Читать книгу Neil White 3 Book Bundle - Neil White - Страница 51

John heard the van before he saw it. He was still standing in the doorway, looking down the field and towards the road, the shotgun cradled in his arm. The night had slipped into darkness and so all he could see were the outlines of the hill opposite against the light from the moon.

He looked back into the living room, where Dawn was tied up below the window, a strip of cloth binding her hands, Gemma in front of her, glaring at her. There was blood from a cut on her lip. Gemma had lost patience with Dawn once already.

Gemma caught him looking and so she gave him an impish wave. It was all a game to her. He waved back without thinking. It felt like events were spinning out of his control, and he didn’t know how to deal with things anymore. What they were doing was wrong, he knew that, but every time he got a smile from Gemma, he felt that skip of new love.

He stepped outside to wait for Henry’s arrival, to warn them about the traps. As John stood in the glare of the headlights, the van rolled and bounced along the farm track, the engine straining, until it came to a stop in a cloud of dust.

Arni jumped out of the driver’s seat, Henry following.

John pointed towards the window. ‘I’ve done my best,’ he said. ‘Barbed wire on the inside. We’ve got petrol bombs, and those,’ and he gestured with the shotgun towards the dark shadow of an animal trap. ‘Watch your step.’

Henry grinned as he got closer, the whites of his eyes catching whatever shreds of light there were. ‘You’ve done well,’ he said, and then laughed. ‘We’ve gone one better though.’

‘What do you mean?’

Then John heard the shouts. Shrieks and then cries of fear, mixed in with anger. Lucy appeared from the back of the van, pulling on someone. It was a woman, young and skinny and dark.

‘Look what we caught,’ Lucy said, laughing. ‘Our new pet.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘This little bitch is our exit strategy,’ Henry said. ‘When they get closer, she will keep them away.’ He strode towards Lucy and grabbed the young woman by the hair. She yelped. As Henry pulled her towards the house, Lucy jumped up and down in excitement, clapping her hands.

‘Who is she?’ John asked.

‘Donia, she’s called,’ Lucy said, animatedly. ‘And she’s going to have some fun.’

As they got into the house, Donia trying to pull away, Henry stopped and looked at Dawn. He turned to John. ‘What’s going on?’

‘She tried to leave. I caught her. She was heading for the road.’

‘And you brought her back?’

John nodded.

Henry started to laugh. ‘You are complete, John. Welcome to the flock.’ He whirled the young woman around by her hair, so that she screwed up her face and cried out in pain, and pushed her towards Lucy. ‘Tie her up in there,’ and he gestured towards the old man’s room. ‘We’ll deal with her later.’

Henry walked towards Dawn and stared down at her for a few seconds. She shrank back, frightened. He smiled, knelt down in front of her, then reached out and ran some of her hair through his fingers. ‘You’ve let me down,’ he said, in a whisper.

She started to sob again. ‘I didn’t mean to. I’m so sorry.’

‘I knew someone would betray me,’ Henry said, his voice a low hiss. ‘What were your plans? Turn me over to the police? Or just bring them here, so that they could arrest me, perhaps bring a film crew, and so they can have their little show trial? And then what? Lock me away for the rest of my life? Is that what you wanted for me?’

Dawn hung her head. ‘Please, Henry, I’m sorry. Don’t do it.’

Henry snarled and stood up quickly. He lashed out with his foot, kicking her hard in her ribs. She gasped and cried out, but she couldn’t hold herself where she was in pain, because her hands were still tied together.

‘I didn’t mean to do it,’ she shouted, her voice desperate. ‘You don’t have to do this.’

Lucy appeared behind Henry, and she put her arms round him, her chin resting on his shoulder. ‘I made sacrifices,’ Lucy said, her voice cold and even. ‘Why couldn’t you?’

Henry lashed out, backhanding Dawn. Lucy’s grip slackened and the slap made a loud crack. He turned to the rest of the group. ‘You know what to do.’

