Addicted (35 page)

The front
doorbell ringing as I descended the stairs in my navy-blue
knee-length skirt and tailored white blouse, I took a deep breath.
This was it, Helen's debut! Opening the door, I donned a sweet
smile and introduced myself, holding my hand out and inviting him
in.

"Hi, I'm
Chris. I didn't want to trouble you during the evening," he began
apologetically as I led him into the lounge. "It's just that I was
in the area."

"It's no
trouble," I replied, waving my hand at the sofa as I sat in the
armchair. Did I come across as a woman who was not only having an
affair with her neighbour, but her best girlfriend? "So, you'd like
a portrait?"

"Yes, I would.
It's for my wife, her birthday," he replied. I made a mental note
that he was married. The information might well come in useful one
day! "I hear you're good, very good. How long have you been
painting?"

"Since I was a
child," I smiled. The time had come to haul Jackie's skeleton out
of the cupboard. Let the games commence! "My sister recognized my
talent. She encouraged me to go to art college and..."

"Your sister?"
He frowned as he sat on the sofa, confusion in his dark eyes.

"Yes, Jackie.
She used to paint but..."

"I knew a girl
called Jackie who used to paint," he said pensively, moving forward
and perching himself on the edge of the sofa. "What's her
surname?"

"Moore, Jackie
Moore."

"What a
coincidence!" he cried.

"You know
her?"

"Yes, unless
there's another girl with the same name who used to..."

"There's no
mistaking my sister. She's... she's somewhat common. I shouldn't
really be telling you this but, she's rather tarty."

"That's the
girl! My goodness! Where's she living now?"

"I'm not sure,
she moves around a lot."

"Jackie Moore,
good God! So, you're Helen Moore - as they say, it's a small world.
How old's your child now? I remember Jackie saying that you..."

"Jackie always
says too much. I don't have a great deal to do with her these days.
To be honest, I try to keep her under wraps."

"Oh, why's
that?"

"It's a long
story. Jackie... Jackie and I used to share a flat in London. I'd
rather forget the past but she has this terrible knack of reminding
people. I've moved on a long way since then. I'm so sorry, what was
your name again?"

"Chris."

"Oh yes,
Chris. Have you known Jackie for long?"

"Yes, quite a
while. You don't have a phone number, do you? I'd like to get in
touch with her again."

"No, as I
said, she moves around a lot."

"What about
your parents, are they local? Perhaps I could leave my number with
them and..."

"No, they
split up years ago. My father lives in Africa and my mother's
somewhere in America. I've lost contact with them."

"Oh, that's a
shame. I still can't get over it, Jackie's sister!"

"Yes, it's
quite a coincidence. So, about the portrait..."

"Oh, yes, I
almost forgot about that."

"My husband's
working abroad at the moment which makes things... What I mean is,
with Tony out of the way, I have plenty of time for my work so I
can fit you in for the first sitting tomorrow, if that's convenient
for you."

"Yes, that's
fine. You must get lonely in this big house."

"I have my
friends, and my work. I have a very good neighbour, too. Brian
takes care of me while my husband's away."

He frowned
again. "Brian?"

"My
neighbour."

"Oh, yes, I
see."

"My husband's
in Saudi Arabia at the moment, working for an oil company. The
money's good but he's away a lot. Still, I have Brian."

"Saudi
Arabia?"

"You seem
surprised."

"No, no it's
just that..."

"Would you
like to see some of my work?"

"Er... no,
it's all right. Look, I'd better be going. It's been nice talking
to you."

"Tomorrow,
about ten?"

"Yes, ten
o'clock."

"What do you
do for a living?" I asked, showing him to the front door.

"I'm an
accountant."

"Oh, so's
Brian," I smiled. "Well, until tomorrow."

"Yes, until
tomorrow."

I'd confused
the private detective so much that he'd probably give up! What Tony
would think, I had no idea. Brian, my neighbour, Jackie, my sister,
my husband working for an oil company in Saudi Arabia... Tony would
think that Chris had spoken to the wrong woman!

