by Nick Albert
He smiled as he climbed into his car. At last, he could relax — the Wrecking Crew was no more.
NINETEEN
Almost a month had passed and they had heard nothing to indicate that any investigation was leading in their direction. Carter discovered that Berkshire police and fire investigators had closed the book on the fire at Huggermugger. They concluded that the probable cause of the unusually intense flames was an electrical fault, along with the unfortunate combination of stored chemicals, fertiliser, and fuel oil. Although there was no forensic evidence left, it was believed that Simon Cartwright had perished in the flames, along with several unidentified persons.
At the same time, the police in Reading had reported that the unfortunate shooting of Helen Atkins in the Oracle car park, was the result of carjacking. Enquiries had reached a dead end, as both her car and the murder weapon could not be found. The damaged Audi had been pushed onto the pavement during the attack by Kitten and Bunny. Because it was abandoned and illegally parked, the car had swiftly been towed by the council. Left unclaimed, it was eventually crushed and recycled.
On a brighter note, Stone had decided to provide Charles Rathbone’s farm, to act as free offices for True Democracy. He had also given a substantial donation to support Sally Field, and a dozen of her colleagues, in their election campaign. With a few days to go, current polling put most of them well ahead of the next nearest candidates. Perhaps Charles’ dream would live on after all.
Immediately following the fire at Huggermugger, Stone had used some of Charles’ money to book both Linda and Megan into a specialist private hospital in Surrey. Since it was so close to the Army barracks at Aldershot, the hospital had access to doctors and psychologists, with unique skills and experience.
Megan had made an excellent recovery under a doctor specialising in lung damage, caused by smoke inhalation. However, given what they now knew about Linda’s mistreatment as a child, her recovery was likely to be a long and slow process. Although a careful psychological assessment had revealed no identifiable remnant of the alter ego known as Chameleon, the knowledge of the atrocities that she had committed in that guise had taken a considerable toll on Linda — and Eric.
Linda’s treatment had been intense and delicate work. Her psychologist had considerable experience in healing those unfortunates, who carried the dreadful internal scars inflicted by the horrors of conflict and incarceration. Her techniques were gentle but thorough, but required that Linda had remained separated from Stone since she was admitted.
Although she would need counselling for many years to come, Linda had made such good progress that today she was to become an outpatient. Stone was at the hospital to collect her. Though he was pleased at the prospect of seeing Linda again, he was also fearful of his reaction, and doubtful if they could ever rekindle their relationship.
Megan and Linda had formed a close friendship during their time together in hospital. When Eric arrived, Megan was waiting in the corridor outside Linda’s room. She was a large girl with a strong mind, and she had no trouble stopping him from going in. She grabbed Stone’s arm in a vice like grip and pulled him through the door to a small waiting room. Ed Carter was standing by the window drinking coffee from a paper cup. He pulled a face that was meant to communicate that, while he understood how Eric felt, Megan had something to say, and he had better listen. Megan was rather more direct. She poked him sharply in the chest with an antagonistic finger.
“Now you listen to me Eric Stone, that poor girl has been to hell and back for you, and she deserves better than being discarded by the first man she has ever loved.”
Stone’s mouth opened and closed like an asthmatic goldfish. Megan ploughed on, blind to his confusion.
“She’s a nice person Eric, she has a good heart. It’s not her fault that some mad scientist messed with her head when she was a child.”
“I…I…never said it was…” Stone mumbled.
“She feels terrible about what’s happened to her — I mean who wouldn’t? But you know the worst of it? She feels dreadful about letting you down.”
“But I never…”
“And what’s even worse? She’s terrified that you’re gonna hold it against her. She’s like a poor frightened kid, and you come marching in here…Oh…MEN!” She stamped her foot in frustration.
“But, Megan…” Stone began.
“Don’t start!” She waved her finger at him. “I know what you’ve been thinking…”
“MEGAN!” Carter interrupted, “Perhaps we should hear what Eric actually thinks.”
Megan petulantly folded her arms across her chest and glared at Stone.
“Well?” she snapped, “What do you think?”
Eric sat down and put his head in his hands.
“It’s all right Ed, Megan’s right…well almost.” He sighed. “The truth is… well, I don’t really know what to think.”
Megan began to speak, but Ed held up a calming hand. She huffed and sat down. Stone continued.
“There’s this funny, intelligent, and beautiful woman that I have fallen in love with — and I have just found out that she is some super assassin who has committed God knows how many murders. What’s more, we only met because she was there to kill me. I—”
“But she didn’t,” Megan cut in, “that must count for something!”
