The Magpies A Psychological Thriller - By Mark Edwards Page 0,66
and Kirsty had got married without telling or inviting them.
And most of all, he worried about Lucy and Chris. What would they do next? Would they play that awful music again? He felt as if there were two invisible trolls living underneath him – these malicious entities that he never saw, only heard or heard from. He wondered if they should move out, then reaffirmed his determination that they had to stay. At the end of his cycle of worries, he always fell asleep with two people on his mind: not Kirsty and their unborn child, as it should be, but Lucy and Chris.
What are you going to do about it?
The day after his big scene with Paul, he had been standing in the gents toilet at work, drying his hands. The door opened and Mike came in. He nodded hello to Jamie then stood at the urinal and unzipped. There was no-one else around.
Jamie finished blow-drying his hands and paused. He didn’t want to go back to his desk. He had so much work to be getting on with. He had fallen seriously behind recently, putting all his hardest tasks to the bottom of the pile, even though he knew that was the last thing he should do. A software system he had installed at a school in Colindale was playing up and the headmaster had been on the phone urging him to sort it out. Jamie went down to the school and found that the printers only worked erratically, the internet connection was stupidly slow and the system kept crashing. He couldn’t work out what was wrong with it but didn’t want to admit as much, so he tinkered with it and went home. Now, the headmaster was on the phone every day, growing ever more irate. Jamie left his voicemail on and didn’t return his calls. He knew it was only a matter of time before his manager got involved, but the whole thing made him feel sick with weariness. There were more important things going on than the headmaster’s stupid computer system.
He leaned into the mirror and studied the bags beneath his eyes. God, he looked rough – rougher than a cat’s tongue. He stuck out his own tongue. It was white and furry. Gross.
‘You look terrible,’ said Mike, turning around and zipping up his fly.
‘Thanks.’
‘What is it? More problems with your neighbours?’
‘How did you guess.’
Mike shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t know how you put up with it, Jamie, I really don’t.’
Jamie sighed and pushed himself up from the sink. ‘Well what do you suggest I do?’
Mike put his hands up. ‘Hey, don’t get angry with me.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m just so tired and it makes me irritable.’
‘I understand.’
They were silent for a moment. Mike turned on the tap and rinsed his hands. He turned to look at Jamie and dropped his voice. ‘Look, if you want to sort these two out, get them out of your hair, I might know a couple of people who could help you.’
Jamie stared at him, then laughed.
‘No, don’t laugh. I’m serious.’
‘What do you mean by sorting them out?’
Mike shrugged. ‘What do you think? Scare them a bit. Tell them to leave you alone.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘These blokes I know would be happy to help. And it wouldn’t cost you much. Actually, they owe me a favour so they might even do it for the price of a pint.’
Jamie shook his head. ‘This is like some gangland film. I mean, are these people gangsters?’
Mike snorted. ‘No. They’d love to be described as gangsters, but they’re just a couple of hardmen.’
‘It’s crazy.’
‘No, the people who live downstairs from you are crazy. And surely the most important thing is to protect yourself and your loved ones from crazy people like them.’
Jamie was silent for a moment. ‘Why are you so keen to help? What’s in it for you?’
Mike shrugged. ‘You helped me out a lot when I first started here. You showed me the ropes. In fact, when I started I thought everyone here was a wanker. Except you. So this is my chance to return the favour.’
Jamie furrowed his brow. He remembered how when Mike had started it had been his job to desk-train him and show him around. He didn’t remember being particularly kind to him – nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Still, that first impression must have stuck in Mike’s head.