[Sticks]

Episode I – An unwelcome homecoming surprise

Spoiler:

The Village of Tottington
Outside the market town of Bury
North of Manchester

Sarah Bentley came down from her bedroom into the hallway. On the table in the hallway she saw a letter with the word “bailiff” on it. She did not dare pick it up.

Just then Sarah noticed that her elder brother was in the living room working on his laptop computer. He had just about given up on trying to find work, there just weren’t the jobs around, so it would have to be up to Sarah to try and save their house.

Sarah poked her head round the door of the living room

“Trev” Sarah said from the living room door, “I’m off out now, I’m going to Ruby’s in Manchester with some mates”

Trevor grunted an “ok” as he poured over his laptop

“Don’t wait up for me Trev” she persisted sarcastically trying to get a reaction as her brother seemed unresponsive
“Whatever” Trevor replied. Then Trevor stopped and turned around in his seat and looked at his sister. “Sarah, you do realise what date it is today?” he asked

Sarah rolled her eyes, “I know Trev it would have been their twenty fifth anniversary if they were still alive” Sarah stopped a moment paused and then continued, “and they never did find the b*****d who ran that stolen car into them that night.” She added angrily

“I just wondered if we should mark it somehow” Trevor said sadly, “Could you call your friends and say you have something else on?”

“No I can’t Trev” Sarah insisted, “We’ve been planning this night out for months, I even paid the deposit on the outing, I can’t back out now” Sarah went on, “Besides if Mum and Dad were around don’t you think they would have wanted us out the way while they celebrated?”

“I suppose you have a point” Trevor backed down, “I miss them too” he added in a sad voice and turned back to stare at his laptop.

Just then Sarah caught sight of a number of video tapes and she came in to the room and picked one up and read the label. It read “Big Brother Two, Paul and Helen’s dinner date twenty oh one”. Then she looked at another tape, it said “Big Brother Eight Brian and Amanda”

The tapes had been resting on her father’s motoring atlas, which was open at the area of Kent. Trevor for some reason had marked a spot in the Kent countryside with a red felt tip pen. For a moment she wondered if her brother was going to go on one of those UFO hunting trips he would talk about.

Now that really would take the biscuit, they were being threatened with the bailiffs and her brother was thinking about trips to the other end of the country

Sarah did not want a row with her brother, not tonight anyway with what she was planning and wearing that evening, so she decided not to pursue it, it might never come to anything, like his other ideas for trips he had never done.

Sarah glanced up at the screen of the laptop, it was some kind of internet forum called “This is Big Brother dot com” and so for the moment Sarah forgot about the motoring atlas

“You’re not into that Big Brother rubbish” Sarah sneered, “Besides” she went on, “That show’s been over for about two or three years now and I thought all the fan sites were all closed down by now”

“This forum is still active though” her brother replied as he continued staring at the screen, “For instance I have been corresponding with one poster called GipsyGoth. She joined when Big Brother was still being shown. Some posters have even joined it since Big Brother ended after Channel Four gave it the boot. I’m hoping there may be some posters amongst the old guard who still remember it especially the second series” he added with an air of excitement.

“What about this GipsyGoth?” Sarah asked teasingly, “Maybe we could meet?”

“I doubt it” Trevor responded, “I’m afraid she joined well after the two series that I’m interested in. I did look at some other forums and I tried Digital Spy but they did not seem interested over there just referred me to back here”

Sarah then spotted a notepad by the laptop. Her brother had written Doctor H followed by a question mark.

“Who’s Doctor H?” Sarah asked, “Is he another member of that forum?”

Trevor looked at the notepad, removed the pen from it and turned it over. It was obviously something private that Sarah was not supposed to see, probably part of his obsession with conspiracy theories.
“No” Trevor replied abruptly, “They aren’t a member of this forum” he added in a strange unconvincing tone.

It was probably one of his contacts on Twitter

“Anyway Trev, why the sudden interest in this crappy game show?” Sarah asked, “You were never interested in it whilst is was on”
“I think I may have come across something the government is hiding from us and there seems to be a connection to the Channel four programme Big Brother Two and also to Big Brother Eight one of the later ones Sarah, It even looks like there’s a connection to an old press report about an old abandoned world war two base down in Kent which was torched by arsonists a few years back.”

“You and your stupid conspiracy theories Trev?” Sarah went on contemptuously, “how can a stupid and mindless reality TV show be involved in some government conspiracy? And anyway that show was never filmed in Kent, it was done at some film studio called Elstree, where…”

“But Sarah” her brother interrupted “I really I think I’m on to something” he said excitedly, “And if I’m right, this could mean the biggest cover up since Roswell.”

“Yeah whatever” Sarah retorted, “I’m out of here and like I said don’t wait up”

Then Sarah stopped and noticed a square metal rectangular device next to a newspaper on the table behind her brother.

It was an Iron key, an encrypted memory stick. Both Sarah and her brother had one each, each inscribed with their initials. Sarah could not believe she had almost forgotten her memory stick, which was critical to her plans for the evening. She stored important documents and photographs on hers and heaven knows what strange stuff her brother stored on his.

This one had to be hers , no doubt about it, because, although she could not see the back of the laptop, that was where Trevor usually stuck his when he used it, which usually seemed to be most of the time. Sarah had left hers on the table earlier after using the laptop when her brother was out signing on.

A rare time when Trevor was not hogging it!!

If only Sarah could afford to get her own laptop, but the two of them barely had enough to pay the bills, ever since the death of their parents. Sarah was so glad her brother had turned eighteen when they had died as she was afraid they would have taken her into care. Luckily cutbacks in the social services department meant she was allowed to live with her brother in the village of Tottington where they both grew up.

