It rained throughout the funeral – it always rains in November – and immediately after the service the handful of mourners drove away. Carl wanted to apologise to Martin’s parents, but he felt a bit hypocritical. At least he had paid his respects.
As he drove home, Carl planned to change the future. Anything to ensure he didn’t end up with a funeral like Martin’s. He arranged an appointment with a family counsellor and a further joint appointment for him and Carly to work through their issues. The nearest Carl had ever come to therapy until now had been a chat down the pub with his mate, Colin, but he knew that he had to improve as a dad, and as a man.
It was not going to happen soon because when he arrived home, Sergeant Ellam was waiting for him, police car parked outside his house. Carl cursed. Either Marie or Janice must have decided to tell the police about Carly after all. Fuck it. Time to be a man and face the music.
Carl parked the Peugeot in his drive and locked it. He turned to meet the approaching Sergeant.
“Mr Carl Price, I am arresting you under suspicion of grievous bodily harm to a minor. You do not have to say anything but anything you do say will be taken as evidence and may be used against you in a Court of Law.”
“Grievous bod...GBH? What is this about?”
* * *
Sergeant Ellam was a thorough police officer. He had checked Nathan’s mobile phone records and found the texts between Nathan and Michael immediately before the attack. At the sergeant’s own home, he found traces of blood on his son’s trainers. Sergeant Ellam chose to ignore this evidence. Instead, he concentrated on Carl’s neighbours who had witnessed a fracas outside his house. The suspect had a motive – Nathan’s involvement with his thirteen year old daughter. On that basis, he arrested a stunned Carl Price.
Chapter 35
Wednesday November 17th
Nathan was sat on his lounge settee watching TV. He muted the sound.
“Mum, can I have a glass of coke please?” he called.
“OK, I’m coming. Just wait a second.”
“An egg sandwich would be good as well.”
Janice brought in a glass of coke. Twenty four hours of slavery had taken its toll. At first willing to tend to her son’s requirements, the constant demands were now reducing her irritability threshold.
“Nathan, they told us at the hospital that you shouldn’t sit around all...”
“They didn’t take a kicking did...?” The phone rang, interrupting Nathan’s determination to milk his condition.
“I suppose I’ll have to get that. You take it easy.”
Janice picked up the phone. Sergeant Ellam told her he’d arrested and formally charged Carl for the attack on Nathan. Her voice trembling, she thanked the officer and rang off.
She sat in her armchair, staring into space for a few seconds. Nathan took no notice, but she looked at his battered face and related the news.
“Nathan, that was the police. Carl has been arrested and charged for beating you up. I...I can’t believe it.”
“No, neither can...” Phone rang again. “We’re popular all of a sudden,” Nathan remarked, as Janice picked up the phone again.
“Hello, Janice. This is Marie. Carl’s been arrested...”
“Yes, I know. I can’t...”
“I’m coming round to see you and Nathan. Are you going to be in?”
“Yes, but...”
“OK, see you soon.”
“That was Marie, Carly’s Mum...”
“I know who she is. We have met.”
Janice leaned forward.
“Yeah, well, she’s coming round. Is there anything I should know, Nathan, before she...”
“Like what?”
“It was Carl, who beat you up? You are sure?”
Nathan took the TV off mute. He ignored the question.
Five minutes later the doorbell rang. Janice opened the door to Marie. Carly was stood beside her.
“Carly wanted to come. Neither of us can believe that Carl would do this to Nathan,” Marie explained, without bothering with any pretence of small talk.
Janice’s mothering instinct kicked in and she responded stiffly.
“Well, I wouldn’t have believed it either, but then Carl’s surprised us all recently. And he’s been formally charged.”
If there was a choice to side with her son or her ex-boyfriend’s ex and daughter, the selection was a no brainer.
“It’s gone round and round in my head, Janice. Whatever Carl’s done, and it’s unforgiveable, I can’t believe he’d attack a boy. Whatever the provocation. He never raised a hand to me, even when I left him...”
