By
Jan
Chapter 7
Nikki
watched from the window as Helen climbed into her car and drove off. She frowned.
She still wasn’t any the wiser why Helen had lied to her. ‘You’re going to have
to trust me’ she’d said but how could she? How could you trust someone who had
lied to you from day one?
She
moved away from the window as a woman with shaggy blonde hair and wearing the
shortest bathrobe imaginable came into the room.
“Who
the ‘ell are you?” she demanded in a voice that could have grated cheese.
“It’s
alright, Shell,” Jim called from the other room, before Nikki could reply.
“Somethin’
I should know about, Jim?” the woman asked as he appeared.
“Nothing
to worry about, love. I’m just doing a favour for Helen Stewart,” he informed
her. “Nikki Wade this is Shell my…fiancée.”
“Nice
to meet you, Shell,” Nikki replied pleasantly, wondering what a looker like
this was doing with an old fart like Jim Fenner.
“Seen
enough!” Shell exclaimed, gathering her bathrobe up to her neck.
Nikki
grinned. “Sorry, didn’t mean to stare.” She watched as Shell walked off into
the kitchen. Nice pair of pins too! Her face became serious when she realised
Jim was glaring at her.
“There’s
a spare bed if you want to get your head down for a couple of hours.”
She
was about to refuse when she realised how tired she was. “Thanks,” she replied
begrudgingly grateful.
“This
way then.” He led the way along the landing and pushed open one of the doors.
“It’s not the Ritz but beggars can’t be choosers,” he observed sarcastically.
“The bathroom is the next door along. I’ll get Shell to let you have a towel.”
She
walked past him into the room. He was certainly right about it not being the
Ritz! The single bed was covered with what looked like an old army blanket and
there was a large brown stain on the ceiling but like he said…beggars can’t be
choosers!
He
started to walk away then turned back. “Nice girl, Helen,” he commented with a
wry smile. “Obviously thinks a lot about you.”
“What
makes you say that?” Nikki demanded suspiciously.
“Well,
it’s the first time I’ve ever known Helen Stewart put her job on the line for anybody.
‘Night.”
After
Fenner had gone, she lay down on the bed and was surprised to find it was more
comfortable than it looked.
Unable
to sleep, she started to go through the events of the evening. After Helen’s
hasty departure she had gone down into the cellar to work off her frustration.
After a while, Dan, one of the barmen, had called down to tell her they were
leaving and he had put the evening’s takings in the office. She had told him to
lock up as he left but he obviously hadn’t or Sean wouldn’t have been able to
get in. She didn’t know how much later it was that she heard voices raised in
anger and had come up from the cellar to investigate and found Sean dead on the
floor.
Helen
had grilled her before she left so she had told her exactly what had happened,
leaving out one vital piece of information…one of the voices she had heard was
a woman’s! Supposing Helen had caught up with Sean and he had attacked her
again and she’d…! It would have been easy to strike the fatal blow then go out
of the club and come back in again to make it look as if she had just arrived.
She shook the thoughts from her head unwilling to believe that Helen could kill
someone but apart from Sean there was only the two of them around and she sure
as hell hadn’t done it! And why hadn’t Helen turned her in? Unless she needed
to find out how much she knew first.
She
awoke with a start as the whirring of a vacuum cleaner penetrated her
sub-conscious. She felt refreshed and a glance at her wristwatch told her why.
It was two-fifteen and judging by the light streaming in through the curtains
not two-fifteen in the morning; she had been asleep for over nine hours! She
had to get home; Trisha would be hopping mad because she hadn’t been in touch!
She
went out of the bedroom and found Shell vacuuming the narrow strip of
threadbare carpet on the landing.
“Thought
you’d died!” Shell shouted tartly over the noise.
Nikki
smiled but made no comment, unwilling to raise her voice to make herself heard.
She went into the bathroom and by the time she emerged the noise had stopped
and Shell had disappeared. Time for me to do the same, she thought cynically
but as she reached the bottom of the stairs the door opened and Shell entered
carrying a carton of skimmed milk.
“Where
do you think you’re goin’?” she demanded.
“Home.”
“Get
back upstairs!” she ordered. “Jim said I’d got to keep you ‘ere.”
“I
can’t stay here!” Nikki protested. “My girlfriend will be worried about me.”
“Then
she’ll ‘ave to worry! Up!”
Resignedly,
she turned round and walked back upstairs.
“Drink?”
Shell asked as Nikki followed her into the kitchen.
“Coffee,
please. Black, no sugar.”
“So
what you done then?” Shell asked suddenly as they sat at the kitchen table
drinking their coffee.
