‘Nothing gets passed you, my love.’ Gritting his teeth, Michael made his way over to the kettle to make his own coffee.
‘And don’t you forget it, my love,’ Joanie retorted, rolling her eyes, aware that the backhanded compliment was actually a dig. ‘And while you’re at it, you’re going to have to fetch your own tea tonight too,’ she added, sounding bored, as if she had other things on her mind. Important things that didn’t involve Michael no doubt. ‘I’m going over to Jimmy’s. He’s having troubles with Colleen again. I said I’d go round there and give him a hand with young Nancy.’
‘Oh that will be nice for you.’ Michael bristled as he only just noticed that Joanie was already wearing her coat, her face made-up with a hint of make-up, an overnight bag down by the kitchen doorway. He was annoyed that he’d have to make his own dinner whilst Joanie rushed to Jimmy’s aid. That once again Jimmy was the woman’s priority and Michael was being left to fend for himself. Treated like some kind of an afterthought. He also hated that Joanie was so involved with their granddaughter’s upbringing, while he was always excluded.
He and Jimmy gave each other a wide berth these days. They were only ever in each other’s company if they really had to be. But Michael adored his firstborn granddaughter, Nancy. The child was the apple of his eye.
He knew what would happen eventually though: Joanie and Jimmy would turn the little thing against him.
It was only a matter of time.
As it was he barely got to see her. Still. If Joanie was going out, at least he’d have a bit of peace and quiet tonight. For once he could eat his dinner on his lap, whilst watching shit on the TV, instead of being forced to sit at the dining table and endure Joanie’s monotonous conversations.
‘Colleen's had another one of her funny turns, and Jimmy’s got some business to attend to. He wants me to look after Nancy for him.’
Michael raised his eyes at Joanie’s terminology. A ‘funny turn?’ Fucking hell! That was an understatement. The girl’d had a full on mental breakdown shortly after she and Jimmy had wed. Jimmy had to have her admitted to a psychiatric ward. Colleen was riddled with anxiety and panic attacks, and it was no wonder, Michael thought to himself, being married to Jimmy would be enough to make anyone lose their mind.
‘She’s been getting bad again,’ Joanie said. ‘Jimmy said that the doctors are saying that it’s postnatal, but Nancy’s almost two. If you ask me the girl’s just not the full picnic. I told Jimmy that she needs to pull herself together, but you know how he won’t hear a bad word about the girl. He’s always tiptoeing around her like she’s made of glass.’
Michael held his tongue.
Typical Joanie, as sympathetic as always. Then nodding down at the bag, Michael added, ‘Well how long are you going to be this time?’ Part of him now relishing the thought of having the house to himself. He’d obviously done a good job at convincing Joanie that he didn’t want her to leave, as the woman pursed her lips at her husband’s neediness.
‘I know exactly what’s going through your mind, Michael. You’re worried about who’s going to cook your dinners while I’m gone, aren’t you?’ Joanie said, rolling her eyes once again, this time despairingly as she continued to make her way into the lounge and collect some of her belongings that she might need: her comfy slippers from under the armchair, and her Mills and Boon book that she’d been thoroughly enjoying despite it being ever so racy. ‘Well, Michael. This is going to be a shock to your system but you see those long dangly things hanging out from your shoulders? They are called your arms. On the end of them you’ll find a pair of hands. I’m sure even you can manage to use them to press a few buttons on the microwave oven. You’re more than capable of cooking your own dinner for a couple of weeks.’
‘A couple of weeks?’ Michael gasped, as he heard the loud beep of Jimmy’s Range Rover outside.
‘That will be Jimmy,’ Joanie said, leaning down to get her bag.
‘Let me get it for you,’ Michael said, grabbing it before Joanie could. ‘It’s the least I can do before you leave.’
Joanie felt bad then. As much as Michael had driven her to pure distraction over the years, he really seemed to be trying lately. The dynamics of their relationship had changed drastically over the past few years, ever since Jimmy had found Michael wandering the streets that time he’d gone missing. Her husband had been set upon by a group of thugs. Beaten and tied up in some squalor of a house somewhere, her Jimmy had told her.
