Читать книгу Hidden Sin: When the past comes back to haunt you - Julie Shaw, Julie Shaw - Страница 12

Paula stepped out into the street and gaped. ‘Really, Dad?’ she squeaked, not quite able to believe what she was seeing. ‘You mean I can have it now? Seriously? Oh my God!’

Christmas, it seemed, had come early. After a long lie-in – the band had been rehearsing till late the night before, and she’d lingered a bit, with Joey – she’d come down to find an unlikely silence. Her dad was out somewhere, her younger brothers too, the latter being an extremely rare occurrence for a Saturday morning, as they were usually glued to some rubbish on the TV. And her little sister Louise had been in a decidedly funny mood. Which wasn’t that unusual – Louise had just turned thirteen and become the family diva overnight – but there was definitely something going on in the house that she wasn’t party to.

And now, out in the street, winking diamonds of sunshine at her, was the reason. Parked at the kerb was a beautiful red Mini. Christmas had come very early.

Her dad, Eddie, stood proudly by the open driver’s door.

‘Yes. I just told you. So, come on, lass, don’t just sit there gawping at it,’ he urged, as her brothers tumbled out of the passenger side door.

‘You deserve it, baby,’ her mam said, appearing at her side and shunting her forwards to take a closer look.

‘But I didn’t even know you’d got it,’ she said to her dad, touching the gleaming paintwork. ‘God, Dad, it’s beautiful. It looks brand spanking new!’

‘Well, she’s definitely not that,’ her father told her. ‘She’s a middle-aged lady. Needed a fair bit of TLC to coax her into showing her best side, I can tell you. Bit like your mother.’ He quickly ducked to avoid a whipping with Josie’s furled tea-towel. ‘Inside and out, mind – there’s been a lot going on under that bonnet. Reconditioned engine, new gearbox, new clutch, bit of a paint job.’ He stuck his hands out, which were a mass of cuts and scrapes and bruises. ‘As my poor porkies can testify.’

Paula didn’t doubt it. Her dad was a legend. He could do anything. Make anything. Fix anything. Everything. And he was a fine, fine mechanic. Everyone said so. And had clearly been beavering away in secret for weeks – maybe months. She felt tearful all of a sudden. What had she ever done to deserve a mam and dad like she had? She cleared her throat – she wasn’t a crier – and hoicked a thumb at her youngest brother, Tommy, who was sliding his grubby hands over the bumper. ‘Oi!’ she said. ‘Get your grubby mitts off, Tommo! Out of bounds, you hear? No touching!’

He stuck out his tongue. As did his older brother, Sam.

‘Off inside and make your beds, you two,’ her mam said. ‘And clear your bedroom up while you’re at it. So you like it, love?’ she said to Paula as her brothers thundered back indoors. ‘We’ve been that excited to show it to you.’

‘It’s just –’ she was struck dumb again. ‘It’s just incredible, Mam. I can’t believe it’s really mine. It’s so – so pretty.’

‘Just like you,’ her dad chuckled. ‘Anyway, now you’re so famous, me and your mam felt you ought to have the car to go with it. Besides, no point leaving it mouldering in the lock-up for six months, is there? All the gadding about you do these days – or rather nights – you need your own set of wheels, don’t you? Just don’t be drink-driving, okay? Not even one. I know what it’s like when you’re doing shows in pubs. All too easy to get caught up when everyone else is drinking, and –’

‘Gigs, Dad,’ Paula pointed out, laughing. ‘They’re not shows, they’re called gigs. I’m not a bloody ballerina! I’m an artiste.’

Eddie rolled his eyes. ‘Oh, artist is it now? I thought they painted pictures. Anyway, whatever you call yourself, just don’t be a piss-artist, okay?’

‘Ha ha, very funny I don’t think,’ Paula told him. ‘Oh, God, it’s just amazing.’ She showered both her parents in kisses. ‘Can I take it tonight? Round to show Joey? To the gig? Is it all insured and that?’

‘Insured. MOT. You’re good to go. Want to try it? I reckon we ought to take it for a run-out together first anyway – been a while since you passed your test now.’

‘Oh my God!’ They all turned around to see Lou had by now appeared. Not yet two in the afternoon and she was already done up like she was off to an all-night party. They were good kids, her siblings, and with the age gap (at fifteen, Tommy, the next eldest, was still five years her junior) she felt like a second mum to them sometimes. And she was, much of the time, because her mam worked long days at the factory, and together they could be a right handful. And Lou especially, now she’d discovered boys and UB40 as well as her and her mam’s make-up – a potentially lethal combination round their way. She was definitely going to need some watching over from now on. ‘Yeah, and good plan, sis,’ she was saying to Paula now. ‘You could drop me off at the youthy, couldn’t you? I am going to look way cool turning up there in that.’

