Trust In Love

Condemned

"Just going for lunch Jen, you be ok?"  the cheery voice floated into the stockroom where Jennie was stickering this weeks "Star Read" - some heavy tome on mid-century brutalist architecture they'd been trying to shift for weeks.  If this didn't work, its was doorstops all round!

"Sure Susie, be there in a sec..."  she scrambled to her feet and walked through, dusting off the knees of her jeans.  Susie smiled warmly and passed her the swipe card for the till, sauntering off to the tiny cupboard that passed for a staffroom.  Jennie watched her go for a second then turned back to the pile of books next to the till. 

These were MUCH more up her street.  A biography of the Plantagenet Kings of England. Sounded equally boring, with a capital ZZZZZZ but in fact, the author was one who took a more irreverent approach.  So far, one chapter in?  She'd had to suppress a good old snigger several times.

Just as she was flicking on to the next chapter, the store really WAS quiet, Susie passed again on her way out.  "Just going to the café - want anything brought back?" 

Jennie shook her head and laughed "Nothing they have for sale!" she winked and Susie shook her head. 

"You and your Tom fixation eh?  Well I hope tonight lives up to everything you dream love." she smiled and walked away down the road.  

Susie Warrender was the owner and dual backbone of The Beggars Book.  Being older, she was more like a mother hen; a boss and a friend to Jennie since she'd started. Initially, it had been just been temporary to fill in when she'd been made redundant from her accountancy job, but now? Three plus years later?  Hardly temporary and VERY enjoyable.

Susie was a fair boss, she worked hard and expected her staff to do the same.  When they were busy, which DID happen, they worked without a break if needs be.  When they were quiet however, there was always time for tea and cake from along the road.  As a result, there was very little staff turnover.  Jennie and Simon, the young student who helped on a Saturday, together with Charlotte who worked on three afternoons a week, were loyal and they knew their boss had their back.  Trust was everything.

Trust that was about to be dismantled in a wholesale fashion.

Jennie looked up from the agonies of a guilty Henry the fourth, as the doorbell tinkled, announcing the arrival of another customer.  Automatically she smiled at the pale and thin young man approaching her.  He smiled thinly, looking slightly sheepish. Or was that.. she dismissed it and put down her choice and picking up a copy of this weeks "Star Read".  Nothing like a little product placement, as Susie always said.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" she asked, completely unaware of the hell that was about to be unleashed.

"I saw you in the café last night...." he said evenly making Jennie stiffen slightly. "With your... friend." he paused and smiled properly this time.  Her stomach clenched.  

It was the smile.  

She played it cool, trying not to give away she recognised him.

"Oh! Well he's a..." she laughed and tried to act coy, inside she was screaming for Susie to come back. "Can I help?" she changed tack.

"He left this behind." swinging the backpack from his shoulder, Jennie instantly saw it was Tom's.  In the rush to leave the café, he must have left it under the table. "I knew you'd know how to get it back to him." he winked suggestively and she almost vomited on the spot.

"Th... thanks." she muttered, with a strained smile. "I'm sure Claire from the café would have known..." it sounded pathetic even to her.  He just looked at her and shrugged. 

"Can't trust anyone these days.  Thought since you were a... friend... anyway. His card wallet is there. All his money too." Jennie nodded, there wasn't much else she could do.  He wasn't being hostile, there was just something... The moment was broken by Susie coming in and seeing the two of them talking. She paused, waiting for Jennie to finish up, looking at the man and the backpack. One she too instantly recognised. 

"Well, thanks for your help Jennie. It was really good seeing you again last night... it's been too long... take good care now." he said with just a tad too much familiarity and too loudly.  He winked and walked out, an air of nonchalance that made Jennie's skin crawl.

"What was he doing here? Not buying a book for sure - we don't sell picture books for under 2's." Susie said quietly, and not a little suspiciously. "Seemed to know you well? I thought I knew all your friends."  She looked at the bag in Jennie's hands. "And how did he get THAT?"

"Tom left it in the café and he returned it to me. Said he knew I'd get it back to Tom." As she spoke, warning bells rang in her mind, but she ignored them.  Sometimes you had to trust people, even if they looked dodgy.

Susie nodded, "Well as long as everything's there I suppose no harm done."  There was a slight edge to her tone that worried Jennie.

"I really DONT know him, Susie. I only saw..." she started to explain but the door opened and another customer walked in.  

By the time she'd finished with them, Susie was back from lunch and in the stockroom. "You want me to take over again?" Jennie asked, indicating the inventory list Susie was ticking off.  Susie shook her head.

"No, it's ok thanks. Maybe you should head off early, get organised for tonight.  Your mind is bound to be whirling. Especially now you have a mission." she smiled.

"A mission?" Jennie was confused.

"Yeah - Toms bag!" she pointed to the backpack currently nestled in the corner under the counter. "Don't want to be forgetting that now do we?" 

"Ah no." Jennie nodded, "If you're sure?  I'll make up the time, I promise."

"Don't need to lovie.  Just make sure tonight is one to remember ok? For all the right reasons.  You only get one shot at something like this in life.  You don't want to miss it." Susie looked at her and paused.  "You know, if there's ever anything... wrong... you know you can tell me, don't you?" she put a hand on Jennie's arm. 

This was all very strange.

"Wrong?  There's nothing wrong. It couldn't be more right." Jennie looked at her friend and felt a cold finger of dread crawl down her back. "Why would you say that?"

"Oh, just sometimes we meet people... get into situations... we don't realise..." she shook her head, "Don't mind me lovie. Just an old woman's paranoia.  Go, have fun, seduce him, fall in love and have lots of babies!!" she winked and Jennie blushed furiously.

"SUSIE!" she gasped "I mean REALLY? It's just dinner!" she grinned and as she walked away added "So far....." 

The door closed and Susie sighed, looking at the empty space where the backpack had been.  There was just something not right.  She'd never known Jennie to be anything less than a wonderful human being.  Honest, kind, generous and loyal. To everyone and everything she cared about.

So why was she involved with that scumbag Terry Anderson? And why did she think there was more to this than just a returned backpack.