The London Case

Chapter 5 - Father and Daughter Relationships

June 23rd 2018

I sat in a near on empty room, behind a large metal desk, eating my pop tarts quietly. It was just me and Blondie sat there as Nat had gone to her office to get something, it's probably the file from before.
"Has Nat told you anything about why your here?" Blondie asked.
"Just that you guys are working on a case/mission in evolving my dad and you have been spying on us and may I say that is extremely weird and illegal." I said while munching on my second pop tart.
"Yes well... we have our reasons." He said and sat down across from me at the desk.
Nat stepped in not long after holding the file in her hand and sat next to Steve. The two towered over me as I sank into my seat, I was so small I had to sit on my legs and hold a tall posture just so I could feel some what close to there level. I placed my arms on the table and leaned towards the file, my flannel shirt was big enough to fit a grown man and I draped over my shoulders and hands like a blanket. Natasha opened the file again and I saw the photo of my dad. She then pulled out the section about him and revealed my photo underneath, it was taken a few days after we had gotten to New York. She pulled it out to but there were some more pages left in the file, I tilted my head round to try and read what it said but Nat hastily closed it, hiding the page and placed it to one side.
Steve picked up my dads file first and took of the paper clip, there were multiple sheets all containing details of illegal activity's my father had done. There were a lot... but there were a couple of pages in particular that stood out most and they contained graphic images of a crime scene. I picked up the pages and turned them round to inspect them further. These pictures were taken in England, back in the pub my dad owned. I grew up there till I went to boarding school then dad started to drink the stock instead of selling it.

