Page 50 of Doubting Hearts

“Because Neil’s dad is convincing him to lay a charge of GBH against Toby. Neil says Toby started it, came on to him, wouldn’t take no for an answer, and Neil defended himself. And if Neil hadn’t come around, I imagine the charge might have been a higher one.”

My mouth dropped open, and Tammy gave a small cry of distress. “It’s the bloody Landon shit all over again!” I spluttered. “How the hell can they lie like that?”

Lucas sighed. “I was talking to the doc, so I heard what was being said between Webber and Neil’s dad. I eavesdropped… that’s why I was gone so long. They had no idea who I was. I know they probably won’t get it to stick, but it could make things really uncomfortable for Toby.” He went quiet. “Rain, you won’t want to hear this, but Toby’s got form.” His use of the English vernacular to tell me that Toby had a previous conviction with the police was a little startling.

I shook my head vehemently. “Toby doesn’t have ‘form.’ He had that incident with an ex-boss that went bad, but the charges were dropped. So, they can’t hold that against him.”

Lucas looked a little more uncomfortable, and I groaned. “What else do you know?”

“I heard Dave Webber talking to that huge bloke. I think he’s Neil’s dad?” He looked at Tammy for verification, and Tammy nodded. Lucas sighed. “Apparently Dave Webber looked up all the stuff on Toby when the last incident happened when he smacked his boss with a saucepan. He found out that Toby had a juvenile record from when he was fifteen, for arson.”

I sat back, stunned. “Arson? What the hell did he set on fire, then?” “A house with three of his fellow foster brethren in it.”

There was a deathly silence in the room. Tammy and I looked at each other.

“He set a house on fire with people in it?” My voice was just a whisper.

Lucas shrugged. “That’s all I heard on that one.” The tone of his voice left no doubt there was something else.

“Jesus, Lucas, what else did you hear?” I could hear the fearful note in my voice.

Lucas looked over at the ward where Toby sat. “He had an altercation when he was sixteen with some guy at a pub he was living in. Chap called Ricky Smith. The police got called to the scene, and they found Ricky at the bottom of the stairs with a broken leg and a head injury. Toby was at the top of the stairs. They thought he’d pushed the guy.” His voice went quiet.

I thought dazedly I might just have fallen down a long rabbit hole. It was all so surreal that the man I’d been making love to all these months could have that level of anger and violence in him when he’d never shown it to me.

Lucas carried on, his voice sympathetic. “But this Ricky guy wouldn’t press charges. He said he’d tripped and fallen. It just went on Toby’s police file. But according to Webber, the juvenile conviction for the arson is spent, which means they can’t use it. He sounded really disappointed.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t profess to know the ins and out of the UK justice system, but it looks like Toby’s history is all old hat, thank God. But the way they were talking, that doesn’t mean they’ll make life easier for him. They’ll drag anything out of the old cupboard if it means they can get back at him somehow.”

My head spun. Toby had so many secrets about his past. On the surface he was just Toby, but underneath he was turning out to be a really complicated sod.

Tammy’s face was even paler. “I knew about the thing with his ex- boss. And I knew that he’d done something bad when he was fifteen and ran away. But I didn’t know the full story. Toby just said he got into trouble with the police when his foster mates hazed him, and he hurt one of them. He was arrested but then let off. I just thought he’d been in a fight or something, not that he’d set fire to a house.”

All three of us looked at each other somberly. Lucas took Tammy back to the hotel, promising to call me later. I went in to see Toby lying back, his eyes watchful.

“What was the secret huddle all about?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.

I shrugged. “Lucas was just telling me that the posse’s arrived to try to discredit your story. But don’t worry. We’ll sort it all out.”

His lips thinned. “How’s Neil?”

I sat down. “He’s awake. I’m not sure how healthy he is, because apparently you whacked him really hard, but I think he’ll survive.”

“I lost it, Rain,” he said softly. “I thought I might have killed him.” His voice cracked.

I reached over to clasp his hand. “He’s going to be fine. And you had every reason to fight back, Toby. The man had just tried to skewer you.”

“Have the police been called? I imagine they’ll be lurking around somewhere.”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, I—”

“You fucking little wanker!” The strong Northern tones of a man blared stridently into the room as we both looked up in alarm to see a bald man built like a wrestler at the entrance to Toby’s room. “You hit my son such a hard one you fractured his bloody skull! They should bloody lock you away!”

I stood up and glared at the man, who I imagined was Digger. Another man, Dave Webber, appeared behind him. “Your son shouldn’t have been trying to use Toby for target practice, then, should he?” I snarled as Toby’s face whitened. “It was he who started it all.”

“This little bastard is a menace to society,” spat Digger. “He’s got form, he has.”

“I can tell you his form is a damn sight nicer than yours is, you shaven Neanderthal.” I was getting more riled. “Besides, I understand that any previous fucking ‘form’ is not relevant, so fuck off and go try your bully tactics somewhere else. Leave my boyfriend alone.”

Dave Webber stepped into the room, his face bland. “Now, now, chaps. This is a hospital. Let’s have a little bit of civility here.” He looked at Toby with a false smile. “Prentiss, obviously Digger here is a little upset that you fractured his boy’s skull. You seem to make a habit of that, don’t you? Burning down houses with people in them and pushing old geezers down the stairs.”