Danny came
down in his new jeans and a clean white shirt the following
morning. Reeking of aftershave, he'd had a shower and combed his
hair, as if he planned to go out. I was quietly fuming, aching to
have a go at him, but composing myself as best I could, I forced a
smile.
"Got a
hangover?" I asked, hoping he had.
"No, I feel
fine."
"You should
have a pounding headache, you were completely pissed."
"Selina, the
girl rang while you were out last night. She said that you only
gave her two grand."
"Two grand?" I
echoed, surprised. "I gave her five thousand. What the hell's she
playing at now?"
"God knows.
Hang on, if she's told her boss that you only gave her two grand
and she's pocketed the rest... Christ, this is getting worse!"
"I've just
about had enough of this, Danny. I'm going away."
"Away? Where
to?"
"Anywhere. I
can't take any more, I've had it."
"OK, we'll
have a break somewhere. Er... Look, I've got to go into town
again."
"What for? You
went yesterday."
"Yes, but I
ended up in a pub, didn't I? I won't be long, only an hour or so.
Why don't you get on with the book while I'm out?"
"Yes, I
will."
"OK, see you
soon."
Surely, he
wouldn't be meeting the tart for sex so early in the morning? I
pondered as he left the house. There again, why not? He was
probably screwing her at every opportunity, while I was out, when
he went for his walks... He'd probably fucked her dozens of times.
But this might be my chance to prove it once and for all, I
contemplated as I grabbed my bag and left.
I saw him
walking some hundred yards or so ahead of me. Keeping my distance,
I followed him, slipping into driveways every now and then in case
he looked round. As he reached the common, I was sure he was going
to meet the bitch there, but he walked on. Knowing my luck, the
very first time I was following him he was probably going to do
nothing other than go into town!
He spent some
time in the second-hand bookshop before going into a stationers and
emerging with a carrier bag. As I followed him home, I began to
wonder about Chrissy's theory, as she'd called it. It did fit, all
added up, but I still couldn't believe it. If the girl's boss had
sent her round to blackmail me, and then Danny had taken a fancy to
the tart, become involved with her... It was feasible, but I
couldn't imagine Danny doing a thing like that. Screwing her on the
side when he knew she was blackmailing me? Time would tell, I mused
as he entered the house - time would tell.
"Oh, you're
back," I smiled, finding him in the lounge.
"You've been
out?" he asked.
"Only to post
a letter. Did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes, paper
and ink for my printer. There was nothing of interest in the
bookshop. Selina, I've been thinking about this break. I have a lot
of work to do, so would you mind if I didn't go with you?"
"I suppose
not. I was only thinking of spending a couple of days in a hotel
somewhere, just to get away from it all - relax my mind."
"OK, that'll
leave me to get on with my next book. I've had this great idea... I
won't tell you about it yet."
"I'm going up
to my den to book a hotel. I want to leave as soon as
possible."
"I'll miss
you, love."
"Yes, I know
you will. I'm going upstairs."
Sitting at my
desk, I deliberated on going away for a couple of days. I didn't
want to go, but I knew I needed some time and space. Looking
through the phone book, I found a hotel in a town about twenty
miles away, far enough from the horror. As I was about to lift the
phone and book a room, it occurred to me that Danny might have the
tart round while I was away. Intuition or whatever, I felt that
going away was a mistake.
Walking to the
window, I gazed at the front garden, making my plans. I'd tell
Danny that I was leaving and then hide in the house. The more I
thought about it, the better the idea seemed. I had to be sure that
he was screwing the bitch, and I might even discover... Dreadful
though the thought was, I might even discover that Danny was her
boss.
Taking a
suitcase from the top of the wardrobe, I went downstairs. I didn't
know where I was going to hide, what I'd do for food, but that
didn't matter - the plan had grabbed me. Finding Danny sitting in
the garden, I told him I was leaving, just going away for a couple
of nights.
"Now?" he
asked in surprise, gazing at the suitcase.
"Yes, why
not?"
