Ghost House (Soul Mate - Book One)

by Richard Crawford

  Kev and cowboy boots come at me together. I do okay holding them off for a bit, then I take a couple of heavy knocks and it starts to get messy. Somehow I get turned and I'm between the four of them. They shove me around a bit and Moose grabs me from behind, at least I think it's him. I struggle but he hangs on, then two of them have hold of me. They bounce me off wall and rubbish bins, laughing while they do it. I end up in a heap by the fence. I grab the bars and try to pull myself up before they start kicking me. Someone says something I don't catch. Hands yank me up and spin me round.

  Kev is standing off a bit, watching. One of the guys wrenches my arm up my back. One of them holds my other arm and grabs my hair, dragging my head back. Kev steps forward. I'm remembering the way he laid into me last time, thinking I survived that. But then I see the blade in his hand.

  That makes me thrash and struggle. But I can't break free. Kev stands watching with that sick, cat got the cream, smile. I want to believe he's just trying to scare me but I think of the ghost. And his eyes tell me that he's got something nasty planned.

  He closes in on me. Hairgel guy moving alongside him. Kev lays the blade up against my face. I swear he's seen way too many movies. The blade slides back against my ear. I'm thinking Reservoir Dogs and nearly shitting myself.

  "Tell us a joke now, funny guy," Kev says and the blade nicks my ear. Blood trickles down my neck. "So what did you say to Deb?"

  I'm not breathing. He's so close I can feel his boozy breath on my face and see the madness deep in his eyes. He shifts the blade, running it down to my belly. I think he's going to gut me like a fish. I'm trying to think of some story to tell him, but I've got nothing.

  There's a crash from the alley and Mickey comes stumbling round the corner. For a moment I'm glad to see him. If he makes a run for it he can get help, at least they'll think he's gone for the cops. But Mick's staring at the blade and instead of running away he comes charging towards us.

  "Look out, Kev," Hairgel guy sees Mickey first.

  Kev starts to turn. His knife hand stays low as Mickey comes up on him.

  It's like in a movie. They're so close together I can't see what happens. But I know. For a heartbeat they just stand there, pressed up against each other. Then Mickey makes this funny little noise, like a cough, and his knees go. Kev pushes him away and Mickey folds towards the ground, boneless. His mouth's open but he doesn't make any other sound as he hits the floor. For a moment no one moves.

  I break free. I just want to get to Mick. Find out how bad he's hurt; get help. But they jump on me and I can't get to him. I scream for help and lash out with my fists. I don't care about getting hurt. It all gets blurred a melee of bodies and even in the madness, part of me is aware of every second Mick's lying on the floor bleeding. I sort of hear the sirens. There are more bodies in the way. But I just keep fighting to get to Mickey. Some part of me is thinking; this can't happen again.

  I don't know anything else until I'm face first against the wall and someone's pulling my arms behind me. I feel the cuffs tighten around my wrists; the cuffs are rigid so my arms are locked up behind my back. It stops me struggling. Someone's shouting. I realise it's me, yelling for someone to help Mickey.

  "Calm down," one of the cops holding me up against the wall is saying it over and over.

  I don't calm down and they shove me on the ground and pin me there. I can't see Mick. I have to know what's happening.

  I hear one of the cops say, "I know this guy, he's the one went nuts in the cells."

  I can hear them calling for more back-up.

  "Help him," I yell. "Get an ambulance." I try to turn my head to see what is going on but one of the cops pushes my face into the ground.

  "Calm down. The paramedics are with your friend. Calm down, stop yelling, let them do their job," he says.

  I stop struggling and yelling.

  "We've got to take you in. Are you going to come along nice and easy?" the cop asks.

  "Yeah." I let them pull me up. I can't see Mickey. I know he's on the ground, but he's surrounded by guys in green, and bags of medical stuff. I try to dig my heels in. "I want to see him." But the cops hustle me down the alley. I think I see Suki near where Mickey is. Then the cops push me in the back of their car and one of them gets in beside me. He tells me to calm down. I try to look back but the car's pulling away and I can't see anything through the crowd. "Will he be OK?"

