Chapter Eleven: Glim Dropper

Charlie Bingley had disappeared. Lizzy and Jane had thought nothing of it for the first couple of weeks. Ok so he hadn't been in contact but they hadn't really expected him to be. But then the days passed, the weeks passed, and still no word. He had dropped off the grid completely. Jane attempted to put up a front, but Lizzy could tell she was heartbroken. She took to staying in a lot, not going out to work, shutting herself in her bedroom. Lizzy didn't know what to do. She hadn't anticipated this. From the moment he'd met her, Lizzy was so sure that he was completely and utterly smitten with Jane, so sure that they'd end up together. It just didn't make any sense. Even if she had misjudged his feelings, which she was certain she hadn't, wasn't he supposed to be in London setting up a new crew? Didn't he say himself that he might even have the first mark?

Maybe he got spooked. Maybe the police attention had scared him more than he had been willing to admit. But still, it didn't seem like a good enough reason. No, Lizzy began to suspect something else, something that was confirmed on a Thursday morning when she walked into the kitchen to see Jane staring blankly at her laptop, tear tracts present.

"Janey?" she asked, concerned.

"An email from Caroline," Jane said, emotionlessly.

"About time!" Lizzy exclaimed, hoping that some answers would finally be given.

"She says that she's staying up in Manchester."

"And Charlie?" Lizzy asked with trepidation.

"Not coming back to London any time soon," Jane said, her voice still robotic. "She says that Darcy has hooked him up with a crew. He's going to sell the Sydney Opera House for fuck sake. Be out of the country for six months at least. He's leaving in four months and won't be coming to London again."

"Oh, Jane…." Lizzy pulled up a chair next to her and engulfed her in a hug that was not returned. Jane was in shock.

"I just thought…"

"I know Jane."

Lizzy had never felt more alone. Charlotte was gone, Jane was in a funk over Charlie, hell even Lydia was more distant these days, disappearing for weeks at a time, reappearing briefly and then swanning off again. Who knows what that girl was up to. London just didn't feel the same anymore. She'd always had a close circle of friends, she wasn't the most sociable of human beings and she understood she could be difficult at times and therefore didn't have legions of numbers in her phone. With Jane off the radar and Charlotte in Vegas, she was lonely. The more she was on her own, the more she found herself looking back in disgust at some of her behaviour. She still believed she had a point about a lot of things, she was still her own stubborn self after all, but she knew she should have supported her friend. Ever since Darcy and fucking Charlie 'the dickhead' Bingley, as she had taken to calling him, had come to town, she had not been herself. She'd been mean and selfish and horrible. They weren't attractive qualities. Yes, Darcy and Caroline had been a nightmare, but she should have risen above it. Ironically, when she thought these things she just got more annoyed at herself for continuing to think about them. She still had the feeling that something didn't add up somewhere, that there was somehow something she was missing, Darcy and his crew's visit just didn't sit quite right. There had been moments in their time in London, just fleeting but moments, where she thought she may have glimpsed a bigger picture, something at play that she wasn't supposed to be privy to. A peek behind the curtain. Again, she was being ridiculous, she knew that. It didn't matter, they were gone. Leaving her sister behind to pick up the pieces of her heart.

Came back to the same thing.

They were grifters.

They were not nice people.

Any hopes that she could have cured her loneliness through George had been quelled, she'd heard he had shacked up with Mary King, a pickpocket who was distinctly lacking in personality. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. To be honest, her interest had cooled anyway due to the flakiness of his character, and she had heard a couple of whispers around town that were less than complimentary towards him. Perhaps she had dodged one. But it would be nice to be paid some attention to occasionally, nice to have a laugh and a flirt. Instead, she was stuck in a disused office building in Neasden with Cyclops.

They'd decided to do a few jobs together seeing as they were both at a loose end. At least Cyclops had a bit more ambition about him than the rest of the Bennets. He wouldn't play the long con, can't teach an old dog new tricks he said, but they planned and executed a few decent grifts that required more thought and planning than the average Pigeon Drop. She was making good money too. But it wasn't as fun as running around the city with Jane, Charlotte, or even Lydia. It was more mechanical, completely about the results and the paper they made. She missed the rip and run, the element of surprise, the way they'd pick a mark off the street for being a twat and resolve to teach him a lesson. That was grifting in the purest sense. What she and Cyclops were doing was working.

