by Denise Mina
The phone rang.‘Hello,’ she said apathetically. There was no answer on the other end but she could hear a strange, loud, clicking noise.‘Hello?’ she said.‘This is the Dennistoun day centre.’ The caller hung up. Confused, she put the phone down just as another call came through on the same line.‘Hello,’ she said.‘Dennistoun day centre.’
She listened but no one spoke. All she could hear was the strange clicking noise on the other end. She was so engrossed she didn’t notice the figure coming through the furthest entry door, one hand tucked into a bulky pocket, scratching the receiver on a mobile phone. It slid unnoticed through the lobby, heading straight for the day room, where Siobhain was sitting in her chair watching television, alone. The temp turned the page. The police exhumed the dogs after a disgruntled grounds keeper got the sack and reported them. The dog-widow was gutted. She wanted the police to charge the company with fraud. She knew she could never replace Scamper but she was looking at puppies and wanted to tell her story to as many people as possible so that they would be spared— ‘What do you want?’
The woman’s cardigan was buttoned up wrong and she had disgusting red lipstick all over her old mouth. She smiled and her teeth fell out onto the desk, rolling over the edge and tumbling onto the magazine. They were covered in spit and lippy and bits of chewed digestive biscuit.
‘Go away,’ spat the temp, standing up and grabbing the old lady’s arm tightly. She spun her around and pointed her at the day room.‘Go. Go in there.’
The old lady looked back at her, confused.‘Shoo,’ said the temp, waving her hand.
The old lady shuffled away, one arm out in front of her. The temp picked up the magazine at the edges and dropped the teeth into the bin, ripping out the pages they’d landed on. The spit had seeped through to the next effing pages as well. It better be a good holiday anyway.
He had only taken one step towards her when the toothless old woman walked into the room and said hello. Siobhain turned her head slowly, the bud of a smile flowering softly over her pretty face until her eyes fell on him Maureen opened the front door to her flat and stepped in, knocking over a pile of books with the swing of her overcoat. McAskill bent down to pick them up.‘It’s all right, Hugh,’ she said.‘The place is a mess anyway.’ He stacked the books into a tidy pile against the wall. ‘Where did you leave the list?’ asked McEwan kindly.
‘Oh, Joe, it’s in the kitchen somewhere,’ said Maureen, putting her bag down on the floor.‘Listen, you go on, I’ll just nip to the loo.’
‘Whereabouts in the kitchen?’ asked McEwan. Maureen gestured to the mess in the hall.‘I’m not the sort of woman who has a special place for storing lists.’ She smiled at him and walked down the hall to the toilet.
She sat on the side of the bath and took the list out of her pocket, folding it carefully between the staff names Martin had given her and the list of Siobhain’s ward-mates.
She put the toilet seat down and leaned the list on it, scratching the fold with her thumbnail until it was crisp.
She opened it out and put a hand flat on either side of the fold, pulling it apart from the top down, ripping Siobhain’s list off the bottom. She licked her fingertip and ran it along the ripped end of Martin’s list, flattening the minute telltale hairs. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands.
Back in the kitchen McEwan was looking through the piles of newspapers on the window-ledge and McAskill was sifting a pile of bills Maureen kept in the toast rack. She turned her back to them and opened the plastic-bags drawer, pretending to rummage through it.‘Found it,’ she said, and held out the list to McEwan. He took it off her and held it up to the window.‘What ye looking for?’ she said innocently. ‘Nothing,’ said McEwan thoughtfully, running the ripped end between his thumb and fore finger.‘Was this bit of paper longer? I remember the pad as longer than this. Was a bit ripped off the bottom?’ Maureen shrugged. Not that I know of.’ ‘It’s a bit damp.’
‘I just washed my hands.’
She was seeing them out of the front door when she noticed the answerphone winking at her. McEwan caught her eye as he followed McAskill into the close.‘Carol Brady was on TV last night,’ he said.‘I don't know if you saw it?’ ‘No,’ said Maureen.
‘Well, I think the press’ll be hanging around again. Just watch your back, okay?’ He smiled at her.
