‘He had a bad headache. He’s upstairs, lying down. It was probably the shock of me answering him back, eh, son?’ June giggled.
‘Right, I’d best be off now. I’ll pick you up early tomorrow afternoon, Mum, and we’ll go and visit Debs together.’
June hugged him. ‘Thanks, love. I rang the hospital about half an hour ago. She’s stable, but still out for the count. They’re moving her as soon as she comes round, putting her in a side ward.’
‘See ya then, Mum. ’Bye, Charlie,’ Mickey said, edging towards the front door.
Charlie sat in silence. He hated his uncle and wished he would die.
‘He’s ever so quiet, Mickey,’ June said, nodding towards her grandson in the kitchen.
‘He’ll be all right, Mum. He’s just had a lot to deal with, and he must be missing our Debs.’
June smiled. He was such a kind boy, her Mickey, so thoughtful. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’ll make a fuss of him tonight, make him feel at home.’
After waving Mickey goodbye, she went into the kitchen and sat at the table opposite Charlie. ‘Your Uncle Mickey brought your toys over from the flat. Do you want to play a game with Nanny?’
Sullenly, Charlie shook his head.
Racking her brains as to how to cheer the child up, June tried to tempt him with food, asked him if he wanted to watch telly, even offered to show him his room and read him a nice bedtime story. Charlie declined every suggestion.
‘Why don’t you tell Nanny what you want to do then, love?’ she said, running out of ideas.
‘Don’t wanna do nuffink,’ came the stroppy reply.
Mickey rang Big Steve on his way home. On learning that Steve was enjoying a quiet beverage in the nearby Needle Gun, he eagerly joined his friend. He’d had the day from hell and was in desperate need of a pick-me-up. Not in the mood to get involved with the little firm Steve was boozing with, Mickey ushered him over to a table in the corner where they could talk undisturbed.
As he listened to his pal’s version of the day’s events, Steve shook his head in amazement. ‘Fucking hell! Is Debbie gonna be all right?’ he asked, genuinely concerned. Steve had only met Mickey’s sister once, but was worried all the same.
Mickey took a gulp of his much-needed pint. ‘Physically, the doc says she’ll be okay, but she’s been through such an ordeal that mentally it’ll take her a lot longer to recover. Hopefully, she’ll be fine in the end. She’s a strong character, our Debs. If anyone can get over something like this, she can.’
‘What you gonna do about McDaid?’
Mickey gave him a knowing look. ‘What do you think? I can’t do nothing yet though, unless he gets put in the Scrubs. Other than that, I’ll have to wait till they let him out … and when they do, I’ll have the cunt’s guts for garters. Make no mistake about that, Stevie boy.’
Steve stood up to get another round. ‘I’ll be right by your side, Mick. I’d love to give him a dig meself. Anyone who does that to a woman, especially the mother of his kid, deserves everything they’ve got coming to ’em. As for dangling his own son out the window, that’s beyond fucking belief!’
Steve ordered another couple of pints and some chasers then sat back down and listened to the drama of Charlie and the kitten. ‘Jesus Christ. Do you reckon he’ll be all right at your mum’s, Mick?’
Mickey let out a worried sigh. ‘It ain’t just the cat thing, Steve. The kid ain’t normal, mate. He’s like that fucking Damien out of that Omen film. He’s evil – takes after his father. Honestly, I ain’t lying, I’ve seen it all along. I mean, the only reason I used to splash out, buying him loads of presents, was to help our Debs. Inwardly, I’ve never liked the kid. He’s not a child you can take to, there’s something not right about him. He’s a spiteful little bastard. Nastiness runs through his veins. Honestly, Steve, I feel awful saying bad things about him. He’s my own nephew, for fuck’s sake, the first nipper in the family, but he’s horrible – and I mean really horrible.’
Steve nodded sympathetically. He could see his best mate had had a shit time of it, so came out with the only suggestion he could think of. ‘Let’s get out of here, eh, Mick? Come back to mine. I’ve gotta bottle of JD sitting at home. Let’s crack it open. You’ll feel better if you drown your sorrows.’
Mickey didn’t need asking twice. ‘Let’s go.’
