Jessie Keane - Ruthless

‘Not too much longer now,’ said the nurse, looking in on them. ‘She’s very tired.’

Layla nodded, pulled up a stool, touched Precious’s hand. Her eyes opened. Rested on Layla’s face.

‘I guess I’ve looked better, yeah?’ she asked, and her mouth twisted, showing in painful detail the split lip, the gap where her tooth should be.

‘You’ll look better again,’ said Layla, shrugging it off as if it was nothing, but it broke her heart to see Precious brought this low. ‘Um, so your folks don’t know about the work you do at the club?’

‘Jesus, no,’ she mumbled. ‘You haven’t told them?’

‘No. The police mentioned the club to them, but I said you only worked behind the bar a couple of evenings a week,’ she said.

‘Good.’ She swallowed hard.

‘They told me you work at my old firm, doing the filing.’

‘Oh. Yeah. Well, it just came to mind. I didn’t want to get into your dad owning the club and me meeting you there. They would die if they knew what I really do.’ Precious let out a cough.

‘You want a drink?’

A nod. Layla held up the paper cup with the straw so Precious could take a sip.

‘Amelia, huh?’ asked Layla, putting the cup aside.

‘Don’t. If you make me laugh, I will crawl from this bed and lamp you. Everything hurts.’

‘You’ll feel better soon. You want me to bring you anything?’

‘No…’ She winced, seemed to hold her breath for a moment. ‘There’s nothing I need. Only to get out of this bloody place.’

‘Here -’ Layla took out a notepad and pen and wrote down her number at home in Holland Park – ‘I’ll leave this with you. Give it to your parents, tell them to ring me if you need anything. Now, before I go…’

‘Hm?’

‘… I need to know anything you can tell me about the man who did this. Anything at all you can think of.’

‘Oh no…’

‘ Please , Precious, you have to try.’ Layla took a calming breath. This was so hard. ‘I think… I think he did this to you because you’re a friend of mine.’

Precious showed no surprise at this. A tear slipped from the corner of one bruised eye and slid down into her dark matted hair. ‘He beat the crap out of me, didn’t he,’ she said. ‘What else is there to tell you.’

‘Was that the first time he’d been in? The first time you’d seen him?’

‘No. He’s been a few times.’ She closed her eyes, as if they felt heavy.

Layla reached out and gently rubbed her hand, trying to comfort her. But much as she wanted to reassure Precious, she could feel the hairs on her neck pricking at the news that he’d been in the Shalimar, he’d been that close , and she hadn’t even realized it. ‘Come on, Precious. It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything else if it upsets you.’

‘Yeah. I do.’ Precious’s eyes flickered open. ‘His name’s Rufus.’

‘Rufus Malone,’ said Layla.

‘You know him?’

‘I know of him.’

‘He showed up a couple of weeks ago. You know I told you about China, how she’s supporting her family…?’

Layla nodded, wondering what China had to do with Rufus Malone.

‘Things are really bad for her. Her daughter’s sick, her parents are old. Plus they’re on the other side of the world. And she isn’t making enough.’

‘I know. You told me.’

‘What I didn’t tell you was that she’s playing the long game. She’s been having sex with the clients, if they look flush, but refusing to take their money. She’s hoping to hook a millionaire, and you do that by not appearing grasping.’

Layla was puzzled. Her heart went out to China, caught in such a trap. ‘But what’s this got to do with you and…’

Precious coughed, harder.

Layla lifted the cup and straw to her lips again. Precious drank, then sank back on to the pillows with a sigh.

‘I was getting short of money too,’ said Precious.

Shit! thought Layla. ‘You didn’t…’

Precious swallowed painfully. ‘I did a dance for Rufus in the VIP rooms. He asked me how much for sex. I said he couldn’t afford me, and he said that he could. He had this wild-man vibe about him. He was solid, like a rugby player. Wild long red hair. Dark grey eyes. And… he was sort of charismatic. He had this charming way about him, and this Irish accent. So I named a price. I wasn’t serious though, not really.’

Layla felt sick. ‘How much?’

‘A grand.’

‘Don’t tell me: he said yes?’

Precious nodded and closed her eyes.

‘Only you couldn’t do it on club premises,’ said Layla, ‘because Ellie would never allow it. So where did this happen? Where did he take you?’

‘He took me to Blakes – Anouska Hempel’s place.’

‘He did what?’ Layla knew of the hotel. It was the place to see and be seen right now, stuffed full of movie stars and royals.

‘We had a night in one of their best suites. And he paid up, too. A thousand pounds. And he said he’d be back to see me at the club. I didn’t believe him, of course. But he did come back. He came…’ Precious’s voice broke ‘… and he did this.’

‘When you were together, I suppose you talked about your life, your friends…?’

‘He wanted to know all about me.’ Her mouth twisted with bitterness. ‘He asked about my friends… he did seem particularly interested in you, but I thought it was because of your dad being Max Carter. You know what it’s like when the champagne’s flowing – I spilled my guts, I told him everything he wanted to know.’

‘He used you,’ said Layla. ‘To get to me.’

‘Yeah, I know that now .’ Precious sobbed. ‘He beat me up, Layla. He beat me up. And you know what he said before he did it?’

Layla shook her head.

‘He said, “Now I am going to hurt you, Precious. First you, then Layla Carter, then Annie Carter and Max Carter too. I’m sorry as hell about it, but I need to send a little message to the Carter clan.”’ She winced again. ‘“Tell them this is from me,” he said. “From Rufus Malone.” Those were his exact words.’

Junior wasn’t at his usual digs, so Max went with Tony to the safe house in Ilford where his mother and sister were staying. Molly opened the door to him, looking sullen.

‘Junior here?’ asked Max.

‘Who is it?’ called a female voice from the bowels of the house.

It was Kath, Annie’s cousin – Max knew that foghorn voice of old. Then Junior came clumping down the stairs.

‘Who is-’ he started, then froze mid-step when he saw Max standing there with Tony, a bald-headed three hundred pounds of muscle, right behind him.

‘Yeah, it’s me,’ said Max. ‘Having a cosy family visit, are we? Come on outside, I want a word.’

But instead of doing as he was told, Junior hopped over the newel post and took off up the hall to the back of the house.

Max let out a curse and shot off after him. He shoved past Molly, who responded with a string of colourful swear words in protest. Then he ran along the hall, into the kitchen. He had a quick impression of Kath sitting fat and shabby at the kitchen table, yelling something at him, but he was focused on Junior, who had flung the back door wide and was now legging it away down the garden.

Junior had youth on his side, but Max was in far better physical shape. He charged after the youngster, who was halfway up a six-foot fence when Max caught him and dragged him off.

‘You little fuck ,’ snarled Max. Junior’s reaction to the sight of him had told Max everything he needed to know.

Junior was scrabbling to get his footing when Max swung him against the fence. All the breath went out of him in a loud humph as he hit. Max hauled him away, then slammed him against the fence again. A neighbour’s dog was going berserk on the other side of it, barking its head off, drowning out whatever Junior was shouting at the top of his lungs. Wrapping an arm round Junior’s head, Max clamped him in a vice-lock until he stopped shouting and started to turn purple.