Serial Part 4: Casey And The Lost Boys

Now it was Casey’s turn to be angry. Her son must never be afraid to speak out for justice. She hoped he understood that

Dinner at Casey’s house that evening had been a very taut affair. Giles had been hauled over the coals by his headmistress for punching another boy. He’d done it to defend a pupil, Johnny. The lad was being held in a headlock by an older boy, who’d later threatened Giles into silence. That evening, the Clunes’ young houseguest seemed to have withdrawn completely into himself. He kept his eyes fixed on his plate, ignoring all attempts to draw him into the conversation. By contrast, Finlay’s dad, Dom, seemed compelled to fill the silence with a volley of empty chatter. It was all Casey could do not to tell him to put a sock in it. When Giles finally rose from the table, took his plate over to the dishwasher and declared he was going to his room, she gave an inward sigh of relief. As soon as he’d left, Casey pounced on Finlay. She knew it was unfair to put her son on the spot. But what else could she do if Giles refused to open up about the events that had led to his suspension? It soon became apparent that she was wasting her time. Finlay was just as uncommunicative as Giles.

‘Mum, I’m in Year Seven,’ he said in an exasperated tone. ‘Giles is a Year 11. We don’t talk to them and they don’t talk to us.’

‘But surely you must have heard something?’ she demanded of Finlay. ‘I’d have thought it would have been all over the school in minutes!’

Finlay’s expression was one of total bafflement.

‘Mum,’ he said. ‘Calm down. First thing I knew about Giles getting suspended was this afternoon, when I got in.’

‘Boys!’ Casey couldn’t help thinking scornfully. No doubt he’d been too busy chasing Pokémon in his breaks to listen to any gossip. Now, if he’d been a girl, he’d have had the whole story by now.

‘So you can’t even tell me the name of the other person in the altercation?’ she said, aware she was pursuing this line of enquiry longer than she probably ought.

‘Leave it, Casey,’ Dom muttered. ‘Don’t drag

Finlay into this.’

He reminded her how late it was. Had this been an ordinary day, Finlay would have been on his way to bed right now. Which was where they all should be, probably, he added.

‘I just want to get to the truth, that’s all,’ Casey snapped, pooh-poohing his suggestion about bed. ‘Giles is holding something back and I would like to understand what. He’s living in my house, remember.’

‘You should ring his mum and dad,’ Finlay suggested. ‘He’s their son, not yours.

Let them deal with it.’

‘It’s not that simple, Fin.’ Dom was on his feet now, determinedly clearing the rest of the table to signal that, as far as he was concerned, the discussion was over. But

Finlay clearly disagreed.

‘Well, I don’t see why Mum can’t interrogate him the way she’s interrogating me.’ Turning to Casey, he said, ‘It’s not fair. Just because I’m your son it doesn’t mean I’m going to do your dirty work for you!’

Casey drew in her breath, shocked at Finlay’s reaction.

‘Whoah!’ Dom yelled from the sink. ‘That’s no way to speak to your mother.’

‘It’s OK,’ Casey said. ‘He’s right. I shouldn’t be involving him in it at all.’

‘And anyway, even if I did know anything, I wouldn’t tell you,’ Finlay said. ‘I’m no grass.’

Now it was Casey’s turn to be angry. Where had he got

that stupid idea from, she demanded, almost shaking with fury. Did he have any idea of the human misery perpetuated by criminals in every street on every estate in the UK, all because of that stupid macho code of silence? Finlay mustn’t ever be afraid to speak out for justice, she said. She hoped he understood that.

‘OK, OK,’ he said. ‘I get it.’ He was holding out her phone, gazing at the screen. ‘Your phone’s been ringing for ages. Someone called Julie Martin.’

