Текст книги "The Black Pathway"

Автор книги: Mark C. Sutton

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

“Well, it’s good to hear that you feel so passionately about…”

“Don’t patronise me, sir.” Snapped Howard, his voice raised, angry.

“Howard, I’m not…”

“You stand here, in front of this class, trying to teach a subject that you actually know bugger all about. It’s annoying.” Interrupted Howard.

“Is that so?” Asked the lecturer, himself now getting angry with Howard’s attitude.

“Yeah, it is.” Stated Howard, and at this point, he stood up and looked around at his fellow students.

Howard Trenton felt both irate and nervous, suddenly finding himself being stared at by the rest of the class, but he felt compelled to make a stand against Mister Rossiter’s ignorance.

“It’s very easy to make light of the prospect of alien life. That’s because you don’t understand…”

“Sit down, Howard.” Ordered Mister Rossiter. “I’ll not have you disrupt my session like this.”

“No. No, I won’t sit down.” Replied Howard, in defiance. “Would you like me to tell you something, Mister Rossiter? Something that might surprise you?” He asked his tutor.

“Just sit down.” Mister Rossiter responded. Howard Trenton completely ignored him.

“There’s already extraterrestrials… here, on Earth, right now…and they’re not what you would imagine, either… in fact, if you ever saw one, then you probably wouldn’t even realise that you were looking at an alien.” Said Howard. “You’d think that it was some sort of cryptozoological freak of nature… but not something from out there.” Said Howard, gazing up at the ceiling. The other students stared at him like he had gone mad.

“And how would you know this, Howard? Is it something that you’ve read about on the internet? Some silly conspiracy theory website?” Mocked Mister Rossiter. Howard responded with anger to this.

“Shut up, you silly little man. You know nothing. You’re clueless. You’re…”

“Get out of my class now, Howard.” Ordered the tutor, finally losing his cool, and pointing towards the lecture hall door. Howard looked helplessly at his fellow students. Most of them were grinning, enjoying the argument. Ignorant twats… they’re not worth enlightening any further, thought Howard. “Did you hear me, Howard. Get out of my class. I will not have you talking to me in such a manner.” Repeated Mister Rossiter. Howard gave his tutor a withering look, and then he stomped out of the room. His lecturer followed Howard out of the classroom and into the corridor.

Mister Rossiter shut the lecture hall door behind him, so that the rest of the students couldn’t hear what was being said.

“Just what was that little outburst all about, Howard? It’s unlike you to be so… argumentative.” He asked. Howard dug his hands into his pockets, and refused to look Mister Rossiter in the eye.

“I told you. I’m annoyed by your flippancy, sir, and the way that you make light of a serious subject.” Howard responded.

“Well, I’m sorry that I offended you, Howard. That wasn’t my intention. Regardless of that though, it doesn’t give you the right to talk to me in the manner that you just did.” Said the lecturer.

“Yes. I know, I’m sorry.” Replied Howard, staring down at the floor. “I shouldn’t have called you silly or clueless.” He went on.

“No, you shouldn’t have, Howard.” Commented Mister Rossiter. Howard looked past the tutor, down the corridor. Somebody had caught his attention; a woman in her mid-forties, called Kate. She was a careers advisor based at the college.

“Well, like I just said… I’m sorry.” Repeated Howard, suddenly feeling distracted. He watched Kate disappear into one of the classrooms.

“Okay. I accept your apology. Now, are you coming back into the lecture hall, Howard?” Mister Rossiter wanted to know. Howard finally looked into the eyes of his tutor.

“No, sir. No. I’ll give the rest of this study period a miss, if that’s okay.” He replied. “You know what the other students will be like if I go back in there… they’ll spend the rest of the session taking the piss out of me.” Howard commented.

“Are you sure?” Asked the lecturer. Howard Trenton nodded. “Okay. Fair enough. I’d better go back in. I’m sorry that I offended you, Howard.” The young man forced a smile.

