Sebastian Cork: Forget Me Not

by Neal Davies

  They take a seat and Sebastian is the first to speak. “Well firstly, what would you like to be called; Christopher, Colin or Mr Maxwell?”

  He smiles sarcastically at Sebastian, “You know something, Cork; I was rather enjoying my role as Christopher so let’s keep it at that, shall we?”

  Sebastian, maintaining a more than usual serious attitude, replies sternly, “Whatever you like Christopher. I see on your file you’ve only just turned 30 and your murder charges hold a 70 year minimum sentence with no parole. Are you intending to live to be 100, Christopher?”

  Christopher smugly retorts, “Look Cork, as I told the fellow that was reading my rights, I don’t know anything about any bloody murder and the only thing you have on me is that I didn’t turn up to the parole office for my weekly visit. Once I Explain to the court I’ve been holding down a steady job since that day, I’m sure they’ll go lightly on me.”

  Sebastian turns to Paul and requests, “Would you like to explain to Christopher what evidence we have and why he should disclose what he knows about Mr Portola’s murder?” Paul is rather chuffed to think Sebastian is sharing the load with him,

  “Unlike Seb here, I don’t give a shit what you want to be called. So here’s the deal Maxwell; the other day Seb and I called into Barry’s Body Shop. Heard of it?”

  Christopher becomes uneasy and frowns, “Not that I can recall.”

  “Really? Because they remember you and they still have the paper work that says you sold them a car that had substantial damage to the front guard. Does that help jog your memory?” Beads of sweat begin to form on Christopher’s forehead.

  “Now that I think back, I do remember selling a car to them, but what does that prove?”

  “Not a lot now, but once we combine that with the $100,000 that Gina transferred into your bank account around the time of her husband’s death, and a description of the damage to the car which we have detailed documentation of; we should be able to put together a solid case that will see you go away for the rest of your life. The other thing we found interesting is that the car was meticulously looked after with very little use over the years. Barry Junior had kept it in his father’s garage as it held a lot of sentimental value for him. He only drove it to the shop on rare occasions to ensure it was still running well. So we have it in the pound at the moment in case there are any remaining hair follicles or DNA left on the undercarriage of it.”

  Christopher’s brow screws up and he is quick to demand, “I want a lawyer now!”

  Sebastian stands and offers, “That’s not a problem. We’ll organise that. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to cut a deal before we speak to Gina and lay a similar offer on the table.” As Sebastian and Paul walk toward the door he turns to Paul and says, “I was hoping things would go the other way, but first in best dressed I guess. Let’s head down the corridor and speak with Gina’s lawyer about the deal.” Christopher thumps his cuffed hands on the table.

  “Wait! What are you offering?”

  Paul turns, “45 years no parole.” Christopher puts his head down and then raises it slowly,

  “40 years minimum security and I’ll give you Gina on a plate. Otherwise, forget it!” Sebastian steps in to the conversation.

  “We haven’t got the authority to make this decision. We’ll need to speak to the powers that be. Do you want us to call your legal attorney while we’re out?”

  “Yes I do! I f I’m going to roll over I want to make sure you jackals don’t screw with me!” Christopher gives them the details of his lawyer. Paul rings him as Sebastian meets with Jim and the prosecutor and, although they are reluctant to accept his terms and conditions, the case is shaky without witnesses. So it’s agreed that the prosecutor will meet Christopher’s terms. Two hours later his lawyer arrives and advises him to take the deal. Christopher gives a comprehensive and detailed statement of how he was hired by Gina to kill her husband. He told them that he had blown the money he’d made from the job and then tried to get work, but no one wanted to take him on. He got so desperate he broke into a store and was caught by police a few days later. Once he was given parole he headed straight to Gina’s and told her if she didn’t help him he’d tell the police about the hit on her husband. Gina helped him change his identity and made him work for his blackmail money.

  After Christopher signed his statement, Sebastian and Paul are congratulated again by Jim. “It looks like the two of you are going to make quite a team.”

  Sebastian smiles at Paul and replies, “I hope so Jim, but we still have a few wrinkles to iron out. I just hope Paul’s got the patience.”

