CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Nick
It was a few days afterwards, the day before the initial hearing that all five of us sat at the bar in the hotel sipping brandies after a five-course meal, not sure if it would be the last together.
Eamon was staying with Jean-Pierre and Henri, and upon hearing what had happened to me, he wanted to return to London immediately. He could not, of course; it was a condition of his bail and his passport and other documentation had been taken away. He spoke to me on the phone at the hospital and when I was sent home.
My injuries were mostly just severe bruising, which looked worse than it really was and I was allowed home the day after the police rescued me. My face looked a dreadful mess and Sally found it quite frightening. However, it was necessary to attend the hearing as I might have been asked to supply evidence for Jean-Pierre.
When it was agreed that I return to Paris, I was uneasy about leaving Sally again and decided to bring her with me. However, Inspector Bisson convinced me that it was not a good idea as there were a number of formalities that needed attention and he was going to travel back with me. I agreed with him and decided she was perfectly safe staying with Peter and Imogen, so told her I would only be away a few days.
She was upset when I explained this.
“But why can’t I come, Daddy?” she pleaded.
“Because you’ll have to spend too much time by yourself,” I replied, “and I need to do too many things that you’ll find boring.”
“Well, only if you promise to bring Eamon back with you,” she said.
I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“No, Daddy,” she insisted, “you must promise.”
“Okay, darling, I promise.”
And then I prayed.
There had been a very tearful reunion at the airport when Jean-Pierre and Eamon met Chrissie and me. Eamon was crying all the way to the Customs and Excise headquarters as Bisson said that we had to make a statement as soon as we arrived for Eamon’s defence.
I told Bisson and Jean-Pierre everything in Bisson’s office as Chrissie and Eamon sat in the corner crying at almost every syllable. It was over quickly and Jean-Pierre suggested we have a meal back at the hotel with Henri.
After dinner, the whole episode, or rather the loose ends, became clear. Even now, I still find the events which took place unbelievable yet they were totally invaluable in my education and have allowed me to look at life through different eyes.
Eamon became a little nervous after the meal when we talked about the probable outcome of the trial. Putting the blackmailing aside, he was still fully aware of the fact that he was breaking the law and his part of the case might be judged on that alone, especially as Fabrier had some very experienced and good lawyers on his team. However, Bisson and Sablon would be called by Jean-Pierre to give evidence and they were both well respected by most of the judges. The full case against Fabrier would be held later and the charges for Bulmer would be dealt with in London.
I spent the night with Eamon for the first time in what appeared to be ages. We lay wrapped in each other’s arms all night and spoke of the events. Nothing could destroy us now. It was a comforting and secure feeling.
The hearing lasted a couple of hours and, initially, as Jean-Pierre had told us, they were only interested in the fact that Eamon had broken the law. Chrissie and I understood little of what was happening as both Jean-Pierre and Eamon looked worried. However, Bisson and a very tired looking Sablon had spoken in his defence and the expression of the judge and jury changed. We were pointed out to them and asked to stand though we were not aware what was happening.
They were happy with the result.
He was given a year’s probation or the equivalent of this in France. What was good though was that under new EEC regulations, the sentence could be transferred to the UK probation services so Eamon could return to London.
As we were leaving the courtroom, Eamon was approached by a representative of the college he worked for. He did not know the man and needed a few minutes in privacy to speak to him. We waited for him outside the court and when he joined us again, he explained that though the college were sympathetic to the case, they would rather not continue with his employment. Eamon did not tell me the full details but he had agreed to resign as he wanted to return to London and he would receive a reference based on the previous term.
The fact that he would return to London permanently was fine by me.
The following week, we were back in London. I had returned to my boring job and Eamon was immediately placed with an agency as a relief language teacher. It was soon behind us and we got back to leading a “normal” life.
