Deadly Encounter

by M A Comley

  Sally took a few steps and stood in front of Craig. The man’s head had dropped onto his chest. A blank expression was etched on his face. She placed a finger under his chin, forcing him to look at her. “I know how difficult all of this is for you, Craig. Stay strong. Jack and I will make sure nothing happens. Sorry you’re being treated so harshly.”

  “Dad, it’s so good to see you.” Molly rushed through the entrance of the church and flung her arms around her father.

  Tears filled Craig’s eyes as he kissed his daughter’s cheek and looked over her shoulder at the figure of his son standing in the doorway of the church.

  “Jamie came. I can’t believe he came.” Craig’s voice was strained.

  One of the officers stepped forward and pressed between Molly and Craig. “Step away from the prisoner, Miss.”

  “Give them a break! They’re not doing any harm,” Sally hissed at the officer.

  “Just doing my duty, Inspector. Maybe you can make this young lady aware that she needs to keep her distance from the prisoner.”

  Sally tugged on Molly’s arm. “Sorry, love. You better do as he says. Why are you so late?”

  Molly looked over at her brother. “I had a struggle to get him to come. He’s here now.”

  “I’m glad. We’ll talk after the service, Craig.” She left the group and made her way over to the entrance.

  Jamie, who’d been leaning against the stone wall of the church, stood upright as she approached him, giving Sally the impression he was about to bolt.

  Smiling, she said, “Jamie, how wonderful to see you. So glad you decided to come after all.” She linked her arm through his and guided him down the aisle to sit beside Molly, who had taken her seat at the front of the church, next to her mother’s coffin. Jamie hesitated for a moment beside the casket, under the gaze of the other mourners assembled, before he finally sat down alongside his sister. Sally returned to her seat and watched over her shoulder as the officers deposited Craig Gillan at the end of the last pew in the church, amidst mourners murmuring their dissatisfaction at having him attend their dear friend’s funeral.

  Sally’s heart went out to the man, who looked to be emotionally overwrought by the proceedings as well as his own son’s behaviour. The officers stood behind Craig, each with a hand on one of his shoulders as if he were about to abscond at any moment. Sally felt sickened by the officers’ conduct and was already contemplating the vitriol she was going to let loose on the governor once the service had ended.

  Jack nudged her elbow. “I know what you’re thinking, but they’re just doing their job. Have you any idea how many prisoners use the excuse of attending a funeral as a means of escape? Give the guys a break, eh?”

  Sally sighed and reluctantly nodded. She gave herself a reality check. She needed to see things for what they were: Craig had been found guilty of killing the woman they were about to bury. It was hardly time to break out the celebratory banners.

  The priest began the service, then a few of Anne’s colleagues, who had been chosen to represent the firm, read their eulogies. Most of the emotional eulogies involved light-hearted incidents that had the other mourners chuckling and, in some cases, wiping away happy tears. Sally glanced over her shoulder at Craig, who seemed to be wrapped up in his own solitude, a dark shroud of guilt burdening his shoulders.

  Sally observed the mourners and their individual reactions, jotting down the odd note when something irked her: an out-of-place smile or frown, anything that might aid her interviews with the workmates over the coming few days.

  ~ ~ ~

  After the service ended, the mourners followed the pallbearers to the recently dug plot in the graveyard. Craig and his accompanying officers were the last to arrive. Sally felt sorry for the man as the guards forced him to remain at the back of the group and wouldn’t allow him to stand alongside his wife’s coffin as it was lowered into the ground.

  That poor man. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. I’ll be having a serious word with the governor when I get back.

  He glanced up at her now and again, and she offered him a reassuring smile, but Craig always looked away swiftly, as if embarrassed that she’d caught him looking at her. She could tell that the effects of prison life had been devastating on the man. He was unable to look anyone in the eye for long, in case they judged him. He was a severely broken man.

