Page 100 of Vengeance is Mine

‘We know why he was quiet now, though, don’t we?’ Linda said. She was a mousey woman in her late twenties, stick-thin, with bad teeth and greasy hair. ‘He was hiding his past. My mum said, you always have to watch the quiet ones.’

‘No. He was quiet because he wanted to get on with his life. He was trying to put his past behind him. He’d served his time. You can’t blame him for that,’ Margaret said. ‘Can you imagine what it would have been like here if we’d known his real name? His life wouldn’t have been worth living, bless him.’

‘Especially with Andrew and his lot.’

‘Who’s Andrew?’ Kyra asked.

Selina shrank in her chair. She’d already mentioned Andrew to Terry and Kyra in the manager’s office. She gave a very brief description of his character, saying she wasn’t qualified to make a judgement about him. Terry could see she was scared of sticking her head above the parapet so decided to let her off.

‘Andrew works in the warehouse,’ Bob said.

‘He thinks he’s a supervisor, but he’s not,’ Margaret muttered. ‘When it was in the papers last year about Dominic being released, he really kicked off.’

‘Did he?’

‘Oh God, yes, it was embarrassing,’ Margaret said. ‘Going on about bringing back hanging and having him castrated. I told him, this is the twenty-first century, Andrew, we don’t go around publicly flogging people anymore.’

‘Is Andrew here?’

‘No. He’s off sick.’ A man standing at the back of the room who had been observing the whole conversation butted in. He was tall with a heavy brow and a brooding scowl. He wore a navy beanie hat and had dark stubble around his strong jawline.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

He shrugged. ‘Dunno. Look, don’t go singling him out as some kind of dinosaur. He’s not the only person who thinks the death penalty should be brought back for some crimes. I remember the Stephanie White case. What that Dominic did to her was fucking disgusting. He shouldn’t have been allowed to move back around here.’

‘He was Newcastle born and bred,’ Margaret said.

‘Do any of you know of anyone who would want to have harmed Dominic?’ Kyra asked.

‘Stick a pin in the phonebook, love,’ the man said. He crushed his plastic cup, threw it in the bin and stormed out of the room.

‘Ignore him. He likes you to think he’s hard, but he’s all talk. It’s that Andrew you want to watch. I’ve seen him when he’s had a few drinks. A proper Jekyll and Hyde.’

‘Where will we find Andrew?’

‘I can give you his home address,’ Bob said.

The atmosphere in the small room had darkened. Terry thanked them for their time and told them they’d all been very helpful.

Terry and Kyra walked back to the car in silence. Both looked thoughtful.

‘So, what did you deduce from that? Any thoughts?’ Terry asked.

‘Well, the main thing I’m thinking is why anyone would call their son Bob when his surname was Roberts. It’s like me having a son and calling him William.’

Terry laughed. ‘Yes, I thought the same. William Willis. He certainly wouldn’t thank you for that.’

Kyra unlocked the car, and they both climbed in.

Terry looked at his watch. ‘If you’re quick, you can go and buy your mushrooms.’

‘Really?’

‘I’ll not say it again.’

‘You’re an angel. Do you want anything?’ she asked, a huge smile on her face.

‘You can buy me a Mars and a bottle of water.’