Born Evil (36 page)

Hearing the front door slam, she quietly closed Charlie’s bedroom door and made her way downstairs to face the music with Steve.

‘You all right?’ he asked, hoping she was now talking to him.

‘Not bad. Where are the girls?’

Knowing by the tone of Debbie’s voice that she still had a cob on, Steve ignored her and chose to head to the kitchen for a cold beer rather than walk head first into yet another poxy argument.

‘Don’t fucking ignore me, Steve. I asked you a simple question. Where are my girls?’

Steve took a large gulp from his can, then took a deep breath to try to control his temper. It didn’t work.

‘
Your
girls. Your fucking girls? Are these the same girls you fucked off and left this morning, Debs, without saying so much as a bastard word to them?’

‘You were here. You’re their father. Too much trouble for you to have ’em for once, was it?’

‘No, it weren’t, Debs, but I had stuff to do, right? If you’d given me a bit of notice, I could have cancelled what I had on. But no, not you. You just fuck off and leave everyone to it.’

‘I had things to do as well,’ Debbie screamed at him. ‘Important fucking things! And you still haven’t bloody well told me where they are!’

‘At your mother’s, all right? Where else would they fucking be? And if your important things included running round after that bastard son of yours, I hope you remembered to tell him he ain’t welcome in this fucking house no more. I ain’t having it, Debs I swear on my mothers grave, he ain’t coming back in here.’

‘Bollocks, you cunt, and you can leave my Charlie out of this.’

Steve stood up, his eyes blazing with anger. Pointing his index finger at his own forehead, he told her her fortune. ‘See you? You’re mental, a fucking head case. Leave your Charlie out of it! Are you ’aving a laugh? Your fucking baby boy is the cause of all this, and he’ll probably be the break-up of our marriage as well. Why can’t you see what’s in front of your eyes, Debs? He’s evil and he’s scum. Everyone else can see it, why can’t you?’

Screeching like a lunatic, Debbie lunged at him, hitting him as hard as she could. ‘Because I’m his mother, you stupid bastard! Don’t you understand that? I gave birth to him.’

Steve had never hit a woman in his life and had no intention of starting now. Holding her wrists, he tried to calm her down. ‘Stop it, Debs, come on. I don’t wanna fight with you, I just need you to see sense. I love you, for fuck’s sake, that’s why I married you.’

His final sentence jarred Debbie back to reality. She sank against his chest and sobbed her heart out.

‘Shhh. Come on, don’t cry,’ he said, holding her tight and kissing her hair.

‘I’m sorry, Steve. It’s just everything. Charlie … Mickey, you and me. I’m going off me head with it all.’

Leading her into the lounge, Steve sat her on the sofa and headed back into the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. Debs could be the biggest bitch in the world sometimes, but he loved her dearly and always would. If she left him tomorrow, he’d never look at another woman, he’d swear to that. He handed her a glass of Chardonnay, put his own on the table and took her free hand in his.

‘You’ve gotta stop bottling things up, Debs. You’ll end up having a breakdown if you don’t.’

Debbie looked at him and smiled through her tears. ‘I know you’re right, but please, let’s not talk about it tonight. I can’t face it, Steve. I’ve no more fight left in me body, I can’t deal with it right now.’

Putting his big arm around her, Steve held her close. ‘I won’t make you talk about anything but me, you and the girls. How does that suit ya? Now ring your mum and ask her if she can look after Gracie and Rosie for a few days. It’ll give us a bit of time on our own.’

Debbie handed the phone to him. ‘You ring her, Steve. I haven’t spoken to her since we came back from Centerparcs. You’ll have to ask.’

Understanding her embarrassment, Steve made the all-important call. ‘Sorted,’ he said as he laid the phone on the sofa next to him.

‘Did she say anything about me?’ Debs asked anxiously.

‘No,’ Steve lied as he jumped up to put a CD on. Dimming the lights, he sat back down and snuggled up to his wife. They needed time alone, to try and repair the damage Charlie had caused in their relationship. Steve was determined to get things back on track.

Mickey rubbed Lois’s back for what seemed liked the tenth time since he’d returned home. She’d been that ill, they’d brought a bucket into the lounge to save her from frequent trips to the toilet. She couldn’t stop being sick, but seeing as she was unable to eat, had nothing to bring up but bile.

