Zodiac's toy by John Jones (read 50 shades of grey .TXT) 📕

clients before anybody came knocking, which he guessed they would, and Ray knew he was to visit another debtor and took Lee's advice to go as soon as possible before police and forensics set up shop around the corner.

The weather had dropped in temperature and Ray wore a jacket he had not worn in a while, and found he had to take a long bus journey to the house of Georgeanne Benton. He was apprehensive because he didn't know the reaction she would give. Would she scratch his eyes out the second he mentioned debt? or would she burst into tears and plead for more time? What then? what if she wanted more time to pay it back? He told himself he's only there to remind her. That's all.

 

When he approached the door of the Victorian building where Georgeanne lived in a ground floor flat, he heard voices behind the door. It then opened, and he saw an Indian mother and child leaving. The child looked to be around four years old. Ray guessed she was taking him to nursery.

The child though, was in fancy dress. Dressed as a Lion. He looked at Ray.

"Mummy, it's the debt reminder guy".

"What?" she said, and looked in the direction of a nervous Ray, looking suspicious as if he was casing the building to burgle later.

"Er, hi," he said, "are you Georgeanne? I'm just here to remind you that you still have...arrears to pay". She continued on her way to school.

"Do you know how much it is to look after a child?" she asked, and Ray reluctantly followed.

"...because if you had kids then you would know. I'll pay that money back but only when my kids are secure in the..."

"Yes, I know, but I'm just..." For the next five minutes, Ray could barely get a word in, as she told him of her hardships and the need for extra income. The child smiling up at him occasionally. They approached the infant school.

"...whatever it takes to put food in my kids mouth..." she stopped as she saw the other children. Some of the other parents were standing around looking confused. A teacher came across to Georgeanne. Ray looked through the railings at the play area. He looked with wide eyes.

"I don't get it," the teacher said. "We said the children can come in fancy dress, so I don't understand why every child has come as a Lion".

"We're all Leo," said Georgeanne's little boy, and ran into the play area to join the others who, in one way or another were dressed, or had masks on, had something to denote that they were a Lion. They were running around, roaring, scratching the air, laughing, some looking at Ray.

Another parent said: "What are the chances of that happening? Every child deciding to come as Leo the Lion. It's got to be a coincidence". Ray slinked away, and told himself the same thing. It's got to be a coincidence, because there's nothing else it could be. His fragile mind clung to that.

He decided to walk back, and thought perhaps he would carry on walking to Caroline's. Either that or go back to the flat with commotion going on outside.

Or go to a pub and relax with a pint.

 

In the Green Castle it was fairly quiet, and Ray approached the bar to find Danielle, twenty years bar-maid.

"Hi Dani," he said, "just a pint of lager please". She took a pint glass and filled it with water and handed it to him.

"I'm a water-bearer," she said, then looked confused.

"Erm...pint of lager," Ray repeated, and Danielle frowned and pulled him a normal pint.

"Not sure why I did that," she muttered more to herself. Ray paid her and sat down at a seat he frequented often, near the entrance at the window. He relaxed, and enjoyed his drink.

 

After around an hour, he left, noticing that Danielle had not moved the pint of water from the bar.

He was in no rush to go back the flat, so went a long way round which took him along a pathway through a small park.

In the distance, he saw what looked like a horse, heading in the opposite direction.

A horse with the upper torso of a man.

As it got closer he could see it was holding a bow and arrow. A bow and arrow they levelled at Ray who stopped and held up his hands in supplication.

As the creature approached, it morphed into a police-horse and rider, but still with a bow and arrow they kept levelled at Ray. It wasn't the same police officer who had given him a ride, but a man who grinned as he approached, then laughed. He put the weapon away, laughed louder and trotted past, Ray staring and frowning after him.

"Fuck..." he muttered, and decided to head straight to the flat, where he found soundless blue flashing lights in the area around Nugget, and the high-rise cordoned off. He could see forensics in their white paper suits slowly stepping around, and a few bored looking police at the cordons.

One of them saw him lifting the tape and going into the flat.

"Excuse me sir, do you live here? Can I have a word?"

 

Half an hour later, the policeman left Shane's flat, and Ray breathed the biggest sigh of relief in his life. Grateful that the man didn't ask to use the toilet, and see weapons in there, guns and blades in the bath. It was simply general enquiries as to whether or not he knew a Nathan Northrop. Also known as Nugget.

"Why what's happened?" Ray feigned.

 

Lee came back later on and was subjected to the same, albeit more intense questioning.

"I don't know no bloody Nugget!"

When they had left him alone, he heard another tap on the door an hour later, to find another policeman stood there, curiously looking at a pea crab on the door-frame.

"Mr Lee Sherwin? I would just like to ask you a few questions".

