by Sarah Flint
‘Then he went all quiet. I asked him if he was OK. He said that he knew something that his father had done that would mean he would get sent to prison for a long time. I think I guessed what he was about to say, but it was still a shock when he told me. He said he’d been there that day when you and Hunter had come round. He said how his dad was in a foul mood thinking his mum had walked out on them. He had been swearing and shouting and going round the house taking down all the photos of the family and scrubbing and cleaning every little thing that reminded him of them. He was calling her a bitch and saying how he hated women. Ryan had pretty much hidden himself in the lounge with the Play-station. Anyway, he remembered you arriving and talking to his dad and how he was worried when his dad followed you up the stairs. I think he kind of knew what might happen. He left the Play-station on so that it sounded as if he was still playing and went into the hallway to see what his dad was doing. Charlie, he saw his father kick you down the stairs and laugh at you lying crumpled at the bottom.’
‘And he didn’t say anything…?’
‘He wanted to, but he was too scared. His mum and brother were gone and he was frightened that he’d lose his dad too. At that point, having a father like that was better than not having a father at all. Since Keith has turned on him though, he knows that it will never end. His dad will do this again and again, just like he did to his mum.
‘I told him he was a brave boy to have told me and that I was very proud of him for having the courage to speak to me about it. But in the back of my mind I knew I needed to get him to tell someone else. If I went to the police with what he’d said, they could just say I’d made it up. Certainly any defence would. So I persuaded him to tell his teacher. Once his teacher knew it was easier to then go to the police.
‘So that’s what I’ve been doing. Ryan came with me and his teacher and made a statement about what he’d seen that night and also what Keith had done to him more recently. I didn’t tell you or Hunter because I didn’t want to get your hopes up if the CPS refused to charge, and anyway you were too busy. Luckily the new investigating officer in the case has done a great job. I even got to speak to the same CPS lawyer that was at court with us. He remembered the case and how he felt that we’d been badly let down by the system. He wrote the advice for Keith Hubbard to be further arrested and charged, Charlie. He thinks we should have no problem now we have an actual witness, albeit the defendant’s son. Hopefully Hubbard will plead guilty, rather than drag his son into the witness box, but even if he does, Ryan is adamant he will do whatever he needs to this time. He’s living with his grandparents at the moment. I’d like to stay in touch with him, if he wants me to. As I say, he’s a good kid who just wants to do the right thing.’
Charlie was amazed. Meg had not said a word about what she was up to, but all this time she had been quietly working towards this moment. After being failed by the justice system after Jamie’s death, the family were at least being allowed the chance to obtain justice for her this time.
‘Thanks Mum.’ No other words were needed.
Wordlessly, Meg put an arm around her and gently pulled her head down on to her shoulder. She tensed but then relaxed and allowed herself to rest, though it did feel strange. Meg was more practical, than demonstrative. The sights and sounds of the last day all seemed to blur.
There was a knock on the door and Hunter poked his head in, grinning from ear to ear.
‘I’ve just been told the news, Charlie. I’m so pleased. Meg, now I know where she gets it from.’ He threw an arm around each of them and kissed Meg enthusiastically on the cheek. ‘Oh, and look who else I just found, skulking about by the gates.’
He pushed the door ajar and she could just see Ben propped up on his crutches against the wall. He looked freshly showered and smart.
‘Sorry,’ he sounded a little embarrassed. ‘I heard how well you’d done getting that madman and I thought I’d try and catch you by the gate. I just wanted to say congratulations. Your boss here saw me and literally frogmarched me in. I didn’t mean to intrude.’
She lifted her head off Meg’s shoulder and smiled towards him.
‘You’re not intruding at all, Ben. It’s lovely to see you. Hunter is just about to take us home and, if you’d like to join us, Mum here will make us all brunch, won’t you Mum?’ She turned towards Meg who shrugged.
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘No, of course not. Not when it comes to home-cooking. Ben, she’s the best.’
A few minutes later, Charlie, Ben and Meg were sat in Hunter’s Jag as he pulled slowly out on to the main road. A dozen or so journalists parted to let them through and within minutes Hunter was away from them and heading homeward.
‘Thank God they moved quickly?’ she breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I had a sudden vision of a bowling ball hurtling towards ten pins.’
‘Strike one,’ Ben shouted and they all laughed. A sudden surge of relief swept through her at the knowledge she would soon be back in the safety of her family home, with food and sleep awaiting. Having Ben there was a bonus.
She was just starting to drift off slightly when Hunter slowed at some pedestrian lights by a small parade of shops. A small group of youths sat on the back of a bench under a nearby tree. Her eyes scanned over them hazily, taking in the nonchalant way the tallest of them threw an empty beer can on to the ground next to the tree and stamped down on it. He obviously couldn’t care less and it annoyed her. She peered at him again, concentrating on his posture and the way his chin jutted out arrogantly as he moved. Suddenly she remembered why she recognised him.
‘Stop the car,’ she shouted, opening the door and running towards the rear of the bench before the others knew what was going on. Deftly, she grabbed hold of the youth, dragging him down on to the ground, where she pinned him to the concrete, kneeling on his arms so that he couldn’t move. He barely had time to shout out or struggle before she had him detained. The other youths jumped off the bench and stared at their friend.
