Broke

by Mandasue Heller

  But no . . .

  Like every other pretty girl he’d tried to be nice to in the past, Amy had chucked his kindness back at him and spat in his face.

  ‘That’s what you get for aiming too high, you spazzy little mutt.’

  ‘Fuck you!’ Yates muttered, gritting his teeth when his mother’s voice piped up in his head.

  ‘Fuck you back,’ she sneered. ‘All you’ll ever get is a mong what no one else wants. You’ll be lucky if a prozzie opens her legs for ya, never mind a proper woman. You wanna go down the mental hospital and find yourself a retard, ’cos that’s all you’re fit for . . .’

  Yates leapt up from his seat and paced the room. He’d heard those words a million times throughout his childhood, and if anyone else had taunted him like that he’d have cut them to pieces. But she was his ma, so he’d taken his anger out on his schoolmates instead. And his teachers, and neighbours and coppers . . . Anyone, in fact, who got in his face and tried to make him feel as small as his ma had made him feel.

  And now Amy had picked up the flaming stick that his ma had dropped when she died, and she’d been burning the fuck out of him with it ever since. Verbal abuse was water off a duck’s back to a man like him, who didn’t give a flying fuck what people thought of him. But when someone he’d been nice to looked at him the way Amy frequently had, it formed scars on his heart; scars that bled and wept and demanded vengeance.

  He needed to hurt someone.

  Since all this shit had been going on with Amy, Marnie and the baby, he’d been letting things slide, and a few of his debtors had obviously taken it as a sign that he wasn’t arsed if they were late with their repayments. But he was done with being mugged off. It was time to show the fuckers what was what.

  He’d switched his phone off after leaving Marnie’s, but he yanked it out of his pocket now and switched it back on to ring Keith and tell him to get ready to do some business. There were ten missed calls, and several messages. Assuming them all to be from Marnie, Yates was about to dismiss them, but he hesitated when he saw that one of the missed calls was from somebody he hadn’t expected to hear from. Eyes narrowed, he forgot all about Keith and rang the number back.

  Ten minutes later, Jenny had just shown the dressmaker out and was making her way back up the stairs to punish Cassie for her disobedience when a knock came at the front door. Irritated to have been disturbed, she trotted back down the stairs, fully expecting it to be the dressmaker having forgotten something. Face paling when she saw who was standing on the step, she glanced nervously out at the road beyond.

  ‘What are you doing here? Mark could be back any minute.’

  ‘And?’ said Yates, walking in uninvited.

  ‘You can’t come in,’ Jenny protested as he started making his way up the stairs. ‘Please, Uncle Lenny, you promised not to come round here again without calling first. If Mark finds out, he’ll call off the wedding.’

  ‘No, he won’t,’ Yates called back over his shoulder. ‘Not if he knows what’s good for him.’

  He walked into the living room now, and smiled when he saw Cassie sitting as stiff as a board on the edge of the couch.

  ‘There’s my girl. Come and give your Uncle Lenny a kiss.’

  Cassie gazed nervously up at Jenny who had just followed him in. Jenny nodded and flapped her hand, muttering, ‘Hurry up before your dad gets back.’

  Cassie reluctantly went to Yates. He’d called round a few times since they had been living here, always when her daddy was out, and Jenny had warned her in no uncertain terms what would happen if she ever mentioned his visits. He always made Cassie kiss him and sit on his knee, which she didn’t like because he was ugly and his breath smelled horrible. And he made her feel funny inside – in a really, really bad way. But she was too scared to disobey, so she quickly kissed him now and then scuttled back to her seat.

  ‘You’ve got to go,’ Jenny insisted. ‘Mark only went out for fags, and I don’t know anything more than I’ve already told you.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me the address,’ said Yates, sitting beside Cassie and patting his knee.

  ‘I don’t know it,’ said Jenny, frowning when Cassie reluctantly moved onto his lap. ‘He moved out of his flat a couple of months ago, and I haven’t been invited to the new house yet. I’m sure you’ll find him if you ask around, but you’ve got to go.’

  ‘Not until I get what I came for,’ said Yates. ‘And if you can’t tell me, I’ll just wait and get it off your man instead.’

  An icy hand gripped Jenny’s stomach. ‘You can’t ask Mark. He’ll know I told you.’

