Unfinished Business

by Heather Atkinson

  Brodie cringed inwardly. He’d insisted on dragging Maggie Creegan into the mix. Then again, Mark Creegan’s fate had already been sealed. Seth would have ensured he was shot whether Maggie had been there or not. “I hope you don’t mind me asking Lauren, do you love Seth?”

  “I did, until he killed Mark.”

  “Even though you were scared of him?” he said, leaning forward in his seat. Finally he was going to learn the truth about what happened all those years ago.

  She nodded. “He reminded me of Dad too much but I knew Seth would never hurt me. It was Mum he hated, not me. As he got bigger he started sticking up for me with Dad. The day I…killed him…Seth was out. Mum was watching telly in the front room and Mark was upstairs doing his homework. I went into the kitchen for a drink and Dad was there, I didn’t know, I thought he was out but he’d come back from the pub and come in through the back door. He always went there after work. He was drunk as usual. He’d been in his shed first.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Looking at his trophies, bits of skin and jewellery he took from the women. Mum threw them out before we called the police.”

  “Why did he collect the pieces of skin?” Seth had always refused to say.

  “It wasn’t enough for him to take something that belonged to them. He wanted a part of them. It made him feel like they were truly his.”

  Brodie grimaced. The piece of skin Seth had attached his own skin trophies to had belonged to one of Bryan Flynn’s victims, carefully preserved by Bryan himself. Seth had taken it before Maggie could throw it away and hidden it for years until he could utilise it for his own sick purposes. The whole thing was one massive fucked-up situation.

  “Okay. Go on Lauren,” he said gently.

  “Dad started hitting me, he thought he could because Seth wasn’t in. Mark heard the noise and came down, he tried to stop him but Dad punched him and knocked him out. Then Seth came home. Dad stopped when he walked in and they stared at each other. That’s when I picked up the knife and started stabbing him. Seth didn’t stop me, he just watched until I got tired. I dropped the knife and collapsed and he caught me and hugged me, telling me it would be alright, he’d sort it. Mark woke up and saw Dad’s body and screamed the house down. I don’t know when Mum came into the room but she didn’t do anything except smoke while Seth sorted it out. He convinced Mark to take the blame, he said they’d lock me away in an asylum for life if he didn’t.” She started to cry. “So he said he’d do it, for me. Seth wiped the knife, so my prints wouldn’t be on it, then he made Mark stab Dad’s body. He couldn’t do it at first so Seth put the knife in his left hand…

  “Why his left hand?”

  “To confuse the police. Seth wanted them looking at him not me if they doubted Mark. It worked too. Seth stood behind Mark so he wouldn’t get blood on him, and forced his hand. Mark was crying and sick. Then Seth said it had to look like Dad attacked him, so he’d get off with the self defence plea. He punched Mark and he fell on the floor. When I went to him Seth told me to stay back. I wanted to comfort him but Seth wouldn’t let me. Then he broke a couple of things to make it look like they’d been fighting.” Lauren released a sigh of anguish. “Mark was so sweet and that broke him. He was a mess but he said he’d do it for me. I didn’t want him to,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t take the guilt, I had problems before but they just got worse. The sicker I got the more Seth and Mum took over my life, telling me what I could and couldn’t do, not letting me out on my own.”

  “They were frightened you’d tell somebody.”

  “The only place I was allowed to go alone was to see my therapist because everything I told them was confidential. But I wouldn’t have told anyway, that would have made Mark’s sacrifice pointless and I couldn’t do that to him.”

  Brodie could relate to that. He found it eerie how the actions of the Creegans mirrored his own family’s. Well, almost anyway.

  Lauren’s body relaxed, as though she had just rid herself of a weight that had pressed down on her for years and had most likely been at the root of her mental health problems. She yawned and sank back into the pillows. “I’m sleepy.”

  “Just one more thing Lauren, if that’s okay?”

  “For you Brodie it is,” she said lazily.

  “Can you tell DS Clarke about what your dad did to those women in Camden?”

  Clarke’s sharp eyes flicked to the scars on her bare arms. Of course he’d already spotted them.

  “He was The Carver down there,” she said, picking at her nails again. Seth and Sarah had refused to confirm it, although everyone knew.

  “He did that to you?” said Clarke, indicating her arms.

  She nodded.

  When he noted her hands were shaking Clarke decided to leave that subject, for now.

  “Is that all? I’m so tired,” said Lauren.

  “For now,” said Clarke, closing his notepad. “But I will have more questions for you at some point, if that’s okay?”

  “You’re a friend of Brodie’s?”

  When he wasn’t sure what to answer, Brodie said, “yes he is Lauren. He’s a good man, you can trust him.”

  “Then I will. Please visit me Brodie,” she said before dropping off, black eyes sliding shut.

  Brodie was annoyed as he left her hospital room. He’d thought all ties with this case were severed. Now he’d said he’d visit her he’d have to. It was a point of pride that he always kept his word.

  “What will happen to her?” he asked Clarke after they’d stepped out into the corridor and closed the door to her room behind them, leaving the guard on her door.