‘Thanks, Joe.’ She patted his arm.‘I will.’ She shut the door and waited until the policemen had walked down a couple of landings before she pressed the Play button on the answerphone. It was Lynn, she was off today, could Maureen call her at home.
A man with a Belfast accent answered and said he’d see if she was in. He put down the receiver, walked away two steps, knocked on a door and shouted something. Maureen could hear the cats miaowing intermittently in the background. A door opened, two footsteps, and Lynn lifted the phone.‘Hello?’ ‘Lynn!’
‘Mauri! What’s the crack? How ye feeling now?’
‘Oh, I’m much better now, Lynn. Thanks for the other day.’
‘Liam said you’d cut your hair and it looked dead nice. I didn’t let on I’d seen ye.’ ‘Good woman.’
‘Look, he told me about Benny going to your house and him having a key and everything.’
‘God, I told him not to say anything. He’s an awful arse.’
‘Yeah, he’s that all right,’ said Lynn fondly.‘Anyway, I might be able to do that wee thing you asked about.’
‘Which thing?’
‘Can't say,really.’
There must be someone in the background.‘The medical file?’ guessed Maureen.‘Do you know how I get to see it?’ ‘I might be able to do more than that. I might be able to get it for you.’
‘How can you do that?’
‘Inverness’s files are networked and my cousin works there.’
‘Can you get the name of the doctor from that?’
‘Patient name, address, condition, treatment and doctor’s name.’
‘Oh, Lynn, would you? All I need is the doctor’s name.’
‘If it’s there she’ll get it. Not one word, Secret Squirrel, not even to Liam. I could get my books over this.’ ‘When could you get it for?’
‘Couple of days? Phone me at work on Thursday. If ye phone in the morning I’ll definitely be there.’ They whispered their cheerios.
She dialled the number of the Dennistoun day centre. A man answered. When Maureen asked about Siobhain McCloud the man hummed and hawed in a manner so forcefully nonchalant that Maureen was terrified.‘Are you a relation?’ he asked.
‘I’m her cousin. Tell me what happened.’
‘Miss McCloud’s been . . . I’m afraid . . .’ His voice trailed off, as if he had turned his head away from the receiver to look at something.
She demanded to speak to the female receptionist. The girl picked up the phone,‘Hello?’ Maureen was halfway through reminding her she’d been in that morning when she heard a watery, tearful sniff on the other end of the phone. The receptionist had been crying.
Maureen threw down the phone and ran out of the house, hailing a cab to Dennistoun.
She ran through the reception area. Old Gurtie with the falling teeth was crying by the desk, her hand to her face, the red lipstick smudged over her cheek and nose. A woman in a smart navy trouser suit was standing by the door to the day room.‘You can't go in,’ she shouted, as Maureen bolted towards the door. Maureen skipped past her. The woman lunged forward and caught the back of Maureen’s overcoat, dragging her back into the lobby. Maureen slipped her arms out of the coat and ran into the day room.
Siobhain was sitting in the chair, still facing the television. Behind the television the fire exit was lying open, a bitter draught blowing into the room from the back alley. A dark-haired man was sitting on a chair next to Siobhain, holding a paper bag over her face. She was breathing into it. He looked up as Maureen ran over
and said something about a bad turn. Maureen crouched down in front of Siobhain. She couldn’t speak because of the bag over her face– she was hyperventilating– but she was awake again. Her eyes were wide with terror.
Maureen hunkered down in front of her, stroking her knee and inhaling in time with her. Siobhain’s breathing slowly returned to normal and the man took the bag away from her mouth.‘I saw him,’ mouthed Siobhain.‘Him.’
The man told her that Siobhain had been watching TV and one of the other clients had walked in, giving her a fright. She began to scream and lost her breath.‘She worked herself up into a right old state,’ he said, holding her hand. ‘Didn’t you, pet?’ He gestured to the reception area.‘Nearly scared the life out of poor old Gurtie.’
Maureen took Siobhain’s hand.‘Do you want to go home and have a lie-down?’
Siobhain shut her eyes and nodded.
The dark-haired man yanked her into her wind cheater. Maureen took her own coat from the suited woman and held Siobhain’s arm, leading her out of the day centre and into the street.
