Next of Kin

by Welfare, Sue

  ‘Whatever it is I do?’ Sarah stared at him. ‘You need to know that thank you isn’t enough,’ she said. ‘Nowhere near. You have got no idea what you’ve done, have you?’

  He looked heavenwards. ‘Oh that’s right, Sarah. I wondered how long the Florence Nightingale act would last,’ he said. ‘It’ll be fine. It’ll be okay, it’s just a case of putting things right. That’s all. Now are you going to get out and leave me to my bath?’

  How had he got the nerve to be annoyed with her? How had he got the nerve to dismiss her?

  ‘Just putting things right? Is that what you think? Just putting things right – what is that supposed to mean, Ryan? You’re not putting anything right. You never do. I’m the one putting things right. I always end up clearing up your mess. If you are so keen to get the money paid off and keep Woody in the country why don’t you marry him yourself? Go through a civil partnership, whatever it takes. If you’re that keen to get him to give you the money and get these people off your back and he is that keen to stay in the country, why not? Why me, Ryan? Why have I got to do this, just tell me, will you?’

  For a moment Ryan just stared at her open mouthed and then he laughed. ‘Can you hear yourself? Are you crazy? Because it wouldn’t work, Sarah, that’s why. There’s no way. No one who knows me would buy that I was gay, and if anyone seriously thought Woody was gay there is no way he could ever go home. Ever. No – it’s not happening. Okay? The story needs to be credible. That’s what Woody said.’

  ‘The story?’ She stared at him. ‘You’ve discussed it with him?’

  ‘Yes, of course I have,’ said Ryan, squeezing a sponge of water over his chest, as if all this was the most normal thing in the world, and then his expression softened. ‘Sarah, come on, you know I can’t have sorted this out without you. I know what you’re doing for me. But the bottom line is it’s just a piece of paper, and a couple of years, that’s all. No big deal. You get married, Woody gets his leave to remain, you get divorced. That’s it.’

  ‘For you maybe.’

  He puffed out his lips. ‘For you too if you could just lighten up. Don’t sweat it,’ he said.

  She stared at him, furious, and for a moment Sarah realised that she wanted to finish off what Farouk’s thugs had started, and then she turned away; it was a dead end, this road. No way out, but the path she was already on, unless she went to the police, and then god knows what would happen.

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ said Ryan, slipping back under the water. ‘Trust me.’

  Sarah took a moment or two to compose herself, and with the pulse still banging in her ears she picked up the laundry basket and went back downstairs to the kitchen, struggling to find a way to distract herself. As Sarah started to sort the clothes, she picked up the house phone and pressed the key to pick up the voice mail, clicking the button that turned it on to speaker-phone so she could have both hands free and work while she listened.

  ‘You have one new message,’ said the electronic voice. ‘Message received today at 11.20 am.’

  Sarah did a calculation; it had to have been while she was out picking Ryan up.

  There was a metallic beep and then the sound of Josh’s voice. ‘Hello, this is a message for Sarah Reynolds. Hi, Sarah, if you’re there, can you pick up? I’m not quite sure what’s going on at the moment.’ He hesitated, making noises that echoed his uncertainty. ‘I wanted to see if you were you okay? Can you call me? I’ve been round to the nursery and Anessa said you’re taking a couple of weeks off. I wondered how Ryan was doing. If you need anything you only have to ring, you know that. I dropped by the house earlier but I couldn’t make anyone hear, and your mobile goes straight to voice mail. The hospital said Ryan was out…’ There was a pause and then he laughed. ‘Sorry, this sounds like I’m stalking you. Can you please ring me? I just need to know you’re okay. I realise you’re probably up to your eyes – and if you need a bit of space at the moment, then that’s fine – I understand – it’s fine. Just let me know how you are, will you? I’ll try again later.’

  The sound of his voice was like an embrace. Sarah stood very still. There was a pain in her chest, along with the ocean of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and then – making a decision – set the linen basket down on the table, picked up the phone and started to key in Josh’s phone number. It had been a mistake not to tell him what was going on. He needed to know. It would make things so much simpler if he was in the loop. If she could just see him. She missed him and, whatever Woody said, he deserved an explanation. She heard the ring tone.