“I need this tonight” Sarah announced as she grabbed the memory stick, “Vicky is bringing her note book and I wanted to show her what I have done for our assignment at Bury College.”

Sarah then quickly went of the door before Trevor saw what she was wearing, or to be more accurate what she was not wearing and walked out into the early evening air and put the memory stick in her handbag.

+

Trevor heard the door slam and turned around and reached for his memory stick and found it missing. “Huh?” he grunted.

Then he noticed an identical memory stick on the table covered by the free paper he had collected that morning when he had gone into Bury to sign on at the job centre.

Trevor picked it up and put it in the back of his laptop.

As it booted up, Trevor noticed that it was not his, it was Sarah’s.

What had she said? She needed it to show off some course work to her best friend on a night out in Manchester? Something didn’t ring true there.

Trevor stared at the screen for a few seconds, should he see what was on it?

It was encrypted, but then he suspected his sister probably had not changed the default password on the memory stick like he had on his, which obviously she had taken by mistake

Trevor for whatever reason he could not be sure, tapped in the default password and gained access to his sister’s memory stick

Then he wished he hadn’t as he looked at the photographs she had loaded onto her stick.

This was definitely not coursework and it made Trevor feel sick looking at them. Trevor reached for his mobile and switched it on.

For some reason it was saying his SIM was not valid.

”That’s odd” he thought, ”I thought I had loads of credit on it”

+

Sarah walked through the back streets of Tottington and headed for Market Street to catch the Four six nine bus into Bury. From there she would catch the Metrolink to Manchester, but it was not to Ruby’s she was going to.

As she reached the terminus she saw that the bus was in and so she started to cross the road, hoping she could get across before the bus left. She was obviously later than she thought.

Suddenly she had to leap out of the way as three people on motorbikes almost ran her over. The motor cyclists were all in black, even down to the motorcycle helmets with heavily tinted visors that hid their faces.

Sarah swore at the motor cyclists as they sped off back the way she came.

She was tempted to take the guys numbers so her brother could hack into the DVLA but they were driving so fast and for some reason none of the motor cyclists had a number plate, besides the bus driver looked like she was about to pull out, so Sarah raced for the bus and showed her student bus pass through the closed doors of the bus.

Mercifully the driver took pity on her and opened the doors to let her get on the bus.

“You see those motorcyclists?” Sarah complained to the female bus driver
“Yes love” the bus driver sympathised, “Some of them think they own the road”
“They didn’t even have their headlights on” Sarah added
“Probably one of those gang initiation things” the bus driver went on, “I remember hearing about”
“I must have missed that one” Sarah admitted
“From what I heard love” the driver went on as she drove out onto the main road, “they drive around with their lights off and if anyone flashes their lights at them, then the bikers target that vehicle to shoot dead everyone in it”

“Yikes” Sarah interjected, “I hope they don’t come after me”

The bus driver looked in her rear view mirror, “It looks like you’re ok love, they’re not following us”

Sarah went further inside the bus and found a seat as it drove on into Bury.

Sarah closed her eyes and winced at what she was going to do that evening and shuddered. It would be horrid and degrading, but as they needed to pay the bills she did not think she had any choice.

Sarah was not going for a night out with her mates; she was going to audition as what was euphemistically called an exotic dancer. Sarah was headed for at least one of the many strip clubs in Manchester, because she had heard that lap dancers and strippers could earn quite a lot of money, which she needed desperately. She had even managed, through one of her friends to arrange to see someone at the first of the strip clubs she was going to try. According to her friend, this man had asked her to bring a port folio of work, either printed or in electronic form.

That port folio was what was on her memory stick. Sarah had managed to persuade her best friend Vicky to take what was euphemistically called glamour shots of her and placed on the memory stick.

If she was asked or expected to strip completely naked that evening, she would have to, even though the thought revolted her.

Again the issue was money

Vicky had told her that she had heard that the business Sarah was trying to break into was very cutthroat, and that Sarah had to do something radical to get noticed above all the other girls who might be trying for a job at the club. To that end Sarah, on Vicky’s suggestion, had even gone out not wearing a bra or even a tee-shirt under her sleeveless denim jacket so she could show them her assets. Vicky was adamant that she had heard that if a girl turned up outside some of the strip clubs in Manchester and showed that they had come to them not wearing any top on under their coat they may have on, then that would show gumption and it was a dead cert they would get hired on the spot.

It was a suggestion, that in her heart of hearts Sarah was not happy with, but she needed to find a job and an income to pay those bills and try and save the house she shared with her brother. As a sort of comfort blanket, Sarah had found a bikini top and had stuffed it into her handbag, just to be on the “safe side” but she still did not feel comfortable going out like this, but if as Vicky had said that was definitely the way to secure a job at one of those clubs, she would have to put up with it.

Her friend Vicky had even said she had heard of one girl who arrived at the very strip club she was going to try first, completely naked under a full length coat, and she got into the club that night!. Unfortunately or was it fortunately, Sarah did not have a full length coat, and neither did Vicky so she could not go to that extreme. She would have to settle for not wearing anything under her sleeveless denim jacket. Needless to say, it did not feel comfortable going out like that Sarah had even contemplated going out wearing a mini skirt and no panties, but she chickened out of that one and put on a pair of panties and her favourite jeans to match the jacket,

That evening the traffic seemed light, but then most of it was heading up the Brandelshome road or along Bolton Road as commuters went home for the evening.

