Chapter Forty Eight
Commuters with magazines and packets of crisps ran past the window where Johnny sat on the Edinburgh train in Aberdeen Railway Station. He had just flown up from Heathrow and was now on the last leg of his journey from Washington.
Four men sat around a table which was littered with cans of beer and spoke about what they would do on their time off from the oil rig they had flown in from.
There was the sound of the doors closing and whistles blowing and then the train began its journey south. Johnny sat back and gazed at the sky. Rays of sunlight shone through holes in the dark clouds.
Back home, in Arbroath, Johnny checked into a guest house in Old Shore Head, which advertised sea views. He threw his bags on the bed and pulled out his mobile.
“Sue–its Johnny.”
“Johnny! You’re back.”
“I was wondering, can I pick up Caitlin from school tomorrow and take her to McDonalds or something?”
“Sure, that’ll be okay; I’ll phone the school.
“Okay, thanks.”
He took his clothes off and climbed into the bed. He felt exhausted and there was a lot to do the next day.
The following morning after he saw his solicitor, Johnny went to the police station and asked to see DS Mitchell.
“Mr Duncan?” said Dave Mitchell, as he opened the door to where Johnny sat.
“DS Mitchell, it’s good to see you.”
“Likewise. Come through.”
They sat in the office which Dave shared with DC McAllister, who was out on a case.
“The case you're involved in, it's been dropped. The Home Office asked us to shelve it; would you believe!”
“Well, yes I would,” said Johnny, and he told the policeman what had happened to him–well most of it! “So you see Sergeant it would have come from the CIA.”
“That’s some story, but I’m glad to see you’re alive and well.”
“Goodbye Sergeant,” said Johnny, as he stood up and shook hands with the man.
Caitlin ran out of Hayshead Primary School into her father's arms. “Dad!”
“Baby!” Johnny shouted.
“Mum said you would take me to McDonalds?”
“Sure–let’s go.”
The restaurant was full of kids being treated by grateful parents: grateful in the sense they wouldn't need to stand in front of a cooker.
“Where’s Veronica Dad?” Caitlin asked, as she grabbed a packet of fries from a red, plastic tray, which Johnny had placed on the table where she sat.
He sat opposite her. “I've something sad to tell you baby.”
Johnny told her about Erin and his adventures in America. “So listen Caitlin, I want you to be a big girl now, because I’m going to be with Erin.”
“What? Oh no, dad!”
“You know where I’m going, and you can come and see me anytime. All you have to do is contact this man, with Mum or Auntie Gemma of course.” He gave her Keith Moncliffe’s business card.
She threw down her fries and put her face on the fist of her upright left arm and stared out of the window.
He gazed at her sympathetically. “I wish it were different, but it has to be this way because of a deal I made. At least we still get to see each other.”
“Well I suppose,” she said slowly while taking her face off her fist.
“I want you to do what your mum tells you and tell Brad that I love him.”
That night Johnny lay down on his bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep. He dreamt of rising through the air towards, and then through, the clouds. As he headed toward the twinkling stars, he looked back and saw four angels with small, delicate wings approach and overtake him. They guided him up until he could see a mass of white cloud.
The angels flew up above the large, puffy ball with Johnny following and hovered for a while which allowed Johnny to see the white spires, which protruded through a wide hole in the clouds.
He felt himself descend and, within the blink of an eye, he was standing by one of the gleaming spires. He looked around, but the angels had gone. Johnny entered the spire, but it was empty. He ran over to another and looked inside, but it was also empty. He looked in another and another, but the result was the same.
After a while he stood outside a tower and looked despondently at the ground when a soft voice asked: “You looking for me, mister?”
He looked up and smiled. “Erin!”
Her hair was longer than he remembered maybe it was because it wasn’t tied back. She wore a long, pink gown. He ran up to her and they embraced. Johnny felt happier than he had ever done.
A short distance away a small girl in a cream dress hummed while she tended to her plants in the garden under a violet sky.