It was a couple of months after that we had to tackle the next biggest hurdle in our lives and that was explaining our relationship to all the parents concerned. Eamon and mine accepted it relatively easy but it was Maggie’s parents who were the problem. They knew briefly about the case though we left a great deal of it out. This was excellent ammunition for them as they went to great lengths to have Sally taken away again and given to them, but after a host of visits by the social services and having had our loyalty tested to great extremes, it was agreed and rather obvious that Sally belonged to a safe and happy household. A doting father with a lover who would do anything to make her happy.
So things went well over the years, though it was not all a bed of roses. We had the usual ups and downs in relationships, like everyone. Sally grew up to be the living image of her mother and took after Eamon in so many ways that I occasionally became jealous. They were inseparable.
She was more pleased than anyone when we announced that we were toying with the idea of going to live in south of France and I was so proud when she was given the scholarship to La Rochelle University. She was eighteen years old then and had not been away from home by herself for such a long period. In her earlier teens, we allowed her to go away with her friends on school trips and we even let her go to Ibiza when she was sixteen with some girlfriends but insisted she phoned every day. Fortunately, Eamon handled the little issue of the facts of life and soon established that she knew more than he did.
Going to university was an altogether different matter.
I knew she would return as a woman.
And so, we moved here and Eamon was offered the job in Perpignan by an ex-colleague and I was lucky to have worked for the estate agency.
Chrissie and Peter fell in love again. It was really quite romantic and definitely knocked years off them. When the trial was over and we were back in England, she confronted the problems immediately. A visit to the marriage guidance counsellor was arranged but they didn’t go. Instead they began by talking to each other and tackling the issues without the barriers. There is no doubt it worked. We even suggested they have a couple of weekends away and we would look after Annette.
Within the year, Chrissie was pregnant and, this time, it most definitely suited both of them. She gave birth to twins, a couple of noisy boys whom they named Daniel and Alexander. They were a handful but lovely kids. They are sixteen years old now, strong, athletic and health fanatics, and I’ve seen the way that Daniel looks at Sally when they visit for the holidays. It’s that look, the one that makes me worried if I have to leave Sally and him alone. The look I once had for Maggie.
Alexander though is a different kettle of fish. I’ve noticed how he looks at the other boys on the beaches here, and who can blame him? I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a little announcement by him about his sexuality. He’s far too extrovert to spend his life in the closet but I do wonder what reaction and support his father Peter will offer. There’s no doubt that he was bordering on homophobic but I think that over the years his attitude has changed.
We’ll see.
As for Imogen, it most definitely was a phase she was going through. This rather surprised us but it does happen. When Sally started school, she returned to Germany and Christina and she tried making a go of it but they both agreed it was not what the
y wanted. Eamon blames those tall, blond Arian males. They split up amicably and both married to the delight of their respective parents. Imogen now lives in Stuttgart with her son, Hans, who has just started secondary school.
So here I am.
I often reflect back on those earlier years as I sit here in the garden. I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if Maggie had not been taken away from me at such an early age. I regret nothing that happened to me though I do often feel that my daughter missed out on that special love I know her mother would have given. Eamon and I did a good job on her and now our little bird has flown the nest and made her own life.
I am so proud of her.
Now, Eamon and I are doing the things we enjoy and are happy in the knowledge that the rest of our lives will be spent together.
Lucien Sablon drew his last breath in the lavender garden of his home in Savenay in southern Brittany. He returned there a year after Louisa had died. The many cases against Fabrier were brought to court and the trials had been long and drawn out. His “organisation” was tried and convicted of the murder of Inspector Bastrou and, with the help of Sablon’s dossier, they received sentences for drug smuggling, arson, insider dealing, embezzlement, transport of illegal immigrants, rape, running brothels and living off immoral earnings.
There was no proof, however, to connect him to the death of Louisa Sablon though, in Lucien’s mind, Fabrier would answer to the almighty for that crime.
Lucien had Louisa’s body brought to the church of St Madeleine just outside the village and tended her grave every day. His plot was ready by her side and he looked forward to the day when he would be reunited with her in a special place.
From the hillock by the side of the church you could look out over the entire valley at the fields covered in wild lavender, and when the breeze blew the smell was intoxicating.
THE END
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