Civvy Street (34 page)

The pair stamped upstairs and the slam of a door reverberated round the house.

Susie came out of the kitchen. ‘What now?’ she asked with a tired sigh.

‘Nothing,’ said Mike.

‘It must have been something.’

‘Don’t you start. I’m just trying to bring some sense of discipline and order to this house.’

‘Implying that I don’t?’

‘I didn’t say that.’

Susie glared at him. The phone rang. Susie stamped across the sitting room and snatched up the handset. ‘Yes,’ she snapped. ‘Oh, of course.’ She turned to her husband. ‘It’s for you.’

She handed Mike the phone and retreated to the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later Mike came to the kitchen door. ‘I’ve got to go out. There are three villages over at Ashton-cum-Bavant way that have just been issued with a severe flood warning by the Environment Agency and they want me down at the incident room. It’s all looking quite serious.’

‘Saved by the bell.’

‘Hardly. I didn’t plan this, Susie.’

‘No, I know.’ She sighed. ‘When do you think you’ll be back?’

‘I can’t say.’ Mike glanced out of the window. ‘I can’t see the rain stopping anytime soon.’

‘No, well, take care. Floods are dodgy things.’

Mike nodded. ‘Hopefully it’ll be a case of prevention rather than... well, “cure” isn’t the right word but you know what I mean. Maybe damage limitation...’ He trailed off.

‘Well, just you take care anyway. No heroics or anything like that.’

He nodded and picked up his car keys before heading off. Susie returned to the kitchen but before she picked up the next garment on the ironing pile, she twiddled the tuning knob on her portable radio until she found the local station. She needed to know what was going on – especially now that Mike was going to be in the thick of it.

*

The girls, sitting on Katie’s bed, watched their father drive away, the wheels of his car throwing up arcs of water off the sodden tarmac.

‘So,’ said Katie, as she turned back from the window and leaned against the wall behind the bed, ‘where do you think he’s gone?’

Ella shrugged. ‘Don’t know, don’t care. More importantly, do think he’ll be gone long?’

Katie shook her head and got off the bed. ‘Hang on, I’ll find out.’ She crossed the room and pattered down the stairs. A couple of minutes later she was back in the bedroom.

‘Mum says he’s been called out to a flood. She’s got no idea when he’ll be back.’

‘And Mum’s doing the ironing?’

Katie nodded and threw herself back on the duvet.

As Katie settled herself back into a comfortable position Ella stood up. ‘I’m going to try and find my phone. I bet it’s in their bedroom.’

‘You can’t.’ Katie’s eyes were wide at the audacity of her sister’s plan.

‘Why not? They’re our phones.’ She reached out her hand to pull her twin upright. ‘Come on, before Mum finishes the ironing and brings the clothes upstairs to put them away.’

‘But... but she’ll see it’s missing.’

‘Why? If she thinks they’re hidden she won’t go checking they’re still there every five minutes.’

‘I suppose.’ Reluctantly Katie got off the bed.

‘You keep a lookout to make sure she’s still ironing while I have a rummage.’

Katie sat on the top step listening to the muted sound of the DJ’s voice on the local radio followed by some crappy old country and western singer and, interspersed with the jangling banjo and wailing guitar, she could hear the thump and pffft of the steam iron on the board. Behind her she could hear the faint sound of drawers being slid out and then gently shut again. Every time there was a pause in the rhythm of the iron Katie held her breath, listening for her mother’s footsteps crossing the sitting room, worrying in case she mightn’t hear them on the carpet, and then feeling sick with relief when she heard the thump-thump of the iron once again.

She jumped out of her skin when Ella touched her on her shoulder and only just managed to suppress a shriek.

She spun round, about to have a go at her twin, but stopped when she saw Ella brandishing a phone.

‘You found it?’ she said, scrambling to her feet.

‘Shhh.’ Ella dragged her back to the bedroom and shut the door. ‘It was in Mum’s undies drawer along with our iPads.’

Katie nodded. But it was all right for her sister – back in communication with the rest of the world. She wasn’t.

‘I’m not going to keep it,’ said Ella, as if she read her twin’s thoughts. ‘But now we know where they are, we can take them and use them when we want. We just have to be careful, that’s all.’ Her thumb skimmed across the screen.

‘Who are you texting?’

‘Ali.’

‘Why? We can’t go out, we’re grounded.’

Ella looked up, her thumbs stilled. ‘You can stay here if you want. I’m not, I’m going out.’

‘But what’ll Mum say?’

