Beyond Death (18 page)

‘She wants you to be bait so that we can catch muggers.’ Tony blurted.

‘Oh, wow!’ Fiona walked to the door, ‘bring it on boys.’

‘And that’s why I love that woman.’ Said Jim when Fiona left the room and thought she couldn’t hear him. She felt lightheaded as she walked away, her lover’s comment ringing pleasantly in her ears even though he hadn’t yet said the magic words directly to her face.

*****

Ken had enjoyed the sanctuary of the sofa and had taken the time to reflect on events since his death. This had made him look back on his life with regret and something strange had happened to him. He realized that he did care and he wanted to do as many good deeds as they would allow him to prove to them that he could redeem himself. He wasn’t yet sure if these feelings were borne out of fear for his future or genuine compassion and kindness. He also wasn’t sure who the
they
were but knew that Gabriella was one of them. He hoped that he would be allowed to assist in catching the muggers. Thoughts of his immediate future induced a sense of urgency and a need to implement changes right away.

A whoosh followed by a dazzling bright light heralded Gabriella’s arrival.

‘Hello, Kenneth. How are you feeling?’

Ken was overcome with a joy he had never before experienced. He loved the being in front of him and not in the biblical sense. He would do anything to please her and at that precise moment in time, all he wanted was for Gabriella to be happy.

She had saved many deranged souls in her years as an angel and knew that he would be experiencing feelings of gratitude, love and blind adoration that he couldn’t articulate.

‘I’m happy and I want you to be happy, forever.’ Was the best Ken could manage and she gave him her most beatific smile, allowing him a moment of supreme peace and happiness.

‘I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on what you feel right now.’

He did as instructed.

‘The tasks I intend to bestow upon you will test you to your absolute limit. You will need to be able to harness that feeling and remember what it is like. It will be the one and only thing that can get you through some dark days ahead. Do you understand, Kenneth?’

He kept his eyes closed and tried to keep calm. The wonderful feeling was still with him and he never wanted it to go away.

‘Are you sending me back to hell?’

A decision hadn’t yet been made about his long-term future.

‘No, Kenneth, I’m not. But I am giving you the best chance to redeem your soul and you will come up against some unforgiving opposition. You start by assisting Ron and Claire with whatever they need you to do.’

He opened his eyes and the moment had passed. ‘When do I start?’

*****

Claire and Ron found themselves back in Cherussola. They hadn’t made a conscious decision to return so understood that Gabriella had summoned them. Their instincts were correct and she told them to take a seat with Ken on the sofa.

‘Things have calmed down somewhat and I now have a little more time on my hands. I’m going to be keeping my eyes on you and assessing your progress, Claire and Kenneth.’

‘Excuse me, Gabriella. But you can’t put me in the same category as...’ Claire looked at Ken as if he’d crawled out of a sewer, ‘...him.’

Ken didn’t like her tone or the look she gave him, but could understand her reasons under the circumstances.

‘Don’t jump to conclusions, Claire, and be patient. I merely wanted you to be aware that I’m going to be about more to assist or intervene as necessary. I trust that your brothers and the plucky Fiona are willing to participate in your plan to catch the muggers?’

They hadn’t told her about their plan so were surprised by her comments.

‘A few of my assistants have been tracking your movements while I’ve been busy,’ she explained. ‘It’s a risky strategy but I’m willing to let it go ahead. Ken will assist if you need him and I’ll be about if things go awry.’

Ron and Claire looked at each other in confusion.

‘Err, we weren’t actually going to do anything, Gabriella. Claire’s brothers and Fiona have agreed to set a trap and we were going to leave them to it.’

‘Aren’t you helping at all?’

‘We’re going to watch. The twins are perfectly capable of sorting out a few thugs,’ said Claire, ‘and Fiona is the sort of girl who can look after herself.’

‘You can’t ask them to do something this dangerous and not give them any back up. I insist that you are ready to be actively involved and prepare for the worst, even though it may not happen. Also be aware that all is often not what it seems, so keep your eyes peeled for the unusual.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean? Can you be more specific?’

