‘He’s a brute of a man when he’s drunk,’ Joy said. She was sitting in a chair next to the window, with a small glittery red hair clip pinned in her hair.
Ruby tried to disentangle herself from thoughts of her meeting with Helen. ‘John doesn’t drink,’ she said, talking about her brother. At least, that’s who she thought her mother had been referring to moments before. John was several years older than Ruby, and had emigrated to America when he was still in his teens, lured by the prospect of working for a building firm, of which he now owned a large share.
‘No, not John. That Mr Crosby. I saw him. Kicking that boy up and down the garden like a football.’ It became clear who her mother was talking about; although it was a memory Ruby did not want to revisit today. Meeting Nathan had brought back a pang of longing she had worked hard to shake off.
‘He’s evil, that man, he never lets up on those boys,’ Joy said, her eyes twinkling with conviction.
‘I know,’ Ruby said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Nathan could have done anything with his life. But he had ended up running the family business out of a sense of loyalty to a mother who had failed to protect him.
‘Him and his brother are asleep, upstairs. Proper smashed her face in, he has.’
She was talking about the day Nathan’s father almost killed his mother, Frances. Ruby allowed Joy to rake through the various embers of her memories, wondering why the most traumatic days were the ones that stuck the firmest. They’d had their fair share of happy days, too, and she looked back at her childhood with fondness. So why was her mum so caught up with reliving Nathan’s past? Perhaps she still carried guilt for not calling the police when she had her chance. But it was too late for that now, and Ruby wished she could release her mother from the torment of reliving it over and over again. It was worse for Ruby, because each memory was painfully clear for her too.
It had been a Friday night. Fish and chip night. Her favourite day of the week. Since her father’s death, her mother had done everything she could to maintain a semblance of normality. Ruby had just got to sleep when she was awoken by screaming and yelling next door. She crept downstairs as the crashing continued through the thin walls, and she and John pleaded with her mother to call the police. But her mother refused: not because she didn’t care but because, if she did, it would cut off all ties. They had worked out a code. If things got bad then Mrs Crosby would call out a secret word, ‘Never mind’. Ruby had pressed her ear against the wall to listen, willing her to shout the words. It was when the shouting subsided that she got frightened.
Joy’s lower lip trembled as she spoke, looking deep into Ruby’s eyes. ‘As soon as he left, I ran next door. She was lying on the floor, blood in her hair, up the walls: she was a right mess. When I think of your dad… he never raised his voice to me. How is it that good men like him die when people like Crosby live?’
‘I don’t know, Mum,’ Ruby said, enjoying the first lucid conversation with her mother in weeks. She remembered her mum shouting at her to grab the boys while she hoisted Mrs Crosby’s arm over her shoulder like an old battered drunk. John was holding the door open, keeping watch in case Mr Crosby returned. Ruby had found Nathan and Lenny on the stairs, shaking like leaves in an October wind. But even as she brought them to her room she knew the brute would be back, and three hours later he was hammering at their door.
Joy shouted at him to go home, and Ruby caught the quiver in her voice. The safety chain was weakening as Mr Crosby’s giant fists forced their way through, the white cuff of his shirt stained with blood. He may have been her older brother, but John was of no use when it came to confrontation, and quickly locked himself into his bedroom upstairs. It had been that way for as long as she remembered. Ruby had established herself as the stronger of the two from an early age. Her heart pumping, she ran to the kitchen, and returned to the hall just as Mr Crosby slammed his shoulder against the brittle wood. The chain vibrated; one of the screws fell to the ground: the chink chink sound deafening to Ruby’s twelve-year-old ears. Her mother pressed her frame against the other side, but it was no match for Mr Crosby, who was out of his mind with rage.
‘She thinks she can hide from me?’ he spat. ‘I’ll teach her a lesson… I’ll teach the lot of ya.’
Ruby rushed towards the gap and raised her hand, plunging a fork into the back of Mr Crosby’s hand. He screamed in surprise, pulling back his fist. ‘You little bitch!’ he bellowed, but it afforded them enough time to shut the door and pull across the deadbolts.
The sudden sting of pain as the prongs entered his flesh stalled his momentum, making him stagger back onto the pavement. Neighbours had begun to gather outside, and two men from nearby gently approached him, guiding him by the elbow. ‘Jimmy, she’s had enough for one night. C’mon, let’s get you inside.’
‘Tomorrow,’ Jimmy said, clasping his head in his hands, as if to fight the torment in his mind. ‘She’s coming home tomorrow.’
Ruby knew that was how it would be. Because that was how it had always been.
The next day, Mr Crosby had the decency to look sheepish as he gently knocked on the door, holding the biggest bunch of flowers Ruby had ever seen. A present for his wife to make up for the beating he had given her the night before.
