First to Fall Read online

  Aiden wished he could pass his hand through the glass and hold hers but he couldn’t. She had to push through the pain of her memories alone.

  ‘I can still remember that night. I wish I’d had the strength then to pack my bags and leave but I had nowhere to go. He was my everything. He knew that, I think that was how he knew he could get away with treating me how he did. He had been out with his friends and he was very drunk. He came in demanding that I cook him dinner, so I told him that he’d had dinner before he went out. Well, that was enough to send him crazy. His eyes got all screwed up in rage, he called me a lying whore and a bitch, then he punched me square in the face. The force threw me onto my back and I just lay there in shock. He yelled at me to get up but I was afraid. When I wouldn’t get up he kicked me in my sides. The pain was unbearable, I felt like all my insides were being crushed. After a bit he got bored and wandered off into the bedroom where he collapsed on the bed.

  ‘The next day, I looked so awful that I was too ashamed to leave and seek help, I didn’t want anyone seeing me like this. I had two black eyes, a cut lip and my whole body was beaten black and blue. I ran myself a bath and just lay in it, crying for hours. When Brandon sobered up he couldn’t apologise enough. He bought me flowers, told me how much he loved me, that he would never touch me again.’

  She pressed her palms against her eyes, holding back tears. ‘He lied.’

  ‘So, that was the first time he was violent towards you?’ Aiden asked gently. Brandy nodded in response.

  ‘But soon…’ She breathed in deep, trying to stop her emotions overwhelming her. ‘It became a regular thing. Most weekends he would knock me about so that I stopped leaving the house at all, for fear of people seeing me. Each time it was the same, he would attack me in a rage, then later tell me how sorry he was and that he would get help. I wanted to go to someone, but foolishly I believed that he could change. How could I have been so stupid?’

  ‘Did you tell anyone?’

  ‘Yes, in the end I felt that he’d left me with no choice. It was my twentieth birthday and he was supposed to finish work early and take me for dinner and a movie. I was all dressed up in the nicest dress I had and so excited about finally getting out of the damn house. I told myself that this was the beginning of something good with Brandon, that we were beginning to put all our problems behind us. Well, six o clock came and went and he didn’t come home. I sat at the tablewatching the hours pass by. It was eleven when he came rolling in through the door. He was blind drunk as he had been out with the boys. I was fuming. I asked where he’d been and he flipped. I’d never seen him so mad before, he was like a monster. We had a beautiful glass vase on the table, it had been a wedding gift, full of his last batch of forgiveness flowers. He grabbed the vase and smashed it against the wall. I was devastated, so I fell to my knees and began trying to pick up the shards of glass. I loved that vase, so much.’ Brandy was crying now, tears forming a river down her soft cheeks.

  ‘He yelled at me, saying I cared more for the vase than him. Then he…he…’ She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jumpsuit. ‘He knelt down and picked up a large shard of glass and ran it down my arm.’ She pulled up her sleeve to reveal afrighteningly large scar. ‘Hedid it all down my legs too. When he was satisfied that he had punished me enough he went and got into the shower. I had no choice but to call 911, I was going to bleed to death.’

  ‘So the police came round?’

  ‘Sheriff Fern himself came out. When he asked what had happened Brandon was cool as a cucumber, saying that the vase had fallen onto me by accident. I screamed that he was lying, that he had done this. Brandon, still so terribly calm, said that I was just trying to get back at him for forgetting my birthday. Buck Fern sided with Brandon, saying that women can get far too emotional and that I should be less clumsy. They took me to hospital and dressed my wounds and no one said any more about it. I thought that Brandon would be mad, but for a while he calmed down, I expect it had all been a bit too close for him and he was worried about being found out.’

  Aiden was writing away in his notebook.

  ‘What date is your birthday?’

  ‘March 18th.’ He scribbled the date down. ‘You thinking of sending me a card?’ She smiled weakly, her eyes red from crying.

