Fatal Read online

  The nurse stared at Alfie with as much hostility as she could muster. ‘I’m sorry but there are people in front of you. We can give you some painkillers whilst you wait.’

  Beckoning her closer with his index finger, Alfie barked, ‘I don’t want painkillers, I want me leg sorted and just so it’s clear, I don’t give a fuck if everybody’s been waiting here since the millennium, because they ain’t got a sixteen-year-old girl wandering about in trouble. Now, do us all a favour and get me leg fixed, or should I fix it me-fucking-self? Give me the needle and cotton and it’ll be happy days.’

  ‘Sir, if you continue to be aggressive I’ll have to get security.’

  Alfie’s face turned red as he laughed bitterly. ‘To do what? Throw me out when I’ve only got one poxy leg to stand on? I can see how the country’s going downhill, maybe—’

  Lola shouted him down. ‘Alfie, enough! You can’t take it out on her … I’m sorry, love, he’s in a lot of pain and he’s worried about someone, well, we all are … Have you any idea how long this might take?’

  Glancing at Alfie then back to Lola, the Nigerian nurse pursed her lips before answering. ‘I’ll go and see what I can find out.’

  Alfie watched the nurse walk away as he yanked his phone out of his pocket. ‘Where the fuck is Franny? What is it about that woman? She always seems to do a disappearing act when you need her. And here’s the real joke, her and Bree are suddenly bosom buddies.’

  ‘That’s good, ain’t it?’

  ‘Good? No, Lola, it ain’t. Nothing good can come out of two women plotting, it’s like a couple of sharks smelling blood.’

  Before Lola had a chance to answer, Alfie snarled a message on Franny’s voicemail. ‘Fran, it’s me. This is getting to be a fucking habit. Now, you need to pick up the phone and call me ASAP. Alice has gone missing and let me tell you—’

  ‘Alf Jennings?’

  Alfie looked up, clicking off the phone as a tall Indian doctor came to speak to him.

  ‘I’m Dr Shah, shall we go into one of the cubicles and talk?’

  ‘No, mate, I ain’t dying, am I? So, let’s just do it here and get it over and done with.’

  Wearily, the doctor simply said, ‘As you wish. Your X-ray shows a hairline fracture on the tibia, which will heal by itself, so there’s no need for a cast and you’ll be able to get around, though it might be painful, but we can provide crutches if you want as well as analgesics. As for the laceration to your leg, it’s pretty much down to the muscle layer, so you’ll need deep tension sutures and then stitches to close the skin; therefore, I’d like you to stay the night and let the plastic surgeons fix it in the morning.’

  Alfie shook his head. ‘No way. I need it done right now. As quick as.’

  ‘Mr Jennings—’

  ‘Save your breath, doc, I ain’t changing me mind.’

  Seeing he was not going to get anywhere with Alfie, the doctor said resignedly, ‘Fine, I’ll do it myself, though it won’t be as pretty. It’ll probably scar and you may have to wait a couple of hours before I can do the procedure.’

  Distracted, Alfie muttered, ‘Whatever.’

  Through the glass A&E doors he spotted a trolley being pushed through at speed by four ambulance men. Lying on it was Cabhan screaming in pain. Shocked, Lola grabbed hold of Alfie as they watched Cabhan, his body covered in blood, his face covered by an oxygen mask and blood-soaked bandages on the end of his arms, which were hoisted up on drip stands, keeping them elevated.

  Anxiously, Lola hurried after Dr Shah, pointing at Cabhan as the trolley passed by. ‘Where are they taking him?’

  ‘By the look of him, I suspect straight to theatre,’ Dr Shah answered dispassionately, his tone pinched.

  ‘Will he be all right?’

  The doctor gave a jaded reply as he turned away. ‘I have no idea. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have patients to see.’

  ‘You?’ Alfie stared at Lola incredulously.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You, go and look for Alice?’

  ‘Got a problem with that?’

  Still waiting for the procedure to his leg, Alfie cocked his head to one side. ‘Actually, Lola, I have, because the last time you got in the driver’s seat, darlin’, was when there were horses and carts.’

