by Maria Savva
His cheeks appeared sunken and there were dark circles around his eyes. He had lost a lot of weight. ‘I… don’t kn-know where she is, David,’ she said, trembling, unsure what he would do next.
‘Don’t give me that!’
As he got up, he wobbled to one side so that Cara thought he would fall over. His hands were shaking.
‘You’re not making this easy for me, Cara. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.’ He walked over to the bedroom door and slammed it shut. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he withdrew a handgun. ‘Now,’ he said softly. ‘You.’ He pointed at Gloria. ‘Stand up and go over there.’
Gloria moved quickly towards the wardrobe as directed, not taking her eyes off the gun.
He followed her, stood beside her and smiled, before placing the weapon against her head. ‘So, Cara, tell me where Penny is or I’ll shoot.’
‘Really, I’m telling you the truth.’
‘I’ll shoot!’ he shouted.
‘David, please calm down. Come over here. Let’s talk about this sensibly.’ Cara felt her heart pounding and perspiration on her forehead.
‘She’s taken my kids! She’s left me. You can’t take someone’s kids away from them without an explanation. She must be crazy! She’s not fit to be a mother. I’m going to find her and I’m going to get my kids back. They’re my kids! She can’t just take them. I have rights, you know.’
His eyes were boring into Cara’s, and his hand, which was still pointing the gun at Gloria’s head, shook violently.
Cara held her breath.
‘Okay, wait,’ he said, ‘I’ll make a deal with you.’ Lowering the weapon, he walked towards Cara, sat down on the bed and smiled. His gaze was like that of a wild animal. ‘I don’t want to end up in jail.’ He waved the handgun as he spoke. ‘I only want to see my kids. Phone Penny and ask her if I can see them.’
‘Please put the gun down,’ said Cara, catching her breath.
‘I will, as soon as you phone Penny.’ He pointed the gun at her.
Cara gasped.
‘I’m not afraid to use it, you know.’
She froze. Eyelids shut, a feeling of resignation and futility, she sat waiting for the bullet. There was nothing more she could do. There was no way to reason with him. She prayed he would just get it over with.
‘Open your eyes!’ he screamed.
She had been expecting the bullet, so when his voice sounded loudly out of the silence, for a split second she was sure he’d pulled the trigger. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
David lowered the weapon and placed it inside his jacket pocket.
From the corner of her eye, Cara could see Gloria still standing like a statue in front of the wardrobe. She daren’t look directly at her sister in case David thought they were communicating. Perhaps if they played along with him he would calm down.
‘Well?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to phone Penny?’
‘David, I really don’t know where she’s gone. She ran away. She didn’t tell me where she was going.’
‘You’re lying! She tells you everything,’ he said, sitting closer to her on the bed. ‘In fact, you probably put the idea in her head, didn’t you? Penny would never walk out on me. She loves me. You’re the one who told her to leave, aren’t you?’ He stood up.
‘No, of course not,’ she said, acutely aware that he could easily take the gun back out of his pocket.
‘She can’t have just disappeared.’ He scanned the room, as if searching for clues. ‘Someone must know where she is.’ Turning to Cara, he said: ‘Are you hiding her here?’
‘No.’
‘Okay, you won’t mind if I search the place, in that case.’ He kicked the chair forcibly; it fell over and skidded across the floor to where Gloria was standing, narrowly missing her feet.
‘If I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you,’ he said, sneering at Cara.
Following the trajectory of the chair, he walked over to the other side of the room and pushed Gloria aside as if she were merely an object in his way: she had to grab hold of the edge of the wardrobe to stop herself falling over.
David began sifting through the contents of the wardrobe, throwing most of the clothes onto the floor in a frenzied rage.
Turning around, after finding nothing of interest, he shouted: ‘Where is she?’ before running out of the bedroom, trampling on Cara’s clothes as he went.
The two sisters remained where they were, paralysed by fear. They could hear furniture being moved and the sound of glass breaking in the kitchen.
‘I should try to call the police,’ said Gloria quietly. She walked towards the bedroom door.
