Beautiful Child (21 page)

Sara leaned forward with her hand on Adrian’s back. ‘You’ll be the Dad that they need, Adrian. Just like you’ve always been.’

Without turning round Adrian placed his hand on Sara’s.

‘Now take as much time off as you need, Adrian’ said Sara. ‘I mean that. Don’t come back to work until you feel really ready. I’ll sort everything out with the Superintendent. Don’t worry about anything.’

*

Susie got herself showered and changed for the first time in three days. She at least wanted to start making an effort on the outside, although whenever she thought of her darling Angus she had to drag herself back from square one. For as long as she lived she’d never forget his face. She dropped down to the floor and held her head in her hands. This was supposed to be the time of all her dreams coming true. She was going to build a life together with Angus. They were going to have a family. They were going to dream the same dreams and see them all come true. But instead of all that she felt like she’d been buried alive. If he’d died in an accident or developed some kind of illness that claimed his life she could’ve somehow made sense of it. Accidents and illness are things that happen because of external factors or because of a body that becomes diseased. But her life with Angus had been snatched away by an act of evil. The act of someone who’d deliberately singled her beloved out for execution.

Her thoughts were drifting in and out of here and there when she realised there was a horrendous amount of shouting going on downstairs. She went down tentatively, not knowing what the hell she might be walking in on and when she went into the living room she found her parents and her brother Matt bawling each other out like she’d never seen them do before.

‘Will you lot tell me what the hell is going on here?’ she shouted.

Susie and her brother Matt sat side by side on one of the leather sofas in their parents’ living room. They’d sought each other’s closeness when their parents’ said that there was something about their family they needed to tell them about. They’d always done it when they were children. If one of them had been in trouble then they’d stick together against the common enemy. They both knew though that this time it was going to be a great deal more serious than who’d broken a window during a game of football.

Ann Schofield was visibly shaking as she played around with a paper tissue in her fingers. She looked up at her husband Bill who was standing with his back to her, staring out of the window.

‘It’s time you both knew,’ said Ann.

‘Knew what, Mum?’ asked Susie.

Ann sucked in a breath and tried to draw inspiration from somewhere. She tried to go deep into her faith but all it was telling her was that the truth had to come out.

‘When I was a young girl,’ she began, ‘I fell pregnant. Nothing remarkable about that you might say but this was the late fifties and girls like me from nice, Catholic families didn’t get pregnant. And if they did then there were always consequences to be paid. I had my son. I called him Sean Patrick.’

Susie was shocked. ‘So Matt and I have a brother?’

‘A half brother’ her father corrected without turning round. ‘He was only ever your half brother.’

‘Why do you talk about him as if he was part of the past?’ Susie persisted.

‘Because he was murdered by the man who’s been pretending to be him ever since,’ said Bill. ‘Andy Cook. He was part of the past, Susie. And that’s where he should’ve stayed.’

‘I want the whole story’ said Matt.

‘And so do I’ said Susie. ‘Go on, Mum?’

‘Your grandmother never forgave me for what I did,’ said Ann, her eyes filling with tears as she recalled her mother’s disapproval that carried on right up until the day she died. ‘She loved the two of you dearly but she never forgot that you weren’t her only grandchildren and that I’d sent the other one away.’

Susie shook her head and ran her hands through her hair.

‘And then he was sent to Australia as an orphan. Except he wasn’t an orphan. He had a mother.’

‘And you’re saying, Dad, that Andy Cook has been claiming to be our brother Sean Patrick for all these years? Why?’

‘To get money out of the family,’ said Bill.

‘Andy Cook?’ Susie exclaimed. ‘ Isn’t he on the run?’

‘Yes’ said Ann. ‘The police say they have no idea where he is.’

‘He can’t have committed the murders but… are there any other members of the family that Matt and I don’t know about?’

‘Apparently,’ said Ann, ‘Sean Patrick had a son. He was taken into care after his mother was murdered by Andy Cook, or Sean Patrick as he was claiming to be.’

‘They don’t know yet what happened to the child’ said Ann. ‘My grandchild.’

