Alex exhaled deeply as they followed her down the duck-egg coloured corridors. He still had the lead weight in his stomach, figured it would be there until he knew for certain Cass was OK. He could feel Rose trembling beside him, her hand still gripping his. He tightened his grip momentarily: he knew how she felt.
As they entered the side room, both Alex and Rose gasped.
Despite the nurse giving them warning, they weren’t quite prepared for how bad Cass looked.
She looked tiny on the hospital bed, the cannula in her hand wired up to a drip of clear fluid. The oxygen mask disguised some of the bruising but all around both eyes was already a darkening shade of purple, and there was a blue hue beside her mouth, and a small cut to her lip. Both wrists were bandaged, hiding the marks Alex knew had been left by the cable ties. The heart monitor bleated steadily beside her, and her left leg was elevated onto a pile of cushions.
‘I’ll leave you with her. Talk to her. It’ll help,’ said the nurse.
Rose finally let go of Alex’s hand and pulled a chair up to the bed.
Alex picked up Cass’s hand, gently rubbing her soft skin with the pad of his thumb. He was so wrapped up in his emotion that he didn’t notice the tears falling down his cheeks again.
Sunderland Royal Hospital – 8 November
Cass felt as if she was floating. She could feel the waves lapping at her, trying to pull her back under. She fought against the tide and tried to open her eyes. She could hear loud beeping, steady and in time with her heart which was pounding in the background.
Her mouth felt as if it were full of cotton wool, and her body felt heavy, and somewhere in the middle of it all was the pain. Dull and throbbing in her ribs, aching in her stomach, stinging to her wrists and sharper, more acute in her leg.
Struggling, she pulled herself further into consciousness, piecing together the fragments from her memory.
What the hell happened? I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.
Her eyes opened a crack, then closed as the bright glare of artificial light caused needles of pain, making her groan. She opened them again, forcing herself to accept the light and not drift back into the darkness.
Tilting her head slightly, she saw her mum, fast asleep, leaning on Roger whose head was against the wall, his mouth open wide as he snored softly. A faint smile passed over her lips.
Something heavy was on her hand, she couldn’t move it. Momentarily she felt panic, but quickly realised that it was Alex’s head. He was sound asleep, his hot breath gently swaying the tiny hairs protecting her skin.
She was safe. Alex had found her.
Cass suddenly remembered the date – 8th November.
Happy birthday to me. I’m still here, and I’m alive.
As she faded again, she had a passing memory of Reynolds and remembered he wasn’t a threat to her any more. And as she felt her head relax back into the pillow, the morphine helped the dark curtains close once more.
A smile fluttered over her lips. This was one show that was definitely not over.
Epilogue
Alex stood behind the tree in the cemetery looking over at the funeral taking place. Hardly anyone had attended – there was only four people besides the vicar. He wasn’t surprised. None of the police family would turn out to this funeral.
It was sad really, to be buried and only have four people present to say goodbye. Alex frowned – it showed the kind of man Frank had been. The only reason Alex was there was to make sure the bastard was dead and gone. Glancing around, he took in the small group, the detective in him not switching off for a moment. The two older women were well dressed, hadn’t seemed particularly saddened at the thought of losing Frank, and hadn’t shed a tear. Probably from the church he went to. The next was a man, probably late fifties, and had the kind of demeanour that men have when they hold positions of relative power – his priest maybe?
The last male had Alex perplexed. Younger, maybe only twenty, he’d stood with his back to Alex through the ceremony. When it had ended and he’d turned to leave, Alex had felt a shiver when the man made brief eye contact. In that moment Alex had gazed into an abyss, one filled with apparent anger at a life taken too soon. He wondered who the man was. Alex had tried to follow, but he’d lost him, the male ducking out of sight behind a large headstone then failing to reappear. Alex shook off the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was probably nothing.