  Annoyed with how Alfie was behaving, Lola smacked him hard in his chest with the back of her hand. ‘Don’t be so bloody stupid, it was on George’s fortieth birthday.’

  Alfie, raising his voice, leant into Lola’s face. ‘Lola, George has been dead for twenty-five years.’

  ‘So?’ Lola shrugged.

  ‘So, if you add it all together, the last time you took control of any motor was a fuck of a long time ago. Face it, you’ll be a liability and there’s been enough casualties today. And besides, whose car are you going to drive? You can’t go back to the house, not now.’

  Sitting down, her varicose veins troubling her, Lola said, ‘I know that, I ain’t stupid, but think about it, when Janine went to Florida she parked her motor at Stansted Airport in the long-term car park, remember? And I’ve got her spare set of keys. Look …’ Lola stopped talking and proceeded to tip the entire contents of her bag onto the hospital floor. She rummaged amongst the packet of tissues, chewing gum, odd sock, money, wallet and torn-out pages of magazines until she finally produced a key. Triumphantly, she said, ‘Here.’

  ‘Yeah, but to get the car out you’ll need a code.’

  ‘I’ll text Janine, that ain’t a problem. And from here I can get a cab, which will get me there within half an hour and it’s on the way home anyway. Then from Stansted we’re only looking at twenty minutes or so to get back to the house, and Alice won’t have gone far, will she? She ain’t got no money and ain’t got her phone. Hopefully, she’ll keep her head down. She may be angry, but she’s not stupid and she knows they’re after her, but the longer she’s out there on her own, the more likely it is the Russos …’ Lola trailed off, unable to contemplate the idea that Salvatore and his brother might find Alice. ‘Anyway, if I go now, I reckon I can be out there looking for her within the next hour or so.’

  ‘You’re forgetting one vital thing.’

  Lola frowned as she absentmindedly watched a hospital porter push his mop and bucket along the corridor on a squeaking metal trolley. ‘What?’

  ‘Those ETAs you’ve just given me are for someone who can friggin’ drive!’

  Red-faced and getting to her feet, the incensed Lola wagged her finger at Alfie. ‘What is it with you? You can be a pig sometimes, Alfie Jennings. I’m trying to help, I’m worried about the girl, and all you can do is mug me off with your comments. I’m the best bet you’ve got, I’m the only bet you’ve got, but instead of being thankful you have to try to make me look a fool. If it weren’t for the fact that Alice is out there on her own, I’d leave you and your bloody leg to it. You know how to upset me, don’t you?’

  Hurt, she turned her back on him. Alfie opened his arms wide and spoke gently. ‘Lo, you silly cow, you don’t get it, do you? I don’t want you to drive because I’m afraid something might happen, and I couldn’t bear that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Look at me, Lola.’

  Lola turned back around, her eyes filled with love. ‘Sweetheart, you and I both know that we can’t risk the Russos getting hold of Alice and the longer she’s out there, the more likely that will be. Look at the state of Cabhan and what they did to him, it makes me shiver to think what they’d do to her … We’ve got no other choice, there’s no way you can drive until those doctors come back and sort out your leg, and who knows how long that will take. We’ve lost enough time already. Plus, I doubt you could drive anyway.’

  Alfie rubbed his head. ‘But have you seen Janine’s car? It’ll be like a rite of bleedin’ passage and I don’t know if that’s a good thing.’

  ‘Listen, I might not be Lewis Hamilton, but how hard can it really be?’

 
31

  ‘Okay, I can do this. Like I said to Alfie, how hard can this be?’

  Lola sat in the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, shaking as she held the key. She tried to remember what Alfie had told her:

  Unlike a lot of Ferraris, it has a traditional key, so just put it in the ignition like you did on George’s Austin Metro.

  Putting the key in, the car beeped and Lola took a quick intake of breath, nervously chewed her lip and then pressed the red button on the wheel marked ‘engine start’. Immediately, the engine revved into action, making her feel like she were sitting on an explosion.

  ‘Oh my Christ! Oh my Christ!’

  Trembling, she looked for the gear lever then remembered there wasn’t one.

  There’ll be three buttons: R, Auto and PS.

  She’d no idea what the PS meant – the only time she’d seen that was at the bottom of a greetings card at Christmas time.