This was why she wanted to play the Long Con. She wanted to plan her own scores, take money from those who deserved to have it taken from them, and do it in the most audacious of ways. She wanted the buzz that only that could give her. She was making rack after rack for a few months but she wasn't happy.

She missed Jane.

God, she missed Charlotte.

One day in late spring, a few days after they were finally free of their probation orders, something came up that she thought could maybe help Jane out. She had waited and waited for her to get over Charlie, been as patient as she could, but this was getting ridiculous. Lizzy was single-handedly paying the rent on their place, don't get her wrong she was happy to cover it and earning more than enough, but it wasn't healthy for Jane to be like this any longer. She needed to move past it. Occasionally when Lizzy was feeling particularly frustrated with her sister, she got angry. I mean, ok, it was clear she felt a lot for Charlie, but she'd only known him about a month for God's sake. Knew it was harsh, but still. Just under three months had passed since his departure, it was time to change. And if moving forward meant going backwards, then Lizzy was happy to help.

A job had come up in Manchester, a one-off longish con with a crew headed up by an associate of Cyclops. The con required someone who knew their stuff when it came to art as they were doing a spin on the Art Student scam, a con popular in China but that had fed over to Britain in the last few years. It was only a very minor part in the play, but Jane was perfect for it and she persuaded Cyclops to recommend her. Not only was it a good chance for Jane to get back to work with something she could do in her sleep, but it would also be an opportunity for her to go and see Charlie and get some closure. According to Caroline's email, he wasn't leaving the country for another month and she had their address. After hours of convincing and cajoling, even bribing, Jane agreed reluctantly to go and meet with the crew. She was delighted and surprised when Jane accepted the job offer. Perhaps they could put a line under this whole thing. And they could go back to how it used to be.

Jane left a few days later, and Lizzy waited nervously for her return, the doubts that always plagued her nibbling away. It was the problem with being a grifter and having all your friends be grifters as well. Nothing was guaranteed. Every day was a battle of nerves as you prayed that your friends didn't get caught up in anything, be it police attention, or the wrong mark and the consequences that could come with that. It never went away and it wasn't a pleasant way to live. But it was how it was, it was the choice they made.

Jane came back late on Tuesday night, Lizzy had been dozing on the sofa with some awful reality show and a half-finished take-out box. Sprang up when she heard the door click shut.

"Jane?" she asked, blearily.

"Jesus, Lizzy, this place is a shithole!" Jane laughed. It had been a rare sound the last few months. "I go away for four days and this is how I find you living?"

"Fuck all that, how did it go?" Lizzy asked, settling back on the sofa as Jane did the same.

"Good," Jane smiled, eyes alight. "The score went perfectly. 5k haul each, not bad for three days work. God, it was good to be back Lizzy! I mean, it wasn't the biggest of parts in the plan, but I managed to impress them. They said they'd look me up if anything else came up as well!"

"That's great, Jane," Lizzy smiled, warmly. "Nice to see you smiling again. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline and cash to cheer you up!"

"I know. I'm sorry for how I've been acting, Lizzy. It's pretty pathetic really, I'm cringing just thinking about it. All those fucking Bright Eyes songs…."

"Bright Eyes songs are built for this kind of thing, Jane," Lizzy chuckled. "If you'd started going to Joy Division, that's when I would have got worried and started hiding the knives."

"It wasn't going to go that far…"

Lizzy almost didn't want to bring up the other thing, not when it seemed she was getting the old Jane back, but she knew she had to.

"And did you um… did you see….."

"Smooth segue, Lizzy," Jane laughed. "Very smooth. Did I see the Bingleys? Well, yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"I called Caroline when I got to Manchester, said I'd be around on Monday if she wanted to meet up. She was a little reluctant, said she had a lot on, but that she'd come by my hotel on Monday afternoon if she could."

"Did she turn up?"

