Apart from the emotional scars, Daniel suffered physically. Rita had recoiled on seeing the septic, swollen wound on his arm, and took him to see a doctor as soon as possible. Poor little thing! She wondered how he had coped with the pain, terror and discomfort.
The doctor prescribed an increased dosage of his inhaler as well as tending to Daniel’s wounds, several of which had become infected. He also gave Rita and Yansis advice on dealing with the emotional effects of his incarceration.
Rita was relieved when Daniel began to interact with Thomas and Emily again. Four days on, and he wasn’t quite as clingy as he had been. While he was occupied building houses from plastic bricks with Thomas, she rang John.
“Hi, Sis. How’s it going?” he greeted.
“Getting there,” she replied. “He’s a lot better than he was, thank God! The doctor said it will take time, though, so we’ve just got to be patient. How about you? Everything still alright at work?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“No repercussions then?”
“No, Smithson’s been great. He’s had my corner all the way. I told you, he just thinks it’s one big coincidence that Jamal was related to me. Well, I suppose it is really. If we hadn’t have been to that place the night before, I might still have been involved in the police raid.”
“Ah, well. It’s a good job he’s on your side, I suppose. Let’s hope it stays that way, and that they never find out about the paedo.”
“Don’t worry, no one will find out about that, Rita. Me, you and Yansis are the only people who know; I haven’t even told Paula.”
“Maybe it’s best that way, eh?”
“Definitely. It wasn’t my finest hour so I’d rather we forget about it.”
“Sure, I know you had your reasons.”
Rita noticed that he didn’t respond straightaway, and his previous comment seemed a bit sharp. Then, as though attempting to fill the awkward silence between them, he asked, “When do you go back?”
“Sunday.”
“Bloody hell, that soon?”
“Yeah. Well, I didn’t see any point waiting around now Daniel’s a lot better, and I think it will do him good to get back.”
“Do you need a lift to the airport?”
“No, Julie and Vinny are taking us, but thanks for offering.”
“No probs. Will you have a chance to call round and say goodbye before you go?”
“Probably not. It’s gonna be a mad rush with all the packing and everything. We’ve got to take Daniel for a check-up at the doctors tomorrow, just to make sure he’s alright before the trip. Then, I’ll be going to Mam and Dad’s on Saturday afternoon to say my goodbyes. You could nip round there if you’ve time though, and I can say goodbye to all of you at the same time.”
“I’ll try, but I’m working a long shift. I’ll do my best though.”
“Oh, OK … well, I suppose this might be the last time I speak to you then. Don’t forget you and Paula are welcome to come and stay in Greece any time. We’d love to have you.”
“I might just take you up on that. Bye Rita, see you soon.”
“Bye John.”
As she cut the call she felt overwhelmed by emotion as well as a sense of guilt. It was as though there was a barrier between her and her brother; brought about by the trauma they’d shared.
Rita wished she had never got him involved. If John hadn’t been so immersed in what was happening to Daniel, then perhaps he wouldn’t have harmed the paedophile. She knew that he would carry the death of Maurice James on his conscience for a long time.
Rita hoped that it hadn’t affected their relationship. The conversation was definitely stilted in parts. Perhaps she was being oversensitive because of everything that had happened. He had offered her a lift to the airport when all was said and done.
John was her only remaining sibling and, under normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed the time she spent with him. It was her bad fortune that something so devastating should happen when she hadn’t seen her brother for years, and she regretted that it had all gone so wrong.
Chapter 34
Sunday 30th June 1996
The day of their departure arrived. Rita, Yansis and Daniel were in the check-in queue at Manchester airport. Julie, Vinny and the children had joined them, refusing to leave until the last minute.
As they waited, the children became restless, and Yansis and Vinny were doing their best to occupy them by playing games of I Spy. The fact that he was going back to Greece hadn’t yet fully registered with Daniel. Rita was sure that once the moment came when he had to say goodbye to Thomas and Emily, he wouldn’t be very pleased.
Rita’s mind wandered back to the previous day when she had said her final goodbyes to her parents. It was a difficult day. She had visited alone, still refusing to take Daniel to the Riverhill Estate. In fact, recent events made her more determined to keep him away. She was afraid that her parents’ home would remind him too much of Raeni’s and she didn’t want that memory to resurface the day before they were to leave. Her mother’s disappointment was evident when Rita walked in alone, and she felt bad.
That wasn’t the only thing she felt bad about. Rita had toyed with the idea of saying goodbye to Raeni. Despite what she did in keeping Daniel, Rita felt an empathy towards her. But she dismissed the idea. There was no point in raking things up again; it was best to put it all behind her. As much as she was sorry for Raeni, she couldn’t be held responsible for her situation.
The atmosphere at her parents’ home had been awkward. Her father was his usual self, and her mother remained downcast throughout the visit. To make matters worse, John didn’t show up. Not only did Rita feel disappointed, but she also felt despair that perhaps things would never be the same.
“Here we go,” said Vinny, which caught Rita’s attention. The two men were loading the cases onto the weighing platform while Julie was keeping the children out of the way.
