The Tied Man (39 page)

The table had been pushed to one side so that the floor was clear, except for two carver chairs that now faced each other across the expanse.  One was empty, but the other was already taken.

‘Still fancy him now?’  Coyle laughed.

Finn was tied to the chair’s frame by strips of silver duct tape at his wrists and ankles, and another piece had been stuck over his mouth.  He still wore his pyjama pants, but he was bare-chested now, and Coyle’s coterie had certainly had fun.

His chest and stomach were covered with boot marks that were already turning storm-cloud black, and by his jagged, painful breathing I guessed they’d managed to break a rib.  A streak of fresh blood marked an unchecked trail from his nose and down the tape across his mouth, and his left eye was swollen shut.

‘What’s that?’ Coyle asked Finn. ‘You want to say somethin’ to your new girlfriend?  Like, ‘Sorry I needed my fix more than I needed to protect you’?  or maybe, ‘Sorry I just landed you in more shit than you’ve ever known in your entire existence’?’  With one arm still locked around me, Coyle reached over and ripped the tape from Finn’s mouth.

‘Oh God Coyle, don’t hurt her.  Do whatever the hell you like to me, but don’t hurt Lilith.  Please…’ 

‘Shut the
fuck
up!’ Coyle hollered.  ‘D’you think anything you say’s going to make any kind of difference to what I do to this little slut?  Huh?  I’m
about
to do whatever I like to you, just as soon as I’ve finished here.’

I finally managed to steady my breath so I could take a chestful of air again. ‘
Fucking coward!
’ I screamed at Coyle, and attacked him with teeth and nails and feet – anything to try and run from whatever was coming next.

In a clean fight, Lilith might have stood a chance, but with Coyle it was never going to be clean.  When we were both teenagers on the same bare-knuckle circuit, Coyle O’Halloran was notorious for concealing a short length of lead pipe in his fist, or landing the first punch before his opponent had even turned around to face him. Back then I had been one of the few to ever floor him, and the bastard had been taking his revenge ever since.

Now I could only watch and continue to make useless, empty entreaties for Coyle to stop as he began his attack on the woman I had failed.

When I’d left Lilith and returned rattling and half-asleep to my room, Coyle, Philly, Lawson and Damo had been waiting for me there.  I fought like hell to get back to Lilith, but Coyle, hidden behind the door, had swung his boot into my weakened knee so that I crashed to the floor, and as soon as Damo slapped the duct tape across my mouth, it was already over.  The additional kicking was merely entertainment for them, and the start of a well-deserved penance for me.

I’d heard my rib crack as Lawson hoofed me once I was down, but I hardly felt that pain now; it was nothing new, and it was nothing at all compared to my horror at Lilith’s arrival.  I couldn’t believe how badly I had miscalculated – I had only prepared for my own punishment, stupidly thinking that Lilith was somehow beyond reach.

Coyle now had Lilith pinned to the floor.  ‘So do I scare you now, you smug wee bitch?’ he crowed.

Lilith could only manage a breathless cry of terror in reply, and I knew that Coyle wouldn’t give a shit about her asthma, and that she might die right there simply because he was an ignorant beast of a man who didn’t know what was happening to her.  I tried to find the words to warn him, but before I could say anything, he grabbed Lilith’s wrists in one hand and with the other he yanked down her pyjama pants.  He used his knees to push her legs apart and I was vaguely aware of yelling ‘No’ over and over again, and knowing that there was nothing that could stop Coyle’s game.

‘Enjoying the show, fag?’ Coyle called to me.  ‘Remind you of last night, eh?  What did you do?  Use some of your special tricks of the trade to get her screamin’ for more?’  Question after question, all of them unanswered and unanswerable.  He bent low so that his face was next to Lilith’s.  ‘Ready to see what a real man can do instead of your little shit-stabber there?  I can’t fuckin’ believe you let that filthy cock anywhere near.’ 

Lilith had almost stopped struggling now, and I didn’t know whether it was through fear or absence of breath.  I didn’t even have the haven of hoping this was all empty posturing – Coyle had done this so many times before.

