The Magpies A Psychological Thriller

Seven


The city exits were clogged with traffic, thousands of people leaving the fume-filled greenhouse that London had become as the summer went on, heading for the countryside and the coast. It took almost an hour to get out of London into the spaces of Kent. Jamie drummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Kirsty rummaged through the glove compartment, trying to decide what CD to put on. Paul and Heather were in the back seat. They sat with their legs touching, and they were holding hands, their fingers tightly entwined.

Jamie spotted this in the rearview mirror when they were stuck in gridlock on the outskirts of the city. He turned around, smiling. Kirsty turned to see what Jamie was staring at.

‘Bloody hell! You two! When did this happen?’

Paul and Heather exchanged a look. ‘We weren’t going to tell you the details,’ Paul said. ‘It’s quite embarrassing.’

‘Oh come on. You’ve got to tell us.’ Kirsty turned round as much as her seatbelt would allow. She was thrilled – but also a little disappointed. She’d always hoped that if and when Paul and Heather got together it would because of her matchmaking efforts. Now, it seemed, they had gone and done it without her help.

‘I went to that big Waterstones in Oxford Street on Wednesday night.’ Paul squeezed Heather’s hand. ‘I was just browsing, looking around, you know, trying to find a good book…’

‘Come off it,’ laughed Jamie.

‘Oh, OK. I hold my hands up. I’d read in the Sunday Times that it was a good place to meet women. Intelligent, cultured women. A couple of years ago Tesco was supposed to be the cool place to hang out and meet other single people, but now, apparently, it’s bookshops. So I thought, why not give it a go? What have you got to lose? Besides, I really did need something to read.’

‘So there you were, lurking around the shelves,’ prompted Kirsty.

‘Yes. Actually, I felt pretty stupid. I didn’t know which section to go to. Was there some sort of code I needed to know? I wandered from cookery to economics to modern fiction to crime. I saw a couple of nice-looking women looking at travel books. I was about to go and talk to one of them – she had a book about China and I was going to ask her something inane about whether she’d ever been there – when her boyfriend appeared. So I went for a coffee, and I thought, I’ll have one more go – one more look around – and then I’ll go home.

‘I finished my coffee and went back to the fiction section. I grabbed a book and took up a position on one of the sofas. Then this woman appeared from behind the bookshelves. A vision. It was Heather. It turned out she was there doing exactly the same as me.’

‘Heather!’ Kirsty spluttered.

‘Yes, and I was having about as much luck as him,’ she said.

‘Ah yes,’ said Paul. ‘But your luck was about to change.’

She smiled, leant forward and kissed his cheek. ‘It certainly was. To cut a long story short, we went home together.’

‘And we’re going to hold our wedding at Waterstones,’ said Paul.

Heather slapped his arm lightly. ‘Fool.’

‘For your love.’

Jamie made a retching sound. ‘Please, don’t. I’ll be sick.’

Kirsty nodded at them as they smiled at each other. ‘Well, you certainly look happy together. And, Heather, you can tell me all about it later. In detail. Graphic detail.’

The traffic began to thin out and soon they reached the go-kart track. Chris and Lucy had been driving ahead of them all the way. At one point, shortly after Paul and Kirsty’s revelation, they had almost lost them. But now, here they were, about to reach the venue. Jamie felt the butterflies in his stomach stir. Although he hadn’t admitted as much to any of the others, he felt nervous. He had never been in a go-kart before. He’d played Super Mario Kart on a friend’s Nintendo, but that was as far as it went. Paul had never been karting either, but he was really excited, as he kept telling everyone. But then, Paul had always had a penchant for speedy, adrenalin-generating activities. He had been snowboarding and rock climbing, water-skiing and even bungee-jumping, things that made Jamie – who couldn’t even roller-skate – break out in a cold sweat.

A parking attendant showed them towards a couple of good spots, then the six of them walked towards the entrance. At the pay-booth, Chris produced his membership card and they paid their entrance fees. The woman behind the counter handed over their crash helmets.

‘Where’s yours?’ Jamie said to Lucy.

‘I’m not taking part. It doesn’t really appeal to me. To be honest, I find it too frightening. The karts go so fast.’

Jamie turned his crash helmet over in his hands. He could imagine himself skidding on a patch of oil, crashing into a wall, his go-kart exploding, a fireball consuming him. He imagined himself as one of those horribly-disfigured burn victims, having to undergo reconstructive surgery and being called ‘brave’ by everyone. He could just see it: this would be the point where he cashed his good luck chips in. At times like this he wished he was a woman: it would be much easier to say no; he wouldn’t have this ridiculous masculine front to keep up, whereby if he said he didn’t want to do it, he would be accused of wimping out. He could just imagine Paul ribbing him about it. And Kirsty too. She seemed perfectly relaxed, although a little impatient to get Heather on her own so she could find out the salacious details of her and Paul’s tryst.