  After the coffin was lowered, Molly took a few steps forward and threw a white rose into the hole. “Rest in peace, mother dearest. I’ll miss you every waking moment until we’re reunited.” She returned to stand alongside her brother and handed him a white rose. She nudged his elbow, urging him to follow her lead and to say a few words before throwing the rose in the grave.

  He shrugged and shook his head. “I can’t, sis. I can’t do it. Mum left us years ago.”

  Molly held his hand. “I know that, Jamie. Do it for me, eh? It’ll help the grieving process, allow you to get on with your life.”

  “Will it? Do you honestly think she’d be proud of me, of us? What we’ve become over the years?”

  Sally listened to the young man’s confusion with interest. The mourners began whispering to each other and looking daggers at Jamie for disrupting the service, but Sally understood Jamie’s need to say what he was saying and his hesitation in carrying out his duties for the mother he had lost at such a young age.

  Molly nodded and removed the rose from his hand. “I will never force you to do anything that you don’t want to do. Mother would never have stood in judgement over what you’ve become, Jamie. Take my word on that. She was the most gentle, genuine person I’ve ever met. She would be proud of you no matter what you’ve had to endure in your life.”

  A tear seeped onto Jamie’s cheek. He gently took the rose from his sister’s hand and walked closer to the edge of the grave. “I didn’t know you well, but I’ve never stopped loving and missing you. Until we meet again, Mum.” He threw the rose onto the coffin and returned to his position alongside Molly. His sister placed a comforting arm around his waist and pulled him close. He smiled down at her as the heavens opened.

  The priest speedily conducted the rest of the service, then the mourners dispersed, most of them running from the graveside for cover in their vehicles. Sally and Jack sought shelter under her umbrella and watched as the guards relented their hold on Craig and allowed him to approach the grave. He was silent for a long time, lost deep in thought. Molly had given him a rose before leaving the area to search for cover.

  Sally and Jack shuffled forward to hear what Craig said to his deceased wife. “Our time together, our life together, was cut short the day you died. I’ve loved you and missed you every day since. I hope that justice will be served soon and that the police find your true killer. I’ve been tempted to join you over the years, but I had no way of knowing if you were dead or alive. That hope was extinguished when they found you last week.” His voice faltered, then he continued. “I’m still tempted to join you, but it looks as if the children need me. I’ll promise you that I will watch over them, if you’ll only point the police in the right direction of where to find your killer, in the hope the authorities will recognise my innocence and set me free. It’s been an unbearable existence without you by my side. Until we meet again, I love you, Anne.”

  Jack nudged Sally, and she wiped away the stream of tears that had flowed freely during his touching speech. “We should go now, boss.”

  “Yes, let’s get back to the station. I need to speak to Craig first.” She handed Jack the umbrella, dipped under the edge, and joined Craig in the pouring rain. “Craig. I want to assure you that I’m determined, more than ever, to find the culprit who has seen fit to punish your entire family for the past fifteen years.”

  “I have faith in you, Inspector. As you can see, my children need me. Jamie needs to have stability in his life after all he’s been through. It was heart-breaking to see how little self-worth he has and what he’s become in my absence. An absence that sh
ould never have occurred and will no doubt take an eternity to put right. If indeed it is fixable. I have severe doubts whether that will be achievable, to be honest with you. Some evil degenerate did this intentionally, killed Anne and ripped our family to shreds in the process. I’m not sure we’ll ever be happy again, but when I’m set free, I’ll make sure my kids know how much they mean to me and how much their mother idolised them before she was robbed of her final breath.”

  “Take care, Craig. We are doing our best to secure your release.”

  “I have to believe you’ll do that, Inspector, because I have very little else to cling on to.”

  Sally placed her hand on his arm. “Have faith. We’ll talk soon.” She rushed back under the cover of the umbrella and returned to the car with Jack. From inside the vehicle, they observed the stray mourners and watched them heckle Craig as the prison officers secured him in the back of the van and drove off. “Looks like these few are refusing to believe he’s innocent. I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day when we start questioning them at the factory.”

  “How long do you think that’s likely to last?”

