Bound By Blood

by Paul J. Teague

  ‘Well, clearly, if this power of attorney is to be revoked, it’s necessary to make a formal request through Davies, Tillotson and Walker for the original paperwork.’

  ‘And?’ Tiffany said, losing patience now. The man’s delivery was so slow; she’d seen paint dry quicker.

  ‘They’ll make your husband and your brother aware of your move. At that point, I can’t conceal what you’re doing any longer.’

  ‘Oh,’ was all she could say. She’d hoped it was possible without their knowledge.

  ‘Can’t it be set up like a house sale?’ she ventured. ‘Once you press the button, doesn’t everything go through at a set time on a set day?’

  ‘It won’t quite work like that, because you’re taking this action against your brother’s will.’

  ‘We have the doctor’s letters and the psychological report. They both confirm I’m completely recovered and fully capable of exercising my own best judgement. Surely they can’t challenge them now?’

  ‘They might. And from what you’ve told me about your relationship with your brother and your husband, they may well do so.’

  ‘How would they do that?’

  ‘They could challenge a deed of revocation through the courts. I’d have to say, it would be a spiteful thing to do and I’m not sure how my legal colleagues would view it. It would be a bit like holding you a legal hostage, and it would be a very unsavoury matter. We have proved your mental capacity, so from the point of view of the Office of the Public Guardian it won’t be an issue. But I felt I should warn you before we take the final steps on this. I want your permission before I formally notify Davies, Tillotson and Walker of your intent. Are you happy to give it?’

  Every time she made a move, Tiffany felt trapped. She’d had one bout of bad depression, just one, yet it had given those bastards control over her life. She wasn’t going to hurt Callie and she never would; it pained her to even think of it. But they’d said she was about to smother her child with a pillow, in order to force her into hospital for a month. If she hadn’t signed the power of attorney documents, she’d never have got out.

  They’d set her up and lied, telling her she would never see her children again if she didn’t sign. What other choice did she have? She hated both of them. She and Fabian had never been particularly close as older children, but this was the final straw. Their father’s death had forced them together again out of necessity, to sort out his estate.

  Tiffany wanted to hurt those men, really hurt them for what they’d done to her. They’d stripped her of any self-respect and dignity, and she would never forgive them for it.

  ‘How finely can you time it?’ she asked Mr Winder. ‘How late can we leave it before we have to show them our hand?’

  ‘I’ll do everything I can to set it up for a swift confirmation, to minimise any delay and limit the opportunity to challenge. It’s always tricky where diminished responsibility is concerned. We have medical proof that the factors which led to the original deed no longer apply, but they might attempt to challenge that. Your husband, for instance, could make further allegations about you hurting the children again—’

  ‘I never touched Jane. That was a complete lie—’

  ‘I know, I believe you Mrs Irwin; but you have a track record of mental health issues. It’s exceedingly difficult to shake off, however unfair it may seem. I might add this is a particularly nasty case. We often see spiteful acts like this between spouses, but seldom anything as vindictive as this between siblings. It’s all very unsettling.’

  He could say that again.

  ‘It must be done by New Year,’ she told him. There was no way around it, but if they left it until the dead zone between Christmas and New Year, it would be difficult for them to challenge her. With any luck she’d be gone by then.

  ‘I don’t normally express an opinion on my clients’ affairs, but I really do wish you the best of luck in this, Mrs Irwin. And if you need legal representation after the revocation, my firm would be delighted to represent you.’

  I bet you would, Tiffany thought. They shook hands and Tiffany left the office. So, it was done. The power of attorney would resolve the property and land issues, then she was clear to tell David to get stuffed. She’d wait out the prescribed periods for formal separation, then divorce, and she’d be shot of him as soon as possible. Tiffany checked her watch. She still had a good hour before Brett would be free for his lunch break. Her heart beat faster with excitement at the prospect of spending some more time with him.

