Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 

 

Using her usual innocent mask, Summer braved asking mum what was happening and why we had to meet dad at the police station although Skye and I made frantic signals at her to stop and to let mum alone.

 

“Your father will explain when we get there.” Mum said coldly, her voice almost a monotone as she concentrated on driving and didn’t even glance at Summer in the mirror. I worried more, mum was clearly not just upset about something, she was very upset. I couldn’t remember her ever being that closed off and distant with us before, as though she’d shut down all her emotions just to get through to the next minute. I could see that Skye was tense as she sat beside me, she’d obviously caught the signs too and I assumed she was as scared as I was. I knew I had to protect her somehow, I considered whether I could say it was all my doing and I’d talked her into what we’d done, maybe if I took all the blame, she’d be ok.

 

Don’t get me wrong, Skye is my sister and she’s as annoying as they come, not to mention knowing just how to irritate me like no one else but at that moment we were closer than we’d ever been, she is MY sister though and I wasn’t about to let her get into more trouble than I could help her avoid just because I let things go too far.

 

I wracked my brains trying to think of a way out of the trouble that had to be coming my way. It didn’t help that I was very aware of how close Skye was as she sat next to me, letting her weight lean on me slightly in what I think was her way of silently trying to show her support for whatever I chose to do. I vaguely remembered dad telling me about being a man and admitting what I did, owning a mistake and learning from it. I didn’t like the idea but I knew it was the only option I had so I took a deep breath, looked straight into the rear view mirror so I could see mums eyes and spoke up.

 

“Mum, I …”

 

“Not now Ken, I can’t deal with it. Talk to your father.” Mum cut me off sharply as she stopped the van in a carpark space in front of the police station, hauling on the hand brake and twisting the key to turn off the engine almost in one movement as though she couldn’t wait to be out of the van. I realised then that she must be so disgusted with me that she couldn’t bear to be near me and wanted to get away as fast as possible. She was half out the van by the time the thought had run through my head. Summer barrelled out of the side door like she was shot from a cannon as she usually did, the twins followed as they focused on their phones, staying close to eachother. Skye tried to smile but I could tell that she was nervous about what was going to happen next as she slipped out of the van to stand with the others. I took another deep breath, squared my shoulders and tried to prepare myself for seeing the last of my family. Feeling full of fear but trying to appear confident and normal, I stepped down from the van and turned to face the building.

 

I don’t really know what I expected but the building I faced certainly wasn’t it, it looked more like an old office block or a school than a prison. I think I expected there to be more concrete than glass, I suppose I’d half expected it to look grey and brooding with no windows without bars like I’d seen in films and tv shows, instead, the concrete was a crisp buff colour and I could see ordinary looking blinds through the plastic framed windows. I took in the building as we all marched towards the big plate glass doors at the front in mum’s wake. Part of me still wanted to make run for it, try to avoid the trouble but I had no idea of where I’d go or what I’d do to avoid being found so I held the door open for the girls, seeing the gardens and professionally manicured lawn without realising I was really wondering how long it would be before I saw such things again, before I went inside to face my fate.

 

The reception area, just inside the doors was panelled in light faux pine with noticeboards that were festooned with fliers and posters that advertised all kinds of slogans to do with crime and assistance for victims of crime. A man in a crisp white shirt looked up from the computer he was typing on as we entered.

 

“Good afternoon.” He greeted us without a smile, his voice sounding a little hollow and muffled by the thick glass window that separated him from us. His entire attitude officious and intimidating the living shit out of me.

 

“My husband said that we needed to meet him here.” Mum explained in her clipped, frosty manner.

 

“And who is your husband?” He asked, bored and anxious to return to his work.

 

“David Hughes.” A flicker of emotion crossed the mans face for the first time though he suppressed it before I could figure out what it was.

 

“Take a seat please, someone will be out shortly.” He offered, indicating plastic seats that lined one wall under the noticeboards. The wait was like shards of glass on my already strained nerves, did they know how they were killing me? Were they doing it on purpose?

