‘Some lovely young fellow. Local he is. Doing very well for himself. He’s a lawyer or a solicitor or something legal like that. They came in here holding hands only a few weeks ago. She looks so happy with him. I love to see Meggy happy. She’s had so much go on in her life.’
‘It’s really important that I speak to Meg, and please, believe me, she does want to speak to me.’
Ivy placed the napkin in one of the pockets of her apron. I hoped it wasn’t about to end up in the bin.
‘You don’t know where Meg lives now, do you?’ I asked, trying my luck one last time.
‘No. I know it’s out of town – she uses the trams to come in and out of the centre – but I don’t know her address. I wouldn’t know that kind of thing. Mind you, I’ve known Meggy ever since she was a young ’un and had a big bust up with that fat girl. I never saw that one in here ever again – she didn’t half upset little Meggy that day.’
I thanked Ivy and limped my way back to the table. The pain in my leg was intermittent, but I’d been standing on it for ten minutes while we chatted. I was pleased to be sitting down again.
‘Anything useful?’ Alex asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ I replied. ‘I keep getting glimpses into a life that I knew nothing about. Ivy has known Meg since she was a girl. How can you be married to someone so long and yet know so little about them?’
‘I saw you give her your contact details. I take it she doesn’t know where Meg lives?’
‘No, Meg is just a customer that Ivy’s known for ages. I know the name of the baby though. Tom. Same as her dad. Doesn’t that strike you as unusual? I got the impression from speaking to other people that she was angry with her dad. Why would she give the baby his name?’
‘Who knows, Pete? Not much of this makes any sense to me. She’s a cagey one alright, your wife. I’m as caught up in all this as you are ... What’s wrong? She told you something else, didn’t she?’
I paused a while. I wasn’t even sure what I thought about it yet, let alone being able to articulate it to anybody else. I took a sip of my drink, my mouth was dry.
‘I think I know why she wants to see me now. I think she wants to move on. She’s found some new guy down here. Ivy was talking about him. It looks like they’ve made a life together. I saw him with her on the tram. They looked like a couple. They were chatting and laughing. I think it’s over, Alex. I’m sure she wants to tell me that we’re over.’
Chapter Thirteen
1993 Tom thought long and hard about the threats from Tony Dodds and Russell Black. He’d never experienced a level of violence like that in his life. He kept out of the way of Mavis, Meg and Hannah for the rest of the day. It wasn’t difficult. Meg and Hannah had made themselves scarce too.
‘What was that about?’ Mavis had asked when he put down the phone. ‘Sunday morning’s a funny time to call.’
‘It’s nothing, just an update on the inquiry. I’m not really sure why he rang.’
‘Something’s up,’ Mavis probed. ‘You were twisting and turning all night in bed, and it’s not like you to lie in so late on a Sunday. It’s like having a third teenager in the house!’
Tom laughed at that one, deciding that being non-committal was the best course of action.
‘Will you sort out that pilot light on the gas heater, by the way? It’s a devil to light. I’ve been using matches. I hate the way the gas whooshes when you light it – I’d rather the pilot was fixed properly.’
‘I’ll take a look. It’s getting chilly again, so it’s going to be on a lot more now. I’ll get to it after my bath.’
Whichever way Tom framed it in his head, he’d be letting the girls down. If he ignored the threats and gave his evidence anyway, they’d stitch him up and take the girls away. If he followed Bob’s course and withdrew his claims, he’d be letting down all the children in the home – he’d be letting his own girls down. But what was the alternative? Sending them back to the children’s home, where it could happen again?
The truth was, without Bob’s evidence, the case would be flimsy anyway. What had Tom seen? Nothing, really. He just had a feeling that things were going on. There was a real danger that they’d laugh at him.
Back at work on the Monday, he sneaked off at his break to enjoy a cigarette in the den. He’d given up smoking a long time ago, at the request of Mavis.
