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

by Colin Griffiths

  Gordon liked the way he turned it back on him. “Do you still dabble?”

  “No.”

  “But your good with figures, it's a lucrative business, better paid then a MP.”

  “I want to make a difference not make money, all I count now is votes.”

  “So no help for MP’s to fiddle there expenses, they must be gutted.”

  “They didn't need my help before.” The two of them smirked. Gordon turned to the camera.

  “Ok time for a break, in part three we will be putting more challenging questions to Daniel Fenton and don't forget to phone in with your question and we will ask a chosen question at the end of the programme.”

  Telephone numbers came up on the screen, the sweat poured down Daniels neck and face, he was cleaned up and given more water.

  “Worse thing about this job is the lights.” Said Gordon.

  “How am I doing?” Asked Daniel, he felt exhausted, he could not believe how tiring it was.

  Gordon leaned forward, he was 20 years older than Daniel, a good looking man and a viewer’s favourite in Wales. He had been known to make or break a man.

  “You’re doing well, I may even vote for you next time.” They both laughed.

  “You sure you’re ready for part three? I can change it even now, I have lots of bog standard questions we can ask.”

  “No secrets remember' said Daniel and Wales top interviewer and reporter really liked this politician.

  The final part of the interview had been started, early indications were that viewing figures were going to be high. The cameras panned from Daniel to Gordon.

  “So Daniel your life has been eventful but not short of its own tragedy, it's common knowledge that you father was jailed for murder and on his release, kidnapped a young girl, he was later found dead in his cell. How did that make you feel? Has it made you stronger? Has it influenced you in any way?”

  Daniel, took a sip of water and licked his lips, he clutched his hands together and leant slightly forward. He looked as if he was pondering, thinking of what had just been asked, it was good for the cameras, the producer was loving it. This was what Daniel wanted, not the stupid politics, he wanted to talk about something he had been too scared to talk about for the past 9 months.

  “I was 5 when my father murdered an innocent lad, did it affect me? Of course it did, it would affect any five year old. I never saw him after that, even at that young age all I cared about was my mother and brother. I had to grow up quick and be there for them. My mother didn't deserve it, it certainly made me stronger, but influence, he paused, no, I don't think so. My mother and brother were the ones who influenced me, the death of my father bore no significance to me. The death of a young man murdered in his prime all those years ago should be the one that we care about and those that were left behind.”

  “We will talk about your brother in a moment, so would you say your mother was the biggest influence in your career?”

  “In my life, she's the most amazing person I know. I know how strong she is, she is the most wonderful person.”

  Gordon looked at Daniel tried to send a subliminal message as into say are you ready, he could see by Daniels posture his look of determination that he was.

  “How did you organise the biggest rave in this country's history? How did you get those to come? Even the police, and the press joined in, how did you organise that?”

  “I didn't organise it Gordon, people just heard that a young girl close to us had been kidnapped, they came to pay their respects.”

  “Do you honestly expect us to believe that?”

  Daniel gave a slight pause, he knew no one was going to ever believe that.

  “Not really, it was an amazing event, but there was no planning, thousands have been asked why, I honestly think it was to pay homage to my brother and his girlfriend, terrible things happened that night.”

  “Was it to cause a diversion so you could hunt down your father?”

  Daniel screwed his face a little, he drunk some water and nervously shuffled his hands.

  “You know what? I don't know why the party started, with social media it’s easy to get a message across and this one seemed to go viral very quickly, everyone goes on about the rave and what a good time it was.’ He took a sip of water, ‘But for me and my family it wasn’t, and your right about hunting down my father, he had kidnapped someone and tortured two innocent girls, one my brothers girlfriend and one we found out later that he had been abusing her for a long time. If I had found him that night I would have killed him, no question about it!”

  Bombshell, a Member of Parliament admitting he would kill his father. Wow, thought Gordon, this will be front page news. He paused for a moment to let it sink in, the camera zoomed in onto a determined looking Daniel, the cameraman and producer wanted to capture the moment and they did it brilliantly, Williams continued.

  “But there were tens of thousands partying, people lost their jobs!”

  “It was just to pay homage, what else could it be? No one called them, no one asked them, they just came, and there was no violence. I can’t explain why policemen who were on duty decided to join in, I can’t explain why people from neighbouring towns came, it was the worst time of our lives, why would we want to party?”

  “Without going through all the events that happened that night at went wood forest, the horrible kidnapping, the rescue of two badly beaten girls, you assembled a team.” Williams took a drink of water, he was now feeling the heat.

  “Why did you do that why not call the police?”

  Another sip of water by Daniel, Daniel cleared his throat.

  “So many things were happening, a message off my father with a picture of blood-stained clothes, threatening to kill someone if I was to call the police, I knew what he was capable of, I realise now the police should have been allowed to deal with it, maybe things might have turned out better maybe I'd still have a brother.”

  “And the team who were they, how were they assembled?”

  “This is going to sound crazy Gordon.”

  “Crazy is good the viewers like crazy.” this whole interview is crazy he thought.

