The Sting

by Kimberley Chambers

  ‘Who has Jack got on his payroll?’

  ‘None of your fucking business who. Pass me that black bag. There’s another bottle of brandy in it.’ Tommy pressed play on the cassette recorder. ‘Reminds me of you, this.’ The song was Janet Kay’s ‘Silly Games’.

  ‘Tommy, I really must make a move now. Caroline will be pulling her hair out if I leave it any later.’

  ‘No. Not until we’ve watched the sun go down. You can ring Caroline from a call box later.’

  ‘You can’t drive the car, Tommy. You’ve had too much to drink.’

  ‘I wasn’t intending to. You can drive it.’ Tommy held his hands out. ‘Dance with me. Our song’s on next.’

  Kim felt she had no option other than to take his hand. Earlier she’d felt she had the situation under control. But now she was cursing herself. She was in the middle of nowhere with her drunken, armed, ex-boyfriend. A known villain who was in a volatile state of mind and reluctant to let her leave.

  Tommy held her close to him as he crooned the words to Johnny Nash’s ‘Tears on My Pillow.’

  Kim stared at his jacket. It was lying on the ground. The gun was in the inside pocket. She felt scared now. If Tommy could kill his uncle in the way he had, what might he do to her or Mikey? His head obviously wasn’t in a very good place. Killing someone was one thing. But chopping their hands and penis off was psychotic behaviour.

  As the song neared the end, Kim knew this might be the only chance to get away. She lifted her knee and caught Tommy hard in the groin. He fell to the ground, but grabbed Kim’s legs and tripped her up too. ‘You fucking bitch. You’ve spoiled my day now,’ he hissed as he snatched at his jacket and took the gun out of the pocket.

  ‘Tommy, I’m sorry. But I need to take Mikey home. Please can we leave now?’

  ‘When I say so,’ Tommy shouted. ‘I enjoyed today. Now you’ve ruined everything. You’re not the person you once was. You’re a fucking snake. What was you gonna do? Take the car and leave me here to die?’

  ‘No. I would have come back for you.’

  ‘Liar!’

  Having been woken by the conversation, Mikey got out of the car. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘Get back inside the car, son. Now!’ Tommy ordered.

  Mikey’s eyes widened as he clocked the gun. ‘Can we go home now, Kim? Please. I miss my other mum and dad.’

  ‘Just do as Tommy says, Mikey,’ Kim urged.

  ‘Daddy not Tommy. I’m his fucking father,’ Tommy spat.

  Kim crouched next to Mikey. ‘Everything is going to be OK. Please get back inside the car though and stay there.’

  ‘OK,’ Mikey wept.

  Tommy downed more brandy before pointing the gun at Scratch’s chest. ‘Walk. Behind the car. Then keep walking,’ he ordered.

  Scratch had been in numerous dangerous situations in the past, but never like this.

  She thought of Jay, the lovely new home they’d had a bid accepted on, and their wedding plans. She’d been an absolute idiot to come here alone today; if the wedding she’d so been looking forward to didn’t take place, she had only herself to blame. ‘You’re frightening me now, Tommy. Please don’t hurt me. For Mikey’s sake.’

  ‘Shut up and take your clothes off.’

  ‘No, Tommy. Please God no. You’re not thinking straight. We were raped ourselves. You know how that feels.’

  ‘Do as I fucking say,’ Tommy yelled. She was right. He wasn’t thinking straight. He was seething and very inebriated. He’d had to get sozzled to carry out his plan.

  Tears ran down Kim’s cheeks as she undressed.

  Tommy paced up and down, gun in hand. ‘That was our song as well. You chose to knee me in the bollocks while our song was playing. How low can you go? After everything you’ve already done to me. I can’t believe you was going to drive off and leave me here to die.’

  ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Too late for fucking sorries. Take your bra and knickers off an’ all.’

  As he sauntered towards her, Kim cowered. ‘Move over there,’ Tommy pointed, before scooping her clothes and underwear under his left arm.

  Kim hugged her knees to her breasts to try to cover her nakedness. Memories of her awful childhood came flooding back. She recalled sitting in this position as a kid when her mother rented her out.

  ‘Feel exposed, do ya?’

