Heartbreaker (28 page)

‘Thank you,’ said Alex, itching to make one of her usual comments about how her tits couldn’t talk. She bit her tongue. She wanted the information.

‘Here you are, then,’ said Piers Blackman, handing over the copied sheet and managing to drag his fingers over her hand as he did so. Alex steeled herself, didn’t draw back, didn’t wipe her hand on her jeans until she was safely in her car and out of his sight.

Chapter 76

Having not asked Piers Blackman how far away Gemma Jackson had moved, but seeing that the postcode indicated she was still in the area, Alex found a newsagent and bought an A-Z of Nottingham. Back in her car, she checked the map. Provided the Jacksons hadn’t moved within the past year, they were only about twenty minutes away. With the book open on the passenger seat, Alex set off to find them.

Twenty-five minutes and a couple of wrong turns later, Alex pulled up outside the house. It was another substantial detached property. As far as she knew, Gemma Jackson had never worked a day in her life, and yet she lived in luxury. Alex had always worked, and she lived in a rented flat. Apart from when she was with Johnny of course. Still, it didn’t seem right. She shook off the mood; she had enough to deal with, starting with getting into the house and persuading the woman to talk.

There was no sign of life anywhere on the property. Alex rang the bell and waited, listening to it clang and jangle throughout the house. After what seemed like an age, just as she was about to go back to her car and wait to see if anyone returned, the door opened. Alex knew she was looking at Gemma Carson, she recognised her from photographs she had seen. She was sharp-featured and dark-haired, dressed in shorts and a halter-neck top, and looked about ten years younger than Alex knew her to be.

Alex cleared her throat. ‘Hi,’ she began, ‘I’m Alex Weston.’ She smiled and put her hand out to shake. It was ignored. She let it drop back to her side.

‘So?’

‘And you are Gemma Jackson.’

‘What if I am?’

‘I’m a writer. I’m working with Johnny Burns on a book about Heartbreaker.’

‘Goodbye.’ The door began to close in Alex’s face.

‘No, wait.’ Alex put just enough pressure against the door to stop it from closing completely. ‘Please, just hear me out.’ The pressure from the other side of the door lessened. ‘If you don’t like what I have to say, you can still walk away, but at least you’ll know what it’s about.’ She held her breath and hoped. The door opened again.

‘You’re writing a book about Johnny?’

Alex nodded. ‘And about the band.’

‘So why do you want to talk to me?’

‘Well, you were a part of the Heartbreaker story for a long time. You had a unique insight into what went on.’ Alex smiled. ‘There are people who would have loved to have been in your shoes, you know. You’re famous in your own right. People envy you.’

Gemma preened. Alex relaxed a little. Flattery was usually effective, especially if the subject was vain.

‘I envy you myself, you know,’ she continued. ‘I’d have loved to have been in your position. And despite the fact that he was there, Johnny doesn’t seem to know everything that went on.’ She laughed. ‘There are some big, black holes in his memory.’

‘I’m surprised he can remember anything at all.’

Alex kept her smile in place. ‘That’s why I really need your help. You see, I want to get the story straight. There’ve been a couple of other books that didn’t really do Heartbreaker justice. I want to be fair to everyone concerned. Especially the women. I think their input and influence,
your
input and influence, Gemma, has been woefully neglected. After all, you provided the inspiration for a lot of the music.’

Gemma patted her hair. ‘
Midnight Angel
was about me, you know.’

‘It’s a beautiful song.’ One that had been written by Andy, not Colin, although Alex chose not to correct her.

Curiosity won the day. ‘Come on through. I’m out the back.’ Mentally heaving a sigh of relief, Alex followed Gemma through the house and out into a large, secluded back garden. A tall glass full of ice cubes, slices of lemon and something fizzy stood on flagstones next to a sun lounger that held a copy of
Hello!
magazine. Gemma threw the magazine to one side, moved the lounger into a sitting position and plonked herself down on it. She indicated a cool box on the terrace. ‘Help yourself to a drink.’

‘Thanks.’ Alex found a can of lemon and lime, opened it. ‘Cheers.’ She tipped it towards Gemma, who nodded as she raised her gin and tonic to her lips. Still cool, but Alex was in. She took a seat on a wooden bench at right angles to the lounger.

‘How did you find me?’

Alex explained about her detective work.

‘Clever girl, you must be very determined. And how’s my charming ex-husband?’

‘Colin’s fine.’