No one objected; it seemed that there was no regret for what was about to happen. Four people went outside, three of the young women and Jennifer, who seemed excitable, bustling the others along. They disappeared around the side of the house, and John was just about to shout a warning about the traps when he heard the clatter of tools and they ran onto the field holding spades and pick-axes. They went to some grass by the largest standing stone and started to dig. Henry grabbed Dawn by her hair and pulled her close to him.

‘You were special once,’ he said. ‘Why you?’

‘I want to tell the truth,’ she said, her voice hoarse. ‘No more lies.’

Henry slapped her again, and this time a thin drool of blood ran onto her clothes from her lip. He stood there for a few seconds, his chest heaving, his fists clenching and unclenching. Lucy stepped forward and whispered into Henry’s ear, ‘She needs you one last time.’

Dawn heard it and started pleading. ‘No, no, no, no.’

Henry cricked his neck, teasing out some tension, and then pulled on the cloth that bound her wrists. As she was pulled to her feet, John saw that Henry’s eyes were unfocused, wide and wild.

He pulled her towards the stairs. Lucy was laughing, singing, ‘Henry’s gonna party.’ Dawn tried to pull back, wailing, but Henry just pulled harder.

John knew what Henry’s intentions were. He turned away to try and block out Dawn’s cries, because he could have just let her go. But he couldn’t block them out. All he could do was listen as their footsteps went upwards, and as the door closed, he heard Dawn’s wails turn to cries of terror.

He looked towards the field. Everyone was grim-faced, mouths set into scowls, digging hard.

He jumped when he felt a soft hand on his forearm. It was Gemma. ‘It was always this way,’ she said, her head resting against him. He reached up to stroke her hair, and then kissed her gently on the top of her head.

‘I know,’ he said, although when he tried a smile, it was unconvincing.

Ted was quiet as Billy Privett started to speak on the videotape.

‘Things were getting too wild,’ Billy said. He was fidgeting, rubbing his hands together and sitting forwards and then back again.

‘What do you mean, wild?’ a voice said off-camera. Amelia.

Billy shrugged. ‘Just that. What do you think I mean?’

‘It’s your story, not mine.’

‘Okay, I get it,’ he said, some impatience in his voice. Then he sat back, one leg crossed over the other. ‘It was fun at first. All that money and so people wanted to know me.’

‘Was that fair on you, that you were only about the money?’

‘I was having a good time, what was wrong with that, better than I could have had without it. I knew it was about my money, but so what? There were women coming to my house who would have never looked at me before the win. But there they were, in my house, getting naked and getting off. I didn’t care why they were there.’

‘So what went wrong?’

Billy sighed heavily. ‘People come to expect it, because when they are only coming for a good time, I have to give it to them. But the money doesn’t last forever. What could I do when it started to run out? I couldn’t tell anyone that, because then I would be at the house on my own.’

Ted shook his head. ‘This is where I’m supposed to feel sorry for him.’

Charlie didn’t answer. He felt for Ted, but he wasn’t interested in attacking Billy. He just wanted answers.

Ted fell silent again as Billy talked about the parties, and the drugs and the group sex. He was enjoying the recollections too much, and so Amelia brought him back to why he was making the video.

‘Tell me about the night Alice died?’ she said.

Billy took a deep breath and sat upright.

‘I hadn’t met her before that night,’ Billy said. ‘I didn’t really meet her that night, if I’m honest, until, well, until it was too late, because she was just one of the girls at the party.’ Billy paused to wipe his eyes. ‘She came with that group.’

‘Remember, Billy, this is the first time you’ve told me your story,’ Amelia said. ‘Don’t make me drag it out. We can stop and start again, if we have to. So which group?’

‘Henry’s group.’

‘Henry?’ Amelia said. Her voice came quick, almost like an interruption.

‘Yeah. Do you know him? They used to come up to the parties not long before Alice died, and I don’t even remember how it started. Perhaps he tagged on to someone else, I don’t know. Things were getting out of hand back then, almost an open house. Henry was intimidating, even though he wasn’t that big. He was sort of intense, and he frightened people away.’