“It doesn’t matter, sir.” He said. Mister Rossiter disappeared back into the lecture room. Howard walked off, down the corridor, in the direction of where he had just seen Kate.

Chapter Two

Kate Williams was looking through some leaflets concerning an upcoming jobs fare in the nearby town of Knighton, when she heard a gentle rap on the classroom door. She looked up. One of the college students, Howard Trenton, was outside, smiling at her through the glass panel on the door. Kate smiled back. She beckoned for Howard to enter the classroom, which he did.

“Hi, Miss Williams.” Beamed Howard.

“Hello, Howard. How are you today?” Kate asked. Howard grinned.

“I’ve just caused a bit of a to-do in one of Mister Rossiter’s lectures.” Confided Howard.

“Oh, did you now? Sit down, Howard, sit down.” Said Kate. Howard pulled up a small wooden chair, and sat near to Kate’s desk.

“Yes, I did. He annoyed me.” Advised Howard.

“That’s unlike you, Howard.” Observed Kate. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d seen Howard annoyed before; he rarely seemed to get passionate about anything. “What did Mister Rossiter do to upset you?” She asked, with curiosity. Howard waved his hand.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just say that we had a little disagreement about matters of science.” He smiled.

“I see… so, is there anything that I can do for you today, Howard?” Kate wanted to know.

“Nothing really. I just popped in to say ‘hi’… are you busy today, Miss Williams?”

“No more than usual. I’m glad it’s Friday though… I’m looking forward to the weekend, Howard.” Said Kate.

“Me too, Miss Williams. Me too. Have you got anything nice planned?” Howard asked.

“Well, I’m planning on a quiet night tonight… but tomorrow I’m meeting up with an old friend that I used to go to college with.” Kate advised.

“Oh, that’s nice. What’s her name?” Responded Howard.

“Actually Howard, it’s a ‘he’. He’s called Jake.” Replied Kate, and with this revelation, Howard felt his stomach tighten with jealousy.

Howard Trenton forced a smile.

“Oh… that’s nice. So… Jake… is he an old boyfriend or something?” He asked. Kate smiled. Howard gazed at her. He loved Kate’s smile. Howard loved Kate. He had done for a while now, not that she was aware of that, of course. Though Howard would have been very pleasantly surprised if he knew exactly what Kate thought of him. Very pleasantly surprised indeed.

“Jake? No. He was just a very dear friend… with a brilliant sense of humour. I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s been up to for the past twenty years.” Replied Kate.

“How did you get back in touch with him?” Howard asked, with curiosity.

“Over the internet.” Kate informed him. Howard’s expression darkened.

“Well, just be careful, Miss Williams.” He warned.

“Pardon?” Kate responded, slightly puzzled.

“Be careful. People can change, Miss Williams. Especially over the period of twenty years. This Jake… he might no longer be the fun-loving young student that you remember.” Cautioned Howard. Kate shot him a slightly irritated look.

“Well, Jake seemed pretty much the same when I chatted to him online the other evening.” She pointed out.

“Yes, but that’s different. It wasn’t face-to-face… anybody can hide behind a mask when they’re talking via e-mail or messenger, Miss Williams.” Snapped Howard. He stared hard at Kate, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She shuffled the jobs fare leaflets in her hands, awkwardly.

“Well, thanks for your advice, Howard. Now, if that’s all… I’d better make some preparation for my next meeting.” Kate said.

“Yes, yes, of course.” Replied Howard, standing up. “I hope that you have a good weekend, Miss Williams.” He added.

“You too, Howard.” Kate responded, trying to smile, but unable to. Howard Trenton gave Kate a short, cold stare, and then he left the room, leaving the careers advisor feeling somewhat unnerved. And aroused.