The man had been a mere shadow of himself after that. He never really ventured out of the house anymore, and mostly these days he agreed with everything that Joanie ever said. To the point that it was almost annoying. Still, it was better than him going off every five minutes and getting himself drunk and into all sorts, she figured. The man had at least been trying.
She felt bad for abandoning him.
‘I can’t leave little Nancy in Colleen’s care. The woman can barely look after herself. I’ll be back before you even know it. You’ll manage without me just fine.’
‘I’ll manage, but I won’t do such a good job without you.’ Michael nodded before planting a small kiss on her cheek.
Joanie nearly fell over with shock. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since the two of them had shared any form of affection.
Patting Michael on the arm, awkwardly, she took her bag from him, and made her way out the front door, to where Jimmy was waiting.
Michael shut the door behind her, not bothering to stand and wave them both off, just so Jimmy could sit in his motor glaring at him like he was some kind of an arsehole. Instead, Michael leaned up against the front door, and listened to Jimmy’s Range Rover pull away from the house.
A couple of weeks without Joanie. No more nagging and moaning; no more getting a lecture if he so much as farted. It was like he was suddenly given time off for good behaviour.
‘Ding dong the witch is fucking dead!’ he sang to himself, jumping up and down with happiness that his miserable cunt of a wife had finally fucked off for a few weeks.
Michael Byrne couldn’t believe his luck.
Twenty-Four
‘Have you cleaned all the toilets properly this time, Sasha? Last time you left, I had to give them all a going over again, myself. I wasn’t best pleased. I’d only had my manicure that morning too. Chipped all my lovely polish off, I did, in the process.’ Joanie Byrne berated the younger plump girl with disdain. ‘I told Jimmy that I’d be having a word with you about it today. We can’t be paying someone to come out and do the cleaning, if I have to do it all again myself after you’ve gone.’
‘Yes, Joanie. I’ve done all the jobs that Mr and Mrs Byrne have asked me to do. And seeing as you’ve already mentioned the toilets to me twice now, I gave them an extra special scrub just for you,’ Sasha Layton said through gritted teeth, ignoring the older woman’s permanently sour scowling expression. Sasha never let the likes of Joanie Byrne try and get the better of her the way she thought she could with everyone else around here.
Ignoring the woman’s glare, and bored with having to humour her, Sasha turned her attention to little Nancy, sitting in her highchair, waving at Sasha excitedly. The sight of the girl made Sasha’s heart melt.
With those piercing green eyes, the child was the spit of her father, Jimmy.
‘Hello, beautiful,’ Sasha said, stepping forward and touching the little girl’s fingers, as Nancy Byrne shot her one of her hypnotic smiles.
‘I hope you’ve washed your hands,’ Joanie said tartly, scooping the child up into her arms, letting Sasha know that she wasn’t welcome to touch her precious grandchild.
‘Well, I’m done for the day now, Mrs Byrne. I’m just going to go out and say goodbye to Colleen then I’ll be off.’
Joanie waved her hand at Sasha as if to dismiss her. She was far too wrapped up in playing with Nancy to be bothered with what Sasha was doing.
* * *
Making her way out through the huge kitchen, Sasha wondere
d what it would be like to live in a house like this. Right on the doorstep of Richmond Park, with its six bedrooms and enormous driveway, the place must have cost an absolute fortune; but then Jimmy Byrne was clearly good for it.
Sasha had been cleaning for the family since they’d moved in two and half years ago, and in that time, the wealth had just poured in.
Making her way out to the garden, to where Colleen was sitting waiting for her with a fresh pot of tea, Sasha saw Colleen glance up at her, grateful that Sasha was joining her once again for a cuppa and a chat.
‘This is turning into a regular little thing now, isn’t it?’ Sasha said with a smile, pointing at the teapot. ‘I ain’t being funny, Colleen, but shouldn’t it be me making tea for you? I mean, I am the staff you know,’ she said with a wink and a smile as she sat down with Colleen.
