Dirty Dealings Read online

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  Dirty Dealings

  Copyright © Gillian Godden 2019

  All rights are reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the author.

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  To all the readers, for their much-appreciated support, thank you.

  Many thanks to Avril and Sue for their encouragement to carry on.

  Many thanks to my editor, Julie Lewthwaite, whose patience and guidance turned a writer into an author. http://www.mlwritingservices.co.uk/

  DIGITAL DESIGN BY Daz Johnson.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  No character in this book is based on any person, alive or dead.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

  CHAPTER 2: MYSTERY UNCOVERED

  CHAPTER 3: THE BIG REVEAL

  CHAPTER 4: TROUBLE BREWING

  CHAPTER 5: A GAMBLE IN PARADISE

  CHAPTER 6: BETRAYAL

  CHAPTER 7: FAMILY BUSINESS

  CHAPTER 8: GUILTY EMOTIONS

  CHAPTER 9: THE BITTER TRUTH

  CHAPTER 10: THE LAMBRIANU WAY

  CHAPTER 11: AUF WIEDERSEHEN

  CHAPTER 12: A STRANGE ENCOUNTER

  CHAPTER 13: INTRIGUE

  CHAPTER 14: LUNCH

  CHAPTER 15: DIANA’S TURMOIL

  CHAPTER 16: SHARON

  CHAPTER 17: THE FALLOUT

  CHAPTER 18: A DEALER’S DEN

  CHAPTER 19: A DUAL PROPOSAL

  CHAPTER 20: A GOOD INVESTMENT

  CHAPTER 21: SAFETY

  CHAPTER 22: REVENGE

  CHAPTER 23: DEVASTATION

  CHAPTER 24: CUCKOOS IN THE NEST

  CHAPTER 25: GAME, SET AND MATCH

  CHAPTER 26: THE LAST WORD

  CHAPTER 27: DECISION TIME

  CHAPTER 28: THINKING TIME

  CHAPTER 29: A NEW PARTNER IN CRIME

  CHAPTER 30: RALPH

  CHAPTER 31: A TIME TO CELEBRATE

  CHAPTER 32: SCARLET’S TIME TO SHINE

  CHAPTER 33: KNUCKLES

  CHAPTER 34: SUSPICION

  CHAPTER 35: MYSTERY SOLVED

  CHAPTER 36: THE BITTER END

  CHAPTER 37: A TRAGIC END

  CHAPTER 38: THE END OF AN ERA

  CHAPTER 39: SCARLET’S REIGN

  CHAPTER 40: THE COURT CASE

  CHAPTER 41: PURE GOLD

  CHAPTER 42: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

  CHAPTER 43: THE NEXT GENERATION

  CHAPTER 44: A HAPPY ENDING

  EPILOGUE

  BOOKS BY GILLIAN GODDEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER 1

  A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

  ‘What the hell are you doing? Get off me!’ Shocked horror filled her. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Only a few minutes ago they were laughing and talking. Now, leaning forward, he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her down to the floor to her knees. He kicked her backwards with his steel toe-capped boot, which made her cry out in pain as she fell on to the concrete floor. Her head was pounding from hitting the hard surface. It was covered in plastic, which had made it even easier for her to slip on. She felt dazed. Her head was swimming, but adrenalin and panic drove her on. Pouncing upon her and straddling her, his leering face loomed only away inches from her own. Reaching up, she scratched his face with her long nails. They dug deep into his cheeks and drew blood. She was struggling and doing her best to fight him off.

  He grabbed her jaw with his large, rough builder’s hands and squeezed hard. As he shouted at her spit flew out of his mouth and hit her in the face. ‘Try that again, you bitch, and I’ll punch you so hard in the face you won’t know what day of the week it is,’ he rasped.

  ‘Get off me, you’re hurting me. Get off me!’ she pleaded, and fought back, trying to get him to stop. It seemed to urge him on more. There was a wild look of excitement and expectation in his eyes as he ripped at her silk blouse. ‘Please don’t hurt me.’ A noise filled the air and echoed around the room. And then, suddenly, she realised it was the sound of her own voice screaming and shouting.

