He’d decided against taking her back to his flat, and instead had taken her along with the others to Wapping. When she’d come round, Billy and the driver had already carried her upstairs and June, Lola’s replacement, had been waiting to bang her up with the best Afghanistan brown money could buy.
‘Good to see you; thanks for coming.’
Alfie stood over Oscar with a big grin on his face and sat down opposite him.
‘I thought at times like this, you need all the friends you can get.’
‘I appreciate it, Oscar, especially after the mix-up with the money. As soon as I get out, you know I’m good for it.’
‘Forget it. Something else has turned up; let’s say we’re all fair and square.’
Alfie scratched his chin. He was puzzled, but wasn’t going to argue; he was just grateful for Oscar coming to see him.
‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything on Emmie have you? I couldn’t get through to Jan or Vaughn. You haven’t seen him have you? He said he’d get his men out to look for her. You know it’s a strange thing but I never thought Emmie would run away; cuts me up to think of her so unhappy she needed to go AWOL.’
‘Funny we should be sitting here talking about Emmie; it’s what I came to talk to you about. I said to her only last night that I was coming to see you.’
Alfie shot up in his chair, raising his hands in shock.
‘Last night? You’ve seen her? How? Where is she? How is she?’
Oscar laughed at the urgency in Alfie’s voice, grinning as he spoke.
‘Don’t worry, she’s being well looked after.’
Oscar sat back triumphantly and slowly it started to become clear to Alfie what Oscar was saying. He felt the rush of blood in his head as he clutched hold of his chair.
‘If you’ve laid a fucking finger on her, I’ll kill you.’
Oscar leaned forward with his face inches away from Alfie.
‘How? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re in here, Alf, and I’m out there; and as you was so careless in leaving your gun lying around at Jake’s apartment, it looks like you’ll be serving a long bit of bird, mate.’
It took Alfie a moment to speak.
‘You?’
‘Not just me, it was Emmie as well. She took your gun, Alf – and she took your gear. You don’t know her as well as you think you do; got a taste for the wild side that one.’
‘What do you want? Whatever it is, I’ll get it for you and then you can let her go.’
‘You see that’s where it becomes a problem for you; I don’t think I want anything. I’m happy with the way it is. Oh by the way, I’ve got a photo of her. Thought you’d like to see it; remind you of your little girl.’
Oscar took out his phone and showed Alfie the picture he’d sent to Vaughn. Within a second of seeing the picture, Alfie had leapt at Oscar, grabbing hold of his throat and grappling him to the floor. Alfie felt the prison guards pulling him back, but the image of Emmie lying tied up fuelled his adrenaline. His arms were being pulled behind his back so he used his mouth to bite down on Oscar’s ear, drawing blood.
The pain to the back of Alfie’s head went right through his body as one of the guards used a baton on him whilst the others managed to handcuff his arms behind his back. The officers dragged him up by his arms and Oscar stood up slowly, feeling the blood trickling down his face. Panting, he spoke as Alfie started to be dragged away by the wardens.
‘That was a very fucking silly thing to do, Alf.’
‘You won’t get away with this, you cunt.’
Oscar opened his mouth wide and laughed scornfully.
‘Oh but the thing is, I already have.’
Talksport was on the radio, turned down so low neither Vaughn nor Casey, who were nursing sore heads, could hear it. They sat at Vaughn’s maple wood kitchen table, trying to force down the soggy cereal which had been sitting neglected in the breakfast bowls in front of them for the past half an hour while the photo of Emmie played on both their minds, and the enormous task of trying to find her hovered over their heads like an oppressive storm cloud. Josh had said he’d be down as soon as he could but he was held on a case in Newcastle, so in the meantime it was left to Casey and Vaughn.
The rational part of Casey felt they needed to call the police as soon as possible, but she also knew Oscar – and knew what could happen if things went wrong. She was scared. It was all so alien to her; she knew she was completely out of her depth.
Vaughn had said Oscar wouldn’t hesitate to go through with his promise of killing Emmie if he got one whiff of them calling the police; and as much as it was a risk them going alone, at least this way there was still a chance of finding Emmie alive, however minuscule that chance was.
Vaughn sneezed and rubbed his temples before speaking, keeping his voice quieter than usual.
