The Dark Place (#FrightFest2016 Gold Winner)

The Dark Place - Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

1

Penny sat at the kitchen table and looked out at the overgrown garden. Her mother had cried herself to sleep on one of the living room sofas an hour earlier. It was so unfair. Her mother had done nothing wrong and neither had she, but somehow they seemed to be the ones who were paying the price. They were the homeless ones while he had the run of their house.

Mrs. Hughes placed a small tray with two cups of piping hot tea on the dining table and put one of them in front of Penny.

"I would never have expected it, not from a man like your dad," said the housekeeper as she sat herself down on the opposite side of the table, blocking Penny's view of the disorganized, outside world.

"Yeah, well my dad's just a stupid bastard isn't he?" Penny raised her cup to her mouth, blew on the hot liquid and took a sip, trying hard not to let it touch the bad part of her lip.

"Penny, you shouldn't speak like that," the old woman frowned.

"Why shouldn't I? Why should we be the ones who have to leave our own home? He's the one in the wrong here isn't he?" Penny put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her cupped hands. "That tosser should be the one out on his ear not us."

"Penny!" said the old woman firmly.

"But he shouldn't be able to get away with it, should he?" Penny kept her eyes glued to her teacup as she spoke. "Just look at what he's done to mum."

"And to you dear," said the Mrs. Hughes. She reached over the table and stroked Penny's head gently.

Penny looked into the old housekeeper's eyes; they had a sad watery quality about them. For the first time in ages, Penny felt the choke in her throat. No, I won't cry, she thought. If I do he wins. She picked up her cup and took another soothing sip of hot, sweet tea.

"Anyway, I can't wait to see Tamicka again." she smiled, changing the subject.

2

Sergeant Bill Galvin opened his notebook as he stepped out of the main hospital building and re-read Cass Blakely's story. It was only when the first drops of rain hit the pad and smeared his neat handwriting that he realized what had been a cloudless blue sky only twenty minutes earlier was now a heavy, slate grey.

What's happening with this bloody weather lately?

He quickly pocketed the book and jogged across the car park towards the police car. P.C. Roger Morton sat behind the steering wheel. The driver's seat had been reclined quite far back and his head lolled back against the headrest. Probably out on the town last night, bloody idiot, Galvin thought, opening the driver-side door. He gave the young constable a nudge.

"Yeah Jill, I'll be up in a minute," he mumbled tiredly as he sank as low as his long legs would allow him to in the confines of the car.

"No lover-boy, you'll be up right now!"

Morton jumped bolt upright and rubbed hard at his eyes as he tried to make some sense of where he was. "Sorry sarge, I must have dozed off for a minute."

"I think I'll drive."

It took a little while for Morton to fully register what Galvin had said. "I'm all right sarge really," he said as he reached for his seatbelt.

"Look, just shift over and think yourself lucky I don't put you on report."

Without another word, Morton climbed out of the car and walked over to the passenger-side door. He tried to open the door but Galvin had already climbed into the car and hit the central locking.