‘But he could’ve grown up with a pretty big sense of grievance?’ said Susie. She was joining it all up in her head and it didn’t paint a pretty picture. ‘It could’ve led him to carry out desperate acts of revenge.’

‘Susie, please let me explain before you start ripping into me,’ said Ann, ‘it isn’t easy for me to tell all this to the two of you.’

‘Well, we’re listening,’ said Susie, ‘but it had better be good.’

‘I lived at your grandmother’s house with Sean Patrick for the first couple of years of his life. But your grandmother lived in a council house, as you know, and the council were threatening her with eviction because of the overcrowding. They said that Sean Patrick had to have a room of his own and that it wasn’t appropriate for him to be sleeping in the same room as me or your grandmother. He wasn’t an infant anymore. He was a child and all the rules changed.’ She looked up and noted the apprehensive looks on their faces. She also noted that her husband of almost forty years was still staring out of the window. ‘So they gave me a flat of my own. I never took to it. Every sound at night made me think there was someone trying to get in. Some people are not disposed to living on their own and I’m one of them.’

‘But you weren’t alone’ said Susie. ‘You had your son.’

‘But that’s not the same!’ Ann insisted. ‘It’s not the same as living with another adult.’

‘But lots of women out there live on their own with their kids,’ Susie continued.

‘Well I couldn’t be one of them,’ said Ann. ‘Then I met your father. Things weren’t all bad. I had some hope in my life.’

‘You also had a son,’ said Susie. ‘ What was the matter? Did he get in the way?’

‘It wasn’t like that’ said Ann.

‘Oh so what was it like you sanctimonious cow!’

‘Susie!’ Bill roared. ‘Don’t speak to your mother like that!’

Matt leapt to his feet to defend his sister. ‘You take one more step closer to her, Dad, and I will flatten you.’

‘All of you, please!’ Ann cried.

‘Oh no, you’re going to get yours now!’ said Susie. ‘All these years you’ve threatened us with your precious God! All these years you’ve done everything you could to make us feel guilty for the smallest, most inconsequential piece of nonsense. The Catholic guilt trip. It comes gold plated,’ she turned to her father. ‘Did you make her do it? ‘

‘I thought it best that we started out with a clean break,’ Bill spluttered to his daughter. The look in her eyes was crushing him. She looked like she held him in complete contempt.

‘But you dumped a child!’ Susie emphasised, enraged at her mother’s disclosures.

‘But he wasn’t mine and I didn’t want him as part of our family,’ said Bill.

Susie slapped her father across the face. ‘Matt and I had a brother who we didn’t get to know because of your… I was going to say selfishness but it doesn’t seem strong enough a word.’

‘Susie,’ said Ann, standing up and moving next to Bill. ‘Please don’t hate us!’

‘Hate you? If I find that my Angus died because of something you started years ago then you will have to forget you have a daughter, just like you forgot you had a son.’

‘That goes for me too,’ said Matt. ‘We have a nephew who we don’t know what happened to and a brother who died in God knows what kind of circumstances. All my life, Mum, you’ve made me feel bad about myself because I’m gay and in your eyes that goes against what God wishes. Well when I die I’ll be able to look St. Peter in the eye with a clear conscience whereas you, well you’ll be standing in line with all the other hypocrites. You disgust me.’ He then turned to his father. ‘Both of you do.’

*

Sara was about to go into a briefing at the station when her mobile rang. It was Manchester Social Services whom she’d asked to look into what had happened to the child that had witnessed his mother, Jolene MacKenzie, being killed by Andy Cook.

‘We have found some significant information for you,’ said the young female voice who identified herself as Danielle.

‘Yes?’ said Sara.

‘Well, after his mother was murdered he did get taken into care as you might expect and seeing as his father had been a British citizen it was decided he should stay here in this country.’

‘Were there no relatives of Jolene’s in Australia he could’ve gone back to?’ asked Sara.  

‘Apparently not’ said Danielle who was reading from a computer screen on her desk. ‘A couple of years later he was adopted by a couple in North Wales.’

‘Do we have a name?’ Sara asked.

‘Yes,’ said Danielle, ‘it was Evans. And his new parents called him Philip.’

‘Phillip Evans?’

‘Yeah’ said Danielle. ‘And now here’s the thing. His parents were quite religious, very strong Catholics. I suppose you could say he was pushed but he became a priest.’

The penny dropped inside Sara like an atom bomb. ‘Don’t tell me. Father Phillip Evans currently attached to the Holy Saints church in Salford?’

‘Yes,’ said Danielle. ‘That’s him’

‘Thank you,’ said Sara, ‘I now have my prime suspect.’ 

Sara woke up early the next morning and decided to go straight into the office. It was barely past six but the building wasn’t empty. A police station of that size never is. There are always suspects in cells and diligent police officers like Sara driven by their hunches to the point of distraction and insomnia. No sightings had been reported overnight of either Andy Cook or Father Phillip Evans who, not surprisingly, had now disappeared. A full scale manhunt was now underway for them both.

Sara’s lover Kieran was on front desk duty and he called Sara to say that a Matt Schofield was there and wanted to speak to her. After they’d finished with the business of the call they whispered a couple things to each other that they shouldn’t and then hung up. Sara smiled at the phone. Kieran was such a filthy bugger and what he’d said to her had nothing to do with ‘sweet nothings’. She’d also noticed him getting a bit moody though lately and she had no idea what that was all about.

She went downstairs and took Matt Schofield into an interview room just off the front desk area. She couldn’t help looking at her watch. It was just before eight o’clock.

‘Detective Hoyland,’ said Matt. ‘I’m sorry to bother you so early but I’m on my way to morning surgery.’

‘Oh no that’s alright,’ said Sara.

‘It’s just that I noticed you looking at your watch,’ said Matt. ‘I didn’t even think you’d be here this early.’

‘Well we’ve got a lot of work on at the moment.’

‘Yes, I can imagine,’ said Matt, ‘and I don’t want to take up too much of your time.’

‘It’s okay, really. What can I do for you?’

‘I wanted to talk to you about what Andy Cook told you about the man I now know was my brother, Sean Patrick O’Brien, the man Cook has been impersonating these past years. I know you’re in the middle of an investigation but I just wondered if you could give me any information on him and his life. You see, detective, my sister and I need to try and get a hold on our brother and what happened to him.’

‘It was pretty tragic’ said Sara.

‘Well I guessed that.’

‘Look, the psychotherapist Angela Barker was given a detailed manuscript by Andy Cook about your brother’s life. He wrote it from what your brother told him back in Australia and was going to turn it into a book. I can’t give you the original but I can make a copy and give that to you.’

‘That would be very generous, thank you’ said Matt.

‘I warn you though that it’s not a feel good read, your brother was forcibly migrated to Australia as a child.’

‘After my mother dumped him there and forgot about him.’

‘Those are the facts, yes,’ said Sara.

‘But they don’t end there, do they’ said Matt. ‘You’re looking for Father Phillip Evans because you suspect him to be the killer. And he’s my nephew.’

‘Yes,’ said Sara, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s not me who needs the sympathy, detective’ said Matt, ‘and it’s certainly not my parents.’

‘Okay’ said Sara. ‘But look Matt, seeing as I’m going to be doing you a favour, can you do me one in return?’

‘I’ll try’ said Matt.

‘Matt, are you or were you, in a relationship with Adrian Bradshaw?’

Matt paused and in doing so realised he’d given her the truthful answer. He hadn’t wanted to lie but he didn’t know for sure what Adrian might’ve said. He’d tried contacting him countless times since Penny was murdered but Adrian hadn’t returned any of his calls. And he was worried about him.

‘I expect he’s denying it?’ Matt enquired.

‘Well normally I wouldn’t talk about the private lives of my officers but these aren’t normal circumstances’ said Sara. ‘ So yes, he does deny it.’

‘I thought he would’ said Matt. ‘Not that I blame him under the circumstances.’

‘A bit disrespectful to you though.’

‘I went into it with my eyes wide open,’ said Matt. ‘Have you ever had an affair with a married man?’

‘Yes’ said Sara. ‘It was a long time ago and my heart was broken. It taught me a valuable lesson.’

