Takedown

by Heather Atkinson

  “Where the hell have you two been?” demanded Kevin when Faith and Vance walked through the door of the office together at Club Pulse. Here was where they discussed all business, confident in the knowledge that no one could overhear them in a soundproof room.

  “It took me a bit of time to find him,” said Faith, feeling a little guilty when the lie effortlessly tripped off her tongue. She wasn’t sure it was a good thing that she found lying to her family so easy. “I remembered he said he was going for a drink in a pub on the front but I couldn’t remember which one.”

  “We’ve been sat here like lemons waiting for you to show,” sniffed Kevin, folding his arms across his thin chest. Unlike his three tall, muscular brothers he was small and skinny as he’d been born prematurely and had barely survived.

  “We’re here now,” said Vance. “So, what’s this about?”

  “Dillon Enfield,” Caleb told him.

  “What about him?”

  “Did you see him earlier like we discussed?”

  “I did and I sorted him out. He won’t be stealing from us ever again.”

  “Too right he won’t because he’s dead.”

  “What?” exclaimed Faith.

  “Hey, that wasn’t me,” said Vance. “I gave him a good hiding but I didn’t get carried away.”

  “He was found in Kingscote Park,” said Caleb. “He’d been stabbed repeatedly.”

  Faith winced as memories of Marlow stabbing her replayed through her mind.

  “That was nothing to do with me,” said Vance. “I only hit him with a baseball bat. I don’t even carry a knife.”

  “Please say you wore gloves,” said Faith.

  “Course I did. I’m not an amateur.”

  “Thank God,” she breathed. “Let’s just hope they don’t find your DNA on him.”

  “They won’t. I only touched him with a baseball bat and gloves.” He frowned and shook his head. “How did this happen? I only saw him a few hours ago.”

  “Did he mention where he was going?” Jason asked him.

  “Funnily enough, he didn’t like to share his plans for the evening with the man who’d just kicked seven shades of shit out of him.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he smiled. “Suppose.”

  “I’m amazed he was in a park actually. After what I did to him I assumed he would have gone straight to hospital.”

  “Who would want to kill Dillon?” said Faith.

  “Apart from us?” said Kevin.

  “We didn’t want to kill him. He just needed teaching a lesson not to be a greedy little sod.”

  “Maybe he got greedy with someone else?”

  “Who else? We’re top of the tree around here.”

  “There are other gangs and some of them are proper psychos. There’s a group who work out of a garage near the south shore. They’re big into nicking cars and respraying them. I heard Dillon was involved with them for a while last year.”

  “Was he still involved with them?” said Vance.

  “I don’t know. We need to speak to someone with their ear to the ground, who knows everything that goes on in this town.”

  “That’s us Kev,” said Faith. “We’re the ones who are supposed to know everything that goes on but obviously we’ve been missing something.” She sighed and dragged her hands through her hair. “Our priority is making sure the police don’t find out that Vance kicked the crap out of Dillon right before he died.”

  “They won’t find anything of me on him,” replied Vance. “I used to be a copper, I know how to hide the evidence.”

  “Good point.” Her worst fear was Vance being sent back to prison. She was quite sure going through that again would finish her off. “Maybe I should call Matthew, see what the police know?”

  “Don’t go drawing attention to us,” replied Vance.

  “Young works for us,” said Kevin.

  “He doesn’t work for us,” said Faith. “He works for the Maguires and he has helped us out in the past.”

  “But he’s still a police officer,” countered Vance. “You should bear that in mind more.”

  “And he’s your friend,” said Kevin. “Not ours.”

  “He’s not a friend, he’s a contact, that’s all,” she said, forcing herself not to look Vance’s way, knowing he got jealous whenever DI Matthew Young was mentioned as she’d slept with him once. She’d only done it to get information but that did little to soothe Vance.

