‘Like that girl your dad found,’ he replied, looking at Tammy.
‘Step-dad.’
‘Whatever. Anyway, Mark says she was all fucked up like someone’d been messin’ with her. Fucking sicko if y’ask me.’
‘Who’s Mark?’
‘My mum’s boyfriend. I trust him, though. He don’t usually lie to me, not about stuff like this.’
‘Stuff like this? You make it sound as if it happens all the time here.’
‘Only since you got here,’ he said without thinking. ‘Shit. Sorry. Didn’t mean to say you was involved or nothin’…’
‘I’m not.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Heather said.
‘Don’t get what?’ Tammy asked.
‘People were sayin’ Ken Potter killed that girl at his house then he did himself in.’
‘So?’
‘So if this Angela whatever-her-name-was is fresh—’
‘Fresh?’ Tammy said, puzzled.
‘If she’s only just been cut up, then maybe Potter didn’t do it?’
Bored of hanging around with the boys, Tammy and Heather later walked arm in arm along a footpath which ran parallel with the high street, tucked out of sight behind the buildings. To their left; open space, green and empty. To the right; the backs of shops and offices, wheelie-bins and cluttered yard spaces. Tammy hadn’t been down here before. With all the talk of murders and perverts round here, she thought they were taking an unnecessary risk. But it was worth it. Being hidden down here meant Scott would stand less chance of finding her.
They talked about nothing of any importance, and that suited both of them. A sudden stench took Tammy by surprise. ‘What’s that smell? That’s horrible.’
‘The brewery,’ Heather explained. ‘You get used to it. Depends which way the wind’s blowing. Sometimes in summer the whole bloody town stinks like that for days.’
‘Great. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better.’
The footpath dipped. A narrow metal footbridge crossed a small stream, then the path climbed again. They passed a bench under a lamppost, another popular place for hanging out, it seemed. Most of the seat’s struts were broken, the worn grass littered with cigarette butts. A wire-mesh waste bin was a third full of beer cans and bottles. The footpath curved right then ran parallel with a grey stone wall. ‘There’s a cut through in a minute,’ Heather said, checking her phone again. ‘Brings us out by the Co-op.’
Tammy followed her down a dingy alleyway. They emerged at the far end of the high street, close to the supermarket. Heather made straight for the shop. ‘I’ll wait out here for you,’ Tammy said.
‘You sure?’
‘I’m sure. I’ve got no cash.’
‘Right then. Back in a sec.’
Tammy had been waiting at the side of the road for less than a minute when a car – just about the only car she’d seen apart from Scott’s – screeched to a halt in front of her. She’d seen it before. She’d seen the driver before too. Bloody creep. He wound down his window and leant across to talk to her. ‘You all right out here, love?’
‘I’m fine,’ she answered quickly. ‘And I’m not your love.’
‘Let me give you a lift home.’
‘No, thanks. Mum said never to accept lifts from strangers.’
He laughed then licked his lips. ‘That’s the thing, though, I’m no stranger. I know your mother. I met her this Friday just gone. She was at my house. My name’s Dez.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘I swear, that’s my name!’ he said, grinning at her now.
‘You know what I mean. You don’t know my mum. You saw me with her last week.’
‘It’s true, I tell ye. Come on, sweetie, let me give you a lift back. Looks like it’s gonna rain.’
‘Do you think I’m fucking stupid?’
‘I think you’ve a fucking foul mouth on ye.’
‘Leave me alone. Bloody creep.’
‘Ah, come on… don’t be like that.’
Tammy started to walk away. Dez followed in the car, crawling alongside the pavement, making her feel even more uncomfortable than she already did, like she was on the game. ‘Will you just piss off?’ she hissed at him.
‘I’m just lookin’ out for you is all,’ he said. ‘You can’t be too careful these days. I hear there’s been more trouble down on the estate.’
She stopped walking and bent down to talk to him, leaning into the window like the hooker he obviously thought – or hoped – she was. Thank Christ for those two slugs of vodka, she thought, Dutch courage. ‘Did you not get the message? Fuck off and leave me alone!’
She caught his eye – watching him watching her – and it made her feel sick. The way he looked her up and down, lingering too long on all the places he shouldn’t, licking his lips like she imagined he wanted to lick her… she’d had blokes back home who were way out of this lame fucker’s league; blokes with money and style, not some washed-up hillbilly prick in a grubby football tee and a knackered old car. ‘Last chance,’ he said, not giving up. ‘Like I said, just looking out for you.’
And then it struck her, and she pushed herself away from the car and staggered back. Was it him? Was he the one? Was this the sick bastard who’d done all the killing…?
‘Did you not hear the lady, Dezzie? Leave her alone or I’ll have a word with your Jackie when I see her next.’
Tammy spun around and saw a young man behind her. He was tall and relatively good looking by Thussock’s low standards, and he had his arm around Heather. She turned back when the pervert in the car sped away, his knackered exhaust filling the air with ugly noise. ‘This is Chez,’ Heather said, introducing him.
‘Hope you didn’t mind me butting in,’ Chez said. ‘That Dez is a frigging idiot. Fuck knows why Jackie puts up with him.’
‘I was fine,’ Tammy replied, indignant. ‘But thanks, anyway.’
‘You related to Scott?’
‘Unfortunately. He’s my step-dad. Why, you know him?’
‘I work with him at Barry’s yard.’
‘Lucky you.’
The conversation stalled. Chez and Heather exchanged less than subtle glances and Tammy knew what was coming. ‘Look, Tam,’ Heather said, ‘I’m going to head back to Chez’s for a while. Do you mind?’
‘You’re welcome to come,’ Chez said quickly, but it was pretty obvious she wasn’t.
‘No, I’m fine. I’ll head home in a while.’ Then she remembered something. ‘Is there a phone box around here? My mobile’s crap and I want to try and call my dad.’
‘Everybody’s mobile signal is shite here,’ Chez said. ‘You not got a phone at home?’
‘Don’t want everybody listening in.’
‘Fair enough. The nearest phone box is the only phone box. It’s by the café. You know it?’
Of course she knew it. It dawned on her that she’d been staring at the damn thing through the café window yesterday while they’d been eating. ‘I know it. Thanks.’
‘Sure you’ll be okay, Tam?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘See you at school tomorrow?’
‘Yep. See you then.’
Tammy watched the two of them drift away. They had a complete lack of urgency about them, like it didn’t matter where they were going or how long it took to get there. The way they walked across the main road without even bothering to check for traffic seemed to perfectly sum up the listless pointlessness of life in Thussock.
Tammy found the phone box without any problems, glad to be doing something positive at last, not just hanging around. This call was going to be difficult, but she was resigned to that. Hearing Dad’s voice would only emphasise how far from him she was but she had to do it. She needed reassurance that the old world she’d left behind still existed and that, maybe, she had a chance of getting back there. It felt like a fucked-up version of the Wizard of Oz, like she was stuck here trying to get back to Kansas. The place was full of munchkins, witches and other oddballs all right, but there was no yellow brick road running through the middle of this shit-hole.