***

Howard came to live with myself and my wife, Kay, about three years ago, not long after his mother, Loretta, passed away. I used to see Howard and his mom around Coldsleet all of the time; it’s not the biggest of towns, so everyone is always bumping into everybody else, it’s inevitable. Howard’s mom, she was a nice woman. A little jumpy and anxious maybe… my mother, who is, or was, Loretta’s sister… well, she told me that Loretta had had a lot of mental problems from when she was very young, and then, on top of all that, something bad had happened to her when she was in her early twenties. I never found out just what that was until recently, when all of the stuff about Howard came out. Loretta was assaulted… sexually assaulted. Or so she told everyone. Not everybody believed that that was what really happened, because Loretta was quite well-known for telling the odd tall tale, here and there. One little rumour that I heard from somewhere or other, when I was younger, and which I didn’t want to ask my mom about at the time, was that they found Loretta up on Wildbridge Hill, which overlooks Coldsleet, half frozen to death, even though it was the middle of summer. When Howard was finally exposed as a killer, what he’d written down in his journals seemed to confirm that rumour. I actually asked one of the investigating officers working on Howard’s case… a nice guy, called Tom Grogan, if he could confirm that rumour. He did a little research, and came back to tell me that it appeared to be true, though he stressed that WHAT, exactly, had happened to Loretta up on Wildbridge Hill was never established. Certainly, no charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the alleged sexual assault.

 

When her time came, Loretta didn’t die easily. She was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer; there was nothing anyone could do for her, except try and ease her pain a little. It took Loretta six long months of suffering before she finally passed away and, hopefully, found some peace. My mom cared for her during her final months, and occasionally I’d go with her, over to Loretta’s house, to help out. It was rough watching a pretty, intelligent and sensitive person wither away to nothing more than an incoherent, mumbling skeleton, wracked with pain. I remember well the day that Loretta passed away. It was a Saturday. I was over at her house with my mom. Loretta had been awake all night, screaming out in agony. My mom called the doctor in. He went upstairs and gave Loretta an injection, you know, to ‘ease the pain’, except we all knew that it was a little bit more than that. The doctor came back downstairs and left. Fifteen minutes later, when my mother went up to check on her sister, she was dead. Nobody ever seems to talk about or admit it, but doctors do that sometimes; they help people to pass over to the other side, if there is one, that is.

 

After his mother died, it was clear that Howard couldn’t continue to live in their house all on his own. I mean, he was only fourteen or fifteen at the time. So, Howard moved into our home, and my mother arranged for Loretta’s house to be put up for sale. It sold pretty quickly. The proceeds from the sale were put into a trust fund for Howard, for when he reached eighteen years of age. Not long before, you know, the bad thing happened with Howard, he took inheritance of all that money, but do you know something? He hardly touched a penny of it. Money didn’t seem to motivate Howard at all, from what I saw, he couldn’t have cared less about it. In fact, thinking back, I’m not sure what, exactly, really motivated Howard. He was like, just there, but not really there, if you know what I mean. Howard always appeared to have a slight disconnect from the rest of the world. Yeah, sure, he had his interests and hobbies, and sometimes Howard would go on and on about them for ages, but… I don’t know, his delivery on such subjects was always… flat, without any real spark, or true passion. He always came across as a bit… dead inside. When you spoke to Howard, for most of the time, it was like conversing with an empty shell, as if his real self, his SOUL, was off somewhere else. Or maybe there was never any soul there in the first place.

 

So, Howard came to live at our house. At that time, there was me, Kay, and my mother living here. Even before Howard had moved in, my mother was already in the process of gradually moving out. She’d met a man called Phil, who lived in Elman, which is a town not far from here. Phil owned his own home, and my mother was spending more and more time there with him. About a month after Howard came to live with us, my mother finally moved out the last of her stuff and went to live with Phil permanently. He’s a good man, decent, kind, and Phil is my stepfather now too, because him and mom got married just over a year ago. My mother found happiness. That can only be a good thing, right? Of course it is. I don’t think mom’s ever looked back, and from a personal viewpoint, I’m just glad that she wasn’t around when all of the shit hit the fan following the revelations about Howard.