“Megan!” Carter chided, unsure if she was actually joking.
“She makes a good point,” Stone admitted. “According to her psychologist; this Chameleon had probably been weakening its hold over Linda for some time. That decision to spare my life was really the end of it. Perhaps I met the real Linda Smart. Perhaps that’s who I fell in love with.”
He stood up and looked out of the window.
“The problem is, I haven’t seen her for almost a month, and I just don’t know what to expect. What will I feel when I look into her eyes? What will I see? I’m not sure if I can ever stop seeing the Chameleon.”
Carter came over and stood by Eric’s side. He put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Let me ask you something my friend. What if Linda was a soldier? What if she was a sniper, or perhaps a pilot, coming back from Afghanistan? She could have shot people, or dropped bombs, and perhaps she would even have killed innocent civilians. If she did those things, would you love her any less?”
Stone shook his head.
“No…I don’t think I would.”
“And what about you, Eric? You’ve taken lives. You’ve killed people. How should Linda feel about that?”
“I know what you’re getting at, but those were all righteous kills. This is different.”
“Christ Eric,” Ed snapped, “how is this different? There are no ‘righteous’ killings — there are simply killings. Whatever the motive, people still end up dead. Linda didn’t volunteer for this; she wasn’t a willing accomplice. She was forced into this against her will, and she was brainwashed. Ever since she was a child, she was trained to do this — and yet she still fought it!”
Ed turned to face Eric.
“You have to understand…she was an unwilling participant who chose to walk a different path — that must count for something.”
Stone said nothing. Carter had one more try.
“When you said that you loved her, did you mean it? Because if you didn’t Eric; then those words were just like ashes in your mouth. Linda Smart deserves some latitude. She deserves a shot at a better life — and so do you.”
***
Linda was sitting on the bed. Eric was next to her holding her hand. Her suitcase was on the chair, packed and ready.
His heart had almost broken when he looked into her eyes. There were tears of sadness and shame, but he could also see a terrified little girl. She was afraid that she was going to be left alone, afraid that she was going to be punished, for something she didn’t do.
Linda had been rational and honest. She had explained how she would not blame him, should he never want to see her again. Lin
da said that she would understand. She talked about trying to start a new life on her own, and making a fresh start. In the end, he put his finger to her lips, to stop the torrent of well-meant lies. Then he replaced it with his lips.
Then Eric tried his best to explain how he felt. He said that he genuinely loved Linda, and he wanted to be with her. He acknowledged that there would be issues, and that they would have to work through them together. For over an hour, they talked back and forward, trying to rationalise what had happened, and how it could affect their life together. In the end it was one tacky but genuine sentence that sealed the deal.
“The past, and whatever happened, that’s yours Linda — but the future; that’s all ours.”
***
Linda and Eric were sitting in their kitchen eating breakfast, when the news broke on the radio.
“A week since the General Election resulted in a hung Parliament; it seems likely that we will have a new Government today. Reports are suggesting that Sally Field, the charismatic leader of the True Democracy party, has agreed to bring her twelve colleagues into a coalition government with the Conservative party. Miss Field is the bookies favourite to become deputy Prime Minister. As a part of the deal, a bill to add a ‘None of the above vote’ to all future ballot papers will be announced in the Queens speech.
And in other news… The disgraced former MP Harold Heathfield has been found dead at his London flat. Last month Mr Heathfield was arrested and bailed, after an anonymous tip had led police to discover substantial quantities of child pornography stored on computers at his home. He was due to appear in court tomorrow. Police sources are suggesting that he may have taken his own life.”
“What an ironic coincidence,” Linda said with a smile. “I think we should buy Megan some chocolates and a bouquet of flowers for her new apartment.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Albert was born in England and raised in a Royal Air Force family. After leaving college in 1979, he worked in retail management for several years, before moving to financial services as a training manager. In the mid-1980's he qualified as a martial arts instructor, and began a parallel career coaching sport. In search of a simpler life, and the opportunity to write full time, he and his wife, relocated to the rural west of Ireland in 2003.
You can read their story in the bestselling book, ‘An Irish Tail: A hilarious tale of an English couple and their unruly dogs, searching for a better life in rural Ireland’. It is available at all good bookshops and online retailers.
Authors depend on reviews for their livelihood. It takes thousands of hours to research, write, and edit a book like ‘Wrecking Crew’, if you have enjoyed this book, please share your thoughts with others by posting a review.
Finally, I take a lot of pride in my work, but mistakes do happen — even after twelve edits. If you’ve spotted an error, or you have something to say, I would be happy to hear from you at [email protected].
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR