Warhol's Prophecy

86

‘HE HURT YOU, so I hurt him.’

David Layton sat back on the sofa, gazing at the television set. He took a swig from the can of Special Brew he held.

Sandy Bennett looked at him, her face expressionless.

‘I thought you would have thanked me,’ Layton continued.

‘What exactly did you do?’ she wanted to know.

‘I taught him not to fuck around with my sister,’ Layton said.

Sandy switched the TV off.

‘I was watching that,’ Layton proclaimed with mock indignation.

‘I want to know what you did,’ she repeated.

‘What’s your fucking problem? This bastard Gibson had been messing you around. You said that yourself. He sacked you. You loved him, Sandy, and he took advantage of you. You told me that.’

He drained what was left in the can and crushed it in his fist.

‘What am I supposed to do?’ he continued. ‘Sit around like a cunt while somebody makes my sister look like an idiot?’ He shook his head. ‘No way. He got what was coming to him. He’s lucky he didn’t get it worse.’

‘How long has this been going on?’ she demanded.

He shrugged. ‘A couple of weeks, on and off.’

‘And what exactly did you do?’

‘I frightened him a bit, that’s all. Played a couple of little tricks on him.’ Layton smiled crookedly. ‘I wasn’t going to sit back and see you used, Sandy. I know you: you would have let him get away with it. He fucks around with you, gets fed up, and goes running back to his wife and kid. Now he knows he can’t get away with it.’

Sandy ran a hand through her hair and glared at her brother.

‘How badly is he hurt?’ she wanted to know.

‘Does it matter?’

‘Yes, it matters,’ she rasped.

‘We put him in hospital.’

‘We?’

‘Russell Poole helped me. He owed me a favour, and he seems to enjoy things like that.’ Again that twisted smile.

‘I don’t believe this,’ Sandy said quietly. ‘You could have killed him.’

‘He’s lucky we didn’t. Like I said, it’ll teach him not to fuck around with you again.’

‘Am I supposed to thank you for this, Dave?’ she snapped.

He looked blankly at her.

‘I told you that it was over between Rob and me – that he’d sacked me.’

‘You said you loved him.’

‘Perhaps I did. But I didn’t ask you to start some sort of bloody vendetta against him. I didn’t ask you to put him in hospital. Jesus Christ, if the police find out it’s you, you’ll be back inside again.’

‘Let me worry about that. Besides, they won’t find out, will they? The only two people who know what’s happened are Russell and you. And Russell’s not going to open his mouth.’ He looked accusingly at her. ‘The only one who can grass me up now is you. But why would you want to do that? I did you a favour. What are brothers for, eh?’ He chuckled.

‘I never wanted this,’ she said quietly.

‘Well, you got it. Perhaps you should be thanking me.’ Layton got to his feet and took a step towards her. ‘And I’ll tell you something else: if he ever comes near you again, I will kill him. Him, his wife and his fucking kid.’