There were five pictures altogether and each one contained a graphic image of a body. I looked through each photo closely, all the body's were men, older men who vividly remember seeing at the bar. But there was one, one photo that really stood out to me, more than the rest. I knew him, he's name was Gordy Burton... my dads best friend. The second I recognised him, I felt my breath stop then quicken again. My mind came to a complete stop and stared at the photo. Gordy was dead and his body... his body was propped up in his usual seat by the bar. His arm drooped by his side and blood fell from his finger tips. His head was slightly tipped forward and his flat cap pushed back revealing his forehead... or what was left of it. A hole, the size of a golf ball rested in the centre of his head, it created a tunnel of light where you could see the withered wall behind it. His eyes were wide and dry, they looked empty, well I suppose they were now. His jaw was parted, allowing a stream of thick blood to trickle through his bead and down his blazer. The room was painted with his innards and in his hand was his usual order of a whisky, he would have to end the night.
I lowered the photo and looked away, I had seen enough. I could have cried but I wouldn't show weakness like that in front of two strangers. All the other photos were still laced out on the desk. The men in them were dressed fair smart but they each held a gun or knife in the hand.
"These photos were taken on May 21st, the day your father fled England taking you with him." Steve said. "We have reason to believe he is responsible for some of these murders."
"Some?" I whispered still in shock from Gordy death.
"Yes, a gun shot was heard in the early hours of that morning then not long afterwards, witnesses reported hearing a commotion and several more gun shots." He said "we think that one of these four men are responsible for killing your dad friend, Gordon Burton." He placed his hand over the four pictures of the strange men.
"But we also think your father killed these men after the first gunshot was fired at 4:17 that morning." Nat said leaning towards me.
You could clearly see that I was upset but Gordy death and I was shook my what Steve and Nat were saying. "My dad wouldn't kill any one." I said. Not entirely true but it's fine.
"The rifle used the kill 3 of these men matches the one Danial Jones kept under his bar which is now missing." Steve said.
There was a moment of silence as in process all the information. "How am I supposed to help with this?" I said in a quiet and uneasy voice.
"The cameras we're wiped so there is no proof of who the murderer is," Nat said. "We need you to go back to your apartment, find any thing that could contain the lost footage and download it onto this."
She pulled a small USB out her jacket pocket and handed it to me.
"You want me to go back?" I whispered. I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to have to handle my dad and his drinks. God knows what he was gonna do when I came home, he might not care but I didn't want to find out.
"Not for long, just long enough to get the footage and hang about a little so he doesn't get suspicious then you will be gone before dark."
I sighed knowing there was no getting out of this. "When do I have to go?"
"Today, we will drop you off and it's down to you from there."
"Great..." I said sarcastically. There was a moment of silence. "What's in the file about me?"
"Oh, just your name, information about your school and childhood and a couple news articles." Steve said packing up my dads file and taking mine out.
"News articles?"
"Well there's only one."
He pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of a news paper story inside. He didn't show me it, he just held it and looked at me. I looked back at him confused. Why wouldn't you give me it? What it is? Trust me I have tough skin I can take it.
"Steve?" Nat said
He didn't reply but passed me the paper hesitantly.
It was dated May 20th 2012. I was only seven then, why is this in my file? On further inspection, I could see a picture on a car that had gone off road and looked as if it had been ablaze. It was only a small extract of text so there was no title so I began to read the introduction. "In the late hours of Saturday night last week, there was a major collision resulting in the death of a young woman named Christina Jones-"
I shuddered slightly and cleared my throat. My eyes burnt slightly at the suggestion of that name. Normally I could just shake this feeling off but my feeling had been thrown about recently and I was still upset from Gordy but I read in.
"Christina's car was hit on the left hand side causing it to spin off the road down a small hill. The car tilted onto two wheels and by the time it came to a stand still, the windows were smashed and the petrol tank damaged causing it to leek. Christina's daughter, Eliza-"
My eyes had filled with tears to the point where the writing was blurred and I felt a lump form in my throat. I stood up brushing away my tears and walked out of the room, "I need a minute."
I stepped out and made my way through the maze of rooms eventually finding a small, isolated balcony over looking the greenery outside. I stepped out and sat on the floor trying to compose myself. I dried my eyes with my shirt and sat watching the wind make the trees dance. I remember that article, I remember my gran showing it to me when it was released. After I left England I hoped I would never have to think of it again, guess I was wrong. That day will haunt me for the rest of my life.
My head began to hurt again so buried it between my knees and closed my eyes. I wanted to loose my self in my thoughts. It's what I would do as a kid if things got a bit much. I listen to the sounds around my, the sound of leafs on trees rustling as the wind hit them. The faint buzz of crickets coming from the over grown grass in the trees and the sound of plaines sawing above the clouds. I felt lost but it was good. I raised my head and rested it on my arms. My hair was being blown across my face by the wind but it didn't bother me. I watched nature at its best. I cleared my mind the best I could and lived on the moment. The only thing I thought was "don't get lost in the past for to long, time will move on without you." Over and over again in my head until I felt better.
"Hey kiddo." It was Nat, her voice was sweet and sympathetic, that made a change.
"Hey..." my voice in the other hand, was croaky and broken.
"I'm sorry about that, Steve shouldn't have shown it to you."
My eyes began to swell again, "it's fine, he didn't know."
"Actually, he did but he's stupid like that sometimes."
I laughed slightly and stared off into the distance.
"I found some stuff in your bag that I thought might make you feel better." she pulled my teddy out from the other night and a bag of chocolate M&Ms that were held shut my a rubber band.
"Thanks." I croaked and took my teddy and held him in my arms. I left the M&Ms on the floor, is it just me or do you lose your appetite after you get upset?
"I read that article when it was released, it wasn't as big of a story here but I do remember it vividly," she took the M&Ms and opened them. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head, "Not yet."
"Okay," she said eating some of my sweets. "If you ever do, you know where I am."
"Good luck, I've never told anyone about it, not even my best friend Natty."
"Natty, huh?" Nat said looking down at me.
I looked up at her, she had a subtle smile of her face that gave off comforting vibes.
"Yeah, her name was Natasha to but she wasn't anything like you. She was crazy, I miss her." I looked back at the trees. "We called her nutty natty something just because of how idiotic some of the stuff was she use to do. There was this one time where we put permanent ink in the sprinklers that get automatically activated to spray water on every one when they detects smoke."
"No way." Nat said laughed at me. She genuinely seemed interested in what I was saying,I paused and looked up at her, she was smiling at me. It felt nice, to have someone who actually wants to hear what you have to say. It was amazing.
"What happened next?" She asked throwing a handful of M&Ms in her mouth.
We sat out on the balcony for about half an hour longer just talking and eating M&Ms. It was the best half an hour of my life since I got to New York. I was gonna miss this place when I left to go back to my dad in our grotty apartment.
"Er... sorry to interrupt but Steve's looking for you both." Bruce said before leaving.
"You ready?" Nat asked my.
I sighed, "Not really." I felt that overwhelmed feeling of stress and sadness hit me again.
"It will be over before you know it and me and Steve will help."
"How? You can't come in with me. My dad will kick you out before you even get it."
"We will give you a hidden body can so we can keep an eye on you if things get out of hand."
"Out of hand?"
"Don't worry, you'll be fine and when this is over you'll have a better life with better people. Where you don't need to shop lift or buy beer from dodgy back street alleys."
A better life with better people? I'm gonna get out into the system for foster care or something like that. Shit. What do I do? I don't want that, I wanna stay here or go back to England, back to gran or my school. Back to Natty and Biscuit in our dorm room staying up all night and robbing food from the cafeteria with nerf guns. What do I do?
She placed her hand on my back and lead my into the compound to find Steve.