  “Other than the family members there were 3 people that night I'd never met, one was my grandmother, the other was a distant relative, the other was a sister I never knew I had.”

  “Madison?” asked Gordon.

  “Yes Madison.”

  “How did they get involved?”

  “They just turned up, we found out that he had them captive in Wentwood so we went looking, all three played a big part in rescuing the girls.”

  “So three people you never knew existed just turned up?”

  “That’s exactly how it was.”

  “Maybe they heard about the party.” said Williams sarcastically.

  “Maybe.”

  “Do you expect our viewers to believe that?”

  Daniel gave it some thought, he bit his bottom lip “Not really,” he replied “but I can’t give you answers, people have seen the footage, it was all over you tube, I guess they will have to draw their own conclusions,”

  “Not entirely a happy ending, you lost your brother that night, a body was never found, reports are saying that he was struck by lightning and went over a cliff, no one is looking for a body, there are a lot of unexplored caves in Wentwood, do you think his body is still there? Or probably eaten by wild animals now. Do you think more should have been done to find your brothers body?”

  Daniel paused, took another sip of water, he was now visibly shaking, a feint tear came to his eye, this was good television. The producers were loving it.

  Daniel looked straight at the camera and whispered.

  “Nobody died that night.”

  An answer not even Gordon expected.

  “Can you explain what you mean?”

  “No body went over the cliff,” Daniels voice grew louder and more assured he sat back,

  “We had just found one of the girls who wa
s near to death, she was Todd's girlfriend, he was in a state, he had been injured so he lagged behind a bit. Madison was with him, yes there was lightening, there was bright lights, but Madison was with him, he didn't go over a cliff, we were all confused, then Todd wasn't there anymore.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “My sister says and I quote, " he didn't die there was no body" unquote, and Gordon,” he leant close almost face to face, Gordon could feel his breath. This was brilliant television Gordon thought.

  “I believe my sister!” Daniel added Gordon looked at the camera and listened to the voice in his head piece.

  “I am very sorry we've run out of time, there will be no time for the viewer’s question, until next week from the Wales today team goodnight.”

  The programme closed the director’s producers and all the crew were elated, they knew they had a hit. Moves were already afoot to replay it later that evening and put it on iPlayer.

  Daniel felt exhausted he never realised how stressful it would feel. It certainly gave him a different insight and dealing with the pressures of broadcasting. He still had butterflies, as they were leaving the studios, Daniel said

  “I need a drink.”

  “Mind if I join you” said Gordon Williams “I know just the place.”

  As Daniel and Gordon came out of the studios he turned his phone on, there were missed calls and loads of messages wishing him good luck, he opened a recent message off Madison it simply said.

  “Thank you xxxx" he smiled.

  He didn't die there was no body, he thought. What the fuck have I done?

  The pub was a regular retreat for the press being near to the TV studios and the press offices. The cuckoo’s nest’ was a nice place modern in its decor, a comfortable lounge and a freehouse. They ordered two pints of black sheep and took a seat in the corner, the seats were comfortable and both men sat relaxed. Daniel looked around, what people were in were deep in conversation, a number of people waved to Gordon, he seemed popular, Daniel liked him, he could use him, they could use each other.

  “Mind if I ask a question?” asked Gordon taking a sip of his beer.

  “Go ahead.” Replied Daniel.

  “Why did you stand, you just don't seem the MP type?”

  Daniel laughed, it was a question he had heard many times before.

  “I do want to make some difference!” they stared at each other both unconvinced with the answer.

  “I need some answers.” Daniel added.

  “What answers?” Gordon asked curiously.

  Daniel thought about that, it seemed a logical but good question.

  “I haven't thought of the questions yet.”

  “Something to do with your brother? I have a feeling there’s a lot more to tell.”

  “Maybe.”

  The barman who knew Gordon well, got his attention and called him over, he was a large hairy man who looked as if he was drinking more beer then he was selling. Gordon made his apologies to Daniel and went to the bar, the barman handed him the latest edition of "South Wales today" a nightly edition newspaper.

  “Is that the same bloke?” the barman asked, Gordon looked at the headlines on the front page of the newspaper.

  “Shit.2 he said.

  He sat back down by Daniel, handed him the newspaper on the front the headlines read " MP Daniel Fenton uses ex gangster and drug lord as a minder" The picture was of the evening in the restaurant, it showed Jezz stood at his table and it showed the man who was drunk, his back to the camera. The article claimed he was scared as the gangster threatened him simply because he had spoken to the local MP.

  “Shit!” said Daniel “who is this reporter?” he added.

  “He’s a leech will do anything to get a story.”

  “I have to go, I've got to sort this.”

  “Be careful you know what the press are like.” Said Gordon Williams with a smirk on his face.

  “I’m beginning to find out.” Said Daniel.

  They exchanged business cards as they left and as Daniel walked out the door Gordon thought, he was an interesting bloke, like to see how he gets out of that one.

  “Have you seen tonight's paper?” Daniel asked Tracy, he sat in his car after leaving the pub and got straight on the phone to Tracy.

  “I have,” she said “who's that bastard Stuart Thomas? It wasn’t like that at all. Jezz wants to find him and tell him so.”

