One False Move, page 6
‘I can’t believe this,’ Hayley said quietly as she let go of her brother, who slumped back on the bed. ‘You dumped me in so much crap, I can’t see over the top. How could you do this to me? How many times have me and Nanna Lisa told you to stay away from him?’
‘Adam was the only one there for me after you got banged up,’ Jamie quickly defended himself. ‘I could talk to him. He never yelled at me or told me to do this and that. All he ever did was listen. So when he needed a bit of help I gave it to him.’
‘What did he tell you to do?’ she asked.
Jamie swallowed hard. ‘All he wants is to get you back. He said all he wanted was to be a good dad to Lily. So I watched you on your rounds for a couple of days to make sure I knew your route. Then I waited for you in Bell Tower.’ His voice began to break up as he went on. ‘I had to get the money off you and give it to Adam. He said you’d come to him because you’d have no one else to turn to.’
‘And once I came to him, I’d see what a good guy he was,’ Hayley took over. ‘And then we’d ride off into the sunset hand-in-hand.’ She shook her head in fury and disbelief. Why couldn’t her brother see her ex-boyfriend for what he was? ‘Adam’s a crook, the type of crook I don’t want you to become. I’m not interested in him. I’ve turned my back on that life. All I want is the money back.’
‘What do you care?’ Jamie half-sneered. ‘It’s not your money, is it? Let the company pay.’
She closed her eyes wearily for a few seconds. ‘Yeah, I used to think that when I nicked stuff. I used to think – oh, they’re insured. I used to think people should lock their homes up better if they didn’t want them broken into. But you know what? I got tired of blaming other people for what I did.’
She licked her lips and carried on. ‘The people I was collecting money for are a nasty lot. They want their money back and, if I don’t get it for them, they’re coming after your niece.’
‘Lily?’ His face crumbled.
‘Yes, Lily.’ Hayley desperately wanted to shake him again. ‘A little girl who has never done a bad thing in her life. All because you can’t stop thinking of yourself. You never worry about how your actions will affect the rest of us. Why can’t you think of your family for a change?’
Jamie’s eyes blazed at her. ‘You’re so wrong. All I ever think about is the family we once were. I miss her.’
‘Who?’ Hayley frowned, confused.
Tears filled his eyes. ‘Mum. I miss her. Why did she have to die?’ Huge sobs racked his body as he slumped forward.
Hayley was taken completely by surprise. All this time she’d thought that her brother was just being a nuisance and bad. That he’d been happy to bring trouble to their door, when all the time he’d been hurting. He’d been trying to deal with their mother’s death the only way he knew how.
‘Oh, Jamie,’ she said sadly. She pulled him into her arms, feeling the shakes and tremors going through his body. She didn’t speak; just let him cry his grief out.
He turned his tear-stained face to her. ‘And then you left me as well.’
She frowned. ‘I never left you.’
‘You went to prison, Lee-Lee,’ he cried, using the name he’d called her when he was a little boy. ‘All the people I love always leave me behind. Dad. Mum. You.’
Hayley sucked in a huge shocked breath. She felt terrible. How had she never realised this? Instead of helping her brother deal with his grief, she’d got involved in a life of crime. He was right. How could she have forgotten about her brother when he needed her the most?
‘I was wrong to leave you,’ she finally said. ‘It wasn’t only Nan’s job to look after you but mine as well.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘That’s why I’m never going back to that life. Mum’s no longer with us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be a proper family again.’
Jamie looked up at her as he wiped the tears from his face. Then brother and sister sealed the promise with a smile.
The door opened, surprising them both. A furious Nanna Lisa stood in the doorway, her gaze piercing through Jamie. ‘You silly, silly boy. Back in my day you’d have got a clip round the ear. But I don’t believe in that kind of stuff. You’ve caused your big sister loads of trouble. What we need to figure out is how to get the money back from that plonker Adam.’
Hayley stood up. ‘Nan, there’s only one thing to do.’ She checked her watch.
