by Peter Martin
‘I’m so sorry for walking out on you,’ Delia sobbed, ‘It’s just that you made me so angry, and then my temper got the better of me.’
‘No need to apologise to me Deel, if anything it’s my fault.’
‘You’ve no idea how good it is to hear you call me ‘Deel’. For a while I never thought I’d see you again or hear your voice. In fact, I thought my family were lost to me.’
‘Me too, but the worst part for me now, is thinking of what you went through at the hands of that sick old man.’ Garry said emotionally.
Benson and Charlene had been left with Adam inside the SUV and now as they neared the vehicle raucous laughter could be heard. Garry guessed Adam would be telling a few of his Tom, Dick and Harry jokes. He loved his grandson more than life itself, and after everything that had happened looked forward to sharing the future with him and the family of course. He used to think he led a mundane lifestyle and had heard someone say once ‘If you haven’t been to hell you don’t know what heaven is’. Now he understood it’s meaning.
But on hearing a familiar voice call, ‘Grandad.,’ all sad thoughts were forgotten. They looked around to see Adam jump out of the vehicle and head in their direction.
‘High five, Grandad.’ Adam shouted. Their hands met and Garry watched as he ran on to his parents to be enfolded in both Chris and Cassie’s arms.
Back at the SUV Garry was overcome with emotion. ‘I might have lost you all,’ he cried shaking his head. ‘How could I have been so stupid?’
‘Come on, Garry, don’t reproach yourself. Nobody blames you. You made mistakes, but we all did. It’s important to put all that behind us now, and to get ourselves home and back to living a normal life,’ Chris said. ‘And don’t forget, although it didn’t turn out as expected here, with the odd couple,’ he motioned with his head towards the house, ‘You’ve found a sister.’
Garry laughed, ‘Very true Chris, but we all seem to have forgotten with both of them dead, Charlene and I stand to inherit a fortune. It’s inevitable our lives will never be the same again.’
‘Maybe, maybe not.’ Delia said turning to her husband, ‘But I don’t want ours to change much. I’d like us to live in the same house, do the same jobs, possibly work a few fewer hours less, if we want.’ She looked at Garry.
‘I agree with you entirely, Deel.’
‘Perhaps you could give most of it to charity, to people who need it more than we do. We don’t need millions and millions - after all, it was having money which brought us to this. Mind you, perhaps you could keep a little, for one or two luxuries like a new car, a few holidays and a caravan by the sea.’
Garry grinned. ‘You know something, love, again I totally agree, I quite fancy a caravan by the sea.’
Their children having witnessed the exchange just laughed, glad the ordeal was over.
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Minutes later, the clatter of rotor blades was heard high in the night sky, and the outline of a helicopter fast approaching could be seen. Then it stopped directly above, hovering, with beams of light searching the ground, before landing in the gardens to the side of the house. Two paramedics rushed out weighed down with equipment. It took about fifteen minutes to assess Charlene’s and Benson’s injuries. They were then secured on the stretchers and with the help of Scorpion and his two companions the paramedics were ready to airlift the patients to hospital in Whitehaven.
A short time later a police car and ambulance arrived, statements were taken from everyone, and various pieces of evidence collected. Finally, the bodies of Lena, her father and Scorpion’s sidekick who Lena accidently shot, were taken to the mortuary. Then after what seemed an eternity, they were all allowed to leave, with the proviso of staying in Whitehaven until the police inquest had been heard.
Passing through the gate, Garry glanced back. He’d never set foot on these grounds again, of that he was sure. It seemed a pity the way it had all panned out, but the whole time here really had been an ‘eye opener’ as his mum used to say. One that highlighted the need to be practical and realistic, which Garry knew he hadn’t been. He’d almost let money rule his life, a mistake which Lena had made in a big way, and which he vowed never to do.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AUTHOR BIO
Born and bred in the West Midlands UK. Martin writes under the pen name of Peter Martin. Missing – Dead or Alive is his second novel, following Against Her Will, his debut novel, the story of one young woman's fight to lead a normal life after a horrific attack.
His second novel is about a teenager who goes missing for no apparent reason. It is the story of how this affects the lives of his family.
His third novel, due for release in July 2016 is called A Sense of Discovery, and is about one man’s search for his real parents whom he never knew about until his adoptive mother’s death.
Martin's interests lie mainly in crime, suspense and thrillers. His favourite authors are diverse, including Robert Goddard, R J Ellory, Kate Mosse, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Diane Chamberlain, Harper Lee,Wilbur Smith.
For more info: http://martinperks.weebly.com
Also by Peter Martin:
It was a night when a beautiful young woman’s world fell apart. A hideous attack leaves her physically and mentally broken, with nowhere to go but down. Her struggle to recover is long and hard and fraught with danger. Just when she’s overcome the worst, she makes a devastating discovery that could cost her, her life.
Link to buy book: http://bookShow.me/B00D50BFGK
When Tim, Maria and Bob’s fourteen year old apparently model son goes missing, they are baffled and distraught. A police investigation reveals Tim wasn’t quite the son they thought he was. Frantic attempts to find him fail, and when their quest becomes an obsession this causes problems between them. But they never give up, and are determined to find him DEAD OR ALIVE, even though it may cost them dear.
Link to book http://bookShow.me/B00W1Y8XYS