 

Summer kept peering at the twins phones as they fiddled with them, Mum didn’t seem to notice but Skye told her to stop bothering them which resulted in a whispered conversation between my two sisters as though they were loath to break into mums thoughts. Both twins were clearly worried but I couldn’t think about their worries, I had too many of my own.

 

Time seemed to bend out of shape and dawdle, I could have sworn we’d been waiting for hours but when I checked the big clock on the wall behind the glass, it had only been a couple of minutes. I wanted to pace, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that I was sorry. I was convinced they were making me wait on purpose. The realisation that I would have to do this a lot from now on as I waited for them to take me away made me sweat. I could feel the sweat running down my back even though it really wasn’t that warm in the waiting room.

 

I lurched out of the plastic chair and stood near the door, hoping I could make myself less obvious by staring at the scenery outside. The rain had stopped and the clouds were breaking up, a single beam of sunlight shining down onto the gardens as though all was right in the world. It made me angry, I doubted I would see daylight again for the rest of my life and now the sun was just taunting me. I couldn’t take it, I had to confess to mum and end this torment. I turned away from the door, took a deep breath and the inner door opened to reveal a short woman in her police uniform.

 

The policewoman apologised to mum for the wait and invited us all to go through into a more private room. I thought it was strange that they were inviting us all to go through, I had kind of assumed that they would kind of take me into the cells straight away, perhaps they were going to tell everyone first then separate me off. Following the policewoman, I couldn’t help but notice how tight her uniform trousers were round her arse. I told myself off for thinking about how good it looked but there was a small voice in my head that told me to enjoy it because I probably wouldn’t see many good-looking butts after they arrested me.

 

The room she took us to wasn’t what I had been expecting, it was set out as a conference room with comfortable chairs round a big table. Dad and another police officer sat at one end of the table. Dad got up and hurried round to hug mum as soon as he saw her. It was Summer that broke the awkward silence.

 

“What’s going on daddy? Why are we here?” She asked, in her sweetest little girl voice, her eyes big and innocent looking as she took his hand. I knew it was all an act on her part and part of my brain appreciated her acting skills deciding she really deserved to win an Oscar, she couldn’t possibly not know that we were all here because of me.

 

“Something has happened sweetie, I wish I could say it was an accident but we had to come here because it wasn’t…” He let go of Summers hand and reached out to pull the twins into the hug with mum before he continued. “I don’t know how to say it gently but I’m afraid that Irene has died.”

 

It took me a moment to catch on to the implications of dads’ words. Around me, the room seemed silent and still though I was vaguely aware of mum bursting into tears and hugging the twins tighter. Skye glanced at me, relief written all over her face but I was just as shocked as the twins were. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that we weren’t here because of me. Feeling sick with relief that I hadn’t messed up the holiday for everyone I numbly pulled a chair out and flopped into it.

 

When dad pried mums arms open to release the twins, the policewoman smoothly took control of them and tried to get them to sit near the head of the table, where dad had been sitting while the policeman, flipped to a new page in his notepad and cleared his throat.

 

“I know it’s a difficult time for all of you but I’m afraid I need to ask some questions about Mr and Mrs Smith then we’ll arrange for someone to look after you two ladies…” He vaguely gestured at the twins with his pen as he spoke… “If the rest of you would care to take a seat, I’ll try and get this out the way as quickly as possible.” Amelia and Jessica sat down, pulling their chairs close and presenting a united front to everyone though it was easy to see that they were both uneasy.

 

“I understand that Mr Smith is your father right?” Amelia nodded curtly without even glancing at Jessica as though they were in silent agreement that she would be the spokesperson.

 

“Ok, I don’t know your names, so how should I refer to you?” He asked, I suspected it was a lie to try and make them feel more comfortable or something but if he had already been talking to dad, I doubted that he wouldn’t have a note of their names already.

