Beholden

by Fox Brison

  “Enslave… What do you want with Joanne?” Holy fuck, this wasn’t just a random home invasion, this was the psycho who’d been stalking... I risked a glance into her eyes; they were dark pools of insanity. Phone Joanne? Oh hell no. This nutter could do what she liked to me, but there was no way I was helping her trap the woman I loved.

  “If she isn’t here in ten minutes I’ll kill you and go to her afterwards,” raging bull dyke said nonchalantly. “Don’t try to be noble now, it’s too late. You’re scum and once Joanne sees the real you, she’ll come crawling back to me.”

  No choice. If I survived this I never wanted to hear those words again. “Okay, okay I’ll call her.” I dialled Jo’s number. It only involved pressing the screen twice but I struggled to perform even that rudimentary action. I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or concussion; I figured the ringing in my ears indicated it was a combination of both.

  “Put it on speaker phone,” she barked as it connected.

  “Joanne I need to see you,” I whispered when she answered.

  “Adele, I told you earlier-”

  I cut her off. “I know what you said but I’m ready to show you who I really am.” My voice shook uncontrollably. “I want to be out in the open… I’m sick of being a stranger.”

  “Oh baby you sound terrified. Look I was being selfish - you’ve shown me everything I need to see I-”

  “So you’ll come?” The knife went round and round in an agitated circular movement urging me to get a move on. I don’t know when it started but I was crying; in my mind I heard the sentiment Joanne wanted to express, but I couldn’t let her say the words. I didn’t want to hear that she loved me for the first time whilst a knife was being held to my throat, nor did I want to risk fuelling the stalker’s anger any further.

  “Of course I’ll call a cab right now, are you sure there’s nothing else?”

  “No nothing.” This was my opportunity. It was a precious one, albeit fleeting. “Bow just brought a bird in, you know how I hate that. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up and was slapped across the face for my efforts but it was worth it.

  I only hoped Joanne would understand my cryptic warning.

  Chapter 40

  Joanne

  The four hours after Adele declared her feelings of love were the worst of my life, and when I say I’ve had some bad moments, I’ve had some bad moments. It wasn’t the fact she told me she loved me, it was my callous response that was giving me daymares.

  I mean who was I to dictate when it came to her body?

  I reached an impasse. Was I ready to go and see her, to beg her forgiveness? Or should I let her slip away, our differences too large to overcome. I finally admitted I was a selfish fool. She would show me when she was ready and that was more than good enough for me. I’d already seen enough of her to know that I loved her too, inside and out.

  So the phone call I’d just received from her asking me to go to her house should have had me doing cartwheels, but something wasn’t right. I’d never heard her tone so timorous before, even after the appalling incident with Mackenzie (the bitch) and the Guinness. Plus what was the reference to Bow all about? Adele told me when I received that poor dead finch that ever since she bought a collar for Bow, she never caught birds anymore.

  Why did she call? Come on, Joanne, think!

  She’d already been to see me, and I left her in no doubt about my feelings. Would she really reach out so soon? I paced the length of the front room once, and then for a second time, her words reverberating. I’m ready to show you who I really am… I want to be out in the open… I’m sick of being a stranger… dead bird… why did she emphasise those particular words? I stopped prowling.

  Oh. Oh shit…shit...shit.

  “Hello, can I speak to Sergeant Anderson? She’s not?” Damn. The officer who was dealing with my stalker complaint wasn’t at her desk. “I need help, my friend Adele Jackson is in terrible danger.”

  “Has your friend had an accident?” The calm voice on the other end asked.

  “No… actually I’m not sure… I think there’s someone in her house.” I was starting to panic “You have to send a patrol car to 45 Montgomery Road.”

  “Did your friend tell you there was an intruder in her house?”

  Jesus did they teach them to be so fucking calm and pedantic at polis school? “Yes… well no not exactly. She told me her cat brought in a dead bird-”

  “Miss, have you been drinking this evening?” came the patronising reply.

