Scorned

by Kerry Kaya

  “Yeah, well, I’m not in the mood for jokes.” He glanced across to the blonde. “I’m going away for a couple of days.”

  “Going away?” Jonny gave his brother his full attention. “Where are you going? What about the job? We’ve only got four days until we do it.”

  Sitting down at the table, Jimmy held up his hand, cutting him off. “The job is still on. I’ll be back before then. I just want to make sure all loose ends are tied up before I leave, and seeing as none of you are answering your poxy phones, I’ve had to come traipsing around every boozer I can think of, just to find one of you.”

  Shamefaced, Jonny looked to the floor. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve found you now, so bring me up to speed. Has Sonny sorted out the disguises?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good.” Jimmy was thoughtful for a few moments. “So that’s the guns taken care of, Gary’s sorted out the transport, and you’re saying that Sonny has definitely sorted out the disguises?”

  “Yeah, definitely. He showed me them when I went over to his place last night.”

  “Good.” Spotting the blonde walking back toward them with a tray of drinks, Jimmy made to stand up. “I’ll be back in a few days’ time.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Jimmy ignored the question. He watched as the blonde set out the drinks and he pushed his full glass across the table toward her. “Seeing as my brother is being so generous you can have mine,” he said beginning to walk away.

  “Jimmy, where are you going?” Jonny called after him.

  Ignoring the question for a second time, Jimmy walked outside the pub. He didn’t have the time for small talk. Hastily, he climbed into his car and slammed the door closed behind him. He still needed to throw a change of clothes and a few toiletries into an overnight bag, then have a couple of hours kip. What with the long drive ahead of him the next morning, he was eager to get on his way.

  Chapter 19

  Gary Carter was grinning from ear to ear. In fact, he thought his heart would burst inside his chest, he felt that proud. He smiled across at his old mum as she sat beside Cameron on the sofa. Noting that her glass was empty, he jumped up from his seat and set about refilling it. “Another drink, Mum?”

  “Just a small one, Son,” she smiled.

  Taking the empty glass, he walked out to the kitchen. “I’m just getting me mum another sherry.”

  Bethany rolled her eyes. Sitting at the breakfast bar, she looked across at her son’s father and hissed. “How long is she going to be here for?”

  “I dunno,” Gary shrugged his shoulders. “But her and our Cam are getting on like a house on fire.”

  “It’s Cameron,” she corrected.

  “That’s what I said.”

  She rolled her eyes for a second time and gulped down a mouthful of white wine. Despite her big speech in the supermarket, she had zero interest in her son meeting his grandmother.

  “Why don’t you come and sit in the lounge with us and get to know me mum a bit better?”

  Gary broke her thoughts and she screwed up her face. “I’m off for a bath,” she snapped. She gulped down her wine, placed the empty glass onto the breakfast bar, and stabbed her finger toward him. “I want her gone by the time I come down, do you understand?”

  Reluctantly, Gary nodded his head. He knew better than to make her angry. Plastering a smile across his face, he walked back through to the lounge. “Here you are, Mum,” he grinned.

  * * *

  “I am sorry, Stace.” Having just arrived home from visiting her son and grandson, Janet took hold of her daughter-in-law’s hand in hers. “But I had to see him. I had to meet the boy, my grandson. I would never have been to able rest easy again if I didn’t.”

  Stacey gave her mother-in-law’s hand a little rub and sighed. “I don’t blame you, Janet,” she said. “You did what you thought was right.” She gave a smile. “I might not like it,” she began to tap her finger against her chest, “but in here, I do understand.”

  “Do you? Are you sure?”

  “Of course.” She tied her dressing gown tighter around her slim frame, switched off the television, and began to tidy up the lounge, turning her back on her mother-in-law as she stacked a few magazines neatly on the coffee table.

  “He, I mean, Cameron … he asked me about Karen.” Kicking off her shoes, Janet took a seat on the edge of the sofa. “He asked me if she is okay.”

