by Julie Shaw
Brian looked terrified. ‘But what if they ask me what went off? They’ll think I’m lying, Nick. What has happened? Just tell me.’
Nicky looked Brian straight in his eyes. ‘Do you know what’s gone off, Bri?’
Brian shook his head. Seemed to get it. ‘Well, there you go, then,’ Nicky said. ‘Isn’t it better that you know fuck all? All you know is that it had nothing to do with you. Now please, Brian, go, and hurry up.’
Brian gone, Nicky took his shaking sister into the living room and sat her down on the couch. He then went back and wet a dishcloth under the hot tap – one that had some actual hot water – and used it to wipe the splashes of blood that had dried on her hands and face. Her shoulders shook. ‘Is it blood, Nicky?’ she croaked. ‘Is it his blood?’
‘Shhh, babe,’ Nicky soothed. ‘No, it’s not. And listen, don’t even think about any of that any more, okay? That nonce bastard was going for you, mate. You had no choice. You hear me? Now I want you to promise me something. One thing. On your life.’
Christine nodded and made a small cross on her chest with her fingers. Like a ten-year-old. Like a child. ‘I promise, Nick,’ she said.
‘You just sit here, okay? You sit here and say nothing when the ambulance comes. You are in shock, Chrissy, because of what you’ve been through, but you mustn’t say anything. You got that? Anything at all, okay?’
She nodded again and, satisfied, Nicky went back into the kitchen. He knew time was short, so he worked quickly and methodically. He set the breadboard and the bread on the floor, half ripped down the blind, clutched at the knife still sticking out of Mally, gagging as he did so, then slithered down on the floor beside him, turning once, and writhing around a little, to make sure he was sufficiently covered to make it look right – like he’d slipped to the floor and rolled around with the stab victim for a while.
Brian appeared in the kitchen doorway just as he was clambering up again. His gaze darted around and he exhaled noisily.
‘Oh man!’ he said, hopping from foot to foot. ‘Oh, this is bad, Nick. What the fuck is going on?’
Nicky gave him a tight smile. ‘Try to keep calm, mate. Just know I’m doing what’s best for everybody, okay?’ he told him. ‘And don’t forget, you are clueless here. There was a party, we all got pissed up and you’ve just woke up to this. That’s all you know. That’s all you know, okay?’
‘But, Nick, I only fucking got out yesterday!’ Brian’s face was contorted with fear and confusion. ‘They’ll fucking nick me again – just for fucking being here!’
‘They won’t, mate. I swear. Just let me handle it, and you’ll be fine. Now go sit in there with our Chrissy. She’s fucked, mate. Her head’s gone.’
‘Her fucking head’s gone? Jesus Christ.’
Nicky wasn’t surprised to see the coppers had turned up as well as the paramedics. It was a stabbing, after all. He opened the flat door before they got to it, the sirens having alerted him, and showed them straight in to where Mally was still lying unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Then he stood aside, watching silently, while they did what they had to do, and while they did their bit to get the lump down the stairs to the waiting ambulance, signalled for the police to follow him into the living room. ‘I didn’t move him or anything,’ he told them. ‘And I left the knife where it was.’
‘You’re all heart, mate,’ one of the coppers mumbled as they followed him in.
Three coppers had turned up – quiet morning down the station? – and one of them was female. ‘And you two are?’ she asked Brian and Chrissy.
‘Brian Giles. I’m the one who phoned you,’ Brian supplied. Then he pointed at Chrissy. ‘And this is Christine Parker. She’s a friend.’
‘She’s my sister,’ Nicky added. ‘I’m Nicholas Parker. And the guy they’ve just taken is Mally Brown. He invited us round for a party yesterday afternoon – you know, after the pubs shut.’ He ran a hand over his stubble. ‘And we all got a bit shit-faced.’
The female copper’s expression could have soured milk. ‘Anyway, a couple of hours ago,’ he continued, ‘I went into the kitchen. And found Mally attacking my sister.’ He glanced at Chrissy, as did the two coppers – the third was in the kitchen, presumably still rootling around the crime scene. She was looking down at the floor, quietly sobbing.
