I began to walk towards them.
I could see them, David Watts standing over her, the gun in his hand, set against the backdrop of the fields leading away from Turners Fold. There was no one around, and I was walking towards them, every step taking me nearer to somewhere that maybe I ought not to be. My hands were shaking, but I kept on going forward, my eyes fixed on David Watts, reminding myself of why I was there, reminding myself of what had happened the last time my father came down to the park.
The walk seemed to take forever. The grass was thick, the soil dry, and it seemed to drag at my feet, making my steps slow and heavy. I could see his surprise. As I stepped onto the concrete base of the aviary, just yards away, he looked down at the gun. As I got closer, he began to smile.
‘Glad you got here,’ he said. ‘This woman was going to kill me.’
I stopped right in front of him. ‘Bullshit.’
He was taken aback, too surprised to say anything.
‘That’s right, you got it.’
He looked down at Liza, who looked confused. ‘She’s the woman who has been shooting footballers,’ he said.
I looked down at Liza and then back at David. ‘Yes, I know.’
‘Then why are you looking at me like that? I’m not the bad guy.’
I shook my head. ‘Depends on where you look, because where I’m looking right now, you started all of this.’
He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.
I stared into his eyes. ‘You heard me, you bastard.’
Again, he opened his mouth, but still nothing came out.
I looked at his face, and for a moment it was hard to believe that it was David Watts. The face I was used to seeing was the confident king of the England team, dependable football star. He endorsed soft drinks, spoke up for charities, London’s favourite adopted son. The person in front of me looked haunted. His face was filthy, streaked with dirt and sweat, his smile a grimace of broken teeth and blood, his top lip swollen and painful. His skin looked drawn and pale, as if he hadn’t slept in days. But it was his eyes that I noticed. Gone was the easy smile, the glint for the cameras. His eyes looked dark and red, flitting around like he was fuelled, angry and wired.
‘My name is Jack Garrett.’ I watched for a reaction. There was nothing. Just arrogance. I raised my eyebrows. ‘Sound familiar?’
David shook his head slowly. Then I saw something in his eyes, as if the name had started to turn some wheels.
‘Garrett?’
I nodded, my mouth set in a thin line.
His jaw moved from side to side, the barrel of the gun starting to dip as I became his focus.
‘My dad was a policeman,’ I said, my face calm, my insides burning.
David Watts went pale. ‘Was?’ he asked eventually. I could tell he knew the answer.
I nodded again, slowly, trying to make sure he got the link in his own time. ‘Died this week.’ I looked towards Liza, who was starting to look interested. ‘Died right back there, in front of the aviary, where you’ve just been. Right where they found Annie.’
David’s hand started to shake, the gun waving at thin air. He was staring slack-jawed. He looked back to Liza, who had started to move backwards on the floor, away from him.
He turned to me as if he was about to say something, but I held my hand up to stop him. ‘Don’t waste your regrets on me,’ I said. ‘I’m not interested.’
I began to walk around him, away from Liza, so that he could only look at one of us at any time. He twisted his body to track me, tried to stop himself from turning away from Liza, but I kept on circling until he had no choice. I stopped when I was right opposite her, with David in between.
His eyes flashed to her, then back to me. The gun was pointing at the floor.
I looked at Liza. I didn’t hate her. I pitied her for the life she had led and the choices she felt she’d had to make to get even. I saw something flicker back, maybe a smile, but then she went straight-faced again when David turned to his side and pointed the gun back at her, his head turning on a pivot to keep us both in his sight.
I looked to Liza. ‘Did you know he’d sent someone after you?’
Liza stared back at me, unsure what to think. Then I saw recognition kick in.
‘You were at the house.’
I nodded, and then looked at him. He looked uncomfortable, as if he thought we were acting together.
I thought I could hear cars getting closer, tyres bouncing along, the rush of an engine.
‘Did you know that same guy killed Rose Wood last night?’
Liza looked confused.
‘Rose Wood, Colin’s mother. He killed her last night, once she had given him your address.’
