Tiberius Found

CHAPTER 18

  It had only been a week since he’d last stood at the gates to Primrose Hill Academy but Daniel felt like a trespasser. He’d spent five years walking through those large blue barriers and now they seemed almost alien to him. But the fact of the matter was; it wasn’t the gates that were alien – it was him.

  He wore a large black, back-pack over his shoulders and had a canvas satchel slung diagonally beneath it. As the first of the students began to make their way into the school Daniel moved away from the gates and stood off to one side. He shrugged off the back-pack and checked the time; if his friend still stuck to his usual routine then he’d be arriving any minute. He wanted to see Oliver but would rather not face the questions of others. And there would be questions. The online news article he’d read last night was typical of a dozen journalist’s speculation about what had happened in the middle of that night at number nine Palmer Court a week ago – a husband and wife were dead; each shot through the head by the same gun, and their child missing. Still, the police had arrested a man and the media had its target: Alan Cuthberts. If Daniel’s plan worked then by tomorrow they would both be free men.

  A gust of wind blew into him. He turned the collar of his thick coat up onto his neck and dug his hands back into the pockets – even for May this was a cold day. The forecast had predicted rain later on but for now at least the weather held.

  Daniel waited for another ten minutes before he caught sight of a red-faced boy finishing off the remains of a breakfast tortilla. He waited until Oliver had gone passed him, and noticed his friend’s shirt hanging loose from the back of his trousers.

  ‘Tuck your shirt in boy,’ Daniel tried to make his voice seem older, deeper. ‘It looks like you’ve just gotten out of bed.’

  ‘Sorry, sir, I—’ Oliver automatically reached for the end of his shirt and turned around ‘—Daniel! What? What’re you doing here? What happened to you?’

  Daniel grabbed Oliver’s elbow and pulled him off the road back to where he had been waiting. ‘Keep your voice down.’

  ‘We all thought you were dead!’

  ‘As you can see; I’m not.’

  ‘What happened to you? What have you done to your hair?’

  ‘It’s a long story, and I know that you want to know but I can’t tell you.’

  ‘But your mum and dad …’

  ‘I know. I know.’

  Oliver’s round eyes glistened, making Daniel think his friend was about to cry.

  ‘Okay, look.’ Daniel continued. ‘A man broke into our house. He … he killed mum and dad and he would’ve killed me if someone else hadn’t have turned up and stopped him.’

  ‘But they’ve arrested him. I saw it on the news.’

  ‘They’ve got the wrong man. He’s the one who saved me.’ Oliver tried to interrupt him. ‘It doesn’t matter why, Oli, and it really is for the best that you don’t know. I’m not dead but I did have to get away. It’s complicated, I know. The truth is, is that I can’t come back. I just wanted to see you and … I don’t know, to say goodbye, I guess.’

  Oliver’s frown deepened. ‘You’re right; I don’t understand. But if you saw the man who did kill your mum and dad then you have to go to the police. You have to.’

  ‘The man who killed them is dead. Don’t ask – it’s too long a story. The man they’ve got is a scapegoat. The police would never believe me, anyway. Besides, I’m not even sure if I could trust them.’

  ‘Trust who? The police? Why couldn’t you trust them? Dan, everyone thinks you’re dead. You have to tell them the truth.’

  ‘No, I can’t. And neither can you. Trust me. You can’t tell anyone that you’ve seen me, ever. No one, do you understand? It’s for your own good.’

  ‘No, I don’t understand.’

  Daniel gripped his friend on either arm. ‘Oli, this is serious. You can never tell anyone you’ve seen me – not even your parents, okay? If you do you could just make it dangerous for yourselves.’

  ‘Dangerous?’ Oliver couldn’t hide his confusion.

  ‘This was a mistake,’ Daniel muttered. ‘I’m sorry, I should never’ve come. Please, Oli, just do me a favour and not tell anyone. Promise me?’

  ‘Okay, okay, I promise. I don’t understand why not, but alright.’

  ‘I’d better go. I just wanted to let you know I was alright. You were my only friend here.’ He slung the back-pack once more around his shoulders.

  ‘Where are you going to go?’

  ‘I’ve got something I need to sort out – it doesn’t matter what or where – and then I’m … Do you know what? I’m not sure. Go somewhere hot, maybe. Sit on a beach and try to forget about all of it. Goodbye, Oli.’

  He embraced his friend. Oliver hugged him back. ‘Take care of yourself, yeah?’

  ‘I just knew it that you two were girlfriends.’

  Out of all the voices that he didn’t want to hear, out of all the people that he didn’t want to see, this was the one he most dreaded. Daniel let go of Oliver and turned around. Terry Llewellyn stood a few metres away, backed up by Kevin Linley and Colin Lawson; his usual two thugs. They all had wide, stupid grins on their faces.