‘Are you alright?’ he said to Kirsty.

She nodded. ‘Yes. I can’t wait to get started.’

He smiled weakly. ‘Me neither.’

‘So what are we waiting for?’ said Chris, and he led them outside, Paul and Heather holding hands, Kirsty beside them, Lucy and Jamie following behind.

They found themselves standing in a large, noisy area, the smell of petrol and burnt rubber smoking in the air around them. The track was directly in front of them: a figure of eight, its shape marked out by hundreds of tyres, stacked up to chest height. The go-karts zipped around this track, the racers gripping the steering wheels tightly, moving at great speed, overtaking and being overtaken. The karts buzzed like wasps trapped in bottles, brakes and tyres squealing intermittently as they took sharp turns around corners. The karts came in all colours, patterned with checks and stripes, and each kart had its own number and name on its side. Jamie noticed that all of the drivers were adults: there were a few children hanging around, but they were spectators only. This was an adult sport. He felt sick.

An attendant in dark-blue overalls came over and said hello to Chris. ‘Brought some friends with you, I see. Any of you karted before?’

They all shook their heads.

‘No?’ He chuckled. ‘You’re going to love it. It’s tremendous fun. And these karts are top-of-the-range, with very powerful five horsepower engines. We import them from the States.’

To Jamie’s horror, the man looked at him and said, ‘Hey, mate, you look a bit pasty. Don’t be nervous. You’ll love it.’

Chris clapped Jamie on the shoulder. ‘He’s right, Jamie. It’s really good fun. I was a bit nervous before my first time, but once I was out there, I was fine.’

Jamie nodded, but he didn’t feel very reassured.

‘Where are our karts?’ said Paul. ‘I can’t wait to get started.’

The attendant held up his hands. ‘All in good time. First I have to explain a few rules. First of all, no bumping…’

Jamie tuned out the man’s words and stared at the track. He watched the karts, tearing round and round. He felt awful. He kept having visions of a crash, a wrenching of metal and bone. He looked at the sky, hoping storm clouds might suddenly appear in the clear blue sky and make it too dangerous for them to go onto the track. No such luck.

‘…the right pedal is your accelerator, the left pedal is your brake. Don’t stamp on the brake too hard or you’ll stop with a real jolt. And I wouldn’t recommend putting your foot down too far on the accelerator either. OK. Are we all set?’

They followed the man over to the start-point of the track, where half-a-dozen go-karts sat waiting for them.

‘Right, take your pick. They’re all the same.’

Paul chose a bright red kart, Heather picked a dark green and yellow one, Kirsty chose a blue one and Jamie sat down in a black kart marked with silver stripes. Chris remained where he was.

‘What’s up?’ said Paul, looking up at Chris. ‘Aren’t you joining us?’

Chris gestured beyond the track. ‘This is the beginner’s track, so it’s a bit too tame for me. I’m going to head over to the other track. But I’ll meet up with you later.’ He smiled and said, ‘Have fun,’ then walked off, Lucy following him.

‘Right,’ said the attendant, clapping his hands. ‘Seatbelts and crash helmets on.. Remember, right for speed, left to brake. If you have any problems, give us a shout. Now, away you go.’

Paul put his foot on the accelerator, made a thumbs-up gesture and sped away, joining the other karters, belting around the first corner. Kirsty headed off next, a little more cautiously, then Heather. Jamie sat and stared through his visor, sweat rolling down his forehead. The attendant was looking at him, making a sweeping gesture with his hands, encouraging Jamie to put his foot down. He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, and then his body took over. His legs stretched forward, his feet found the pedals, and his right ankle applied pressure to the accelerator.

He was away.

He shot over the starting line far too fast, overtaking a blue go-kart on its second or third lap. Panicking – thinking he was going to crash – he took his left foot off the pedal and his go-kart almost stopped. He heard a screech of brakes behind him as a kart nearly crashed into his tail, and the driver of that kart shook her head at him as she went by. Jamie knew he had to get moving, so he gently applied pressure to the pedal. His kart sped up, and once he was moving at a reasonable speed he kept his foot steady. He rounded the first corner, then the second. Paul sped past him, as did Kirsty, who waved. He couldn’t wave back as he wasn’t confident enough to take either hand off the wheel. But then, as he began his second lap, he realised to his surprise that he was enjoying himself.