The metallic tang of blood kept wafting up from his shirt. ‘He was grabbing at her clothes,’ he explained, ‘and had that knife you saw – in his hand. She was really drunk and she couldn’t get away from him. So I waded in, threw her out of the way and tried to get the knife off him –’
‘Brave of you,’ remarked the male copper. He had a pad out and he was scribbling in it.
‘But he was like a raging fucking bull by this point – you’ve seen the size of him. A real handful. And as we grappled, he ended up getting stabbed himself.’
Bar the sound of his sister’s sobbing, there was silence for a few torturous moments. ‘And you say this happened a couple of hours ago?’ the female copper said. ‘Yet you’ve only just phoned for an ambulance?’
He could have kicked himself. Why’d he mention the fucking time? Basic error.
‘I didn’t keep track of the time,’ he said, the irritation in his voice wholly self-directed. ‘I was scared. It was fucking scary, man. And I didn’t know how to deal with it. Brian here was sparko. My sister was fucking hysterical. I couldn’t wake him, and I didn’t want to leave her – didn’t dare. And it took an age to wake him up –’ He jabbed a finger in Brian’s direction. ‘And then he went fucking mental, and Mally clearly wasn’t waking up. I thought he’d be okay. I mean …’ He shuddered. ‘I didn’t know what to do. It was self-defence. I didn’t mean to … I just … what a fucking nightmare. I just don’t know.’
There was a cough from behind the policewoman and they all turned around. Just as Christine vomited all over the carpet.
Chapter 25
Had she not been so strung out and upset and scared, Josie would have found it funny. She’d been turning up at the bloody hospital more times in the last few months than in the whole of her life put together.
And perhaps she should try and see the funny side, she thought, as Eddie pulled into St Luke’s car park. What did they always say? If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry?
And thank God for it being a Saturday – and for Eddie. She’d have walked round but they’d told her they’d given Christine a sedative, so she’d need to be collected by car. ‘You sure you’re okay to wait for me, babe?’ she asked Eddie, touching a hand to his forearm. She knew he wasn’t altogether thrilled with this turn of events – to put it mildly – but what could she do? Someone had to step in and help, didn’t they? And who else would it be?
Eddie nodded grimly and turned the dial on the radio up. ‘I’m sorry, love,’ she said as she climbed out of the car, ‘but she’s a mate and I’ve got to be there … after all she’s gone through just lately …’ She left the rest unsaid. She could have added and all that she has still got to go through, but she didn’t. Didn’t even want to think about what might happen now. Wasn’t even yet fully sure what had happened, because apparently Christine didn’t know herself. Just that there’d been some sort of drug-fuelled shenanigans which had resulted in a stabbing and that Nicky was helping the police with their enquiries. And everybody knew what that meant. What a mess.
Between entrance and ward, Josie took time to rearrange her features. What kind of state Christine might be in she had absolutely no idea, but the last thing she’d need was to be made any worse by Josie turning up wearing an expression that matched the bleakness of her thoughts. At what point was her friend going to stop falling? ‘Mate, you look as rough as a bear’s arse!’ she said brightly when she reached Christine’s bedside. ‘You sure they said you can come home?’
Christine managed a wan smile, but it sat like an impostor on a face filled with terror. ‘I’m sure, Jose. The doctor’s just gone. Have you heard anything about our Nicky
?’
Josie’s expression softened. ‘They arrested him yesterday and locked him up. But don’t worry – everyone is saying he’ll be out on remand by Monday.’
Christine looked close to tears. ‘What have they charged him with?’
So it was true what she’d heard – that no one really knew what had happened. Christine included, clearly. Doubtless because she’d been off her bloody head. On what? ‘Suspicion of assault and GBH,’ she told her. ‘But apparently, because it was self-defence, they’ll have to let him out.’
Christine was pushing her feet into the boots she’d been wearing. They looked gross – spattered with stains – and smelt even worse. What the hell had they all been up to, for Christ’s sake? ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Self-defence. I remember that.’ Christine bent, then, trying to tie her boot lace, had to reach out and grab the chair arm. ‘God, I feel peculiar.’