Sarah pulled out of her handbag her mobile phone to text her friend Vicky in case she was able to come with her to the club after all, as a sort of moral support. In the process of taking out the mobile this pulled out the bikini top, but Sarah was too preoccupied to care at that time.

The phone was still switched off.

Sarah had asked earlier that morning if Vicky could come with her to the club as they had agreed, but Vicky had said she may not be able to make it as she might have to baby sit for her younger brother. Vicky had told Sarah how frustrating it was that her parents kept imposing this chore on her at the last minute.

Sarah did not have the heart to tell her that she was lucky that her parents were still alive.

Sarah was just about to switch the phone on when a drunken man in his thirties just sat down next to her.

She hastily picked up the bikini top and stuffed it back into her hand bag and put the phone away in the bag, still switched off.

The bus continued on it’s journey into Bury while the drunk began singing tunelessly at the top of his voice. Then the drunk somehow spotted that Sarah was not wearing anything under her jacket and started leering down her front, telling her it was too hot to have her jacket zipped up the way it was and it was a crime to “Keep those puppies cooped up”.

Then the drunk began trying to put one arm around Sarah while he tried to reach for the zip on her jacket as Sarah desperately pushed his hand away. Nobody on the bus was interested in coming to her aid and hid in their books or newspapers. They were only too glad that this drunk was not molesting them.

Sarah found this drunken man terrifying and there was no way could Sarah risk texting with him sitting next to him. She wanted to call out to the driver, but would that make him turn violent?

Going out dressed the way she was, was probably not one of Vicky’s better ideas and now Sarah was paying the price.

+

The bus finally pulled into the bus station part of the Bury Interchange

Sarah asked the drunk to move, but he just stretched his legs, sat there grinning and scratching his nose and not budging.

“It’s my stop” Sarah pleaded
“Not mine” the drunk replied
“I have to get up” Sarah went on.

The drunk just pulled another can of larger from his bag and opened it. “Shtay with me love and I will show you a good time” the drunk just grinned

“I’ve got to go” Sarah pleaded
“I’m not moving until you show us your tits” the drunk went on and then tried to kiss her. “Go on” the drunk insisted, “Be a good girl and show us your tits, you know you want to”.

Just then a man in the uniform of one of the bus company inspectors came up to him, “Causing trouble again Joe” the inspector said sternly

“Keep out of it” the drunk replied, “This is between me and my girlie friend here”

“So you want to be banned from all of First buses then?” the inspector replied, “Now hand over that can, you know the rules about alcohol, you’ve been told before and let this young woman get off”

“Get your own” the drunk retorted, “And besides, this little girl was going to show us her tits, now p**s off”

“JOE” The bus inspector replied, “This bus is not moving until you give me that can and let that young woman off. Any further trouble from you and we call the police like last time and you will be banned”

This seemed to infuriate the drunk further from what Sarah could see and he threw the contents at the inspector’s face and while the inspector stepped back apparently in shock, the drunk pulled himself out of the seat to finish off this meddlesome inspector.

At this time Sarah noticed how the other passengers were still hiding their faces, not wanting to get involved.

“I’ll teach you” the drunk shouted and clumsily lunged at the bus inspector.

The inspector easily parried the lunge and in an instant pinned the drunk to the floor in the area where the prams and the wheelchairs would go. “You forget Joe” the inspector told the drunk on the floor, “I used to be in the army” then the inspector called to the bus driver, who by now had switched the bus engine off, to summon the police.

“Do you need me” Sarah piped up to the inspector as she walked up to the inspector and showed her bus pass, “I need to catch a train”

“I think they may want you to give a statement” the inspector replied.
“But isn’t it on the CCTV?” Sarah objected

“Just leave your details with the driver” the inspector replied as he continued to keep the drunk pinned to the floor.

Sarah went up to the driver as directed and offered to her name and mobile number to the driver, but the driver put up her hand and shook her head.
“I doubt they will do anything with this guy, they never seem to” the driver went on, “Besides I don’t have anything on me to write with, so just call in the office tomorrow

“Right” Sarah replied in a non committal manner and left the bus

She was now almost too late for the train.

She opened her purse and found she only had enough cash on her for the train, she had hoped to go to a cash machine before catching the train, but the incident on the bus meant she did not have time.

Sarah went to the ticket machine and purchased a return to Manchester Victoria and rushed down to the platform.

She only just made it onto the train.

Sarah got onto the train and nervously looked around.

She briefly hoped that the carriage could be empty, as she was contemplating of forgetting what Vicky said and putting on her bikini top, especially after experience with the drunk on the bus, but no such luck.

In the carriage with her were several guys about her age, in their late teens, talking with one another and one elderly gentleman. She seemed to be the only female in the carriage which made her feel nervous. The only saving grace was that there were no drunks so far, thank goodness.

Sarah sat down and tried top make herself as insignificant as possible, Again she thought about texting Vicky, but her experience of this service was that there was never that much of a good signal, and besides, what if the guys, like the drunk saw the bikini top in her bag and guessed what she was or not wearing under her jacket like that drunk had done.

The handbag stayed closed and Sarah remained tense and nervous about the men as the train got under way

Once they reached Besses o’th’ Barn the guys got of, but the elderly gentleman remained .

Maybe if she managed to get a seat between her and him, Sarah could get changed

No such luck! a hen party got on and a family with three children.

Sarah settled back into her seat again, although this time as she was not the only female in the carriage she was a bit more relaxed.

As for the mobile, Vicky would probably have met her at Bury if she had been able to go!

