The Driver

by Mandasue Heller

Still tied to the chair in the middle of the room, Joe was alive – but only just. Eddie had mashed his face into an unrecognisable pulp, and Joe’s entire body was one big bruise from the vicious kicking and punching that it had received. But it was the gaping holes in his thighs that were causing the blood loss that would kill him before too much longer.

  Eddie was concerned about that, but only because he wanted to keep Joe alive until he’d admitted that he was a copper. That was all he wanted. For Joe to admit it, and tell him what he’d told his cunt mates about Eddie’s business dealings. Then, and only then, would he be put out of his misery. And he would talk, Eddie was determined – even if he had to peel the cunt’s skin off strip by painful strip.

  He was pacing the floor in front of Joe now, with a kettle of near-boiling water in his hand – a few minutes ago he’d sent Fred through to the main unit to fill it up and plug it in.

  ‘Ready to talk yet?’ he hissed. Getting no answer, he held the kettle over Joe’s leg and trickled a stream of scalding liquid down into one of the wounds.

  Too weak to scream, Joe made a strangled whimpering sound.

  ‘I’m waiting,’ Eddie said, raising the kettle again.

  ‘What was that?’ Fred hissed just then. ‘Did anyone else hear that? I think it came from outside.’

  ‘You expecting anyone?’ Eddie demanded.

  ‘Not that I know of,’ Fred told him. ‘Could be a customer. I don’t know.’

  ‘Shit, man, it’d better not be,’ Clive whispered worriedly. ‘My fucking car’s out there.’

  ‘Shut up!’ Eddie ordered, cocking his ear.

  Before any of them could move, a booming sound ricocheted through from the other unit. Then another and another, followed by shouts of: ‘Police! Stay where you are – we’ve got you surrounded!’

  Clive was on his feet in a flash. Grabbing Fred, he shook him and hissed, ‘Is there any other way out of here?’

  ‘IN HERE!’ Carl bellowed. ‘WE’RE IN HERE, AND HE’S GOT A GUN!’

  He screamed when Eddie turned and took a wild shot at his head, then he rolled into the corner and scrabbled to squeeze himself in between the wall and the barrel. He heard the second shot a nanosecond before he felt the heat tear through his buttock. Then, mercifully, everything went dark.

  EPILOGUE

  Joe had been in hospital for six weeks, and his small room was crammed full of get-well cards, balloons and teddies. And he had more fruit, chocolates and bottles of Lucozade than any human could be expected to consume in one lifetime. And yet, still, he felt as if something was missing. Because every last bit of it was from his old mates.

  His real mates, he supposed he should call them. The friends and colleagues who had known him for years, and who knew him as Detective Constable Joe Mercer, not fictitious jack-the-lad Joe Weeks.

  Now that he was back in the fold it was as if that other Joe had never existed, and everyone from his mates to his family had taken to changing the subject whenever he started to talk about his time on the Grange. It was almost as if they had decided that he needed to be debriefed somehow, the way that victims of crazy religious cults who had been indoctrinated with warped ideas were. But while he understood that they were doing it out of genuine concern, he didn’t want to forget his time on the Grange. He had spent half a year of his life there, and had met some incredible people along the way; people he’d never have had a chance to get to know as he had if they’d known who he was from the start.

  As the weeks had passed without so much as a card from any of those friends, he’d gradually come to accept that they had shunned him. And rightfully so, considering that they knew now that their friendships had been a lie from the start. So, when Joe heard a knock on his door today, the last person he expected to see was Carl.

  ‘You not up yet, you lazy cunt?’ Carl grinned as he popped his head around the door.

  ‘Oi, language!’ Cheryl scolded, pushing him into the room.

  ‘Sorry. Keep forgetting.’ Grimacing, Carl hobbled over to the chair beneath the window and sat down carefully. ‘How’s it hanging?’

  ‘Not bad,’ Joe said, sitting up straighter. ‘All the better for seeing you two,’ he added truthfully. ‘I didn’t know if I would until . . . well, you know – the court, and that.’

  ‘Blame her.’ Carl nodded towards Cheryl who was hovering at the end of the bed. ‘I’ve wanted to come for a long time, but she didn’t think you’d want to have anything to do with us.’

  ‘Don’t be daft.’ Joe frowned.

  ‘Yeah, well, I had an appointment in outpatients, so I thought, sack it, I’m going whether she likes it or not,’ Carl said, reaching over for one of the chocolates that were sitting on the locker.

  ‘Carl!’ Cheryl hissed. ‘You can’t just help yourself, you’ve got to ask.’

  ‘Me and Joe always help ourselves to each other’s shit,’ Carl reminded her.

  ‘That was then,’ Cheryl said quietly, averting her face to hide her blushes from Joe. ‘Things are different now.’

  ‘Oh, please don’t act like I’ve grown two heads,’ Joe groaned. ‘Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned.’

  ‘No offence, but it has changed a bit,’ Carl countered, agreeing with Cheryl now. ‘Now we know you’re a – you know.’