  Soon they would be together, and Fabian and David would be fading shadows from a former life. But there was one more part of the plan which she hadn’t even shared with Brett yet. She hadn’t plucked up the courage yet; it was still a fledgling thought in her own mind, and she could barely believe she’d even considered it.

  Tiffany turned around and headed for the nearest travel agent. She had five tickets to buy: all of them one-way, open tickets to Australia.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ‘Please don’t fraternise with the guests,’ Vinnie said.

  Charlotte assumed he was talking to Doctor Henderson, who she hadn’t heard speaking yet. He’d chuckled along with Vinnie at the appropriate sadistic moments, like they were a pair of sinister Beavis and Butthead cartoon characters laughing at the misfortune of others, but she’d heard none of the relaxed voice he’d used when chatting to Fabian Armstrong at his house off Heysham Road. Was the doctor scared of Vinnie Mace?

  ‘Okay, Charlotte, I’m giving you one chance, then we get this party started. If I don’t find this document in the car, I’ll remove the first of Will’s fingers before I even utter a word to you. You know I searched the car at Sunderland Point, don’t you? I couldn’t find anything then.’

  ‘It’s well hidden. I tucked it up into a gap in the hub. Give it a proper search this time, it’s there, I promise.’

  ‘Clever. I didn’t think you would have had the sense to put it somewhere really safe. Where did Kate Summers hide those documents, by the way? We’ve searched that property once already, and there was no sign of them.’

  ‘In the Monopoly game. It seems like you’re not so hot when it comes to us women, Vinnie. Maybe it’s because we don’t think like a psychotic monster, so it’s easy to deceive you—’

  Vinnie pulled the base of the hood tight and clenched it firmly for a couple of seconds. He’d caught her by surprise whilst exhaling; she wouldn’t be able to withstand much of this. As soon as he released his grip, she took in a breath, just in case he was coming back for more, but he started to push his hand deep into her pocket. She closed her eyes, fearful of what he might do. So far, he’d only indulged in threats of physical violence, but if it turned to sexual violence, that was another thing entirely. These men knew exactly what to do to make their victims compliant.

  Vinnie located her car keys and pulled them out of her pocket.

  ‘Did you think you were getting lucky there?’ he asked.

  Charlotte felt so repulsed and terrified that she couldn’t speak.

  ‘If I can offer you any reassurance about this evening’s entertainment, I can tell you it won’t involve anything like that. What kind of weirdo do you think I am?’

  ‘I wouldn’t put anything past you, Vinnie—’

  ‘Shut up, Charlotte. I’m sick of your voice already. You have five minutes, doctor, so get your tools ready. Let’s go for the teeth first. I always loved that scene in the film Marathon Man. When did you last have a check-up, Charlotte? It doesn’t matter, you’re getting a free one tonight.’

  Charlotte had found the torture scene excruciating to watch when they’d watched the movie on video as students. She and Will only had one chance at this, and they had to get it right.

  The only indication that Vinnie had left the building was the slam of the door at the rear. She waited until she was confident he’d gone.

  ‘So, you know I was in your house, Doctor Henderson. I saw your certificates. What happened to
you?’

  There was silence.

  ‘You must have had the medical world at your feet at one time. Why does a professional like you take up with men like this? You’re not one of them, are you?’

  ‘Shut up,’ came the reply. It carried a lot less conviction than Vinnie’s voice.

  ‘Are you all right, Will?’

  ‘Be quiet!’ Henderson barked, like a teacher not quite in control of the class.

  Will mumbled.

  ‘Hey, Will, remember that time at my college when we got in trouble at the library? I’ll tell you when—’

  ‘I want you to shut up,’ Henderson tried again.

  ‘Or what?’ Charlotte challenged. She’d seen the tools at the doctor’s disposal. But she was taking a gamble that he was the wing-man, the weedy kid who got a social boost by sniggering whenever the school bully picked on some innocent victim in the playground, relieved at not being on the receiving end of the beating.

  ‘Or else,’ came the reply, as the doctor jangled some instrumentation to her side.

  ‘You hear that, Will?’

  A mumbled reply came, through a taped mouth. She hoped like hell it was a yes.