‘Is he still with the Barbie doll? Marion, or whatever her name is?’

Alex shook her head. ‘No, they split up just recently.’

‘Ha,’ spat Gemma, ‘I’m surprised they lasted as long as they did.’ Alex kept her own counsel. ‘So who is he with now? He’ll have had another one lined up, a younger model, no doubt. He doesn’t like to be on his own.’

‘I couldn’t really say,’ said Alex, trying to put the brakes on this line of conversation.

‘Rubbish. If you’re working with the band on a book, you must know. You knew he’d split with blondie.’ She tipped her glass at Alex. ‘You’d better give if you expect me to tell you anything.’

Alex sipped her lemon and lime, her heart sinking. ‘He’s with Christabel.’

‘Christabel Burns?’ She snorted. ‘I bet Johnny’s still in orbit, is he? He won’t like the thought of a dirty old man putting his hands all over his precious daughter.’ She shook her head. ‘Colin always had a sweet tooth, but I would have thought Chrissie was off limits, even for him.’ She took a sip of her drink. ‘How old is she now?’

‘Twenty-one.’

‘Oh, well, could have been worse. It’s ages since I saw her. I still think of her as a little girl.’ She put her shoulders back and adjusted her top. ‘I was seventeen when he and I got together, you know. I was actually a little older than his previous girl. By those standards, Christabel is practically middle-aged.’ She looked Alex up and down. ‘And how is the lovely Johnny? Still into his little tarts?’

Alex dropped her eyes, felt her cheeks start to tingle. Gemma picked up on it. ‘Not you? It is, isn’t it? Oh, this is priceless.’ When she had finished laughing at her, she asked Alex, ‘So; what is it you want to know about your boyfriend and his past life?’

Alex felt like turning tail, getting into her car and driving home to Johnny. But she wouldn’t be driving home to the Johnny she wanted, she would be driving home to the fucked-up version. And this woman might just be able to help her to understand what was going on and sort Johnny out. She steeled herself; she hadn’t come this far to give up now. ‘I’m trying to understand what was going on around the time Andy and Tom died. It was complicated. Johnny went off the rails.’ She paused. ‘I know it was a difficult time for everyone, but Johnny seemed to fall apart.’ She sought Gemma’s eyes, held them. ‘There was more to it and I think you know what it was.’

Gemma nodded slowly. She was watchful. Alex pressed the point. ‘Gemma, have you any idea what else was going on?’

Gemma shrugged. ‘You should get Johnny to tell you.’

‘When I know what I’m asking him to tell me, I will. Come on, give me a break. I told you what you wanted to know.’

‘It was nothing to do with me.’

‘It was Heartbreaker business, of course it was to do with you.’

‘I’ve been through with Heartbreaker a long time now.’

‘It’s a big part of your history. You don’t get through with that.’ Gemma ignored her. ‘I’m not going to give up. Just give me a clue, for Christ’s sake.’

‘Ask Johnny.’

‘I’m asking you.’

Gemma sighed. ‘Oh what harm can it do now? It was so long ago, it’s all over and done with anyway.’ She lit a cigarette and took a slow, deliberate sip of her drink. The ice had melted and the lemon slices bobbed forlornly in the lukewarm liquid. ‘Tom Watson and Nicci Burns had been having an affair for years. They were very discreet. I knew because Nicci and I were best friends; she told me everything.’

So it was true, then
. ‘You’re absolutely sure?’

Gemma nodded. ‘Absolutely. They were an item for almost five years, right up until Johnny found out.’ She paused for effect. ‘That was just before Tom’s death.’

‘Are you saying …?’

‘I don’t know what happened. But if the affair wasn’t motive enough, try putting a picture of Rebecca Burns next to a picture of Tom Watson. Christabel is Johnny’s double. People think Rebecca is like her mum, and she is, a bit. But she’s more like her dad. Try it and see.’ Gemma sat back, satisfied that she had caused a stir.

Alex’s mind was whirling. Christabel had told her she thought there was trouble before Tom and Andy died, and that Nicci said she and Johnny had a daughter each. Was it possible? Could Tom Watson be Rebecca Burns’s father? Worse still; could Johnny have found out about it and killed Tom Watson as a result? She ran a hand through her hair, trying to work it all out.