He started to go faster, taking corners more confidently, even overtaking a few people, including Heather and then Kirsty. He waved at her. Paul was still bombing around the track in his bright-red kart at almost twice the speed as some of the others. Jamie couldn’t believe he hadn’t done it before, but he had no reason to lie. He was clearly a natural. Or maybe now he had found a girlfriend he felt capable of anything, and that added confidence had turned him into a superstar karter. Jamie was pleased about Paul and Heather. Not just because he was tired of listening to Paul bemoaning his lack of luck with women and saying how dearly he needed a shag, but also because he wanted Paul to be happy. Paul was a good bloke, and a good friend. He deserved to be happy. It was an added bonus that he was going out with Heather. They didn’t have to worry about Paul introducing a new girl into their circle, a girl that they might not get on with. In fact, it was good news all round. They could go out as a foursome – maybe even go on holiday together. That might be a laugh.

He kept on karting for another hour, although the time seemed to go much quicker. Jamie saw Kirsty slow down and head off the track, then Heather did the same, and he followed. Paul kept going.

Jamie got out of his kart and pulled off his helmet, then went over to Kirsty and kissed her. ‘That was fantastic,’ he said.

She nodded. ‘I know. But I need a drink.’

‘Me too,’ said Heather. She looked back at the track, following Paul’s go-kart with her eyes.

The attendant that had spoken to them earlier came over. ‘Your friend’s very good,’ he said. ‘Very few people pick it up as quickly as him.’

‘That’s my boyfriend,’ said Heather.

‘And she’s so proud,’ laughed Jamie.

They headed off towards the cafe, where Lucy was already ensconced, nursing a cup of tea. When she saw them come in, her face did that thing that Jamie had noticed before, flicking from a frown to a smile in a peculiar instant. Jamie, Kirsty and Heather went over to join her.

‘Having fun?’ Lucy asked.

They chorused their enthusiastic assent. Jamie went over to the counter to buy lunch and the women sat down. Lucy had a novel lying in front of her, but it looked untouched, with no bookmark protruding from the virgin-white pages.

‘Aren’t you bored, sitting in here on your own?’ Kirsty asked.

‘Not at all. It’s nice to get some peace and quiet. It’s so important to me – silence is something I treasure, but I experience it so rarely.’ She looked right into Kirsty’s eyes. ‘Anyway, I’ve been watching Chris most of the morning – but it got a bit noisy out there so I came in here. Is Paul still out there?’

‘Oh yes,’ Heather grinned. ‘He’s having a fabulous time.’

Kirsty nudged her. ‘He’s a real speed freak, isn’t he. Is he speedy at everything?’

‘No way. The Paul I’m coming to know is slow and gentle.’

Jamie returned with a tray of teas and chips. ‘Stop it, please, or I’ll throw up.’ He sat down. ‘Actually, I’m really pleased you two got together.’

Heather’s smile widened. ‘So am I.’

‘Why didn’t you admit that you fancied him?’ said Kirsty. ‘We could have fixed you up long ago.’

‘Well, I did try dropping hints. Quite explicit ones, if I remember correctly. But we’re together now, that’s the important thing.’

Kirsty touched her friend’s hand. ‘You seem really happy.’

‘I am. It’s all happened so fast – this great rush of emotion. A thunderclap, almost. Now I feel like we’ve wasted years and we’ve got so much to catch up on. Paul’s so funny and sweet and…’

‘Behind you,’ said Jamie.

They looked up. Paul had come into the cafe, his fringe stuck to his brow where he had been sweating beneath his crash helmet. He came over, bent down to kiss Heather on the lips, then said, ‘This is so excellent. I love it. It’s brilliant.’

‘We thought you were having a good time,’ said Jamie.

‘Too right. But now I want a go on the other track.’

Lucy said, ‘Well, here’s Chris. He’ll take you over to that track if you want.’ She looked up at Chris as he came over, swinging his crash helmet in his right hand. ‘Paul wants a go on the advanced track.’

‘Does he? The big boys’ track. Do you think you’re ready then, mate?’

Paul nodded. ‘Ready, willing and able.’

Chris looked at his watch. ‘Come on then. No time like the present.’

‘Aren’t you going to stop for a drink?’ asked Heather.

Paul kissed her quickly. ‘I won’t be long. I’ll just give Chris a quick thrashing, then I’ll be back.’

‘A quick thrashing? You’re hoping, mate. You might just catch a glimpse of me in the distance.’

They walked out together.

‘Boys,’ said Kirsty, sipping her tea.

‘He won’t beat Chris though,’ said Lucy, seriously. ‘Nobody ever does.’