  ‘Maybe,’ Aiden replied, aware that she would probably not live to see her next birthday. ‘I’m actually interested as there would be a police report from when you called the police and I’d like to see it.’

  ‘Oh,OK.’

  ‘So how was Brandon after that had happened?’

  ‘For a while he seemed to calm down. Then, maybe a month or so later the drunken beatings started again. He had taken to smoking now too so he was getting creative with his cruelty, sometimes burning me. I was getting pretty scarred up by this time. I couldn’t wear T-shirts or pretty dresses any more as my arms and legs were such a mess. If people suspected anything no one dared say a word against Brandon. Even in searing heat I’d be wearing jeans and a sweater. But then, around Christmas time, I found out I was pregnant. I was overjoyed, I thought that a baby would help calm Brandon down, and that in carrying our baby he would ease off on me. And he did. For the first few months he was wonderful, he even painted the spare bedroom blue as he was convinced we were going to have a little boy. But then…he started drinking again…as I got bigger he would call me fat, telling me that he didn’t find me attractive any more. He made me cover up my bump in baggy clothes as he didn’t want no one knowing I was pregnant. He said he was tired of the town always being all over his business. He started beating me again, but he was always careful to just do my legs and arms, where no one could see.’

  Brandy was subconsciously rubbing her arms as she recalled her husband’s cruelty.

  ‘Then, he had to go away one weekend, it was around Easter. I think it was something to do with work. I saw my chance to finally go to church, I hadn’t been in so long. And now that I was expecting a child, I knew I needed to find peace with God again, for the sake of my unborn baby. I walked all the way into town, my feet were near bleeding by the time I got there. I just sat in a pew, shattered, when Father West came over. He was worried as he hadn’t seen me in a long time. I was so hot, it was a warm day, I was sweating like a dog from all the walking, and without thinking I rolled up my sleeves. I heard him gasp when he saw my arms and my heart sank.’

  ‘Did you tell Father West what had been going on?’

  ‘I had no choice. You can’t lie to a priest. When he saw that I was pregnant too, he was outraged. He begged me to leave him, he said he would find somewhere safe for me to go but I wouldn’t have it. I knew how hard it was to grow up without a father and I didn’t want to do that to my child. I was a fool, if I’d run away when I had the chance things would have been so different…’ Her voice trailed off, wracked with emotion.

  ‘What did Father West do?’ Aiden felt terrible at pushing her to continue but knew that their time would soon be up.

  ‘He said he would talk to Brandon. And he did. He came round one day, it was another gorgeous, sunny day. They sat and talked, I was hanging laundry out to dry in the garden so I’ve no idea what was said. With Father West, Brandon was all smiles, the perfect gentleman. Then, as he waved goodbye to Father, he closed the door and turned to me, his smile was gone and his eyes were black with hate. He was beyond furious that I had gone to Father West. He said that he was going to teach me a lesson. He went out back and when he came back…’ Brandy shook her head through the tears, still in disbelief at just how cruel her husband had been. ‘When he came back he had a shovel.’

  Aiden wasn’t sure if he could bear to hear any more. Brandy became engulfed by her tears, unable to continue. He could only imagine what had occurred after the priest had left.

  After a while, the tears subsided.

  ‘They took me to hospital, but I lost the baby,’ she whispered. ‘Brandon said I’d fallen down the stairs. He said that if I told anyone about him agai
n he’d kill me, and I knew that he would. I lived in fear of him. You know the worst part?’

  ‘What was the worst part?’

  ‘That no one would believe that he could have done these things. He said that I fell down the stairs. Thing is, we don’t have no stairs. But no one questioned him, and I was too scared to say anything.’

  ‘Did you plan to kill him?’

  ‘No, but he was about to kill me. I had no choice.’

  Their time was up and an emotionally drained Brandy was led away, leaving Aiden with a lot to think about.