  For fucks sake. “No, look Sergeant Anderson is familiar with the case. My name is Joanne Cassidy, I’m being stalked and was sent a dead bird. Adele called, and what she said was garbled, but it was in code.” I was frantic by this point

  “Okay Ms Cassidy calm down. I’ll give Sergeant Anderson your message and in the meantime as soon as a car becomes available, we’ll send one round to check on your friend.” As soon as one becomes available? It’s Saturday night and Fringe is on - it might be next Saturday before one becomes available. This was a fucking joke and not one of the good ones from the festival either.

  “She could be dead by then,” I shouted angrily and hung up, nearly putting my finger through the screen in the process. I dialled Ashleigh. “Ash, I need to borrow your car. Adele’s in trouble.”

  “I’ll be there in two minutes.” True to her word she pulled up outside one minute fifty four seconds later but she didn’t get out. I ran to the driver’s side and opened the door. She was still in her pyjamas.

  “I’m driving you,” she insisted

  “Ashleigh, I don’t have time for this.”

  “Then hop aboard and you can fill me in on the way.” Every second I spent arguing could cost Adele far more than any crash cost me, so I jumped in the passenger seat and Ashleigh put her foot down. I explained about the phone call and she appeared sceptical but unlike P.C Plod, didn’t discount my fears.

  We arrived at Adele’s street exactly eleven minutes later.

  “Perhaps we should wait for the polis, Jo,” Ashleigh said quietly.

  “We might be waiting a long time. The stalker obviously wants me there otherwise why did Adele call?” Ashleigh didn’t argue; she knew my reasoning was sound. “Look if I’m wrong and it turns out Adele was merely drunk calling me, no harm done. However, if I’m right and something happens to her I’ll never forgive myself.”

  She nodded in reluctant acceptance. “I don’t like this, Jo. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “I know. You wait here and if the police do come, tell them to proceed with caution. This nut job could be armed for all we know. Stop the car,” I hissed.

  “What?”

  “There.” I pointed to a dark blue Ford Focus. “That’s the car that’s been up my arse for the last month. Call the polis with the registration. The bastard might have a record.” I left Ashleigh to make the call and reaching Adele’s house, I rang the bell, praying I wasn’t too late.

  I was utterly flummoxed when my ex-girlfriend answered the door.

  “Moira?” I spun around to see if I was being pranked. I half expected Ashleigh to be standing by the gate grinning and videoing it on her phone.

  “Hi, doll. Surprised?”

  Surprised, confused, nauseous - you name it I felt it. “I thought…I thought you were in Dundee.” Of all the insane things she’s done, that’s the first thing you think of?

  “I was. I came back a few months ago. Just before your mam went into rehab. Come in off the doorstep we don’t want the neighbours gossiping.” I stepped inside and saw Adele on the couch; she was trussed up, a macabre parody of a pig ready for slaughter.

  I died inside.

  Her hands were bound with wire ties which were obviously too tight because I could see them cutting into her skin, and a dribble of dried blood leeched from her left eyebrow down the side of her face; the pièce de résistance of Crazytown was a tea towel stuffed crudely in her mouth.

  “What the fuck have you done, Moira, and how
did you know about my mum?” I went on the attack. She was unrecognisable. Her white blonde hair was short, in fact, there was very little of it left. It wasn’t a grade one, it was a grade zero.

  And that’s when I saw the knife.

  “The whole estate knows about your mum, and don’t worry this bitch won’t hurt you anymore.” She motioned the blade toward Adele.

  I thought I was going to throw up. Geoff isn’t my stalker, Moira is. “Moira, please, you have to let Adele go, she’s done nothing wrong.” I pleaded.

  “Nothing wrong?” she shouted. “Then what’s this?” She took a piece of paper out of her pocket and I glanced at the crumpled sheet stuck together with Sellotape. It was that stupid bloody contract I insisted on; she must have been rifling through my rubbish…

  Dear god she wasn’t your common and garden nutter, she was a bloody sociopath!

  I looked at Adele her eyes which should have been wide with fear were instead full sorrow. She was blaming herself.