Heather looked at her. ‘We’ll see.’

They stayed in the café for another half-hour, finishing their drinks and eating their chips. They stayed there until they heard the bang.

The bang was audible across the whole park, reverberating from the advanced track, above the heads of the spectators, over to the beginner’s track and the cashier’s booth. In the cafeteria, it made everyone turn their heads towards the door. A communal look of concern spread from face to face, and Jamie felt all the blood drain from his. He knew it in an instant: something terrible had happened to Paul.

He jumped to his feet. ‘I’ve got to go and see,’ he said in a tremulous voice.

Kirsty stood up and grabbed his arm. Around them, other people were standing up, drifting over to the windows and door to see if they could catch a glimpse of what was going on. ‘We’ll come with you.’

They headed towards the door. Jamie broke into a run as soon as they got outside, Kirsty, Heather and Lucy following close behind. He pushed through the maddening crowd, headed towards the advanced track. Further ahead, he could see half-a-dozen blue-overalled attendants running in the same direction. Two of them were carrying a stretcher.

The crowd thickened nearer the track, and as they got closer Jamie could smell smoke. He ran to the front of the crowd, stopping where the go-karts were lined up, ready to take people on the ride of their lives.

Somebody was lying on the track near the starting line, surrounded by medics and attendants. Two medics laid the stretcher on the ground and the process began of shifting the person onto the stretcher. As they lifted the person Kirsty, Heather and Lucy arrived by Jamie’s side and the person’s face became visible.

Jamie saw Chris standing there, looking down at Paul on the stretcher.

Heather cried out.

She ran towards the wall of tyres and tried to throw herself over it, panicking so much she didn’t realise that a few feet to the right was a gap which would have allowed her onto the track without this athletic display. She shouted, ‘Paul!’ and as she hurtled over the top of the tyres, she was caught by two of the attendants, who stopped her from throwing herself on her prone boyfriend.

Jamie, Kirsty and Lucy moved around the wall of tyres onto the track. Chris was standing over the other side. Jamie saw him look at Lucy, then look away.

Jamie caught hold of an attendant’s arm. ‘What happened? Is he dead? Tell me!’’

It was the same man who had advised them earlier. He wiped his face with his sleeve. ‘No, he’s not dead.’

Jamie exhaled with relief. He could see Heather, just a few feet away, kneeling beside Paul, tears rolling down her cheeks.

‘What happened?’

The man looked over at Chris – whose face was downcast, staring at the track – then back at Jamie.

‘Your friend and Chris had been bombing round the track, racing. Paul won by quite a big gap. He crossed the finishing line and came into the pits here. He took off his helmet, unfastened his seatbelt and stood up, ready to get out of his kart. I could see his face from here. He looked dead proud of himself.’

He shook his head. ‘Then it happened. Chris came up to the finishing line with another kart right on his tail. As Chris hit the finishing line he slowed right down, not realising, I guess, that the other guy was so close behind him. The other driver didn’t have a chance to brake – he swerved right into the pits and into the back of Paul’s go-kart. As he hit the kart the fuel tank exploded – Paul was thrown out. There was an explosion – a great ball of flame, I’m sure you must have heard the bang – and it was like he flew out of the flames. Landed right there, where you see him now. God, he hit his head hard.’ The attendant swallowed. He looked green.

‘What happened to the other driver?’ Kirsty asked. ‘Is he alright?’

The attendant pointed towards a man sitting beside the track with a blanket around his shoulders and a smoke-blackened face. ‘He’ll be OK. I think he’s just in shock.’

An ambulance arrived, its siren wailing. It stopped next to Jamie and the others and the paramedics lifted the stretcher and carried Paul inside. Heather climbed in with him. The other driver was helped in by one of the attendants.

Kirsty spoke to the paramedics who told her they were taking Paul to the hospital in Bromley.

‘We’ll follow them in the car,’ said Jamie. ‘Come on, Kirsty. Oh, hang on.’ He’d remembered Chris and Lucy.

Lucy had crossed the track and was standing talking to her husband. Jamie was about to ask them if they were going to come to the hospital, then he felt a surge of anger and thought, F*ck them. If it wasn’t for Chris they wouldn’t be here. And Paul wouldn’t be in the back of an ambulance with his head all smashed up. He would talk to them later – but for now, he was only interested in his best friend.

‘Never mind. He followed Kirsty towards the car park, holding tightly onto her hand as they squeezed between rows of stationary cars to get to their own. ‘I knew something was going to happen,’ he said. ‘But I thought it was going to be me.’

Kirsty just looked at him, her expression unreadable. ‘Let’s get to the hospital.’