The Good Husband, page 17
His father steepled his fingers and rested his head on them, seemingly lost in thought.
‘Anyway, you weren’t there, it was like she was meant to spill coffee on me, I was meant to do this. Why else would her business card just happen to fall out and land under my table? He wants me to do this. He is giving me a sign.’
His father nodded.
‘Right then, we best get to work.’
He walked over to Jack and rested his hand on his shoulder. ‘I am proud of you, son.’
Happiness radiated around Jack’s body. Intertwining with the anticipation of punishing Adina Carter.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The phone rang but Adina ignored it. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. Despite her best efforts, she wasn’t sure she was ever going to forgive herself for the lies she had told. As a mother, she had to set an example for her daughter. Why hadn’t she given a thought for the impact of her words on Poppy? It must have been so hard for her to hear her listing all the things that they were never going to have. She felt like the scum of the earth.
Poppy deserved someone who could give her the things that Scarlett could. Not for the first time, she had thought about asking Scarlett to have Poppy. But she could never go through with it. She had always told herself that Poppy would rather have a mother that loved her with a fierce intensity that money couldn’t compete with. She couldn’t let her daughter go. Or she would lose the only reason she got up in the morning. Poppy was her whole world. Plus, Scarlett was a stuck-up cow with as much empathy as a shark. Until today, Adina had always considered herself the better person out of the two of them. She shuddered at the thought of Scarlett’s face when Adina had to admit she had made it all up.
The insistent buzz of her phone disturbed her thoughts and she picked it up, worried that it could be Poppy’s school. She didn’t recognise the number and answered warily.
‘Hello?’
‘Hello, is that Adina Carter?’
‘Speaking.’
‘Oh, hello there. My name is Jack Danvers. I saw you at the coffee shop today.’ Oh no, she thought. ‘I’m afraid you were in such a hurry to leave you spilled my drink over me.’ He laughed genially and she groaned inside, her face heating up even though he wasn’t in front of her.
‘I’m so sorry about that–’ He cut her off before she could continue to grovel.
‘My dear, please don’t apologise. I know it was an accident. Anyway, I had been about to come over and talk to you before you dashed off. I expect you are wondering how I got your number?’
‘Erm, yes I was,’ she replied.
‘Well, as luck would have it, your business card fell out of your bag and underneath my chair.’
Adina was unsure what he was talking about for a few seconds. But then it came to her. Months ago, her company had given them all business cards and promised a bonus for every new customer they signed up. Adina was surprised the card was still legible. It had been in her bag for months.
‘Oh right.’ She paused, feeling extremely uncomfortable and unsure what this man could possibly want with her. It wasn’t going to be good. Nothing good ever happened to her. ‘You said you were going to talk to me about something?’ she asked.
‘Well yes, I am sorry for eavesdropping. It’s a dreadful habit I picked up ever since my wife died. I admit I spend as much time as I can in public places just to enjoy the sound of conversation. It gets ever so lonely.’
Adina could hear the pang of loneliness in his voice. She pictured him again, salt-and-pepper hair, brown eyes and a smart corduroy suit. Her heart swelled in pity. She knew exactly how he felt. After Brian left, Poppy had been a baby, incapable of decent conversation. She had had a visceral longing for her father that had her crying herself to sleep. It had been a dark and lonely time.
‘I can understand. I lost my parents at a young age and felt the same way.’ She didn’t usually tell anyone this but the man sounded so bereft she wanted to reassure him that he wasn’t alone. She heard him taking deep breaths on the other end of the line and waited patiently for him to compose himself.
‘Thank you, my dear. Anyway, as I was saying, I overheard you talking about your cleaning business. I was very impressed with your entrepreneurial spirit, it reminded me of myself at that age.’
‘Oh, thank you.’ Shame enveloped her again. See, this is why you don’t lie, Adina, she reprimanded herself. It just leads to more lies.
‘I’ve been meaning to hire a cleaner for a while. It’s just me rattling round in this big old house. I’m ashamed to admit, my late wife did all the cleaning and the dusting and I’m afraid it’s getting a bit out of hand. Would you be able to come and give me a quote?’
Adina was taken aback, having spilt coffee on this man she was expecting to be yelled at. Not offered a job. But what would he do when he realised it was just her? That she did not in fact run a team of cleaners that serviced wealthy clientele across the county. Well, he didn’t need to know that, she reasoned. She could really do with the money.
‘It would depend on if we covered your area. Where are you?’
‘I live up in the Malvern Hills. A little bit in the wilderness I’m afraid. Down a dirt track in fact. A satnav won’t find us but I can give you directions. Could you come tomorrow?’
Well, that was that. Without a car she would never be able to get there. She didn’t think the buses frequented dirt tracks.
‘Erm. I’m afraid my car is in the garage at the moment being repaired.’
Another lie, what a wonderful human being you are, Adina.
‘That’s not a problem. If you get the bus to Malvern I can come and collect you. Just this once. It will work out better this way as then you can see how you get to my house so you will know for next time.’
