by Ann Bloxwich
‘I’ve got a 1979 Ford Capri 3.0L S. It was a wreck when I got it, but my big brother spent over a year restoring it for me and I finally picked it up last week,’ Mo said. ‘He’s upgraded the safety features, putting in a roll cage and five-point harness, but everything else is the same as the original.’
‘Didn’t Bodie, or was it Doyle, from that old television series The Professionals have one of those?’ Chad asked.
‘Bodie did.’ Dawn said with a smile. ‘Mo is a tiny bit obsessed with him.’
‘Fair play,’ Chad nodded. ‘It was a great programme, they don’t make them like that anymore. Most women I know liked his sidekick.’
‘Not me. Bodie is my idol,’ Mo said, a dreamy expression on her face.
Dawn rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t get her started, you’ll be here all day. She’s a right petrolhead.’
‘Really?’ Chad grinned. ‘We should get together and talk cars sometime.’
‘You’re on,’ Mo said. ‘But I should warn you, you’re not my type.’
‘Because I’m black?’
‘Because you’re male.’
Si roared with laughter at Chad’s expression. ‘Bad luck mate,’ he said, wiping a tear away.
Dawn and Mo asked all three men to come in and give formal interviews. They watched each of them drive away before climbing back into Dawn’s Mini.
‘What about Ray Diamond?’ Mo asked.
‘He’s in no fit state to take us seriously at the moment so I’ll speak to Michelle Simmons and arrange it through her, seeing as she handles his appointments.’ Dawn turned out of the gate and back onto the main road, opting to go through town this time.
‘It’s a curious set-up,’ Mo said as Dawn drove along the dual carriageway. ‘She didn’t seem unhappy, but I couldn’t work for someone like him. He’s horrible.’
‘He is,’ Dawn agreed. ‘But maybe we’re just lucky to have a decent boss.’
24
Alex Peachey finally got home at around 9 p.m. to find his wife sitting at the dining table, her head in her hands. The radio was on, but it didn’t disguise the shouting and swearing coming from Joel’s room. Alex knelt beside her and put his arms around her.
‘I’m so sorry I’m late sweetheart, I got home as quickly as I could. It’s been a shitty day, but it sounds like a holiday compared to yours. What started him off this time?’
Jayne sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
‘He’s upset because Kirsty can’t take him to the disco tomorrow as it’s her grandfather’s funeral. His argument is that the funeral’s in the afternoon, so she should be fine to take him out later. I thought I’d try to explain that she would still be upset, and his reply was that everyone dies so Kirsty should just get over it. I told him that he needs to be more sympathetic and he kicked off. I dread to think what damage he’s doing in there. All I can say is thank God we weren’t planning to sell this house just yet, there won’t be anything left of it at this rate.’
‘At least we don’t have neighbours at the new house,’ Alex replied, as a new stream of expletives came from Joel’s room. ‘Strange how he swears really fluently, yet he struggles to make himself understood with everyday words.’
Jayne smiled sadly. ‘I wish it was the other way around. At least then I wouldn’t know when he was calling me names.’
Alex stood up again, ignoring the creak in his knees. ‘Go and put your feet up in the other room. I’ll put the kettle on and we’ll have a cuppa, then I’ll go and talk to him.’
He kissed the top of her head and went through to the kitchen. While he waited for the kettle to boil, he thought about his son and wondered how much longer they would be able to cope with his rages. Alex knew it was time to get some professional advice. Jayne was struggling to manage him, despite her protests to the contrary. She did well to play it down, but he’d noticed the fresh bruises on her forearms and the way her T-shirt had been pulled out of shape where Joel had grabbed it.
He arranged the tea things on a tray, along with a plate of biscuits and carried it through to the lounge. Jayne was already asleep on the sofa, worn out from her altercation with Joel. Alex put the tray down and left the room, closing the door behind him.
