Watermark

by E. J. Kay

  Apparently, Ellison was not renowned for being particularly supportive of his slaves and he didn’t free a single one in all his working life. Although he looked after their health well, he had a pretty hard reputation otherwise. He died in December 1861 and his will left everything to his family. Except for a five hundred dollar bequest to May Ellison, a female slave child he had sold in 1838. Hmm, interesting and somewhat out of character. William wasn’t the kind of man to leave money to his slaves for no reason. She must have been very special, despite the fact that he had sold her, as he did most of his female slave children. Probably his illegitimate daughter, then. So, the Thackrays are partly descended from African American slaves! You wouldn’t think it to look at them now, but that’s four to five generations later, so plenty of opportunity for gene dilution. He looked at the Thackray family tree again. May married someone called Richard O’Callaghan. Sounds Irish. I wonder who he was?

  Mike stood up and walked to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and wondered how his and Sophie’s child might look. He really hadn’t thought about it before now. Sophie had blonde hair and pale skin; a typical blue-eyed northern European. If the next couple of generations of his descendants married people of similar European racial background, would his mother’s heritage be noticeable in Mike’s future descendants at all? He was roused from his thoughts by Sophie coming into the bathroom. She gave him a hug from behind, standing on her toes and resting her chin on his shoulder.

  “Yes, you’re absolutely gorgeous!”

  He laughed and turned to her, gently patting her slightly swollen belly. “I’m just wondering what junior will look like. A bit of both of us, I expect.”

  She stroked his cheek. “Well, if he or she has your looks, they’ll get by just fine. Now, I desperately need to pee so clear off!”

  “OK. Fancy anything for tea?”

  She shuffled him out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. “Yuck, not really. Oh, actually, could you do me a couple of slices of cheese on toast?”

  “Will do. I’ve just got a quick email to send and then I’ll get onto it.”

  Mike walked back to his study and sat down at his computer.

  To: j.connor@unwe.ac.uk

  From: m.osewe@unwe.ac.uk

  Re: Thackray family tree Date 26th April 17:55

  Joe,

  Been doing some research on Thackray’s family tree and turned up some really interesting stuff that I think you’ll find fascinating. I’ll tell you all about it on Monday, but suffice it to say that families are complicated things. The Thackrays seem to have African, American and possibly Irish (O’Callaghan – sounds Irish to me) connections.

  See you

  Mike.

  ----------

  The next day Mike walked onto the outdoor rifle range filled with excited anticipation. The Winchester was his favourite rifle.

  “Hey, Mike my man! Here she is!” Gary Mason, a second year student at UNWE, bent down and picked up a cloth rifle case. He pulled the gun out and handed it to Mike. “So, what do you think?” he said, quietly. There was an echo in the way he said it that made Mike’s skin crawl, but he couldn’t quite locate the source of his unease. He was able to shake it off quickly though, and concentrate on the gun. That wasn’t difficult. It was a superb specimen, as Gary had said; elegant, with a deep brown walnut straight stock and fore-end, characteristic octagonal barrel and the trademark lever action of early repeating rifles. He ran his hand over the wood. It was smooth and cool. “Can’t wait to shoot it.”

  “I think you should have the honour of the first shot then,” said Gary, taking the gun off him and burrowing into his bag for the ammunition. He loaded a round into the side chamber. Mike went to pick up his ear defenders from the cage, squared up to the target and shouldered the rifle. The balance was perfect. He lined up the front and back sights and slowly pulled the trigger. The gun went off with a satisfying bang and a good hard kickback. He brought it down from his shoulder. “Bloody fantastic!”

  A couple of other members were waiting for their turn to shoot, so Mike passed the gun back to Gary. He loaded singles and each of the members took their shots.

  “Come on Mike, want to shoot a few repeaters?” Gary loaded five rounds into the chamber. “After all, that’s what this gun is really all about.”

  Mike stepped back up to the firing line and took the gun. He shouldered it once again and took aim. Again the loud bang and hard kick. He drew the lever down and back, took aim and pulled the trigger smoothly. The explosion burst the stock of the gun clean open and shot the bolt back towards the side of his head.

  Chapter 24

  Joseph’s mobile rang.

  “Joseph, oh thank God.” It was Sophie.

  “Sophie? What’s wrong? Are you OK?” The first thing that went through his mind was that something had gone wrong with her pregnancy.

  “It’s Mike. A gun blew up. He’s in hospital.” She was barely managing to talk between sobs.

  “Sophie, where are you love?”

  “At home. They’ve just rung me. Mike’s got the car. I can’t get to him.”

  “I’ll be right there. Just wait love, I’ll be as quick as I can. Is he at the Royal?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I just didn’t know who else to ring.”

  “No problem love. Just wait and try not to worry. OK?”

  “Yes.” She rang off.

  Anna looked at Joseph in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

  Joseph picked up his jacket and headed for the door. “It sounds like Mike’s had an accident with a gun. He’s in the Royal. I’ll go and get Sophie and take her over there. She hasn’t got the car. Anyway, I don’t think she’s in any fit state to drive.”

