by Carl Hancock
‘I don’t know Dave; I’ll get a Doctor alright?’ He edged away from the bed and out the door to do what he should have done already. He waited in the corridor as medical staff rushed into the room to reassess his condition, as numerous people came and went he passed the time by completing his promise and informing Suzy of the update.
Twenty minutes later he re-entered the room just as a Doctor was leaving, Dave lay sobbing with what he had been told. Matt looked at the Doctor as he simply walked by, he glanced from Dave and back to the medic as he left the room. The door sprung shut behind him leaving Matt to query the outcome and force Dave to say the words himself.
‘Spinal damage, there’s a chance that I may never walk again,’ he sobbed.
Matt was speechless, he had not imagined such injuries had occurred. A few days, maybe a week at a push and he thought he would be well enough to go home. Now he faced an agonizing wait to find out the severity of the mindless attack.
‘I’m sorry mate, I don’t know what I can say,’ he stuttered.
Matt sat down, silent and sympathetically he waited, allowing him time to accept what he had only just learnt. Time to think about what the future held for him in the worst case scenario and time for reality to sink in.
‘You’ll be alright mate, I’ll see to that. No matter what happens, you won’t be alone,’ Matt said when he felt the time was right.
‘You have to promise me one thing Matt,’ he said through sore lips.
‘Anything,’ Matt replied sitting forward.
‘You need to make him pay for this, and I mean properly this time. Once and for all you need to kill him before he destroys your lives too,’ he insisted.
Matt considered the shock and morphine had gotten to him, words spilling from his broken mouth that made no sense. No rhyme or reason to his speech. The vacant look on his face prompted Dave to articulate further.
‘This is the second time he’s ruined my life,’ he hissed and grabbed Matt’s hand tightly, their eyes locked as he refused to let go. ‘You have to kill him, promise me,’ he spat.
Matt cupped his hand in his and gently prized it free; he placed it down softly so not to cause offence, he nodded. ‘Ok mate whatever you want,’ he agreed. With the amount of drugs in his system he realized he wasn’t truly aware of what he was asking or even speaking of.
‘You don’t understand Matt,’ he said.
‘Sure I do,’ he replied. ‘Just tell me what you remember and I’ll get the word out to find those responsible and then I’ll deal with them Ok?’
Dave closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. ‘I already know who did it, that’s why I need you to promise me that you’ll sort it, I know you were reluctant before,’ he struggled to say. ‘But now it’s different, now he’s done it again.’
Hearing the same words twice he doubted his first diagnosis, perhaps he spoke more truth and sense than he thought him capable of. ‘Who… What are you talking about, tell me who did this and I guarantee by tonight they’ll be in a worse state than you are now.’
Dave drew a painful breath, coughing gently as he inhaled. ‘Promise me no matter what that you’ll do as I ask,’ he insisted.
‘Yes, yes, Ok Dave for Christ’s sake I promise, now tell me who it was,’ he urged. He lent nearer for the answer, the reason he had waited so long and patiently regardless of his own increasing tiredness was about to be explained. He heard Dave speak, a whisper in his ear that he was sure he misheard.
‘Say again,’ he asked.
‘Drake did it,’ he slurred.
The door swung open, Suzy rushed in eager to greet the patient. Matt jumped back away from the bedside clearing the way for his freshened up fiancée to take his place. He stood away reeling with shock with what he thought he had heard, unable to question Dave further he was in two minds as to whether to believe his own ears.
‘I better be off then,’ he said drawing her attention to him. ‘To get a bit of sleep and freshen up I mean.’ His eyes locked onto Dave’s, it was returned with a steely stare showing no remorse of the name he had just given as his attacker.
‘Ok, take as long as you need, we won’t be going anywhere,’ she told him. ‘And by the way, there’s an envelope in the car for you, doesn’t say who it’s from but it was on the mat when I got home earlier.’
