by Jacqui Rose
Pushing the thought of Franny out of his mind, Balantyne held Claire’s hand tightly, but he quickly dropped it when two officers he’d seen in passing down at the station came in.
They nodded to him respectfully, but it was the shorter Asian officer who spoke. ‘How’s she doing, sir?’
Trying to not feel panicked, Balantyne kept his cool. ‘They don’t know yet. She’s stable, which is something I suppose, but now it’s just a waiting game.’ Then feeling obliged to make up a reason for being there again, he added: ‘I just feel responsible. You know, with everything that happened with my wife. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Inspector Martin because of Emma. I know being here won’t change anything but it somehow makes me feel better.’
The officer nodded sympathetically. ‘Everyone’s keeping their fingers crossed down at the station.’
Balantyne smiled. ‘Me too, but as you can imagine, I feel responsible … I know it was my wife who was driving but it’s hard not to blame yourself. You end up saying, what if …’ He trailed off and then cautiously he added, ‘Anyway, how’s the investigation going? I think it was Officer Gibbs who told me they were going to look at the dashcam recording. I’ll tell you something, I’ll be pleased when they do. I don’t want it drawn out.’
The Asian officer looked at his colleague before saying sheepishly, ‘That’s what we came here to say. I’m afraid Inspector Martin didn’t have an SD card in her dashcam, which means there is no recording of the incident.’
Balantyne feigned annoyance. ‘You’re joking?’
‘No, sir, but I guess not everyone remembers to put one in there.’
Feeling relieved, Balantyne continued to play along. ‘That’s bloody stupid then … Sorry, it’s just the recording would’ve been the evidence you needed to take this to trial.’
The officer nodded. ‘I know, sir, though the way it stands the CPS are willing to still go ahead with the charges of attempted murder.’
Balantyne stayed silent though inside he was celebrating. After a few seconds he said calmly, ‘Well thanks, officers, for coming to tell me.’
The officers turned to go but then the smallest one stopped and turned around. ‘There is one more thing, sir. Strictly off the record … the warehouse where they keep the cars in Kent, and where Inspector Martin’s car was, well one of the security guards was attacked. They took him to hospital.’
Balantyne felt the sweat prick on the back of his neck but he gave nothing away. ‘Oh my God, that’s terrible.’
‘It is, sir. He had a wife and three kids.’
Balantyne frowned. ‘Had?’
‘Yes, sir, unfortunately he died in the early hours of this morning.’
37
‘I can smell it on you, Shan. I can see it in your eyes!’ Charlie, in the early hours of Friday morning, held his hands tightly around Shannon’s neck. She spluttered her words as her face began to turn a deep red.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’
Charlie buried and nuzzled his head next to Shannon’s ear before biting it hard. ‘Don’t try to bullshit me, Shan, I can smell that crack you’ve been smoking a mile away. It’s in your hair; it’s on your skin. When did you do it? How long have you been sneaking off to do it?’
He stopped speaking to inhale the aroma of the drug from Shannon who furiously shook her head.
‘I haven’t, I haven’t!’
Releasing Shannon’s neck, Charlie brought his hand up and struck her around the face before pushing her backwards onto the bed. He snarled as he straddled her, holding her down with his hefty body.
Kissing her neck and slobbering he rubbed himself all over her as she felt his erection against her thigh and although she kept her voice down for fear of disturbing Vaughn, she begged Charlie, ‘Get off me, please get off me!’
Ignoring Shannon, Charlie cackled as he continued to grunt and groan on top of his niece, his sweat twisting and matting the thick hair on his chest and back. ‘You know you want it, Shan, stop fucking messing me about. Why are you playing hard to get? It’s not like you haven’t had it thousands of times before.’
‘I hate you! I hate you! You make me sick!’ She struggled as she yelped, trying desperately to get away. She kicked out and wriggled but she was no match for Charlie’s strength and weight. She hit at his face, clawing him, scraping her nails down his cheeks, which drew blood and fury from Charlie.
‘You stupid bitch!’ He wrestled her, and holding Shannon’s arms down, he pushed himself inside her roughly.