‘Be careful,’ whispered Cara.
Gloria hurried out of the room.
Cara waited. She heard the front door open and close. Nerve-racking seconds ticked by.
Eventually, David returned to the bedroom. ‘Okay, she’s not here, where is she, Cara? You’re a bit too old to play games, and I’m getting impatient.’
‘I told you, I don’t know where she is. Please—’
‘No. No. You won’t keep it from me!’ He pointed a finger at her. ‘You’ve been a burden, Cara. It’s all your fault. You told her to leave me, didn’t you? We were fine until you stuck your nose in. Didn’t you think I was good enough for her? Hey? Answer me!’
Cara trembled with fear. ‘I never knew she was leaving until the day she left.’
‘Don’t give me that! Do you know what you deserve? You deserve to be shot. Yes. Shot. You’ve taken my kids away from me. What right do you have to take a man’s wife and kids from him?’ Standing close to the bed, he reached into his jacket pocket.
‘David, please!’
‘Scared, are you?’ He laughed. ‘You should see yourself, you’re so scared.’ He aimed the gun at her, laughing.
‘Don’t do it.’
‘Why? Why? Give me one good reason.’
‘Gloria has gone to fetch the police.’
There was a moment of complete silence as he seemed to regain some control of his senses. He looked at the wardrobe where Gloria had been standing, as if just realising that she wasn’t there. Dropping the gun to his side, he appeared to be backing off.
Cara managed to breathe again, but the interlude of calm did not last for long. He leaned forwards and pointed the weapon at her. His finger balanced threateningly on the trigger.
Cara stiffened, resigned to her fate.
‘Do you really think I’d kill you and risk going to jail for life? I wouldn’t bother. You’ll be dead soon enough, you old cow. You want me to kill you, don’t you? Because I’d never see Penny if I was locked up. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want me to kill you, so I’ll never see my kids. You’re a cruel woman, Cara.’
She slowly dared to open her eyes, and watched as he paced the room waving the gun dangerously.
‘F-for your own sake, p-put the gun away. The police will be here any minute.’
‘I’ve probably got enough time to kill you and get away. I can’t hear any sirens, can you?’ He leaned over her again, his navy-blue eyes piercing deep into her soul.
Police sirens sounded close by and he became edgy. Putting the gun back into his pocket, he said, ‘I’m going to hide here in the wardrobe. When they come in, tell them I’ve gone, or I’ll kill you. If I don’t manage to kill you today, I’ll kill you when I get out of jail. Do you hear me?’ He stepped into the wardrobe and pulled the doors shut.
Gloria ran into the bedroom, followed by two armed policemen.
‘Where is he?’ asked one of the policemen.
Cara pointed to the wardrobe.
The police officer walked over to the wardrobe and opened the door.
David fixed Cara with a searing stare. ‘You told them I was in here, didn’t you, Cara?’
‘Are you David Truman?’ asked the policeman.
‘Yes, I am,’ he said, still glaring at Cara.
The policeman proceeded to caution him a
nd he was handcuffed and led away from the house.
‘Are you all right, Cara?’ Gloria sat on the bed and held her hand.
Tears formed in Cara’s eyes.
A policewoman entered the room and explained to them that they would be required to make a statement about what David had done.
Her thoughts muddled, Cara could still see David’s angry face staring at her; he’d threatened to kill her, his eyes full of malice. ‘We won’t be making any statements, Officer. I’m sorry we wasted your time,’ she said.
‘Wait! Cara, you’re still in shock.’ Gloria took a tissue from the box at her bedside and wiped Cara’s tears. ‘Of course we must make statements. He’s a dangerous man.’
‘No, we won’t be making any statements. David is family. Officer, I’m sorry, but you can leave now.’
The policewoman frowned. ‘If you’re sure, madam.’
‘I’m sure. It’s family business. We’ll sort it out.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ said Gloria, standing up and facing the policewoman. ‘That man came into our home today, with a gun, and threatened to kill us. He’s wrecked our home.’
