No Questions Asked (11 page)

‘No he wasn’t’ said Rebecca. ‘We’ve had the paternity test results. He wasn’t your son, Gary. Bradley wasn’t your son’.

Debbie Mitchell turned over in bed and remembered she wasn’t alone. It brought an involuntary smile to her face and she reached out to caress Fiona’s breasts in her hands. Then she kissed her on the shoulder and watched as the lids lifted on her hazel green eyes.

‘Good morning’ said Fiona, sleepily. She rubbed her eyes. ‘What time is it?’

‘Just after seven’ said Debbie. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Like I always am when I’m with you’ said Fiona. ‘Wonderful’.

It had been six months since Debbie’s long standing friendship with Fiona Braithwaite who lived next door to Jeff Barton in a house she shared with her husband Stuart had turned into a full blown love affair but she’d never known anything quite like it before. Fiona had read about women falling for other women and having lesbian relationships for the first time in their forties but never imagined it would happen to her. But one night after they’d been for a run together Fiona asked if she could use Debbie’s shower because hers had broken down for some reason and she left all that kind of stuff to Stuart who was away on business in Newcastle and wouldn’t be back until the morning. Gary had gone down to the pub so Debbie was on her own and could use the company. So she told Fiona that of course she could use the shower. But the look the two women exchanged made them both appreciate  that there was a deeper intensity going on and Debbie left it as long as she could before she couldn’t wait any longer to join Fiona in the shower. They made love there and again on the bed. Debbie confessed that she’d had a lesbian affair in her teens that not even Gary knew about but hadn’t been with a woman since. Gary suspected nothing when he came home from the pub to find Fiona and Debbie in the living room drinking wine and talking. 

‘I slept so well’ said Debbie. ‘It was almost like my first night of freedom’.

Fiona was in love with Debbie but she sometimes showed a pretty callous side to her nature that Fiona found a little disturbing. ‘I don’t expect Gary had a very comfortable night’.

‘I don’t suppose he did being locked up and facing a murder charge’.

‘When is he up before the magistrates?’

‘This morning at ten o’clock’.

‘You are going?’

‘I’ll see if there’s a gap in my diary’ said Debbie, smirking.

Fiona laughed although she didn’t know why. It really wasn’t funny. ‘I’m sure he’ll be glad of that’.

‘Oh enough of him’ said Debbie who then swept Fiona up in her arms. ‘We’ve got time to make it again before I have to get my arse into gear’.

‘Well with an invitation like that who am I to refuse?’

A while later they were both getting dressed when Debbie suddenly threw her arms in the air with joy. ‘I can’t believe how it’s all coming together. Gary is out of my life but the woman of my dreams is looking up at me right now. And this is the fourth morning when I haven’t come on. So it looks very much like Gary has left me something behind’.

‘Go and do the test!’

Debbie did the pregnancy test and it turned out to be positive. It was all hugs and tears of joy at the good news that she wasn’t planning to tell Gary about. Then they sat down holding hands on the end of the bed.

‘You see what this means?’ said Debbie. ‘We’ve got everything we need now to make a fresh start on our own. Thank God I found that rucksack’.

‘Remind me again how you did find it?’ asked Fiona.

‘I was driving back from my brother’s place when I saw it lying there by the side of the road’ Debbie explained. ‘I knew it was Bradley’s so I picked it up and was intending to tell him I had it if I saw him at Jeff’s barbecue. If not I would’ve taken it round later’

‘But a murderer got in the way of your plans’.

‘That’s about it, yes’ said Debbie. ‘And that’s when I saw my chance’.

‘Debbie, you’ve stitched Gary up for murder’.

‘Fiona, I have had years of having to turn the other way at his affairs. I’ve genuinely lost count of all the other women he’s had dalliances with and you know how much that’s hurt me. Then his whore and his son move in over the road and it was unbearable at times. I don’t owe him anything, Fiona. I don’t owe him anything’.

