Living in the Shadows (28 page)

William noticed her upward glance at the ceiling; she was worried about Tim.

‘William, is it?’ He drawled the name out. Will-i-am.’ He pushed his chest out at William with each syllable.

‘Pearson.’ William stood his ground, his arms loose at his side, his eyes still fixed on the man. Inside he was beginning to seethe, his gut tightening, getting ready to strike first if necessary. But he was careful not to let it show.

‘I don’t want any trouble, Charlie. Not with Tim in the house. Not again.’ Susan moved to close the door to the living room.

‘Upstairs, is he? Not here? Not here, sharing this cosy little scene?’ Charlie slouched against the wall. ‘My son. The one you won’t let me see.’

‘I’ve told you; you can see him anytime. I’ve offered to bring him round to your mum’s.’

‘Just not here though, eh?’ Charlie picked at his teeth with his nail.

‘Only if your mum came with you. I told you, I can’t have you here on your own.’

‘Such a big bad wolf, aren’t I?’ His tongue made a popping noise as he dry-spat some bits from between his lips.

A figure darkened the back doorway.

‘Will? What the hell are you doing here?’ Jack peered over Charlie’s shoulder. He jostled Charlie to one side and repeated, ‘What the hell are you doing here? With Charlie’s missus?’

Charlie jerked round, his heavy chin jutted out. ‘You know this geezer?’

‘He’s my cousin.’

‘Fuckin’ ’ell.’ For a moment Charlie looked flummoxed. Then he suddenly laughed. It was a high malicious giggle. ‘No? Really? The one you can’t stand? The bastard who thinks he’s God?’

William gently moved Susan behind him and crossed his arms.

‘Oh, very heroic.’ Charlie jeered. ‘You think it’s her I’m gunning for, huh? Well you’ve made a mistake there.’ He crouched low, reaching behind him. When he brought his hand forward he held a knife.

Susan screamed. William pushed the table so it was between them and Susan.

‘Don’t be stupid, man.’ Jack grabbed Charlie’s wrist even as he was circling William.

The man shook him off. ‘Keep out of it. The bugger has to pay for breaking up my marriage, for taking my bird.’

‘He didn’t, Charlie, it was over between us, you know that,’ Susan pleaded, holding the edge of the table. ‘I told you, we were over long before I started seeing William.’

‘Seeing? Is that what you call it? Fucking, more like, you dirty bitch.’

She whimpered.

‘Watch your mouth.’ William mirrored the man’s movements, bunching his fists, the muscles in his arms clenched. They moved in slow motion, never taking their eyes off one another. He knew there would be no reasoning with Susan’s husband. He sensed his shoulders hunching around his neck and flexed them, stretching his fingers, ready for any sudden jabbing of the hand that held the flick knife.

‘Drop the knife, Chas. Don’t be so bleeding stupid.’ Jack clutched the back of the man’s jacket and attempted to pull him back.

‘Bugger off.’ Charlie shrugged his shoulder forward, knocking Jack off balance so he fell against the kitchen unit, rattling all the crockery inside.

There was a cry from upstairs. Charlie dithered, glanced upwards as Jack rebounded from the unit onto him. William dived towards them.

William wasn’t sure how it happened but the hard thump told him enough. He staggered back, holding his shoulder. Blood seeped through his fingers. He tried to find the wall to hold him up. He kept his eyes on Jack, but his cousin’s face wavered and blurred as he buckled and slumped awkwardly to sit on the floor, his head between raised knees.

‘Oh, hell,’ Jack cried out. ‘Get something! Towels or something!’ he shouted at Susan.

She pulled so hard at one of the drawers it came off the runners, and towels cascaded to the floor. Grabbing one she shoved the table out of the way. ‘Bastard!’ She spat the word at her husband and dropped to kneel at the side of William, pressing the cloth on the spread of blood. ‘We need to call for an ambulance. Go to the telephone-box at the end of the road.’

Neither of the two men moved.

‘It wasn’t me, it was him.’ Still holding the knife Charlie swung round to Jack. ‘You bloody pushed me, you idiot.’ There was a sheen of sweat on his top lip. ‘And it wouldn’t have happened if he,’ he shook the knife at William, ‘hadn’t tried to play the bloody macho man.’

‘Get an ambulance,’ Susan yelled.

No one moved.

William saw the terror in Jack’s eyes. He blinked against the waves of pain that filled his body. He coughed, gritting his teeth to ward off the agony the sharp movement caused. ‘No. No ambulance.’

