The Doll's House

by Tania Carver

  ‘Hey…’

  ‘Hey yourself,’ he said, smiling.

  Any further conversation was cut off as she began coughing.

  ‘We need the fire engines here, Elli. Quick as they can.’

  ‘They’re on their way,’ she said.

  He dragged Marina further down the corridor, then, when he was a safe distance from the blaze, started to pull at her bonds. They were tight, difficult to budge. But he managed to get most of them off, as well as the heavy leather restraints tying her wrists together.

  ‘Can you stand?’ he said.

  She nodded numbly and he pulled her to her feet.

  ‘Got… pins and needles…’ she said. ‘Oww…’

  He smiled. ‘Come on. I’ll help you.’

  He put his arm around her, helped her to walk.

  He reached the stairs and picked her up in his arms, carried her down. Marina opened her eyes, smiled.

  ‘Carrying me over the threshold,’ she said, managing a weak smile. ‘Caveman.’

  ‘Shut up,’ he replied. He was smiling too.

  They reached the front door. He carried her through. Imani Oliver ran over towards them. Phil set Marina upright.

  ‘The ambulance is in its way. Don’t worry. You’re safe now.’

  Marina put her arms round his neck. Began to sob. ‘I thought… I thought I’d never…’

  ‘I know,’ he said, ‘I know…’

  They held each other in the street, strafed by the light of the helicopter.

  ‘Boss,’ said Elli, ‘I’ve picked up those other two heat signatures.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘On the roof.’

  Phil looked up. The flames hadn’t reached the roof yet.

  ‘There’s an alleyway between that building and the next,’ said Elli. ‘If he can cross that, he might get away.’

  ‘And he’s got someone with him,’ said Phil.

  ‘Maddy,’ said Marina. ‘He’s got Maddy…’

  Phil turned to her. ‘Stay with Imani,’ he said. ‘You’ll be fine.’

  She frowned, clung on tightly to him. ‘Wh-where are you going?’

  Phil looked back at the building.

  ‘Up there,’ he said.

  105

  T

  he flames hadn’t reached the stairwell. Phil was grateful for that. He was unhappy about leaving Marina, but not as upset as she was with him for going back inside. But it was his job. She knew he couldn’t have done anything else.

  ‘Ben,’ she said, ‘he calls himself Ben. It’s his… other personality, I think.’

  ‘His dead brother,’ said Phil. ‘Thanks for the heads-up.’

  ‘Let me… come with you…’

  ‘You’re not going anywhere. The ambulance’ll be here soon.’

  Marina nodded reluctantly.

  One final kiss and he was off into the building again.

  He took the stairs two at a time until he could go no further. Then he found a set of metal ladders bolted to the wall in front of him. He looked up. There was a hatch at the top. He started to climb.

  Swinging the hatch back, he pulled himself out on to the roof. Looked round. The beam from the helicopter swung back and forth like a roving searchlight. He saw them. Two figures. One holding the other close. At the far side of the building, right at the edge. He walked towards them, the blades of the helicopter creating mini twisters all around him.

  Grant Parsons saw him coming, turned. He grabbed Maddy, held her in front of him like a shield. Phil kept walking. Slowly. Purposefully.

  Parsons had a knife at her throat. A big knife, Phil noted.

  ‘Get back,’ he shouted. ‘Get back…’ He pushed the knife against her neck.

  Phil noticed she couldn’t move, that her arms were pulled tight behind her back. Tied, he thought. Her eyes were wild, staring.

  ‘Who am I talking to?’ shouted Phil above the din of the ’copter. ‘Grant or Ben?’

  ‘Ben,’ he shouted back. ‘It’s always Ben.’

  From below, Phil heard the sirens of the arriving fire engines.

  ‘OK, Ben,’ he shouted. ‘Why don’t you put the knife down. Then we can talk.’

  ‘I’ve got a better idea,’ shouted Ben. He stepped up on to the parapet, put his feet right back against the edge of the building.

  Phil ran forward. Ben brandished the knife once more. Maddy screamed.

  ‘Back! Get back!’