Peter opened his eyes gingerly. Relieved that his migraine had now cleared, he headed downstairs to make amends with his wife. It had come as a complete shock when June had shouted and sworn at him. Once he’d got rid of their guests, he’d sat down and thought the whole situation through. He loved his wife immensely and the thought of life without her didn’t bear thinking about. That’s why, although he’d been fuming at first, he’d decided to swallow his pride and forgive her.
Being lumbered with her grandson was the last thing he needed. He couldn’t think of anything worse. Peter hated kids at the best of times. He’d only fathered the one himself and split up from her mother shortly after. He lacked practice and patience with them, but was determined to give it his best shot this time. Hopefully, June’s grandson would be a cute little chap, well-behaved and polite. Peter trudged down the stairs and walked into the kitchen to meet his house guest.
June had never been so pleased in her life to see her husband. The last hour had been awful for her, with Charlie playing up something rotten. He’d chucked the turkey sandwich she’d made him on to the floor, sworn at her and refused to go to bed.
‘Fuck Nanny, fuck Nanny, fuck Nanny,’ he shouted.
‘Oh, thank God you’re here. This is your Granddad Peter, Charlie. Be a good boy and say hello to him.’
‘Nooooo,’ Charlie screamed. ‘I want my daddy.’
Peter knelt down next to the distressed child. ‘Hello, Charlie. I’m Granddad Peter, and I’m going to be looking after you with your nana.’
Charlie screwed up his little face ‘Go away, I hate you! Bastard, bastard, bastard.’
As Peter looked at June, he struggled to contain his horror. ‘Charlie seems tired to me. I think it’s bedtime for the child, don’t you, dear?’
A flustered June explained that for the last hour she’d been trying to coax Charlie to bed. ‘He won’t budge,’ she said.
‘Oh, well, we’ll see about that, won’t we? Come on, Charlie, it’s nearly ten o’clock, well past your bedtime.’
Seeing that the child had no intention of moving, Peter leaned over to pick him up. If carrying him up the stairs was the only option, then so be it.
‘Nooooo, don’t wanna,’ Charlie screamed, wriggling like a snake as he was lifted from his chair. Peter had a hell of a job trying to carry the thrashing child up the stairs.
‘Cunt, cunt, cunt. Hate you, hate you, hate you.’
Peter was appalled by such language which belonged on the football terraces and not in his home. How did a child of that age even know such words? Disgusted, he put Charlie into bed fully clothed.
‘Get some sleep now, child, and we’ll talk in the morning. You are a guest in my house and will learn to do as you are told.’
‘Bollocks!’
Being a man of some influence locally, Peter was used to being listened to, agreed with, and obeyed. As Charlie’s spittle sprayed his face, he realised that tonight was a first for him.
Charlie smiled as he watched his Granddad Peter leave the room. ‘Silly Granddad, silly Granddad, silly Granddad,’ he chirped. Happy once more, he laughed himself to sleep.
FOURTEEN
CHARLIE’S BEHAVIOUR WENT from bad to worse over the next few days and June was at her wits’ end. Peter had had a gutful after twenty-four hours, and had taken to working late at the office and popping to the pub afterwards rather than face seeing the child.
‘I’ll be home at nine from now on, dear,’ he told June. ‘By the time I return, I expect your grandchild to be tucked up in bed and out of my bloody sight.’
June did her best to charm and entertain the boy, but nothing
seemed to please him. He was sullen, ignorant, uncouth and extremely ungrateful. June couldn’t wait to offload him and get her life back to normal. With New Year on the horizon, she and Peter had originally arranged to go away with some friends from the golf club, staying at a posh country manor. Obviously, they’d now had to cancel and had invited a couple of Peter’s local councillor friends over to the house instead.
‘I’ve told all our guests to arrive at eight o’clock, June. Please make sure your grandson is snuggled up in bed by that time, dear.’
‘Of course.’ She had been surprised he’d invited friends over at all, with Charlie on the premises, but had decided to keep her thoughts to herself. The child was so unpredictable, you could never judge what he was going to do or say next. She just hoped that the evening would go without a hitch, for Peter’s sake.
June spent the morning of New Year’s Eve practising her culinary skills. She loved entertaining and always pushed the boat out in the food department, forever trying out mouthwatering new recipes.
