Warhol's Prophecy (22 page)

‘I understand,’ Layton told him.

‘I think you should say sorry.’

Gorton took a step towards him.

Layton didn’t speak.

‘I didn’t hear you,’ Gorton persisted.

Silence.

‘I said, you should say sorry. So, say it, you little cunt.’

Gorton was standing so close now he was breathing his rancid breath into Layton’s face.

‘Sorry,’ Layton said flatly.

‘That’s better,’ Gorton told him.

‘Sorry, you sheep-shagging Scotch cunt.’

Gorton’s face darkened. He brought his knee up into Layton’s groin so hard, he felt it connect with the pelvic bone.

Layton dropped to his knees, or at least he would have done had Gorton not grabbed him by the lapels, lifted him up and held him like a rag doll.

He stared into Layton’s watering eyes for a second, then drove his head forward, slamming his forehead into Layton’s face.

The headbutt caught him on the left eyebrow.

‘Pick those fucking tins up.’ Gorton released his grip, allowing Layton to fall to the floor, opened the stockroom door and walked away.

Layton slumped against some large bags of salt, unsure which pain was worse, the one in his groin or the one in his head.

He sucked in a couple of deep breaths and pulled himself upright.

‘Fucking bastard,’ he groaned under his breath.

He steadied himself for a second, then limped slowly back out into the kitchen.

Gorton smiled as he saw him, then turned his attention back to the large pots of soup that were bubbling on the range nearest to him.

As he drew nearer, Layton noticed that the handle of one was sticking outwards.

Gorton was no more than a foot away.

The movement was so fast no one, including Gorton, saw it.

Layton brought his hand down with great force onto the outstretched saucepan handle, causing the entire thing to flip up.

He couldn’t have planned the trajectory better if he’d worked it out with a slide-rule and protractor.

An immense geyser of boiling soup shot into the air, most of it hitting Gorton straight in the chest and face.

As Layton went down, pretending he’d slipped, he heard the Scot scream in agony as the searing fluid struck him.

Where it touched his skin, the flesh immediately turned red.

Layton was aware of footsteps rushing towards them. Collinwood was there.

Other hands were hauling him to his feet.

Figures were gathered around Gorton, who was now rolling about on the kitchen floor shrieking, his suffering intolerable.

‘I slipped,’ Layton said. Then those same hands that had picked him up pushed him aside.

He heard one of the screws shout for a doctor.

Layton backed away, looking down at Gorton, who was still screaming. Blisters were already forming on his seared flesh. Layton thought how excruciating the pain must be.

He smiled faintly.

H
AILEY ADJUSTED THE
heating control inside the Astra for the second time, seeking cooler air.

She felt warm. Uncomfortably warm.

The weather was mild but no more. No extremes of temperature to cause this occasionally unpleasant feeling.

She kept her eyes on the Scorpio ahead, aware that Walker was glancing over his shoulder at her every now and then. Ensuring that she didn’t lose him on the narrow, winding roads that led from the Happy Brig.

More than once, when they stopped at traffic lights, she found herself, almost unconsciously, checking her appearance in her rear-view mirror.

Want to look your best for him?

Her hands felt sweaty on the wheel.

Like first-date nerves?

She glanced at the dashboard clock: 2.32 p.m.

Plenty of time.

She didn’t have to collect Becky from Caroline Hacket’s house until five if necessary.

Plenty of time.

For what?

She switched on the cassette, wondering how much longer the journey to Walker’s house would take. The music filled the car, but she hardly seemed to hear it. Her mind was elsewhere, her gaze firmly fixed on the Scorpio as it moved along.

Hailey began to see more houses appearing now and she realized they were drawing closer to the outskirts of the city.

Closer to his house.

The house where you want to go.

A part of her said that this was insane. The sensible, married mother, with a husband and a career, told her it was insane.

But the woman who had been cheated on – who felt attracted to this good-looking, kind and considerate man – told her otherwise.

Two voices. Conflicting.

She would look at his work, she would take some of it away with her. She would try to help him.

Simple.

You want him. You want him inside you. There’s moisture between your legs already.

She shifted slightly in her seat.

Do you wish Rob could see you now? Would you like him to know what you intend to do with this man?

The Scorpio turned left and she followed.

If he offered her coffee, she would accept. She would look carefully at his work, offer opinions if he sought them.

Hold him tightly to you. Let him feel how much you want him. Show him.

Her head was spinning.

If only you could see me now, Rob. I’m paying you back. As I make love to this man, I’m taking revenge.

She swallowed hard. Caroline would be proud of her, she mused.

She
knows you want him. She said so. Said she could see it in your eyes. If she slid a finger between your legs, she would also
feel
how much you wanted him.

Hailey saw the Scorpio slowing down, turning into the driveway of a large, 1930s-style house.

She swung the Astra in behind, and switched off her engine as she saw Walker clamber out.

The house stood on a wide street, both flanked and faced by buildings of similar appearance. It sported a fairly big front garden; not particularly well kept, she noted. The paintwork of the house itself looked as if it could do with freshening up.