  Kim stifled a sob. She was sure Mikey was looking out of the back window of the car. ‘Yes. Of course I do.’

  ‘Now you knows how it feels then, don’tcha? That’s what you’ve done to me. You exposed me and at the same time ruined what little life and friendship I had. I can never look the Darlings in the eyes again, not after being duped by you. Does that make you feel good about yourself, does it?’

  ‘No. It doesn’t.’

  ‘Put your clothes back on.’

  ‘What!’

  ‘You heard. You didn’t honestly think I would rape you, did you? As if! God, it’s as if you don’t know me at all. Unlike you, Scratch, I have never forgotten my roots. You’ve changed, for the worse. A part of me will always love the old you, that cheeky, ballsy skinhead bird who used to make me laugh. But I don’t like the new you. In fact, I despise the new you.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Tommy. Please forgive me,’ Scratch wept.

  ‘And so you bastard well should be. You’ll be living with the guilt of what you’ve done for the rest of your life. There won’t be a day goes by you don’t think of me. You mark my words. I’ll make sure of it.’

  Gun in hand, Tommy walked over to the car. He took a bag out of the boot and urged Mikey and Scratch to sit on the picnic blanket with him. ‘This is for you,’ Tommy said, handing the bag to Mikey. ‘There’s twenty grand in there for you to spend any way you want when you get to seventeen. I know it sounds a long way off, but I’m hoping it might pay for your driving lessons and your first car.’

  ‘Oh, Tommy. You don’t have to do that. Honestly,’ Kim said.

  Tommy glared at her. ‘Oh yes I do. I’m his fucking father. Your mum, this one here, the real one,’ he pointed at Kim, ‘will open up a trust fund and put it in there for you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Mikey said. He didn’t have a clue what twenty grand was and couldn’t stop staring at the gun. It was freaking him out.

  ‘Did you enjoy spending time with your dad?’ Tommy asked, ruffling his lad’s hair.

  Mikey flinched, which saddened Tommy. ‘Yes. Apart from when I was tied up.’

  ‘I’m sorry about that. Really sorry. Can I have a hug?’

  ‘Give your dad a hug,’ Kim urged, trying to work out where this was leading.

  Tommy hugged the lad, then turned to Kim. ‘When he’s old enough to understand, I want you to tell him all about our days at Maylands and the great fun we once had. Can you do that for me?’

  ‘Yes, Tommy. I dare say when he’s older you can tell him yourself, mind.’

  ‘No. That won’t be possible. I never want him to forget me though.’

  ‘He won’t. I’ll make sure of it.’

  ‘Right, you get back in the car, Mikey. It was a pleasure spending time with you. Oh, and when you make it as a professional footballer, don’t you forget to tell the press who your real dad was. Your mum will take you home in a bit. I just need to have a quick chat with her first.’

  ‘OK. Bye, Daddy.’

  Tommy’s face lit up. The boy had called him ‘Daddy’. He got to his feet. ‘Walk over this way. Away from the car. Look at that sunset – ace, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes. It’s lovely,’ Kim replied.

  Tommy sat by the edge of the cliff and urged Scratch to do the same. ‘Want some?’ he asked, offering her the brandy.

  Her nerves shattered, Kim gratefully drank some then handed the bottle back to Tommy. She didn’t like heights. Especially as she was sitting near the edge of a cliff with a drunken deranged man who had a gun.

  ‘Do you know what, Scratch, I don’t reckon I was ever destined to be h
appy. I know you had it tough as a kid too. But at least you’ve come through the other side, found some serenity in your life. That’s never happened to me. Not properly, anyway.’

  Kim had to think of her words carefully. She couldn’t afford to say the wrong thing. ‘Now you and Donna have split, I’m sure you’ll find love, Tommy. The woman of your dreams must be out there somewhere.’

  ‘Don’t fucking patronize me,’ Tommy hissed. ‘All through my life I’ve been let down by people. People who I mainly trusted. I loved my mum and sisters. It was great when it was the four of us. But then he’d come home from the oil rigs and start knocking seven bells out of my mum again.’

  ‘It must have been awful for you.’