  “What? The questioning?” Jack nodded. “All day and the next. Who knows? Maybe a whole week. Let’s just say that today’s observations have definitely highlighted some characters that I’m eager to speak to.”

  “I know that look. If I were them, I’d be wary about how they treat you during the questioning.”

  Sally turned to face him and laughed. “So, you think I should go in there and prove what an ogre I am?”

  He chuckled. “Just be your normal self, and they’ll get the message loud and clear in no time at all.”

  She punched him hard in the thigh and started the car.

  They stopped off at the baker’s and bought the team baguettes and doughnuts for lunch. They would need sustenance for what lay ahead of them. Sally was determined to turn up at the factory the following day, armed to the hilt with everything she had.

  ~ ~ ~

  Feeling mentally exhausted, Sally bid her team farewell at five thirty that evening and drove directly to her parents’ house. Dex greeted her the second she stepped through the front door as if he hadn’t seen her in months. She missed her golden Labrador and longed to spend more time with him, but she realised how selfish it would be to have her furry friend live with her on a full-time basis. At least with Dex spending part of the week with her parents, she knew he wasn’t sitting in the house alone, feeling either depressed or neglected. This way, he had the best of both worlds and company all day long.

  “Hi, Mum. Is Dad home yet?” she called out above the noise of Dex’s appreciative welcome.

  Her mother appeared in the hallway, looking flushed and wiping her hands on a multicoloured tea towel. “Hello, dear. Not yet. He’s due any moment. Are you and Simon going to stay for dinner tonight? I’ve made enough to feed an army. Nothing fancy, only a fish pie.”

  Sally walked towards her mother and kissed her cheek. “That would be lovely, Mum. I better ring Simon, see if it’s okay with him.”

  “There’s no need, love. I rang him earlier. This is my way of saying thank you to you both. Lord knows what would have happened to your father if Simon hadn’t turned up at that house.”

  “There’s no need to thank us, Mum. Simon was just as devastated about it as we all were. If anything, he’s blaming himself for what those brutes did to Dad.”

  “That’s nonsense. He shouldn’t blame himself. Those morons had an agenda. If it hadn’t been your father, they would have attacked someone else who was interested in the house. Any idea what the outcome of that was, love? Have you caught the men yet?”

  “Not yet, Mum. We’re waiting on Dad identifying the men through mugshots. Otherwise, we’re screwed. When is the property due to go under the hammer?”

  “Next week I believe, dear. Your father will tell you when he comes home.”

  Hearing the beep of a car horn, Sally shooed Dex back into the kitchen and opened the front door to find an ambulance parked next to her car on the drive. “He’s home, Mum,” she called over her shoulder.

  “Oh my, I look a mess. I must run a comb through my hair and tidy myself up.”

  Sally laughed. “Don’t be daft. You look the same as usual. Come on, we’ll go out and meet him.”

  Her mother closed the door to the kitchen to prevent Dex from shooting out into the road then joined Sally. She smoothed down the apron she was wearing and fluffed up her hair at the sides. “I’m so nervous.”

  Sally crushed her mother to her and kissed her forehead. “It’s not even forty-eight hours since you last saw him.”

  “I know, but it feels like a lifetime.”

  Sally was suddenly riddled with guilt when she thought how Craig Gillan must have felt being locked up for the past fifteen years for a crime he hadn’t committed. She shook her head. That’s work. This is your personal life you’re dealing with now. She left her mother standing on the doorstep and approached the back of the ambulance. Her father beamed at her from the wheelchair the paramedics had just lowered him into. “Hello, Dad. How are you feeling?”

  “Sore, but eager to be home.”

  Sally backed away, giving the paramedics room to manoeuvre the chair into position before they wheeled her father up the drive and into the house.

  “We’re going to settle him in the house, Miss, if that’s all right. Sorry, we can’t leave the wheelchair here. Blame it on the cuts we’re experiencing at present.”

  “No problem. If he needs one, then I’ll hire one.”

