Downstairs, after Holly had changed into the dress and shoes Suzie had picked out for her, Suzie poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Holly. Still nervous at the thought of going to a nightclub, sure that she would be asked for ID and turned away when she couldn’t produce any, which would be mega embarrassing, Holly perched on the sofa and sipped her drink.
Jumping when the doorbell chimed a couple of minutes later, she said, ‘Oh, God, what if it’s my mum?’
‘Relax,’ Suzie said, walking to the door. ‘It’s probably the cab. Hurry up and finish your drink. I’ll tell him to give us a minute.’
Holly nodded and took another swig as Suzie went to answer the door. A woman’s voice drifted through the hall, and Holly’s heart leapt in her chest when she heard her say: ‘I need to speak to the girl.’
Holding her breath when Suzie said, ‘What girl?’ Holly got up and tiptoed to the door.
‘Don’t act dumb, love,’ the woman replied tartly. ‘I saw her coming over here earlier, and I need a word. It’s about her mam, and it’s urgent.’
Stomach flipping, Holly slammed her glass down on the table and rushed out into the hall. She recognized the woman immediately as the neighbour from the second floor who had warned the gang off on the night she’d seen Rob attacking Suzie.
‘What about my mum?’ she asked.
‘Ah, you haven’t heard then?’ the woman said, her excitement at being the one to deliver the news battling against the concern in her eyes. ‘Some lads disturbed a bloke attacking her on the wasteland behind the alley a bit ago.’
‘No . . .’ Holly clutched the doorframe when her legs turned to jelly.
‘Sorry, love,’ the woman said, touching her arm. ‘I saw them putting her in the ambulance and thought someone needed to tell you. Why don’t you come over to mine for a bit? I’ll call the police and see if we can find out which hospital they’ve took her to.’
‘It’s OK, I’ll do it,’ Suzie said.
‘I’m only trying to help,’ the woman said, narrowing her eyes and looking Suzie up and down. ‘She’s me neighbour, and that’s what we do round here. Not that you’d know, mind, seeing as how you never bother with no one apart from that man of yours.’
Flashing a cold smile at her, Suzie closed the door in her face. The letterbox immediately flapped up, and the woman shouted, ‘You know where I am if you need owt, love. I’m at number twenty-eight. The name’s Carol.’
‘Nosy cow,’ Suzie muttered, ushering Holly back into the living room.
‘What should I do?’ Holly asked, panic in her eyes.
‘It might not have been your mum, so let’s not jump to conclusions,’ Suzie said calmly.
‘But what if it was?’ Holly paced the floor. ‘Oh, God, I knew I shouldn’t have come out tonight. It was asking for trouble.’
‘Hey, you couldn’t have known this was going to happen,’ Suzie said, taking hold of her shoulders to stop her. ‘And we still don’t know for sure that it was your mum. It’s dark out there; your neighbour might have got it wrong. Just let me cancel the cab and let Sam know I’m not coming, then I’ll ring the police and find out what’s going on.’
‘I need to go,’ Holly said, wriggling free and heading for the door.
‘Wait, I’ll come with you,’ Suzie said as she rushed out into the hall. ‘This will only take a minute.’
Holly continued on her way without answering.
Gee was coming out of the flats when Holly reached the door, and he smiled and stepped back to let her enter.
‘Thanks,’ she murmured, fumbling her front-door key out of the tiny clutch bag Suzie had lent her to go with the outfit.
Catching a glimpse of her pale face when she brushed past him, Gee called, ‘Is everything all right?’ as she rushed up the stairs. Frowning when she didn’t answer, he held the door for a few more seconds, then let it go and went after her.
‘Hey, what’s up?’ he asked, concerned when he saw how badly her hand was shaking as she tried to slot her key into the lock. ‘Has something happened?’
‘Someone’s been attacked in the alley and the woman upstairs reckons it was my mum,’ Holly gabbled. ‘Suzie says it can’t be her, ’cos she’ll be at work, but I’ve got a horrible feeling.’
‘Have you tried ringing her?’ Gee asked, scooping her key up off the floor when she dropped it.
Wondering why she hadn’t thought of that, Holly yanked her phone out of the bag and dialled her mum’s number. It rang out before going to voicemail.
‘She’s not answering,’ she said, gazing fearfully up at Gee.
‘She’s probably not allowed to take calls while she’s working,’ Gee said. ‘Leave a message asking her to ring you back when she’s on a break.’
Hands still shaking, Holly pressed redial. Blushing when Gee unlocked the front door, exposing the shabby lino in the hallway, the dustballs in the corners, the dirty skirting boards and the ever-present stench of damp, she said, ‘I, um, can’t let you in. My mum—’
‘It’s cool.’ Gee passed the key to her and held up his hands. ‘I only wanted to make sure you got in OK.’
Thanking him, Holly rushed inside with the phone clamped to her ear and flashed an embarrassed smile at him as she closed the door.
‘Mum, it’s me,’ she said when the phone clicked into voicemail. ‘Something’s happened in the alley and I need to know you’re all right. Ring me back when you get a break. Please.’
Jumping when the doorbell rang, she hurriedly opened the door after she’d looked through the spyhole and saw that it was Suzie.
‘I rang my mum and asked her to call me back,’ she said.
‘Good. Now stop worrying,’ Suzie said. ‘I