 

The questions went on and on, was there any previous trouble? Had Jamie been aggressive before? Had he ever done anything to them? As I listened to the questions it became clearer that they didn’t have a happy home life, between walking on eggshells round Jamie and trying to look after Irene when she was drunk or Jamie had beaten her, they still had to have a school life and had to avoid getting too close to anyone at school in case Jamie objected to them. The policeman skilfully teased details out of them about what had happened between Jamie and the boy that had come to the house to see Jessica and ask if he could take her on a date, how the holiday had been going and things that Jamie had said to Irene, about their parents drinking and drug habits.

 

When there was a knock at the door, the policewoman answered it and stepped out to have a brief conversation with whoever was outside. When she returned, she asked if it was ok for each of us to step into other rooms to answer questions so they could get through them quicker. My panic began to return as I realised that they weren’t only asking the twins things, what if one of my sisters let something slip? What if I accidentally let something slip that tipped them off about what I had done to Skye? Showing me to a small questioning room, the policewoman introduced me to a fat, lady who sat there, smiling in a friendly way. She was apparently a social worker that worked with the police when they needed someone else to help them with younger people. Part of me grudged the inference that I was still a child though they were careful to use the term “young people”. They were also careful to assure me that I wasn’t in trouble, they just needed my help to understand what things were like between Jamie and Irene.

 

As they asked their questions to prompt me and get details they needed, I relaxed a little more, confident that I wasn’t going to let anything slip.

 

“So after you guys cleared up from dinner what happened?” The policeman asked, I had almost forgotten about it and for a moment I thought that they were asking about Skye before I remembered Jamie grabbing me by the throat. The sudden realisation that I had more to worry about than what Skye and I had done was a bitter pill to swallow and my hesitation obviously gave something more away than I intended.

 

“Did your uncle say anything to you?”

 

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“Umm, not much.” I offered, trying desperately to think of how I could get round mentioning the weed he had forced out of me.

 

“Did he say anything about his wife?”

 

“No.”

 

“Did he seem in any way unusual or extra threatening?” There it was, the question I either had to lie about or tell the truth and face the music. Realising it would be the smaller of the problems I could have with the police and remembering my resolve to face the consequences earlier I made up my mind that honesty was probably the best policy.

 

“He made me give him the marijuana I had and he threatened me.” I mumbled, trying not to look at them. The smiley lady sat up straighter and I was kind of aware of her looking at the policeman though I wasn’t looking at them.

 

“Ok, ignoring the drugs for a moment, how did he threaten you?” The policeman and the smiley lady seemed to be silently communicating over my head as I looked up sharply, I had half expected them to focus more on the drugs after I mentioned them.

 

“He grabbed me by the throat and told me there would be trouble if I gave any to the twins.”

 

“So he thought that you might have more?”

 

“He took a couple of blankets and then gave back what was left.”

 

“Have you got it with you now?”

 

“No, there was barely anything left so I left it in my room this morning.” I answered truthfully, then mentally kicked myself for saying anything about where it was, if they went looking for it then they would have to go into my room at the farmhouse and they would find out what Skye and I had been doing. I was glad that the policeman couldn’t read my thoughts and I hoped that I hadn’t given everything away. The questions moved on and I pushed the thought about Skye to the back of my mind and focussed on answering only what I was asked.

 

I knew the policeman was winding up towards the end when he put his pen down and asked me if there was anything else I thought they should know. After I answered he looked at me sternly and asked me if I knew that owning drugs was an offence, pausing for me to answer again before he went on.

 

“We aren’t interested in following that up this time though and because you haven’t got any on you there’s not much we can do about it. It is an offence though, even more so if you are supplying it to other people so I’m just going to warn you to be careful. I know a young lad like yourself is going to want to experiment with things but be careful to stay inside the law ok? Drugs are dangerous and marijuana will lead onto others, especially if the dealer thinks they can get you hooked on them, they will ruin your life. Stay away from them ok?” The policeman finished his sermon, I’d heard similar ones before at school and knew I wasn’t usually a heavy user so I let it wash over me to an extent, glad that I would be able to get out again and that I hadn’t tripped myself up yet. I hoped they would let us all go soon and I could get back to my room before anyone found out what Skye and I had done.