‘Shhh. Stop crying, angel. Come on, Daddy’s here now. Everything will be fine, trust me. I’ll sort everything out and you’ll be okay, I promise you.’

Wiping her mouth with a tissue, Lois turned to the man she’d grown to adore and forced herself to smile.

‘I love you, Daddy.’

As he looked into his daughter’s tearful eyes, Mickey felt his heart break in two. The poor little mite was suffering beyond belief. He would not rest until he got revenge for her. As he stroked her hair, he mused on whether or not to burn Charlie alive. He could quite easily set him alight and watch him go up in smoke. Telling Karen to swap places on the sofa with him, he headed to his shed to search for paraffin. He found some, took the cans round to the alleyway and, for the first time that day, allowed himself to smile.

A cremation was exactly what Charlie deserved, and Mickey was determined that was exactly what he was gonna fucking get.

Steve uncorked the third bottle of wine and danced back into the living room, doing an impression of Barry White singing ‘My First, My Last, My Everything’.

‘Sit down, you silly bastard,’ she said, smiling at his antics. She’d enjoyed tonight even though she felt sad and empty after the shock of yesterday. In her heart, she knew it was time to let Charlie go and concentrate on the girls and her marriage instead.

‘Thanks for tonight, Steve,’ she said, her eyes almost closed with tiredness.

‘You’ve welcome, babe. We should do it more often, eh?’

Receiving no answer, he realised she’d fallen asleep in his arms. Moving his left arm from behind her, he gently laid her head on his lap. As he noticed her handbag next to the sofa, he fleetingly remembered Mickey’s request, sighed, and erased the thought from his mind. He couldn’t do it. There was no way he’d be able to search through his wife’s bag without her permission. It didn’t belong in his rule book and as much as he wanted to help Mickey, there was no way he was going to ruin his marriage in the process.

Steve sat there for ages, deciding what to do for the best. As he watched Debs lying across his legs, he took in her pretty features and her gentle snores. His decision was made there and then. He just couldn’t betray her. If Mickey wanted to dispose of Charlie, he’d have to do it alone.

Steve hated his stepson more than life itself, but not enough to kill him. How the hell could he ever face Debs again if he’d contributed to the demise of her only son? He’d break his decision to Mickey in the morning. He would still go with him and look for the kid, but once they found him, that was it, Steve was bowing out. What happened from then on was Mickey’s call.

Looking down at Debs, Steve smiled to himself. He’d married her for better or for worse and he wasn’t about to break his vows. Not now, not ever.

UNABLE TO SLEEP
well, Mickey rose early the next morning and by seven o’clock was raring to go. He realised it was far too early for Steve to be out of his pit so spent the next couple of hours pottering about downstairs, desperate to keep himself busy. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he was surprised to see Lois standing at the kitchen door rather than Karen.

‘Hello, angel, you’re up early. How do you feel today?’

She flashed him a fragile smile. ‘I’m a bit better, thanks, Dad. I feel hungry. Will you cook me some breakfast?’

‘That’s my girl,’ Mickey said as he hugged her tight. Now, what shall I rustle you up? Beans on toast … omelette … or how about a full English?’

‘Beans and cheese on toast, please, Dad.’

Mickey winked at her. She had a bit of colour back in her cheeks and he was relieved to see her looking brighter.

‘It’ll be ready in five, my little darling. Now, pop upstairs and ask Mummy what she wants.’

Half an hour later, with the breakfast plates cleared, Lois excused herself from the table and headed back to the privacy of her bedroom. She hadn’t eaten since before the attack and breakfast had made her feel sick and lethargic.

‘I was thinking, Mick. We should go and pick Alfie up today. I miss him and it’s not fair on June to leave him there any longer. Shall I give her a call?’ Karen suggested.

The piercing ring of his phone stopped Mickey from answering his wife’s question. ‘Hello,’ he said, recognising the number of his daughter’s boyfriend.

‘I’ve got the address for you,’ Dean told him excitedly.

‘Fire away, kid.’

Steve was in the middle of making love to Debbie, for the first time in weeks, when his ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ ring tone spoiled their intimacy.

‘I’m sorry, babe,’ he said, reaching across to the bedside cabinet to turn the bastard thing off.

‘Answer it, Steve,’ she said, looking at the clock. ‘I’ve got to pop out anyway, then I’m gonna sort the girls out and that.’

‘Bollocks,’ he muttered as he felt his hard-on deflate.

