He’d smiled that slow smile, and said, ‘What do you think? Of course I do.’
She could remember him standing by the gas fire, watching her as she freed her hair from the high ponytail and shook it loose. He’d caught hold of her hand. ‘There’s something about you, Becca…’ He’d been frowning as if he couldn’t quite find the words. ‘I don’t want to make more bad things happen in your life.’ His finger had touched the scar on her face. No one talked about that. No one. She’d waited for the familiar anger to well up inside her, but it didn’t. Instead, she’d just shaken her head.
Once again, he didn’t push. ‘You’ll tell me,’ he’d said. ‘If we’re together, you and me, one day you’ll be able to tell me. Right?’
She wasn’t sure, but maybe, just maybe she would.
‘There are things I need to tell you, too. Not yet. But I will.’
And right then, she’d believed him.
It had been almost morning before he’d left and neither of them had got any sleep. It didn’t seem to matter. ‘I’ll see you at the pub,’ he’d said. She’d wandered round the supermarket the next day in a kind of daze, not minding when Bryan shouted at her or Sheryl pursed her mouth up like a cat’s bum. Jade had grinned at her knowingly, and Becca had felt her face going red. She wasn’t working in the pub that night, Andy knew that, but the night after that…
But the next day, he’d called her. ‘I’ve got to go away for a few days – a work thing,’ he’d said. ‘I’m back a week on Friday.’
‘OK,’ she’d said, trying not to show that she minded.
‘I might not be able to call – it’s all work stuff. Look, I’ll explain when I get back. Are you OK, Becca? I’m really sorry.’ And he’d sounded it. ‘Look, don’t let Dosser run you ragged, right? And a knee in the balls for Flasher if he gets frisky.’
‘Right.’
She was OK that he didn’t call, because they’d never called each other – they’d texted, and he kept on doing that. Some of them were the usual jokey texts – How many Game of Thrones characters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only two, but it’s a bit crowded – and some were stuff about the pub; questions about Carl, questions about the punters and – this was something new – were there any more of those bags, could she get to look inside one, could she take some pictures?
But nothing about what had happened between them.
In the end, she’d got a bit mad at him – it was like he’d forgotten who she was. Piss off about the bags!!!!
Sorry, he’d texted back. Got my boss on my back. Need all the help I can get xxx
Becca knew about that. She’d never had a boss who didn’t give her a hard time, and Andy had talked about his boss before. She wanted to help so she’d looked round the cellar the next time Carl sent her down there, but there wasn’t anything that seemed out of place. They could talk about it when he got back.
Tonight.
She was expecting a call, or at least a text. She checked her phone again, but there was nothing.
Why would he text? He’d just come in.
Wouldn’t he?
It was almost seven. She headed along the road towards the harbour. The light was just about gone. She was just going past the car wash when she saw Carl Lavery coming out of the café opposite. It called itself an arcade, but it was just a café with a few machines. He was carrying a couple of holdalls, his scruffy mac belted tightly round his middle, his face grim.
Andy was right. He did look like a flasher.
She hung back and watched. He dumped the bags into the boot of his car, a Land Rover, scruffy like him but it must have cost a packet. A kid came out of the café to help him, heaving the holdall up with both hands.
Becca knew him. Jade’s Lewis.
He looked across and saw her watching him. His eyes narrowed and he said something to Carl. Becca turned and moved on quickly. The last thing she wanted was a lift from Flasher. She could imagine what being stuck in a car with Carl Lavery would be like.
She hurried off down a side street that cut through to the harbour. The waft of frying drifted from the stalls and cafés, and she realised she was starving. On impulse, she bought a tray of chips she really couldn’t afford, covered them liberally with salt and vinegar, and ate them as she walked along.
Why was Jade’s Lewis with Carl Lavery? Jade had talked about drug dealers on the estate. Was that what Lavery was doing? Was that why he was so touchy about her being in the cellar that time? But the police had raided the place, and they hadn’t found anything.
She’d tell Jade what she’d seen, at work tomorrow.
The pub, the Smokehouse, was just across the road from the harbour. It was a bit early for her to start her shift, but there was just a chance Andy would have arrived early and be in there waiting for her. She crammed the last of the chips into her mouth, and then licked every trace of grease and salt off her fingers.
She wasn’t going to think about what she’d seen, not just now. She just wanted to enjoy Andy coming back. She’d think about the rest later.
She was OK. She was more than OK. She was feeling good.
Chapter 6
As Becca walked along the lane to the pub entrance, she saw that Russ, the homeless guy who had started hanging out outside the Smokehouse a few weeks ago, was back. She hadn’t seen him for a bit.
There was a sort of alcove by