  Once you press ‘auto’, gently use the footpads – not too hard, that car’s like a beast.

  As Lola pushed her foot down, the car let out a massive roar. She screamed, her false teeth coming loose as the Ferrari shot forward and picked up speed.

  Remember, Lola, the car goes from zero to sixty-two in three seconds, which means be fucking careful.

  ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’

  She slammed on the brake and the Ferrari juddered to a stop, throwing Lola against the padded steering wheel. For a few seconds, feeling useless, she held onto it, her head resting on the Ferrari emblem as her eyes filled with tears of frustration.

  ‘Come on, get a grip, get a grip, think of Alice. You can do this.’ Alone in the car her words seemed hollow, but refusing to let any vehicle beat her, Lola Harding pressed down on the pedal again – this time more carefully. The car cruised into a manageable, settled speed, the engine sounding like a heavy bassline.

  Lola, it’s got a V12 engine, which means … yeah, you got it, that thing’s going to give you wings. With every stab of the throttle it’ll make you feel like you’re pouring fuel onto an open fire. Boom!

  Looking down at the speedometer, Lola’s eyes popped wide open. The dial said one hundred and three so, as gently as she could, she decelerated. The car jerked back and forward, then veered sharply to the right as she turned her head to look at a road sign.

  Lola, with so much power it’s easy to get oversteer, even if you make the smallest movement, so watch out for that, otherwise you’ll end up tits up in a ditch. So take it slow and steady. It’s a power train with a top speed of two hundred plus miles an hour, so do yourself a favour, darlin’, and just stick to the speed limit!

  After several stops and starts, Lola, more accustomed to the car, drove along relatively smoothly, making her way down the country lanes surrounding Wimbish village, a few miles away from the house. She squinted through the dark as she scanned the area, looking around for Alice.

  She’d been driving about for over two hours now. She had contemplated getting out of the car, but she wasn’t so steady on her feet when it came to walking through fields and on rough tracks, especially late at night. And the last thing anybody, and certainly Alfie, needed was for her to end up on her back with a twisted ankle when she was supposed to be the one looking out for Alice.

  She felt desperately worried for Alice. She was terrified that the Russos had got to her first. She knew what they were like: they were animals, barbarians, specialising in pain. She had seen first-hand what they had done to Abel Gray’s wife, Natalia. She had also seen the grief, the guilt and the torment Abel himself had gone through. The daily reminder of what Nico and his brothers had done to Natalia had changed him forever.

  Deep in thought, Lola saw a figure out of the corner of her eye and suddenly slammed on the brake – or she thought it was the brake – until she found herself careering forward and skidding round and round as the car spun in a tight circle, picking up gravel and causing the tyres to burn and smoke. Screaming and letting go of the wheel, Lola stamped down again, this time managing to hit the brake, causing the car to come to a juddering, shuddering, abrupt halt.

  With a cloud of tyre smoke surrounding the car, just for a moment Lola sat frozen in shock before she quickly pulled herself together. Opening the custom-made gull-wing doors of the Ferrari and somewhat undignifiedly crawling out, Lola ended up on all fours in the centre of the road. She called out to the person she’d seen running across the lane.

  ‘Alice! Alice, it’s me!’

  Alice Rose turned around and stared at Lola in bewilderment.

  Wiping her tears away, Lola, overwhelmed with relief at finding Alice safe and well, nodded. ‘Don’t just stand there like a lemon, come and help me up before I get run over.’

  Alice gasped, feeling a wealth of emotion rush over her. As much as she didn’t fully want to admit it to herself, seeing Lola was a relief. When she’d run away from Alfie, she hadn’t thought about where she was going and she certainly hadn’t thought about the masked men, until it had turned pitch-black and she’d found herself alone deep in the heart of the woods, where images of what had happened in the convent flashed through her mind and every sound felt to her as if the men in the gruesome masks were breathing down her neck.

  ‘Lola?’

  ‘I might be doing me best impression of a donkey, but who else do you think it is? Come on, love, hurry up,’ Lola said warmly, smiling whilst very aware that they needed to get out of the area as soon as they could.

