First to Fall Read online

  ‘Brandy says that Brandon hit her.’ Aiden felt the words shoot out of his mouth before he had a chance to think. Father West’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but his face remained deadpan, leading Aiden to believe what he had suspected: that Father West already knew.

  ‘She told you that?’

  ‘Yes, and she has marks all up her arms. I’ve no doubt that there are more. I’m hoping to go and see her again tomorrow.’

  Silence once again settled between them. Both men, in their minds, said a thousand words, but neither knew how to vocalise their thoughts to the other. Finally, Father West spoke.

  ‘Brandy led a very troubled life…’

  ‘Yeah, I know all about the beauty pageant scandal and her mother, what I’m talking about is her marriage.’

  ‘Even after her vows,’ Father West concluded.

  ‘So you knew about the abuse?’ The priest suddenly looked his age, worn down by the burden of carrying other people’s troubles for so long.

  ‘She came to me, often very distraught, saying she had fallen over, or walked into a wall. But I knew.’

  ‘Why didn’t you do anything?’

  ‘What could I do? I’m her priest. She came to me in confidence, and never directly blamed Brandon.’

  ‘Everyone around here sees him as some kind of saint.’ Aiden felt anger boiling up in his blood. ‘How bad was it?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Father West was lying, he sensed it. Aiden was growing tired of playing games with him.

  ‘Father, why did you come here?’ There it was, blunt and to the point. He expected Father West to be taken aback by the question, instead he nodded thoughtfully.

  ‘I’m wondering that too.’ He drummed his fingers against his coffee cup as his mind worked furiously to seek an answer.

  ‘You are new in town and handling a very sensitive case. I guess what I’m trying to say is…listen to Brandy. Let her tell her story. People around here are so quick to judge, but there is more to this than meets the eye.’

  ‘You know more than you are saying,’ Aiden accused.

  ‘That is all I can tell you for now. Just be careful. Brandon was loved by this town, and some people would do anything to see Brandy go down.’

  ‘Like Sheriff Fern?’

  ‘He can be dangerous.’ Aiden was beginning to feel uneasy. Was Father West warning him? Had Buck Fern sent him? He didn’t know what to think.

  ‘Can I trust you?’ The question caught Aiden off guard. Here he was, wondering if the priest was on his side, whilst all along Father West had been thinking the same thing of him.

  ‘As long as I can trust you.’

  ‘Good, then we will talk again. First, you need to see Brandy. Tell her to tell you everything. Tell her you have spoken with me.’ They shook hands, only this time with more sincerity.

  ‘Take care, Mr. Connelly. May God be with you.’

  Aiden felt shell-shocked after speaking with Father West. In the tranquillity of the empty office his mind was a tangled maze of questions, but one thing he knew was that Brandy held a majority of the answers. He was debating whether to go over to Eastham that very afternoon when Edmond came through the door, a beaming smile across his face, followed by two men in blue overalls.

  ‘Well, Aiden my boy, I’ve gone and done it!’ He clapped his hands together in glee.

  ‘Done what?’

  ‘Today, a momentous occasion,’ he began as Betty came in to see what all the commotion was. ‘I am bringing this office into the 21st century. We are having air conditioning fitted!’

  ‘Oh how simply marvellous!’ Betty cried out in glee.

  ‘In your own time, boys,’ he said to the workmen, enjoying his moment of empowerment.

  ‘Coffees?’ Betty asked excitedly.

  ‘Ta, love.’ The workmen accepted her offer gratefully. Edmond and Aiden both decided to indulge in a caffeine fix also.

  ‘This heat wave made me realise it was high time we modernised the office,’ Edmond was explaining. ‘I thought it would be a nice surprise for you all!’

  ‘Very thoughtful of you, Edmond.’

  ‘Thanks, my lad. Now we can work in a cool, calm environment. I think it is a blinding investment. It was Betty really that swayed me. The old girl told me she was worried she was suffering from heat exhaustion!’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Said she was feeling faint, having shortness of breath. Sounds like the change to me, but you can’t say that to a lady. My wife taught me that the hard way!’ He chuckled to himself. ‘Well then, let’s get down to it. The law doesn’t represent itself, you know!’