  ‘Copper?’ Joe supplied the dreaded word for him.

  ‘Yeah, that,’ Carl said. ‘You’re one, and we’re not, so we can’t just go back to the way things were, can we? You’d have to arrest us every two minutes.’

  It was true, and they all knew it. But it didn’t stop it from saddening them all, because they had grown close over the six months that Joe had lived among them.

  ‘So, what’s everyone been up to?’ Joe asked after a while, hungry to hear about life back on the Grange.

  Carl and Cheryl exchanged a hooded glance.

  ‘Do you want to tell him, or me?’ Carl asked.

  ‘You,’ Cheryl said, blushing again.

  ‘We’re together,’ Carl blurted out.

  ‘What, like as in couple?’ Joe asked.

  ‘Mmm.’ Cheryl nodded. ‘But we’re not rushing things. We’re just going to take it slow and see how it goes.’

  ‘And it’s going good so far, isn’t it?’ Carl said, winking at her.

  ‘So far,’ she agreed, giving him a shy smile.

  ‘Wow!’ Joe grinned. ‘About time.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ they both asked in unison.

  ‘Come on, are you trying to tell me neither of you knew you liked each other?’ Joe said wryly. ‘It was obvious.’

  ‘Really?’ Carl frowned. ‘I mean, I knew I liked her, but I had no clue she liked me. And I never said nothing. Least, I didn’t think I did. Mel would have had my bollocks for a keyring if she’d picked up on it.’

  ‘Nice.’ Joe chuckled. ‘But while we’re on the subject, what happened to you and her? And you and Shay?’ he added, looking at Cheryl.

  ‘Remember I told you I thought she was seeing someone else?’ Carl said. ‘Well, she was. Him.’

  ‘You’re joking?’

  ‘Nah, man.’ Carl shook his head. ‘Discharged myself early from hospital, didn’t I? Dropped in at my mum’s to get my keys on my way home, thinking I’d surprise her. And I surprised her, all right. Caught them red-handed – in my fucking bed.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  ‘Well, I knew Chez would never believe me if I told her, so I rang her and told her to come up – made sure she saw it for herself. Then I kicked the fuck out of him.’

  ‘And I rang Jayleen so she could see it for herself,’ added Cheryl. ‘Carl was right – I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. And neither would she, ’cos Shay had us both wrapped around his little finger.’

  ‘And how do you feel about it?’ Joe asked, guessing that she’d probably taken it hard.

  ‘Gutted at the time,’ Cheryl admitted. ‘But I’m well over it now.’

  ‘So you should be,’ Carl
snorted. ‘You shed the pest and hooked the best. You should be buzzing.’

  ‘Shut up, you idiot,’ Cheryl said softly.

  ‘Loves me really,’ Carl said, winking at Joe.

  ‘I’m pleased for you both,’ Joe said, genuinely meaning it. ‘And how’s Frankie?’ he asked then.

  ‘Getting bigger by the day,’ Cheryl told him, the love shining from her eyes as it always did when she spoke about her son. ‘Hasn’t even asked about Shay in weeks, has he, Carl?’

  ‘No, ’cos he’s too busy trying to tie me up in knots,’ Carl laughed. ‘I’ll tell you what, he’s going to know his way around a motor like a pro by the time I’ve finished with him. He already knows the names of all the engine parts.’

  ‘Oh, you haven’t told Joe about your thingy,’ Cheryl reminded him.

  ‘What’s this?’ Joe asked.

  ‘He’s got himself on a mechanic’s course,’ Cheryl announced, too proud to wait for Carl to say it himself. ‘At college.’

  ‘Good for you,’ Joe said, reaching out to touch fists with Carl.

  ‘Blame her again,’ Carl said, rolling his eyes, although it was obvious that he was as chuffed about it as she was.

  ‘So, how’s everyone else?’ Joe asked now. ‘Any sign of Molly going home, or are you still feeding the monster cat?’

  ‘Oh, she’s been home for ages,’ Cheryl told him, flicking a hooded glance at Carl. ‘Soon as I told her about her squatter, she was up and out of the hospital like a flash of lightning.’

  ‘Oh, God, I’m sorry,’ Joe said concernedly. ‘I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I just didn’t know where else to put her.’

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it,’ Cheryl laughed. ‘They’ve been getting on like a house on fire. Subject of Molly,’ she said now, heading to the door and leaning out to signal to somebody. ‘You haven’t met her granddaughter Katherine, have you?’

  Glancing up when a blonde girl walked in and looked at him shyly, Joe did a double take when he realised who it was.

  ‘We told her to come in with us, but she didn’t know if you’d want to see her,’ Cheryl said, pushing the girl towards the bed. ‘Like you wouldn’t.’

  ‘Wow,’ Joe murmured, gazing up at Katya. ‘You look so different with your hair like that.’

  ‘I know,’ she murmured, touching it self-consciously. ‘But it’s only temporary.’

  ‘Good,’ Joe said. Then, quickly amending it in case it had sounded like an insult, he said, ‘I mean, it’s nice, and all that. But I just thought your natural colour was gorgeous.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Katya said, her eyes glistening as she gazed at him.