Mickey was picking her up this afternoon and they were taking Charlie up to the hospital to see his mum for the first time since she’d been admitted. Debbie had regained consciousness the day after Boxing Day and had been moved into a little side ward. She had been asking to see her son for the last few days, but because she’d been so poorly, June had decided against taking the brat up there before now. However, yesterday Debbie’s condition had apparently turned a corner and the nurse had told June that seeing her son would now do her the world of good.
‘Come on, Charlie, be a good boy. Put your coat on for Nanny. Your Uncle Mickey will be here in a minute to take us to see Mummy.’
‘Don’t wanna go,’ he said, ignoring the little Puffa jacket held out towards him.
‘Now come on, don’t be naughty. We need to make Mummy better, and seeing you will make her feel great again.’
Charlie sat on the floor, arms folded. He enjoyed winding his nan up. Silly old cow, he couldn’t stand her. ‘Don’t like Mummy, don’t care if she dies,’ he said, smirking.
Horrified, June used the only trick she knew would work. ‘You are one nasty piece of work, Charlie. Now get this coat on or else your Uncle Mickey’ll come in and give you a bloody good hiding!’
Wary of his Uncle Mickey, Charlie did as he was told.
* * *
Debbie was elated to see her son and made as much fuss of him as her injuries would allow. ‘Come and sit on Mummy’s bed,’ she urged.
Charlie shook his head. ‘Don’t wanna. You look like a man.’
Debbie felt sad. Her injuries must look awful, they were obviously upsetting her son. ‘Mummy’s missed you so much, Charlie. I hope you’ve been a good boy for Nanny.’
Finger up his nose, Charlie shook his head. ‘Don’t like Nanny. Wanna live with Daddy.’
Debbie glanced at June. ‘Mum, take Charlie and get him a chocolate bar for me, I want to have a quick word with Mickey. Give us five minutes, eh?’
As soon as they’d left the room, she turned to her brother. ‘Any news on Billy yet, Mick?’
‘He’s still locked up, apparently. Peter rung up a couple of his police pals to find out the SP and he’s due up in court on the tenth of January. He’ll obviously try and get bail before it goes to Crown Court.’
‘You don’t reckon he’ll come after me if they let him out, do you, Mick?’
Holding his sister’s hand, Mickey did his utmost to reassure her. ‘I doubt he’ll get bail, to be honest, but if the cunt does, I’ll be waiting for him. He won’t come within a mile of you, trust me, I’ll see to that. You just concentrate on getting yourself better. Don’t worry about that piece of shit, you leave him to me.’
‘How’s Charlie been behaving, Mick, and I mean truthfully? He seems ever so subdued. I’ll never forgive Billy for what he did to him. Charlie’s bound to be scarred mentally by it. What if it screws him up for life?’
Not wanting to worry his sister, Mickey chose his words carefully. ‘Mum said he’s played up a little bit round there. I don’t think he’s said much about his dad, but to be honest, once you get out of here, I think it might be a good idea to take him to see someone, maybe a kiddie shrink or something.’
‘I’m not taking him to one of them, Mick. He ain’t mental, he’s just confused. Maybe now that Billy’s out the picture, his behaviour will improve of its own accord.’
Seeing Charlie and his mum walk back into the room saved Mickey the awful job of confessing to his sister that he didn’t think her kid was quite right in the head. Another time, another place, would be better for that. The serious shit would have to wait until Debs was up to hearing the truth about her offspring. Smiling, he quickly changed the subject.
‘I’m going to have a look at a couple of properties in the next few day, Debs, right near Mum. They’d be ideal for you and Charlie.’
Debbie looked at her brother in amazement. She’d been so ill that she hadn’t given a thought to where she was going to live. ‘It’s a lovely idea, Mick, but who’s gonna pay for it? I’ll have to go back to the flat, else how am I gonna get my stuff back? Everything that me and Charlie own is inside that place.’
Squeezing her hand, Mickey informed her that he and his mate Steve had already collected all of her belongings. He then explained that he had a pal who owed him a couple of favours and dealt in renting out properties.
‘Honestly, Debs, all I’ve gotta do is go and view ’em and pick the one I want. I ain’t even gotta give him a deposit because you’re my sis. The Housing Benefit mob will pay your rent for ya.’