  ‘Why?’ he snarled. ‘You’re a tease. You have wanted this all along and men like me don’t like prick-teasers like you. You have asked for this, prancing around in your short skirts. Now shut up,’ he shouted through gritted teeth, while pinning her down on the cold, hard concrete floor. His heavy body ceased all movement from her as she tried to struggle free. He was panting and sweating while holding her hands tightly in a vice-like grip with one hand and frantically undoing the belt on his jeans with the other.

  ‘No! Leave me alone, you bastard. Please.’ Tears rolled down her face as she begged him to stop. He was so heavy she could hardly breathe. He slapped her and the sharp sting across her face threw her head sideways onto the concrete floor with a thump. Feeling the warm stream of blood running down her neck, she cried out more.

  ‘Now shut up and be a good girl. Like it rough, do you?’ That’s okay by me, sweetie. You just keep struggling. One more word and you’ll get another slap across the face.’ His red, sweaty face was only inches above her own and salty drops of sweat ran from his forehead onto her face and mixed with her own tears. She knew there was no way out of this. He was going to rape her.

  His rough hands felt like sandpaper against her flesh as he mauled her, grabbing at her breasts and squeezing them tightly, making her wince with pain and cry out. ‘You’re hurting me,’ she panted. ‘Please stop. I won’t tell anyone. Just please leave me alone.’

  Another sharp slap across her face stung even harder and sent her head reeling to the side. She felt dazed and semi-conscious. With his dead weight crushing the breath out of her lungs, she could hardly breathe, and she felt exhausted. As he put his dirty hand over her mouth, his snarling grin showed no mercy. He was excited, he knew what he wanted and he was going to take it.

  ‘Who are you going to shout to, you stupid bitch? There’s no one here. Everyone is away for the bank holiday weekend, including me after I have had you.’ Spit drooled from his lips as he spat out the words like some crazed madman. He slid his hand down her body, groping her legs, then pulling her skirt up and ripping her knickers away, causing her more pain. His trousers were already undone, displaying his nakedness. His manhood was hard and prominent. Closing her eyes to shield herself from the sight of him, she pleaded once more, but she knew it was useless. She had almost given up.

  ‘Open your eyes, I want you to see what a real man can do,’ he rasped, oblivious to her screams. Doing as she was told, she opened her eyes slowly. His face was red. He was hot and sweaty. In her state of panic, she opened her eyes wider. Something caught her eye and she blinked harder to see it properly. In her spinning head a thought of hope formed in her mind.

  Anything was worth a try to end this sordid nightmare. This could be her only chance to get this filthy bastard off her!

  ‘Wait!’ she shouted, panting under his weight and forcing her body to relax. ‘Alright. I give in.’ Forcing a smile onto her face, she managed to free one of her hands and reached down to stoke him.

  He frowned, confused at her change of heart. ‘No fucking tricks, now. There’s nowhere to run and you’ll only make things worse for yourself. Do you hear me, sweetie?’ His threatening voice filled her ears.

  Nodding her head as best she could and still forcing a smile, she turned her head to the right and saw what could be her salvation. She prayed to herself that this might just work. He released her other hand, and watched her as she pulled her blouse further open. His tongue slid along his lips in expectation.

  Reaching out to him and pulling his head towards her naked breasts, she saw th
e smile appear on his face. So far, so good, she thought to herself.

  The wetness of his tongue roaming over her made her cringe. She could feel the acid bile in the back of her throat and she swallowed hard, forcing the vomit back down. His head was buried in between her breasts. This gave her time to recover herself and put her plan into action. Blood pumping with fear and adrenalin, she realised It was her only chance to escape. Her heart was pounding. If this went wrong, God only knew what he would do to her. She reached out her arm as far as she could away from him. He was far too busy biting her neck and breasts to pay her any attention. He sounded like a pig, making grunting noises as he did.

  Her hand scrabbled for the nail gun that lay on the floor just a couple of feet away from her and, grabbing it tightly with all the strength she had left, she lifted it, pointed it directly at his head and pressed the trigger, secretly hoping that it was loaded with the six inch nails the workmen had been using earlier that day.

