Broke

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘What you mean, him line a work?’ Claudine interrupted.

  ‘Your son works at a massage parlour,’ the officer explained, ‘and we’re trying to ascertain if this was a personal attack, or work-related.’

  ‘Don’t talk shit,’ Evangeline snapped. ‘Sorry, Mommy,’ she apologised when her mother gave her a disapproving look. ‘But our Kelvin’s not like that, and I’m not having them say he is. As if he’d work at a dirty place like that!’

  ‘Me don’t care where he work,’ Claudine said wearily. ‘Me just want him home safe. And if me knew anyone who want to hurt him, you’d already know the name. But he a good boy, an’ everyone who know him love him.’

  ‘Excuse me . . .’ The nurse popped her head around the door. ‘Kelvin’s out of surgery, and the doctor will be along to speak to you shortly, if that’s okay?’

  ‘Fine,’ one of the officers answered, guessing that she was asking if the interview was over. ‘We’ll leave you to it, Mrs Brown, Miss Brown. But if you think of anything else in the meantime, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please don’t hesitate to let us know.’

  The doctor who came to speak with them a few minutes after the officers had left was still wearing his theatre scrubs, and Claudine stared at the blood spots dotted over the top as if in a trance.

  ‘We managed to remove the bullet,’ he told them. ‘And Kelvin is stable. But he lost a lot of blood, so we’ll be keeping him under close observation for the next forty-eight hours.’

  ‘He’s going to be all right, though, yeah?’ Evangeline clutched her mother’s hand tightly.

  ‘He’s stable,’ the doctor repeated gently. ‘And that’s better than we could have hoped for, considering the location of the bullet. He’s a very lucky young man.’

  ‘He strong,’ Claudine said with conviction. ‘And the good Lord will see him through.’

  The doctor nodded respectfully and stood up. ‘He’s heavily sedated at the moment, and probably won’t come round for several hours, so I’d recommend that you go home and rest while you can. Someone will ring you if anything changes.’

  ‘No, me stay,’ said Claudine, pulling the coat that Evangeline had brought closer around her shoulders. ‘T’ank you for your concern, doctor, but my boy need me here when he wake up.’

  ‘Mommy, you should go,’ said Evangeline. ‘You’ve had a shock. I’ll stay with Kel.’

  ‘Me said me stay,’ Claudine repeated firmly. ‘If you want to help, you can go to ’im flat and get some bits and pieces.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Pyjamas, soap, toothbrush . . . You know how clean he is, he’ll want to get fresh when he wake up. And find a vest. He’ll need a vest to keep him warm.’

  ‘Fine.’ Evangeline sighed and turned to the doctor. ‘Is my brother’s stuff here? I’ll need his keys.’

  ‘I’ll ask one of the nurses to check,’ said the doctor, heading for the door. ‘Please don’t worry, Mrs Brown. We’ll look after him.’

  ‘Me not worried,’ Claudine replied serenely. ‘Like me already say, the good Lord gon’ see him through.’

  Amy was clock-watching and chewing on her fingernails. Kelvin was usually home from work by seven, but it was almost ten now and he still hadn’t shown. He sometimes called in on his mother on the way home, but he never stayed for this long, and that worried her. And it worried her even more that he wasn’t answering his phone, because he always got straight back to her as soon as he realised he’d missed a call.

  She had started to imagine all sorts of terrible things when she heard the key in the lock. More relieved than she’d ever been in her life before, she ran out into the hall to greet him – only to find herself face to face with his sister.

  ‘Who the hell are you?’ Evangeline demanded.

  ‘Kelvin’s friend,’ Amy told her. ‘Amy. I met you at your mum’s a few weeks ago.’

  Evangeline squinted at her as if she’d never seen her before in her life. Then, scowling when recognition kicked in, she spat, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

  ‘I’ve been staying,’ Amy murmured, quickly adding, ‘In the spare room,’ in case the girl got the wrong end of the stick.

  Evangeline was glaring at her as if she wanted to rip the face right off her, but Amy’s stomach was churning for a different reason. Kelvin had told her that he deliberately hadn’t given his family a key in order to avoid unannounced visits like this. But he hadn’t come home, and now his sister had let herself in. Something was wrong.