 

I had to hold myself back from sprinting out of the room when they opened the door. Dad was talking with the policewoman who had shown us in, when the smiley lady showed me the way back to the reception.

 

“What will happen to the twins then? You said that you had to find somewhere for them to stay.”

 

“We’re just trying to see if there’s an emergency foster placement that can take them, they are still minors so they can’t be just thrown out of here with no one to look after them, if their dad is being charged and remanded into custody and it wouldn’t be safe to leave them in his care anyway. I understand that there’s no other family near here and we’ll need them nearby for a few days incase we have any more questions.”

 

“That’s probably the same for us so they can come with us, it’s better that they are with family.”

 

“I’m sure that could be arranged but it might be a long-term thing, if things go ahead the way we are expecting them to, he won’t be out of prison before they are legally responsible for themselves. That’s a bit of a big decision to make on the spot.”

 

“We will deal with the details later, for now I think its best if they come with us, we’ll stay in a local hotel together and work out the details of what comes next from there, I think that everyone has had enough excitement for today.”

 

“I’ll just go and see if I can arrange that then.” The policewoman smiled and turned away from dad, almost walking into me as I stood just by the door waiting to see what happened. Slipping past me, she put a number into the keypad and let herself through the door while dad slumped into one of the plastic seats and scrubbed his hands over his face in a way that suggested he was exhausted. I sat down next to him and asked if he was ok.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Dad sighed, looking at me and dropping his hand to my shoulder to give it an affectionate squeeze.

 

“We’ll get through this son, might be a bit busy at home for a while though. Sorry bout that, I should have asked everyone first but I know your mum won’t let those two go into care any more than she’d let any of you.” I didn’t answer him but I smiled, hoping that he didn’t notice how fake I felt it was. I had a lot to think about, especially as dad had talked about going to a hotel.

 

“Aren’t we going back to the farm house?” I asked in a burst as the thought ran through my head. “You said we were going to stay in a hotel.”

 

“We can’t go back there, it’s a crime scene now.”

 

“What about our stuff? I mean, my guitar is there and everything.”

 

“The police will get it back to us as soon as they can but everything has to be left where it is incase it can provide evidence.”

 

“That’s just shit, they can’t do that, what am I supposed to do without my guitar and my PSP?” I was scared again and more than a bit annoyed.

 

“It is really but don’t let your mum hear you use that kind of language.” Dad agreed a little glumly though he added the censure as he saw mum coming through the door with the girls in tow. She didn’t even take a breath as she saw dad and I sitting there, she just raised her voice a little so that we could hear her.

 

“We will take the twins in won’t we? If they go into care who knows how long it will be before we see them again?” She asked dad though it was clear from her whole manner that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer even if she had to argue with him.

 

“Of course my love, I already told them that we would and the family support officer is just arranging it as we speak.” Summer made a sound something like a little dogs yip, expressing her apparently irrepressible happiness. Skye smiled though I could see she had been crying which made me panic again, had she told the police everything we’d done? Did she actually regret what we did and make out that I’d forced her? She was holding mums hand like she had done when she was little, I probably should have realised that she was trying to be sensitive and support mum but at the time I could only assume that she was the one seeking comfort and support after she had confessed what we had done.

 

I suppose I should have been more supportive and thought more of her but I was still shaken by dads revelation that we wouldn’t be going back to the farm house and everything else that had happened to shock everyone. It seemed to take forever for the twins to come back to the reception so we all had to wait with nothing much to do. Summer generally hung onto dad and chattered away to him about things she had seen in the mall though I noticed that she never mentioned the twins getting hit on or the fact that she was miffed the boys hadn’t been hitting on her. Skye sat close to mum which made it hard to say anything to her without mum listening in so I didn’t have a chance to ask what she’d said. When I tried asking how it had gone, she gave a bit of a shrug and mumbled that it had been alright but didn’t give details.

 

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