He knocked loudly on the door to his son’s room, causing the shouting to stop immediately. He opened the door and stepped into the room, his heart sinking when he saw the devastation. Joel had systematically pulled every packed box apart, spilling the contents across the room in a maelstrom of rage. The curtain pole had been ripped from the wall and lay across the bed, curtains still attached. Drawers had been emptied and clothes were strewn everywhere. It looked like a hurricane had torn through the room.
Joel sat in the middle of the floor, his blue Adidas T-shirt torn open at the neck and his black jogging trousers wet. His knuckles were bleeding and he had small cuts on the tops of his bare feet from where he’d crawled around on the broken CD cases. His glasses were bent out of shape and his face was smeared with snot and drool. His short, sweat-dampened brown hair stuck up at different angles. He sat very still, panting heavily, looking up at his father with a murderous glare.
‘I’m sorry,’ Joel said, although he looked anything but.
Alex said nothing. He looked squarely at Joel, keeping his expression neutral.
‘Why are you sitting on the floor? You should be in your wheelchair.’
‘I don’t like using it in this house because I can’t get around quickly enough. That’s why we’re moving, remember?’ Joel snapped.
Alex ignored his son’s tone. ‘Fair point. It just doesn’t seem very dignified, that’s all. It was fine when you were little, but it can’t be very good for your knees.’
‘I don’t care, I prefer it because it’s easier for me,’ Joel replied. ‘My legs don’t work anyway, so I don’t care if my knees get damaged.’
‘Your mother tells me that you’re upset with Kirsty. Do you want to talk about it?’
Alex had to chew on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from losing his temper.
‘Kirsty is being a bitch, she doesn’t want to take me to the disco tomorrow night just because it’s her granddad’s funeral.’
‘Kirsty is upset about her granddad dying so it’s only right that she has the night off. I’m sure she’d still like to take you, but her family might think she’s being disrespectful. Her grandma will be upset, so she might need someone to look after her. I know you don’t understand the need to grieve, but one day you might lose someone you love and then you’ll understand how it feels.’
Joel huffed. ‘I doubt it. When you’re dead, you’re dead.’
‘Maybe in your eyes, and you are entitled to your own opinion, but the rest of us feel differently. Kirsty needs to be with her family, and you need to look at it from her point of view, even if you think it’s silly. If you get angry at Kirsty, she might decide that she doesn’t want to be your helper anymore and then you’ll have no-one to take you out.’
Joel looked thoughtful. ‘What can I do to help her feel better? I don’t want her to still feel sad next week. It’s the Christmas party and I really want to go.’
‘Well, you could get her a sympathy card. Maybe your mum will pick one up for you tomorrow.’
Joel started crawling towards the door. ‘I need to say sorry to Mum,’ he said.
‘Leave it for now. She was very upset when I came in, so I sent her for a lie-down. Why does she have bruises on her arm?’ Alex asked, careful to keep his voice calm even though he wasn’t feeling it.
‘It was an accident,’ Joel said. ‘I grabbed her arm because she tried to walk away when I was talking to her. I didn’t mean to hurt her.’
‘Well, you did. You’re an adult now, Joel, it’s time you realised that. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
‘It won’t and that’s a promise!’ Joel’s voice rose as he started to become agitated again. Alex held his gaze steadily and he quiet
ened down. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘Good. Now I’m going to order pizza for dinner while you start tidying this lot up. I’ll bring you some bin bags for the broken stuff.’
‘I need some new boxes. These all got ripped. By accident,’ Joel said the last two words through gritted teeth, as if challenging Alex to argue with him.
‘No problem, there are loads in the garage. I’ll bring some through later. You should wash your hands before dinner and get that blood off.’
Alex left the room and closed the door quietly behind him, ignoring the barrage of rude names that echoed down the hallway behind him.
25
The football club was almost empty, apart from a couple of members of staff. All the acts had gone home, and Michelle was alone in the changing room. She packed up Ray’s things, making sure she’d picked up all the discarded clothes from the stage. Last week he’d gone mad when she’d left his gloves behind in Sheffield, and he’d refused her offer to buy him a new pair.
