Born Evil (34 page)

‘Did you get any sleep, love?’ he heard Karen whisper.

‘Not much. How about you?’

‘Hardly any,’ she replied, her eyes filling with tears.

‘Come here,’ Mickey said as he leaned across the bed and hugged her tight. ‘We’ll get through this, babe, I know we will.’

Karen smiled weakly. He was her rock, was Mickey, and was usually right about most things. Her instincts told her, however, that this wasn’t one of them. Deep down, she knew that their lives would never be the same again.

‘What’s the matter, Gracie? Why are you still crying?’ asked Rosie, her face full of concern.

Usually they slept separately, but such was Gracie’s distress the previous evening, they had huddled up together like two newborn puppies.

Gracie was saved from answering by her dad appearing then. ‘Are you all right, Princesses?’ he asked, as he crouched down beside his daughters. ‘Shall Daddy make you some breakfast?’

‘Not hungry,’ Rosie said, sucking her thumb.

‘Are you and Mummy going to split up?’ Gracie asked him, tears clouding her eyes.

‘Of course not,’ Steve replied, hoping he was speaking the truth.

‘Have you stopped fighting now?’ Rosie enquired.

Feeling himself getting emotional, Steve stood up and walked towards the door.

‘Be downstairs in ten minutes, girls, and Daddy’ll have your favourite ready for you – spaghetti hoops and waffles! You up for that?’

‘Okay,’ the girls replied half-heartedly. Neither of them were hungry, but they didn’t want to upset their father by not eating.

Hearing Steve bashing about in the kitchen, Debbie leaped out of bed and headed for the shower. She’d slept in the spare room last night and hadn’t spoken a word to her husband since the row in the car. Unable to sleep, she’d had a lot of time to think about things and knew she had to get to Charlie before Mickey did. With a plan already in mind, she quickly got dressed. Her son needed her and she was determined to be there for him.

Steve had just served the girls their breakfast when he heard the front door slam. Looking out of the window, he saw the back end of Debbie’s X5 disappearing off the drive.

‘Bollocks,’ he muttered, realising she’d sodded off and left him with the kids.

‘Where’s Mummy gone?’ Rosie asked innocently.

He was saved from answering by the shrill tone of his mobile.

‘I’m ready to go looking for the cunt. Are you with me?’ Mickey asked bluntly.

‘Debbie’s just fucked off out. I’ll ring June and get her to have the girls. I’ll be round within the hour.’

‘See you then.’

Hearing a noise, Mickey turned round to see Karen helping Lois down the stairs. She looked dreadful, just a shadow of the pretty, carefree teenager she’d been a couple of days ago.

‘Are you okay, sweetheart?’ he asked, realising full well she wasn’t, but not knowing what else to say.

Lois nodded and forced a brave smile. ‘Is Dean still here?’

‘He’s in there,’ Mickey said, nodding towards the lounge. ‘Do you want him to stay here all day with you, or shall I drop him home as I go out?’

‘I think I just want to be with Mum today,’ Lois said weakly.

‘He’ll understand. Go and say goodbye to him, though, Lois.’

Mickey watched, heartbroken, as his damaged daughter did exactly as he’d asked. Seeing her the way she was made him want to break every bone in Charlie’s evil fucking body.

Debbie drove slowly along Kevin’s street, searching for the right house. Seeing the plastic witch dangling at a window, she got out of the car and ran up the path.

‘Is Charlie here? Have you seen him?’ she asked the boy when he opened the door.

‘No, I haven’t heard from him for a couple of days,’ Kevin replied truthfully.

‘Look, love, Charlie is in a lot of trouble and I desperately need to find him. You know him better than anyone – where else is he liable to be? Don’t worry about getting him into trouble. I swear, you’ll be doing him a favour if you tell me. Now, I know he’s got a girlfriend. Do you know where she lives?’

Kevin looked at the floor, debating what to do for the best. He didn’t want to grass his mate up, but he could tell that something serious had happened. He’d never been a good liar, especially when it came to adults. Shuffling his feet, he stayed silent.

‘Kevin, you must tell me where he is. His Uncle Mickey’s looking for him, and if I don’t get to him first, you’ll probably never see Charlie again.’

Kevin’s eyes bulged. Charlie was the only friend he’d ever had and the prospect of losing him didn’t bear thinking about. ‘He hasn’t really got a girlfriend,’ he mumbled. ‘He lied to you because he’s been spending time with his dad.’