Sarah would have to apply for the job at the strip club alone and meet that other contact with the port folio on the memory stick. That meeting was the one that made her nervous, and it had been arranged to be in the strip club where she hoped to audition first.

The rest of the train trip was uneventful, with people getting on and off.

There was a scare at Crumpsall when another drunk got on, but this one did not come near Sarah. Even so she could not help watching him in terrified fascination.

The train arrived at Manchester Victoria and Sarah got off.

Sarah headed for a cash machine in the station to get some spare cash. By her reckoning she should have twenty pounds left before her next Education Maintenance Allowance cheque cleared into her bank account.

Sarah placed the card in the machine expecting it to ask for her pin, but instead the ATM went blank as if it was shutting down.

Then after what seemed like an age the display on the machine read, “Account suspended. Please contact your bank” and then it gave a telephone number she did not recognise.

Sarah hit the wall of the cash machine in frustration; she had not even had a chance to enter her PIN number so why was her account suspended?

She never went overdrawn, as being under eighteen she was not allowed to have an overdraught facility.

As Sarah continued to stare in disbelief at the cash machine, she did not notice that high above in the station a CCTV camera was slowly turning to look in her direction.

Sarah was tempted to switch her phone on and call the number on the screen, but glancing at the station clock, she thought better of it. One she did not have the time, she needed to get to the strip club to audition and meet the guy with her portfolio of work on the memory stick, secondly, calling banks notoriously took a while and she did not have the credit on her phone for that. She would have to try and go into Bury the next day to find out what was wrong with her bank account

Sarah headed on out of the station, still unaware of other CCTV cameras turning to follow her as she left.

Sarah headed out to get to Victoria’s strip bar; this was the closest one to Manchester Victoria and the first one on her list, where she was also meeting that guy Vicky had told her about.

Sarah as she hurried along tried to psyche herself up so she was prepared to strip there and then if they wanted her, whatever it took to get work, especially if something was wrong with her bank account.

After five minutes she found the small alley up to the club, opposite the Arndale centre.

Then she was outside the strip club

Sarah swallowed heavily and approached the entrance, only to be met by a bouncer blocking her way.

“Who are you luvie?” the bouncer asked in a gruff voice
“I’m here to apply for a job” Sarah nervously replied

“What as?” the bouncer replied
“A stripper?” Sarah nervously replied, closed her eyes and unzipped her jacket halfway so the bouncer could see she was not wearing anything underneath it. A tear trickled down Sarah’s left cheek, this was so humiliating.

The bouncer narrowed his eyes at Sarah unsympathetically and then spoke into a two way radio. Sarah could not make out what he was saying but it did not sound good

“Zip your jacket up darling and wait over there” the bouncer ordered pointing to a spot away from the door so she was not in the way of visitors to the club, “the duty manager and his deputy will be out in a moment to see you”

Sarah nervously waited. In her right hand she held her handbag after slipping it off her shoulder and fingered the zip on her jacket with her left hand. If that was what it took, as her friend Vicky had told her, Sarah was still psyching herself up to pull down the zip and show her bare breasts on demand to whoever came out to interview her, even if the thought made her sick. She did not feel she had any other choice

After about five minutes a man in a suit came out of the door accompanied by a tall lady in a smart blue suit. The bouncer pointed at where Sarah was standing.

“What’s you name love” the lady asked

“Sarah miss” Sarah replied, “Sarah Bentley” she added before continuing “I’ve come to audition as a stripper” At that Sarah closed her eyes briefly and quickly unzipped her jacket and slipped it off and dropped it to the ground behind her, just like she had practiced with Vicky. Sarah then went on, “I can start right now if you need me”.

The cold air played on her body and made her shiver, but she forced herself to endure it.
“I really need this job sir” Sarah pleaded as she stood topless in the cold night air, not daring to try and cover herself with her hands so they could assess her assets and hooking her thumbs into her jeans so she could pull them down if they asked her to.

For an instant Sarah regretted the fact she had her jeans on and wished she had not been such a wimp and followed Vicky’s advice about wearing a skirt with nothing on underneath as well, because she could have gone all the way more easily and clinched that badly needed job just like Vicky said she had heard.

“Put your jacket back on” the manager said curtly, shattering Sarah’s thoughts
“Yes sir” Sarah replied and quickly picked up the jacket and put it back on but left it unzipped and open still baring all as she was to some extent in an obvious state of shock at what she had forced herself to do.

The lady quickly walked up to her and pulled Sarah’s coat closed, “Do yourself up love” she whispered to Sarah
“Sorry Miss” Sarah replied and joined the bottom ends of the jacket together and zipped it up. Another tear trickled down Sarah’s face

“How old are you?” the manager asked Sarah as he approached her once Sarah was as near as “decent” as possible
“Nineteen?” Sarah ventured
“How old are you really Sarah” the woman in the suit asked sternly.

It was obvious that they had seen through Sarah’s lie. She never was good at lying

Nervously Sarah spoke up, “Seventeen” then as if to anticipate the obvious objection that she suddenly expected to hear, “But I turn eighteen in three months time” she pleaded

“Come back then love” the manager replied bluntly
“And we might consider you for waitressing or bar work, but not stripping” the woman added

“Please” Sarah replied, breaking down into tears, “My brother and I live on our own, our parents were killed last year and we’re getting bills we can’t pay and my brother can’t find a job, we’ve got the bailiffs coming. It looks like we are going to lose our house. Please I’m willing to work for you naked doing anything you want”

The lady in the suit gently put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder, “I’m sorry love, there is no way you can become a stripper or as we say exotic dancer at this club. One, it’s the law” she explained.
“And even if we wanted to” the manager interrupted, “we’re not allowed to, because you are classed as under aged and we don’t want to loose our licence do we”

“What do you mean wanted to? And what do you mean I can’t be a stripper” Sarah questioned through her tears and instinctively made to pull the zip of her jacket down again, “I don’t understand? Do I need a boob job? Is that it? Are these not big enough?” Sarah whined as she started to pull her zip back down to open her jacket.