‘Do you know his full name?’ Amelia said. Her voice sounded keener than before.

‘Henry Mason.’

There was a pause, and then Amelia said, ‘Henry Mason? Are you sure?’ Her voice was quiet, almost distant.

‘Of course I’m sure. You do know him, I can tell.’

‘It’s not about me, Billy,’ she said. ‘Why didn’t you just stop Henry from coming up, if you didn’t want him there?’

Billy rubbed his hands together, nervous about replying.

‘You don’t have to be scared,’ Amelia said.

‘But what if this video gets out?’

‘It won’t,’ Amelia said. ‘It’s only here in case something happens to you, so your story gets out there. Are you in danger?’

Billy nodded.

‘Why do you think that?’

‘Because Henry told me he would kill me if I said anything, and I know they suspect something.’

‘What, that you’re going to go to the police?’

Billy nodded again.

‘I keep on sitting in the pool room,’ Billy said, a tear visible on the footage. ‘I know it’s self-pity, and Alice’s father won’t care about me, but I keep on seeing Alice in the pool. So I sit there and look at the water, I can’t help myself because that was where it all went wrong. My life, Alice’s life. Everything changed, and it wasn’t my fault, and sometimes I just want to jump in and sink to where she was, where I can’t hear any noises above, because it will all be muted, and so for a few peaceful moments, I’ll be free.’

Amelia paused for a moment as Billy wiped his eyes, and then she said, ‘Why does your remorse make Henry think that you’re going to the police?’

Ted turned to Charlie. ‘He didn’t use the word remorse, she did,’ Ted said. ‘That’s what you lawyers do, isn’t it, repackage their words to make them fit?’

‘Remember the girl you were with in the car?’ Charlie said. ‘Perhaps you might have needed a lawyer then.’

Before Ted could respond, Billy coughed. ‘That bitch in my house, that’s why,’ he said.

‘Bitch?’

‘Christina, although I know that’s not her real name. She calls herself my housekeeper, but she isn’t. She is Henry’s spy. I don’t pay her, but Henry moved her in, just because he was worried I would talk.’

‘How long has she lived at your house?’

‘Three months. Henry kept out of the way at first, but I knew he was watching me. He would turn up behind me when I was walking down the street or driving somewhere, even if it was somewhere I hadn’t planned to be. It was his way of letting me know that he was there, so I wouldn’t do anything stupid.’

‘So what made him move in Christina?’

Ted turned to Charlie. ‘She’s not called Christina. She’s called Lucy, and was the girl they caught me with in the car.’ When Charlie raised his eyebrows, he added, ‘I told you it was a set-up.’

Billy was speaking again.

‘My old friends drifted back and so the parties carried on. Then Henry turned up again, and I told him to stay away, that I didn’t want him round anymore.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because it just wasn’t right. What happened to Alice, and because some of the girls he brought with him were, well …’

‘Too young?’

‘Maybe. I’m not a good person, I know that, but I’m no child molester. And Henry was cruel.’

‘How do you mean?’ Amelia said.

‘If someone didn’t want to take part, he would make them.’

‘You need to explain, Billy,’ Amelia said, some tension creeping into her voice. ‘This is your story, not mine. You have to tell it.’

Billy nodded and took a deep breath. ‘Before Henry started coming to the parties, things happened because everyone wanted it to. Random sex, sometimes threesomes, even more occasionally. And women together. It was just everyone getting off in every room, like every man’s fantasy. It was fun and everyone had a good time. If you just wanted to drink, or take some coke, that was okay, but not in Henry’s world. He made people do things. To him, to each other.’

‘And he made you do things?’

‘Sometimes,’ Billy said, looking down, his cheeks flushed red. ‘Some of the girls Henry brought would start to cry, say that they didn’t want to, but Henry would make them. Or the other guy, the one who killed Alice.’