  In her panic she couldn’t stop. She closed her eyes tightly shut and squeezed the trigger, not daring to let go, glad of the repeated hammer action of the gun, hearing him cry out in pain. His screams, and the sound of the nails firing into his head, were deafening. Blood poured onto her face and body, then she felt him slump on top of her. She could feel his body was lifeless, but still couldn’t force herself to let go of the trigger. It seemed like an eternity until she heard the nail gun click to indicate it was empty. He lay motionless on top of her, his wounds pouring with blood, as she held her breath and waited. Finally, she opened her eyes. She could see the blood but even then was afraid he wasn’t dead. Could he still be alive? The thought of seeing him raise his head and grin at her filled her with dread. Nudging his shoulder to see if he moved, she realised he wasn’t breathing.

  Raising her arm and wiping her bloodstained face, she took in the full horror of what she had done. They were both covered in gore. His head was full of the long nails that had been used to put the plasterboard up on the ceiling. His eyes were still wide open. Shock and horror filled her as she tried with all her might to push him off her. At last the vomit spewed from her mouth. His lifeless body rolled to one side. Sliding away from underneath him, she started to tremble and shake. Tears rolled down her face as sobs wracked her body. Looking at him, still and motionless, filled her with dread. What had she done? Oh, my God, what was she going to do now? She felt numb and the room was filled with an eerie silence. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she felt she had only one option.

  Doing her best to stand, she reached for her mobile and dialled. Her voice was shaky and incoherent. ‘Papa! I’ve just killed a man. I’m at the shop,’ she shouted. Dropping the mobile, she fell to her knees and started to cry again.

  ‘Scarlet! Scarlet, is that you?’ A man’s voice was shouting on the other end of the phone. She could hear it but didn’t have the strength to answer it.

  Sitting in his office with Jake, Tony still held the telephone in his hand. He could hear a woman sobbing on the other end. His face paled as he looked up at Jake.

  ‘Come on, we have to go,’ he said and, picking up his jacket, he flew to the door.

  ‘What’s wrong? Where’s the fire?’ Jake looked at Tony oddly. ‘Who was that, Tony?’

  ‘Come on. I’ll tell you on the way. We have to get to Scarlet’s shop, we’ll use the back exit. Something’s wrong.’

  He ran to his car, which was parked outside. ‘Take us to the shop, Mark,’ Tony snapped at his driver. His mind was whirling and panic rose inside of him. What had Scarlet said? She’d killed a man.

  ‘Calm down, Tony, are you going to tell me what all of this is about?’ Confused by this sudden panic in Tony, Jake waited for an explanation. He could see that something was very wrong and he was trying to gather his thoughts before speaking. No sooner had Tony answered the telephone than he had bolted for the door.

  ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on, Jake.’ Tony let out a deep sigh. ‘That was Scarlet and she just said she has killed a man. She said she is at the shop. That is all I know.’ Tony was shouting out of panic. The car wasn’t moving fast enough for him. All kinds of thoughts were filling his head.

  ‘She’s what?’ Confused, Jake asked again,’ Are you sure you heard her right?’ Stunned, Jake waited for more of an explanation but there wasn’t one. ‘If this is a fucking joke, Tony, I’ll kill her. She had better not be mouthing off because she has had an argument with some bloke. Killed someone, indeed.’ Sitting back in his seat, Jake folded his arms. He was at a loss, but hardly surprised that Scarlet had screamed down the telephone. She was feisty and was always arguing with somebody, threatening to start a fight. She was hot-tempered, just like her father.

  Tony looked out of the window at the passing traffic, his mind in turmoil. Never mind Jake. If this was some overheated joke, he would kill her himself!

  ‘Don’t park outside of the shop, Mark,’ Tony instructed his driver. ‘It may be night-time but I don’t want anyone seeing us go in there. I’ll let you know when the coast is clear and I’ve found out what the hell is going on.’

  ‘This okay, Tony?’ Mark, the driver, pulled in to the kerb. He had heard the conversation on the journey and said nothing. He, too, was curious. ‘You okay to walk from here?’

  ‘I’m not fucking ancient, I can manage a few streets. I can walk, you know,’ snapped Tony.

  Walking quickly, almost running, with Jake hot on his heels, they reached the new hair salon that Scarlet was having renovated. Tony and Jake could see the front shutters were down. Exchanging looks, they frowned. This got weirder by the minute. Where the hell was she?

