Bill nodded. ‘If you say so.’
‘Oh, I do, Bill. You see, my mother had a hell of a time with my dad when he was around. She protected us from the worst of it, and I always respected her for that. He was a coward, Bill, just like you.’
‘I’ll get the money… Five thousand, I’ll get it as soon as I can. I just need to talk to her, she’ll understand.’ He looked towards Nicola. ‘Won’t she, love?’
Dougie took two steps forwards, grabbed hold of Bill by the neck and forced his head down onto the table.
‘It was five thousand five years ago.’ He lifted a fist and brought it down onto Bill’s temple. ‘But, with interest and inflation… I’d say that amount has risen somewhat.’ He brought his fist down again. ‘So, let’s call it a nice, round, twenty thousand, shall we?’
‘I’ll get it… Let me up, I’ll go find her. She’ll pay, she—’
‘You’ve got until the banks open in the morning,’ Dougie let go of Bill, turned away and nodding towards Nicola, walked out of the house.
As Nicola slammed the door behind him, Bill stood up groggily and held his hand to his ear.
‘Thanks for the help,’ he spat.
‘What could I do?’ Nicola stepped towards him. ‘I’ll see if I’ve got something to put on that cut.’
‘Never mind the sodding cut,’ Bill raged. ‘Just ring that bloody useless daughter of yours. Tell her to get round here this minute.’
Chapter 41
Jessica had just pulled out of the car park and onto the rough track when her phone rang. She took a quick look down, then stopped and picked it up.
‘Hello, Mum?’
‘Jess, could you come over please?’
‘Is he still there? I’m not coming if he is.’
‘Please, Jess, we need you… I need you, please come as quickly as you can.’
‘What’s wrong, Mum? is it him? What’s he done now?’
‘Please, Jess… for me.’
The call was cut off.
Jess sighed, then putting her car into gear, drove up the dirt track, waited for a lorry to cross in front of her, then pulled out behind it and headed for her mother’s house.
As she climbed out of the car on Burnett Street, she noticed Mrs Kaur, waving frantically from the door of her shop. She opened it as Jess approached.
‘I’m worried about your mother, Jessica. I saw a brute of a man go in about half an hour ago, he’s gone now, but there was a lot of noise while he was there.’
‘Thanks for your concern, Mrs, Kaur, but I think she’s okay. At least she was a few minutes ago when she rang me.’
‘I’m pleased to hear it, dear. He looked a nasty piece of work.’ She paused, then spoke again as Jess turned her back to leave.
‘I know she thinks I’m a bit of a tyrant, but I have her best interests at heart. I’d have sacked anyone else, months ago.’
Jess smiled at her. ‘I know she has her problems Mrs Kaur, and I do appreciate you keeping her on. Going to work regularly will be the way out of the mess she’s in, she just has to realise it.’
Jess crossed the road to her mother’s house. the door opened as she was about to knock.
‘Jess, thank goodness.’ Nicola ushered her inside, took a quick look up and down the street, then closed it behind her.
Bill was sitting at the table, an ice pack held to his ear. ‘Don’t ask how I am, Jess.’
‘I wasn’t going to, Dad. I’m sure it was well deserved.’
Bill jumped to his feet. ‘Don’t take that tone with me, young lady. You’re not too old to be put over my knee.’
‘I’d like to see you try.’ Jess glared at her father.
His demeanour quickly changed.
‘Let’s not fight all the time, Jess. Just for once, let’s have a civilised conversation.’
Jess looked at her mother’s tearful, frightened face, then giving her father another glare, sat down at the table and put her bag in front of her.
‘Would you like tea, love?’
‘No, thank you, Mum, I’ll get one when I get home.’ She turned to her father who had moved to the opposite side of the table. ‘Well?’
‘This,’ Bill pointed to his bleeding ear. ‘Was a gift from Dougie Duncan.’
‘As I said, Dad…’
Bill took a deep breath as he tried to control his temper.
‘He, erm, reminded me that I still owe him the money I borrowed before I went away.’