‘But surely you don’t believe he did it?’

‘The solicitor believes the prosecution have got a pretty sound case’.

‘But do you believe he did it? Because let’s face it, Fiona, if Gary didn’t do it then there’s still some sick killer out there who may be intent on murdering more children like Bradley’.

‘Look, Fiona, I know how it looks for Gary. I’m not completely heartless. But for the first time I’ve put my needs first and that means being with you and now with our child’.

‘Even if it means Gary going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit?’

‘Why are you suddenly falling over yourself with concern over my husband who’s never been able to keep his cock in his trousers?’

‘Because he’s been accused of the murder of a child, Debbie! It’s not a bloody parking ticket!’

‘Yes, I know, I know, I know, but look, I’ve made a lot of sacrifices for the sake of opening up the potential for our future. I’ve had to be stronger than I’ve ever known because I love you, Fiona, and I want to be with you. Now when are you going to tell Stuart about our plans?’

‘I still love him, Debbie. The last thing I want to do is hurt him’.

‘But that’s what happens when you end one relationship in order to start another. Someone gets hurt in the grown up world we live in. Now I’ve done my part for us, Fiona. It’s your turn now. Don’t disappoint me’.

SEVEN

‘She watches his spending of every penny, you know?’ said Lucy. She was sitting on her sofa with her knees up and bent to her chest and her arms folded over them. She was playing with a paper tissue between her slight, delicate fingers and there were now so many holes in it that it wouldn’t be able to function as it should if need be. ‘She goes through their bank statements with a pretty fine toothcomb and he has to account for every cash withdrawal from the cash machine. Why did he withdraw it? What did he spend it on? She never respects him. She has to okay every financial transaction. He can’t make any decision himself on buying anything for the house. He has to run it by her first. If she hated him that much then why didn’t she let him go and let someone else love him the way he should be loved?’

‘Like you’ said Annabel who was doing what she could but couldn’t seem to calm Lucy down much. The news that Gary Mitchell had been charged with Bradley’s murder had rocked the street and the whole neighbourhood.

‘Yes, like me! Why not me?’

‘Lucy, Lucy, love, I wasn’t saying it shouldn’t be you’ said Annabel as reassuringly as she could. ‘I was just responding to what you were saying’.

‘You probably hate me’.

‘I don’t hate you, Lucy. Why would I hate you? We’ve just become friends’

‘Because your husband went off with someone just like I wanted Gary to go off with me’.

‘Lucy, my husband Clive left me very quickly after he’d declared his affair. And to be honest I respected him for it in a roundabout kind of way because he didn’t prolong the agony for months on end. He knew he wanted to be with her and not with me and he acted on it’.

‘What about your Dermot?’

‘Well he isn’t my Dermot. I just borrow him for sex’.

‘Don’t you want him to be yours?’

‘I don’t know the answer to that, Lucy. I don’t know if I’m ready to share my life with a man again and what we have now is fun and exciting’.

‘You’re so much stronger than me’.

‘I just don’t want to get into the position where unless he comes to me I’ll die’.

‘Like the position I’ve got into’ said Lucy who then began to weep again.

Annabel shifted her position so that she sat on her knees on the sofa in front of Lucy and held Lucy’s hands. ‘Lucy, all you’ve been guilty of is of loving the wrong man’.

‘I thought he was the right man’ Lucy pleaded.

‘But he wasn’t, sweetheart’.

‘He couldn’t have killed Bradley, Annabel. I just don’t believe he could or that he did. I just don’t believe that he could’ve killed his own son’.

‘But Lucy’ Annabel began, softly. ‘He wasn’t Bradley’s father, was he?’

‘But I wanted him to be’.

‘But was that because you thought he’d make a good father or because you wanted the man you loved to be your son’s father?’

Lucy shook her head. ‘I don’t know’.

‘So who was Bradley’s father?’