“People change, Marie. Carl ...”
Carly stepped forward.
“Janice, are you going to stand there all day slagging off my dad or let us in?”
Janice reluctantly stood aside. Marie and Carly were now her enemies, but they shouldn’t be. Everything they said made sense, whereas Nathan lurched from one lie to another. Janice wanted to shepherd the visitors into the relative safety of the kitchen, but she was on her own and these two were stronger than her. She stood no chance.
“Can I see Nathan? Where is he?” Marie asked, looking around.
“He’ll be in here, Mum. Can’t you hear the TV?”
They walked in to the living room. Nathan was lying on the couch watching TV, his left eye still a rainbow of bruises. There were small plasters under his nose and on his chin. The eye was swollen and only half opened. Looking at his swollen mouth, Janice had been reminded of Leslie Ash. As much as she wanted Nathan to recover fully, at least her visitors’ anger and hostility were softened by the mangled features that greeted them.
“My Dad...my dad did this? Why? I can’t believe it,” Carly shouted.
“Well, believe it, Carly, it happened.”
Marie looked at Nathan’s face and turned away. She grabbed Janice’s arm and pulled her out of the lounge and into the kitchen.
“Janice, I can’t believe my ex did this. We’ve both known him for years. I was married to him. All the stuff with Carly is one thing but following Nathan to a park and beating the hell out of him isn’t Carl.”
Janice tried to avoid the other woman’s gaze.
“The police told me that he had been down the pub and was a bit drunk. Nathan went to see Carly and wound him up – as Nathan does. There are witnesses to the initial fight outside the house and Carl has no alibi for the rest of the afternoon.”
Marie shook her head. “Janice, I don’t buy this and I don’t think you do either.”
Janice forced herself to look directly at Marie. She needed to lie with conviction, for her son’s sake.
“Nathan told me and the police that Carl attacked him. Carl has been arrested and charged. It’s down to the police now.”
Met with a stubborn refusal to consider her viewpoint, Marie marched back into the lounge. Carly was dabbing Nathan’s face with a tissue.
“Come on Carly, we’re going.”
“But, Mum, I...”
She broke off as the phone rang. Janice had left the phone next to Nathan and when he picked it up. When he mumbled, “Oh hi, Sergeant Ellam,” the warring women fell quiet to listen.
“Shit! I mean, er OK...thanks...yeah, thanks for letting me know. Cheers, laters, er I mean bye, and thanks.”
He looked up at the three women. The daughter, ex-wife and ex-girlfriend all waiting to hear.
“He’s gone and admitted it. Said he did it. Pleaded guilty.”
Marie picked up on his incredulous tone.
“Why are you sounding so surprised? You know he didn’t do this to you, don’t you?”
Nathan smirked, as much as he was able with his swollen mouth.
“Well, he’s admitted it, so he must have.”
“I’m not your Mum or Carly. I know you’re lying. He didn’t do this.” Marie turned on Janice. “You know it too. This little shit is lying, and you�
��re a bloody fool protecting him.”
Janice leapt to the defence of her reprehensible offspring. “Carl’s admitted he’s guilty. If he’s confessed, he must have done it. No reason for him to admit to something he hasn’t done.”
Janice was convinced Nathan had lied, in blaming Carl, and she believed that she understood why Carl had confessed. Marie was right. Carl was not a bad man. He decided to take the punishment for something he had not done because of his guilt for something he had done.
Janice stared at Nathan. A mess outside, but a bigger mess inside. Even now, though, Carly sat on the settee next to him, and although she was no longer dabbing his cuts and bruises, she remained his loyal serving wench. Nathan was his father’s son, and Carly, well she was only thirteen, plenty of time for her to develop into a Marie rather than a Janice.
Marie stormed out, pulling Carly with her.
“Come on, Carly. We’re going to the station ourselves. Sort this mess out.”
Janice heard the door shut and turned on Nathan.
“He didn’t do it did he? It wasn’t Carl who beat you up, was it?”