‘That’s not true, and you know it.’ Cara felt sure that very soon she would lose control and break down.
Gloria turned to look at her, open-mouthed.
‘Now I’m really confused,’ said the policewoman. ‘Which one of you two ladies is telling the truth? I have to warn you, it’s an offence to waste police time.’
‘The truth is, it was a family argument that got a bit out of hand.’ Cara could still feel the hatred emanating from David’s stare. ‘We don’t need the police involved,’
‘Fine,’ said the policewoman, nodding, ‘but if you change your minds, or if you have any further problems, please get in touch.’
A policeman then entered the bedroom. ‘Are we ready to take statements?’ he asked.
‘They don’t want to press charges.’
The police officers left.
‘Glor,’ Cara called out, as her sister followed the police out of the room. ‘Don’t leave, please stay, I’ll try to explain.’
Gloria rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking, Cara. He could have killed us. If I hadn’t gone to get the police, God knows what would have happened. I’m still trembling, I won’t feel safe in this house again while he’s out there.’
‘I know, I know.’
‘You’re in shock,’ said Gloria, sitting next to her on the bed. ‘They’ve taken him to the police station, but they can’t hold him without any evidence. They’ll release him and he’ll be back here. I’m scared. Aren’t you scared? What went on between you when I went to fetch the police?’
‘If you hadn’t returned with the police when you did, I’m sure he would have killed me.’ Cara stared ahead blankly.
‘So, please, help me understand. Why on earth are you defending him?’
‘He threatened me, Glor. He said he’d kill me if I told the police where he was hiding. If I go to court to give evidence against him, he’ll kill me. The truth is, Penny is on the run, in a women’s refuge to get away from him. He’s a violent man. He used to hit her.’
‘Oh my God.’ Gloria put a hand over her mouth. ‘Why didn’t you warn me about opening the door to him?’
‘I was hoping he wouldn’t come here. Anyway, I’ve never seen him like that before. I didn’t have a clue about his violence when I was living with them.’ Her conscience taunted her. Why hadn’t she told anyone about her concerns? ‘I was always upstairs in my room,’ she said loudly to silence the mocking voices in her head. ‘Penny didn’t tell me the whole story until the day she left him.’
‘But didn’t you hear him shouting?’ Gloria said. ‘He was quite vocal today. Unhinged.’
‘I asked Penny a few times about the shouting, yes. She said he had a bit of a temper, but she never said anything about the violence.’
‘Poor Penelope.’ Gloria shook her head. ‘That man is a lunatic. He looked drunk today, or on drugs. Did you see his eyes? What makes you so sure he won’t come back today when they let him go because they have no evidence? We should have given statements to the police.’
‘They’ll find his gun; they won’t let him out straight away, he’ll be charged.’ Cara tried to reassure herself as she spoke.
‘But what if they let him out tonight, or tomorrow? You haven’t seen what he’s done to the house, it’s like a bomb’s hit it.’ Standing up, she began gathering Cara’s clothes from the floor. After folding some of them and placing them in the wardrobe, she lifted the chair and put it back next to the bed, then picked up the breakfast tray and heaved a sigh.
Cara noticed her sister’s hands shaking with nerves.
Eventually, Gloria sat down. ‘Cara, please, all we have to do is give a statement to the police about what happened here today, then he’ll be punished. Think about Penelope and her children.’
Cara felt selfish suddenly, realising she had only been thinking of herself. Making a statement against David could mean he’d be sent to prison; Penelope would no longer have to hide.
There was a knock at the front door.
‘Who can that be?’ asked Cara nervously.
‘I’m not answering it.’
‘Aunty Glor!’ a voice shouted through the letterbox.
‘It’s Ben,’ said Cara. ‘Let him in.’
Gloria left the room.
Cara heard him talking to Gloria in the hallway, but could not make out what they were saying.
A couple of minutes later, Benjamin entered Cara’s bedroom.
‘Hello,’ he said.
‘Hello, Ben.’ Her cheerful greeting was met with a grimace.