‘Not looking like that,’ her mam said. ‘You’re going nowhere till you change out of that skirt and put some jeans on or something.’

‘As long as the “or something” is jeans,’ her father added sternly.

It only took a couple of circuits round the neighbourhood before Paula’s dad pronounced her safe to venture out alone in her new toy. To see her toy-boy, as her mam had joked when she and her dad had returned home. She’d seemed as tickled by their fledgling romance as Paula herself had been surprised by it. Joey was two years her junior, and a world away from her last boyfriend, after all. But that had been a good thing, not least because her last boyfriend, she’d discovered, had been an ignorant oaf, and as her mam had pointed out, age was only a number – and because Joey had had such a rough start in life, he had a very old head on his shoulders. Not to mention a very handsome one, she thought to herself as she sorted out her mic stand.

She and Joey, his uncle Nicky having dropped his kit off earlier, were now back in The Sun with the rest of the band, setting up for what was already looking like being a sell-out performance. Well, or would have been, had the audience had to pay to come and see them, anyway. And, just perhaps, one day, they would.

She glanced across at Joey, bent over his various stands and pedals, feeling a flush of attraction rise up through her stomach. She was going back to his tonight, as his mam and dad were going to be out late, and though nothing had been said as such, she knew there was a possibility that she might end up staying over. Though they had his uncle staying, on the sofa, Joey had also mentioned there being a little box room the other night. Perhaps to persuade her that his intentions were honourable? She smiled at the thought. Not too honourable, she hoped, but for the moment, because she really liked him, she was keen to take that side of things slowly.

And now she had her car, she had the precious gift of independence. She’d see how it went. How well she’d be able to resist him …

For the moment, however, her mind was mostly focussed. ‘Can you believe it?’ she said to Matt as he jumped up on stage. ‘I’ve never seen so many people here at this time before. God,’ she added, a thought having suddenly hit here. ‘We’re going to have to do the soundcheck in front of them!’

‘You’ll be fine, babe,’ Matt reassured her, in his usual chilled style. ‘They’ll know it’s a soundcheck. What’s the problem?’

‘Hey, and look who’s just come in?’ Joey said, pointing across towards the bar. ‘That bloke.’

‘What bloke?’ Matt asked.

‘The one I told you about? The one I reckon might be in the music business. Spoke to me last week.’

Matt shielded his eyes. ‘Hmm. So that’s him, is it? Hmm …’ he said again. ‘Don’t hold your breath,’ he said finally.

‘Why – d’you think you know him?’ Paula asked.

‘Never seen him before,’ Matt said. ‘Or those other blokes with him either. But if I had a fiver for every time someone told me some big-time scout was going to be in, I’d be a lot fucking richer than I am, trust me.’

‘Yeah, but don’t you want to be?’ Dan, the bassist chipped in. Though, in Paula’s estimation, Dan was about as interested in making the big time as he was in knitting. Which was to say, not at all.

‘Well, whatever,’ she said, feeling the nerves begin to kick in as the man turned and stuck a thumb up in their direction. He could surely tell they were discussing him. ‘You never know,’ she said brightly. ‘Tonight might just be that night. Come on, let’s get this soundcheck done. I still need to get changed yet.’

‘Never change, babe,’ Matt told her, grinning. ‘Stay as sweet as you are.’ And there was something about the way he said it that made her pause – was she imagining it? Made her think they weren’t perhaps on the same page any more.

The applause as they finished the first set was rapturous. Almost the whole pub had been dancing and singing along with them. It was, Paula thought, the very best feeling ever. She was buzzing as she grabbed Joey and tugged him through the crowd – many of whom were cheering and whooping and slapping them on the back, like they’d just got married or something. ‘Come on, Joey,’ she yelled as she dragged him through the reluctantly parting mass. ‘Let’s go chat up this mystery man of yours, shall we?’

The man’s expression when they reached him seemed to hint that he’d been expecting them to as well.

‘Joey,’ he said, moving along the bar to make room for them. He was standing apart from the group of men he’d been watching the set with. Paula noticed how, despite the rush of people anxious to get a drink in, no one seemed to dare invade his space.

Joey nodded. ‘Mo, isn’t it?’ He held a hand out. The big black man shook it. Joey then put his other hand on Paula’s back and edged her forwards. ‘Nice to see you again. And this is my girlfriend, Paula.’

Mo raised his eyebrows. ‘Girlfriend?’ he said. He trained his dark eyes on Paula. Assessing. ‘Well, it’s very nice to meet you, young lady.’