  Paul looks at Jim and jokes, “It’s not going to be easy and the young fellow here has a lot to learn, but I’m sure we’ll get there eventually.”

  Jim laughs and then scratches his head. “What the hell have I done? It’s like matching Ghandi with one of the three stooges. Anyway, now that we have Maxwell’s statement we’ll be able to put Gina away for life. Now, why don’t you fellows finish up what you have to do and take the afternoon off?” But Sebastian has other things on his mind.

  “Before I do that Jim, is there any chance I can have a word with Gina alone?”

  “Sure sure, although she’ll probably want her lawyer present and you’ll need to wait until all charges have been laid. If you give us a couple of hours there shouldn’t be a problem.” Sebastian turns to Paul and invites. “Would you like to join me for a coffee, Paul? There’s a great little coffee shop down the road, and I’m buying!” Paul doesn’t hesitate, “lead the way!” They jump in Sebastian’s Bentley and arrive at the cafe’ within minutes. As Paul steps onto the pavement he says, “I don’t get it Seb; it’s only 10minutes walk from the office and you had to drive. What’s with that?”

  Sebastian, still walking around the car provides, “That would be ten minutes here and ten minutes back, plus the time it takes to have a coffee. On top of that I still have some paper work I need to do before I speak to Gina.”

  Paul starts nodding his head in a disbelieving way and mutters, “All this for a cup of coffee.” Once inside the cafe,’ they’re taken to a table for four in a quiet area. Sebastian orders two coffees while they sit and discuss the case and better ways of communicating with each other. As they’re winding up, a young man comes to the table and asks if he can join them.

  Sebastian looks at him with a big smile, “Certainly, grab a seat. But as much as I’d love to stay and chat I have to get back to the office and finish some paper work.” Paul sits upright in his seat and glares at Sebastian curiously and then looks at their new companion.

  “Listen pal, this was a private conversation. Do you always walk up to people in coffee shops and ask to join in?”

  The young man puts his hand flat on his own cheek, smiles and politely replies only in gay cafes.” Paul puts his hands on the sides of his chair and begins to rise from his seat.

  “Oh, sorry my friend. I forgot I have some pressing matters back at the office and Seb here, is my lift.” Before he knows it, Sebastian has his hand on his shoulder pushing him back into his seat.

  “What are you talking about, Paul? Don’t you remember the boss gave you the afternoon off? And as you said; it’s only a ten minute walk. How fortunate are we to stumble on this gay bar? After all, you are single and looking for a same sex relationship, aren’t you?” Paul doesn’t know which way to look as Sebastian puts some money on the table, “There you go fellows the next one’s on me.” He smiles, winks at Paul and then walks off. The young man pulls up a seat, rests his head in his palms and ogles Paul,

  “Well, what’s your name then? Mine’s Gerard.” Paul turns to see where Sebastian is but he’s already left the cafe.

  He looks back at Gerard then buries his eyes into his cuffed hands and mumbles, “That cunning old bastard!” Sebastian happily arrives back at the station and heads directly to the dust pit. He wraps up his own paper work and makes a record of events in his journal. Just as he’s finishing, E
mily knocks on his door and tells him that he can speak to Gina now. He marches down the corridor and enters the interview room.

  Chapter 24

  A TIME TO REFLECT

  Gina’s lawyer looks at her and warns “I strongly advise you not to do this!”

  She glares daggers at him and spits out, “I know what you advised me. Now get out!” The lawyer, disgruntled and irate, picks up his satchel and leaves. She turns her focus to Sebastian. “There’s one reason and one reason only I’m allowing you to speak to me alone, and that’s because I owe you for putting that animal that set my son up in a cage where he belongs. Now what do you want?”

