Afraid (4 page)

Snapped from his muddled thoughts by the muffled sound of his mobile phone ringing, Jeff looked around and located it as coming from the pocket of his jacket draped over the back of the visitors’ chair. Conscious of the other patients who were sleeping around the dimly lit ward, he gingerly rolled over and tugged the chair closer to the bed. Queasy at the sight of the dried blood and the jagged tear where the knife had entered, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and pushed the jacket aside.

‘Where are you?’ The voice shot down his ear when he answered. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of you for hours.’

‘I’m in hospital,’ Jeff said quietly, pressing the palm of his hand against his throbbing forehead.

‘Oh, God, are you okay? I’ve been hearing all sorts, but I didn’t know what to believe. Is it true you were stabbed?’

‘Yeah, but I can’t really talk right now,’ Jeff muttered, desperate to get off the phone before his head exploded. ‘Let me call you in the morning.’

‘Okay. But are you all right? Is there anything you need?’

‘No, I’m fine, but I’ve got to go. Speak tomorrow, yeah?’

Jeff cut the call and switched the phone off in case it rang again. His memory was starting to come back, and he closed his eyes as he recalled the argument he’d had with Andrea last night. It had been a nasty one, and he’d come really close to retaliating when she’d started throwing stuff at him. But he’d kept his cool and walked out, sure that she would have calmed down by the time he got home from work this afternoon. Unfortunately, she hadn’t, and here he was.

A soft touch on his shoulder made him jump, and he squinted up at the nurse who was standing over him.

‘Just checking you’re awake,’ she said quietly.

‘Yeah, but I wish I wasn’t,’ he moaned. ‘The doc said he was going to give me something for the pain, but he must have forgot. Don’t suppose you could chase it up for me, could you?’

‘I’ll check his notes and see what I can do,’ she promised. Then: ‘The police have been waiting to talk to you. Are you up to it, or shall I ask them to come back tomorrow?’

Jeff swallowed deeply and shook his head. ‘No, you can send them in. But don’t forget the tablets, will you?’

‘I’ll try not to.’ The nurse smiled.

Jeff groaned when two police officers walked up to his bed a couple of minutes later. He’d never met the first one before, but the second, PC Andy Jones, had attended several domestics at his place in the past, and he was one of the cuff-happiest coppers Jeff had ever come across.

‘Well, this is a turn-up.’ Jones peered down at him with a hint of a smirk on his lips. ‘I always knew one of you would end up in hospital, but I never guessed it’d be
her
putting
you
here.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Jeff stared coldly back at him.

‘Oh, here we go,’ Jones drawled. ‘
Jackanory
time.’

‘I’m PC Dean,’ the second officer introduced himself as he pulled a chair up to the bed. ‘We’d like to ask you a few questions, if that’s okay?’

‘Whatever,’ Jeff muttered.

‘Can you start by telling us what happened this afternoon?’

‘And don’t bother telling us it wasn’t her,’ Jones chipped in. ‘She’s already confessed.’

Dean shot a hooded look at his colleague, and said, ‘We just need to hear your account of what happened, sir – in your own words.’

Jeff’s mind whirred. It was a shock to hear that Andrea had confessed, but if Jones thought that Jeff was about to grass her up then the bastard was in for a long wait.

‘My wife’s ill,’ he said.

‘Are you saying that’s why she did it?’ Dean asked.

‘No, I’m saying that’ll be why she’s confessed. That’s if
he
’s telling the truth and she has.’ Jeff cast a scathing glance at Jones. ‘Wouldn’t put it past him to have beaten it out of her, knowing him. If he thinks you’re guilty, he’ll do anything to make it stick so he can up his arrest rate, him. Hasn’t worked out too well so far, though, has it?’ He directed this at Jones. ‘Still only a plod, after all this time.’

Unfazed, Jones’s smirk widened. ‘I’m fine where I am, mate; gives me a chance to keep the druggies and dealers in line.
And
the wife-beaters,’ he added pointedly.

‘Okay, let’s just get back to this, shall we?’ Dean cut in. ‘Are you saying that your wife
didn’t
stab you, Mr Benson?’

‘Course she didn’t,’ Jeff lied. ‘She wouldn’t hurt a fly.’

‘Whatever!’ Jones scoffed.

‘Then can you explain why she would say that she did?’ Dean persisted.