Debbie felt a wave of shock go through her as the words hit home.

‘His dad! No, it can’t be. Are you sure, Kevin?’

‘I’ve seen him with me own eyes, so I know it’s true. He turned up one day at school. Charlie didn’t want to know him at first, but then he started seeing him. That’s why he said he had a girlfriend, so he could get out and meet Billy.’

‘Where does his dad live? Has he told you? You
must
tell me.’

‘I don’t know the address, he’s never invited me round there. I know it’s in Barking, in a tower block, but that’s all I know. I swear that’s the truth.’

Andy’s! Debbie thought. He has to be at bloody Andy’s. Thanking Kevin for his help, she ran back down the path, leapt in her motor and headed towards the Gascoigne Estate.

Charlie opened another beer and paced up and down in the living room of Andy’s flat. His dad hadn’t come home all night and had his mobile switched off. Charlie was a bundle of nerves as he had no idea how else to contact him.

‘Sit down, son. I’ll put some music on. Chill out with your Uncle Andy.’

Charlie declined the offer of a puff. He was paranoid enough as it was, and being stoned would only make him feel ten times worse.

‘Try me dad again, Andy,’ he demanded, unable to relax. The call went straight on to voicemail.

Mickey kissed both Karen and Lois goodbye. Neither of them asked where he was going as neither of them had to. ‘Now, remember what I said, don’t let anybody in,’ he told them. ‘Don’t go out at all, and if you’re worried about anything in the slightest, just ring me. I’ve patched the window up and me mate Tony’s gonna fix it properly tomorrow.’

‘We’ll be fine,’ Karen said, pushing him towards the front door. She was desperate to have some time on her own with her daughter and, until now, this hadn’t been possible.

‘’Bye, Lois, I’ll call you later,’ Dean said as he bowled out behind Mickey.

Dean’s house was less than a five-minute drive away. Mickey thought now was the best time to have a quiet word with the boy.

‘Thanks for everything you’ve done, son, you’ve been a star, but you’ve gotta promise me one thing. I don’t want one word of what happened yesterday getting out to no one. You mustn’t say jack shit – not at school, your boxing club, not even to your parents. Do you understand where I’m coming from, Dean?’

The boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Mickey might be putting things in a nice way but there was no mistaking the threat behind what he was saying.

‘I promise you faithfully, I won’t say a word.’

‘Good lad,’ Mickey said, ruffling his hair before he got out of the car. ‘You look after me, Deano, and I’ll look after you.’

‘’Bye, Mr Dawson,’ Dean shouted as he legged it up the path.

‘Where to now?’ Steve asked as Mickey got back into the car.

‘Go to the lock-up first, I’ve got some rope there and tools, then head to the club and we’ll get the gun out the safe.’

Steve put his foot down and they sped along in eerie silence.

Debbie turned the engine off and sat facing the tower block. She felt weird and her heart-rate was rising by the second. She hadn’t thought about Billy or what he’d done to her for years. She’d believed she was completely over her past experiences. But hearing his name earlier, and sitting here now, somehow told her differently. She would never forget what the bastard had done to her, and the thought of walking into the flats and coming face-to-face with him again filled her with absolute terror.

Billy McDaid lit up a fag, lay back on the bed and stretched out like a starfish. Cindy the barmaid had turned out to be a cute little sort. Twenty-five, funny and tarty, she was Billy’s type of bird. When she dragged him home and treated him to the bunk-up of a lifetime, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. The gaff she lived in was a palace compared to Andy’s dive. The only downside was that she lived with her three little nippers whom she’d just shot out to collect from her mum.

Finishing his snout, Billy jumped up and decided to have a snoop around before she returned.

* * *

After picking up the tools and gun, Mickey and Steve were at a loose end as to where to start looking.

‘Charlie’s got one mate called Kevin who I’ve never even fucking seen but apparently he lives in Harold Hill. Debbie reckons he’s also got a girlfriend, but I don’t believe that in a million years.’

‘What’s the bird’s name?’

‘No idea,’ Steve replied, shrugging his shoulders. ‘She’s invisible, no cunt’s ever seen her. Listen, forget the bird, there is no bird. Concentrate on the mate.’

Mickey nodded. ‘Harold Hill it is then.’

