“There’s not a finer city in the world than Glasgow, believe me.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“So how did you leave things? What’s happening about the child? Any chance you can get her to visit here?” asked O’Farrell.
“Well, I don’t think I’m Mr Popularity right now. I skipped off without telling her.”
“For God’s sake, laddie, why?”
“They were all getting on my nerves and to be honest, I think I would have really blown it if I’d stayed much longer, so I jumped on the next flight and headed for home.”
“That wasn’t the cleverest of moves, Bobby, you were supposed to keep her sweet and make her do your bidding.”
“She will, don’t you worry. I know enough about women. When I whistle she’ll come running. Anyway, enough about me. How are you?”
“I’m fine, lad, just fine. And I’m well taken care of.”
“I knew Mum would turf you out the minute my back was turned, she’s a stubborn mare.”
“Look, she was right. It was time for me to move on and this place has everything I need, and a bit extra,” he chuckled.
“Good, but if you need anything, just give me a bell,” Bobby rose, making ready to leave.
“Did anyone mention me, by the way?”
“Not directly, but then, very few folk know we’re acquainted. I did hear one or two express their sorrow at your passing, which absolutely creased me up. I couldn’t help thinking, if they only knew what the old bugger was up to they’d wet themselves.” Both men laughed at the image.
“Keep in touch with the Coyle lassie, son. Don’t get her back up. I’ve an idea how to sort them out, but it means you have to stay in her good books.”
“I will, as long as it doesn’t entail me going back there in the foreseeable future.”
“We’ll see, laddie, we’ll see.” The old priest drifted off to sleep.
Predictable
“You were right, it was a Ferrari and Bobby sent them because he thought there was something up with the phones in the UK, would you believe?”
“It didn’t strike him that because he was able to contact Dumb and Dumber the phone system might be okay and it was just that you didn’t want to talk to him? Arrogant bastard,” sneered Carol. “So, what was his excuse for running off without telling you?”
“I’m not sure if I believe him, but apparently his mother collapsed and was carted off to hospital and he had to leave immediately. A bit suspect, don’t you think?”
“Very convenient. Ten minutes after he gets your son’s birth certificate he has to make a mercy dash. Like you say, very suspicious.”
“He’s still blocked on my phone. I really don’t want to speak to him just now, although I’m going to have to soon.”
“Why?”
“Ryan’s christening. My mum’s on my case to set a date, and now that Uncle Sean’s out of ICU we can go ahead and make arrangements.”
“What’s the story with Sean?” asked Carol. “You know, I’ve gone in a couple of times, but I’ve never liked to ask either your mum or your gran. I just know he’s semi-conscious, but is he going to be okay?”
Erin knew there was much more to the Uncle Sean story than met the eye. Her dad and Uncle Michael had barely visited him since the first few days when it was touch and go. They were using work as an excuse and the fact that Sean seemed to have regressed back to his childhood also seemed to be influencing why the brothers were giving the hospital a wide berth.
It was spooky, listening to this big scary-looking man babble on like a ten-year-old with occasional flashes of clarity. Erin was really uncomfortable with him. She felt like he was pretending to be a child, but no-one else seemed to notice.
“He’s improving and the doctors are confident he’ll regain most of his memory, they just don’t know when. It means, however, that we can plan ahead now he’s out of danger.”
“How long will he be kept in hospital?”
“A few more weeks then he’s moving back to Gran’s to convalesce. You know, I was going to ask him to be godfather to the baby, but obviously I can’t now.”
“What about Michael?”
“It was to be both of them, but when I broached the subject with my dad, he was dead against it. I thought it might help bring Sean on, but Big Paddy was having none of it.”
It was strange to hear Erin call her dad by his first name, but it showed her friend how far removed from their old father and daughter relationship they now were.
“What about godmothers?”
“There’s you, of course.”
“Me? Don’t be daft. You’ve got loads of relatives and rich folk who would be honoured to be Ryan’s godmother.”
