Lost Angel (21 page)

‘She’s his daughter, he’ll want whatever’s best for her,’ Lisa assured him. ‘But you don’t have to do that. I can stay with her.’

‘No.’ Johnny shook his head. ‘It’s not your problem.’

‘I don’t mind,’ she insisted.

A crash from the bedroom interrupted them. Exchanging nervous glances, they both darted for the stairs. Embarrassed when they collided and his arm brushed across her breasts, Johnny muttered, ‘Sorry,’ and ran on up.

Ruth was on the floor. She giggled when Johnny came in and said, ‘I fell out of bed.’

‘Are you hurt?’ he asked, rushing to help her up.

‘Nothing a bit of loving wouldn’t cure,’ she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck. ‘Kiss me, Johnny. It’s been ages since you kissed me.’

‘Not now,’ he murmured, conscious that Lisa was standing right behind them. ‘Just get back into bed.’

‘Only if you come with me,’ she wheedled. ‘Come on, let’s make another baby.’

‘Shall I put the kettle on?’ Lisa asked, feeling awkward.

Ruth’s head snapped around at the sound of her cousin’s voice. ‘You still here? I thought I told you to go!’

‘She was worried about you,’ Johnny told her, pulling her to her feet and pushing her gently onto the bed. ‘You’re not supposed to be drinking –
or
walking to the shops – when you’re taking those tablets.’

‘I had to get out,’ Ruth complained, sliding back obediently beneath the quilt. She flashed another glare at Lisa. ‘You can go now. Me and my husband want some
private
time.’

‘You need to sober up,’ Johnny muttered. ‘So Lisa’s going to make you a coffee while I get you sorted.’

‘I don’t want coffee,’ Ruth argued, reaching for the whisky bottle. ‘This is all I need.’

‘No!’ Johnny snatched it out of her hand. ‘You’ve had enough.’

‘Give it back,’ she demanded, pawing at his arm. ‘It makes me feel better.’

He put it out of reach on the dressing table and pushed her down onto the pillows. ‘If you don’t want coffee, you can sleep it off instead.’

‘Stop treating me like a baby. I’m a grown woman, I can do what I want.’

‘Not while you’re still taking your tablets, you can’t.’

Aware that she wasn’t going to get her own way, Ruth’s eyes flooded with tears and she gave Johnny a pitiful look.

‘You’re angry with me, aren’t you?’

‘A bit,’ he admitted, pulling the quilt up to her throat. ‘We’re both upset about the baby, but I’m trying to get on with things and this isn’t helping.’

‘You don’t understand,’ she whimpered, her chin wobbling now. ‘I just want my baby back.’

‘I know.’ Sighing, Johnny sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair off her face. It felt wet, and he hoped to God that it wasn’t vomit. ‘Just try to get some sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.’

‘I won’t,’ she said plaintively. ‘I’ll never feel better again. I’ve lost my baby, and you don’t love me any more.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Johnny said patiently. ‘I just want you to get better. That’s all any of us want. Me, your mum, your dad, Lisa – we’re all worried about you.’

‘Will you lie down with me?’ Ruth sounded like a lost little girl. ‘I’ll go to sleep if you hold me, I promise.’

Johnny climbed onto the bed beside her and lifted his arm. She snuggled into it and laid her head on his chest.

‘Sorry. I won’t do it again.’

A few minutes later she was fast asleep. Sliding his arm out from under her, Johnny tiptoed out of the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

Lisa was in the kitchen.

‘Is she okay?’ she asked, passing a coffee to him when he joined her.

‘Flat out,’ he told her, sitting down.

She took in the strained look on his face, and said, ‘You look wiped. Have you eaten anything?’

‘Not yet. But I’ll go to the chippy in a bit.’

‘What’s the point of wasting money when I can do it for you?’

‘No, you’ve done enough.’

‘We’re family,’ Lisa reminded him. ‘And family takes care of its own.’

‘You can’t half tell you’re related to Frankie,’ Johnny said amusedly. ‘He’s always banging on about that, an’ all.’

‘Yeah, well, he’s been more like my dad than my uncle,’ Lisa explained as she rolled up her sleeves. ‘I worshipped him when I was little. Just wish he’d let me sort his clothes out,’ she added with a grin. ‘He’s been wearing the same shit ever since I can remember, and it’s embarrassing.’

‘Yeah, what’s with the Elvis thing?’ Johnny asked. ‘I’ve always wondered, but I didn’t like to ask Ruth.’