‘Er… I’m not sure. I would need to check my diary.’
‘I’m happy to pay the going rate. I had a look online and I think twenty-five pounds per hour is the average amount.’
Twenty-five pounds per hour. That would be life-changing money. She would be able to have actual milk in her cereals instead of water. But something didn’t feel right. Why was he so eager to have her come over tomorrow? What was the rush? Plus, how would she explain that her car isn’t in the garage?
‘I’m sorry, but we aren’t taking on any new clients at the moment. We are just too busy.’
He paused for a minute. She breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to hang up.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to come across as pushy, but it has been really hard coping with the loss of my wife. I finally feel ready to move on and start living again. So now I’ve made this decision, I just want to get started. Does that make sense? Please can you reconsider?’
Adina thought back to the bleak period of time after her parents had died. She had been all alone with the baby. Brian jetting off on business trips she now knew were bogus. Adina would have given anything for another human being to spend time with back then. A bit of sunshine in the dark pit of grief. She had lost her parents and her marriage in one fell swoop and she never thought she would be happy again. The sadness in Jack’s voice touched her. She might actually be doing something good here. Something that might make up for the lies she had told. Adina could help him move on and manage his grief.
‘Okay, if you give me your address I’ll book you in my diary.’
She pretended to make notes whilst he spoke and they arranged a pickup point at a local bus stop near Great Malvern. She’d deal with the lack of car situation later. Coming off the phone, Adina grinned. Perhaps she would be able to buy Poppy that iPad after all.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jack turned on the light and set off down the stairs into the cellar. The smell of urine made him gag as he got to the bottom of the stairs. Beckett was lying huddled in a corner, whimpering in pain. There was blood on his fingernails and as Jack got closer, he could see dark red rings around his wrists. Smudges of blood, a telltale sign he had been trying to escape.
Once again, he allowed the memory of Elsie being killed to flood his mind. The cracking of her bones echoed around the cellar and he attached Beckett’s face to the violence of her demise. His vision turned red. Jack could quite easily rip him to shreds, such was the power of his rage. A wave of desire to inflict pain rose within him, he wanted to trample and crack his bones. He wanted to hear each whimper of pain and dance to the beautiful sound. The sound of atonement.
Beckett had been in the cellar for a day and a half now. Jack had left him a bowl of water but no food. He could only imagine the hunger Beckett must be experiencing. As Jack edged towards him, the man recoiled.
‘P-please, don’t hurt me!’ he begged, his voice whiny and laced with fear. Gone was the arrogant man he had first met. If only Debbie could see him now. He wished there was a way that he could tell her that he had sought justice on her behalf. That this man would never hurt anyone again. But his father was right, his duty was too important to risk ignorant fools trying to stop him.
Jack took a small square of bread from his pocket, the size of a postage stamp. Beckett’s eyes followed him as Jack placed the square of bread in between them.
‘Eat it. I dare you.’
He gave Beckett an evil smile that said what his words didn’t. He turned on his heel and stomped back up the stairs, his mind filled with revenge and justice. He was punishing Beckett for his sins. Punishing him for being part of the species of denigrates that had killed his wife. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.
Jack appeared back in the kitchen and he gave his father a wide smile. He felt energised, powerful. As if he had the power of the Lord running through his veins. His father came over to him and handed him a spade.
‘Time to dig another hole.’
It didn’t take as long to dig a hole for Adina Carter. His body was used to the hard labour and his hands developed thicker callouses that no longer bled as he wielded the shovel. As he dug, he replayed Adina’s boastful words. The disgust at her bragging tone and his need to protect the child fuelled his muscles. Before he knew it he had gone deeper than he needed to. Wiping the sweat from his head with his T-shirt, Jack looked over at his father. He passed Jack the barbed wire and he lined the grave with it, wincing as the barbs caught hold of him. They had not been able to find another door to cover her grave. But they had decided they would just cover her with soil.
Whilst making a cup of tea, Jack happened to glance at the laptop screen. He saw Beckett was lying on his front, staring at something on the ground. Jack moved closer to the screen and could see that Beckett was looking at the square of bread. Jack was impressed with the quality of the image as there was only a small amount of light in the room, coming from a fading ceiling bulb that really needed to be changed.
Beckett picked up the square of bread with trembling hands. He put it to his mouth but at the last minute pulled it away.
‘That’s right, you greedy piglet, I knew you couldn’t resist.’ When Beckett popped the piece of bread into his mouth Jack looked over at his father.
‘He’s eaten it.’
‘Not surprising. You know what you must do.’
Jack didn’t hesitate. He leapt towards the cellar door. He was doing God’s bidding. He was punishing Beckett for his sin, a mortification of sin. After all, those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. He had read those words so many times but never had he appreciated them the way he did today. At the bottom of the stairs, he undid his belt.
Beckett quailed, starting in horror. Tears tracking down his face, which was streaked with dirt from his writhing around on the floor. Unable to move properly due to his hands being bound behind his back and his legs tied together. Jack let his fury build. He could almost feel God’s presence embracing him. Encouraging him.