  Cheryl, watching from the other side of the bed, nudged Carl and gave him a soppy smile.

  ‘So, how have you been feeling?’ Katya asked Joe now. ‘Are your legs very bad?’

  ‘No, they’re on the mend,’ Joe said. ‘They got both bullets out, and there wasn’t too much muscle damage, so they reckon I should be able to go back to work soon.’

  ‘Won’t that be dangerous?’ A cloud of concern shadowed Katya’s dark eyes.

  ‘Not much chance of danger when you’re stuck behind a desk,’ Joe assured her. ‘But it won’t be for ever.’

  ‘Subject of for ever,’ Carl interrupted. ‘Is it true that Eddie’s gonna get two life sentences?’

  ‘At least,’ Joe said, winking at Katya, who blushed immediately.

  ‘As long as he doesn’t get off with it,’ Cheryl said disbelievingly. ‘You know what he’s like – he’s probably already paying people to get at the witnesses.’

  ‘Doubt anyone’s going to put their necks on the line for him like that, now that his best mate’s turned against him,’ Joe said knowingly.

  ‘What, Clive?’

  ‘Yep. From what I’ve heard – and you haven’t heard this from me – he’s been spilling his guts in the hopes of getting a reduced sentence for himself. Whatever happens, Eddie’s going down. And, with any luck, he’ll be so old by the time he gets out that no one will ever take him seriously again.’

  ‘Good,’ Cheryl said approvingly. ‘’Cos the estate’s been loads nicer since he’s been gone. And Chrissie looks loads better now she’s free of him, too.’

  ‘Is she still there?’ Joe was surprised. ‘I thought she’d moved back in with her mum.’

  ‘She has. I just saw her when she came back to get her stuff,’ Cheryl told him. ‘Anyway, never mind her. It’s this one who needs her bum smacking.’ She cast a mock-disapproving look at Katya. ‘Molly loves having her there, and we reckon she should stay, but this silly cow’s insisting on handing herself in. Talk some sense into her, will you?’

  ‘What’s this?’ Joe frowned up at Katya. ‘You don’t have to do that. I haven’t mentioned you to anyone, I swear.’

  ‘I know, and I thank you,’ Katya said regretfully. ‘But it’s time. My – my son needs me. He’s nearly five now. He stays with my parents, and he is why I came here – so I could send money home for him.’

  ‘She can send for him, though, can’t she?’ Cheryl said. ‘Tell her, Joe. She’ll be able to give him a much better life over here, won’t she?’

  ‘Don’t,’ Katya said quietly before Joe had a chance to open his mouth. ‘I know it could never be. I am illegal, and he would be too. And he is happy with my parents. That is the only life he knows, so how could I take him away? I need to go home to him, not force him to come to me.’

  Cheryl was still protesting, but Joe understood. Nodding, he said quietly, ‘He’s a lucky boy.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Katya murmured, biting her lip as her eyes filled with tears.

  ‘Damien’s here,’ Carl said just then, glancing out of the window in time to see his friend’s car pull up down below. Pushing himself to his feet, he extended his fist to Joe. ‘See you in court, matey. And look after yourself till then, yeah?’

  ‘You, too,’ Joe said.

  ‘Glad you’re all right,’ Cheryl said, rushing towards the bed and giving Joe a quick hug to hide the fact that she, too, was almost crying. ‘You were a good mate.’

  She rushed out then, and Joe saw Carl put his arms around her before the door closed.

  ‘I have to go now, too,’ Katya said sadly. ‘But I won’t see you again, so this is goodbye.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Joe asked.

  ‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘I’m going to the police station from here. I’m ready.’

  ‘Well, I wish you luck for the future,’ Joe said softly. ‘You deserve the best that life can offer.’

  ‘So do you,’ Katya murmured. Then, leaning over to kiss him, she whispered into his ear in her own language before rushing out.

  Joe closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the pillows. Well, that was it . . . it was all over bar the court case.

  Jumping when Mr T’s voice suddenly boomed out from his locker ordering him to pick up his message, he reached over for it. The text had come from Cheryl’s phone, and it read:

  It meant I have dreamed of you since our eyes first met, and I will carry the memory of you in my heart for ever.

  Dragging himself to the edge of the bed, Joe lifted his legs down and hauled himself onto the chair beneath the window. He pressed his face up against the glass and gazed down in time to see Katya passing Cheryl’s phone back to her. She turned her head and looked up at him. Then, swiping at a tear, she climbed into the car.

  About the Author

  Mandasue Heller was born in Cheshire and moved to Manchester in 1982. She spent ten years living in the notorious Hulme Crescents which have since become the background to her novels. Not only is she a talented writer, but she has also sung in cabaret and rock groups, seventies soul cover bands and blues jam bands.

  By the same author

  The Front

  Forget Me Not

  Tainted Lives

  The Game

  The Charmer

  The Club

  Shafted

  Snatched

 
Two-Faced