"Yeah, eventually. I waited all day and she finally deigned me with her presence at about four o'clock. Said she only had half an hour. God, she was so fucking rude, Lizzy, kept slagging off London, saying that Charlie hadn't been able to find any decent grifters and that someone had been talking to the Filth about them…"

"So, Charlie was more spooked by the police than he was letting on," Lizzy said, confirming her suspicion.

"I get the feeling that he had to be persuaded, not that it took much, obviously." Jane said, bitterly.

"And what about Charlie?"

"He's gone," Jane replied, the first hint of sadness entering her voice. "Caroline kept going on and on about what great work he was doing, how she was hoping he'd meet a girl out in Australia. Did you know he's selling the Sydney Opera House to some sucker? Bit showy offy if you ask me…"

"Quite." Lizzy held back a smirk.

"So yeah, then she got up and said she had to go. She was there for about ten minutes. You were right about her, Lizzy. She's just a fucking bitch. And Charlie's just dickhead. I'm done with them. I've wasted way too much time making excuses for him, feeling angry at him, feeling sorry myself. Shit happens, some people are just cunts."

"Jane!" Lizzy laughed, slightly shocked.

I mean, come on, she didn't believe it. Didn't believe that one weekend, a disastrous meeting with Caroline, and calling Charlie every name under the sun was enough to say Jane was over him. Not for a second. But it was a start, a good start, one they could work with.

"Well, I'm glad," Lizzy looked around for something to toast with, only coming up with two slices of cold pizza, handing one to Jane. "Here's to us, and never thinking about those cunts again!"

"Cheers." Jane toasted, and Lizzy stuffed the whole slice in her mouth, covering her face with cheese and tomato, causing Jane to choke with laughter. They were silent for a while, munching away on the less-than-delicious pizza.

"I spoke to Charlotte today." Jane broke the silence, looking sideways at Lizzy as if to gauge her reaction.

Lizzy's joy at being reunited with the real Jane evaporated as she was faced with another one of her mistakes. She couldn't believe she'd let her relationship with her friend crumble like that. What had she been thinking? Why couldn't she have just supported her, even if she thought it was all a mistake? But no, classic Lizzy Walker. Speaking before thinking, judging before she had it straight, being all in all a fucking twat.

"How is she?" she asked, quietly.

"Good," Jane replied. "She likes it out there. I mean, of course she does, it's fucking Vegas! Cradle of our civilization!"

It was an attempt at a joke, but Lizzy was still lost in her thoughts and self-loathing.

"She misses you," Jane said, softly.

"I doubt it. God, I was awful, Jane! I mean, like, really harsh. Too harsh."

"You were just trying to look out for her."

Lizzy laughed humourlessly.

"Funny, that's what Frances was saying when she was saying all those horrible things to me. Am I as bad as fucking Frances?"

"I think that would be impossible," Jane smiled. "Look, you just sometimes go a bit overboard. Everyone does it from time to time. And this crisis of self confidence you've been having the last few months has hardly been helping…"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been a bit funny. And don't blame it on Darcy and Caroline, it's been going on for a while. I don't know, Lizzy, it's like you think you're going to be stuck here forever, like you think that you need to accelerate everything. I know you want to move up in the world, play the Long Con, but can you honestly say you're ready for that? These things take time, Lizzy, you can't rush them. You're still in your early twenties for fuck sake."

"Darcy was doing scores at this age…" she said, sullenly.

"Darcy's a special case, despite what you may want to think. And he had advantages that you don't, Lizzy. He had connections and money, on top of his own genius."

"Can we please stop calling him a genius?"

"Face the facts, Lizzy," Jane laughed. "All this as well, this hatred of Darcy, trying to beat him at everything, trying to impress him, because that's what you were doing even if you didn't realise it at the time, don't deny it."

"Yeah, I came to that conclusion as well." Lizzy sighed.

"You don't need to, ok? It turns you into someone you're not. It'll come, Lizzy, in time. You're going to have the world, remember?"

