The Grave (18 page)

The flimsy shoe covers pinged from her feet and were left in
a sad bundle with the hat, dragged from her head as she ran.  She tore at the
billowing coverall and threw it aside as she shot through the main doors.  There
were people after her, feet thudded on the tarmac of the road way.  She jigged
and turned nipping between taxis and parked cars.  An emergency vehicle
screeched to a halt as she flew in front of it, she flung out her arms in
reaction and it missed her by inches.  Breath burned in her throat as she
picked up speed.  An old lady hobbling before her, leaning heavily on a metal
walking frame, turned at the sound of running feet.

“Oh my word, whatever is it, what’s wrong?”

She held out a hand as Sylvie flew past, “Hey, what have you
done, why are you running away?”

They collided, only lightly but it was enough.  The old
woman tipped and stumbled. 

“Oh, oh no.”  She tumbled to the pavement and the metal
frame crashed into the road under the wheels of a passing car.  The screech of
tyres and the screams of the old woman lying on the ground beat into Sylvie’s
ears. She couldn’t stop, mustn’t stop and so ran on, away from the mayhem, her
heart pounding and her gasping breath loud in her ears.

The chasing security guards had no choice but to stop, they
had to help the old woman who had skinned her knees and the walking frame was
tangled in the wheels of the car.  The resultant back-up of traffic blocked the
hospital entrance and an ambulance, lights flashing and siren blaring, mounted
the pavement to try and find a way through the confusion. 

Sylvie ran on and on, she didn’t remember the way from last
time but again her instinct took her out from the city centre.  When she felt
sure she had truly left all the pursuers behind she stopped and flopped to the
ground beside a brick wall.  She drew up her legs and lowered her head to her
knees.  Every bit of her body was shaking, her throat burned and her head
pounded.  She sat for many minutes simply waiting for her heart to resume a
steady rhythm and for her brain to still and take stock of what had happened. 

There was a tiny café on the corner of the road and she took
herself inside to hide from the crowds and the day and the pure confusion of it
all. She bought a bottle of water and asked for a cup of coffee.  The table in
the corner gave her a view of the window and the street outside but she felt
hidden in the angle of the walls. 

For a while she simply sat there trying to straighten out
the events in her mind.  Although going back there had been foolhardy there was
no denying she had needed to do it.  Now she had seen him, he had looked better
than expected, opened his eyes and was so very obviously improving and that was
good, it was, wasn’t it?  There was the other thing though, what could she take
from that, he had looked straight at her, there was no doubt he had seen her
but there had been nothing.  Not in his eyes, not on his face, no sign at all
that he knew her.  In his condition and the flurry of those moments surely his
reaction was unguarded and honest and so, did he truly not know her or did he
know her only too well.

“Leave it Forbes, there’s plenty of bodies to catch her. 
Stay with me.”

With the sharp instruction Detective Bailey swung back into
the newly quieted room and dragged a chair to the bed where Samuel was
struggling to keep his eyes open.  He had been disturbed by the turmoil in his protected
world and now turned to peer at this new visitor.

“Samuel.  I’m Detective Bailey, this is Constable Forbes,
we’ve been with you from the start of all this.  I’m glad you’re feeling a bit
better, it must be great to have the tube out.  The doctors have told us you
can talk to us for a little while.  If you find it all too much and want to
stop at any time let me know and we can leave things for another day.”

Samuel nodded and raised a hand.

“Marie, do you know where she is?”  

The question was little more than a whisper and the
desperation obvious in the sick man’s eyes pulled at the detective’s sympathy. 
He shook his head.

“There are a lot of things we are in a puzzle about Samuel. 
I think if I tell you what we know as fact it might be a good place to start
and then you can ask me whatever you want and I’ll answer you where I can. 

“You have to be aware though before we start, there has been
a crime, we have a shooting, not only you but another man.  We think we know
who did it but we don’t know why.  At this moment in time you are not in any
trouble but simply helping us with our investigation.  Are you clear about that
Samuel, don’t try to talk just nod if you understand me.”