It was a good job Frank had killed himself before Alex had found his way into the boiler room – he dreaded to think what he’d have done if Frank had been alive. Would he have had some control? Or would he have lost it and kicked the living hell out of the man who had taken the woman he loved.
The woman he loved – that thought made him feel warm, despite the bitter wind now whipping around the graveyard. He loved her. And she’d survived despite everything. He’d known the second she’d come round in the hospital that he wanted to spend his life with her, or maybe he’d known before but that had been the moment he’d made the decision to get the ring. He’d proposed the next day, and she’d said yes. In spite of all the confusion and pain she’d been in, she’d known what he’d asked and cried.
Alex pulled the collar to his jacket up around his face, protecting himself from the elements, and turned to leave. He paused at the mound of earth that contained what was left of Frank Reynolds and smiled. Got you, you bastard.
KA Richardson
Escape
‘Hey, Cass. You OK?’
Cassandra Hunt was surprised to see Tony Wilford standing on her doorstep – he hardly ever came to the house.
‘Erm, yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here? Is Carl with you?’ She peered past him and down the street looking for her partner, Carl Jameson, but Tony was alone.
‘No, he was still in the bar when I left forty minutes ago. He’s plastered. Look, this is hard, but I need to say something. Carl is my friend – has been since school, but he’s not a nice guy. I see how he treats you, how he hurts you, and it’s not right. You don’t have to put up with it, Cass.’
Shifting uncomfortably, she replied in a voice that sounded way too quiet to be hers, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I…’
‘Sure you do,’ interrupted Tony, softening his tone. ‘Do you think he just beats you and forgets? When he’s drunk, he tells me things. Like how he had you by the throat the other day, how he beat you last week because you hadn’t ironed his shirt properly, it’s wrong, Cass.’
Subconsciously, Cass moved her hand to her neck. The bruises had started fading now, and were easier to hide with concealer, but they were still there.
‘Look,’ he reasoned, ‘there isn’t just you to think about, you’re pregnant. Do you really think he won’t do the same to a child? Can you imagine him holding a baby that won’t stop crying and just being OK? That’s why I’m here, you need to get out, Cass. He’s stinking drunk tonight. He’s already been fighting in one bar. He’s actually the reason I left early, I only went out coz Marco wanted to go out and didn’t wanna go out with Carl alone. He’s going to come back here, and if you’re still here he’ll kick you from here to kingdom come. You know he will. You need to leave!’
She heard the urgency in his voice, fought to quell the fear at the thought of Carl coming home.
‘It’s not that easy. He’ll find me. And as you said, there’s not just me to think about.’ She thought about her mum, Rose Peters, and how Carl had always said if she ever left him, the first person he would kill would be her mum, then he’d come looking for her. She couldn’t put her mum in danger like that – she knew he’d meant every word. So she’d stayed. But Tony was right, there would come a day when she wouldn’t get back up from one of his beatings. And she didn’t want her child brought into a world where she might not be able to protect it. Her hands closed over her stomach protectively as she stressed over what Tony was saying.
‘Cass, please, listen to me. I don’t want to see him hurt you more than he
already has. I’ve lain awake at night wondering if you were OK, whether I should phone the police. But I’ve had to trust you had your reasons to stay. There are other options though, places you can go where no one will find you. Here,’ he said, shoving a piece of paper into her hand.
She glanced down: it was a list of local women’s refuges. Had it really come to this? Could she possibly escape? Get away from him? She could always leave then contact her mum, tell her what had been happening, warn her to be careful.
‘And here,’ Tony added, pulling his wallet out and yanking out a wad of notes. ‘I’ve been saving for a bike, but this is more important. Please, take it.’
She looked down at the money he offered, and felt tears fill her eyes. This man could have just stood by and watched, and instead was trying his damnedest to help her. And if she was honest to herself, she knew it was time. Cass held out her hand and took the money. ‘Why are you doing this, Tony? You’re Carl’s friend, not mine. I don’t understand.’