Then catching the disappointment on the woman’s face, realising that she sounded like she was only taking the time to sit with Colleen just because she was getting paid, Sasha added: ‘Cheers, mate. I’m gasping for a cuppa.’
‘Is the old battleaxe still in there slinging her weight around?’ Colleen asked as she poured Sasha a cup of tea, before glancing inside the patio windows, glad that Joanie seemed to be leaving her alone. Colleen wasn’t in the right frame of mind to tolerate her mother-in-law this morning.
‘She’s just giving Nancy her breakfast,’ Sasha said, knowing how Joanie liked to try and rule the roost when she was here. Sasha had seen how the woman took over when it came to minding little Nancy. She could see it upset Colleen too, but Colleen wasn’t mentally strong enough to stand up to the woman and say anything. ‘God, she’s adorable, Colleen. She’s getting so big now too. And those eyes. I’ve never seen eyes so green. She’s very like Jimmy, isn’t she?’
‘Oh, yeah, she’s a true Byrne all right.’ Colleen nodded, not bothering to disguise the bitterness in her voice.
‘You all right, Colleen?’ Sensing that Colleen wasn’t herself today, Sasha watched as she picked up her mug, her hand visibly shaking as she brought it to her mouth. Colleen was struggling.
‘You not having a top up?’ Sasha asked, pointing at her and then to the teapot.
Colleen shook her head, looking away too quickly, which only confirmed Sasha’s suspicions.
She was drinking again.
Doing her old trick of hiding vodka in her cup and making out like she was drinking tea. Jimmy and Joanie probably didn’t take much notice: too busy caught up in the business and Nancy to care what Colleen was secretly doing; but Sasha wasn’t stupid.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ she asked again, knowing that it wasn’t her place to say anything that might upset her. Sasha liked Colleen.
She wasn’t like a lot of Sasha’s other customers: the trophy wives with more money than sense that acted as if they were well above their stations, talking down to Sasha as if she was beneath them, or even worse, treating her as if she was stupid.
Colleen was a nice girl. The only customer who ever sat with her after her work was done and made her a fresh pot of tea; but Sasha knew Colleen was just desperately lonely.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ Colleen shrugged. ‘She just sets my nerves on edge.’
‘She is a bit of a snotty cow,’ Sasha whispered, feeling brave at letting on what she really thought of Joanie Byrne, then seeing Colleen laugh at her words, Sasha shot her a knowing grin. ‘So, are you doing anything nice today?’ she asked Colleen. She wondered how Colleen spent her day when Joanie was here, making a nuisance of herself. ‘You should take Nancy down to the park, I bet she’d love to feed the ducks,’ Sasha said, trying to encourage Colleen to get out of the house, to spend some time with her daughter away from her vile mother-in-law. The fresh air would probably do the woman some good.
‘Yeah. Maybe,’ Colleen said with a vacant nod, knowing full well that wouldn’t be happening. She could barely leave the house these days without having major panic attacks. Riddled with anxiety, Colleen preferred the solitude of her bedroom. Besides, Joanie would think of some excuse to stop Colleen from spending time with her daughter.
Her mother-in-law always did.
Sensing that this was the case, Sasha wasn’t prepared to give up. Colleen looked a bit lost today; she looked like she needed a gentle shove in the right direction.
‘How about inviting some friends over then?’
‘What friends?’ Colleen said, in a rare moment of opening up to Sasha, speaking honestly.
‘I ain’t got no friends. I don’t see anyone. I never go out. The only people that ever come to the house other than Joanie are you and my mum. The only people I could class as some form of friends are you and my mum: my cleaning lady and the woman who gave birth to me. How sad is that?’
Staring out across the beautifully manicured gardens, Colleen took another mouthful of her drink.
Even her mum was busy these days, working hard in her new shop. Enjoying her new flat. It was as if everyone’s life had moved on and Colleen was still stuck here. Trapped.
‘Well, I don’t think it’s sad at all. I mean come on, you’d be hard pushed to find a better mate than me. I’m quite a laugh you know, plus I love a good old chat. I could talk for ever if the mood took me,’ Sasha said hoping to lighten the mood. ‘You know if you ever wanted to talk to me, Colleen, you could.’