‘We need to go and see Lola, then visit all the saunas and brothels. Oscar’s a creature of habit; he’ll be around somewhere close to his old haunts. He needs to keep his businesses running and someone’s bound to know something. As much as they say people in my line of work don’t talk, that’s bull; they chat like fucking parrots.’
‘And that’s our plan?’
‘Well, have you got any better ideas?’
‘Maybe we should wait for Josh. The two of us on our own are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.’
Vaughn stared at Casey then got up and threw his bowl into the sink, splashing the milk all over the black tiles.
‘I’m going to get a quick shower and then we need to get off. I suggest you do the same.’
As Vaughn stomped out, Casey pulled a face behind his back, making her feel childish but a whole lot better.
The ladies behind the desk in Hot Vibrations watched the monitor and saw Vaughn coming up the stairs with a very attractive auburn-haired woman.
They could see all the clients coming up on the concealed camera by the door. It was powerful enough to see all the comings and goings but small enough not to be seen by the clients, who demanded the utmost discretion at all times.
Hot Vibrations was just what it said it was; hot. The moment Vaughn hit the top step he took off his jacket, loosening his collar as he grinned at the skinny brunette with the large breasts behind the desk. His hangover was still very much present and what he really would’ve liked was to have a long slow massage and a lie down, instead of chasing round London.
‘Hello girls, long time no see.’
Maureen, the sauna receptionist and one-time brothel owner, gave Vaughn a genuine smile as she walked round to give him a kiss.
‘I thought you’d forgotten us.’
‘I’ve just been busy looking after my roses.’
‘What can I do for you then? Want me to give your girl an induction?’ She nodded over to where Casey was standing looking uncomfortable.
‘No, she’s not for sale.’
The women laughed and Casey smiled but narrowed her eyes at Vaughn, which he noticed, turning quickly away from her cold stare.
‘Didn’t think she was; she looks a bit too uptight.’
Vaughn looked flustered for a moment and wondered what it was about the women who worked in the sauna which made them so intuitive. They might not have had much of a mainstream education but they were street smart, and that to Vaughn was more important than any paper qualification.
‘She ain’t uptight, Maureen; your eyes are playing tricks on you.’
Maureen grinned and poked Vaughn in the chest playfully.
‘Never kid a kidder love, you could ping a string on her, she’s that wound up.’
Maureen turned to Casey. ‘No offence love, I’m only having a crack – Vaughnie knows that. I don’t mean harm and if you’re with him, I reckon you must be alright. I’m guessing you don’t want any servicing today, Vaughn, so how can we help you?’
Vaughn looked at Maureen. He’d once owned Hot Vibrations
and as much as the women had been a rowdy crew, he’d found them real and warm, showing him their full loyalty.
‘I need to know if Oscar’s been in or around. Or if you’ve heard anything about some girls he’s got.’
‘I haven’t heard nothing or seen him. Mind, if he did, I’d show him the bleedin’ door. Nasty piece of work, that one.’
‘Would you mind if we spoke to some of your girls?’
‘What’s this about, Vaughn? Sounds serious.’
‘It is, and if I could tell you, you know I would. But I need you to keep your mouth shut about my visit, same goes for the others.’
‘You know I will; my mouth will be as tight as my fanny.’
Vaughn raised his eyebrows then laughed.
‘Christ, in that case it doesn’t fill me with much hope you’ll keep schtum.’
Maureen cackled. ‘You cheeky fucker. Go on through to the back and I’ll send the girls in who know Oscar.’
Casey looked around the small dingy back room and shuddered. The cracked window overlooked Kings Cross station and it seemed a world away since she’d made the journey down to London. The sky was grey and through the cracked window pane she could feel the cold air.
She’d always found the thought of these sorts of places depressing; young women caught up in a trap of selling themselves for money, being used for financial and sexual greed. However, she knew her views probably wouldn’t be popular here and a lot of the women would argue that they were the ones in control. The fact that they didn’t see having sex with a stranger who paid them less than the cost of a week’s shopping as being exploitative was the most depressing aspect of it all.
Vaughn watched Casey pacing around the room and hoped she wasn’t taking the moral high ground, condemning the women that worked here. It might not be what he wanted for Emmie but working in a sauna compared to working the streets made it comparatively safe for the women, and that could only be a good thing as far as he was concerned.
