Faith found a light-hearted comedy to watch. She tried to only watch and read gentle things, avoiding anything dark or violent. It was helping her heal after the recent trauma.
“Oh, who is that?” sighed Faith when the doorbell rang.
Cradling Blossom in her arms, who didn’t even stir, she walked through the living room to the front door.
“Rose,” she said with surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Sorry,” she replied. “Shall I go?”
“No, come on in,” she said, knowing she had little choice. Plus it was raining.
“Thank you,” she said, stepping inside and closing the door. “I wanted to use you as a guinea pig. I made a vegan aubergine, olive and butter bean casserole.”
“It smells lovely,” smiled Faith, enjoying the aroma emanating from the bag she carried. “Come on through to the kitchen.”
Rose dumped the bag on the kitchen table and pulled out a casserole dish. “Just warm it in the oven on a low heat for half an hour.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
Rose turned her attention to Blossom. “And how’s this lovely girl?”
“She’s doing really well,” smiled Faith proudly. “She lets me give her her injections and eyedrops no problem and she’s got a great appetite. She seems to have settled in very nicely.”
“Aww, that is great news,” said Rose, stroking Blossom, who opened one eye to look at her before closing it again, content in Faith’s arms. “I brought her some treats,” she said, producing a small bag with a cartoon cat on the front. “They’re specifically for diabetic cats.”
“Thanks, that’s really nice,” smiled Faith. Rose treated Blossom almost like a grandchild and doted on her.
“Actually, there was another reason for me coming here.”
Faith was on her guard. “What?”
“I wanted to make sure that you’re okay. You’ve been through so much and I can see it’s affected you. Have you still been seeing the counsellor?”
“I had a second appointment with her but she got on my nerves, so I didn’t go back.”
Rose’s look made Faith feel like a naughty child.
“You’ve been through so much dear. You need professional help to deal with it.”
“I am dealing with it. Believe it or not, this quiet life I’ve been leading is really helping. It’s giving me the time to heal and this little lady is helping too,” she said, nuzzling Blossom’s fur with her nose.
Rose knew she was telling the truth. Faith’s hard stare only softened when she looked at Blossom or her siblings. “I’m very glad about that but I worry about you Faith. I know we haven’t seen eye to eye but I only want the best for you. To me, you’ll always be my daughter.”
Faith nodded, a lump forming in her throat. Right now she was so vulnerable, she was still healing and Rose was breaking through her defences.
“This all started with Lenny,” continued Rose. “Things changed then.”
Faith nodded. “You’re right, it did. That night changed something in me and it’s only grown, got worse and more violent. Dark things come easily to me now.”
Rose wasn’t sure if it was her imagination or not but she could have sworn a vicious glint entered Faith’s eye at this pronouncement. “In a way that’s a good thing. It means you will always do what it takes to protect this family but don’t lose yourself in it Faith. You must always be stronger than that impulse. I wish I could go back to that night. If I could, I would have pulled the trigger myself to save you from it.”
“That doesn’t sound very Christian.”
“It would be for the greater good. Lenny was a menace, he had to go. If you hadn’t killed him he would have killed Caleb, I’ve no doubt about it. I will always be grateful to you for protecting my son.”
“You’re right, Lenny would have killed him. The little worm got what he deserved but sometimes…”
“What is it?” she said when Faith trailed off.
“Sometimes I remember that look in Lenny’s eyes when he knew he was going to die. It was fear and pain and sadness all rolled into one.” She surprised herself when tears filled her eyes. “I never want to end my life feeling that way. It was horrible.”
“That won’t be your fate sweetheart,” she said, patting her arm. “Lenny was a nasty little man with no one. You have a family who love you dearly and I include myself in that.”
“I didn’t want to kill him,” she rasped. “But I did and now I’m a monster.”
“Oh sweetheart,” she said, embracing her while trying not to squash Blossom. “You’re not a monster. You’re a very strong, brave woman who has guided this family through so many troubled times. Unfortunately you carry the emotional brunt of that but you’re strong enough to deal with it. Nothing will ever break you.”
Faith wiped her eyes on the back of her free hand. “Thanks…Mum.”
Rose smiled. It was the first time she’d called her that in quite a while. “Vance spends the nights here, doesn’t he?”
“Yes,” said Faith slowly.
“No, it’s okay. Actually, I’m glad. I don’t think you should be alone while you’re feeling so raw.”
“He does help me a lot.”
“It’s good that you have him to lean on. Right, I’m off. I’m meeting the girls at bingo.”
“Thanks for popping round, I appreciate it. I feel a bit better.”
“Good.” Rose smiled and gently patted her face. “I do hope we can put aside our differences and become closer. If recent events have taught us anything it’s that family is important and we are your family Faith.”
She nodded. “I’d like that. I’m tired of fighting.”
Rose’s blue eyes twinkled. “Wonderful.”
“And thanks for the casserole. I’m looking forward to that.”
“It is rather good, if I do say so myself and I hope Blossom enjoys her treats.”
“I’ve no doubt she will.”
Faith saw her to the door and was actually smiling when she’d left. Perhaps it was time to let the past go?
Rose exited the front of Faith’s building and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been an intense conversation. She’d tried in the past and failed to get Faith to admit that she’d killed Lenny Paisley, so her only recourse had been saying it for her. It had been a horribly tense moment. Faith was very sharp but Rose had selected her moment carefully, when she’d been feeling vulnerable and her guard had been down and it had worked.
Rose took the voice recorder out of her coat pocket and played it back, sighing with relief when she heard Faith admit she’d killed Lenny. Finally she had the leverage she needed. If Faith and Vance ever decided to tell the world where Faith had really come from, she now had the perfect way to ensure their silence.
THE END
Many thanks for reading Takedown. I hope you enjoyed the latest outing of the Chambers family. There is more to come in this series.
I have many more books to download on Amazon Kindle, including my first traditionally published book, Blood Brothers (Gallowburn series #1). The first book in the series is already available to purchase on Amazon, Waterstones and through my publishers, Boldwood Books. The second book, Bad Blood, will be released on 1st June 2021. I also have many more self-published books to read, ranging from crime to historical, romance and fantasy. If you would like to read more about the Maguires, the Dividing Line series is available to download on Amazon Kindle.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
>
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
Takedown Page 37