  ‘Where’s Kelvin?’ she asked, dreading the answer. ‘Has something happened to him?’

  ‘Nothing that concerns you,’ said Evangeline, remembering why she was here. ‘I need some things. And you can get your stuff and get out.’

  ‘Please just tell me,’ Amy begged.

  Evangeline narrowed her eyes with suspicion. ‘You know who did this, don’t you?’

  Her fears confirmed, Amy’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘Oh, God, he’s hurt him, hasn’t he?’

  ‘Who’s he?’ Evangeline demanded, grabbing her by the hair. ‘If you know who shot my brother, you’d better tell me so I can tell the police, you skanky bitch!’

  Amy’s legs gave way and she fell back against the wall. She could hear the girl shouting at her, but it sounded like it was coming from a distance. Her head was spinning, and her body felt numb.

  Yates knew! He’d found out that she was staying here and he’d shot Kelvin – and now he would be coming after her.

  ‘I’ve got to go,’ Amy gasped, tearing herself free and running into her bedroom, oblivious to the pain as she left a clump of hair behind in the other girl’s hand.

  ‘You’re going nowhere!’ Evangeline yelled, going after her. ‘Not until you’ve told me who shot my brother?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Amy lied, fighting to get past her. ‘There’s no time for this. We’ve got to get out of here or he’ll kill us both.’

  ‘Who’s he?’ Evangeline demanded again.

  ‘I can’t tell you.’ Amy grabbed her bag and backed towards the door. ‘Just go before he gets here, please!’

  She turned now and ran out into the hall. Pausing to snatch Kelvin’s hoodie off the hook, she yanked the front door open and fled.

  Spooked by the girl’s obvious terror, Evangeline gathered together the things she needed and quickly followed.

  Already hiding behind a wheelie bin in a takeaway yard across the road, Amy watched as Evangeline ran out onto the pavement and hailed a passing cab. She wished that she could escape so easily, but she had no money and nowhere to go. She couldn’t even risk going to her appointment with the housing people because Yates could turn up at any minute now that he knew she’d been staying here, and if he spotted her on the street she was dead. She would have to wait here until night fell, and then try to find a cash machine. Her card was in her purse, and even though her benefits had been stopped there might still be a few pounds in her account.

  She hoped so, anyway. If not, she didn’t know what she was going to do.

  Back at the hospital, the police officer who was stationed on a chair outside Kelvin’s room stood up when Evangeline approached. He held out his hand to prevent her from going in. In no mood for messing about after an already fraught morning, she sucked her teeth and tried to push past him. But he held her back.

  ‘Sorry, miss, no one’s allowed in there without authorisation.’

  ‘I’m his sister,’ she snapped. ‘I’ve just been to pick some things up for him.’

  ‘Have you any proof of ID?’

  ‘Yeah, this.’ Evangeline waved her hand in front of her angry face.

  Before the officer could answer, the door opened and the nurse who had shown them to the waiting room earlier came out and confirmed that Evangeline was family. He nodded and stepped back. Evangeline gave him a dirty look and flounced into the room.

  Kelvin was lying unconscious in the bed, surrounded by a mess of tubes and beeping monitors. Their mother was s
itting in an armchair, fanning her face with a magazine.

  ‘Who put that fool on guard?’ Evangeline asked, leaning down to kiss her mother on the cheek before handing over the bag she was carrying. ‘Axin’ me for proof of ID, like it ain’t obvious I’m Kel’s sister.’

  ‘You is too sparky,’ said Claudine wearily. ‘Him only doing ’im job. Or would you rather them didn’t bother protecting Kelvin?’

  ‘Yeah, all right, point taken.’ Evangeline sighed. ‘Have they told you anything yet?’

  ‘Only what the doctor already tell us.’

  Evangeline pulled another chair up beside the bed and sat down. She reached for Kelvin’s hand and gazed at his handsome face, willing him to wake up. There was a seven-year age difference between them, so they had never hung out together as mates. But Kelvin had always been her hero, and she was his little princess, so this was all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to be lying here fighting for his life; he was supposed to be looking after her like he always had done. The main man in her life since their father had passed away when she was only two, he had been her rock and her guide, and she would be adrift without him. She couldn’t lose him – she wouldn’t.