  Phil noticed that there was a plank of wood on the parapet. It stretched across the alleyway to the next building. Parsons’s escape route. He must have planned it.

  Parsons edged his way towards it, Maddy stumbling along with him.

  ‘Your empire’s burning,’ said Phil. ‘It’s all over. Why don’t you give up, eh? Then we can talk.’

  Ben shook his head. ‘No, it’s better this way.’

  ‘You can’t get away. Look down there, look above you. You’re surrounded. It’s over. You’re finished.’

  ‘So?’ he shouted. ‘At least I’ll be famous. At least they’ll remember me. At least…’

  Phil wasn’t sure, but he might have seen tears in Ben’s eyes.

  ‘At least… I won’t have been a failure… He won’t think I was a failure…’

  He moved even closer to the edge.

  Phil heard a sudden noise from behind him. He turned. It was Sperring, opening the hatch, letting it clang against the roof. Ben had heard the noise too, turned his attention towards it.

  This is it, thought Phil. I won’t get another chance.

  He readied himself to run forward, jump at Ben, grab Maddy and pull her to safety.

  But Maddy had different ideas. She screamed. Primal, angry.

  ‘Fuck you! Fuck you! I’ve had enough… being hurt, used, abused… fuck you…’

  She stamped down hard on Ben’s instep. He screamed in pain. Lost his footing. While he was disorientated, she brought her head forward, then let it fly back, hitting the bridge of his nose and his forehead with so much force that Phil heard the crack even above the blades of the helicopter.

  Ben screamed once more, dropped the knife as he brought his hands up to his face. Maddy swung her leg forward and let it go backwards, hitting him in the shin. His footing became unsteady.

  Phil ran, reached out, grabbed Maddy. Caught her by the arm. Pulled her forward, towards him, away from the edge.

  Ben was weaving about in pain, eyes closed, blood fountaining from his broken nose. He staggered backwards. His heel hit the edge of the plank and he lost his balance.

  ‘No…’

  He put his arms out, windmilling, but he couldn’t fight the momentum.

  He disappeared over the side.

  Screaming as he went down.

  Phil held Maddy to him.

  ‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘It’s OK. I’ve got you. You’re safe.’

  PART FIVE

  TOMORROW’S DREAM

  106

  T

  he Christmas decorations were up. Phil and Marina’s house was looking as warm and welcoming as any rental property could.

  Phil stood at the doorway between the kitchen and living room, looked at all the people there. He hadn’t realised how many people he knew in Birmingham. And here they all were, drinking his booze, eating his party food. He corrected himself. Their booze and party food.

  The Christmas party had been his idea. He had surprised himself by proposing it, and was in turn surprised when Marina agreed. Boxing Day evening, when everyone had had enough of enforced proximity with their families and wanted to see other faces. The perfect time, he thought. Not all of them were fed up with their families. Some of them had brought their families with them. And that was fine by Phil and Marina.

  They had been worried that the two lots of people, police and academics, wouldn’t mix. But those worries had proved to be unfounded. Alcohol, the great social lubricant, had seen to that.

  Just over two weeks had passed since that night on the rooftop in Digb
eth. And they were still dealing with the fallout.

  Marina had been taken straight to hospital and kept in overnight, suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation. Luckily, her fall to the floor had been the best thing that could have happened. The air was clearer there, freer of smoke, and it was that that had probably saved her. She had been released the next morning. Phil had been waiting for her.

  She had smiled when he turned up. Really pleased to see him. And in returning that smile he knew just how pleased he was to see her too. Relieved to see her up and moving. He had gathered her things, put his arm round her to help her out.

  ‘So,’ he said as they walked down the corridor towards the exit, ‘are we good?’

  She had burrowed into him. ‘Yeah,’ she had said. ‘We’re very good.’

  They had held each other close all the way to the car.

  Things hadn’t gone so well for Grant Parsons. He was still alive, but the fall had broken his neck and shattered his spine. Paramedics had rushed straight to him and it was their prompt action that had saved him. His solicitor had argued that he was too ill to stand trial, so he had been transferred to a secure hospital, although he clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

  His father had claimed to be broken by grief and ignorant of his son’s actions. When it was suggested to him that he knew a lot more than he was telling, he started plea-bargaining. His bearded henchman was offered up as the murderer of Scott Sheriff. The CPS seemed content to settle for that.