‘When we have children in the house, I don’t want you blowing that disgusting smoke all over the place. And think of your health!’
It had been tough quitting, but he never regretted it. However, with the stress of the responsibility now resting at his feet, it had seemed as natural as anything to buy a packet of ten Embassy from the newsagent when he picked up his morning paper.
He’d been looking forward to this all day. To reach the den, he had to climb over the fence into the wooded grounds behind the house. The woods still belonged to the property, but they were largely unused. It was the children who’d first told him about the den. They confided in him. He loved that. He knew that they’d sneak off there to be alone, to meet with boyfriends and girlfriends, to have a smoke. He kept their secret; they were in that home all day, and everybody needs a bolthole. Besides, it was part of the grounds, it wasn’t as if it was hidden.
When he’d first found out about the den, he’d taken his toolbox over there after his shift ended to make sure that it was safe for them. It was an excellent place for children, a small Victorian redbrick structure built in the middle of the woods. Time had taken its toll, but it still had a roof on it, albeit one which was struggling to combat the ivy that was creeping all over it. Tom assumed it had been built for whoever managed the woodland when the children’s home was an imposing family house. It was probably kept for saws, axes, barrows and the like. The Victorians knew how to do things properly; it even had a small chimney and iron stove.
Tom had checked the slates on the roof, inspected the woodwork and replaced the old wooden door with one that had been discarded in the home’s workshop. He swept out the brick floor and even placed some old chairs and settee cushions in there to make it as comfortable as possible. It was a little gift to the children, a safe place that they could call their own, a den to play in when out in the woods.
Three years later, he was using it as his own retreat, a place of quiet where he could figure out his next move. Whatever he did next would cause repercussions, whichever way the wind blew. Tom lit his cigarette, took a long, deep drag and closed his eyes. He scanned the den. He’d been naive when he made that place so hospitable. He’d assumed that it would be used as an HQ in children’s imaginary games or a mini youth club for the older kids. As he surveyed the collection of blankets and the old mattress that was propped against the wall, he realised that this was probably where Meg’s child had been conceived.
Tom pondered about the baby for a moment. If they’d managed to adopt the girls earlier, he and Mavis would have loved to have had that baby in the house, and Meg wouldn’t have been railroaded into giving up her child. It would have been lovely: two teenage girls and a baby in the house. What a perfect family. Not quite the order that it should have come in, but who cared?
He wondered how Meg felt about the baby. Poor girl. She was young, but she must have thought about the child. They never talked about stuff like that. They were still all getting to know each other. It was difficult with teenage girls. They were growing up, and they had their right to privacy. They didn’t have the father–daughter relationship they’d have built up if they’d been Tom and Mavis’s own kids. It was a day-by-day process; the trust was gradually building up.
Tom took another drag on the cigarette. There had to be a way through this which allowed him to keep the girls and to protect the children in the home. Tony Dodds and Russell Black had a lot to lose. It’s why they were turning the thumbscrews and scaring the life out of anybody who could expose them. Would they negotiate?
Tom shuddered, thinking through how they’d threatened him at t
he quarry. He’d almost given himself up for dead. He pictured himself with his head dashed on the rocky floor below. He’d never been so scared in his life. He’d been convinced that they were going to drop him down there.
Then he saw it. There was a way that they could all get what they wanted from this: Gary Maxwell. They needed a fall guy. What if Gary Maxwell took the hit? Tom thought it through. The kids hated him. Tom wasn’t sure what was going on at night but whatever it was he knew it was Gary Maxwell who was facilitating it. If Gary took all the blame, the inquiry would have its man – and Dodds and Black would walk away.
Would Dodds and Black go for it? He hardly dared to consider even talking to those men again, but it would protect the kids in the home. The new woman in charge was great, popular with the youngsters. It had changed the atmosphere in the home immediately.
