The Fenton Saga: Never Say Goodbye / There Was No Body.

by Colin Griffiths

  The two residents didn't answer so Madison took one anyway with her iPad, Edith smiled revealing gums.

  “Are we going to be on the news?” She said.

  “Maybe, ' Madison lied.” If we get a good story.

  “Will we get paid?” Grunted William Fenton. And again the voice seemed to make Madison shudder. Come get me please dad and I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to do again.

  “I'm sorry no, it's for a project I'm doing in college.”

  “College.” He grunted, “You should be at home helping your mother do her chores, not all this education crap.”

  He leaned closer pulling his lips back over his teeth.

  “Dint need any bloody education to fight in the war I can tell you, the Nazis still would have shot ya.” He pulled a cigarette out, lit it with a bic.

  “Got it to easy nowadays let me tell ya.' He blew the smoke in Madison’s face.

  Madison shuffled, pretended to be writing on her iPad.

  “That’s exactly why I'm here.” She said. She sounded more confident now, the other residents and carers dotted around the gardens somehow reassuring her.

  “When were you born?” She asked directing the question at the old man William Fenton, she wasn't interested in what Edith had to say, she wasn't really interested in what William had to say.

  “Ooh now let me think,” said Edith “now how old am I, 86 I think or am I 87? So that would make me?” she slumped in her chair confused at the question.

  William just grunted.

  “I'm 83,” he paused before speaking again. “And I can still get it up.” He said and laughed.

  “Don’t you dare try getting anything up with Me.” said Edith, “I’ll chop it off.”

  Madison giggled, William glared at the old lady if looks could kill, Madison thought and then realised that this man probably had, that made her shiver again. She felt outside her comfort zone once more.

  “So that will make you six when the war started?” said Madison wishing that she hadn't put it so sarcastically.

  William Fenton stared at her, his eyes wide and seemingly bottomless. Madison felt more scared then she had been for a long time. She was grateful of her surroundings, grateful that she was safe. She wouldn't have wanted to meet this man in person on that mountain last year, as old and as frail as he was. He looked the picture of evil.

  Then she thought of his son, her biological father, whom she did meet. The first time she saw him he was going to push a girl in a wheelchair over a cliff, that image will never leave her mind. It was a while before he spoke.

  “Maybe,” he said, “but let me tell you girl, when your dad went off fighting the Nazis you were left at home, you had to be the man of the house , toughen up do you know what I mean?” he looked at Madison, stared without expression, daring her to disagree.

  She wouldn’t disagree, well not this time.

  “Indeed I do, it must have been awful?” she said.

  William took a drag of his cigarette. He blew out the smoke and looked up at the skies.

  “You better believe it girl.”

  Edith was the next to speak, wanting to believe who Alison was, taking her at her word.

  “I used to help my ma in the factory, sweep the floors and stuff, never enough to eat, never enough of anything really.” Madison thought she looked sad.

  Madison smiled put her hand over Edith's and stroked hers.

  “They shut our school, we couldn't go to school not for ages, I remember the bombs, oh the bombs they were awful.”

  “Bloody Germans they couldn't hit a barn door.” said William Fenton.

  “Can you tell me about the house you lived in?” asked Madison.

  The two residents rambled on about the poverty and decline and how tough it was, and how the kids today had it to easy, but as she pretended to write it all down she hadn't heard a thing. Not one thing, she hadn't heard anything for almost a year now. Her gift of reading someone's mind had deserted her, she hoped it would come back. Not that she had control over it, it had only happened 8 or 9 times but each time it was always relevant and it certainly helped her that night a year ago. She couldn't hear Williams Fenton's thoughts not like she did a year ago when he was inside his owns sons head. The beautiful stunning Madison Hughes, a Lioness in waiting just wanted to hear and find the answers.

  “It’s been really helpful.” She said as she saw a carer come over indicating time is up.

  “Can I come back to see you again?”

