought we had something special? I thought you loved me.’

Seeing the distress in her eyes only added to Barry’s pleasure. ‘Oh, we did have something special once, Steph. I loved you so much all them years back, but you didn’t honestly think I was going to give up my wonderful life in Spain and my stunning girlfriend for an untrustworthy slut like you, did ya?’

Bursting into tears, Steph grabbed a pillow to cover up her nakedness. ‘Please tell me this is a joke, Barry. What about the children?’

Barry secured the clasp on his watch, bent down, and tilted Stephanie’s chin towards him. ‘I feel sorry for them kids of yours – they’d be better off without you. Their dad ain’t been missing five minutes and you’re already out there whoring yourself out, ain’t ya? You’ve always thought you were better than your sister, Steph, but I tell you now, you are not. Angie don’t pretend to be anything she ain’t, but you, you’re the dirtiest slag of all.’

When Barry picked up his keys to leave, a distraught Stephanie forgot about her nakedness and fell at his feet. Sobbing uncontrollably, she grabbed both his legs. ‘Please don’t go, Barry. I love you, the kids love you; please don’t do this to me. I am so sorry about what happened all them years ago. I was only a kid and I didn’t know any different. I have always loved you deep down, I know I have. Please don’t go, I beg you.’

Looking at the naked wreck grovelling at his feet, Barry smirked. He picked the gold piece of heart up and secured it around Stephanie’s neck. ‘You weren’t a bad fuck, babe, I’ll give you that much. Enjoy the rest of your life, sweetheart.’

‘No Barry. Please don’t leave me,’ Stephanie screamed, as he moved her hands away from his ankles and bolted down the stairs.

When she heard his car pull away, Stephanie knew there was only one thing left for her to do. She hated herself and knew there was no way she could live with betraying Wayne in such an awful way. She had made a complete and utter fool of herself and Barry was right, the kids would be better off without her.

Steph put her dressing gown on and sobbed hysterically as she shuffled into the bathroom. She opened the cabinet and stared at the masses of tablets. Suicide might be deemed as a coward’s way out, but unfortunately, she’d left herself with no choice.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Ten Years Later – 2004

Double-checking that she had set the alarm, Stephanie Crouch locked the salon door and pulled the shutters down. She had set up her beauty business exactly five years ago next week and, apart from her children, it really was her pride and joy in life. A government grant had given Steph the opportunity to achieve her dream. She had called the shop ‘Danni’s’ after her stunning daughter, and it had been so successful that she was seriously considering opening up another salon because she could no longer cope with the amount of bookings she was getting.

Considering suicide had been a massive wake-up call for Steph, and if it hadn’t been for Tyler having an accident at her mum’s house that fateful evening, she wouldn’t be here now. She had already swallowed a dozen or so tablets when the phone had rung. Tyler had fallen down the stairs and knocked himself unconscious, and it was only because she had heard her mum’s frantic voice leave an answerphone message that she had snapped out of committing such a selfish act. After putting her fingers down her throat, Stephanie had dashed off to the hospital. Tyler had woken up by the time she arrived and was being monitored for concussion. Steph had never told a soul about what she’d attempted, but she knew in her heart that it was her son who had saved her life.

Stephanie got into her car. She had recently treated herself to a BMW M3 convertible and loved driving about in luxury. The car was alpine white with a black leather interior and had proved to be a real man-magnet. Trouble was, Steph wasn’t interested in men. In fact, she hated them with a passion. Barry had destroyed her trust in the male gender forever more, and Steph knew she could never fall in love again for as long as she lived. Sometimes, Steph would have nightmares, and the one that kept reoccurring the most was a vision of Wayne being throttled by Barry. Wayne had never been seen or heard of since his disappearance on his stag night over ten years ago and, after learning of Barry’s thirst for revenge, Steph was now positive that it was he who had murdered Wayne. The police had stopped looking for Wayne ages ago. They thought he had taken his own life and Stephanie had never told anybody about her own suspicions. Barry was evil and she was scared to open her mouth in case it opened up a can of worms. What had happened between Barry and herself, Steph had never disclosed to anyone. It had made her feel guilty, naive and cheap, and keeping it a secret was the only way Stephanie could cope with it. At the time, her mum had been devastated when she had told her that she wouldn’t be seeing Barry any more. ‘But why? He’s a lovely young man and yous two are so well suited,’ she’d said.

Steph had wanted to tell her mum that Barry was anything but bloody lovely, but instead had kept her mouth shut and came up with the only viable excuse she could think of. ‘I asked him to choose between me and his girlfriend in Spain. He said he wasn’t ready to make that decision, so I sent him packing.’

Aware that her phone was ringing, Steph fished through her handbag to find it. Unable to do so, she tipped the bag upside down on the passenger seat in annoyance. ‘You OK, love?’ she asked her daughter, Dannielle.

‘Hurry up home, Mum. A woman called Mrs Woodcock has just knocked here. She reckons Tyler has threatened her son, James, with a knife of some kind and she’s fuming. I told her you’d be home soon and she’s waiting outside in her car.’

Stephanie sighed. Unlike her sixteen-year-old daughter who had never caused Steph any worry or trouble in her life, Tyler was, to put it bluntly, a little bastard. Her son had just turned thirteen, and had been diagnosed with a medical condition called ADHD at the tender age of five. The doctors had said that Tyler had an inbalance of chemicals in the management of his brain, which was the reason for his tantrums and learning difficulties.