"Oh for fucks sake I answered loads already. What do you want to know now? How big my cock is?" The policeman was silent for a few seconds.

"I'd like to ask you about a George Brigham".

"George who..?"

"Some people called him Chimp".

 

"Tell you what Ray, I don't know why the police insist on fucking around so much. I mean there's Nugget's body, no-one knows fuck-all, so what's their problem? Why do they have to cordon off half a fuckin' town around a body, then spend ages interviewing people who might have seen him. Why so much detail it's pointless?" He was stood in his living room pacing around, Ray sat on the sofa, arms folded.

Being in the vicinity of police made them both anxious. At the window the blue lights still flashed.

"It's time for them to go,” Ray said, “Oh fuck! there's a gun in my sink, and the front door hasn't been fixed".

"Better go and deal with it then," Lee said. Ray apprehensively left the flat and made his way along to his place. He knew there were police on some of the floors, especially the top, with forensics studying potential evidence.

He entered his flat and found the gun, and left to sneak back to Lees, but coming down the stairs was a burly police officer who spied the weapon. Ray stopped in his tracks. Caught red-handed.

"Best hide that," he said, "the scales of justice are balanced in your favour," he then carried on down the stairs and outside. Ray nervously went back to Lees.

"...I just need them to go," Lee said as soon as Ray stepped inside, as if he'd never left. He looked at the gun.

"It's tempting to grab that and go and put a bullet in all of their heads. It's all very well killing enemies, but I'd love to kill a copper. I'm sure it would feel sweet". Ray put the gun on the table.

"It's all yours," he said, and Lee continued pacing around.

"I just wish they'd all fuck off," he said.

"Maybe we should have dumped the body somewhere else," Ray put in.

"Blotto’s gone. I don't know anyone else who could do it, and I can't just go down to the hospital to ask that nurse who sorted out Victor, and I wasn't going to carry the fucker around the town away from here. What else could we have done?" Ray had no answer but said:

"We'll just have to wait it out. Sooner or later they'll go". Lee agreed, and seemed to be calming down slightly.

"I suppose that's all we can do, just wait them out," he said. "Do us a favour, make us a coffee, I'm too anxious at the moment". Ray had no sooner sat down, than was heading to the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 39

 

It had to done, he knew. He would have to face her wrath.

He thought perhaps she had had time to calm down now, but still could think of nothing to say regarding why he had supposedly broke down the door, so would have to go with the 'I lost my key' excuse which held little water.

As he passed by a group of teenage girls, the one nearest him squirted Ray with her bottle of water and laughed.

"I'm the water-bearer," she said, and continued, her friends confused as to why she just did that. Ray just wiped his face and looked back at the laughing girl as she walked away, shook his head and carried on to the house.

He cautiously walked along the path and knocked on the door. It was Wayne who answered.

"Hi Ray, Caroline's gone to the shops, she'll be back soon". He opened the door to allow him in, and when he walked into the living room found three of Wayne's friends sitting there looking up at him.

"This is Ray," said Wayne, "Caroline's sister”. They all acknowledged him, and Ray said he would wait out back, maybe make himself toast.

Ten minutes later, Caroline came back and stood at the kitchen door.

"Decided to show yourself," she said.

"Yes," he said sheepishly, "I thought I would come and see if you were...alright and that everything was going well".

"Oh really, nothing to do with the fact that you want to still come back here for freebies, and the sofa if your mates kick you out".

"No...no, I just..." Caroline could see he was sincere, and didn't want to be cut off, despite his recent actions, not that Caroline would cut him off, just have a pair of scissors to hand, ready for when the time comes to do it if need be, but in the meantime wave them in his face when he got out of hand.

"Look Ray, I don't know what you've been up to, or who with or why. It's nothing to do with me. You can be so annoying at times. I don't even think I want to know why you broke the door in. You lost your key. Fine. I'm not just going to hand you a new key. You've got to earn it. If you don't want me to be mad at you, then help me out. Get involved. Find me a photographer, and get to know Wayne," she looked back towards the living room.

"Wayne and his mates are going into town soon. He's taking his shoes back because he changed his mind. He's exchanging them for another pair. Go with them". Ray pulled a look of anguish.

"Go with them," he said, "a bunch of hipp..." Caroline put her hands on her hips and metaphorically waved the scissors in his face. He sighed and nodded reluctantly.

 

He felt like a spare-part, like he did when he visited the funfair with Caroline and her friends. With his hands jammed in his pockets walking behind them, Wayne did his best to involve him. His friends Alistair, Darren and Banjo also tried to talk to him occasionally, but only on the surface level. 'Safe' topics that strangers talk to strangers about, weather, holidays, where you're from...etc.

It was obvious Banjo was the talker of the group. The type who liked to air his opinions and views and emotions