“I
haven’t done anything,” Nikki replied defensively. “It’s just Helen ‘bloody’
Stewart who thinks I have!”
“When
it came out about Jim and me, ‘e lost ‘is job, ‘ouse, wife and kids and ‘elen
was the only one who stood by us.”
Nikki
listened disinterestedly to Shell singing Helen’s praises. “She does know the
meaning of the word ‘loyalty’ then!” she remarked caustically.
“Upset
you, ain’t she?”
“Let’s
just say I misjudged her.” She took a sip of her coffee then looked around
helplessly. She had to get away from this place. Helen could arrive with the
police at any minute. She smiled bitterly. She had almost forgotten…Helen was
the police.
“What’s
so funny?” Shell’s voice cut into her thoughts.
“I…er…I
was just thinking, if I’m going to stay here for any length of time I’ll need a
few things...toothbrush, underwear.”
“Jim
said you ‘ad to stay ‘ere. I can’t let you go out.”
Nikki
thought quickly. “I wasn’t suggesting I went out. Helen only wants me to
stay here so the police don’t pick me up. You could go and get the stuff for
me.” She took her purse out of her pocket, removed two twenty pound notes and
placed them on the table. “I really need these things,” she wheedled.
“And
you’ll leg it as soon as my back’s turned,” Shell said accusingly.
Nikki placed her hand on the blonde woman’s
arm and looked her squarely in the eye. “Shell, you can trust me.”
“Alright,”
she finally agreed much to Nikki’s relief. She picked up the notes, stuffed
them in her pocket and went out of the kitchen.
Nikki
waited until the door slammed before crossing to the window in time to see
Shell run across the road and flag down an approaching bus. She smiled
triumphantly. “Sorry, Shell, you can’t trust anyone in this world,” she
muttered to herself as she ‘legged it’!
Helen
could have kicked herself for breaking her cover to Nikki but no one else knew
and that’s how it would stay as long as Jim kept her under wraps.
The
nightclub had been closed down until the investigations had been completed but
when she pulled into the car park Trisha’s car was there. She informed the
constable standing on duty outside the door who she was and that she worked
there.
Inside
she found Trisha talking to Sylvia Hollamby. The older woman had her arm around
her and was clearly comforting her.
“What’s
happened?” Helen asked innocently.
“There
was a murder here last night,” Sylvia informed her. “The police are looking for
Nikki. No one’s seen her since.”
Helen
looked at Trisha; it was obvious she had been crying. “Do they think Nikki did
it?”
“They
came to the house looking for her. I don’t think they believed me when I said I
hadn’t seen her,” came the tearful response. She swallowed hard and tried to
compose herself. “I don’t think you’ll get much done today, Helen. We may even
have to consider putting the loan application on hold for the time being.”
“Alright.
I’ve got a few things I can do back at the office.” She touched Trisha gently
on the arm. “I hope Nikki turns up soon.” With a brisk nod to Sylvia she went
and got back into her car. As far as working at the club was concerned it
looked as if her investigations were at an end. She switched on the ignition
and drove out of the car park. Stubberfield first and then to get some more
answers out of Nikki!
“How
long were you down in the cellar?”
“Could
you make out whose voice it was?”
“Did
you check to see if there’d been a break in?”
“Why
did Helen let you go?”
“Did
anyone see you get out of the taxi?”
“For
God’s sake! It’s like being interrogated by Miss Marples in stereo!” Nikki
exclaimed, as she looked first at Monica Lindsay and then at Barbara Hunt.
“We’re
sorry, Nikki,” Monica replied apologetically.
“It’s
OK but I just couldn’t think with you bombarding me with questions.” The ladies
were two of her dearest friends and she knew she was safe coming to them but
since she had walked into their living room they had taken it in turns to fire
questions at her.
“The
woman’s voice,” Barbara asked tentatively. “Did you recognise it?”
Nikki
shook her head. “I couldn’t hear very clearly. I just know that it was a
woman.”
“Why
did Helen let you go?” Monica put in. “I still can’t believe she’s a
policewoman. She seemed such a nice girl.”
“Because
she knew I was innocent.”
“Then
why turn you into a fugitive?” Barbara demanded. “There was a newsflash and it
said you were to be considered dangerous!”
“Shit!”
Nikki swore softly under her breath then looked at the worried faces of her
friends. “I didn’t do it. You do believe me, don’t you?”
Monica,
who was sitting on the settee beside her, took her hand and squeezed it gently.
“Of course we believe you. That goes without saying.”
There
was a knock on the door and Zandra poked her head in. “Just thought you should know,
there’s a couple of coppers in reception!”