  Edmond sneakily made his coffee Irish,. He was tempted to extend this offer to Aiden, but the lad seemed distant, so he thought better of it.

  Aiden decided against visiting Brandy that afternoon. He decided that he first wanted to speak with Clyde White again, and the football game that evening would give him the perfect opportunity.

  It was the night of the big game and the air buzzed with electric tension. Aiden, like many other residents of Avalon, had driven to the High School, parked up and was now walking towards the football field. For such a small town there was certainly an impressive turnout. The game didn’t start until seven, Aiden had arrived at a quarter past six, on Edmond’s advice, and had still struggled to find a parking space. He could already hear a steady chorus of chanting coming from up ahead. It was a modest football field, flanked on two sides by tiered seating. The floodlights were already on as dusk was disappearing fast, being replaced by the dark void of night.

  Meegan was finding it all quite wonderful. Seated high up on her father’s shoulders she was merrily waving a small flag an avid fan had kindly given her when they had arrived. There was a slight chill in the air so the family had layered up in sweaters, knowing that when standing around at night, you can get very cold, very quickly.

  Aiden had anticipated that a majority of the crowd would be high school students, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. The game attracted fans young and old alike, in fact the students appeared to be outnumbered by the more senior residents which he found amusing. Everyone was in good spirits, exchanging kind hellos and the more excitable were already whooping and cheering. Aiden had missed all this, the sense of community. Isla, however, didn’t appear to be having a good time.

  ‘It is all very loud,’ she whispered to Aiden as they sat down in the bleachers, and he could tell from her tone that she was annoyed. She hadn’t wanted to come. Isla was never one for sports, that, as she put it, ‘you had to drink beer to enjoy’. Aiden had always loved football; he had even played in High School. Admittedly he wasn’t very good, but he had loved it all the same.

  ‘Just try and relax, honey, have a good time,’ he said to his wife. He now had Meegan on his lap but she was throwing herself around everywhere.

  ‘Oi,’ he said to her sternly. ‘Stop wriggling like a worm!’

  ‘But I want to see the fussble.’

  ‘We will see the football in a minute. The players will only come out if you sit down like a good little girl.’ Meegan huffed but did as her father said.

  ‘Didn’t you go to many games when you were at school?’ he asked Isla.

  ‘Nope. We were a basketball school.’

  ‘Oh, right. I guess you are quite tall!’

  ‘Fool! I didn’t play!’ She nudged him playfully.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ avoice boomed from the overhead speakers. Meegan cowered in terror.

  ‘For your entertainment, your Avalon Angels Cheering Squad!’ The crowd erupted in cheers, the more zealous even rose to their feet and wolf-whistled.

  A dozen teenage girls dressed in skimpy red and white dresses came out onto the field and took up formation before the home side.

  ‘Give me an A!’ shouted a perky blonde at the front.

  ‘A!’ the crowd echoed. Aiden chanted along and watched as the cheerleaders cartwheeled and pivoted around the field, building up support for their te
am, and remembered all too fondly how much he loved cheerleaders.

  In high school, being on the football team meant two things: you got to cut classes and you got laid. In his experience, all the stereotypes regarding cheerleaders had been wonderfully true, and watching this gaggle of gorgeous girls dancing before him he couldn’t help but hope that Isla had once been a cheerleader and that she had kept her uniform…

  After the cheerleading routine the voice returned from the heavens, this time to announce the arrival of the Avalon Angels football team. This time the crowd went wild, everyone was on their feet, Aiden and Isla included. He was glad to see that she was finally entering into the spirit of things.

  The strapping lads of the football team were full of youth and energy. Aiden envied them. If only the feelings of euphoria you experience as a teenager could be crystallised and you could keep them with you forever. But then he remembered the more awkward memories high school can bring; from your first kiss to an outbreak of spots. He was glad to be beyond the learning stage of life, although it frightened him to think that in the not too distant future Meegan would be experiencing all the things that he did.

  ‘Aid, I’m having trouble following the game,’ Isla confided ten minutes in. Aiden did his best to relay to her the rules regarding American football but it was difficult to be heard over the whoops and chanting of the crowd. He concluded that he probably should have explained the basics to her before they had left the house.

