Captives

SEVENTY-FIVE

John Hitch drained what was left in his wine glass and put it down, looking across the table at Carol Jackson, who held his gaze for a moment and then went on eating.

Beside her, Ray Plummer was struggling to wind spaghetti around his fork but it kept falling back into the dish. Cursing, he began cutting it up, pushing the shorter strands onto his spoon.

Les Gourmets was busy, to Plummer's relief. The trade in all his restaurants had been slack over the past couple of weeks, and he was glad to see so many lunchtime diners. The babble of conversation was punctuated by the chink of bottles against glasses. Hitch poured himself another glass of Chablis, raised his eyebrows at Carol expectantly and moved the bottle towards her, but she shook her head, covering her glass with one hand.

As she did he saw the ring on the third finger of her left hand; the large diamond sparkled brightly.

Fuck knows how much that cost, Hitch thought, glancing at the impressive stone.

He afforded himself a quick glance at Plummer, who was still struggling with his spaghetti.

The manager of the restaurant, a short Italian with sad eyes and a pinched face, emerged from the kitchen and chatted briefly with Plummer about the improvement of business.

Hitch kept his eyes on Carol; by this time, she was beginning to feel uneasy under his almost unwavering stare.

The manager disappeared a moment later, leaving them alone again to finish their meal.

'Dozy bloody wop,' muttered Plummer. 'He used to work for Ralph Connelly. Ran one of his clubs in Kensington.'

'If you don't like him, why did you employ him?' Carol wanted to know.

Plummer shrugged.

'When I took over the club from Connelly I agreed to give old Guiseppe there a job,' he explained. 'Just part of the process, sweetheart.' He smiled at Carol. 'It's called diplomacy. We shafted Connelly when we took his shipment of coke but a gang war wouldn't have been any use to either of us. He knew he couldn't win one; I had too much money behind me. So we agreed to compromise with him on certain things, in return for him keeping his nose out of my business.'

'I still don't trust that cunt,' said Hitch. 'He could still try something.'

Plummer shook his head.

'If he was going to do anything, he'd have done it months ago. You worry too much, John.'

'Maybe you're a little too settled, Ray,' Hitch said challengingly. 'You might get over-confident…'

Plummer glared at him. 'Are you trying to tell me I've lost my bottle?' he rasped.

'I didn't say that,' Hitch added hastily.

'Then what the fuck are you saying?'

Hitch looked at Carol, then at his colleague.

'Well, you and Carol, you're sort of settled now, aren't you?' he said. 'You've got enough money to keep you for the rest of your life. It must be easy to lose your grip. Without even realising it, that's all I'm saying. I'm thinking about you.'

'Your concern is touching, Johnny boy,' chuckled Plummer, 'But don't worry about me. Just because Carol's wearing that ring doesn't mean I'm ready to get out my fucking pipe and slippers, either.' He eyed Hitch malevolently. 'So if you've got any ideas…' He allowed the sentence to trail off.

'Leave it out, Ray,' Hitch said indignantly, reaching for his glass of wine. He looked round at the other diners. Mostly businessmen. A few couples, laughing and joking, talking animatedly. Fucking yuppies, all of them, thought Hitch, glancing back across the table.

She's got you where she wants you, you silly cunt, he thought, watching as Carol slipped one hand onto Plummer's thigh, stroking gently as he ate.

Horny little slag.

***

Carol looked at Hitch and smiled.

A smile of triumph?

He held her gaze, allowing his own eyes to drop to her breasts, which were pressing against the clinging material of her dress. He could see the outline of her nipples.

Got him right where you want him, haven't you?

She lifted her glass, the light striking the ring, reflecting off the diamond.

To Carol it was a symbol of victory. A hard-earned trophy fought for and suffered for.

She felt she deserved it.

Sometimes she even felt something for Plummer.

Sometimes.

It wasn't love, that much she was sure of.

Gratitude, perhaps. Appreciation that he had provided her with the escape route she had so badly sought? She wasn't sure. What was more, she didn't care. She was here now. She was with him. She wore his ring. She shared his penthouse flat.

She looked at Hitch and smiled thinly, wetting her lips slightly with the tip of her tongue.

***

The gesture was provocative and he knew it.

Little slag.

Beneath the table, his fists were clenched.