  Stacey spun around, her breath caught in her throat. Despite her feelings toward the boy, especially now that she knew his true identity, deep down, she had hoped he would know where her daughter was. It was one of the only things keeping her sane. “Are you saying that he doesn’t know where she is? That he hasn’t heard from her?”

  Janet shook her head. “He knows as much as we do.” Her expression became gentle and she paused before speaking. “He does love her, Stace, I’m sure of it. You should see the way his eyes sparkle when he speaks about her. Of course, he knows nothing can ever come of it, not now, not with them being cousins.”

  “Love,” Stacey spat. “He is the son of that whore and Gary, he doesn’t even know the meaning of the word.”

  “That’s unfair.”

  “Is it?” Stacey bristled. “He tricked our Karen into believing he was someone else. She loved him, cried herself to sleep, she did, when Tommy told her she couldn’t see him anymore. So don’t you sit there and tell me that he loves her.”

  About to open her mouth to protest, Janet quickly snapped it closed. She could see in a roundabout way that her daughter-in-law was right, but she had also saw the look in Cameron’s eyes, and she knew the look of a man in love. After all, she had six sons and she had seen the same look in their eyes over the years, including her eldest son, Tommy, her daughter-in-law’s husband. She cleared her throat. “Okay, I’m sorry, Stace, I won’t mention him again.”

  Stacey sighed. Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t have taken her anger out on her mother-in-law. She walked across the room, sat down on the sofa and took the elder woman’s hand in hers. “No, I’m sorry. It’s all this with Karen,” she said, throwing up her free arm. “I just want my baby to come home.”

  “And she will do,” Janet smiled gently. “I can feel it in my water, Stace.”

  * * *

  Talk about morning sickness, Karen felt as sick as a dog. She groaned as she sat back on her haunches. Her fingertips had turned deathly white as they remained gripped onto the toilet bowl. A second wave of nausea hit her, and she launched herself forward, heaving once again.

  “Oi,” a voice called out as they banged on the bathroom door. “I need to take a piss.”

  Gingerly, she stood up and with her hand across her mouth. She pulled open the door. The scent of cannabis hit her nostrils and she lurched toward the toilet, only just making it in time before she emptied the contents of her stomach.

  “Fuck me,” the voice said, as he hastily retreated away from the bathroom. “You need to sort your fucking self out.”

  Karen ignored him. At that precise moment in time, she was doing everything she could to stop the sickening waves that rippled through her.

  Thirty minutes later, Karen burst into the café. She’d only just made it to work on time.

  “What’s up with you?” Through narrowed eyes, Maria Mariano studied her.

  “I don’t feel well,” Karen lied. A pregnancy test had confirmed her suspicions, not that she intended to tell Maria her news, just yet.

  “Thought you looked a bit peaky. Out on the piss all night, were you?”

  Karen shook her head.

  “You know what you need, don’t you?”

  “What?” Karen’s eyes widened. She would try just about anything to stop the sickening waves from ravaging through her.

  Maria gave her a sly look. “A nice greasy fry up, with a big dollop of tomato ketchup, would do you the world of good.” She mimicked pushing a slice of bread into an egg. “Or how about a thick slice of
bread with lashings of butter, dipped into a nice runny egg?”

  Karen slammed her hand over her mouth and ran toward the staff toilet, leaving Maria to laugh out loud at her retreating back. “Don’t be long,” she shouted out. “These nice greasy pots need washing.”

  Karen heaved even harder, all the while, Maria’s shrill laughter rang loud in her ears.

  * * *

  Pulling into a motorway service station, Jimmy took the opportunity to stretch out his legs, grab a coffee, and to take a quick look at a map. Tracing his finger along the red line as it snaked its way across the page, he roughly estimated he should reach the outskirts of Liverpool in just under two hours.