  ‘Shut up and fucking listen for once, will ya? I don’t want your sympathy, that’s for sure.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  Tommy swigged at the brandy. ‘As if me mum dying wasn’t bad enough, Hazel then gets done for murder and taken away. Then I get told my dad isn’t my dad and that horrible old cunt Nanny Noreen isn’t my real nan. So I get pushed out my own home and sent to live with that fucking pervert. I didn’t even get a proper chance to say goodbye to Rex before that bastard Alexander took him to the knacker’s yard. I loved that dog. Broke my heart in two, that did.’

  Tears streaming down his face, Tommy paused and angrily wiped them away. ‘When I moved to South London, I hated it there at first. Until I met Danny Darling. His family were so kind to me, used to invite me round for dinner. They really took me under their wing. Ronnie was great back then too. A real dude. We used to go over Millwall on a Saturday. Good times. Suzie Darling was like another mum to me. Jack was in prison in those days. Apart from living with that pair of weirdos, I was actually moving on. Until one night when that stinking bitch Auntie Sandra decided to stay over her sister’s house. That’s the night that dirty fat cunt made me share a bath with him. I knew it was wrong, but tried to convince myself he was harmless. But of course he weren’t. Worse then happened, so I ends up stabbing him and was carted off to Maylands on my thirteenth birthday. What a way to celebrate becoming a teenager, eh?’

  Kim said nothing. But was crying now herself. Operation Sting could go fuck itself. She wanted no more part of it. Poor Tommy.

  ‘Do you remember that night Smiffy died? When we ran towards the fairground and his lifeless body was all screwed up on the grass.’

  ‘Yes. I had nightmares over that for a long time afterwards.’

  ‘Well, I still have those nightmares. I dread going to sleep at nights. If it’s not Smiffy, I see my uncle looming towards me.’

  ‘I feel your pain. I still dream of that monster my mum rented me out to. These things never truly leave you, do they?’

  He was in his own world now, lost in the story of his past. ‘Then, after Smiffy died, we became closer. I never truly forgave Benny and Dumbo for running away that night, ya know. I get that they were scared, but I would never have left him alone with those evil shitbags. But you helped me grieve. We got through his death together. You were my rock back then.’

  ‘You were mine too,’ Kim said in earnest.

  Tommy turned to her. ‘Marrying Donna was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, ya know. I could never open up to her like I could you.’

  ‘I can’t open up to Jay like I did to you either.’

  ‘Really?’ Tommy was pleased by this snippet of information.

  ‘As I’ve already told you, he doesn’t know Mikey is mine. I have never told him I was abused either. Or how bad my mother actually was.’

  ‘Why?’

  Kim shrugged. ‘He comes from such a normal family. His parents and his sister are lovely. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Only people who have been victims of abuse can truly understand.’

  ‘When Robbie was born, Donna wasn’t exactly the maternal type,’ Tommy continued. ‘It was me who’d get up in the night and see to him when he cried or was ill. Soon cracks began to appear in our marriage. Donna would go out with her mate a lot, which didn’t bother me at all. But if I fancied a night out, there’d be murders. She’d hunt me down wherever I was, sometimes with the baby, and accuse me of all sorts. I never cheated on her, not once. You and Donna are the only two women I’ve ever slept with. We plodded on for the sake of Robbie. Jack and Suzie were against us separating, sort of forced us to stay together. But then finally Donna found a bloke and you came back on the scene. For the first time in years, I felt a spring in my step, a reason other than Robbie to get up in the morning. I was so excited to be seeing you again. Obviously, I was distraught to find out Robbie wasn’t mine. But do you know what, a part of me thought: That’s my ticket to get away from Donna. I have no ties now. You and I can be together.’

  Tears pouring down his cheeks, Tommy drank the last of the brandy. ‘But that wasn’t to be, was it, DS Regan? You stitched me up like a fucking kipper and threw me to the wolves.’

  ‘Tommy, I can’t tell you how bad I feel. I am willing to resign. I’ll tell my boss everything. I will do anything to sort this shit out. I swear on Mikey’s life.’

  Tommy stood up. ‘It’s too late for that. I’m done with this shit life of mine. One thing I’m grateful to that old cow Nanny Noreen for is her religious ramblings. Don’t get me wrong, I doubt she’s gone to heaven. She’ll be in hell. She used to teach us about the most Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and the angels. Her actual words were “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.”’

