The Dark Half Chapter 14

The Dark Half Chapter 14

By Janet Baldey

ALEC

He had to admit she hadn’t reacted like he’d thought she would, not even when the coffin was carried into the crem. Certainly, not like Ma.  Even before the service had begun, his shoulder was aching like a bastard where her head had been resting for the past half hour, and his good Mohair, the one he’d bought especially for the ceremony, was fast becoming saturated by her blubbing. He sat staring stonily in front of him, brooding about the money it had cost. He hoped it wasn’t being ruined and felt like pushing her away but realised it wouldn’t look good. It was in his own best interests to play the part of the devoted son supporting his mother in her hour of need.  With stealthy sidelong glances, he looked around at the scattering of mourners making up the congregation and a sneer lifted his lip. It was best to be careful but really, there was no need to put on a show in front of these imbeciles, the ragtag remnants of his dad’s family.  They all looked as if they’d been dragged off the streets, not one of them good for the next five years. Dismissing them from his mind, he shifted his shoulder and began the furtive procedure of extricating his handkerchief from his top pocket and making it into a wad to soak up some of his Ma’s tears. During this one-handed process, he took the opportunity of peeking at his sister who was sitting bolt upright as if a poker had been stuck up her arse. No sign of tears although her face was colourless if you didn’t count the shadows underneath her eyes. Panda eyes, he thought, perhaps I should call her Chi Chi. An insane urge to giggle surfaced but he managed to suppress it. He had to admit he was disappointed by her reaction. After all that effort he’d expended persuading Ma to let him make the call.

         “Let me do it Ma. You’re worn out. Let me make you a cuppa, and then you have a nice rest. Talking to Anna would only upset you all over again.”

         He’d been as good as his word and had brewed a cup of tea for her, all the while wrinkling his nose at the state of the kitchen. She hadn’t even bothered to wash up, there were dirty plates everywhere and he had to search for a clean cup. She wouldn’t notice the crack, he decided. He’d paused for a minute wondering whether to slip one of her sleeping pills into it but in the event, she was fast asleep and snoring when he’d brought in the tea.

         So, he’d gone into the hall, picked up the telephone and made the call. The ‘phone rang for a long time before she answered and  he was wondering whether to leave some sort of message, cryptic or brutal he couldn’t make up his mind when suddenly her voice came on the line.

         “Hello Anna. It’s me. Sorry to disturb you. Hope you weren’t doing anything important.”  He’d made his voice oily as hell and paused waiting for a response. This was too good to rush.

         “What is it Alec?”

         “I’m afraid I’ve got some news. Are you sitting down?”

         And then he’d hit her with it. Pressing his ear hard against the receiver, he distinctly heard her gasp and felt a grin as broad as the Cheshire cat’s cover his face.

         There was a long silence before she spoke again, she’d tried hard but he heard the tremble in her voice.

         “Is this one of your jokes, Alec. Because if so…..”

         He’d cut her off. “As if I would joke about a thing like this, Sis.” God, he was good. In other circumstances, the hurt reproach in his voice would have won him an Oscar.

         “Can I speak to Mum, please?”

         “Better not at the moment, she’s sleeping. She’s very upset. Call back in the morning, eh?

         And that was it.  He had hoped that she would have reacted like Ma and all-but collapsed into a sodden, hysterical heap but even now she still seemed to be holding it together. Mind you, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. She’d always been a cold cow, although once or twice he’d managed to pierce her shell – that bloody kitten for instance. And then, there was Greta. A grin bloomed somewhere deep inside and his face muscles ached as he struggled to contain it. That had been one of his better pranks, mentally he licked one finger and marked an invisible scorecard. Even from the time he was very young he knew how to settle a grudge. All it took was patience.  He’d remember it, nurse it, almost cherish it, as he honed his revenge to perfection. Then, all he had to do was wait for the right occasion.  He was way back in the past now, only his body present, standing and sitting in time with the other members of the assembly as his father was committed to the afterlife.

         Did they really think he couldn’t hear them as he ran back to his mother, his leg throbbing with pain, his shirt ripped and dirt underneath his fingernails. Both his rotten sister and that horrible girl in the pink dress were laughing at him, their shrieks spiralling into the sky, getting louder and louder until his ears ached. He’d tell his Mummy.  He’d say they’d pushed him over but when he’d limped into the house, his Ma was bent over a box, her bottom sticking up in the air and wouldn’t listen to him.

         “Don’t bother me now,” she’d said. “Can’t you see I’m busy.”

         So, they’d got away with it. But, he never forgot and eventually they paid for it.  It took him a while, over five years if one wanted to be precise, but he’d got there in the end. 