  As the third quarter got under way Aiden turned his attention away from the game and started seeking out familiar faces in the crowd, in particular he was looking for Clyde White. From where he was sitting there was no sign of him. He did, however, spot Edmond and family who waved enthusiastically. Thankfully he couldn’t see Buck Fern.

  ‘Daddy, I’m tired,’ Meegan moaned, flopping her head dramatically against her father’s chest.

  ‘I know, baby, not long now.’ The crowd were now more subdued as the Avalon Angels were trailing behind. The cheerleaders did their best to rally support but as the closing minutes ticked by, the home team had to admit defeat. Disheartened, the people of Avalon began returning to their cars. Heads leant down in shame, the football players cleared the field, although Aiden noticed them quickly perk up as the cheerleaders came skipping over to lick their wounds and massage their egos.

  Meegan was now fast asleep as they made their way with the crowd towards the parking lot.

  ‘Is your daughter ever awake?’ a friendly voice called.

  ‘Oh, Father West.’ Isla grinned girlishly. Aiden nodded in greeting.

  ‘Did you enjoy the game? Shame we didn’t win.’

  ‘It was good. The team are pretty popular.’

  ‘They sure are. A decent side this year, some impressive players coming along.’

  ‘The team got a lot of history?’ Father West eyed Aiden nervously at this question.

  ‘Most men in Avalon played for the Angels at some point, so everyone has a personal connection and knows somebody playing now, be it a son, nephew or neighbour.’

  ‘Right, right.’

  ‘Did you notice the black armbands?’

  ‘Yeah, for Brandon?’

  ‘Yeah.’ The two men exchanged knowing glances. Aiden was going to say more when Father West was dragged into conversation with an elderly man, who was being quite vocal in his complaint about the upkeep of his wife’s grave. Aiden felt sorry for Father West, he must feel that he was at work 24/7, although he would probably feed him some line like ‘doing the lord’s work is no chore’. Aiden knew that his lack of patience would preclude him from doing any such job. He got annoyed even at dinner parties when, as soon as people got wind that he was a lawyer, started asking for legal advice.

  Aiden had just settled Meegan into her car seat when Edmond cornered him.

  ‘Well, hello there, my boy! I hope you enjoyed your first game!’ Aiden almost reeled back from the smell of liquor on his colleague’s breath.

  ‘Having a good night, Edmond?’

  ‘Splendid, splendid. Shame we lost, but you can’t win them all! My dear!’ he exclaimed as he saw Isla, before promptly wrapping his arms around her. Her wide eyes looked pleadingly at Aiden as she was stuck fast in Edmond’s embrace.

  ‘Such a great game,’ he said as he finally let her go. ‘I told Betty she should come, but she said it isn’t her thing. Yet I invite her, every game. The old girl needs to get out more!’

  ‘I thought Clyde White would be here but I haven’t seen him.’

  ‘Clyde? Yes, he is normally always here. The team means a lot to him. He’s probably here somewhere.’ Aiden scanned the assortment of people bustling around him into various vehicles but could see no sign of the Avalon Pine owner.

  ‘Ed, Ed!’ a female voice was calling. ‘Oh there you are!’ Carol Cope came staggering over, equally as drunk as her husband.‘Oh, Aiden, hello!’ This time it was his turn for the over-familiar embrace. Squashed up against Carol’s ample bosom he could see his wife giggling.

  ‘Hello, Carol, good to see you again,’ he said timidly once she had let him go and he had refilled his lungs.

  ‘Well, we best be off.’ Edmond bowed and linked arms with his wife and the pair tilted left, then right before aligning themselves and wandering off.

  ‘Quite a pair, aren’t they?’ Isla laughed.

  ‘Sure are.’

  ‘Meegan told me that she wants to be a cheerleader.’

  ‘Oh no,’ Aiden said as he got into the car. ‘I know what cheerleaders are like and my daughter will be a lady!’ Isla giggled at this.

  ‘Why did you want to see Clyde White?’ she asked as they were driving along.

  ‘No reason,’ Aiden lied. ‘Just work stuff.’ Isla rolled her eyes.