  “If we start asking Young questions he might get suspicious,” said Caleb. “Let’s just leave it. Vance knows what he’s doing and he didn’t leave any trace. Plus Dillon can’t tell the police who beat him up.”

  “I want to ask around though,” said Faith. “It’s possible Dillon was working for someone else and if he was then we need to know about it.”

  “His murder might not be anything to do with business,” said Vance. “It could be a domestic affair like a jealous lover. Or it could have been a mugging gone wrong.”

  “You’re right,” said Faith. “We can’t jump to conclusions.”

  “Just try and relax. Don’t bring unnecessary attention to us.”

  Faith nodded.

  “So, just to clarify,” said Jason. “We’re going to do nothing?”

  “That’s right,” said Vance.

  “It’s good to have a plan,” he muttered.

  “What happened to that bloke you had tied up Faith?” grinned Kevin. “Is he still there?”

  “Never you mind,” she replied.

  “Who was tied up?” said Vance.

  When Faith turned to face him, his eyes danced with amusement.

  “It was just a date, that’s all,” she said.

  “Do you tie up all your dates?”

  “Shut up Vance,” she told him, making him chuckle. “Well, if there’s nothing else I’m going home, I’m knackered.”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Kevin.

  “Can I get a lift back with you?” Vance asked her.

  “Yeah, no problem,” she replied.

  “Can we get a lift home too?” said Caleb, gesturing from himself to Kevin and Jason.

  “Where are your cars?”

  “We left them at home because we were at the pub when we heard about Dillon.”

  “Fine,” she sighed.

  Faith dropped Jason and Kevin off at the family home first.

  “Are you all coming in for a brew?” Kevin asked them.

  “No thanks,” replied Faith. “I just want to get home.”

  “It’s not even eight o’clock. You’ve got time for a quick brew. You haven’t been round in ages.”

  “I’ll come in for one,” said Caleb.

  “Cheers,” said Kevin. His pleading eyes were turned on Faith and Vance.

  “Fine,” sighed Faith, turning off the engine. “Just a quick brew.”

  “Great,” he grinned.

  As they got out of the car, Faith and Vance glanced at each other, not looking forward to this. Their mother Rose was the only one who knew about their relationship and had tried to convince them several times to give it up before anyone found out. Both had refused and Rose had finally given up trying but it had damaged their relationship with their mother. Faith thought Rose was only so concerned because if it ever came out about their relationship then everyone would know that she’d been complicit in the abduction of Faith from her real family when she was a baby. Only Vance and Rose knew Faith was a cuckoo in the nest. The rest of the family didn’t have a clue.

  The moment Caleb stepped through the door, Monty, Abi’s googly-eyed chihuahua, rushed to greet him and attempted to mount his leg.

  “Urgh, get off,” he said, shaking his left leg until Monty was forced to release him.

  The little dog ran back into the living room and sat in the middle of the floor, regarding Caleb lustfully.

  “He’s really missing your legs,” commented Jason. “He’s been humping all the furniture like mad since you moved out.”

  “W
hy isn’t he at Abi’s flat?” said Vance.

  Abi had moved in with her boyfriend Michael two months ago. Kevin and Jason were the last of the siblings still living with their mother.

  “Because she and Michael have gone away for the night,” said Kevin. “Monty gets nervous if he’s left on his own and pees everywhere.”

  “So Mum’s a dog babysitter now?” said Vance with a raised eyebrow.

  “I can understand why he gets nervous,” said Caleb. “It’s hard going from living in a house full of people to being on your own.” He looked down at the floor when they all regarded him questioningly.

  “Are you having a hard time living on your own?” Kevin asked him with a slow grin. “Do you get scared at night? Do you leave the light on to ward off the bogeyman?”

  “Shut it Kev,” he glowered.

  “Hello boys,” beamed Rose when she saw all her sons gathered together in the small living room. “And Faith,” she added, smile faltering. “How lovely to see you. The family all being together is becoming rarer,” she said, accusing gaze settling on Faith.