Ted gasped at that but stayed silent. Charlie knew he had been waiting a long time to hear this story.

‘Tell me about him,’ Amelia said.

There was another long sigh from Billy. ‘He’s a big Scandinavian guy. Arni, they called him. Muscles and long hair. But it wasn’t just his build. He was nasty and vicious. He didn’t smile much, and if people didn’t do what he wanted, he would hit them. Usually just slaps, but if someone that big hits you, it hurts, and so you do as he says.’

‘What happened to Alice?’ Amelia said.

Billy looked up at the ceiling and another tear ran down his cheek. ‘It was the same old crowd, Henry’s lot, all in black, but there was someone new with them.’

‘Alice?’

Billy nodded. ‘She was different. Her clothes were brighter, and she was talking politics at first, because she seemed interested in what they had to say, how they lived their lives.’

‘So how did it go wrong?’

‘It went the usual way, with the women naked, and Henry telling them who to have sex with, as if he was dishing out treats. Alice looked embarrassed, as if she didn’t want to be there, but was too polite to leave. Then one of the girls didn’t want to take part, and so Arni tried to make her. He held her down and told one of the men to, well, you know. Alice tried to stop him, said that it was wrong, that it was rape, which made Arni angrier.’

‘What happened?’

‘Arni did to the girl what Alice accused him of. He held her, face down, and had sex with her, and everyone else just watched and let him carry on as the girl screamed.’

‘Everyone?’

Billy swallowed.

‘Yes, me too,’ he said, and then shook his head. ‘Everyone except Alice. She tried to stop it, but people held her back.’

‘Did you hold her back?’

‘No, I didn’t,’ he said, ‘but I did something just as bad.’

‘Which was what?’

‘I did nothing. I let it happen because I was scared, except that Alice wasn’t, and the more the girl struggled and cried, the more Alice tried to stop it.’

‘What happened next?’

‘Henry told Arni to shut the bitch up, and so Arni took the knife from his waistband. It was long, with a serrated edge, and he slashed the girl’s throat. He held her hair back and ran the blade across her neck like he was in a slaughterhouse or something. Blood went onto the floor. Big pools of it.’ Billy wiped his eyes. ‘She died pretty quickly. And then it was Alice’s turn.’

Charlie leaned forward and put his hand on Ted’s shoulder. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

Ted shrugged it off. ‘I’ve got to do it,’ he said, his voice breaking. ‘I’ve got to know.’

‘Arni went towards Alice,’ Billy said, ‘and Henry encouraged him, shouted at Arni to really hurt her, because it will be her last time with a man. Some of the other women held Alice’s arms, Christina too, but Arni couldn’t do it so soon after the other girl, and so Henry took over. Everyone just laughed as Henry raped her, and brutalised her. I couldn’t believe it. They were women, and so what hold must Henry have over them to make them do that? It was almost like he was commanding them, and so if they could do that to Alice, what could they do to me?’

‘How did Alice end up in the pool?’ Amelia asked.

‘Arni dragged her when Henry had finished. Just pulled her through the house by her hair, naked, and put her in the water. She tried to fight, but Arni was too strong. He held her head under until she stopped struggling. Henry put on the dishwasher first, so that their traces were gone, and then we all left, like we were running away.’

‘What about the other girl Arni killed?’

Billy shrugged. ‘They took her away. I didn’t go with them. I just drove around. I didn’t know what to do.’

Ted turned to Charlie. ‘You can turn it off now,’ he said. Charlie could tell he was crying.

When the screen went blank, the only sounds were Ted’s sobs. Charlie didn’t say anything, but then there was a noise in the corner of the room. When he looked, it was Jake, Ted’s son.

‘I know who they are,’ Jake said.

Ted looked surprised. He wiped his eyes. ‘You do? How?’

Jake looked down, nervous. ‘I guessed some of that story, from things I’ve heard.’

Ted looked at Charlie, and then back at Jake, before pointing at the sofa.

‘You need to talk,’ Ted said.