  “Be lovely to see you.” Said Edith. She tried to get up and say goodbye then thought better of it and save her energy.

  “If you must.” Grunted William.

  Madison kissed Edith then leaned over and shook the old man’s hand. He gripped her’s tightly and held on rather to long, as she looked into his eyes she wanted to hear something but the eyes were just cold and deep and dark. She was daring him to speak, just to contact her, just let her in for one moment and then she could start believing she was on the right track, but he just stared into her eyes, and her head was just a blank.

  A few minutes later she was stood outside the residential home waiting for her father. A tear came to her eye, she wasn’t sure why, she thought of Chantelle and the girly things again, she thought of her mum. How she sort of changed and how much she missed her, then she thought of her brother Todd, the lost Todd, the forgotten Todd and the determination grew inside her again.

  *

  Morgan Hughes had found a quaint coffee shop just down the road from the home where Madison had gone to get her interview. She had told him that it was research that she wanted to do for a book she was writing and that she would only be taking a year out. Then she promised she would study. Well it had almost been a year now and she hadn't, done much studying he thought, he tried to put obstacles in her way in trying to find this man, he had some contacts but he hadn't tried hard enough, she was there now talking to him, he just hoped she didn't hear anything that would encourage her to go looking. One adventure of the kind she had a year ago was enough for anyone in a lifetime. He was kind of glad in a way that she had found him, he knew the old man was weak now, posing no threat. Maybe when she finds this out then it will all be over and then she may realise that in order for someone to die there don’t necessary have to be a body, that’s what he hoped for, to him that’s what this was all about.

  He dawdled over his coffee, a jam scone remained untouched. Things had got a little better, she hadn't been down Wales for two weeks now, which was good, they were a messed up bunch down there and her family or not they were no good for Madison. Madison needed stability, a normal family life, college and friends and fun, those would be the things that would stop her being who she was. Who she really was. He took a sip of his cold coffee, his mobile rung, he looked at the caller it was his wife Sue, and he accepted the call

  “Hi babe.” He said into his phone.

  “Hi love did she meet him?” the voice sounded hopeful, hoping for a negative answer.

  “I’m afraid she did, she's with him now.”

  “Oh well, tell me about it later, loves you.”

  “Loves you too.”

  Just has he cut the call his mobile buzzed indicating a text message, it was from Madison.

  ‘Ready x.’

  He texted her back and left his coffee and scone and got into his car to pick her up, hoping she hadn’t heard a thing. Because if she had he had not a clue what he would do. Protect your family, he thought that’s all I can do.

  Chapter 3

  Daniel Fenton's politician preference was not that of a conservative, in fact he hated everything the Tory’s stood for. Having grown up with a working class background and lived in a steelworker’s town in South Wales, he was too young to really remember the pit closures but he had read about them and he still lived with the devastation those closures had caused, and the havoc created in the Welsh Valley’s.

  The 2016 General Election would probably change the l
andscape of Britain forever. 3 months ago the conservatives won a majority government with a slender majority of six. Labour came second and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) fourth with 1 MP but the shock was the liberal democrats a wiped out distant third with 8.

  What was remarkable that there was a total of eighteen Independents who stood for parliament and got elected. Daniel Fenton was one of those, encouraged by the local chief inspector Simon Goldstone. Daniel stood for parliament on the back of campaign of fighting back against poverty. He won a landslide victory knocking the sitting labour candidate into a far behind second place. Whilst his blood was never blue and always red as in labour he had grown disillusioned with the Labour Party and thought it was time to fight the establishment rather than be part of it, with a thin majority of six, irrelevant of what the rest voted for those eighteen Independents were very important for the government to get legislation through. Daniel had quickly realised this and had soon organised the other seventeen Independents to unite and become the third biggest party in what was a historical piece of history in the country's political spectrum. Not a party as such but eighteen voices that could make a world of difference. Eighteen voices that both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition needed more than they needed the voices of their own party.