Matt walked the corridors bewildered, although he could easily believe that Billy was responsible for the attack, he saw no justification in it whatsoever. Dave just followed orders, his orders so if anyone deserved such treatment then it was him. Perhaps he wasn’t as easy to get to; or maybe Billy had been too worried about inflicting serious harm to him for the sake of his daughter. Either way he felt responsible now that he knew.
It had been planned out, that much was a certainty. Many things were running through his mind as he made his way to his car, not least what Dave had meant when he indicated Billy had ruined his life twice.
In the car he set his weary head back against the headrest and took a deep breath before exhaling with a sigh of relief. He was looking forward to a stiff drink followed by a long warm shower, a few hours kip would be enough to see him through the rest of the day as long as no unfortunate surprises occurred.
Fastening the seatbelt he turned the key in the ignition, the welcome roar of the engine coming to life greeted him and the radio started up louder than he liked. He glanced to the left in preparation to pull out of the parking space, the envelope that Suzy had spoke of sat on the passenger seat. A large brown envelope that bore his name in large letters yet had somehow evaded the traditional mailing process intrigued him.
Reaching across he took hold of the unstamped envelope, he felt around the mail deducing that only a few sheets of paper resided inside. He tore the flap off revealing the inner article and tipped it upside down forcing the document to fall into his hand. It looked familiar; the layout was identical to many documents of the same nature that he had seen in his previous occupation. Scanning the front page he had a feeling of déjà vu as he felt sure he had seen it before somewhere. The details, times and place were known to him, even the name of the accused, he had seen it all before.
Turning the page he wondered why someone would go to the effort of acquiring the statement, let alone hand delivering it to his home for his attention. But he had his answer as he reached the bottom of the second page, the victim’s statement against Billy Drake for male rape had been sent to him for a reason.
The name was no longer obscured, his identity anonymous no more, bold and clear in his own handwritten print was the name, David Griggs.
Chapter Sixteen
The evening wasn’t destined to go as planned, now that his problems with O’Donnell were settled he had wanted the ground to settle before making a final decision on what to do with the information he had received. So far it was only him that knew anything about it, with Griggs incapacitated and Steve such a loose cannon he had no-one else he trusted to confide in. Suzy would certainly consider the fact that he felt like that an insult, but she was too close to the course of events to warrant a voice inside his head. Whatever he decided to do with the knowledge needed to be his decision, something he alone would have to live with, a decision unaffected by another’s vested interest.
A quiet night in leaving the world’s worries and woes outside the front door had been on offer, until a few moments before when a distraught Sheila had turned up outside the house, teary eyes and bruised face she had hopped in a taxi and called by unannounced.
Once again Billy had imposed upon his life, polluting even the tiniest piece of tranquillity he sought. Paying the cabbie as Sheila rushed into the comforting arms of her daughter he thought back to less complicated times. Pressure and reasons to carry out his promise to Dave were mounting by the day; it didn’t bode well for Billy as his actions kept lending more reasons to extract him from their lives for good.
Suzy led her snivelling mother into the lounge, Matt closed the front door and f
ollowed them through as keen as anyone to hear what the problem was this time.
Sheila sat down on the sofa, Suzy sat down next to her holding her hands as she wiped the tears away from her eyes. Matt stood over them as Suzy looked up to him for moral support.
‘Mum, what’s wrong?’ she asked gently.
She shook her head and remained silent aside from the heavy sobs that flowed uncontrollably from her mouth.
‘Come on mum,’ she urged her. ‘Tell us what’s wrong. Is Tina Ok, and Dad?’ she worried.
Sheila met her daughter’s eyes with her own. ‘I’ve never seen him so angry Suzy,’ she struggled to say through wild gasps for air.
‘You mean Dad?’ she replied. ‘Mum, do you mean Dad?’ she asked again with anticipation obvious in her voice. ‘What’s happened?’
