Warhol's Prophecy (14 page)

He felt her moisture on his shaft as she enveloped it in her slender fingers.

He climbed onto the bed and she hooked her legs around the small of his back.

‘This is just for old time’s sake, isn’t it?’ she said, her voice dissolving into a loud moan as he penetrated her.

Rob grabbed both of her hands and squeezed hard, his own hands balled into fists as he thrust roughly into her.

Fucking bitch.

She arched her back.

‘
What does that make you?
’

His own breathing was now laboured.

He closed his eyes.

P
AUL
D
OOLAN PUT
down the copy of
Mayfair
and sat up as he heard the key turn in his cell door.

Muffled voices outside, then David Layton stepped in. The door slammed behind him.

For long seconds the two men looked at each other, then Layton suddenly punched the air, his teeth gritted in a triumphant snarl.

‘Yes!’ he shouted.

‘You got it?’ Doolan said, also grinning.

‘Cunts approved it, didn’t they? I’m out of here in three weeks.’

He sat down at the small table and pulled his tobacco tin from his overalls. He flipped it open and began making a roll-up.

‘Parole?’ mused Doolan. ‘You lucky bastard.’ He rolled over onto his side on the top bunk and looked down at his companion. ‘What are you going to do when you get out?’

Layton shrugged. ‘I haven’t thought about it,’ he confessed. ‘
You
know you don’t think about the future inside, do you?’

‘I think about getting out of here all the time.’

‘Well, if you hadn’t got caught for that fucking Securicor van job you wouldn’t be in here now, would you?’

‘It wasn’t
my
fault. I told them I’d never handled a shooter before.’

‘Good job you hadn’t. Otherwise you might have killed that fucking guard instead of just shooting the cunt in the leg.’

‘Yeah, well, next time I’ll get it right.’

Layton lit his roll-up and sucked on it.

‘Have you seen Brycey since you did the job on Morton?’ Doolan wanted to know.

‘One of his boys had a word with me. They said he was pleased: said I did a good job. One of them works in the infirmary where they took Morton. He saw the damage. They said I could see Brycey when I got out, see about a job with his firm.’

‘Are you going to do that?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t want to work for somebody. I’d rather be on my own: nobody breathing down my neck.’

‘You want to go straight?’ Doolan chuckled.

Layton merely spat a piece of tobacco in the direction of his cell-mate.

‘By the way,’ he said after a moment, ‘they’ve put me on kitchen duties until I get out.’

Doolan’s smile faded.

‘You jammy cunt,’ he said disdainfully.

‘They said my behaviour here has been excellent.’

‘It’s a good job they didn’t know about what happened to Morton.’

Layton smiled crookedly.

‘Yeah, well they
don’t
know and they’re not going to find out, are they?’ he hissed, glaring at his cellmate.

‘You think I’d grass you up?’ Doolan said, offended by the implication.

‘No, I know you’ve got too much sense for that.’

‘Anyway, it won’t be that fucking easy working in the kitchen. That bastard Gorton runs it. Scotch cunt. You’d better watch him.’

Layton drew slowly on his roll-up.

H
AILEY
G
IBSON PUSHED
open the front door and staggered in with three bags of shopping. She almost dropped one it was so heavy, but she managed to retain her grip on its handle until she reached the kitchen, where she set all three bags down on the worktop.

Caroline Hacket followed her, also carrying three bags. She heaved them up alongside Hailey’s and wiped her hands on her jeans, blowing out her cheeks with the effort of carrying such weighty loads.

Hailey looked at her friend and started laughing.

‘What now?’ Caroline asked innocently.

‘I can’t believe how you were flirting with that poor lad on the checkout,’ Hailey told her, filling the kettle. ‘He couldn’t have been more than about eighteen.’

‘He was old
enough
,’ chuckled Caroline. ‘He had big hands, too. And you know what they say about big hands.’

‘I thought that was big feet,’ Hailey said, starting to unpack the shopping.

‘Whatever – it probably works the same way.’

‘You could see he was embarrassed.’

‘He was enjoying it.’

‘Until you started stroking that courgette, and asking if that would make it any bigger. I think that was when he asked to be relieved from duty.’ Hailey burst out laughing again.

‘I don’t know why I bothered. It was
you
he fancied anyway,’ Caroline said. ‘He couldn’t take his eyes off you.’

Hailey tossed her head exaggeratedly.

‘And me a happily married woman,’ she said, a note of scorn in her voice.

‘How
are
things at the moment?’ Caroline wanted to know.

Hailey shrugged.

‘We keep going,’ she said a little sadly. ‘It isn’t easy, and we usually have a row most nights, but we’re trying, Caroline.’

‘Is
Rob
trying?’

‘He
wants
it to work as much as
I
do. I’m sure of that. He wouldn’t have agreed to come to the Relate sessions otherwise.’

‘I hope you’re right, Hailey.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It just seems to be you who’s doing all the work.
You
fixed up the meetings with Relate.
You
had to talk him into going. Tell me to mind my own business if you like, but he doesn’t seem to be very sorry for what he did.’

‘I can’t expect him to walk around in a hair-shirt for the rest of his life.’

