shiny shaved head sitting squatly on his body. Pea-sized brain, she thought to herself. But this didn’t matter. She had enough brains, and he was the brawn. She giggled, thinking how satisfactorily brawny he was, and how safe she felt with him around.
They pulled up outside the little theatre, and Joanne got out. “You wait here,” she said, “shan’t be long.” They were parked on yellow lines, but this did not bother Tony. He had mates who could fix most things, including traffic wardens. It was early evening, and the street was beginning to come alive. It had been respectable once, full of workers from the shoe factories, families who had moved from slums into neat terraces of houses that seemed to them like palaces. Then it had gone through a phase of dereliction and abandonment, and now once more there was new paint, fresh curtains and pots of flowers. Ethnic minorities had taken over, and were proud of it. But here and there were the remnants of the bad old days. Peeling paint, filthy windows, and doors that were never opened more than a few inches. Tony’s mates lived in these houses, a network of low life that came and went in the shadows, dealing and dodging and betraying one another without compunction.
Twenty minutes went by, and Tony began to get restive. Where the hell was she? She’d told him to stay put, but he was bored. How had he got into this…taking orders from a bloody woman? Still, that was how it went. She took her orders from somewhere, he had no idea where, and he passed on whatever was necessary, making a profit like they all did. And she was a good lay, no doubt about that!
Joanne emerged from the alleyway at the side of the theatre and got in the car. “He’s not there,” she said. “Stupid little runt! Anyway, I’ve left word with the so-called stage manager, and he’ll pass it on. Come on, Tony, let’s get out of here and get some food. I’m starving after all that exercise, you evil brute!” She leaned across and kissed him full on the mouth while he flailed around, taken by surprise.
“Christ, Joanne,” he said, “how about getting a takeaway and goin’ back to my place?”
“Suits me,” she said, and leaning back in her seat, she licked her lips like a snake in the sun.
¦
Gary Needham was in a panic. He knew he should have been at the theatre to meet Joanne, but he’d finished work late. For the first time, his client housewife had claimed he’d not finished the job properly and threatened to ring Lois Meade. And now he
His old car chugged along like a reluctant carthorse, and by the time he reached Waltonby his panic had subsided. Nevertheless, he was extremely relieved to see lights at Hazel’s windows. Chances were that she was in, keeping her mother company. Gary knew all about Bridie and Dick, and about Hazel, too. He’d quite fancied her once, and still respected her. When she’d just arrived in the first class at school, he was about to leave. But the word had quickly got around that one of the new girls was very promising. By the time Hazel was thirteen, she had a string of spotty admirers, all of whom got the bum’s rush. This mass rejection naturally stimulated burgeoning male instincts for conquest, and for the rest of her school career Hazel had an enviable time. When Gary came back from his various attempts at stardom, he saw her again, flashing around Tresham on her bike, and wondered if he should have a go. But she wouldn’t have looked at him twice, he was sure. Their paths had crossed steadily since then, both of them involved with Tresham undesirables. Then, when he met her at New Brooms, he learned more about her domestic situation and pitied her. He ran up the path to ring the doorbell, hoping against hope that she would answer the door.
“Gary? What do you want?” Hazel stood in the doorway, and he was shocked at her pale, drawn face.
He gathered his wits, and asked if there was somewhere they could talk. “Oh, and I’m really sorry about your dad,” he said quickly. “Must’ve been a terrible shock.”
Hazel nodded and seem to be considering whether or not to let him in. “Mum’s here,” she said. “But we could go upstairs to my room. She’s asleep at the moment. Doctor gave her some pills. I don’t want her worried, so it’ll have to be quick.”
He followed her in and up the stairs on tiptoe. With the bedroom door shut, he turned to face her. “What’s going on?” he said. “Have you got any idea?” Hazel looked at him, and then sat down suddenly, her shoulders drooping. He saw that she was crying, and put his arm around her.
She scrubbed at her eyes with a screwed-up tissue. “You don’t think I did it?” she said in a muffled voice.
Gary said nothing. He had no idea how much he could trust Hazel. “Yeah, or me,” he said, with a poor attempt at an ironic laugh. “What d’you think?”
Hazel shook her head. “I dunno. Don’t suppose you’d have the bottle. No, Dad was up to something. He was always bloody well up to
Gary sighed. He walked across to the window. “Look at it,” he said. “Just look at your idyllic village. Twilight in the Garden of Eden, most people would think. And it’s as rotten underneath as anywhere else. Anyway,” he added, “I’ll go now…if anything comes up…can you let me know?”
She stared at him, frowning. “It’s a bloody mess, Gary,” she said, and as he brushed past her on the way out, she realized he was shaking violently.
? Terror on Tuesday ?
Twenty-One
It was two in the morning on the luminous bedside clock when Lois suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes wide open and staring at nothing.
“Lois?” muttered Derek, turning in his sleep. “Whazza-matter?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, “just a bad dream. Go back to sleep.”
It was true: she had had a dream, but one that was so ridiculous that she knew even while she was dreaming that it was rubbish. But then it had changed, and what came next was so frightening and plausible that it woke her up with a start. She had seen quite clearly the meeting place in the woods, and Dick’s body tied to a tree, but as she watched from some invisible hiding place, she saw Bridie and Hazel. They were adjusting the ropes, and then stood back to admire their handiwork. They were laughing, and even as she woke up Lois had felt the terrible nausea of shock.
She slid quietly out of bed and crept downstairs to the kitchen, being very careful not wake the kids. She had to think, and once the day started there was so little time for careful thinking. Pouring a glass of orange juice, she sat down at the table. Melvyn the cat, curled up in the old armchair beside the Rayburn, opened one eye and looked at her, then went back to sleep. The shelf clock measured out the time with its uneven tick. It was very peaceful, and Lois relaxed. The second part of her dream had been just as much rubbish as the first, she told herself. First of all, Hazel and Gary had appeared in police uniforms and arrested a protesting Derek in front of all the kids. And then she had seen Bridie and Hazel at their murderous task. But Bridie was her oldest friend, and she knew that however bad it had been, she would never have committed a violent act. But Hazel? She had a fierce hatred of her father. Lois had seen plenty of evidence of that over the years. There was no doubt that her will was strong enough, but neither of them were physically up to manhandling a live or dead Dick Reading into the woods. He was a big bloke. An accomplice? No, this was getting ridiculous. She would just go back to bed, forget the dreams and concentrate on whatever facts came her way.
She heard a sound, a footfall on the stairs, and then the kitchen door opened. It was Josie, peering into the kitchen with a worried frown. “Mum? Are you all right?”
“Fine,” said Lois, smiling reassurance. “Just couldn’t sleep. Sometimes it helps to come down and sit for a bit.”
“I couldn’t sleep either,” said Josie, slumping into a chair opposite Lois.
“Something worrying you?” said Lois, feeling her heatbeat quicken. These days, anxiety for the kids was always lurking in the background. She did not share Cowgill’s casual certainty that Joanne Murphy had not known who Josie was, and now she looked closely at her. In her cotton nightdress, and with her dark hair loose around her shoulders, she appeared younger than usual.