“I know, but I want you. If ever my boy was to be left on his own, then you’d be the one I’d want to watch over him.”
Tears were streaming down Carol’s cheeks. There wasn’t a day went by that she didn’t bless the god that had sent Erin Coyle to her. How her life had changed, and all because of a random act of kindness. She now lived in a beautiful flat in the best part of town, her daughter went to the best kindergarten and she herself had qualified as a stylist with a part-share in a salon. Now her friend had bestowed this blessing on her. To be a child’s godparent was a major honour and to be the godparent of a Coyle, well! What could she say?
“Are you sure? What have your mum and dad got to say?”
“It was my mother’s suggestion.”
“I don’t know what to say,” snuffled the young mum.
“Just say yes. We thought of asking Diane if she would like to choose someone. She is his grandmother and it might help to keep the peace. Mind you, I don’t think Paddy’s been told of the plan, so I wouldn’t count on it.”
“So when is the christening going to be, and where?”
“In about six weeks from now. We need to check with Father Jack. And the ‘bun fight’ will be in Gleddoch House.”
“Gosh, smart or what?”
“Well, he is Paddy’s first grandson.”
“I wonder who the McClellands will choose? You can bet your boots it’ll be someone your folks will hate.”
“That’ll be the cousins top of the list, then. I can just see them − identical in Burberry and driving a Hummer.”
“I can just imagine it, and the look on Paddy’s face.”
Crushed
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten to fifteen minutes. Make sure the men are finished and gone for the night.” Paddy hung up on his brother.
It was years since he’d operated the crusher. Jesus, he hoped he could remember what to do. There was no chance Michael would be of any use; the closest he’d ever come to crushing anything was a bag of walnuts at Christmas, and even that posed problems.
Paddy couldn’t get the poor lad out of his head. By all accounts he was a proper little fucker, but loveable with it. Certainly their Errol was taking it bad. There had been a heart-wrenching appeal by his mother on television only last night. The distraught woman had pleaded for the return of her son, or for any information concerning his whereabouts. The police were still investigating a black 4 x 4 seen in the area at the time of Billy’s disappearance and appealed for the driver to come forward so he could be eliminated from their enquiries. It was absolutely imperative that Michael not be associated with the crime. And they would deal with Sean in good time.
The scrapyard looked deserted, but Paddy knew his brother was around somewhere. He parked his car on the other side of the cabin, away from prying eyes, walked back to the gates and secured them from the inside. No chance of some nosey bugger gaining access. He was dreading the job ahead, but he knew it had to be done.
“You’re here, let’s get on.” Paddy knew fine that Michael would be dreading this even more than him, but, like his brother, knew there was no other way. “What the fuck . . .?”
He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was Michael with his mother’s bottle of holy
water, liberally sprinkling it over the vehicle.
“Say what you like, but this young fella didn’t deserve to die and certainly not like this. So shut the fuck up and let me finish.” Michael took a rosary and a bible and placed them on the passenger side of the car. “Okay, let’s finish this.”
The sound of the powerful crusher starting up filled the air and several tenement windows flew open to investigate the racket. Every onlooker, without exception, realising the noise was coming from the yard, slammed their windows shut again immediately. The few windows still open were no threat to Paddy and Michael, being the homes of members of the Coyle clan.
“Need a hand there, boss?” called one.
“Naw, you’re fine, son. Just a health and safety check,” Paddy called back. “Away in and finish your tea, it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
It was impossible to reach the vehicle with the grab crane from its position in bay two and neither brother relished the thought of entering the car, never mind driving it.
“Give me the keys, Paddy. I’ll do it.”
Without hesitation he relinquished the job to his brother.
“Oh, shit,” gagged Michael. He’d never smelled anything like it. He rolled down the window and drove the car to the crusher. Thankfully it was only a few yards away.
