All is Fair Read online

  All is Fair

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  The roar of the revving motorcycle engine reverberated deafeningly around the 32-foot-high wooden walls of the drum-shaped structure called the Wall of Death.

  Julie Otterman – or Miss Jules, as she was known when performing – a very attractive, shapely 27-year-old platinum blonde, who was always being reminded of her resemblance to the American film star Lana Turner, clutched the shoulder of her husband’s leather jacket, leaned over to place her lips against his ear hidden under the strap of his flying helmet and urged, ‘Dicky, please don’t do this. You know what the doctor—’

  Before she could say any more, Richard Otterman – who performed under the name of Daredevil Dicky – had irritatedly shrugged her off and snapped angrily, ‘For God’s sake, stop nagging. If I say I’m ready, then I’m ready, got that?’ He revved the engine even harder before adding, ‘Now get out of my way.’

  Julie sighed despondently. Dicky was not fully recovered from dislocating his shoulder only a week ago. The doctor had advised him not to ride for at least another three to give it proper time to heal, but Julie knew she was wasting her time trying to persuade him not to attempt what he was about to, as Dicky listened to no one but himself.

  She stepped as safe a distance away as she could in the small space, watching intently as Dicky kicked back the stabiliser, revved the engine again by twisting the throttle on the handlebar several times, then set off at speed onto the incline of the structure, gathering pace as he went, continuing up onto the vertical side. Despite the rate at which he was travelling, Julie’s sharp eyes never left him.

  He had barely completed two circuits when to her horror she saw the front wheel suddenly slip and start wobbling dangerously. Dicky yelled out a string of expletives as he fought to regain control of the violently swerving vehicle. Sheer panic rushed through her, her hand clasped to her mouth as she helplessly watched him fighting to get himself out of this life-threatening situation. It all seemed to happen in slow motion – a frantic Dicky and the bike appeared to hang in the air for several long moments before they fell stone-like to the ground, landing with a loud crash that echoed around the high wooden walls. Then everything went deathly quiet.

  Julie froze, staring blindly over at Dicky lying motionless on the wooden floor, the bike on top of him, its wheels still furiously spinning. She tried to move her feet to go over and check on him, but the fear of what she might find prevented her.

  Then she saw one of his legs move, then an arm, and next his eyes were open and he was yelling at her, ‘Don’t stand there like a fucking idiot, get the bike off me!’

  She dashed over, grabbed hold of the handlebars and heaved the machine off him whilst worriedly demanding, ‘Are you hurt, Dicky? You haven’t caused any further damage to—’

  He was on his feet now, rubbing his injured shoulder and bawling, ‘Go and tell Frank or one of the other lads to bring the long ladder!’

  She eyed him, confused. ‘Ladder? Why—’

  ‘For God’s sake! What it is with you women that you need to question everything? Ladder. NOW.’

  She spun on her heel and ran over to the door in the side of the wall, yanking it open and dashing through it.

  Outside, the fairground was a hive of activity as the rest of the Grundy fair folk went about their business, readying the stalls, side shows and rides for opening in a couple of hours’ time. Julie headed over to a brown Morris J-type van parked at the back of the Wall of Death that had been converted into a workshop for the repair and maintenance of the riding team’s bikes. The back doors were wide open, and as she arrived, she could see Simon Jones – or Speedy, as he was nicknamed – working away inside in his oily overalls.

  She called to him. ‘Speedy, have you seen Frank or any of the other lads?’

  At the sound of her voice, the five-foot-ten, pleasant-faced 24-year-old, with short fair hair beginning to recede at his temples, immediately stopped what he was doing and turned his head to look at her. As always, at the sight of her, his eyes lit up and a broad smile of pleasure split his face. Despite their four-year age difference, Speedy had fallen in love with Julie the first moment he had been introduced to her, when he had come to seek work with the Wall of Death team at the start of the season. His feelings were no secret to Julie, as despite how hard he tried, he could not disguise them from her. Other women might have taken advantage of this, teased him or led him on – even cheated with him on their husbands behind their backs – but not Julie. Her marriage was sacred and she wasn’t the type to have fun at someone else’s expense, especially a nice man like Speedy, who didn’t deserve to have his feelings ridiculed or exploited.

  He told her, ‘Frank went off to town about half an hour ago to get some wheel bearings for number four bike, and Rod went with him to send a postal order off to his mother. Since his dad died, she relies on the bit he sends her each week. I’ve no idea where Harry is, but he’s knocking off that woman whose husband owns the rifle range, so it’s a safe bet he’s sloped off for a bit of how’s-yer-father with her while Dicky’s back’s turned. Can I help?’

  ‘Dicky wants the long ladder.’

  Speedy frowned as he wiped his hands on an oily piece of rag. ‘What for? I thought he was testing out the new bike this morning. Though it’s my opinion he should have let me do it, as he’s hardly fit enough after dislocating his shoulder last week.’

  In defence of her husband Julie said, ‘I did try to persuade him not to, but he’s put a lot of work into modifying the bike and couldn’t wait any longer to see how it performs. I’ve no idea why he wants the ladder.’