  Most of the information regarding the club had been lost in the fire. Phil imagined there were some very relieved individuals walking around Birmingham that Christmas.

  Cotter had had words to say to Phil too.

  ‘You’re telling me you didn’t know your wife was in that building? Really?’

  Phil had stood before her desk. He refused to feel like a naughty schoolboy summoned before the head teacher, although he knew that was how she was trying to make him feel.

  ‘Would it have mattered if I’d known? Or if I’d said I knew?’

  ‘Of course it bloody would. You would have had to stand down from the operation. You know that.’

  ‘I saved that girl’s life. I saved my wife’s life.’

  Cotter sighed. ‘I know you did…’

  ‘I’m not sorry. It was the right thing to do.’

  ‘We have procedures to follow.’

  ‘And I followed them.’

  ‘Yes, but…’ She shook her head. Looked straight at him. ‘You got away with it this time. Don’t do it again. I don’t have that in my team.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘You are staying with my team, aren’t you?’

  Marina was on the other side of the room, chatting with some of her work colleagues. She was aware of Phil watching her. He raised his bottle in a salute. She raised her glass in return. Both smiling.

  She felt better than she had done in ages. She felt purged. Clean. She knew what had done it.

  A week ago, Phil had arranged for her to see Hugo Gwilym in custody. The request was unorthodox, but then the whole case had been somewhat unorthodox. She had asked Maddy to accompany her. Maddy had been wary at first, but Marina had assured her that he couldn’t hurt them in any way. And seeing him would do them both some good, put an end to the ordeal.

  He was being held on remand in the old Winson Green prison, now renamed Birmingham Prison after being taken over by a private contractor. The staff wore brightly coloured ties and had the company’s insignia on their shirts, a change from the usual prison officer uniform. But the visiting room was just the same as it had always been. Like hope had been checked in at the gate along with mobiles. It was where fathers watched their children grow away from them as they got older. The spark of recognition dimming with each visit. Their wives and girlfriends getting more and more vague about who they had nights out with.

  But there would be none of that for Marina and Maddy.

  Marina showed the letter signed by DCI Cotter that allowed them to visit, then they took their places at the table. While they were waiting, Marina turned to Maddy.

  ‘You still OK about this? You don’t have to go through with it.’

  ‘No,’ she said, nodding, ‘I’ll be fine.’

  Marina had noticed the change in Maddy, even in such a short space of time. She sat more upright, looked people in the eye. Wasn’t afraid to voice her opinions. More confident. Which could only be good, Marina thought. But there was something else about her that she’d noticed too. The new-found confidence came with an aggressive, antagonistic edge. She had found out how to fight back. Marina hoped she chose her targets carefully.

  Hugo Gwilym entered. Marina couldn’t believe just how bad he looked. He seemed to have aged by at least a decade since he had been in there. His stubble had become a grey beard and his hair, without the artfully tousled grooming, just looked a mess. But it was his eyes that showed the most change. They were scared, defeated. Sunk into his emaciated, hollow cheeks.

  He sat, almost breaking down when he saw them.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘thank you so much for coming…’

  ‘I just wanted to see you,’ said Marina. She kept her voice as neutral and calm as possible. ‘It felt like our business was never properly concluded.’

  ‘Our business…’ He closed his eyes, shook his head. ‘You make it sound so… It wasn’t…’ He opened his eyes again. ‘Business. It was anything but.’ He looked across at Maddy. Stretched out his hand. She instinctively recoiled.

  ‘Don’t touch me,’ she said.

  Gwilym withdrew his hand. ‘Like that. I see.’

  Marina kept staring at him.

  ‘Look,’ he said. ‘I… I realise I’ve behaved appallingly to you. Both of you. And being here…’ he gestured round the room, ‘has given me ample time and opportunity for reflection.’ He tried a smile. ‘I’m a changed man. Really, I am.’

  ‘Good,’ said Marina.

