Janice Evans smiled widely. She liked Terence Brown a lot, he was always so nice to her, and she had a feeling that he liked her much more than he let on. ‘That sounds lovely, Terence. I’ll have a JD and Diet Coke.’
He ordered her drink, and Janice was chatting away, laughing and joking, when she realised that Terence wasn’t listening to a word she was saying. She followed his gaze, and saw that he was watching a couple at the bar with an interest that wasn’t exactly healthy. She grabbed his arm tightly and, as he looked down at her, she said huffily, ‘Are you all right, Terence?’
Pulling a twenty out of his pocket he gave it to her, saying, ‘Get another couple of drinks, Jan. Large ones, eh?’
She took the money, and turned back towards the bar, but she was annoyed. The girl he was staring at was very young, and that didn’t sit well with what she knew of Terence Brown. He wasn’t interested in many women, she had worked that out herself. But she shrugged her thoughts away; Terence wasn’t the kind of man she could ever question, he wouldn’t allow a woman to feel she had any hold over him. But he had never looked at anyone else while he had been in her company and she had liked that about him. Seeing him staring so intently at such a young girl bothered her. Even worse, she was annoyed with herself for caring so much.
Terence Brown suddenly found himself in a very serious quandary, and he was not sure what he should do. This was a situation that he could never have envisaged happening to him in a million years, but it was something that he couldn’t ignore and walk away from in good conscience. It was a fucking dangerous situation. A very delicate situation, that needed to be handled with tact and diplomacy. Luckily he was more than capable of doing that; the people he worked for used him because of his ability to keep his mouth shut. He saw himself as a man of principle, with old-style morals, which were very important to him. He had no choice – he had to do what was right.
Terence had worked for Michael Flynn on many occasions. Michael had always given him his due and he liked and greatly admired Michael. He had been invited into Michael’s home and had broken bread there on more than one occasion. He’d spent many happy hours talking with the man who had always treated him with the utmost respect and never been anything other than charming to him.
Now, as he stood at the bar of this complete shithole of a pub – a place only the lowest of the low would frequent – he couldn’t ignore the fact that Michael Flynn’s young daughter was there, dressed like a pole dancer, and in the company of a man old enough to be her father.
He took the drink that Janice Evans gave him, and gulped it down. Then he pulled Janice towards him roughly, shouting to be heard above the music. ‘Here, Jan, who’s the bloke over there with the leather jacket and the Churchill shoes? Do you know him?’
Janice nodded quickly. If Terence Brown was asking questions there was a good reason for it.
‘He comes in here all the time. Billy something-or-other. He’s a builder out of Silvertown. A complete fucking waster, always on the pull – married with a couple of kids, by all accounts. The young girl he’s with started coming in a few weeks ago. She’s jailbait, if you ask me. She’s already been with half the blokes in here from what I’ve seen of her. Anyone who buys her a few drinks is in with a chance!’
Terence Brown frowned at her words. ‘Listen, I need to make a quick phone call. Do me a favour, Janice – will you keep an eye on them for me? I think he owes someone I know a good few quid, the treacherous cunt.’
Janice grinned happily, pleased that Terence Brown was asking her for a favour, happy to be a part of his life however small.
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Billy Thomas was drunk. It was late, and he knew his wife was going to give him grief for weeks, but he didn’t give a toss. It was worth it. This little beauty was a real find; she was game for anything, as long as he supplied her with a good drink and a few lines. She was very young – younger than she let on – and he didn’t reveal he knew the truth about her. She was fifteen years old at most – a real fucking draw for him; he liked them young and stupid. Treat them like grown-ups and they were so thrilled they would do anything he asked of them. She was his dream date.
He parked his work van neatly outside the flat conversion he was working on in Rainham. Jessie was nearly asleep, lying against his shoulder, and he kissed her gently, before slipping his tongue between her lips, licking the inside of her mouth roughly. She responded eagerly as he knew she would.
‘Come on, mate. I’ve been waiting for this.’
As they got out of the van, Billy Thomas was already hard as a rock; he had been thinking about this all day, and he had planned ahead. He opened the front door quickly and, pushing Jessie inside, he didn’t turn on any lights, just shut the door quietly behind them.