  “Do you want me to come?” asked Anna.

  “No love, I’ll call you from the hospital and let you know what happened.”

  He ran out of the door, got into his car and drove round to Mike and Sophie’s house as quickly as he could. The roads were thankfully quiet at this time on a Sunday evening. When he got there Sophie had calmed down a little, but her face was tear-stained and drawn. Joseph bundled her into the car and set off for the hospital. ”Did they say how he was?” he asked.

  “Not really. Just that there had been an accident and he had a head injury and was unconscious. Oh Joseph, I’m so scared! I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.” She burst into tears again.

  “I know love. Try not to worry too much. We’ll soon see how he is.” Ten minutes later he pulled into the hospital car park, stopped the car and held her until her renewed sobbing died down. “Are you really up to this Sophie? Mike will understand if you don’t feel able to go in. Particularly just now. In your condition.” Oh God, you idiot. “Sorry, that’s hopelessly old-fashioned but you know what I mean.”

  “I’ll be fine. I have to see him. To see how he is.”

  Joseph managed to find the right change for the car park and they hurried into the hospital reception. They were directed to the newly built high-tech wing; an incongruous, flat roofed appendix to the Victorian façade, where they checked in with intensive care reception. Thankfully they didn’t have long to wait for the doctor to see them. The good news was that the bolt had grazed Mike’s head and only caused a hairline fracture of his skull. He had some burns from the explosion, but they were expected to heal without too much scarring. He had regained consciousness quite quickly after the accident, but the doctors were sedating him overnight and keeping him in intensive care in case any complications arose from the head injury. The bad news was that he had lost the pinna of his right ear and may have sustained some damage to his inner ear. They didn’t know the extent of that injury yet, but it was very likely that he would have some hearing loss. Sophie could see him for a few minutes but it would be better if she came back the following day. If everything remained stable overnight they would bring him round from the sedation tomorrow morning and move him out of intensive care.

  Sophie grasped Jo
seph’s hand. “Come with me. Please.”

  Mike was lying on a bed with most of his head lost in dressings. Needles and tubes seemed to be everywhere; machines beeped and digital displays flashed. Sophie walked to the bed, took his hand and squeezed it. There was no response, and she looked at Joseph with apprehension.

  “He’s sedated, love. Things always look worse than they are in hospitals. I’m sure he’s going to be alright.” But it took all his acting ability to sound confident. Mike looked frighteningly vulnerable, and somehow very small. He was a tall and strongly-built man, and the contrast between his usual appearance and now was disconcerting. Sophie began to shake and suddenly looked very pale. Joseph took hold of her and sat her down on a nearby chair. “Mike’s in good hands here. Come on, I’ll drive you back. Stay with us tonight. There isn’t anything else you can do and you need to rest for your own sake, and the baby’s. Have you called your parents?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I can face telling them tonight.”

  “I’ll do it when we get home. Come on – let’s get you back to Anna. She’ll be dying to look after you.” He winked, and Sophie smiled for the first time that evening as they walked out of the hospital into the cool spring air.

  Chapter 25

  Sophie had fallen into a fitful sleep in the early hours of Monday morning, so they had decided to let her sleep on rather than try to wake her for breakfast. Joseph slipped on his jacket as Anna cleared away the breakfast things. “Bye love. I hope Sophie’s parents get here soon.” He turned to leave the house just as their car turned into the drive. They had left early to travel the couple of hours from their home near Carlisle, and looked drawn and worried as they got out of the car.

  “Oh, they’re here!” he shouted to Anna, and then walked out to the drive. Sophie’s father put out his hand. “Dr Connor?” Joseph smiled and nodded. “Thank you so much for taking care of Sophie. We’re very grateful.”

  Joseph grasped the sweaty hand. “Not at all. Mike and Sophie are our good friends. It’s the very least we could do.”

  “Sorry, we should introduce ourselves. Doreen and Cliff Sumner.”

  Doreen Sumner took hold of Joseph’s right hand in both of hers. They were cold as ice. “Thank you for calling us last night, and for taking good care of Sophie. How is she?”

  “Still sleeping at the moment, I think. We left her to rest…” He was interrupted by one of the upstairs windows opening and Sophie leaning out to wave to her parents.

  Doreen let go of his hand and ran over to the house. “Oh darling. How are you?”

  “I’m fine mum. It’s Mike we should be worrying about.”

  Doreen curled her top lip and didn’t reply. Joseph led them both in and left Anna to manage the meeting while he left for work.

  ----------

  A knock came at Joseph’s office door. “Yes, come in,”

  Raman Sharples, associate professor of palaeontology, appeared through the doorway. The usual cheery smile was missing from his round face. “Gods, Joseph, I just heard about Mike. I’m really sorry. Do you know how he is?”