  They both knew that since Speedy had been the one to make the majority of the mechanical improvements to the bike, the honour of riding it on its maiden run should have fallen to him, but as the boss of the team and by way of asserting his leadership, Dicky had claimed the right as his. To voice his displeasure would have more than likely resulted in Speedy getting his marching orders, so sensibly he had kept his mouth shut. He had joined this particular team for a specific reason, and until he had achieved his aim, he wouldn’t give either the fair owner or Dicky any reason to get rid of him.

  ‘I’ll take the ladder to him,’ he offered.

  Smiling appreciatively at him, Julie turned and left.

  She made to return inside the Wall of Death, to check that her husband had suffered no after-effects from his accident and also to satisfy her curiosity about why he wanted the ladder, but she changed her mind and instead went back to their van, situated amid a huddle of others at the back of the main fair arena. Smoking was banned inside the Wall of Death for both riders and spectators, and she felt the desperate need for a cigarette and a cup of sweet tea to calm her nerves, which were still jangling from the shock – albeit momentary – of thinking her husband was dead.

  Not in the mood fo
r conversation, she managed to avoid several potential waylayers en route back to the van, and a short while later was sitting by the stove in a worn but comfortable armchair, alternately drawing deeply on a cigarette and taking sips of tea, her eyes riveted on a photograph in a plain silver frame that sat on the narrow mantel above the stove.

  It was of herself and Dicky on their wedding day. It hadn’t been a lavish affair; just themselves and a couple of witnesses grabbed off the street who’d been willing to oblige. To have had her family present would have meant the world to Julie, but no matter how much she had pleaded her case, her parents had been stolidly against her marrying a man she had only being dating for a couple of weeks, and her all-consuming feelings for Dicky had rendered her incapable of listening to their arguments.

  She had only been eighteen, Dicky ten years older, when she had first met him in a dance hall in her home town and been swept off her feet by the handsome charmer who worked for a travelling funfair as a Wall of Death rider. He had assured her that his job was only temporary, as he had great plans to own his own Wall of Death ride in the not too distant future, and then she’d want for nothing.

  He had let it slip one night early in their relationship when he’d had far too much to drink that his original ambition had been to become a speedway rider. He’d had the talent to possibly become one of the best in the country, but high-performance bikes cost money he hadn’t got, so instead he had found a job with a fair as a stunt rider.

  Despite living in primitive conditions on very little money, estranged from her family, amongst a group of people with ways and traditions alien to her, for the first few weeks of her marriage Julie had been deliriously happy, but that was all to change when she discovered just what her parents had seen in Dicky that her love-blinded eyes had not. The handsome face and outward charisma cleverly hid an ugly interior. Dicky was in truth a man who had to be in control, everything done his way with no compromise. He didn’t take failure graciously, in his conceitedness never considering that his lack of success could be down to himself in anyway whatsoever, and he possessed a volatile temper that would erupt at the slightest provocation. He would satisfy his wrath via his fists, always on someone weaker than him, and since his marriage, that had mostly been Julie herself. He was very clever, though, never damaging her where it would show. To outsiders, the Ottermans’ marriage seemed perfect: a devoted couple very much in love. Dicky might be happy with the way things were between them, but that was far from the case with Julie.

  A tear wobbled on her eyelid before it fell off to run down her cheek as she remembered the first time Dicky had used her as a punchbag. Still getting used to cooking on a temperamental old gas ring in their dismal, damp and cramped one-bedroom 1930s caravan, she had burnt a tin of Irish stew she had been heating up for their dinner. That attack had left her with two broken ribs and extensive bruising on her torso. In his remorse afterwards, as he pleaded with her to forgive him, promising that nothing like that would ever happen again, Dicky had let slip that his violence was nothing to do with the ruined meal but due to his anger and humiliation that his boss had passed him over for promotion to lead rider on the grounds that another man had been with them longer. Julie later found out that the real reason was that the rest of the team had threatened to walk out if Dicky became their boss.

  Over the last eight years, she had lived in fear of Dicky’s unwarranted assaults, never knowing when they were coming and powerless to stop them when they did. She had lost count of the number of times she had had to make excuses to others for her injuries; lost count too of the times she had tried to plan a way to leave him. But to start a new life would take money, and as he held the purse strings, only handing her enough to pay for food and essentials, there was nothing spare for her to secrete away until she had enough to make her escape. The only place she could go was back home, but to do so would mean having to tell her beloved parents what Dicky had been doing to her, and she couldn’t break their hearts like that, especially when they had begged her not to marry him in the first place. She had made her bed and now she must lie on it.

  If it was any consolation, though, this last couple of years had seen a marked reduction in Dicky’s attacks. It had come about through an idea of his that at first she been vehemently against, as what he was proposing terrified her witless. He wanted her to learn to stunt-ride. They’d been working for a seaside fair at the time, and his dream of becoming leader of his own team or owning a Wall of Death ride was no nearer to fruition than it had been when Julie had first met him. They had worked at five different fairs since they had married, each time leaving under a cloud because of Dicky’s attitude; in fact, Julie suspected it wouldn’t be long before they were ousted from the fair they worked for now, as she knew the leader of the team was getting sick and tired of Dicky’s high-handed attitude.