The lady in the suit gently grabbed Sarah’s hand to stop her opening her jacket any more as the bouncer and the manager looked on shaking their heads.

“You don’t need to show us anymore love, we’ve seen enough,” The lady in the suit told Sarah as she pulled the zip on the jacket up, “and you definitely do not need any surgery of any kind” the lady added gently, “You have a wonderful figure and you should be proud of it”

“But why can’t I be a stripper” Sarah insisted
“Like we said” the lady went on, “You’re too young so it would be illegal and also I have auditioned many girls who work here and in other clubs and I can tell that you are not really comfortable with this are you?”
“But I’m prepared to learn” Sarah sobbed
“Sarah” the lady went on with a bit more force, “In this business unless you are totally comfortable doing this, you won’t make it. I’ve seen it happen to girls like you who were pushed into it by boyfriends and they hated it, the customers didn’t like it and were never any good”

Sarah looked into the eyes of the lady, they were like steel.
“Any way” the manager chipped in, “As well as not being allowed to work as a stripper, you are also not allowed in the club anyway as you are under age”

“Now I am concerned” the lady went on, “That you have come out with nothing on underneath your jacket”
“My friend told me to” Sarah admitted, “She said if I could show my boobs like this it would help me pass the audition”
“Well she’s wrong love” the lady replied, “And I wouldn’t go around trying the other strip clubs, because you will get the same result. It’s not worth loosing their licence to employ a minor and I wouldn’t try going on the game either”

Sarah knew what “on the game meant”, that was a euphemism for prostitution, and that revolted her even more than becoming a stripper had done

“But the bailiffs” Sarah asked in a panic

“I think it would be better if you or your brother saw Citizen’s Advice” the lady told Sarah, Now do you have anything else to put on love”
“Only this” Sarah replied as she opened her handbag and pulled out the bikini top

“That’s not enough” the lady said sternly, “There’s a pub nearby who know us, we’ll give you an old promotional tee-shirt to put on as well and then I’ll accompany you their toilet where you can put that bikini top on and the tee-shirt”

At this the manager spoke into a small two way radio.

“Now after you have got dressed love, we’ll call you a taxi to take you home”
“But I haven’t got any money miss” Sarah protested, “The cash machine at the station said my account was suspended and swallowed my card”
“That’s not a problem, we have an account with a local firm” the manager told Sarah, “We’ll pick up the tab this time since you made all the effort to come out here”

Then Sarah remembered the man she was meant to be meeting with the “portfolio” she had on the memory stick.

“But I was meant to be meeting someone here” Sarah ventured, “I was told to bring a memory stick with pictures”

“Him again” the manager interrupted in an annoyed tone, “Thanks for letting us know that he’s back and still up to his old tricks, we’ll deal with him” the manager added and then spoke to the bouncer who then entered the club.
“You definitely do not want to get mixed up with that man” the lady in the suit added, “What he does is unethical and probably illegal”

Sarah shook her head, she had inadvertently got the one other person who might help her deal with the financial difficulties she and her brother had, in to trouble

A young woman came out of the club carrying a tee-shirt and handed it to the lady in the suit who passed it to Sarah. The lady in the suit then escorted Sarah to the pub she had mentioned. As they went to the pub the lady asked where Sarah lived. Sarah gave her address in Tottington, expecting that they would baulk at paying for a taxi ride all the way there, but the lady said a taxi ride to her village was not a problem, as they regularly used that taxi firm to the various towns and suburbs around Manchester for some of their staff and they got a discounted rate. Sarah had tried to say she could take the train and the bus home, but they were not having it as it seemed the lady in the suit did not trust Sarah to not try at another strip club. The lady was probably right.

As they entered the pub, the lady had a quick word with the main person at the bar and quickly Sarah found herself shown to the ladies lavatory. There in privacy Sarah removed her jacket, put on the bikini top and then the tee shirt. After that she put her jacket back on. It felt good to be more properly dressed, what was Vicky thinking, and what was she thinking going along with what Vicky had told her.

Sarah took her jacket off again and used the toilet; it was going to be a long ride home back by taxi after all

As Sarah was washing her hands, she remembered the man she had meant to be meeting. It had become obvious that what he was doing was not sanctioned by the strip club and they even hinted that the man was breaking the law somehow. That club seemed paranoid about keeping on the right side of the law, so perhaps that may have been a lucky escape if he was not supposed to be doing what Vicky said he was doing.

It seemed so ironic that the staff at the strip club had shown more responsibility than either her or her friend Vicky.

Sarah would have to have a word with Vicky, after all she recommended that man she was to show the “portfolio” to, maybe her friend Vicky was getting involved in something she shouldn’t. This reminded Sarah of the memory stick with the topless and nude pictures Vicky had took of her to try and impress that man she was supposed to have met. Sarah pulled the memory stick out, of her handbag, it had been a dumb idea all along and thankfully nobody was going to see those pictures after all.

Then to her horror she noticed an inscribed letter “T”, not a letter “S” on the base of the memory stick

Sarah had taken the wrong memory stick!!