As she slid from behind her steering wheel, she saw Walker heading towards the front door.

Her legs felt a little shaky.

A sudden breeze ruffled her hair as she followed him towards the door, which was now open.

He gestured for her to enter.

Go on. It’s what you’ve been waiting for.

She stepped into the hall.

He closed the door behind them.

T
HE HALLWAY SMELLED
of air-freshener and furniture polish, as if it had been freshly cleaned that morning.

Hailey stood motionless for a moment, glancing around.

There was a staircase directly ahead of her. To her left, slightly ajar, was the door to the sitting room. To her right, another room. The door was tightly closed.

‘Would you like a coffee?’ said Walker, smiling.

Hailey nodded. She followed him through into the kitchen.

‘Sorry about the mess,’ he said as they entered a room to the rear of the house. ‘It seems almost obligatory for blokes who live on their own to have untidy houses, doesn’t it?’

‘I’ve seen worse.’ She smiled at him.

Apart from a couple of unwashed bowls in the sink, the kitchen was actually very neat.

He took some mugs from one of the wall cupboards and flicked on the electric kettle.

‘My own place can get pretty chaotic,’ she assured him, watching as he spooned coffee into the mugs.

‘Well, that’s understandable with you having a little child,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ she murmured.

Becky? Are you betraying
her
too?

Hailey crossed to the kitchen window and looked out onto the back garden. It stretched for a good seventy feet towards a high privet hedge that enclosed the lawn on three sides, effectively screening it from the neighbours on both sides.

The grass needed cutting.

‘Do you see much of your neighbours?’ she wanted to know.

He shook his head. ‘We nod at each other in the street.’ Walker smiled. ‘That’s about it.’

He filled the two mugs with hot water and set them on the kitchen table. They sat down opposite each other.

‘It’s a big house for one person,’ she commented.

‘I like my own company.’

‘That’s just as well.’

‘It wasn’t much different when my father lived here. I didn’t see that much of him.’ He sipped his coffee. ‘We didn’t have much to talk about.’

Hailey sensed that she should change the subject.

Walker was gazing past her, as if staring at something behind her that she couldn’t see.

‘What about your brother and sister?’ she asked. ‘
They
were here, weren’t they?’

He looked blank for a second.

‘Oh, right,’ he murmured. ‘It was still like being alone, though. We all kept ourselves to ourselves. They both moved out when they were eighteen: went to university. We don’t keep in touch. We’re not very close.’

‘Have you spoken to your mother since she left?’

He shook his head. ‘She could be dead for all I know,’ he muttered. ‘I’m not sure what I’d say to her after all these years. I suppose I might ask her
why
she left – if she knew how much pain she was causing.’

‘It must have been hard for you, Adam.’

He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t be the only one it’s happened to, would I? I mean, marriages split up every day, don’t they?’

He looked straight into her eyes.

Hailey found it difficult to hold his gaze.

Yes. They break up every day. Over things like infidelity.

She sipped her coffee.

‘I used to wonder how my father felt when he discovered my mother had left him for another man,’ Walker said. ‘I’m not even sure it bothered him that much. With him being a vicar, he probably thought it was the Will of God or some shit like that.’ There was disdain in his voice. ‘How did
you
feel when Rob cheated on you?’

‘Angry, hurt and puzzled. I know it might sound big-headed, but I’d always thought I was quite good-looking – good figure and all that. I didn’t understand what
she
could give him that
I
couldn’t. Perhaps she was better in bed than I was.’

‘Aren’t mistresses supposed to do things in bed that wives
won’t
do?’ Walker smiled. ‘That’s the usual excuse, isn’t it?’

‘Rob never missed out on anything,’ she said defiantly.

That’s it. Tell him your sexual details too.

‘Even after I had Becky, we still had a good sex life,’ she continued. ‘He didn’t have to look anywhere else for blow-jobs or any of his little fantasies.’ She lowered her gaze. ‘I’m sorry, Adam.’

‘Are you
still
angry with him?’

She nodded. ‘I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me.’ She smiled wanly. ‘Caroline said that
I
should have an affair.’

She looked deeply into Walker’s eyes. The silence between them seemed to stretch into an eternity.

She reached out and touched the back of his hand gently.

Go on. Do it. Do it now.

‘And what do
you
think about that?’ he wanted to know.

She could feel her heart thudding more insistently against her ribs, her breathing becoming a little more ragged. There was both heat and moisture between her legs as she squeezed her thighs together and shifted on the chair.

‘I think if you’re going to do that, you have to be careful who you do it
with
,’ she breathed. ‘It’s a dangerous game to play.’

And do you want to play it?

She was still tracing her index finger gently across the back of his hand, aware that the digit was shaking slightly.

He put his hand over hers and squeezed gently, closing his own fingers around hers.

Hailey could feel her nipples pressing insistently against her bra. Her whole body felt as if it was ablaze. Her cheeks were flushed.