  ‘So why did you leave the medical profession, doctor? If you’re going to torture us, we may as well get to know each other better beforehand.’

  She was playing with fire, but she couldn’t have risked it with Vinnie in the room.

  ‘Oh, just some prick who decided to investigate a couple of simple errors on the operating table, that’s all.’

  She’d drawn out a key piece of information; the pain must still be burning within him. Why else would a highly skilled man like this end up working with people like Vinnie Mace? It must be the only possible source of income with his given skill set. She hoped she’d been right in believing the doctor was no psychopath. If she’d got it wrong, she and Will would both die.

  ‘It’s going to take Vinnie ten minutes to walk to my car and back. Can I at least ask you to take this hood off my head so I can catch my breath? The minute you hear Vinnie, put it back. He doesn’t need to know.’

  ‘Don’t talk to me,’ the doctor answered. He was a man out of his depth.

  ‘Do you get any pleasure out of hurting people like us?’ Charlotte asked. ‘You don’t strike me as a bad man; you have a lovely house, a nice car and a fabulous life. You can’t want to do this. You’re a doctor, for God’s sake—’

  She hadn’t heard him moving towards her. Without warning, he pulled the hood off and brandished a scalpel at her.

  ‘I’ll give you one minute with it off,’ he said, ‘but if you make a wrong move, I’ll cut you.’

  ‘Not without Vinnie’s say-so you won’t,’ Charlotte challenged him. She looked at Will. He nodded and began to move his feet so his chair shuffled around. The doctor hadn’t seen yet.

  ‘Now!’ Charlotte shouted.

  As she felt the doctor jump behind her, she rocked her body forward then backwards, tipping the chair into the doctor. He yelled as he lost his balance and the scalpel clattered to the floor. She could hear Will scooting his wheeled chair across the ground as she lay on top of the doctor, holding him down. Each time he struggled, she thrust her weight backwards. She heard the top of the chair crack against his jaw and he quietened. Then she realised he was reaching for the scalpel to his side; without the use of her hands or feet, she could only keep him pinned down until Will got there. The scalpel lay just beyond his fingertips.

  Will’s chair appeared at her side, one wheel rolling over the doctor’s fingers. She felt Henderson’s body convulse as his bones crunched under the force of her husband’s weight. Then Will tipped his chair and fell to the ground. With his foot, he kicked the scalpel over to her and pivoted around on the floor to reach out with his taped hands. She knew exactly what she needed to do.

  Move fast. Cut the tape. Vinnie will be back soon.

  She picked up the scalpel with her two bound hands and started to work at the tape around his wrists. Her first attempts were clumsy, cutting his skin and drawing blood.

  ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry Will,’ she apologised. It wasn’t bad; it would heal, but she hated herself for harming him.

  She moved more carefully this time, and before she knew it, the tape was cut. Will parted his hands and tore the tape off his mouth.

  ‘You’re bloody amazing, Charlotte. Here, let me cut those ties.’

  The doctor, who’d been yelling in pain, attempted to move again, but Charlotte gave another thrust backwards, making his head strike the concrete floor. He stopped struggling, evidently accepting they had the upper hand. Will cut the ties and released Charlotte, helping her to her feet. They hugged briefly, clutching each other tight. Then Will moved over to the table where the circular saw was sitting. Charlotte looked at him.

  ‘No, Will, no. We’re not like them.’

  ‘He’s got this coming to him.’

  Will pulled the trigger on the saw and the deadly blade began to spin.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‘Will, no!’ Charlotte shouted.

  She watched the circular blade spinning, its jagged blade perilously close to the doctor’s head. Henderson was cowering on the ground, whimpering.

  ‘I want some answers from this dick. He’s a sadistic piece of crap—’

  ‘Will, no. He’s not our problem, Vinnie is. We’ll be no further forward if Vinnie marches in here and overpowers the two of us. He’s got my car keys and we’re not going anywhere without those, stuck on an industrial estate. He has a gun too.’

