‘As do you, Sandra. Married life must suit you.’
Sandra shrugged her shoulders and the two women went inside the busy restaurant. As they were seated by their waiter, Grace could see him eyeing Sandra’s legs as she slid into the booth. Sandra had always been fond of her short skirts. She certainly had the legs for them.
‘How’s Jake?’ Sandra asked.
Grace told her all about his plans for university and how she was hoping he’d get the exam results he needed. ‘And how’s Eddie?’
Sandra rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, his usual charming self. I despair with him, Grace, I really do. He’s nineteen going on forty. He won’t get a job. Treats me like his skivvy. I swear he becomes angrier every day.’
Grace shook her head in sympathy. ‘I’m sure he’ll sort himself out soon, Sandra,’ she tried to reassure her. ‘He’s probably just trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. And at least now he has Richie to look up to.’
Sandra shook her head. ‘Eddie and Richie don’t seem to be getting on at all. They rub each other up the wrong way. Richie just wants a quiet life, but Eddie seems to want to cause World War Three every time he comes through the door. You’re so lucky Jake has his head screwed on.’
‘Jake has just found something he likes to do. I’m sure Eddie will soon, and then he’s bound to settle down a bit.’
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she sighed. ‘I’m just afraid of what he will discover he likes doing!’
Jake and Eddie had met a few times when they were younger, but they didn’t get on at all; they were as different as day and night. Sandra and Grace, on the other hand, had a lot in common and were good friends.
They made small talk and caught up on what had been going on in each other’s lives, but Grace knew there was something else on Sandra’s mind. There was a nervousness about her; she fidgeted more than usual and constantly looked at the door.
‘Have you seen him then?’ she asked Grace eventually.
Grace nodded in response. She’d seen him almost every bloody day for the past six weeks. It was maddening, never knowing when he was going to turn up. No doubt it was part of his ploy to remind her exactly who was boss. He had no bloody idea! It would be funny if it wasn’t so annoying.
‘How did it go?’ Sandra asked.
‘Fine,’ she replied nonchalantly. ‘He’s got a new girlfriend now. She seems nice.’ Grace knew Sandra wouldn’t ask her what she really wanted to know, so she told her. ‘Don’t worry, Sandra. I would never tell him about you and Eddie. He doesn’t know. I swear.’
Sandra blushed. ‘I know you wouldn’t tell him. Thanks, Grace, it’s just that he terrifies me.’
Grace smiled at her. ‘Well I know that feeling,’ and they both laughed.
After they ordered their meal from the waiter, Sandra slipped a small envelope across the table to Grace. ‘Here’s that information you asked for,’ she said quietly.
Placing the envelope in her handbag, Grace smiled at her companion. ‘Thanks, Sandra. I really appreciate it.’
‘Any time, Grace. I’m glad I can help.’
‘I wish you’d let me pay you for your trouble.’
‘It’s no trouble, honestly. I’m happy to help you out. I told you, no one questions anything I do. I’ve been there longer than everyone else so I’m pretty much given free rein. And our IT systems are so antiquated there’s no way to tell what information is accessed.’
‘Well at least let me treat you to dinner,’ Grace said.
‘Deal,’ Sandra smiled.
Grace watched her friend as she tucked into her prawn linguine and felt a brief pang of guilt. She knew Sandra would do anything for her. Their history was a complicated one and it was one which allowed Grace to call in a favour whenever she needed to. It made Grace wonder at the woman she’d become. Manipulating her friendship with Sandra for her own ends. There was a time she’d never have even contemplated such a thing. But that was before Nathan. Before he’d taught her how to be just like him.
Sandra was a receptionist in a doctor’s office and had access to a wealth of NHS data. She’d provided Grace with information before and she was under the impression Grace used it to thoroughly vet her employees. But in fact, Grace used it as a means to gain an advantage over her rivals – whether it be an address to trace someone who’d gone on the missing list or finding out someone’s health or personal issues, to manipulate a weak spot. The possibilities were endless once you knew what to look for.
The envelope in Grace’s handbag was going to help Patrick negotiate a new business deal with an old rival of Nathan’s, Kevin Mitchell. Kevin was as arrogant and as ruthless as Nathan, but he’d never quite been able to reach the top of his game like Nathan had. With Nathan sniffing around wanting to know who had the monopoly on supplying drugs to the vast majority of clubs in Liverpool, Grace had realized it might be helpful to bring in a business partner. Someone who could be the face of the operation. If Nathan wanted to go to war over it, then he could go to war with Kevin, who had a small army of hired thugs at his disposal. The outcome of which wouldn’t matter much to Grace. Kevin’s and Nathan’s firms could battle it out to the death as far as she was concerned. But she’d get the lion’s share of the profits with none of the aggravation.
Grace didn’t like to use the term blackmail, but the fact she had evidence that Kevin’s mistress had recently aborted his child, would certainly make the negotiations with Kevin much smoother. If his wife, Mel, ever found out about his extramarital dalliances, she’d string him up in Liverpool city centre by his balls, for the whole world to see.
Squinting in the evening sunlight, Nathan pulled his sunglasses from the glovebox of his car. He was parked on a side road, with a clear view of Antonelli’s restaurant on the high street, hoping to catch Grace when she came out. He’d called at the Rose and Crown to look for her earlier and had tried his best to hide his disappointment when Jake told him where she’d gone. She was meeting a friend apparently. With nothing else to do, Nathan decided it wouldn’t hurt to find out just who this friend was.
He’d never been to Antonelli’s. It was a new Italian, owned by Sean Carter of all people. Nathan frowned as he realized it was probably no coincidence Grace was choosing to eat at Sean’s place. She seemed to have some connection to the Carter family that he couldn’t quite get to the bottom of.
It looked like a nice place. All chrome and glass and fancy signage. Apparently, it was a new Liverpool hotspot. Nathan had no idea how Sean had managed to walk away from his former life and open a string of restaurants, but he was seemingly squeaky clean these days. Where had he found the capital for his business venture? He must have had a backer, but who?
Sean and his brother Michael had been arrested as part of the operation that saw Nathan doing twelve years inside. He knew that the brothers had lost everything, just as he had. Their houses, cars,
