by Andy Wiseman
‘Henry, please,’ replied the old man, indicating his bonds.
‘Tell me!’ shouted Harry, his anger and frustration taking both him and Solomon by surprise, the old man flinching, eyes flying wide. Harry stepped back, a sense of guilt at a moment’s disrespect. ‘Tell me,’ he said, again, this time quieter but firm.
Solomon stared at Harry, mouth open, blinking, until finally realising, accepting. He seemed to take a breath, and then a second, steadying himself. Then, ‘On your birth certificate is the name, Henry James Windsor. Windsor was your birth mother’s maiden name. Henry James are also my forenames...’ The old man paused.
Harry stared back blankly. His brain seemed to have stopped working. The old man was trying to tell him something, but his head was full of confusion. He couldn’t make the connection.
Solomon could see that Harry wasn’t making the connection. ‘I gave you the name of Henry,’ he said, simply.
Harry continued to look blank. The grandfather clock continued to tick, and the old man continued to wait.
Harry was speechless. He was stunned at what he’d just been told. He felt as though his whole world had imploded. That the ground beneath his feet had disappeared. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. He blinked rapidly in an effort to focus, to make sense of what the old man had said. He felt like he’d been hit by an emotional juggernaut.
The old man went on to explain how he’d met Harry’s birth mother. How they’d had a brief affair - he was married at the time - she’d then fallen pregnant and intended to keep the baby. Sadly she’d died in labour. He explained that after Harry was named, he was then placed in an orphanage because it was the best thing for everyone. He also told Harry how, a few years later, Lillian had become his mistress. How she’d asked him, begged him, to leave his wife - which he wasn’t prepared to do. How she was desperate to have children. How he’d asked and then arranged for Lillian to foster two boys, and how Lillian had then pleaded with him not to involve the boys in his way of life. ‘I wanted to tell you. Tried to tell you -’
‘Stephen’s my... brother?’ said Harry, his emotions in conflict and awe at this sudden new-found-family news.
‘Half-brother,’ Solomon replied. Then, seeing a flare of annoyance in Harry’s eyes, ‘We are family, Henry, and family should stick together.’
‘And does that include Stephen?’
The old man looked at Harry, and then shook his head. ‘I don’t think Stephen will fit in with our plans, do you?’
‘You’re right,’ said Harry. ‘Family is important. Family should stick together. And will do from now on,’ to which the old man smiled. ‘And you are also right in that Stephen won’t fit... and neither will I.’
‘Henry?’
‘You have no morals, you have no principles, and you have no respect. You have nothing but greed and the need to manipulate. No more. You’re on your own, old man,’ said Harry, placing the notebook with names and payments on the desk, open.
An invitation.
‘What are you doing, Henry?’ asked Solomon.
‘I’m going to do something I thought I’d never do. I’m going to phone the police,’ he replied, with a smile, as he turned away. Approaching the German Shepherd, he then gently picked the dog up in his arms, and then, with a little difficulty, managed to grasp the leather case from the top of the safe.
‘Henry... Harry, you can’t leave me this - tied up! The police...’
‘You’ll be okay. Just lie, you’re good at that.’
With that, Harry turned and left the house for what he sincerely hoped would be the very last time.
After adjusting the passenger seat of Izzy’s hired Smart Car to accommodate the injured dog, Harry then made a quick and anonymous phone call to the police, from a nearby phone box. Climbing into the car, he looked at the dog and said, ‘Hang in there, boy, I know someone who can fix you,’ as he turned the key in the car’s ignition, the dog watching him with trusting eyes. On hearing the engine start, he then added, ‘Cleaning this car of your blood, however, is going to take a serious amount of fixing. In fact, it’s probably going to cost Izzy her deposit.’ He smiled. ‘At least it’ll cover the fact she’s been smoking in here,’ he said, sniffing the air. Turning back to the dog, ‘After we get you fixed, I’ve got a play I need to finish reading to someone special. You’re welcome to listen in.’
He then turned on the car radio, tuning it in to a rock station in time to hear GUNS N’ ROSES version of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’.
“Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith”
A big lazy grin spread across Harry’s face.
THE END
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