Jack stood in front of Beckett.
‘I’m going to take off your trousers. If you try to escape, I’ll take this belt, wrap it around your neck and strangle you until you are dead.’
Beckett looked stricken. He didn’t move or speak, just stared wordlessly at Jack.
Jack put the belt on the floor and undid the rope binding Beckett’s legs. He pulled off the trousers, trying not to breathe as the smell of faeces cloyed the back of his throat. Tossing the trousers to the other side of the room, he retied his legs. Making sure the rope dug into the skin.
He stood.
‘Dan Beckett. You are sinful and greedy. You shall be punished accordingly. If the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten.’
Without giving Beckett time to process what he was saying, Jack whipped the belt through the air and watched as the buckle sliced into Beckett’s thighs. He did it three more times until Beckett’s screams pierced his eardrums, so loud he almost covered his ears. Satisfied, Jack walked away to the sound of the Devil’s sobs. When he emerged from the cellar and saw his father, he was struck by the memory of him whipping him with his belt. Of the pain he had felt and the weeks it took for the scabs to heal. The pain of walking and moving around with welts on his thighs. He pushed the memory away. His father had had no choice. Jack had deserved it. He knew that now.
That night, Jack couldn’t sleep. Images of Elsie and their life together kept slipping out of the place he had locked them away. He thought about the person that Elsie was. Her kindness and generosity. How every month she went to Tesco and did a food shop and put it all in the donations basket at the exit to go to the food bank. The work she did with the church, always volunteering and raising money for different charities.
A beautiful, selfless person had been ripped from the world. It was his job to avenge that. He had been charged with this mission, a mission only he had the strength to do. They had always disagreed on what she called ‘his father’s religion’. She said it was archaic and self-serving. But God had spoken to him, he had taken Elsie and reconnected him with his father for a reason. He was meant to do this. But that was why God had chosen him. Only he had the strength to do what needed to be done. People were put on earth to do God’s work. Elsie was there to spread kindness and he was there to rid the world of sin.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The next morning, Jack woke up to a loud chorus from the birds that slept in the tree near his bedroom window. Their gentle song was an idyllic alarm clock. Jack felt renewed from his sleep. He was confident and ready. It was like he had a career once more. There was a reason to get up and a plan of action. For the first time in a while, he had a purpose.
At 10am, he set off for Adina. He wanted to get there and find the right parking space. His father was going to stay at home and keep an eye on Beckett on the monitors. The journey to Malvern was pleasant, he enjoyed the peace of not having his father in the car, silently criticising his driving through winces and sighs. The rolling hills surrounded him and he could just spot the dot-like outlines of walkers as they ascended towards The Beacon. It was the highest point in Worcestershire. He remembered going there with Elsie years ago, the wind whipping her hair into his face as he tried to remind his lungs how to breathe properly. Elsie hadn’t wanted to come back down, she was enthralled by the view, turning this way and that as he sat on a concrete step, leaning back on The Beacon, trying to ignore the stars in his vision.
The bus stop came into view and he drove past it, turned around and slowly crept back up the road. Looking for the best place to park. It was a tiny bus stop, not even a bus shelter, just a pole with a sign atop with the numbers of the buses that stopped there. There was barely any traffic on the road, and no pedestrians. He wasn’t surprised, the roads in Malvern were notoriously steep and if there wasn’t a phenomenal view it just wasn’t worth the energy.
He sat in the car and waited. He hoped she wouldn’t be late. It would just be like her, to keep other people waiting, running to her own clock. Jack pictured her in her large house, with her fancy gadgets and big car. Earning money off the backs of her staff whilst she deliberated over what dress to wear. He was quite surprised she had agreed to get the bus and not decided to get a taxi. But he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of an engine. The bus grumbled up the hill and came to a hissing stop at the pole. The doors swung open and he saw Adina get out. He faltered for a minute. She had looked so sophisticated and egotistical when he had met her yesterday. But her demeanour was completely different today. She looked up and down the street, she seemed almost nervous.
But then, he remembered the Lord’s warning about Satan transforming himself into the Angel of Light. So what if she looked innocent. She had the Devil within her, he had heard and seen it for himself. He must not be fooled by the Father of Lies. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, imagining it was Adina’s neck.
Jack then opened the door and got out. He walked towards Adina with a broad smile.
‘Hello, Adina.’ He greeted her like an old friend. When she shook his hand, he ignored the desire to recoil. He felt dirty just touching her.
‘Hi, Jack.’ She smiled politely back at him.
‘Right, let’s go.’
She followed him to his car and got into the passenger seat. He indicated and pulled onto the road, forcing the car up the slope, ignoring the protests of the engine.
‘There are some steep hills around here,’ said Adina.
‘Yes, there sure are.’
They lapsed into awkward silence. Until Jack, unable to stomach it, spoke.
‘So, tell me about your business?’
Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn she blushed. But when he turned to look at her face, it was composed.
‘Erm. There’s not much to tell really. I manage a team of cleaners.’