But she’d disappeared with a whoosh, deciding to leave Claire’s questions unanswered.

*****

Dressed in jeans, t-shirts and hoodies the twins left the underground station and starting walking to the address given to them by their dead sister. The further from the station, the more run-down the buildings appeared. The streets were unkempt with rubbish discarded on the ground, even though there were council rubbish bins liberally placed. The graffiti ranged from artistic to unimaginative with the worst about a girl named Elisha and what she’d done to certain parts of a Mikey's anatomy. There was also the usual nonsense about which was the best football team in the area. It had been a while since the twins had visited such a depressed location and they tried their best to look like part of the fabric and resisted the urge to stand and stare.

‘I’m trying not to check my back every few seconds.’ Jim nodded in complete understanding with his brother.

‘I feel sorry for some of the people born into this who don’t have the motivation or education to drag themselves out.’

‘Look out David Cameron. Jim Sylvester’s coming to get you.’

‘Me a politician?’ he swaggered, ‘I’m far too good looking for that.’

‘And modest.’ His brother laughed and they carried on walking in silence, each feeling an increased sense of tension as they neared their target’s address.

They passed the block of flats where the guy named Mikey lived and tried not to be too obvious when looking at the building. They only needed to know how to get there and the lay of the land in case their plan went wrong and they failed to catch the attackers. About a four-minute walk in the same direction there were a few boarded-up shops and what looked like an old abandoned cafe. On closer inspection the cafe appeared to be open and the brothers decided to check it out.

The counter looked reasonably clean and the woman serving wasn’t particularly friendly but she wasn’t rude either. Having ordered tea and bacon butties both felt eyes burning into their backs. Tony turned around to face the potential aggressors. He folded his arms and his eyes swept the tables. He was well aware that they were in a dog eat dog location and he wanted the other customers to know that they were in the presence of pack leaders. Tony felt more like the runt of the litter but there was no way he intended to show that.

‘What you looking at?’ Said a spotty youth with greasy hair, egged on by the other four sitting at his table.

‘Fucking try me, sunshine!’ Tony’s pulse was racing like windscreen wipers in a rainstorm.

Jim turned and leaned against the counter. He folded his arms and hoped he looked menacing.

‘Come on, lads,’ said the woman behind the counter. ‘I don’t want any trouble.’

‘Wanker.’ From the boy at the table in an attempt to save face before turning back to his mates and deciding not to push Tony any further.

They moved to any empty table. Tony kept an eye on the spotty youth and Jim gave his brother a
what did you do that for
look as soon as he sat down with his back to their potential aggressors. When they finished they left the cafe, their unrushed attitude hiding the fact that they couldn’t wait to get out of there. Eyes bore into their backs until they’d turned the corner of the street and Jim gave his brother a solid punch on the upper arm.

‘Bloody idiot! What was all that about?’

‘You know what these people are like,’ he rubbed his sore arm. ‘He was spoiling for a fight to impress his mates. I had to show him that we can handle ourselves.’

‘And now they all know exactly what we look like.’

Tony disagreed. ‘Didn’t see their eyes, Jim? They were spaced out, the lot of them. They’ll be lucky if they know what bloody day it is, never mind remembering a few strangers in a cafe.’

