Witness

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘I need to see my daughter!’ a woman answered, and Holly’s stomach flipped when she realized it was her mum.

  ‘Wait there, I’ll talk to her,’ Suzie said, going out into the hall and pulling the door to behind her.

  ‘Where is she?’ Holly heard her mum yell. ‘I know she’s here, and you’ve got no right to stop me from seeing her. She’s my daughter, not yours.’

  ‘No one’s disputing that,’ Suzie replied. ‘But she’s upset, so why don’t we—’

  ‘So she is here?’ Josie cut her off angrily. ‘HOLLY? Get out here right now! You’re coming home!’

  The kitchen door opened and Holly, who had been leaning towards it, jerked away when Rob walked in. He hesitated when he saw her. Then, smiling, he closed the door, saying, ‘I take it that’s your mum?’

  Holly nodded and eyed him warily as he put the bag he was carrying onto the counter.

  ‘Don’t worry, Suzie’ll calm her down,’ he went on as he took two bottles of wine and two packs of cigarettes out of the bag before crunching it into a ball and stuffing it in a drawer. ‘She looks a bit rough, mind. Has she been in a car crash or something?’

  ‘She got attacked,’ Holly said. ‘Last night in the alley.’

  ‘Oh, yeah, I think Suze mentioned that,’ Rob said, taking a cigarette out of the open pack on the table and lighting up. ‘Must have been quite a shock for you.’ He squinted at Holly through the smoke. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘OK,’ she murmured, twisting her hands together nervously.

  In the hall, Josie was shouting again, and Holly heard Suzie tell her to quieten down – that some of the neighbours were watching and one of them might call the police.

  ‘I don’t give a fuck!’ Josie roared. ‘I’ll scream the whole fucking street down if you don’t fetch my daughter out!’

  Holly winced. Her mum swore at her when she got mad, but she’d never heard her swear at anyone else, and it was embarrassing.

  ‘Right, here’s what I’m going to do,’ Suzie was saying. ‘I’m going to ask Holly if she wants to talk to you, and if she does, I’ll let you in. But if you so much as raise a finger to her, you’re out. Do you understand?’

  Groaning when her mum screeched that this was none of Suzie’s business and she had no right to kidnap her daughter, Holly pulled the door open and went out into the hall.

  ‘Stop it,’ she cried, feeling guilty for bringing trouble to Suzie’s door when she saw her mum trying to force her way inside. ‘It’s not her fault.’

  ‘Do you want me to let her in?’ Suzie asked, glancing at Holly over her shoulder as she held Josie back. ‘I’ll send her away if you don’t. Your choice.’

  Holly nodded and then folded her arms defensively when Suzie let go of her mum.

  ‘Baby, I’m sorry,’ Josie cried, stumbling into the hallway and rushing to her. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you. Come home.’

  ‘I don’t want to,’ Holly said, disentangling herself when her mum pulled her into an awkward embrace. ‘You’ll try to make me leave again.’

  ‘We’ve got to,’ Josie hissed, flicking a hooded glance at Suzie. ‘It’s not safe here any more.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘You know why.’

  ‘No, I don’t, ’cos you won’t tell me.’

  ‘Right, I’ve had enough of this,’ Josie said through gritted teeth. ‘You’re coming home, and that’s the end of it!’

  ‘Get off me,’ Holly protested, wincing when her mum seized her wrist and started dragging her towards the door.

  ‘OK, that’s enough,’ Suzie said, jumping between them.

  Josie cried out in pain when Suzie grabbed her bruised arm, and tears flooded her eyes as she cradled it.

  ‘I’m sorry if I hurt you,’ Suzie apologized. ‘But I won’t let you force her to do something she doesn’t want to do.’

  ‘Need a hand?’ Rob appeared in the kitchen doorway, a halo of smoke around his head, his broad shoulders blocking out most of the light coming through the window behind him.

  ‘I’ve got this,’ Suzie said curtly, waving him away.

  Holly shivered when she saw anger flash into Rob’s eyes. But he blinked it away as fast as it had appeared, and held up his hands before retreating into the kitchen.

  ‘Let’s go in here,’ Suzie said, ushering Josie and Holly into the living room. ‘I’ll make coffee, and then we can—’

  ‘I don’t want your coffee.’ Josie scowled. ‘And this has got nothing to do with you, so stay out of it.’