Mickey’s dulcet tones telling him he’d got the address made Steve feel nothing but guilt. All of this was bollocks, he’d be glad when he was out of it. How could he be making love to his wife one minute then plotting the downfall of her only son the next? Thoroughly pissed off, he lay back on the bed for a minute.

‘I’ll see you later, Steve,’ Debbie shouted to him.

‘Where you going?’ he yelled.

She hadn’t been up ten minutes and had only just got out of the shower. Surely she hadn’t gone out already.

Not getting an answer, he ran down the stairs in his birthday suit. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ he muttered as he peered out of the front door, just in time to see the back of her X5 disappear down the drive. Stomping back upstairs with the hump of all humps, he quickly got dressed, grabbed his keys and shot off to pick up Mickey.

* * *

After a quick stop at the bank, Debbie drove straight to Barking and pulled up outside the tower block. It’s now or never, she thought as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror to see if she looked as bad as she felt. Checking that Charlie’s sports bag was well hidden in the back, she took a quick look round to check that there were no thieves or druggies lurking nearby. Then, taking a deep breath, she strolled into the tower block, to rescue her beloved boy.

‘Not left, you thick cunt. Right! Turn right.’

Steve sighed as he amended his mistake. His day was going from bad to worse and Mickey had been in a proper foul mood since he’d told him of his decision.

‘How long have we been pals? I can’t believe you, you cunt,’ his friend had shouted at him.

‘But Debs is my wife, Mick, I just can’t do it. I’ll come round to this Kevin’s with you and help you find him, but then you’re on your own.’

‘Just fucking drive then, Judas!’

The rest of the journey to Harold Hill had taken place in silence, apart from Mickey’s bad-tempered directions.

‘Stop here. This is it, number twenty-four.’

Steve parked the motor and turned the engine off. Mickey ran up the path and within seconds had nearly broken the front door down.

‘Wh-What h-have I done?’ asked a petrified Kevin as he was lifted up by his scruffy T-shirt and slammed against the filthy wall in the hallway.

‘Where can I find your perverted cunt of a friend?’ Mickey screeched.

‘It’s n-nothing to do with me. I’ve told his mum everything I know.’ Kevin could barely speak, he was shaking so much. His nan had popped round to the Co-op and when he’d heard the ferocious banging on the door, he’d flung it open, thinking she’d had a fall or been in an accident. Trying to get his words out when he was nervous wasn’t easy for him, but somehow he managed to tell Mickey that Charlie had been seeing his dad and was probably at a tower block in Barking.

‘If you’re lying to me, I’m gonna fucking kill ya,’ Mickey said as he dropped the fat kid back on his feet.

Mickey ran back to the motor and leaped in. ‘Andy’s flat, on the Gascoigne Estate, and put your fucking foot down,’ he barked at Steve. ‘Oh, and by the way, it looks like your darling wife has beaten us to it.’

Steve had had enough by now. He was sick of being Mr Nice Guy. ‘Whaddya mean, my darling wife? Don’t take this out on me, Mick. She’s
your
fucking sister, you cunt! You was the one that introduced us in the first place, so don’t take all your shit out on me. Save it for some other mug.’

‘Sorry,’ Mickey said sheepishly. ‘But if you’d have seen the state of my Lois yesterday, you’d know how I feel. Imagine if it were one of your two girls.’

‘I know what you’re saying, Mick, but you can’t take it out on other people. Charlie’s the one to blame for all this, no one else. Now, do you remember what number Andy lives at, ’cause I fucking don’t.’

‘Not offhand,’ Mickey replied, trying to rack his brains. ‘But, believe me, I’ll find him. Even if I have to knock on every door in the entire block to find the cunt, I will do it.’

Steve glanced at his pal. He’d never seen him as angry as this before. He wouldn’t like to be in Charlie’s shoes when Mickey managed to get his hands on him, that was for sure.

‘Now hurry up, Charlie. I’ll meet you downstairs at the car,’ Debbie said, desperate to get away from Billy who had spent the last five minutes trying to make polite conversation with her.

Once in the car, she was relieved to find all Charlie’s belongings still intact. She started the engine, praying for her son to hurry up. She was desperate to get him out of the area and out of harm’s way. She knew her brother better than anyone, knew that he was quite capable of finding her son and wiping him off the face of the earth, without so much as a second thought.