Liza’s eyes flashed back to David Watts, wild and angry. His breathing was getting fast, his face red.
I looked at David now, my own anger getting hard to contain.
‘And he chased me out of my own house,’ I continued, ‘tried to kill me as I got away down the road.’
David’s arm began to move, the gun twisting round to face me.
‘And he killed my father,’ I said, my eyes burning into his. ‘And for that, I’ll hound you for the rest of your life.’
I stepped closer. David began to lift the gun up at me. My stomach crawled with fear, but I contained it, beat it back. Behind David, I saw Liza scrabble to her feet. I kept my stare, dared David to keep going. I didn’t keep a watch on what Liza was doing. The last I saw, she had her hands behind her back.
Nell’s car screamed towards Victoria Park, no sirens. She felt tremors of excitement, sensing that something special was about to unveil itself as they got further along.
The trees came into view first, and the grass slowly spread as they got nearer. Laura gasped as she saw them. David Watts had a gun, and he was pointing it right at Jack’s head. Then she saw Liza and her hand went to her mouth.
‘Oh shit,’ she heard Mike say, as the view was obscured for a second by the mist of dust. She pulled out her camera and pointed it. She began to reel off shots, zooming in. Then when she knew she had enough, she set it to record moving pictures. Laura zoomed in on David Watts. As soon as she heard a shot, she was going to capture the next ten seconds. This was evidence, strong and clear.
Mike and Nell jumped out of the car and ran round to Liza’s blind side. They opened the rear doors and hissed at Laura to get out. She looked back at the scene on the field, and then grimaced before sliding out.
Once on the path, crouched behind the car, she retrained her camera on David Watts. She was ready again.
*
‘I didn’t ask him to do those things.’
David Watts was trying to swallow, his mouth dry. He looked round as the cars came into view. Two of them. One a marked patrol car, the other one a black Mondeo. I glanced over. I thought I could see Laura looking through the glass. I tried to hide my relief.
David looked back again. He licked his lips, nervous. He had an audience now.
I shook my head. ‘Bullshit, David. He wasn’t doing it for free.’ I smiled, but there was no warmth.
‘He’s dead now.’
It was Liza. I looked over. She had her hands in her jacket pockets.
She nodded. ‘That’s right. Died this morning. He was going to kill me.’
I shook my head and tutted. ‘You’re in a lot of trouble, Mr Watts. That’s a conspiracy.’
The gun carried on towards me. I flinched but held my ground.
‘Who’ll believe that crazy bitch?’
I looked him right in the eye. ‘I do. I was there.’ I shrugged. ‘So it’s not just her. And there are the calls you made to Glen Ross.’ I began to smile again. ‘Oh yes, do you think people don’t remember that? David Watts, football hotshot on the phone, wanting to speak to Glen Ross? It almost went into their diaries.’
David was getting angry. I could see the gun waving as he squeezed hard, fighting an impulse to fire. His face was screwed up, his eyes dark.
‘The guy you sent was at the station,’ I continued. ‘Did you know that? He was seen. People overheard him, you know, the little people who you think don’t matter. Your name came up.’
The gun got closer.
‘Do you think Glen Ross will help you out this time?’
He blinked.
‘Do you think I hadn’t worked it out? The pay-off?’ I snarled at him. ‘How low can you go, David? As far as your money will take you?’
Still he said nothing, so I took a step closer to him.
‘How did you do it, David?’ I continued, mocking him, looking past the dark barrel of the gun, now inches from my face. I thought I could see my death in its shadows. ‘How could you kill someone and just walk away?’
‘I didn’t kill anyone.’
I looked over at Liza. ‘I heard you confess.’
He laughed, dark and bitter. ‘That won’t stand up in court. She had a gun in my face.’
‘What about “Rath Dé Ort EW”, scratched onto the back of your chain?’
He almost dropped his gun.
I nodded at him. ‘That’s right, Eugene David Watts. A little gold chain left at the scenes of all the football shootings. Just like you left in Annie’s hand.’
