The Creator

by Neil Carstairs

  Devon jumped as the doorbell rang. Big Ben’s chimes echoed round the house. She took a nervous breath as Connor patted her on the back. ‘It’ll be okay,’ he said.

  She nodded again and walked to the front door. They clustered together. Three women in power suits and two cops in high-visibility jackets. As if they expected some kind of threat to be facing them. Not a five foot three inch twenty-four-year-old who weighed six stone soaking wet.

  ‘Hello, Devon.’ Sally Smith gave her a bright smile and gestured to her companions. ‘These are the people I spoke about during our phone call. Lydia and Carla are from Children’s Services and the Education Department. We’re here to talk about Connor’s absences from school and how we can best address his future education needs.’

  ‘You mean take him away from me.’

  ‘No.’ Sally hesitated as the one called Lydia held up a hand. ‘Well perhaps only in the short term. We need to find out how he progresses in a more stable environment.’

  Devon could have ripped the bitch’s eyes out. The cow had lied whenever they met. Now the truth was coming out. ‘What are they doing here?’ Devon pointed at the police.

  ‘Situations like this can sometimes get out of hand,’ Lydia said. ‘They are here as much to protect you as us.’

  ‘Really?’ Devon loaded the word with sarcasm.

  ‘Devon,’ the cop she knew said from the back of the group. ‘Let’s start with the easy thing. Is Connor here?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Can we at least see him?’

  Connor had told her not to rile the cops, so she nodded, half closed the door and called his name. Connor came to stand beside her. He stared at the people on the doorstep.

  ‘Hello, Connor,’ Lydia said like she was his best friend even though she had never met him in person. She only knew him through the hundreds of pages of social services reports she had speed read in the last two days.

  ‘So you’ve seen him,’ Devon said. ‘He’s good, okay. Nothing for you folks to worry about.’

  ‘Well his absences from school are our concern.’ Carla spoke for the first time.

  ‘Connor’s good,’ Devon said. ‘He ain’t backward. He can do the same work as a sixteen-year-old if he wanted.’

  ‘I know.’ Carla smiled at Connor. ‘But that makes it even more important that he gets the education a gifted child deserves. He may be ahead of his peer group but school is still important.’

  Devon felt Connor’s hand touch hers. She glanced at him and saw him give her a faint nod. ‘Do I get to see him?’ she asked.

  ‘You’re his mother,’ Sally said with relief. ‘Of course you will.’

  ‘One of you can come in while I pack his bag,’ Devon said.

  Sally seemed so pleased Devon had agreed to let them take Connor into their care that she volunteered immediately. The others relaxed. They stayed close to the front door, already thinking about the next visit of the day. Lydia and Carla had mobile phones out. The two police officers leant against the front wall of the house and talked about the previous night’s football. Devon closed the door and Connor led Sally into the living room with its damp, cold air. The handouts Devon got barely paid for food and clothing for Connor let alone warmth for the house. The old-fashioned fireplace had been sealed up years ago but the mantelpiece still surrounded it and Connor walked over to the stone feature as Sally said, ‘We already have a foster family lined up for Connor. They have a boy his age so he will have someone he can talk to.’

  Devon nodded. She avoided Sally’s eyes. She knew what was coming next. In some way she wished it had been one of the others who had come in. She didn’t know them and wouldn’t have felt so guilty as Connor turned around and said, ‘I’m sorry.’

  He hit Sally across the side of the head with the cosh. Sally’s eyes widened in surprise and her mouth opened as if to speak before she crumpled to the floor. Devon almost wet herself in fright. It looked like Sally had died until Connor knelt next to her and said, ‘She’s breathing. Help me turn her over so she don’t choke.’

  Sally didn’t make a good advert for healthy living but the two of them turned her so she was halfway face down. Connor took his mother’s hand and said, ‘Let’s go.’