Casey snatched her mobile from her son’s hand, glad of the interruption. She knew she could have handled this better but Finlay’s ridiculous assertion that he’d never be a ‘grass’ had infuriated her. No doubt there was more of this laddish talk to come as he grew older. Her influence on him was bound to decrease as that of his peers grew stronger. What if he ended up turning his back altogether on the values he’d learned at home? And what if, having Giles

under his roof, some of the older boy’s influence rubbed off on him? Perhaps he was even beginning to think of the boy as some kind of hero! It didn’t bear thinking about.

Picking up the call, Julie sounded distraught. At first Casey could make neither head nor tail of her words. She caught the name Johnny several times. She thought she heard the words Pilates and dinner. She told Julie to start again and slow down this time.

‘It’s Johnny,’ she said, her breath coming in short gasps. ‘I should have said something before. But I thought it would go away. It’s nearly ten o’clock, Casey, and he’s not come home. I think he’s out there, dealing drugs. And I’m frightened of what might happen to him.’

David had had his orders from Parr. ‘I want you to shake them,’ he’d said. ‘Show them runners who’s boss. I know they’re thinking of breaking away and working for themselves. I won’t have it.’ It had been easy enough to find them. Kids like that never strayed too far away from their ‘ends’. Out there in the big wide world they were just kids. But in their own neighbourhood they had status.

He’d been watching the two boys from the park bench for a while now. They’d got hold of some cans and were drinking from them, going from swing to roundabout to slide and back again, laughing and pushing each other, while a small gang of younger ones looked on. Kids who would have been home in bed now if they’d had mums and dads who cared about them.

Watching the two of them showing off was like gazing into his own past. One was bigger and older than the other. He had the swagger of someone who thought he was cock of the walk. His little mate deferred to him at all times, laughing when he laughed, drinking when he drank, continually glancing at him for approval and ultimately failing to win the admiration of the kids standing around. They only had eyes for the big man.

It could have been him and Parr fooling around in the park 15, 16 years ago. Would the relationship between these two boys turn out the same? he wondered, slowly getting up from the bench and moving silently towards them. He sincerely hoped not, for the sake of the smaller one.

He’d thought about how he was going to handle this, right from the moment he’d found himself agreeing to do Parr’s dirty work for him again. Parr would have the two of them shanked without batting an eyelid. If his information was correct then what they’d done was unforgiveable, he insisted. He’d be letting them off lightly with a knife wound.

‘They just need a good talking to. They’ll be as good as gold after that’

Miraculously, David had managed to talk him down.

‘Let me do it my way,’ he’d said. ‘They’re just kids. Remember what we were like at that age? Always trying to push the boundaries. They just need a good talking-to, that’s all. They’ll be as good as gold after that.’

He’d brought up a few memories of former times, when Parr himself had shown a similar contempt for authority at their age. He’d even made him laugh about it. Shown him in a hero’s light, which was something Parr always enjoyed.

He hated himself for doing it, of course. And for the way he’d allowed himself to slip right back into the role he’d been cast in as early as seven years old, when he’d first met Parr. But what choice did he have?

The only way to get Steve Parr out of his life for good would be to kill him. But he didn’t have the guts to do that. In his life up to now he’d tasted violence more than once. He’d

had plenty of time inside to come to the conclusion that he was never going to lay a finger on another human being that way again. And he was going to stick to his decision.

‘What do you want, mister?’ It was the cocky one that spoke first. Arrogant little beggar. David took an instant dislike to him. Another five years and he’d either be running his own business or inside.

The smaller, younger one was silent, staring up at David with sleepy, somewhat vacant eyes.

‘You a paedo or something?’ he went on.

Predictably, the smaller one sniggered at this remark. That was his role. To applaud his mate’s witticisms. He used to be the same with Parr. David took a deep breath, willing himself to control his irritation.

‘I’ve got a message,’ he said. ‘I’m here to let you know we’re on to you.’

The younger one stopped laughing and suddenly looked fearful. The older one tried to hide his own discomfort but David knew he’d made a hit. Perhaps smelling trouble, the gang of younger ones had dispersed, leaving the three of them alone.