  “I don’t need one. That’s the end of it. Boy, it’s good to be home.” Sally’s father let out a huge sigh as he crossed the threshold.

  Sally kissed her father on the forehead, avoiding the large white patch above his right eye. “Looks painful, Dad. Is it?”

  “No. I’m a little woozy still, but nothing compared to what I’ve been experiencing in the hospital. I was desperate to come home.” He smiled broadly at his wife. “Hello, dear, how are you?” He tried to get out of the wheelchair, but one of the paramedics clamped a hand on his shoulder.

  “Just be patient for another few minutes, sir, then we’ll be out of your hair.”

  Sally’s mother hugged him then stood back. “Good to have you home, love. I’ve missed you.”

  Sally jumped ahead of the wheelchair and showed the paramedics into the lounge. “Dad likes to sit here.”

  “And you can pack that in, young lady. I will not be forced to sit in here and neglect my share of the chores around the house. Don’t you think your mother has enough on her plate as it is?”

  Sally wagged her finger at him as the paramedics helped him onto the sofa. “Now don’t start getting shirty with me, Dad. All we’re asking is that you take it easy for the next twenty-four hours, okay?”

  The older of the two paramedics smiled and winked at her as if to wish her luck.

  “Hello, anyone home?”

  Sally’s heart fluttered when she recognised Simon’s voice. She rushed out into the hallway to greet him. “Come in. We’re just settling Dad in. Have you had a good day?” She leaned in and kissed him.

  “Fair to middling. Yourself? How did the funeral go?”

  Sally looked over her shoulder; the paramedics squeezed past with the wheelchair.

  “We’ll be off then. Have a good evening, folks,” one of them called out.

  “Thank you for all your help. Goodbye.” Sally closed the door and wrapped her arms around Simon’s neck. “It was heart-breaking, not something I relish repeating anytime soon. I’ll tell you about it later. I suppose I better see how the invalid is doing. I have a feeling he’s going to be trouble this evening. Stubborn old fool.”

  “So that’s where you get your stubborn streak from,” Simon teased.

  Sally’s mouth gaped open and she punched him playfully in the arm. “I’ll get you for that later.”

  “Promises, promises,” Simon’s reply followe
d her up the hallway.

  “Right. Dad, you’re going to listen good to me. I know you want to get up and start rushing around doing things, but I’m going to put my foot down. You can stare at me all you like, but Mum and I have discussed this. Just for today, please take it easy. Give your body a chance to recover. Simon is here, you can chat to him—no business talk, though—while Mum and I get on with the dinner.”

  Her father mock-scowled at her. “Very well. If I don’t adhere to what you and your mother have organised, I know my life won’t be worth living in the long run. Simon, where are you?”

  Simon popped his head into the lounge and smiled. “Did the nurses kick you out, Chris?”

  Sally’s father flushed and beamed, then beckoned Simon to sit beside him on the sofa.

  Sally shook her head, knowing it was pointless telling them not to discuss the properties they were involved in. “I’ll bring those mugshot books by for you to look through tomorrow, Dad.”

  “No news regarding the brutes, I take it then?” her father asked, his hand hovering over the patch on his face.

  “We haven’t even begun the search yet, Dad. We’ll need your input first. Come on, Mum, let’s leave them to it.”

  Sally helped her mother put the finishing touches to the dinner, one ear trained on the conversation and the laughter coming from the lounge. It was good to see her dad in such good spirits. She made a mental note to get a uniformed officer to call round with the mugshot books in the morning.

  Simon helped Sally’s father to the table, then they enjoyed a pleasant meal after which Sally helped her mother settle her father into bed. He looked exhausted by seven that evening. Bidding her parents farewell, she followed Simon back to their home.

  They collapsed onto the sofa with a much-needed glass of wine and each reflected on how the day had panned out.

  “Your father is determined to go ahead with that house, you know?”

  Sally sat upright and looked at Simon. “What? Why?”

  He shrugged. “He said he refused to let the bastards win. I’m inclined to agree with him but wanted to see how you felt about things first.”