  They grabbed the bag from the kitchen and made their way out through the back door. They ran across a back garden made up of a ragged lawn and concrete and out through a decayed back gate. Locals had filled the alley that ran down the rear of the street with the kind of waste that brought rats into houses. Devon and Connor hurried away from their house. At the end of the alley they turned left. Devon let Connor lead. He knew what to do and she knew to trust him. They walked quickly. The bag she had slung over her shoulder bumped against her back with a regular beat. It reminded Devon of the whack that Connor had given Sally. He had said it was unavoidable. And she kind of half believed him but now it was done she had no way back. If they caught her now she would go to a police cell and Connor would disappear into care. A morose grey sky sprinkled rain onto them. Devon realised they had left their coats behind. Too late to get them now.

  ‘Where’re we going?’ she asked.

  ‘We’re here.’

  They’d stopped outside the Sunset Club. Devon frowned. The doors were open and two men lounged in the reception area. She knew both of them from school and afterwards. Only Sunset Boys would be in the club at this time of day and seeing the two men told her all she needed to know about them. ‘Connor,’ she whispered to get his attention.

  The boy ignored his mother and stepped into the club. He said, ‘I need to see Ty Deakin.’

  Devon felt her nerves get the better of her. She either stood out on the street and made herself an easy spot for patrolling cops or went inside. The two guards looked at Connor like he was an alien species.

  ‘What you say?’ One of them stood. He topped six foot six and had a weightlifter’s build.

  ‘I said I need to see Ty Deakin. Tell him Connor Shaw is here with his mother.’

  ‘He ain’t gonna want to see either of you,’ Weightlifter said.

  ‘Just tell him,’ Connor said.

  For a moment Devon thought the guard would hit Connor until he laughed and told his companion to give Ty a call. They waited in silence. The guards eyed Devon like they thought she was on the game. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Ty Deakin was another name from her past. He’d been two years ahead of her in school. Now he ranked number two or three in the Sunset Boys. He’d done a couple of stretches in prison, and knowing the history of Sunset Boys would either be dead or doing twenty years by the time he reached thirty.

  Ty came through into reception, nodded to the guards and said to Connor, ‘Come on through.’

  Devon followed her son. Unsure about everything after this welcome. The guards seemed surprised too. Ty led them across the bar to an office. He shut the door behind them and waved Connor and Devon to a couple of ratty old swivel chairs. He plonked himself down behind a desk. He put his feet up on the desk so Devon got a view of the soles of his Converse trainers.

  ‘So you need the ride then?’ Ty said

  Connor nodded. ‘We want to go to Snow Hill Station.’

  ‘And the deal’s on?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Connor said with a trace of uncertainty and a guilty look at his mother.

  ‘What deal?’ Devon snapped.

  Ty laughed. ‘He ain’t told you?’

  ‘No.’ She put her hands on her hips and glared at her son. ‘What have you been doing Connor Shaw?’

  ‘I knew we’d need to get across the city in a hurry. Ty seemed to be the best choice.’

  ‘Best?’ her voice rose. ‘Ty Deakin ain’t no choice at all.’

  ‘Watch what you’re saying, girl.’ Ty pointed at her. ‘You’re a guest here.’

  Devon bit back the next words and said to Connor, ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Ty agreed to give us a ride to Snow Hill in return for something.’

  ‘What?’ From the corne
r of her eye, Devon could see Ty grinning. She shot him an evil glance while her son looked down at the floor.

  ‘He promised me a date with you,’ Ty said.

  Devon’s jaw dropped open. ‘A date? With him?’

  Conor nodded. Devon tried to think of something to say. Before she could Ty spoke again. ‘Best agree or you’ll be walking and from what Connor told me you are in trouble with the law.’

  It wasn’t that Devon didn’t think Ty was ugly or anything. As a teenager she’d had a crush on him before he’d got sucked into all the gang shit. Now she’d rather date an orangutan than Ty Deakin.

  Connor said, ‘It’s only one date.’

  ‘And I’ll take you into the city,’ Ty said. ‘Show you the best restaurant and clubs. Hell, you might even enjoy yourself.’

  ‘What were you thinking?’ Devon ignored Ty and spoke to Connor.

  ‘Leave the boy alone,’ Ty said. ‘We haggled and he offered me something I wanted.’