It took some time to reduce the immaculate, shiny black car to a heap of scrap metal. Paddy, being unused to the machinations of the crusher, twice got the gears jammed and the screech of metal on metal was deafening.
“Fuck! We’re going to get a visit any minute,” wailed Michael.
“Just shut the fuck up or you’ll be in alongside him,” snapped Paddy.
Finally the job was done and they loaded the remains of Michael’s pride and joy onto the truck.
The two men drove most of the way in silence until they arrived at an old, disused quarry. With a great deal of heaving and shoving they managed to position the truck and its contents over the quarry’s edge. Paddy opened the tailgate and the mangled vehicle dropped into the lake of slurry below, quickly sinking below the surface.
Paddy heaved a great sigh of relief. “I’m sorry, mate. This one got to me. He was only a kid. We’ll need to sort the mother out, but not just yet. Let the dust settle bit.”
“What are we going to do about Sean, Paddy? Even though I’ve seen it with my own eyes I still can’t believe it.”
“You know he was the one punting the gear all this time?”
“I had my suspicions,” admitted Michael. “But I didn’t really know for sure.”
“Oh, it’s for sure alright, but let’s wait to see how he recovers first. This could be payback for the cunt. He murders a child and ends up one himself. My Erin calls it karma.”
Yes, it could well be payback, thought Paddy as the two men made their way back to town.
Awakening
Just as Doctor McLeod had predicted, Sean was back in the land of the living. His physical injuries had healed, but he hadn’t got off scot-free. There were serious complications; the patient had recovered consciousness thinking he was a ten-year-old boy.
It was most disconcerting to interact with this bear of a man, jabbering on about skateboards and Rubik’s cubes and wanting to go and see the latest Star Wars movie when it was released. His condition was such that the physicians could tell the family little more. They were confident that his memory would return, but when, and what percentage would return, was anyone’s guess. Doctor McLeod had known only a few cases of this magnitude and in each case the patient had suffered a trauma prior to the incident which had rendered them unconscious.
Had that happened in Sean’s case? The two brothers just looked at one another. Fuck, if they only knew.
“Should we tell him, Paddy? It might make a difference.”
“Oh, it’ll make a difference alright. The daft bastard would be carted off to Carstairs Mental Hospital and the key thrown away.”
“I suppose so. It’s weird seeing him like this. I wonder if he’ll ever get back to normal.”
“Normal?” jeered Paddy. “That fucker was never normal. And you want him back to run around stealing from us and disposing of anyone who gets in his way? ‘Cause that was what he was up to.”
“I suppose so,” replied Michael.
“Naw, I’m quite happy with Sean as a ten-year-old, eating fish fingers and playing with Action Man, because when he comes to properly, I’m going to have to do something about him and quite frankly, I don’t want to.”
“Michael, when can I go home? Sure, I’ve been picked to be one of the altar boys next week and I don’t want to miss my turn.”
“Don’t start, Paddy. He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Anyway, it was Father Jack who put that in his head. He was in to see him yesterday and Sean pestered the life out of him. Jack agreed, to keep the peace. Fuck, can you imagine it? The place would be in an uproar. A thirty-odd-year-old dressed as a fucking altar boy?” Michael dissolved into gales of laughter, for the first time in a long time.
“Aye, I could get him to officiate at the bairn’s christening. Can you imagine Lizzie and Bridget’s faces? It would be worth it for that alone.”
“How are things back home?” Michael asked.
“Well, I’m not leaving at 5 a.m. anymore, if that’s any consolation, and thank fuck that Spanish twat has gone. There’s been trouble in paradise, from what I can make out, but nobody tells me anything. If it wasn’t for the boy, I’d pack up and leave. Michael, I’m a stranger in my own home and believe me, I’m not going to put up with it for much longer.”
“Who’s the Spanish twat?” asked the occupant of the hospital bed.
“What did you say?” Michael asked Sean.