Slipping out
into the front garden, undercover of the night, I rummaged around
beneath the bush by the gatepost. Gary must have left the money
there by now, I reflected, the pay off - the hush money. The brown
package in my hand, I checked that the coast was clear before
stealing back into the house. I'd done it! I reflected
triumphantly, praying that Gary hadn't been lurking, spying, trying
to discover the identity of the peeping Tom.

Pulling the
notes out of the package, I counted out two thousand pounds - a
nice little sum for making the odd phone call! Again wondering how
Gary had discovered my escapade with Stephen Giles, I climbed the
stairs to my bedroom and hid the cash behind the wardrobe. I'd have
to confront Gary in the morning, come to some arrangement or other.
Another arrangement? My plan was going terribly wrong. All Gary had
had on me was untrue, but now?

I had too much
on my mind, trying to keep track of the lies I'd told Chris and
Tony. A good liar has to have a damned good memory. Was I becoming
a compulsive liar? I imagined I was! I'd played the role of Helen
the artistic wife, of Suzie the common tart, of Jackie my
sister...

The game was
becoming intense, I needed to rest, relax my brain in readiness for
another day of lies and deceit. I needed to rest my body, my
inflamed cunt, in readiness for another day of perverted sex. It
was time for bed, I decided, checking my watch - ten-thirty, time
for bed.

I woke in the
morning feeling elated, and wicked in the extreme! Naked, the gold
chain around my neck fixed to the nipple rings, yanking my tits up,
I bounded downstairs for breakfast. David was already in the
garden, his muscles rippling as he worked, his shorts bulging with
his manhood. He looked up and gazed longingly at me through the
window, at my abused nipples, my shaved vaginal lips, my protruding
inner petals. I didn't need spunk, I didn't need David - not yet.
But I needed excitement, the excitement derived from my dangerous
games, my wanton lies and deceit.

"What about
the threesome?" David asked as he wandered towards the house and
stood in the doorway.

"What about
it?" I replied coolly.

"This evening,
if it's OK with you, we'll come over and..."

"Maybe, maybe
not," I smiled, my clitoris stirring at the thought of Lydia's
tongue sweeping up my yawning sex valley.

His eyes
focusing on my swelling cunt lips, he frowned. "What do you
mean?"

"Exactly what
I said, maybe, maybe not. After all, you both had your chance, and
you didn't turn up."

"Yes but, that
was because Lydia's mother came round. Anyway, we had a deal."

"Yes, the
garden's coming on nicely; you're doing a fine job, David. Tony
will be pleased."

"I know Tony
will be pleased, but the idea was that I do days and days of work
in return for..."

"Yes, yes I
know. You'll have your threesome, don't worry. Right, I have things
to do. Help yourself to beer, there's plenty in the fridge."

"Are you going
out?"

"Yes, I'm
going into town. I have people to see, things to do..." I had Gary
to see, to confront the bastard! "How is Lydia?"

"Different,
she's changed."

Haven't we all
? "Perhaps she's in
love," I grinned, my clitoris swelling as I again imagined her
tongue sweeping up my moist sex valley, her slender fingers delving
deep into my hot, wet cunt as I sucked the sperm from David's
knob.

"What do you
mean?"

"In love,
David. You have heard of love, haven't you?"

"Yes, but who
with?"

"Your guess is
as good as mine. Perhaps she's in love with me - I mean, she does
want a threesome, doesn't she? Enough talk of love, you have your
work to get on with."

Watching David
mooch off down the garden, I thought about strolling down the lane
to the common. I might find a young man and allow him the pleasure
of fucking my cunt, there again, I might not allow him. I might
tease David, and then deny him sex. I might ring Laura, pretending
to be the mysterious girl after her husband, cause her untold
anxiety. There were so many games to play! Priorities, deal with
Gary! The phone rang, disturbing my train of thought, my life.

"Hi, Tony!" I
trilled in reply to his frosty voice. "How's Japan?" I asked. As if
I cared!

"It stinks!
Helen, I want some answers."

"Certainly,
what are the questions?"

"I was talking
to Gary earlier and..."

Ah, you've had a call from Chris
!
"Tony, I do hope you're not going to start again."