  “So, I’m just gawna put ma cards on the table, Jo. I wanna get back together. I’ve learnt, babe, from my mistakes.” She sat on the sofa next to Adele and indicated I should sit the other side of her. My brain was all over the place, but I played along because it was the only chance Adele and I might have of getting out of this unscathed.

  “You’re special, Jo, I cannae live without you.” She grasped my hand tightly and instinctively I tried to pull away, but she squeezed it tighter. “Don’t be scared, doll, we’re good together. I can make you love me, especially now your mam’s not around to interfere.” She began mumbling and stood. Obviously sitting still wasn’t an option when you were bat shit crazy. “She had to go. You understand don’t you?” Her entreaty was delivered so coolly I found myself nodding.

  “Yes, I understand you did it for us.” I have no idea what she was talking about but I needed to buy some time. Conciliation was preferable to aggravation – for the time being.

  “Exactly, she’s a drunk and doesn’t deserve your love. But I showed her. Ha,” she cackled.

  I suddenly became more interested in what she was saying “Moira, what do you mean you showed her?” I kept my voice even.

  “You were so angry when you left for college… and your mam was crushed, she didn’t want to go at first… yeah but once she drank that first vodka with an extra special ingredient added, she got in the car, no bother…” she sniggered. “It was as easy as taking candy from a baby.”

  Special ingredient…oh my God the GBH. It was all falling into place and scarily so. Candy from a baby? It was more like a lamb to the slaughter.

  “She didn’t know what day of the week it was when I swerved into posh here.” She flicked her head at Adele. And then bent down into her face, the end of the knife trailing down Adele’s cheek. “I was sure you’d call the polis. Aye but you wanted in Jo’s pants instead… didn’t ya, ya sick fucker.” She slapped Adele’s face and I jumped at the crack that rent through the air. I tried not to cry when I saw the red handprint on Adele’s cheek, nor the pain endemic in her eyes. “Don’t feel sorry for the bitch, she deserves everything she gets for what she did to you.”

  Moira went to the window and I took the opportunity to turn to Adele and mouth sorry. She shook her head and I didn’t know what it meant - don’t be sorry or I hate you. Something outside caught Moira’s attention and it gave me enough time to slip my phone out of my jacket pocket; I’d just managed to slide the screen up when she turned and caught me.

  “Give me that.” She grabbed it and smashed it against the wall; it landed on the floor and although the screen was cracked, it didn’t appear as if the phone itself was broken, a picture of a now dismembered Edinburgh Castle still on the screen. “She has you all mixed up Jo, you’ve got that Swedish syndrome.” I think she meant Stockholm syndrome then again she could’ve been referring to fangirling over Abba or something, God only knows what her thought process was. Actually, it was akin to Satan only knows what she was thinking.

  I had to protect Adele and I had to do it with the only weapon I had.

  Me.

  “Thank you babe, for doing this, it really shows me how much you love me. I can’t believe I couldn’t see it before. But you’ve made your point now and she’s not worth going to jail for. Besides who’s going to look after me if you’re locked up?” I took her hand in mine. “Why don’t we go back to my place and I’ll cook for you.” Moira seemed torn, so I cradled her cheek and gave her a quick peck on the lips, desperately trying to stop the bile rising from my stomach and decorating her pristine black shirt.

  “I missed your cooking, doll. And then we’ll curl up on the sofa and snuggle like old times.” She kissed me again. I couldn’t believe I used to snuggle with this monster.

  “Okay.” Okay? In what world is this okay? “Chicken and chips alright? I’ve nothing much else in. We’ll need to go shopping tomorrow.” I was disgusted with myself but if playing housewife kept Adele safe?

  I was willing to do whatever it took.

  Chapter 41

  Adele

  Joanne was using all her powers of persuasion to get her ex to leave my house with her, but that was the last thing I wanted to happen. At least here I was the focus of Moira’s fury; if they left she might turn on Jo and I couldn’t take that risk. Watching her indulging the psycho’s delusions was slowing killing me.