‘The only reason I can think of is if
he
was the one who questioned her,’ said Jeff. ‘’Cos if he did, he’ll have put the fear of God into her.’

‘And why would I do that?’ Jones drawled.

‘Because you get off on it,’ Jeff shot back. ‘I’ve been on the receiving end, don’t forget; I know how you operate.’

No longer in the mood for playing games, Jones dropped the smirk and looked Jeff square in the eye. ‘Look, Benson, we haven’t got time for this, so quit the bullshit and let’s get real, eh? We
know
she did it. She’s admitted it, and she still had the knife in her hand when we got there.’

‘So why are you bothering to question me?’ Jeff challenged him. ‘Why haven’t you charged her already if you’re so sure she did it?’

‘It doesn’t work like that,’ Dean interjected. ‘There has to be proof; preferably a witness statement. Your daughter was the one who found you and called us, but she arrived home after the incident, so that’s why we need
your
account.’

‘Okay, fine,’ said Jeff, thinking on his feet. ‘I got jumped in the alley on my way home from work. I heard them running up behind me, but they got me before I could turn round, so I didn’t see who it was. I just know it was a bloke. Maybe more than one, I’m not sure.’ He shrugged.

‘What a crock!’ Jones sneered.

‘It’s the truth,’ Jeff said evenly. ‘And I don’t give a toss if
you
believe it; that’s what happened.’

‘So, let’s get this right,’ said Jones. ‘You were coming home from work, and someone jumped you and stabbed you. But they didn’t take your wallet, or your phone?’ His gaze flicked to the mobile that Jeff had placed on the bedside cabinet. ‘They just stabbed you for the hell of it, then legged it. And you
somehow
managed to drag yourself into the house, without losing a single drop of blood along the way?’

‘I guess so.’ Jeff held his gaze.

‘So how come there’s a shitload of blood on the carpet in your place?’ Jones demanded. ‘And how come your missus was covered in it,
and
she was still holding the knife?’

‘She must have pulled it out of my back when I went in, then freaked out when she saw the blood,’ Jeff lied. ‘Like I just told your mate, she’s ill, and something like that would tip her over the edge.’ He turned back to Dean now, and said, ‘I hope she’s getting help and you haven’t just chucked her in a cell, ’cos that’d kill her. She needs her tablets.’

‘She was being assessed by the on-call doctor when we left the station,’ Dean assured him. Then, rising to his feet, he put his notepad back in his pocket. ‘I think we’ll leave it at that for tonight, sir. We’ll need to speak to you again at some point, but if there’s anything you want to tell us in the meantime, just give us a call.’

Jeff nodded. ‘Thanks, lad; will do.’

Jones stood up and peered down at Jeff with unconcealed disgust. ‘You’re an idiot,’ he said bluntly. ‘She nearly killed you, and if you let her get away with it, what’s to stop her from finishing the job next time you have a scrap?’

‘I’ve already told you it wasn’t her,’ Jeff replied coolly.

‘And we both know you’re lying,’ spat Jones. ‘What about that kid of yours?’ he said then. ‘How do you think
she
must have felt finding you like that? The poor girl’s so traumatised she hasn’t spoken to anyone since we picked her up. And what if it’s
her
who cops for it next time? You thought about that?’

Teeth tightly gritted, Jeff said, ‘Andrea would never hurt Skye. Just like she didn’t do this to me.’

Furious, Jones brought his face down close to Jeff’s and hissed, ‘You and your missus can carry on kicking the shit out of each other until one of you ends up in the morgue, for all I care. But if anything happens to that girl because you’ve let her mam get away with this, I’ll be blaming you. Are we clear on that?’

‘He’s threatening me,’ Jeff said loudly to Dean.

‘Andy, leave it,’ Dean ordered, glancing around to see if anyone was listening. ‘Let’s go.’

Jones backed away from the bed, but he flashed Jeff one last look of disgust before following Dean off the ward.

Jeff flopped back against the pillow when they had gone and closed his eyes. Jones was a cunt, and Jeff hated him with a passion, but he couldn’t deny what the man had said. Andrea had almost done for him this time, and there was no telling what might happen if they got into that same situation again and Skye happened to get in the way. His wife was manageable when she took her medication, but she couldn’t be trusted to take it as regularly as she was supposed to – and Jeff didn’t always see the warning signs before she flipped. And she must have flipped
big
time to have stuck that knife in his back.

