Chapter 4

"Oh, my!" exclaimed Penny in wonder.

"Yes," Muriel affirmed, "So she then called the Security guards, and ordered them to deport Bert for attacking Colony personnel. Bert's boss had seen the whole confrontation, and confirmed that Bert did the attacking. He was gone by the next day, and our marriage was automatically annulled for that reason.

"Gloria had to go to the Admin Department to sort out our housing situation, as the house was in Bert's name, and there she met John. It was love at first sight for both of them. He came to our house to take Gloria out, and that was when I met him. I was equally taken by him. I suppose you know that Rehome, like New Eden, allows for multiple spouses of either sex?"

Penny said, "Oh, yes. We actually came here from Rehome, as Dad was not happy about aliens sharing our world there. We got a good deal to come here and settle, he said. The only aliens here are humans!"

"So you will understand about the marriage law. What I was not clear about was whether a man could marry a mother AND daughter, so I got a friend to make enquiries for me – It was actually the black lady that Bert had tried to attack. She got back to me with the confirmation that the only restriction was the man (or woman) being closely related to any proposed spouse. There was no genetic link to John involved, so it was fine. John did not know this, so I arranged for him to drink too much and end up having sex with me. I then egged him on to have sex with the comatose Gloria; in the morning the poor innocent agreed to marry Gloria as he had deflowered her. I demanded the same right, at which point he gallantly, but stupidly, declared that he would do so gladly if he could, but it was illegal. I said I was sure it wasn't, and demanded he find out which was correct.

"He did; I was proved correct, so he found himself having to marry us both. I felt terrible about coercing him, so I became determined to be a good wife to him, and help Gloria as much as possible. It worked. John loves us both, and we have both had two of his children, so we are happy together. As long as I am able, I want to have more children, then afterwards I will become den mother to all of our children, and let Gloria have more of a social life. She deserves that freedom. I am SO happy with the man; and he is so good to Gloria. He is still besotted with her. It couldn't be better."

Penny was impressed. "Gosh. I never expected you to praise him so much. You make him sound like a saint."

"Oh, he is no saint; he is just a man, with a man's failings. He DOES have high standards, and when we met, he was still a single man at an age midway between me and Gloria. Perhaps that is why he fell for her so strongly. That is all by the by. He is just a good and kind man who wants to do his best for everyone. That is why the Governor of Rehome selected him as the Governor for this colony. He was a safe pair of hands."

"So he will make sure that Dad gets a fair trial, Muriel?"

"Of course. He will bend over backwards to make sure of that. He tells me he has been getting reports from all the relevant sources, to put before the jury, so they have all the relevant facts in front of them, and they can make a rational decision. You know that your Dad has confessed to killing your Mum?"

"I had heard something along these lines, but I wasn't taking it all in at the time, I'm afraid. The shock was still preventing me from thinking too straight."

"Well, with a confession, it is all a matter of what to take into consideration when apportioning the sentence. We don't have a death sentence – you can't go back and say to a dead man "Sorry, we got it wrong"; so some other punishment will be decided on. I don't know what that might be."

"I don't want to see him again, Muriel. I have too many bad memories."

"I understand. I was glad to see the back of Bert. It was the end of many years of bad experiences. Do you know, I encouraged the family to emigrate to Rehome – it was called Home in these days – as I thought it would take him away from access to alcohol. How wrong I was! People were soon distilling their own spirits and brewing their own beer, for there was no law against it. Without tax, it made alcohol cheap as well, which suited Bert's drinking habit. It was a disaster for us, me and Gloria."

Penny smiled at her. "Muriel, listening to you makes me feel better, knowing that what we went through as a family was not so very different from many other families. It was just the ending that was different."

"That is a good thought to hold on to, Penny."

"I still miss my Mum, Muriel. Can I hug you for a while, please?"

"Go ahead, Penny. That's what I am here for."

Penny held tight to Muriel, then after a minute or two, Muriel felt Penny sobbing quietly against her. She sympathetically and silently held Penny close, as the girl let out her grief for the first time.

In the course of this, John reappeared at the door. He spotted Muriel cuddling Penny, and raised his eyebrows in query. Muriel lifted a hand and waved him away. He retreated towards the kitchen, and Tabs, who was drying the crockery and putting it away. He quietly gave her a hand, pointing out where some of the more unusual items were placed, then they cleared the cutlery and cooking utensils. By the time they had everything dealt with, and John had given her a "high five" to acknowledge their achievement, they chatted about her school life for a while.

"Mr Wells, I dread going back to school, having to admit that my Dad has killed my Mum. I don't know that I could face it."