His thoughts were interrupted as the skinny brunette from reception walked in first. As she sat on the only available chair in the room, Vaughn saw the track marks on her arm, hidden behind a thick but unsuccessful layer of makeup.
‘Thanks for coming to talk to us. I’m Casey.’
The woman stared at her suspiciously and it was obvious to Casey she was hoping Vaughn would be doing the talking. She had thought it might be better that way round, but Vaughn had insisted.
‘Listen Cass, I’m no Jeremy Kyle; women are good at all the chat and bullshit. I want you to do it.’
She’d reluctantly agreed, not feeling very confident herself, but wanting to do everything possible to help find her daughter.
So now Casey was faced with a hostile woman not wanting to talk to her. She had to admit she was nervous.
Karen looked at the pair of them and straight away took a dislike to the woman. She seemed closed and brusque and she decided she was going to direct her conversation to Vaughn.
She had a lot of time for Vaughn; he’d not only treated them with respect but he’d never used his fists on them like a lot of the pimps did.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know anything.’
‘We haven’t asked you anything yet, Karen.’ Vaughn spoke firmly, stamping his mark and letting her know he wanted answers. But one thing she wasn’t going to do was take the piss.
‘We’re trying to find Oscar Harding, have you seen anything of him?’ Casey spoke softly, sensing she needed to try and get the woman on her side.
‘Look, I don’t know anything. I see him about; we all do, but I haven’t for some time.’
Vaughn looked at her and suddenly realised how difficult this was going to be. For once he was on the other side of the questioning and he saw how frustrating it was when you needed answers and weren’t getting any. There was an unwritten code in his world which was going to stop people talking. Ironically he’d lived by it all his life and had threatened people with beatings if they opened their mouths, and now he expected them to do something he never had: talk.
‘Listen, if Oscar’s paying for pussy hush, I’ll match it as long as you tell us what you know.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Karen looked offended by Vaughn’s remark and sat up, bracing her body.
‘What it means is I don’t want any bullshit. I want you to tell me what you know about him. It’s essential we find him and I know money is what drives you and I’m not knocking that but if you are part of his setup, I’ll make it worth your while to give us the information.’
‘What? And end up like that poor cow Lola?’
Casey, who was sitting back and somewhat impressed with Vaughn taking the lead, interjected quickly.
‘Please Karen. We’re looking for someone who might be in danger.’
Karen looked at her nails and pursed her lips before speaking.
‘I know Lola talked to you, Vaughn, about the girls in the club; everyone did, word gets round. Next thing we know she’s banged up in hospital. No thanks, I’ve got a two-year-old to look out for. Now if that’s all, I need to get back to work.’
Vaughn looked at Casey and shrugged his shoulders disappointedly as the next woman came in.
After an hour seeing all the women, it became clear to both Casey and Vaughn they weren’t getting anywhere. Vaughn turned to Casey as she stood up and stretched her legs.
‘I think it’s time we went and had a chat with Lola.’
Lola sat up in her hospital bed and tried to whistle as she listened to what Casey and Vaughn were telling her, but her swollen mouth made it impossible for her to do so.
‘I’ll help you however I can. It’s about time Oscar got his comeuppance. It’s one thing doing what he does to me but it’s another doing it to Emmie. I’m sorry, Casey. I don’t know much, but I know there’s an Albanian woman who works above the slot machine place on Little Argyll Street and a while ago she brought some girls over from Romania. Don’t know what happened to them, but I know she had some dealings with a guy called Zahir and he has dealings with Oscar.’
‘Do you know the woman’s name above the slot machine place?’
Lola cackled. ‘Fucking hell, Casey love, I’m an old brass not a frigging school register.’
Vaughn grinned at Lola, thankful she was willing to talk after getting such a terrible beating.
‘Anything else?’
‘Well, there’s a guy called Jason. He’s known for his parties for people with money and I know Oscar has had some dealings with him. Me and Jason go back a long way; he’s a vicious lump and there’s no love lost between us but he trusts me, knows I’ve never done him over; if you can find him, I bet you’ll find Oscar not far behind him. If you do find Jason you can say Lola sent you. It won’t get you into Buckingham Palace but it’ll get you into one of his parties.’