Back in Soho, it was Vaughn’s turn to hit the whiskey. He knocked it back in one, straightaway pouring himself another drink. He looked at the clock. It was just gone four in the morning but there was no way he could sleep.
Of all the things he expected, it wasn’t this. He’d never dreamt that Franny was still in contact with Bree because anytime that Bree’s name had come up, Franny had acted in one of two ways: blasé or vitriolic. Yet there she was with keys to what was probably Bree’s front door. But why? Why keep it from him? More to the point, why keep it from Alfie? That’s what he didn’t understand. There was no reason on earth for Franny not to tell Alfie. Bree and Alfie were long over. She didn’t want to be with him because of his lifestyle; even he got that. So why all the hiding? The secrecy?
Although, there could be another reason why Franny was being suspicious lately. Maybe it wasn’t to do with Bree at all; perhaps they’d just bumped into each other and she was in Woolwich purely for a social visit … Who knew?
With most people, he’d probably think there was a simple explanation. An innocent one. But this was Franny he was dealing with. And the word innocent could never be linked to her.
He had been trying to question Shannon some more about Bree, but by the time they’d driven through the tunnel, she was crashed out. A drug-induced nap. He’d even had to carry her inside the club, laying her on the couch opposite the one he’d found Alfie collapsed on, who also seemed to be in a drug-related sleep.
Feeling the burn from the whiskey, Vaughn heard the door open. He whipped around. It was Franny.
Wanting to play it cool until he’d worked out exactly what was going on, he said, ‘You’re up early, or haven’t you been to bed yet?’
Not expecting to find anyone here, Franny was shocked. She’d only come back for some cash. She’d made it her business not to use her bank cards whenever she was in South London in case Alfie saw any statements, but annoyingly, Bree hadn’t told her yesterday that she’d run out of nappies, which meant coming back to get some more money.
It was a nuisance to have to drive back and forth to Woolwich, but the traffic was light for once, and she had hoped she could get away without anyone seeing her. That’s why she hadn’t gone home to pick up her purse in case Alfie had been there, but now she wouldn’t be able to go in the safe without Vaughn asking her a million questions.
Tightly, she said, ‘I could say the same about you …’ About to continue, Franny frowned, turning to look at Vaughn directly. ‘Who’s that, and why the hell is she asleep on the couch? Come to think of it, why’s Alfie here too?’
‘You tell me, Fran. You seem to be the one who holds all the answers.’
Not in the mood to have to deal with Vaughn, Franny stepped closer, smelling the whiskey on his breath. ‘I’ll ask you again, who’s that on my couch?’
‘A friend.’
Franny’s voice was hostile. ‘I don’t know what the hell’s been going on, but I don’t want some stray in here. This is a business, Vaughn, and I’m not going to get it shut down because of some underage kid you’ve picked up.’
Seething, Vaughn knocked back another whiskey. ‘For fuck’s sake, Franny, I haven’t picked her up. Like I say, she’s a friend.’
‘Whatever, Vaughn. Just get her out of my club, understand?’
‘But it’s not just your club is it? From what I remember, we’re all partners here, with Alfie and I having the lion’s share, so I’ll have who the hell I want here.’
Having been awake for the past few minutes, Shannon had heard the conversation and with her head still spinning, she sat up blurry-eyed.
She stared at Franny, recognising her as the woman from outside the flats in Woolwich. She hadn’t liked the look of her then, and although she was very beautiful, she certainly didn’t like her now. Stuck-up cow. Who did she think she was, talking about her like that?
With a sneer on her face, Shannon, full of confrontation, glowered at Franny. ‘You were that woman out …’
She stopped as she saw Vaughn shake his head. She didn’t know why, but she did know that he wanted her to keep her mouth shut, and she was more than happy to do it for him, partly because she’d taken an instant dislike to Franny, and partly because Vaughn had called her his friend, and in her entire life she’d never heard anybody call her that.
Franny stared. ‘I was what woman?’
Biting her nails, Shannon shrugged. ‘Can’t remember what I was going to say now.’
Tutting, Franny impatiently turned back to Vaughn. ‘Tell Alfie to call me when he wakes up, and when I come back, I want her gone. Understand?’
As Franny slammed the door, Vaughn looked at Shannon. ‘I’m sorry about her.’
‘Nasty cow, I don’t know how you put up with her.’
‘Me neither, and you know something, Shannon, I ain’t going to put up with her any longer.’
Whereupon, Vaughn followed Franny out of the room.
Shannon felt edgy. Agitated. Itchy. That was the problem with crack. The high never lasted any time at all and the low felt so bad all she wanted to do was get high again. Sometimes, sleeping directly after the buzz helped, but on this occasion it hadn’t, and Shannon didn’t know if she could cope with the way she was feeling for very much longer.
Looking at Alfie still asleep on the couch, she smiled. He was nice, but he wasn’t as nice as Vaughn. Vaughn was special. He was her friend and she hoped that one day she could show him how much that meant to her.