  ‘You just shut your mouth,’ Devon snapped. ‘You both act like I’m some piece of meat to be traded off.’

  ‘Girl, you’re no piece of meat,’ Ty put his feet on the floor and leant forward on the desk. ‘If you were a car you’d be a Ferrari.’

  Devon’s eyebrows rose. ‘I’d be what?’

  ‘A Ferrari.’ Ty tried a smile on her.

  ‘Yeah, well you’d be a…a…’ she couldn’t think of any crap cars so Connor said,

  ‘A Skoda.’

  ‘Yeah. A Skoda.’

  ‘Nah, I’m a BMW,’ Ty said, sitting back. ‘Anyway, I’ve always admired you, Devon. Even when you got knocked up I thought you were damned fit. So here you are, and here I am. Your kid is okay. I promise I won’t screw him up. You put on your best rags and I’ll give you a night to remember.’

  Devon could see Connor willing her to say yes. He must have arranged this for a reason, though God only knew why. With a shake of her head at her son Devon said, ‘One night. And don’t even think it gives you any rights to extras. You know what I mean?’

  Ty grinned. ‘No need to worry about me. I put the gentle in gentleman.’

  Devon snorted. ‘That I don’t believe.’

  ‘Whatever.’ Ty stood, grabbing a bunch of keys from the desk. ‘I get you to the station. You get the train and when you get back I get my date.’

  Devon stood as well. She bit back another retort as Connor caught her eye. Time to keep quiet. Taking her son by the hand she dragged him out of the office in the wake of a strutting Ty. They went out of the rear entrance into a narrow car park where a gleaming BMW 5 Series waited for Ty to unlock with his remote. ‘Your carriage awaits,’ he said in the best upper-class accent he could manage.

  Despite what she thought of Ty, the car impressed Devon. The interior smelt of leather and the seats were as plush as anything she had ever sat upon. She struggled to keep her face straight as Ty reversed out of the parking space and drove out into the narrow service road.

  ‘How long you owned this car?’ she asked.

  ‘Eight months. Paid cash.’

  Devon felt like royalty as they drove along Witton Road. She had to remind herself not to get used to this. She knew Ty wanted to impress her and right now he had got some success.

  He reached out and patted her thigh. ‘You look good sitting there, Devon Shaw. I reckon you could make a man think about settling down and getting a proper job.’

  Devon shivered. ‘I told you to keep your hands to yourself.’

  ‘No offence, just thinking out loud.’

  ‘Yeah, well keep them lips sealed from now on.’ Devon turned to look at her son on the back seat. ‘You okay Connor?’

  ‘Fine, Mum,’ he said.

  They made the rest of the journey in silence. The traffic ran smoothly enough out of rush hour for Ty get them to the station. He found a spot to pull up on the street down from the station.

  ‘Any problems, you give me a call.’

  ‘Sure,’ Connor said from the back.

  ‘And how long will you be gone again?’

  ‘About a week.’

  Devon shivered as Ty gave her another once over. He tried another line to impress her which she dismissed with a look over her shoulder. She saw Connor reach into his pocket. The boy hadn’t dropped the cosh when he whacked Sally. Ty had a street-smart sixth sense about trouble so Connor had to move fast. Devon flinched as he hit Ty on the temple, enough to push the older man’s head into the driver’s side window. Ty grunted. He looked at Connor with a half-dazed expression that began to turn to anger. Connor leant through the space between the front seats and hit him harder the second time. Devon saw Ty’s eyes roll up into his head, the whites a sickening sight before his lids flickered shut.

  ‘Oh, my God,’ Devon shouted as Ty slid down in his seat.

  ‘I had to do it,’ Connor said.

  ‘I’m getting out.’ Devon scrabbled for the door handle when Connor reached through and grabbed her shoulder.

  ‘Wait,’ he said.

  ‘Connor, he might come round any minute.’

  ‘If he does I’ll hit him again,’ Connor said.

  Devon twisted round to stare at her son in shock. ‘What did you say? Connor Shaw, I didn’t raise you to turn into some kind of hoodlum.’