‘My dad was a bastard. Beat my mum every day until a nurse at the hospital took her away from the situation, took me away. I can’t stand by anymore, Cass. I just can’t.’
‘I’ll pay you back, every single penny. Tony, I…’ She paused not quite knowing how to put it into words. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered, leaning forward and placing her lips on his cheek gently.
‘Go as soon as you can, don’t wait for him.’ Tony smiled at her, ‘You’ll be fine. Probably far easier said than done but try not to be scared. You can totally do all this without him and you’ll be far better off.’ With that, he turned and made his way back down the street.
Cass stood in the doorway watching his back until he turned the corner at the bottom, then went back inside. Glancing down, she counted the wad of notes: £500. She hadn’t seen so much money in ages, not since before Carl anyway. He had her bank card, monitored her money and gave her only what he thought she needed for shopping. She’d been squirrelling some away, the odd fiver here and there, but it was nowhere near this amount. Tears sprung to her eyes at his generosity. It couldn’t have been easy to admit he knew when something bad was happening.
And it was bad.
Cass paused at the mirror in the hallway, staring at her reflection. She was bonier than she used to be, despite the small bump protruding from the front. Dark shadows hung beneath her eyes, and she looked so sad. When had it happened? When had she changed from being carefree and enjoying life, to worrying constantly that something was wrong and walking on eggshells? Placing her hands over her front again, she knew that Tony was right. She couldn’t stay. She had to leave to protect the life growing inside her. The baby had already seen too much violence and to her dismay, had already proven itself to be resilient in the face of the multiple beatings she’d suffered recently.
Falling pregnant had been an oversight; one she’d initially regretted, being firmly against bringing a child into her situation. But Carl had realised before she could book in for a termination. He’d been overjoyed at the thought of being a father, so much so that for the first three months he hadn’t hit her at all. Not once, not even when she accidentally burnt his dinner one night, something normally would have resulted in her being punished. He had, in fact, become the model boyfriend, apart from still controlling the money and who she could see at any rate. In the eighteen months since they’d been living together, it had been the longest she’d gone without having bruises to hide.
It hadn’t lasted though. Six weeks previously she’d been delayed getting back from work due to being the only one available to handle a late delivery. He’d slapped her so hard she’d seen stars. And from then it had progressed from the normal beatings over nothing, to him trying to choke her the other day. He’d been careful though, avoiding hitting her stomach and risking hitting the baby. And she’d curled instinctively into a ball each time, anyway, trying to protect the child. The child she knew she should have escaped with ages ago.
Why hadn’t she left before now? Why did she let it get to this stage?
A wave of shame spread over her. If her mum knew what had been going on, she’d be so disappointed, and with every right. Cass had lost track of the number of times she’d ‘almost’ told her mum, couldn’t count the times she’d picked up the phone, dialled the number, then hung up before it connected. How did one say something like this anyway?
‘Oh hi, Mum, I just wanted to say I’ve been in an abusive relationship for a couple of years now – he hits me, but he always says sorry so it’s OK?’
It wasn’t OK, it would never be OK.
It was stupid though, to have stayed so long. She should’ve told her mum, but she couldn’t change that now. She knew she had to deal with it, and she ‘d tell her mum once she was away and safe.
A new feeling seeped into her heart, determination. She didn’t need to stay and put up with his crap. She had money now, she could leave and never look back. Be free of all the pain he caused, the control he held over her.
Practically flying now, she ran upstairs and quickly began throwing some clothes in a bag. Just her clothes, not the ones he’d chosen for her, insisting she wear them. What else did she need? Sitting on the edge of the bed, she suddenly felt really sad. This was all she had? A bag of clothes and a couple of bits of jewellery? That was it? She was thirty in a couple of years. At this age she should have more than this, shouldn’t she?