‘Police! Get back,’ she roared, worried for a brief moment that they would try to free him.
She could hear the sound of footsteps running towards them as Hunter came into view, red faced and panting at even this small exertion. The other youths turned and sprinted off and then Hunter was with her, kneeling down to help keep her captive restrained.
The youth was still now after a brief struggle.
‘What’s going on?’ Hunter raised his eyebrows towards her questioningly.
She could see Ben swinging himself towards them on his crutches. Meg hurried alongside.
‘Wait a sec.’
‘What’s going on?’ Ben repeated Hunter’s question as he joined them. The youth turned his head to look at who was talking and a look of recognition crossed his face.
‘It’s you!’ Ben’s look was stern. ‘I should give you the same pasting as you gave me when I was down on the floor, you cowardly bastard.’ He stopped a foot away from the youth’s face and lifted one of the crutches in line with his head.
‘Well, if it’s not our fallen hero,’ the boy sneered, trying and failing to raise his head further as Charlie leant down on his shoulders. He spat impotently towards Ben. ‘Go on then, hit me, if you’ve got the bottle. Oh wait, you can’t, can you, you’ve probably drunk it and chucked it away.’
She saw Ben tense as the youth sniggered. He stood stock-still staring at him for what seemed like ages then lowered the crutch and shook his head, a brief glimpse of sadness replacing the anger.
‘You’re not worth it. I’m better than you and I always will be. I wouldn’t kick a man when he was down, like you did, because you have no honour.’
‘Oh yeah prove it.’
‘You’ve just done that for us,’ she pointed towards the spittle. ‘We’ll compare that against the spit you left last time. I recognized you as soon as I saw you, but if they don’t believe our identifications they’ll believe the DNA. Cheers.’
‘Strike two,’ Ben added, r
aising his hands and clapping them against Charlie’s.
*
The blue lights were fading from view when Meg turned towards Charlie.
‘How on earth did you know it was him?’
‘I’m not a super-recognizer for nothing, you know!’ She laughed, yawned and rested her head back down on her mother’s shoulder.
‘I never forget a face.’
We hope you enjoyed this book!
Sarah Flint’s next book is coming in spring 2017
More addictive fiction from Aria:
Find out more
Find out more
For more information, click the following links
Acknowledgements
About Sarah Flint
Become an Aria Addict
Acknowledgements
My agent Judith Murdoch once said to me that it often took many years of trying before getting to where you wanted to be – I have to say she wasn’t wrong; even though at the time I hoped she would be.
Judith has had the utmost patience over the years when I was producing little – and not even that often. She has been my mentor and friendly counsellor and has never put any pressure on me and for all of this, I am immensely grateful.
My appreciation too, to Caroline Ridding at Aria who has already proved to be welcoming and encouraging and seems willing to take a chance on me – I hope I meet your expectations.
After small successes with a couple of early novels it has taken many years in the wilderness trying to find a central character I loved. In the end experience always seems to be best. Charlie (and Hunter) are therefore based very loosely on people I worked with. Some of you may recognise them. I hope you will all love them. The Metropolitan Police Service is full of great characters, from all walks of life, the great majority of whom just want to do the best they can for the public and serve their communities, sometimes at great personal cost. I can honestly say I have loved the Job and the many colleagues I have had the pleasure to work with. My thanks to all of them for great memories past and present.
My gratitude also goes to all my friends, who have listened to my woes over the years and encouraged me to keep trying.
I would also like to say a huge thank you to my three gorgeous daughters, all of whom I am extremely proud and who have supported me unfailingly through a difficult few years. Every year they are displaying more and more of the family spirit.
Big thanks to my inspirational family, particularly to all my brothers and sisters for their continued belief and support and the way they have actively canvassed their friends to read my earlier efforts. I have to especially mention Dee Yates, my eldest sister who was the inspiration for me to start writing, having written several books herself. She, above all, has provided the encouragement, positivity and proof reading skills to keep me going. Thank you, Dee.
Last but by no means least, lots of thanks to my lovely partner for putting up with my ups and downs and who is always there to pour oil on troubled waters – and red wine in my glass.
Cheers and many thanks to you all.
About Sarah Flint
With a Metropolitan Police career spanning 35 years Sarah has spent her adulthood surrounded by victims, criminals and police officers. She continues to work and lives in London with her partner and has three older daughters.
Become an Aria Addict
Aria is the new digital-first fiction imprint from Head of Zeus.
It’s Aria’s ambition to discover and publish tomorrow’s superstars, targeting fiction addicts and readers keen to discover new and exciting authors.
Aria will publish a variety of genres under the commercial fiction umbrella such as women’s fiction, crime, thrillers, historical fiction, saga and erotica.
So, whether you’re a budding writer looking for a publisher or an avid reader looking for something to escape with – Aria will have something for you.
Get in touch: [email protected]
Become an Aria Addict
Find us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Find us on BookGrail
Addictive Fiction
First published in the UK in 2016 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Sarah Flint, 2016
The moral right of Sarah Flint to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover design: stuartpolsondesign.com
ISBN (E) 9781786690692
Aria
Clerkenwell House
45-47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.ariafiction.com