‘I still had that chain after Annie died.’
I nodded. ‘Yes, I know. Glen Ross gave it back to you.’ I cocked my head. ‘Why did he do that?’
I watched a tear drop out of his eye, his chin tremble. He shook it away, tried to make himself strong.
‘How much do you want?’ he said.
‘Is that all you have to offer?’ I stepped closer until I felt the gun barrel against my neck. ‘I want what she wants. I want you ruined.’
He shook his head, and then grinned, dark and red. ‘Money. That’s what this is all about. That’s all it’s ever about. Name your price.’
I said nothing.
‘C’mon, prick, how much? Ross took his cut.’ He flicked his head towards Liza. ‘Everyone took a cut.’
I saw a tear run down Liza’s face, saw her hand scrabble in her jacket pocket.
David was snarling now. He pushed the gun into my neck, knocking me back, making me cough. I could hear shouting behind me, scrambled footsteps as people got behind their cars.
‘You bought them?’
He nodded. ‘Oh yes, I fucking bought them all right. Just wrote them a cheque like I was at Tesco’s,’ and then he laughed. ‘Annie’s daddy snapped it up like a lottery win. I could see it in his eyes. New car, new house.’ He jabbed me in the neck again. ‘I paid my dues for Annie.’
‘But you couldn’t buy my father.’ I looked at Liza. ‘Or her father.’
He flinched at that.
I saw Liza looking at me. She hadn’t realised who I was, or how we were connected. She knew now.
‘They’d seen you on the night,’ I continued. ‘My dad. Her dad. And they’d seen Annie, lying dead just there, blue, gold chain swinging in her hand.’ I shook my head. ‘You couldn’t buy him, so you had him killed. One less person in your way.’
His eyes started to get angry. I saw him flash a quick look to the cars parked not far away. I thought I could hear muffled warnings for him to put his gun down. I ignored them. My world was that spot near the aviary, a universe spinning in orbit around David Watts, Liza and me.
‘Remember Colin Wood? He’s the man in prison for what you did. Ten years of his life. What’s that worth to you? A month’s wage?’ I could have hit him, but I said instead, ‘I found out who his lawyer was. He’s going to get Colin’s DNA tested against the evidence from the scene.’ I stared at him. ‘It will match, won’t it?’
I gripped the barrel of the gun, jabbed it into my chest. ‘Or maybe Glen swapped the bags? Maybe when he lifted him for being drunk, Glen Ross just put some DNA swabs from you in his bag, just so that it would catch up with him later?’
David Watts pushed the gun into me, his jaw set, his eyes on fire, wanting to shoot.
‘I’ve got friends out there,’ I said. ‘She’s got a camera. If the police don’t get this on film, she will.’ I smiled down the barrel. ‘You’ll make the six o’clock headlines, whatever happens. It’s like catching OJ with the knife in his hand.’ I looked round the gun and at Liza. ‘She knows she’s caught, I can sense it in her. And she wants to tell the story. Whatever happens, the story is going to be told. Shooting me will nail it shut for you.’ I smiled again. ‘So go on, shoot me.’
He strengthened his grip on the gun.
I spread my arms out, put my head back. ‘Go on, David. Squeeze the trigger.’
I saw the barrel lift, saw it move forward until I felt it pressing into my forehead. It was cold and hard, packed tight with menace.
I saw a rush of film, like my life on fast-forward. My mother, laughing, loving. My dad, strong. School, work, home, Laura. It rushed through, and I felt the wind, like the memories were pushing me around, jostling me. I could feel my father, dead under my feet.
There was shouting in the distance, hollering, screams to put down the gun. I thought I could hear Laura shouting my name. Or was it my father? The anger seeping out of David Watts smothered me. He was trapped, losing control, everything crumbling in front of him. He was about winning. No more. I could smell it on him: the defeat, the shame. The metal of the gun dug deeper. I could feel the tension in his arm as he pushed and pressed and fought his desire to pull the trigger.
