Read Online Hurt (DS Lucy Black) by Brian McGilloway - Free Book Online
Authors: Brian McGilloway
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me,’ Gavin said. ‘I never said nothing to them.’
‘That wasn’t the crowd I saw you with earlier?’
Gavin shook his head. ‘Nah. The ones you saw me with are my friends. I don’t know who
that
crowd were.’
‘They maybe saw this,’ the man said, pulling the lapels of Gavin’s jacket back to reveal the blood-spattered green and white hoops of a Celtic football top. ‘Not the right colours for this part of the town, son.’
‘I can wear what I want,’ Gavin snapped, then turned and spat a bloody globule of saliva onto the ground.
‘This man is only trying to help, Gavin,’ Lucy said.
‘I don’t need help,’ the boy replied. ‘I need to go, or your boyfriend will be looking for me. He’ll probably phone the cops.’
‘Maybe we should phone them,’ the man muttered to Lucy.
‘I am one,’ she replied. ‘I’ll take him up to the hospital for a check-up, then get him home.’
‘I’m not going to the hospital,’ Gavin said, limping away from them. ‘I’ll walk home myself.’
‘I’ll drive you back at least, Gavin,’ Lucy said.
The boy turned to look at her, then looked around him, as if to see who was watching. ‘Me in a cop’s car? Not a fucking chance.’
Chapter Thirteen
In the end, after walking almost half a mile towards the residential unit with Lucy trailing him slowly in her car, Gavin gave in and agreed to be taken to Casualty. Lucy called Robbie, who was nearing the end of his shift in the unit and was waiting for his replacement for the evening shift. He suggested that if Lucy could take Gavin to A & E, he would come across and relieve her as soon as he was done.
The waiting area in Casualty was busy, though it was early enough in the evening that the habitual drunken injured hadn’t yet begun to seep in. A few obvious fracture injuries were waiting. A young man who had fallen through a pane-glass doorway was rushed through, the blood trailing behind him all the way in, despite his best efforts to stymie its flow from his arm.
Gavin sat sullenly next to Lucy, playing a game on his phone. He slouched low in the seat, his hood pulled up over his head.
Lucy glanced at the phone. ‘Do you play Angry Birds?’
Gavin answered without looking at her. ‘That’s ancient,’ he said.
‘That’s a nice phone. Is it new?’
His head twisted within the hood so she could only see his left eye, squinting suspiciously. ‘I didn’t steal it if that’s what you think.’
‘I didn’t think anything,’ Lucy said, though she was immediately reminded of the new phone Karen Hughes had been given.
‘Anyway, it’s not a phone. It’s an iPod Touch. My granda bought it for me.’
‘It’s nice.’
Gavin grunted in response, then resumed playing.
‘I was sorry about Karen.’
‘It’s shit,’ Gavin muttered. ‘She was nice. When I moved into care, like, she was good to me.’
‘Between your dad’s death and now Karen. I know she wasn’t family or that, but, you know ... it must have been a difficult few weeks for you.’
‘Me da was a useless bastard. No loss that he topped himself.’
Lucy said nothing, glancing across at the couple opposite who were watching them, perhaps attempting to work out how Lucy, in her late twenties, could have a son Gavin’s age.
‘He had issues,’ Gavin offered suddenly, making speech marks in the air with his fingers. ‘So the shrink told me.’
‘The shrink?’
‘They made me see one – a thingie. To talk about it.’
‘How’s that going?’
‘It’s a load of bollocks. She says that loads of men from the Troubles and that are killing themselves now. She says they have inter-somethinged their guilt and anger.’
‘Internalized.’
‘Aye, that’s it.’
The fingers stopped sliding over the screen. ‘What does that mean?’ he asked quietly. ‘I didn’t want to ask her in case she thought I was stupid.’
‘You’re not stupid.’
‘I didn’t say I was. I said I didn’t want to look it. There’s a
‘That wasn’t the crowd I saw you with earlier?’
Gavin shook his head. ‘Nah. The ones you saw me with are my friends. I don’t know who
that
crowd were.’
‘They maybe saw this,’ the man said, pulling the lapels of Gavin’s jacket back to reveal the blood-spattered green and white hoops of a Celtic football top. ‘Not the right colours for this part of the town, son.’
‘I can wear what I want,’ Gavin snapped, then turned and spat a bloody globule of saliva onto the ground.
‘This man is only trying to help, Gavin,’ Lucy said.
‘I don’t need help,’ the boy replied. ‘I need to go, or your boyfriend will be looking for me. He’ll probably phone the cops.’
‘Maybe we should phone them,’ the man muttered to Lucy.
‘I am one,’ she replied. ‘I’ll take him up to the hospital for a check-up, then get him home.’
‘I’m not going to the hospital,’ Gavin said, limping away from them. ‘I’ll walk home myself.’
‘I’ll drive you back at least, Gavin,’ Lucy said.
The boy turned to look at her, then looked around him, as if to see who was watching. ‘Me in a cop’s car? Not a fucking chance.’
Chapter Thirteen
In the end, after walking almost half a mile towards the residential unit with Lucy trailing him slowly in her car, Gavin gave in and agreed to be taken to Casualty. Lucy called Robbie, who was nearing the end of his shift in the unit and was waiting for his replacement for the evening shift. He suggested that if Lucy could take Gavin to A & E, he would come across and relieve her as soon as he was done.
The waiting area in Casualty was busy, though it was early enough in the evening that the habitual drunken injured hadn’t yet begun to seep in. A few obvious fracture injuries were waiting. A young man who had fallen through a pane-glass doorway was rushed through, the blood trailing behind him all the way in, despite his best efforts to stymie its flow from his arm.
Gavin sat sullenly next to Lucy, playing a game on his phone. He slouched low in the seat, his hood pulled up over his head.
Lucy glanced at the phone. ‘Do you play Angry Birds?’
Gavin answered without looking at her. ‘That’s ancient,’ he said.
‘That’s a nice phone. Is it new?’
His head twisted within the hood so she could only see his left eye, squinting suspiciously. ‘I didn’t steal it if that’s what you think.’
‘I didn’t think anything,’ Lucy said, though she was immediately reminded of the new phone Karen Hughes had been given.
‘Anyway, it’s not a phone. It’s an iPod Touch. My granda bought it for me.’
‘It’s nice.’
Gavin grunted in response, then resumed playing.
‘I was sorry about Karen.’
‘It’s shit,’ Gavin muttered. ‘She was nice. When I moved into care, like, she was good to me.’
‘Between your dad’s death and now Karen. I know she wasn’t family or that, but, you know ... it must have been a difficult few weeks for you.’
‘Me da was a useless bastard. No loss that he topped himself.’
Lucy said nothing, glancing across at the couple opposite who were watching them, perhaps attempting to work out how Lucy, in her late twenties, could have a son Gavin’s age.
‘He had issues,’ Gavin offered suddenly, making speech marks in the air with his fingers. ‘So the shrink told me.’
‘The shrink?’
‘They made me see one – a thingie. To talk about it.’
‘How’s that going?’
‘It’s a load of bollocks. She says that loads of men from the Troubles and that are killing themselves now. She says they have inter-somethinged their guilt and anger.’
‘Internalized.’
‘Aye, that’s it.’
The fingers stopped sliding over the screen. ‘What does that mean?’ he asked quietly. ‘I didn’t want to ask her in case she thought I was stupid.’
‘You’re not stupid.’
‘I didn’t say I was. I said I didn’t want to look it. There’s a
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