‘Who’s we?’ the older one ventured.

‘I think you know.’

The boy shifted from foot to foot and fixed his eyes on the ground.

‘I’m just the messenger,’ David said. ‘Next time it won’t be me paying you a visit. It’ll be someone you really need to be scared of. And it won’t be just a word he’ll be giving you, either.’

The smaller boy looked terrified now. The older one was doing a poor impersonation of somebody who wasn’t. David turned around, slowly and deliberately, and began to walk away. His work here was done and there’d been no violence.

But then the older one spoke again. ‘Well, whoever it is, you can tell him from me that I ain’t frightened of him,’ he said. ‘And you can tell him that he can—’

He didn’t finish his sentence. The other boy grabbed him, pleading with him not to say anything more. Rage swelled up inside David. This kid was crazy. He had to be, to send a direct challenge to Parr like that. By rights he should lay him out right now. If only for his own good. Because Parr was going to want to know every detail of this exchange and it was no use him keeping anything back – he’d always known how to get the truth out of him.

Walk away, he told himself. Don’t look back. That way if there was any trouble once he’d spoken to Parr, it couldn’t be laid at his door. He made his way out of the park, stopping after a few yards to light a cigarette. Then he dialled

Parr’s number and told him everything that had happened. As soon as he’d put the phone down, he regretted telling

Parr how much the kid had disrespected him. Yes, he was an annoying little prankster. But he didn’t deserve what was bound to be coming his way.

‘Think before you speak, David.’ How many times had Arlan Roberts said those words to him back when he’d been banged up? Arlan had taught art at his last prison. Really nice guy. He’d become a role model for David. That’s why he’d pinched his alias after he found out he’d died. These days he tried so hard to follow Arlan’s advice. More often than not he succeeded. But at times like this, when he felt his back against the wall, that was when he forgot. And now that stupid kid was going to suffer for it. ‘Mister.’

The little lad was there, halfhidden behind a lamppost. He could only have been about 12. What did he want?

‘Have you got transport?’ he said.

‘I’ve got a car, yes,’ he said, curious at the question. ‘But unless I get it back to its rightful owner before midnight it’ll turn into a pumpkin.’

The boy looked at him as if he thought there could be some truth in this remark. David almost felt sorry for him. Anyone that gullible shouldn’t be dipping his toes in the murky waters of the drug world.

‘Why are you asking?’

The boy’s eyes began to fill up with tears.

‘I never wanted to do it in the first place,’ he said, swiftly blinking them away. ‘It was my cousin, Zack, who said we had to beat him up and take his drugs off him. I’m scared we

‘Whoever it is, you can tell him from

me that I ain’t frightened of him’

might have killed him.’

David’s heart skipped several beats. He hadn’t a clue what was going on here. He could just walk away. But someone, somewhere was either dead or dying. He couldn’t just turn his back on it.

‘Car’s just down this road,’ he said. ‘Follow me, kid.’

It had been no use Dom trying to remind Casey that she’d finished her shift for the day. She had no plans to go back to the station, she told him. But she needed to see Julie. The poor woman was frantic, wondering where Johnny had got to.

‘Just promise me that you’ll be back before midnight,’ he’d said before she left.

It wasn’t often Dom insisted on anything. But she could see he was serious. And to be fair, he had a point. They had enough on their plate with the two boys they were actually responsible for, without taking on a third. There were other detectives out there, Dom said. Not to mention the men and women out on patrol. If anyone could find Johnny and bring him home, then they could.

They were sitting in Julie’s kitchen, on their second mug of tea. There had been no need for Casey to ask any questions. Julie had just talked and talked. About her initial suspicions that Johnny was going down the same road as his mum. And about the surliness, the secretiveness and the outbursts when he thought she’d asked him too many questions. Not to mention the physical evidence. The spoils of his trade, as she poetically described the new phone and the expensive trainers she’d found at the bottom of his wardrobe.