Rubbing her face and feeling like it was crawling with ants, she wondered when Vaughn would get back. Shannon began to pace the room. She looked down again at Alfie who was snoring loudly. Nervously biting on her lip, a thought crossed her mind.
But then he’d been so good to her and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but she supposed, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford it. And maybe he wouldn’t mind; after all he’d been willing to help her before, so why not now? And she was sure that he wouldn’t want her to feel the way she was; she could always pay him back, couldn’t she?
Two minutes later and having talked herself into it, Shannon bent down by Alfie’s side, whispering his name. ‘Alf? Alf? You awake, mate?’ There was no response. She could see he was bang asleep. Then, as carefully as she could, Shannon began to slip her hand down the front pocket of Alfie’s jeans, feeling gently with her fingers, not wanting to wake him up.
She smiled as she pulled out a five-pound note, but knowing it was far from enough, Shannon cautiously went into Alfie’s other pocket. Touching what felt like a wad of notes, eagerly, Shannon gripped them, slowly pulling them out, checking every few seconds to make sure that Alfie was still asleep.
But she frowned, disappointed when she saw that instead of it being a roll of twenty-pound notes as she’d first thought, it was actually several pieces of paper … Letters in fact. The same letters that Alfie had accused her of leaving for him.
With her interest now swelling, Shannon gave Alfie another quick glance before sitting on the wooden floor to read the letters. She unfolded the first one, then the second, shaking her head as she went on to read the third and fourth. They were all poems. Creepy poems. She shuddered, a chill coming over her. No wonder Alfie had been so freaked out by them.
Going to put them back, Shannon’s hand hovered over Alfie’s pocket as she saw him beginning to stir. She held her breath, terrified he was going to wake up, but seeing him settle back down again, as quickly and gently as she could, Shannon began to slip the letters back into his pocket.
She screamed as Alfie suddenly grabbed her arm. He sat up, bleary-eyed. He stared at her, his voice full of hostility when he spoke.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
Shannon’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m … I’m sorry, I was just …’
Alfie interrupted as his gaze rested on the letters that Shannon held in her hand. Anger surged across his face. ‘What are you doing with those … Answer me!’ He bellowed the last part of his sentence.
Shaking, Shannon said, ‘I was putting them back. I was just …’ She stopped as shame rushed over her.
‘You were what?’
‘I was just looking for some money and I’m sorry, Alf, I didn’t want to rob from you, you’ve been so good to me, but I began to cluck, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.’
Still glaring, Alfie snapped, ‘Okay, but then what are you doing with those? Have you read them?’
Thinking it was pointless to attempt to lie at this stage, Shannon nodded her head sullenly. ‘Yeah, and they’re pretty weird. Who are they from?’
Dropping hold of Shannon’s arm, Alfie shrugged. ‘There was this guy, a long time ago … I got him put away.’
Wide-eyed, Shannon said, ‘You’re a grass?’
Alfie gave her a small smile. ‘Not exactly, but the point is, he’s out now and, well …’
It was Shannon’s turn to interrupt. ‘He wants to do you some damage?’
Closing his eyes just for a moment, Alfie nodded, sounding breathless as he said, ‘I think so.’
‘You scared?’
Certainly not wanting to admit how he felt to Shannon, Alfie pulled a face. ‘Me? No! What do you take me for? Of course not.’
Shannon sniffed, the effects of the crack low making her shake. ‘You look it.’
Needing to shut down the conversation, Alfie, not particularly unkindly said, ‘Well I ain’t, and anyway, don’t change the subject. I want to know why you thought it was okay to nick from me.’
‘I never thought it was okay, it’s just that I feel so shit.’
Alfie sighed, feeling not too clever himself. Whatever kind of coke Charlie had given him, well it was certainly stronger than what he normally took. He looked at Shannon. How could he be angry with her? Not that it made it all right for her to steal from him when he was asleep, but the least he could do was give her a break.
‘Look, you’re out of order, but I’m not angry, just a bit disappointed that’s all. Here, take this twenty, and I ain’t giving you any more – not so you can feed your habit anyway … Come on, I need to go home for some sleep and you can’t stay here. How did you get in by the way?’
‘With Vaughn, and that snotty bird was here too.’
Alfie frowned. ‘Who are you talking about?’
‘Franny.’
Alfie laughed. ‘Oi! Watch your mouth, that’s my snotty bird you’re talking about.’
Smiling shyly, Shannon took the twenty that Alfie was handing her. ‘Well more fool you, mate!’
Outside in the street, Shannon watched Alfie walk away. She liked him a lot. He was kind and funny, so she had no idea how he’d ended up with Franny. What he saw in her was beyond her. She was a prime bitch. No doubt about it.
She sighed. Thinking about Franny made her think about Bree. How did they know each other anyway? When she’d known Bree, she’d never mentioned anything about Franny, though she did suppose it was a while since they’d spoken, and even back then, Bree had always seemed secretive.
Frowning, Shannon pulled out her phone and pressed dial, knowing that someone else would be interested to hear about the events of the night. Not only that, but they’d probably have all the answers.