  ‘Not my problem.’ Yates shrugged. ‘We had a deal, but it seems to me the only one who’s benefitted so far is you. You said you’d find out where she is, but you ain’t even bothered looking, have you?’

  ‘No one’s heard from her before today or I’d have told you,’ Jenny argued. ‘I rang as soon as I heard she’d been talking to Steve – what more could I do?’ She bit her lip nervously now and glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘Look, why don’t you go home? As soon as Mark gets back, I’ll get Steve’s address off him and text it to you.’

  Yates curled his lip and shook his head. ‘Nah. I’ll wait.’

  ‘You’d better not hurt him,’ Jenny said quietly. ‘I mean it, Uncle Lenny. This is all I’ve ever wanted, and I won’t let you ruin it.’

  Yates laughed softly and turned his attention to the little girl on his knee. ‘So, how’s my little princess?’ he crooned, stroking her long hair. ‘Missed me, have you?’

  Cassie flinched and gazed down at her hands. Jenny was nervous about her daddy coming home and finding Uncle Lenny here, and Cassie didn’t want to get into trouble if she was caught sitting on his knee. She wished Bobby would wake up. Jenny hated having to look after him, so if he woke up she would send Cassie into the bedroom to keep him quiet. But he always slept for a long, long time when Jenny gave him his special medicine, so he probably wouldn’t.

  Yates spotted something on the back of Cassie’s arm and narrowed his eyes. ‘Did you do this?’ he demanded, glaring up at his niece.

  ‘What?’ Jenny frowned. Then, blushing guiltily when she saw the line of fingertip-sized bruises she’d left behind after dragging the child into the bedroom the previous night, she folded her arms defensively. ‘I didn’t do it on purpose, if that’s what you mean. She was having a tantrum and I was trying to calm her down.’

  ‘You’d best not be lying,’ Yates warned quietly. ‘If I find out you’ve been battering her . . .’

  ‘Course I haven’t,’ Jenny lied. ‘But what do you care, anyway? You messed about with me when I was her age, so why should she be any different? Or are you trying to say she’s more special than me?’

  A slow grin spread across Yates’s face. ‘You always was a jealous little fucker. Ain’t changed much, have you?’

  Annoyed that he was taking the piss out of her, Jenny’s eyes flashed with anger. ‘Look, you’ve got to go,’ she repeated firmly. ‘I’ll talk to Mark when he gets home, but if he finds you’ve been here and finishes with me I’ll never forgive you. And before you start threatening me, just remember that I know enough to get you put away for life.’

  Caught in the middle when the adults locked stares above her head, Cassie held her breath as the animosity pressed down on her like a physical blanket. She was relieved when Yates broke the stare after several agonising moments and chuckled softly, but fear coursed through her when he put a tight arm around her waist and stood up.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Jenny gasped, bravado gone in a flash when he started walking towards the door. ‘You can’t take her. What will I tell Mark?’

  ‘About what?’ Mark asked, walking in just then. It had started raining while he was out, and he was too busy shaking his wet hair to see who Jenny was talking to when he first entered the room. But when he looked up and saw Yates, his face drained of colour. ‘W-why are you here? I thought you said we were straight?’

  �
��Daddy!’ Cassie squealed, reaching out her arms for him to rescue her.

  But Mark didn’t move; he was too busy staring at Yates.

  ‘Ask your woman.’ Yates nodded towards Jenny as he tightened his grip on the struggling child.

  ‘He just wants to know where Amy is,’ Jenny spluttered, wringing her hands when Mark turned to her. ‘Just tell him, then he’ll go.’

  ‘I don’t know where she is,’ Mark said truthfully. ‘I haven’t heard from her in months.’

  ‘No, but your mate Steve has,’ said Yates.

  ‘He called while you were out,’ Jenny explained, her cheeks flaming when Mark looked at her again. ‘He said he’d been talking to Amy and wanted to speak to you about it.’

  A deep frown of confusion drew Mark’s eyebrows together. But when realisation suddenly flared in his eyes and he gave Jenny an accusing stare, Yates grinned, and said, ‘Give the monkey a nut. Now, enough of the yadda-yadda. Give us your mate’s address and I’ll leave youse to it. Oh, and just in case you get any bright ideas about warning him I’m on my way, I’ll be taking the little one along for the ride.’

