Toxic (8 page)

Chapter 10

It was early evening and much cooler when they set off. Ben was proudly carrying his stick clenched tightly between his jaws. After a couple of miles, the narrow road became gradually steeper as it wound its way up the headland.

“Whose bright idea was this?” Suzy said.

“If I remember correctly, it was yours.”

“The next time I have a bright idea, slap me would you?”

“Ben seems to be enjoying it.”

They watched as the dog ran off in front of them. A couple of times he disappeared from sight, but then came bounding back down the road to them.

“How could anyone have abandoned him?” Suzy tried to stroke Ben, but he ran back up the road.

“People are shit.” Todd said matter-of-factly.

“All people?”

“Not you, but everyone else.”

“That's very profound, and obviously well-reasoned. Any other pearls of wisdom you'd like to share?”

“No, that's it for now.”

“Where do you actually live?” Suzy asked.

“Here and there. Nowhere in particular.”

“You must have somewhere you call home?”

“No. Not really. I spend most of my time in hotel rooms.”

“That must cost a bloody fortune.”

Todd shrugged.

“Don't you get lonely?”

“Big Todd doesn't go short of company.”

Suzy stared at him. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what, honey?”

“This. The
Big Todd
crap. The
honey
crap.”

“The ladies like it.”

“Which
ladies
are those? The whores you pay to be with you? They just like your money.”

“You seemed to like Big Todd just fine when we were at your flat.”

Suzy stopped walking. “It's all bullshit though, isn't it? That's not the real you, so why do it?”

“Who the fuck are you to talk? With your
babes this
and
babes that
? Strange, I haven't heard you say that once since we arrived here. You're every bit as false as me.”

The truth in his words stung. Suzy set off walking again at a faster pace. Todd watched her for a few moments and then followed.

“Suzy wait!”

“Sorry, babes. No can do.”

“Suzy!” He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him.

“Let go!” She screamed in his face.

“No!”

“Let me go!” She struggled to free her arm.

He pressed his lips to hers, and her struggling stopped. Ben ran around and around them as they kissed. His barking became louder and louder until they could ignore him no more.

“He's jealous.” Todd said, as he crouched down to make a fuss of the excited dog.

By the time they'd reached the top of the cliffs, they were all exhausted—even Ben. But then he'd covered at least twice as much ground by running back and forth.

“Wow!” Suzy was staring out to sea. “It's so big!”

“Big?” Todd laughed. “Newsflash. The sea is big!”

“Don't be such a pig.” She tried to thump him, but he dodged out of the way. “I meant you can see for miles. What's over there?” She pointed out to sea.

“That's the North Sea. Next stop in that direction is Denmark, I think. Have you ever been there?”

“Me? Nah. Only time I've been outside of England is when I went to Ibiza.”

“That's not correct. You're out of England now.”

“Scotland doesn't count.”

“Don't tell the Scots that.”

“You know what I mean. I haven't been overseas except for Ibiza. And that was only a hen party.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Fucked if I can remember.”

Ben had his second wind, and was once more a bundle of energy. He dropped his stick at Suzy's feet for the hundredth time.

“You're wearing me out, boy.” Suzy wound back her arm, and let fly with as much strength as she could muster.

She'd meant to throw the stick so it landed further along the cliff top, but had put so much into it that her aim was off.

“Stop!” Suzy screamed.

“Ben!” Todd yelled, but it was too late. The dog was so busy watching the stick that he didn't notice the cliff edge until it was too late.

Suzy and Todd watched in horror as Ben skidded towards the edge, and then disappeared from sight.

Todd rushed after him. Suzy was a few paces behind him.

“Oh god. I didn't mean to—” She pulled up a few feet short of the edge. She couldn't bear to look. “I'm sorry.” She slumped onto her knees.

“Suzy! Quick!” Todd shouted. “He's okay.”

She stumbled to her feet and rushed over to Todd.

 Only a few feet below the cliff's edge, was a narrow ledge on which Ben was perched. As soon as he saw them, he barked, and tried to scramble back up, but he couldn't gain purchase on the rock.

“Stay there, boy!” Todd threw off his jacket, and then turned to Suzy. “If he tries to climb up, he'll fall.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have to get down to that ledge.”

“You can't. You'll die.”

“I'll be okay. If I can get to him, I'll be able to pass him up to you. It isn't far.”

“What if he struggles? You'll both fall.”