‘Yeah, well’ said Matt, ‘learning that particular lesson is still on my ‘to do’ list.’

‘He blames his wife finding out on all on the mischief making of his sister-in-law Natasha’ said Sara, ‘he says she told his wife there was something going on just to spite her.’

‘Well Natasha is a downright bitch so that would fit.’

‘You have experience of that?’

Matt felt he had no choice then but to tell her about when Natasha had been over to his house and smashed his car up. ‘That’s when she found out about Adrian and me because Adrian was there at the time.’

‘I see,’ said Sara. She was furious that Adrian hadn’t told her about the incident outside Matt Schofield’s house. She’d have to tackle him about it later. ‘You didn’t report it?’

‘Natasha promised to pay for the damage and she has done,’ said Matt. ‘I decided to leave it there for the sake of Adrian’s wife.’

‘But Natasha told her anyway and that’s why Penny came round to see you.’

‘Yes’ said Matt, ‘but when I think about it, it’s a wonder Penny didn’t find out before she did considering that we were sort of friends by proxy. Her sister was going out with my best friend Charlie and …I was seeing her husband.’

‘Oh what a tangled web, eh?’

‘You might say that,’ said Matt. ‘It might even be funny if people hadn’t been murdered.’

‘How long have you been seeing Adrian?’

‘About six months.’

‘How did you and Penny Bradshaw get on by the way?’

‘Quite well to tell you the truth,’ said Matt, ‘she seemed like she was a bright, intelligent woman. I liked her to be honest. If circumstances had been different we might even have been friends. It was odd really.’

‘Considering you’d been seeing her husband?’

‘No’ said Matt, thinking back. ‘It was like I felt a strange kind of closeness to her. I don’t know why. And I was absolutely honest with her about Adrian. She deserved that much.’

‘Has Adrian been in touch with you since?’

‘No’ said Matt. ‘No, he hasn’t. I’ve tried calling him but he’s not returning any of my calls. He probably blames me. I seduced him in the first place, you see, and if I hadn’t, if I’d just left well alone… but there was a strong attraction right from the start. I became a bit smitten.’

‘Did Adrian tell you about Penny’s difficult relationship with her parents?’

‘Yeah he did’ said Matt. ‘He said that they were always putting her down even though she’d never given them any trouble compared to Natasha who was clearly the favoured one. But then judging by what I’ve found out about my own parents lately, I’ve no right to judge anyone. The weight of what’s been happening is pretty heavy for my sister and I at the moment, detective.’

‘I don’t doubt that. But Matt, I’m concerned about you going back to work.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you’re exposed there’ said Sara. ‘Until we catch Andy Cook and Phillip Evans everybody in your family is at risk.’

‘I have to get back to work, detective,’ said Matt. ‘For the sake of my sanity and besides, Phillip Evans is family. I’m not going to make myself scared of him.’

‘Matt, we can be pretty certain that he was going to kill you when he came to your house.’

‘Yes, I know’ said Matt. ‘But I’ve got patients to see and my partner in the surgery has got his own problems too.’

‘And are you still staying at your parents house?’

‘No’ said Matt. ‘My sister Susie and I have checked into a hotel. We had a huge row with our parents and we couldn’t face going back to our houses knowing what had happened in them.’

‘Which hotel are you staying at?’

‘The Malmaison near Piccadilly Station.’

‘Under your own names?’

‘Yes’ said Matt. ‘Although Schofield isn’t a name I’m particularly proud of at the moment.’

‘Well look, I’ll go and make that copy for you but I warn you, it doesn’t make for very pleasant reading.’

‘I thought as much.’

‘And keep in touch. For your own sake.’ 

Matt drove down to the surgery and after he’d parked his car he started reading the copy of the manuscript detective Hoyland had given him. He got so deeply into it that when the practice nurse knocked on his car window as she was passing, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He then walked with her into the building and just after he got to his consulting room he received a visitor. It was Charlie. Matt looked up at him and burst into tears.

‘Hey’ said Charlie. He pulled up a chair and put his arm round Matt. ‘This is not like you. You’re the strong one who carries the rest of us on his shoulders.’