  ‘Don’t you ever clock off?’ she moaned.

  ‘Yes, of course. I just wanted to ask him something, that’s all.’

  ‘Well, I’m sure it can wait.’

  ‘Yes, I guess it will have to.’

  Aiden’s car rolled along the darkened streets until they were back home. That night his sleep was troubled, his dreams haunted by demonic football players. He awoke in a sweat, gasping for breath. Isla remained curled up beside him, peaceful in her slumber. Alone, he turned his mind to Clyde White. He was certain that he had not been present at the game. If this was the case, Aiden could only come to one conclusion to explain his absence: either Clyde was sick, which he doubted as he had only seen him not long ago and he was fit and well; which left Aiden to believe that Clyde had not attended the game because he was avoiding him. Which meant that he had something to hide.

  Chapter Seven: Shattered Glass

  It was an unseasonably cold morning when Aiden drove out to Eastham. The sun was refusing to show its face and dark grey clouds dominated the sky. The roads were empty as usual as he made his way towards the prison which was Brandy’s cage.

  Aiden took up his usual position before the Perspex glass wall, carefully setting up his Dictaphone and arranging his notes before prisoner 929’s arrival. The walls were as dull as the sky outside, as if all colours had been drained away from the world. Eastham felt even more oppressive than usual. One of the guards announced Brandy’s arrival but she need not have bothered; the moment the prisoner entered the room it was as if the entire universe shifted. She appeared to be glowing, from her luminous hair to the harsh orange of her regulation clothing. It felt as if Brandy was the sun in a dark, never-ending universe and you could not help but be drawn to her. Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed happy, and Aiden felt his heart soar. He berated himself for it, but couldn’t help feeling a sense of delight at seeing that Brandy was happy. Even the guards seemed in a more favourable mood. Brandy was blissfully unaware of the power she held over them all as she delicately sat down and gazed at Aiden, awaiting his direction for how the meeting was to proceed.

  ‘So, Brandy, how are you feeling today?’ He knew he was making small talk and wasting valuable time but he co
uldn’t help it.

  ‘Today, Mr. Connelly, I am feeling mighty fine. I feel as if that storm took all my problems away with it.’

  ‘That is good to hear.’ He shuffled his papers nervously, apprehensive about carrying on. Brandy seemed to be in a good place, and he knew that what he needed to ask her, what he needed her to recall, would no doubt return her to the darkest place she had ever been, and guilt overwhelmed him.

  ‘I went to the game last night.’ He was stalling.

  ‘Oh, the Angels? Oh wow, I bet you had a real good time! Everyone loves the Angels!’

  ‘Did you used to go watch them?’

  ‘Sometimes, not all that much. I never was around enough to get caught up in that whole school spirit thing.’

  Aiden took a deep breath. He needed to get answers, even if that meant stealing the sparkle from her eyes.

  ‘Brandy,’ he spoke softly, ‘I need you to tell me, in detail, about your marriage to Brandon.’

  As Aiden had feared, at the mention of Brandon the glow within Brandy immediately vanished and the room plunged into a depressive state of darkness. Her eyes became dark and her skin grey.

  ‘Very, well, Mr. Connelly.’ Her voice was calm and steady. ‘But I must warn you, it isn’t a pretty tale to tell.’ And with her warning out of the way, she recalled her time as Mrs. Brandon White.

  ‘As I told you, Brandon liked a drink. He always had. His drinking got him in trouble all over town, drink driving and the like. But old Buck Fern always turned the other cheek, his status as a football hero made him almost untouchable. He was used to always getting his own way, when people went against him, he would lash out. Not at them, just me. At first it was just words, which I could handle. If he’d had a bad day at work he’d come in, shouting, swearing. Then the anger was directed at me, he’d call me stupid, lazy, that sort of thing. After that, he grew violent, throwing things around, smashing glasses. At this point I wasn’t too bothered. I could see that he had a temper and when he was in one of his foul moods I’d just stay away from him. Normally, he was still the sweetest man in the world so I could easily forgive him for a few cruel words. But then, about eight months after we had gotten married, he turned on me.’