  Thankfully the streets were almost empty. Everyone had their plans for the bank holiday and had gone away for the weekend. Crossing the road and not speaking a word to each other, Tony pointed to the alley that led to the back entrance where the skips were.

  It was a tense moment as neither of them knew what to expect. Maybe someone had kidnapped Scarlet and forced her to make the call so that Tony and Jake would walk into an ambush. Reaching for his trusted gun, which he always kept in the inside of the custom-made false lining of his jacket pocket, Tony noticed the exit door was ajar.

  Now they were both curious, but still remained silent. Tentatively touching the door, it swung open. Somebody was in there. Maybe it was burglars? Taking the lead, Tony walked to the staircase. The downstairs of the shop was in blackness, but upstairs he could hear something and the lights were on. He put his finger to his lips and looked at Jake, then they both climbed the stairs as quietly as possible.

  As they neared the top of the staircase they could hear muffled sobs. It was a woman crying. Tony started running up the rest of the stairs. ‘Scarlet! Scarlet, where are you?’ he shouted. He followed the noise of the woman crying then stopped so sharply Jake bumped into him from behind.

  Standing in the doorway, Tony and Jake both took in the scene before them. It was devastating. Blood, still watery, was flowing onto the floor, making patterns in the creases of the heavy-duty plastic that had been laid by the workmen. They could see the back of a man who was lying on his side.

  Jake ran across the room. There, huddled in a corner, was Scarlet. She was sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, rocking back and forth, sobbing. Jake took in her appearance. Her blouse was ripped open, exposing her breasts. Her long blonde hair was matted with blood. Mascara and blood were smeared across her face. A bruise was forming around her swollen eye. It was obvious what had gone on here. Sitting down beside her so as not to frighten her, he reached his arm out and put it around her shoulders. She moved away from him and started shouting for him to get off her. She was in shock.

  ‘It’s me, Scarlet, it’s okay, it’s me, Jake, remember?’ Lowering his voice almost to a whisper, speaking in soothing tones, he tried getting through to her. ‘What happened, Scarlet? Do you remember, love?’ Jake looked up at Tony, who was walking around the room taking everything in, ig
noring Scarlet’s distress.

  Raising her arm, Scarlet pointed to the dead man on the floor. ‘I killed him. He was going to rape me and I fucking killed him!’ she shouted. Then she broke down again.

  Taking off his jacket, Jake put it around her shoulders. She was shaking with fear. ‘Aren’t you going to say something, Tony? For Christ’s sake, she’s your daughter!’ Jake felt angry at the way that Tony had ignored Scarlet and was walking around the room taking stock. He hadn’t had one soothing word for Scarlet.

  Trying to calm the emotions he felt surging inside himself, Tony turned to Jake. ‘Not now, Jake. I need to know the facts.’ Standing beside the man on the floor, Tony pushed him with his foot and the man fell on his back. ‘Do you see this, Jake? The man is a fucking pin cushion! How many nails are embedded in his brain alone?’

  Jake had never thought to look at the man, he’d been far too occupied with Scarlet. Puzzled, he stood up and walked over. ‘Fucking hell, Tony, there must be twenty or more nails buried in his head alone, never mind his neck. That one sticking out of his neck looks like a bloody coat hanger. Wait a minute. Isn’t that one of the builders that’s been working on the place?’ Jake looked up at Tony and then turned to Scarlet.

  Nodding her head, Scarlet looked up at them both and then buried her head back into her knees, pulling Jake’s jacket tightly around her.

  Tony’s voice was serious and stern. ‘Scarlet, listen to me. Is that your builder guy? Isn’t he the one in charge? I think I remember him. Is Jake right, Scarlet?’ The anger was beginning to show in Tony’s face. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were glaring at her. Tony walked over to her, grabbed her by the arm and forced her to stand up.

  ‘Listen to me, young lady. I want to know everything and you had better start talking. Or do you want to call the police? Is that it?’

  ‘Stop shouting at her, Tony, can’t you see she is in no fit state!’

  Raising his hand, Tony slapped Scarlet across the face then pulled her close to him and held her in his arms. ‘Scarlet, you need to come out of this. Do you hear me? I am going to help you, but I need to know all of the facts, darling.’ The lump in Tony’s throat rose as he felt his daughter’s distress.