Lizzy smiled at the words, remembered when she'd first uttered them to Jane when they had only just met and were absolutely trashed. Had expected Jane to laugh at her, but she hadn't. She'd just looked at her, deadly serious, and nodded as if she believed her. As if she totally believed that Lizzy was going to reach the stars and higher.

"For fuck sake, I thought we were sorting your shit out!" Lizzy joked, easing the tension.

"Alright, alright," Jane surrendered with a yawn. "I'm going to bed, it's been a long few days. But, Lizzy, talk to Charlotte, ok? Sort this shit out. I know she wants to speak to you, although she's too proud to admit it, the stubborn bitch. Remind you of anyone?"

"Piss off and go back to your Bright Eyes CD's!" Lizzy called at Jane's retreating form, voice laced with humour.

Jane was right.

She needed to sort her shit out.

For a while though, she couldn't face it. She was too embarrassed, a bit ashamed of herself, downright scared to pick up the phone. Every night after they got back from work Jane asked her if she'd called Charlotte yet, rolling her eyes and tutting when Lizzy replied with a negative. Finally, a couple of weeks later, Lizzy plucked up the courage and dialled her friend. She was pretty relieved when it went to voicemail until she realised she was supposed to leave a message. What the fuck was she gonna say? She had to say something, she'd remained silent for about twenty seconds already.

"So, um, Charlotte, what's up?"

Is that the best she could do, she cringed. What's up? God, she was emotionally stunted.

"Yeah, um… I'm good here, you know and all that um…. um"

This was going from bad to worse. She should have planned something, should have written some fucking bullet points. She sighed into the phone.

"Well, actually it's all a bit shit, Char, it ain't the same without you here. I miss you. And I'm so fucking sorry for being a dick, you know? You were right, as usual. So um… yeah… just call me back or something if you want. Um, if you don't they'll be, like, no hard feelings, I probably deserve it. No scratch that, fucking call me back, please, because I love you and I'm a dick and I miss you and your… face. Yes, I miss your face. Um… cool…. See you. Well, I won't actually see you, seeing as you're in Vegas and I'm in London, but you know what I mean.. Oh fucking hell, Christ, right bye. Yeah um bye."

Lizzy pressed end call and buried her head in her hands. That was so embarrassing. Couldn't she just be a normal human being? Put her in a short con with strangers she was the epitome of smooth, charming, funny, cool. But in a real situation with real people she cared about, she was just a mess. A lot of grifters found that. You had to be a bit messed up to do what they did, it wasn't a normal life. They could turn it on, they could act the part, be anything someone wanted them to be, but when it came to the real stuff, the honest stuff, the stuff that actually mattered, they were always going to struggle. Even Jane in all her sweetness found it. On top of that was their childhoods, the stunted growth, the things they'd seen or experienced that they should never have had to. When the very first thing you learnt about yourself was that you'd been abandoned, it was difficult not to see it all differently to others. But Lizzy knew it could no longer be an excuse. She was past that now, she was a fully functioning and (mostly) emotionally stable woman. The past is not an excuse. Time to grow up, as Frances had said.

She spent the rest of the evening just staring at her phone, hoping against hope that Charlotte would call back, that she hadn't ruined everything between them. Charlotte was one of the first people to ever take her seriously, her first and perhaps only true friend outside the Bennets. When she had been a mouthy kid, all rage and sadness, Charlotte had been patient with her, had persevered like no one else ever had. She could have just walked away, got sick of Lizzy's shit and told her to fuck off. But she didn't. She and Jane never had.

Finally, the phone rang.

For a moment, Lizzy convinced herself she shouldn't answer it. She should run away and hide. But she remained strong and picked up.

"Hahahahahahahaha…." Charlotte's laughter came through from the other end, sounding like the most beautiful thing in the world to Lizzy.

"Charlotte?"

"Hahahahahahahahah! Fucking hell, Lizzy, that was probably one of the worst and most embarrassing voicemails anyone's ever left. Hahahahaha!"

"Do not mock my heartfelt and very eloquent apology." Lizzy grinned into the phone.

"Oh, Jesus!" Charlotte gasped. "I would have loved to have seen the look on your face when you finally hung up! Oh, Charlotte, I miss your face…"

"God, I didn't say that did I?" Lizzy cringed.