 

Once mom had moved away, there was just myself, Kay, and Howard living at home. There was never any problem with Howard residing with us. He didn’t cause any sort of trouble at all. He’d spend most of his time up in the bedroom, though he’d occasionally join us downstairs, usually at the weekend, on a Friday or Saturday night, where he’d sit and watch the odd movie with myself and my wife. Very occasionally, Howard would put a bit of his music on; I don’t know who it was that he used to listen to exactly, but it was soft, repetitive, ambient stuff, almost dreamlike. Kay quite liked it, she’s into that sort of hippy, trippy shit, but me, I found it really depressing, not that I ever told Howard that, because he could be quite sensitive about his music. Sometimes, I’d try and get Howard into the sort of stuff that I liked; rock, metal, grunge, punk… he wasn’t interested though, and didn’t enjoy it at all. He used to say that it was ‘a racket’, which was fair enough, I suppose, if you’re not into that style of music. Most of the younger kids around Coldsleet, they like the same sort of music as me. There’s quite a big punk and metal scene going on in this whole neck of the woods. Howard though… nah, not interested in the music, or the fashion style that went with it, at all, he really wasn’t. One thing that you could definitely say about my cousin; he was very much an individual, and never went along with the herd.

 

In the winter months, Howard would spend a lot of his time outside, in the back-yard, with a telescope trained towards the stars. He was interested in astronomy (though, as was typical with Howard, he would never talk about the subject with any sort of real, fiery passion), and told me that a clear night during December, January or February, was the optimum time for star-gazing. Howard explained that we were quite fortunate, here in Coldsleet, because there wasn't really much in the way of pollution. There was, he said, pretty good atmospheric visibility whenever he viewed the moon, stars, and planets through his telescope. Howard once told me that his favourite planet to look at was Saturn. He said that it was beautiful, like a jewel in the sky. One night, he tracked Saturn through his telescope, and let me have a look at it. Howard was right; it was beautiful. It was made up of different bands of colour, and then, of course, there was those rings around it.

“You’re right, Howard, it is like a jewel.” I said to my cousin. He smiled at me.

“There’s far more beautiful planets than that out there, Lucas… but they’re too far away for us to ever see.” He had replied. I asked him what he meant, because astronomy wasn’t really my sort of thing. “We call them exoplanets, Lucas. Worlds that orbit other stars, far outside of our own solar system. We’re discovering new ones all of the time. They even think that some are a lot like our Earth.”

“Really? I didn’t know that, Howard.” I had responded. Howard looked up at the stars.

“Yes, they’re all out there, somewhere.” He said. Then Howard turned to me, wearing a dreamy expression. “Do you want to know something, Lucas?” He asked.

“Sure. What?” I answered, interested to hear what Howard had to say.

 

My cousin stared back up at the sky.

“There’s one exoplanet… it’s part of a planetary system that revolves around a large, orange coloured star… a star that is much larger than our sun… ten times bigger, easily. Do you know what a ‘habitable zone’ is, Lucas?” Howard asked me. I shook my head. “Well, a ‘habitable zone’ is a location… an area… of a solar system where the conditions are just right for life to exist. Our Earth is in such a zone… and possibly Mars, too, though that appears to be a dead world, now. Anyway, the orange coloured star that I was telling you about… it has three planets circling it that all fall into a habitable zone. One of those planets, just like Mars, is dead. There’s nothing on it. But the other two… they’re both thriving with life, Lucas. Intelligent life. Life like you wouldn’t believe.” Howard told me. I looked at him skeptically.

“How do you know all of that?” I asked. Howard continued to gaze upwards.

“Oh, there’s a lot of things that I know, Lucas, a lot of things. It doesn’t matter how I know… I just do.” He responded. Howard stared at me, and for the first, and only, time, I actually saw some real passion in his eyes. Then Howard patted me on the shoulder, smiled, and left me in the back yard, all on my own. We never talked about the subject again.