  “Sebastian takes a seat opposite her, leans forward while folding his arm’s on the table and simply asks, “Why?” She glares angrily at him and inhales deeply through her nostrils,

  “Why did I have him killed? More importantly, why did he bring those two serpents into my home and life? Why did he take their side and threaten to leave me when I punished them? How did he expect me to cope with two extra kids when I was barely coping with the ones I already had? For every question you have Sebastian I have a hundred more. Where I come from, if you steal something from someone, you get dealt with harshly. He stole my happy life, he stole the little bit of freedom I had and above all, he threatened to steal my children from me. There were no options, he had to be punished and he deserved the maximum sentence. Now that you know, I’ve fulfilled a promise I made to myself that I would reward you for clearing my son, but you have also taken my freedom and there will be consequences for that!”

  Sebastian glares at her with contempt, “Are you threatening me?” She looks back with a sneer, “It is what it is, Sebastian. It is what it is.” A chill flows like mercury down his spine and it turns to anger.

  “There is one thing you need to remember Gina; I’m not the innocent child you left your welts on, or the man that gave you everything and was run down like a ferrel dog in return. But I am the one who put you in the position you now find yourself in. So go ahead and dream about what you can do to me because that’s all it will amount to; a dream. Reality won’t hit you until those cold iron bars are slammed shut behind you and all those luxuries you are so accustomed to become a thing of the past yet linger in your memory as a torment of what used to be.”

  Gina’s eyes fill with rage, her lips twist and quiver and she begins screaming uncontrollably at him, “You’ve had your time, now get out! Get the fuck out!” He looks smugly at her, stands to leave and sarcastically throws out, “That’s the Gina we’ve all come to know and love.” He walks toward the door and all he can hear is her psychotic ravings.

  “I’ll get you, you fucking bastard, if it’s the last thing I do! I’ll have you cut from ear to ear and that smart arse fucking tongue of yours will be the tie you wear to your own funeral!” Sebastian smiles to himself. He now feels satisfied that he has fulfilled what he saw as an obligation to Frank and Tony for the misery this evil twisted woman had helped to create.

  The following week Sebastian requests, and is granted permission, to visit Tony in the lock up. On arrival, he’s escorted to the interview room where Tony sits impatiently waiting. “Hi Tony, how are you?” Tony stares silently at Sebastian for a short moment with a blank look on his face. Although it hasn’t been long since his arrest; the bold, brave, calculating figure of a little man no longer lives within his eyes, just passive anger and lament. Eventually he breaks his silence, “How the hell do you think I am? I’m looking at life in this septic tank. What do you want Cork? Do you want me to say how clever you are, how you caught me? How that mole of an aunt sits in her ivory tower while I rot in here? What? What do you want?” Sebastian pauses to catch the right moment,

  “I just thought you might want to know that your aunt has been arrested for the murder of your uncle and has already confessed. All in all, she’ll be spending the rest of her years behind bars as well.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” he stammers in disbelief. “I thought my uncle was killed in a hit and run accident?”

  “It was no accident, Tony. The guy that hit him had been hired by her.” Suddenly, his eyes illuminate and a last breath of rage returns as Tony slams his fist on the table. The guard at the door quickly moves forward. Without fully turning around Sebastian signals with his hand to let him know that everything is ok. Tony can’t help but continue his rant.

  “That dirty mongrel whore! He was a good man. He didn’t deserve that. Did you say life?”

  Sebastian responds adamantly, “Yes Tony, life. I know it’s not much of a consolation for what you and your brother went through but it’s better than nothing.” Tony inhales deeply and then exhales as if to calm himself after his outburst.

  “At least I know now she’s not sitting up there in that mansion, thinking she’s gotten away with the shit she put me through. I gather you’re the one that found the evidence to stitch her up. What made you suspect she killed him?” “Good fortune Tony. A friend of Frank’s, who we’ll call Harry (to keep his real name confidential) who’s tied up with some, let’s say shady characters, knew the guy who did the hit on your uncle. Harry said he was at the bar one night and this guy was looking for some work; Harry asked him what sort of work he did and he replied, ‘anything he wanted’. This guy went on to say he’d even done a hit for a wealthy woman and got away with it scot free. When he gave out the victim’s name, Harry didn’t initially connect it to Frank because he’d kept his past a secret. But after he was murdered and I’d mentioned how badly he was treated by your aunt, Harry did a little more checking and made the connection between Frank and your uncle.