  “Moira shouldn’t we take the gag out of her mouth before we leave? I mean we don’t want her choking,” Joanne said as they were preparing to go.

  “Don’t we?” Moira replied with a deadly sneer and Jo stole a quick glance at me. It was a miniscule moment in the grand scheme of things, but the care in her eyes was unmistakable. “What the fuck was that?” Moira exploded and pulled Joanne around to face her.

  “What was what?” Joanne hurriedly stepped back from her ferocity.

  “That look, you never looked at me like that.” She ran her fingers over her shaved head. “You’re as sick as she is. You enjoyed this cunt fucking you, enjoyed her telling you what to do. You love her!” She was growling, a rabid animal readying to attack.

  “N…no…no,” Joanne stuttered, realising she was losing control of the situation. “Moira, I love you. Please come back to mine and I’ll show you how much,” she beseeched.

  “Youlittlewhore!” Moira tightened her hand around Joanne’s arm and pain flittered across the face of the woman I loved. “I saw it Jo, I saw it in your eyes and the eyes don’t lie - unlike your filthy little mouth.” She raised the knife in a foreboding manner. I didn’t have time to think. I launched myself from the sofa, jumped onto the coffee table and hurled myself towards them.

  Joanne screamed and I heard the knife bounce out of Moira’s hand and across the wooden floor. Then everything went still. I managed to dislodge the tea towel. “Get the knife, Joanne,” I yelled. Moira wasn’t moving beneath me and Joanne hastily retrieved it, carefully cutting the plastic ties and freeing my hands.

  “She’s still breathing. Call the police and an ambulance.” I was acting on autopilot and Jo did everything I asked whilst I manoeuvred Moira into the recovery position. A minute later there was a furious knocking on the door.

  “Police open up.”

  Bloody hell that was quick!

  Jo ran to the door and let them in. “Drop the knife, drop it.” She looked surprised to see the weapon still in her grasp. Opening her fist the knife fell to the floor with a thud. More police cars arrived, including Sergeant Anderson. Joanne remained rooted to the spot just inside the door and I walked over and took her in my arms.

  I never wanted to let her go.

  ***

  “Please come home with me,” I whispered after leaving the police station once we’d made our statements. It would be a long time until Moira saw the cold light of day, not that that was any comfort to a clearly choked and shocked Joanne.

  “I can’t. You could’ve died because you met me,” she said tearfully.

  “That’s not
true, Joanne, I would have died if I hadn’t met you.” I took her hand. “I was a lonely, bitter, pretty poor excuse for a human being before we met. You’ve changed my life in so many ways, so many amazing ways.”

  “I can’t. Too much has happened, Adele. I’m sorry.” She walked towards Ashleigh, not even gracing me with one last look over her shoulder.

  For the second time that night I said goodbye to Joanne, this time more certain than ever it would be the last.

  Chapter 42

  Adele

  I took a couple of days off work. I had more than one decision to make, the least of which was the promotion opportunity and all that it entailed. My head knew what it wanted but my heart owned several other ideas.

  “Hi, Adam, thanks for coming,” I said when he sat down at the table in the café where I’d arranged to meet him. I didn’t want to do this at the office. In truth, I didn’t want to do this at all, but my conscience was finally demanding I take notice.

  “Is everything alright, Adele?” he was staring at the laceration on my forehead and the bruises on my cheek and jaw.

  “Not really. To cut a long story short, Joanne was being stalked by an ex-girlfriend. She attacked us at the weekend.”

  “Shit, are the two of you okay?” His eyes widened, and he was clearly concerned.

  “Yes, we’re fine. But it made me think, you know? Adam, if there’s one person at the firm who has given me support, been close to being a friend, it’s you. You were always looking out for my best interests, even if I rarely acknowledged the fact.”

  “I saw something in you, something I liked and respected,” he said proudly.

  “Which makes what I have to say next even harder. I blackmailed Joanne into being my girlfriend…” I continued with the whole sorry tale, Adam yo-yoing from shocked to angry and then back to shocked. When I finished he shook his head.