  ‘I know.’ Connor sat back. ‘But he deserved it the way he was looking at you.’

  ‘And who’s fault’s that?’ Devon asked. ‘Yours for making a deal with him.’

  ‘I dealt with Ty because even if the police ask him he’ll never help them by saying he gave us a lift. We need to get out of Birmingham in secret.’

  ‘And go where? The only place I’ve ever known is this city. My family’s here. My friends are here. Where do you expect us to go?’

  ‘London,’ Connor said, and before Devon could say anything he added, ‘and then America.’

  For once Devon was silent, staring open-mouthed at her son until she managed to say. ‘America? How will we get there? Neither of us have passports.’

  ‘There’s ways. But first, we need money to get to London. Check to see if Ty has anything on him.’

  ‘I ain’t touching him,’ Devon said. ‘He might wake up.’

  ‘You’ve got to.’

  Devon wrinkled her face into a look of distaste as she probed Ty’s clothing. She found two rolls of banknotes tucked into an inside pocket of his jacket. She had no idea how much was there, hundreds of pounds at least.

  ‘Let’s go.’ Connor opened the back door, leaving the cosh in the footwell.

  Devon joined him next to the BMW. A glance inside showed Ty slumped down in the driver’s seat. At a glance, he seemed to be asleep. She crossed her fingers that anybody passing by would think the same.

  ‘Now what?’ Devon asked.

  ‘We walk to New Street Station.’ Connor led his mother away from the BMW.

  Devon trotted after him. She still didn’t understand what was going on. As they crossed Colmore Row and headed into the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral.

  ‘Why do we have to go to America?’

  Connor stopped. He looked up at the Cathedral tower. He hesitated, as if unsure that he should tell her. Coming to a decision he looked at Devon and said, ‘There’s a girl called Emily. We need to save her life.’

  ***

  Devon bought train tickets to London with the money they had taken from Ty. They had twenty minutes to wait. She spent most of that time looking from the timetable display to the clock. Each second lasted a minute and each minute an hour. Police patrolled the station and platforms. Every time one walked near she expected to be challenged. First, there was the assault on Sally and then the assault on Ty. She doubted the police would be much bothered about Ty but Sally was a different matter.

  ‘Relax, Mum,’ Connor said, patting her leg. ‘Our train’s coming in now. We’ll be fine.’

  ‘Will we?’ she twisted to look at him. ‘It’s a long way to London, and what exactly are we going to do when we get th
ere?’

  ‘Look for someone,’ Connor said.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘I’ll know when we get there.’

  That didn’t fill Devon with much confidence. Buying the tickets had wiped out most of the money she had stolen from Ty. The guy in the ticket office had said she should have bought them in advance. But how could she do that if she hadn’t known they would be heading for London until half an hour earlier? She felt a little better as they got onto the train. She didn’t feel as exposed in the carriage as she had on the platform and the tickets gave her permission to be on board.

  The train pulled out a few minutes later and allowed Devon to relax properly. Connor dug into their bag and pulled out his book. Devon had nothing else to do but watch inner city Birmingham drift by as the train picked up speed. She’d lived here all her life and at varying stages had either loved it or hated it. Right now she was glad to be leaving. She just hoped, with a quick glance at Connor, that they could stay away from the police long enough for Connor to work out what they would do in London.

  Devon hadn’t realised it at the time of booking but they had been lucky and caught one of the express trains to London. The journey time just one hour twenty minutes against the two-and-a-half-hour length of the other train. They reached Euston Station in London just after lunch. Even though she found herself in a strange city with nowhere to stay and a child to look after, Devon felt strangely relaxed as they left the station. They passed by the statue of Robert Stephenson, who Devon might have known if she’d listened during history lessons at school, and a bunch of picnic benches before Connor stopped.

  ‘Where are we going next?’ Devon asked.

  ‘I’m not sure.’ Connor turned, his face slightly raised like a dog sniffing the air. Devon waited for a minute until Connor said, ‘This way.’