  Will released the trigger on the circular saw and the doctor ceased his pleading.

  ‘What’s this about, Henderson? Why did you pick me up at the hitching post that night and drive me here? And why are you threatening my wife?’

  He flicked the switch on the saw momentarily and the doctor flinched.

  ‘It’s nothing to do with me, honestly. I’m just a hired hand.’

  ‘A well paid one at that,’ Charlotte added, retrieving their mobile phones from where Vinnie had left them.

  ‘Here, Will,’ she said, passing his over. ‘It looks like they kept yours charged. You’ve got about a million messages from me and the kids. That’s some backlog.’

  ‘What does that madman want with us?’

  She’d never seen Will as furious as this in all the time they’d been married, not even when the kids had been at their most exasperating.

  Will turned back to the doctor, waiting to hear why he was involved.

  ‘They pay me. I got struck off several years ago because I had a couple of accidents in the operating theatre after my wife died. They removed me from the register. You don’t recover from something like that; it was my livelihood. My life came tumbling down in a matter of a year. I just help these people; I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t get involved—’

  ‘Just following orders. Where have I heard that one before?’

  ‘Will, steady.’

  ‘This man’s the worst kind of coward, Charlotte. He lets psychopaths like Vinnie do all the dangerous work, and he stands by like some sadist who gets off on this stuff.’

  ‘I’ve never been involved in something like this before, I swear; I usually just patch up people who need to stay away from hospital. Vinnie works alone—’

  ‘The anaesthetic; that’s how we overpower Vinnie,’ Charlotte said. It had just occurred to her while the doctor was doing his best to justify himself. She walked over to the partially filled syringe which had been left on the storage box.

  ‘Is this enough to knock him out?’ she asked the doctor, but he didn’t respond.

  Will started the circular saw once again.

  ‘The only thing stopping me from hurting you is my respect for my wife. If she wasn’t here, you’d resemble a butcher’s shop display by now. So get talking.’

  Charlotte looked at him and saw the gleam in his eye. He was hamming it up and doing a good job of it. Even she believed what he’d j
ust said.

  ‘It won’t put him to sleep, he’s too big and sturdy. But it will incapacitate him. You need to get it in a vein, it’ll work quicker—’

  ‘Hush, I heard a noise. It must be Vinnie.’

  ‘I want out of this too. I didn’t sign up for this intimidation business. I was fine doing the patching up, because I only had to keep my mouth shut, and I was keeping to my Hippocratic Oath to save lives. But you get caught by these people, and you can’t get out—’

  ‘Enough now,’ Will said. He placed the saw to his side and took a photo of the doctor’s face close up on his phone. Charlotte watched at his side as he swiftly texted it to Olli and Lucia with a short message.

  I’m okay. I’m with Mum. If you don’t hear from me in 1 hour, call the police. Tell them to find this man. He’s called Doctor Henderson. We’re at White Lund Industrial Estate. Dad x

  ‘Right, Doctor,’ Will began, ‘my kids have your photo and if we don’t get out of here, they’ll call the police. They know who you are. All you have to do is go back to where you were when Vinnie left and keep your mouth shut. We’ll do the rest.’

  The doctor nodded in acquiescence and returned to where he’d been standing.

  ‘Right, back as we were. Who’s going for Vinnie?’ Will asked.

  ‘I will,’ Charlotte replied. ‘I’m going to play the female card, it’s the last thing he’ll expect from me.’

  A door slammed shut in one of the back-office rooms.

  ‘It was a great idea, mentioning the library,’ Will said, squeezing Charlotte’s hand. As students they’d been banned from using the college library for one week because they were playing on the wheeled chairs, competing to see who could travel the furthest distance with a single kick of the feet. The shame of being suspended from library use had chastened them. It had been silly, puerile and immature; but great fun. Besides, they were young and in love.

  That moment of silliness all those years ago had been the shared experience that got them out of a hole. If she could incapacitate Vinnie in the next few minutes, it would have been worth not being able to use the library for a week all those years back.