3:15
‘And I’ve got forty-five minutes to do it and get the money to the Lewises.’
11
3:20
Hayley didn’t wait for the lift but rushed up the five floors to The Devil’s Playground. She punched in the access code to the sixth floor. As she headed up the stairs, she could hear shouting, yelling, laughter and the sound of a dog that didn’t seem to be in a very good mood. As she reached the final step, she jumped sideways as a dog ran in front of her at full speed. She heard cheers from one end of the balcony and the dog speeding towards something at the other. Hayley stood still, unsure what was going on. A voice called the animal and it came trotting back with lumps of pink plastic between its jaws.
Hayley looked round the corner. There was a group of young lads and the girl with the pierced lip holding various breeds of dogs on leads. At the other end was a tailor’s dummy propped up against a wall. It was attack practice for dogs.
One of the youths saw her and shouted, ‘What do you want?’
‘I’ve come to see Adam.’
She glanced at her watch.
3:22
She didn’t have time to waste so she headed down the landing.
One of the youths shouted angrily behind her, ‘Go on, boy! Kill her! Kill her!’
A dog howled and snarled, its paws scraping the concrete. Hayley raced down the balcony to Adam’s front door and hammered on it to get in before she was bitten. But when she peeped over her shoulder the laughing boys and girl still had their dogs on leads.
Adam’s door swung open. He stopped in the doorway before he spoke. ‘I was hoping you’d drop by again. You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.’ He looked down the landing. ‘Oh, the boys are just running their dogs.’
He pulled the door back to let her in. ‘I know you think I’m a first-class git, but I only want to help you and Lily.’
She walked past him and into the flat. When they got to the front room, Adam sprawled on the sofa but Hayley stood proud, her arms folded.
She spoke slowly. ‘It will be four soon and I haven’t got the money.’
Adam tilted his head to the side as he watched her. ‘I gave you a way out, but you chose to chuck it back in my face, Monkey.’
‘Don’t call me—’ Hayley bit out and then stopped herself. She sighed and took a step towards him. ‘Look, maybe I was being a bit hasty.’
His face split into a huge smile. ‘What I’ve always loved about you, babe – as well as your light fingers – is that you’re a realist. You know when to put your hands up and say, oops I got it wrong.’
Hayley’s mouth tightened. ‘Is that what you want? For me to get down on my knees and beg?’
Adam chuckled. ‘Plenty of time for you to get down on your knees later, you know what I mean.’ He patted the seat next to him. ‘Why don’t you come and sit down while we work things out?’
‘Adam, I don’t have a lot of time. I need—’
‘Sit,’ he ordered.
Hayley perched on the edge of the sofa. ‘All right, stop mucking about. Give me the money you said you’d loan me and I’ll come and work for you again.’
Adam leaned right into her, but Hayley didn’t move an inch. ‘I want much more than for you to come work for me. Me, you and Lily are going to be a family.’
He kissed her long and hard. Hayley sat there and took it. She didn’t respond or move away.
He wasn’t best pleased when he raised his head. Then he smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘Take your clothes off.’
‘Are you for real?’ She was outraged. ‘There are people chasing me who’ll take it out on your daughter if I don’t turn up with a grand in …’ she checked her watch, ‘thirty-two minutes.’
‘Screw the Lewises. I’ll take care of them. I won’t let them touch Lily.’
‘Then why haven’t you done it already?’
Adam curled his lip. ‘Don’t get in my face, Hayley. You know what they say about biting the hand that feeds—’
A fist banged loudly on the front door. ‘Adders!’ one of the kids yelled. ‘Get out here, mate. Some man’s having a go at your car.’