‘I didn’t think he’d come round to wish you a Happy Christmas,’ replied Jess.
‘This is just a taste of what he’ll do if I don’t pay him back when the banks open tomorrow.’
Jess shrugged. ‘Do you even have a bank, Dad?’
‘Jess, I’m serious. The man will kill me.’
‘For five thousand pounds? I doubt it. It’s not worth getting caught for.’
‘It’s twenty thousand, he added interest and inflation on.’
Jess burst out laughing. ‘He’s intelligent enough to work that out, is he?’
‘Look, love…’
‘Don’t you ‘look, love’ me. Not after all you’ve done. Not after scaring the living daylights out of me last night.’
‘Bill, you said it was a misunderstanding?’ Nicola walked across the room and stood next to Jessica.
‘It was, she heard me trying the door handle. I only went to see if she was all right. She scares easily.’
‘I wouldn’t have been scared if you’d knocked on the bloody door,’ Jessica snarled. ‘Instead, you crept around the place wearing a face mask and a hoodie.’
‘Bill!’
‘Shut up, you.’ Bill’s face turned to thunder. ‘Now, Jessica... Jess… are you going to help me or not? I’m not just asking, love, I’m begging.’
‘The answer is no, Dad. Stand up to him, or do a runner like you normally do when you get yourself into trouble. I’m not going to bail you out.’
Jess got to her feet, picked up her bag and walked around the table, heading for the door.
‘Get your coat, Mum, you can stay with me until it’s safe to come back to get your things.’
‘She’s going nowhere.’ Bill pushed Nicola out of his way and squared up to Jess. Nicola crashed into the ironing board, knocking it over, the iron crashed to the floor.
‘Mum,’ Jess stepped across and held out a hand to help her up.
Nicola shook her head to clear it and reached out, but Bill had already taken hold of Jessica’s shoulders and spun her around.
‘Selfish bitch,’ he spat, and hit her across the face with the back of his hand.
Jess staggered, tripped over her mother’s legs and ended up on the floor on top of the broken ironing board. She looked back as Bill unfastened his thick leather belt and pulled it from the loops of his trousers.
‘You need a lesson in manners,’ he snarled.
Jess crawled for the door and yelped as the heavy belt buckle came down into her back. She looked up through tear-soaked eyes, as he raised his arm again.
‘Dad, please…’
Before the second blow could land, Nicola threw herself onto Bill’s back, digging her nails into his face. Bill dropped the belt, and flailed his arms while spinning around, trying to shake her off.
‘Run, Jess, get out,’ Nicola shouted.
Jess got unsteadily to her feet, her back stinging where the belt had landed. She eyed up the distance to the door and decided she could make it, but then changed her mind and turned back to face her father.
‘I’m not going without you, Mum.’
Bill suddenly pushed himself backwards with all his force, crushing Nicola against the wall, knocking all the air from her lungs. Her grip slackened and she slid onto the floor. Mustering what strength she had left, she lifted her arm and pointed to the door.
‘Go,’ she gasped.
Jess took a step towards her helpless mother, then twisted away as Bill caught hold of her shoulder.
‘I’ll get help,’
she screamed, then twisting, and dropping her shoulder in one movement, she dragged herself away from her father’s grasp, and throwing herself forwards, placed a foot on the sofa and threw herself over the back. She landed awkwardly and felt a flash of pain shoot through her ankle as she straightened up. Bill bent over, grabbed his belt and came for her again, but by the time he got around the sofa, Jess had opened the door and was limping out into the street. She had only struggled three painful paces when he came out after her.
‘Leave her alone,’ Mrs Kaur stepped out from the doorway of her shop and hurried towards Jessica. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder she helped Jess limp across the narrow street.
Bill stopped dead, then waving the belt at them, he swore, turned around, and went back inside, leaving the door, wide open.
‘Mum,’ Jess tried to get to her feet, but her ankle gave way underneath her. Sitting on the pavement, she opened her bag, grabbed her phone and dialled 999. To her utter relief, a voice came on the line almost immediately.
‘Caller, which service do you require?’