Gemma gave herself a little hug, enjoying her role as storyteller. ‘Tom and Nicci had always fancied each other, but they’d never done anything about it. The affair started the year Christabel was born.’ She took a sip of her drink. ‘Johnny was a mess, a complete alcoholic. I remember the worst time was in Paris. They had three nights at the Olympia lined up. Johnny had hit rock bottom, he was hammered the whole time. Tom got him onstage sober the first night and he really thought he’d got through to him. Then the next night he found him passed out again, out of his head. Tom kicked the shit out of Johnny. He was just so frustrated, he didn’t know how else to deal with it. We didn’t know much about addiction or depression or helping people then. Tom bullied and harassed Johnny all the way round Europe, then all round America. By the time Johnny got home, he was a basket case.

‘Nicci didn’t know what to do with him, she couldn’t handle the situation at all. Tom was a shoulder for her to cry on. He had cleaned up his act quite a bit by then, remember. He was in pretty decent shape, the best he’d been in for years. When she fell pregnant for the second time, Nicci stopped seeing Tom for a while. He was devastated, he was crazy about her. Nicci was terrified, she was praying for the baby to be Johnny’s, and Johnny was being so sweet. He was with her every step of the way, determined not to miss out like he had with Christabel.’ Gemma took a drag on her cigarette.

‘As soon as she laid eyes on Rebecca, though, she could see that she was Tom’s. She panicked at first. Then she got in touch with Tom and told him. He was really excited, very happy. He begged her to leave Johnny and to come and live with him, to be a family together. Nicci wouldn’t. She was too scared and mixed up at that point. Later, they just fell back into the affair and Tom would call by to spend time with Nicci and Becky whenever he could. As soon as Johnny was out of the way, Tom would be there like a shot. Johnny thought Tom was being a good friend, keeping an eye out for his women when he wasn’t around.’ She snorted. ‘Poor bastard. He was always far too trusting.

‘Tom kept a girl called Jackie Price on the go, but she was just window-dressing. Nicci hated that — hated her — but he needed someone to be seen with. It was inconceivable that Tom Watson would ever be on his own. Have you spoken to Jackie?’ Gemma drew on her cigarette, her eyes on Alex.

‘No, not yet,’ said Alex. She didn’t want to admit that this was the first she had heard of her.

‘Maybe you should. If you can find her. She disappeared off the face of the earth after Tom died, none of us ever heard from her again.’

‘One last thing, Gemma. Do you know anything about the lost tapes?’

Gemma shrugged. ‘Only that they haven’t been seen since before Tom died. I know Colin always hoped they’d turn up one day.’

Chapter 77

As Alex drove back to Johnny’s house, her mind was buzzing. She needed to have a conversation with him that would undoubtedly prove to be both emotional and difficult, although she had more or less dismissed the idea of him as Tom Watson’s murderer: she didn’t believe the man she knew was capable of that.

When she got back the house was quiet, the mood sombre. Johnny, Paul and Siobhan were seated at the kitchen table and Dan was on the phone.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked, taking it all in. She sat down next to Johnny, took his hand.

‘It’s Marilyn,’ said Siobhan. ’She tried to kill herself.’

Johnny had a white-knuckle grip on a glass of Jack Daniel’s. ‘This is my fault,’ he said. ‘I should have gone to see her, I should have made sure she was all right. Christ, I didn’t even phone. I was embarrassed because of Chrissie.’

‘How is she?’ asked Alex.

‘Okay so far as we know. Stable, that’s the word they used.’

‘Do Colin and Chrissie know?’ Alex asked.

Johnny nodded. ‘Dan’s on the phone to Col now.’

‘I’ve had to make some promises on your behalf, mate,’ she heard Dan say. ‘Financial ones. Lump sum, somewhere to live.’ Dan scratched his head. ‘It won’t be an ongoing thing, it’s a buy-off. In return, she’s promised not to contest a divorce. If you’re happy, I’ll put my lawyer onto it first thing.’ He listened, then said, ‘Okay, consider it done.’

‘Hi, Alex,’ he said, as he joined the others at the table. ‘What a fucking day. All she wanted to do was scare him, she ended up scaring herself.’

‘Sorted now?’ asked Johnny.

Dan nodded. ‘Done and dusted. It was all about money. Col’s going to pay her off. She’s been putting him and Chrissie through hell.’

‘Yeah, so I gather,’ said Johnny. ‘I spoke to them earlier,’ he told Alex. ‘They’re coming to stay for a while after their holiday.’

She hoped this meant things could start getting back to normal, at least where Chrissie and Colin were concerned.