‘Whatever she likes. What’s the worst she can do? She already thinks she’s got our iPads and phones but she’s not as clever as she thinks she is. And if she stops our allowances, well, we’ll just help ourselves. She hasn’t noticed anything so far.’

‘Maybe.’

‘We can be downstairs and out the door before Mum even knows it.’

‘But what about coming back?’

Ella narrowed her eyes. ‘You scared or something?’

‘No... no, of course not.’

‘Good, because I want a ciggie.’ Her phone trilled. She looked at the latest message. ‘And, Ali says if we bring a fiver with us he can let us have a packet of ten.’ She stared at her sister. ‘So I suggest that while I put the phone back you find Mum’s bag.’

Katie hesitated.

‘Oh go on. Just nick a fiver. It’s only two pound fifty each – hardly anything. A bus fare and school lunch is almost as much as that.’

‘OK then.’ Katie felt less than happy but she crept downstairs anyway. Halfway down the straight flight of stairs she paused and hung over the banister to look around the living room. It was empty but her mother’s bag was on the sofa, and it would be visible from the kitchen should her mother turn around. Slowly she tiptoed down the remaining stairs, across the room and then casually sat down next to it. With a firm eye on her mother’s back view, standing by the board in front of the sink, Katie clicked up the spring catch on the front of the bag and flipped open the flap. Susie’s wallet was on the top. Katie eased it out of the bag and opened it. Her mother put the iron back on its stand with a bang and Katie’s pulse rate went ballistic. She stared at her mother’s back, frozen in horror, the wallet in her hand. If her mother turned round... but her mother had stopped to fold up the T-shirt she’d just pressed before picking up a blouse and carrying on. Katie sagged with relief. As fast as she could she flicked through the bits and pieces in the notes compartment at the back. There was a twenty and nothing else. She checked the change purse – a couple of pound coins and some small change, but not another three quid’s worth. Making a decision, Katie picked out the twenty pound note and stuffed it up her sleeve before putting everything back as she’d found it and tiptoeing back to her sister.

She showed Ella her spoils.

‘You took
how much
? You dimwit! She’s bound to notice that. Can’t I trust you to do anything?’

‘It was that or nothing.’ Katie glared at her twin but her shoulders went down. Maybe she
had
messed up.

‘There must have been something smaller.’

‘There wasn’t. If you’re so clever you go and do it,
OK
?’ Katie pushed her face towards Ella’s, daring her to push the issue.

‘You did leave
some
money in her purse, didn’t you?’

Katie nodded.

‘Then you’d better hope Mum doesn’t notice after all.’

‘You too. You’re in this as much as I am.’

The two girls slipped down the stairs, grabbed their outdoor coats off the pegs by the porch, and a set of keys that hung on a nearby hook, before opening the front door as quietly as they could. They slipped out. Katie put the key in the outside lock and pulled the door shut before letting the catch drop back into place so they didn’t have to slam it shut. Their exit had been almost silent.

‘Nice one, sis,’ said Ella.

‘Thank you. See, I’m not such a dimwit.’

‘No, sorry.’

They jogged down the garden path and over the concrete bridge that crossed the drainage ditch. The water was swirling along it at a ferocious rate but since the scare earlier in the year the water authority had cleared the banks of undergrowth and dredged it and had assured the residents that the problem wouldn’t occur again. The girls glanced at it out of curiosity but ran on, unconcerned.

Dodging the raindrops the two sisters raced up the road towards the corner. Ali and his pals were waiting for them.

‘Got the dosh?’ he said by way of a greeting.

Katie held out the twenty. ‘It’s all we’ve got. Can you change it?’

Ali looked at the note with contempt. ‘What do you think I am? A fucking bank?’ He waved the fags at them. ‘Do you want them or not?’

Ella made a grab for them but Ali swished them out of reach. ‘Hand over the cash and they’re yours.’

‘But... this is enough for four packs,’ said Katie.

‘Or,’ said Ali, ‘it’s enough for this pack and something else. Something a bit special.’

‘Like?’ said Ella.

‘Like this.’ Ali produced a tobacco pouch from his pocket and some cigarette papers.

Both girls’ eyes widened. They knew what they were being offered.

‘Wanna try some?’ said Ali.

Katie and Ella looked at each other. This was dodgy, dangerous and illegal. Of
course
they wanted to try. They nodded.

‘But not here,’ said Ali. ‘If you go past the bus shelter there’s a field on the left. Through the gate is a disused stable. Meet us there, five minutes.’ He twitched the twenty out of Katie’s hand and casually tossed the smokes at her in return. Katie fumbled the catch and they dropped in a puddle at her feet.

