Bad Blood Rising Page 8

  “Another thing to remember, Shirley, is not to let anyone work who you suspect takes drugs. You know how Karl feels about that. Don’t even let punters in if they look high.”

  “Yes, Joe, I know all that. Will you go now please? You’re making me nervous. We’re opening up in three hours.”

  “Alright I’m going, but be careful and remember everything I’ve told you.” Joe took a last look around the room, and satisfied that everything was in order, made his way to the back door just as the telephone rang.

  “Hello,” Shirley answered in her huskiest voice. “You’re through to The Love Nest. What can I do for you today? Oh, Karl it’s you… yes, he’s still here. I’ll put him on.” She handed the receiver to Joe.

  “Good morning, Karl,” Joe said. “Everything’s fine here. We’ll be opening on schedule this afternoon. Shirley’s got everything organised.” He winked at her as he spoke.

  “Never mind that,” Karl growled, “I need you over at the club now. It’s urgent.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Not over the phone. Just hurry up and get here.”

  “I’ll be ten minutes,” Joe said frowning, as he put down the receiver and hurried towards the kitchen door. “Got to go, Shirley. I’ll speak to you later in the day. Good luck.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  As soon as Joe walked into the office he could see the tension on Karl’s face.

  “What’s happened?” he asked anxiously.

  “It’s Victor. He’s been arrested.”

  “Arrested? What the hell for?”

  “The police said he raped a girl.”

  “Victor? I don’t believe it. What girl?”

  “That young skinny thing that started working in Cedar Road last week. Linda, I think she’s called.”

  “Lindsay,” Joe corrected.

  “Linda? Lindsay? What the hell does it matter? The lying little bitch said Victor raped her in his car last night.”

  “Did he?”

  “How the fuck do I know?”

  “Has he been charged?”

  “Not yet. The police are still making enquiries. The last thing I need is lily law poking their long noses into my business. You’ve got to make that girl withdraw her statement, Joe, for all our sakes.”

  “Me? Why me?”

  “Because it’s your fault, that’s why,” Karl snapped. “I told you she was too young to work the streets, but, oh no, you know best. Now look what’s happened.”

  “Lindsay is eighteen, I checked her ID myself. And if you remember, it was you who said she’d be popular with the punters because she did look so young.”

  Karl glared at Joe and for a moment, Joe thought he was going to become violent.

  “Here’s her address,” Karl said, handing Joe a small index card. “You’d better take Shirley with you.”

  Joe took the card and walked to the office door.

  “I don’t care what you have to promise her,” Karl hissed, “just make sure the little bitch withdraws her complaint.”

  Joe shrugged. “I’ll try but I can’t promise. From what I remember, Lindsay is a feisty little thing. She wanted to work at the club but I thought she looked too young for that. You wouldn’t believe the abuse I got when I said no.” Joe frowned as he recalled the way Lindsay had cursed him, flinging herself at him in temper. It had taken ten minutes for him to calm her down. “I suppose I could tell her I’ve changed my mind about her working in the club. That might keep her sweet.”

  “I don’t care what you have to promise the stupid little cow as long as she withdraws her statement.”

  “And what if she won’t?”

  “Do whatever’s necessary to make sure she does. Threaten to cut her tits off if you have to. Just get it done.”

  “Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” Joe sighed. “What are you going to do about Victor?”

  “Don’t worry about that little bastard. I’ll deal with him,” Karl growled. “Now hurry up, we haven’t got much time.”

  “I’m on my way,” Joe said, raising his arms submissively. “Give Shirley a ring and tell her I’ll pick her up in ten minutes, will you?”

  “Alright, and thanks, mate. I owe you.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Joe pulled up outside the address Karl had given him for Lindsay. It was a small flat above a kebab shop in a back street.

  “You know what to say, Shirley?” Joe said sternly. “Be sympathetic but firm.”

  Shirley nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can persuade her.”

