Chapter 1: The First Day

Inspector Wineforth tipped me the wink just before the service was about to start, so that I could slip from of my hiding place in the back of a police van and nip into the back of the church. In a way I was hoping that I could attend the service, pay my respects, and then slip away again without anyone really knowing I'd even been there. I suspected before I went in that there was little chance of me achieving that.

My sneaking around like a criminal was all down to a mater of principle really. I didn't know a hundred percent for sure, but I hadn't been able to let slide either. And no mater what I did, right from the beginning I'd understood that I was going to finish up looking a like real bastard to everyone anyway, even the kids.

Not that I hadn't already been branded a bastard anyway. Even though I had never been charged with anything, everyone had just assumed that I was a low life wife beater anyway. So when it came to the crunch my choice hadn't been a hard one to make. I'd taken what some folks would probably think the easy way out, but I can assure you that it wasn't.

Look when your wife of fifteen years is discovered in your house with her head bashed in and apparently you were the last person who'd been with her. Yeah well, what other conclusions are folks going to come to

On top of that, there were allegations by certain unspecified parties, of wife beating. Unfounded of course, but was just my word and once those rumours start, there's no stopping the buggers.

There were many other things that weren't made public, mainly because there was no real proof; just suspicion on my, and certain police officers part. But they kinda left me in a limbo somewhere between a rock and a hard place.

Consequently, after a lot of careful thought, I'd eventually decided to cut my losses, bite the bullet, go for a divorce and then try to get on with my life.

I can remember that my legal representative had looked at me, with an expression of pity on her face that day.

"I think under the circumstances Mike that might possibly be your best move. You're the big looser here and whatever you do, it can't restore your reputation ... Unless of course..."

"No Hilary, I just can't do that. My reputation is shot anyway; what's the point in bringing it all out into the open. There's no real proof anyway. If there was, the police might have been able to at least infer a motive and arrest the bugger. Let's get the legal side of things tidied up and then I'll slip away and then disappear. She's going to need the kid's and if I start making accusations. Bugger, they won't know which way to turn."

"Mike why would you want to dis- No Mike! I hope you are not thinking of doing anything silly?"

"Hilary, are we protected by rules about client confidentiality here?"

"Yes Mike. But if you're planning on doing something extremely stupid, I'd prefer not to know about it. I would advise you not to take the law into your own hands though."

"Someone done me wrong, Hillary. Twice ... no, three times at least. I can't show my face on the street in this town anymore without some bugger pointing at me even if the police had been able to do anything. Eventually that would have deserved some payback from me, when the time was right!"

"You could always go public."

"I could, but haven't the children suffered enough as it is?"

"Yes, but for all the wrong reasons, as far as you're concerned."

"Hilary their world has been torn apart. They had to choose sides, and under the circumstances they chose what they thought was the obvious one. I was suspect number one in everyone's eyes wasn't I?"

"Yes but..."

"But nothing, Hilary. Just organise the divorce as quickly as you can!"

"On what grounds, Mike?"

"How the hell should I know, you're the ruddy legal buff; Denial of conjugal rights or something?"

"That isn't funny, Mike!"

"It wasn't supposed to be Hilary. You could say it's a statement of fact. Just find someway of extracting me from my marriage. I intend to go somewhere and start again, build myself a new life, if it isn't too late."

"So you won't, be looking for revenge on... ?"

"I never said that, Hilary. That bugger owes me the life I've lost, remember? I've a mind to make sure that he pays dearly for it, one day."

Hilary had harped on about me letting sleeping dogs lie, for the rest of our short conference. But eventually she'd agreed to do as I wished concerning the divorce. Even if she did explain that under the circumstances, it was going to take a while. And, that it was going to make me an even bigger villain in the eyes of the world. But there comes a time, when enough shit has been thrown at you ... well you just don't notice it anymore.

I followed Inspector Wineforth through the great oak door and then one of his men did his (unsuccessful) best to close it quietly. The bloody great loud clunk, the centuries old catch made, echoed around the stone building and more than a few faces turned to see whom the latecomers were.

Almost immediately a murmur ran through the congregation and even more faces turned to glower back at me.

But then, much to my -- and the three policemen with me -- relief, the minister on seeing we that were finally present, began the service. Inspector Wineforth indicated that I should take a seat in a row near the back, already occupied by several other men. Then he and his colleagues sat beside me.

I did my best to ignore the ugly expressions on the faces that glanced my way during the brief service, and I did kinda wonder how things were going to pan out, out at the graveside. I'd almost resigned myself to missing out on that part of the proceedings, until my eldest daughter stood up to read her eulogy to her mother. During which she mentioned the good times she and her siblings could remember, when her father and mother were together. Siena made no mention of the troubles within the family.

When the minister had made no mention of my wife's mother in his little speech about her life I kinda assumed that the old Witch must have passed on sometime during the intervening years.

Mind you, the minister had made no mention of her ex-husband either, and I was alive and kicking, and sitting in the rear of the bloody church. So at the time there had been a chance that that assumption was incorrect. I'll admit that I knew very little of what had been going on since I'd left. I had just sent the cheques whenever Hilary's people told me that cash was required.

I couldn't see them from where I was sitting, so I didn't notice it until the service was over and the pallbearers were carrying her coffin along the naïve. I wasn't sure why at the time but something didn't strike me as being right about the way the cortège formed up behind it. My three children were in the lead of course, but their grandfather was walking several paces behind them. I honestly can't explain why but -- considering the circumstances -- I got the impression that there was an unnatural emotional distance between the children and their grandfather.

Then, a little surprisingly, after the coffin had been carried past the pew I was standing in, followed by the minister, Siena (the lead mourner) stopped and indicated that I should join the cortège with her; but without, even a briefest smile of recognition or greeting.

