Promises to Keep Read Online Free Page B
Author: Elizabeth Haynes
tears and now fresh ones fall, for Mohammed who she couldn’t save, and for his little brother who has slipped through her fingers. But he at least is alive, he still has a chance. If only he would come back. If only she could get him to trust her.
She stands awkwardly, stiff from a sleepless night, and looks out of the kitchen window to see Dixie at the bottom of the garden, staring at the shed. His tail is wagging.
SAM
For the second day running, Sam is home early. She has been trying to call Jo all day, and whilst she knows there is a great immovable barrier between them right now, she is hoping that at least she can persuade Jo to talk to her. In the meantime, she tells herself that Jo is possibly catching up on some sleep.
When she gets home the house is unbearably quiet. From the hallway Sam knows instantly that the house is empty, that Jo has gone. There is a hollowness about the space that wasn’t there before, a darkness that isn’t eased by the turning on of lights. Besides anything else, Dixie usually meets her at the door. He, too, is absent. Walking towards the kitchen, Sam doesn’t even bother to call out.
The note is on the kitchen table. Sam snatches it up and reads.
Gone to Mum’s x
Sam looks quickly around the kitchen. Jo’s car keys are gone, Dixie’s bowls and the dog food from the shelves under the worktop. She breathes out when she sees this, only aware then of the panic.
You don’t take dog food with you if you’re going to top yourself
. Upstairs, the small suitcase has gone from under the bed, some clothes from Jo’s side of the wardrobe. In the office, the fireproof box is open and Jo’s birth certificate, driving licence and passport have also gone. This is reassuring. Nevertheless, she has to check.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sam uses the phone to call the last number dialled.
‘Hi, Maureen. It’s Sam.’
‘Oh, Sam. I’m glad you’ve called. How are you holding up?’
‘I’m— is Jo with you?’
‘Yes. And the dog. And— ’ She cuts herself off, adds hurriedly, ‘She’s upstairs, do you want me to see if …?’
‘Don’t worry, honestly. I was just – you know. Just checking she’s okay.’
‘I can ask her to call you back?’
‘Thanks. Tell her … I don’t know. Tell her I called?’
‘I will. Take care of yourself, dear.’
There is a finality about the conversation. Even though she has not taken everything – and they have a house together, a mortgage in both their names, even though Sam pays the bills – she knows Jo isn’t coming back. They’ve bickered before but nothing like this. It’s a chasm rather than a rift. A gorge that’s getting wider, that can’t be crossed. She is going to have to report that the boy is likely to be with Jo; but maybe just not yet.
Sam lies on the bed, on Jo’s side, looking into the open wardrobe and at the empty hangers, trying to recall what it looked like before. Wondering about the stuff she took and the things she left behind. She presses her fingers to her eyes, trying not to cry.
Sometimes you make all the right decisions and still things go wrong. Sometimes you fail even when you try your hardest
.
Extract from the Eden Evening Times, November 19 th 2010
‘Perfect Storm’ of Incidents Responsible for death of fifteen-year-old Asylum Seeker
The release of the Quentin Report into the death of Mohammed Reza whilst in police custody in August will make for uncomfortable reading for Eden’s Chief Constable, Michael Spearman. Coming at the end of a year which saw crime figures in the county soar, and the resignation of the Chair of the Eden Police Authority following corruption allegations, the flaws highlighted in the report put the force under serious scrutiny.
The report identifies a number of missed opportunities and failings in the system which is supposed to protect vulnerable young people who are brought into police custody, describing the night of 27 August 2010 as a ‘perfect
She stands awkwardly, stiff from a sleepless night, and looks out of the kitchen window to see Dixie at the bottom of the garden, staring at the shed. His tail is wagging.
SAM
For the second day running, Sam is home early. She has been trying to call Jo all day, and whilst she knows there is a great immovable barrier between them right now, she is hoping that at least she can persuade Jo to talk to her. In the meantime, she tells herself that Jo is possibly catching up on some sleep.
When she gets home the house is unbearably quiet. From the hallway Sam knows instantly that the house is empty, that Jo has gone. There is a hollowness about the space that wasn’t there before, a darkness that isn’t eased by the turning on of lights. Besides anything else, Dixie usually meets her at the door. He, too, is absent. Walking towards the kitchen, Sam doesn’t even bother to call out.
The note is on the kitchen table. Sam snatches it up and reads.
Gone to Mum’s x
Sam looks quickly around the kitchen. Jo’s car keys are gone, Dixie’s bowls and the dog food from the shelves under the worktop. She breathes out when she sees this, only aware then of the panic.
You don’t take dog food with you if you’re going to top yourself
. Upstairs, the small suitcase has gone from under the bed, some clothes from Jo’s side of the wardrobe. In the office, the fireproof box is open and Jo’s birth certificate, driving licence and passport have also gone. This is reassuring. Nevertheless, she has to check.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sam uses the phone to call the last number dialled.
‘Hi, Maureen. It’s Sam.’
‘Oh, Sam. I’m glad you’ve called. How are you holding up?’
‘I’m— is Jo with you?’
‘Yes. And the dog. And— ’ She cuts herself off, adds hurriedly, ‘She’s upstairs, do you want me to see if …?’
‘Don’t worry, honestly. I was just – you know. Just checking she’s okay.’
‘I can ask her to call you back?’
‘Thanks. Tell her … I don’t know. Tell her I called?’
‘I will. Take care of yourself, dear.’
There is a finality about the conversation. Even though she has not taken everything – and they have a house together, a mortgage in both their names, even though Sam pays the bills – she knows Jo isn’t coming back. They’ve bickered before but nothing like this. It’s a chasm rather than a rift. A gorge that’s getting wider, that can’t be crossed. She is going to have to report that the boy is likely to be with Jo; but maybe just not yet.
Sam lies on the bed, on Jo’s side, looking into the open wardrobe and at the empty hangers, trying to recall what it looked like before. Wondering about the stuff she took and the things she left behind. She presses her fingers to her eyes, trying not to cry.
Sometimes you make all the right decisions and still things go wrong. Sometimes you fail even when you try your hardest
.
Extract from the Eden Evening Times, November 19 th 2010
‘Perfect Storm’ of Incidents Responsible for death of fifteen-year-old Asylum Seeker
The release of the Quentin Report into the death of Mohammed Reza whilst in police custody in August will make for uncomfortable reading for Eden’s Chief Constable, Michael Spearman. Coming at the end of a year which saw crime figures in the county soar, and the resignation of the Chair of the Eden Police Authority following corruption allegations, the flaws highlighted in the report put the force under serious scrutiny.
The report identifies a number of missed opportunities and failings in the system which is supposed to protect vulnerable young people who are brought into police custody, describing the night of 27 August 2010 as a ‘perfect
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