‘Aren’t you eating that, guv?’ Wyre tucked her long fringe behind her ear.
‘I’ve just lost my appetite. I think you will too when you read what Bernard’s just sent.’ Jacob and O’Connor glanced over as they took a seat.
Wyre flicked through her emails on her phone and winced. ‘Oh hell. There’s a definite confirmation as to why the skin on her lips was torn. I hoped it wouldn’t be true.’
14
Two of Madison’s friends had commandeered a booth by the window. She gave them a wave and a smile. The pub was dead. With the partygoers paying off their Christmas credit card bills and everyone deciding that their body was a temple, the party was well and truly over in the short term. That and with it being a Monday. The Angel Arms was the only place to be in Cleevesford, especially since the new licensee had taken over. As she hurried over, Madison glanced at the bar – the one which Amber had once worked behind. She began removing her coat and shuffled into the curved window booth that the other two were sitting in.
‘I can’t believe Amber, the girl they found dead this morning, used to work here part-time. I mean she lives in your apartment block, Ty,’ Alice whispered across the table.
Tyrone gave her a nudge. ‘You know when you whisper, everyone can hear?’
‘And who exactly is everyone? There’s no one in here or haven’t you noticed the complete lack of atmosphere. Boring.’ Alice yawned for effect. ‘It’s a good job Maddie turned up or it would have been shite sitting here with you all night getting slowly wasted.’
‘Now, now, children.’ Madison gave Tyrone a nudge and moved along a little more before she began ruffling through the receipts in her purse, searching for the emergency tenner that she tried to always replace. That and Nanna’s fiver should make the night a good one. ‘What can I get you?’
‘Ooh, as you’re buying make it a double vodka and Coke.’ Alice burst into laughter. ‘Half a lager.’
‘Same.’ Tyrone pulled his woollen hat from his head and popped it on the seat beside him. ‘It’s warmed up a bit in here.’
The fire crackled as a log began to burn in the fireplace. Flames danced and filled the lounge with an inviting warmth that told Madison that it was safe to relax and forget the feeling of being followed back in the lane. She headed to the bar, money gripped in her closed hand.
‘What can I get you?’ The landlady had the longest red nails she’d ever seen and wore her hair in a huge messy bun on the top of her head.
‘Three halves of lager, please.’ As the woman began pouring the drinks, Madison nervously leaned on the bar with one hand. ‘I heard about what happened, on the news. I can’t believe it and I’m sorry. I know she worked here.’
The woman frowned. ‘We can’t either. She was a lovely girl and the customers loved her too. Some bastard out there killed her.’ She shook her head. ‘We’re having a collection for her family.’ The woman tapped a tin on the bar with her nail. ‘It’s to help with funeral expenses and all that. I mean, no one expects to have to bury their child.’
Madison handed over her ten-pound note and received a little bit of change. ‘It’s so sad. I hope they find who did it.’ She placed the coins in the box.
‘And me. They should throw away the key. Anyone who can kill a young woman and leave her like that needs stringing up. Anything else?’
Madison shook her head and awkwardly carried the three drinks back to the table, only spilling a little bit of the frothy head down the sides of the glass. Tyrone and Alice were tittering over something on his phone.
‘What are you both laughing at?’ Madison shook the spilled drink from her hand and wiped the rest on her jeans.
Alice’s face went red as she slammed Tyrone’s phone on the sticky wooden table. ‘I’ve just set Tyrone up with a profile on AppyDater. He’s hoping to meet a tall dark handsome fit man anytime soon. I said he needs a better photo though.’ Alice lifted the phone up and thrust it close to Madison’s face.
‘That couldn’t be any less flattering. He has one eye shut and his nostrils are flaring. Check you out! Oh my, you’ve got your first smiley.’ Madison bit her bottom lip.
Tyrone leaned over the table. ‘Give it here.’
Madison moved back a little as she checked out the hottie who had sent the smiley. ‘He is one handsome beast. You, my friend, are lucky. Get a better photo and quick.’ She slid the phone across the table and Tyrone snatched it up.
‘It’s only been live for a minute. What the hell. I’ve died and gone to heaven. He’s sending me a message.’ He paused, his eyes fixed on the screen. ‘Now he’s stopped. Damn.’ He slammed it on the table and picked his drink up, sipping at the head before taking a huge gulp of the amber fluid and letting out a belch.
‘It’s a good job the hottie isn’t here now.’ Alice pulled out her own phone. ‘I haven’t had a single smiley yet. What the hell am I doing wrong?’ She passed the phone to Madison. ‘It took me an hour to get my make-up right for that photo.’
Madison pressed on the photo so that it filled the screen. Alice’s strawberry-blonde hair fell just over her shoulders. Her necklace glinted and her striking make-up made her green eyes look huge. She scanned her profile. Loves cat cafés and reading. ‘Maybe you need to work on your interests more. It’s definitely not your pic.’
‘What’s wrong with cat cafés?’
Madison scrunched her nose. ‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a bit crazy cat lady sounding. You need to cast that net out wide and you might just catch a prize fish.’
Tyrone snorted lager from his nose. ‘I agree. The cat café thing, it’s a bit dull.’
‘Well I don’t think so.’ Her serious expression quietened them both, then she grinned. ‘If a boy doesn’t like cats then I can’t date him – seriously.’ After a moment of silence, Alice piped up again. ‘Maddie.’