 

Later that night, I lay in bed, chatting to Kay about Howard. I mentioned what he’d told me earlier, about the two exoplanets with life on them. Kay found it amusing.

“I’m sure that it’s just guesswork on Howard’s part. There’s no way that he could know stuff like that for sure.” She commented.

“Yeah, I know that, but it’s the way that he said it… all deadly serious, and with such conviction.” I replied.

“He’s probably just trying to come across as interesting, mysterious and enigmatic.” Kay said. “Let’s face it, as much as I love Howard… he is pretty dull.”

“Aw, don’t say that. He’s a good kid.” I said, giving Kay a mild ticking-off. “I don’t know… it’s just not really like Howard to talk about something in that manner, with a spark in his eye… with some excitement. Usually, he doesn’t really try to come across as, well, anything… he just tells you things in that flat, matter-of-fact voice of his.” I reflected. Kay’s eyes widened.

“Say, you don’t think he’s been smoking anything weird, do you?” She asked, joking.

“Who? Howard? You’ve got to be kidding. He’s definitely not the type to do drugs… or booze, come to that.” I said to Kay. She snuggled up to me. It felt good being close to her; she made me feel warm and secure.

“Perhaps Howard’s a secret addict. Let’s face it, getting stoned off your face would perfectly compliment that music he likes.” Kay grinned.

“I thought that you quite agreed with Howard’s taste in music?” I commented.

“I do, and that’s how I know that it’s proper stoner stuff… but only for when you’re on a big come-down.” Replied Kay. “A couple of girls that I was at college with, Lindy and Samantha, they were a right pair of drugees… they’d listen to the same music as Howard, but always at the end of the evening, when coming off a high.” She laughed.

“Nah, there’s no way Howard’s getting up to anything like that. He’s too straight-laced for those sort of shenanigans. Actually, I dread to think what he might be like if he ever did get wasted.” I said. Now it was my turn to laugh, thinking about the prospect of a shit-faced Howard Trenton.

***

The bus trundled slowly down Leeton Lane, past Saint Bernadette’s church, and into the town of Coldsleet. Howard Joseph Trenton stared out of the bus window, as a small, disused industrial estate came into view. It was, up until recently, in the process of being demolished, but then the local council had run out of money. Some of the buildings remained, covered with graffiti, whilst others had been reduced to nothing more than rubble. A number of the residents in this part of Coldsleet had started to use the site as a dumping ground for all manner of household and garden waste. Howard gazed at a large pile of torn, black bin bags, that were stacked up against a partially collapsed wire-fence, which surrounded part of the industrial estate. A couple of rats shot out from under the bags. One of them slipped through a hole in the fence, whilst the other hurried away up a grass bank, towards an overturned sofa, away from the sound of the bus. Howard smiled at the sight of the rodents; they represented decay… he liked decay.

 

Howard Trenton got off the bus at Coldsleet Terminus. He took in a deep breath of cold sea air, tasting the nearby ocean. Instead of heading straight home, Howard walked in the opposite direction, towards a row of shops, all of which were in varying states of disrepair; Godwin’s Launderette, M Turner and Daughter’s Convenience Store and Off-Licence, Angela’s Snips, Coldsleet Books… Howard approached the stores, and spotted the sign of one that he was seeking in particular… ‘Steve’s Vinyl’. Behind Howard, the bus that he’d travelled back to Coldsleet on pulled away from the bus Terminus, beginning a re-tread of its journey to the neighbouring town of Elman. Howard stopped for just a moment and glanced back at the bus, before carrying on towards Steve’s Vinyl music shop. He pushed open the door, and a little bell that sat near the top of it gave a metallic jangle.

Inside the shop, behind a counter that was covered with trays containing compact discs, sat the owner, Steve Rushton, a short, portly man with heavily receded, long black hair, and a chinstrap-style beard. When Howard entered the shop, Steve smiled.