  They walked over to the door and pressed the bell for flat three. After a few seconds a female voice answered through the intercom.

  “Yeah, who’s that?”

  “Lindsay, open the door, love. It’s Joe.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want to talk to you about what happened with Victor. Please let me in.”

  It was a couple of minutes before the door clicked open. The stairway was gloomy and uncarpeted with paint peeling from the walls. A single bulb provided the only light there was. Joe and Shirley climbed the stairs in silence. A young girl was waiting for them on the landing.

  Lindsay Carter looked no more than fifteen. Her long black hair was tied back with a rubber band and her small, oval face was pale with dark shadows beneath her eyes. Lindsay was dressed in grey jogging bottoms and a pale blue tee-shirt with ‘Princess’ emblazed across the front. She was barefoot.

  “Victor raped me,” she cried, running towards Joe and flinging her slender arms around his neck. “I told him no but he wouldn’t stop. He really hurt me.” She began to cry. Joe guided her into the flat, a small dingy room with a single bed in one corner, two armchairs and a tiny kitchenette.

  “This is Shirley, a friend of mine. She’s come to make sure you’re alright,” Joe said as he gently led the girl to one of the chairs.

  Lindsay glared at Shirley suspiciously for a moment before she spoke.

  “It was horrible,” the girl sobbed, clinging desperately to Joe’s arm. “Victor’s an animal.”

  “Tell me what happened’ Lindsay,” Joe coaxed. “From the beginning, that’s a good girl.”

  Lindsay began twisting her fingers nervously and stared straight ahead. “I’d been working in Cedar Road.” She faltered. “It was getting late and I was cold. Most of the girls had already gone when Victor drove down the hill towards me. He offered to give me a lift home.” Her slim body began to shake.

  Shirley handed Lindsay a handkerchief and the girl wiped her eyes and blew her nose before continuing.

  “I was glad to get a lift home. I was cold and tired and the car was warm and comfortable. It made me feel safe.”

  “Go on,” Joe encouraged.

  “We were driving along chatting, and then I realised Victor had driven into the park. I told him I wanted to go home, but he just laughed. I screamed at him to let me out of the car but he had locked the doors and I couldn’t get out.” Lindsay began to cry once more. “I tried to get out, Joe, honest I did, but the doors were locked.”

  “What happened next?” Joe asked soothingly.

  “Victor parked the car near the lake. He never spoke a word. Suddenly he jumped out and came round to my side of the car. He opened the door and grabbed me, pulling me outside. I tried to run away but he pushed me down on the grass and got on top of me. He put his hand up my skirt and pulled my pants down. I couldn’t stop him, Joe, honest, I couldn’t, he was too strong.” Lindsay blew her nose once more and wiped her eyes before continuing. “He was on top of me, inside of me. I couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

  “You’re sure Victor couldn’t have thought you wanted sex with him?”

  “No, of course not,” Lindsay cried indignantly. “He’s an old man. He must be at least forty. I kept pleading with him to leave me alone. Eventually he stopped and lay on the grass beside me for a few minutes.”

  “Didn’t you try to run away?”

  “No, I was too scared. After a
few minutes he told me to get dressed and then he pushed me back into the car. He lit a cigarette and after he had finished smoking, he drove me home as if nothing had happened.”

  “Did you ring the police straightaway?”

  “I’d no credit on my phone so I couldn’t ring. I walked round to the police station. It isn’t far.”

  “Did the police take a statement from you?”

  “The policeman on duty took me into an interview room and I told him what had happened. He said he would arrest Victor and speak to me again later.”

  “Did the police arrange for a doctor to examine you?” Shirley asked.

  “No. The policeman gave me some leaflets to read and then he brought me home.”

  “Did you mention you worked for Karl?”

  “No, of course not, but I think he knew anyway.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “When I told him I’d been working on Cedar Road, he said I must be one of Karl Maddox’s girls.”

  “What did you say to that?”

  “I didn’t say anything. I just wanted to report Victor and go home.”