  ‘Did you remember to lock the door?’ Her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

  Reminded of what she’d meant to tell her mother, Evangeline wiped her eyes and turned to her. ‘Yeah, but that skinny white girl was there. The one he brought home the other week. Reckons she’s been staying with him.’

  Her mother didn’t say anything, and her eyes gave nothing away so Evangeline didn’t know if she was angry, or shocked, or even if she had known about the girl all along. But that soon changed when she added, ‘She knows who did this.’

  Now Claudine’s head jerked up, and she demanded, ‘Who?’

  ‘She wouldn’t tell me,’ Evangeline admitted. ‘But she was terrified, and she told me to get out of there, because he’d kill me if he caught me.’

  ‘Why you not tell me this when you come?’ Claudine gave her a disapproving look, stood up and started walking towards the door.

  ‘What you doing?’

  ‘Tellin’ the police.’

  ‘No!’ Evangeline squawked. ‘Mommy, sit down, you’re just going to make it worse.’

  ‘What you mean?’ Claudine stopped and frowned at her. ‘How can dis get worse?’

  ‘The girl wasn’t just scared, she was petrified,’ Evangeline whispered. ‘This wasn’t some random attack, Mommy. I think our Kel’s involved in something, and we can’t risk telling anyone until we know what’s going on or we might get him in trouble.’

  ‘And how we gon’ find out?’ Claudine came back to her seat.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Evangeline gazed thoughtfully back at Kelvin. ‘Wait till he wakes up and ask him.’

  She didn’t add if he wakes up, but that was what she was thinking, and the possibility that he might not brought fresh tears to her eyes.

  31

  Marnie was asleep when Yates got home after dropping Keith off, but she woke up with a start when the sound of the TV suddenly blared up from the living room below. Pissed off when she peeked at the clock and saw that it was only just gone eleven, she pulled on her dressing gown and marched down the stairs.

  Yates was perched on the edge of the couch, flicking through the channels. ‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Marnie demanded. ‘You stay out all night, then think you can waltz in here and start making noise?’

  ‘Don’t start,’ he muttered.

  ‘Are you having a laugh?’ she squawked. ‘I think you’re forgetting whose house this is.’

  ‘Here.’ Yates reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of money and threw it at her. ‘Go buy something. That should keep you quiet for a few hours.’

  Offended, Marnie pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips. ‘Oh, so you think that’s all I’m interested in, do you? Money?’

  ‘Starting to seem like it, considering how much you’ve had off me in the last few weeks.’

  ‘For your baby.’

  ‘Yeah, right! And it needs all them handbags and shoes, does it?’

  Marnie glowered at him. He was trying to twist things around and turn it into an argument about money, but she wasn’t having it.

  ‘Where were you last night?’

  ‘At my flat, getting a bit of peace and quiet.’

  ‘Liar! There’s no way you were at yours, or you wouldn’t be here so early. And you’re still wearing the same clothes. You found her, didn’t you? You’ve been with her all night. Answer me!’

  ‘Have you finished?’ Yates jerked his head around and stared up at her coldly.

  ‘No, I fuckin’ haven’t,’ Marnie snarled, her face white with rage. ‘You’ve been with her, and now you think you can lie to my face like I’m some stupid little bit on the side. Well, I’m not having it!’ She reached down, snatched the remote out of his hand and switched the TV off. ‘Get out!’

  ‘Put it back on,’ Yates ordered, his eyes glinting a warning that Marnie was too angry to see.

  ‘No, I will not! This is my house, and that’s my TV, and if I want it off, it goes off!’

  Yates leapt up and grabbed her by the throat. ‘Turn it back on before you get hurt.’

  Marnie was so shocked that she dropped the remote. When Yates let go of her and snatched it up, then sat back down and turned the TV back on as if nothing had happened, she clutched at her throat and stared down at him in disbelief. She’d never seen him like this before, and it scared her. Amy had once accused him of beating her up, but Marnie hadn’t believed her. Now she wasn’t so sure.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Yates murmured after a moment. ‘I shouldn’t have done that. But it pisses me off when you keep going on about Amy.’

