Chapter Nineteen

 

‘So, what do you think of Cedric?’ asked Busy Mick’

‘He’s a liability, but don’t get rid of him yet. There’s more you can get out of him, and there’s a possibility of making him a fall guy before he stars in one of your productions,’ replied Barbara.

‘We’ve not had one for a couple of months, and there’s a long waiting list for membership. Might be a better idea to have someone else first. Cedric would be a big draw, ‘cos a lot of people have seen him around. He’s such a big fella, he’ll take all evening, and we’ll sell a lot of booze as well as the entertainment.’

‘That’s your business. I’ll do mine, as usual, and enjoy it, but I don’t really like the Club Sadist scene. I much prefer to perform alone.’

‘You know you are welcome at the next club night.’

‘Thanks,’ she replied, ‘I’ll give it a miss. Got any contracts for me?’

‘Funny you should say that. Roger. What do you think about him?’

‘At present, leave him alone. He is very intelligent, but I don’t think he’s twigged yet about the band set-up. Yes, he might have worked out the immigrant scam, but he’s seen nothing else. Cedric gave him the eye in the Belgian tobacco car park, and that might have temporarily done the trick. Let’s see how he gets on in the next trip. There’s a lot of driving, and I’ll do my best to wear him out. I’ll also ensure that Sue’s not there, so Roger will have plenty of time to do what I think he does best.’

In the eight years that Barbara had been working for Busy Mick, he had paid a retainer for her exclusive services. She had her own flat, which is how she was able to maintain an image for the benefit of her parents, and friends. In him she really did have a boss who gave her assignments away from home, so she could legitimately travel, and she could say hand on heart that she worked from her home office. Her parents were able to contact her most of the time, and were very firmly told not to contact her while she was away, even in the direst emergencies. She had explained that she was paid an excellent salary because of her exclusive services.

The trouble was, Barbara was bored with her life, because she knew that she was good at it, but there were insufficient assignments. A couple of times she had mentioned to Mick that she would like to indulge in some freelance work, but he had told her in no uncertain terms that the reason why she was so good at her job was because she had never got caught. And that was because no-one knew of her existence. Occasionally she had been assigned to bring someone to the Club Sadist, and that had been very easy, just using her feminine wiles to persuade a more than willing victim that he could get what he wanted by meeting her at a specific location. This had occurred three times over the years, and she had never enquired as to what the person had done wrong to demand such a fate. It simply was none of her business, even though she found the whole thing distasteful, degrading, and disgusting. Every instinct rebelled against being party to a human being sacrificed for the titillation of others. She regarded it as barbaric, something that was still in the human psychology despite many centuries of man’s civilisation. However, she also recognised that there was a need for an outlet such as this, which is why she condoned, not condemned, it. She could hardly moralise, bearing in mind the job satisfaction she obtained. There had been quite a few occasions over the years when her services had been ordered by Mick, all within the UK, two in Scotland, one in Wales, the rest in England. Most had been men, with two women being the most difficult. They were far more suspicious and difficult to get close to. So far she had not been told to dispose of a child, and she knew that if she was, then she would refuse. Though not particularly bothered, sometimes she had asked what the person had done wrong to be murdered, and every time she had been satisfied with the reason Mick had given. She knew that he lied, with very likely some of the occasions had been far wide of the mark, but mainly she was satisfied. She knew she was good. She had never been caught.

‘I want you to go on the next trip to Milan, on the bus with Roger, just to make sure that he’s not too interested in what’s occurring. Before, however, I want you to fly over, make sure that all the arrangements are in place. I know that I’ve dealt with Majid for many years, but he needs to be kept aware that I’m watching him. Doesn’t do any harm for him to know that my arm is long, and if he tries to do anything behind my back then I’m ready for him. No rush, Thursday will do, and you’ll need to be away for a week. It’s all on this memory stick, have a good look, and let me know in a couple of days how you want to approach it. I also want something to happen to Sue, would rather it wasn’t permanent, just so she doesn’t go to Milan. She will only get in your way.’

‘Okay Mick.’ They went their own way, and Barbara spent the next week or so doing what she was told, in the meantime considering how to handle Sue so she didn’t go to Milan.