“We shall meet in the pub later, then,” said Kay, still wonderingwhat she was going to do for the rest of the day. She really needed some moneyif she was going to enjoy it. Would it be rude to ask him? She couldn’t see whynot, under the circumstances.
“Just one thing, before you go,” she added. “Could you lendme a few quid? Well, more than a few, really. A couple of hundred would benice. After all, it’s not like you’re going to need it after today, is it?”
“I suppose not,” said Kent gloomily, still reflecting aboutthe mortality of his current body.
“I’m skint at the moment and since I’ve used up one of mydays coming back here for a good cause it would be nice if I could enjoy a bitof it,” she added.
“What are you going to spend all that on?” asked Kent.
“Oh, just a bit of pampering,” said Kay, remembering herimpromptu trip to London on her earlier trip. “I don’t want to be stuck up inthat horrible flat all day, not with the landlord threatening to cut myelectricity off. And he is definitely going to do that, today, because he didit before. I’ll book myself into the Travelodge.”
It would be a far cry from her previous jaunt to the hotelin Mayfair but she couldn’t go too far, not with the evening that lay ahead.All she really wanted was a hot bath, some decent food and some warmth. Mostimportantly of all, she didn’t want to see that accursed flat again, or riskencountering McVie.
“Fair enough,” said Kent. “I blew a fair amount of cash onsome of my trips back in time. We’ll stop off at the cashpoint on the way tothe butcher’s.”
Parting company with Kent, a generous £200 in her handbag,she made first for New Look to get some clean clothes. Next she stopped atWilko’s for some toiletries, before taking a taxi to the Travelodge where shespent a long, lazy afternoon in warmth and comfort, watching crappy Christmasmovies on the TV and taking full advantage of room service.
By the time the early evening rolled around, she was fit andready for action.
Chapter Twenty
December 2018
Kay had arranged to meet Kent in the pub at 10pm. That wasmuch later than she usually went out but she didn’t want to get sucked into along-drawn-out drinking session. This was difficult to avoid in The Red Lion atthe best of times, but even more so on Christmas Eve when the booze would beflowing freely.
Kent was already there when she arrived, standing at the barwith Andy and the others. She went straight over to join him, and ordered adrink, sticking to just a single vodka with lot of Coke. She felt incrediblynervous knowing what was to come and could quite easily have knocked back aneat double, but was determined to keep a clear head. She needed to beprofessional about what she was doing tonight.
As soon as Kent saw her, he moved away from the bar,gesturing at her to move further up the pub away from the other regulars.
“Sorry about that,” he said, joining her at the bar, out ofview of the others in the crowded bar. “But I didn’t want you to have to put upwith any of Andy’s crap. He saw me giving you that money at the cashpointearlier and is telling everyone I’m paying you for sex now.”
“What a cheek,” remarked Kay. “I really could slap that twatat times.”
“Well, there’s no point doing anything about it,” said Kent.“It’s all irrelevant in this universe. As is Nobby and The Beast’s argumentabout what is the best Christmas Number One of all time, which has been goingon for well over half an hour.”
“I’m glad I missed that,” said Kay.
“Now then, about Anna,” said Kent.
“Have you seen her?” asked Kay.
“Yes, she’s over there at the pool table,” replied Kent.
Kay looked over and spotted Anna straightaway. She wasplaying pool with Lauren and her usual group of young male followers. She wasstruck by how pretty Anna looked. Kay had only ever seen her in her chip shopoveralls with her hair tied back in a bun.
Tonight she looked stunning, the curves of her full figureperfectly complemented by the long, black dress she was wearing. Her blondehair, straight and smooth, flowed down beneath her shoulders now it was nolonger tied up. Resisting the temptation to go over and speak to her, Kayturned back to Kent.
“Have you spotted anything unusual? Have there been anyweirdos hanging around or anything like that? What about those lads who arealways sniffing around Lauren? Could it be one of them?”
“No, nothing out of the ordinary at all,” replied Kent.“She’s been over there with the underage drinkers for the past hour. I can’tsee it being one of them: they’re just harmless kids as far as I can see.”
“I think it’s best that we stay over here at a safedistance, then,” suggested Kay, bearing in mind their earlier conversation. “Weneed to avoid interaction, if at all possible.”
The pool table was less than ten yards away from where theywere standing but it was quite easy to blend into the background. The pub washeaving with people and very noisy with the disco blaring out. It was socrowded that Kay even managed to visit the ladies, the door to which was rightbehind the pool table, without Anna spotting her.
So far, so good, but she couldn’t avoid being spottedindefinitely. The youths at the pool table were knocking back the booze like itwas going out of fashion, frequently visiting the bar to stock up on drinks andshots. Shortly after Kay had returned to the bar, it was Anna’s turn to get around in.
With Kent having nipped off to the gents, there was a spaceat the bar right next to
