by H A Dawson
‘There’s a pub on the other side of the city that Austin goes to on his half day away from work,’ she said. ‘I’m hoping an opportunity will arise for you to talk to him—even it’s just at the bar.’
‘I take it you’ve been before.’
A look of pride warmed her face. ‘I have. It’s how I learned that he’s thinking of moving. He didn’t know I was there. I was behind a wall at the other side of the pool table—that’s why he’s there. He participates in a league.’
‘What would he do if he saw you?’
She tensed and looked at her mug. It took a while for her to answer, and when she did, she was vague. Since it was clear that she didn’t like the thought of her son’s reaction, I decided not to press her on the matter; instead, I asked her what she wanted me to try to gain.
A pained look creased her face. ‘I want to talk to him. He won’t listen to me. He … he always gets so crabby.’
‘I am willing to try—I said I would—but I’m still not sure I’ll be able to change his mind. And what if he’s seen the newspapers? If he recognises me and associates me with you, it might turn him against me immediately.’
‘So what do you suggest?’ she snapped. Do you think I should do nothing? He’s my son, Ebony! I deserve a chance to speak to him.’
I softened my voice. ‘I know you do and I’m not suggesting otherwise. I just think it might be difficult to get him to talk, that’s all. But I promise you I will try. I said I would.’
She did not reply and lowered her head.
I could tell how painfully difficult the situation was from her expression and it triggered my sympathy. At the same time, I couldn’t imagine Austin reacting positively to me and believed no matter I said and did that my efforts would go unrewarded.
I caught her attention. ‘Perhaps you should give me a bit of background to your relationship. I don’t want to say something that’ll cause an outburst.’
Lauren agreed and disappeared along a narrow corridor to somewhere out of view. As I waited for her, I gazed at the white Formica kitchen units, the kitchen accessories on the worktop, and tins, a mug rack and an utensils holder alongside. There was nothing there to indicate quality, and whilst it didn’t concern me, it was a curious reminder of the wealthy life she said she’d once had.
Her arrival back in the kitchen distracted me from my thoughts.
‘I’ve brought you some photos to show you.’
We sifted through the album and chatted about Austin’s life, starting with the early years and progressing through to his mid-teens. The majority showed him enjoying things that any boy would enjoy, but there were others displaying the positives in their relationship. In one photo, Austin was presenting her with breakfast in bed, and in another, he was gathering wildflowers in a meadow to give to her and in a third, he was crouched next to a herb garden.
‘What’s with the herb garden?’ I asked.
She smiled. ‘Whilst I was away for the weekend for a birthday treat, Austin dug over a small plot in the garden and planted an assortment of herbs. It was something I’d always said I’d wanted, and it was made more special by his intense dislike of gardening. It was a lovely gesture and entirely his idea.’
‘That’s special.’
‘It was.’ She passed me a distressed stare. ‘He did love me once upon a time, Ebony.’
‘I’m sure he did.
‘Yeah, but you wouldn’t think so if you knew about the other stuff that happened. We were always at loggerheads. I hate to say it about my own son, but he was a right little bastard at times!’ She flashed me a glance. ‘The problem was that he had two sides to his character. In retrospect, I should have taken him to see a doctor. At the time, I thought his moods were normal, but I now realise that they were extreme. He always seemed to be at odds with himself. One minute he was doing something terrible, and the next he was doing something beautiful for me to try to make up for his poor behaviour.’
‘What kind of things did he do wrong?’
‘I don’t have that many specific examples from his younger days. Most of the time, he’d just say nasty things to people—he’d poke fun at the flat-chested girls on our street or throw abusive comments to our older neighbours. I was forever apologising to people, not that it did much good, not when he’d do something similar a few days later.’
‘That’s awful.’
‘It was. No question. I can’t emphasise enough how often this happened. He wasn’t a nice child. I never taught him to be so horrid—he just did it—but it didn’t stop me from feeling responsible.’
‘Of course.’
‘As he got older he progressed away from flinging verbal abuse to doing physical things. The first example that comes to mind was when one of his friends got a puppy and he hurt it. I suspected Austin was jealous but it didn’t excuse him.’
‘Oh, Lord. What did he do?’
‘He didn’t cause long-term damage, but that’s no excuse. When his friend popped into his house, he tied it up and kicked it. Apparently, the more the puppy yelped, the more he beat it.’ She sighed. ‘I was so ashamed. I couldn’t apologise to the family enough.’
‘I can imagine how horrid that must have been.’
She agreed. ‘We didn’t bring him up to be that way. I admit, James is a bit rough around the edges, but he’s not nasty or he would never have condoned Austin’s behaviour.’
I tried to be sympathetic and told her that his behaviour was unlikely to have been her fault, but Lauren disagreed.
‘He’s my son,’ she said. ‘His behaviour was no one else’s fault. James and I were the ones who should have taught him the difference between right and wrong. Clearly, we went wrong somewhere.’
I did not reply.