‘Oh, that’s brilliant, Mickey. It’ll be so much better for Charlie, living in a decent area. He can go to a nice little school and make new friends. It’ll be the making of him, I know it will.’
June and Mickey shot each other a knowing glance. They both felt that Charlie’s problems were far too deep-rooted for a change of area to make any difference. Neither of them wanted to burst Debbie’s bubble, though, so they both agreed with her.
As Debbie waved goodbye to her family, she felt more confident than she had for a while. Thinking positively, she decided that once she was discharged, she would definitely get her life back on track. Obviously, her hair would have to be shaved completely and she would need dentistry work to repair the two teeth she’d lost, but she was determined to bounce back stronger than ever before. She certainly wasn’t going to let a no-good piece of shit like Billy McDaid ruin her life.
She was adamant that from now on there would be no more men in her life and she would just concentrate on herself and her son. Tired but determined, she drifted off to sleep.
On the way home, with an unusually quiet Charlie crashed out on the back seat, June and Mickey discussed how much chirpier Debbie had seemed.
‘She’ll be fine, Mum, I know she will. She’s a strong ’un, our Debs, tough as old boots. Once she’s in a nice little house, round the corner from you, she’ll be as right as ninepence.’
June glanced at the sleeping child, sprawled out on the back seat of the car.
‘I know it’s a horrible thing to say,’ she whispered, ‘but it’s a shame she’s got him, isn’t it? Without him she’d have no ties to McDaid, and if anything is going to drag her down, it’ll be that little bastard, mark my words. I can’t see him changing, acting normally, can you?’
Changing gear, Mickey shook his head. ‘There’s no way he’s gonna change. Unfortunately for Debs, she’s given birth to fucking Damien.’
June smiled at her son’s humour. She’d loved the Omen films and thought that Damien was a perfect name for her grandson. The smile was quickly wiped off her face when Mickey told her the story of how Charlie dangled the kitten out of Debbie’s neighbour’s window.
‘You should have seen the look on his face, Mum. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it, not even in prison. He was totally getting off on the terror of the poor animal, I could see it in his evil little eyes.’
C
harlie smiled to himself. He often pretended to be asleep, and loved it when he was the topic of conversation. Remembering the look on Tiger the kitten’s face, it was a struggle to stop himself from giggling. Then overcome by the wonderful memories, he did burst out laughing.
‘Shhh, he’s awake,’ June said as she quickly changed the subject. ‘So, where you going to see the New Year in, Mick?’
‘Club up town, Mum. A pal of mine runs it.’
Pulling up outside his mum’s house, Mickey jumped out of the car and opened her door for her. ‘The one good thing that’s come out of this, Mum, is at least we’re all close again, like a proper family. It’s just a shame that Debbie had to take a beating for that to happen.’
‘You’re so right, Mick. I’m to blame for that, though. I should never have put Peter ahead of you and Debbie. I’m really ashamed of meself.’
‘Oh, forget it now, Mum. You came up trumps when we really needed ya, and that’s all that matters.’
‘I love you, son.’
Mickey blew her a kiss and drove off.
At 7.30 p.m. exactly June added a diamante necklace and earrings to her expensive new dress and checked herself out in the full-length mirror. Pleased with the results, she made her way downstairs for Peter’s approval.
‘You look beautiful, darling. Perfect, in fact,’ he said as he admired the jade green number she’d spent hours choosing.
Charlie, clad in his pyjamas and watching cartoons on his nan’s video, turned around to see what the commotion was all about.
‘Nanny fat, Nanny fat, Nanny fat,’ he chanted.
Taking no notice of him, June turned off the video. ‘Come on, bed-time for you, young man.’
‘Not going, not tired.’
‘Now come on Charlie, don’t mess me about,’ June said sternly.
‘Noooooo, not going.’
As he lay on the floor, having one of his famous temper tantrums, Charlie remembered what his nan had said about him earlier. She had said it was a shame that he’d ever been born. Smiling, he decided it was payback time. Taking the lid off his beaker of Ribena, he giggled as he chucked the contents all over Nanny’s new dress.
Born Evil Page 10