Strangers Read online

  ‘I do have faith in you.’

  ‘I know what I’m doing.’

  ‘I never said you didn’t.’

  ‘Change the attitude then.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I just get the feeling we’re on our last chance here, and I don’t want to blow it.’

  ‘We won’t. I won’t. I’m doing all this for you and the kids.’

  ‘We just need to be careful.’

  His expression changed. He looked hurt, then angry. ‘You sound like you’re having doubts.’

  ‘I’m not. I’m sorry, love. I’m just tired, that’s all. That was a hell of a drive. You must be knackered.’

  ‘I’m all right. Getting used to it. It was a good run today, just on six hours. You should have seen it when I came up last week. Bloody nightmare, it was. Pissing down with rain all the way.’

  ‘I just need some rest. I’ll be fine in the morning.’

  ‘As long as that’s all it is.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said again, voice firmer.

  Phoebe appeared in the doorway, holding her little brother’s hand. ‘George is hungry.’

  ‘I’ll see to him,’ Michelle said. ‘Can I have the keys, Scott. I need to get his food out of the car.’

  Scott fished in his pocket and threw the keys to her. She left the two of them showing George the garden and went out to the Zafira. Tammy followed her.

  ‘You okay, love?’ she asked as she opened the boot and dug around for the remains of the picnic lunch they’d stopped and eaten mid-journey. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘It’s a dump,’ Tammy said, pulling no punches. ‘He said it was a big house, but he never said anything about it being such a shitty big house. Have you seen the state of the bathroom, Mom?’

  ‘No, not yet.’

  ‘There’s a tidemark round the bath that looks like it’s been drawn on.’

  ‘Come on, Tam, try and be positive.’

  Phoebe appeared beside her and reached into the car for one of her bags. ‘I’m being positive,’ she said. ‘I like it. I like my room. It’s massive compared to the old place.’

  ‘What have I got to be positive about?’ Tammy argued. ‘Bloody hell, Mum, thanks to your husband I’ve lost everything. My friends, my freedom...’

  ‘Oh give it a rest. You haven’t lost any of that. No one’s died. You can still keep in touch.’

  ‘You think? How’s that going to work then? You think Katie’s dad’s gonna be happy to do the twelve hour round trip both ways so we can see each other of a weekend?’

  ‘No, but—’

  ‘Like I said, Mum, thanks to Scott, my life is screwed.’

  ‘And like I said, it isn’t. You’ll still see as much of your dad, maybe even more of him. You know he works out this way sometimes.’

  ‘I used to be able to walk to all my mates’ houses. I could see Max’s house from ours. Look around you, Mum, what can you see now? Bugger all. Just fields and hills and bloody trees. No people. None of my friends.’

  Tammy wiped away a tear, angry with herself as much as anyone else. Michelle put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. ‘I know it’s hard, Tam. I know how it feels, honest I do. I’m doing the best I can here.’

  ‘Problem?’ Scott asked. They looked around and saw him in the doorway. ‘Wondered what the delay was.’

  Michelle shot him a quick glance – don’t get involved – but it was too late. Tammy stormed off around the side of the house.

  ‘What’s her problem?’

  ‘She just needs a little time,’ she told him. ‘She’ll be okay.’

  She squeezed past Scott and went inside to find George, following the whines. Thankfully he was much easier to placate than his older sister. If only chocolate biscuits had the same effect on teenage girls, she thought.

  THE NORTH ROAD OUT OF THUSSOCK

  The police officer stepped out into the road and flagged the old Ford Focus down. He’d heard it coming a mile off, its over-revved engine straining with effort. The driver cursed. He’d been too busy messing with his phone to see the flashing lights until it was too late. He braked hard, trying to make the sudden halt appear as controlled as possible. He wound down his window and wiped the spitting rain from his face. ‘Evening, Sergeant.’

  ‘How are we this evening, Mr Boyle? Driving a little fast, weren’t we? In a hurry?’

  ‘Just off to see a friend.’

  ‘Ah, yes. And where would this friend be?’

  ‘Up near the fracking site.’

  ‘Is that right?’