  As Aiden had expected, Buck Fern was nowhere to be seen when he arrived at the Sheriff’s Offices to collect the files he had requested. A polite young girl who was working there kindly informed him that he was off doing his daily rounds of Avalon. Aiden was relieved. His encounters with the old sheriff were becoming increasingly strained and he just wasn’t in the mood for another awkward conversation. He just wanted to get the files and go. He waited patiently whilst the girl wandered into a back room to get his documents for him. As the minutes passed by he felt anger welling up inside him, as he thought that the stubborn old sheriff had failed to sort out the files for him in a deliberate attempt to withhold evidence. Luckily, just as his patience was about to wear out, the girl returned, laden down with numerous cardboard folders.

  ‘Here you are, Mr. Connelly. I’m afraid that these aren’t the originals; we can only let photocopies out of the building you see. So these are yours to keep.’

  Taking the files, Aiden thanked her and left, feeling slightly annoyed that he wasn’t being given access to the original files, feeling sure that this was just a ploy to keep something vital hidden from him.

  Sat at his desk in his now cool office, Aiden began going over the police reports. Edmond was in court all day so he had the place to himself. Betty had bustled in and out with coffee a few times, but apart from that he was undisturbed.

  There were no surprises amongst the reports. Brandon had, as Aiden had suspected, had a few run-ins with the law. Nothing too serious, a few DUIs, two counts of being drunk and disorderly in a public place. It was always the same outcome: Brandon was given a verbal warning and a smack on the wrist. Each time the arresting officer was Buck Fern. This was probably just a coincidence, since it was a small town with an equally small police department, but Aiden wasn’t convinced.

  He flicked through the files until he found what he was looking for. March 18th. He opened the folder and began to read.

  At 11.52pm, a 911 call from a woman at a local residence saying she had been attacked. Possible domestic dispute. Sheriff Fern and Officers Bark and Simmons were dispatched to investigate.

  Aiden read on…

  Sheriff Fern arrived at the scene at 00.03am. Shortly followed by Officers Bark and Simmons. A young woman was severely wounded by cut glass from a fallen vase. No sign of foul play. Woman sent to St. Mary’s Hospital for further treatment. Outcome: severe accidental damage. No further investigation required.

  The report was signed off by Buck Fern, but what intrigued Aiden was how the sheriff had arrived on the scene before his deputies. Had he quickly constructed a cover-up story with Brandon to protect him? It just didn’t add up. After March 18th there were no further incidents, at least none that had been documented. Aiden thought about the second time that Brandy said she had ended up in hospital, when she had lost her baby, but there was no record of any police involvement that time.

  Aiden wasn’t sure what to think, but he knew one thing, that Brandy was telling the truth. In his line of work, he rarely listened to his gut instinct, but this time his guts were screaming at him. It was clear that Brandon had beaten her, what he was unsure of was why anyone would want to cover it up. He read through the file again. St. Mary’s Hospital treated Brandy after the attack on her birthday. Perhaps the files that they held would have more answers; also, if they were the nearest hospital, it was logical to think that they had treated Brandy when she ‘fell down the stairs’.

  ‘Betty?’ He peered round his office door and could see the elderly lady typing away at her computer.

  ‘Oh, Mr. Connelly.’ She stopped immediately on hearing his voice. ‘Another coffee? I’ll get it for you right away!’

  ‘No, no coffee, thanks. I actually need directions as I’ll be out of the office this afternoon.’

  ‘Directions? Certainly. To where?’

  ‘St. Mary’s Hospital.’ Betty regarded him with a worried expression.

  ‘Is everything all right, Mr. Connelly?’

  ‘Yes, yes, everything is fine. I just need to go there, following a lead. It is all regarding the case.’

  ‘Oh right, yes, well St. Mary’s is a good few miles away. It will take you at least an hour to get there.’

  Aiden checked his watch. It was already 2pm which didn’t leave him much time but he knew that he needed to go there.