  Shirley walked over to Lindsay and crouched down in front of her, gently holding both of her hands.

  “What Victor did was a very bad thing,” she said softly, “and Karl and Joe will make sure that he gets punished for it.”

  “Good. He deserves to be.”

  “Of course he does,” Shirley smiled sympathetically. “But the thing is, Lindsay, if the police prosecute Victor, Karl and Joe will get into trouble too. You don’t want that to happen, do you? Joe’s your friend, isn’t he?”

  Lindsay looked at Joe affectionately and nodded.

  “Then you must go to the police and withdraw your complaint.”

  “No, I won’t,” Lindsay said defiantly. “That bastard raped me.”

  “Lindsay, Victor won’t get away with it, love. Joe and Karl will see to that. They can hurt him a lot more than the police can.”

  “Tell you what I’ll do, Lindsay,” Joe said gently. “If you withdraw your statement, I’ll make sure you get an audition to work in the new club. You said you liked dancing, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “You’ll make a lot more money in the club than working the streets, and you’ll be safe. What do you say, Lindsay? Do we have a deal?”

  “You promise Victor will get punished?”

  “You leave that to us. Victor will get what’s coming to him, I promise you that. Now, do we have a deal?”

  Lindsay was silent for a minute. “Alright, Joe. I’ll go to the police station and withdraw my statement,” she said hesitantly, “but I don’t want that pig anywhere near me again.”

  “I promise you’ll never see him again. Now, we must hurry. I’ll drive you to the station and tell you exactly what to say.”

  Lindsay put on her shoes and grabbing her coat from the hook behind the door, she followed Joe and Shirley down the stairs.

  “I’ve got to drop Shirley off at work first,” Joe said as he started up the car, “then we’ll go straight to the police station.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  It was just after eleven when Shirley arrived back at Percival Terrace. The telephone was ringing and she hurried to answer it.

  “Hello,” she purred. “You’re through to the Love Nest. What can we do for you today?”

  “Is Nicola working?” a male voice asked.

  “Nicola starts at twelve. Do you want to make an appointment?”

  “Yeah. It’s Mr Smith. Nicola knows me. She told me she was moving to the new place today.”

  “What time will you be calling, Mr Smith?”

  “I’ll be there just after twelve. I have a busy afternoon so I can’t stop long.”

  “Very well, I’ll tell Nicola to expect you. Do you know our new location?”

  “I park at the back of Percival Terrace and come through the end yard, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right. I look forward to seeing you at twelve.” Shirley wrote the appointment in the house diary when the telephone rang again.

  “Hello, you’re through to the Love Nest,” she cooed seductively.

  For the next half hour the telephone rang constantly with clients making appointments to meet the girls. Shirley grinned in satisfaction as she placed her hand down the side of the chair’s cushion and felt the reassuring touch of the baseball bat she had put there earlier.

  It was half-past eleven when Nicola arrived at the house, followed closely by Karen and Julie.

  “Oh, this is lovely,” Nicola cried excitedly as she inspected the ground floor. “It’s much posher than Broughton Street. How many bedrooms, Shirley?”

  “Four. There’s still room for another girl to work on this shift. Joe’s working on it.”

  “Joe can work on me any time,” Karen giggled. “He’s gorgeous.”

  “Joe never gets involved with any of the working girls, you know that.”

  “He wouldn’t dare. Karl makes sure of that,” Julie grinned. “Can I choose which room I want? I’ve been working for Karl the longest so it’s only fair I get first choice.”

  “Alright, but I want your rent first. You know the rules. One hundred each, please, ladies.”

  Each girl handed Shirley their money.

  “Thank you, now hurry up and get changed.” The three girls went out into the hallway. “Oh, Nicola, before I forget, Mr Smith rang. He’ll be here at twelve o’clock. He said he’s one of your regulars from Broughton Street.”

  “I thought he wouldn’t be too long in arranging a visit.”