  ‘It’s just Murray. You know Murray, Sergeant.’

  ‘Oh, I know Murray all right. And what’ll you two be getting up to?’

  ‘Just a quiet night, helping him through his shift. Watch a few DVDs, have a couple of drinks, that’s all...’

  They’d been through this routine many times before. The sergeant peered into the backseat of the car where he could see a large black holdall. ‘You don’t mind if I...?’ he asked.

  ‘Whatever. Do you never get bored of this?’

  ‘Never,’ the officer replied. ‘You do tend to bring it on yourself though, Mr Boyle, driving too fast on a road as quiet as this. Subtlety has never been a strong point of yours, has it?’

  Boyle didn’t answer, he just watched in his rear view mirror as the sergeant mooched through the holdall. A few cans of beer, some smokes, and a stack of DVDs. The officer looked at the covers of a few of them, then shook his head with disdain and dropped them back into the bag. He’d always had his doubts about this bloke.

  ‘Are we okay here, Sergeant Ross?’

  The sergeant leant into the driver’s window. ‘Aye, we’re okay. Just take it easy. I know you’re looking forward to watching your movies with your pal, but try and get there in one piece, won’t you. Oh, and I hope those cans are for Murray, not you if you’re driving.’

  ‘I’ll just have the one.’

  ‘I’d rather you had none. On your way now, Mr Boyle.’

  Boyle pulled away, sticking to the speed limit until the lights of the police car were well out of sight.

  #

  ‘Aye, he’s a fuckin’ prick that one,’ Murray said. ‘Always has been. Always will be.’

  Two DVDs and half the beer down and he was still complaining about Sergeant Ross. ‘I swear, he’s got it in for me. Always trying to catch me for sumthin’.’

  ‘Were you speeding?’

  ‘Yeah, but that’s not the point.’

  ‘It’s exactly the point, you dozy prick. You know me, man, I’m as guilty of overdoin’ it as you are, but I’m not so soft as to...’

  Murray stopped and stared at one of the CCTV screens on the desk.

  ‘What’s up?’

  He’d spent more time watching the DVDs on his laptop than the security cameras he was being paid to monitor. ‘That’s weird,’ he said. He tapped the screen with his finger. ‘Was that there before?’

  ‘I don’t know. Not my responsibility. You’re the security man, not me.’

  ‘Thanks for nothing, pal.’

  Murray stared at the screen and used a keyboard and mouse to adjust the picture. His remit was to watch the fracking site, not the surrounding area, but the cameras had been set up with deliberately wide fields of view. You know how it is, Murray, his boss had told him. There’s always some eco-warrior dipshit banging on about us harming the environment. We just need to keep an eye out. Stay one step ahead of the game.

  ‘What is it?’ Boyle asked, trying to make out the pixelated shape; a blurry mass at the bottom of a tree. ‘Some kind of animal?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. I think I should go out there and check. You coming?’

  ‘It’s pissing down and it’s dark.’

  ‘There’s a flashlight and a spare waterproof in the cupboard. Come on, man. I don’t want to go out there on my own.’

  ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘I’m serious. Come on.’

  #

  It was hard to work ou
t where the shape was in relation to the security hut. Murray looked back and tried to orientate himself using the drill shaft at the centre of the site as a guide. This was definitely the right place. ‘It was this way, man, I’m sure,’ he said, flashing his torch around the wet grass.

  ‘Well there’s nothing here now, Murray. Let’s get back.’

  ‘Wait. Look!’ Murray shone his light deeper into the dense copse of trees up ahead. There was something leaning against one of the larger trunks. Was that someone’s head? A body slumped forward? He called out but there was no response. The two men looked at each other, then took a few nervous steps closer. Murray relaxed when he saw what it was. ‘It’s just a bike. Bloody hell, would you look at that. Just someone’s bloody saddle bag.’

  ‘What’s anyone doin’ out here on a bike at this time?’

  ‘You’d be surprised. I could show you some clips on that CCTV. Folks get up to all sorts out in these woods.’

  ‘Can’t believe you thought that was a head. You fuckin’ moron.’