"Tabs, I don't think you should go back to school until after the trial and sentence. That would appear on the news, so by the time you returned to school, it would be old news. You just have to say, "It was all in the media. I have nothing more to add."

"That sounds right. I might try that."

"The main point to remember, Tabs, is that you are an innocent victim. No-one can accuse you of anything. You can pretend it all went over your head. Certainly there was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"Thanks, sir. You are a nice man."

"All I do, Tabs, is try to treat other people the way I would hope they would treat me. If they don't, it is THEIR fault, not mine, and I can live with that."

Next day, Muriel visited Tabs' school and spoke to the administrator. "Tabitha is experiencing considerable trauma over the killing of her mother by her father, and at present is being cared for by the Governor and his family. Her father will be coming to trial shortly, and that will not help her, so the Governor feels that she should remain away from school until she feels able to cope with her teachers and fellow pupils again. Any teacher who wishes, may send her work to be done at home, but please note she has nothing from her own home with her at this time.

The Governor will send her back to school the minute she appears to be able to cope. Do you need a medical certificate to cover her absence?"

The Administrator realised this was a delicate situation. "The Governor's word is certainly enough, but if you were able to provide a medical certificate, that would help in keeping our records straight."

Muriel declared, "That point is noted. We shall consult the family's doctor."

Arriving home, Muriel asked Tabs, "Who is your family doctor, Tabs?"

"Doctor Beattie, Muriel."

"Do you mind if we call him in to examine you and issue a certificate stating you are not fit to attend school?"

"I don't mind, Muriel. Dr Beattie is a woman doctor, so she should be sympathetic to our problems."

Muriel phoned John to get his approval. "John, the school would like a medical certificate to cover Tabs' absence from school. Could you ask Dr Beattie to call in and see her, please?"

"Dr Beattie? I spoke to her about Joe. She seems amenable. I'll speak to her myself, and set it up."

He found that Dr Beattie was happy to visit in the early evening that day. "It is outside my normal hours, but this is an abnormal case, Governor. You say she is living in your home?"

"She and her sister Penny, who is seventeen. Penny seems to be coping better than her younger sister. What I need is for Tabs to steer clear of school until she feels she can cope with normal life again."

"I shall examine her and make my own judgment, but I am inclined to agree with you, Governor."

She turned up after the evening meal, and took Penny and Tabitha into the Governor's study for her private examination of them both. Half an hour later she presented John Wells with an open-ended medical certificate for Tabitha, which required her to issue another certificate at a later date, to state when she was regarded as fit for school.

"Do you want one for Penny, too? I don't know if she has employment or a college course."

"At the moment, nothing, but I may try to get her a college course, for she needs a career for her future life."

"Well, I'll issue a similar certificate, in case her selected course wants her to start right away. Let me know when you need me again. Oh, and here is my written report on Joe Fabricci's general health and what I think happened with his medication."

"Thanks, doctor. It is appreciated. I'll hand it on to our legal bod. The chances are that this will be sufficient, unless the jury wants to ask more questions."

The following day, the legal officer reported to the Governor that the jury trial was set for the next day, in a meeting room at the health centre. Any witnesses could sit in the centre waiting room, but as it stood, he expected the trial to be entirely based on reports from experts. He himself would be present to issue to the jurors copies of each of the reports, and answer any legal questions that the jury had. If the jury wished, he could summarise each of the reports with no confusing jargon. He asked if the Governor wished to attend.

"No, I don't think so. What I think you should do is allow the local news reporter in to observe and take notes. We don't have a proper newspaper yet, but as you are aware, we include a section on local news in the Colony news page, available on everyone's phones. A report of the murder trial will be of public interest, and also act as a deterrent for future potential murders."

"Very well, sir. At least every potential juror will understand how the process works. I expect the whole thing to be over in one day: not bad for an important crime to be dealt with."

"Will you expect family members to be at the trial, Governor?"

"Good God, no!" He explained, "Two teenage girls, traumatised? No way! I had to provide their eye-witness accounts, as told to me personally. These girls don't want to see their father, ever again. At the very least, he cannot remain in the Colony. I think you understand the position re banishment."

"I do understand, Governor. I shall explain all that to the jury."

The day of the trial was publicly known, so John decreed that the two girls remain in the Governor's mansion for the entire day, so that they would not be directly affected by whatever happened during the trial.

The trial itself was a bit on an anti-climax. The prisoner was there in handcuffs, chained to two guards. He at the start told his story to the jurors, and admitted his guilt. Next, each of the reports was presented to the jury, so that they were aware of all relevant facts and expert opinions on the facts. The facts readily spoke for themselves, and the jury recorded its decision of guilty.