‘That’ll be the sedative they gave you,’ Josie said, grabbing her arm to support her. ‘Though why they’d give you a sedative when they’re about to discharge you is beyond me,’ she added. ‘You okay to leave? Seriously? You’re looking really pale.’
Christine shook her head. ‘It’s okay. I was just in a bit of a state. I had a lady copper here for over an hour, grilling me. I woke up and there she was, sitting by my bed. Frightened the life out of me.’
‘To make a statement?’
Christine nodded. ‘Apparently I wasn’t in any fit state this morning. Not that I’m clearer about anything now.’
‘So what did you tell them? Chris, what the fuck happened yesterday? All I know is what Brian knows – which doesn’t seem to be much. Other than that Nicky stabbed the bloody potato man. Which I am having some difficulty making any sense of. I mean, Mally? What on earth were you doing round his, for God’s sake? And Nicky stabbed him? I mean, I know he’s a bit of a boy, but Nicky? Stab someone? It just makes no sense.’ Josie’s frown deepened.
‘Nor to me. Oh, God, Josie, I hope he’s going to be okay.’
‘What, Nicky?’
‘No, Mally! I mean, yes, Nicky too. Of course, but …’ She raised her hands to her face and rubbed it, as if trying to erase the memories.
‘But?’ Josie probed.
Christine was now bending down, tying her other boot. She’d been put in a corner bed of what looked like a half-empty ward. No one near her, and the nearest bay was curtained. And perhaps with good reason. Christine stank, Josie realised. Of sick.
Christine raised her head. ‘Eh?’
‘What do you know, Chris? What did you tell the copper?’
‘The truth,’ she said, sighing. ‘What else? Well, as much of it as I could really remember. Which isn’t enough, like I say – oh, Josie, I’m not even sure I’ve got it right, either. I remember Mally going for me, and trying to grab the knife …’ She stopped, her face clouding. ‘And the rest of it’s all so confusing. I remember struggling with him – him trying to grab my jumper … and I remember Nick coming in and shaking me. And being asleep on the kitchen floor. That bit I do remember. I remember the bin …’
‘The bin?’
‘The rubbish bin. I remember I could see my face in it. I remember turning away from it so it couldn’t see me.’
‘Jesus, Chris, what the fuck had you taken?’
Christine’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’d been drinking, and had a couple of joints, and …’ Her hands flew to her face again. ‘Oh, Josie –’ She lowered her voice. Sounded desperate. Urgent. ‘I did some heroin.’
‘Oh, for f—’
‘Ah, so you’re off then?’ said a nurse who seemed to have materialised out of nowhere. She looked as if a ‘yes’ would make her the happiest woman on earth.
‘Yes, my husband’s waiting downstairs in the car,’ Josie told her. Who definitely wasn’t going to be the happiest man on earth.
Eddie maintained a stony silence during the short journey home, and Josie thanked God it hadn’t been any longer. It was like bringing home a character from Oliver bloody Twist.
‘So you’re staying here tonight. Not least for a feed-up – Christ, Chris, when was the last time you ate? You look like a Cambodian! Oh, and my mam’s round – she’s minding Paula –’
‘Oh, God, Jose – what’s she going to say when she finds out?’
‘Finds out? What planet are you on? Most of the bloody estate know!’ Then, seeing Christine’s anguished face, she threaded an arm between the front seats and reached for her friend’s hand. ‘Which is a good thing, okay? Means you won’t have to tell anyone, doesn’t it? Anyway, bath, change of clothes, and you’ll start feeling better …’
‘Not possible,’ Christine said, in a small, desolate voice. ‘God, Josie. What have I done?’
‘Nothing. You hear me? Nothing,’ Josie told her firmly. She just wished she knew for sure it was true.
Eddie made himself scarce as soon as they got in, opting to walk down to the park with Paula, even though it was beginning to get dark. June had no such desire to escape. Indeed, no sooner had Christine come back downstairs after her bath than June was pressing her for all the gory details.
‘So how did he do it then?’ she wanted to know. ‘Did he just stick him, like? Or was there a fight first?’