‘What do you want?’ Ruby said, gaining some satisfaction at the four pinprick scars on the back of his fist. Narrow-eyed, she stood aside as her mother pushed past.
‘Ruby, go to your room; this is for grown-ups.’
But Ruby refused, her lean frame merging into the corner of the living room as Mr Crosby was allowed inside. He was wearing his suit, the silver tiepin matching his cufflinks. His fingers were layered with rings. Everything about him shone. Everything except the grazes on his knuckles: a reminder of his brutality. He was a handsome man, but he had a coldness about him. A hardness that was not to be reckoned with. Ruby’s heart burst with pride that she had stood up to this giant, and she couldn’t understand why her mother let him in. ‘Sometimes you have to do a deal with the devil to keep the peace,’ Joy had once said, but it did not make sense with Ruby. Not then.
Ruby screamed at her mother after they left. ‘How could you, Mum? You should have been calling the police, not letting them go back.’
‘Oh Ruby, one day you’ll see that life isn’t black and white. She’s not ready to leave him, not yet. But when she is I’ll be the one she turns to. If I call the police now she’ll just clam up and Jimmy will never let them around here again.’
Ruby sat beside her and took her hand. ‘Mum, I don’t understand, why is everyone so scared of him?’
‘Because he’s a very powerful man, Ruby, and it doesn’t pay to cross him. I know you were trying to help, but you mustn’t get involved again.’
‘But the police… ’
Joy turned, speaking in a harsh whisper. ‘You’re never, ever to mention the police in this house again, do you hear me? And certainly not in the presence of Mr Crosby.’
Ruby nodded sullenly, although she didn’t understand. And now, as her mother recounted the story, she wondered how life would have turned out for Nathan had her mother done the right thing. For Ruby, joining the police felt like she was righting a wrong because she could not bear to spend the rest of her life believing she was powerless against the likes of Jimmy Crosby. She did not expect her mum to be proud of her, but some acknowledgement would have been nice. Joy fell into silence, and Ruby checked her watch. With a full shift ahead, it was time for her to return to work.
Harmony Williams led the visitor to where Joy Preston was sitting. ‘You are one lucky lady,’ she said to Joy, fixing her cushion as her guest sat beside her. ‘Your daughter only left, and now you have another visitor. Have you won de lottery or something?’ She chortled.
Joy stared blankly, barely registering her visitor’s presence.
‘I think she has,’ the guest said. ‘With people like you looking after her.’
Harmony beamed. ‘Honey, I’m the lucky one, working with all these fine folks. We have a saying where I come from: de older de moon, de brighter it shines. Now you have a good day.’
The visitor leaned forward and patted Joy’s hand. ‘We will. This visit is long overdue.’
‘Close the door behind you,’ Ruby said, catching a few inquisitive glances as she beckoned Luddy inside. He was wearing a new tie. A pink number, for which he had received merciless teasing after he admitted it was a present from his mum.
‘I was just going to offer you a doughnut,’ Luddy said, placing the open bag on the table. Eve had been late to work for the second time this week, and the old police rule of buying doughnuts for bad timekeeping still held.
‘Cheers,’ Ruby said, plucking out a sugary pastry. ‘I need you to do something for me, but it’s got to remain between us for now. Are you OK with that?’
Luddy nodded, a smile rising to his lips. ‘Sure, what is it?’
‘I’m asking you because I trust you. I don’t want this blabbed all over the station.’ She sucked the sugar from her fingers and handed him a copy of the email Helen had given her earlier in the day.
Luddy’s lips moved as he read the print accusing Ruby of sleeping with Nathan and Downes.
‘It’s slander,’ Ruby said, watching his eyes widen. ‘So I want you to see if you can trace the sender. Put your enquiries through the system as intel received from an anonymous source. If anyone asks, refer them to me.’
‘Sure thing, Sarge… Ruby. But shouldn’t you report this? “RIP”? It sounds like a death threat to me.’
‘It’s not a death threat,’ Ruby said, unwilling to elaborate. ‘But if you find the source I want you to report back to me alone. How’re your enquiries going? Any joy?’
‘I’ve got an appointment to speak to Charlotte’s husband. He’s given us a solid alibi, and she didn’t have any enemies.’
‘Apart from Lucy,’ Ruby muttered. ‘No sign of the murder weapon that killed Harry Edmonds?’
Luddy shook his head, his glance returning to the paperwork. ‘You’re not in any trouble, are you? It’s just that I’ve heard of the Crosbys, and they’re a pretty nasty bunch.’
‘Which is why I want to keep this between us. And no, you don’t need to worry about me.’ She picked at the remains of her doughnut. ‘Do you know what would go nice with this?’
‘A cuppa tea,’ Luddy said ruefully, shoving the paper in his back pocket before taking her empty mug.
But there was more to the email than Ruby was letting on. As much as she tried to deny it, her past was catching up with her, and it was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed.