Breaking the Circle (23 page)

When Stefan told Maya he had to go and see to business, she heaved a sigh of relief. He took her hand, led her out of his office and down into the club.

‘Be nice to the customers, but save yourself for me,’ he instructed, giving her a kiss.

She had an overwhelming desire to wipe her hand across her mouth, but she resisted, and even managed to look at him sweetly. ‘Of course,’ she said.

Immediately he walked away, Sonja appeared at her side.

‘Go upstairs to Kay,’ she said. ‘Annika is making trouble. If Stefan hears her, he’ll go crazy. Tell Kay to keep her quiet.’ She reached out and straightened the
strap on Maya’s dress. ‘Then you keep Stefan happy.’

Maya gave her a brief nod and Sonja took hold of her hand. ‘Don’t get any strange ideas,’ she said, giving Maya’s fingers a hard, painful squeeze. ‘You may be
Stefan’s favourite, but the front door is always watched.’

‘I do not want to run away,’ Maya said haughtily. ‘I am happy here.’ And she turned and strode towards the back stairs.

When the door to the club closed behind her, Maya stood alone at the bottom of the staircase. In front of her were steps that led up to Stefan’s office suite and the girls’ rooms. To
the side of the staircase was a dark corridor. She walked down the corridor and found two closed doors. Reaching out, she turned the handle of one of the doors. It led to a storeroom stacked with
boxes of drinks. The second door she opened carefully, pushing it back gently to reveal a stone staircase leading down to a basement. It was the most likely place to find Zac. Slowly she descended,
pausing and listening. A voice rose to meet her.

‘Tulips from Amsterdam,’ Stefan was saying. He laughed. ‘Simple, eh? Two hundred kilos of top grade heroin packed under plant pots. Street value – eighteen
million.’

Maya thought she heard a sharp intake of breath. She was reeling herself. No wonder Stefan had said this was big.

‘Two hundred kilos,’ a voice echoed.

‘And six beautiful young women. Chinese girls this time, less trouble,’ Ginger added.

‘What time is it on for?’ a man asked.

‘Early – six o’ clock,’ Stefan replied, ‘at the canal and you’d better be sharp.’

Maya tensed, wondering if that was the end of the meeting, her legs were braced, ready to dart back up the stairs. There was a cough, a scraping of chairs and some muttered conversation. She
wondered if Zac was down there listening to their plans.

‘Where do we take the haul?’ somebody asked.

‘When do we get our cut?’ another questioned.

‘Listen,’ Stefan said. ‘The tulip van arrives six a.m. Van drives into warehouse, we unload boxes – fifty-two boxes of tulip bulbs. Terry’s group starts the
extraction, take out the bulbs, lift the false bottom and, magic . . . there’s your stash. Meanwhile, Sonja drives up with that kid we got tied up there, the blubberin’ sister of the
dead girl and the body. We transfer Sonja’s cargo to the Dutch van. They’ll get rid of them if we bung them an extra K – no need to get our hands dirty.’

‘What about the new arrivals, the Chinese girls?’ a man asked.

‘I’m explainin’!’ Stefan shot back. ‘We transfer the new girls from the Dutch van into ours, pile in the stash and we’re away. Whole operation’ll take
thirty minutes, no longer.’

‘That girl Kay needs getting rid of too,’ Ginger said. ‘She’s a liability, always stoned, customers don’t like it.’

‘All right,’ Stefan agreed.

‘And when do we get our pay?’ a gruff voice asked.

‘You always get your cut, don’t you?’ Stefan snapped.

Maya had learnt enough. She tiptoed up the steps and moved swiftly back along the corridor.

Kay was sitting on the bed, leaning over a side-table, her fingers splayed out as she painted them with purple nail varnish.

‘Where’s Annika?’ Maya asked.

‘She is next door. I give her something – help her sleep,’ Kay said.

She didn’t look at Maya. Her gaze was focused on her nails, her tongue protruding slightly from her teeth as she concentrated on the task.

‘Did you tell Ginger that Tanya killed herself?’

Kay’s lips pouted. ‘Maybe.’

‘You’ve put Annika in danger. Stefan wants rid of her and he wants you gone too.’

‘Me. Why me?’ Kay looked up, her eyes staring and frightened. ‘How do you know?’

‘Because they’re having a meeting down in the basement. I listened and overheard him saying you’re stoned most of the time and that’s bad for business.’

‘But Stefan likes me. Ginger want to get rid of me but I persuade Stefan to keep me. I tell him I will be a good worker.’

‘Well, he’s changed his mind,’ Maya said, flatly.

Kay put the brush back into the bottle and blew on her fingers. ‘I can change, give up the fix. I don’t need it.’

Maya looked down at Kay’s white face and stick-thin body. ‘He means it, Kay. They’re taking you out tomorrow morning. You have to try and escape before tomorrow and take Annika
with you.’

Kay shook her head. ‘Not possible.’

Maya sighed and tried again. ‘Stefan wants rid of you. He’s got new girls coming.’

Kay blinked. ‘Stefan save my life, he is not a killer.’

‘He wants you as long as you are useful to him. Don’t you see what you’re involved with?’

Kay screwed the top securely onto the nail polish and smiled. ‘I am a happy girl,’ she said. ‘I am safe. I have everything I need.’

Maya grabbed her arm and put her face close to Kay’s. ‘You have to help me. They’ve got my friend. They’re keeping him a prisoner down there. You. . .’ The rattle
of the door opening made her stop abruptly.

‘Customer, Kay,’ Sonja said, poking her head round the door. ‘He’s asking for you.’

Obediently, Kay got up and straightened her skirt. ‘I have business. You have to go,’ she told Maya.

Outside on the landing, Sonja told Maya to go to Stefan’s office. ‘He’s going out for an hour. When he comes back, he’ll want you.’

Looking at the monitor on Stefan’s desk, Maya saw him leaving with two of his heavies. She sat on the couch and wondered what to do. She could search the building and try to find Zac
– devise a way for him to escape, and Annika too, but then all hell would break loose. She’d probably been wrong to encourage Kay to run away; she’d acted instinctively without
thinking things through. It would be better if Stefan thought everything was going to plan, then he’d go ahead with tomorrow’s transaction and the whole gang could be caught, along with
their contacts. With the gang’s operation smashed, Annika and the other women would be rescued. None of this would happen, though, unless she got a message to Simon. And time was ticking
away.

What she needed was a telephone, but there wasn’t one in the room, and she remembered that Stefan always used his mobile. Going over to the door, she glanced nervously along the corridor
to check that Sonja wasn’t hovering, then she started downstairs. Halfway down, she had to stand aside to let Kay and a middle-aged man pass. Kay was holding his hand and giggling.

The club was busier now; a whole row of customers were sitting at the bar. A few girls were circulating and in one of the cages a girl with no top on was dancing in a bored fashion, her body out
of time with the pulsating music. A man in a business suit tried to grab Maya’s hand and a young guy with a group of men whistled at her. She averted her eyes, looking instead towards the
emergency exit.

‘Hey darlin’, you new?’ The young guy who’d whistled at her jumped up from his seat and slipped an arm round her waist. ‘Would you like a drink?’

Although he wasn’t bad-looking, Maya’s first reaction was to pull away from his eager stare, but a plan formed in her head. ‘Yes, that would be nice,’ she said, smiling
at him and leading him to the bar.

After they settled on stools and ordered drinks, Maya focused all her attention on Mr Young Executive. She sympathised with complaints about his job and the trouble he’d had with his wife,
then slipped her request casually into their conversation.

‘Could I borrow your mobile for a minute? Mine has no battery.’

‘Yeah, as long as you’re not callin’ Moscow,’ the guy joked.

‘No, just a quick local call,’ Maya said. ‘I want to book a taxi home.’

She covered the mobile with the flat of her hand and pressed it against her dress. ‘Be back soon,’ she said.

It was no good dialling 999, she wouldn’t get the right person or have time to explain. Simon was her best bet. Standing in the shadow of the stairs, she punched in what she hoped was his
number and waited. There was no reply – not even an invitation to record a message. She bit her lip, silently cursing him. Irritably, she disconnected and called home. After two rings, a male
voice answered. It was Simon – he was at the flat. A splutter of words came from him but she cut him short.