‘What? Oh, you want me to call you Paul? I’m sorry… I can’t—’
‘I stupidly thought you were right—that I should tell Claire everything. I told her about you and about what happened with Maggie. I went back to London, after my meeting last night. It’s all over, she’s thrown me out.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘You should be, it’s all your fault.’
She lowered her eyes.
‘I’ve brought my belongings. I’ll be staying here for a while, with Aunty Glor.’
‘I’m sure it’s just heat of the moment—’
‘Well, I’m glad you’re sure, because I’m not.’
‘Don’t worry, it will sort itself out.’
‘No it won’t. I shouldn’t have listened to you. “Tell her everything,” you said. “She’ll understand,” you said. Now you’re saying everything will sort itself out. I can’t even bear to look at you, but what else can I do? I have nowhere else to go.’
‘Claire will come round; give her time.’
‘Time. Yes, time.’ He was sitting on the chair next to the bed with his head in his hands. ‘Time is all I have left. I’ve lost Amy. I’ve lost everything.’
‘I’m sorry, I thought it was the right thing to do. I’ll speak to Claire if you like. She seems lovely. It will be all right, you’ll see.’
‘Do you really think I’d let you speak to Claire?’ he huffed. ‘I’m not going to let you make things any worse than they already are. You ruined my marriage, poking your nose in, and now you’ve ruined my relationship with Claire.’ He stood up and placed his face close to Cara’s. ‘You’re a selfish, old—’
‘Shut up, Ben!’ she said bluntly.
He moved away from her, stupefied.
‘Get out of my room, I’m sick and tired of you. You deserve to lose Claire and Amy. If anyone is selfish, it’s you. I’ve had a gun to my head today. Penny’s husband is in town, looking for her, and he’s threatened to kill me. The last thing I need is you blaming me for your inability to handle your relationships. You’re an adult, you make your own decisions. Go away, I don’t want you here. I wish I’d never seen you again. Now I have, and it’s quite clear you haven’t changed, do you know how ashamed that makes me?’
‘Penny’s husband is in town?�
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She continued as if she hadn’t heard him speak. ‘You made Maggie’s life a misery and Penny’s husband did the same to her. You’re two of a kind, and he nearly killed me today. Go away, leave me in peace. I’m too old for this.’
‘No, no,’ he said. He sat down on the chair again. ‘Where is Penny’s husband?’
‘At the police station.’
‘The police station? I saw a police car outside. Quite a commotion. I didn’t realise… So that was Penny’s husband outside talking to the police? The scruffy guy in the beige jacket?’
‘Yes.’ She sat in silence.
‘What did he do to you?’ He turned his attention to the mess in the room. ‘Did he do this?’ he asked, pointing at the clothing in disarray.
Anger and frustration bubbled inside Cara’s mind as her cheeks reddened. David’s invasion of the house that day had left her in a state of terror and anxiety, and she wanted to hit out at someone. She recalled how Margaret had appeared older than her years during the time she’d endured Benjamin’s violence. Suddenly, to Cara, he represented all the men who, like David, caused women like Penelope to suffer.
‘Please, tell me what he did.’
‘He did what he used to do to Penny and what you used to do to Maggie; he tried to make me feel helpless, scared, intimidated.’ She felt her anger controlling her speech. ‘He threatened me with a gun and said if I didn’t tell him where Penny was he would kill me.’
‘So are they going to send him to jail?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Didn’t the police tell you?’
‘No.’
‘I’ve got to try and see him,’ he said, standing up.
‘Why?’ she asked, eyebrows raised.
‘He’s the man who beat up my daughter, why do you think?’
‘So you’re going to beat him up? How good of you, Ben. That’s not what Penny would want, don’t you see? You were the same as him. You may have changed, I don’t know, but the truth is, you did exactly the same thing to Maggie. What difference is there?’
‘Penny is my little girl.’
‘Maggie was someone’s little girl too. Penny is nearly thirty years old, you haven’t seen her in nearly sixteen years. All of this proves you’re still the same old Benjamin: any excuse for a fight.’