It came after a pause, like time had slowed down. I heard a scream, movement, saw a flash of colour from the corner of my eye. The gun just came off my forehead for a moment and I felt the breeze blow back onto my skin. Then there was a shot.
The smell of gunpowder assaulted me and I felt a sprinkle of blood on my cheek, warm, thick. There was a noise, a gasp, a crumpled fall, and the cold metal fell away from my head.
It was like the release of a pressure valve, a flood of light. I refocused and Liza was standing in front of me, a handgun clasped in her hand. She was staring wide-eyed, shaking. I looked down at the floor. I could hear shouts behind me. David Watts lay on his side, blood on his cheek, running from a star-shaped wound burnt into his temple. Then I saw the spread of blood from underneath his head, his life seeping out onto the grass.
I looked at Liza. She looked at me, then down at her handgun. I looked down at David. I nodded at her, understanding. He was sinking, his life becoming part of the soil. I knelt down. I looked into his eyes. They were still open, but glassy and dead. But I thought I saw something in them. Confusion, doubt, despair, knowledge he had lost but didn’t know how.
I stood up again. I looked at Liza, who was staring back at me, the gun still in her hand. Her mouth was open, as if she no longer knew what to do now it was over.
‘He’s dead.’
She looked over to the people by the field. The police were still shouting, warning her to put down the gun. Tears started to run down her face and her mouth began to crease as her sobs came again.
I held my hand out to her. She looked like she was about to drop the gun, her hand shaking. She glanced at me and shook her head. I knew then what was going to happen.
I screamed, ‘No!’
She flashed the gun to her head and jammed it into her temple. Her finger squeezed the trigger. She looked at me, her eyes wet and wild.
‘Don’t do it, Liza.’
Her finger wavered.
‘Tell the story,’ I said, quieter now, pleading. ‘Tell everyone what he did.’ I pointed down at David’s body. ‘Think about Annie one last time. Think what she would have wanted. Think about what your mum and dad would have wanted, deep down, if they could go back and do it again.’ I shook my head. ‘You die and he’s just one more victim.’ I held my hand out. ‘You live, and you can tell everyone what he did to you.’
She shook her head. Her finger was tense on the trigger, her teeth gritted, waiting for the shot.
‘It’s not just about Annie,’ I continued, taking a step closer, my eyes only on her, the shouts from the sidelines now fading away. ‘People need to know what he did.’ I shook my head. ‘He mustn’t die a hero, Liza.’
I was right by her. I reached out my hand. Her hand began to waver, the gun moved away from her head. Then she seemed to break and the gun dropped to her waist. I looked at her. I reached out with my hand and placed it over the gun. I could feel her grip on it, soft and warm. I clasped her hand and felt my fingers touch the coolness of the gun.
‘Let me have it,’ I whispered.
She hung her head and began to nod. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. I took hold of the gun and felt her fingers release it. I let it tumble onto the grass. I held her hand again. She hung her head and began to sob, her shoulders shaking, her head pressing into her chest.
I put my arms around her and drew her close. She turned to me and put her head on my shoulder. Then her arms went around me and I felt her cries. I started to hear running behind me, pounding on the grass. I knew they were coming to get her. I put one hand behind her head and stroked her hair, whispered small words of comfort. She squeezed me and sobbed, said she was sorry. I told her there was no need.
We stayed like that as I heard the police surround us. I opened my eyes and saw a woman in a smart grey suit. And behind her I saw Laura. There were tears. I could see them. And I had some too, warming my cheeks, mixing with Liza’s hair as she squeezed me hard.
I looked up at the sky as I felt Liza taken away from me. I heard the metallic snap of handcuffs. I heard the police trying to speak to me but I didn’t listen. I turned and walked away instead, slowly across the park, not wanting to see any more of what they would do to her. I heard footsteps behind me and I felt Laura wrap her arm around my waist.
We didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. We just walked past the police cars, and headed away from Victoria Park.