He still couldn’t let her go down for it, though. She needed help, not punishment. And he was as guilty as she was, in some respects, because he should never have argued with her when he knew she was on the edge. It was just so damn hard not to retaliate when she got in his face. She had a way of getting under his skin like nobody else ever had, and he wasn’t saint enough to back down when she provoked him.

Still, the police couldn’t charge Andrea if he stuck to his story about being jumped in the alley. Jones didn’t believe him, but that was his problem. And Skye couldn’t drop them in it, because she hadn’t seen anything, so Andrea was in the clear.

But this was the last time Jeff was bailing her out. When she came home, she was going to stay on her tablets no matter what. And the first time she missed one, he was out of there – for good, this time.

4

Skye had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke the next morning, she momentarily forgot what had happened and stretched her arms above her head. But, when she heard the chimes of a doorbell in the hallway below, her eyes popped open and she sat bolt upright and gazed around the unfamiliar room in confusion. A tap at the door a few seconds later, followed by the sight of Marie Vaughn’s smiling face, brought everything back in an unwelcome flash.

‘Morning, love,’ Marie said cheerily. ‘Val had a cancellation, so she managed to get here a bit earlier than planned. I washed your things after you fell asleep.’ She nodded towards a wicker chair in the corner of the room, upon which, Skye saw from the corner of her eye, her clothes were neatly folded. ‘Why don’t you go and have a wash, then get dressed and join us in the kitchen? The bathroom is two doors down. I’ve left a new toothbrush on the sink, and a fresh towel on the rail. Okay?’

Skye didn’t answer, so Marie took the hint and retreated from the room. As soon as the door was closed, she jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed.

Val and Marie were talking quietly over a cup of tea at the kitchen table when Skye went downstairs. Dennis was nowhere in sight, but she could hear him moving around in the room above and guessed that he must have decided to leave the women to it.

‘Morning.’ Val smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. ‘How are you feeling today?’

‘All right,’ Skye muttered, breaking her pledge not to speak to any of them in her desperation to know if there was any news about her dad. ‘Have you heard from the hospital yet?’

‘Yes, and you’ll be pleased to know that your father’s operation went very well.’

‘Does that mean I can go home now?’

‘Not just yet.’

Skye’s heart had leapt at the news that her dad was okay, but it plummeted now and tears of despair sprang into her eyes. ‘Why not? I don’t want to stay here again.’

‘You won’t have to,’ Val told her. ‘This was an emergency placement, so I’ve made arrangements for you to go to a nice children’s home until we can find somewhere more permanent.’

‘No.’ Skye shook her head. ‘I want to go home.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not an option,’ said Val. ‘We’ve no idea how long your dad will be in hospital, and your mum’s clearly not well enough to look after you.’

‘She’ll be okay if she gets back on her tablets,’ Skye insisted. ‘She always gets better really fast when they kick in. Anyway, I’m nearly fifteen; I can look after myself.’

‘No, you can’t,’ Val said firmly. Then, sighing softly, she said, ‘Look, I know this isn’t what you hoped to hear, but this isn’t the first time concerns have been raised about your welfare, and we have a duty to protect you.’

‘I don’t need protecting.’

‘
You
may not think so, but
we
do.’

‘You don’t even know me.’ Skye glowered.

‘We’ve known
of
you for a while,’ Val said. ‘And we’ve spoken with your parents several times in the past. Unfortunately,’ she went on, trying not to make it sound as if she were criticising the Bensons when, in truth, the couple had done everything in their power to prevent Social Services from gaining entry to their home, ‘we weren’t able to establish a true picture of the situation on those occasions, so we couldn’t make an accurate assessment of your needs. But after what happened last night, it’s clear that you’re at risk, and we’re—’

‘You don’t know
any
thing,’ Skye cut in angrily. ‘You’re just like the police: making things up so you can take me away from my mum and dad. But I love them and they love me, and they won’t let you get away with this.’

‘I saw your dad this morning, and he agreed to sign you over to us,’ Val told her, figuring that there was no use in beating around the bush because the sooner the girl knew the score, the sooner she would be able to come to terms with it. ‘It’s not that he doesn’t love you,’ she went on, trying to soften the blow when she saw the raw despair in Skye’s eyes. ‘He’s just being realistic, because he knows he can’t cope by himself.’