"He mentioned
that you know a neighbour of ours, someone called Brian."

"Brian? We
haven't got a neighbour called Brian, not as far as I'm aware."

"Apparently,
he's an accountant."

"Whoever he
is, I've never heard of him. When did you speak to Gary?"

"I rang him
about five minutes ago."

Liar
! "That's odd because he's here,
out in the garden with David."

"Perhaps it
was more than five minutes."

"Gary's been
out in the garden for an hour, at least."

"Yes, it was
just over an hour. I rang someone else five minutes ago."

"It sounds as
if you've lost all track of time."

"I'm still
suffering from jetlag; my mind's not working properly."

"An hour
ago?"

"Yes,
roughly."

"I don't
understand, Gary arrived here two hours ago - two and a half, in
fact."

"It doesn't
matter when I rang him, Helen!" More than a hint of aggression!
"Who the hell's Brian?"

"I have no
idea."

"What's Gary
doing there?"

"Looking after
me."

"Looking after
you? Helen, I... Have you told anyone that I'm in Saudi
Arabia?"

"What are you
talking about, Tony? Why on earth would I say that?"

"Gary got the
impression that I'm working in Saudi Arabia."

"He knows
where you are. He was saying this morning how lucky you are and
that he'd always wanted to visit Japan. By the way, I had it out
with Gary, the things he supposedly told you about me. What are you
up to, Tony?"

"Up to?"

"Gary was
visibly shocked when I confronted him. He swore blind that he never
said that I was a prostitute, and as for meeting a woman posing as
my sister, he just frowned, obviously completely perplexed. He had
no idea what I was talking about, I felt like a fool!"

"He told me
that he'd met a woman in the house."

"Well, I
really don't know what's going on. I must say that he's been acting
differently recently."

"How do you
mean?"

"Well, he was
talking about taking a holiday."

"What's wrong
with that?"

"There's this
cottage in Devon... He asked me to spend a week there with him. I
said no, of course."

"Gary asked
you to..."

"I don't know
what's going on, Tony. You've been asking me strange questions, you
reckon Gary told you that he met my nonexistent sister, and he
denies it - and now there's this Brian character, whoever he is.
There's another funny thing. I was out in the front garden early
this morning and I saw a man grab something from beneath a bush and
run off down the lane. It looked like a package."

"I'd better
get the next flight home, Helen. There's something weird going on,
and I don't like it."

"I don't like
it, either! I've had you accusing me of having an affair with
Laura, of all people, as well as Gary... I'm just trying to get on
with my work, and I have all this mysterious stuff to contend with.
I'm fed up with it, I really am!"

"It's as if
someone's trying to cause trouble all round. I wonder who's at the
centre of it all?"

You'll never know
! "That's what I've
been wondering. Who told you that I was having an affair with
Laura?"

"I don't know,
I can't remember."

"You can't
remember? Christ, if someone told me that you'd been having an
affair with Gary, I'd remember who it was!"

"Look, I have
to go. I'll get home as soon as I can and deal with this bloody
mess once and for all."

"Yes, I must
go, Chris is coming over this morning."

"Chris?"

"Oh, you don't
know Chris, do you? He's a client; he's coming for a sitting. He's
a nice chap; we spent some time together last night talking about
art."

"What did you
tell him?"

"What do you
mean?"

"What else did
you talk about?"

"Nothing, just
art. Oh, and his work." I grinned wickedly, my stomach
somersaulting as I pulled my trump card from my sleeve. "He's a
private detective."

"Did he tell
you that?"

"Yes, who else
would have told me? He's a very interesting man, I'm looking
forward to seeing him again. To be honest, I think he fancies me!
Oh, Gary's calling me from the garden; I'll talk to you soon."

"Helen, Helen,
I..."

That would
give Tony something to think about! He'd call Chris and Chris would
deny revealing what he did for a living and Tony... I began to
wonder whether the day would come when Tony would discover the
truth, unearth my wickedness. But there was no proof of my
debauchery, apart from Gary's bloody photographs. Gary had to be
dealt with once and for all! But not until I'd formulated my plan,
rehearsed my lines. Later, I decided, making myself a coffee.