‘Police… and an ambulance… It’s my father, he’s gone mad, my mother is still inside, please hurry.’
‘Where is the emergency? Where is the residence located?’
‘Spinton, Burnett Street, number 47. Please hurry. He’s gone mad.’
‘The police are on their way, caller. Please stay on the line, I have some questions for you.’
Jess struggled to her feet and with the help of Mrs Kaur, half walked, half hopped back across the road.
As she got to the opposite pavement, she heard her father’s angry voice inside the house.
‘You stupid bitch. You ruined everything.’
Jess lifted her phone towards her mouth. The emergency call centre officer was still talking to her.
‘Please, hurry, please hurry,’ she whispered.
As she pulled the phone away from her mouth, she heard the distant sound of a police siren.
Chapter 42
As he walked back into the house, Bill fixed his eyes on Nicola who was just getting to her feet.
‘You broke my iron, Bill,’ she said, pointing at the appliance on the floor.
‘Sod your iron.’ Bill walked slowly towards her, still carrying his belt. ‘I’m screwed, and it’s your fault.’
‘How is it my fault? You gambled all our money away, then borrowed more.’
‘She would have given in.’
‘I’m not going to stand by while you beat my daughter.’ Nicola stuck out her chin belligerently.
‘Then you can have the beating instead.’ Bill lifted his belt in the air.
‘I’m used to it. You’ve done it often enough in the past.’
‘Because you didn’t do as you were told.’ He took a step forward and brought the belt down on her shoulder. ‘You’ll learn one day.’
Nicola held her arms in front of her face as the next blow landed.
‘Go on, Owen… do you worst. I’m not frightened of you anymore. Jess was right, you’re pathetic.’
He snarled as he brought down the belt again and again. Nicola sank to the floor and curled into a ball as Bill, gasping for breath, threw the belt to the side, fell on top of her, pulled her hands from her face and began to use his fists.
Nicola lifted her right hand and dug her nails into his cheek. He screamed in pain and the blows suddenly stopped raining down on her. Instead, she felt two strong hands around her throat.
‘You’ve crossed me for the last time,’ he growled, pressing his thumbs onto her windpipe as his thick fingers applied pressure to her neck.
Nicola gasped for air, her hands on top of his, scratching, trying to pry them away from her throat.
Bill squeezed harder. When Nicola’s eyes flickered and her struggles became weaker, he leaned up slightly and straightened his arms to apply the extra pressure that would finish her off.
Nicola, feeling the blackness coming, stretched out her arms in desperation, her fingers grasping at the carpet. Then her hand came into contact with the iron, and using every last bit of strength she could summon, closed her fingers around the handle and swung it, catching him cleanly on the temple. The pressure on her throat eased and as Nicola smashed the iron onto his head a second time. His body jerked once, then he collapsed on top of her, his lifeless eyes staring into her face.
Chapter 43
Jess, hearing her mother’s screams coming from the front room, eased herself away from the supporting arms of Mrs Kaur, and standing in the doorway, she propped herself up on the doorframe and looked at the carnage in the living room.
The furniture was scattered, dining chairs lying on their backs, at the far side of the room, close to the broken ironing board, lay two, motionless, bloodied figures. As the sound of police sirens got louder, Jess dropped to her knees and crawled across the room.
‘Mum, Mum. Oh God, Mum.’
‘Don’t touch anything,’ commanded a voice from the door.
Jess wasn’t listening, she eased herself across the dirty carpet until she was next to her mother, then she reached out and stroked the blood-soaked fringe of her hair.
‘Miss, please… the paramedics are here, come on, love, let them do their work.’
Jess looked back towards the door as the policeman moved to the side to allow two, green clad paramedics into the room. They hurried to the prone bodies and as one of them eased Jess away from her mother, the other, checked for her father’s pulse.
He looked back to the policeman, shook his head, then placed his fingers on Nicola’s neck to check her carotid artery pulse point.
‘This one is still with us,’ he called and pulling Bill’s lifeless body to the side, he began to work on Nicola.