  “When she’s recovered she’ll be transferred to another hospital for a mental health assessment. I reckon with her history she’ll be found unfit to stand trial. She’ll spend the rest of her life in a secure mental hospital. She won’t go to prison.”

  Brodie nodded. It was the right thing to do. At the other end of the corridor he saw someone he really didn’t want to see walking to meet them. “What do you want ya wee wank?”

  Matt’s smile was almost a smirk. “Lauren Creegan’s in there,” he said, nodding to her hospital room. “Apparently she just burnt her own mum to cinders.”

  “What the fuck has that got to do with you?” seethed Brodie.

  “Take it easy Brodie,” Clarke warned before turning his attention to Matt. “You can’t see her. Ever.”

  “I don’t need to see her. Just give me the highlights.”

  “You’re getting nothing. Do one.”

  “You can’t chuck me out, this is a public building. I’m here visiting a sick auntie.”

  “Bollocks. Don’t let him fool you Clarke,” said Brodie.

  Clarke gave him a wry look. “I wasn’t about to. Despite what you think I’m not a complete moron.”

  “Is this man bothering you Gentlemen?” said a voice.

  Matt paled when he heard that voice. Slowly he turned to see Cass approaching. “I’ve a right to be here…,” he began weakly.

  “I believe the gentleman asked you to leave,” she said in what Brodie thought was a bizarre but very wonderful parody of the traditional man-protecting-woman situation.

  “This is a public building…” He trailed off, sweat shining on his large forehead as she stared back at him coldly. He released a yelp when her hand shot out, grabbed his crotch and twisted.

  “You had your chance,” she said, twisting harder.

  Matt’s whole body shook and his skin turned white at the enormity of the pain. Both Brodie and Clarke grimaced but made no move to stop her.

  “Clarke…please…,” begged Matt. “Help.”

  “Finally you’re getting what you deserve,” he cheerfully replied, enjoying the show. “But maybe you’d better stop now Cass. This is a busy hospital and I’m sure they don’t have time for extra bollock surgery today.”

  With one final twist Cass released Matt, who slumped to his knees, cupping his genitals.

  “Do one bef
ore I get really angry with you,” she hissed.

  Matt shuffled away, doubled over, drawing curious looks from passers-by.

  Both Brodie and Clarke gazed at Cass adoringly as she glared at Matt’s retreating back, ready to intervene should he decide to change his mind and come back. The two men caught the other’s soppy look and frowned at each other.

  “Do you need us for anything else or can we go back to Glasgow?” Brodie asked Clarke, eager to get going.

  “You can go, for now. I might need you to return to give evidence as to what Lauren said in there but we’ll see.” Clarke’s eyes flicked to Cass, who was waiting for them in the corridor. “Are you going back to Glasgow too?” he asked her.

  “I am. It’s my home.”

  “Oh,” he said, disappointed. “Well, if you’re ever in the area again look me up.”

  “I just might.”

  When they smiled at each other Brodie turned his back on the pretext of giving them some privacy, when in truth the old jealousy was rearing its ugly head. “We’d better get going,” he muttered.

  “Coming Boss,” she said cheerily.

  When Brodie turned back round, Clarke held his hand out to him. “Thanks for all your help.”

  Brodie just nodded as he shook his hand, giving it a macho squeeze.

  “Bye Cass,” Clarke said.

  “Bye Daniel,” she replied with a flirtatious smile, giving him a peck on the cheek.

  “Daniel is it?” said Brodie as they wandered out of the main doors. “I was beginning to think he was called Clarke Clarke. Still, at least he’s an improvement on Mr Hair Gel in Hawkshead.”

  “You’re not wrong there. By the way, I had a call from Greenacre while you were in with Lauren.”

  “Let me guess, he’s happy with the result.”

  “Over the fucking moon would be more precise,” she smiled. “He’s finally been vindicated. He didn’t have much sympathy for Maggie though.”

  “I don’t blame him and neither would you if you’d heard what Lauren had to say.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I’ll tell you on the flight home. I need to think it over first.”

  Cass nodded, it was just another of Brodie’s ways.

  “So, going to see Clarke again?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Who knows?” she replied enigmatically.

  Brodie kicked himself for analysing her cryptic answer as they stood outside waiting for the taxi that would take them to the airport. Why couldn’t he stop being so pathetic? He hated himself for his sad crush.

  Cass glanced up at Brodie and her smile broadened when she saw his brow was furrowed in concentration. He was lost in thought again, he did that a lot. No doubt he was mulling over the Creegan case. He looked so cute when he was brooding over something, those unusual eyes of his turning dark and hard. When he started to come out of his own little world she hastily averted her eyes. She didn’t want him to catch her staring but she found it hard not to, ever since she’d first seen him in that bar in Glasgow. But then he’d hired her to work for him even though she’d made it clear that would preclude any relationship between them, which had made it plain where he stood on that matter. He didn’t want her.

  “This looks like our taxi,” he commented as a car meandered towards them.

  “Yes Boss,” she said, putting that barrier up between them again. It was safest to keep it there. Giving in to what she really wanted would only ruin what they already had and that she could never allow.

  THE END