"Well,
I..."
"I'll walk to
the station."
"Where are you
going?"
"I've a choice
of two hotels; I'll ring you when I get there."
"I don't see
why you have to go this minute."
"I'm only
going for a couple of nights, Danny. The sooner I get there, the
sooner I can relax."
"OK, I'll come
to the door with you."
"No, it's
OK."
"All right,
I'll see you the day after tomorrow."
I went back
into the house, opened the front door and slammed it shut, and then
crept up to my den. I felt guilty, angry, morose... Having to lie
to Danny like this, trick him, hide in the house... This wasn't
what my marriage was supposed to be about! Marriage? What
marriage?
Locking the
door, I sat at my desk, wondering what to do. My plan was
ridiculous. There I was, locked in my den... Hearing the front door
shut, I dashed to the window to see Danny walking down the path.
Now where was he off to? I wondered. How come, the minute he'd
thought I was out of the way, he'd gone out?
I paced the
floor, gazed out of the window, sat at the desk, and ignored the
phone five or six times. Checking my watch, I realized that Danny
had been gone for three hours. He was probably with the bitch,
fucking her dirty cunt. "Shit!" I breathed, finally unlocking the
door and going downstairs. "He's a bastard!"
The afternoon
dragging on, I drank far too much wine, wondering when he was going
to come home. I'd make some excuse or other; tell him that I'd
changed my mind about going away. No doubt he'd make his excuses,
lie to me about going for a walk or bumping into an old friend.
Lies and deceit were enveloping me, crushing my mind.
By eight
o'clock that evening, the wine had worked well. After falling into
a deep sleep on the sofa, I awoke two hours later. Danny still
hadn't returned, I perceived through my alcoholic haze. Looking out
of the window, sure that he was with the bitch, I wondered why he'd
not taken the car. She must have lived within walking distance,
maybe twenty or thirty minutes away. The radius would take in
thousands of houses and flats. Even if she lived ten minutes away,
I'd never find her.
By midnight,
it was pretty obvious that he intended to stay with the slag, so I
staggered upstairs to bed. I doubted very much that he'd be home
early, probably planning to spend the morning as well as the night
fucking the slut. He'd probably make out that he was walking or had
been asleep when I told him I'd phoned from the hotel. He'd come up
with some lie or other, I knew!
Saturated with
alcohol, I slept well, waking at ten o'clock to the sun streaming
in through the window. Venturing downstairs, I went into the
kitchen to make some black coffee. There was still no sign of
Danny, the bastard! Pacing the lounge floor, wandering out into the
garden, drinking more and more coffee, I became increasingly angry
as the morning wore on.
When the phone
ran at midday, I grabbed the receiver, thinking that it would be
Danny. He'd probably ask me when I'd got back, say that he'd popped
out for a while and wouldn't be long. As the bitch started giggling
in my ear, asking me whether I missed my husband, I told her to
fuck off.
"Now, now,
Selina - don't be rude."
"You can go to
hell!" I screamed.
"I want three
thousand pounds by tomorrow morning, or else!"
"I'm not going
to give you three pence, let alone..."
"My boss has
your husband, Selina. I told you that he'd get upset and..."
Slamming the
receiver down, I reckoned that Danny had been sitting next to the
bitch when she'd phoned me, either that or in bed with her. How the
hell could he do this to me? I wondered as the phone rang again.
Ignoring it, I had a shower and changed into some clean clothes.
The phone continuing to ring intermittently, I was determined not
to let them rile me. Danny could play his games for all I cared -
pretend to be tied up in a bloody basement or whatever. He could
play his stupid games!
He didn't come
home that night, and by the following morning I began to worry. I
might have been so very wrong, I reflected. Chrissy could be
barking completely up the wrong tree. But she'd seen Danny with the
tart, holding hands and kissing her. Was it the tart? Perhaps he
was having an affair with some other blonde bitch. My thinking
becoming muddled, I finally decided to ring Chrissy for advice.
"You're lucky
to find me at home," she exclaimed. "I've managed to get a day off
because..."
