Schemer (60 page)

When Steph stomped out of the room in a huff, Angela came to the phone seconds later. ‘Hello, love. Cath said you had something urgent you wanted to speak to me about.’

‘Yeah, I do. I was unsure whether to tell you at first as I didn’t think you’d believe me, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t say something.’

‘Get to the point then, love,’ Pam said bluntly.

‘I went out for lunch yesterday with my old school pal Chloe. Anyway, we happened to stop at a pub in Chigwell. We were gonna have a quick drink, until I saw Dannielle come out the pub with some bloke. I only saw the back of the man, but Chloe said he was definitely older than me and her. She also said that he looked like a villain. Well, obviously, I was extremely worried about Danni, so I followed the Range Rover they got in.’

‘Did you get an address?’

‘Well, I followed them to the house, but I didn’t see the name of the road or anything,’ Angela replied, a bit taken aback. It was obvious by her mother’s reaction that Danni’s sordid little secret was already out in the open.

‘Would you know how to get there again?’

‘I think I would if I drove from the pub where I first spotted Danni.’

Pam breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Will you come over to Steph’s straight away? I’ll give you her address.’

Glad to be a help to her family rather than a hindrance for once, Angela immediately agreed.

Unaware that his life was currently in danger, Barry rubbed his erection against Dannielle’s thigh. ‘No woman I’ve met in my life has ever made me feel the way you do,’ he whispered in her ear.

Instead of responding to his sexual advances like she usually did, Dannielle got out of bed.

‘What’s the matter?’ Barry asked, worried. Surely she hadn’t had second thoughts about their relationship?

‘We need to sort this out with my mum asap, Barry. It’s really worrying me now.’

Erection deflated, Barry leapt out of bed and hugged his young girlfriend. ‘It will only take me half an hour to shower and stuff me face, then I will go and speak to your mum.’

‘I’m coming with you. I think it will be better if we speak to her together,’ Dannielle insisted.

About to argue the point, Barry heard a noise downstairs.

‘What was that?’ Dannielle asked.

‘I dunno. Get yourself dressed and wait here, OK? Do not say a word and do not come downstairs,’ Barry whispered, putting on a pair of tracksuit bottoms to cover his prize asset. Over in Spain, Barry had kept all sorts of weapons indoors, but for obvious reasons he hadn’t been able to bring them to England with him. He would never have got through customs.

Barry crept downstairs and checked the front door first. It was still locked, so he then decided to check the other rooms. Stepping cautiously into the lounge, Barry gasped as a big hand grabbed him and covered his mouth.

‘One word and you’re dead,’ a voice said, as a gun was placed at Barry’s temple.

Jolene’s father was a scouser and there was no mistaking his voice. ‘I can explain,’ Barry tried to say, as thick black tape was put over his mouth.

Ordering Barry to lie face down on the carpet, Mickey tied his legs and arms together with the thick tape as well. Satisfied that there was no way Barry could move, Mickey crept upstairs to find the unwanted house guest. He’d heard a woman’s voice, and it had made his blood reach boiling point to think that his daughter was barely cold and the scumbag who had killed her had already moved on. Perhaps that was the reason why Barry had chosen to kill Jolene in the first place?

‘There you are. I was getting worried,’ Dannielle said, as the bedroom door slowly opened. Seconds later, she let out a blood curdling scream.

Stephanie glared at her younger sister as she followed their mother into her lounge. ‘I bet you’re loving all this, aren’t you? Must have made your year?’ Steph asked, sarcastically.

‘Actually, I’m not loving it. I might not know Dannielle particularly well, but my Aidan reckons she’s a lovely girl. I don’t want to see her come to any harm, hence why I went round Mum’s,’ Angela explained.

‘Now, no silliness, please. Come on, let’s go. What we waiting for?’ Pam said, standing up and motioning to Lin to do the same.

Stephanie stood up. ‘Actually, I would rather go with Angie on my own. I don’t want a big entourage with me. I need to sort this myself.’

A bit put out, Pam and Lin sat back down on the sofa. Both women had wanted to give Barry Franklin a piece of their minds, and now the opportunity to do so had been taken away from them. ‘I really don’t like the idea of yous two going alone. Say that pervert attacks you or something?’ Pam said.

‘I agree. That man is obviously a fucking animal and could be capable of anything,’ Lin added.