‘No, don’t mention it to her.’ Lisa pulled a face as if that would be the worst mistake he could ever make. ‘Frankie’s God in her eyes.’

‘And she’s a princess in his,’ said Johnny.

‘Tell me about it.’ Lisa turned and pulled the freezer door open. ‘Burger and chips do you?’

‘Anything,’ Johnny said gratefully. ‘So . . . the Elvis thing? Is he just like a massive fan, or something?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Lisa switched the grill on. ‘I’ve never heard him playing his music, or anything. I think it’s just that he used to look so much like him when he was younger, and he cottoned on that women went crazy when he dressed like him. They used to fight over him, and everything.’

‘You’re kidding me!’ Johnny laughed, unable to picture that.

‘No, he was proper handsome,’ Lisa said quite seriously. ‘Before my nan got too ill to travel, he used to throw these massive family parties, and my other uncles and their wives and kids would come over from Ireland. All the blokes would go down to the pub and get pissed, while the women caught up on the gossip back at home. Then the men’d come back singing and telling jokes, and they’d have a big old knees-up. But you could guarantee there’d be a massive argument before the end of the night. And it was usually about Uncle Frankie and one of the brothers’ wives.’

‘Why, was he shagging them?’

‘They
wished
. But nah, he’d never do the dirty on his brothers. They’d be so pissed by then that they’d accuse him of it, anyway. So he’d kick off and tell them to piss off back to Ireland if they didn’t trust him. And then the women would start scrapping, ’cos they were jealous of the one he was
supposed
to be sleeping with. It was a right laugh.’

‘Sounds it,’ Johnny agreed, wishing he’d been there to see it. ‘But why does he still dress like that? No offence, but he’s a bit old now, isn’t he?’

‘He’s Frankie Hynes,’ Lisa replied simply. ‘Would
you
tell him he looks stupid?’

‘No way.’

‘There you go, then.’ Lisa put the burgers under the grill and dropped a handful of chips into the chip pan. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve got a fag?’

Johnny passed one to her and gave her a light before lighting his own.

Lisa noticed him glancing at the clock on the wall and said, ‘That’s the third time I’ve seen you do that since you came in. Have you got somewhere to go?’

‘Frankie asked me to pick something up for him later on,’ Johnny told her. ‘But I’m thinking I’d best ring him and tell him I can’t make it. There’s no way I can leave Ruth on her own again tonight.’

‘I told you I’d stay if you need to work,’ Lisa reminded him.

‘I know. But you’ve been here all day as it is, and I wouldn’t be back till really late.’

‘So? I’ve got nothing else to do.’

Johnny pursed his lips. Frankie had said that he would miss out on the car if they didn’t get it tonight, so he supposed he should do it if he could. It just pissed him off that Ruth was making everything so difficult. He was sure she couldn’t still be this upset over the baby, and suspected she was putting it on for the attention. But he couldn’t stay home and look after her for ever. Frankie had a business to run, and if Johnny couldn’t do his bit it wouldn’t be long before he was out on his arse.

13

Dave was hiding in the shadows when Johnny arrived at the flats later that night, and he glanced around furtively before darting out and climbing into the back of the cab.

‘Dude.’ He touched fists with Johnny.

Amused, Johnny said, ‘What’s up with you?’

‘Just keeping it cool,’ Dave told him quietly, flicking a suspicious glance at the back of the driver’s head. ‘Can’t be too careful. Talk later, yeah?’

Guessing that he was being told to zip it, Johnny shook his head and gazed out of the window as the cab set off. When they reached Great Ancoats Street, Dave leaned forward and tapped the back of the driver’s seat.

‘You can stop here, mate.’

‘What did you do that for?’ Johnny complained when he’d paid and they were standing on the pavement. ‘Now we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.’

‘You’re a shit criminal, you,’ Dave scoffed. ‘Rule one: never let people know where you’re going, so then they can’t put two and two together and make five when they see it on the news.’

‘On the news?’ Johnny chuckled. ‘Jeezus, man, what kind of job do you think we’re pulling here? We’re not robbing a fucking bank.’

‘Better safe than sorry,’ Dave insisted.

As Frankie had promised, there was a small car parked opposite the yard gates. Johnny found the key in the shrubs and tossed it to Dave. Then, after climbing quickly into the passenger seat when Dave unlocked the doors, he hunched down and pulled his collar up around his ears.

‘You can pack that right in,’ Dave ordered, lighting two cigarettes and passing one to him before setting off coolly as if they were just two mates heading out for a night on the town. ‘It’s all about front in this game. Pigs zone in on fuckers like you who sit there looking like they’ve shit their kecks, so you’ve just got to chill.’

