Whisper My Last Goodbye Read online

  Harpur spoke in an excited tone. She’d been waiting all morning to tell her this. “Did you look on Facebook then?”

  Bridget was concentrating as she carried on doing her lashes. “For what? I don’t know what I’m even looking for. You were like a woman possessed before. I haven’t got the foggiest what you’re going on about. You speak in riddles woman. How am I supposed to know if you’ve not told me?”

  Harpur was excited, her eyes wide open, she licked her lips slowly and fanned her hand in front of her face. She was ready to unveil her gossip. “You never guess who is on Facebook? Go on, see if you can figure it out.”

  Bridget sighed heavily, she was in no mood for games today. She hated it when her friend did this to her. Patience wasn’t one of her good points. She urged her to continue. “Just get to the point. We both have to be in work soon so hurry up and tell me. You’re doing my head in now.” Harpur edged forward and her voice was low as if she was about to uncover the world’s biggest secret. She licked the corners of her lips slowly and sat twiddling her hair, cheeks blushing. Bridget shot a look at her and raised her eyes again. She was losing her rag for sure. “For crying out loud, are you going to tell me or what? You know I hate guessing games. And, as you already know I’m shite at them. So crack on with it, otherwise you’ll be here all day.”

  Harpur smirked and dipped her eyes, she played with her gold wedding ring, twisting it slowly on her finger. “I was flicking through the statuses this morning on Facebook and there he was as one of the people I might know. You know when they give you a list of people who are friends of your friends so you can add them?”

  Bridget was listening now, she closed the small mirror and tapped her finger on her front tooth with interest. She urged her to continue, she’d grabbed her full attention now. “Yeah, yeah, I always find old friends on there. So, come on, who’s popped up. The suspense is killing me?”

  Here it was, the moment she’d been waiting for all morning. Harpur looked around and reached over and touched Bridget’s fingertips. “I couldn’t believe it. A blast from the past. There he was, just there and my heart was like, is that really him?”

  Bridget was chomping at the bit, she needed to know who she was going on about, her patience was wearing thin. “Bleeding hell, who was? You’re doing my nut in now, just tell me for crying out loud before I lose all faith and keel over and die.”

  Harpur took a deep breath and even his name on her lips made her heart skip a beat. “Dessie Ryan.” Harpur sniggered like a young school girl, cheeks getting brighter by the second.

  Bridget’s jaw dropped low and for a few seconds she was speechless. Whoever this man was, they both blushed thinking about him. Bridget shook her head slowly and swallowed hard as she continued. This wasn’t good news. Dessie Ryan broke Harpur’s heart many years ago when she was just a teenager and Bridget knew this was a code red, dangerous ground. Harpur kept her voice low and continued. “I’m as gobsmacked as you. I mean, I’ve not seen him for over thirty-odd years. I was seventeen when I last seen him. Anyway, he looks more or less the same as before, a bit rougher around the edges but I knew it was him the minute I seen his profile photograph.”

  Whoa, what on earth was going on here, this woman was heading for disaster, she needed to back off now before it was too late. Bridget gave her head a shake and her expression was serious. She focused on her best friend and made sure she heard what she was saying. “You two were like dynamite when you were together. How long did you go out with him for now?”

  Harpur closed her eyes and tried to work it out. “I think it was about a year. And, as I remember, he was the feisty one not me. He just wound me up all the time.”

  Bridget sniggered and covered her mouth with her hand. “Bloody hell, what a turn up for the books. Dessie was an alright lad, a bit of a heartthrob if I remember rightly. What happened with you two anyway? As far as I remember, one minute you were together and the next you wouldn’t even speak his name. What happened, refresh my memory?”

  Harpur folded her arms tightly across her chest and her nostrils flared as she became defensive. She gritted her teeth tightly together. It was obvious she was getting angry. “He was a tosser, he cheated on me. Don’t tell me you don’t remember that? I hated the girl he cheated on me with too. Wendy O’Malley. See, I still remember her name.” Bridget pulled herself straight and watched her friend with a close eye as she continued talking. “We could have been good together but I found out he was seeing someone else and…” she paused and started to rub at her arms as some goosebumps started to appear on them. “And to put it in a nutshell, I walked away and met that bastard who led me a dog’s life. The rest is history.”

  Bridget reached over and patted her arm softly. “Sorry love, it was years ago. I just forgot that’s all. You know what my memory is like. I have a memory span of a goldfish I do, sorry.” Bridget hadn’t forgot, she just pretended she had. How could she have forgotten something like this? Harpur had been heartbroken, Dessie had left her in a right state. Harpur closed her eyes and for a split second she looked like she was going to burst out crying. Taking a few deep breaths, she started to regain her composure. This wasn’t the time or the place to discuss her past. It hurt too much, it ruined her day.

  Bridget pulled her phone from her bag and logged into Facebook. She had to have a look for herself and see what all the fuss was about. She was a right nosy cow. “I better have a butcher’s at him then and see what’s got your head into a spin hadn’t I? It’s obvious you still fancy him otherwise why would you have me sat here talking about him.”

  Harpur growled and screwed her face up. There was no way she still had feelings for him, she just found it interesting that a guy she’d not spoken to for years was now on Facebook. Her tone changed and she was cocky. “Who said I fancy him? I just thought I’d tell you that’s all. Dessie Ryan is a pain in the arse. He’s full of himself. He always thought he was God’s gift to women. I’ve been there and done that, got the t-shirt so to speak. He had his chance with me and blew it.”

  Bridget ignored her comment and started to search for Dessie on the social network. Once she found his profile picture, she sat back and gasped her breath. She examined the screen very carefully. “Oh, now I see what you mean. Is that really him?” Bridget sat gawping at the snap and enlarged it on her screen. She smirked over at her friend. “Yes, that’s him alright, look at his blue eyes, bloody hell he’s not lost his looks has he?”

  Harpur snarled over at her friend. “And, what? I have! That man was always punching above his weight when he was dating me and he knew it.”

  Bridget just spoke out of turn and said whatever was on her tongue. “If that was the case why did he cheat on you? You couldn’t have been all that if he had to go elsewhere. Did you have sex with him or what?”

  Harpur checked around her and kept her voice low, she was embarrassed. “No, I bleeding didn’t. I was only young. We just played about, nothing more. What do you take me for some kind of a slapper?”

  Bridget sniggered and remembered her own childhood with a cheeky grin. “No wonder he pissed you off then. Didn’t I always tell you, you was frigid. Everyone in school was having a bit of slap and tickle. Come on, you must have had a touch of it?” Harpur was beetroot and Bridget knew exactly what she was doing to her. Harpur was always a private person and to discuss her sexual activities was something she rarely did. Well, until she was pissed and then she’d tell her everything. All the nitty gritty stuff too, she left nothing to the imagination. When she’d met Neil she never shut up about sex with him. Let’s just say he wasn’t the best in the bedroom and she had to put a big amount of work into that department to make him reach any kind of standard. Her mates had laughed long and hard over this subject and after years of training Neil was finally hitting the bar, or at least trying to. Bridget could see Harpur was interested in this bloke and she did a bit of her own groundwork to see if her gut feeling was right. “Anyway, he’s old news now is
n’t he? He had a shot at the title with you and messed it up, so why would you even give him the time of day anymore? His loss not yours.”

  Oh, this girl was clever, she just knew how to set the ball in motion and find out exactly what was going on in her friend’s head. She watched her from the corner of her eye as she started to log out of the social media site. “Yes you’re right. He messed up with me and I deserved better. Thanks for reminding me about that, love. It's just what I needed to hear.”

  Bridget was going for gold here and she was dangling the carrot right in front of her friend’s nose, testing her. “Add him, there is no harm in that is there? I mean, you were friends years ago so at least you can chat about the days gone by. It’s not like you two will ever run away together is it?”

  Harpur drained the last bit of coffee from her cup and changed the subject quickly. “I’ve got to go around to my mam’s later. She was in a right state this morning when she rang me. I can’t cope with my own grief and hers on top of it as well. Every time I go there, it’s like I have to relive our Brady’s death all over again. I swear Bridget, all she does is talk about him and the things he used to do. She makes him out like he was a saint. Has she forgotten the misery he brought to her door? The endless nights of no sleep worrying about him?”

  Bridget nodded her head and sighed. “He was the apple of her eye love, what do you expect?”

  “I know, but please agree with me on this one. Our Brady has always been a handful, you know that more than anyone, right? Even growing up he was a little swine. My mother was never away from the police station with him.”

  “It’s just all so sad that’s all. I’m not agreeing with anything she does. But, I could never imagine losing a child. How do you ever get over something like that? My heart goes out to her.”

  Harpur rubbed at her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “If anything happened to my kids, touch wood,” Harpur placed her hand quickly on the wooden table as a good luck gesture. “I’d never get over it. But it just keeps playing on my mind what happened to Brady. You know as well as me what our kid was into but to do what he’d done? It just doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t add up. There is more to it, I just know it,” Harpur closed her eyes slightly but carried on speaking. “My mam has told me to let sleeping dogs lie but I have my own suspicions about what happened. And you know me once I get a bee in my bonnet, I won’t let it go until I find out the truth.”

  There was an eerie silence and Harpur clenched her teeth tightly together. Bridget started to click her fingers in front of her face and brought her back to the moment. “Right, I better move this fat arse of mine to work. Are we still meeting up later? You can come to my house. The football is on so Neil won’t even know you’re missing will he?”

  Harpur raised her eyebrows high. “You can say that again. I could walk around the room completely naked and that man wouldn’t move a muscle if the football was on. I’m sure he’s turned on by it. I swear to you, it’s the only time he’s happy when he’s watching a ball being kicked about. I would rather stick hot pins in my eyes than watch a load of men chasing a ball around for ninety minutes,” her eyes were wide open. “And he has the cheek to call me boring,” she played with her hands and let out her breath. “Yes, I’ll be round at your house later. I’ll bring some wine, we can get pissed and put the world to rights like we always do on a football night.”

  Bridget grabbed her handbag and pecked Harpur on the cheek. Just before she left her she sniggered. “Add Dessie, go on I dare you. Do it for a laugh. Let’s see what he’s up to. He might be the excitement you need in your life to keep you going with that fossil you married.”

  Harpur burst out laughing and all the other café folk sat there staring over at her. What was so funny? Had they missed something or what? Blushing, she hurried out of the coffee shop behind Bridget. “Bleeding hell, shoot us for laughing. Did you see their faces in there, have they never heard laughter before? Miserable gets they are.” The women left the coffee shop together.

  Bridget headed off in the opposite direction to her friend. She shouted back over her shoulder. “Remember to add him. I want all the juicy gossip later on when you come around to my house. Live a little, ay.”

  Harpur waved as she watched Bridget waddle away in the distance. Perhaps she would add Dessie. It was only a bit of fun, what was the worst that could happen anyway? He was old news; an old flame that had dwindled years ago. Yes, she was going to send him a friend request, why the hell not.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Harpur locked the car and headed down the path towards her mother’s house. Just before she reached the gate she twisted her head back to see a black car in the distance parking up. Her blood was boiling and she stopped dead in her tracks. How dare he show his face around here after what had happened! He knew she was gunning for him. This lad had more front than Blackpool. There he was in his full glory. Paul Burton, the drug dealer. “Look at you, you smarmy bastard,” she whispered under her breath. This man was the root of all evil in her eyes. He’d been supplying the local junkies for as long as she could remember. Yes, he had a nice car and all the top swag but did he have a clear conscience? How could this prick sleep at night knowing how much misery he was bringing into people’s lives? Everybody knew what he was doing and not once had anyone shopped him for his seedy ways. The police must have been aware of his activities, he’d been doing it for years. This prick had supplied her brother with drugs too, she knew that for a fact because Brady was always caught talking with him. She hated him with a passion and in the past she’d had a right few run-ins with him. She wasn’t scared of Paul and he knew it. Harpur stood still, observing his every move. She watched a man walk to the car and bend down slightly. Her neck stretched and she was waiting for the drugs to be exchanged for cash. She didn’t have to wait long either. There it was, the switch had taken place. Her fist clenched tightly together at the side of her legs and she gritted her teeth hard. She was on the move. What the hell was she doing, she was heading straight for him, guns blazing. Her heels clipped along the pavement at speed. There was no stopping her now, she was on a mission. Harpur marched to the passenger side of the car and banged her flat palm on the window. Her voice was loud. “Oi! Fucking Charlie big spuds, fuck off from around here and go and sell drugs where you live. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough misery around here! Go on, piss off before I ring the dibble on you myself.” What had happened to Harpur? She never spoke like this, she was raging.

  Paul’s window slowly slid down and he lifted the peak of his cap up to get a better look at her. Once he’d clocked her face he shook his head and smirked. This guy had no respect for nobody. “Listen, you fucking do-gooder. Do one, before I run you over. I don’t know what your problem is with me, just leave me alone. I’ve told you a hundred times before that your kid was a dirty smackhead that killed himself, so don’t be looking to push the blame onto me because he topped himself. He was better off dead anyway if you ask me.”

  Harpur was raging, colour draining from her face. This guy was pushing her now. “Oh, you cheeky heartless prick. You know what my problem is and you know in time the truth will come out. You killed my brother. You give him the drugs and you supplied him with them anytime he wanted them. Don’t you realise what you are doing to people’s lives? You daft little ferret?”

  The passenger in the car started to snigger, he covered his mouth with his hand quickly. Harpur was right, Paul did look like a ferret. He had two large teeth at the front of his mouth and his face looked as if someone had squashed it tightly together. Paul shot a look at the person riding shotgun and growled over at him. “Ay, bollock head, don’t encourage her. She’s a crank. Leave it out ay before I one bomb you?”

  Harpur reached her hand inside the car and tried to grab at his neck. Her eyes were dancing with madness and by the looks of her she meant business. Paul tried to wriggle free and struggled to twist the key in the ignition. This woman was wil
d and she was out to damage him. Harpur was being dragged now as the car started to move off. Her head was still inside the window and her grip was strong on his windpipe. She wanted to end his life, to make sure he never breathed again. She was screaming at the top of her voice and the neighbours were out at their garden fences watching all the commotion from a distance. Her mother Sheila was there too, shaking like a leaf, head hung low. Nothing would stop these bastards. She had been at war with the drug dealers in the area for years and nothing ever changed. They were a law unto themselves and they would never listen to an old woman.

  Sheila held the bottom of her back and staggered towards her daughter, screaming at the top of her voice. “Harpur, just walk away, let him go. They will get their comeuppance one day. Just leave it love, let them crawl back under the rock they came from. They’re scum, dirty lowlife people who prey on others when they hit rock bottom.”