‘Butterfingers,’ sneered Ali as he and his mates swaggered down the road, hands in their pockets, strides jaunty, towards the bus stop.

Katie and Ella huddled together, feeling apprehensive and thrilled in equal measure at what they were about to do.

‘What do you think it’ll be like?’ asked Ella.

‘It’ll be... cool, I suppose. We’ll chill out, be relaxed.’ Katie shrugged. ‘It’ll be fun.’ She said it with false bravado and hoped her sister wouldn’t detect it.

‘I suppose.’ Ella wasn’t as good at dissembling as her sister and for once it sounded as if her confidence was deserting her. ‘D’you think Mum’ll be able to tell?’

‘Doubt it. Like she knows anything about drugs.’

‘Yeah, but even so?’

‘You getting cold feet? After I nicked all the money?’

‘No,’ said Ella hastily. ‘Come on, the five minutes must be up.’

They both knew they weren’t but hurried down the road before either of them could change their minds.

Katie and Ella slipped through the gate into the field and saw the ramshackle shed in the far corner, nestled into an overgrown hawthorn hedge, the branches of which had grown into straggly canopy that spread over the roof. The pair trudged through the knee-high mix of nettles, thistles and dead grass, stumbling over tussocks and avoiding getting stung till they reached the door. They knocked.

‘Who is it?’ asked a wary voice.

‘Us,’ said Katie and Ella in unison.

The door opened and a funny, sweet, smoky smell wafted out into the wet air. The girls slipped inside, into the dank gloom. In the low light they could see the glowing tip of a spliff and then, as their eyes adjusted, they could see the three lads lounging around on some sacks that covered what might have been hay, or straw. It was hardly a comfortable hideout but at least it was dry.

‘Anyone see you coming here?’

The girls looked at each other. They hadn’t thought to check they weren’t being followed although the only person who might have done was their mother and she, as far as they knew, was unaware of their departure.

‘No,’ they said.

‘Good. Only you’re a bit young to be getting in trouble with the pigs,’ said Ali. ‘Your mummy and daddy would be well upset if that happened, wouldn’t they,’ he added with a sneer.

Katie swallowed. She hadn’t thought about the consequences of getting caught by the authorities – only what her mum might think.

‘Well, that’s
not
going to happen, so why don’t you give us what we’ve paid for.’ She eyed him coolly, despite the fact her heart was pounding.

Ali looked at her with something that almost verged on respect and reached for his tobacco pouch. ‘Here, I rolled a spliff for you and Ella.’ He passed a rough-and-ready rollie to Katie. ‘You know what to do?’

Risking looking foolish Katie decided it was best to come clean. ‘Apart from sparking up, you mean? No.’

‘Take a drag, hold it as long as possible before you exhale and enjoy the ride.’

‘Ride?’ The word slipped out before Katie could help it.

‘Chill, it’s not like Special K or magic mushrooms. It’s cool. You’ll enjoy it.’

Trying to keep her hand steady Katie took the spliff and put it to her lips. Ali flicked his lighter and Katie leant forward to meet the flame. She took a drag. The smoke tasted quite different from the Benson and Hedges she was used to. She took the smoke down into her lungs and passed the cigarette to Ella who followed her example. After half a minute she blew the smoke out. And... and...? And not a lot, if she was honest. She held her hand out and took back the rollie and repeated the process. She wasn’t sure what she expected but it was a bloody sight more than this. But she did feel calmer, more relaxed. She took a third drag. God, this whole set-up was funny; her, her sis and three lads in a stable. It was almost like a scene out of a primary school nativity play. All they needed was a donkey and a manger and they’d be sorted. She started to giggle.

*

Seb got out of his Land Rover and stretched. The journey from the barracks to their exercise on the Plain hadn’t been that far but the suspension on the vehicle wasn’t brilliant and that, coupled with the rain, meant that his driver had been unable to pick his way around the worst of the ruts and bumps once they got off the beaten track. Seb felt as if he’d spent the last hour in the drum of a cement mixer. Around him his soldiers were already digging in, making slit trenches and creating defensive positions. The earth they dug out was more mud than soil and dripped off their spades, splatting wetly onto the ground as they tipped it off their shovels. Their ponchos and waterproof jackets were keeping the worst of the weather off them but even so everyone looked soaked and miserable. A couple of the troops, sheltering under a bivouac made out of waterproof ponchos, had got a brew on and were handing out mugs of hot tea.