He nodded.

“Do you remember being in the hotel?” The question was
answered with a weak shake of Samuel’s head where it lay against the pillow. 
He pointed at the plastic tumbler and Stella lifted it and helped him to drink.

“Okay, well we were called to The Seven Stars Hotel by
someone reporting a disturbance, to save time I’ll give you a quick rundown of
what we found.  We entered your room and you were lying in a pool of blood
beside the bed, there was a girl with you, and there was the other man.  I have
to tell you he had also been shot and didn’t survive.”

“Marie, what about the baby?  Are they okay?” 

Now he was showing signs of being distraught, his breathing
had grown rapid and laboured.  One of the machines showed a red light where
before there had been a green glow.  The nurse hurried across the room.

“I’m not sure he’s up to it.  I think I should get the
doctor.”

Samuel reached out and grabbed at Stella’s arm, “Tell me
about Marie, is she okay? God why won’t anyone tell me? Are they okay?” 

The doctor pushed in beside the bed and nodded to the nurse
who introduced a syringe full of medication into the infusion tube.  Samuel
calmed quickly and as his lids closed he made a final effort.

“Marie, will you fetch Marie?”

The police stood up, “Thanks for that doc.”  The comment was
sour and Bailey shook his head in frustration. 

“I can’t have him upset, I warned you when I agreed you
could talk to him.  You’ll have to wait until he’s stronger and that’s all
there is to it.”

“Yeah, yes I know you’re right it’s just that we can’t move
along here.  There were no documents, nothing to tell us who he is except the
story from the girl and it’s so frustrating.  Nurse, do you know who this Marie
is?”

“He’s asked for her a few times and he keeps talking about a
baby but according to the book there’s been no-one visiting him and certainly
no baby.”

“Great so we’re even more confused than before.  Anyway,
let’s address the other issue. Sylvie, how the hell did she get in here and
what did she say to him.”

“I know nothing about her, I didn’t recognise her, I’ve only
been in the department two days and I thought she was the cleaner until she
went ballistic when she saw you.  Sorry can’t help you.”

“I don’t expect she’ll risk coming back but if she does, or
anyone else for that matter you need to let us know.  Come on Forbes, I’m
feeling disgruntled I’m gonna tear a strip off the bloody plod who was sitting
outside the door.  I’m having his scalp.”

“Hey, guv he made a mistake is all.”

“Yeah well, I need a victim today and he’s it.” 

With this angry statement Detective Bailey stormed from the
room and could be heard a few minutes later his voice a threatening growl as he
harangued the hapless bobby who had allowed Sylvie access to the room.

As he drifted into the drug induced peace a great tear
tracked down Samuel cheek.

That had been so hard, unbelievably hard.  Now though he
just wanted to drift away, he let go the strings of reality and as he fell into
the peace Marie came to him smiling.

Sylvie left the little café with no idea where she was or
what direction to take.  This place was unfamiliar, busy and confusing and with
the recent panic still raw her brain refused to cling onto rational thought
long enough to make decisions. 

The image of Samuel as he looked at her in the room, looked through
her really as though she was a stranger, kept blocking out everything else.
Every time she pictured his drowsy eyes filled with nothing but confusion she
choked on the lump in her throat. 

Was he brain damaged, how would she have been able to tell? She
hadn’t even had a moment before all hell had broken loose.  Was he simply
drugged, did he know her and want to protect her or did he know her and want to
protect himself with distance and ignorance.  The thoughts pushed and jostled
against each other as her legs carried her nervously through the hustle of the
shopping streets.

Then, like a glimpse of a harbour from a storm tossed sea
she saw the figure, tall and skinny, striding out confidently before her, legs
scissoring and long hair dancing from side to side.

“Lennie, Lennie wait.” 

The other woman spun and goggled at her in disbelief. 