‘No, you’ll go all the fucking way back and get mine. That will teach you to be more careful, you stupid bitch,’ he had said, before getting in his car, roaring off to Birmingham and getting blind drunk.
Later he’d rung and asked her to come and pick him up as if the earlier outburst had never happened. He’d blown his top again when she’d said she was just leaving Sheffield so wouldn’t be able to, and suggested he get a taxi. He’d screamed drunken abuse down the phone at her, calling her names she’d never heard of and slammed the phone down.
Michelle grinned to herself as she hung up and walked back into the lounge. She’d had no intention of driving all the way back for the sake of a pair of gloves, so she’d phoned Des to see if he had a spare pair. Des had arrived an hour later with the promised gloves, then he’d phoned Chad and Si and told them to pick up a curry and come over. They’d spent the evening watching old movies and laughing together. She loved hanging out with them, they treated her like one of the lads and she knew she could depend on them if needs be, like the big brothers she’d never had.
She double-checked the room again, dragged the heavy bag across the car park and threw it into the boot of her car. She had two days to get everything sorted out ready for the Christmas show on Friday. Ray had left ahead of her, getting a lift with another stripper, saying he had something to take care of.
As she drove back to Ray’s house, Michelle hummed along to the late-night show on the radio, enjoying the opportunity to listen to what she liked for a change. She made a mental note to go shopping in the morning. Ray’s daughter, Hope, was coming for Christmas and Ray would be keen to impress her as usual. Hope was the only person who could turn Ray into a decent human being, and Michelle was looking forward to having some female company.
She arrived at the house and parked by the side door. Ray’s car was still parked half in the hedge where he’d left it that afternoon, but she thought twice about moving it. Last time she’d got behind the wheel of his precious car he’d gone mad at her. She called out to him as she dragged the bag into the kitchen but there was no answer, so she assumed he was either still out or already in bed.
Michelle made a cup of tea, then set about sorting out the gear for the following night. The bag was a mess, so she upended it on the kitchen floor. As well as dirty clothes, there was baby lotion and oil bottles, some empty and some half-full, a cock pump, wads of used tissues, creased porn magazines, three odd socks, five white gloves and a load of hair bobbles all knotted together. Ray’s diary, wallet and a set of keys that Michelle didn’t recognise were also among the mess. She sighed to herself, put on a pair of rubber gloves and picked out all the rubbish, then sprayed the holdall’s PVC interior with anti-bacterial cleaner. She noticed a lump underneath the liner at the bottom of the bag, so she pulled it out to see what it was. Caught in the threads underneath was a small silver bracelet.
Michelle got some scissors and carefully cut it loose, trying not to damage it. It was caked in mud, so she ran it under the tap to clean it, then patted it with kitchen roll to dry it. She turned it over in her hand, admiring the tiny charms hanging from it. The chain was snapped halfway along it and it looked like a couple of the charms were missing.
‘What’s that you’ve got there?’
Michelle jumped out of her skin at the sound of Ray’s voice behind her. She turned to see him leaning against the door frame, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts. He was watching her like a snake watches a mouse and she tried hard not to shudder.
‘Jesus Christ, you scared the life out of me. I didn’t know you were home.’ Michelle placed her hand on her chest as if to slow her heart rate down.
‘I asked what you had in your hand, Shelley,’ Ray repeated.
Michelle held the bracelet up. ‘I found this in your bag, it was caught in the threads underneath the liner.’
Ray padded over to take a closer look. Michelle dropped it into his outstretched hand and turned back towards the pile of laundry on the floor. She watched Ray out of the corner of her eye as he turned the bracelet over in his palm, poking at it with his finger.
‘It’s probably a souvenir from a fan,’ he said. ‘It looks cheap though, may as well throw it away.’ He headed back towards the stairs, dropping the bracelet in the kitchen bin as he passed.
‘Goodnight,’ he called out.
Michelle heard him bound up the stairs and slam his door. She loaded the washing machine and switched it on, her mind racing. She knew Ray better than he knew himself, she’d noticed the split-second look of panic on his face when he’d first spotted the jewellery, and how quickly he’d regained his composure. Something had rattled him.