“I didn’t say anything,” the man-boy replied. “Honest, I didn’t say a word.”
“We’d better watch what we say in front of him. You can’t tell how much he’s taking in or understanding.”
“I wouldn’t trust the bugger as far as I could throw him before this, so you can guess how far I’d trust him now,” answered Paddy.
“Don’t you like me anymore?” Sean whinged to his eldest brother.
“No, I fucking don’t,” snapped Paddy. “I don’t like you one bit.”
“Why, what have I done to you?” Sean smirked and stuck his tongue out.
“Because you’ve been a very bad boy and you need punishing.”
A howl came from the man. “Go away, you’re a bad man, not me. Go away! Tell him to go away!” Sean pleaded with his twin.
“Oh, I’ll go away, you murdering bastard, but woe betide you if I find out you’re at it.”
By this time Sean was sobbing loudly which brought the two nurses on duty to his aid. “Calm down, Sean, No-one’s going to hurt you, calm down.”
But Sean was on a roll. He knew somehow that the more mayhem he caused the better it would be for him.
Conference
It was the first time in a long time that they’d all been together as a family, all squeezed round Lizzie’s kitchen table. Except for Sean; he was bundled up in the big chair. He’d only recently been discharged from hospital and was finding everything mighty strange. He was also finding it difficult to keep up with the conversation.
“Is it my christening?” he asked Paddy.
“No, it’s Ryan’s, Erin’s baby.”
“But Erin’s too young to have a baby, she’s just the same age as me,” persisted Sean.
“For fuck’s sake, Ma, get him out of here, he’s talking a load of shite.” Paddy had no time for illness and found Sean’s bizarre behaviour more than he could tolerate.
“Give it a rest, Paddy, he’s just confused. Talk nicely to him, he’ll settle down and go to sleep in a few minutes.”
But Sean was bright and alert and enjoying the attention. He had no idea where he was, or who most of the people were, but certain sounds and smells were jogging his memory. His thoughts were like butterflies just fluttering out of reach.
&nb
sp; A loud knock at the door and a strident voice announcing her arrival had Sean clapping his hands in excitement. “It’s Theresa, it’s Theresa!” he cried. “Have you brought me a present, Theresa?”
There was a stunned silence. How had he known who she was? He hadn’t seen their neighbour since before his attack.
“How do you know this lady?” asked his ma. “Tell me again who she is.”
Immediately Sean picked up on the vibes; maybe it wasn’t good to remember. “I don’t know,” he said in a quiet voice. “Who did I say she was?”
“It’s okay, Sean,” his sister cajoled him. “We’re just happy you might be starting to remember people.”
“Don’t you recognise Theresa from next door? You love Theresa, she makes you laugh.”
Sean looked at Paddy. “He’s not happy, he doesn’t like me. I heard him and the other one,” he pointed to Michael. “I heard them saying they were going to do bad things to me, they think I’ve been naughty. Tell them to go away. Mam, tell them to go away.”
“What a fucking palaver. I thought we were here to sort out the christening, not to listen to that fucking moron. I’m off. Sort it out yourselves or maybe I will do bad things.” Paddy stormed out the door.
“See, I told you they want rid of me,” whinged Sean.
“Enough,” shouted Lizzie. “Or I’ll be doing bad things. Shut up, Sean, and behave,” she spoke as she would to a ten-year-old.
With Sean sulking in the corner and Paddy absent, the subject of the christening was well and truly thrashed out.
The women settled on the godparents, the date, time, and venue. The subject of the McClellands was the most controversial, but in the end it was agreed that they should be included. The Coyles had to be seen to be doing right. So, an invitation would be extended and the opportunity to name a godparent was given, as long as it met with the Coyles’ approval.
“I’m quite glad your dad left, we would never have got any agreement out of him, but now, as far as I’m concerned, anything we do was sanctioned by him in his absence. We’ll get started on the invitations tomorrow.”
The Betrayal Page 9