Doreen stiffened her spine, to either give her strength to let it all out or because she wanted them to know she wasn’t ashamed. “I don’t regret it, let’s get that out there straight off the bat, just like I won’t regret it with Karen. Some people are just…I don’t know, vinegar. That sounds daft, but I know what I mean.”
“Acidic,” Mam said.
“That’s it. She’s always treated me as inferior, made me feel like I was less than her, and if she’s stupid enough to try to reclaim the Barrington when we’re all so well looked after by you two, the ungrateful cow, then I have no worries about helping you out. There are things she did when she ran the place that would surprise you, the nasty bint, all done behind the scenes, then she’d act like she was the nicest thing ever.”
“Two-faced.” Mam nodded. “One persona here, another there. I know her of old. She’s always been the same. So…back to this killing.”
Doreen paused forever. “Lenny covered it up.”
It was Mam’s turn to reel, a hand automatically going up to cover her open mouth, and she over-blinked, enough to tell Cassie she had trouble processing that information and was trying not to cry.
“Lenny?” Mam gasped.
That would burn. Dad told Mam everything—or so she’d thought, but Cassie knew he’d hidden some things to protect them.
What else did he keep to himself? What other shit’s going to come out later down the line? First he killed The Mechanic for a murder he hadn’t committed, now he’s got rid of someone for Doreen?
Doreen faced Mam. “Um, I went to him for help, he was the first person who came into my head, and he’d said it was the right thing to do. God, it was years ago, some fella who wouldn’t leave me alone. He wanted to go out with me after I split from my old man, Richie’s dad, so I agreed to go to this restaurant in town. Remember The Aga?”
Mam smiled fondly. “Yes, that was an old haunt of ours. I miss their steak pies and those pineapple puddings they did.”
“Me an’ all.” Doreen took a deep breath, nostalgia in her gaze. “So I went, we had this nice meal and a few drinks, and afterwards, out the back in his car, he…well, he tried it on, but I said no, it was too soon for me. He insisted, said if I didn’t do it with him, he’d come for my Richie, hurt him. Let’s just say his advances still weren’t wanted, and after a struggle, I clocked him over the head with this iron bar he had in the footwell.” She gazed into the middle distance, memories possibly floating through her head. “It had a curve on the end, I remember that, and it was rusty. I thought it’d just knock him out, enough so I could get away and tell Lenny he’d threatened my son, then he could take over, but the fella, he wasn’t fucking breathing, and there was blood splashed everywhere, a gash in the top of his head.”
“Christ, Dor, you must have hit him with a fair old whack.” Mam laid a hand on Doreen’s. “I wonder why Lenny never told me.”
I knew it would bother her.
Doreen winced, maybe aware Mam was struggling. “I asked him not to, made him promise—so please don’t blame him. I was ashamed my man radar wasn’t working properly and I’d almost got raped. He did say he usually told you what he got up to, but this time, he’d keep the secret. The least amount of people who knew, in my opinion, the better.”
“How did he help you?” Mam asked.
“He took the fella to Marlene, got rid of the iron bar, the car. He reckoned I must have panicked about the bloke not breathing because he was well and truly alive when Lenny got there, if a bit groggy. Marlene finished him off. I’ve always wanted to thank her, you know, find out who she is and tell her that getting rid of him saved me having to see him, reliving the shame every time I did. I’ve asked myself over the years if killing him was necessary, but I’m convinced if he was allowed to gad about as usual, he’d try it with someone else, probably succeed an’ all.”
“That’s a big weight to carry,” Mam said, “for someone like you who doesn’t run in those sorts of circles. Until now, obviously.”
Doreen picked at the cuff of her blue cardigan, blushing. “I’ve run in circles you don’t know about, but that’s a story for another day. I don’t feel bad at all—if you say you’ll hurt my son, I’ll hurt you, it’s as simple as that.” Her eyes watered. “And in the end, Richie died anyroad, I couldn’t save him.” She shrugged. “If it hadn’t been on Lenny’s orders, the drugs would have done it. I’ll admit now, Cass, when you turned up to tell me about my boy being gone, I hated Lenny, and you for being the messenger. He’d helped me cover up that murder yet still gave the nod for my son to be offed, knowing it’d break me, knowing the lengths I’d gone to that time to keep him safe. I understand it now, though, I’ve thought about it a lot, and while we’re in confession mode, I don’t think you’re a snooty bitch anymore.”
Cassie laughed. “I want people to think I’m a snooty bitch, so the fact you did means I succeeded in doing what Dad wanted. I can’t let people see the real me, do you understand?”
Doreen nodded. “Oh, I do. I’ve been doing the same most of my adult life. Hiding behind the bluster, not letting people in. Richie’s dad hurt me badly, then there was… Doesn’t matter.”
Cassie put the remains of her
