Chapter 19.
Kizzy.
I'm just about to finally close up for the day when the news grabs my attention.
Holy shit Tam Woodlouse is dead! This is fucking huge! I wonder briefly if Star had anything to do with it before dismissing the idea. That girl's so skinny she'd have trouble killing a bloody bird. I turn up the volume and lock the door all thoughts of going home vanished.
Wow murdered! Like how? Didn't he live in some posh place? Was he shot...or maybe he had a stake in the heart! I giggle, the mighty Woodlouse has been slain...finally. I watch a small crowd gather outside his complex alive with gossip and intrigue as his body is wheeled out on a trolley. I can't say this makes me sad, that guy was sleaze personified, thought he could rule Soho and take over from the big boys...that'll teach him.
I hope whoever did it gets away scot-free, some people are just a waste of humanity.
On reaching home I slip my key in the door quietly and head for the kitchen. Podge and Cheto run to greet me. Their wet kisses are like paradise taking me way back to my box. Those were the days. Surely I'm not old already, all that reminiscing about the good old days. So not ready for all that shit.
I hear the bathroom door open and call out to Benita.
"B, you ok? You want to talk?"
I think I hear a groan so take that as a good sign. I get up determined to show her my list.
Pushing her bedroom door open I stop, "No Phoenix?"
She bursts into tears and I run to her full of concern. One thing about B is that she never cries. What's that shithead been up to?
"B what happened... What did he do?"
She shakes her head reaching for a tissue, "Nothing...I don't know where he is...You think he's seeing someone else?"
Wishful thinking on my part! I hold her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. "I'm sure he's not...but..."
I bite my lip reminding myself that she can't handle any buts at the moment. I try to force some positive words out without choking. "I'm sure he will turn up...like maybe he's got a family emergency?"
"Then why didn't he tell me!" she wails.
Good point...maybe because he's a no-good lying piece of shit. Eager to change the subject I take great delight in spilling the beans about the Woodlouse.
Benita's eyes brighten, "Omg! No way...how on earth?"
I shrug, "It's all over the news, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
She grabs the remote and clicks on the London news. I roll my eyes the press seems to be glorifying it all, naming him as a Porn Tycoon. Ha ha, he fucking wishes. I wonder if he paid Star all the money he owed... No doubt I'll find out at some point.
"So B...any nearer to deciding what you're going to do about 'that'"
My list is burning a hole in my pocket.
I point to her stomach and she frowns, "It's not something you make a decision about easily OK. It's serious stuff Kizzy."
"Yeah but..."
She holds her hand up and I guess that's the end of the conversation. Oh well, I'll try again later.
Star.
Star and Jed sat in his flat watching the news. Both of them looked anxious. They hadn't been expecting Tam to be discovered so quickly. This was worrying and Jed hated to be worried.
"Jed, do you think they'll know it was us?"
She desperately wanted reassurance he couldn't or wouldn't give her any. She knew his expressions like the back of her hand and this one was 100% worried. She tried again, "You think they have security cameras or stuff like that?"
Jed stared at her frowning, God, this Bitch was thick as shit!
"Yeah very probably."
Star's heart began to race, "I don't want to be banged up...I never did nothing...I never pulled any trigger did I?"
He turned quickly and backhanded her, "Shut the fuck up, I want to hear what's being said."
Star wept in the corner, she needed Kizzy. Something told her she had made a huge mistake and her only instinct was to run but deep down she knew there was nowhere to hide. Jed would find her. Could Kizzy help but more importantly would she?