Adam flew off the sofa and ran to the front door, followed by Hayley. Outside, they leaned over the balcony wall. Below, a hooded youth dressed in black with a scarf over his face was smashing Adam’s car with a baseball bat. The car was parked in its usual spot, in a bay meant for a senior citizen with a dodgy leg that Adam had ‘borrowed’ and never given back. The black car showed gashes of silver and the windows were all smashed in, glass scattered around it. Further down the landing, the boys with the dogs were looking on, unable to believe their eyes. Someone having a go at Adam’s car? No one on this estate would dare even lean on it, never mind take a bat to it.
Adam looked on, shocked and furious, for a few moments before turning to the boys. ‘What are you standing there for? Get after him!’
They flew down towards the stairwell. Adam was close behind them.
Hayley shouted after her ex, ‘Do you want me to help?’
He stopped. ‘Help? What’s the matter with you? This is a man’s job.’
Hayley stood on the balcony and watched as the boy with the bat ran off.
Five minutes later a fuming Adam came back. Hayley stood up.
‘Did you get him?’
Adam snarled, ‘My car’s a total write-off. When I find that little—’
‘Did you see who it was?’
He chucked his keys on the sofa in disgust. ‘No. If I knew who he was, he’d be dead now.’
Hayley opened her eyes wide. ‘I was so scared.’
‘No need for any of that. I’m here to protect you. And our daughter.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s just brought back what it’s really like to be around you. I’m sorry, Adam, I can’t do this any more. I’ve got to think of Lily. Thanks for the offer, but I can’t take it.’
She moved past him to get to the door, but his hand snaked out and stopped her. ‘Are you going back on your promise to work for me?’
Hayley snatched her arm back. ‘I’m going to go and see the Lewises and reason with them.’
Adam snorted. ‘You fool. They’ll eat you for dinner.’
Hayley didn’t answer. She headed for the door. She didn’t look back as she walked away.
Once she got downstairs she checked her watch.
3:38
Hayley started sprinting home.
‘Nanna Lisa,’ she called out as soon as she shut the front door.
Her grandmother was sitting bolt upright at the kitchen table. Her brother, sweating and out of breath, was on another chair in the corner, rubbing his face. He was dressed all in black. When Hayley came in, they both glanced up. She stood at the table looking solemn.
Finally her gran asked, ‘So?’
A smile of pure pleasure spread across Hayley’s face as she reached inside her jacket and pulled out a roll of ten-pound notes tied with an elastic band. She threw it on the table.
She looked at her brother. ‘It was exactly where I remembered Adam hiding things.’
All three of them had cooked up the plan to get the money back. Hayley had at first wanted to do it on her own, using her old monkey skills to get into Adam’s flat. But Nanna Lisa had, as usual, been sensible, arguing that Hayley’s plan wouldn’t work if he was at home. They had agreed the only way to get Adam out of his flat was to create a distraction, a trap. While Jamie attacked Adam’s car, Hayley had gone into Adam’s kitchen and found the money hidden behind a loose ceiling tile.
Nanna Lisa jumped up in delight and yelled, ‘Whoop! High five!’
Hayley, Jamie and Nanna Lisa slapped their hands together.
Nanna Lisa turned towards the door. ‘I’d better go and pick up Lily from her friend’s.’
‘We’re not home and dry yet,’ Hayley said, ‘I’ve still got to get the money to them.’
She looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall.
Fifteen minutes left.
Hell, she’d thought she had more time. She’d only come back home to make sure Jamie was OK.
Hayley bolted out of the house, the money in her pocket.
I’m not going to make it. She was panicking.
12
3:46
3:47
3:48
Hayley ran so hard that her chest felt like it was on fire.
3:50
3:53
I’m not going to make it. Not going to—
Suddenly a car came out of nowhere and mounted the pavement in front of her. Oh God, the Lewises! But it wasn’t them. Adam got out of the car, a different one from the precious flashy car Jamie had trashed.
‘Where is it, Hayley?’ he asked. His fists were balled by his side.
‘I can’t do this now.’ She tried to dodge around him. ‘Get out of my bloody way.’