What if Gary Maxwell never came back? That would give everybody what they wanted. It would protect Meg and Hannah from being taken back into care. It would protect the other youngsters from whatever was going on. And at least one of the shits who’d hurt the children might end up in jail. But Dodds and Black would be off the hook. Could he live with that? Tom took a long drag on his cigarette. It felt good to be smoking again after so long. Mavis would give him a hard time if she ever found out.
He’d need something more on Gary Maxwell. He hadn’t seen Gary going out at night, so that might be a problem. It was time for a talk with the girls. Tom needed to find out what Gary Maxwell had been saying to Meg that night in the sick room. With any luck, they’d be able to find enough rope to hang him.
‘He might just be a friend,’ Alex suggested, doing her best to put my mind at ease.
‘He looked very familiar to be a friend. The way he was helping with the baby and everything, he looked like he was installed to me.’
I looked at my smart phone. It’s the curse of modern life, to be so attached to the darn things, but every bit of news that I received came through this small device.
‘How did we ever do without smart phones?’ I asked. ‘When you and I were together, we couldn’t even afford a home computer.’
Alex smiled, using the mention of phones to check out her own messages.
‘It’s my agent. I’ve got an offer of a new TV series. Bad Boys Gone Straight it’s called. They want me to interview former gangland bosses and see how they’ve reformed. They reckon it will be a great vehicle for me after Crime Beaters.’
‘Sounds more like a job for Ross Kemp to me. Are you going to take it?’
‘They’re offering a shedload of cash. They want to meet me for talks. What do you think?’
‘It’s nice to have people chasing you with work. It’s up to you. I thought you were considering staying in Spain.’
‘I am. I’m tempted, but I want to see how things work out here first. I’m not going to pretend, Pete. You know I want us to get together again. You were the only guy I ever loved ...’
She’d said it. I looked at her, searching her face. She meant every word. I could see that. My phone made a sound and it gave me the excuse to look away. Why confront the issue when it can be avoided?
‘It’s Hannah,’ I said. ‘She’s in Blackpool. Wants to meet with us. She’s suggesting Blackpool Zoo.’
‘That’s a bit odd. It’s out of town, isn’t it? It seems an unusual place to arrange a meeting.’
I tapped a reply into Skype and Hannah got straight back to me.
‘She says she’s staying out that way and doesn’t have a car. She’s nervous about the press coverage over the bodies. I hadn’t thought about that. It’s fair enough, I guess. She was in that home with Meg. I might be jittery about being spotted too.’
‘Okay, but your car is still parked up over the other end of town. Can we walk it from here? When does she want to meet up?’
‘It’s no more than an hour on foot and we can go through Stanley Park. You’ll love that, it’s great. Although my leg is still playing me up – I’m not sure if I’m up for it.’
‘What time can she get there?’ Alex asked.
‘She’s saying two o’clock, so we’ve got some time to kill. How about we take our time walking and if my leg gives me too much aggro we’ll call a taxi? The doctor told me I should exercise as much as I can.’
‘Okay, let’s do it!’ Alex said, getting up and leaving a ten pound note on the table as a tip.
‘That will make sure that Ivy remembers us,’ she smiled. ‘The minute Meg comes back here, we need to know about it. It feels as if we’re so close now, Pete. She can’t hide forever in a town this size.’
We made our way through the town centre and were soon walking through the grounds. Alex loved the Italian gardens and the Art Deco styling. I had to stop for a moment. My leg was sore and I wasn’t sure I’d make it beyond the limits of the park.
‘You know what you said earlier?’ I ventured, as we watched the water cascading in the fountain.
‘I meant it, you know. We’ve known each other long enough now to be honest. It was the worst thing I ever did heading off to London. It may look glamorous and it’s helped me put some money away, but it’s all meaningless. Without someone to share it with, it’s pointless.’
‘You know I’ve always loved you, Alex.’ This was rare exposure from me. ‘We always got on – we still do, but you do understand that I have to deal with Meg first?’