  ‘Don’t talk to her like that.’ Holly jumped to Suzie’s defence. ‘She’s done nothing wrong.’

  ‘She’s interfering,’ Josie argued. ‘And she already knows too much.’

  ‘She doesn’t know anything – and neither do I,’ said Holly.

  ‘I don’t know why you think you can talk to me like this all of a sudden,’ Josie said under her breath, her stare fierce. ‘But I’m your mother, and I won’t—’

  ‘I wish you weren’t my mother!’ Holly cried, cutting her off mid-sentence. ‘You’re embarrassing!’

  Josie’s head jerked as if she’d been physically slapped. Then, whispering so Suzie couldn’t hear, she said, ‘I didn’t want to come over here, but you left me no choice when you ran out. These people are strangers, and this is none of their business, so do as you’re told and come home. We’ll talk about this in private.’

  ‘You won’t talk, though, will you? You’ll just tell me it’s none of my business, like you always do,’ Holly replied bluntly. ‘You treat me like a baby, and I’m sick of it.’

  ‘If I treat you like a baby it’s because you act like one,’ Josie hissed.

  ‘This is getting us nowhere,’ Suzie said, stepping between them again and peering at Josie. ‘You look terrible, so why don’t you go home and get some rest before you end up back in hospital? Holly can stay here for a bit, give you both a chance to calm down.’

  ‘I’m not leaving her with you,’ Josie spat. ‘You’re trying to turn her against me.’

  ‘I promise you I’m not,’ Suzie insisted. ‘But she’s told you she doesn’t want to go home with you, and I think she’s old enough to make that decision for herself.’

  ‘You only met her two fucking minutes ago, and now you think you know her better than I do?’ Josie sneered. ‘You’ve got no idea, you stupid cow!’

  ‘She knows me way better than you, ’cos she listens,’ Holly said, swiping tears off her cheeks. ‘All you care about is your stupid job and trying to stop me from having a normal life! I hate you!’

  ‘Get back here!’ Josie yelled when Holly fled from the room and ran up the stairs.

  ‘Leave her,’ Suzie said. ‘She’s upset, and shouting clearly isn’t helping.’

  Josie gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists, and Suzie braced herself for the punch she felt sure was coming. Instead, Josie’s body suddenly deflated, as if all the fight had been sucked out of her, and she sank down on the sofa with an expression of resignation on her blood-drained face.

  ‘Go on, then, get it over with. Call the police. I know you want to.’

  ‘What?’ Suzie frowned. ‘Why would I do that? I’m trying to help.’

  ‘If you wanted to help you wouldn’t have told Holly she could stay. She’d have come home if you hadn’t said that.’

  ‘I doubt that,’ said Suzie. ‘And you must see this isn’t going to get resolved by shouting over each other. Why don’t you let Holly stay here tonight? She’ll be safe with me, and you can talk to her again tomorrow when you’ve both had some rest.’

  ‘What’s the point?’ Josie muttered dejectedly. ‘She hates me.’

  ‘No, she doesn’t,’ Suzie insisted, beginning to feel sorry for the woman. ‘Look, I know you don’t know me – and probably don’t want to – but how about I make that coffee? I’m a good listener, and I promise I won’t judge you.’

  Josie bit her lip, as if considering it. Then, shaking her head, she stood up, s
aying, ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

  ‘Try me,’ Suzie urged. ‘Holly knows you’re keeping something from her, and she’s not a child any more so you can’t blame her for wanting answers. Whatever happened in the past, I’m sure she won’t hold it against you. She’s a smart girl.’

  ‘Yeah, she is,’ Josie agreed, her chin quivering as a tear slithered down her cheek. Brushing it away, she looked Suzie in the eye, as if seeing her for the first time, and said, ‘I can see why she likes you, and I’m sorry for going off on you like that.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Suzie said. ‘I understand.’

  ‘No, you don’t,’ Josie countered. ‘But . . . tell her I love her.’

  ‘She loves you, too,’ Suzie said, concerned by the way this was going.

  ‘No, she loves who she thought I was,’ Josie said sadly. ‘Look after her for me.’