‘It was Bernie Connelly’ said Lucy. ‘But I couldn’t stand the thought of it’.

‘Why was that, Lucy?’

Lucy suddenly grew even more hysterical. ‘Well would you want a gangster to be your son’s father?’

Jeff went to the court hearing where Gary Mitchell was remanded in custody pending his trial for the murder of Bradley Thompson. Gary’s wife Debbie was there but before Jeff had the chance to speak to her she rushed off without exchanging even the briefest look with him.

Following the hearing Jeff went down to the cells and spoke to Gary whilst he was waiting to be taken away to HMP Manchester. He told the police officer guarding Gary to leave him alone with him in the cell.

‘What the hell am I going to do, Jeff?’ Gary pleaded.

‘Gary, we’ve charged you on the basis of the evidence’ said Jeff.

‘So the case is closed? Is that what you’re saying? I’m looking at twenty years, maybe thirty?’

‘You’ve got to give me something, Gary’ said Jeff who knew he could offer no words of comfort to his friend other than the belief that he didn’t kill Bradley Thompson. But that wouldn’t be of any value in a prison culture that comes down pretty hard on alleged child murderers. In fact it would be fatuous to even mention it. So Jeff decided for the time being to keep his cards close to his chest.

‘Like what? I told your lot everything’.

‘No, you didn’t, Gary, because if you had told us everything then you wouldn’t be sitting here’.

‘Lucy never told me he wasn’t my son’.

‘Well to be fair did you ever ask?’

Gary buried his head in his hands. He could still see Bradley lying there motionless after the life had been strangled out of him. He wouldn’t be able to get it out of his mind for the rest of his life. And now as he sat here after watching his wife rush off as if she was late for a hairdressing appointment and his mother cry as he was led down in handcuffs, it seemed as if hell had arrived on earth for him.

‘Is my Mum okay?’

‘Your sister has taken her back with her’.

‘Our Jo will look after her for sure’ said Gary. ‘But she shouldn’t have to, Jeff, because I shouldn’t be here!’

‘Alright, alright, calm down’.

‘Calm down? Fucking calm down? Are you having a laugh?’

‘Far from it, Gary’ said Jeff. ‘But like I say I need something more from you between now and the trial’.

‘I went to meet Bradley and to talk to him and persuade him not to tell Debbie about my affair with his mother but instead I found him lying there dead’.

‘And you really didn’t see anyone else?’

‘No!’

‘But there must’ve been other people around?’

‘There were but not in that immediate vicinity’.

Jeff paced the room for a moment and then stood in front of Gary. ‘Gary, think long and think very, very hard. It can’t have been more than minutes, seconds even, between the killer being there and you discovering Bradley’s body. Did you look up and see someone running? Because if you did then they could be the killer and out there free as a bird whilst you’re in here. Mate, the only way I can get you out of here is by someone else confessing or by you remembering something vital that casts a whole different light on the case against you’.

‘I didn’t kill him, Jeff’.

‘But that’s not enough my friend’ said Jeff. ‘I need more than that. I need to be able to back your words up with evidence and cold, hard facts. Use your time now to go over everything and I mean everything. Otherwise I won’t be able to get you out of here’.

Jeff drove back from the court and was decidedly on edge. He constantly tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

Bernie Connelly. He had to have something to do with this.

He sighed and looked around impatiently when he had to slow down or stop at traffic lights. He’d missed something. Gary shouldn’t be behind bars and facing the darkness of years of being incarcerated. Jeff went over everything again and again in his head and wanted to pick at it all but there were no obvious places to go in and dig for something more.

He got back to his office and sat down at his desk. He made a quick call to his live-in nanny and housekeeper Brendan to see how his son Toby was doing and Brendan was happy to report that Toby was much more cheerful today and getting back to his old self. Jeff then talked to Toby for several minutes before telling him that Daddy had to get back to work and he’d see him later for dinner.