  ‘It is always a bother for folks round here when they have to go to the hospital,’ she continued. ‘A couple of years ago, my left foot was playing up and I was back and forth for appointments. Ridiculous. Our doctor round here is too quick to send people for referrals. Good hospital though. Very modern.’ She was talking as the directions were printing out of the printer located by her feet. Once it had finished, she whipped out the sheet and handed Aiden the neatly typed directions.

  ‘I’m afraid we don’t have a map, but if you have any trouble at all, just call. Edmond often has to head over to St. Mary’s, usually with clients injured at work or whatever who want to file a complaint from their hospital bed! I tell you now, if I were in hospital a law suit would be the last thing on my mind! But you know how people are…’

  ‘Yes, well thank you, Betty.’

  ‘Watch how you go, Mr. Connelly.’

  Betty watched the handsome young lawyer leave, knowing that if she were twenty years younger she would be offering to do a whole lot more than print directions for him, whether he was married or not. She sighed wistfully, her mind drifting away to indulge in memories of her youth. As Aiden drove away, she decided that her afternoon would be much better spent at home, rather than lingering in an empty office with only her memories for company. She promptly switched off her computer, slung her handbag over her shoulder and locked up Cope and May Solicitors at Law for the day. Any urgent legal matters the people of Avalon had would have to wait until the following day.

  It was 3.15pm when Aiden pulled into the parking lot of St. Mary’s Hospital. Having been driving for just over an hour he felt groggy and tired. Luckily, the cool, crisp air that greeted him as he exited his car quickly revived him from his daze. As Betty had told him, St. Mary’s was an impressive, modern hospital. However, now that he was here, he was unsure where to go. He decided that Reception would be his best bet.

  ‘Yes?’ The receptionist, a fat man with an acne-ridden face and glasses, was clearly not interested in Aiden’s response.

  ‘I was wondering if you could help me?’ he began.

  ‘Patient name?’ the man said in a dead pan voice, as if it was the hundredth time today he had been approached with the same query.

  ‘No, I’m not looking for a patient. I’m looking for the…archive section…where files for past patients are kept.’

  The man eyed him with disdain.

  ‘I’m a lawyer,’ Aiden explained, hoping to hurry the guy up a bit. The receptionist rolled his eyes in a bored manner and began typing into his computer.

  ‘Down the corridor, left, three doors down on the right.’

  ‘Right, OK, thanks.’ Aiden headed off along the hospital corridors, following the directions until he came to a door labelled Patient Enquiries. He reasoned that this must be the place and knocked briskly on the door.

  A middle-aged woman with a blonde perm answered. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘Yes, I hope so, I need to have access to some files on someone who was a patient here.’

  ‘That sort of information is classified,’ she said a
s she eased the door behind her closed, as if fearing that Aiden was some crazy man who would rush her at any moment in an attempt to get to the files she presided over.

  ‘I’m the lawyer of the patient in question.’

  ‘I see, so you have made an appointment to view the files and have written consent from your client?’

  ‘Well…no.’ Aiden was starting to feel very foolish. He was all too aware of protocol when it came to the disclosure of sensitive information. He had been careless and too impetuous in heading out here without properly thinking it through. He was better than this; it wasn’t like him to behave in such an unprofessional manner. However, now that he had come all this way he wasn’t prepared to leave empty-handed. He didn’t know if he would have the chance to come all the way out to St. Mary’s again before the trial, which was now just over a week away. He needed to see Brandy’s files; he had no time to waste.

  ‘The thing is…’ As he began the woman sighed, clearly annoyed that he was continuing to waste her time. ‘This is a highly sensitive, high-profile case. I couldn’t risk you knowing about my arrival in case the media got wind of it.’

  ‘I can assure you that we deal with all our patients with the highest level of confidentiality!’ she said indignantly.

  ‘I have no doubt.’ Aiden was uncomfortable conducting their conversation in the hospital corridor with people frequently bustling past them. ‘But it was a risk I couldn’t take. A woman’s life is at stake. I really have no time, please. I know I’m asking a lot of you.’ He flashed her his most dashing smile and it seemed to work as her shoulders sank in defeat.