  ‘Wait!’ Suzie cried, following Josie out into the hall. ‘You’re her mum; you can’t just leave her. It’ll break her heart.’

  Josie left without answering and pulled the door firmly shut behind her. Determined to make her see sense before this went any further, Suzie reached for her coat to go after her.

  ‘Is it safe to come out now?’ Rob asked.

  ‘What?’ Suzie snapped, twisting her head round. Immediately feeling guilty when she saw his hurt expression, she said, ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. I’m just worried about Holly and her mum.’

  ‘Look, I know you probably don’t want or need my advice, but I’d leave them to it if I was you,’ Rob said. ‘You were fine when I went to the shop, but look how stressed you are now, and they were only here five minutes.’

  ‘I can’t leave them to it,’ Suzie said. ‘It’s a mess, and Holly’s—’

  ‘Her mum’s problem, not yours,’ Rob said firmly. ‘You did your best, but this isn’t your fight, and you need to walk away before you get dragged down by it.’

  Suzie closed her eyes and breathed in slowly to calm her jangling nerves. Rob was right: Holly wasn’t her problem, and she didn’t need the stress this was causing her. But she was the only friend Holly had right now, and she couldn’t just abandon her in her hour of need.

  ‘It’s time you stopped worrying about other people and started thinking about yourself,’ Rob said, walking to her and pulling her into his arms. ‘This is their problem, not yours, so let them deal with it.’

  Biting her lip when a shiver ran through her, Suzie rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Josie was upset, but she wouldn’t really leave Holly. She just needed to rest and recover from her ordeal, then she would come back and sort everything out.

  After a few blissful seconds, a floorboard creaked overhead and Suzie reluctantly broke free of the embrace, murmuring, ‘Oh, God, I forgot Holly was still here.’

  ‘Didn’t she go with her mum?’ Rob frowned.

  ‘No. They needed time to sort their heads out, so I said Holly could stay the night,’ Suzie told him. ‘I know you probably don’t agree,’ she went on when she saw the disapproving look in his eye. ‘But it’s complicated.’

  ‘It’s quite simple from where I’m standing,’ Rob argued. ‘Her mum needs looking after, and you should have made her go with her.’

  Suzie glanced up the stairs to make sure Holly wasn’t listening before gesturing for him to come into the kitchen with her. She took a seat at the table after closing the door, and said, ‘Look, I promised Holly I wouldn’t tell you, so you’ve got to promise you won’t say anything to her.’

  ‘Course I won’t,’ Rob said, lighting a cigarette.

  ‘Holly’s been coming over a lot since you left,’ Suzie started.

  ‘I didn’t leave,’ Rob interrupted. ‘You kicked me out.’

  Suzie gave him a look that clearly said, And you know exactly why I did that, so don’t even go there.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, holding up his hand. ‘Go on.’

  Brushing her irritation aside, Suzie said, ‘As you probably gathered from that row just now, they’ve got a weird relationship. Holly’s cagey when it comes to talking about her mum, so I don’t know the full extent of it, but Josie’s really secretive, and she doesn’t let Holly talk to the neighbours or answer the door when she’s out.’

  ‘Can’t blame her for that,’ Rob said, blowing smoke into the air. ‘There’s a lot of freaks round here.’

  ‘I think it goes deeper than that,’ Suzie said quietly, unsure if she fully understood it herself. ‘I think her mum’s paranoid. And I don’t mean a bit, I mean the full-on conspiracy theory kind of paranoid that people end up getting sectioned for. She’s a drinker, as well.’

  ‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Rob grinned, waving a hand at the bottles of wine he’d bought, which were standing on the counter behind her. ‘I was going to make you a brew, but you look like you could use something stronger.’

  ‘It’s too early for that,’ Suzie said, waving for him to stay put. ‘Thing is, something happened last night, and—’

  A tap came at the door before she could finish and Suzie whispered, ‘Don’t say anything,’ to Rob, before calling: ‘Come in, hon.’

  The door opened and Holly shuffled in. Her eyes were swollen and red, and she was wringing a sodden strip of toilet tissue between her hands.

  ‘Feeling any better?’ Suzie asked. Smiling when Holly nodded, she patted the chair next to hers, and said, ‘Come and sit down.’

