Ruby still recalled the surge of emotion on seeing her friend in that state. But she’d managed to hold it together while she’d dialled 999 and asked the operator to get someone there as quickly as possible. Thank God she had found her when she did or who knew what might have happened.
Prior to the attack on Crystal, Ruby had also been one of his girls, working as a prostitute on the streets of Manchester. But after he had done that, she had vowed to go it alone, and had done so for the past year. She’d never liked working for him in the first place and didn’t want another pimp pocketing a big share of her earnings. Anyway, Ruby knew she no longer needed a pimp’s protection; she was more than capable of handling any problems herself.
Ruby had become so immersed in her own thoughts that she almost missed the verdict coming in. She felt a sharp nudge from Crystal who nodded towards the jury. Ruby looked across the courtroom and noticed that the judge had finished his summing up and the foreman of the jury was now on his feet ready to give the verdict.
The judge asked, ‘Foreman of the jury, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of grievous bodily harm?’ to which the foreman responded straightaway.
‘Guilty!’
‘Yay!’ shouted Ruby, standing up and waving her fist in the air.
She caught Gilly’s eye as he was led from court and he glowered at her. It was a look so full of hatred that it sent a chill right through her. Despite Ruby’s relief that he had been found guilty she was already dreading the day he was released. Ruby didn’t scare easily but she knew Gilly was a dangerous man. Nevertheless, she had stood her ground in helping to bring him to trial. There was no way she was going to let him get away with what he had done to Crystal. But she knew that once he was released, he would want his revenge.
There were mixed reactions around the rest of the courtroom and Ruby noticed that most of the public gallery didn’t share her jubilation. Like Crystal, many of the other girls were afraid of crossing Gilly and even the male customers of the Rose and Crown were wary of him.
But by far the worst reaction came from Crystal who had broken down, wailing and sobbing his name. Ruby was about to say something, but she knew many of Gilly’s cohorts were watching her so she took Crystal’s arm and pulled her gently from her seat.
‘Come on, let’s get you out of here,’ she said.
Crystal’s unwavering love and respect for Gilly both baffled and incensed Ruby. Crystal should have been as glad to see the back of him as she was. But Ruby wasn’t going to share her thoughts in front of this lot. No, she had to get Crystal alone first. Then she’d really let her know what she thought.
6
February 2005
Ruby and Crystal were sitting inside the Rose and Crown, a run-down pub behind Piccadilly, on the other side of the city centre from the courts. It was their regular, which they had frequented since their early days of prostitution when they were both still teenagers. There weren’t many customers in the pub at the moment and Ruby guessed that most of the regulars had gone to one of the pubs near to the Crown Court after Gilly’s trial.
Ruby was becoming exasperated with Crystal’s whining. It seemed that no matter what she said, she just couldn’t get through to her. ‘What the fuck have I just told you, Crystal? I’ve been working on my own ever since Gilly was arrested for doing that to you, and it’s working out fine for me.’
‘I know that, Ruby, but I’ll still miss him. It felt better somehow knowing he was there to step in if I had any trouble.’
‘But he wasn’t always there though, was he, even before he went inside? When you get in a car with a stranger, you’re on your fuckin’ own, girl. A pimp might be able to give a client a good beating after he’s abused you, but it’s too fuckin’ late by then, isn’t it? The damage has already been done. And talk about trouble, he was worse than the fuckin’ clients. He treated you like shit so I don’t know why you’re so upset about him. He got what he deserved.’
‘How can you be so horrible about the man I loved, Ruby?’ said Crystal who was once again on the verge of tears. ‘Don’t forget, he’s not only my lover, but he’s Candice’s father too.’
When Ruby saw how upset Crystal was, she regretted being so hard on her. She was also sympathetic about the fact that Gilly was the father of Crystal’s child as it was something he’d always vehemently denied. But she knew she was right about Crystal. She had to learn to stand on her own two feet instead of keep letting men take advantage.
‘OK, sorry I was a bit over the top, but you should think about things seriously, Crystal. Don’t go rushing into anything with another pimp. Think about how much better off you’ve been since Gilly was arrested.’
‘I know. But I just felt safer knowing he was around, that’s all.’
‘Listen, girl, there’s ways of keeping yourself safe, y’know.’
‘What? You mean…?’ Ruby nodded, knowing Crystal was referring to the knife she carried. ‘Jesus, Ruby! I couldn’t do that. I’d be frightened to death of using it.’
‘You’d be amazed what you can do when it comes to the crunch, Crystal. You don’t have to do any major damage. Just the sight of the blade is enough to send some of the cowardly fuckers running.’
Crystal didn’t say anything more, but Ruby noticed her shiver slightly when she