  Joseph motioned him to sit down. “I took Sophie to see him in hospital last night, and they had him sedated in intensive care. But if all went well overnight they were going to move him out to a ward this morning. Sophie’s parents have come down and they’ll all be over at the hospital now, I would think. I haven’t heard anything, so I’m hoping that’s good. I’ll be going over to see how he is this afternoon, if the doctors will let me see him.” He paused. “He’s lost an ear.”

  Raman winced.

  “I know,” said Joseph, “but it could have been a lot worse, to be honest. He’s lucky not to be dead.”

  Raman shook his head. “On top of this terrible business about Alec. And Juliet being under so much suspicion. It’s like something from a TV police drama. Hard to believe any of it.” He paused for a moment, trying to find the right way to say what he was thinking. “I’m really sorry for all this, Joe. Alec and Mike were your friends. Well, Mike still is, of course! Oh Gods, the department is beginning to feel jinxed.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean.” Joseph felt he needed to break the tension, so changed the subject. “Anyway, I haven’t seen you since before Easter. Did you manage to get a holiday?”

  Raman nodded and appeared to relax a little. “Yes, we did thanks. We didn’t go away, but we did take the kids out on day trips. We went down to Chester Zoo for one day. They were fascinated by the chimps. They kept asking me why the chimp compound had water around it and I explained it was to keep them in. They kept asking why the chimps didn’t swim to get out and I explained that they don’t like water and find it difficult to swim. They were really surprised. They couldn’t believe that they looked so much like us but they couldn’t really swim. And particularly that they don’t like it. The kids love swimming.” Raman’s countenance clouded again. “Alec would have had an explanation for them.”

  Joseph nodded. “But I’m not sure it would have been the right one.”

  “You still have your doubts about the full-blown aquatic theories, then?”

  “The full-blown theories, yes. But I’m becoming very convinced about water having a crucial role in human evolution. It’s odd, but when I spoke to Alec over the last few weeks before he died he seemed to have hardened his position even further on the aquatic ape hypothesis. He was less and less open to arguments from genetics research, that’s for sure.”

  “And that was odd for Alec?” Raman grinned.

  Joseph chuckled. “Well, no. But what was odd was a paper he was working on just a couple of weeks before he died. It was more well-balanced than any of the discussions I’d had with him lately, and it didn’t seem to quite match up with his style. It looked to me like he wrote it with someone else, but then there was no other attribution on the draft.”

  Raman shrugged. “Maybe he had a change of heart but didn’t want to admit it to anyone personally.”

  “Mm, maybe so.”

  The conversation seemed to be running out of steam, but Joseph had the distinct impression that Raman still hadn’t really said what he’d come to say. He let the silence continue, hoping Raman would fill it. Eventually he did.

  “Erm, speaking of Alec, I’ve taken on Egraine Mountford, his research student, as PhD supervisor. Mike was going to supervise her, but she said she thought it wasn’t going to work out so she asked me instead. She’s looking at bipedalism and hand usage in primates, so actually it fits me quite well. But, now I’m a bit disturbed about it too.”

  “Yes, I remember her seeing Mike about it. What the problem? Is it not progressing well?”

  “Oh, no, I’m not disturbed about her research. She’s a bright kid and she’s doing good work. No, it’s more about her.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Well, bad luck does seem to follow her, doesn’t it? Alec’s her supervisor and he’s murdered, then Mike moves into the frame and he gets his ear blown off. Hope I’m third time lucky,” he joked. But didn’t laugh. “Between you and me, she’s a bit of a flirt I think. She really seemed to be giving me the eye when we met yesterday. Or maybe that’s just the wishful thinking of someone heading for their fortieth birthday!” This time he did laugh. “I just wondered if Alec or Mike said anything about her?”

  “No, nothing,” answered Joseph. “She was a bit dolled up when she came to see Mike the other day, but he didn’t say anything to me about her after their meeting. I can ask him if you like?”

  “Oh no,” said Raman, standing up. “Don’t bother him. I’m probably just exercising a bit of Hindu superstition. I get it from my mother!” He smiled broadly and looked more like his old self, relieved to get his worries out into the open. “Give Mike my best when you see him, won’t you.”

  “Yes, sure.”

  After Raman had gone, Joseph put his head in his hands and focussed his eyes on infinity. Jinxed might be a very appropriate description.

  Cha
pter 26

  The smell of hospital lunch still hung in the air as Joseph walked into the ward with a large box of chocolates that sported an oversized bow on the lid. Anna had insisted on him not going to see Mike empty-handed, even though he tried to explain that men just don’t do showy presents for other men. She’d be asking him to buy candles next. So, Anna had gone to the local chocolate shop, got the most over-the-top box she could find and dropped it off for him that morning at the university, just to teach him a lesson. He walked into the ward where Mike was recovering, feeling horribly self-conscious. Sophie and her parents were sitting next to his bed. He looked subdued and drowsy, and had a large dressing on his right ear.

  He smiled weakly when he saw Joseph. “Hey, mate, good to see you. What the hell have you got there?”