  Dicky had happened to overhear a conversation between two of the other riders as they were cleaning their bikes. They were discussing a Wall of Death act in America where the rider was a vivacious woman in her twenties. Crowds, particularly men, flocked to see her performing, and wherever she went she was treated with film-star reverence and had become very wealthy as a result. Dicky immediately saw the wisdom of Julie learning to ride. To his knowledge, there was no other woman performing on the Wall of Death in Britain. She was young, blonde and attractive, and their act would be unique and in great demand, with fairs vying with each other to hire them. This was just the edge he would need to get himself taken on as lead rider, and their share of the entrance money would all the sooner amass to allow him to buy his own ride.

  Watching the men perform the stunts was terrifying enough for Julie, knowing that one false move could seriously harm them, possibly end their life, and she had no desire whatsoever to try it herself. Dicky, though, would not listen to her arguments, leaving her in no doubt that she was going to do what she was told. He didn’t give her any time to get used to the idea, but immediately fetched one of the practice bikes, took her to a straight piece of quiet road and, with only a quick lesson on the workings, ordered her to take it for a spin.

  Nearly two years later, she could still feel the sheer terror she’d felt at the time, sitting astride the bike for the very first time, the throbbing of the engine reverberating through her body, knowing that once she engaged the throttle and released the brake, she was in control of how fast it went and whether she stayed on. How long she sat there, frozen in fear, staring down the long road ahead, she had no idea, but finally Dicky’s bullying tactics did the trick and she closed her eyes, revved the throttle and lifted her foot off the brake.

  Next thing she knew, she seemed to be flying, the wind whipping through her hair. By the time she finally brought the bike to a stop a good half a mile down the road without so much as a wobble, the fear had been replaced by pure exhilaration. She was shocked to find she had enjoyed every moment of the ride and couldn’t wait to repeat the experience. She now understood what riders got out of riding motorcycles at speed. Without any reservations whatsoever, she turned the bike around and rode back to Dicky.

  From then on, she became his willing pupil, and within only a couple of weeks had mastered the rudiments of riding a motorcycle and was ready to tackle a few simple stunts. Six months later, she was performing alongside Dicky as part of a double act, and the crowds were flocking to see her. Not that Dicky ever praised her part in that, and neither did she benefit financially, as he pocketed her share of the entrance fee as well as his own, but she was prepared to accept the situation if it kept him happy. He might be a violent man, but he wasn’t stupid, and now that they were working together, he generally managed to keep his temper in check, astute enough to know that if he incapacitated her in any way, she could not perform, and that would severely affect his pocket.

  Dicky’s belief that fairs would be fighting with each other to take them on now that he had Julie as his bargaining tool was proved wrong, as his reputation as a difficult man to work with
preceded him, although it was down to her that he landed his first job as leader of a team – not that he gave her any credit, simply gloating that at last someone had recognised his prowess.

  Through the fairground grapevine he had heard that Grundy’s fair was on the lookout for a lead rider after theirs had decided to leave the dangerous profession to settle down with his new wife and work for her father as a mechanic in his back-street garage. Dicky wasted no time in putting himself forward as replacement.

  Julie had taken an instant liking to Sam Grundy. His fair wasn’t one of the biggest in the country, but nevertheless it boasted numerous stalls offering games of chance, skill and strength, several sideshows – boxing, magic and illusion amongst them – and many thrilling rides, supporting the livelihoods of over forty families as well as a dozen labourers and gaff lads. Sam himself had come across as a gruff, no-nonsense sort who didn’t suffer fools at all, let alone gladly, but she had seen the twinkle of humour in his shrewd eyes and knew that behind his tough veneer was a kind, principled man, unique in her experience of fair owners in that he genuinely cared for all those who worked for him in whatever capacity and would be ruthless to anyone who brought harm to them or his business. She might not have known Big Sam, as he was respectfully called, for very long, but she was as shocked and upset at his accidental death only months after they had joined the fair as were the rest of the community.

  During the interview for the Wall of Death team leader, though, Julie had sensed that Big Sam hadn’t liked Dicky or his cavalier attitude. Not that she had ever hinted at the fact to her husband, for fear of repercussions, but Sam had intimated very strongly to her that the sole reason he decided to give Dicky the job was because he had taken a shine to Julie herself. He had foreseen the asset she would be to his business – the only female rider at present in the country – and if he wanted her to join his team, then he had to take Dicky too.

  As with all the other fairs, she had worried that their time with Grundy’s would be short-lived due to Dicky’s behaviour, but so far none of the other riders had made any complaints about him, and she dearly hoped it stayed that way. At Grundy’s she felt she belonged to an extended family who all looked out for each other. She had made good friends, especially Jenny, the owner’s pretty 24-year-old daughter, and Ren, who owned the candy floss and confectionery stall, and she very much looked forward to the time they spent together. Like everyone else in the community, both Jenny and Ren were oblivious to what went on between her and Dicky behind closed doors, believing them a devoted, happy couple. Julie couldn’t bear the thought of becoming the object of their pity and sympathy, so she kept that side of her life from them.