Todd already had one leg over the edge. Ben was barking frantically—still trying to scramble back up.

“Quiet boy,” Suzy said in what she hoped was a soothing voice. She had one eye on the dog, and the other on Todd.

Ben was back on all fours, but was moving back and forth on the ledge as he watched Todd climb down towards him. Suzy gasped when she saw the dog's back legs come within a few inches of the edge. As soon as Todd was standing on the ledge, Ben threw himself at his master.

“Steady boy. It's going to be okay.”

“You'll never do it,” Suzy said. “Why don't you stay down there with him while I get help?” She took out her phone—still no damn signal.

“It'll take too long,” Todd said. “I'm going to pass him up to you. Are you ready?”

“I might drop him.”

“You won't. Are you ready?”

She wasn't, but what choice did she have.

As though some kind of survival instinct had kicked in, Ben didn't struggle when Todd picked him up in order to pass him to Suzy, Todd had to take a step back from the cliff face. His feet were less than a foot from the edge of the ledge.

“On three. One, two, three.”

It took all of Todd's strength to lift the dog high enough so Suzy could grab him by the scruff of the neck, and pull him onto the cliff top. Todd collapsed onto the ledge—exhausted.

“Are you okay?” Suzy looked down at Todd.

“Yeah. Just give me a minute while I catch my breath.”

Ben appeared at the cliff's edge—barking down at Todd.

“For god's sake, don't let him come back down here.”

“I've got him.” Suzy grabbed hold of Ben.

Fifteen minutes later, an exhausted Todd hauled himself back up. Suzy was still holding Ben for dear life.

“Next time, I'll throw his stick,” Todd said.

Chapter 11

Lacey pulled up at the barrier of the car park. The security guard flashed a huge smile, and greeted her like a long lost friend. “Good morning, madam.”

She could still remember the way he'd treated her on her first visit to the Commodore when he'd refused to help her load the pizzas into the lift. Oh yes—she still remembered. He'd changed his tune as soon as she'd moved in with Raw, and now he couldn't do enough for her.

“Morning,” she said, but didn't smile. He had a lot more grovelling to do to win her over.

It was Saturday, and Lacey was feeling sorry for herself. All week long, she'd been looking forward to the weekend. Raw had promised they could spend it at the villa. It would have been their first visit to Cannes since she'd moved in with him almost a month ago. The last time they'd been there, she'd been called back after her mum had suffered a heart attack.

They'd been scheduled to fly Friday night, but then Raw had taken a call from Carol. Usual subject—Todd. Raw was the best thing to have happened to Lacey, and she loved the man to bits. Still, she'd have preferred him without the baggage of his family. And yes, she knew that made her a selfish cow, but it was the truth. Carol came around or phoned every day. No one had a clue where Todd was. Or Suzy for that matter. Lacey understood their concern, but she was sure the two
wild ones
would both be okay—wherever they were. If ever there was a match made in Hell, it was Suzy and Todd. As far as Lacey was concerned, the only danger they were in was from one another. It was a toss up which of them would kill the other first. Even though she'd been flatmates with Suzy for some time, she still didn't understand the girl. It was as though she was hell-bent on self-destruction. She drank waaaay too much—just like her mum. Lacey hadn't said that to Suzy's face; she valued her teeth too much. It was the way Suzy treated guys that really drove Lacey insane. Every time she'd found herself a nice, steady guy, Suzy had done everything she could to sabotage the relationship. Steve had been the nicest guy anyone could wish to meet. He'd asked Suzy to move in with him more than once. What had Suzy done? Slept with other men behind his back. Even with Daggers! What had she been thinking? Lacey didn't know much about Todd—only what Raw and Carol had told her. It seemed he was on the same road to self-destruction. His problems seemed to stem from his father, and what amounted to a pathological hatred of Raw.

Yeah—Lacey had sure managed to surround herself with one fucked-up bunch of people.

“Mum? It's only me.” Lacey called from the hallway.

Before going upstairs, she checked to see if Tom, her mum's partner, was in the lounge or kitchen. There was no sign of him.

“How are you?” Lacey stuck her head around the bedroom door. Her mum was sitting up in bed with a book in her hand.

“You can't still be reading Fifty Shades.” Lacey said.

“This is the last in the series. I've nearly finished it.”

“I can leave if I'm interrupting.”

“Don't be soft. Sit down.” Her mum patted the bed.