Paula felt irritated to realise she was blushing as she shook his hand. Even more so that she also had an almost overwhelming – and completely ridiculous – urge to curtsy. ‘Nice to meet you too,’ she said, squaring her shoulders instead. ‘You from round here?’

Mo smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth at her. ‘Oak Lane,’ he said smoothly. ‘Do you know it?’

Paula had to stop herself from gaping. That meant serious money. Oak Lane was very much where the ‘other half’ lived. Well, if it was true, which they didn’t know yet. Nor where his apparent wealth came from. She nodded, sensing he was challenging her. ‘Sort of,’ she said. ‘I once worked as a receptionist at an insurance company up there. Been pulled down now, though. It’s a mosque now, I think.’

The big man grinned. ‘Aren’t they all, love? Aren’t they all?’ he said. ‘More mosques in Bradford than greengrocers these days, eh? Anyway, I’m glad you’ve come over. I have something to ask you. More of a proposition, in fact.’ He glanced at Joey. ‘That’s if you’re both interested.’

Joey was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat, Paula noticed. Perhaps he’d been right. And Matt wrong. Maybe this man was some sort of talent scout or something. Perhaps her natural suspicion of anyone with his sort of confidence said more about the Hudson genes in her than anything. Suspicion of anyone who wasn’t a Hudson was a Hudson family trait. Oak Lane. He was something big, at any rate.

‘Course we’re interested,’ Joey said. ‘Shall I get us all a drink?’

Mo politely declined. ‘But I’ll buy you both one if you’d like one.’

‘I’m cool,’ Paula said, conscious of her dad’s comment earlier. She never liked to drink when she was performing anyway. ‘But if you’d like –’ she turned to Joey, whose face was sheeny with perspiration.

‘I’m cool too,’ he said. ‘I’ll just grab a water.’

The man raised a hand, mouthed the word, and a glass of water appeared in an instant. Another reason to believe that he was someone with influence. The queue for drinks now was five deep and the barmaids were struggling to cope. But clearly what this man asked for he got. Right away. ‘I’ve just bought a nightclub in town,’ he explained, as he pushed the brimming pint glass in Joey’s direction. ‘Silks. You probably know it? Or of it, anyway. And my business partner Nico and I’ – he nodded towards the swarthy Greek man standing a few feet away, who had his back to them currently – ‘well, we’re on the hunt for talent. A decent house band.’ He paused. Paula saw Joey’s eyes widen. ‘So we were thinking that we’d like to offer you a provisional residency there, if you’re interested. One night a week to start with. See how it goes before making it permanent, obviously. Do you think you might be interested? The pay’s good, of course. It’ll be more than you get here. And we would need you to finish here because it’ll be Saturday nights we’d want you. Now,’ he said, looking at Paula. ‘Do you need time to think about it? Discuss it with your bandmates?’

Paula wavered. Taking in that he wasn’t a record company scout was a bit disappointing, and now her reticence took precedence again. Yes, it sounded good, but the strings attached – dropping The Sun gig – needed thinking about. It seemed a bit unfair to drop The Sun, especially after they’d been so good to them. It had been The Sun, after all, that had given them their first real start. Regular work too. Which wasn’t something you turned your back on lightly.

And what did they really know about these characters? Only what this Mo guy had told them. And wasn’t it true that nightclubs opened up and closed down again all the time? Silks hadn’t always been Silks. It had been lots of things before that. Like many a nightclub, its history was littered with the corpses of many an ambitious businessman’s shattered dreams. Money pits – wasn’t that what her dad had once told her? And she’d no business agreeing to anything without consulting Matt, not to mention Dan first. It was Matt who’d given her a start, after all.

‘Can we get back to you?’ she said, causing Joey to look at her like she was mad. ‘Only we do need to speak with the rest of the band before making a decision like that. How about you give us your number and we ring you after the weekend?’

Mo nodded, his expression cool. Then pulled out a business card from his wallet. She slid a thumb over its surface as she took it. Embossed. Expensive-looking. ‘Suit yourself,’ he said. ‘But I’m willing to pay well, as I say. Say, £225 per gig? So don’t leave it too long making your minds up, will you?’

Paula tried not to gape. That was more than double they were currently getting paid by The Sun. She tried not to let her surprise show on her face.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘We’ll be rehearsing tomorrow anyway. Will Monday morning be okay?’

‘I don’t do mornings, sweetheart,’ the man said. ‘Bit of a creature of the night, me. Monday afternoon would be better.’ He nodded towards the stage, where Matt and Dan, presumably returned from sharing a joint out the back, were getting ready for the second set. ‘Anyway, looks like you’re on again.’ He winked at her. ‘And we’ll be here watching.’

