Gone Tomorrow (36 page)

‘No, I don’t think that. I think you want to help me get back at this bloke, for Susie’s sake.’

‘An’ get myself stuck full o’ fuckin’ holes?’ She started to rise. ‘Go fuck yourself,’ she said. ‘I’m goin’ back to bed.’

‘Please, Sassy—’

‘Don’t call me that! You ain’t got the right.’

‘Miss Palmer, then. Please just talk to me for a bit.’

‘I gotta get some sleep. I got a livin’ to earn.’

‘I’ll pay for your time. What do you charge nowadays?’

A little calculation entered the atmosphere. ‘A cent’ry, or I go back to bed.’

‘I haven’t got that much on me,’ Slider said. ‘I think I’ve got fifty. I’ll give you fifty for an hour of your time. Come on, Sass, fifty pounds an hour’s not bad. Only lawyers and accountants get more than that.’

‘All right,’ she said, flopping back down. Her face was still closed. ‘I’ll talk to you for fifty, but only ’alf a hour. And I ain’t tellin’ you anyfin’, okay?’

‘Blimey, that sounds like a real bargain,’ Slider said.

In spite of herself she thawed a little. ‘You a funny bastard,’ she said.

‘I think I must be to go on doing this job. Go on, Sassy, tell me about Susie’s special customer.’

It had been going on for a couple of years before Susie’s death, Sassy said. He only visited about once a month, but it was pretty regular. They never saw him. He would go straight up the stairs to Susie’s private room, while she brought his companions – usually two, and obviously minders – into the lounge for the other girls to entertain.

‘What about other customers?’ Slider asked.

‘Not when he was there. That was the rule. He took the whole house for the whole night. Paid well for it, an’ all. That was how Susie got into it in the first place, I s’pose.’

‘Do you know how Susie first met him?’

‘Nah, I dunno. Maybe someone told him about her. All I know, she said he never went wiv white girls. He only liked black and Chinese. Well, we never had no Chinese girl but there was Susie an’ Michelle an’ me all black.’ She shuddered. ‘It could have been me, man,’ she said quietly.

‘Did Susie have many special customers?’

‘Nah, just a couple of others apart from him. She was still gorgeous, but she mostly just done the management an’ everyfing.’

And who could blame her, Sassy went on. No sane person would want to earn it on their back if they could make more getting someone else to do it. Not that he should get her wrong. Susie had always been good to the girls, and generous. They all got a bonus when Mr Lee visited, or they did one of them big corporate parties. And Susie kept the customers in order and never let any harm come to the girls. None of that S&M stuff. She said there were other houses they could go to if that was their bag. Which was what made it all the more strange about her and Mr Lee.

And he never had any of the other girls? He never had Sassy?

No, fank God. He didn’t like tall girls, Susie said. He only ever had Susie. She didn’t say at first what his bag was, but over the months they could see Susie didn’t look forward to his visits. She would get quiet and kind of depressed when the day came. Well, not depressed, exactly, but kind of thoughtful. Eventually they all knew she didn’t like Mr Lee and wished he wouldn’t come, but when Sassy had asked her why she didn’t refuse him, she said, ‘It wouldn’t be wise.’ Just that. And she kind of tried to shrug it off and said it wasn’t so bad what he did, just creepy.

What did Sassy know about the man?

Not much. Susie said at first he was a rich businessman. Always wore real expensive clothes. But Sassy reckoned his business wasn’t legit. Susie hinted as much later on. In any case, why else would she be afraid of him?

Could Sassy describe him?

Like she said, she had never seen him. No, Susie never described him either, ’cept that he had a good body. Oh, and he was very white – his skin. Susie said once, kind of joking, that he must never step out of doors. That was in the middle of a
heatwave when they was practically sleeping over in the park. Susie said he lived in the dark like a mushroom. Sassy remembered that because it gave her the creeps. She reckoned it gave Susie the creeps an’ all.

No, his goons never talked about him either, not that Sassy ever heard. Well trained. They were real tough guys. You could see it in their eyes. Not cheap-smart tough, like a lot of blokes, all mouth and muscles for show, but the real thing. You wouldn’t mess with them guys.

This seemed to be a dead end, and Slider turned to another tack. ‘Do you know a man called Everet Boston?’

She answered with barely a pause, but Slider got the impression of wariness in the sudden cock of her attention. ‘Yeah, he was a mate of Susie’s.’

‘A customer?’

‘A mate from back home. They used to go out drinking once in a while. It was like her evening off.’