Charlie Pearson collapsed on one on the chairs staring at the knife in his hand. Through the sweat that dripped into his eyes, William saw Jack prise the man’s fingers open until the knife dropped. He could hear Susan sobbing, feel her hands holding the towel to his shoulder. Feel the hot rush of blood on his chest.

‘Jack,’ his voice was a croak. ‘Jack.’ There was no response from his cousin; his eyes stared blankly at William. ‘You need to go and get Linda. D’you hear me?’

‘Huh?’ Jack’s tongue protruded slightly between his teeth. ‘What?’ He didn’t move his gaze.

William’s legs were weak, his head swam. He wanted, needed to lie down. To sleep. ‘I said, go get Linda. You always wanted a bloody go on my bike,’ he whispered, ‘now’s your chance. Get on the bloody thing and go to Henshaw Street. For Linda. And you’d better bloody pray she’s not on a shift.’

Chapter 56: Victoria Schormann

Ashford: Sunday, October 12th

Victoria watched Melody being systematically ostracised by the rest of the group. No one spoke to her. They whispered about her and, when she approached or came close to any of them, they turned their backs on her. But, wherever she went, one of them followed her.

Victoria didn’t understand why they wouldn’t let her just leave.

‘She’s not allowed to go until the Master says she can,’ Amber explained. ‘He talks to her at night.’

‘At night?’

‘All night. He’s trying to make her understand how she won’t fit in on the outside anymore.’

Seth’s brainwashing her, Victoria thought, horrified. He’s trying to break her spirit. It made her stomach twist inside her.

Despite all her efforts to avoid any of the groups, all of them had tried to involve Victoria in the exclusion.

‘You can’t sit on the sidelines, Summer, it’s too dangerous,’ Amber said, while they were sitting around the table at suppertime.

‘What do you mean?’

‘She means we are a family, Summer.’ Chrystal stood behind them. ‘We all rely on each other; for our food, our clothing and,’ she spread out her arms and looked around the dining room, ‘our shelter.’

‘It doesn’t seem fair, Chrystal. When you take our meditation sessions, you
preach
good vibes.’ Victoria deliberately said the word. She thought back to the last time the woman had gathered them together: yeah,
preach
was definitely the right way to put it.

Still, she made her face impassive when she saw Chrystal bristle.

Victoria looked across at Melody. Sitting on her own at a table that she’d been led to the day after her outburst, she was upright, arms folded. The meagre amount of food on the plate in front of her was ignored.

‘She is backsliding into temptation. There is nothing
we
can do for her now, Summer. It is up to the Master.’ Chrystal put her hand on Victoria’s shoulder. She clenched her stomach muscles, tried to shut out the drone of Chrystal’s voice. ‘If she goes she will leave without his blessing. She is rebellious, disobedient. A castaway…’ Now she was leading Victoria towards the door and it was as though there was nothing for it but to go. ‘We have been watching your struggle over the past few days. We see your compassion for Melody. But it is misplaced.’ She leaned towards Victoria, her voice soft. ‘You need to decide where you loyalties are. With her, or with us, with our Master. He needs to know, Summer.’

Victoria glanced over to the top table where Seth sat alone. He was watching her.

Chapter 57: Linda Booth

Ashford: Sunday, October 12th

‘Linda. Is Linda in?’

Jack pushed past Ted, shouting for her.

‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Linda ran down the stairs, pulling on her cardigan over her uniform. ‘I thought you were going back tonight.’ It looked as though he was; Jack was in full uniform even if he wasn’t as smart as usual.

‘You have to come.’ There were tears ready to spill over. He passed his hand over his short hair, agitated.

‘What’s wrong? I’m due in work in an hour.’

‘It’s William, he needs you.’

‘William?’ In the lounge, Ellen twisted around on the settee. ‘Our William! Why? What’s happened?’ She stood up.

‘There’s been an accident.’ Jack was tugging at Linda’s arm.

‘Whoa, steady on, lad.’ Ted put his palm on Jack’s chest. ‘What’s going on?’

‘William got in a fight.’

‘Never.’

‘It wasn’t his fault.’ Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘It just happened.’

‘Where is he?’ Ted went into the hall and took his jacket from the stand.

‘At his girlfriend’s.’

‘Which is where?’ Looking up at Jack, Ted shoved his foot into his shoe.

‘I told you to find out where he’d gone!’ Ellen jumped up, screaming at Ted. ‘I told you!’

‘Be quiet, Ellen. And turn that bloody thing off. I don’t know why you’re watching it.’

‘I like
Stars on Sunday.
’ Ellen muttered, crossing to the television where Jess Yates’ face filled the screen.