“Ah, Howard. Good to see you, my friend.” He greeted the teenager. Howard smiled back and nodded.

“You too, Steve. How’s business today?” Howard asked. The smile fell away slightly from Steve’s face.

“Same as it always is these days, Howard… not very good.” Replied the shop-owner, with blunt honesty.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Steve… maybe things will pick up in the spring, you know, when the tourists come into town.” Suggested Howard, in a small attempt to offer the record shop a slither of hope for the future. Steve gave a small, cynical laugh.

“In case you haven’t already noticed, Howard, Coldsleet doesn’t get many tourists these days.” Steve pointed out.

“Well, maybe this spring will be different.” Smiled Howard, optimistically.

“Maybe it will.” Responded Steve, with little confidence in Howard’s optimism.

Howard walked over to a series of horizontal, wooden racks, containing hundreds of vinyl albums that were separated out into alphabetical order. His eyes sought out those listed under the letter ‘G’, and then he began to flip through the albums. Steve came out from behind the counter and walked across to Howard.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” He asked.

“Yeah. There’s a new album out by ‘Godjite Puls'. They’re an Albanian band… instrumental. They usually do all of that hardcore techno crap, which I can’t stand, but I was reading in one of the music mags that they’ve released some new ambient, organic stuff… the review I read gave it a nine out of ten… I thought I might have a listen, see what it’s like.” Said Howard. Steve shook his head.

“You’re not gonna find it in there, Howard. I’ve never heard of Godjite Plus…”

“Puls.” Corrected Howard.

“Godjite Puls. I tend to only stock UK and US music.” Continued Steve. Howard stopped flipping through the vinyl, and turned towards the shopkeeper.

“Well, have you got any new electronic music in? You know the sort of stuff that I’m into… soft, gentle, ambient, ethereal…” asked Howard. Steve grinned, and patted Howard on his bony shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, I know the sort of music that you like, Howard.” He said, smiling. “Come and have a look at this.” Steve suggested, and he led Howard towards a rack of cd’s with a label attached at the top that said ‘new releases’.

Steve pulled a cd from the rack. On the cover, was a photograph of a mountain. He passed the cd to Howard, who read from its cover.

“‘San Gorgonio… by X Radius Zero.’” Howard looked up at Steve. “Is it any good?” He asked.

“Well, it’s not really my cup of tea, but I think you’d like it.” Recommended Steve.

“Can I have a listen?” Requested Howard.

“Sure, sure.” Answered Steve. He took the cd from off Howard and walked over to a music player that was resting on the shop counter. Steve took a disc from the cd case, and put it in the player. A slow, hypnotic, muffled bass drum began to pulse from the speakers, followed by the sound of a gated synth.

“It sounds a bit ‘trance’.” Observed Howard. From the speakers came a gentle, lilting piano riff, mixed in with a deep, drawn out bass. “Ah, now, that sounds nice.” Smiled the teenager. At that point, two youths, roughly the same age as Howard, entered the music shop. Howard looked towards the doorway, recognising one of the boys instantly. He was a blonde lad of medium height, wearing a fake leather jacket. The youth looked at Howard and nodded, smirking. His name was Alex Crennell. Some years ago, Howard and Alex had been close friends, but this was no longer the case. In fact, Howard didn’t like Alex at all.

Alex Crennell nudged his friend, a spindly, spotty youth with greased-back dark hair and a pathetic bit of bum-fluff perched above his top lip. The second youth, whose name Howard didn’t know, looked over towards him. Alex Crennell and his friend began sniggering. Then they turned away from Howard and walked over to a shelf of cd’s.

“So, what do you think?” Asked Steve. Howard was suddenly confused.

“Eh? What do you mean?” He queried.

“The cd? X Radius Zero? Are you interested in it?” Steve wanted to know.