Trembling Sheila pointed toward the drinks cabinet, Matt knew what she was hinting at. She loved the fact he only stocked the best stuff. He accepted the instruction and poured an extra dose out and handed it to her. Her outstretched hand boasting spindly fingers and painted nails didn’t hesitate to grab the drink and swiftly pour it down her throat without delay.
Suzy waited patiently and concerned, she hadn’t seen her mother so vulnerable in such a long time. She wiped her mother’s face, a red mark becoming brighter as she did so.
‘Mum, please just tell us what’s happened,’ she pleaded.
Sheila put the glass down and with tears still welling in her eyes nodded acceptance of Matt’s offer for another. She took a deep breath. ‘He came home so bloody angry,’ she sobbed. ‘Punching the walls he was as soon as he walked in the door.’
Matt placed the drink down in front of her. ‘Thank you,’ she gasped and turned to Suzy again. ‘My lovely home, he’s ruined it all over again, pulling the doors off the hinges and breaking the windows,’ she cried.
‘Don’t worry about that Mum, we can fix those things. Can’t we Matt?’ Suzy said.
Just what he had suspected, that it would be down to him to clean up again. ‘Of course,’ he confirmed. ‘But what about you? Did he do that?’
Her hand shot to cover the side of her face, suddenly aware of all eyes on her discomfort. ‘N...no,’ she stuttered glancing between the two of them. ‘It was just an accident, you can’t blame him really, he just heard something that upset him.’
‘Fucking animal,’ Matt fumed; his good will was being stretched to the limit.
‘Honestly Suzy, it was an accident, I was too close to him when he lashed out, it wasn’t all his fault,’ she insisted.
Matt wanted to locate him and hand him out treatment of the same. ‘Where is he now?’
Suzy leapt from her seat. ‘No Matt, please leave it alone and let us deal with it,’ she pleaded.
The fear in her eyes was evidence that she knew what he was capable of, she was afraid, scared but not for herself. Her mother’s eyes were silently begging for him to walk away too. He stormed out of the room toward the kitchen.
‘I’ll make some coffee instead then,’ he declared sarcastically. ‘The more you let people like that get away with it the bigger the problem will get,’ he muttered.
Suzy sat back down with a sigh of relief.
‘You’ve got a good one there’ her mother said.
‘He’s got a temper too you know,’ she replied.
‘Maybe he has, but I can tell he’d never lay a finger on you and it aint because he’s afraid of your father.’
‘Your right about that,’ she said. ‘Just like I’m right that your injuries were no accident. Tell me what’s so awful that he lays a finger on you now, after everything he’s ever done or put you through why would he do that now?’
Sheila knew deep down she couldn’t get one past her daughter, for as much as she loved her father she had always known his faults and what made him tick.
‘I’m as much to blame as him,’ she said. ‘It’s our Tina I feel bad for now.’
‘Why… What’s any of this got to do with Tina?’ she asked genuinely confused.
‘He went to the salon to see her, that’s what upset him and put him in such a terrible rage,’ she explained.
Suzy rolled her eyes. ‘What’s she gone and done now? I might have known it was down to her.’
Sheila shook her head at her daughters misunderstanding.
‘Nothing, nothing at all,’ she insisted.
‘Mum, you can’t keep protecting her. She needs to take responsibility for her own mistakes sooner or later.’
‘She’s done nothing wrong at all, except maybe being too loose tongued on the phone that is,’ she said.
‘I don’t follow,’ Suzy said bewildered.
Sheila’s eyes were starting to water again as she began to think about the situation and its deeper consequences. ‘She was on the phone out back when he walked in to surprise her with flowers for the grand opening tomorrow, he heard everything,’ she sniffed.
‘So he heard her on the phone, no big deal unless she was talking to a boyfriend that is it’ she said light heartedly.
‘You still don’t understand do you? I wasn’t supposed to tell her, I promised I would never tell either of you and now he knows that she knows. He’ll never look at her the same again will he,’ she bellowed.
Suzy’s face dropped as it all made sense suddenly; she turned her head as Matt walked back in holding a tray carrying coffee for three. ‘What does he know? What’s the big secret?’