‘Stop, Uncle Charlie, stop!’ Twisting her body, still trying to get away, Shannon pleaded with Charlie as he continued to cackle and push himself harder and harder inside her. She held on to the bed head, pulling herself away, frantically trying to escape her uncle’s clutches.
As Shannon fought and flailed her arms around, her hand came to rest on her bedside lampshade and without thinking she grabbed it, bringing it down on Charlie’s head, smashing into a thousand pieces.
Within seconds Shannon was covered in Charlie’s blood and he suddenly fell forward and stopped moving. His head lay on her chest and with her eyes wide open with fear, Shannon – to stop herself from screaming – slammed her hand across her mouth as she stared down at Charlie in horror.
Breathing hard and drenched in Charlie’s blood, Shannon began to pull herself out from underneath him. He was heavy and motionless and it took everything she had to move herself from beneath him as his weight crushed down on top of her.
Eventually freeing herself, she stared at Charlie in shock, hugging her knees tightly. She closed her eyes, too scared to look.
Then after a few moments she forced herself to peek through her fingers and cautiously kicked him with her foot. ‘Uncle Charlie? Uncle Charlie?’
There was no movement from him and panic surged around Shannon’s body again. Her heart raced and tears rolled down her face. She shook so much she couldn’t move.
‘Uncle Charlie, please talk to me? I’m sorry! I’m sorry!’ Again, there was nothing apart from an eerie silence. Her heart pounded as she stood up and went around the other side of the bed.
She reached out her hand and touched him but it felt like an electric shock and, trembling, she gazed at his face covered in a veil of his own blood and his obese bloated body lying motionless.
Terrified and holding her head, Shannon started to pace with her eyes constantly fixed on Charlie. What was she going to do … What was she going to do … What was she going to say? Panic hit her again and she ran across to Charlie, this time shaking him hard. ‘Uncle Charlie? Uncle Charlie, I’m sorry … I’m sorry. You can do anything to me but please, please just wake up!’
She fell to the floor screaming silent tears, rocking back and forth as she buried her face in her hands. She jumped as she heard a voice.
‘Shan? Shan, you fancy a coffee, sweetheart? I heard you awake – I can’t sleep either. Could do with a bit of company. It’d be nice to catch up.’
Vaughn’s voice boomed from the other side of the door and it made Shannon feel ill. She scrambled up from the floor and stared at Charlie as she spoke, her voice quivering with fear. ‘I … I … I …’ She trailed off and stared again. Her head felt fuzzy and she couldn’t think properly, unable to comprehend what she’d just done.
‘Shan? You okay?’
Knowing she needed somehow to answer Vaughn, Shannon just about managed to get the words ‘I’m fine’ out of her mouth.
‘Then what do you say to a nice latte? I think I’ve got the hang of that fucking coffee machine! So, come on then, how about it?’
Feeling she was unable to breathe let alone chat with Vaughn, she was just about to say no but then she stared again at Charlie. Looking at him made her feel like the walls were closing in on her. She didn’t want to be in the same room. She just couldn’t.
Taking a deep breath, Shannon opened the door, and quickly shutting and locking it behind her, she stepped out of the room and
twirled around to face Vaughn who stared at her in shock. ‘Fucking hell, Shan. Fucking hell, what have you done?’
Shannon’s legs went weak. She leant against the door as the hallway began to spin. ‘I didn’t mean to, it was an accident. I swear it just happened. I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry. I’m sorry and I just don’t know what to do.’
Vaughn bent down to Shannon’s eye level. She looked terrible. Her eyes looked full of fear and he held on to her shoulders very gently. ‘Shan, show me where you’ve cut yourself. You’re bleeding heavily.’
She blinked and then blinked again and suddenly it struck her. She realised that Vaughn wasn’t talking about what she just did to Charlie but about her being covered in blood. Charlie’s blood. In all the panic she’d forgotten.
Quickly trying to come up with something plausible, Shannon blurted. ‘I … I was trying to clean up the mess and I broke the lampshade. It was an accident, I swear. I was stupid. I put it on the top of the wardrobe to clean the table and when I was polishing it fell on my head.’
