I know that, he said. Thats not what I want to hire you for. I want you to find out who the real mole is and get me off the hook.
I shook my head. It nearly killed me, turning business down. Im already fully occupied taking care of Gloria. Youd be better off going to another firm. I gritted my teeth. I could probably recommend somebody.
He shook his handsome head. There would be no point. Turpin would never let them on to the location shoots, never mind inside the compound. Im amazed Glorias got away with having you on set. Thats why youre the only one who can help me. Ill pay the going rate, I dont expect anything less.
I finished my coffee and tossed the cup in the nearby bin. No can do, I said. I cant take money under false pretenses. Id be lying if I said I could investigate the leaks at the same time as taking care of Gloria.
He looked as if he was going to burst into tears. His big shoulders slumped and his mouth turned down at the corners. I glanced back to the serving hatch in the side of the van and caught a murderous look from his wife. Look, I sighed. I tell you what Ill do. Ill keep my eyes and ears open, maybe make a couple of phone calls. If I come up with anything, you can pay me on results. How does that grab you?
Laughing boy was back. He grinned and clapped a beefy arm round my shoulders. I thought my lungs had collapsed. Thats terrific. Fabulous. Thanks, I really appreciate it. He leaned over and smacked a sloppy kiss on my cheek.
Ross? his wife called sharply. I need a hand in here.
No problem, the big man said. Ill be hearing from you then, Kate.
Somehow I doubted it. Before I could say anything more, I noticed Gloria rushing off the set and into the make-up caravan. Grateful for the chance to get out of the northerly wind that was exfoliating the few square centimeters of skin I had allowed to be exposed, I ran across and climbed aboard.
Gloria was sitting in front of a mirror, blowing on her hands as a make-up artist hovered around her. Here she is, Gloria announced. Me and my shadow, she sang in her throaty contralto. Are you as cold as I am?
How many fingers have you got left?
Gloria made a show of counting. Looks like theyre all still here.
In that case, Im colder, I said, waving a hand with one finger bent over.
Freddie, meet Kate Brannigan, my bodyguard. Kate, this is Freddie Littlewood. Its his job to stop me looking like the raddled old bag I really am.
Hi, Freddie.
He ducked his head in acknowledgment and gave me a quick once-over in the mirror. He had a narrow head and small, tight features framed by spiky black hair. With his black polo neck and black jeans like a second skin, he looked as if hed escaped from one of those existential French films where you dont understand a
Its surprising how often she gets things right, Gloria said mildly as he expertly applied powder to her cheeks.
And how often she causes trouble, he added drily. All those sly little hints that people take a certain way and before you know it, old friends are at each others throats. You watch, now shes got you all wound up and scared witless, I bet this week shell tell you something that starts you looking out the corner of your eye at one of your best friends.
I dont know why youve got it in for Dorothea, Gloria said. Shes harmless and were all grown-ups.
I just dont like to see you upset, Gloria, he said solicitously.
Well, between me and you and the wall, Freddie, it wasnt what Dorothea said that upset me. I was already in a state. Id been getting threatening letters. Id had my tires slashed to ribbons. All Dorothea did was make me realize I should be taking them seriously.
I could have clobbered her. Id told her to carry on keeping quiet about the threatening letters and the vandalism, to let everyone think it was Dorotheas eerie warning that was behind my presence. And here she was, telling all to the man perfectly placed to be the distribution center of the rumor factory. Nice one, Gloria, I muttered.
Its not the people you go up against that make this job a bitch; its the clients, every time.
Chapter 7
SUN CONJUNCTION WITH MERCURY
She has a lively mind. Her opinions are important to her and she enjoys expressing them. Objectivity sometimes suffers from the strength of her views. Exchanging and acquiring information which she can subsequently analyze matters a lot.
Its not the people you go up against that make this job a bitch; its the clients, every time.
Chapter 7
SUN CONJUNCTION WITH MERCURY
She has a lively mind. Her opinions are important to her and she enjoys expressing them. Objectivity sometimes suffers from the strength of her views. Exchanging and acquiring information which she can subsequently analyze matters a lot.
From Written in the Stars, by Dorothea Dawson
When she finally finished filming her outdoor scene with Teddy, Gloria announced we were going shopping. I must have looked as dubious as I felt. Dont worry, chuck, she laughed as I drove her into the NPTV compound. We wont get mobbed. How do you think I manage when Ive not got you running around after me?