‘Don’t worry. I won’t leave Steph alone with this bloke,’ Angela promised. She was a bit confused as to why her mum and aunt were talking as though they knew Danni’s boyfriend. Perhaps he was a family friend or something? Angela wondered.

With an icy expression on her face, Stephanie turned to her younger sister. ‘Come on then, let’s go.’

Dannielle was petrified as the man put thick tape over her mouth and then around her hands and feet. Who was this man? What did he want? Worse still, had he hurt Barry?

Mickey picked up a mobile phone off the bedside cabinet and waved it in Dannielle’s face. ‘Is this yours?’

Trembling as though she had a bad case of Parkinson’s disease, Dannielle shook her head from side to side.

Guessing it must be Barry’s, Mickey spotted a handbag on the carpet next to the wardrobe. ‘Bingo,’ he mumbled, as he tipped it upside down and picked up what was obviously the girl’s mobile phone. Mickey very much doubted that Barry or the young girl would be able to escape because he had bound them up so well, but you could never be too careful. He had already checked downstairs for a landline when he had entered the house via the unlocked back door, and cut the phone wire. Clocking the ‘scared rabbit caught in headlights’ look in Dannielle’s eyes, Mickey felt a pang of guilt. The poor girl was only young – didn’t look much older than a schoolkid – and that made him hate Barry even more, if that were possible. ‘I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. Just lie down on the bed and I’ll untie you soon,’ he said, softly.

Mickey shut the bedroom door, took a deep breath, and leant against it. The petrified look in the girl’s eyes had thrown him a bit. The quicker he got on with the job he’d come here to do, the better. The girl might not thank him now, but little did she know by ridding the earth of her evil bastard of a boyfriend, he was actually doing her a massive favour in the long run.

Mickey walked back down the stairs. He already knew the exact story he was going to tell the Old Bill. The gun his pal had lent him was just a replica. He daren’t have carried a real one, as he knew as soon as he’d set eyes on Barry’s cocky face, he would have shot him to pieces. Serving a life sentence over that piece of shit was something Mickey wasn’t willing to do. Stabbing Barry to death with the dagger that his pal had also given him was a much better option. It enabled him to tell the courts he had acted in self-defence. The plan was, he was going to force Barry to hold the dagger in his grubby little hands, so it had plenty of his fingerprints on it. The dagger was fingerprint free at the moment. Mickey’s pal had worn gloves to handle it and so had he. Mickey wasn’t stupid; he knew he had to look like he had fought Barry hard, so he was going to head-butt a door and stab himself in the arm a couple of times to make the situation look realistic. His story to the Old Bill was going to be: he had taped Barry up to find out the truth about what had happened to his daughter, Barry had managed to break free, then had attacked him and tried to kill him. Mickey had been pissed off when he had first heard the female voice upstairs and realized Barry had company. Now, though, he had a feeling it might work in his favour, as he could tell the Old Bill that Barry had escaped when he had taped the girl up.

Walking back into the lounge, Mickey smirked as he caught sight of Barry Franklin. With his bare chest and arms tied behind his back, he reminded Mickey of a Christmas turkey waiting to be put in the oven. Taking the replica gun out of his pocket, Mickey walked towards his victim. Before calling the police, he needed to hide the gun in a bush somewhere nearby, so his pal could collect it later. Neither Marlene nor Dannielle had seen the gun and, seeing as Barry would be dead before he called the police, the Old Bill had no need to search for it. Barry put the handle of the dagger in between Barry’s hands. ‘Hold it,’ he ordered.

Guessing that Mickey was planning to kill him and then cry self-defence, Barry let the dagger slip through his fingers and shook his head vehemently. He desperately wanted to speak, but couldn’t because of the tape over his mouth. All Barry could do now was hope and pray that Mickey Jeffers removed the tape before killing him. Barry could then tell the stupid scouse bastard the truth.

Stephanie sat in silence as her sister tried to make polite conversation with her. Angela had just asked her if she knew who the bloke was who Dannielle was dating. And Steph had completely blanked the question. Knowing what a bitch her sister could be, it would not surprise Steph if Angie had recognized Barry Franklin herself and turned up today just to milk the horrendous situation.

‘I’m sure this is the right way now. I recognize that big house on the corner,’ Angela said. She had got lost and had to turn around a couple of minutes ago, and had clocked the look of displeasure on her sister’s sour face.