“Oh, let me help,” said Rita, taking Daniel’s hand and leading him away from the counter.
When the last of the cases was loaded, Vinny said, “Right, we’ll meet you at the entrance to Departures in a few minutes.”
As Rita had anticipated, Daniel became agitated the moment Thomas and Emily were led away. His clinginess was still apparent.
“It’s OK, Daniel,” she reassured him. “We’ll see them in a minute.”
She waited until they checked in before explaining to Daniel that they were now going to say goodbye. Before he had a chance to get upset, she told him that it was something they must do before they could go back to his grandparents in Greece. The thought of seeing them calmed him down.
They had almost reached Julie, Vinny and the children when Rita heard somebody shout her name. She turned around to see her brother, John, and his wife, Paula, rushing towards them. She let Daniel run the last few metres to Julie and her family while she and Yansis waited for John and Paula to reach them.
“Thank God we got to you in time!” said John, pausing to catch his breath. “Sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday. I didn’t have a minute ’cos of work, but I wanted to come and see you off.”
They shared hugs then went to join the rest of their party.
“We’ve brought Mam and Dad too,” said John, pointing to their parents who were making their way across the airport terminal. “We thought it would be nice for us all to wave you off.”
Rita met her parents halfway, giving them both a hug. Her mother was anxious to see Daniel, and they soon joined the others. They exchanged greetings, and Joan made a fuss of Daniel.
“Eeh, he doesn’t look so bad considering, does he?” said Ged, referring to Daniel.
“Subtle as a brick, Dad, as always,” laughed John.
“What?” asked Ged, nonplussed. “Eh, I’ll tell you what, I was right all along about the lad. I told you our Irene didn’t have him, didn’t I, Joan?” he asked, while Joan gave him a mild poke in the ribs.
The rest of the adults
laughed. Rita was overjoyed at them all coming to see her off, and even her father’s bluntness didn’t bother her. Their presence at the airport meant so much to her. They were all aware that this could be the last she saw of them for some time.
She was adamant that she wouldn’t return to Manchester, and she doubted that her parents would visit Greece again despite her offer to put them up. Previous occasions hadn’t exactly been a success.
They stood around for several minutes exchanging pleasantries until Yansis announced that it was time to go.
“I’ve just got one last bit of news before we leave you,” said John. “We’ve booked the honeymoon.”
“Oh, that’s great,” said Rita. “Where are you going?”
“Greece. On the 27th July. For two weeks. That’s if the offer’s still open.”
Rita stared back at him, open-mouthed.
“To stay with you and Yansis, I mean.”
Rita was delighted, “Yeah, course it is!” she said, giving them both another hug.
She would be seeing her brother and his wife in a few weeks’ time! And, even better, was the knowledge that their relationship had survived all they had been through. In fact, rather than driving a wedge between them, it had probably brought them closer.
To her consternation, she could feel tears of joy pricking her eyes. “Yeah that’s great,” she said, bending to straighten Daniel’s trousers. It was a subterfuge to hide her tears, but she underestimated her son’s perception.
“Why are you crying, Mummy?” he asked, trouncing his grandfather for lack of subtlety.
“Give over, Daniel. Mummy isn’t crying; Mummy never cries.”
THE END
Author Note
If you enjoyed ‘Danger by Association’ perhaps you would consider leaving a review on Amazon using the direct link: Amazon Review (UK) or Amazon.com Review. Independent authors such as myself value reader reviews, and we rely on them to spread the word about our work.
I am also inviting readers to subscribe to my mailing list by following the link: Heather’s readers. This will enable you to be among the first to find out about forthcoming publications, and receive a FREE copy of my short story book ‘Crime, Conflict & Consequences’. I use my mailing list solely to notify readers about my books and will never share your details with any third parties.
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About the Author
Heather Burnside started her writing career seventeen years ago when she began to work as a freelance writer while studying towards her writing diploma. During that time she had many articles published in well-known UK magazines. As part of her studies Heather began work on her debut novel, ‘Slur’, and wrote several short stories. She has since written outlines for a number of other novels.
Despite interest from a couple of literary agents, Heather didn’t quite succeed in finding a mainstream publisher for ‘Slur’. Disheartened, she eventually put it to one side while she focused on developing her writing services business, but was determined to return to it one day.
Through her writing services business, Heather has ghost-written many non-fiction books on behalf of clients covering a broad range of topics. However, she now prefers to concentrate on fiction writing.
‘Danger by Association’ is the third book in ‘The Riverhill Trilogy’. The first two books in the trilogy, entitled ‘Slur’ and ‘A Gangster’s Grip’, are available from Amazon. Heather has also published a collection of short stories which is available for download on Amazon Kindle. You can find all of Heather’s books on Amazon by checking out her Amazon author page at: http://Author.to/HBurnside.
Heather publishes regular updates about her writing on her blog at: www.heatherburnside.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter at: @heatherbwriter or on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/DMPublisher.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everybody who has given me help and support during the writing of this book. This includes the community of authors and avid readers who are always on hand to answer questions and point me in the right direction.