‘When he was eleven, he was with some kids who barred the door of a shed with some girls in, and then they set fire to it. Then when he was thirteen, he tried to throw some acid into a kid’s face because he beat him in a sports day event. Thankfully, someone helped the girls escape the fire and the boy in question moved in time to avoid the acid attack. Even so …’
‘That’s terrible. You’ve had one hell of a time!’
She nodded and her expression turned sombre. ‘It was about that time that he got involved with some rough kids from a local estate. About a year or so later, we got regular visits from the police. Either, they brought him home for being disruptive or something similar, or they gave him a warning for committing a crime. We learned he’d vandalised property, stolen from shops and from members of the public, and been with a group of lads who’d bashed an elderly man.’
‘And he was never charged?’
‘No. He was arrested a couple of times, but only cautioned. I don’t know why that’s all that happened—perhaps they didn’t want the paperwork.’
‘How did his arrest for the drugs come about?’ I asked.
‘From the age of fourteen, I’d suspected he was dabbling in drugs. I confirmed it a year later when I caught him at it. I warned him against it and gave him multiple lectures, but it made little difference. He told me exactly what he thought of me and carried on regardless.’ She passed me a troubled glance. ‘There was no getting through to him.’
‘Didn’t James help?’
‘He did a bit, but he worked away some of the time. That aside, he trusted Austin and was convinced he wasn’t seriously into it. He didn’t see it as a huge problem and said he was just doing what boys his age did.’
‘That’s risky. It could have got out of hand.’
‘That’s what I thought too. I was at my wit’s end most of the time. I couldn’t control him at all.’ She passed me a timid glance. ‘He got physical with me a couple of times, too.’
‘He hit you?’
Lauren nodded. ‘He was contrite afterwards, so I let it pass. Nevertheless, I started to fear him. He was bigger and stronger than I was and he had a temper. I never knew when it would trigger. It … it wasn’t good.’
‘Did you
tell James?’
She shook her head. ‘Not about that. It sounds crazy but I feared Austin’s reaction.’
‘You thought it might cause him to bully you some more.’
She nodded and folded her arms. ‘You must think me pathetic.’
‘Not at all. I might have done the same.’ I drank the rest of my tea. ‘How was he arrested?’
‘I hoped you wouldn’t ask,’ she said and lowered her head.
I held my position, encouraging her to speak.
‘I was such an idiot.’ She breathed an exasperated breath. ‘The police received a tip-off that there were drugs in our house and appeared on our doorstep with a search warrant. I couldn’t believe it when they found a large stash. They weren’t mine and I knew they wouldn’t have belonged to James. Since I knew Austin was playing around with drugs, I reached the conclusion they belonged to him. I was such an idiot.’
‘It seems a logical thing to think.’
‘Not really. Just a couple of months before during one of his better moments, he promised me he’d stopped.’ She raised her hand to her cheek. ‘Why didn’t I believe him? I could have told the police I didn’t know anything about them. I could have said they were mine. I could have done anything but what I did.’
‘I assume you said they were his?’
She nodded. ‘I still ask myself to this day why I did it, and I can’t answer. What kind of mother does that make me? No decent person would grass on their eighteen-year-old son.’ She exhaled deeply. ‘It was a shitty thing to do.’
‘You had your reasons.’
‘I suppose I must have thought I was teaching him a lesson. But it was a pretty harsh one, don’t you think?’
I held a strained stare.
‘I should have given him the benefit of the doubt. Yes, he was into drugs, and yes, he’d been involved in petty crime—and as far as I was concerned, he needed a kick up the backside—but there were better ways of dealing with him. I should have got help for him and not punished him for a crime he didn’t commit. That’s the worst thing that can happen to any of us. He’s every right to be pissed with me.’ She passed me a glance. ‘After he was convicted I got proof that he was innocent.’
I watched as she tapped her password into her laptop then initiated a program. It displayed what appeared to be a list of messages.
‘It’s the text messages copied from his phone prior to his arrest,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why it didn’t hold up in court to clear him. It’s obvious when you read them that he had no knowledge of the stash of drugs in the house.’
I scanned the list.
‘See here,’ she said and pointed at a text. ‘This one is a conversation he had with one of his mates. Jonny asked him if he had any pot. Austin says he doesn’t and that he’d given up.’
‘When was it sent?’
‘Eight days before the raid.’ She scrolled down the list. ‘There’s another one here. In this one, he’s offered some dope and Austin clearly states he’s cleaning up his act.’ She passed me an intense stare. ‘Why didn’t anyone believe he was telling the truth?’
‘Did they have other evidence?’
‘Some kid said he’d sold them some.’ She glanced at the clock and stood up. ‘We should get going or we’ll miss him.’
‘Could these kids have been telling the truth?’
‘No way. He was framed, but I now know it wasn’t to make him suffer. It was for my benefit.’
I considered the note she’d received after she attempted suicide and I felt inclined to agree. What I couldn’t fathom was who was doing it and for why. She must have a suspicion, but if she had, she didn’t share it with me. Eventually, as we progressed to the car and to our destination on the other side of the city, she changed the subject onto lighter matters.
I was grateful for the change of subject, and soon, I’d parked the car a short distance from the Red Lion pub and were continuing on foot. We hadn’t progressed far when she exclaimed her excitement.
