Free A Proper Charlie by Louise Wise Page A

her way across the road to an all-night café when a car pulled to a stop beside her.
    ‘ After some fun?’ a grey haired man asked leaning across the passenger seat, his hand reached to open the latch for her.
    Charlie quickly fumbled for the recorder in her bag where she flicked it on and pulled the microphone discreetly out.
    ‘ How much do you expect to pay?’ she asked.
    The man pulled a face. ‘Isn’t that your decision? I want full sex,’ he added.
    ‘ Fine,’ she said without embarrassment. ‘Fifty quid for full sex, twenty five for, er, manual.’ She bit back a giggle then, and watched with a grimace as the man frowned suspiciously. It looked as though she had blown it. So much for her acting skills.
    ‘ You look a bit old to be new at this,’ he said.
    Cheeky devil, Charlie fumed inwardly. She considered lying, but said, ‘I’m twenty four.’
    ‘ Like I said, you’re a bit old to be new at this.’ His eyes dropped to the small microphone held in her hand. He swore violently, and his car disappeared, tyres screeching.
    ‘ Another satisfied customer,’ she said to herself and grinned.
    Charlie continued across the road and opened the door to the café. It had the shy atmosphere of a large place, which was used to crowds of bustling people, but now only had a few late night shoppers.
    She bought a mug of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallow and chose a table where a dog-eared newspaper, The Globe , lay. She pulled it towards her and opened it up. There was a small piece about the merge inside. ‘The Middleton Group that owns the fast selling newspaper, The Globe , has bought London Core ,’ she read softly to herself. She felt a tickle of excitement as she read. ‘It is said that it has been a challenging year for the newspaper industry,’ She pursed her lips and muttered, ‘It’s going to be a challenging year for me if I want to get ahead.’
    Charlie stirred her drink. She was feeling more positive since she’d decided to turn her article ideas into a novel. If not her work colleagues, it’d certainly impress Andy! She blew a hole in the froth so she could take a sip, and organised the paper in front of her for a further read. There were many cup rings and spillages over the pages.
    ‘ Damn,’ she said, as a blob of creamy froth joined the stains and covered the face of Sarah Cameron. ‘Sorry, Missus,’ she said. Looking up she caught the startled glance of a businessman.
    He smiled awkwardly, and looked away, obviously determined not to catch her eye again.
    ‘ Typical Londoners,’ she muttered, dropping her eyes back to the newspaper. She pushed it away and fumbled in her pocket for her mobile. She checked it for texts or missed calls from Andy.
    She’d been texting in between calling and not getting an answer. She figured he was busy. He did love her. He had to. She realised she was close to becoming obsessive. Soon she’d be parking outside his mum’s for short glimpses, stealing hair and nail clippings and resorting to papering her walls with his photos.
    He was as close to a family as she was going to get, and Charlie didn’t want to let that feeling go. She’d been in a care home for all of her childhood; apart from the times when various families fostered her. Her last ‘posting’ (that’s what she called her placements because she felt unwanted in all of them) was at the age of fifteen and if it hadn’t been for Melvin, she didn’t honestly know how she’d have coped. She longed for a family to belong to.
    Charlie sipped her drink and debated on whether to order a pastry.
    She texted Andy instead.
    I luv u. Call me pls. We nd 2 tk.
     
    *
     
    ‘ She’s nearby.’
    Ben pressed his mobile against his ear. ‘You’ve found her?’
    ‘ Not exactly,’ Locke said. ‘After she left the wake she dumped the car and wandered around the city. I suppose she left spontaneously without any clear thought at all, anyway to cut a long story short, she squatted with a