  ‘What do you expect me to think?’ Marnie asked warily. ‘We were getting on fine till I saw that bloke coming out of hers yesterday, then you went all weird, like you were more interested in her than me.’

  ‘She owes me money,’ said Yates. ‘And that’s the only reason I’m interested in her. I’ve got you now – why would I want her back?’

  ‘So if you weren’t with her, where were you?’

  ‘I went back to my place for a kip, then called round at Keith’s. We had a few sniffs and played some cards, then I came here. And I stayed downstairs ’cos I didn’t want to disturb you. That’s all.’

  It sounded plausible, and Marnie exhaled loudly to release the tension. Then, giving him an apologetic smile, she said, ‘Sorry for jumping to conclusions. Want a brew?’

  ‘I’d love one.’ Yates smiled back, but the smile slipped as soon as Marnie left the room and he turned his attention back to the TV. It was too early for the police to have released any details yet, but he didn’t want to miss it when they did, because he couldn’t do anything until he knew if he was on the run or not.

  ‘Amy . . . Amy . . .?’

  Evangeline had been dozing, but she sat bolt upright when she heard Kelvin’s voice and grasped his hand.

  ‘Kel, it’s me – Evie. Are you awake?’

  Kelvin swallowed dryly and opened his eyes. ‘Where’s Amy?’

  ‘Never mind her,’ Evangeline said dismissively. ‘How do you feel?’

  ‘Not too good,’ said Kelvin, wincing when he tried to move his other hand and the drip feed dragged against his skin. He gazed around, confused by the monitors. ‘What happened? Why am I here?’

  ‘You got shot coming out of work,’ Evangeline told him quietly. ‘Don’t you remember?’

  Kelvin shook his head. He could see blurry images of a scuffle in his mind’s eye and guessed that Yates must have caught up with him, but he couldn’t recall any of the details.

  ‘I’ll get the nurse.’ Evangeline stood up.

  ‘Wait!’ Kelvin held on to her hand. ‘I need to know if Amy’s okay. Will you check on her for me?’

  ‘No, I won’t,’ Evangeline told him firmly. ‘I don’t know what you’ve got yourself involved in, Kel,
but I know it’s got something to do with her, and she can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘It’s not her fault,’ Kelvin insisted, pain flaring in his eyes as he struggled to speak. ‘There’s a man—’

  ‘I know, she said,’ Evangeline interrupted. ‘But she wouldn’t tell me his name, so she’s obviously covering for him. Shows how much she cares about you.’

  ‘It’s not like that. Please, Eve. For me.’

  ‘Look, Mommy already wants to tell the police, so I don’t think it’s a very good idea for me to—’

  ‘No!’ Kelvin shook his head from side to side. ‘Don’t let her. It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I sussed that something was going down and told her not to say anything,’ Evangeline assured him. ‘And I kicked your so-called friend out, so she won’t be showing her face again any time soon. Now you just forget about her and concentrate on getting better, and then we’ll talk. Okay?’

  Kelvin sighed and closed his eyes. He knew his sister inside out and there was no point trying to persuade her to look for Amy now she’d convinced herself that this was Amy’s fault. If he’d been able, he’d have got up and done it himself. But he wasn’t, so he couldn’t do a thing apart from pray that Amy was strong enough to look after herself until he got out of here.

  Evangeline gazed down at her brother and, thinking that he’d gone back to sleep, kissed him on the cheek. Then, tiptoeing out of the room, she told the nurse that he’d come round. Then she called her mother to let her know the good news.

  Over on the other side of Manchester, Amy had just been woken by the sound of children playing outside the derelict gatehouse of the park where she’d spent the night.

  She had hidden in the takeaway yard for hours after her run-in with Kelvin’s sister – and might still have been there if the rats hadn’t come out to play. It was said that people were never more than a few feet away from a rat at any given time, but Amy had never believed it until she experienced it for herself. As soon as it had got dark the yard had seemed to come alive with them, and she’d been frozen with fear as the nasty hunchbacked creatures had scuttled around her. It had been terrifying to hear them fighting and scavenging in the bins, but when one of the filthy things brushed against her she’d been on her feet and out of there in a flash.