As a policewoman came into the room, the second paramedic sat Jess on the sofa and held her face in his hands. ‘How are you, miss? Do you need assistance?’
Jess shook her head. ‘It’s just my ankle, I think I sprained it. Please, just see to my mum.’
The paramedic looked to the policewoman and flicked his head towards Jess, then moving back to his colleague, he pulled a pen torch out of his pocket, lifted Nicola’s eyelid and shone the beam into her eye.
The policewoman crouched in front of Jess. ‘I’m Tracey. What’s your name, love?’
‘Jess… Jessica… Griffiths.’
‘All right, Jessica. These men are professionals, they know what they’re doing, let’s just let them get on with their jobs, eh?’
Twenty minutes later, Nicola was loaded onto a stretcher and carried carefully out to the waiting ambulance. Jess tried to get to her feet but the policewoman shook her head.
‘I want to go with my mum,’ said Jess, attempting to squeeze past the officer.
‘In a minute, Jess. They’ll wait for you, don’t worry.’
A few minutes later another paramedic came in pushing a wheelchair. He helped Jess onto the seat, then pushed her outside towards a second ambulance. She struggled to get out of the chair, but gave up when the first ambulance pulled away, its lights flashing, its siren blaring.
‘They need to work on her in the ambulance, love. You’d just be in the way.’
Jess gave in and allowed herself to be pushed into the ambulance. The medic locked the chair down to stop it moving about, then, after a nod from one of the plain clothed policemen attending the incident, he jumped down from the back of the vehicle and walked around to the cab as the detective took his place.
‘Are you all right… Jessica, isn’t it?’
Jess nodded, ‘Just my ankle, is Mum going to be all right?’
‘She’s in good hands,’ replied the policeman, non-committedly.
Jess ran her hand over her brow. ‘Dad went mad, he…’ she paused. ‘He’s dead, isn’t he? He looked dead.’
‘I’m afraid he is, Jessica.’ He sat on the bed next to her wheelchair. ‘What can you tell me about this? You don’t have to go into everything at this stage, we’ll take a full statemen
t at the station, later.’ He pulled out a notebook and a stubby, bookmaker’s pen. ‘How did it all start?’
Jess took him through the incident from the moment she had arrived at the house. ‘I didn’t see them fighting at the end, but I heard the commotion. I was outside with Mrs Kaur from the shop over the road.’
‘So, it was more than just the usual domestic row. Even at the beginning?’
‘Dad’s been putting pressure on me to give him money for a while now. The family fortune was left to me and everyone has been demanding a share. It wasn’t just Dad, they’re all at it.’
‘So, you feel like you’re the piggy in the middle? Was your mum sticking up for you? is that how it started?’
Jess nodded. ‘I’m sick of it. I wish I’d never seen the money.’
‘Let me just jot down some personal details and we’ll get that ankle sorted out for you.’
Five minutes later, the policeman shut his notebook, slipped it back into his pocket and got to his feet.
‘All right, Jessica. I’d like you to come down to the police station in the morning. Any time between ten and twelve. If you can’t physically get there yourself, we’ll send a car for you.’
He jumped down from the ambulance, stuck his head around the side of the vehicle and whistled. A few seconds later, Tracey climbed in, followed closely by a paramedic who closed the back doors and banged twice on the side of the van. A few seconds later, Jess watched the row of parked police cars fade into the distance as the ambulance drove steadily away from the scene of the horror.
At the hospital, Jess’s ankle was examined by a young, tired-looking doctor, who diagnosed ligament damage and booked her in for an X-ray. After queuing for an hour to get the procedure done, her ankle was bandaged, then she was given a pain killer and left to wait in a corridor for the doctor to give her the nod to go home. Tracey brought her coffee and chatted to her about her parents as she took notes. After a further twenty minutes and after listening to Jess’s continuous nagging, asking her to check on the condition of her mother, she finally relented and walked over to a separate area of the A&E department where Nicola was being cared for in a single room. She returned ten minutes later with a smile on her face.
The Legacy: Trouble Comes Disguised As Family (Unspoken Book 2) Page 25