  “I need a favour.” Daniel asked.

  Chapter 6

  The Mason's Arms in Risca was a busy place and tonight was no different, it was a pub that attracted the youngsters who would fill their boots before venturing into the Newport night club scene. Risca a small Village outside of Newport and was the home to Stuart Thomas, disliked by many for his aggressive attitude when reporting things in and around the Risca area, now further disliked due to the report he had made about the biggest rave organiser in Wales. Thousands of people from Risca had attended the rave and were somehow affected by the missing Todd Fenton and they didn’t take kindly to bad articles about the Fenton’s. They were like gods in this part of the world. The Masons Arms was his local and tonight he had a particular good reason to celebrate, he had got a story on that smug MP Daniel Fenton. Though he had never met him he disliked him, thought he was too far up his own arse, he needed taking down a peg or two and he was the one who done it. Ex-gangster and drug lord as a minder, served him right. He had done his research on that Jezz, it was easy enough to do and plenty of people were willing to give information for a small price and his story was all over the internet. Part of a drug gang in Bristol, he wished he could have got something on that ex copper but the only thing he had was her drinking at a rave on duty and that was old news now, it appeared she had an exemplary record before that. He thought of the headlines, “good copper gone bad “that one will have to wait, he would come up with something. He had been doing this for 5 years now. He started when he was 28 that was when he got his first break with the newspaper. He had been doing lots of small time reports, cats stuck up a tree, kids head stuck in railings that kind of thing, but he seen a story that night in the restaurant and his editor bought it hook line and sinker. It was easy to manipulate the young kid who was drunk, £40 saw to that, he was on a roll now, things were looking good. He was a front page reporter and the nationals were wanting it, he seen the big time coming. He fancied himself as the editor of the daily mirror. He was sat at a table in the pub, he hadn’t noticed the stares that he got when he walked in, he was too mixed up in his dreams of becoming a famous reporter. The pub was quieter now as most of the youngsters had headed off to the nightclubs, Stuart was feeling tipsy but in a good way.

  “You drinking that? I've been empty for 5 minutes.” said the thin balding man that sat opposite him, pointing to the beer that Stuart had left in his glass.

  Stuart looked at his watch it was 10.30, the bar would be shut in half an hour, another half an hour to drink up, he could get 4 more pints in by then. The pub would very often offer lock-ins after time and stay open until the last drinkers left, but Stuart was never included in the lock-ins, he wasn’t to be trusted. He would probably get it off her indoors when he got home, but he had a right to celebrate, he was almost famous now. He picked up the now 2 empty glasses and walked to the bar, he stood at the bar waiting his turn, eyeing up one of the bar maids. She wore a low cut top and he was leaning over trying to get a closer look. The bar manager a heavily built man in his thirties who would not tolerate any trouble in his pub clocked this and he was keeping an eye on Stuart. But he needn’t had worried, as it happened Stuart was about to make other plans for the evening. He finished ogling the barmaid’s breasts when he heard someone speak to him.

  “You’re that reporter aren't you?” she asked,

  Stuart turned to the side of him, sat on the stool at the bar was one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen. She was in her late twenty’s, stylish, dark long hair with beautiful dark eyes. She wore a dress t
hat showed of her long slender legs as she crossed and uncrossed them while she sat on the stool. It reminded him of basic instinct, he wished she would do it again. Just enough of her cleavage was showing, just enough making him want more. She was class and she was speaking to him. where did she come from he had never seen her before, she was looking at him in admiration, her eyes fixed on his , a permanent smile on her face as she fluttered her long eyelashes.

  “I Am.' he smirked, his heart was racing, 'and you are?”

  She fluttered her eyelashes again, it made her look more inviting, and it made Stuart want her there and then. Her voice was deep and sensual.

  “I'm Chloe, I've never met anyone famous before, it’s so exciting.” she shuffled on her stool showing a bit more leg, she licked her lips slowly, seductively, and gave a big smile. It was the smile that really got Stuart going, it was so sexy and inviting.

  Famous that's me now, he thought, the barman took his order, he ordered 4 pints.

  “Can I get you a drink Chloe?” he asked, his voice showed the nervousness in him.

  “I’ll have a small white wine please Stuart.”

  She pouted her lips, now he was hooked, he ordered the wine, took the beer over to his table where his friend waited, he left 3 pints for his friend.

  “I think I've pulled!” He said and nodded towards where the girl was sat at the bar, she was looking over and smiling, inviting him in, he was taken in hook, line and sinker.

  “You've got no chance.” His friend said as he stared at the beauty sat at the bar. Stuart walked to the bar to join Chloe who was sat at the bar on a stool and seemed to only have eyes for him. He stood beside her, his heart racing where they small talked for a bit. Stuart was nervous as he didn't want to blow it. Chloe done most of the talking, confident and seductive, she knew exactly what she was doing, she was in full control. The barman called time it was 11.25. Chloe clasped her bag shut, flashed her long legs as she lowered herself from the stool. The hot flustered Stuart didn't want her to leave.