‘Oh Jesus, Shan, let me have a look.’ He went to reach for her head but she moved away, ducking out of his grasp.
‘Don’t touch me!’
A mixture of confusion and hurt crossed Vaughn’s face. He put his hands up in the air. ‘Okay, okay, I’m sorry.’
Shannon’s eyes filled with tears. ‘No, I’m sorry, I never meant it how it sounded … It’s just that it hurts …’
Sympathetically Vaughn gave a rueful smile. ‘I told you I was rubbish with teenage girls. I didn’t think. Do you want me to call the doc? Well he’s not exactly a doc but he knows what he’s doing. A guy called Davey – he sorted Alfie out good and proper. Yours might need stitches like Alfie’s did, though he was a proper pussy.’
He smiled again but Shannon didn’t smile back. She was beginning to panic at the thought of a doctor or anyone coming to see her. It would take less than a minute for them to realise that there was nothing actually wrong with her, or worse still, he might want to examine her in her room. ‘Look, why … why don’t I wash myself up and see how bad it is. Maybe it’s nothing, sometimes these things look worse than they are.’
Vaughn shrugged and nodded. ‘Okay, if you’re sure. I’ll leave you to it and try and go and make that coffee before Mia wakes up. I’ll see you in a minute, babe … Oh, can you check in your room to see if you’ve got Mia’s pink teddy? Or I can look if you like?’
‘It’s fine, I’ll get it.’ Feeling breathless she smiled, but waited until Vaughn had walked away to go back inside her room. And when she did, she immediately froze as she pressed herself against the door, hardly daring to move and almost unable to look at Charlie who still lay on the bed.
Quickly she looked around and saw Mia’s teddy bear. Not wanting to be in the room longer than she had to she darted to get it but as she did, she saw the bed sheet that she’d taken off earlier to wash.
Picking up the bear as well as the sheet, with trepidation Shannon walked to the bed where she threw the sheet over Charlie to cover his face and body. A strange sense of relief and fear washed over her and she slid down the wall, rocking and holding on to the cuddly toy, whilst the tears streamed down her face, as they had done so much lately.
It was more than ten minutes before Shannon had calmed herself enough down to be able to get up and make her way to the bathroom to clean herself up, desperate for Vaughn not to become suspicious.
She had no idea what she was going to do, no idea whatsoever and although she’d experienced terror in her life before, the idea of Charlie lying dead, rotting in her room, terrified her more than she could even dare to think about.
As she walked trembling out of the darkened room, the rain began to beat down on the window and Charlie opened his eyes and sat up, throwing off the sheet that had been placed over him.
He smirked to himself. He was going to teach that bitch a lesson. If she wanted to play games then that’s what he would do and if she wanted him dead, oh boy he would certainly play dead. And then, when he’d had his fun, he was going to destroy her and bring her happy world crashing down.
38
‘Can you guys just stop? I’ve had it all night and I don’t think I can take any more.’ Franny sat on the bed with Jessie crying next to her and Emma alternating between hysterical sobbing and loud vomiting, which had been the case since Officer Brown had locked them up yesterday afternoon.
‘It’s not fair – I shouldn’t be in here. I never did it! I never did it!’
Franny stared at Emma. ‘Well that makes two of us don’t it?’
Suddenly seeing some kind of allegiance with Franny, Emma scrambled towards her on her hands and knees. ‘Then you know how I feel! You know how I feel!’ She began to scream again but this time it was right in Franny’s face. And without any sort of hesitation, Franny slapped her hard.
‘Shut the fuck up!’
Shocked, Emma stared at her, rubbing her cheek, but she spoke calmly. ‘That’s the second time you’ve done that.’
‘And it won’t be the last time either if you continue to be a pain in the arse. Screaming and shouting ain’t going to help get you out of here, and it’s certainly not going to help my ears. You understand?’
Emma nodded but it was Franny who continued to talk. ‘Anyway, what you in here for? What is it that you never did?’
Wiping her nose, which was running as much as her tears were, Emma muttered, looking up at Franny. ‘Attempted murder.’
Giving a rueful smile, Franny whistled. ‘I would not have thought that’s why you were in here, Little Bo-Peep.’