  Daniel Fenton spoke passionately in his election victory speech. He spoke about the decline of manufacturing, the poverty around Britain and the increase in food banks. The ridiculous housing system that benefits only the agents, the homeless. The gap between the rich and poor, immigration and equal pay, the great sell off of our national health service and only if we tackle these issues could they put the great back into Great Britain.

  He soon became a household name, a flamboyant but passionate speaker, nothing flustered him, and he never dodged the questions. He never changed his answers. T.V appearances increased Daniel Fenton was heading for the top.

  Of course the people of Ashbourne, the council estate where he lived supported him in all of this, but he was remembered for other things as well. Mainly as one of the organisers of the biggest rave the UK has ever seen and as a brother of one of the most mysterious disappearances of a person that ever lived. He knew these issues would come up soon and he would deal with them. Oh and of course his father served 17 years in prison for murder and tried to kill his Brothers girlfriend, even in death he still haunted him.

  Despite all this, he still missed his brother deeply, that night, that bad, bad time was over now, a lot of people got hurt and some were still hurting, but it was over, his brother was gone. He will always be remembered and loved but it was time to move on. Let the memory of Todd Fenton stay in our hearts and leave it there. He dare not meddle, he had been warned before and he failed to heed that warning, no he dare not. Dare he? He was hoping being an MP would keep him busy and take his mind off the events that had happened the previous year, and it did for a while. His election campaign and then getting used to being a member of parliament took up all of his time, and for a while things seemed ok, but now sometime after the election, things had calmed down, there wasn’t a great deal for him to do. He spent a bit of time in London and would hold surgery’s at his constituency, other than that he found it boring and mundane and was becoming less and less of a challenge, and that allowed him time to think, and he had been thinking about his brother more and more lately and it was hurting him.

  Just as he thought things were getting better, he needed challenges in his life, being an independent MP seemed not to be a big enough challenge for him now. He hoped he wouldn’t find himself looking for something different. Or even someone, the disappearance of his brother had left a gap in his life and he thought he could fill it this way, and for a while it did, just for a while. Soon his life was to be filled with emptiness.

  His constituency covered Newport east his, office was based in the City of Newport in South Wales. He employed a secretary called Cindy, not that Becky his wife couldn't have done the job but it was wildly frowned upon employing members of the family never mind how legitimate it was due to the expenses scandal some 3 years ago, when it appeared that almost every MP was at it. Nor did he claim for a second home, when he had to stay over in London. He stayed in a very modest chain hotel near the Houses of Parliament. This was frowned upon by many members of Parliament. Cindy was introduced to him by Chief inspector, Simon Goldstone who describe her as “very good to look at behind a desk and with amazing secretarial skills” or was it the other way round he couldn’t always remember.

  She was 40' single good looking and no children and with a sense of humour to match Daniels, they were quickly becoming a good team. Although the excitement of his new found position was diminishing, as was the work that Cindy attended to.

  His office above a jewellers in the high Street of Newport with its own separate entrance was quite grand considering its settings around his building. The high street was in a rundown condition, and was only getting worse due to the out of town shopping malls that had been going up over the years. A lot of the department stores had left the city centre to open up in the more convenient malls. That resulted in a lot of the high street shops being boarded up or leased to charity organisations. Besides the smaller shops only Marks and Spencer and Next still survived, and it was rumoured that they too would soon be moving to an out of town outlet. Just another example of big business destroying Town centres. Every fifth building seemed to be a pub, night club or a bookmakers, there had been millions spent on the centre over the years and it still looked like something on desolation row. Whether it was under developed or over developed no one really knew except that it was in free fall. That was one of the reasons why Daniel chose the centre as his base and so he could see what's going on around him. To get a feel for the centre, he could have gone anywhere in his constituency but he liked the rough and tumble of the city centre. His and Cindy's ( who had a separate office next to his ) was furnished to a high standard, the office came ready furnished with its rent and was very competitively priced which was understandable considering the amount of office space available for rent in and out of town. Lots of storage, comfortable seating, large modern desks and both offices looked onto the high street. The only problem was parking. It was a good ten minute walk away to the multi storey, which was fine in good weather, but if it was raining you were guaranteed to be soaked by the time you reached the office. Daniel had just said goodbye to Cindy and he sat waiting for Becky his wife who had got a taxi to come and meet him as they were meeting friends for a curry. It wasn't long before Becky turned up in the taxi so he locked his office, set the alarm which he always thought was stupid as if they were going to break in it would be the jewellers and not his office. He walked onto the street to meet her, it was a lovely warm August early evening. He kissed her, took her hand and they walked the ten minute walk to the khoo de nor restaurant a favourite of theirs.