‘Perhaps you should have done what
I
did when I found out
my
old man was messing around behind my back.’

‘Which one?’

‘Very funny.
Either
of them. You should have kicked him out.’

‘It’s not as easy as that, Caroline.’

‘It is when they shit on you from a great height.’

‘You didn’t have kids.’

‘Don’t use Becky as an excuse. What Rob did was wrong. He betrayed
her
as much as he betrayed you. You should have told him to get on his bike for her sake, too.’

‘Becky doesn’t know what happened, and if I have my way she never will.’

‘That still doesn’t excuse what he did.’

‘I know that, I’m not making excuses for him; I’m giving him another chance. Is there anything so wrong about that?’

‘Leopards don’t change their spots.’

‘Maybe not, but perhaps some of them can learn a lesson.’

‘
You
should have an affair.’

Hailey looked at her blankly.

‘That would teach him: give him a taste of his own medicine. See how he likes that.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Why not? He doesn’t have to find out about it, but at least
you’d
know you were getting some revenge.’

‘It’s not about revenge, Caroline. It’s about saving my marriage.’

‘
You
didn’t wreck it in the first place.’

‘So, I go out and fuck some bloke and that makes everything all right, does it?’

‘No, but it evens the score.’

Hailey shook her head and smiled wanly.

‘Come on,’ Caroline said, taking a step closer to her friend. ‘Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it?’

‘I haven’t thought about it,’ Hailey said flatly.

‘Then perhaps you should.’

‘You could, Caroline. I
couldn’t.
’

‘You’re bloody right I could, and I did when I caught the second one at it. Then I made
sure
he knew I was screwing someone, too.’

‘And it finished your marriage.’

‘It was finished anyway.’

‘Well, mine isn’t.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

Hailey sighed. ‘I still feel so bloody angry with him,’ she admitted.

‘And why shouldn’t you? Don’t feel guilty about it. Rob’s the one who should feel guilty – not you. I still say you should have left him.’

‘It’s not that easy. I have to think about Becky.’

‘Then it looks like my other idea is favourite: have an affair yourself. What is it they say: “Don’t get mad, get even”?’ She raised an eyebrow.

Hailey ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

‘As a matter of fact,’ she said, ‘I was thinking of going back to work.’

‘What kind of work?’ Caroline wanted to know.

‘My old job. Jim Marsh rang me a couple of days ago and asked me if I’d go back part-time. We’ve kept in touch since I left them. I just thought it would give me less time to sit around wondering about what Rob’s been up to.’

‘So, do it,’ Caroline urged. ‘You loved that job.’

‘I told him I’d think about it.’

‘Hailey, you owe it to yourself. Call him and say you’ll do it.’

‘You know what it was like: the hours were irregular. I might not always be here when Becky needs me, and . . .’

Caroline cut her short. ‘Stop putting obstacles in the way,’ she said. ‘I’ll pick Becky up from school if you can’t manage it. Do it, Hailey. Go back and work for him.’

‘I haven’t talked about it with Rob yet.’

‘You know what
he’s
going to say anyway. He’ll try to put you off. He never liked you doing that job in the first place, did he?’

Hailey shook her head.

‘Well, sod him,’ Caroline said, touching her friend’s arm. ‘Do what
you
want to do. That’s your trouble, you don’t think about
yourself
enough.’

Hailey shrugged.

‘Perhaps you’re right,’ she conceded.

‘I know I am. Besides, if you go away on business somewhere, you might meet some good-looking bloke in one of these posh hotels Marsh books you into and, if you do, who knows what might happen.’

‘Caroline, stop trying to push me into an affair, will you?’ Hailey smiled.

‘What’s good for the goose,’ Caroline said quietly.

The doorbell rang.

Hailey hesitated a moment, her arms full of shopping items.

‘I’ll put these away,’ said Caroline. ‘You answer that.’

Hailey wandered through the hall, thoughts tumbling around inside her head.

Leave Rob?

She glanced at the coat-rack and saw one of his jackets hanging there. As she reached the door, she touched the sleeve of the jacket lightly.

Yes, go back to work for Jim Marsh. To hell with what Rob thinks.

She opened the front door.

Adam Walker stood smiling at her.

F
OR INTERMINABLE SECONDS
, Hailey merely stared at Walker, as if she couldn’t remember who he was.

He remained on the front doorstep, still wearing that infectious grin.

Finally the spell was broken.

‘Adam,’ she said, smiling too, ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’

‘I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you,’ he said. ‘I was passing by and I hoped you wouldn’t mind me calling in.’ He chuckled. ‘God, that sounds like the worst cliché in the world, doesn’t it?’

She nodded blankly.

Just like some stupid schoolgirl. Get a grip.

‘Where’s your car?’ she asked eventually.

‘I parked it round the corner. Look, if it’s inconvenient, I can go. I just wanted to see if you were in.’

She stepped aside and ushered him in.

‘No, please come in,’ Hailey said. ‘You caught me by surprise, that’s all.’

He accepted her invitation.

‘It’s a beautiful house,’ he said, looking around inside the hall.

‘Thanks. Come through.’ She motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen. ‘Aren’t you working today?’