  Alice, remembering the lies everyone had told her, shook her head. ‘I’m not coming back.’

  Irritated, Lola glanced up at Alice. ‘I’m not being funny, darlin’, but can we do this conversation when I’m actually standing up?’

  Looking around nervously, Alice walked over and helped Lola up gently. Bemused, she pointed at the car. ‘You’re driving that?’

  ‘Is that so hard to believe?’

  Alice shrugged, feeling upset and confused again. ‘To tell you the truth, Lola, everything’s hard to believe at the moment … Anyway, I’ve got to go, will you be all right?’

  Dusting off her hands, Lola sniffed, indignation flashing in her eyes. ‘I will be once you get in that car.’

  Sad and hurt, Alice just turned around and began to walk away. Nothing made sense anymore and she felt more lost than she’d ever done in her life. ‘I already told you, I’m not going with you.’

  In the middle of the lane, under the moonlit sky and surrounded by nothing but countryside, Lola felt the anger rise inside her. ‘Are you being serious? I’ve just risked my life in that bloody car looking for you. Everyone’s in a right mess and we’re all so worried about you. Now get in that car before I get really mad.’

  ‘No!’ Alice shouted.

  ‘Then where are you going?’

  ‘Anywhere but here.’

  Lola stepped forward, her hands on her hips. ‘Is that right, young lady?’

  Alice stared at Lola. ‘Yes, it is!’

  ‘How can you be so selfish when we’re all out of our minds with worry for you? You ain’t even going to ask about how Alfie is, are you?’

  ‘Why should I?’

  Blowing out her cheeks in annoyance, Lola wagged her finger at Alice. ‘I know it feels like it, but this isn’t just about you, Alice. A lot of people have been affected. There’s your dad as well, aren’t you going to ask about him either?’

  With her heart telling her she wanted to know but her head telling her the opposite, Alice crossed her fingers behind her back.

  ‘No, why should I? I don’t care.’

  Frustrated at the way Alice was behaving, but at the same time understanding how difficult it all must be for her, Lola’s tone was firm but kind. ‘Because, madam, not only do Alfie and Cabhan care and love you, but they also saved your life.’

  With tears streaming down her face, Alice, having never felt more confused or hurt, raised her voice again. ‘They wouldn’t have had to save my life if they hadn’t done what they did. It’s all because of Dad that
this has happened. If it weren’t for him, Sister Margaret would be alive. I’ll never forgive him for that! Ever!’

  ‘Alice, please, your dad isn’t a bad man.’

  Distraught, Alice wiped her tears away. ‘So everybody likes to tell me but I know different.’

  Chilly in the night air, Lola wrapped her cardigan tightly around her, fighting back her terror that at any moment the Russos might appear. ‘Do you think he wanted all this to happen, do you? Alice, he tried to protect you, not hurt you. He’s been trying for months to get you back home, but they wouldn’t let him.’

  Anger flashed into Alice’s eyes and, uncharacte‌ristically, she screamed at the top of her voice, ‘See, this is what I’m talking about. Who wouldn’t let him? Who? Everybody round here just tells me half-stories.’

  ‘You may be sixteen but that doesn’t mean you need to know everything, young lady.’

  Kicking the gravel with her pink lace pumps, Alice shrugged, swiping at her tears. ‘But a bit of truth would be nice. Dad lied to me, Lola. He pretended that he was someone he’s not. He never gave me the choice to make up my own mind about him. For these past couple of years, I’ve loved a person who didn’t even exist, someone who isn’t real.’

  Overwhelmed herself now, Lola, trying but failing to be soothing, sounded cross. ‘That’s not true! The only thing that wasn’t real was what he did for a living. Look, I ain’t saying that they don’t have their faults, and maybe it should’ve been handled in a different way, but Cabhan and Alfie care about you. Look at Alfie tonight. How many men do you know who would put their life on the line for some kid who isn’t even kith and kin? And your dad, he did everything to keep you safe, everything, but now he’s lying on an operating table as we speak – who knows if he’ll even make it. That’s the reality, Alice.’

  It was like a sharp stab to Alice’s stomach. She felt sick. Her face crumpled and her voice broke. ‘What … what do you mean?’