  ‘No, Tommy. Noooo,’ Kim screamed, as her first love placed the gun against his right temple.

  Tommy chucked an envelope towards Scratch and smiled. He wasn’t scared. He wanted the misery to end. ‘I told you you’d think about me every day from now on, didn’t I? You were the final nail in my coffin, Scratch. Please don’t let our son ever forget me. Be happy in life.’

  A second later, Tommy pulled the trigger …

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Nine Months Later

  Danny Darling glanced at his watch: 5 a.m. Too early to get up, but he knew he wouldn’t get back to sleep. Today would’ve been Tommy’s twenty-second birthday. It was also the day he was going to get revenge for the pal whom he missed so much.

  Danny glanced across the room. Eugene was still asleep, snoring like a pig, as per usual. They were meant to be on holiday in Spain, had been until yesterday morning. They’d travelled back with dodgy passports, would be returning to Spain this evening, providing all went well.

  He could remember receiving that letter as though it were yesterday. It had chilled him to the bone. Sobbed on his knees in front of his wife and kids, he had. He’d read it numerous times until it was imprinted in his brain, before burning it.

  Dear Danny,

  Please don’t be angry with me, but by the time you read this I will have taken my own life.

  I know this must be a shock for you, but my head’s been all over the place and I’ve had enough, mate.

  There’s stuff you don’t know about what my uncle did to me. I could never really talk about it, except to Scratch. She’d been through similar shit. But you’ll be happy to know that, earlier this week, he got his comeuppance. I went round his flat, cut his cock off first, then his hands. Then I rammed the nonce’s cock down his fucking fat throat.

  Obviously, finding out Robbie wasn’t mine broke my heart. But, believe it or not, a day later I found out I did have a son after all. Scratch conceived him while at Maylands and then proceeded to sort of give him away. He has a decent life though. Lives in a nice house, goes to a good school. Mikey, his name is. I snatched him the other day so I could spend some time with him before I did the deed. He’s lying next to me fast asleep as I write this.

  Which brings me to Scratch. Turns out she’s Old Bill and she gave me a tip-off. The filth want the Darlings behind bars big time. For fuck’s sake get rid of anything untoward and tell your dad, Ronnie and Eugene to do the same. I think you�
�re all being watched. I also think they know who killed Griff. Be on your guard and please don’t contact or hurt Scratch. She came up trumps in the end, even though she lied to me at first.

  Please DO NOT mention Scratch’s involvement or Mikey’s existence to your dad or brothers. You know how hot-headed Ronnie can be. I plan to put a bullet in my head in front of Scratch tomorrow. That’s enough payback for her deceiving me. The press won’t print jack-shit. Bound to cover up my death if the filth are after your family.

  I’m rambling now, so best I say my goodbyes. I need to write to my sister next.

  There’s fifty grand in a sports bag in the loft at my old house, mate. Can you put twenty grand in a trust fund for Robbie, please? For when he turns seventeen. Twenty is for you. Treat Lucy and kids out of it. And the other ten grand, give to Maylands.

  Please thank your mum, dad and brothers for all they’ve done for me, Dan. Apart from my mum and sisters, you were the only family I ever had. As for Donna, she can rot in hell for all I care.

  Thanks for all the memories and the good times, bro.

  Until we meet again.

  Tommy.

  PS Burn this letter as soon as you’ve read it.

  Feeling an overwhelming surge of sadness, Danny’s expression hardened.

  He owed it to Tommy to stay strong. Today of all days.

  Paul Markham hovered awkwardly by the lounge door. ‘Are you sure you’re OK, Lin? Silly question, I know. But I will ring my dad and blow work out if you need me to come with you.’

  Linda Boyle dabbed her eyes with a tissue. ‘No. You finish the job, Paul. I’ll be fine, honest. Alice offered to come with me too. But this is something I need to do alone.’

  ‘OK then. If you’re sure. I’ll be back by lunchtime. Love you.’

  ‘Love you too.’

  Linda waited until she heard Paul drive off before taking the large framed photo out of the bubble-wrap. She’d only picked it up yesterday. Thanks to Tommy leaving her a sports bag full of cash, twenty thousand pounds in total, tomorrow she would be having the wedding of her dreams.