  “Because we’re so busy,” she countered.

  “I know dear but it’s important to make time for family.” Rose looked away as Faith’s dark eyes bored into her, the only pair of dark eyes among them all.

  “Michael’s taken Abi out for a romantic night at a hotel,” said Rose, breaking the awkward moment.

  “Why do they want to fork out for a hotel when they live together?” frowned Jason.

  “To keep the romance alive.”

  “Sounds like a waste of money to me,” he sniffed.

  “Just because the most you’ve ever bought a date is a gin and tonic and a pie,” Caleb told him. “Doesn’t mean everyone else is the same.”

  “Are you planning on taking Lil away for a dirty weekend?” grinned Jason.

  “No,” sighed Caleb. “She doesn’t like leaving the pub.”

  “You mean she only wants you for one thing and when that’s done she loses interest.”

  “Do you want a smack in the mouth?” thundered Caleb, causing Monty to hide under the coffee table.

  “All right, take it easy,” Vance told him, patting his shoulder.

  Caleb nodded angrily. His long-term fling with their local landlady twenty years his senior was a sensitive subject. He was head-over-heels in love with her but she didn’t like to get involved with a man for longer than a post-coital cigarette.

  “Michael’s definitely a keeper,” said Rose. “None of Abi’s relationships have lasted this long before.”

  “They do seem to be very much in love,” said Faith.

  “I don’t know how he puts up with her,” said Kevin.

  “Who wants a cup of tea?” said Rose.

  “I’d rather have a lager,” replied Jason.

  “Me too,” said Kevin.

  “I’ll stick to tea,” said Caleb, Vance and Faith nodding in agreement.

  The siblings ranged around the plush brand new sofas that were so large they took up most of the room. Faith thought it sad that she and Vance always chose to sit as far apart as possible. Had they been a normal couple they could have sat together, arms around each other or holding hands. She envied other couples their freedom to express their feelings publicly for each other. She was willing to bet none of them appreciated that freedom.

  “So, what have you been up to?” Rose asked her children once they all had their drinks. “Have you been out somewhere together?”

  “Just to the club,” replied Vance.

  “Any special reason?”

  “No. Just work.”

  Rose was aware what sort of business her children were involved in. As her husband had been involved in a similar sort of business for their entire married life, albeit nowhere near as successful, it failed to bother her. All their family’s money, from the very day she’d married Wilf Chambers, had come from criminal activity but what her children were now into was very heavy duty and it scared her. Already their lives had been threatened and Faith had almost been killed. The Chambers family was now highly respected around town but there were people jealous of what they had and would try to take it, as had happened to their employers countless times, who had been forced to use frightening levels of savagery to defend themselves and what was theirs. Rose did not want that fate for her children. Now Abi was working with her siblings all her children were caught up in the criminal world. Not one of them would have a decent, legitimate life. They were all in too deep.

  “Don’t give me that,” replied Rose. “Something’s wrong. You all look so tense and don’t tell me I’m imagining it. I know when my children are upset, a mother feels these things.”

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about Mum,” said Caleb. “Honestly.”

  “I hope to God you’re right,” she said, hand going to the small silver cross she always wore around her neck.

  “I am,” he replied, forcing a smile.

  Rose knew he was only trying to spare her feelings but she didn’t push it. If she discovered the truth she would lie awake all night worrying and she’d already done enough of that. She looked from Faith to Vance, who were glancing at each other even though they were sat at opposite sides of the room. They seemed to find it very difficult to keep their eyes off each other. It was a wonder to Rose that no one else had noticed but then again, she was the only one who knew their filthy secret, apart from Rose’s ex-friend, Carol Kirwan, mother of Vance’s arch-rival in prison. Carol and her son Alfie had guessed the truth of Faith and Vance’s relationship after observing them together during visiting time at the prison. Rose herself had ensured that neither of them would ever speak about it again but the fear was always at the back of her mind that one day Carol or Alfie would let something slip. The day Alfie was released from prison was the day her hold over them both disintegrated. She consoled herself with the fact that there was no proof of her children’s incest. Technically it wasn’t incest as they weren’t related but no one would see it that way. She couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that one day their family’s skeletons would be dragged out of the closet for all to see and judge.