  He pulled off the plastic lid covering the polystyrene cup, sipped at the steaming liquid, and leaned his back against the car door, whilst watching the comings and goings. He smiled at a couple as they walked past him, hand in hand, and realised in that instant just how much he missed his partner of over eighteen years, Aiden. What with everything going on, he had hardly given him, or his life in Spain, a second thought.

  Placing the coffee cup on the car roof, he took out his mobile phone and dialled the telephone number for the bar he and Aiden owned.

  “Hi,” he said into the mouthpiece. “It’s me.”

  He could hear the excitement in Aiden’s voice and smiled. He listened to the news his partner had for him, and not for the first time, did he feel as though he was leading two separate lives. One where he was a loyal, loving, protective partner, and a respectable businessman; the other where he was a thug and an armed robber. The two worlds couldn’t be further apart, even if he tried.

  He listened to Aiden telling how much he much he missed him, how much he loved him, and he smiled once again. “I’ll be home soon,” he said, saying goodbye and switching off the call.

  He gulped down the remainder of his coffee and tossed the empty cup into a waste bin. He had a feeling Danny McKay was right—all he needed to do was find Karen, and whoever had been responsible for killing his brother would be revealed.

  Anger creased his face and he looked upwards toward the sky. As he had promised his nephew, Liam, when his father had been laid out on his death bed, he would find the culprit, and when he got his hands on them, they were going to wish they had never been born.

  * * *

  Standing in the middle of the scrapyard office, Gary’s cheeks had turned red with anger. “What d’ya mean, he’s gone away?” he bellowed.

  Sonny looked up from his newspaper and sighed. “What I just said. He told Jonny last night that he was going away for a few days.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t fucking know; ask Jonny.”

  Turning to look out of the window, Gary spotted his youngest brother striding across the forecourt. “Yeah, I will do,” he said, marching out of the office. “Where’s he gone?” he shouted out.

  Jonny ignored the question and continued to make his way inside the office.

  Gary’s large frame blocked the doorway. “Where’s Jimmy gone?”

  “I dunno.” Jonny rolled his eyes. He didn’t like Gary at the best of times and especially not when he was bellowing in his face. “Can you get out of my way?”

  Gary stood his ground.

  “Gal, I’ve got a raging hangover. Will you just move out of my fucking way?”

  Still, Gary didn’t move.

  “Gal, let him in. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sonny roared.

  This time, Gary took a step to the side, giving his brother enough room to squeeze through the door. “Where is Jimmy?” he repeated.

  “I don’t fucking know; I’ve already told you that. He wouldn’t tell me where he was going.” Jonny flopped down onto the sofa and closed his eyes. Having spent the rest of the evening in the boozer with Nikki, he had a blinding headache as the result of having one too many beers, not to mention all of the tequila slammers they had downed.

  Gary stared into the distance. Why hadn’t Jimmy mentioned anything to him about going away? “Well, did he say when he would be back?”

  “No.” Jonny gingerly shook his head and smiled his appreciation as Sonny threw him over a bottle of Aspirin. Quickly, he swallowed the tablets down, dry. “All he said was that he was going away for a few days.”

  Gary was worried. The last thing he needed was for his brother’s little disappearing act to ruin the downfall he had planned for them all. Taking his mobile phone out of his pocket, he scrolled down to Jimmy’s telephone number, and marching out of the office, he pressed dial. When he reached his brother’s answerphone, it took all of his strength not to throw the phone across the yard. He thought to himself bitterly, where the fuck was he?

  * * *

  Jimmy parked the car, switched off the engine, and looked around him. He hadn’t been to Liverpool in years, and the only times he had visited, had been in the early hours of the morning, when he and Tommy had gone there to sell a stash of gold that they had stolen from an armed robber, named Mark Hopper.

  He glanced down at the scrap of paper Danny had given him, studied the address, and then looked across at a small parade of shops. It was here that his niece had last used her bank card. He was no fool. He knew the possibility of her being in the same area was slim. After all, according to Danny’s bent copper, she hadn’t used her bank card in over three weeks.