  It's a stupid question.

  The cop just shrugs.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The cops drive slow through the town centre, like it's a parade. Gargoyles leer down. The groups of people hanging round outside pubs for a smoke or wandering home at the end of the night watch us go by. Checking out who's in trouble tonight. But I don't care. Everything looks distant to me, weird and orange under the streetlights.

  When the radio crackles with bursts of messages I try to listen; I want to know what's happening with Mickey, but the radio doesn't say anything about him. Not knowing makes me feel crazy. I don't know how this happened. I want to lash out at stuff, to kick the seats, bang my head against the window. The cop sitting alongside is eyeballing me. I have just enough sense left to know crazy stuff won't help. I slump in the corner and stare out the window as the bright storefronts drift by.

  The station's not far. The two cops haul me out of the car and take me inside. Kev's there. The lights are really bright. I can see how he's got blood on him. Mickey's blood.

  "He never did anything to you," I yell at him. "You fucking psycho."

  One of the cops pushes me back against the wall. A couple more move in between us. The same boozy sergeant is on duty. He eyeballs me and I shut up.

  Inside my head thoughts collide like a motorway pile up. I can't believe how it works. Kev's done this to Mickey and he's just standing there smiling like nothing happened. I'm so mad but I can't move. I just stand there against the wall while Kev's pulling faces at me and shouting how I'll get mine. The cops tell him to shut-up. He ignores them They hustle him out pretty quick.

  When he's gone, one of the cops still has his hand on my chest, pressing me back against the wall. I look at him, like what am I doing that he's pushing me?

  "Calm down," he says. As if he'd be fucking calm if it was his mate.

  Another cop's telling the sergeant the story, there's been a stabbing; one victim, two suspects detained, they don't know much more yet. It sounds like it's just another night. Nothing different. I think back a few hours and I don't know how we got here. None of what I remember makes sense to me.

  The sergeant tells me I'm going to be detained and reads out Miranda Rights. I keep asking about Mickey but no one knows anything, or they're not telling me. I hope they just don't know.

  They tell me to take off my clothes and shoes and put them in plastic bags for evidence. I ask do they think I stabbed Mick? They don't answer. I get this paper boiler suit to wear. Then it's fingerprints, photos and a DNA swab. It takes ages but I don't really notice. I don't have anyone to call. They get the doctor to see me, but he says it's just cuts and bruises, nothing that needs stitching, x-rays or anything. The doctor asks me a few questions and has a word with the sergeant.

  They put me in a cell with CCTV. I know they already think I'm a nutter.

  There's nothing much in the cell, a concrete bench with a plastic mattress, a stainless steel toilet behind a little wall. The camera's a round blob on the ceiling. I sit down on the bench and try to stay calm. Mickey's tough. He'll be all right. But I keep seeing the blade and all the things I tell myself don't really stick. I can't deal with not knowing. It doesn't help that after last time being locked in really freaks me out. I tell myself it's late, the ghosts won't come tonight.

  I try to think about Suki instead. But that's not good either. I hope she is okay.

  I'm glad when they come to take me out of the cell for an interview. There are two cops. One's old and bald and he does most of the talking. I answer his questions. It's important to do this rig
ht, so I don't get mad. I don't shout, even when it seems like they don't believe me about what happened. I go over it again and again for them. They tell me they have CCTV footage from the street. The theatre has a camera in the alley. They'll get that footage tomorrow. They tell me they haven't been able to speak to Mickey, and I know that means he's not doing good.

  "Can you find out how he is?" I ask.

  The other guy's younger with cropped dark hair. He writes stuff down. He says, "We'll check with the hospital later." But I know he's just saying it to keep me quiet.

  They tell me I'll get police bail in the morning. They won't answer when I ask them about Kev.

  "Speak to his girlfriend," I say. "It's not the first time he's used a knife on someone." This is not something I know for sure, but Deb Barbie knows something.