  “I wish he was my client,” Karen sighed. “Easiest money you’ll make today. Done and dusted in ten minutes.”

  “Oh, he’s one of those?” Shirley smirked. “A wham bam, thank you, ma’am.”

  “No, it’s not like that,” Nicola protested, glaring at Karen. “It’s just that he has very… specific requirements.”

  “I’m intrigued. What sort of specific requirements?”

  “Mr Smith likes to take photographs. Lots and lots of photographs.”

  “Allowing punters to take photographs is not allowed,” Shirley said with concern. “You should know that, Nicola.”

  “Oh, there’s no film in his camera, he just pretends there is.”

  “Eh?”

  “Mr Smith always carries a smart briefcase and inside he has a camera. He instructs me which poses to adopt. He really can be quite inventive.” She began to giggle. “Then he starts clicking away with his camera. After a few minutes he wanks himself off into a small paper bag he has in the briefcase, says, ‘Thank you, Nicola, that was very nice,’ and then I get dressed. It’s the same routine every time. I call him Mr Kodak.”

  “Sounds a bit of a weirdo to me,” Shirley grinned.

  “Oh, he’s harmless. Just a silly bit of role play, but he does visit every week without fail and he pays very well.”

  “Has George phoned for me?” Julie asked as she began ascending the stairs. “He said he would be visiting me today.”

  Shirley checked the diary.

  “Yes, George said he would be here at two o’clock.”

  “Good, I like George.”

  “Is he a weirdo too?” Karen giggled mischievously.

  “No, he is not. George is nice, he’s a gentleman, and he brings me presents. He brought perfume on his last visit.”

  “Perfume? He’ll be taking you to meet his mother next.”

  “Jealousy is an ugly thing, Karen. You…”

  “That’s enough, you two,” Shirley snapped irritably. “Hurry up and get ready. It looks like it’s going to be a busy afternoon.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  Karl was behind his desk when Joe came into the office, followed by a sorrowful looking Victor.

  “How did it go?” he asked anxiously, addressing Joe.

  “No problem. Lindsay withdrew her statement so the police won’t be taking the matter any further.”

  “Tha
t’s something, I suppose. Give us a minute, Joe. I need to speak to Victor.”

  Joe left the room, closing the door silently behind him.

  As soon as Joe left the room, Karl sprang forward and grabbed Victor by the throat, his face close to his.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re playing at, you stupid bastard, attacking one of my girls?” he hissed.

  “Mr Karl, I can explain,” Victor spluttered. “The girl…”

  “I ought to nail your dick to a cross,” Karl spat, as he pushed Victor roughly back against the wall.

  “I didn’t attack her, Mr Karl. I just wanted to love her. Danny said I could love any of the girls that worked for you. He said it was a perk of the job.”

  “Danny told you that?”

  Victor nodded as tears began to roll down his plump cheeks.

  “Please, Mr Karl, I promise I won’t do anything like that again. I’ll tell the girl I’m sorry and…”

  “You’ll fucking keep away from her, from all of them, do you hear me? I don’t want you anywhere near the girls. You can’t be trusted.”

  “Please give me another chance, Mr Karl. I …”

  Before Karl could respond, there was a sharp rap on the door and Joe came into the room.

  “Karl, there’s a policeman downstairs. He says he wants to speak with you.”

  “Did he say what about?”

  “No, but he said it was important.”

  Karl quickly gathered up the papers on his desk and put them into the desk drawer. “You’d better show him up.”

  Joe left the room and Karl turned to Victor.

  “Get in there,” he ordered, indicating the cupboard door. “Not a sound.”

  “Yes, Mr Karl,” Victor said as he quickly went through the inner door and descended the stairs.

  Karl was at his desk when Joe returned with the visitor.

  “Sergeant Glendenning,” Joe said, standing to one side as the newcomer entered the room.

  “Sergeant,” Karl greeted, a faint smile on his lips. “What brings you here? I hope I haven’t broken any laws.”