Lacey leaned over, gave her mum a kiss, and then sat on the edge of the bed.

“What are you doing here anyway?” her mum said, as she put the book on the bedside cabinet. “Thought you were off for a dirty weekend in France.”

“Mum?”

“Well? Why aren't you?”

“Raw got called away.”

“Work?”

Lacey shrugged. “Not exactly.”

“That brother of his?”

“Yeah.” Lacey had made the mistake of telling her mum about Todd.

“Is he still with that crazy flatmate of yours?”

“Suzy's not crazy.”

Her mum gave her a look.

“Well okay. She's a bit crazy, but she's harmless.”

“I thought she already had a boyfriend.”

“She's got a few.”

“Is she a bit of a floozy?”

“No one says floozy any more, mum.”

“I do. And from what you've told me, it sounds like this Suzy is one. Are they still together?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. No one has heard from them for weeks. They've just disappeared. Probably drunk somewhere.”

“What about you and whatshisname? Raw?” Her mum shook her head. “I still can't get used to calling him that.”

“It takes a while.”

“Are you two still okay?”

“We're great—honestly. I've never been happier. I just wish this Todd thing was sorted.”

“As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. Now go and make us both a cup of tea. And bring me my Hobnobs. Tom won't let me have them. Reckons they're bad for me. Stupid old bugger.”

“Where is he?”

“I sent him into town shopping.”

“If there was something you needed, you should have given me a call.”

“I didn't need anything. I just wanted him out from under my feet. I love his bones, but he's a bit of a nag. Besides, I wanted to finish my book.”

“There you go.” Lacey put the cup of tea on the bedside cabinet, and passed a plate with two Hobnobs on it to her mum.

“Two? Is that all I get? I thought you'd bring me the packet.”

“And have Tom on my case? No chance.”

Lacey couldn't help a smile when her mum dunked the biscuit in her tea. That was one habit which definitely ran in the family.

“Are you still enjoying the job?” her mum asked.

“Yeah. I really am. And I'm good at it.”

“Modest too.”

“The work isn't that difficult. Most of it's just common-sense. There's only one slight downside.”

“What's that?”

“Everyone knows I only got the job because I'm with Raw.”

“What does it matter so long as you can do it?”

“Most of the time it doesn't, but there's this one woman: Karen Montgomery—head of HR. She takes every opportunity to take a shot at me. She's got a thing about Raw. She actually told me they'd had a fling.”

“Had they?”

“No. Raw went ballistic when I told him what she'd said. He wanted to fire her, but I managed to talk him out of it.”

“That was clever of you.”

“I couldn't let him do that. She might be a bitch, but she doesn't deserve to lose her job.”

“You're too nice, Lacey.”

“I guess.”

“It's not a bad fault to have.”

One hour later, they were still chatting.

“Hello! I'm back!”

“Bloody hell,” Lacey's mum said. “I thought he'd be gone all morning. I'll never get my book read now.”

Tom walked into the bedroom. “Hi, Lacey. I thought that was your car. Aren't you meant to be in Can?”

“It's Cannes.” Lacey's mum affected a French accent.

“That's what I said. Can.”

“We had to cancel,” Lacey said.

“Tea anyone?” Tom asked.

“We've only just had one. Why don't you make yourself a cuppa while we talk?”

“Okay. I know when I'm not wanted.” Tom smiled.

On her way out, Lacey popped her head around the lounge door. “I'm off, Tom.”

“Just a second.” Tom beckoned her inside. “Push the door to.”

“What's the matter?” Lacey said.

“I was going to call you on Monday when you got back from France.”

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing to worry about. Your mum went for a check up last week.”

“She never told me.”

“I know. I said she should, but—well, you know your mum. They say she needs a bypass.”

“Oh god.” Lacey slumped down onto the sofa.

“It's okay.” Tom took her hand. “They reckon she'll be right as rain once it's done.”

“When?”

“I don't know exactly. There's a waiting list.”

“How long?”

“Several months.”

“What happens in the meantime?”

“She has to take it easy.”

“Why didn't she say something to me?”

“She doesn't want to worry you. She said she'd tell you the day before the operation so you didn't have chance to worry beforehand. Don't let on I've told you or she'll kill me.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

Lacey drove back to the Commodore in a haze. After her mum had pulled through the heart attack, Lacey had assumed all would be well provided she took it easy and changed her diet. A bypass was a serious operation wasn't it? What if she couldn't wait several months?