‘You’re arguing about a TV programme at a time like this?’ Linda stared at them; she’d never heard her father speak to her mum like that. She turned to Jack. ‘How is William hurt?’ she asked. ‘I‘ll need to know what to bring.’

Jack looked from one to the other. He gulped, swallowing. ‘He’s been stabbed.’

‘What?’ Ted straightened up.

‘Oh, my God!’ Ellen slumped onto the settee.

‘How bad?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jack touched his shoulder. ‘Here. He’s bleeding.’

Ellen gave a loud wail.

‘Okay,’ Linda said, ‘I’ll get some things.’ She opened a cupboard in the sideboard and took out a box. ‘This is only a first aid kit, though. We’ll need to get him to the hospital.’

‘No! No hospital!’ Jack shouted. ‘William said we hadn’t to call for an ambulance. No hospital.’

‘Why?’ Linda was hurrying to the door. When she looked at him he bowed his head, shamefaced. ‘It’s you he had the fight with,’ she said, thinking she understood.

‘No.’

She turned from him. ‘Get the van, Dad.’

‘I’ve got his bike,’ Jack said, ‘William said for you to get there on his bike. It’s faster.’

Linda was astride the bike and holding on to Jack as Ted slammed the front door of the house.

‘What’s the address?’ Ted asked.

‘Two Bridge Street, Bradlow. Same street as the new supermarket, Payless,’ Jack yelled, opening the throttle. The bike lurched and wobbled before he regained some control of it and rode cautiously away.

‘I’ll follow in the van,’ Ted shouted after them, watching which way they turned onto Shaw Street.

‘I’ll come.’ Ellen had flung open the door and was on the step shoving her arms into her coat.

‘No, Ellen, you stay here. And ring Patrick and Jean. Jack was supposed to be reporting back to his regiment tonight. They’ll need to know he hasn’t got there. Though what they’ll tell the Army I wouldn’t know.’ He stopped to put his arms around her. ‘I’m sorry I shouted at you, love.’ He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

‘Bring him home safe, Ted. Bring our son back to me.’

Chapter 58: Linda Booth

Bradlow: Sunday, October 12th

‘A flesh wound. Messy but not as bad as I thought it was at first. Think it’s mostly shock you’re in.’

‘Still bloody painful, though.’ William screwed his face up as he sat back against a leg of the table.

‘I’m sure.’ Linda sat back on her haunches. ‘It’s stopped bleeding, but it looks as if you’ve lost a fair amount. Keep that dressing on. You really should go to the hospital and get checked out though. It looks like you need a couple of stitches.’

‘No,’ William said, ‘I’ll be okay.’

‘I am sorry, mate,’ Jack sat at the table, head in his hands.

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ William said.

‘Well, it wasn’t mine.’ Charlie cast a nervous glance at William and then glared at Jack. ‘If that stupid bugger hadn’t pushed me…’

Jack moaned.

‘If you hadn’t had a knife in the first place…’ Linda stood up, her hands on her hips. ‘Anything to do with me, I’d call the police.’

‘No police.’ William shook his head. Looking up at her he said, ‘Help me onto the chair, Lin, and if you could just ask Susan for a clean shirt. She’s upstairs with Tim. I don’t want him seeing me like this.’

‘Because you care so much for my son,’ Charlie sneered. ‘
My
son.’

‘Well, one of us has to, because you don’t.’ William ground his teeth together as he hoisted himself up, with Linda’s arms around him. He waited until she left to go upstairs before saying, ‘I won’t report this if you just sod off now and don’t come back. You heard Susan earlier, she’ll tell you when and how you can see Tim. Owt to do with me and you’d be out of his life for good. You’re just a nasty bugger with a bad temper. And I’ll tell you this just once; come anywhere near Susan when I’m not around and you’ll be out of the Army quicker than you can spit. Get it?’

Charlie shrugged. ‘Hey, soft arse,’ he gave Jack a nudge with his boot, ‘we should be getting off before we’re reported AWOL.’

‘We can’t just leave.’ Jack let his hands drop from holding his head. ‘Will’s my cousin—’

‘Shame you didn’t think that years ago.’ Despite the hot pain that was making William’s head spin he felt a vague pity for Jack; he must be terrified I’ll get him kicked out of the Army as well, he thought. He wouldn’t know what else to do with his life. And, to be honest his mother had enough to put up with living with Patrick. And for some incredible reason she adored Jack, a son who was foisted on her, if family folklore was anything to go by. ‘Just go, Jack, I’ll say nothing.’