"Twice!" Charlotte almost shouted. "Seriously, you have some real emotional issues, Lizzy! Normal people just say sorry and then hang up. Why didn't you just write an email? At least then you would've been able to get a normal person like Jane to rewrite it for you. Mate, you are something else…."

"Are we still mates then?" Lizzy said in a small voice, the doubts returning.

"Course we are, kid," Charlotte laughed. "We had a fight and you were a dick. I mean, you know, more than usual, cos usually you're a dick anyway, but.."

"I am not a dick usually!" Lizzy said, indignantly.

"Yes you are," Charlotte said, shortly.

"Ok, maybe I am. But, I am really sorry, Char. I should have been a better friend and I'm so sorry and…."

"Alright, alright," Charlotte chuckled, interrupting. "I think one rambling apology is enough. Besides, some good has come out of this."

"What's that?" Lizzy asked, confused. She couldn't see anything good that had resulted from their fight.

"I now have some of the best blackmail material ever!" Charlotte roared with laughter. "Seriously, I play that voicemail at the Jack Hammer, your reputation will be in ruins! Mwahahah!"

"You play that to anyone and I'll kill you," Lizzy warned.

"Lizzy, you're supposed to be grovelling, remember," she could hear the smirk in Charlotte's voice. "Apologising for being a prick, not threatening to kill me."

"Whatever," Lizzy grumbled. "I've apologised now, so can we just drop it?"

"You're so emotionally fucked," Charlotte laughed. "Fine, fine, let's forget about it, yeah. Onto the more important business. So, when you coming out to see me?"

"I have a record, Charlotte," Lizzy explained. "I've only just got off probation. No way will they let me in. Actually, come to think of it, how the fuck did you get a working visa? You've been banged up more times than OJ…."

"Catherine knows people," Charlotte revealed. "It won't be a problem, she can get you in."

"Aren't you working all the time? I don't really want to be hanging around all day, waiting for you to finish."

"Yeah, cos a grifter can't find anything to do in Las Vegas for a day," Charlotte said, dryly. "Besides, this job is so cushty, Lizzy! Some days, I do nothing, it's great! Billy's team are all so much better than him at their jobs, so they just get on with it, leaving Billy, therefore me, with like one or two things to do. I mean I have to go to these awful board meetings every now and again and take notes, but it's a small price to pay. And fucking Vegas, Lizzy! You'd love it, and probably hate it at the same time. It's that sort of place. Luckily, most days I love it. You have to come. I heard you've been building up quite the stack the last few months, so money is not an excuse."

"How'd you hear that?"

"I speak to Jane, Lizzy."

"Surprised she even noticed. Been shutting herself in her room crying over dickhead Bingley for weeks…"

"She sounded better the other day."

"Yeah, she's getting there," Lizzy sighed. "I mean, she's still heartbroken, but at least she's trying to hide it now. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable, knowing I don't have to try to, like, be there for her."

"Fucking hell, Lizzy," Charlotte laughed. "I've missed you and your social awkwardness. I feel for Jane though, heartbroken and only having you to talk to. How did you manage?"

"Oh, you know, I just kind of patted her on the back a bit and then changed the subject," Lizzy mumbled.

"That poor girl," Charlotte chuckled. "I'm sure you did your best. So, how about next month then?"

"Next month?"

"For you to come out to Vegas for a couple of weeks! I'll take as many days off as I can get away with, and swing us a suite at Rosings too. Proper luxury."

"Why can't we stay at yours?"

"If you want to be harassed by Billy every night then we could," Charlotte groaned. "It's the one downside, he's always just popping in. It's alright, to be honest I've warmed to him. He's a fucking idiot, but he is pretty amusing to be around."

"I'm glad, Char," Lizzy said, she meant it to. "But yeah, let's stay at Rosings."

"Good, I'll make the arrangements. And Lizzy?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss your face too." Charlotte said quickly, putting the phone down.

Lizzy lay back, a slow grin forming on her face. Charlotte had forgiven her. She had her friend back.

She was going to Las fucking Vegas.