‘I bet you don’t even know where the fucking house is. You probably only turned up to stick your beak in and gloat,’ Steph said nastily.

Sick of her sister’s pissy attitude, Angela chose to stick up for herself. ‘You are so bloody wrong about me, Steph. I know I was a bitch in the past and I’m sorry for that, but since moving back from Greece and building a relationship with Aidan, I really have changed. I’m a much nicer person now than I used to be.’

‘Yeah, and pigs might fly,’ Stephanie mumbled under her breath.

‘This is it! This is the road where I followed Danni to,’ Angela exclaimed.

‘Which house is it?’ Steph spat, undoing her seatbelt. She had the meat knife she had sharpened the previous day in her handbag, and if Barry Franklin refused to let Danni go, she would shove it right through his heart.

Angela pulled over on the corner of the road and put the handbrake on. ‘It’s the house opposite the red jeep. Providing this bloke’s at home, you will see the black Range Rover on the drive. I’m coming with you, Steph. I can’t let you do this alone,’ she insisted, putting her car keys in her handbag.

Stephanie stared at her sister’s perfectly made-up face and shook her head. Angie might have been a cow over the years, but she was still her sister and there was no way Steph could involve her in a murder charge. ‘Go back to mine, Ange. Mum and Lin are gonna need you more than I do.’

As Steph slammed the car door, Angela felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She had clocked the unhinged look in Stephanie’s eyes and guessed she might be planning to do something stupid. Grabbing her handbag, Angie leapt out the car. She had to stop Steph from ruining her life. She owed her that much at least.

Mickey Jeffers crouched down next to Barry and ripped the tape off his mouth. ‘Did she suffer?’ he asked, his face contorted with grief.

Barry took deep breaths. He had truly thought he was going to die momentarily, and the thought of never seeing Dannielle again was far worse than the thought of death itself. ‘Jolene’s still alive! I swear I can prove it if you give me my phone. I’ve got a number for her now. She’s staying in Marbella with a girl called Ellie.’

‘Don’t fucking lie to me, you slimy little cunt. My Jolene would never put me and her mother through the hell we’ve been through the past month or so if she were still alive. She would have contacted us, I know she would,’ Mickey yelled.

‘She didn’t contact you because if I didn’t get back with her, she wanted me dead. She said if she couldn’t marry me and have my kids, then she’d make sure that no other woman would. Just take the tape off my hands and I’ll ring her and prove it to you, Mickey. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Jo’s lost the plot, I’m telling you. She only gave me her fucking number because she thinks I’m gonna get back with her now. I’ve even booked a ticket to fly out to see her on Friday because I wanted to sort this shit out. I don’t want all my old pals in Spain to think I’ve bastard well killed her, do I? As soon as I got there, I was gonna make her ring you,’ Barry insisted.

‘I’ll ring the fucking make-believe number,’ Mickey said, snarling as he took Barry’s mobile out of his own pocket. The young girl’s phone was pink, so there was no getting them mixed up.

‘No! Please! Just let me ring her. If she hears your voice, she’ll end the call. Give me the phone and I’ll put it on loudspeaker so you can hear every word she says. Honest to God, I am not lying to you, Mickey. Why would I make all this stuff up when I know if I couldn’t prove Jo was alive, you would shoot me anyway?’ Barry said. If Mickey didn’t let him make this phone call, he was as good as a dead man.

‘If she don’t answer, you’re dead,’ Mickey growled, cutting the tape in between Barry’s hands.

Barry said a silent prayer as his shaking hands scrolled through his phone. He had been ringing her four times a day just to keep her sweet, and every single time, she had answered within seconds. Breathing a massive sigh of relief as he heard the familiar sound of her voice, Barry pressed the loudspeaker button.

‘Why didn’t you ring me earlier at the time you said you was going to?’ Jolene asked accusingly.

Absolutely gobsmacked, Mickey Jeffers sat on his haunches and put his head in his hands. Half of him was so happy that his beautiful daughter was still alive, yet the other half of him wanted to kill her himself for making such a fool out of him and putting him and her mother through such heartbreak.

Hearing his daughter start to interrogate Barry again, Mickey snatched the phone out of Barry’s hand. ‘Jo, it’s your dad. You’ve got some fucking explaining to do, girl, I know that much. Ring your mother immediately and let her know you’re OK. Then I expect you to go straight home and apologize in fucking person to her. Broken our hearts, you have.’