  ‘Would you like me to deal with him?’ asked Woody.

  Sarah jumped; she had no idea that Woody was in the house, let alone behind her or eavesdropping on her. Hearing him, she gasped and swung round, the phone slipping through her fingers and dropping to the floor as she turned. The phone’s case smashed as it hit the ground, fragments skittering across the tiles.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you. Here, let me help.’ Woody dropped to his knees to retrieve the broken pieces, gathering them up into a cupped hand. ‘Were you were planning to ring him back?’

  She nodded. ‘I have to explain to him.’

  He said nothing.

  ‘And what did you mean, deal with him?’ asked Sarah, not moving.

  ‘Call him, talk to him. What did you think I meant?’ And then he pulled a face and laughed. ‘For goodness sake, Sarah, I’ve already told you. You made your decision. It’s all over and done with. You’re safe now. I’ve spoken to Farouk and he’s called his thugs off. What happened to Ryan wasn’t my fault.’

  ‘Or mine,’ said Sarah.

  Woody said nothing.

  ‘But it was convenient, wasn’t it?’ said Sarah grimly, as he got back to his feet. He handed the phone to her and she slid the batteries back into what was left of the casing.

  ‘You’re right. It was convenient. I do want to stay here, and so yes this will obviously help me. And yes, I’m sorry it had to happen like it has, Sarah, but I want our arrangement to be as amicable as we can make it.’

  ‘Amicable? How can it be amicable, Woody? You’re buying me.’

  He stared at her, his expression hardening, his eyes glassy. ‘You had a choice.’

  ‘What choice would that have been?’ she said. ‘You know as well as I do that I had no choice. There was no other way out that I could see. So it was a case of take you up on your offer or see Ryan killed and me beaten up or worse – and still owe those thugs the money? I didn’t have any kind of choice and you know it. You’re forcing me into this.’

  ‘Force is such an ugly word, Sarah,’ Woody said in a calm even voice, as if he was the reasonable one. ‘And this is not just about me; there is Ryan to consider too.’

  Sarah stared at him.

  ‘It’s him who made the decision. Him who borrowed the money. Without you he would probably be dead by now.’ Woody smiled. ‘I’m part of the solution not the problem. You need to see it for what it is. It is purely a business arrangement, a solution that is mutually beneficial to all parties. Perhaps it might be easier if I spoke to Josh. What do you think? After all we don’t want him messing things up or getting tangled up with Farouk, or ending up in an alley like Ryan, do we?’

  Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off him. ‘Is that a threat?’

  He smiled but there was no warmth in his expression. ‘No, I’m just saying that if you think about it, it’s better if Josh knows nothing about our arrangement, that way he can’t say anything that would screw things up, and he can’t get himself into any trouble. Farouk isn’t someone to mess with.’

  ‘What does Josh have to do with Farouk?’

  ‘Well obviously I had to explain to him how our deal was going to work out.’

  ‘You told Farouk about me and Josh?’ said Sarah.

  Woody nodded. ‘He wanted to know exactly how Ryan was going to get the cash. What the deal was. He wanted to be certain that he w
ould get what was owed to him, and that we weren’t trying to scam him.’

  Sarah bit her lip. ‘I need to explain to Josh.’

  ‘I’ve already told you, you can’t explain. Would you like me to do it for you? Just have a word.’

  ‘And tell him what? You just said yourself that you can’t explain – so what are you going to tell him? That you’re marrying his girlfriend? That you’re buying her to ensure her brother doesn’t get his head kicked in? I love him, Woody. I have to talk to him. I want to explain what’s going on. How’s it going to look if you do it? The fact I can’t or won’t talk to him will only make things worse not better. He’s worried about me. He’s not going to give up. I’m not saying that he’ll be happy about it but he deserves to know what’s going on. Please.’

