Jessie Keane - Black Widow

‘Don’t drink,’ said Annie.

‘You know what I mean. Christ, it’s not as if he’s flipping ugly. I wouldn’t kick him out of bed, that’s for sure.’

Annie eyed her in disbelief. So far as she knew, Dolly had no one in her bed and that had been the case for a very long time. She didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about.

‘One little indiscretion-just one; and if he’s like most men I know, it’ll be two minutes then out the door-and then you get the money, and Layla’s safe,’ Dolly rolled on.

One little indiscretion.

Annie stared at the floor. Angry words, spiteful words poured into her brain.

Words like, And who are you to tell me about my love life? You ain’t got one.

She swallowed the words whole. Getting arsy with Dolly wasn’t going to help anyone.

‘Or am I missing something here?’ asked Dolly, taking down the teapot and fishing out the tea caddy.

‘Meaning what?’ Annie looked up at her.

‘Meaning-I dunno-maybe you think it wouldn’t end there? Meaning, maybe you might actually like it, and how would you square that with your conscience about Max?’

Annie looked at the floor again.

‘That’s it,’ said Dolly in triumph. ‘I knew it.’

‘That is not it,’ said Annie.

‘The fuck it ain’t. You fancy Constantine Barolli, that’s the problem. You’re terrified you might actually enjoy it.’

‘You’re off your head, Doll,’ said Annie.

‘There’s nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade,’ said Dolly, pouring boiling water into the pot. She stopped pouring and looked up at Annie. ‘Come on, Annie love. Get a fucking grip. Max is gone. Layla’s life’s is at stake here. You got no choice.’

‘No?’ said Annie stubbornly.

‘Nope. Not as I see it. You were ready to go ahead and do it last time, but you put him off by having a fit of the vapours, you idiot. But he’s still interested, or else why the note? So you can do it again-and this time for fuck’s sake be a little more damned inviting , eh?’

The phone was ringing in the hall. Ross picked up and poked his head around the kitchen door.

‘For you,’ he said to Annie.

Annie went out into the hall and picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’

‘What have you said to him?’ Kath’s voice shrieked at her. ‘What have you done?’

‘What?’ Annie frowned. ‘Kath? That you? Calm down, for God’s sake.’

‘How can I calm down? He’s taken them away. He’s taken them away!’

‘Kath, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Slow down. What’s happened?’

‘Jimmy’s taken the kids away from me, you cow. It’s all your fault, he’s taken my kids away.’

Annie got over to Kath’s pronto. She felt like shit. All the way there in the back of the car she thought about her meet with Jimmy yesterday, and how mad he’d been. She’d thought she had the upper hand, but she’d been wrong. Jimmy Bond was sticking two fingers up at her yet again.

Jimmy Bond, her main man.

Who should be her friend, her supporter. Her cousin’s husband. Her kin , by marriage.

That bastard.

By the time she got to Kath’s, she was fuming. Kath was in a terrible state, wandering around her tip of a home, crying, saying she’d kill him, she’d kill him.

‘He just took ’em,’ she said between sobs. ‘Came in here bold as brass with that horrible little fucker Jackie Tulliver, and between them they took all the kids’ stuff, and the kids too. Didn’t even tell me where they were going! My kids. I’m still breastfeeding the baby, and I said that to him, begged him not to take little Mo as well as Jimmy Junior, and do you know what the rotten git said? He said she’d have to get used to the bottle. Can you believe he’d do that? Can you?’

Annie thought Jimmy Bond was quite capable of doing it. And she had a fair idea of where they’d be, too.

‘I’ll have a word,’ said Annie.

‘Oh for fuck’s sake. And what difference is that going to make? He won’t listen to you. He only ever listened to Max or Jonjo, and they’re bloody gone. It’s no use, he’s taken them and I can’t do a fucking thing about it.’

Kath started sobbing again and pulling her hair, beside herself with grief.

‘I’ll have a word with him,’ Annie said again.

‘Yeah. Right,’ said Kath.

Sick at heart, Annie left her there and went back out to the car.

Tony handed her a note. ‘Some bloke just gave me this,’ he said. ‘Said it was a pizzi-something for Mrs Carter.’ Tony frowned. ‘It’s just a few numbers on a sheet of paper.’

Another note.

Annie sat in the back and quickly read it, deciphering the simple code as she went. It read: News. C.

Annie looked at her watch. It was ten o’clock, and she was going to meet the boys at the Palermo at eleven. She had time.

‘Take me over to Constantine Barolli’s place, Tone,’ she said, her stomach in knots.

Constantine was in the dining room this time, seated at the head of a grand twelve-seater table and finishing breakfast with his sons Lucco and Alberto and the elegant dark-haired woman with the down-turned mouth and unfriendly eyes. The doorman showed Annie straight in, saying that Mr Barolli wanted to talk to her as a matter of urgency.

‘Mrs Carter.’ Constantine stood up, came around the table, wiping his fingers on a white napkin. ‘Thanks for coming. Had breakfast?’

Annie nodded. She’d eaten something about two hours ago, but she didn’t know what. Maybe some toast, a bit of egg. Food made her gag, ever since Layla had gone she was living on her nerves, running on empty.

‘Right, let’s go into the study. You’ve met Lucco?’

Annie looked at the smooth, dark-haired youth. Beautiful and poisonous. Lucco stared back at her with blank dislike.

‘Yeah. We’ve met,’ she said.

‘And Alberto?’

The blond one gazed at her with narrowed blue eyes. He was spookily like his father. Bloody gorgeous, in other words, but half formed, gangly, not yet the man he would become. He nodded.

‘Mrs Carter,’ he said.

‘Hello, Alberto.’

‘And this is my sister Gina,’ said Constantine, and the woman pinched her lips and gave a nod.

Looks like she’s got a bad smell under her nose , thought Annie. And guess what? It’s me.

Annie nodded back.

‘Come on,’ said Constantine, and led the way out into the hall, shutting the dining-room door behind them.

They crossed the big empty hall and went into the study. Constantine closed the door behind them, and crossed to the desk. He sat down behind it and indicated a chair to Annie. He was all business today, and she was very glad of that. Their last meeting had been cringingly embarrassing, and she didn’t want to be reminded of it. Nevertheless, she remembered it. Vividly. She also remembered what Dolly had said and felt colour start to rise into her cheeks. Was that the real truth? Did she really want Constantine Barolli, just as he wanted her? But he’d changed his mind. And then he’d sent her a note saying sorry. Now what the fuck was that all about?

‘You said you’ve got news,’ said Annie, cutting across her own tumbling thoughts.

Constantine kicked back his chair and looked at her.

‘Do you know a Jeanette Byrne?’ he asked.

Annie looked at him in surprise.

‘I know a Jeanette, I don’t know her last name,’ said Annie.

‘This Jeanette was a dancer in one of the Carter clubs.’

‘A stripper. Yeah, I know her. Blonde.’

‘That’s right. My people tell me she’s involved with one of yours. Jimmy Bond. He’s set her up in a house.’