Sheila burst into tears as she realized the secret was well and truly out, Suzy cried because she knew the implications it would bring and Matt was left stood there with three hot cups of coffee and no takers.
For the next ten minutes he sat and listened as Suzy explained, she had kept a secret that although didn’t affect him she had on numerous occasions felt guilty about. She told him that her father had overheard Tina joking to a friend that she had him wrapped around her little finger, that he would do anything for her and at that point she was probably correct.
Only then had she dropped the comment, one little thoughtless statement that would now affect all their lives for the future because a man like him would not be able to accept everybody knowing.
‘Knowing what? What did she say?’ Matt asked curiously.
She looked at her mother who silently gave her blessing; she looked back at him as she spoke. ‘He now knows that she knows that he isn’t her real father.’
Matt was speechless at the confession, his eyes darting between his bride to be who had not confided in him before now and his future mother in law whose cheeks burned with embarrassment. Suzy looked at her mother who in turn acknowledged Matt’s vacant glare.
‘It’s true, I betrayed him just like he betrayed me over the years but I did it because I genuinely cared for the other man,’ she insisted.
Suzy had heard the story before, many years ago when Tina had been a troublesome teen her mother had confided in her when at her wits end.
‘Mum thought it best to tell her, we didn’t know how else to stop her blaming the world for her father being absent. She was causing fights at school, rebelling at home and shoplifting all because she felt hard done by without a Dad around,’ she said.
‘It never affected you like that though,’ Sheila interrupted.
‘I was older Mum, I had more memories of him, for her it was just like she’d been abandoned,’ she retorted.
‘I did my best Suzy, she always knew she was wanted,’ she replied indignantly.
Sensing the conversation drifting he pulled it back into line.
‘And what… Billy’s only just found this out?’
‘Nah, course not,’ Sheila said. ‘He’s known all along but being the macho man he couldn’t have people know his wife went with another man behind his back. We had it out at the time and he agreed to raise her as his own.’
‘Really?’ Matt replied with an overtone of disbelief.
‘Really,’ she confirmed. ‘But only on the condition that I never tell ano
ther living soul.’
Matt gently shook his head and looked at Suzy. ‘I can’t believe that he would just accept that so easily.’
‘I never said it was easily,’ Sheila snapped. ‘He was in nick doing a stint when it happened. It was all over before she was born and he realized she couldn’t have been his. He never came near me after that, I blamed myself. I guess that’s why I turned a blind eye to the other women for so long.’
Matt knew that no matter how many times the uninformed quoted his other women it wasn’t likely to be the case. ‘What about the other fella?’ he asked. ‘Who was he?’
‘Nobody, isn’t that right Mum?’ Suzy answered swiftly, too many home truths were being told and she felt as if she was betraying her father just by mentioning him.
Sheila sensed her daughters discomfort and sipped her coffee, her eyes were dry and she smiled as she remembered him.
‘That’s right Suzy, he can’t have been that great or he wouldn’t have left like that, not without a simple goodbye,’ she said.
‘What now though Mum?’ Suzy asked in dismay. ‘What now that he knows she knows, and that we all know.’
Matt shrugged his shoulders as she looked at him for answers; all he could do was hazard a guess. Put himself in his position and comment on how he would feel. ‘I don’t know Babe, but I don’t think it’ll be long before he resurfaces again.’
Chapter Seventeen
Billy felt great about himself, smug even that his latest plans had evolved just as he wanted, as he saw it Matt was now beholden to O’Donnell again and he was clear of any repercussions. Ignoring advice to the contrary he had set his future son in law up for a fall, keen to teach him a lesson and assert his authority within the family in the process.
The unit had become his place of business; a routine of daily meetings starting from the premises faced him each morning. A cigar in the comfort of his vehicle whilst listening to the daily news limbered up his mind, calming him down before the moment of dealing with the incapable hired help was upon him.