‘Right, your ladyship, let’s see if you’re up for a bit of proper lovin’.’ He looked up to wink at me then jabbed his fingers deep inside her.

Lilith screamed in pain and shock and my own impotent bellow of rage added to the cacophony, but no sound was as loud as her attacker’s manic laughter as she tried to writhe away from his assault. 

Coyle lifted his hand to show me the blood.  ‘So, no tits, and a cunt so dry it’d be like stickin’ it up a fella’s arse – is that what worked for you, faggot?’  he asked me conversationally.  He was licking his fingers when Lilith broke free of his grip and head-butted him.  She gashed open the fleshy bulge above the bridge of his nose and for an insane moment I imagined her winning the fight as a fine spray of Coyle’s blood coated her face, but with a primeval roar he grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her across the kitchen.  His game was cut short as Lilith fell heavily against Henry’s beloved stove, and there was a sickening crack as her scalp split at the hairline.

‘That’s quite enough, Mr O’Halloran.’
Blaine
made her sedate entrance.  ‘Playtime’s over.  Ingrid, attend to Lilith, please.  And Henry, I suggest you clean up the mess before it soaks into the slate.’

Three paces behind
Blaine
came Doctor Parnell – the only time I’d ever been glad to see the woman – and hiding behind her was Henry.  One look at his stricken face told me that I no longer needed to ask how
Blaine
had discovered our transgressions so damn quickly.

A pyrotechnic display exploded in my head as I forced my eyes to open.  I remembered falling and I could feel blood congealing in my hair and right eyebrow but to my puzzlement I couldn’t bring my hand up to wipe it away.  It took me forever to realise why; I was still in the kitchen, but now I was sitting in the chair opposite Finn, and my wrists were bound with the same duct tape that held him fast.  A new strip of tape sealed his mouth again, and his eyes were wide with concern and shame. 

A small plastic mask covered my nose and mouth, and by the familiar dusty taste I knew I was being fed a haze of salbutamol to keep my lungs working.  A sharp cramping in my stomach and across my thighs served as a hard reminder of Coyle’s invasion.  The pain in my head overwhelmed everything else for a moment, and I had to swallow hard to stop myself from throwing up.

‘She seems a little better,’ said a meek, dry voice.  As a pair of shaking hands removed the nebuliser mask, I recognised Doctor Parnell’s parchment-white face.  ‘The head wound will need stitching, but steri-strips will hold it for now. I’ll come back later, once you’re done with your... meeting, shall I?’

‘I’d prefer it if you stayed,’ said
Blaine
from somewhere beyond  my vision.  ‘I’ll need you shortly.  If you’d care to join Mr O’Halloran at the table there, I’m sure Henry will be only too happy to make you coffee.’ 

So I now knew that we had three guests for whatever spectacle was about to unfold.  Henry, Coyle and Doctor Parnell took their positions on the margins of the room as
Blaine
moved to centre stage.  There was the sound of a heavy wooden chair being scraped across the slate floor and then she was sitting next to me, groomed and serene.  She contemplated me with a chilling combination of pity and regret and tapped an index finger against her lips as she considered her opening line.  ‘I’m so disappointed in you, Lilith.’

Even if I had been capable of saying anything, I reckoned the best thing right now was to keep my mouth tightly shut. 
Blaine
had already written the script, and I wasn’t about to do anything that added to the ordeal.

‘The very first thing you need to know is that sometimes, no reply at all is just as telling as the longest, most intimate phonecall.  When Mr O’Halloran hadn’t contacted me by one o’clock this morning I assumed that something must have gone a little awry.’ 

‘I told you, it was food poisonin’. I was shitting through the eye of a needle...’

‘Enough,’
Blaine
snapped, and raised a hand.  ‘I must admit I couldn’t have guessed the true extent of the damage done, but the unease was sufficient for me to catch an early flight home.  Fortunately, Henry was sensible enough to realise the unpleasantness might be minimised if he provided me with some of the details.  You really didn’t need too much persuasion at all, did you, Henry?’