‘How do you feel about her now?’ Alex asked, running her hand through the water in the fountain.
‘It’s difficult. I don’t know if I’m in love with the memory of being in love or if I really do still love her. We haven’t seen each other for a year. My life has adjusted to being without her. I need to see her to sort out the mortgage and our finances, but it’s not just that. And there’s the baby. I have to know if the baby is mine. If nothing else, we were in love when the baby was conceived.’
‘I get it. I understand. I’m here for you, always. I know we can’t just pick up where we left off, but it feels as ... comfortable ... It feels as comfortable as it ever did between us. You must feel that?’
‘Of course I do. I love us being together, but there have been two loves in my life and I can’t easily separate the two. Meg is my wife and if she wants us to get back together – if the baby is ours – you know I owe it to them both to try again. It’s difficult to see how we can step beyond all these things that have happened now. And ...’
‘What?’ Alex asked.
‘It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something.’
‘Tell me,’ Alex urged. ‘Remember what Steven Terry said: you need to start being more honest.’
‘You know after Jem and Sally’s deaths?’ I began slowly, wondering if I should share this information with Alex. ‘I met Meg one last time in the graveyard. It was after the funeral. She knew she’d find me there.’
‘You never told me this,’ Alex replied. ‘What did she say? I thought you’d gone your separate ways when you were released from hospital.’
‘Not quite. I saw her one last time. She wanted to tell me something – something she wanted me to know, because she trusted me.’
‘Go on. You’ve got to tell me now, Pete. You can’t just tease me with that information.’
‘Remember Ellie’s stalker, that Tony Miller guy? You know that all of the deaths were attributed to Sally?’
I think that Alex could sense where I was going.
‘It was Meg who killed Tony. She admitted it to me in the cemetery. The police assumed Sally had done it; there was so much blood in the house at the time. But it was Meg.’
‘And the police didn’t figure it out?’ Alex asked.
‘No, how could they? All the witnesses were dead, the crime scene was messed up by yours truly, and both Meg and Sally were covered in Tony’s blood. Meg told them Sally had made her help her to move the body onto our bed. It was an easy cover.’
‘Why did she do it? Did she tell you that?’
‘He’d tried to sex
ually assault her. He didn’t do it, but he’d started to put his hands in places where he shouldn’t ...’
I stopped for a moment, suddenly filled with rage. I felt angry that he’d dared to do that to my wife. The fucker deserved to die. I’d have probably done it myself if I’d been there.
‘So it was self-defence then?’ Alex asked.
‘Yes, of course,’ I replied. ‘He’d been touching her up and making threats. She’d already seen him kill that poor lad in the hotel. She grabbed the kitchen knife while he was having a pee and stuck it in him. She made certain he was dead – I saw the body. There was no way he was getting up again.’
‘They said it was a frenzied attack at the time, didn’t they? Meg might have a problem using self-defence if she made a mess of him like that. Do you think that’s why she hid it from the police?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, thinking it through. ‘Maybe it was easier to misdirect the police to make them think that Sally had done it. It’s really shitty for Sally’s kids. It’s enough to know that she killed their father and Jason Davies … Sorry, I know you’re still sensitive about that one.’
‘Less so now we’ve met his brother and I’ve had time to explain myself to him. I’m getting over it. It’s not every day you send a man to his death, you know.’
I only just made it to the edge of the park before I had to admit defeat and call a taxi. There wasn’t even that far to go to reach the zoo, but I was beginning to think better of my decision to walk.
‘So much for doctor’s orders,’ I cursed as a spasm shot through my leg.
‘Serves you right for being an arse and jumping off the top of a bus. Leave the tough guy stuff to the superheroes.’
She had a point. I wasn’t cut out for all the leaping around and daredevil stuff. I was relieved to get in the taxi and take the weight off my leg at last.
‘You won’t believe the news!’ the taxi driver piped up.
Don't Tell Meg Trilogy Box Set Page 66