‘Did you meet him?’

‘Couple o’ times. He come in for a freebie once or twice.’

‘Did you like him?’ Shrug. ‘Was the freebie with you?’

‘Nah. Another girl.’

‘Did he ever bring another man called Lenny Baxter with him?’

‘Lenny never come in for it. He wasn’t into it much. I see him once or twice when him an’ Ev called for Susie to go out. See, she and Ev and Lenny used to make a foursome wiv anover girl. But Susie used to talk about him. Ev thought he was all right, but Susie reckoned he was a wrong ’un.’

‘In what way?’

She seemed to have difficulty putting into words. ‘He was trouble, she reckoned. Kind of stupid-smart, know what I mean? The kind’d try and be too clever, do somefing stupid, get himself into trouble, and then chuck someone else in it, tryin’ to get himself out. She said he’d get Ev into trouble one of these days. She was fond of Ev, Susie was.’

‘Was it Susie who introduced Everet to Mr Lee?’

‘Ev never met him. No-one never met him. I
told
you that.’ She yawned again, gaping like a hippo. Now her acute apprehension had worn off, the sleepiness was returning.

‘But Ev did work for him, didn’t he?’

‘Maybe.’

‘You know he did.’

She looked goaded. ‘If you know, why d’you ask me?’

‘I need confirmation. You know how the game’s played, Sassy. Did Susie introduce them?’

‘Ev needed the money, and Mr Lee was looking for a smart guy. But they never met. That was the way he done things. Ev would’ve been contacted by a fird party, all right?’

‘A control.’

She shrugged.

He changed tack again. ‘Did you ever hear of a man called Trevor Bates?’

‘Nah.’

‘Are you sure? Think, Sassy.’

‘Sure I’m sure. Who is he?’

‘I think he might be the big boss Everet worked for. The boss of a criminal ring, a man with the nickname of Needle. Lenny worked for him too. I think he might be the man who killed Susie, and I need your help to pull the two ends together. He’s a hard man to pin down.’ She was not looking at him, but at her nails again. ‘Come on, Sassy,’ he said, ‘try and help me. There must be something else you can tell me about this Mr Lee. Remember what he did to Susie, and try and help me.’

‘Remember? I’d sooner forget!’ In her indignation she lost some of her reserve. ‘That’s what she called him, the Needle. Said it was his nickname from when he was out east, the creep! I’ll never forget what she told me. He’d stick them needles in her, one by one, all over, till she look like a porcupine. And then he’d do it. That’s what give him his kicks. He couldn’t get it up any other way. I hate that bastard.’

‘But why did he kill her?’

Sassy paused on the brink a moment, and then lowered her voice and said, ‘I’ll tell you what I fink, but you must never let on I told you, or I’m dead. Promise me!’

‘I promise.’

‘Swear it.’

‘I swear. Just tell me, Sass.’

‘All right. She found something out about him.’ She swallowed, and lowered her voice still further, as though she could lessen her guilt that way. ‘The week before he came that last
time, she told me. She said he told her he’d killed someone by mistake that way, a girl he’d had, only he’d never got found out. He told her while he was doing it, all that needle stuff. You know, to give himself a thrill by scaring her, the filthy bastard! Only she reckoned he might be sorry he’d said it. She was scared. That’s when I said to her, get out, girl! Get out while you can. But she said he’d find her, and it’d be the worse for her.’ She shook her head in grim wonder. ‘How could it be worse? Me, I’d sooner run away an’ have a fightin’ chance than stand still and wait for it. If she’d only listened to me!
But I reckon she was like hypnotised by him, you know? Like one of them snake things.’ She made a circling motion with her finger. The allusion escaped Slider.

He tried one last tack. ‘What about Ev’s cousin?’

‘What
about her?’ It was unwarily said, and at once Sassy seemed to realise she had betrayed something. ‘I never knew he had a cousin.’

‘Then how did you know it was a she and not a he? Come on, Sassy, give me a break! Ev’s cousin Mary, or Teena as she called herself, was the fourth in the foursome, Lenny Baxter’s girlfriend.’

‘You know it all, don’t you?’ Sassy said sourly.

‘So tell me about her.’

‘I never met her. She never come in the house. She was just a kid.’

‘What did Susie say about her?’

‘Oh, she was just a kid,’ Sassy said dismissively. She seemed to think of something, and went on more confidingly, ‘Susie said she was in over her head with this Lenny character. She was nuts about him – Teena was – but Susie reckoned he’d treat her bad in the end. He was using her, Susie said. And he was a bloke that’d always look after himself, whatever it took, know’t I mean?’