Not enjoying being made fun of, Emma snapped, ‘Like I say, I didn’t do it!’
Leaning against the wall, Franny shrugged. ‘Listen, you ain’t got to convince me, I couldn’t care less if you did it or not.’
With her face flushing red, Emma pouted. ‘Well I didn’t. I was set up … I knew he was a liar and I knew he was a bastard but I never thought he’d do this to me. My solicitor told me what he’s been saying.’
With a mild bit of interest, Franny said, ‘Who?’
‘My husband.’
Franny shrugged again as she stared at the scars on Emma’s face. ‘Never trust a man. Come to think of it, never trust anyone.’
Emma’s eyes darkened and Franny watched her with interest as her whole demeanour changed. ‘Yeah well if I ever get out of here, I’m going to make sure he pays.’
Laughing, Franny said, ‘That’s my girl, that’s more like it. Tears ain’t going to get you anywhere. It’s the fighting talk that will get you through – even if we never get our revenge, believing we will is the main thing.’
Looking seriously at Franny, Emma shook her head. Her face turning into a snarl, she said, ‘Oh no, believe me, he’s got it coming. I may not have tried to kill anyone this time but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to next time.’
For a moment Franny didn’t say anything and then she winked. ‘Word of advice, Em: when you go to court, keep that part to yourself, darlin’.’
Smiling for the first time in longer than she could remember, Emma asked, ‘And what about you, Franny, what are you in for?’
‘Murder.’
Emma’s eyes opened wide. ‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’
Franny laughed again. ‘You have a way with words! If you want to make enemies in here carry on talking like that … and anyway, I already told you, I didn’t do it.’ She smiled ruefully.
Jessie, having not said a word until that point, snivelled, ‘Well I did. I did what I’m in here for and wish I hadn’t.’
Both Franny and Emma stared at her, but it was Franny who spoke. ‘And what was that?’
Sheepishly Jessie said, ‘I attacked the guy in the corner shop with a loaf of bread, and someone called the police. When they came I resisted arrest and threw a couple of jars of pickles at them … maybe there was even a can of soup, I dunno.’
The two other women burst into lau
ghter, much to Jessie’s annoyance. ‘It isn’t funny! I don’t know why you’re laughing. I thought I’d get community service at the most but because one of the jars hit and cut the policeman’s face, I was done for Actual Bodily Harm and now I’m stuck in here.’
Franny sat down on the bed again. ‘I ain’t laughing at you, not really, but you’ve got to admit it’s funny. But the real question is, why? Who attacks anyone with a loaf of bread?’
Shyly, Jessie shrugged. ‘It was the first thing I grabbed. He was a friend of my dad’s and every time I went in the shop he was always trying to touch me. He’s been doing it since I was a kid … I dunno, I just snapped …’ She trailed off and Franny and Emma no longer laughed.
Franny gave a warm smile. ‘I’m sorry, Jess. You shouldn’t be in here, he should be.’
Jessie smiled back. ‘Thank you. It’s been a nightmare in here. I’ve got another six months and I don’t know if I can do it anymore. Not with Christine and her mates.’
‘Listen, you’ve got me now. I’m here … and if it will help, I’ll pay it.’
‘What?’
Franny shook her head. ‘Are you deaf? I said I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay Christine the money she wants and I’ll make sure she keeps off your back from now on.’
‘I … I … why? Why would you do that for me?’
Franny thought for a moment then she smiled, a small but genuine smile. ‘Firstly, I know how much it will piss Christine off if you actually pay her. And I’m not saying it’s fair to have to pay her, but sometimes inside the rules are just shitty … And secondly … well, believe it or not, I ain’t one to see someone bullied when they don’t deserve it.’
Full of gratitude, Jessie shuffled up closer to Franny on the bed. Her green eyes were wide and concerned. ‘But I can’t pay you back. I mean, I probably can eventually, but I don’t know when. My family haven’t got a lot of money.’
‘Listen, sweetheart, call it a gift. On the house. Anyway favours are sometimes worth more than money, and who knows when I might decide to call in a favour.’