  Climbing out of his car, he locked the door, then crossed the street. There were just six shops in total: a launderette, a fish and chip shop, a convenience store, a café, a newsagents, and a pet supplies shop. He walked up and down the street.

  It was the newsagents where she had last used her bank card, and without pausing, he pushed open the door and walked inside. On one side of the shop was a rack of magazines, newspapers, and greeting cards. On the other side were display units holding sweets, crisps, and bottles of fizzy pop. He picked up a packet of mints and made his way to the till.

  “Just these, please,” he said, placing the mints on the counter.

  Rita Willis gave him a wide smile. She was in her late thirties, overweight, and had straggly, mousey brown hair that was in desperate need of a good wash and trim. She loved her little part time job. It got her out of the house of an afternoon, and gave her a bit of space from the kids, not to mention, she could eat as many packets of crisps and chocolate bars as she so wished. “That’ll be fifty pence.”

  Jimmy handed over the correct change and pocketed the mints. Leaning casually against the counter, he gave her a smile. “Actually, I wonder if you can help me,” he paused, as if unable to recall her name.

  “Rita,” she volunteered, basking in the attention he gave her.

  “That’s right, Rita.” His smile grew wider. “I’m looking for my niece and was wondering if you’d seen her around. She’s about five feet, five inches tall, has long, brown hair, really pretty girl. Her name’s Karen.”

  Rita screwed up her face as she tried to think. “Can’t say she sounds familiar.”

  Jimmy sighed. “I know she’s definitely been in here; she used her bank card to buy something.”

  Shaking her head, Rita gave him a sad smile. “Sorry, like I said, she doesn’t sound familiar. We have people in and out all day long, and I only work in the afternoons … gets me away from the kids for a bit, see.”

  “Okay, well, thanks anyway, Rita.” He pushed himself away from the counter.

  “Why don’t you try one of the other shops; you might have better luck there.”

  “Thanks, and I will do.” He turned and walked out of the shop. Outside on the pavement, he popped a mint into his mouth and sucked on it. Downhearted, he moved on to the next shop. He couldn’t help but think his coming here was a waste of time after all.

  * * *

  Standing behind the counter, Marco moved back slightly so Karen could squeeze past him. As she passed him by, he loudly sniffed the air. “You smell nice; you got perfume on?” he asked giving her a lazy smile.

  Karen gave him a cold stare. �
�It’s called deodorant, maybe you should try it sometime.”

  Marco scowled. Bitch, he thought to himself. He’d even had a shower that week. He lifted his sweaty armpits and wrinkled his nose as he gave them a quick sniff.

  He continued to watch her through narrowed eyes. Who the fuck did the stuck-up, Cockney bitch think she was? A smirk spread across his face. When he got his hands on her, she wasn’t going to know what had hit her. Oh, she was definitely going to be sorry for the way she spoke to him.

  Looking around him, he checked that the coast was clear, then ever so slowly snuck one of the knives out of its holder and placed it underneath the counter. He then dragged his jacket across the top of it, making sure that it was covered and hidden out of sight. She was going to be really sorry; he would make sure of it.

  * * *

  Feeling despondent, Jimmy began to make his way back toward his car. He should have known it would be a waste of time. He felt his shoulders drop. He’d been so sure that he would not only find her, but in doing so, would find out exactly what had happened to Tommy.

  He was about to cross the road, when a movement coming from the greasy spoon café caught his eye. He moved closer to the shop in question. The windows were steamed up, but just for a moment, he thought he’d seen her. He peered inside, and almost laughed at himself. It was an older woman with dark hair piled high on top of her head. He was about to walk away, when a younger woman came into view. His heart began to beat wildly inside his chest. It was her; it was Karen.

  Unsure of what his next move should be, he stood on the pavement for a moment, just watching her. Finally, he glanced at his watch. It was five-thirty. Surely the café would close for the evening soon. He walked back along to the newsagents, pushed open the door, and walked inside.