Josie’s eyebrows shot up. Her mother was beyond belief. Except, actually, not so much. This was normal. ‘Mother!’ she snapped. ‘Tame the frigging blood lust, will you? I’m sure the last thing Chris wants to do is give you chapter and bloody verse on it. In any case, she’s not even sure what happened, is she?’ She gave her mam a very pointed look.
‘No, it’s okay,’ Christine said. ‘I want to talk about it. I still can’t believe our Nicky even confessed to it. I just can’t believe he would have done it. I really can’t. In fact I know he didn’t. I have been racking and racking my brains and that’s the one thing I’m completely sure of. That I never saw him hurt Mally. And what if he goes to prison for it? What if they send him to prison for years?’
Christine’s chin was wobbling again. She was clearly extremely traumatised, and Josie wished now she’d asked the nurse if she could take something home for her to take. She put her mug down on the coffee table and put her arms around her friend. ‘Course he didn’t commit a crime, mate. Everybody knows that. He was defending you. He was doing what all big brothers do – just like mine did for me, remember? He was protecting you. Maybe it just kind of happened, in the struggle. That’s what everyone’s saying must have happened.’
Josie thought for a moment that her mam was going to make the sign of the cross, so much did she deify Vinnie.
She didn’t quite, but she did one of her special Vinnie sighs. ‘Only the bastards made him pay for it in the end, didn’t they?’
‘Mam, that’s not helpful.’
‘Well they did! And him a hero. My poor boy a bleeding hero! Oh, it’s a messed-up world, kid, but your Nicky will be all right. Course he will. It was a clear-cut case of self-defence and that’s all there is to it.’
Josie wished she could believe that, but she wasn’t sure she could. He already had a suspended sentence, and what with the drugs they’d taken and everything … And they’d been at Mally’s flat – which hardly looked very good, did it? Given Mally was what he was …
‘I think you’re right, Mam,’ Josie said. ‘I do, honest, Chris. It’ll be fine. You’ll see. Anyway, how about some food, eh? You’ll feel much better once you’ve got something in your stomach.’
‘Speaking of which,’ June said rising, ‘I’d better get off round to see to Lizzie.’ She then pulled a face, presumably realising her mistake, and looked at Josie apologetically. Great, thought Josie. Just the thing she didn’t want to have to discuss today. Surely her mam understood that?
It had been hanging over her, big time, the whole thing with Lizzie. She’d been round to Brian’s flat, what? Three times? Four? And every time the same. No frigging answer. So the last time she’d left a note. When had that been? Tuesday, or Wednesday? And n
o response to that either.
And it was now all so clear why. She might not even have seen it, let alone read it. She could imagine it floating down onto the pile of junk mail – and important mail – that habitually sat on the hall floor, and was habitually walked over, too, unread. There was no getting away from it. Christine was living the same life as Nick now, and, if it was true she’d taken heroin, as the newly released Brian.
How bloody ironic. Her constant fretting about not having told her about her mam yet, but it was the last thing Christine needed to deal with today.
Christine’s head snapped up. As she’d known it would. ‘See to? See to Mam?’
And the words said it all. It was a daily thing with June now, Josie helping out when she could. If she didn’t go round with a meal or made some soup, Lizzie simply wouldn’t eat at all – the chemotherapy saw to that. She felt constantly sick and her mouth ulcers hurt too much. And all for nothing? Increasingly, it looked like it.
Josie sat back down again. There was no keeping it from Chris now. She wasn’t that stupid. And, besides, perhaps now was actually the right time for her to know. When she and Nick were both in trouble. Just perhaps – and it was by no means certain – the brittle carapace Lizzie had erected to protect herself from their rejection might reveal itself to have a weak spot. You never knew. No, perhaps this was the perfect time, especially with Nick currently languishing in a cell, however nonchalant everyone seemed to be about his prospects.
‘What’s wrong with my mam?’ Christine said, turning from one to the other. ‘Tell me, Josie. Please.’
But it was June who spoke. ‘Look, sweetheart, your mam didn’t want you to know, that’s the bottom line. But I think you have a right …’
‘What do you mean, Auntie June? Is Mam okay?’