Ahead of his Time by Adrian Cousins (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

his younger brother, David, would have been if I hadn’t dropped him off that roof last year.

“Jess, you didn’t say why Patrick’s mum and Paul came around to your flat. Was it just to check up on you? You know, the baby situation.”

Jess shook her head. She continued to hold my hand but used her Afghan coat’s other sleeve to wipe her eyes. “The day Paul hid his stash of drugs, I was angry with him … I wanted him to get out of the flat. Little did I know then the evil bastard had raped me the night before. He got physical with me, and there was a lot of shouting between us.” Jess blew out her cheeks and looked up to the ceiling; it appeared, willing herself not to cry again. “I yelled out that I wished the blokes who killed David had killed him as well.”

I was concerned about where this conversation was going. “What blokes?” I asked too harshly, but Jess didn't notice my change of tone and carried on.

“That’s what he said. I was across the fields at the back of Belfast house, the day David died … I saw it all happen. I wasn’t going to ever say anything as I was pleased that little pervert was dead. But I blurted it out after he tried to choke me to death. I thought of my baby … Patrick’s baby. So I just told him what I saw so he’d stop strangling me.”

“Paul told Shirley, and Shirley came around to get more information. Is that correct?”

Jess nodded. “I thought whoever killed him were low-life, same as Paul, so what did it matter?” She released our handhold to fish around in her pockets for her cigarettes. Jess sat as she had in the Beehive with her elbow balanced on her knee as it jiggled up and down, causing her cigarette in her hand to bounce. Nerves, I presumed. “I don’t know what you must think of me.” She looked up as she dragged on her cigarette. “Are you disappointed?”

Leaning across the table, I rested my hand on her arm. “Oh, Jess, no. Don’t you ever say that. You hear?”

She nodded and continued to jiggle her knee whilst looking down to inspect her white boots.

“You didn’t get a good look at these blokes on the roof when David died then?”

“No.” She shrugged her shoulders. “The guy who sort of threw him off had a denim jacket on. I could see that much, and then I saw him, I dunno … ’bout an hour or so later leave the estate in a yellow Cortina.”

It was my turn to fumble for my cigarettes. Sitting back, I afforded myself a moment to think. This was crazy how our lives were intertwined. Here she sat, my daughter, but not my daughter, but she thought I was her father. She witnessed me kill the brother of her unborn child’s father – the father of my best friend. Who is now my daughter. Well, alright, adopted daughter. And then this daughter, but really his daughter, sitting in front of me didn’t know it was me, her father, but not her father, but yes, her father, as far as she is concerned, kill her future brother-in-law. The very person, who in another life becomes a serial killer, and his older brother, who raped my daughter, is the father of Martin, my fellow time-traveller. Beth and Martin were cousins. To top it off, I now had the scary mad mother of these evil boys claiming to be the grandmother of my best friend, who is now my adopted daughter! “Jeeeesus!”

Jess smiled. Well, more of a smirk. “You okay, Dad?”

“Yup.” I leant forward. “I’m worried about you living up at the Broxworth. I have some ideas of how to get you into a house in a better part of town. In the meantime, I could rent a flat somewhere else so you’re not near that monster.”

“Shirley will protect me. She said she’ll deal with Paul, whatever that means.”

“Yep, I’ve no doubt she will. But will you consider my offer?”

Jess nodded and blew smoke to the ceiling as a smile started to brighten up her face.

“And you’re adamant you won’t report him?”

This time she shook her head as she dragged hard and then stubbed out her cigarette. “Not worth it. Shirley would have me killed.”

“Yep. I have no doubt she would.”

42

Honey Monster

I grabbed some more drinks, temporarily halting Derek from depressing another punter who was slumped at the bar. When I returned to our seats, Jess had started to pull apart a beer mat and now formed a small heap of the damp card in the centre of the table.

“I need Shirley to protect me now. Not only from Paul, but from whoever killed David.”

“Why d’you say that?” I certainly knew she had nothing to fear from me; quite the opposite.

“Shirley told me today Paul was certain he’d identified who killed David. He and Shirley are just now biding their time to deal with whoever it was. It could lead to warfare as they’ll deal with whoever in the Colney way, if you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“If David’s killers find out I saw them, which led to Paul finding them, it could put me in further danger.”

I leant across and took hold of her hand. “Jess, ’cos of the baby you said Shirley will protect you? Why do you think you’d be in danger from these other men?”

“Because they’ve murdered before … they might come after me now. Patrick and his father can’t help me. Paul is a psychopathic rapist with a short fuse. And Shirley, although terrifying, is only one woman! I don’t know who these men are, but sure as hell they’ll be dangerous.”

I could feel her trembling as I held onto her hand. It might be a mistake, but I had to stop this girl from worrying herself to death.

“Jess, I want you to listen to me.”