  So anyway, Harry had a falling out with Frank before, well, before you killed him and I guess he was carrying around a lot of guilty feelings, so he gave us the information on your uncle’s killer. We agreed he wouldn’t be tied to the murder as he had nothing to do with it. He also gave us the name of the body shop where the car had been fixed after the hit and run, and the name of the fellow driving it. Once we looked at Gina’s bank accounts around the time your uncle was killed, we could see that $100,000 had been withdrawn and placed into his. $50,000 before, and $50,000 after, it happened. Then we went over the archived books at the body shop and found the body work done was consistent with the injuries sustained by your uncle. The driver did a deal with the district attorney on a reduced sentence and gave them enough information to convict your aunt.

  Anyway I have to go now.” Sebastian rises from the chair and turns toward the door and is stopped in his stride by a voice behind him.

  “Hey!” Sebastian looks back over his shoulder to see Tony with his lips pressed hard together. “Thanks. You know.”

  Sebastian replies, “Yes, I know.” He turns again and heads out the door.

  On the drive home Sebastian sighs when thinking about the wasted lives and broken spirits he’s encountered on this case. A single tear runs down one of his cheeks and a sense of melancholy overwhelms him. “Pull it together man!” he says out loud and takes a deep breath. He exhales as if he’s blowing out candles and gives his shoulders a good shake. Sebastian is quick to switch his thoughts to his achievements and the positives that have come out of it all. A slight smile comes to his face when he thinks about Jean, as he’d received a text from his friend that morning thanking him for sending her to be interviewed and that she was perfect for the job. He thinks about the sentiment Gino had shown when he’d bought the stove for the shelter and the legacy Frank has left, with Patrick continuing on where he’d left off. Most of all Sebastian thinks about his own life, and what it means to feel involved in the world again. Turning sixty is no longer about sitting on death row, just waiting for his time to be up. It is the birth of a new life and a reason to live. His final thoughts are about his new partner, Paul. He thinks to himself that, if he’d had children, he’d want them to grow up like Paul. Sebastian starts to feel a little guilty about the prank he pulled at the cafe and pulls over to the curb to call him. He
is quite surprised when Paul gives him credit for the ingenious way he had set him up and they have a good laugh about the whole thing.

  By the time Sebastian arrives home his mood has changed completely and there is a spring in his step as he walks up the path to the door. Once inside, he hangs his coat on the stand and strolls toward the kitchen. He can hear Cynthia getting the pots ready for the evening meal and surprises her by walking in and kissing her firmly on the lips. “No cooking for you tonight my love. I’m taking you out to dinner!”

  “What’s the special occasion?” This time he kisses her on the forehead.

  “No special occasion but this case has been a real eye opener for me, and I’ve realised how fortunate I am to have someone like you. I know I’ll slip up from time to time in the future, but for now I just want to show my appreciation for all you do for me. Cynthia is overwhelmed by his sentiment and pulls him close to her. No words were needed. They each knew what the other felt at that very moment.

  Cynthia joins Sebastian at the table after she has made them a coffee. He takes a sip then opens the conversation. “I’m really looking forward to having a pay cheque once this next case begins.” She picks up her coffee mug and rests it just below her chin while holding it with both hands.

  “Yes, I want to talk to you about that Seb. I’ve already discussed it with Jim and the first pay you receive will be going directly into our joint account.” Sebastian’s silence speaks for itself, so without taking a sip she places her mug back down on the table and explains. “Look Seb, we really need to replace the money that you’ve been throwing all over the place!” His eyebrows close in, his chin pulls back into his neck and he finally finds his voice again, “What money have I been throwing around?”

  She looks at him in a way that says, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ and presses “So you have no recollection of purchasing furniture, paying for cleaners and a bottle of imported scotch? Oh, and do I really have to remind you of the last two? What, or should I say who; are the bunch of flowers and gift voucher to reestons fashions for?” He is now feeling a little embarrassed, as he’d forgotten to let her know about Jean’s gifts and why he’d purchased them.