Road Closed Read Online Free PDF

put on a front, but Brenda knew better. He wasn’t so tough. When it came to it Cal was no worse than all the other men. Better, because he looked after her.
    ‘If it wasn’t for me, where would you be now?’ he asked her. ‘How would you live? And where? On the street, that’s where.’
    ‘Yes, Cal.’
    ‘Where would you be?’
    ‘On the street, Cal.’
    ‘Bronxy’s had enough of you.’
    ‘Yes, Cal.’
    ‘But I look after you.’
    ‘Yes, Cal. You look after me.’
    Brenda had been happy at first, working for Bronxy. Bronxy was tough with the girls but fair. She looked after them.
    ‘We’re a team, girls,’ she used to say. ‘I make sure the punters are comfortable but you’re the ones who keep them happy.’ The trouble was, Brenda wasn’t keeping men happy any more. She still danced, but none of the customers wanted to pay to spend time with her. It wasn’t as if she was old. When Bronxy took her off the podium, Brenda was shocked.
    ‘What am I supposed to do for tips now?’ she complained to the other girls. They didn’t care.
    ‘All the more for us,’ one of them pointed out.
    ‘What can I do?’ she asked Bronxy in desperation.
    ‘Clean yourself up for fuck’s sake,’ Bronxy snapped. ‘You’re a disgrace.’
    When Cal took her to live with him, Brenda couldn’t believe her luck.
    Bronxy seemed pleased with the arrangement too. ‘He’ll put a roof over your head and take care of you. Don’t mess it up, Bren. And get yourself off the smack for fuck’s sake,before he gets tired of you. You’re being given a chance here. Don’t screw it up.’
    Brenda tried to explain that the smack wasn’t the problem but Bronxy wasn’t listening. No one understood, except Cal. She wondered where he was. He could be gone for hours. She closed her eyes.
    In the darkness a snake uncoiled, hissing.

7
    Second Attempt
    They waited until the road was clear. Cal turned the van lights out and was careful not to rev the engine as they crawled slowly up Harchester Hill. He parked in a side street. No one saw them hurry on foot past houses set back from the pavement behind tall bushes. Without a word, Cal vanished through a gap in a hedge. Ray followed close on his heels. They crept along under cover of evergreen shrubs. Somewhere a dog barked. Cal paused, one hand raised above his shoulder. Ray almost barged into him. He stopped himself just in time and hung his head, waiting for Cal to move. They listened. The dog went on yelping. It was nowhere near them. Cal tapped Ray on the arm. They resumed their cautious progress towards the house. In the darkness they made their way silently down the side of the front garden, trampling late autumn flowers into the earth.
    ‘Quick, make a dash for it,’ Cal whispered in Ray’s ear. They sprinted across a narrow strip of grass. Security lights came on. They reached the house and flattened themselves against the wall.
    ‘They’ll think it’s foxes,’ Cal whispered to Ray who nodded, hunching his shoulders and holding his breath. His heart was pounding beneath his jacket. He hoped Cal couldn’t hear it. They waited. As soon as the lights clicked off, Cal gave Ray a shove and a leg up over the side gate. Ray slid the bolt across. They were inside. The security lights came on again. No one looking out of the window would have seen two figures pressed against the side wall of the house in theshadow of the gate. After a moment the lights went out. They manoeuvred their way along the wall, avoiding setting off the lights, until they reached a low window.
    Ray glanced around nervously while Cal worked. It was awkward cutting the glass while keeping himself pressed against the wall. The faint scratching seemed to go on forever. At one point, Ray sidled up and put his hand on the window.
    Cal paused in his task. ‘What?’ he snarled under his breath.
    ‘Thought I heard a phone ring.’ They stood listening. There was no sound from inside the house. Cal shrugged and