I declined with a hand signal, and then for a few moments, everything came to a standstill as Siena attempted to insist that I joined her. Then her brother, Graham, quietly whispered something to her and she led the cortège on again.

"That might have been a flag of truce, Mike." Dick Wineforth whispered in my ear.

"I doubt it Dick. Maybe Siena was planning on getting me down the front, so that she could push me in grave first, and then lower the coffin in on top of me."

"They're your children Mike!"

"They were my children Dick, a very long time ago. You know that I gave up on that fight many years ago."

"Then why are you here today?"

"Closure, Dick. I needed closure."

"Wasn't one death enough for you Mike?"

"I don't know what you mean Dick?"

"Mike, I can't prove it, and I doubt I ever will be able too. But I'm damned sure I know who was responsible for William Garnet's demise.

"He was a bastard of a solicitor; a real pain in our sides most of the time. And he sure enough knew, that we knew, all right! He even revelled in the fact that we could prove nothing against him. He was due some retribution and we're all sure we know who dealt it out. We just can't prove that, either!"

"Dick, don't I remember you saying that you were sure that I was responsible for another violent crime once before?"

"Come on Mike, I've apologised enough times about that in the past. And, you know that if you'd allowed us to go public..."

"It was too late Dick, the mud had already stuck. Why make too villains when there only has to be one."

"The wrong one though Mike, that's cost you a hell of a lot. Someone could well have remembered seeing something in the past that might have suggested that they were..."

Dick suddenly stopped whispering then as he noticed that the rear of the cortège was passing our pew. It was at that instant that I realised what Dick Wineforth had just done, he'd taken my attention away the line of glowering faces as they trooped passed. He'd become a good friend even though he'd once tried to hang me.

As we walked out to the graveside, the group of men from our pew stayed close around us.

"Are all these your men Dick; did you think I'd need a bodyguard this size?"

"Hey no Mike, they aren't here as your bodyguard. They are all officers who worked on the case. Some of them are even retired now. I told you, it was a case none of us would forget in a hurry."

"Why? Because you couldn't solve it?"

"Mike you know we solved it. We just couldn't come up with enough hard evidence to make it stand up in court. And what's more, until his death, the bastard kept rubbing our noses in it. Considering who he was and how many villains he got off on technicalities, quite a few of my colleagues had a personal bone or two to pick with the bugger. So for a very long time we all kept at it, hoping somehow something would turn up."

I looked around and counted sixteen police officers in the group I was standing with, and couple more standing off to one side a little. I hadn't realised that so much of the police's resources had been assigned to the case. Yeah, there had been plenty of uniforms kicking around at the time and asking questions, but eighteen detectives took me by surprise. For a murder maybe, yeah, I could understand that.

The internment didn't take very long and the minister said a few words as her coffin was lowered into the ground. The three children stepped up to the graveside together and each threw flowers and scattered a handful of soil onto the top of the coffin. Then they melted into the crowd leaving their grandfather alone to step forward and pay his respects.

The formalities over the mourners began to drift away, firstly in twos and threes and then as a great horde; most of them throwing vindictive glares in my direction as they went by where we were standing.

All of the police officers stayed very close to me at this time. I really think that they half expected some bugger would try to throw a punch or something my way.

Eventually when the graveside was devoid of other mourners, I began moving towards it. Stopping by the row of wreaths and bouquets, to remove one red rose from a bunch that I knew contained fifteen. At the graveside I dropped the single rose, along with a handful of soil on top of the coffin, with the words.

"I'll never know for sure exactly what you did girl, or how far you went; but you certainly didn't deserve what you got!"

"How do you know that she did anything?" a voice said from behind me.

I spun around in surprise and discovered that Siena had appeared from somewhere.

"I went around behind that mausoleum and waited until they'd all gone." She informed me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to know why you were coming here today. Oh, I realised that those roses could only have come from you this morning, when they arrived at house. Who else would send red roses to a funeral, and fifteen of them as well? They represented fifteen years of happy marriage didn't they?"

"They did, Siena."

"I thought so. But then, when I thought about you sending them, it didn't really make any sense. Neither does you turning up here with Mr Wineforth and all those other police officers."

"They made it clear to everyone at the time Siena, that I was no longer under suspicion. I do believe that Dick Wineforth told everyone that I had been eliminated from his enquires on television when they released me. We've stayed in touch and become quite close friends over the years."

"I'm sorry dad, but the newspapers and everyone..."

"You should never take as gospel what you read in the newspapers, Siena. And by now I hope you know better than put any faith in rumours. The media have little interest in the truth, only in selling malicious scandal to all and sundry. When they arrested me, the police were only doing their job. It really didn't take them all that long to assure themselves that I could not have been the culprit. However by the time they did ... eliminate me from their enquiries, the media had me convicted in three inch headlines."

"It wasn't really that bad dad."

"Wasn't it? You know that Jenny Morris and her husband ended up getting divorced don't you?"

"Oh god, Jenny was so nice to us when we were little."

"Yes well, it was inferred by the media that I'd been having a long standing affair with a work colleague. Then they subtly mentioned that Jenny and I had been working together for many years and that we often travelled away together on a regular basis. That was our job, Jenny is every bit as good a geologist as I am, probably better in some respects. But put those two points in the same article when you are trying to invent a motive for me wishing to harm your mother, and the less sceptical, or more cynical, reader will come to their own conclusions.

"I'll add that the newspapers weren't inclined to print any retractions either; other than a brief outline of the press release and public statement Dick Wineforth had made. It's called trial by media Siena, but there's no judge to see fair play!"