Читать книгу A Father’s Revenge - Kitty Neale - Страница 13

On Tuesday morning Kevin Dolby punched the air in triumph as the prison gates closed behind him. He was free, but to fulfil his immediate needs he had to have more than the funds he’d been given on release. Still, he had the means to get to Southsea; and once he’d twisted his mother around his little finger, his wallet would be stuffed with notes.

Mugs, that’s what most people were in Kevin’s opinion, including the parole board who had fallen for his pious act. His religious persona was one he’d continue to use – at least when it suited him, he thought, chuckling.

Despite his bravado, after thirteen years in prison, Kevin found the outside world intimidating as he walked to the train station. The sound of traffic was loud in his ears, the roads busier than he remembered, and there was space, so much space after the confines of prison walls.

On reaching the station, Kevin purchased a ticket and then stood on the platform, taking note of the people around him. Most of the fashion was unrecognisable to him and he was amazed when he spotted a bloke with hair flowing over his shoulders, wearing burgundy velvet trousers that flared at the bottom and a flowery top beneath an odd-looking fur-edged, suede coat. In his day poofs didn’t flaunt themselves; but the bloke was good looking and for a moment Kevin felt a twinge of interest. However he got a shock when the girl standing next to the poof suddenly stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss, the pair becoming locked in an embrace. Kevin couldn’t help staring and the bloke met his eye over his girlfriend’s shoulder.

‘What are you looking at?’ he asked belligerently.

There was nothing girly about his manner and in no mood for a confrontation, Kevin said, ‘Nothing,’ before quickly looking away.

‘Leave it, Pete,’ he heard the girl say. ‘Don’t get into a fight.’

‘Yeah, yeah, all right. Peace and love and all that.’

It clicked then and Kevin kicked himself for being stupid. They were hippies – but this was the first time he’d seen them in the flesh. Blimey, there was no way he was going to wear daft clothes like that, and now, as a girl passed him wearing a skirt that was little more than a belt, he feasted his eyes on her legs. Now that he was free and had the choice, Kevin found he much preferred the female form to the male, and licked his lips in anticipation of holding a woman in his arms again.

By the time Kevin reached the village he felt a little more confident, though his parents’ cottage was on the outskirts and hadn’t been easy to find. Before walking up the path, Kevin braced himself. His mother had ruined his life, had made him think from childhood that sex was a dirty word. If he so much as touched himself, she called him a filthy boy, saying she wouldn’t love him if he dared to do it again. She had ruled his father too and his sickening weakness had made Kevin determined to be different, to show any woman he took out who was the boss. To keep them in line, he’d enjoyed giving them a few slaps, and then one day it had escalated into violent rape. He’d loved it, relished showing the woman that, unlike his father, he was a real man, and she was helpless to stop him.

Of course he hadn’t had to rape Pearl. She’d been so innocent, so naive, a virgin, and it’d been easy to take her down. He’d been careless though and had been forced to marry her.

From their wedding night, it had all gone wrong, thanks to his mother. She’d walked into their bedroom and the disgust on her face at their nakedness had made him impotent. From then on, with his mother in such close proximity, he’d been unable to make love to Pearl. Kevin scowled. His mother had turned him into less than a man, weak like his father, and he would never forgive her for that.

Kevin knew he couldn’t continue to stand outside, and shook off his thoughts, his hate veiled as he now walked up the path to knock on the door. ‘Hello, Dad,’ he said with a false smile when it was opened.

‘What do you want, Kevin?’ Bernie asked, his expression cold.

‘To see you and Mum, and to show you I’ve changed, Dad.’

His mother appeared behind Bernie, her eyes lighting up when she saw him. ‘Kevin! They’ve let you out?’

‘Yes, and praise be to God,’ he said piously.

‘Oh, son,’ Dolly cried as she shoved Bernie to one side. ‘Come in. I’ll make up a bed for you.’

‘No, Mum, I didn’t want to burden you so I’ve made other arrangements,’ he said. The thought of sleeping under the same roof as his mother again made him shudder.

‘You’ll never be a burden to me,’ Dolly said, drawing him inside.

The words almost choked him, but he managed to say, ‘I once was, Mother, but never again.’

‘We’re about to have lunch. Would you like some of my home-made soup?’ she asked eagerly.