Jim hoped his brother was right as they carried on to their destination. A little later they turned a corner onto the street where Val was attacked. Despite it being broad daylight and most of the city streets were bustling with activity, this one was eerily quiet. It was a long side street in a location you would stumble upon if you had lost direction, and not somewhere you would purposely head for. There was nothing of interest there and it didn’t appear to be a shortcut to anywhere in particular. There were a number of industrial sized rubbish bins placed right up against the dirty red brick wall which made the brothers think that a few food businesses might back on to the street, but otherwise nothing. There was a lamp at their end of the street and if they strained their eyes, they could see one more at the far end. The place would be very dark at night in between the lights and the brothers could understand why attackers would pick this location to carry out their heinous acts. Tony and Jim slowly made their way to the far end of the street trying to take in as much detail as possible while nobody else was about. They walked up and down twice until fully satisfied that they’d seen everything there was to see. On the second look, they decided to call it a day and noticed a pub on the corner. They entered and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was a decent looking place, and not a dive as they’d expected. Most of the other punters were dressed in business suits, quietly working on their laptops or with their mobile phones stuck to their ears deep in conversation. The twins felt out of place until they noticed a few tourists, lost off the beaten track they assumed. The middle-aged barman looked them up and down and took their order of two pints of lager. He watched them surreptitiously while serving other customers. Having had a good look around the area they were satisfied with what they had to do and would formulate a plan when they met up with Fiona that evening.

*****

Big Ed had been simmering slowly since his interview with the police. Over three weeks had passed and he knew they were following him and recording his every move. It had taken a massive strength of will for him not to take action against the interfering teenager. Not usually a patient man, Big Ed knew that the only choice he had was to wait until the police lost interest in him and then he’d sort her out. He’d wanted to act before the half-term holidays but he was still being followed. Last time he’d been tipped off that the police were following him, they’d lasted less than two weeks and he’d hoped this time would be the same. Although extremely annoyed and frustrated that this hadn’t been the case, the fact that the police were spending a great deal of their time and resources on him appealed to Big Ed’s ego. This would show the seedy world in which he operated that he’d now made the big time. He had a plan and he’d already spoken to the one person he could trust to help him - she’d agreed as he knew she would. Like he’d given her a choice, he laughed to himself. He’d sent her to the school as a prospective new parent and she had reported back to him on completion of the visit. He’d reluctantly agreed that they’d have to wait until the summer holidays to ensure their chances of success, and this made him all the more determined to teach the little bitch a lesson she’d never forget.

Chapter 12

Tony and Jim were fed up, but not as much as Fiona. Three times they’d been to the street where Val was attacked and the result had been the same each time. They’d seen youngsters hanging around, but these paid no attention to them. Although they were mucking about like kids do they didn’t seem to be thugs or troublemakers. By the time the fourth Friday had come around they were merely going through the motions and had relaxed their guard considerably.

Fiona was about halfway down the dark street when she froze. Three shapes appeared out of the shadows and she could just make out another two lurking in the background.
Shit
, she thought hoping that Jim and Tony had also seen them.

The twins had kept their distance and were about to turn the street corner to follow Fiona. Three youths seemed to appear out of nowhere, one of them brandishing a knife.

‘Give me your wallet, fuckwit.’ Said the one with the knife. The weapon and whatever he’d been taking making him feel brave. Tony recognized him as the spotty youth from the cafe but the boy didn’t show any recognition of the twins.

‘Don’t be stupid. Get out of our way.’ Tony didn’t want to get into anything with the three that would mean they couldn’t keep their eyes on Fiona.

Jim was starting to get agitated because Fiona wasn’t in sight, but the youth misread his nervousness for fear and this spurred him on. His next move was written all over his face and Tony dodged the knife. The attacker didn’t see the punch coming from Jim and screamed as he hit the deck. The others knew they were outclassed and ran away in the opposite direction. Jim grabbed the knife from the floor and Tony picked up the youth who was visibly shaking. He threw him against the wall.

‘You ever try something like that again, sunshine, and I’ll break every bone in your body. Understand?’

The youth nodded as much as he was able to with a hand holding him by his neck.

‘Now piss off and go back to your scumbag mates.’

He didn’t need to be told twice and limped off as fast as his injuries would allow.

‘Come on.’ said Jim binning the knife as they hurried to find Fiona.

Fiona lowered her head and carried on walking, removing her mobile from her pocket as she did so. Where the hell were they? She thought they were all behind her, but she was wrong. The two who had been in the background had somehow passed her and now appeared in front.