Chapter 24
The next morning brings a whole new challenge.
Matteo kept texting me all night but failed to make it back, which was very disappointing.
Whoever he and Birdie are working with is sure working them hard.
Must be a right perfectionist. I have heard nothing from the Dollz since they all dropped out of today’s gig.
Nothing from Luke so fingers crossed he must have made it on to the plane.
I race down to the breakfast meet point.
Ged and Liam seem very smug. There’s something fresh and wholesome about them.
They look like they have been in a spa for the last three years.
‘OMG,’ I say, flabbergasted. ‘You’re not yellow. It finally faded.’
Liam smiles at me. ‘Thanks to Matteo.’ Liam launches into this whole story of how Matteo organised a beauty therapist to come and paint them purple last night. Apparently, it has neutralised the yellow tone and turned them back to their normal colour. ‘Then we had the whole works.’
‘The full VIP Detox, Deflate and Diminish package,’ Ged gushes. ‘I’ve never felt so energised.’
‘I thought you’d cast Matteo out of the family into the dark abyss?’ I remind them. ‘On account of him having to save his company from ruin to secure the jobs of his poor staff whose livelihoods were hanging in the balance?’
‘We were only defending your honour,’ says Liam sheepishly. ‘But when we stopped to think about it, Matteo was really stuck between a rock and a hard place, wasn’t he?’
I nod.
‘He’s very thoughtful. I’ll give him that,’ says Ged. ‘When I asked about Luke, he told me he’d taken care of everything to see him safely on the plane, so unless Hank Junior has contacts in the UK, he’ll survive this ordeal.’
‘He told you that? When?’
Ged makes a big deal of searching his memory. So much must have happened since yesterday evening. ‘Yesterday. Right after we got back. He came to see us. He was gutted we were so upset with him.’
‘He was very manly about it all. Wanted to assure us his intentions were honourable and that the legal side of the wedding was a genuine administrative error.’
‘Did he give any indication as to what he thought might happen? Annulment-wise?’ I ask, trying to sound casual.
Liam shakes his head. ‘No, love. But can you imagine waking up to that face every morning?’ he says, a dreamy glimmer in his eye.
Ged coughs loudly. ‘Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, Connie, you can’t seriously want to stay married to a man you’ve only just met.
You’ve barely been on a date with him, never mind agreeing to spend the rest of your lives together.
How could you possibly know he’s the one for you?
I mean, just look at the way Luke turned your head in the beginning.
Are you sure you want to commit to Matteo?
What do you really know about him? What toothpaste does he use, for Christ’s sake? What’s his go-to Netflix binge-watch?’
He’s right. Ged always manages to get right to the nub of things. But all I have to go on is my gut feeling. ‘I love him. And he loves me. He just told me.’
Ged and Liam beam at me for a few moments before swooping me into a big hug. ‘Well, that’s good enough for us,’ says Liam. ‘Now, what’s on the pre-moon agenda today?’
I step out of the hug to swipe my phone.
‘This morning is supposed to be a visit to the weird and whimsical, immersive, psychedelic art exhibit at Omega Mart, followed by Eddie from Talent Star’s birthday bash.
It’s up at the pool, where you have your private cabana.
At least you’ll get a great view of all the entertainment. ’
‘Apparently, he has a famous DJ flying in,’ says Ged, ever one to keep his ear to the ground. ‘Our concierge told me yesterday.’
Just then my phone pings. I hope it’s Matteo and not the Dollz confirming they are dropping out of today’s activities.
Shite.
‘Why have you gone pale?’ asks Liam. ‘Oh, God. Is it an update on the killer?’
‘Worse. It’s Nancy. She’s reminding me that we need to give a top-notch performance for Eddie, because she owes him big time and has promised him the works.’ I gulp.
‘What’s the problem?’
‘I’m missing a few Dollz, is the problem,’ I say, explaining the situation. ‘And so, I might need you guys as backup if they don’t show this afternoon.’
Ged and Liam are usually very keen to join me on stage.
‘Of course we’ll help out. Even though it’s our pre-moon and we didn’t come here to work.’ Liam sounds disappointingly on the cusp of not wanting to do it.
‘So, we have Big Mand and Big Sue sneaking around like loved-up teens.’ Ged is ticking off a mental list. ‘Cherry has gone nuclear because she’s no longer pregnant. Liberty is designated carer. And Tash and Sister Kevin are doing what exactly?’
Oh, God.
‘They’ve won some tickets.’
‘What sort of tickets?’
‘Just tickets.’
‘To do what?’
Gah!
‘To see Celine Dion.’
‘CELINE BLOODY DION?’ yells Ged.
‘WHERE?’ says Liam.
‘She’s doing a one-off at the Bellagio.’
They remain motionless for a few seconds. Liam develops a tic in his eye while Ged grinds his teeth very loudly.
‘I’m sure the pool party will be so much better,’ I say. ‘And you guys love being on stage. All that attention.’
They remain unconvinced.
‘I promise we’ll have a blast.’
I should not be making promises I can’t keep. What is wrong with me?
‘Who will be at this pool party of Eddie’s? Isn’t he, like, ninety or something? How old is Nancy? She’s had more than a few laps round the sun.’
‘No idea. Thirty-nine?’ She’s got to be sixty at least. I am making an already bad situation much worse. ‘But I do know that it will be the event to go to.’
