In the end she decided to visit her mother to take her mind off things while Tiffany was out visiting her own family. She surmised that Tiffany was finding things just as difficult and had therefore decided to go out rather than stay at home, anxiously waiting for the hours to tick by.
Ruby arrived at her mother’s house clutching a bunch of flowers with plenty of cash in her purse. She had never got over her feelings of guilt for abandoning her mother when she was struggling and had been making up for it ever since with cash and presents whenever she visited.
When she arrived, there was no answer so she tried the front door handle, relieved to find it was open. She pushed her way inside the house and smiled on hearing the high-pitched, jangling sound of her brother Tyler’s games console. She fondly recalled buying it for him a few years previously and it amused her to think that he still played on it even though he was now well into his twenties.
But the smile slid from her face as soon as she walked into the lounge. Before she even saw her brother she sensed the smell of fear and took in the destruction. She could see that the room had been ransacked and scarlet smeared objects were scattered wantonly about.
Then she saw Tyler. His feet were protruding from the end of the armchair where he was sitting with his back to her. As she walked over to him she could see that his body was slumped over the arm, half-twisted as though he was trying to get up but hadn’t made it.
His back was a mass of blood-drenched wounds, and as he lay prone the blood continued to seep, covering the seat and the carpet below. The games control had slipped from his hand and was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Ruby put her hand to her mouth and yelped like a wounded animal.
The constant, repetitive chime of the games console heightened her distress and drew her attention to the TV. Jolly, animated images flashed across the screen, incongruent with the tragic scene. Ruby shifted her attention from the TV, one thought dominating her mind as she yelled for her mother, praying she had escaped the carnage.
Driven by desperation she fled from the lounge, back into the hall and towards the kitchen. But then she spotted something she had missed on the way in: a faint bloodstain on the wall near the kitchen, and a crimson footprint next to the door, darkening the mid-brown shade of the carpet. She rushed inside the room, dreading what she might find, and spotted her mother straightaway.
Daisy was at the kitchen counter, as she often was, preparing food. Ruby could see the veg, half-chopped in front of her and the aroma of stewed meat infused with her mother’s herbs and spices filled the air, the pan bubbling away on the hob. But Daisy hadn’t finished the job. She was slumped across the counter, the white plastic chopping board now coloured pink and her own chef’s knife protruding from an angry wound in her back. Her hair was matted with the thick blood that clung to it and lacerations covered her head, arms and back.
Ruby dropped to her knees and yelled, ‘Mam, no! Oh please no…’ She became hysterical as shock and sorrow invaded her body and made her shudder with racking sobs. The sound of her agonised wailing drowned out even the chiming, merry sound of the games console coming from the front room.
She had never felt so bereft. Not since that other time when Kyle had left her wounded and traumatised. And as she took in the brutal scene in front of her, harrowing memories came flooding back once more, adding to her grief.
That other time it was her mother who had come to her rescue. She had always been there for her. And how have I repaid her? she thought, in despair: By abandoning her then leading a life of debauchery and bringing ruthless villains to her door.
Ruby didn’t know how long she remained there, but when she eventually calmed down, she had an overwhelming urge to flee the house. She knew she should have called the police and waited for them to arrive but she couldn’t bear to look at her mother’s mutilated body any longer. So she dashed to her car and spent a tearful half hour driving around aimlessly, her tortured brain questioning the reason for such a callous and devastating attack.
What sort of person would do such a thing? Kyle? Gilly? Kyle’s men? A random stranger?
Ruby’s devastation and regret soon turned to fury as she thought about the sick mind behind such a brutal slaughter. And fury drove her on. The more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that she knew exactly who had done this. There was only one person it could have been. And she was determined to get even with him in the most callous way possible.
60
August 2011
It had to be Kyle. Gilly didn’t know where her family lived and, as her cousins had pointed out to her, he was small fry and was too frightened to act out his threats once her cousins had finished with him. But Kyle was another matter; he was a major threat and she knew he was ruthless enough. He was also set on revenge and had made it clear that he would stop at nothing to get it.
The fury was building within Ruby. It was as though a box had been unlocked and an irate devil had jumped out. Her brain had fast-tracked to the angry stage of grief. The stage where it manifests itself in rage at the helplessness and injustice of it all. The stage where you question the world around you and how life can