As she headed to bed, she stopped by the bin, retrieved the bracelet and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans.
26
Alex arrived early at the station again the following morning, keen to get things underway. He wanted to have interviews done and at least some progress made by the end of the day. He intended to pop in and see Charlie Baldwin on his way home, he was out of hospital now and recuperating under the watchful eye of his wife, Jackie.
As Alex walked into the room, he noticed that everyone else was in early too, a sign that his team were as committed as he was. The printer rattled off sheets of paper, Mo was typing furiously and Les was on the phone arguing with someone. Craig was reading through paperwork and Gary was at the far end of the room, making drinks.
Alex loved the dedication his team put in, despite the time of year. Each and every one of them did him proud on a daily basis.
Gary called out to him that he had some important messages on his desk, so he went into his office to tackle them first. He set the ones from Laura Morrison to one side and glanced at the rest. One name jumped out at him. He leaned out of his office and shouted across the room.
‘Dawn, come in here a minute, would you?’
Dawn went into Alex’s office to see what he wanted. He was scanning through her notes from the day before.
‘When you went to Mr Diamond’s house the other day, you said that there was a housekeeper.’
‘Yes, her name’s Michelle Simmons. I haven’t spoken to her yet, but she’s on my list of people to chase today. Why, what’s up?’
‘She’s left a message asking if she can come in and talk to us. She specifically asked for you and Mo, so if you’re not busy can you arrange that for this morning? I don’t want to make her wait in case it’s important.’
He handed the number to her.
‘Sure, I’ll ring her now. I mentioned to Ray’s friends that I’d need to speak to her. I’ll call Des Clarke too, he wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t get his statement.’
Dawn stood up and headed back to her desk to call Michelle Simmons. Alex looked down the list of people yet to be spoken to, then passed the list to Les so he could set up the interviews. He had just finished talking to his boss when his mobile rang. He frowned when he saw his sis
ter-in-law’s number displayed.
‘Hi Carol, is everything okay? Say that again? Christ, I only left an hour ago. Right, I’m on my way.’
Alex grabbed his jacket and car keys. ‘Family emergency, I’ll be back in a bit,’ he called out as he rushed through the office, bumping into Craig and making him spill his coffee for the second time in a week.
‘Sorry Craig,’ he called back over his shoulder, leaving Craig cursing and wiping coffee off his new shirt.
Alex parked his car half on the path and half on the road and hurried towards the front door. He threw it open and rushed into the living room. Carol sat next to Jayne on the sofa, holding a tissue to Jayne’s nose. They both looked up as Alex came in.
‘Where is he?’ he demanded, his face almost black with fury.
‘Dave’s taken him out for a couple of hours. Don’t worry, he’ll soon straighten him out,’ Carol said. ‘In the meantime, tell this stubborn bugger to let me call the doctor.’
Alex knelt in front of his wife and gently tilted her face towards him. Her nose had stopped bleeding but looked as if it may be broken. Her eyes were starting to bruise and were red from crying. She looked fragile and Alex knew that if Joel had been there at that moment, he would have beaten him senseless, regardless of his disability.
‘I’m fine darling, honestly I am. I just wasn’t expecting it. It was my fault for trying to take his posters down. He said he still needed them, and I told him he didn’t, that I was packing them away. As I leaned over to pull one off the wall, he head-butted me. He swears it was an accident, that he was trying to move out of my way.’
‘I don’t care what he said, he’s not getting away with it!’ Alex shouted, unable to stop himself.
Jayne struggled to her feet, her legs visibly wobbly. Carol held out a hand to help but Jayne waved it away. She squared up to Alex as best she could, fixing him with a cold stare.
‘If you’d been here then maybe he wouldn’t have done it!’ Jayne shouted back. ‘For fuck’s sake Alex, you’re meant to be on leave! I don’t care if Charlie Baldwin’s dying, you promised you’d be here and you’re not!’