“Mum, he’s confessed. That’s it finished. Can you never fucking believe me?”
Janice walked out of the room. No need to argue with him anymore. She knew the truth anyway. She went into the kitchen and put on her favourite Four Tops CD. ‘Do what you gotta do’ played. It reminded her of how much had happened since she cried upon hearing that song at the dentist a fortnight or so ago. Carl may have had a disturbing relationship with his daughter but he had shown Janice that she could still be loved and that reinvigorated her confidence and zest for life. By confessing his guilt, he had saved Nathan from further interrogation. He must be a decent man after all. For all of this she would be eternally grateful. Hearing the song again though, she was still crying.
* * *
The BMW wipers were on maximum as Marie and Carly drove to the police station, The combination of weather and darkness making it difficult to locate.
“Mum, you’ve missed it. It was back there.”
“It’s impossible to see. I’m parking here. We’ll walk back.”
“In this rain?”
“We’ll survive. We can run.”
Marie parked and they ran back to the station. It was an incongruous building in the middle of a parade of offices and shops, but the blue Police signs were lit up and, on foot, Marie had no difficulty finding it. She ran up the stairs and opening the door was faced with a bell to ring for service. She looked behind her, at her daughter, who was as drenched as she was. Somebody would pay for this miscarriage of justice. Marie rang the bell. Nobody came. She rang again. Longer this time. Eventually, a woman turned up. Didn’t look like a policeman. Presumably, a receptionist.
“Who’s in charge of Carl Price? Who’s fitted him up?”
“Mum, shut up,” Carly admonished, rolling her eyes in embarrassment.
“I’ve seen The Bill, Carly. I know how it works.”
The receptionist told Marie to calm down and said she’d fetch the officer dealing with the case.
There were three plastic chairs against the wall behind them. Carly sat down. The desk area was small, cell size even. Marie paced up and down. Her Dolce and Gabbana shoes squelching with each step. Rainwater had splashed mud on her tights, and she sat down to wipe them clean. Second pair ruined this week.
A solid looking policeman appeared from a side door. Marie noticed how well polished his uniform was.
“Hello, you must be Carly and Mrs. Price. I’m Sergeant Ellam. The officer in charge of the case. Please, follow me.”
Marie motioned to correct her name, but Carly told her to leave it. They followed the Sergeant’s broad back through the reception area and into an adjacent interview room. Looked more like a holding cell to Marie. Dull grey walls, stained with something unpleasant, and a faint smell of vomit. At least the policeman’s expensive aftershave dulled the noxious scent.
Even before sitting down, Marie demanded answers. “Where is he? What have you done with Carl?”
“Mrs. Price, Carly …”
She couldn’t let the error pass by without correction this time. “I’m not Mrs. Price. It’s Ms O’Brien…”
“Mum, shut up and let him speak. Fuckin’ hell. This isn’t about you.”
“I know, Carly, I was just correcting…”
Carly began pigeoning her mum. “Fuckin’ hell, Mum. Shut up.”
“Don’t swear at me, Carly, I…”
After watching mother and daughter spar for a moment, Sergeant Ellam lost patience.
“OK. Both of you, please be quiet and listen.”
The Sergeant waited for a moment and cleared his throat.
“Mr. Price, as you know, was arrested for GBH against Nathan Richardson, and he has admitted the offence. He had too much to drink, argued and hit Nathan. Then, still angry, he followed Nathan to Waddon Park and attacked him. He regrets it now, and has explained that it was out of character, but he has been charged. There will be a bail hearing tomorrow. A custodial sentence is almost certain, and because it was pre-meditated – in that he followed Nathan to the park – and Nathan is still a minor, the term is uncertain.”
Marie drew a deep breath.“OK, it’s uncertain, but can you estimate?”
“Carl Price is being charged with Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and is looking at anything from 3 months to 5 years. It is his first offence and there was provocation, but he will be very lucky to avoid prison.”