  Mark felt as if the wind had been kicked out of him, and the room went into a spin. ‘You can’t,’ he croaked. ‘She’s only little. She’ll be scared.’

  ‘Oh, don’t you worry, Cassie knows her Uncle Lenny will look after her – don’t you, darlin’? We’re good pals, me and you, aren’t we?’

  ‘I’ll take you,’ Mark blurted out, desperate to get his daughter away from the man. ‘Just leave Cass here with Jenny.’

  ‘Nah, I don’t think so.’ Yates shook his head. ‘I’m sick of being given the runaround, but this should fetch her out of hiding.’

  ‘Look, whatever’s going on with you and Amy it’s got nothing to do with me,’ Mark argued. ‘Anyhow, she hasn’t bothered with the kids in months, so she’s not gonna care about them now, is she?’

  ‘We’ll soon find out, won’t we?’ said Yates. ‘Address?’

  Mark’s breath felt harsh in his chest. Cassie was crying hysterically by now, and he was ashamed of himself for being so weak. Inhaling deeply for courage, he said, ‘I’m not telling you anything until you put Cassie down. You can do what you want to me, but I won’t let you hurt her.’

  Yates gave an amused snort. ‘Bit late in the day to come the big man, don’t you think?’

  ‘That’s the deal.’ Mark stood his ground. ‘Put her down, and I’ll tell you where Steve lives.’

  ‘How’s about I don’t put her down, and you tell me anyway,’ said Yates, pulling the gun out of his pocket and pressing the tip of the barrel against Cassie’s temple.

  When she started screaming, a thudding sound came up through the floor, and the old man who lived below shouted: ‘Stop all that noise or I’m calling the police! Do you hear me? I’m calling the police!’

  ‘Uncle Lenny, just go,’ Jenny implored. ‘Please! You’re just going to get us all into trouble.’

  Yates threw a hand over Cassie’s mouth to silence her and looked at Mark. ‘Right, I’m off. But she’s coming with me, and if you want her back in one piece you’d best tell your mate to send Amy to me.’

  ‘Where will you be?’ Mark asked sickly.

  ‘She’ll know,’ said Yates. ‘And don’t get any funny ideas about coming with her, ’cos if you, your mate or the pigs come anywhere near, the kid gets it. You’ve been warned.’

  He carried Cassie out of the room now and down the stairs. When the front door slammed shut behind him, Mark turned on Jenny.

  ‘Why the fuck did you tell him about Steve’s call?’

  ‘I had to,’ Jenny spluttered, clutching at his arm. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t hurt Cass. He just wants to bring Amy out of hiding.’

  ‘Get off!’ Mark snatched his arm away. ‘This is your fault!’

  ‘Just ring Steve and tell him what Lenny wants,’ said Jenny. ‘Then he’ll give Cassie back and we can go back to normal.’

  ‘Are you mad?’ Mark seized her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. ‘He held a gun to my daughter’s head!’

  ‘Stop it, you’re scaring me,’ Jenny protested, tears springing into her eyes. ‘I love you – I’d never let him hurt you.’

  Her words pierced the haze of rage and confusion in Mark’s mind, and he took a step back. She wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about Cassie, all she was bothered about was him. And something else was niggling at him, too.

  ‘You called him uncle,’ he said as his jumbled thoughts began to slot into place. ‘But back at the start, you said he was just a family friend and I wasn’t to tell him you sent me to him. What’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Jenny snivelled. ‘It’s not like we’re close, or anything. He – he just helps me out every now and then. And he promised he wouldn’t hurt you, as long as I kept you away from her.’

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Mark stared at her in disbelief and disgust. ‘You must have had it planned all along. You sent me to him, knowing what he’d do if I messed up. I bet you even told him to beat the shit out of me so I’d leave Amy and move in with you.’

  ‘Of course I didn’t,’ Jenny protested. ‘I wasn’t to know you’d mess up your repayments.’

  ‘You’d have had a fair idea,’ countered Mark. ‘You knew I was a fuck-up where money was concerned, so it was only a matter of time. Jeezus, I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid.’

  ‘This isn’t my fault,’ Jenny cried, reaching for his hand. ‘All I’ve ever done is try to help you. Amy was never right for you, and if you’d been with me in the first place, none of this would have happened. I’ve loved you all my life. We were meant to be together.’