Ged huffs, turning to Liam. ‘Look, she’s pulling her earlobe.’
I immediately stop, sandwiching both my hands in my lap, my eyes wide, feigning innocence.
‘Too late, sister. Cancel the Omega Mart. We’re going to try and get tickets for Celine. What table did they win them at? Liam, darling, put on your finery. We’re going gambling.’
This birthday bash is going to be a disaster if there’s just me to entertain Eddie.
The Dollz bring all the energy and fun. Sparks fly when they are on stage together.
Crowds clap and cheer. They get out of their seats to join in the twerking.
They get ridiculously hot and sweaty trying to copy their moves, especially slapping pretend sexual partners on their behinds as they take them doggy style.
Crowds have been known to sing along from start to finish, such is the playful atmosphere the Dollz create the moment they strut onto stage. They are mesmerising.
I can already hear Nancy shouting down the phone at me that if Eddie had wanted a melancholy singing statue for his birthday, he would have ordered one.
* * *
I check my phone again to see if Matteo has messaged.
Nothing yet. A feeling of emptiness unfurls in my stomach.
I have to fight the urge to send him a thousand silly texts thanking him for being so kind to my friends.
I just want to know what he’s doing. Where he is.
What he’s saying. I want us to be hanging out together.
Instead, I message the group chat and demand a meeting at the love sign.
I tell them there has been a change of plan.
We are no longer going to the Omega Mart this morning, but we need to discuss Eddie from Talent Star’s birthday bash instead.
His party starts at 2 p.m. We are expected on stage at 4 p.m. I tell them Nancy has been in touch.
She is expecting all of us to be on top form for it and to do something special as a surprise.
What does that even mean? I’m hoping for a rapid response.
A plethora of suggestions to come flooding in.
They do not.
Where to start? I slip my phone back in my pocket and head to the casino.
Surely Cherry with her flaming-red hair and cloud of dissatisfaction at the world will be easy to spot, but I’m met with a burst of colour in every direction.
The blinking neon lights, the loud trilling, bleeping and blooping of slot machines merge into one gigantic seascape of blazing psychedelic colour and noise.
The casino is vast and there are so many people walking around.
Someone taps me lightly on the shoulder.
‘Hi there.’
For a moment I can’t respond. I stare dumbstruck into a pair of piercing grey eyes.
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
I nod rapidly.
‘It’s Hank. Hank Junior. Remember?’ he says dryly.
I continue nodding. An icy fear roots me to the spot as I feel beads of sweat break out on my lip.
‘Hi,’ I squeak. My heart is hammering against my chest. ‘We’ve been… erm, looking for you.’
He tilts his head, far from overjoyed. ‘Funny. Because I’ve been looking all over for you.’
I gulp. ‘You have?’
He screws his eyes. ‘You seem nervous, ma’am.’
I shake my head, biting my lips together.
‘You still on for the job?’ He slides his gaze around as though recording activity and movement in the near vicinity. His jaw is set as he rubs his stubble.
‘What job would that be?’ The one where you kill my innocent unrequited lover?
Hank Junior gives me a hard look before a rumble of laughter escapes from his mouth.
I notice it doesn’t reach his eyes. ‘What job? Very funny.’ He takes a few steps away from me.
‘And tell that friend of yours, I don’t appreciate being stood up.
I’m not the sort of man to play games. I’m a person of my word. Even if she ain’t.’
He sounds very cross.
I’d hate for him to ‘take care’ of her too. ‘She fainted,’ I explain. ‘Liberty fainted. She wanted to meet you but we had to take her back to the room. That’s why she stood you up.’
His face softens for a split second before resuming a scowl. ‘She fainted?’
‘Uh-huh.’
He shakes his head. ‘Sounds unlikely. She doesn’t strike me as the fainting type.’
‘It was unusual circumstances.’
He eyes me warily. ‘Really?’
‘Yup, siree. They sure as heck were.’ Oh, God, where is this coming from? He’ll think I’m taking the piss. ‘We want to cancel the job,’ I blurt.
He stops in his tracks. Now he looks downright thunderous.
‘Excuse me?’
It’s then I notice he has two burly security guards hovering around. I notice the earpieces first, the dark suits and the way their eyes are continually darting around the room.
‘We want to… we need to cancel the “job”,’ I say slowly. ‘The erm, “package” has already been taken care of.’ I do air quotes.
Hank does not respond. He is not a happy chappy.
I swallow a lump in my throat. ‘Please? Can we cancel the job?’
Hank Junior is fuming. ‘We had a deal. The payment has been made.’
‘Did we? Has it?’ My voice is so high-pitched I’m surprised I haven’t attracted every dog from miles around.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘So, we can’t cancel?’ I think I’m going to cry.
Does this mean they’ll track Luke to England?
Hank Junior is so intimidating and yet all he is doing is standing a few feet away, talking.
He has such a powerful aura. He has a real hardness to him that wasn’t there before. Maybe Liberty has had a lucky escape.
He shakes his head. He’s standing, legs wide apart, arms folded. A solid mass of man. With a bored sigh, he says loudly, ‘A deal’s a deal. I’ll be seeing y’all later.’ It sounds more like a threat.
No, no, no, this isn’t happening!
Holding my breath, I watch him walk confidently away. My legs are wobbling, barely able to hold me up. I reach for the nearest table to rest on and sag into an empty booth.
Fuck.