Page 42 of Real Rocks
“She said what?”
“Surely you knew? Carl had been messaging her for some time, warning her he’d make public the pictures he had of her taking heroin if she didn’t give him the money he wanted. When he showed up at the club, he demanded twenty thousand pounds from her to stop them becoming public property.”
Why hadn’t she mentioned this to me before? It went some way to explaining some of her strange behaviour before the tour, and also explained exactly what Carl had been doing at The Matchbox. I sagged against the wall. Saff had been going through all sorts of shit and hadn’t said a word to me. Now I knew the truth, I wished I’d given Carl the beating he truly deserved. Then I’d really have something to go back to prison for.
“I had no idea.” I dragged a hand over my face, rubbing my stubbled chin. “Surely this changes things?”
“If Saff told the police about Carl’s threats in her statement, it would certainly show the incident in a different light.”
Would she have done? What if they hadn’t asked her directly about it?
“Let me sort out a solicitor to come and see you before tomorrow’s hearing. Unfortunately, in my line of work you’re not the first person I’ve had to bail out of a sticky situation. Thankfully this time it’s not an under-age sex case.”
Had things been different, I might have laughed at Jonas’ comment. I’m sure the bands he dealt with had done far worse things than me, although right now I couldn’t see how it could get any worse.
“Oh, and do you want me to speak to Col?”
Shit. Uncle Col and Aunt Annie. Neither of them would know. I felt sick at the thought of having to tell them. After everything they’d done for me and I could end up being back in prison again. I made a fist and pushed it against my temple, trying to work out what to do.
“They need to know, Tris, if you’re not going to be home for a while.”
I hated how he said those words. I didn’t know how long I would be away for. If things went the same way as they had before, it could be another three months. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to go through it again.
“Please, could you? I’m not sure I could face telling them.” Not least because I didn’t know if I’d be allowed another phone call after this one.
The uniformed policeman pointed at his watch, indicating time was against me.
“Of course, I’ll speak to them as well. And rest assured, Tris, we’ll do all we can for you. Look after yourself.”
“Look after Saff for me,” I added. She was more important now.
“Got it. Bye, Tris.”
“Thanks, Jonas. Whatever I can do to repay you, let me know.”
The line went dead. I hung up the receiver, my hand lingering on it as I contemplated what Jonas had told me about Saff and Carl. I only wished she could have told me the truth herself.
26
Saff
The hotel room felt like a prison, but I imagined it was nothing compared to what Tris was going through. I’d persuaded Darren to stay with me until we knew what was going on and we’d spent most of the day watching trashy films and gorging on room service. Well, Darren did most of the eating and I spent much of the time making inroads into a bottle of cheap vodka I’d bought from a nearby supermarket. Anything to numb how I was feeling.
When my phone rang, I was pleased to see it was Jonas. Hopefully he had good news about Tris. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Have you been drinking?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
Jonas hefted a huge sigh down the line. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe do something to help your boyfriend?”
“Like what? Go down to the police station and break him out?”
“Nice idea, Saff, but it’s the last thing he needs. I’m getting a solicitor to him before his court appearance tomorrow.”
“Court appearance? Isn’t he coming back to the hotel?”
“Saff, Tris was charged with assaulting Carl. He’s staying in custody.”