‘Yes, please. I must admit I’m rather hungry,’ Kevin said as he looked around the room. He recognised a lot of the furniture from their old place in Battersea, along with the mahogany-cased clock in the centre of the mantelpiece and the silver candlesticks that stood at each end. A fire was burning in the hearth, but with his father’s eyes fixed on him, Kevin hovered uncertainly.

‘Kevin, come and talk to me in the kitchen while I’m heating the soup,’ his mother said.

‘Yes, all right.’

‘How are you finding the outside world?’ she asked as she lit the gas under a saucepan.

‘A bit strange,’ Kevin replied, which was actually the truth.

‘Of course you are. You need time to adjust and you can forget those other arrangements. I’ll get the bed in the spare room made up for you. It’s nice and quiet here so you’ll be able to take things slowly.’

Bernie marched into the kitchen. ‘Hold on, Dolly. I haven’t agreed to that.’

‘It’s all right, Dad. I can’t stay. I feel I’m being called to London; that my mission is there.’

‘So you’re going back to Battersea?’

‘No, Dad. I know I have much to repent for in that area, but I’m going to Ealing.’

‘But why there?’ Dolly asked. ‘And where will you live?’

‘I’m in God’s hands, Mother, and He has been guiding me,’ Kevin told her, ‘so much so that while in prison I met a fellow inmate in the chapel, one who is like-minded. He was released six months ago, but we’ve been corresponding. He’s interested in setting up a refuge in a needy area too and to that end he’s offered me a rent-free room in his house.’

‘Humph,’ Bernie grunted, a sceptical look on his face as he walked out of the kitchen.

Kevin wasn’t worried. He knew his mother handled the purse strings and that she was a soft touch where he was concerned. He intended to get every penny out of her that he could. His father had disowned him, had refused to visit him in prison, and this was the first time he’d seen him in thirteen years. Despite that, it was his mother Kevin hated the most: it had been his desperation to get away from her that led him to robbery. Then when it all went wrong, something had snapped in his mind and while bludgeoning the jeweller over and over again it had been his mother’s head he saw … her blood flowing …

‘What do think of our little cottage?’ Dolly asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Worried that she’d see the hate in his eyes, Kevin fought to hide his feelings. ‘It’s very nice,’ he said quietly.

‘Your father chose it, and got it for a good price. He handles all our finances now.’

Flaming hell, Kevin thought, his dad had found some balls at last. That meant it wasn’t his mother he had to work on, it was his father; and that wasn’t going to be so easy. He’d need more time and now hoped his mother would ask him to stay again. Of course he’d put on an act, pretend that he couldn’t, before giving in.

When Dolly put their lunch on the table, Bernie sat down opposite Kevin, taken aback when he asked if they minded if he gave thanks for the food before they began to eat.

Bernie shrugged, but bent his head, and then afterwards he listened carefully as his son spoke of his plans. By the time the meal ended, Bernie had to admit that Kevin had mastered his act well. If he hadn’t known his son of old, he might have fallen for it, but he wasn’t as easily fooled as Dolly.

‘Kevin, surely staying for one night won’t hurt,’ Dolly appealed. ‘We’ve hardly seen you.’

‘I’m sorry, but Rupert is expecting me.’

‘With a name like that he sounds like a toff,’ Bernie commented.

‘I suppose he is,’ Kevin mused. ‘Rupert’s certainly well off, but though he’s offered me a rent-free room I’d prefer to pay my own way. To that end I must find work and the sooner I get started the better.’

‘You’re getting a job? That’ll be a first,’ Bernie said sarcastically.

‘I’ve changed, Dad.’

Bernie didn’t believe it for one moment, but before he could make a comment, Dolly said, ‘Please, Kevin, surely it won’t hurt to delay leaving for one night? You can travel to London in the morning.’

‘Well, Dad, I can see how much it would mean to Mum. What do you think?’

‘All right, but just one night,’ Bernie said grudgingly.

‘That’s settled then,’ Dolly said happily, ‘though I don’t like the thought of you living in one room when you go to Ealing.’

‘Don’t be daft, Dolly,’ Bernie said scathingly. ‘He’s been sleeping in a prison cell for thirteen years.’

‘Yes, you’re right, Dad. After that anything will seem like luxury.’

‘If you really are looking for work, what have you got in mind?’ Bernie asked.

Kevin shrugged. ‘With a prison record it won’t be easy, but I’ll try the building sites.’