  ‘The word was that you were dead,’ Terry muttered. ‘That’s what it said in the papers anyway.’

  Daniel glared at his old tormentor. ‘I didn’t know you could read.’

  ‘Very funny, Henstock. That’s a bit lippy for you though, ain’t it? When did you stop being chicken?’ He turned to his followers. ‘Hen, chicken – get it?’

  Kevin and Colin laughed on cue. From the look of their caveman-like foreheads Daniel wouldn’t have been at all surprised if they hadn’t have got the joke. Like everything else that had surrounded Terry Llewellyn for the last five years, his entourage had to fall in line with what he thought and said. To be in his gang you had to laugh at his jokes and be not quite as tough as he was.

  Daniel just glared at him.

  ‘Listen gay boy, if you want everyone to think you’re dead that’s fine by me, but if you keep looking at me like that then I’ll make sure you really are. Do you get me?’

  ‘Why was I ever afraid of you?’ Daniel whispered, more to himself than anyone else. ‘You’re just gas and wind. You’re an ant.’

  A fire flared behind Terry’s eyes. ‘What did you call me?’

  ‘Daniel, leave it,’ Oliver begged.

  ‘Better listen to your girlfriend,’ Terry warned as he took a step towards Daniel. ‘Or do you want to join you old ma and pa?’

  ‘Don’t you ever speak about them.’

  ‘Or what? What are you going to do?’

  ‘Something someone should’ve done years ago.’ He said slipping off the back-pack a second time and dropped the canvas satchel on the ground next to it. He held Terry’s eyes. ‘You fat idiot.’

  Terry’s face twisted into a grimace. He grunted once then lunged – a clubbing right-hand sweep of his fist that usually knocked his chosen victim to the floor. Daniel took a half-step to his left and caught the swinging arm between his open palms. He pulled Terry onward, using the larger boy’s momentum, twisted him over his hip and threw the bully to the floor.

  Terry didn’t have time to react to the move. Daniel grabbed his opponent’s wrist and pinned it back. For the first time in his life Terry screamed in pain. Kevin and Colin both took a step forward, intent on pulling Daniel off their leader and beating him to a pulp. Daniel turned his head, and the cold look in his eyes stopped them before they got half way.

  ‘If I were you I’d think twice about that,’ Daniel said to them. He twisted Terry’s wrist a little more and the bully cried out again. ‘Unless you want some of the same?’

  They both remained where they were. This was new territory to them. No one ever fought back, not really. Certainly not like this.

  Terry struggled against Daniel’s grip and lashed out desperately with his free hand, and his legs. Daniel twisted his wrist around a little further and Terry yelped in pain, swearing, telli
ng Daniel what he was going to do to him when he got free.

  ‘I put up with you bullying me year after year,’ Daniel whispered, ‘just accepting that that was the way of things. Well, not any more. You’re right; people do think I’m dead but I’m not. I’m more alive than ever and I’ve had enough of you and what you do. I may not be coming back to this school but I am going to be watching. If you ever, and I mean ever, bully anyone else again I’ll come back and make you wish you hadn’t. Do you get me?’ He twisted a little more.

  ‘Yeah! Yeah, I get you,’ Terry screamed. ‘You’re breaking my wrist.’

  ‘That’s the least I’d do.’ He looked up at the other two. ‘The same goes for you as well. Alright?’

  Kevin and Colin both nodded. They looked stunned, like gargoyles from old churches.

  ‘I’m going to let you up now,’ Daniel whispered to Terry, ‘and you’re going to say “thank you” and walk away. Okay?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’

  Daniel eased his grip on Terry’s wrist and stepped back. The bully sprang off the ground with surprising speed. He rubbed his wrist and glared at Daniel.

  ‘Don’t you have something to say, Mr Llewellyn?’

  Terry glanced at his two henchmen. ‘Some help you were.’ Then he turned back to Daniel. ‘Yeah, I’ve got something to say alright. You’re dead meat.’

  He lunged at Daniel with his left fist. Daniel blocked it with an open palm and pushed the hand higher. Terry lashed out with a kick which Daniel caught with his other hand. He spun on one heel and swiped Terry’s leg from under him, keeping hold of his opponent’s left hand. The bully crashed to the floor once more. Daniel wrenched Terry’s wrist back and to the side as hard as he could.

  Oliver later found out that Terry’s scream – as the bully’s wrist was broken and dislocated – was heard inside the main building. One of the teachers said later that she thought a cat had been run over.

  ‘Perhaps I didn’t make it clear before. I know that there was a lot of emotion going on and you were in pain but I thought you were going to say “thank you” and be on your way. Do you need me to say it again using smaller words?’ Daniel asked, still keeping hold of Terry’s wrist. ‘I’m hoping that you’ve understood this time.’