Colleen liked Sasha. She was confident and feisty. Unlike her, Sasha didn’t take any shit from anyone. Colleen had even heard her put Joanie in her place once or twice, clearly not intimidated by the woman.
Colleen couldn’t remember what it felt like to have someone to confide in, and the way she was feeling lately she could certainly do with a friend.
About to speak, Sasha continued: ‘I know about your postnatal depression. Jimmy told me. It’s okay you know. Loads of new mothers suffer with it. My mum had it for years. At the time it made her feel as if she was going mad, but by the time I was three she was back to her old self again. You will get through it you know.’
Sasha spoke gently, hoping that Colleen could see that she understood what she was going through.
‘Jimmy told you that I’ve got postnatal depression?’ Colleen said, staring, trying to read her thoughts. Wondering now if this was the reason why Sasha always made time for her. She only hung about for a cup of tea because she felt sorry for Colleen. Sad, pathetic, Colleen. With her postnatal depression and her mother-in-law coming in to look after her child as she clearly couldn’t even look after herself.
That’s what Sasha must see when she looked at her. That’s what everyone else saw too.
‘Well yeah. I mean he didn’t say much to be honest. Just that you’d suffered a little bit with it,’ Sasha said, shifting uncomfortably in her chair now as she realised that she’d said something she shouldn’t. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Colleen. Sasha was trying to be nice. To get through to the girl. For a brief second, she’d thought that she had.
The truth was Sasha knew more than she was letting on. Jimmy had told her a lot more than just that. With Sasha working in their home so often the man had thought it only fair he filled Sasha in on Colleen’s unruly behaviour. He’d told her about the chronic depression she suffered with, and Sasha knew that Colleen had been admitted into a psychiatric ward for a few weeks shortly after her and Jimmy had been married.
After Nancy had been born, she’d been sent to rehab too, to deal with her addiction to painkillers and sleeping tablets. Alcohol too.
‘Jimmy only told me because he was worried about you,’ Sasha said, trying to convince Colleen that they hadn’t been maliciously talking behind her back, but she could tell the damage was already done.
Colleen didn’t look happy to find out that Jimmy was confiding in Sasha about her personal business.
Colleen’s moods had been spiralling downhill again lately, Sasha thought and today Colleen seemed to be on one of her major downers again.
Paranoid and edgy.
Sasha knew that she’d
said the wrong thing as Colleen drained the rest of her mug. Shutting herself off from her, she looked suddenly guarded once more.
Of course Jimmy had sounded concerned about her, Colleen thought to herself. That was the role the man played. The dutiful husband and his poor fucked up wife. Postnatal depression? That was the story that Jimmy had been using and, so far, everyone seemed to have fallen for it. Even her own mother had believed it.
Good old Jimmy.
The man was such a hero. Doing more than well for himself these days. The money was rolling in. He’d bought and sold so many developments that Colleen had lost count of how much property he owned.
But Jimmy’s fortunes didn’t stop there. He had other moneymaking schemes going on too. Not one to miss out when there was a killing to be made, Jimmy dealt in other shady things, like pimping out girls and running seedy brothels. He and Alex had recently taken on some shipments of drugs. Or as Jimmy liked to refer to it, his ‘new import and export’ business.
Jimmy, the successful businessman. Her husband was a criminal. A murderer and con artist.
He had everyone fooled.
Everyone, except Colleen.
She cursed herself for almost slipping. For a few minutes, Colleen had almost forgotten the power her husband had over everyone around them. The girl was on Jimmy’s payroll.
‘I’m fine,’ Colleen lied, unable to remember what it felt like to really feel okay it had been so long. She abruptly stood up, letting Sasha know that their little ‘chat’ was now over. ‘And If I wanted to talk to someone, it wouldn’t be one of my staff.’
Walking off then, close to tears, Colleen needed another drink. She’d been stupid to believe that she could have a friend in Sasha. An ally. That maybe one day she could trust the girl to open up to her.
Colleen Byrne couldn’t trust anyone.
The Betrayed: A shocking, gritty thriller that will hook you from the first page Page 17