She had got Trevor’s and left her one back at home

What if Trevor had found hers?

“Oh crap” Sarah swore, put the memory stick back in her purse and pulled out her mobile and switched it on.

There was no signal! The walls of the building must be blocking it.

Sarah instinctively switched off her mobile, if Trevor had her memory stick and found it, knowing him it would probably be too late. She would have to admit to him that she was trying to save the house by what ever means she could think of.

Sarah leaned against the wall of the bathroom and swore

“Are you ok in there?” Sarah heard the lady in the suit call out.

Sarah closed her handbag, put her jacket over her arm and left the toilet

The lady in the suit handed Sarah a business card, “Your taxi is outside love it will take you all the way home to Tottington. Here’s my card, when you turn eighteen we may be able to use you as a waitress or behind the bar, but as I said outside, I’ve had a lot of experience in the adult entertainment industry and I can tell that at the moment you are not cut out to be a stripper or a lap dancer. There’s no shame in that as not many people can do it well enough to make money Sarah and I would rather turn those people away rather than give them false hopes”

Then the lady in the suit handed Sarah four crisp ten pound notes, “Here is some money for your trouble and we are flattered you thought of us first. Now I know it is not a lot, but I think the best thing you can do about your financial situation is to go and see your local Citizen’s Advice centre tomorrow”

“Thank you” Sarah uttered and she was ushered outside to a green mini-cab. To her surprise the taxi driver was female. This was probably why they used this service for their girls. Sarah put the jacket on the back seat and sat in the front passenger seat.

“Tottington eh” the female taxi driver said as Sarah strapped her self in.

“Yes” Sarah replied

“I see you got one of their promotional tee-shirts” the female taxi driver said to make conversation
“Yes” Sarah replied, still in some sense of shock

“Let me guess love” the taxi driver went on, “You thought if you wore nothing on under your jacket you would get hired”

Sarah uttered a tearful “yes”, “My friend said it would guarantee me a job as a stripper if I did that”

“You’re the sixth teenager this year to swallow that one my dear” the female taxi driver told her in as kindly manner as she could, “It seems to be an urban legend that has been doing the rounds in this area”

“What?” Sarah asked

“Apparently they have been told that if they just show up wearing a jacket with nothing on underneath, then they will get hired immediately” the female taxi driver went on

“And my friend bought into that?” Sarah asked

“Must have” the female taxi driver replied as she drove through the streets of Manchester, “The third girl to try it actually was completely naked under her coat and she was just fifteen”
“My friend heard about that one” Sarah replied in a shocked tone, “She says she was admitted into the club immediately” she added with incredulity. Sarah thought for a moment “Did you take her home as well?” Sarah asked
“No my dear, they did actually take her into the club, but only to the manager’s office while they got some spare clothes from one of the lap dancers, but none of us took her home. In fact they called the police and social services on that one my dear” the female taxi driver said with some venom, “Her step father forced her to do it, we heard she was terrified of him and she was bruised all over her back because that b*****d beat that child with some kind of improvised whip”

Sarah gulped at this news, no wonder the club acted as they did, after all who would want to be seen condoning that sort of abusive behaviour

“If you want my opinion my dear” the taxi driver then went on, “I know the management have behaved responsibly all along, but you’re better off out of it, it’s just degrading watching all those men and some women leering at you, treating you like a piece of meat”

“But I need the money” Sarah sobbed

“They all do” the taxi driver replied

For the most part of the ride home Sarah and the taxi driver talked about their childhood, schools and taste in fashion and music.

As they reached the outskirts of the town of Bury the taxi driver suggested that Sarah ring her parents because it was getting quite late. It was then that Sarah told the taxi driver that they had been killed in a hit and run accident.

“Who do you live with?” The taxi driver asked
“My brother was classed as an adult when they were killed so I got to stay with him” Sarah explained
“Do you want to ring him?” The taxi driver asked
“Knowing Trev” Sarah went on, “He will probably still be up writing on one of those conspiracy theory forums he goes on a lot”
“What does he do for a living?” the taxi driver asked
“Nothing” Sarah sighed, “He’s just about given up on trying to find a job”
“So that was why you tried to apply for a job as a stripper then?” the taxi driver asked

Sarah just nodded.

“Just phone him anyway” the taxi driver pressed as they got onto the ring road, the Angouleme Way and passed Bury Market.

Sarah pulled out her mobile and switched it on. For some reason it took longer to register a signal, maybe because she was in a taxi and moving between cell towers or something like that. Trevor would probably know.

Sarah dialled the house phone from her contacts list, but got an announcement saying that the number she had dialled was not recognised.

Sarah frowned. Had they been cut off without Trevor telling her? She tried Trevor’s mobile. Even if he was always out of credit, he should still be able to receive incoming calls.

Sarah dreaded what Trevor would say to her, especially if he had found her memory stick with the pictures Vicky had taken of her.

The mobile just went to voice mail.

Sarah had a bad feeling

Trevor must have found her memory stick and seen the pictures on it and was probably livid. ”Well at least I have a defence” Sarah thought, ”At least I was getting off my back side and trying to earn some money”

“I can’t get through” Sarah told the taxi driver
“Have you got a key to get in?” the taxi driver asked
Sarah grunted in the affirmative

“Maybe he’s gone to bed or gone out” the taxi driver suggested as they reached the bottom of Tottington Road.

Sarah remained silent, something was not right

As the taxi drove nearer to her village she had an overwhelming sense of dread.

