by Jason Ayres
“Sorry about that,” he said, joining her at the bar, out of view of the others in the crowded bar. “But I didn’t want you to have to put up with any of Andy’s crap. He saw me giving you that money at the cashpoint earlier and is telling everyone I’m paying you for sex now.”
“What a cheek,” remarked Kay. “I really could slap that twat at times.”
“Well, there’s no point doing anything about it,” said Kent. “It’s all irrelevant in this universe. As is Nobby and The Beast’s argument about what is the best Christmas Number One of all time, which has been going on for well over half an hour.”
“I’m glad I missed that,” said Kay.
“Now then, about Anna,” said Kent.
“Have you seen her?” asked Kay.
“Yes, she’s over there at the pool table,” replied Kent.
Kay looked over and spotted Anna straightaway. She was playing pool with Lauren and her usual group of young male followers. She was struck by how pretty Anna looked. Kay had only ever seen her in her chip shop overalls with her hair tied back in a bun.
Tonight she looked stunning, the curves of her full figure perfectly complemented by the long, black dress she was wearing. Her blonde hair, straight and smooth, flowed down beneath her shoulders now it was no longer tied up. Resisting the temptation to go over and speak to her, Kay turned back to Kent.
“Have you spotted anything unusual? Have there been any weirdos hanging around or anything like that? What about those lads who are always sniffing around Lauren? Could it be one of them?”
“No, nothing out of the ordinary at all,” replied Kent. “She’s been over there with the underage drinkers for the past hour. I can’t see it being one of them: they’re just harmless kids as far as I can see.”
“I think it’s best that we stay over here at a safe distance, then,” suggested Kay, bearing in mind their earlier conversation. “We need to avoid interaction, if at all possible.”
The pool table was less than ten yards away from where they were standing but it was quite easy to blend into the background. The pub was heaving with people and very noisy with the disco blaring out. It was so crowded that Kay even managed to visit the ladies, the door to which was right behind the pool table, without Anna spotting her.
So far, so good, but she couldn’t avoid being spotted indefinitely. The youths at the pool table were knocking back the booze like it was going out of fashion, frequently visiting the bar to stock up on drinks and shots. Shortly after Kay had returned to the bar, it was Anna’s turn to get a round in.
With Kent having nipped off to the gents, there was a space at the bar right next to Kay and Anna made a beeline straight for it.
Kay tried to turn away to hide her face but it was too late. Anna had already spotted her and bounced over, full of festive cheer.
“Kay! Merry Christmas,” she said, in her Polish accent. “Is everything OK with you? I heard Mr McVie say he was going to turn off your electricity at lunchtime.”
She was showing genuine concern, which was so like her. Desperately trying to hide the unbearable emotions churning away inside her, Kay just about managed to reply without her voice cracking.
“It’s OK, Anna, I haven’t been home. I’m staying away for Christmas, so McVie can do whatever he likes.”
“I think he is very cruel to you,” said Anna. “I hope maybe you can find somewhere else to live soon?”
“I hope so,” replied Kay. “And maybe you should find somewhere else to work. You really should not let him abuse you like he does. The things he was saying the other day were nothing short of bullying, not to mention racist.”
Kay knew these words were pointless, knowing that the girl would never see another dawn, let alone find another job. She just wanted to let her know that not everyone in the town thought the way McVie did. It was a tiny crumb of comfort, not a lot to take with her to the grave, but what else did Kay have to offer?
“It’s not easy,” replied Anna. “Although my family has been here seven years, it is hard to find jobs that pay well. The bosses think we will work for very little because we are from Poland, but it is very expensive to live here.”
While Anna was speaking, Kay glanced up and was horrified to see the bloated figure of McVie approaching behind her. This was all she needed. What was he doing in here? She had never seen him in the pub before. He must be one of those once a year drinkers that just came out at Christmas.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Lil’ Miss Gummy,” remarked McVie. “I want a word with you.”