  ‘Least I got close enough to look,’ Murray said. ‘I wasn’t the one hangin’ back ’cause I was too bloody scared.’

  ‘I wasn’t scared. Like I said, you’re bein’ paid for this, not me.’

  They were about to head back when something else caught Murray’s eye, an unexpected flash of colour. ‘Oh, fuck,’ he said. This time there was no doubt as to what it was they were seeing: the crimson was jarringly out of place against the greens and browns. His torch illuminated a crescent-shaped pool of blood in the leaf litter. And there was more of it... another patch a short distance up ahead, a series of intermittent drips forming a trail. Murray continued forward, Boyle turned around and went the other way. ‘Where the fuck are you goin’?’

  ‘Sorry, Murray, I can’t... I shouldn’t even be here. Sergeant Ross has it in for me as it is. If he catches me out here then... I’m sorry, man...’

  Boyle sprinted back to the security hut. Murray held his position on the edge of the forest, the dripping rain the only noise of any note, and waited a moment longer. He knew he didn’t have any choice but to investigate. As his so-called friend had so succinctly put it, this was what he was being paid to do, and although whatever had happened here was technically outside the fracking site, he knew how suspect it would seem if he got this far then stopped. In the distance he heard Boyle’s knacker of a car race away, blown exhaust echoing, tyres skidding on the gravel.

  ‘Thanks, mate,’ he grumbled to himself.

  Deep breath.

  Murray followed the blood trail deeper into the trees.

  He found her in a patch of open space in the middle of the wood, lying on her side as if she was asleep. She was half-naked, a steady flow of still-warm blood running down the insides of her thighs, washing away in the rain. Porcelain flesh, hidden away through modesty for years but exposed for all to see now. Fawn anorak with blotting-paper blood stains. Steam snaked up from between her legs. She’d not been dead long.

  2

  Scott decided they’d start their first full day in Thussock with a trip into town. Despite their instinctive protestations – more for effect than anything else, just making their feelings known – both girls agreed to come. Other than cleaning and unpacking, there wasn’t much else to do; the TV wasn’t set up yet, and they’d no Internet connection. Scott had promised to get it sorted in the week but Tammy didn’t know if she’d last that long. Less than twenty-four hours in and she was struggling with life offline. It felt like solitary confinement. The rest of the world continued to chat, message, share and update outside of her little bubble of disconnection, making her feel like she’d been blocked. Unfriended.

  Another bloody WELCOME TO THUSSOCK sign. They were taking the piss now, Tammy thought as they drove along the main road from the house into town. Scott pulled up outside a shed-like wooden bus-shelter. Michelle jumped out and checked the timetable for times and prices to school. ‘I think we’ll drive you in for the first week or so,’ she told them when she got back into the car. ‘Just until we’ve all got our bearings. The buses seem really infrequent. Don’t want you two being late or getting stranded.’

  ‘Oh, that’s too weird,’ Phoebe said unexpectedly.

  ‘What, the buses?’ Tammy asked, confused.

  ‘No... over there. See that house?’

  Tammy craned her neck and saw a bungalow with a pea-green front door and an over-fussy garden. It was nothing special. As unremarkable as the rest of Thussock. ‘What about it?’

  ‘Watch the woman.’

  All of them, George included, now watched as an obese woman waddled out from around the side of the small house. She was wearing a long and distinctly unflattering cerise summer dress which clung to all the wrong bulges. Her bleached hair was cropped short. ‘Don’t stare,’ Michelle warned, although she was as guilty as the rest of them.

  ‘What about her?’ Scott asked.

  ‘Just keep watching...’

  A car reversed out of a pre-fabricated garage adjacent to the bungalow. As the oversized woman in pink lowered herself into the passenger seat, an identically obese woman in blue got out and shut the garage door. ‘Identical twins,’ Michelle said. ‘That’s not weird.’

  ‘It is when you live together and you’re wearing the exact same outfits at their age.’

  ‘Don’t be so rude. I’m sure they’re both lovely.’