“Christ Sylvie, how the hell did you get here?  Bloody hell
talk about timing.”

With this she grabbed hold of Sylvie by the arm and hustled
her into a covered indoor market.  Dragging her roughly along she ran down the
narrow aisles, twisting this way and that past vegetable stalls and butchery
stands.  She ran behind a counter piled high with carrots, cabbages and heaps
of misshaped potatoes.

“Hiya Stevo, back way open?”

The old man barely glanced up but he grinned and waved a
hand towards the rear of the stall.  Through the rough wooden door they emerged
into a walled yard filled with boxes, bins and cartons.  Heaps of stinking and
decaying vegetables filled the air with the stench of rot, Sylvie gagged on it
as Lennie pulled her towards a narrow gateway, through and out into an
alleyway.

For a moment now, in the dimness of this passage, Lennie
turned and grabbed Sylvie by the arms her fingers digging into flesh still
fragile with the abuse of just days ago. She spun her around until they were
face to face.  

“Bloody hell, how come you’re here?  I thought you were in
the hossy with Aunty Marj.  What happened?”

“I got into the room, Samuel was there, he was sitting up,
well sort of and he looked okay really but then the police came and it all went
pear shaped and so I ran.”

“Oh, oh well at least you saw him so that’s good yeah?”

“No, no he looked straight through me, he didn’t even seem
to recognise me at all, it was as if he’d never seen me before.  It was
horrible.  Then I ran and this old woman fell over and there was chaos and I
just kept on running.  But what are you doing here anyway.  I can’t believe I
met you.”

“Oh shit, I went to the pub.  I couldn’t rest wondering
about you and so I went out.  I was ‘aving a drink with a mate and then I saw
‘em.”

“Who, the police?”

“No, the police aren’t after me are they?  Mo and Si, in their
bloody great black car.  They were just goin’ round the corner I wouldn’t ‘ave
seen ‘em except my mate was wavin’ to his brother, anyway the point was they
saw me and I freaked.  I don’t know what it was, just the look they gave me and
so I came out to get away.  I’m a bit scared about goin’ back to the flat.  I
really am panicked, honest.  I was goin’ to hide at Marjie’s”

“Oh no, what are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know, I honestly don’t.  I had this idea.  I was
going to talk to you about it.  I’ve had enough, I was wonderin’.”

Here the girl paused, fighting to find the right words.

“I’m tired of it to be honest Sylvie, all this.  The fear
and runnin’ and after what they did to you, the bastards.  I’m sick to death of
it.  I think I want to put a stop to it.

“How, I mean what can you do, how can you stop it? I don’t understand.”

“The bizzies, I think we should go to the bizzies.”

As Sylvie began to argue Lennie bent forwards and looked
deep into her eyes.

“Think about it love, just really think about it.  You shot
that bloke because he was goin’ to rape you probably and he had shot your fella
and you believed he would shoot you.  Am I right?”

“Well, yes.  Basically yes.  But it was all the other stuff,
the stuff Samuel was mixed up in and…” now it came the spectre of Phil, the
violent scene in the little shack, the blood and horror.  Well there’s other
stuff as well.”  She paused

When it came right down to it she hadn’t actually done
anything.  Yes, she had been there when Phil was killed there was no denying it,
but he had been beating her and Samuel had protected her.  As she thought of
him then, saving her and taking all the responsibility hot tears flowed from
her over-cried eyes.

“Let me think, can you let me think about it all?”

“’Course, look we can get to Aunty Marjie’s house down
here.  Let’s go there, have a brew and take some time.  We need to let Marj
know you’re okay anyway and we should be alright there.  We need to move though
love, if we’re gonna do this thing we need to do it now.  Mo and Si are evil
buggers and if they’re up here again so soon you can bet they’re up to no
good.  Come on.”

They scurried together down the alleyway and then, with
Lennie in the lead, they made their way to a little terraced house in a narrow
street with cars lining both sides and children playing on the pavement.