‘Kevin, I don’t like the sound of this,’ Dolly protested. ‘First you say you’ll be living in one room and now that you’ll be labouring on a building site.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with good, honest labour, and as most of my earnings will go towards setting up a refuge I don’t want to waste money on renting a flat.’

‘But that could take you years.’

‘Everything starts with one small step,’ Kevin said piously. ‘I’m hoping the mission Rupert’s involved with will be interested enough to make a donation.’

Bernie had been expecting this and said derisively, ‘I suppose you’re hinting that we should chip in too?’

‘No, Dad, in making John your heir, you’ve done enough.’

‘So your mother told you about our wills?’

‘Yes, she did, and as I’ll be involved in charitable work I won’t be earning a great deal, or buying property to leave my son. Though of course I hope you live for many, many more years, it’s a huge weight off my mind knowing that you’ve taken care of John. I can’t thank you enough.’

Bernie was surprised. He’d expected Kevin to be upset about being usurped, but instead he was thanking them. Maybe he really had changed, maybe his religious conversion was genuine. If that proved to be the case, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to help him out a bit – but not by way of a donation to this daft idea of a refuge. He’d give Kevin a few bob to tide him over until he found his feet, Bernie decided, but as he’d be leaving first thing in the morning, he’d have to get to the bank that afternoon before it closed.

He looked at his son again; still a little wary, he decided not to say where he was going. Instead Bernie found another excuse to go out. There was no need to give the money to Kevin yet, and it might be prudent to hang onto it until the morning. If this was all an act on Kevin’s part, there was no way he could keep it up indefinitely and by morning it was sure to slip.

Pearl was back in Battersea once more, this time for an appointment with the solicitor. It was four thirty by the time she left his office and returned to Bessie’s flat where Derek and Nora were waiting for her.

‘Well, what did he say?’ Derek asked as soon as she came in.

‘There isn’t any way around the conditions of the will,’ Pearl said despondently. ‘It’s watertight.’

‘So it’s live here, or nothing.’

‘Yes,’ Pearl said shortly, flopping wearily onto Bessie’s old sofa. It had been a long, fraught day and it hadn’t got any better. First they’d had to get the death certificate to arrange the funeral, which had been complicated as they weren’t Bessie’s blood relatives, but armed with her will they finally managed to get everything in place other than the flowers. At least the solicitor had said he’d sort out Bessie’s life insurance policy, and that it should cover the cost of the funeral.

‘So what are you going to do?’ Derek asked.

Pearl sighed. ‘I can’t live in Battersea. You know that.’

‘It isn’t a case of can’t. It’s more that you won’t.’

‘If we move back here, John is bound to hear the truth about his father, and you’re right, I won’t have that.’

‘Why not?’ Derek said curtly. ‘He isn’t a child any more, and by keeping it from him it sounds more like you’re protecting Kevin than him.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘All right, have it your own way, but if we don’t move back here, we can’t take Nora on.’

Appalled, Pearl cried, ‘We’ll have to. I can’t break my promise to Bessie.’

‘Have you given any thought to how I feel about all this? What if I don’t want to take Nora on? What if I don’t want the financial responsibility?’ Derek said as he agitatedly ran his fingers through his hair.

Pearl leaned forward to place both hands across her face. Derek was right; she hadn’t given him a thought. With the loss of her wage, he would be the one to bear the sole brunt of the financial burden.

She felt the sofa dip beside her and as Derek’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, she leant against him. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry,’ she told him.

‘I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have got out of my pram, but you’re asking a lot of me, love. Surely you can see that it makes more sense to find Nora a place in some sort of institution?’

Pearl felt as though she was being torn in two, with Derek tugging her one way and her promise to Bessie pulling her the other. ‘Derek, I’m sorry, I just can’t think straight at the moment. Let’s go home and we’ll talk about this later.’

‘All right, but you might have a job to persuade Nora to leave with us again. She’s done nothing but cry since you left and I can’t get her to come out of her bedroom.’

‘She’s confused, upset, and it’s probably where she feels safe,’ Pearl said, heaving a sigh as she stood up. However, she was pleased when in the event it only took a little persuasion to coax Nora into the car.

‘Peace at last. Nora’s gone to sleep,’ Derek said when they were half an hour into the journey.

Pearl closed her eyes too. She had so much thinking to do, but at last, as they reached the outskirts of Winchester, she came to a tentative decision.