  The family watched, strangely spellbound, as the sisters pulled off their drive. The twin in the passenger seat saw them watching and gave them a nod of the head and a wave. ‘Phoebe’s right,’ Scott said when they’d gone. ‘That was weird.’

  They followed the car into town. The twins turned off when they reached a small church hall, barely noticeable tucked away in the middle of a row of houses.

  ‘Where exactly are we going?’ Tammy asked.

  ‘Thought we’d find your school first, then see if we can get some lunch,’ Scott told her.

  ‘Is it going to take long?’

  ‘As long as it takes. Stop moaning.’

  She slumped back in her seat. And this is what my life has been reduced to: driving to look at a school on a Sunday morning. Her friends Katie and Max had been planning to go to Merry Hill today, she remembered. Some shopping, then on to see that film they’d all been talking about last week. Most of her mates back home probably weren’t even awake yet, still sleeping off the effects of the night before.

  #

  Thussock High School was a curious mix of the old and the very old; about eighty per cent decrepit to twenty per cent ancient, Tammy decided. School’s school, Scott had told them both, spouting bullshit as usual. Did he ever stop to listen to the crap he came out with? It’s not where you go, it’s what you do when you’re there that matters, he said. You make your own chances, that was one of his favourite nuggets of shite. Well, moving to Thussock would blow his theories out of the water, because Tammy knew beyond any doubt that the schooling here wasn’t going to be as good as she’d had back in Redditch. For a start, the course options were severely limited. She’d had to choose A levels she hadn’t really wanted, and she was already concerned that would have an impact on her university choices in a couple of years time. She decided it didn’t really matter what she went on to study at uni anymore. For Tammy, the further in further education now referred to the distance she could get from Thussock.

  ‘What do you reckon?’ Phoebe asked, standing at the fence alongside her, both of them gripping the railings like prisoners.

  ‘Pretty grim. Matches the rest of this shitty town perfectly.’

  ‘It might be all right.’

  ‘It might not.’

  A long, straight road ran through the centre of a large grey playground, stretching from the gate, deep into the main hub of the school. It looked like it had been built in the sixties: all concrete grey and sharp corners; modular and geometric; ugly, out-dated and drab. There were four temporary classrooms at the far end of the playground, and it w
as clear from the weathering of the flimsy-looking buildings that they’d proved to be far less temporary than had originally been envisaged.

  Behind the bulk of the school buildings, visible in a gap between two blocks, they could see a more recently built leisure centre. Its cream, corrugated metal walls were a stark contrast to the rest of the campus. Tammy wondered if it had a fitness suite and a pool like the college she should have been starting at in Bromsgrove next week? She wasn’t going to get her hopes up.

  ‘We ready to make a move, ladies?’ Scott shouted from the car. They ambled back. ‘Hungry?’

  ‘Starving,’ Phoebe said.

  ‘Then let’s go and see what we can find.’

  #

  They left the car outside the Co-op supermarket, then walked the length of the high street. Scott and Michelle were at the front, Michelle pushing George in his buggy, while the two girls followed at a distance. Michelle looked back at them. ‘You two okay?’

  ‘Fine,’ they both answered, though the tone of their voices said otherwise.

  ‘Do you think they’re going to be all right?’ Michelle asked, turning back to talk to Scott.

  ‘They will be. It’s early days. Bit of a culture shock for them. Tammy’s just sulking as usual.’

  ‘Bit of a culture shock for all of us.’

  ‘It’s not that bad.’

  ‘I didn’t say it was. It’s going to be very different here, that’s all.’

  ‘You all need to keep open minds. If you go into things with a positive attitude, they’ll usually work out.’

  ‘Is that right?’

  ‘Yes it is. That’s why I’m keen to get started on the house.’

  Scott stopped walking suddenly and looked around.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘That’s it, I think,’ he said. ‘I think we’ve done the entire place.’

  ‘We can’t have.’

  Tammy and Phoebe caught up. ‘Why have we stopped?’ Tammy asked.

  ‘Because we’ve reached the end of the road,’ Scott told her.

  ‘You can say that again.’

  ‘Didn’t see many places to eat,’ Michelle said.