Liv sat down next to me, and took my hands in hers. She looked into my eyes steadily. ‘Listen, Grace. Maybe this is the best thing that could’ve happened.’
I just stared at her. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. I felt humiliated, all over again.
‘Do you think I haven’t noticed the bruises, hun?’ she said, softly. ‘I asked you the other week if everything was okay, didn’t I? But you wouldn’t talk.’
‘It’s only occasionally…when he’s had a drink.’ I could feel my cheeks burning with the admission. ‘And the others? Does everybody...’
‘I don’t think so.’ Liv lifted my mug to my lips. ‘You’re good with the concealer. It’s just…well, let’s say I know what to look for.’
I took a gulp of tea. It was full of sugar, sweet and milky, and barely luke warm. I took a deep breath, and drank it down as quickly as I could manage. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know. What happened?’
As Liv opened her mouth to reply, the doorbell rang. I was glad I’d drunk my tea, because I jumped violently.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Liv, with a grimace.
‘Is it…’ I whispered. ‘Is it her?’
‘Reckon so,’ she said, getting up reluctantly and heading to the door. She stopped in the doorway, and looked back. ‘Unless,’ she said, with a grin. ‘It’s Gav, back for round two.’
Of the two, I’d have preferred Gav.
I heard Liv answer the door, and the sound of a female voice – a voice I knew only too well. I sat there, gripping the edge of the sofa and wondering what to say to get rid of her.
Liv came back into the room. She went to speak, but someone pushed past her. ‘Oh my god, Grace. Just look at the state of you!’
It was Kitty Hart, WAG extraordinaire and wife of the fabled Johnno. Johnno was a legend among the fans. He’d been with the club since the youth team, and captain for nearly eight years. He was also the only other one, out of the six caught up in the Hull affair, that wasn’t single.
Kitty was leggy, blonde and busty. She was the archetypal bimbo, except that she wasn’t at all. It was an act, and she excelled at it. She was a business woman, through and through, even more popular among the male fans than Johnno, mainly due to her habit of appearing naked at every opportunity. Purely for profit, mind you, and nowadays only for the most select of men’s publications.
She was also the last person I wanted to see right now.
‘I’m sorry,’ Liv said, again. She’d been apologising ever since she’d got home. ‘I tried to put her off, but…’
‘I know.’ Kitty gave a ridiculous tinkly laugh. ‘Leo didn’t know where you were, and you weren’t answering your phone, so I went to your offices.’
‘I heard,’ I said, blankly.
‘And they wouldn’t say, but I could tell they knew, so…’
‘So she refused to leave,’ Liv butted in, angrily. ‘Max was furious.’
‘In the end you told me, didn’t you, Liv?’ Kitty threw her a conspiratorial smirk, which Liv deflected with a glare. ‘Yes,’ she said, reluctantly. ‘I didn’t have much choice…’
‘Anyway,’ Kitty continued, blithely. ‘Let me look at you.’
She pulled me up from the couch and dragged me over to the window. I stood there as she made her inspection. I was still wearing my work clothes, I suddenly remembered, from the morning before.
Kitty drew in her breath sharply. ‘You have taken it badly, darling, haven’t you? Look at you…you’re emaciated.’
‘I…’ I began, then looked down at myself. I hadn’t noticed, but she was right. My skirt was hanging down, standing away from my hips. It should have been snug to my waist. ‘I kept shaking,’ I said, lamely.
‘Look, lovey.’ Kitty pushed me back over to the sofa. ‘Sit down and listen. This is a golden opportunity for you. Fuck Leo. I’ve fucked Johnno off already. Told him I want a divorce. It’s you and me, now. We’ve got to take our moment to shine.’
‘Shine?’ I looked at Liv, then back at Kitty. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, no more moping around after that bastard,’ she said. ‘While you’ve been skulking around in this…’ She looked around her, as if for the first time, and grimaced. ‘…hellhole, I’ve been courting the press…issuing statements…press releases…generally playing the poor injured wifey. I’m knackered, believe me, but you’ve got to maximise your exposure while you can.’
‘But I don’t want exposure.’
The horror must’ve shown on my face, because she laughed and stroked my cheek. ‘Yes you do,’ she said. ‘Silly. Exposure equals earnings potential. If you’re really splitting up with Leo, you’re going to need money. You can’t survive on the money you make in that ridiculous job, now, can you?’
I expected Liv to butt in again at this point, furious, but she didn’t. I didn’t know what to say, and looked to her, hoping she’d argue my case. Instead, she looked at Kitty, then back at me. ‘I don’t know, Grace,’ she said, slowly. ‘I think she may be right.’
I didn’t know what to say. It was all too much…too sudden.
Kitty took matters into her own hands, anyway. ‘Good,’ she said. ‘That’s settled, then. I’ll ring Jimmy in the morning - let him know to get in touch with you.’
‘Who’s Jimmy?’ I said, feeling as if I’d missed part of the conversation.
‘My agent,’ she said, with another tinkly laugh. ‘Silly. Now get dressed.’
I looked down at myself, bewildered. ‘I am dressed.’
‘To. Go. Out.’ She looked at me doubtfully. ‘If you can find anything that fits you, that is. You did bring clothes, didn’t you?’
I nodded.
‘Real clothes, I mean,’ she added. ‘Dresses…heels…’
I nodded again, wishing I’d stopped earlier in my packing.
‘Good girl.’ She looked at her watch. ‘You’d better shower. We’ll go out…hit some clubs.’
‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘Not tonight.’
‘Oh, but you can.’ She pulled me up off the sofa again.
I went to protest, but Liv stood in front of me. ‘No she can’t. Not tonight.’
I’m sure my shoulders sagged visibly, but my relief was short-lived.
‘She’s going out with me tonight,’ Liv continued, in her firmest tone. ‘I’ve got a gig, and Grace’s coming to watch.’
It was the first I’d heard about it. I could only look on, wondering if it was finally going to kick off between them, but Kitty seemed oblivious to Liv’s ferocity.
She opened her mouth to argue, but appeared to think better of it, and yawned. ‘Okay,’ she said finally, coming forward to plant smacking kisses on my cheeks. ‘It was only a warm-up anyway. I could use some sleep, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t take you up on the offer. I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow though, Grace, no excuses. We’re on the VIP list for the F Bar.’
And with that, she flounced out.
Fifteen
After seeing Giles, I drove to the address Charlotte had given me again, just to make sure the tenant I’d spoken to was correct. She could even have been lying. I wouldn’t have put it past Charlotte to be able to wrap the girl around her finger, and persuade her to cover her ass. She might even have been at the flat when I called by. I couldn’t take anything for granted now, and I certainly couldn’t just sit about, hoping Giles would make good on his promise. I’d been checking the news non-stop and nothing had come out yet, but I knew I couldn’t count on it staying that way.
The flat was above a dingy row of shops. They were mainly fast food places and restaurants; Indian, Turkish, Greek, and the air was suffused with the stench of hot fat. It made me want to heave. I left the car out the front, on the double yellows. I was risking a ticket, but I wanted it as close as I could get it, and a ticket was easier than the alternative. In this postcode, I was likely to come back to find my car missing its wheels, if I found it at all. Seemingly, it was the same for cats. At least, there were posters flapping from every lamp post, offering a reward for the return of a black and white one.