‘Everything is such a bloody mess.’ Matt pleaded. ‘The police have given me a copy of a manuscript that details everything my brother Sean Patrick went through. And my own nephew, a nephew I never knew I had, just like I never knew I had a brother, is wanted for murder. How did we get here, Charlie? How did my mother, egged on by my father, leave her little boy to his fate?’

‘I don’t know, mate’ said Charlie. ‘I wish I did.’

‘My brother had a hell of a life after my mother dumped him,’ said Matt who’d read several pages of the copy of Andy Cook’s manuscript. ‘How could she do that? How could she leave him and forget about him?’

‘I really don’t know, Matt,’ said Charlie. ‘Knowing your mother it doesn’t make any sense at all.’

‘How’s Wendy doing?’

‘She’s poorly.’

‘Very poorly?’

‘Yeah’ said Charlie, softly.

‘And the boys?’

‘They don’t like to let me out of their sight.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘They’ve been asking for their uncle Matt.’

‘I’m sorry I’ve not been to see them,’ said Matt.

‘Hey look, I understand‘ said Charlie, rubbing Matt’s back. ‘You’ve had a lot on your plate.’

‘You always did understand me, Charlie.’

‘Yes and I always will,’ said Charlie.

Charlie placed his fingertip under Matt’s chin and lifted up his face. He looked into his eyes and touched Matt’s lips with the end of his thumb. Then he kissed him. Then Matt kissed Charlie and before they knew it they’d spent several minutes engaged in the kissing of a love that had never been alive before.

‘What was all that about?’ asked Matt, tentatively.

‘What you’ve always known to be true.’

*

Ann and Bill Schofield received a call from Brendan asking them to meet him down at the church. When they got there Bill pulled up right outside the main gate. They were both in a state of emotional distress and it showed on both their faces.  Their children hated them and were refusing to speak to them. They were both praying to God but neither of them knew how they were ever going to put this right. They got out of the car and walked slowly down the path to the main door of the church. They looked around. The police had said they were watching both their house and the church so they must be around somewhere.

‘Did Brendan say we had to go inside the church to meet him?’ asked Bill.

‘Yes’ said Ann. She felt herself shaking as she had been for days.

They went inside the church and it was strangely quiet. It often was when there were no services taking place but this was different somehow. Then Ann looked up to the front and saw a massive black cloth draped between the two main pillars and blocking the view of the altar. It made the church seem dark because it was also blocking the light coming through the stained glass windows behind. What was that all about? Her natural instinct was to go up and take it down but she was stopped in her tracks by the sound of the door locking behind them. They both turned round and saw Phillip Evans standing there with a gun in his hand pointing at them. Ann gasped and Bill lifted up his hands.

‘Now then son there’s no need for this,’ said Bill. ‘Put the gun down.’

‘I decide what happens here!’ said Phillip. ‘Now go to the front of the church.’

Neither Ann nor Bill could move. They were frozen with terror.

‘Do it!’ Phillip bellowed. ‘Now!’

They held each other’s hand as they stepped forward. Ann stumbled and Bill picked her up. Evans came up behind and pushed the gun in Ann’s back.

‘Move it!’

‘You keep your hands off her!’ Bill demanded.

His defence of his wife earned Bill a sharp blow across the face with the butt of Phillip’s gun. Bill stumbled backwards and Ann went to help him but Phillip lifted her up and dragged her up the aisle and threw her down onto the front pew. Bill’s face was bleeding as Phillip commanded him to come and sit by his wife. Ann and Bill huddled together like frightened children.

‘And if either of you make a move or do anything stupid then it’ll be the last thing you do.’

‘Why have you brought us here?’ Bill demanded. ‘If it’s just to kill us then get it over with!’

‘Oh but we’re going to have some fun first’ said Evans, swaggering about, enjoying his captives expressions of fear and trepidation.

‘I can’t believe who you’ve turned out to be’ said Ann. ‘And I know that a lot of things have been done that are wrong. But we can put things right. We can pay for you to get out of here and we won’t say a word about this.’