  “Mum, you okay?” said Jason.

  She jumped out of her reverie, smiled and patted his scarred cheek. He liked to tell the ladies he’d got that scar in a knife fight when in truth he’d done it to himself opening a tin of corned beef.

  “I’m fine sweetheart,” said Rose. “I just drifted into my own world there.”

  “You really don’t need to worry about us. Everything’s fine, honest.”

  “I believe you,” she said sweetly.

  Rose glanced at Faith, who looked back at her coldly. It pained her to know that, if it came down to it, Vance would choose Faith over her, his own mother. Something else she feared was that one day he would have to make that choice and her family would be torn apart.

  Faith drained her cup of tea in record time, scalding her mouth a little in her eagerness to escape Rose’s presence. She plonked her mug down on the coffee table and got to her feet. “Right, I’m off home. I’m knackered.”

  “Already?” said Rose. “You just got here.”

  “It’s getting late and I need an early night.”

  Rose’s sharp blue eyes flicked to Vance, knowing Faith’s early night would involve him.

  “I’ll come too,” he said, also getting to his feet.

  “And me,” said Caleb.

  “Why don’t you all come round for tea tomorrow?” said Rose. “I’d planned on cooking a big roast, there’ll be plenty for everyone. Faith, I’ve got some tofu for you.”

  “Rather her than me,” grinned Kevin.

  “What time Mum?” said Caleb.

  “Half five.”

  “We’ll be here,” he said, replying for them all. “See you tomorrow then.”

  “Bye dears,” called Rose as her three older children left. When they’d gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes she wished Vance was back in priso
n and Faith was still in Scotland. Life had been a lot simpler then.

  “What’s wrong?” said Vance when Faith hesitated by her car, keys in hand, looking up and down the street.

  “It felt like someone was watching me,” she replied.

  Caleb and Vance whipped round, looking in opposite directions but the street appeared to be empty.

  “We’ll check it out,” said Vance. “Wait here Faith.”

  “What? No, I…”

  They jogged off in opposite directions, leaving her standing in the middle of the darkened street, watching them vanish into the shadows. As it was a chilly autumn night, the cold soon started to seep through her thin jacket. She wrapped her arms around herself and stomped her feet in an effort to keep warm. It was tempting to get in the car but she felt she would be abandoning them. The feeling of being watched had passed. No doubt it was her imagination. That was what she wanted to believe anyway. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt like this lately.

  A couple of minutes later they both jogged back.

  “Well?” she asked them.

  They shook their heads.

  “Then I imagined it,” she said. “Let’s go, I’m freezing.”

  The three of them hopped into the car, Faith and Vance up front, Caleb in the back.

  “This isn’t the first time you’ve thought someone was watching you,” Vance told her as she started the engine and turned the heater up to maximum. “In fact, it seems to be becoming a regular occurrence.”

  “It’s probably after Marlow snuck up behind me in the street and stabbed me.” She sounded matter-of-fact but the memory never failed to make her feel sick. She’d had no idea he was even there until the blade had been plunged into her back.

  Vance noticed her hands shake slightly as she started the engine and pulled away from the kerb. “I’m unwilling to dismiss this so easily. I want to be sure someone isn’t stalking you.”

  She stifled the shiver the word stalking breathed down her spine. “I am not being stalked. When you’re being stalked you know about it.”

  “Not necessarily. You were a soldier Faith, you’ve been trained to be observant and I think your instincts are telling you something’s wrong.”

  “Vance is right,” said Caleb. “We should look into this deeper.”