  Woody hesitated, and then he nodded. ‘You’re right. It would be better coming from you. But you can’t tell him about us getting married; you understand that, don’t you? If anyone finds out that this is a sham marriage we will be arrested. And if that happens then you’ll be left with your little brother’s loan to pay off and those thugs on your doorstep.’ He smiled, leaning back against the table. ‘You should be grateful that I’m helping you out.’

  ‘Grateful?’

  He nodded.

  Sarah stared at him, surely he couldn’t be serious? Apparently he was. He held his ground, facing her down.

  ‘What do I tell Josh then?’ she said.

  They were standing face-to-face, practically toe-to-toe. Sarah felt anything but grateful. She felt driven into a corner and angry and hurt, and more than all of those things she felt powerless to change any of it. ‘If it’s just a business arrangement, and you’ve already told Farouk, then why shouldn’t I tell Josh?’

  ‘Because I said so. Farouk won’t be telling anyone, but if you tell Josh, then how do you think he’s going to react? And who will he decide to tell about it? And if you tell him then who else will you think needs to know? It has to be a secret, Sarah. You can’t say anything. Is that clear?’

  ‘So what can I tell him? What?’ Her voice was rising. ‘How can he and I carry on our relationship if I’m getting married to you? I love him, he loves me. He was going to move in with me. How can we do that now? How?’ she demanded, voice full of tears. She knew that the truth was that they couldn’t, not without telling Josh the truth, not without some sort of an explanation, and Woody had made it clear that that wasn’t on the cards.

  He shrugged. The wrecked phone rang in Sarah’s hand. She turned it over. ‘It’s Josh,’ she said, holding the phone out towards him.

  ‘Then you’d better answer it then, hadn’t you?’ said Woody.

  Sarah stared at him. ‘I thought you just said I wasn’t to talk to him?’

  Woody nodded. ‘I did, but you’re right, you need to tell him yourself or he’ll just keep ringing and coming round, causing trouble.’

  ‘He’s not causing trouble. He wants to talk to me.’

  Woody smiled. ‘So there we are – you’ve got your wish. Talk to Josh.’ He pressed the button to speaker phone and set the handset down on the table.

  ‘Hello?’ said Josh.

  ‘Hello,’ said Sarah nervously, sitting down at the table.

  ‘Sarah?’ She could hear the relief in his voice. ‘Is that you? I’m glad I’ve finally managed to get through to you. I’ve been really worried. Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.’

  ‘Are you sure, you sound a bit odd.’

  Sarah’s eyes met Woody’s.

  ‘No, I’m fine. Really. Just—’

  ‘Just what? What’s the matter? It’s been hell not knowing how you are and what’s going on. Is Ryan okay now? Has he got any idea who did it? I was just on my way round. What happened?’

  So many words, so many thoughts.

  Sarah didn’t know where to start. Woody raised his eyebrows, a gesture of encouragement, an admonishment to get on with it, she couldn’t decide which.

  She took a breath. The truth was that there was only really one option if she wanted to go through with this and keep the two men she loved most in the world safe.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Josh. I didn’t know how to tell you. I can’t see you again,’ she said softly, so softly that she could hear the sound of her heart breaking over the top of the words.

  ‘What?’ Josh gasped as if she had punched him. ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand. Let me come round – let’s talk.’

  ‘I can’t,’ she said thickly.

  ‘What do you mean you can’t? What’s happened? What’s the matter?’

  ‘I just can’t,’ she repeated. She looked up at Woody. His expression was neutral but there was something in his eyes, something dark and triumphant that made her shiver. ‘I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m not ready,’ she said, not taking her eyes off Woody. ‘It was a mistake. I think it would be better if we didn’t see each other again.’

  ‘Sarah. Wait. We don’t have to rush this, we can take our—’

  ‘Please, I’ve got to go now,’ she said, before Josh could finish. She knew what he was going to say. ‘I’m so sorry, really, really sorry.’

  Woody nodded.

  And with that Sarah hung up and closed her eyes tight shut, trying to hold back the tears.

  ‘There, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?’ he said.