‘Sometimes your heart keeps on ignoring the truth. No matter how many signals your head sends it,’ Julie said. She stared into her empty mug. ‘How stupid can one woman be?’

Casey put out a hand and patted Julie’s. ‘You’re not stupid, Julie,’ she said. ‘Love can make us blind, that’s all.’

She found herself telling

Julie about Giles and how she’d never have guessed he’d be the type to get himself suspended from school for beating up another boy. And about her recent conversation with

Finlay and how impotent it had left her feeling.

‘You think you know your own kids,’ she said. ‘But how many of us really do, when it comes down to it?’

Julie glanced up from her mug and smiled, grateful for a glimpse of another woman’s anguish.

‘Do you think they’ll find him, Casey? Alive and well, I mean?’

‘You know I can’t promise

that, don’t you, Julie?’ she said. ‘Although I can promise we’ll do our very best.’

It was just as she’d finished speaking that her phone rang. It was the duty sergeant.

‘He’s safe, Casey,’ he said. ‘Let his grandmother know he’s at the general hospital.’

‘Thank God!’ She breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Is he OK?’

‘They think so. A bit battered and bruised,’ the sergeant said.

Casey immediately mouthed this information to Julie, who put her hands over her face to hide her emotions.

‘Can she come and see him?’ ‘Not tonight, the doctors said. Tell her to ring again in the morning.’

‘I might have trouble holding her back,’ Casey joked. ‘Where did you find him?’

‘We didn’t. He was found outside by a porter. Propped up against a one of the hospital walls by a back entrance.’ ‘CCTV?’

‘We’re already on to it.’

‘As soon as you get anything, you wing the image over to my phone, right?’ she demanded. ‘I don’t care how late it is.’

She’d promised Dom she wouldn’t go into the station.

But she’d said nothing about refusing to take calls.

When she got home the house was in darkness. All she wanted to do was climb the stairs and go to bed. But she was too tense and feared her tossing and turning would wake Dom. Perhaps a nightcap would put an end to her jitteriness.

Just as she was thinking this, Casey thought she heard a noise. The sound of a door handle turning. The shuffle of feet. Where was that ruddy dog when you needed some protection? she mused, as she crept towards the kitchen, where she thought the sound had come from.

Giles stood in the open kitchen door. She saw him first, releasing the lead from Oscar’s neck. As soon as the dog spotted her, he gave a friendly bark and came padding towards her.

‘Been for a midnight stroll, have we?’

She bent down to pat him affectionately on the head, aware of Giles, standing stiffly by his side. No doubt already searching for excuses as to what he’d been up to this time, when he should have been tucked up in bed and fast asleep.

Finding that other kid like that, limping along the road in the pitch dark, had scared the living daylights out of David. When the kid beside him had shrieked that that was Johnny, he’d stopped the car and jumped out to help him. Weaving all over the road, he’d been. Didn’t seem to know where he was or even who he was.

Casey thought she heard a noise – the sound of a door handle turning

Of course the kid had refused to get in the car – he’d already been beaten up once that night! There was nothing David could do but get back behind the wheel and follow him at a snail’s pace until he finally gave up trying to walk in a straight line and fell to the ground.

He’d done the right thing, leaving him propped up by that back entrance. Someone would find him and get him to safety. All that was left for him to do now was get the car back to its rightful owner. He barely even knew the name of the guy he’d borrowed it from. But he’d helped him out in a tight corner and because of that, he didn’t want to cross him. He needed all the friends he could get. Especially now, after what he’d done with his phone.

Sooner or later the Police would start asking little Johnny a few questions. They’d go through his pockets, and then they’d find David’s mobile and all those incriminating messages. He’d end up in prison again. Accessory after the fact. But he didn’t care. Because this time he’d be taking Steve Parr down with him.

CONCLUDES NEXT WEEK