  Warming to his theme, he continued. ‘Yes. Completely changed. I have behaved so… so badly. It would mean so much if you could find it in your hearts to forgive me.’ Another smile. This one bashful, self-effacing. ‘Could you perhaps do that?’

  ‘Forgive you?’ said Marina. ‘For what you did to me? The worry, the anguish you put me through…’ She could feel her heart racing, her voice getting louder. She tried to control herself, lower her voice. ‘Forgive you? For using rape as blackmail against me?’ Her turn to smile. ‘Fuck you, Hugo. You’re exactly where you deserve to be.’

  He recoiled from her words as if he’d been slapped. ‘But… but that’s… that’s very harsh, a very harsh thing to say…’

  ‘Is it? Really? Compared to what you did to me – and to Maddy – I’d say you’re getting off lightly.’

  ‘Lightly?’ Fire entered his eyes. ‘Lightly?’ He leaned forward, conspiratorial. Eager for his words to be heard and properly understood. ‘You have no idea what it’s like in here. No idea. It’s hell. Absolute hell. I’m on a wing with sex offenders. Can you believe that? I’m in with the child abusers and the —’

  ‘Rapists?’ said Marina.

  Gwilym pretended not to hear. ‘Vulnerable prisoners, they’re called. They’re vulnerable all right. The wing is overcrowded and hard to control and the rest of the inmates are all trying to get at them. At me too. Because I’m a celebrity. That’s what it is, that’s why I’m there. That’s what makes me vulnerable. And I am. I’m living in fear of my life…’

  The two women didn’t respond, just stared at him. Maddy eventually spoke.

  ‘Good,’ she said.

  Again, Gwilym looked as if he had been slapped.

  ‘You’re there because you’re a rapist, Hugo. Not because you’re a celebrity. You preyed on vulnerable young women and exploited them. For your own fun, your own kicks.’

  He had closed his eyes and was shaking his head again. ‘No, no, no, no… All wrong, Marina. All wrong.’ He looked at Maddy. ‘She’s wrong, isn’t she? That w
asn’t… wasn’t what happened, was it? It wasn’t like that.’ Another smile. ‘You’re carrying my baby, aren’t you, Maddy? Our baby…’

  ‘No I’m not. That was a lie. I got rid of it.’

  Gwilym recoiled.

  ‘I wouldn’t want your baby growing inside me.’

  Gwilym looked like he was about to cry. ‘No, no… Maddy, that’s… No. She’s wrong. You’re wrong. Tell her the truth.’

  ‘I don’t need to,’ said Maddy. ‘Marina’s just told it.’

  He sat back. An ugly, unpleasant look crept on to his face. Understanding dawning. ‘Oh, I get it. Like that, is it?’ He looked straight at Maddy. ‘She’s poisoned your mind. Told you all those lies about me, made you believe them. I see what’s happened. Oh yes.’

  ‘Hugo,’ said Marina, calm now. ‘The only one telling lies is you. To yourself. And the sooner you face up to that and accept it, the sooner you realise that you are where you are because you brought it on yourself and you deserve to be here, the better.’

  Gwilym said nothing.

  The three of them sat in silence for a while. Gwilym eventually spoke.

  ‘I thought you’d come here today to forgive me,’ he said. When they didn’t respond he continued. ‘But I can see that isn’t going to happen.’

  ‘No, Hugo,’ said Marina, ‘the reason we came here today was for closure. Because we wanted to see you in this place. We wanted to see you punished, put somewhere you can’t hurt any woman ever again. And we’ve seen that. I can’t speak for Maddy, but I’ve got what I came for.’

  ‘You can speak for me,’ said Maddy. ‘So have I.’

  ‘I think we’ll go now, Hugo, and leave you to get on with the rest of your life.’ Marina stood up. Maddy followed.

  ‘No, please, wait, don’t go…’

  They turned back to him. He looked so pathetic sitting there, Marina thought. She waited to see what he was going to say.

  ‘Don’t make me go back there, please… It’s… it’s… I can’t describe it. The howling at night, the threats, the bullying, the…’ He shook his head. There were tears in the corners of his eyes. He blinked them away, looked at her again. ‘I’m on suicide watch…’