  ‘Has my mum gone?’ Holly asked, casting a wary glance at Rob, who was peering at her through narrowed eyes.

  Suzie flashed a hooded look at Rob. Holly caught it and frowned.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Suzie said innocently. ‘I think the attack must have hit her harder than she realized, that’s all. I’m sure she’ll be fine when she’s had a rest.’

  ‘You should probably go home,’ Rob said, his gaze still fixed on Holly. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be looking after her?’

  Holly’s chin wobbled and she gazed up at Suzie. ‘You said I could stay.’

  ‘And you can,’ Suzie assured her. ‘But she’s your mum, and Rob’s right: you should be with her.’

  ‘I don’t want to go back’ Holly gulped, as the tears began to fall. ‘You don’t know what she’s like when she gets mad. She scares me.’

  ‘Oh, hon, don’t get upset again.’ Suzie hugged her. ‘I told her you could stay here tonight, so why don’t you go and have a lie-down? I’ll go over with you later and we’ll talk to her together. OK.’

  Frowning when Holly nodded her agreement, Rob said, ‘I’m not being funny, love, but this isn’t Suzie’s problem, and you shouldn’t be putting it on her like this.’

  ‘Rob!’ Suzie hissed. ‘I told you I could handle this.’

  ‘And I’m sure you think you can,’ he replied smoothly. ‘But I know you better than anyone, and I can see what it’s doing to you. It’s not right.’

  ‘Holly’s my friend and I offered to help,’ said Suzie. ‘You don’t know what she’s been through, so please don’t interfere.’

  Rob’s eyes stayed locked on hers for several long moments. Then, shrugging, he said, ‘My mistake,’ and pushed himself up to his feet. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

  Suzie gave a curt nod and watched as he left the room. She had assumed he would go into the living room to give them privacy but, seconds later, she heard him come back out into the hall and pull his jacket on before leaving the house, slamming the door behind him.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Holly sniffed.

  ‘Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.’ Suzie sighed. ‘He shouldn’t have waded in like that. Anyway, come on . . .’ She stood up and held out her hand. ‘You look wiped. Why don’t you go and have a lie-down, then we’ll talk later.’

  30

  Rob was fuming as he strode away from Suzie’s house with his rucksack over his shoulder. He’d come so close to getting his feet back under the table before that little cow turned up and ruined everythin
g. Now he was out on his arse and she was still in there, lapping up the attention Suzie should have been lavishing on him. He felt like marching back in, picking the cuckoo up by the scruff of her scrawny neck and physically booting her out of his nest. And it was his nest. His and Suzie’s. He’d paid his way, and he had more right to be there than Holly did.

  All right, so maybe he hadn’t contributed all that much financially. But he’d sure as hell supported Suzie in other ways, and he didn’t appreciate the way she’d turned on him in favour of that whingeing little bitch. Well, fuck her if that was how she wanted to play this. Fuck the pair of them!

  As he turned the corner at the end of the road, his heart leapt when he heard his phone ringing in his rucksack. It had to be Suzie. Him walking out must have given her a wake-up call and made her realize that he was more important to her than her so-called friend.

  It wasn’t Suzie, and he almost chucked his phone at the wall in frustration when he saw the name on the screen. Resisting the urge, because he couldn’t afford to replace it, he decided to answer it instead.

  ‘About time!’ Angie Scott cried before he had the chance to speak. ‘Where are you? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls or messages? I was trying to get hold of you all night.’

  ‘I was busy,’ he replied coolly. ‘’S up?’

  ‘Are you coming home?’ she asked, the whine in her voice instantly setting his teeth on edge. ‘We need to talk.’

  ‘About what?’ He slung the rucksack back over his shoulder and walked on.

  ‘Us,’ Angie said. ‘You really hurt me yesterday, but I know you didn’t mean to be so rough.’

  She paused, obviously waiting for him to apologize. When he stayed silent, she sighed, and said, ‘Look, I know you were pissed off with me for going through your phone, but those messages upset me, Rob. We live together, so how did you expect me to react?’

  ‘We don’t live together,’ he sneered, stopping at the mouth of the alleyway behind Suzie’s block. ‘I was a guest.’

  ‘Was?’ Angie picked up on his use of the past tense. ‘Does that mean you’re not coming back?’