“Whatever you’ve got to say, I’m not interested,” said Kay, and she meant it. He had no hold over her anymore, in this universe or the other one, so for once she could speak her mind.
“I told you I wanted that rent by today. And where were you when I came up to collect it? In here, I suppose, like the drunken old slag you are. No wonder you can’t afford to pay my rent if you’re pissing all your money up in the pub. So don’t bother trying to put the lights on when you get home: they won’t work.”
“Do you think I give a fuck?” retorted Kay. “You can shove your shitty little flat up your arse.”
“Careful, missy,” said McVie, leering towards her. “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of me.” He made no attempt to disguise the threat in his voice.
He hadn’t noticed Anna yet, as she had been standing with her back to him the whole time, but now the young Polish girl turned around and let fly with both barrels.
“Why don’t you leave her alone?” she yelled, taking both him and Kay by surprise. “I think you are a very cruel and horrible man, Mr McVie.”
“Oh, so you’re here as well, are you? So that’s why you wanted the night off,” said McVie. “And there was me thinking you were going to have nice cosy evening with however many brothers and sisters you brought over here with you. Clearly I’ve been paying you too much if you can afford to come drinking in this place.”
“You pay me five pounds per hour and it’s exploitation,” responded Anna.
“Yeah, well, that’s probably a fortune in your country. You should be glad there are people like me who are willing to let you come over here and work. In your case, however, you don’t work for me anymore. As of this moment, you can consider yourself sacked.”
“You can’t do that,” said Kay. “Anna was just sticking up for me. Take it out on me if you are going to take it out on anyone.”
She looked towards the gents, willing Kent to get a move on as she could desperately use some backup, but there was no sign of him.
“I think you’ll find I can do whatever I want,” replied McVie. “She’s got no contract, no paperwork, in fact nothing at all to prove she ever worked for me. Do you think I want all that paperwork and expense – tax and National Insurance? Bollocks to that. Foreigners work cash in hand, no questions asked. They like it that way, and so do I.”
Turning back to Anna, he added, “And that means I don’t even need to pay you this week’s wages. Merry Christmas.” He started laughing.
“I want what you owe me,” said Anna. Kay could see she was fighting back the tears, as she tried to stick up to this vile man. “I am going to tell my brothers about this.”
“What, that bunch of unemployed illegal immigrants?” asked McVie. “Do you think I’m scared of them?”
“What’s going on here?” asked Kent, who had finally emerged from the toilets and caught the tail-end of the conversation.
“This man is making a nuisance of himself,” said Kay.
“Is he now?” asked Kent. “Look here, mate, I suggest you move along and stop bothering these ladies.”
“Why, what are you going to do, arrest me?” replied McVie. “Oh no, you can’t do that anymore, can you? Not that you ever could. I know who you are, pal. You’re that crap policeman who can’t catch any criminals. The one that got kicked out and replaced by a woman! You’re a fucking laughing stock, mate.”
Even though the pub was
packed and the disco was blaring out, the argument was beginning to attract attention. Thankfully help had now arrived from behind the bar. One of the barmaids, sensing trouble, had called Craig over and he now intervened.
“He may not be able to arrest you, but this is my pub and I say who does or doesn’t drink here. Any more crap out of you, and you’re out. Now shift yourself elsewhere, away from these people, or you’re out.”
McVie reluctantly complied, but he threw a filthy look at Kay and Anna as he moved away, letting them know in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t over.
“What am I going to do now?” asked Anna. “I needed that job.”
“Don’t worry,” replied Kay. “You can’t do anything now until after Christmas. Just try and enjoy the night.”
What else could she say?
Anna’s friend, Lauren, had come over to the bar now. She had been far enough away by the pool table not to hear what was going on. That was probably just as well, thought Kay. She had seen how feisty Lauren could get, and if she had been drawn into the argument as well, all hell could have broken loose.