I was gobsmacked by the result. Id seen her in plain clothes already, not least when shed first come to the office. But this was something else again. I thought I was the mistress of disguise until I met Gloria. When she emerged from her dressing room after a mere ten minutes to slough off Brenda Barrowclough, I nearly let her walk past me. Shed cheated; this wasnt the outfit shed worn when Id driven her to work that morning. Wearing jeans and cowboy boots under a soft nubuck jacket that fell to mid-thigh, the image was entirely different. On her head perched a designer version of a cowboy hat, tilted to a jaunty angle. Instead of sunglasses, shed gone for a pair of slightly tinted granny glasses that subtly changed the shape of her face. She looked twenty years younger. I wasnt going to be the only person who wouldnt instantly recognize Gloria now shed ditched the wig and adopted a wardrobe that didnt include polyester.
Thankfully, she didnt have a major expedition in mind. Her granddaughter had been invited to a fancy dress party and she The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Theyve got outfits at the Disney store, but they cost a fortune and I could make better myself, Gloria explained as I squeezed the car into a slot in the Arndale Center car park. She never ceased to amaze me. This was a woman who could afford a hundred Esmeralda outfits without noticing the dent in her bank balance. But her pretense of meanness didnt fool me. Making the costume wasnt about saving money; it was about giving her granddaughter something of herself. It was also a way, I suspected, of reminding herself of the life she had come from.
We descended a claustrophobic concrete stairwell that reeked so strongly of piss it was a relief to step out into the traffic fumes of High Street. Gloria led me unerringly through the warren of Victorian warehouses that house the citys rag trade till we fetched up at a wholesaler who specialized in saris. Judging by the warmth of the welcome, she was no stranger. Merely because I was with her, I was offered tea too. While Gloria sipped from a thick pottery mug and browsed the dazzling fabrics, I hung around near the door, peering into the street with the avidity of the truly paranoid. The only people in sight were hurrying through the dank cold of the dying December day, coat collars turned up against the knife edge of the wind that howled through the narrow streets of the Northern Quarter. It wasnt a day for appreciating the renaissance of yet another part of the inner city. Nobody was going to be browsing the shop windows today. The craft workers must have been blessing their good fortune at having an enclosed market.
We emerged on the street just as darkness was falling, me staggering two steps behind Gloria toting a bale of fabric that felt heavy enough to clothe half of Lancashire. As we approached the Arndale from a slightly different angle, I realized we must be close to Denniss latest venture. I couldnt help smiling at the thought of the double act Dennis and Gloria would be. It had been a long week, and I felt like some light relief, so I said, A mate of mine has just opened a shop this end of the Arndale. Do you mind if we just drop in to say hello?
What kind of shop?
You remember what they used to say about how cheap it was
Gloria chuckled. That good, eh? Oh well, why not? Weve got nowt else on till tomorrow morning.
I dont think itll take that long.
It wasnt hard to spot Denniss establishment. Sandwiched between a cut-price butcher and a heel bar in the subterranean section of the mall, it was notable for the dump bins of bargains virtually blocking the underpass and the muscle-bound minder keeping an eye on potential shoplifters. All he was wearing was a pair of jogging pants and a vest designed to show off his awesome upper body development. High-class joint, then, Gloria remarked as we followed the chicane created by the dump bins, artfully placed to funnel us past whitewashed windows proclaiming, Everything Under a Pound! and into the shop.
By the door were three tills, all staffed by slack-jawed teenagers. The girls were the ones with the mascara. I think. Dennis was up near the back of the shop, stacking shelves with giant bottles of lurid green bath foam. We squeezed up a narrow aisle packed with weary shoppers who had the look and smell of poverty. My awkward parcel of material earned me a few hard words and a lot of harder looks.
Of course, I didnt get anywhere near Dennis before he noticed us. I swear that man has eyes in the back of his head. Kate, he said, his face creasing up in a delighted grin. Fabulous! He cleared a way through for us, telling his customers to kindly move their arses or take the consequences. So, what do you think? he asked almost before I was within bear-hug reach.
I gave the shelves the quick once-over. Exactly what Id expected. Cheap and nasty, from the toys to the toiletries. I think youre going to make a mint, I said sadly, depressed at the reminder of how many skint punters there are out there who needed to fill Christmas stockings on a weekly budget of the same amount that most MPs spend on lunch.