Billy’s hopes and dreams of getting his feet under the table in a new abode were blown up in smoke as soon as the kids arrived home. Monsters, they were, in every sense of the word. They were that bad, they made Charlie as a child look like a choir boy.

Switching his phone on, he prayed that someone had contacted him. The bleep of a message would allow him to make a quick escape. As luck would have it, his phone bleeped numerous times. Twenty-one, in fact. Something’s fucking happened, he thought. No bastard ever rang him, only Charlie here and there, his aunt once a month, and a few druggies wanting gear. The first couple of messages gave nothing away.

‘Dad, where are you? Ring me, it’s urgent.’

The next few followed suit. Although the panic had heightened in his son’s voice, he revealed little more. It was message number ten that made Billy pay proper attention.

‘Dad, please help me. I’m at Andy’s. I’ve done something really bad … I’ve attacked Lois and sort of … raped her.’

‘Where’s the nearest cab firm?’ Billy screamed at Cindy.

‘Top of the road. Do a right and then first right again. You’re not going yet, are you, Bill? When am I going to see you again?’

Without answering, Billy bolted out of the door. As he got to the end of the road, he stopped running and started walking. He needed to plan things and running stopped him from thinking straight. Getting Charlie out of the area had to be his first priority. Billy had had first-hand experience of Mickey’s fury and was damned if he was letting the same happen to his boy. Problem was, money was tight. He’d been surviving by selling a bit of smoke in a couple of the local pubs, but he’d been working it on a very small basis, earning just about enough to get by on.

Billy sat in the cab and rang Charlie. Guessing by the answer-phone message that the kid had switched his phone off, he rang Andy and asked to speak to his son.

‘Look, Charlie, keep calm and don’t panic,’ he told the boy. ‘You’ll be fine, trust me. I’ll be home in ten minutes and then we’ll put our heads together and work out what to do next.’

‘Okay, Dad,’ said his relieved son.

Billy tucked his mobile into his jacket pocket, threw his arms across the back seat and allowed himself a wry smile. Things just couldn’t have worked out better. His boy, his own flesh and blood, had come up trumps for him. In fact, the kid had played an absolute blinder. Billy let out a nasty, evil laugh. Revenge was sweet and he was determined to enjoy every second of his. After years of waiting, thanks to Charlie he was finally going to have the last say.

‘ALL RIGHT, MISSUS?
Nice motor. What you after? We can get you whatever you want. Just name it and we’ll sort it.’

Debbie opened her window and stared at the four little lads standing nearby. ‘I’m not after anything, lads. I’m just here to visit someone and you wanna be careful who you try and sell stuff to. I could be anyone, for all you know.’

‘You’re not old bill, are you?’ the dirty-faced boy asked. He was the mouthpiece, the ringleader.

‘No, I’m not. Far from it, in fact,’ she replied, smiling at his cockiness.

Chatting with the lads was a welcome distraction. She became so engrossed in the bit of banter that she failed to notice Billy McDaid get out of a cab and stroll into the tower block.

Mickey and Steve’s search was proving fruitless. They had no success at all as they scoured the streets of Harold Hill, asking everybody and anybody if they knew of Charlie or a lad called Kevin.

‘This is fucking bollocks,’ Mickey said, looking at his watch.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. ‘What else do you suggest we do? The cunt’s got no mates, no hobbies … finding him was never gonna be easy, Mick.’

‘I know it weren’t, but driving round here like a pair of prize pricks ain’t exactly helping, is it? What about his bedroom, Steve? Can’t you have a snoop round, see if you can find any clues as to where the cunt goes?’

‘I could try. It all depends if Debs is in.’

Sparking up a fag, Mickey stared at the big splashes of rain, pounding against the windscreen. The weather was dismal. It matched his mood perfectly.

‘Drop me off at the nearest pub. You go home, search for clues, and pick me up when you’re done.’

‘Come with us, if you want. I doubt Debs is in, and even if she is we’ll make some excuse,’ Steve said, doing a U-turn.

‘You’re having a fucking laugh, ain’t you? I can’t be near her at the moment,’ Mickey said honestly. ‘Things are never gonna be the same between me and Debs. And once that perverted son of hers disappears into thin air, she’ll be gunning for me anyway.’

Feeling as if he was torn between the devil and the deep blue sea, Steve made the rest of the journey in silence.

‘Oh, Dad, I’m so pleased to see you,’ Charlie exclaimed as his wanderer of a father returned.