Why was the land line not working, was it really because they had been disconnected of non payment of bills? But Sarah had not seen any bills in recently

What had happened to Trevor’s mobile, he never switched it off

The taxi eventually turned into the street where Sarah lived. Sarah was so wound up about why she could not get through to Trevor that she did not notice the solitary motorcyclist in black peering out from behind a wall a few doors down.

Sarah signed a form for the taxi driver as this ride had been on an account and got out of the taxi cab, forgetting her jacket on the back seat and walked to her front door while the taxi waited to make sure she got in ok.

As Sarah opened the front door she waved at the taxi cab, and then the taxi pulled out and started to drive off.

Sarah closed the front door, put down her handbag and called out to her brother

Silence!

Sarah crept up to the door to the lounge which still had a light on and peered in.

The table had been knocked over and one of the chairs was smashed and there slumped in the middle of the floor was the body of her brother.

Sarah rushed over to him and turned him over.

He was stone cold dead

Sarah felt nauseous and wanted to throw up. She threw her head back and screamed a loud “no”

Then she noticed her brother’s laptop computer had gone.

It must have been a robbery gone bad – somebody had broken in to rob them and murdered her brother because they did not expect anyone to be in, that had to be it

Sarah went back into the hall and grabbed at her handbag and pulled out her mobile phone to call the police, but for some reason her mobile was saying that her SIM was invalid.

She switched her phone off and then on again in case this was a glitch.

It wasn’t

There was a loud knock on the door

Sarah was startled.

”Were the robbers back for her?” she thought in her confusion.

“Who, who is it?” Sarah shouted out in a frightened voice

“The taxi driver” yelled a familiar voice from behind the door, “You left your jacket on the back seat”

Sarah ran to the door and opened it; there was the female taxi driver with her jacket

The female taxi driver noticed something was wrong in Sarah’s demeanour, “Is every thing all right?” she asked

Sarah shook her head, “It’s my brother” Sarah squeaked out before breaking down, “He’s dead” Sarah sobbed, “My brother’s been murdered”
“WHAT?” the female taxi driver said in surprise
“He’s in there” Sarah sobbed as she pointed to the living room door
The female taxi driver handed Sarah her jacket and pushed past so she could look into the room.

The taxi driver came back looking grim, “Have you called the police yet”

Sarah shook her head, “My mobile won’t work” she continued to sob as she showed her mobile to the woman.

The female taxi driver pulled out her mobile and switched it on then dialled the emergency service number, requesting the police.

It took an agonising five minutes while the taxi driver explained what had happened

“They have a car in the area” the taxi driver told Sarah as she finished the call to the emergency service line and then told her that she would call dispatch and that Sarah should quickly use the bathroom and then come and wait in taxi.

Sarah winced as she crept past the living room closing her eyes and then ran up the stairs to the bathroom where she tried to be sick down the toilet.

But nothing was coming as she had hardly eaten all day because she had been so wound up about going to that strip club in Manchester.

Sarah used the toilet quickly, although doing so at the behest of the taxi driver seemed like when she was a little girl again being told to go, because they were going on some long trip.

Then she nervously came down the stairs, not daring to look into the living room where Trevor’s body lay, picked up her handbag and put it over her shoulder and then she ran into the arms of the female taxi driver.

“Let’s go to the car dear” the female taxi driver told Sarah and the two of them walked out into the cold night air.

Out of the corner of her eye Sarah spotted a figure in black on a motorcycle across the other side of the road. He looked like one of those motorcyclists who had almost ran her over earlier that evening and it looked like he was reaching for something.

Just then the night was shattered by the sound of a siren. Sarah instinctively looked round to see where that noise was coming from. It was a police car arriving with two male officers.

The motorcyclist seemed to realise he had somewhere to be and roared off into the night.

The police car parked behind the taxi and the male police officer in the front passenger seat got out.

“Are you the one’s reporting a break in and a murder” the officer asked the taxi driver.
“My fare found their brother dead when I dropped her off” the female taxi driver replied.

“Have you touched anything miss” the police officer asked Sarah

“I turned Trevor over and I used the bathroom” Sarah replied in a state of shocked confusion.
“I told her to use the bathroom” the taxi driver ventured, “I figured you would want her out of the house and I did not know for how long that would be”
“Well I wish you hadn’t” the police officer retorted angrily, “You may have compromised evidence in using the bathroom”

The other male police officer got out of the car and came over, “We’re going to have to secure the crime scene so we can’t allow you to go back in”
“Do you have someone you can stay with?” The Taxi driver asked Sarah.
Before Sarah could reply the first police officer interrupted, “Sorry but we need her to stay here so we can question her about this especially as by her own admission evidence has been compromised”
“Why?” the taxi driver protested, “She’s been out all evening”
“Did she discover the body?” the second police officer asked the taxi driver
“Yes” the taxi driver replied
“Did you see her discover the body?” the second police officer pressed.
“No” the taxi driver said in a confused voice, “I came back because she left her jacket in the car and as her phone wasn’t working I…”
“Then” the second police officer interrupted “as she claims to have found the body first and evidence has been compromised already we have to consider her as the primary suspect and hold her for questioning” the second officer continued as he took hold of Sarah’s upper arm with a painfully firm grip.

This was like another thunder bolt, not only had someone murdered her brother, but the police were accusing her!

“It wasn’t me” Sarah said weakly through her sobbing, “I didn’t kill Trevor”

“That’s ridiculous” the taxi driver protested, “Compromise evidence? All she did was turn over the body and use the toilet in her own house”
“It is our standard operating procedure now” the first police officer replied unsympathetically, and then turned to Sarah, “Sarah Bentley I’m placing you under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Trevor Bentley. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
“We need you to wait in the police car miss” the first police officer then told Sarah

The second police officer grabbed Sarah’s other arm and then placed handcuffs on Sarah and marched her to the police car.