During the research stage of this book I utilised a number of handy resources. As well as referring to Internet sites on the topics of prisoner rehabilitation, the probation service, programmes for sex offenders, gang warfare, weather reports, the Iraq war and general points of law, I also consulted books. To get a feel for what it was like during the Allied Forces mission in Iraq during 1991, I found the following books helpful: ‘The One that Got Away’ by Chris Ryan, and ‘Victor Two: Inside Iraq: the Crucial SAS Mission’ by Peter Crossland. The Police History Society was also very helpful in answering my questions relating to policing in 1996 so I would like to extend my thanks to them.
Thanks also go to my excellent team of beta readers who have given valuable feedback to help me improve the book. They are the lovely Guy Portman, Sophia Carleton, Kath Middleton, Bill Kupersmith, Emma Dellow and Rita Ackerman.
Big thanks also to the very talented Chris Howard for once again designing a top-notch book cover. Chris is great to work with. He can translate your initial ideas into wonderful finished products, but is also willing to give input if he has other suggestions. You can contact Chris at: [email protected].
I would like to thank my friends for all their support, not only with this book but ever since I started my career as a published author. Last but not least, I would like to thank my wonderful family for all the support they have given me in bringing this book to market.
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Disclaimer
All of the characters in ‘Danger by Association’ are fictitious. They are products of the author’s imagination and are not intended to bear any resemblance whatsoever to real people. Likewise, the character’s names have been invented by the author, and any similarity to the names of real people is purely coincidental.
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You might like to read an excerpt from Heather’s next novel, ‘Bad Brother and I’, which is due for publication in early 2017.
Excerpt from Bad Brother and I
As soon as Adele walked into the back garden she was horrified by the sight that met her. Among the overgrown bushes and weed-filled borders was an assortment of cracked and mossy flagstones that acted as a path. There, her brother, Peter, stood facing her. He was wielding a large twig which he had stripped bare. For him it now represented a whip; flexible enough to slash rapidly through the air, yet strong enough to inflict damage.
He chuckled with glee as he repeatedly thrashed his whip onto the paving slabs in front of him. His target was several squirming caterpillars of differing sizes and various shades of green and brown, which he had lined up. Adele could see their tiny bodies writhing as savage blows from the handmade whip assailed them, causing their oozing entrails to spill out onto the path.
“Stop it!” she shouted.
Peter paused briefly to reply, “Don’t be daft. They’re only insects.”
“I don’t care. It’s cruel and disgusting,” Adele countered, becoming agitated.
“You’re stupid, you are. I’m not doing any harm. Go and mither someone else, Miss Goody-goody.”
“At least I’m not like you!”
“What do you mean?”
Adele could sense his change in tone, but, despite her unease, she refused to give way. “You’re always up to no good, you are. You’re gonna get in trouble again if you don’t watch it.”
“Oh shut up, you cry baby! Go and play with your dolls.”
Ignoring her pleas, Peter continued to mete out his vicious punishment.
Adele felt her stomach lurch at the sickening sight and cried out to him, “Peter, stop it; it’s horrible!”
Unfortunately, her cries soon reached the ears of their father who sped through the back door, pushing her aside. She noticed that he was still in his shabby vest, and knew that he hadn’t been out of bed long, even though it was midday. She instinctively sensed that he wouldn’t take kindly to having his Sunday distur
bed.
“What the bleedin’ hell’s going on here?” he demanded.
Peter dropped the whip and looked up guiltily at his father. His jaw hung loose but he failed to utter any words of defence. Their father didn’t need a reply, however, as his eyes took in the revolting sight. In one stride he was on Peter grabbing at his shirt collar, and thrusting upwards until his feet left the ground.
“You dirty little get!” he yelled. “Look at the bleedin’ state of that path.”
He released his hold, allowing Peter to drop shakily to the ground. Then, prodding his forefinger into Peter’s face, he ordered, “Get it cleaned up … NOW!”
Peter hung his head in shame and approached the house in search of something with which to clean up the mess.
“Where the bleedin’ hell do you think you’re going?” roared his father. “I told you to clean them up.”
“I’m going for some newspaper to wipe them up with,” Peter replied.
“No you’re bleedin’ not! You weren’t bothered about newspaper when you put the bleedin’ things there, so why bother now? You can get them shifted with yer hands. And I want every bit cleared up including that slimy shit that’s come out of ’em. That’ll teach you, you dirty little swine!”
He turned and pushed Adele aside again as he trundled back indoors. Just before stepping into the house, he turned his head back and added, “And you can get your bleedin’ hands washed when you’ve finished as well.”
For a few moments Adele stood transfixed. She was too numbed by the incident to react straightaway.
“What you looking at, you bitch?” muttered Peter. “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t started carrying on, he wouldn’t have known.”
As he murmured these few words, he made a show of wiping up the slimy mess with his fingers.
Adele couldn’t take any more. She ran into the house retching, and headed straight for her bedroom where she threw herself onto the bed. But the tears didn’t come. At eleven years of age, she’d suppressed her tears so often that it had become an automatic defence mechanism that helped her get through these frequent occurrences.
Danger by Association: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 3 Page 20