Who Are You?: With one click she found her perfect man. And he found his perfect victim. A true story of the ultimate deception.. Megan Henley
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really drank socially, but he could see the damage it did to others. He really did mix in an amazing world.
‘With my family, it’s best to keep on your toes,’ he told me. ‘It’s best to not get involved in anything that can dull your senses. You never know who’s watching, who’s behind you.’
It was incredible that he was such a success, given all he had to think about. It would have been easy for him to just slide into a life of threats and violence, to take his place in the gypsy hierarchy, but I found him inspirational in the way he had made his own way and rejected all of that.
When we finally parted company, we hugged, and I was glad that Vic had been able to confide in me. No one should have to face his challenges alone, and the more people he had on his side, the better. I was so glad to have had the chance to meet him, but, to be honest, had no plans to meet again. I was used to picking up ‘waifs and strays’, but I’d never expected that it would be something that would cause me such hurt; and I certainly had no idea that, this time, a trap had been set.
Chapter 3
September 2009–November 2009
I didn’t know whether telling me such upsetting things had distressed Vic more than he let on, but within days of our meeting he posted that he was going to stop work for a while to deal with ‘personal stuff’. StreetBeats would be kept going by Valerie, and the two other members of the collective he’d spoken about, Leah and Clare. I was soon getting messages from all three, who were always friendly and chatty, although clearly worried about Vic.
In one of her first comments to me, Leah said:
We all so glad he met you Megan. He not stopped talking about you and how he felt he could tell you anything. For Vic to have that sort of instant connection with anyone is so special – he a friendly guy, but quite guarded given his background. You good for him!
It turned out that Leah was Belgian, so her English was sometimes a little erratic, but a million times better than my attempts at any other language! Clare agreed with what her colleague and friend had said:
Vic’s having hard time but u have made it so much better. When he came back from meeting u he had obviously got so much out of his system. Think that’s where he got strength to take a bit of time out. Thanks hun xx
They all told me that meeting me had been the only positive thing to happen to Vic in a long while. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by them, they were all so nice, but I do admit to being flattered. I’d broken up with Christopher and sworn off men for a very long time – possibly for ever, given how I felt – but this was all innocent and playful. Valerie had previously told me how there were always groupies hanging around gigs, and that women were constantly throwing themselves at Vic. She also said that he had no interest in that sort of encounter and that it would have to be a very special person who caught his heart. I didn’t think for a minute that was me, I wasn’t attracted to him in that way at all, but it was nice to think that someone so successful, so sought after, had seen something in me that was different.
Valerie was by far the chattiest of the collective members and she was the one I’d been in contact with almost from the start. She started to tell me much more about Vic’s life and confirmed so much of what he had told me; in fact, from what she said, he’d actually held back on a lot of things. Vic’s father, Jay, had been terribly abusive, throwing him into baths of boiling hot water as a child, scrubbing him with abrasive kitchen cleaner, beating him senseless. Vic had been around guns and knives since he was a baby, even putting a gun in his own mouth when he was four. His dad had been arrested for murder at one point, but got off through some sort of bribe that his cohorts had managed to set up. All of this affected me a great deal. Ruby was still so little and anything to do with cruelty to children broke my heart – first the charity, now this. I could barely believe the awfulness of some parents, as Vic’s mother, Isabella, had colluded with so much of the violence and abuse. From what he had told me, she was too scared of Jay herself to stand up to him and stop him hurting the kids, but I just couldn’t understand what kind of mother would stay in that situation. Although his mother was afraid of his father, she was always kind to the kids, and would cuddle the children and tend to their injuries whenever he was out of sight. Vic had a lot of love for his mother and never blamed her for not standing up to his dad as he realised what an impossible predicament she was in. The gypsy situation was certainly baffling. For Vic to have come through all of that and then lose his own son seemed a terrible tragedy.
Valerie was never over the top in what she told me – there was a balance between talking about music and telling me how he was amazing to have come through so much, and I couldn’t help agreeing. I genuinely felt that he was one of the good guys. Some people let their pasts consume them, but Vic was so keen to help others and make a new life for himself. With Valerie, Leah and Clare all telling me that he was smitten, I suppose I wasn’t entirely surprised when, one day, unannounced, Vic turned up at my house.
‘Guess who?’ he said, with a sheepish grin when I opened the door. ‘Was just passing, so thought I’d give you the pleasure of my company for a little while, Miss Henley.’
‘Just passing more than two hundred miles or so?’ I asked. ‘That sounds plausible!’
I invited him in for a coffee and we chatted just as easily as we had the first time.
‘I’m really sorry that things have been so hard for you,’ I told him. We were sitting in my kitchen, with the sun streaming in gloriously, big mugs of tea in our hands, and Maxie desperately trying to get some attention from the visitor. He didn’t have to try very hard; Vic cuddled and played with him, and I could see that he loved dogs. I felt very comfortable with Vic, especially given how good he was with Maxie, but wasn’t too sure why he was here. ‘Are you back at work yet?’
‘Now and again, bits and bobs,’ he answered distractedly. ‘Nice dog.’
The way he was with Maxie was one of the things I really liked about Vic. I always thought – and still do – that you can tell a lot about a person by how they are with animals. He didn’t fuss, he didn’t go overboard; he was just natural and friendly with my dog. We had a lovely time for a couple of hours or so, talking about everything and nothing. It felt very relaxed but I really needed to get to work.
‘No problem,’ he said. ‘I just wanted to see you really, Miss Henley. You cheer me up, you do.’
I had to smile. The way he called me ‘Miss Henley’ was sweet. I knew that he wasn’t being formal, but it felt warm, not too pushy, not as if he was making a pet name for me, just a little in-joke between new friends.
‘Just need to pop to the loo, then I’ll be heading off,’ I told him.
Vic swept his arm before him in a grand gesture.
‘Whatever the lady needs to do,’ he said. ‘I’ll wait here and see you off the premises.’
I heard him rinsing the cups as I ran upstairs. Five minutes later, I was ready to go. He held the kitchen door for me and I locked it behind us. Walking over to my car, he waited while I put the key in the ignition.
‘Have a successful novelty-buying trip,’ he winked, referring to my appointment at an old country house, where I was hoping to pick up some things for my business.
‘I’ll do what I can,’ I told him, turning the key.
Nothing.
The engine tried to turn over, but nothing.
I tried again, with the same result.
‘Bugger,’ I muttered.
Vic had been walking back to his own car, but turned back. ‘Problem?’ he asked.
‘Not sure why it’s being temperamental now,’ I sighed, trying it again. ‘It’s usually no bother.’
Still,