Lisa Ballantyne - Guilty One

Kenneth’s right eye twitched as he listened to Daniel.

‘If Sebastian handles it well, it could make all the difference.’

‘If? … I don’t deal in ifs. I’m surprised that you do.’

Daniel took a deep breath.

‘We could ask Sebastian what he thinks,’ said Charlotte.

‘For God’s sake – he’s a child – what would he know?’ Kenneth turned to Charlotte in contempt. A fine spray of his spit landed on the table.

‘A lot will depend on how well he comes across,’ said Daniel, loosening his tie. The Parklands House interview room felt claustrophobic. Rain was thrust against the small ceiling windows in gusts, so that it fell like handfuls of grit. Daniel was not sure why, but it reminded him of Minnie’s funeral. ‘If he performs well, we might still be able to win. If he performs badly, if Jones manages to rattle him or confuse him, then it could hurt us again.’ Daniel exhaled, and looked Kenneth and then Charlotte in the eye. ‘It’s a risk, but I think it’s worth taking to let the jury hear his point of view.’

Charlotte glanced at her husband then asked, ‘And what if he doesn’t testify?’ She looked at the table instead of meeting Daniel’s gaze. ‘Will he be found guilty for sure?’

‘Not at all.’

‘But you think he should give evidence?’

‘Yes, I think Sebastian should go into the witness box,’ said Daniel.

Kenneth pouted, exaggerating his already full lips. Daniel watched his eyes, which were at once intelligent and hard.

‘I think we all know he’s up to this,’ said Kenneth slowly. ‘And I think this madness has to come to an end. We want him home. If he wants to do it, and you think it might help, we’ll let him.’

Sebastian was called. He entered the room slowly, a small smile on his white face and his green eyes twinkling with excitement. He sat at the top of the table, with his parents to his left and Daniel to his right. Charlotte put a palm to his cheek and Sebastian leaned into it.

King Kong snapped his fingers. ‘Sit up please, we have something quite serious to discuss.’

Sebastian did as he was told, not looking at his father. Once again, Daniel thought that he looked so young, his feet still not touching the floor when he sat in the chair; his large head balanced on a thin neck and two dimples on his right cheek when he smiled.

‘What do you think about testifying, Sebastian?’ said his father. ‘You going into the witness box to give evidence?’

‘Well, you wouldn’t actually have to do that,’ corrected Daniel. ‘You would most likely be in a room near court. They’d set up a video link. You would have a social worker with you.’

‘Couldn’t you sit with me?’ said Sebastian, addressing Daniel. ‘That would be best.’

‘What is this ridiculous infatuation?’ boomed Croll suddenly. ‘There are more important things at stake. Testifying might be a way to keep you out of jail. Do you understand?’

Sebastian was cowed suddenly, his green eyes darkening and his rosebud mouth tightening. Daniel glanced at him in time to see the glint of the boy’s lower teeth.

‘I would probably have to stay in court,’ said Daniel. ‘But I could come and see you at the breaks. We can work all this out later. We want people to hear your story. We’ll give you lots of practice before … but it’s up to you.’

‘I want to testify,’ said Sebastian, looking at Daniel. ‘I want to tell the jury what actually happened.’

Kenneth Croll took a deep intake of breath and then sighed. ‘Well, that’s that decided then.’ He nodded at Daniel, as if they had just cut a deal.

28

When Daniel got off the bus, the sun was shining. The air was still, and the flowering nettles were alert as he walked towards Minnie’s farm.

As he marched through the town, people he vaguely recognised stepped out of his way. He passed the butchers, which he knew sold a stock of Flynn chickens and eggs, past the sweetshop where mean old Mrs Wilkes had worked. It was boarded up now – victim of the times. He walked past the police station, which was always closed. He saw the telephone in its doorway which Daniel knew would connect to Carlisle Police.

By the time Daniel reached the farm, he was out of breath. His hands were relaxed and heavy but he felt his fingers tremble. Sweat beaded at his hairline and he ran a hand through his hair, wiped his palm on his T-shirt and hooked his forefingers into his back pocket. He stood on the crest of the hill, watching the house until his breathing returned to normal. The stillness of the day was disarming. He walked up to the front door.

He turned the handle and the door yielded with a short creak. Blitz was getting older and no longer ran to greet guests, but Daniel could hear the dog’s nails on the linoleum as he stepped into the hall.

The dog turned his head with ears raised, then came to him, head down and tail wagging. Daniel did not kneel to pet the dog, as he would have normally, but he bent to feel the velvet ears and scratch, momentarily, Blitz’s white chin.

‘Hello, boy,’ he whispered.

He looked in the direction of the kitchen, feeling his heart beating harder now, in anticipation of the confrontation. The sun streamed through the window panes.

He saw her outside, backside in the air, brown skirt riding up to reveal her unlaced brown tackety boots. She was fixing part of the chicken run and pulling stray weeds out of the yard as she did so, tossing them on to the compost heap.

She was standing in the yard with a metal pail and a brush in hand when Daniel raised the latch on the back door and stepped outside. He watched her from the door, some part of him still pleased to see her after the months apart. The yard was beautiful to him suddenly, with its whiff of dung and the grass bitten to bowling-green neatness by the goats. The kids were long grown and one of them was even larger than the nanny. He felt a pain in his throat to acknowledge that this was his first real home, and his last.

Still she didn’t see him and Daniel considered waiting until she turned and saw him in the doorway. Blitz sat down on the doorstep beside him.

‘Minnie,’ he called out.

Minnie, not Mam.

She turned and dropped the pail and the brush and put both hands to her cheeks, as if surrendering, relinquishing her arms.

‘Oh, my love … what a surprise,’ she shouted.

Hand on her bad hip, she made her way to him, with a smile so broad that her blue eyes almost disappeared. She walked towards him with a hand up in front of her face to shield it from the sun. He knew she was not able to see his expression. He imagined himself, a dark cut-out in the doorway.

She laughed, and Daniel inhaled. Her laughter had been so important to him, and he was conditioned to appreciate it. She dusted off her dirty hands on her skirt.

‘To what do we owe this honour?’

She drew near him, took her hand away from her eyes and stepped into the cool shade where he stood. Her hands were stretched out to take his, but then their eyes met.

‘Are you all right, love? Is everything all right?’ – a hand on his arm in comfort. She was frowning with concern, her worried lips dimpling her cheeks.

‘No, not really,’ he whispered, twisting his arm away from her, walking past her into the middle of the yard. One of the goats nibbled at the hem of his T-shirt and he snatched it away, stamping the ground once, twice, until the animal started.

She walked towards him. Blitz was at her heels, skipping to and fro, standing in front of her, looking up at her face to see what was wrong. He whimpered a little, scratched the ground. Minnie put out her fingers to touch the dog’s head, but did not take her eyes off Daniel.