Glancing at the clock, she realised it was getting close to midnight. Carl was pretty much always back by midnight; she’d dillydallied too long. There was no way she’d get away tonight. Panic filled her mind, could she stay another night? Feel him touch her when he crawled into bed? Revulsion almost made her gag, but she steadied her breathing. She’d done it last night and the night before and the night before. One more night wouldn’t kill her. She could wait until he left for work tomorrow, then make a run for it. She had enough money to get to her mum’s address – she could bypass the shelter that way.
Decision made, she shoved the money Tony had given her into the side pouch of the bag, and put it back in the cupboard, flinging a couple of jackets over the top. Stripping her clothes off, she pulled the pyjamas on and crawled into the bed. Her mind was racing – frantically making a list of what she ‘d do tomorrow. Get up, make his breakfast like normal, sit with him in silence while he read the morning paper, set his clothes out while he showered, and wait for him to leave.
Then run.
Her heart fluttered – would she finally be free? Her mum would insist she reported it to the police of course, and she had every intention of doing so. She remembered police coming to the address a couple of times in the past, when neighbours must’ve heard the disturbance and called them. She remembered one in particular, a female cop, Marlo something her name was, telling her that she didn’t have to put up with it, and to let them help her. But she hadn’t been able to, she’d been so afraid of what Carl would do.
Now though, the fear was ebbing, all she felt for him was disgust. What kind of a man felt the need to hit his partner? If she could just last until tomorrow, she ‘d get out.
Hearing the front door open, and Carl falling into the hallway, she stifled a gasp. Tony had been right – Carl was steaming drunk. That was never good. He needed to believe she was asleep. Slowing her breathing down, she closed her eyes. Her heart was thudding in her chest, but she worked to control it. Sometimes when he found her asleep, he left her alone. She prayed that this would be one of those times.
He entered the room, and she sensed him standing over her, watching. She breathed long and deep, hearing him move to his side of the bed. He fumbled for something in his bedside cabinet, then it went quiet – too quiet.
Cass froze, listening hard. What the hell was he doing?
Suddenly she was pulled backwards by her hair, her head on fire where it had released its hold on her scalp in large clumps. Her hands instinctively grabbed at his as he dragged her out of the bed roughly. She screamed, clawing at him.
>
He dumped her on the ground, and she felt blood explode into her mouth as his fist connected with her jaw. The force sent her head careening into the side of the cabinet, and despite seeing stars, she whimpered. Fighting the dizziness, she knew she had to get away from him. She tried to crawl towards the bedroom door.
‘Please, stop,’ she cried loudly as he grabbed her arm and threw her onto her back, and knelt over her. ‘Please, don’t hurt the baby.’
‘Baby?’ he spat in her face. ‘This baby?’ Sneering now he jabbed a finger hard into her stomach.
‘It’s not even mine you filthy fucking whore. I saw him, I saw Tony leaving here. I saw you kiss him, hold his hand. You’ve been fucking him all along haven’t you, both of you laughing behind my fucking back.’ As he spoke, he reigned punches down on her face, but she couldn’t move, she was pinned by his weight. Cass cried as she felt teeth loosen, tears streaming as her nose cracked under the pressure. It was a struggle to even stay conscious, but she had to. She needed to get out.
‘I didn’t, I swear to God, please, Carl, stop. I’m yours, no one else’s, I promise. Please stop,’ blood gurgled in her throat as she spoke, and she coughed, unable to stop herself spitting blood at him.
His face turned deadpan, he glanced at the blood on his shirt and he lost it completely. ‘It’s not my baby, it’s his. I’m going to kick this fucking brat out of you – nobody cheats on me!’
Carl got to his feet and booted her hard in the stomach. Cass tried to curl but the space beside the bed was limited.
‘In fact,’ he sneered, ‘I’m going to cut the fucking thing out of you.’
That’s when Cass saw the knife.
Screaming again, she tried to pull away, ‘Please, no, Carl, don’t. The baby is yours I swear, please don’t do this,’ she begged, sobbing as she tried to pull herself from under him.
With Deadly Intent Page 27