‘Listen!’ she directed. ‘Omega has a massive delivery of drugs coming in tomorrow morning, at the canal warehouse. A van is coming in from Holland bringing the drugs and some
girls. It’s scheduled for—’

She jumped and stopped speaking, looking round in a panic at the sound of Sonja’s voice. She couldn’t see her, but footsteps were coming down the stairs. There was just enough time
to disconnect and slip the mobile into her knickers before Sonja appeared.

‘What are you doing down here?’ Sonja demanded.

‘I go to lavatory.’

Sonja gave her a lingering stare. ‘You can use the one in the office.’

‘Oh, thank you,’ Maya said. ‘I was not sure if that would be OK.’

‘I thought I heard you talking.’

Maya smiled. ‘I rehearse what I say to customers. My English is not so good.’

‘I would say you were fluent,’ Sonja said, her face full of questions and suspicion.

‘That is a big compliment. Thank you,’ Maya replied sweetly. ‘If you will excuse me, I have to get back to customers. Stefan told me – keep them happy.’

The eagle eyes of Sonja were on her back as Maya returned to the main floor of the club and Maya knew she’d have to be very careful.

‘I’ll give you your phone back in a minute,’ she whispered to its owner. ‘We are not supposed to use them on duty.’

‘Yeah, that woman is watchin’ you.’

It wasn’t until Maya moved closer to the guy, flirting and whispering into his ear, that Sonja seemed satisfied and moved away. When she’d gone, Maya reached to retrieve the
mobile.

‘Been keepin’ it warm for me, have you?’ the guy smirked.

It wasn’t easy to get rid of the guy, but when she mentioned Stefan’s name he backed off. In the corridor behind the club, she checked nobody was watching and went to the door that
led to the basement. It clicked open and she felt her way down the stairs in the dark. At the bottom, there was a dim light coming from the room and the sound of snoring. Edging forward, she saw a
big, beefy-looking man, his thick legs spilling over the edges of a wooden chair, his head lolling forward. Behind him, sitting on the floor, his legs and hands tied, was Zac.

Maya put her finger to her lips, circled round the guard and knelt down beside Zac.

‘Untie me,’ he whispered.

She shook her head. ‘I can’t. Stefan will suspect something’s up. Nothing can spook him or he’ll change his plans. He’s already worried about using the
warehouse.’

‘I think they’re goin’ to kill me,’ Zac said, holding up his tied wrists.

‘No, don’t worry. All they’re interested in is getting their shipment of drugs.’ Maya bent close and whispered. ‘I’m sorry. Just hang on and everything will
be all right.’ She turned round to check the beefy man was still asleep. ‘The cops will be at the warehouse. I’ve tipped Simon off. If the shooting starts, keep your head
down.’

The guard let out a big snore, his breath shuddered as he twitched.

Zac gave Maya a pleading look. ‘I want to get out of here.’

All her being was telling her to untie him, but she couldn’t risk it. Instead she took his bound hands in hers and held them.

‘Be strong. Everything will be all right.’ Then she stood up and slipped silently past the sleeping guard.

Opening the door to Stefan’s office, she was pleased to see it was still unoccupied. She crossed over to the white couch, where she sank down. She felt tired, anxious and irritable. Her
head itched like mad under the wig, but she didn’t dare remove it, and she was cold in the thin silk dress. A white throw provided some warmth and she settled back, with her head on the arm
of the couch. It had been horrible having to leave Zac in the basement. Would he ever forgive her? She’d surely never forgive herself if anything bad happened to him.

Pulling up her legs, she closed her eyes and her mind began to drift. She hoped Simon was at work, getting together a team of crack marksmen, hoped that Stefan’s plans wouldn’t
change and hoped that in the morning when they arrived at the warehouse there’d be a nasty surprise waiting for the gang. Just as she was falling into a deep sleep, she remembered she
hadn’t managed to give Simon the exact time of the drop.

* * *

Light was burning holes in her eyes when she awoke – overhead, spotlights were blazing down. Her neck was stiff and something was wedging her body so tightly that she
could hardly move. Turning her head, she saw Stefan squashed next to her, his mouth open – he was snoring. She checked her clothing – thank goodness everything seemed to be intact and
he was fully-clothed too. She pulled out her arm from underneath him, rolled off the sofa onto the rug and looked at her watch. It was nearly five a.m.