Читать книгу Black Widow - Jessie Keane - Страница 13

Annie looked up. And up. The woman standing there glaring down at her was over six feet tall and looked like every punter’s idea of a dream dominatrix. She had white-blonde hair cut close to her head and weirdly pale, penetrating blue eyes. She had huge tits. She was dressed in a white PVC minidress with cutouts on either side of the waist and a buckle in the centre, teamed with white, thigh-high boots.

She didn’t look friendly.

Dolly said quickly: ‘Una, this is Annie. Annie—Una.’

‘Hi, Una,’ said Annie.

‘I said that’s my chair,’ said Una.

Annie looked at her. Then she looked curiously at Dolly, who was suddenly faffing around the kitchen fetching another mug, clucking around the place like the Queen of Sheba had put in an appearance. Annie looked at Darren, who looked away. She looked at Ellie, who was watching as if something interesting was about to kick off.

She looked again at Una.

‘There’s another chair right here,’ said Annie, indicating an empty one to her left.

Dolly dropped the tea caddy; it hit the table with a clatter.

‘Tea, Una? Or coffee?’ she prattled.

‘Then you fucking well sit in it,’ said Una to Annie, ignoring Dolly.

Annie looked at her. It was a long, appraising look. ‘Sure,’ she said, and moved along to the next seat.

Darren and Ellie exchanged a glance.

Una sat smugly down in the seat Annie had just vacated, sneering sideways at her as Dolly took her breakfast order.

Annie sipped her tea while Dolly fussed around Una.

Fuck it, thought Darren, that’s not the Annie Carter I know. He caught Ellie’s eye. She’s lost it, said Ellie’s look. Bloody hell. Who’d have thought?

When breakfast was over, Dolly went off upstairs and Annie caught up with her in the bedroom.

‘Doll, can you phone my cousin Kath, tell her I need to see Jimmy Bond?’

‘Sure I can.’

‘But don’t phone from here. Go to the phone box, okay?’

Dolly looked at her. ‘Our phone was making a funny noise this morning.’

‘What sort of noise?’ Annie froze. ‘A sort of jingling noise, do you mean?’

‘Yeah. That’s it.’

‘Doll, I think there could be a tap on your phone line. I think these people who’ve taken Layla tapped the line at the villa, and they might have done the same here.’

Dolly’s mouth dropped open, then she closed it.

‘Fuck me,’ she said. ‘I’ll use the phone box.’