  The sob bubbled up from low in her belly, a tidal wave of sorrow and grief. ‘How can you possible say that?’ she sobbed. ‘I love him.’

  ‘I didn’t ask you to finish with him. Did I?’

  Sarah swung round, to face Woody, the frustration and fury bubbling through her. ‘What else could I have done – what else? Tell me? I hate this – do you understand. Between you and Ryan you have destroyed my life.’ The truth was she didn’t see any other way out, and she loved him too much to get him mixed up in whatever it was that Woody or Farouk had planned. And she had sensed the threat.

  The phone rang again. This time Woody took out the batteries and set them and the phone alongside her.

  ‘You need to pull yourself together,’ he said. He held out his hand. ‘Why don’t you let me keep your mobile for you, then he can’t hassle you.’

  She shook her head. ‘I’m not giving you my phone. For god’s sake, Woody. Why would I want to do that? All my numbers are in it and I need it for work. No, haven’t you had enough?’ She replaced the batteries.

  He shrugged. ‘Please yourself.’

  As he spoke her mobile began to ring again.

  ‘I was just trying to make things easier for you. This will soon all be over. We’ve got a wedding to arrange.’

  She took a breath but before she could speak, Woody continued. ‘I don’t want anyone to have any doubt that this wedding is the real thing. You understand, don’t you? You have to look like you mean it.’

  ‘Or what?’ she snapped, backhanding the tears away.

  ‘Let me explain how things are, Sarah,’ he said leaning in so close that she could feel his breath on her face. ‘I’ve given Farouk’s friends a little sweetener to keep them off Ryan’s back until after the wedding. It’ll hold them off till then, but it won’t hold them forever. I’ve told them they can have the rest as soon as we’re married. You understand? So it needs to work. If it falls through then we’ll both be in big, big trouble. You understand me?’

  ‘How do you know that will work?’

  He grinned, a long lazy unsettling grin. ‘I know Farouk,’ he said. ‘I know how he thinks. I know how he works. I know what he wants. Trust me it will be just fine. He’ll wait, just not for long.’

  Cambridge Evening Times

  Unidentified body found in barn by school children

  Police are seeking information from the public after the badly decomposed body of an adult male was found by school children in a derelict field barn near Soham, Cambridgeshire while they were searching for a lost dog.

  A police spokesperson told reporters that they were awaiti
ng forensic reports to help establish the identity of the man. The body had been there some time and attempts to identify the body had been hindered both by the passage of time and by a failed attempt to burn down the field barn at some stage, though the police were unable to confirm that these two incidents are related.

  Police are currently working on the theory that the man may be in the country illegally, possibly as an agricultural worker. Recent raids on local farms have uncovered large groups of men working illegally, and kept like virtual prisoners in a number of isolated locations throughout East Anglia.

  Any members of the public who have any information should contact …

  Sarah

  ‘And then Woody told me the reason he was home was that he had made an appointment for us to go and see the registrar and that the sooner we went the better.’

  ‘And you agreed to that?’

  ‘It felt like the ground was slipping away from under my feet. It didn’t feel like I had any choice. He said they would want to ask me questions to make sure it wasn’t a sham marriage. I laughed.’

  ‘And how did he react?’

  ‘He didn’t think that it was funny. He said he was paying me a lot of money to keep my mouth shut and bail Ryan out and that I needed to understand what was at stake, and that if they found out that we were lying, if he got into any kind of trouble, then the law would be the least of my problems, he didn’t like to think what would happen if he didn’t pay Farouk.’

  ‘They?’

  ‘The authorities. The immigration people. He said I needed to get my head around the idea that this had to work and work well. “Be happy, smile” he said. “You’re going to get married. You’ll need to learn these questions and answers before we go to the Register Office”.’

  And how did that make you feel?’

  ‘Sick.’

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘So how did you and Mustapha meet?’ the Registrar was asking. She was smiling, her voice had a warm upward lilt; she had a pen poised over a pad, and although it might seem like any other conversation, these were the questions Sarah needed to get right for the wedding to go ahead. She tried to remember to smile, after all this was meant to be a happy occasion.