And there was something about the way he said it – something she couldn’t put her finger on – that made a flicker of uneasiness edge into her brain. She pushed it aside. Just force of habit, she told herself. Bound to be hard to break.

Their second set, if anything, was even wilder than the first. They even got thunderous applause when they performed a couple of their own numbers, which she knew would make Matt, who’d composed them, ecstatic. Perhaps the chance to play in a nightclub really could launch them to another level. But Matt was so naturally cautious – it was in his nature – and she wasn’t sure how he’d react to the idea of dumping The Sun, who could get another band in just like that, on the strength of an offer from a complete stranger, to play in a shut-down nightclub that hadn’t actually re-opened yet. Not least because she knew Matt really didn’t share her ambitions. He’d been gigging a few years now and though he loved writing music, she suspected he liked his life just as it was. Couple of gigs a week, plenty of downtime and a healthy weed habit. For which he had more than enough in his pockets, because he also played with a showband, doing weddings and birthdays, where he banged out the usual staples for a decent wodge of cash. He was a pragmatist. There were definitely no stars in his eyes.

And as it turned out, there was little opportunity to sit down and discuss things anyway, by the time they’d finished. The mysterious Mo and his cronies had slipped away before they’d done, and Matt was anxious to pack up and get his gear home as he and Dan were off to a party. Perhaps, on balance, they should wait till rehearsal tomorrow anyway. Discuss it properly then.

‘Not that I’m sure what there is to discuss,’ Joey observed, once he’d loaded his kit onto Matt’s van – he was taking it back to his place ready to take to the rehearsal – and he and Paula were in the mini and about to head off to his. ‘I mean, it’s miles more money, a bigger venue, and a chance to be heard by thousands. What’s the problem?’

To be fair, Paula thought, Joey didn’t know Matt and Dan like she did. Didn’t really know them at all yet. And he had that irrepressible way about him – that eagerness, that puppyish enthusiasm that so appealed to her. Was that why she liked him so much? Because he reminded her so much of her father? Though wrapped up in a package that was a million miles from her father. Tall, dark and … well, it was a heady combination.

‘It’s not a problem, exactly,’ she told him now, as she fiddled about looking for the headlamp switch. Joey leaned across her and turned it. He smelled appealingly of fresh sweat and some kind of woody aftershave. ‘It’s just that I think we should maybe proceed with caution – as my old driving instructor used to say. Just that we should make sure it’s the right thing for all of us before committing. I mean, what if this Mo is a fly-by-night? He might be talking bollocks about owning Silks, mightn’t he? I mean, you’ve seen the size of that place. Well, I suppose you might not have,’ she corrected herself, remembering his age. ‘But it’s huge. Only someone seriously rich – or seriously stupid – could afford to take on a place like that. I mean, the rent on it must be massive.’

‘But to what end? I mean, why would he do that? Why would he say he was looking for a band if he wasn’t?’

‘I know, but if we pull out of The Sun we might lose it permanently, mightn’t we? In fact, I’d say that was probably a cert. And, don’t forget, it’s the only regular slot we have.’

‘Well, it’s not for me to say anyway,’ Joey said. ‘I’ve only been in the band five bloody minutes. So whatever you reckon, I’m cool with that. It’s your call, completely, Paula. I’m just so bloody happy to be part of it – be it in The Sun or anywhere else. Anyway, we don’t have to say now, do we? Whatever this Mo says. In fact, why don’t we tell the lads that we’re going to check the place out for ourselves first? And if it all seems genuine – and everyone’s happy – we give it a go. Proceed with caution, like you said.’

Paula reached to switch on the engine. ‘I reckon that’s best,’ she said. Though despite her concerns, her automatic need to analyse, she was still buzzing from the response to their final set, the adrenaline still pumping. Whatever else was true, the world suddenly felt full of possibilities. New car, new recognition for the band, new boyfriend … She smiled at him coyly. ‘Still, however it pans out, exciting times, or what?’

She then blinked as two passing cars flashed their lights at them, one after another. ‘Whoah! Am I on full beam or something?’ she said, rootling around again in the darkness to try and find how to dip the lights. ‘I really need to sit down properly with the manual for this, don’t I? Anyway, how come you know where everything is anyway?’

Joey tapped his nose. ‘Comprehensive education, me.’ He didn’t elaborate. Instead he leaned across her and this time he doused the lights completely.

‘What you doing?’ she asked.

He grinned and snaked his other arm around her, twisting round, pulling her against him. She could feel the hardness of his bicep against her shoulder. His hair tickling her cheek. ‘Just proceeding with caution,’ he said.