But he wouldn’t let her. He backed her into a corner and leaned into her, his face turning nasty. ‘You think you’re so clever. Distracting me by getting someone to smash my car so you can take the money.’
Hayley was about to try and get round him, but something made her stop. The time for games was over. ‘I used to think I knew you so well,’ she said. ‘I never dreamed in a million years that you would use my own brother to try and hurt me.’
Adam shook his head. ‘I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I want you to come back. I want Lily back. If there’s any way I can get you, Hayley, I’m going to try it.’
‘Be truthful, Adam. You don’t really want me. You want someone – anyone – who’s a good thief.’
He shook his head furiously. ‘You’re so wrong. Don’t you see, with your skills and my head we can make a life for Lily. We can buy her designer gear, toys, take her away on holiday.’
He just didn’t get it. Didn’t get it at all. ‘When I was in prison, one of the tutors said to me I had a very special skill.’ She tapped the corner of her head. ‘They said I was quick-thinking. I can solve problems. I’m not a thief. Or a monkey. Maybe in the past, but not any more. Now I’m a woman who sees a rich future in front of her. One day someone is going to want me to work for them because I’m smart and honest.’
Her voice cracked with emotion. ‘What you did today didn’t just hurt me. It hurt Lily too. One false move today and I could’ve ended up back in prison and lost contact with my daughter for God knows how many years. I told myself I would never beg for anything from you.’ She swallowed. ‘But I’m begging you to leave me and Lily alone so we have a chance at a better life.’
Adam’s mouth moved, but no words came out. He shifted back from Hayley and coughed. Finally he spoke. ‘I didn’t realise …’ The words got trapped in his throat.
Hayley pulled out something from her pocket and held it out to him. It was a photo of their daughter as a baby. ‘I found this in your hiding place. I know that you love Lily in your way, but it can’t be like this, Adam. She can’t have a criminal for a father. I won’t have it.’
He said nothing. He took the photo and just stared at it. Then he raised his head. ‘All right, I’ll go. I won’t contact Jamie again either.’
He walked away, his shoulders hunched, leaving Hayley standing looking after him. She called out, ‘But if you ever get out of the bad life, Lily will be waiting for you.’
She checked her watch.
4:01
She was too late.
Hayley kept running. She wasn’t giving up. So what if she was ten minutes late. She had the money, which was what they really wanted. Quids In came into view. She rushed across the road. Through the window she could see Mary Lewis and her nutter nephew. Mary caught her eye and grinned.
As Hayley reached for the door the sound of sirens screeched through the air. Something told her to leave the door and keep walking. She quickly turned the next corner and watched as three police cars slammed to a halt outside the store.
The cops flooded into the shop. What the hell was going on? Her question was answered when Mary, Bobby and Carl were dragged out in handcuffs.
‘You haven’t got a thing on us,’ Mary spat.
‘There’s enough evidence in that shop to put you away for a long time,’ one of the cops answered.
‘No one will testify against us,’ Mary scoffed.
‘We got a tip-off,’ the officer said. ‘Plus we’ve been watching this place for some time.’
Hayley turned away from the scene. She couldn’t believe it. The Lewises wouldn’t be on her back any more. Lily was safe.
She pulled out the envelope with the money. What was she going to do with a thousand pounds?
13
4:30 p.m.
Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’ was playing when Hayley made her way from the back of the community centre into the main room. The place was done up a treat. Balloons and streamers were hanging from the wall. The bar was open and two tables were piled with food, including Nanna Lisa’s yummy bread pudding. A few of the older folks were sitting down but a good many were slow dancing, some with their Zimmer frames. Hayley knew this was a sad occasion but she couldn’t help smiling.
‘Mummy! Mummy!’ Lily shouted as she spotted her mum and flew across the room into her arms.
Hayley hung on tight. Her precious daughter was safe. If the police hadn’t turned up, she didn’t know what she would’ve done. The Lewises might still have come after Lily, if Hayley had turned up late with their dirty cash.