‘That’s Austin,’ she hissed, pointing at a young man with a swagger. ‘How’s that for timing!’
Lauren insisted we held our position. As we did so, we watched him call out to someone out of our view. We soon learnt it was Glenn, but rather than accompanying him into the pub, they had a brief chat and went their separate ways.
I shot her a querying look. ‘Were you expecting him?’
‘I was. Glenn promised me he’d be there today. It’ll give you an excuse to talk to them.’
‘Okay.’
‘Go on then,’ she said in an excited voice. ‘I’ll be in that café over there when you’re done.’
I followed her gaze to The Little Teacup before I strode towards him. When we were a few metres away, our eyes met but he continued away. Then shot me another look. ‘Ebony? What brings you here?’
I strode with confidence towards him. ‘I’m on a mission. Are you going to the Red Lion?’
‘Yeah—once I’ve delivered a letter. I’m meeting up with the lads.’
‘We thought you might be.’
‘Lauren told you.’
That’s right.’ I glanced at the café across the road. ‘She wants me to talk to Austin.’
‘Yeah, she said she was hoping to get someone to do her dirty work. I didn’t expect it to be you.’
‘Is their relationship that bad?’
‘Let me post a couple of letters then we’ll talk.’
Chapter 7
Glenn exited the post office, passed me a broad smile, and we strode towards the pub. He was a few years older than I was, and he was a little taller, medium built, and with short shaggy hair. He didn’t have a smooth symmetrical face indicative of a good-looking man but was lined and with a greyish complexion. However, when he smiled, as he just had, his face transformed into something magnificent. I tried not to react and keeping my expression fixed told him that I hoped my presence wouldn’t ruin his afternoon.
‘Not a chance. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.’
I lowered my gaze.
‘What you did last week to help Lauren was brave.’
‘Thanks. I was acting purely on instinct, though, so I’m not sure how much credit I deserve.’
‘Even so …’ He opened the door of the pub and let me pass through, ‘… not everyone would have done that.’
As we stepped inside, I glanced at the patrons thinly spread in the c-shaped room. Aside from two small groups of adults, the only other people within were Austin and his friends situated at the far corner of the room by the pool table. I couldn’t see them all as a pillar blocked my view, but their exuberance was audible.
‘What do you wish to drink?’ Glenn asked.
‘I’ll have a fruit juice.’
He passed me a surprised look. ‘Are you driving?’
I nodded. I considered adding that my actual reason for avoiding alcohol was due to the incident at work, but I decided to let it pass. Glenn didn’t seem concerned and told me it was a wise decision.
‘I’d cut back on the booze if I could,’ he continued. ‘It’s a bit of an obsession for me.’
‘If you really wanted to do have less, you’d be able to.’
‘Are you speaking from experience?’
I tensed. Had he learned about my drinking incident on the ward? Given he had visited regularly in recent weeks, it wasn’t out of the question, but there again I believed it unlikely that any of the medical staff would have spoken about it within earshot of patients or visitors. Perhaps it had been in the newspaper.
‘Have I said something wrong?’ he asked.
‘No, not at all.’
‘Good.’ He passed me my drink. ‘Take a seat somewhere. I’ll warn the lads I’ll be awhile.’
I was about to tell him that he didn’t need to do that, but he had already started away from me. So, I did as instructed and strolled to a table by a window overlooking both the view of the street and the men by the pool table. From what I
could tell, the others welcomed his presence, and after a few moments of jovial banter, heads turned towards me. It made me feel self-conscious, so I averted my gaze and waited for his arrival.
He appeared seconds later, placed his pint glass on the table and sat opposite me. ‘How come you’ve become involved with Lauren?’
‘I got to know her whilst she was in my ward and we got along. Mainly, though, it’s happened after her suicide attempt. In effect, it was part of the deal.’
‘Interesting.’
‘I saw you on the day it happened.’ I clenched my hands. ‘Did she give you any idea that she was thinking of taking her life?’
‘Not at all. It was a huge shock. The first I heard about it was a couple of days after it’d happened when she phoned me.’ He passed me an intense stare. ‘I heard there was an article in the local newspaper.’
I stiffened, the thought of him talking about my suspension worrying me. ‘I’ve heard about that too. Were you still around when she took to the roof?’
He shook his head. ‘I only popped in to see when she was going to be allowed home. I could have phoned her but since I was passing by the hospital, I thought she’d appreciate my visit.’
‘How well do you know her?’
‘Not well. I know James and Austin better. We got to know each other after we realised we both supported the same football team. And I live close to them, so that helps, too.’
‘I hope you don’t mind me saying this but Lauren always seems a bit tense when she mentions you.’
‘Yeah.’ He sipped his beer, his gaze thoughtful. ‘She can be hard work. She’s not a happy woman.’
‘I’ve gathered that. She seems to have had her fair share of problems, too.’
‘I doubt you even know the half of it.’
I passed him a questioning glance.
‘The cancer was rotten luck. Getting any type of cancer is bad enough, getting a terminal type with a short prognosis is just the worst.’