  When they're done they give me a cup of tea and lock me back up. I lie down on the mattress and stare at the ceiling. Every bit of me aches, but I don't sleep. I just lie there. It's like there's nothing left in my head.

  In the morning I get breakfast, another cup of tea, a pile of clothes and a pair of trainers. I don't recognise the clothes but they fit all right. There's a new sergeant and he goes through the stuff for police bail. He tells me what I can't do, which includes seeing Mickey. He gives me a time when I have to come back every day and sign in at the police station. I say yes to everything and sign all the stuff he gives me. I get my money and phone back and they let me out.

  Suki's waiting in reception. I get a weird feeling when I see her and I don't know if I'm glad she's here or not. I guess she brought the clothes. She's got different clothes on but she looks tired. Really tired, but she's calm. She's got this look on her face, like she's ready to take care of everything. She sees me and comes over. Her arms slide round me.

  "Oh, Tommy, I'm so sorry." Her head's pressed up against my chest.

  My heart starts to thump. I can't ask. I just stand there not moving, not holding her. She must sense something because she looks up at my face. I don't have to say anything.

  "God no, Tommy. He's not dead." She flinches at the word and holds me tighter. "I'm sorry."

  I make a strange croaking noise, not like crying or anything, but weird as if I've forgotten how to speak. Suki keeps one arm round me as we go outside. We head towards town and sit down on a bench outside Christ Church meadow.

  When I can speak normally, I ask her, "How is he?"

  "He's in intensive care. I was up there last night but they didn't say much," she says. "But I rang this morning. He's hanging in there."

  "I'm going to see him."

  "I'll come with you," she says it straight off and then hesitates. "I went to the garage. Ally knows what's going on." She looks a bit anxious as if she's interfering. "He was okay about it."

  I don't mind that she spoke to Ally. It won't improve his opinion of me and I can guess what he said when he heard. I bet he had some choice words to say about me, but I'm not bothered about that. I'm wondering if I should tell Suki about the bail conditions. But it's not like she's breaking them, so I don't.

  The sun's out and the tourists are already flocking round the colleges. We go up the hill past the big old walls of Christ Church and into the High to catch the bus to the hospital. We don't talk but Suki holds my hand. I like it and that makes me feel bad. The last thing I should be doing is getting in deeper with her. But I don't say anything. The bus heads out of town up the long hill. It's pretty empty now the rush hour is over, just a few sleepy students heading up to Brookes. We get off the bus and walk down back roads to the hospital. It's a square, huge monster on top of the hill, right by a cemetery. I imagine Mickey all hooked up to tubes and stuff and I start to get freaked out. Hospitals terrify me. I try to hide it from Suki, which means I don't speak much. I'm being a pathetic jerk but she doesn't seem to mind.

  Suki knows her way to intensive care. When we get there the first thing we see is Max sitting alone in the waiting area. Somehow Suki knows who he is and she heads straight across to him. I follow. When Max looks up he sort of smiles at her. It's more of a grimace really. He looks weird. Usually he's colourful, larger than life. Today he just looks normal, grey faced and knackered. I hang back. There's a potted plant to one side of him. Suki goes and sits down on his other side.

  "How's he doing?" she asks.

  "No change," Max says. "When he's stable they'll move him to a ward. So that's good." He doesn't sound convinced it's going to happen.

  "He's going to be fine." Suki moves so she's sitting real close to him and puts an arm round his shoulders. For an insane moment I'm jealous.

  I feel so bad that I go up and say, "Hi, Max." And wait for him to start yelling at me.

  He doesn't yell. He looks at me for a moment, his eyes hard, and then says, "Tommy." His voice is flat. It's clear I'm the last person he wants to see.

  "Can we visit him?" I ask.

  "No, not at the moment." Max shakes his head like he wishes I'd go away. He looks shattered. I guess he has been here all night. It's a nice thing for him to do for Mick.