“What’s taking so long with these drinks?” asked Lauren, swaying about, clearly drunk.
“Just coming now,” said Anna, putting a brave face on things. “Here, give me a hand.” She passed a couple of bottles of lager to Lauren, and picked up a tray containing the rest of the drinks. Just before she left, she turned back to Kay.
“Thank you for sticking up for me, Kay,” she said.
“I thought it was the other way round,” replied Kay.
“We stuck for each other. You are a good friend, I think,” replied Anna, smiling. She took the tray and made her way carefully through the crowded bar towards the pool table.
That smile well and truly broke Kay’s heart. She knew they were probably the last words Anna would ever speak to her.
With Anna safely out of earshot, Kent said, “Was that really a good idea? You’re not meant to be getting involved with her. What happened back there could have changed things irretrievably. What if she decides to go home early because of it?”
“I didn’t have a lot of choice,” replied Kay. “She spotted me when she came to the bar: I could hardly blank her. Why were you so long in the toilet, anyway? If you’d not left me for so long, a lot of that could have been avoided.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” replied Kent. “I was on the toilet. Deb’s sister came round with some of her home-made mince pies earlier. I don’t know what she puts in them. They taste gorgeous, but they always go straight through me.”
“Too much information,” stated Kay. She found the idea of taking a dump in a pub toilet repulsive and certainly didn’t want to hear about it.
“Sorry,” said Kent. “Let’s have one more drink, and then you had better be thinking about getting yourself in position.”
The disco seemed to be getting louder and was now belting out a selection of Christmas classics. When “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” came on, Kay reflected that, just recently, it really had been for her.
They lost sight of Anna for a while as she headed over to the dance floor with Lauren and their group of friends. The pub was full of young people tonight. Kay was relieved to see that Maddie was not among them.
A potential complication she had feared was that her daughter might turn up here tonight. Such a meeting could have been a distraction, not to mention awkward. In this timeline there had been no reconciliation between them. But thankfully Maddie was not here. It was highly likely that she was in The Wheatsheaf, a goths’ and rockers’ pub up the other end of town which was more her scene.
McVie’s continued presence was also a worry, but they didn’t have any more trouble with him. They could see his flabby frame leaning against a wooden beam at the edge of the dance floor, downing pints of lager with a face like thunder. He didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone very much, but that didn’t surprise Kay. The way he went on, she didn’t expect that he had many friends.
At half past eleven she took her leave of Kent to head to the woods, heeding his many warnings to take care. Meanwhile he took up a new position further along the bar where he could better observe the dance floor area.
It was very cold outside again and getting foggy, but Kay was prepared, having bought herself a nice, thick Christmas jumper during the afternoon. It wasn’t as cold in the woods, where the trees offered a degree of protection from the freezing wind. For the next half an hour she kept in touch with Kent via text, as he provided her with regular updates.
Just after midnight, he texted to say that Anna’s friend, Lauren, had gone. Apparently she had left with some bloke, her tongue practically halfway down his throat. That might explain why Anna had ended up going home alone.
A few minutes later her phone vibrated to let her know she had a call. Concealed behind a tree, she had put her phone on silent, just in case the killer was already around. The last thing she wanted was her mobile ringing out, alerting anyone to her presence.
“She’s just left and she’s walking up the High Street,” Kent informed her. “She should be with you in about ten minutes.”
“OK, well, I had better ring off now,” said Kay, as quietly as she could. “I can’t risk being detected.”
“I’m going to give it another five minutes and then start heading slowly your way,” replied Kent. “Ring me and let me know when it’s all over and I’ll come straight to you. I think you’re being incredibly brave, by the way. Good luck.”
“Thank you,” said Kay, and hung up. She didn’t feel incredibly brave. She felt terrified. This was a terrifying situation to be in, alone in the freezing cold woods, about to be witness to a grisly murder. It was dark, too, there being no lighting on the woody path.