“Yeah, no… I mean yes. It sounds pretty good. I’ll take it, give it a whirl.” Howard responded. He looked back towards Alex Crennell and his friend, but they were busy sifting through cd’s, and didn’t appear to be taking any notice of him.

“Nice one, Howard. I thought you’d like it. Come on, let’s run it through the till for you.” Said Steve. He took the compact disc from out of the music player, and put it back in its case. Then Steve walked over to the till, with Howard following behind him.

Howard Trenton purchased the X Radius Zero cd, bid goodbye to Steve, and hurried out of the shop, eager not to have any dealings with Alex Crennell. To his relief, he wasn’t followed out of the music store. Howard headed back in the direction of the bus terminus. A number eight coach, from the village of Hoffen, was just pulling up at the small row of sheltered bus stops. Howard looked over at the bus as it came to a halt, and saw a familiar person getting off it. It was his cousin, Lucas’s wife, Kay; Howard shared a house with both of them. Another woman, much younger, in her early twenties, got off the bus, and began walking alongside Kay. Howard picked up his pace, quickly catching up with Kay and her mystery friend. He tapped Kay from behind, on her shoulder. She turned around, as did the other woman that she was with.

Kay smiled when she saw Howard.

“Oh, hello Howard.” She greeted him. Howard smiled.

“Hi Kay.” He replied. He looked at Kay’s mysterious friend and smiled. God, she’s beautiful, thought Howard, taking in the woman’s large brown eyes and flowing, auburn hair. “Hi.” He said to the young woman, who immediately smiled back at Howard.

“Howard, this is my sister, Mary. Mary, this is Lucas’s cousin, Howard. Howard shares the house with us, don’t you?” Said Kay.

“Yes, I do.” Replied Howard, his throat feeling suddenly dry.

“If it’s okay with you, Howard, then Mary is going to be stopping with us for a while too.” Announced Kay, unexpectedly.

“Oh… sure. Why?” Howard responded, slightly stumbling with his words.

“I’ve had a bit of a run-in with my landlord.” Advised Mary. “He’s a sleazy little shit-bag, always trying it on… I’ve had enough of it. I’ll be stopping at Kay and Lucas’s house until I can find a new place to rent out.” Howard looked down at a large suitcase that Mary was clutching.

“Ah, that explains why you’ve got some luggage with you.” He said.

“I haven’t really got much choice in leaving… I can’t stop in the flat, with that creep Barney Robbins sleazing around, for a moment longer.” Said Mary, more to herself than anyone else.

“So you’re okay with Mary moving in with us for a short while?” Asked Kay, for a second time.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine with me.” Howard smiled, before suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He gazed at Mary for a few moments, and his stomach knotted. It was exactly the same way that he felt when talking to Kate Williams at college.

 

Chapter Three

 

Anita Morley walked along Coldsleet promenade, holding the hand of her three and a half year-old son, Jack. Holding Jack's other hand was Howard Trenton.

"Are you ready to go up into the air again, Jack?" Asked Howard.

"Again! Jump please!" Said Jack, excitedly.

"What do you reckon, Mommy? Do you think Jack deserves to have another fly?" Howard asked Anita, winking at her.

"Absolutely." She replied.

"Okay then. One… two… three!" Howard counted down. On the announcement of the number three, Howard and Anita pulled Jack upwards. He squealed with delight, and then hovered in the air for a few moments, his little legs thrashing about excitedly. After his mom and Howard had eased Jack back down to the pavement, he asked if they could do it again.

"Maybe after we've had some lunch, eh Jack." Replied Anita. "You've spent more time airborne than actually walking, since we left the house."

"Promise after lunch, mommy? More jumps?" Said Jack.

"I think that we can definitely manage lots more jumps for Jack after we've eaten." Promised Howard. The little boy grinned, satisfied with Howard’s assurance.

"Do you fancy 'Lisa's Pantry'? Howard asked Anita.