I heard Henry give a low moan of utter misery.  I tried to cling on to the knowledge that whatever Henry had divulged, Jake must be safe by now, maybe even sound asleep in some cosy, secure room at the refuge.  The leaden weight on my chest diminished, but did not completely disappear:  Finn and I were completely screwed.

‘Lilith, you need to understand that you
cannot
, under any circumstances, take something that is mine.’  She finally glanced over at Finn.  ‘And certainly not twice in one day.’  She strolled over to him, and placed a hand benevolently on his head. ‘You could have borrowed him at any time, did you know that?  All you had to do was ask.’  Her voice was filled with disappointment at my lack of etiquette. 

Suddenly she clawed her fingers, grabbing a handful of Finn’s hair so that he gave a smothered grunt through the duct tape.  She pulled his head back and bent to address him.  ‘And you, my beautiful, misguided boy.  What
am
I to do with you?’  Her fingers tightened further, and I saw the sinew in his neck begin to distort as she twisted her hand.  ‘I’ve clearly been a little too indulgent with you of late.’  She released her grip and Finn’s head fell forward.  ‘I think it’s time we ended that lenience.  I’ve already asked Mr O’Halloran to ensure that you return to a rather more basic regime.’

‘All too happy to oblige,’ Coyle called, and I knew beyond doubt that my actions had landed Finn in hell.  For a moment I didn’t care what might happen to me: the thought of him being given to Coyle as a plaything was more than I could bear. 

Blaine
returned to my side.  ‘With some people, I’ve discovered that the only way they will ever learn is through physical reprimand.  I can truly say I would never have considered you as one of those people, Lilith.’

The calmness of her voice, combined with the knowledge that she had both the wherewithal and the temperament to do just about anything, threatened to stop my breath again.

‘I want you to know that I gave a great deal of thought to this.  I need you to understand th
at I’m a woman of my word, but
I really don’t wish to inflict any lasting damage.’  She stroked her fingers tenderly along my right arm as she spoke, and finally held my fingers in a light, steady grip.  ‘It wouldn’t matter about the quality of the canvas, or the paint, if the hand that actually needed to create the image was defective, would it?’  She gave me a comforting smile.  ‘I promise, this will be as efficient as I can make it, and it truly gives me no pleasure.  Mr O’Halloran? When you’re ready?’

As Coyle swaggered towards me I tried to rip the duct tape by tensing my feet and wrists against it, to no avail. 
Blaine
ignored my struggle. 

‘Just the two?’ Coyle asked.

Blaine
kept her gaze on me.  ‘Just the two –one for each stolen boy.’  She stepped back.  ‘And Finn?  You need to watch every moment of this.  If I see you as much as blink, I’ll ensure that the whole thing is repeated with the other hand.’

Coyle knelt so he could see my face. ‘Can I just say, Miss Bresson, that this gives me
immense
fuckin’ pleasure indeed?’  He gripped my right ring finger firmly and snapped it like a damp twig.  All the pain that I felt in my body was channelled to my hand, and I screamed despite myself.  Just as I was fully registering the agony, Coyle repeated the action on my middle finger and I howled so that my voice cracked.  I struggled uselessly against my restraints as if the movement might switch off the sickening, relentless fire in my arm, and I was only dimly aware of the tears flowing down my face.  I heard Henry sob somewhere in the distance.

‘Thank you, Mr O’Halloran,’
Blaine
said. ‘Ingrid, would you ensure that Lilith’s fingers are bound so that they set straight?  And make sure she has any pain relief she requires.’

Doctor Parnell began to nervously scrabble in her bag.  ‘Pethedine. That’ll take the worst away.’

I began to shiver as the shock began to hit my battered body.  The doctor pushed my sleeve up and slid a hypodermic needle into the vein in the crook of my arm with a trembling hand, and a warm blanket began to enfold me as the pain diminished. 

‘So, do I get to finish the job?’ Coyle asked.  ‘You said I could, and I owe him one.’ 

‘If you must,’
Blaine
sighed.  ‘Just remember to keep away from his face this time.  Henry, can you carry Lilith to her room, please? I think we’re done here.’