  Becky a fiery redhead was as loyal as they come to Daniel, she too was involved in the events that took place a year ago. It was something she would never ever forget, the biggest rave, the flying brother, the mad father and a disappearance that no one could understand. She to wondered why everyone had accepted his brother’s death, to an extent she agreed with her young sister in law Madison, " he didn't die there was no body " but she had a young baby to look after now. Daniel always said his brother died that night up on the mountain, Becky wasn't so sure he really believed that. Ever since that night it had seemed like Becky had lost a part of Daniel that night up on the mountain, and while she fully agreed in giving their son Oliver, Todd, as a middle name, she now regretted that. She had a feeling that it would never go away and Oliver would always be a constant reminder of Todd Fenton. She looked beautiful tonight with her long black dress split up the one side showing a shapely leg, an off the shoulder that showed her figure off at its most perfect. Everyone looked at her as they walked, Daniel liked that and so did Becky.

  As they entered the restaurant they w
ere greeted and led to their seats where Jezz and Tracy sat waiting. The four of them waved to each other as they walked towards the table, Jezz forever the gentleman stood and kissed Becky's hand before she sat. Daniel and Tracy exchanged a hug and Daniel sat next to Becky,

  The four had become good friends over the past year. Jezz a one-time drug dealer and leg breaker was a reformed character, a 6'7 West Indian born in Britain, he was a gentle giant ever since he met Tracy Bates. Jezz was there up on that mountain that fateful day and turned out to be quite a hero shooting someone in the shoulder to save a girl. That was nearly a year ago. He was never at the rave, never saw anybody fly or anyone disappear and he never asked any questions. He always said those couple of days with them two girls had changed him and turned him into a good man, and the truth was it did. Along with the help of Tracy Bates of course, she was an ex-police sergeant who got sacked because of what happened a year ago. She was actually sacked for drinking on duty at the biggest rave the uk had ever seen and sky news had filmed it, but her part was bigger than that, she did see those things. She saw a man flying and thousands of people attending a party that they were somehow drawn to saw him too. It was something out of the unexplained and she daren’t even try to explain it. She wanted it blocked from her mind and so did the other tens of thousands so it seemed, but good came out of it for her, she met Jezz, fell in love and she now works for a pretty good solicitor.

  As a police officer she was one time big enemies with Becky, who had one time decked her with one punch whilst at the rave, they laugh about that now. Tracy was pretty, with dark long wavy hair, high cheekbones, and boobs lots of them, and natural. So the four of them had become genuine good friends through horrific circumstances that no one dared mention, but all four of them knew that like a cancer it would gnaw and eat away at them and that friendship would have to unite or die. Tracy expected it to die and their friendship would fade, but it was almost a year now and it still remained strong, but she always asked herself the same question, why does Daniel never talk about it? Tracy had seen someone fly through the roof of the house she was sure of it, but as the months rolled on she became less sure. Maybe she imagined it, she didn’t need her copper instincts to tell her that almost a year ago there were some very strange goings on happening with the Fenton’s, and you didn’t need a missing Todd Fenton to tell her that. She knew you didn’t need a body to necessary confirm someone dead, but in Tracy’s mind Todd Fenton disappeared easily, just a little too easy.