Carly pulled her mum’s sleeve, distressed. “But he didn’t do it. Mum, tell him, Dad is innocent.”
“You have to understand that Nathan has named your dad in a signed statement and your dad has admitted his guilt. It’s black and white I’m afraid.”
“Carly’s right, Sergeant. Nathan’s lying and Carl is protecting him or his girlfriend, who’s Nathan’s mother.”
Sergeant Ellam was unmoved.“I’m sorry Mrs. Pri... er, Ms O’Brien. There is nothing further I can do under the circumstances.”
Carly began to sob but Marie remained focused.
“Can I see him?”
“I spoke to Carl a few minutes ago. He wants to see Carly and I’ve said it’s OK, whilst we are waiting for the paperwork to be completed. Carl will then be released pending the bail hearing. But he has asked me to ask whether you and Gemma would consider moving back to the family home. That way Carly is protected should he be sent down.”
Carly stopped mid-sob and turned eagerly to her mum.
“Why don’t you move back, Mum? You need a place. I’d share with Gemma and we could do up the spare room.”
Marie ignored her and addressed the Sergeant.
“He’s going to be released on bail, isn’t he? I don’t have to think about this now, surely?”
“There are no guarantees, but his thinking is that if he is remanded in custody, Carly will be able to stay in the family home.”
“Go on, Mum. You have to tonight anyway. Otherwise I’m…”
Marie bowed to the inevitable.
“OK. OK. Carly. We’ll stay at yours. Least I can do.”
Sergeant Ellam allowed himself a grim smile.
“OK, Mrs. O’Brien, Carly. I’ll go and sort out Carly seeing her dad. Wait here a moment.” As he got up, the Sergeant remembered something else.
“There is one other thing. I offered Carl the opportunity to consider bringing a charge of unlawful sex against Nathan, perhaps to encourage young Master Richardson into dropping the assault charge, but he refused the option.”
Marie and Carly looked at each other. It was a possible way out for Carl but it would lead to further accusations and counter accusations. After a brief pause, Carly spoke.
“Can I see my dad now?”
Sergeant Ellam left the room. Carly turned to her mum. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying.
“Mum, can’t you get Dad off? Use a top lawyer. Y
ou’ve got the money to…”
Marie sighed. “Carly, it’s not that simple. I could try, but he’s pleaded guilty.” Marie’s mobile rang. “Sorry, love, I have to take this. Hello, yes… That’s right… OK thanks…Not to worry… Thank you anyway…Goodbye.”
“Work, I guess.”
“Yes and no. Can’t start the audit for six months. Never mind that. What were you saying?”
“Dad could get off though. We could tell Nathan that he’ll be sued for having sex with me. He’d drop the case, and…”
“Might not be that straightforward, now that your dad’s confessed. And if it came out about your Dad and you…” Marie’s mobile rang again. “I’m really sorry, love, I have to take this. It’s the other client. Yes…yes…of course…see you tomorrow…Bye, and thanks.”
“You can never ignore work, can you, Mum?”
“It’s a new contract. A good client as well. I’d be a fool to turn it down. I might need it for the top lawyer you want. Anyway, where were we? What were you saying, Carly?”
“Doesn’t matter, Mum. It isn’t important.”
Sergeant Ellam returned.
“OK, Carly, your dad’s waiting.”
Chapter 36
Wednesday November 17th – From Chapter 0
“I don’t get it, Dad. It seems mad that you ended up in here in the first place.”
Carl put his hand on his forehead, grimacing as he felt his greasy hair. She was wrong. It wasn’t mad, it was just desserts. He didn’t want to lay any guilt on her, so it was easier to answer simply, and continue the charade.
“I was an idiot, I used my fists instead of my head.”
Carly leaned forward and held his hand. The wobbly stool almost dislodged her. They smiled at each other as she almost lost her balance. Then, serious again, she continued her thread.
“You didn’t though, did you, Dad? You never followed Nathan like that and kicked his head in. That isn’t you.”
It Always Rains in November Page 25