It could have been a flashback– a rapist would hardly walk into a day centre in broad daylight. The staff hadn’t seen anyone else in the room except Gurtie. From her own experience of flashbacks Maureen knew how difficult it is to tell them from reality and she knew they were triggered by stress. Maybe this was an after-effect of the interview with Joe McEwan. Maureen looked around the street for pedestrians or occupied cars. The only car in the street was a blue Ford but two people were sitting in it and they were chatting to each other quite casually.
They walked slowly around the corner.‘Not Gurtie,’ whispered Siobhain.
‘I know it wasn’t Gurtie you saw, hen. Can you say his name to me?’
Siobhain jackknifed stiffly forward, squeezed her eyes tight together, and vomited stringy white lumps of bread and spit onto her shoes.
Maureen tried to help her upright.‘I’m sorry, Siobhain, I’m sorry.’ Maureen stopped at the edge of the pavement, waiting for a pause in the traffic so that they could cross to the phone box, but Siobhain tugged her sleeve.‘I was going to phone Leslie,’ said Maureen. ‘Home,’ said Siobhain.‘Home.’
‘But I can’t stay here all day and I think you should have someone with you.’
Siobhain ignored her, tugging her sleeve.‘Home,’ she said, walking on and turning into her close.
A small boy with a wedge hair-cut and a football was standing in the close. He had a Man United shirt on. He flattened himself against the wall to let them pass, watching Siobhain shuffle up the stairs. When they had passed he began his game again, headering the ball against the inside wall of the close. He was playing keepy-uppy, leaving round muddy marks on the cream wall. He was six or seven, too young to go out on his own.
The smell of heather wasn’t as strong as Maureen remembered it: she must be getting used to it. She made Siobhain a cup of tea, listening all the while to the rhythmic thump, thump of the boy’s ball game in the close below. She took the tea-bag out and stirred three sugars into the cup. Siobhain drank a mouthful.‘Sugar,’ she said.
‘It’s good for shock,’ said Maureen, putting her fingers on the base of the cup and tilting it to Siobhain’s mouth.
Siobhain drank quickly as she stared at the carpet, taking big gulps, leaving a brown smile at the corners of her mouth. Maureen took the cup and put it on the floor.‘I really think you should go to Leslie’s house, Siobhain, you shouldn't be on your own. The only thing is you’ll need to go on the motorbike—’
‘No,’ whispered Siobhain, shaking her head slowly.‘No.’
‘Siobhain, I can’t stay here all day and I don’t think you should be alone just now.’ ‘Stay.’
‘I really can’t, Siobhain, I have to attend to some things.’ Siobhain pursed her lips and turned her head, staring Maureen out with hurt, angry eyes.‘Stay.’
‘I can't stay here, Siobhain. Can’t I take you to Leslie’s house instead?’
Siobhain turned her face away.‘Stay.’
‘Siobhain, I can stay for a couple of hours but I can’t stay all day.’
Siobhain’s fat face turned red and convulsed with impotent fury, her neck tight, her mouth open in a terrified silent scream. She stood up and shuffled forward, pushing and slapping at Maureen’s arm and making her stand up. Tugging and pushing and nudging, she hassled Maureen out to the hall and opened the door, shoving her over the step and into the close. She shut the door. Maureen stood still, surprised to find herself in the cold close. She could hear Siobhain breathing heavily on the other side of the door.‘Siobhain, at least lock the fucking thing.’ Siobhain turned the snib and leaned against the door.
‘I’ll wait out here, okay?’ said Maureen, addressing the door,‘Okay?’
Siobhain didn’t answer. Maureen could hear her shuffle back down the hall to the living room. Downstairs, the wee boy stopped playing and climbed up the first three stairs. He looked through the banister and caught Maureen’s eye. He grinned at her. His front teeth were missing. She smiled back and he went back downstairs and began his game again.
Maureen sat down on the top step and smoked a cigarette to calm herself. She couldn’t hear anything inside the flat. She knocked on the door, slowly so as not to scare her, and opened the letterbox.‘Siobhain, are ye there?’
The dark hall was still. The pool of light cast onto the carpet from the living room was steady. She wasn’t moving. ‘Are ye there?’
