Dirty Game

frightened because it happened in her house and you knew about it.’

‘I didn’t hurt her,’ said Max.

Annie breathed again. ‘Good.’

‘And I don’t want you living there any more.’

Annie stared at him. ‘We can’t all get what we want, Max,’ she said.

Max drew closer to her. They were staring eye to eye.

‘Some of us can,’ said Max. ‘Some of us always do.’

‘Not this time.’

‘I don’t want you doing it. End of.’

‘I’m going to do it. End of.’

‘No you’re fucking not.’

‘Yes I am.’

‘For your own safety.’

‘Not to save you embarrassment among your mates?’ Annie arched a brow.

‘All right, both. It can’t go on, Annie. See sense.’

Annie gave it some thought. ‘Max, it’s something I have to do,’ she said at last.

‘No,’ said Max. ‘It isn’t. Put a manager in.’

Annie gave it some more thought. A manager – now why hadn’t she thought of that? She reviewed her troops. Ellie was in the Delaneys’ pocket. A nice enough girl, but an arse-licker, as Celia had called her more than once in the course of conversation. Too eager to please and not to be trusted too far. Aretha was too bent in the head to be relied upon. Which left Dolly and Darren. Dolly! What a case. Always kicking against Annie’s authority. She got on Annie’s bloody nerves, and that was a fact. Annie knew Darren would do a good job; she often left him in charge now when she had to nip out.

‘I’ll think about it,’ said Annie.

‘Make sure you do.’

Annie looked around at the bedroom, suddenly feeling as happy as a child at Christmas. ‘Christ, how do they get the dust down off these ceilings? They’re a mile high.’

‘Not your problem,’ said Max. ‘I’ve arranged for a cleaner.’

‘You’ve arranged everything,’ said Annie, linking her arms around his neck and kissing him. ‘It’s perfect.’

‘Not mad any more?’ asked Max, kissing her right back.

‘I’ll think about that too,’ she said. But Ruthie was still there in her brain, looking sad, looking betrayed.

32

After the Friday lunchtime party Annie sent Chris out for a fag break and phoned Redmond Delaney. It was something she’d been trying to avoid, but now she had to do it. She was about to announce her changes to her workers, and it was only polite to break the news to him first.

‘Miss Bailey. Always a pleasure,’ he said smoothly. ‘How can I help?’

‘I’ve changed my plans,’ said Annie.

‘Oh?’

‘I’m moving out of here and putting a manager in charge.’

Redmond was silent. Then he said: ‘Who?’

Annie told him.

‘You’re sure that’s wise?’

‘Positive.’

‘And you will be moving where?’

This was the bit Annie had dreaded.

‘The apartment I viewed last week, I’m moving in there.’

‘Are you planning to oversee the business there and have the Limehouse concern managed for you?’

‘No,’ said Annie, bracing herself. ‘I’m going to live there, not conduct business.’

‘That’s an expensive undertaking.’

God, this was harder than she’d thought.

‘I’ll have help.’

‘Whose?’

Fuck it, she thought. ‘That’s my private business,’ she said.

‘Yes, of course,’ said Redmond. ‘As you wish.’

‘Sorry if this puts you out,’ said Annie.

‘It doesn’t. Was there anything else, Miss Bailey?’

‘No.’

There was a pause.

‘Keep in touch,’ he said, and rang off.

Annie put the phone down feeling uneasy. Of course the Delaneys would soon find out what was going on, but her relationship – if you could call it that, she thought – with Max was not negotiable or for the public domain. If Ruthie should ever get to hear about it, it wouldn’t be because Annie had blabbed it about the town. She knew she had just made her position even more unstable, but it couldn’t be helped.

Annie gave everyone time to get cleaned and cleared up, paid off the extra girls and bade them goodbye, then summoned the troops into the kitchen for tea and biscuits and a chat. She told them that she was moving out but would remain in control. She explained that the apartment she and Ellie had been to view was where she would be living, and she would not be running it as a parlour after all.

‘How can you be in control if you’re not even fucking-well here?’ asked Dolly.

‘I’ll put in a manager,’ said Annie.

‘Over my bloody dead body,’ said Dolly.

‘We don’t want some stranger comin’ in here an’ givin’ it large to us,’ warned Aretha. ‘An’ come on girl. How you goin’ afford a place like that? Ellie told us the details. It out of your league.’

‘My business is my business,’ said Annie bluntly.

‘Not when it affects us,’ said Dolly. ‘Aretha’s right. We don’t want some creep ordering us around.’

‘You won’t have some creep ordering you around. What do you think, Darren?’

Darren shrugged, but he looked unhappy. ‘You’re the boss,’ he said.

‘Ellie? You’re not saying much.’

‘You seem to have made your mind up,’ said Ellie, weakening and reaching for the custard creams.

‘I have.’

‘Well I for one am not happy,’ scowled Dolly.

‘Same here,’ said Aretha.

Annie drank her tea and let them stew for a minute or two. Then she said: ‘I’m not going to bring in a manager. I am going to create a manager.’

‘Create?’ Aretha laughed. ‘What, you goin’ make like that record, take a hundred pounds of clay and make a man, like Craig Douglas sang about? Dream on, honey.’

‘I’m going to create a manager from within,’ said Annie. God, they were dense. She was having to spell it out word for word.

‘You mean one of us?’ asked Darren.

‘At last,’ said Annie sarcastically.

They all exchanged looks. Annie could see she’d grabbed their attention now.

‘I’m not taking orders off that great lummox Chris,’ said Dolly.

‘Nor me,’ said Aretha.

‘Aretha,’ said Annie. ‘Dolly. Take your tea into the front room, will you? I want a quiet word with Ellie and Darren.’