‘Check you acting like
Mr I’ve Done This A Thousand Times
, when I didn’t even know you could drive,’ Johnny muttered. But he sat up and made an effort to look more relaxed nevertheless.

‘I’ve had a few motors away in my time,’ Dave admitted. ‘Used to be a bit of a bad lad back in the day.’

‘Could have fooled me,’ Johnny snorted. ‘You’ve hardly moved off the sofa since I’ve known you.’

‘That’s ’cos the weed turns you lazy,’ Dave explained. ‘Anyhow, shut up and let me concentrate. I haven’t been down that end in years, and I don’t want to get lost when we get there.’

Half an hour later they found the road they were looking for. As Frankie had said, it was out in the middle of nowhere, and there were no street lamps so it was pitch dark. All they could see on both sides were inky fields, bordered by tarry hedges.

‘How the fuck are we supposed to find the house when we can’t see anything?’ Johnny complained, his forehead pressed up against the cold glass of the windscreen as he peered out. ‘This is worse than being blind.’ He jerked back when something flew right past his nose. ‘What the fuck was
that
?’

‘Probably an owl. Or a bat.’

‘Jeezus, I can’t wait to get back to civilisation. This is like a horror film.’

‘There!’ Dave slammed on the brakes.

‘What did you do that for?’ Johnny yelped, using his hands to stop his head from smashing into the dash.

‘I saw a house.’ Dave reversed back to a gap in the hedges where an old stone gatepost was standing at an angle. Squinting at the name carved in its head, he read, ‘Hillgate . . . is that the one?’

Johnny nodded and peered past him. In the distance he could just about make out the faint outline of a roof.

‘It’s miles away,’ he complained.

‘Stop moaning and get moving,’ Dave ordered.

Johnny took a deep breath, unbuckled his seat belt, and reached for the jemmy that Frankie had left on the floor behind his seat. This was it. He was about to break into a house for the first time in his life – and it didn’t feel good. In fact, it felt fucking horrible, and his legs were shaking so badly that he doubted they were going to support him.

‘Are you all right?’ Dave asked. ‘Do you want me to do it?’

Johnny wished that he could pass the job over. But Frankie had asked him to do it, not Dave, so he shook his head.

‘I’ll be okay. Just go and park up somewhere out of sight.’

‘Out of
whose
sight?’ Dave chuckled, looking around. ‘There’s no one around for miles, mate. I could run stark bollock naked down the road and no one would ever know.’

‘I
would,’ Johnny muttered, grimacing at the thought. ‘Right, here goes.’ He pulled his gloves on. ‘Wish me luck.’

‘Fuck off, you poof,’ Dave grunted, pushing him towards the door. ‘And if you’re not out of there in ten, I’m coming in after you.’

Johnny gave him a nervous smile and opened the door. But just as he’d dropped one foot out, Dave yelled, ‘
WATCH OUT!
’

‘What?’ he squawked, slamming the door shut again. ‘What is it? Is something out there?’

Dave burst out laughing and clutched at his stomach. ‘Man, you should have seen your face! I thought you were gonna drop a load!’

Johnny tutted, climbed out, and edged his way up the path with the jemmy held out in front of him like a sword. He was relieved to find the house in darkness and the curtains parted, which told him that Frankie had been right and nobody was home. He gave the front door a push, just in case. It didn’t budge, so he moved on to the windows and tried to prise one open with his gloved fingers before walking around to the garage that was built on to the side of the house.

He squatted down and jammed the end of the jemmy into the hasp of the padlock, and his heart started thumping like a jackhammer when the lock fell off at his feet. He grabbed the bottom of the roller door and pushed it up quickly, desperate to do what he had to do and get the fuck out of there.

The car was in the garage and Johnny ran his hands over the bonnet. It was icy cold, so he moved to the connecting door and rammed the flat edge of the jemmy into the crack between the lock and the frame, wrenching it backwards and forwards until the wood gave and the door flew open.

Dim moonlight was filtering in through the uncovered window and he saw that he was in a kitchen. Still nervous of being caught, he tiptoed in and looked around for the keys. After several minutes he came across a small metal box that had a key-shaped cut-out in its door and was attached to the side of one of the units. It had a tiny padlock, like the kind that little girls used to keep their diaries from prying eyes. Johnny popped it off easily, grabbed the keys that were hanging inside and ran back out to the garage.