  Suki talks to the nurse and then we sit on the plastic chairs. We don't talk, we hardly move; we just stare at the notices on the wall even though they're too far away to read. Max or Suki speak to the nurse from time to time. Then a couple of Max's friends turn up and take him off to get a coffee and something to eat. He doesn't look as if he wants to leave.

  I watch him go. "I didn't know him and Mick were so close."

  Suki gives me a weird look. "Now he's got someone here with him, I think we should go when they come back."

  "Why?"

  She hesitates and then just shakes her head. "We can call and we can come back later. We're not doing any good here, and we need to talk, Tommy."

  I say, "OK." Because it's the easiest thing to do. It's not like it makes any difference to Mickey. I guess I'm the guy no one wants to see and I can't blame anyone for that. When Max comes back with his friends, Suki goes up and says goodbye to him.

  I hang back. Max isn't taking any notice of me but his friends are giving me dirty looks. I can tell what they think and they're a heartbeat from coming over and telling me about it. Suki's right. I don't want to make things worse.

  We walk back to the bus and Suki tells me I should come back to the boat with her. We need to talk. The way she says this has an ominous tone. She's being sweet to me but I realise there's a subtle change, and it's not a good one. I'm definitely on the way to being a project again.

  When we get back to the boat, she puts the kettle on. "Do you want something to eat?" she asks.

  "No, thanks."

  "Are you sure, it's no trouble?" She stays in the kitchen. "I told Benny I'd go in this evening and do a few hours to make up. You can stay here, shower, rest up." She's getting the coffee mugs and stuff while she's talking. Now she stops and looks at me. "One question, Tommy."

  Even I can work this one out, but I don't want to play ball. "Yes," I say.

  "That thing with Kev, was it about the ghosts?"

  I'm tired and edgy. I don't want a lecture or a social worker. "Of course it was about the ghosts. Do you think I go round winding up nutters, getting my friends stabbed, for fun?" She gets on with the coffee and after a couple of moments I feel like a jerk. "I'll take that shower," I say. "If that's OK."

  "Sure. I'll be gone when you're done but I'll see you tonight."

  I stay in the shower until she's gone. Then I have to decide whether to stay on the boat or bail. It's not that hard. Suki's here. The thing with the ghosts is way out of hand. I've got nothing. Perhaps Suki and Jess can suggest something. I find some pills and take a handful for my headache. Then I lie down on the sofa for a couple of hours. It's quiet and soothing being here.

  ####

  When I wake up it's the next morning and Jess is making a racket in the kitchen. I groan and sit up, hoping that will be enough to get her to quiet down.

  "You're awake." She does some more clattering, just to make s
ure.

  "What time is it?"

  "Ten thirty." She's stirring a mug of something now, but somehow I don't think she's made me coffee. "I think you need to get down the police station?" she says.

  She's right. I guess that's why she woke me, but she could have just given me a shake. Would it kill her to touch me? Does she think she's going to catch something? Then I forget all that as I get a sudden blind flash of panic. "Mickey, how is he?" For a minute I think she's going to be a bitch and ask what took me so long, but then she says,

  "Suki called the hospital this morning and there's no change. He's still in intensive care." She's watching me when she says it.

  The panic's gone but my heart's still beating fast. I don't want Jess to see so I keep my head down and get on with tying my shoes.

  "Suki will be back after two. She said to tell you she wants to talk."

  "Sure," I say as I head out the door. I know she's not impressed with my manners but I'm not up to dealing with a lecture or an inquisition this morning.

  I do my stuff at the station and head up to the hospital. When I get to intensive care, Max is sitting there. He's in the same seat and it's like he hasn't moved. After a moment, I go and sit down in the row at right angles to him. "How is he?"

  He looks up, takes a couple of seconds to register who I am and says, "He's a bit better. They might move him later."

  I grin at him. I can't help it. "That's good, he's going to be OK, right?"

  The look on his face says it's not that simple, but he manages a nod. "Yeah, no complications, he should be OK."

  "Can we see him?"

  "Not at the moment," he says. After a bit he adds, "If you come back later this afternoon," he says it sort of grudgingly but also as if he hopes I'll go away.