"Chrissy,
Danny's gone missing," I interrupted her.
"Missing?"
"He went out
two days ago and I haven't seen him since. The bitch rang and said
that her boss has him."
"God! OK,
er... Look, I'll come round."
"Yes, yes come
round."
Waiting for
Chrissy to arrive, I imagined Danny with the bitch, counting out my
money, scheming his schemes. Had he enjoyed anal sex with her? I
pondered. He'd have seen her weal-lined buttocks and she'd have
told him what I'd done to her. But it didn't matter - nothing
mattered anymore. At last, the bell rang and I dashed through the
hall.
"Why didn't
you ring me yesterday?" Chrissy asked as I opened the door.
"I... I've
been away for a couple of nights, staying at a hotel."
"How do you
know Danny's missing, then? He might have gone out somewhere."
"I've been
phoning on the hour, every hour, Chrissy. He's not been back since
he left two days ago and I don't know what to do."
"What did the
girl say?"
"She reckons
that her boss has Danny and they want another three thousand
pounds. If Danny's not involved..."
"Hang on,
let's think about this. I still reckon he's involved, and he's
doing this to make you pay up."
"I don't know,
I really don't!" I sighed as we walked into the lounge. "I've
thought of everything, every connotation."
"The other
night in the pub, my conclusion was that Danny became involved with
this girl some time after she'd started blackmailing you. But there
are two possibilities. Firstly, my original idea might be right.
She's working for her boss and Danny's just screwing her for the
hell of it. Secondly, Danny's in this with her."
"So, where do
I go from here?"
"If you pay
up, whether Danny's in with her or not, he'll come home,
right?"
"Yes, if he
has been kidnapped, they'll release him, and if he's with the
tart..."
"OK, so the
first thing to do is get him back here, which means paying the
girl."
"How will I
know whether Danny's lying or not? If he's been with the girl,
he'll lie, if he really has been tied up in a basement... No, I'm
not going to pay her."
"It's up to
you, but you'd be taking a risk."
"I realize
that. On the one hand, I can't believe that he'd do this to me, on
the other... Kidnapped and dragged into a basement?"
"If I were
you, I'd pay up this time and take it from there."
"Wait a
minute. If the girl is working for some man or other and Danny's
screwing her... If he'd been dragged into the back of a car, he's
not likely to go off screwing the tart, is he? He said that he was
shit scared the first time it happened. He's hardly going
to..."
"You never
know with men, Selina. From what you've said, this girl is a bloody
nymphomaniac. What normal man wouldn't..."
"Yes, I see
what you mean. OK, I'll give her the three grand, get Danny back,
and take it from there."
"When's she
coming round for the money?"
"This
morning."
"You'd better
go to the bank."
"No, no I've
got it hidden upstairs. What about you following her, Chrissy?"
"Do you know
what time she's coming?"
"No, she
didn't say."
"Well, I can't
hang around all morning. I've got a dental appointment, for one
thing. When you've paid her and Danny gets back, take it from
there."
"OK."
"I won't stay,
Selina. She might turn up at any minute and I don't want to be
hanging around. Ring me later."
"Yes, I
will."
Seeing her to
the door, I didn't feel any better. I still had no idea whether
Danny was innocent or not. But at least I'd had someone to talk to,
to discuss the horrendous situation with. All I could do was wait
for the bitch, and then wait for Danny to come home. If I told him
that I was going to the police, and he tried to stop me, that might
suggest that he was working with the tart. If he really had been
abducted a second time I was sure he'd agree to call the police in
- no matter what might happen to my career.
When the bitch
finally arrived, I showed her into the lounge, not a word passing
between us as she stood by the mantlepiece in her gabardine coat.
Another three thousand pounds, I thought bitterly as she grinned at
me. But that would definitely be the last of the money!
"Your
husband's quite safe," she reassured me. "But if you're going to
carry on mucking me about like this, I can't say what my boss will
do. And if I were to tell him what you did to me..."