         After the kitten incident, Anna and that Greta girl grew so thick it was almost as though they shared the same skin, like Siamese twins. As soon as Anna got home from school, she’d gobble a bit of tea and then she was off next door not coming back until it was dark. He ground his teeth as he remembered his frustration. Before it had been relatively easy to keep an eye on her, it was part of his skill set perfected over the years. Easy really, all he had to do was follow her at a safe distance and melt into the shadows if required. Post kitten, it was bloody hard. In good weather, it wasn’t so bad, they’d spread an old blanket over the grass and lie giggling and whispering together like a couple of old tarts. He’d crouch down behind the hedge and listen to them. Although he couldn’t hear much, he bet they were talking about him. The bitches. But in bad weather, it was different. They’d either shelter in the old shed at the end of the garden, well away from the hedge, or they’d go inside. In either case it was impossible for him to follow. He just had to wait and seethe as he imagined what they were saying about him.

         Then one day, he got lucky.  There was no sign of the girls in the back garden and donning his metaphorical cloak of invisibility, he slid round to the front of the house. There they were, sitting on the front wall chatting to a couple of boys. He recognised one of them, his name was Barry Peters and he was in the sixth form of their school. Tall and gangly, he had a mop of black, curly hair but more importantly, he was the owner of a bright red Raleigh with low-slung handlebars - a proper racing bike. He was on it now, one leg thrown carelessly over its cross-bar, the other steadying the bike against the kerb. A proper show-off; Alec remembered the way he’d fought feelings of scorn and envy. Then, he’d looked at his sister, noting the rapt expression on her face as she gazed at the boy. He’d sniggered. Anna was in love. He also realised she stood no chance. Quite clearly, the boy’s attention was centred on Greta who sparkled in response. Alec had felt a great joy bloom, Anna’s heart was about to be broken.

         He didn’t have to wait long. One dark evening, he’d heard the back door slam and had peered into the hall just in time to see Anna plod up the stairs. Her shoulders slumped as she hauled herself upwards, clinging onto the banisters as though they were a life-line and late into the night, Alec lay listening to the  sound of his sister cry herself to sleep.

         After that, it was easy. His sister put a brave face on it but she didn’t go round to Greta’s much anymore. Most evenings, a red racing cycle was to be seen chained to next door’s gate while Greta and Barry were nowhere to be seen. On those evenings, Anna kept to her room, telling her mother she had a lot of studying to do.  Also on those evenings, Alec kept to his room but he wasn’t studying. He was practising. He found Anna’s handwriting quite difficult at first but in the end he managed quite a good job and he’d never forget the look on her face when Greta marched up and slapped her hard around her face. He’d been following her around all day and just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

         “How dare you? You jealous bitch! I thought you were my friend and all this time you were plotting to split Barry and me up.  Well, let me tell you this…it hasn’t worked so you can suck on that. And I’ll tell you something else, I will never forgive your lies and I will never, ever, speak to you again.”

         By now, the service had ended and his father’s coffin was disappearing behind the curtain and towards the all-consuming fire but Alec hardly noticed. His plan had worked perfectly.  That berk Barry had opened his locker door and a cascade of little white notes had landed in a heap at his feet.

         “What the…..”   The curly-haired oaf had bent down, picked one up and read it. His face had turned a tinge of beetroot and seeing that with whoops of joy other boys had grabbed handfuls, reading them aloud in mock sopranos. “Oh, Barry I love you”, they sighed.  “She is not good enough for you….”  “Oh Barry, choose me…” Jeering laughter turned the locker room into Bedlam and Barry’s flush had deepened into maroon as his love life was dissected in great detail by a group of hormonal teenagers. Thoroughly humiliated he slammed his locker shut and blundered down the corridor in search of Greta. What a .laugh that was! But the biggest laugh was yet to come. Anna ran home early in a state of shock. Thoroughly traumatised she refused to return to school for the rest of the term even though she had planned to go onto sixth form.  Instead, she decided to take a college course in secretarial duties and that was her great career ruined.

         Tearing himself away from the past, Alec was just in time to see the curtains close behind his father as the congregation stood for the final hymn. He looked around at the dingy little room, Thank goodness, he’d managed to wean Ma away from a full-blown burial. She’d been set on the works, four black horses with plumes and all that malarkey. Burning was much better. Not that there was anything for him to worry about. Even if the old man had been buried, their doddering old GP had elected not to order an autopsy so he doubted whether anything could be proved. He’d been very careful. Anyway, his Pa had been on his way out, that had been clear for a long time. All Alec had done was given him a little nudge in the right direction.

         Taking his mum by the arm, he stared fixedly in front of him as he led the way out of the chamber. He didn’t even bother to look at Anna but if she thought their feud was over, she was very much mistaken. She thought he didn’t know where she lived and that was another mistake. She must think he was stupid, all that nonsense trying to cover her tracks. There were ways and means, especially in his line of business. There was always one of his ‘clients’ desperate enough to do him a favour and to them, following someone home was a piece of cake. And now he had an ace up his sleeve.  A big one with bright red hair.

Copyright Janet Baldey