‘We don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Janey responded straight away.
‘Talking for him, are you?’ Nathan hissed.
‘What? What are you asking them for?’ Autumn asked.
‘Don’t say anything, Juan,’ Janey ordered, narrowing her eyes at him in warning. ‘Keep your mouth shut for once.’
‘I should have realized it at the time. She was the first one you told about the party,’ Nathan continued. ‘She arranged it all, including the amateur kidnappers.’
Autumn felt coldness sweep over her as she looked at Janey and Juan. Neither of them said anything. They just looked ahead, avoiding her scrutiny, no emotion on their faces.
‘Somehow she knew about the threats to you, and she used that to her advantage. She was going to use you for more than a meal ticket. She was going to get her hands on a sizeable ransom,’ Nathan carried on.
‘What exactly are you saying?’ Autumn stuttered, then started subconsciously counting up on her fingers. ‘Those men who came for me weren’t part of the terrorist group?’
Nathan sneered. ‘No. They were men arranged by Janey and Juan. They’d planned to kidnap you for money. So, which one of you is more broke?’
She settled her eyes on Juan, remembering his desperation for a big record deal. ‘He is,’ Autumn said, her voice shaking.
She looked at her ex-boyfriend. His bald head was lowered, and his naked, tattooed body shivered with the cold. Then she looked to Janey. Her head was held firm, and she met Autumn’s eyes, unashamed.
‘They killed Blu-Daddy,’ was all Autumn could manage to get out of her throat.
‘Mr Nathan, we should leave,’ Tawanda suggested. ‘We should go somewhere else, a hotel or something.’
‘You killed my friend,’ Autumn said. Tears filled her eyes and she struggled to keep them in check.
‘That wasn’t supposed to happen,’ Juan blurted out.
‘Juan!’ Janey exclaimed.
Autumn flew at Janey, dragging her away from the wall and down onto the floor where she began to pummel her with blows.
‘You bitch! How could you do that? You’re a murderer! You killed my friend!’
Nathan grabbed hold of her arms and pulled her away.
‘Blu-Daddy wasn’t your friend!’ Janey swore as she straightened herself up. ‘You don’t have any friends, Autumn. You have acquaintances. People you talk to now and then, who use your fame to get what they want. No one likes you. No one wants to be friends with you, unless you can promise them a retweet on Twitter.’
Nathan pushed Janey back against the wall. ‘Shut your mouth,’ he ordered.
‘Autumn, babe, I needed the money,’ Juan began. ‘You know I needed the money, and Janey, she said—’
‘Tawanda, get me something to tie them up, whatever’s handy—rope, tape, couple of flexes from the bedside lamps. You choose,’ Nathan said.
Shivering, Autumn left the room and went out into the hallway. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, something else happened that sent her reeling again. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t think, let alone comprehend what she had just found out. All those wasted years of so-called friendship with Janey, all those months with Juan. What was it all about? They put her life at risk for money. Money!
Tawanda put a hand on Autumn’s shoulder. ‘Listen,’ she said, ‘what that… that excuse for a girl just said, it isn’t true.’
Autumn shook her head, her eyes still closed. She knew what Tawanda was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it.
‘We will find a nice hotel, a very nice hotel, and we will get you a nice hot bubble bath,’ Tawanda carried on.
‘What she said is true, Tawanda. I don’t have friends,’ Autumn said robotically. ‘I had her, Janey. She was my closest friend, and look what she wanted to do to me.’
‘You are not to worry about people like her. She has a bad heart, a bad, black heart, and she will get what she deserves.’
‘Oh Tawanda, what a mess! What a big, horrible mess.’ Autumn opened her eyes and wiped at them with the sleeve of her dress.
Nathan appeared from out of Autumn’s room, brushing his hands together.
‘Right, shall we go? I thought the Marisson might be appropriate,’ he stated.
‘What are you going to do?’ Autumn asked.
‘Book us some rooms and organize food.’
‘I meant, with them, in there,’ she said, indicating her bedroom.
‘Bound and gagged. Thought we could call the police on the way out. Is there anything you need?’ he asked.
His manner was so cool, like this sort of thing happened in his life every day. Of course, it probably did, and it had become part and parcel of her life every day since she had been with him. What did she need? She looked into the lounge, saw the huge television, the leather sofa, the Jo Malone candles, and a rug she had paid almost five thousand pounds for. What was by the window was the only thing she wanted.
‘Just my keyboard. We don’t have to bring the stand. Can you carry it?’ she asked him.
‘No problem,’ he replied, putting his hands together and flexing them.
Thirty
There were paparazzi outside her apartment when they’d left. She’d dipped her head, let Tawanda and Nathan shield her from the flashing of the camera bulbs. She wasn’t in the mood to pose or pout. She just had to be photographed. The kidnappers would know where she was from that, and from whatever message her mother was going to pass them. That would be enough.
Once in a suite at the Marisson, she got her first chance to reconnect with the world. She ordered three different newspapers and read them from cover to cover before passing them on to Tawanda for the crosswords.
Blu-Daddy’s memorial service was scheduled for the next day. It was being held at an evangelical church across the city, near his home, with a private burial afterwards. Just seeing his photo and details of his death there in black and white made it all come home to