  ‘Get away from me, you freak!’ Mark pushed her away roughly.

  ‘I know you’re angry,’ said Jenny, desperately trying to calm things down. ‘But it’ll all blow over once he’s seen Amy, I promise. And if you’re worried about Cassie, I’ll talk to him, make him bring her home. He’ll listen to me.’

  ‘If he touches one hair on her head, I’ll kill you,’ Mark said icily. Then, turning, he marched towards the door.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Jenny cried, running after him. ‘You can’t go to her! I won’t let you.’

  ‘Get out of my way before I do something I regret,’ Mark warned when she positioned herself between him and the door to prevent him from leaving.

  ‘What about Bobby?’ said Jenny. ‘You can’t just go out and leave him.’

  ‘He’s asleep,’ Mark reminded her. ‘And considering what you’ve done, the least you can do is watch him till I get back. But I won’t be stopping when I do,’ he added coldly. ‘So don’t bother acting like everything’s all right, ’cos it ain’t.’

  He threw her aside now, and stormed out.

  36

  Amy hadn’t seen Mark since that awful day at the court months earlier when he’d been granted provisional custody of the kids, so when he walked into Steve and Layla’s front room now her heart skipped several beats. He was as handsome as ever, but she could see from the dark shadows beneath his eyes that full-time parenting hadn’t been a breeze. He had only been doing what she’d had to do on her own before he took them away from her, but she hoped it hadn’t been as hard on the kids as it had apparently been on him.

  ‘Got my message, then, did you?’ Steve said, waving for him to sit down. ‘Sorry it was so vague, but I didn’t want to say too much in case Jenny picked it up.’

  ‘She did,’ said Mark, staying on his feet. ‘And it’s kicked off good style.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Amy murmured, misunderstanding him. ‘I didn’t mean to cause trouble between you, I just wanted to make sure the kids were okay. There’s things going on that you don’t—’

  ‘He’s got Cass,’ Mark blurted out before she could finish. ‘And he says he’ll only give her back if you go to him.’

  ‘What?’ Amy gasped. ‘No! Please, God, no!’

  ‘Jenny reckons he won’t hurt her,’ Mark went on. ‘But he’s got
a gun, and I’m scared what he might do if he doesn’t see you. You’ll have to go to him. He says you’ll know where to find him.’

  ‘Let’s go . . .’ Steve was already pulling his jacket on. ‘I’ll drive.’

  ‘No, she’s got to go alone,’ Mark told him. ‘He said he’ll kill Cass if anyone else goes near.’

  ‘And he’ll kill Amy if he gets his hands on her,’ said Layla.

  ‘No, he won’t, he just wants to see her,’ argued Mark. He turned to Amy now and gave her a pleading look. ‘I don’t know what’s going on with you and him, and I don’t really care, but you’re the only one who can stop him.’

  ‘No, you don’t know what’s been going on, do you?’ Steve interjected angrily, unable to keep his thoughts to himself any longer. ‘He’s been beating the shit out of her and forcing her to sell herself, and now you want her to go and face him on her own?’

  ‘I should never have left,’ Amy murmured guiltily. ‘He said he’d get Cassie if I did. This is all my fault.’

  ‘Too right it is!’ Mark turned on her angrily. ‘You knew he’d do this, but you took off anyway? Christ, I knew you didn’t give a shit about the kids, but that’s low even for you.’

  ‘Shut your mouth,’ snapped Steve. ‘It’s not her fault, it’s yours. You’re the one who borrowed the fucking money and left her to pay it back. Did you think he was just going to forget about it and walk away?’

  ‘She ain’t the little innocent she’s making out,’ Mark shot back indignantly. ‘She was shagging him before my side of the fucking bed was cold. It ain’t my fault they’ve had a barney and he’s pissed off with her.’

  ‘Are you thick?’ Steve roared. ‘Haven’t you listened to a word I’ve said? She wasn’t sleeping with him ’cos she wanted to, he’s been raping her.’

  ‘Not according to Marnie and Gemma,’ Mark yelled back. ‘And they should know, seeing as they watched her sneaking him in over the back fence for months on end. Who does that if they’ve got nothing to hide?’