This, Slider suspected, was either a smokescreen or a lure, but he didn’t know what it was meant to conceal or lead him away from.

‘So where is she now?’

‘I don’t know. How should I know? I ain’t seen her since Susie was killed,’ Sassy said with emphasis.

Slider noted that she had said before that she had never met

her. Was it possible that Sassy knew where Teena Brown was? If so, how could he get her to tell him?

‘Look,’ he said, ‘I think Teena is in trouble. She’s disappeared, and I need to find her.’ Sassy looked unimpressed. ‘I’ve got to get to her before the Needle does. I think she knows something about him – maybe even who he is – and if he finds her first he might kill her.’

‘I told you, I never met her,’ Sassy said impatiently. ‘I don’t know nuffin’ about her.’ And then, ‘Why’n’t you asked Ev?
She’s
his
cousin.’

‘I can’t ask him. He’s dead.’

Evidently she hadn’t known that. It was a shock. She stared a long time, perhaps debating whether to ask more, and deciding she didn’t want to know. ‘I shouldn’t a let you in,’ she said at last. ‘I knew you was trouble. If you’ve led ’em to me—’

‘No, no, I wasn’t followed. They’re not watching me.’

‘You fink they aren’t.’

He spread his hands and looked helpless. ‘They think I don’t know anything. They think I’m harmless. And anyway, why should they bother you? You’ve never met the Needle. You were just one of the girls. If they were worried about you they’d have done something about you before now, wouldn’t they?’

‘Yeah, you take chances wiv your own life. I want you out, now.’

She was on her feet. Slider rose too, but slowly. ‘One last thing, and then I’ll go.’

‘Now, I said. I ain’t talkin’ to you no more.’

‘Okay, but you want your money, don’t you?’ He fumbled in his pocket, as if looking for his wallet, and brought out the interview room photos of Colin Collins and Thomas Mark. ‘Just look at these while I’m sorting it out, will you. Tell me if they are the men who came with Mr Lee to the house.’

He held them out, and when she didn’t take them, flapped them a little, to indicate that he couldn’t search efficiently for money without both hands free. So she took them with a shrug, and looked at them. The picture of Collins she rejected with apparent indifference, but at Thomas Mark she nodded and said, ‘He was one of ’em. One of his minders. I dunno the uvver bloke.’

Bingo, Slider thought with deep satisfaction. A link at last!
He could have kissed Sassy, had it not been for various hygiene considerations, and the fact that she was bigger than him and could have decked him with one blow. ‘I want you to come back to the station with me and make a statement, saying you recognise this man, and where you saw him,’ he said.

Sassy recoiled. ‘You crazy? I told you you can’t let anyone know I’ve helped you. He’ll find out and he’ll kill me.’

‘No he won’t, because we’ll have him banged up.’

‘I ain’t saying nuffin’. You promised me! You swore!’

‘I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone you told me about him killing another girl,’ he reminded her. ‘And I won’t. All I want is for you to make a statement about this man.’ He tapped the photo.

‘It’s the same fing. I ain’t coming.’ Her face seemed to crumple. ‘Oh Christ,’ she said, ‘you gonna get me killed. You’ve led ’em straight to me! I’m dead.’

‘If they were following me, you’d be safer at the station than here, wouldn’t you? But they aren’t. Look, once we’ve got this man under lock and key, we’ll have plenty more evidence against him. I promise I won’t use your statement unless I absolutely have to. And it won’t have your name on it. Your identity will be protected.’ Still she refused, and he allowed a touch of impatience to show. ‘I can force you to come, you know. You don’t want a big fuss at the door to draw attention to yourself, do you? Come on, Sassy, get it over with. Better me than the local lot. They don’t like working girls at Notting Hill.’

‘You tellin’ me!’

‘But you know I’ll look after you. Go and get dressed.’

She shrugged at last, and said, All right. But I gotter tell my sister where I’m goin’.’

She went out, and down the passage towards a room at the back of the flat. Slider considered the possibility that she might try and escape, but it was the fourth floor, and he knew these death-trap old conversions had no fire escape. Besides, Sassy’s real desire was not to go anywhere. Still, he listened carefully for sounds of windows being thrown up, and was just a touch relieved when she reappeared in a short, tight red dress that left everything to be desired, red spike heels and a fake leopardskin jacket. Once a tart, always a tart, he thought with no little affection. He held the front door open for her, and she stalked past him with stunning hauteur.