All the while Sarah was in tears pleading to no avail that she had not killed her own brother.

“What are you doing” Sarah heard the taxi driver call out, “She’s been out all evening”

Sarah did not hear the reply as she was shoved handcuffed into the back left seat of the police car and the door closed.

Through her tears Sarah looked on as the female taxi driver remonstrated with the police officers who then pointed their fingers at her.

Then the female taxi driver put her hands up in submission, backed off and got in her car and drove off.

Sarah was alone in the police car, with only what she had been wearing and her handbag. For some reason they had not taken that off of her, but with the handcuffs she could not reach it.

Sarah could see various neighbours looking out of their windows down at her, obviously they would be thinking she was guilty.

After an eternity more police vehicles arrived, obviously the forensic teams similar to the ones on the CSI shows her brother used to watch. Also there was a man in a long grey coat that came up to the house

Sarah spotted that one of the uniformed officers was handing something in a transparent bag to him that had been found in the house. This new man opened the bag and appeared to sniff it. Then he closed it and went in to the house. He was obviously a detective.

After about five minutes the detective came out of the house and walked over to the police car. His face was like thunder.

The detective opened the door on Sarah’s side and presented the bag to her. It seemed to contain a load of smaller packets of some blue compound and a hypodermic syringe.

“Who’s your supplier?” the detective said angrily
Sarah shook her head in confusion, “I don’t understand” she whispered, “I’ve never seen that before”

“Don’t play little miss innocent with me darling” the detective retorted, “We found this stash of yours in your bedroom in your top drawer. You hadn’t gone out of your way to hide it, so where did you get it love”

“But I’ve never seen it before” Sarah protested through her tears

“Dry up the waterworks darling” the detective sneered, “I’ve seen it all before. This looks like Crystal Meth, and you’ve been caught bang to rights dealing in it. It’s obvious what type of low life you are, especially as you’re wearing a tee-shirt from a known strip club. Now I’ll ask you again, who is your supplier?”

“But I’ve never seen it before” Sarah insisted, “I’ve never done drugs”

“Don’t give me that” the detective shouted, “It’s obvious what happened, your brother found out you were dealing and was going to shop you, so you caught him by surprise injected him with a lethal dose of this little lot in the back of his neck and went out to establish an alibi”

“No” Sarah sobbed, “He was alive when I left”

“Save it!” the detective countered, “We found the bailiff’s letter and while I was in the house I checked with your bank and surprise, surprise, this evening a deposit of forty grand was placed in your bank account, about what this stash could fetch if you know where to sell it. That would certainly buy you sometime with the bailiffs, wouldn’t it love. A pity your brother got in the way isn’t it”

“But” Sarah began

“Just don’t” the detective insisted, “We’ve got motive, a murder weapon and opportunity and we know you’ve been dealing. I know what kind of scum you are. We are going to find out who your supplier is, whether you tell us or not. If you’re smart you’ll give him up down at the station”

The detective closed the car door and walked away, leaving Sarah in a state of utter shock.

Whoever the killer was had obviously planted the evidence on her to frame her, but how could someone have planted that money in her account when the bank machine had said her account was suspended and swallowed her card.

Was that why her card was swallowed?

What was going on?

The first two police officers got into the police car and the police officer in the front passenger seat operated the radio. They were going to take Sarah to the main police station in Bury.

The car then headed out and got onto Market Street. Thy drove past the bus terminus and then passed Laurel Street, where until recently Sarah had gone to school at the local High School.

Then they reached the junction with Booth Street and the police car carried on onto Bury Road.

As they were passing New Street, just passed the junction Sarah spotted two motorcyclists both in black, one on the north entrance and the other on the south entrance.

As the police car passed them, the bikers pulled out and started to follow close behind, one behind the other.

Sarah suddenly realised she recognised the bikes; they were the ones that had almost run her over earlier that evening.
“Those bikes” Sarah spoke up, “I saw them earlier” she insisted, “They almost ran me over when I was going out, they were…”

“Quiet in the back” the police officer in the passenger seat reprimanded Sarah.

“They are getting a bit close Derek” the police officer who was driving spoke up.
“We’re not exactly in a hurry” the police officer in the front passenger seat told his colleague, “pull over and let them get passed.”

The police car slowed a bit and moved over to the side of the road as if to let the motorcyclists over take, but the motor cyclists seemed to be showing no interest in over taking the police car.

“What are they up to” the police officer who was in the passenger seat asked to nobody in particular. He picked up the radio mike and tried to radio in.

The radio seemed to just give out a static hiss.

“The radio’s out” the police officer told his colleague who was driving, “I don’t like this”

Sarah strained to try and turn round to see what the motorcyclists were doing which was not easy with the handcuffs and the seat belt. Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted the biker in front pulling out something metallic from his jacket.

“They’ve got guns” Sarah wanted to scream but was paralysed with fear, she was transfixed as the motorcyclist pointed the item right at the back window of the police car and right at her.

Now she could recognise what it was. She had seen one on a website her brother once showed her. The item this motorcyclist was pointing was a machine pistol.

Sarah managed to quickly turn around to facing front again. She did her best to lean forward and to the side in the rear passenger seat so her head was below the top of the seat and the bottom of the rear window.

Just as she did so, she heard a single burst of gunfire from the motorcyclist’s machine pistol and the back window of the police car shattering behind her.


To be continued…