The wee boy stopped playing and came back up to look at her through the banisters again. He grinned at her. Maureen nodded.‘Right, son?’ He held up his football for her to look at.
‘That’s smashing, son. Away you downstairs now and play for a wee bit.’
The boy disappeared again. She pushed the letterbox open again.‘Siobhain?’
She could hear Siobhain saying something, speaking very quietly in the living room, whispering almost. She had to concentrate hard to hear it, pressing her ear to the letterbox. Siobhain was reciting the Saturday TV schedule to herself.
She phoned Leslie at work.‘Hen,’ she said,‘’S me. Big fuck-off emergency, Siobhain’s scared shitless. She thinks she saw the Northern man. I don’t know if it’s a flashback or what. I need a lift to Benny’s and a body to stay with Siobhain while I go and do some stuff. Can you get away?’
‘Where are you?’
‘Phone box by Siobhain’s house. She might not even let ye into the house, ye might be sitting outside her door. She chucked me out.’ ‘How long’ll it take?’
‘Days, weeks, a month, I don’t know.’
Leslie thought about it for a minute.‘I’m there,’ she said, and hung up.
Maureen came out of the phone box. She needed to take Leslie away for twenty minutes and didn’t want to leave Siobhain alone, on the off-chance that it hadn’t been a flashback. She thought about the wee boy. She nipped across the road quickly and looked in the close. He was still there.‘Hey,’ she said.‘Wee fella? How long’re you going to be here?’
‘Till my tea,’ he said.
‘What time’s that?’
The wee boy looked blankly at her. He was six or seven, for fucksake, he didn’t even know how to tell the time.
‘Look,’ she said.‘Never mind about that.’ She took a quid note out of her pocket and held it in front of him.‘See if a man comes past and goes up to that lady’s house and tries to kick her door in. You come outside here and start shouting and get folk up there. Could you do that, wee man?’
‘I’m not allowed out the close,’ said the wee boy, looking at the pound note.
‘Can ye stand in the close mouth and shout, just here?’ She gestured to the top step.
‘Aye,’ said the wee boy.‘I can do that.’
‘Remember, if a man goes up there and interferes with the door you’ve to come out here and shout like mad, okay?’
‘Aye. How have I to? Is her man gonnae give her a doing?’
‘Not if we stop him.’
The boy looked at the pound note and back at Maureen, his eyes wide with surprise.‘Can ye stop a man giving a mammy a doing?’ He looked up at her, his face old and wondering, waiting for the answer.
‘Ye can phone the police,’ she said. He bounced his ball once, shook his head and smiled cynically.‘Ye can tell other people about it. That’ll embarrass him.’
He bounced his ball.‘Right,’ he said, nodding and thinking about it.‘Very good.’
‘Anyway, see the lassie upstairs? See if he comes and you shout loud, I’ll give ye another pound when I get back.’
He grinned at Maureen as though she had given him eternal life.‘I’ll shout dead loud,’ he said. ‘And get people up to the door, eh?’
‘Dead, dead loud,’ he said, and went back to playing keepy-uppy.
Maureen ran back up the stairs and held the letterbox open. Siobhain was still whispering times and programmes to herself.
Leslie was parking outside the close when she saw Maureen coming towards her.
‘How did you get away?’ asked Maureen.
‘Said my mum was ill. So we’re off to Benny’s?’
‘Yeah, I need to get my sick line and post it in or I’ll be sacked. And then if you could come and wait with Siobhain– or get her to go to yours, that’d be best.’
Leslie gave Maureen the spare helmet from the box and they drove up through the town, past the cathedral and up the Great Western Road, cutting up a side-street to Maryhill.
28
Bollocks
Leslie drove through the bollarded end of Scaramouch street and stopped the bike. The usually empty street was packed with big new cars. They took off their helmets and looked around. These were company cars.
It sounded like a rumble. It was coming from one of the tenement closes. Suddenly, a belch of men staggered backwards, spilling out of Benny’s close, taking photos over their heads and shouting questions and instructions. Maureen shoved the helmet back on, scratching her rough tartan scarf down the back of her neck, knocking a dry scab off and making the skin throb. Leslie put her helmet back on and buckled it under her chin.