‘Proper little actress, ain’t we?’ Austin grinned, pushing her back into the kitchen.
Gee watched as the coppers climbed into their car and turned off the blues before pulling away. Yawning, he pushed himself upright and was about to turn away when he caught a movement at Suzie’s bedroom window.
‘What the fuck?’ he muttered, staring at the ghostly figure of Holly waving her arms, desperately trying to attract the police officers’ attention. The car didn’t stop and her head snapped round as if she’d heard something behind her, then she disappeared.
Shaking his head, unsure if he’d imagined it, Gee looked over again and knew he hadn’t when he saw some of the vertical blinds swinging. Something was going on over there, and Holly must have called the police. But what could it be, and why had she looked so scared?
Determined to find out, he pulled on his jeans and a jumper and, grabbing his keys, let himself out of the flat.
Carol opened her door as he passed. ‘Did you see what I just saw?’ she asked, stepping out into the corridor.
‘I think so,’ he muttered.
‘It was the girl from the first floor, wasn’t it?’ Carol asked, tugging the belt of her grubby dressing gown tighter around her belly as she pulled her door shut.
‘Holly, yeah,’ Gee said, walking on.
‘What d’you think’s going on?’ Carol asked, falling into step beside him. ‘Those coppers must have turned up for a reason, and she didn’t look too happy when they drove off.’
‘I know, I thought the same,’ Gee said. ‘I’m going to go over and see if everything’s all right.’
Carol gave him a doubtful look. ‘Not being funny, love, but that dark-haired copper’s been paying blondie a lot of visits recently, and I’ve seen the way they smile at each other, like they’re all pally pally, so I reckon she would have told him if something was up. Unless she couldn’t.’
‘What d’you mean?’ Gee asked, frowning as they jogged down the stairs side by side.
‘Her bloke moved back in the other day,’ Carol said, pausing to catch her breath when they reached the first-floor landing. ‘And he’s got form for beating the shit out of her, so he’s probably at it again. I bet the girl heard it and called the cops, and he forced blondie to tell them she was OK.’
‘You reckon?’ Gee gazed down at her.
‘Happens all the time, love,’ Carol said, something in her expression telling Gee that she might have been in the same predicament in the past.
‘Shouldn’t we call the police and tell them that?’ Gee suggested.
‘No point.’ Carol shrugged. ‘They won’t come back now they’ve seen her and she’s told them she’s OK. We could ring the girl, though. See what she’s saying.’
‘Have you got her number?’
‘No, but her mam will,’ Carol said. ‘I saw her sneaking in earlier, so she’s deffo home. Come on . . .’
‘You do know it’s nearly four o’clock, don’t you?’ Gee asked as he reluctantly followed her to Holly’s flat.
‘She won’t care,’ Carol tossed back over her shoulder as she walked on, her slippers scuffing across the tiles. ‘She’s proper protective of her, so she’ll want to know if summat’s up. I would.’
She had reached the door by then, and Gee flinched when she jabbed her finger on the bell several times before rapping on the knocker.
‘Keep it down,’ he whispered, looking round. ‘You’ll have the whole block up at this rate.’
Ignoring him, Carol rang the bell again, then leaned down and yelled, ‘Hellooo . . .’ through the letterbox. ‘Anyone home?’
About to ring the bell again, she hesitated at the sound of movement inside. Bolts were drawn back and, seconds later, a pale bruised face peered out at them.
‘Sorry for waking you, love,’ Carol said, wrinkling her nose at the stench of damp that drifted out. ‘We think your girl might be in trouble.’
‘She – she’s in bed,’ Josie said, confusion in her eyes.
‘No, she’s over the road,’ Carol said, wondering if the girl had slipped over to see her friend while her mum was sleeping, as she’d seen her do many times after the woman left for work of an evening. ‘Me and . . .’ She paused and looked at Gee.
‘Gee,’ he said.
‘Carol,’ she replied. Then, back to Josie: ‘Me and Gee both saw her at the window. The police was there and she looked proper scared.’
‘What?’ Josie’s face scrunched up, as if she couldn’t make head nor tail of what Carol was saying. ‘But she’s only a baby.’
Carol exchanged a hooded look with Gee. Then, turning back to Josie, her tone gentler now, as if talking to somebody who was mentally impaired, she said, ‘Let’s go and give Holly a quick ring, eh? If she’s OK, we can all go back to bed.’
‘Who – who are you?’ Josie asked, her movements jerky and uncoordinated as Carol guided her inside.
‘This your room, is it?’ Carol asked, ignoring the question as she ushered Josie inside the first bedroom. She sat her down on the bed and then picked up the phone that was sitting on the cabinet.
‘Has he sent you?’ Josie asked, eyeing her warily. ‘She doesn’t know anything . . . she was only a baby, she doesn’t remember.’
‘I’m sure she doesn’t, and no one’s sent me,’ Carol said. ‘I’m your neighbour, and I’m here to help. Here we go . . .’ The screen had lit up, showing a missed call from Holly and a voicemail notification. ‘She tried to call you twenty minutes ago.’
Josie gazed blankly back at her, caught in the fog between sleep and consciousness. Recognizing the look, because she’d seen plenty of stoned people in her time, Carol lifted Josie’s hand and touched her thumb to the screen to open it, then listened to the message Holly had left.
‘Who – who are you?’ Josie asked, blinking as if struggling to focus her mind.
‘A friend,’ Carol said, frowning as she replayed the message a second time. The girl had said that a man was going
