Captives

SEVENTY-TWO

She could hear their voices from the sitting room. As Carol Jackson moved about in the kitchen she could hear the steady burble of conversation, punctuated every so often by a laugh.

She cracked eggs into a frying pan and stood over them while they cooked, wincing as hot fat spat at her from the pan. It missed her skin and stained Plummer's monogrammed dressing gown. Beneath it, Carol was naked. She had hauled herself out of bed about twenty minutes ago when she'd heard the doorbell. Plummer had told her to make breakfast while he spoke to John Hitch. The blond man had nodded a greeting to her, and Carol had been aware of his appraising gaze. She retreated to the kitchen to cook breakfast but the odd sentence floated to her through the smells of frying bacon and toasting bread. Words and sentences, some of which she found unsettling.

'Scott was arrested…'

'Three killed…'

'The boat was sunk…'

Scott was arrested. She had almost dropped the frying pan when she'd heard that. She wanted to rush into the sitting room and ask why, ask where he'd been taken, but she knew she could not do that. And she wondered why she felt such a sense of despair.

Or was it loss?

Was it despair for Scott or for herself?

You wanted him out of your life; well, now he'll be gone for good.

But that wasn't how she wanted it. She didn't want him hurt.

He won't be hurt, just locked up. Locked away for the rest of his life.

Carol ran a hand through her tousled hair and sighed.

Out of sight, out of mind.

She heard Hitch mention where he'd been taken.

The fat spat at her again and she jumped back in surprise and pain as, this time, it burned her hand. She ran it beneath the cold tap for a moment then dried it and returned to the pan, lowering the heat, scooping the eggs out and onto a plate. She called to Plummer that his breakfast was ready and a moment later he ambled in, followed by Hitch. Both men sat down and Plummer began eating immediately. Hitch accepted the cup of tea Carol offered him, looking at her as she turned her back on him. He gazed at her shapely legs, exposed as far as her thighs. Carol gave him his tea then sat down at the table next to Plummer, who carried on eating.

'When will it be unloaded?' he wanted to know.

'By the end of the day it'll be hidden. Safe. Then all we have to do is sit on it until the time's right,' Hitch told him. He glanced across at Carol. She self-consciously pulled her dressing-gown more tightly across her breasts.

'And there's no way Connelly can trace the job back to us?' Plummer said, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

'Not without witnesses,' Hitch said, smiling thinly.

Plummer smiled and shook his head.

'Twenty million fucking quid,' he chuckled.

Carol looked at him. She couldn't even begin to imagine that amount of money. The figures were enough to make her head spin.

And Scott? She wanted to ask. Instead she glanced across at Hitch and found his gaze on her again.

'Nice cup of tea,' he said, smiling.

Carol smiled thinly in response and picked at the piece of toast on her plate.

The phone rang.

Plummer got to his feet immediately and walked through into the sitting room to answer it.

'Is that how you keep your figure?' Hitch asked, lowering his voice slightly. 'By not eating much?' He was gazing at her breasts again.

She shrugged.

'What do you mean?'

'You've got a good figure,' he told her, glancing quickly towards the door to make sure Plummer hadn't returned.

'More tea?' Carol asked in an effort to change the subject.

He shook his head, leaning back slightly, watching as she drew one shapely leg up beneath her on the chair.

From the sitting room he could still hear Plummer speaking.

'You used to go out with Jim Scott, didn't you?' Hitch asked.

She nodded slowly.

'I'll bet he'll miss you inside,' said Hitch. 'Only his right hand for company when he used to have you to get his rocks off.' Hitch smiled again. 'Are you moving in with Ray, then?'

'It's not really your business, is it?' she said, glaring at him.

He shrugged.

'I just wondered what was going to happen to your little flat if you did move out,' he said, his gaze never leaving her. 'Dollis Hill, isn't it?'

'How do you know?' she demanded.

'My business to know,' he told her. 'You're mixed up with Ray, Ray's my boss, I have to look out for him. I just did some checking, that's all.' He took a swig from his mug, pushing the empty receptacle towards her. 'I think I will have that cup of tea.'

She took the mug and moved across to the worktop, aware of Hitch watching her every move.

'You must have done a thing or two working in that club,' Hitch said, still looking at her. 'I've seen some of the acts.'

She pushed the mug towards him and sat down again, trying to avoid his gaze.

He glanced towards the door, still able to hear Plummer on the phone.

'Did you used to get off on what you were doing?' he enquired. 'I mean, especially with other girls?' He smiled.

Carol looked directly at him.

'If all the blokes I knew were like you then I'd be better off with another girl, wouldn't I?' she said scornfully.

Hitch held her gaze until he heard Plummer heading back towards the kitchen. He sat down and prodded his breakfast.

Hitch finished his tea and got to his feet.

'I'd better go,' he said. 'I'll pick you up in an hour, Ray. I've got a couple of things to do.'

'All right, John,' Plummer said. 'Carol, see John out, will you?'

Hitch smiled thinly.

'It's okay, I can manage,' he said, looking again at Carol's breasts. 'See you later, Ray.' He held her stare this time. 'See you around, Carol.' His smile broadened and he walked out. She heard the door close behind him.

'Are you going to work tonight?' Plummer asked.

'I wasn't planning to,' she said, still uneasy about Hitch. 'I thought we could stay in and…'

'I've got business to take care of tonight,' he said. Carol regarded him impassively, 'I'm going to have a bath before Hitch picks me up,' he told her. He waved an expansive hand around the kitchen. 'Tidy this place up a bit, will you?' Then he was gone.