Ben Cheetham - The Society of Dirty Hearts

“You mean like a middle-man?”

“I suppose. When there’s a job going, he rings and tells me what the client wants. I sort out the girl, or girls, or whatever, then he sends his driver to pick us up and take us to the house. The driver and the client are the only people we ever see. After the job’s done, the driver pays us and takes us back to town.”

“So you’ve only ever spoken to Mr X on the phone.”

“Yes.”

“Well, could the driver be Mr X?”

“Dunno, he never says anything. I doubt it, though. He’s a big guy, looks like he’d have a big, deep voice. Mr X’s voice is clicky, like…like some kind of insect.”

“What about the client? What was he like?”

“Middle-aged, average looking. You know the type, hair starting to go, bit of a beer-belly. He looked like somebody’s dad.”

Julian cleared his throat in disdain. “Just you’re average guy with average fantasies about raping his daughter. Don’t suppose Mr Average told you his name?”

Ginger looked at Julian as if to say, what do you reckon? He pushed his hand through his hair, digging his fingernails into his scalp, almost drawing blood. “How does something like this happen around here?”

“Why shouldn’t it? What’s special about here? It’s just a place like any other.”

No it’s not, thought Julian, this is my home, the place I grew up. Stuff like this happens other places, not here. He remembered what his Grandma Alice had said to him all those years ago. She’d said, someday, sweetheart, you’ll find out that there’s a great big world beyond this speck of a town, but not today. Well, he was seeing that world now, whether he wanted to or not. Only he didn’t have to look beyond the town, it was right there in front of him. The whole world contained in one place. The whole beautiful, ugly world.

More time passed. Julian glanced at the clock again. It was nearly half-an-hour since Jake had left the car. “How much longer you gonna wait for him?” asked Ginger.

“As long as it takes.”

“He’s a crazy little shit, but I like him. You like him, too, don’t you?”

Julian hadn’t really thought about it. But now that he did, he realised Ginger was both right and wrong. Jake was someone he found easy to like and dislike, the same as Mia. Besides, it wasn’t really a question of like or dislike. He was drawn to both Mia and Jake by something else. He couldn’t define what it was. It was simply there, haunting him like a shadow in the moonlit forest, seemingly too vague and deep to be expressed in words. “Yeah, I guess I do,” he said, not seeing any point trying to explain what he couldn’t explain.

“Then drive to the edge of the forest, phone the coppers. Every minute you stay here puts him in more danger.”

Julian stared out the window, biting his lip.

“Listen to me.” Ginger’s voice grew loud with urgency. “You’re way out of your depth. That boy’s gonna end up hurt, maybe dead. And it’ll be on your conscience, ’cos he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

Julian twisted around to look at her. “How do you know that?”

“Well someone must’ve seen me in the car with Mia, and I’m guessing that someone was you.”

Julian’s forehead scrunched into lines of uncertainty. “Maybe I should go look for Jake.”

Ginger shook her head. “Do that and you’ll be fucked too. Besides, the second you leave me I’m out of this car and running for the main-road.”

Julian resumed looking out the window, his hands clenching and unclenching on the steering-wheel. “Come on, Jake,” he muttered, “Where the fuck are-” He broke off with a start as a light came on, flooding the road ahead with its harsh white glow.

“Shit!” cried Ginger. “Let’s get out of here!”

His heart beating in his mouth, Julian’s hand shot to the ignition key. He hesitated to turn it. “What the fuck you waitin’ for?” yelled Ginger, almost choking on her own panic.

“Shh,” hissed Julian. From around the curve in the road came a scraping, electronic whirr.

“The gate’s opening. Oh God, oh God, he’s coming! You have to hurry. Please, please.”

Still, Julian hesitated, held in place by that indefinable something else. There was the click of a door opening. Ginger lurched out of the car and fled, stumbling in her high-heels on the uneven, stony surface. Julian didn’t go after her. He goggled at the road ahead, his eyes illuminated externally by the security-light and internally by the fear coursing through him like fire. The internal light flared brighter as Jake staggered into view and collapsed against the car’s bonnet, his head hanging forward. Flinging the door open, Julian rushed to help him upright. When he caught sight of the blood oozing from Jake’s mouth and nostrils, he felt a sharp dropping sensation inside. “What happened?”

“Get me the fuck away from here,” Jake replied, with a gurgle in his voice.

One arm around Jake’s waist, Julian guided him onto the backseat. Jake didn’t seem to notice — or if he did, didn’t care — that Ginger was gone. “What happened?” Julian asked again.

Jake made no reply. He lay with his eyes closed, breath grating in his throat. There was no room to turn the car. Julian was forced to back up along the lane. The car jolted around each curve. Half-watching where he was going and half-watching for signs of pursuit, he’d almost lost control of it several times already, when its read end skidded out. The car spun around clockwise until, with a sound of crunching glass, the front-headlight hit a tree. Jake groaned loudly. Julian’s head smacked into the driver’s door window. He sat dazed for a moment, before jerking the gear-stick into first. The tires spun, then caught. He flew along the lane as fast as he dared, his eyes constantly flicking to the rearview mirror. When he reached the main-road, he floored the accelerator-pedal. It only occurred to him after he’d put a good few miles between the car and the turn-off that he hadn’t passed Ginger. Figuring that she’d hidden amongst the trees, he said, “Ginger ran away. Do you reckon we should go back to look for her?”

“Fuck her,” Jake grunted, barely moving his bloodied lips. “Where are we going?”

“Hospital.”

With an effort that caused his breath to hiss between his gritted teeth, Jake sat up. “Stop the car.”

Julian glanced at him in surprise. “What for?”

“Just fuckin’ do it.”

Julian pulled over at the Five Springs carpark. Jake clambered out of the car and, arms hugged tightly across his chest as if trying to hold himself together, started to shuffle away. Still dizzy from banging his head, Julian went after him. “What you doing?”

“Leave me alone.” Without looking at Julian, Jake continued walking with quickening, unsteady steps.

“You need to see a doctor.” When Jake shook his head, Julian continued, “At least tell me what happened back there.”

“Leave it.”

“Please, Jake, I need to know.”

Julian reached to put his hand on Jake’s shoulder. The boy whirled to face him, fists balled, teeth bared. “Don’t fuckin’ touch me.”

Sensing rather than seeing the fear skulking behind Jake’s anger, Julian raised his hands, palms forward. “Just tell me, did you find out something about Mia?”

“Mia’s gone.”

Julian’s eyes popped wide. “What do you mean gone? Do you mean she’s dead?”

“I mean you can’t help her.” Jake exhaled raggedly, his shoulders sagging. Voice heavy with fatalistic resignation, he added, “Give it up, rich boy.” He turned and headed once more along the path.

“I won’t give up,” Julian called after him. “No matter what, I won’t ever give up.”