  ‘I am so going to kill you, chicken boy,’ Terry spat. ‘You’ll wish you were dead.’

  Daniel snapped out a hand. Terry’s head smacked back down to the tarmac, his mouth now minus two teeth and weeping blood.

  ‘No, Terry, you’re not. You’re not going to hurt me or anyone else again. Why is that so difficult to get?’ He leaned in closer to Terry’s ear and whispered, ‘I’ve learned a lot of things in the few days I’ve been gone. I could kill you. I know how, but I’m not going to. Not even you deserve that. What I will do though, should you force me to, is put you in so much pain that you might prefer death.’

  ‘You little shit,’ Terry said, spitting blood. There was a faint whistling sound from the gap in his teeth as he said the “s”. He lashed out again with his good hand.

  Daniel blocked it, slammed it back down with the heel of his boot and jabbed Terry’s chest with a closed fist. It didn’t seem to be a hard blow but everyone there heard the crack of ribs.

  The bully screamed again. ‘You don’t scare me.’

  ‘It’s not about fear, you idiot! It’s about right and wrong. What you’ve done these last few years is wrong. You’ve gotten away with it because no one wanted to, or could, stand up to you. That’s changed now. Oliver knows how to contact me, and if he should tell me that you’ve gone back to your old ways, even once, I’ll do this to your other wrist then your ankles and I’ll keep doing it until you do understand.’ Daniel let go of Terry’s wrist and stood up. ‘Oh, and by the way, if any of you say that you saw me and that I did this, then … well, I don’t have to draw you a picture, do I?’

  Kevin and Colin shook their heads. If this skinny nobody could break Terry Llewellyn’s wrist like that without even breaking sweat then what could he do to them?

  Daniel looked down at the ex-bully. ‘Terry?’

  He nodded, as if saying the words would hurt him even more.

  ‘I’ll take that as a “yes” then.’ Daniel turned back to his friend. Oliver’s eyes were wide and he looked afraid. Daniel picked up the satchel and his backpack, and took his friend’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s get away from here.’

  ‘When did you learn how to do that stuff?’ Oliver asked as him and Daniel sat against a fence railing, drinking cola. ‘How did you learn to do it so quickly?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Daniel answered. ‘It’s like maths or chemistry or anything. I look at it in a book, or see it and I can do it.’

  ‘What if Terry does talk? Or carries on bullying? I don’t know how to get in touch with you.’

  ‘I’m hoping you don’t have to. With his wrist like that and his broken ribs I don’t think he’ll be up to much for a while at least. You’ll not have to see him after June anyway.’ Daniel drained his can and stood to go.

  ‘I’m scared for you,’ Oliver said. ‘You’ve changed. And I’m not sure that I like the new you.’

  Daniel nodded. ‘I have changed. And to be honest, I’m not sure if I like the new me either. The thing is, right now, I haven’t got a lot of choice in the matter. There are things happening that are out of my control. At least that’s the way it seems. But I’m trying.’

  ‘Are you going to see your mom and dad before you go off and do … whatever it is you’re going to do?’

  Daniel nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I’d better go. You too; you’ll be late for registration.’

  ‘What am I going to say about what happened to Terry?’

  ‘I don’t know, Oli.’ He smiled. ‘You’ll think of something.’

  Daniel stood in the marble-lined hall of The Holy Trinity Crematorium and placed a small bunch of lilies in the alcove containing two decorative urns.

  A plaque in front of the urns read: “Joshua and Elizabeth Henstock, Beloved parents of Daniel”. That was it. A lifetime summed up in eight words. It didn’t seem enough. The man who killed them was dead but the man who’d sent the assassin was still alive. He hadn’t said as much but Daniel was certain it was Gregory Dryden who’d given the order. Even thinking the man’s name caused a well of bitter emotions to rise within in his chest.

  What was it he was feeling? Was it revenge? No, revenge meant something Biblical like an eye for an eye. He didn’t want to kill Dryden, but he did want him to suffer. And for a person with as much power as Daniel assumed Dryden must have, for him to suffer he’d need to have that power taken away.

  A desire for justice – that’s what Daniel decided he felt. He wanted justice. He wanted Dryden to admit his crimes and face up to the consequences of his actions. Daniel walked out of the Hall of Remembrance and made a vow to himself: he’d dealt with one bully today so why not stop another? And when it came down to it that’s all Dryden was – for all his high-powered mannerisms, he was a playground bully; just that his playground was much, much bigger.

  Daniel stood on the gravel drive and looked up into the sky. The grey clouds that earlier threatened rain had been replaced by thin, high clouds. Patchy sun broke through them and dappled the crematorium. He took it as a good omen.

  Today would be the day that he’d rescue the professor and bring the man responsible for it all to justice.