Right on schedule, ten minutes later, she peered around the tree and just about picked out the solitary figure of Anna walking towards her out of the thickening fog. She checked her watch. It was 12.32am. She made a note of the time: it might come in useful later.
Kay shrank back undercover and listened, as the girl approached. Then she heard a male voice call out.
“Anna,” he called.
It was a voice Kay recognised immediately and a dreadful realisation dawned. Of course, it all made sense now.
“What do you want?” replied Anna. “Leave me alone.”
“I wanted to apologise for earlier,” came the reply. “I didn’t mean what I said. You can have your job back. I’ll even give you the minimum wage, if that helps.”
Kay could not resist another quick peek around the tree, even though the two of them were only about twenty yards away. She didn’t even need visual confirmation of his rotund frame to know that it was McVie who was speaking.
Kay felt a feeling of impending doom as she realised what the true reason was behind this uncharacteristic show of reconciliation. The trusting, young girl was about to fall right into his clutches.
“Really?” said Anna.
The Polish girl stopped and turned back to face him, allowing him to walk right up to her. It was a fatal mistake, one for which she was about to pay with her life.
“Of course not, you stupid cow,” said McVie, pulling out a knife and grabbing hold of her. Anna screamed, but he swiftly cut her off with a hand over the mouth.
“Have a go at me in the pub, would you? Make me look stupid? You don’t even belong in this country. Now keep still, bitch, unless you want me to slit your throat.”
Anna wriggled in an attempt to break free. She was way younger and fitter than the sweating, mound of blubber who was trying to force himself upon her, but what he lacked in fitness he had in weight. Forcing her to the ground, he put the full weight of his twenty stone on top of her, pinning her down and making her gasp for air. It was exactly the same move he had tried to do to Kay in her flat a few days before.
She simply couldn’t bear to watch any more of this. Whatever may be set in stone in her own timeline, this was happening here and now an
d there was no way she could stand idly by and let this version of the terrified girl be raped and murdered in front of her.
She knew the identity of the attacker now. That was what she had come here to find out. So was there any need for this temporary version of Anna to suffer? There wasn’t and Kay simply had to do something.
With McVie now tearing at the girl’s clothes, Kay launched herself out from behind the tree and ran right at him in an attempt to push him away. He was much heavier than she was, but she carried enough speed for her mighty shove to knock him off her. As he struggled to regain his balance, temporarily confused by the surprise attack, Anna managed to scramble free.
“Run, Anna!” shouted Kay. “Just run and don’t look back!”
“Oh, you’ve done it now!” shouted McVie, a crazed look in his eyes as he recovered sufficiently to grab hold of Kay, knife in hand. “You are so fucking dead.”
“Kay,” screamed Anna, seemingly rooted to the spot.
“Go and get help!” shouted Kay. Relieved, she saw Anna turn and begin to run.
“You’re dead,” hissed McVie.
Terrified as she was, Kay felt a strange sense of detachment as she saw the knife flash before her. He was holding her down with one hand and wielding the knife with the other, as he brought it down against her neck. At first, the steel felt cold against her skin, then strangely warm. With a sickening shock she realised he had slit her throat and felt consciousness begin to slip away from her.
“Please don’t let this be the end” was her final thought as she drifted away, desperately hoping that the angel would be watching over her, ready to whisk her home.
Chapter Twenty-One
December 2018
Suddenly Kay was back in front of the wardrobe mirror in her bedroom. She may have been back in her original body, but the sensations from the experience she had just been through still coursed through her. Like waking from a nightmare, she felt a sense of panic as conflicting signals in her brain sent her into a state of shock, believing that her throat in this body had been slit, too.
Unable to see her true reflection with the image of the angel looking back at her, instinctively her hand went to her neck to check that her skin remained unbroken. The relief she felt in discovering herself intact did nothing to alleviate her feelings. Shaking with fear and adrenalin, she turned and flopped onto the bed, sobbing her heart out at the horrific ordeal she had just endured.