The Jagged Scar: An edge-of-the-seat noir thriller with a killer twist by Nick Rippington

Author:Nick Rippington [Rippington, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cabrilon Books
Published: 2024-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

25

‘IT'S BEEN EXACTLY two years now…shouldn’t we start another appeal? I mean, you haven’t heard anything in that time have you, Ose, butt? No clues as to their whereabouts? What about the police? Are they still looking? You’d tell me if…’

‘Of course, I’d tell you, Aaron mun!’ Osean’s face became animated, his complexion red. He could exhibit a detached coolness with most people on parents’ night, but when it came to Aaron Ellis, it was impossible. Osean was a big man, but Ellis towered above him, his muscles bulging beneath his shirt sleeves. The father of Marc and Kerry Ellis worked in a steel foundry in Port Talbot – Swansea’s unfashionable neighbour – and Osean could only imagine the kind of heavy lifting the job entailed. In his spare time, Aaron was a key forward in the Croesybont first XV and was often seen holding court in the clubhouse. It was common knowledge that he’d been a useful back row with Pontypool in his younger days and even earned a call up to a couple of Wales training sessions before injury halted his progress – a metal bar falling from a crane at work and striking his right leg.

The damage to his knee was so bad, doctors feared he would never play again, but Aaron was made of sterner stuff. His Wales ambitions might have been crushed, but he was determined to play his beloved rugby and went through the rehabilitation process from hell in order to resume the game at club level.

‘It’s gutting,’ he said, leaning towards Osean with his elbows on his thighs. ‘Marc had everything he could have wanted at home. I never put pressure on him to do anything – not like other people who demand their offspring follow the path they’ve selected. I pledged when Ruby died I would let him and his sister plough their own furrow, and I was true to my word until…’

‘Don’t torture yourself, Aaron,’ said Osean. ‘Thousands of kids like Marc run away from home every year. He was at that age where he thought, rightly or wrongly, that he could do better if he branched out on his own. He obviously needed a bit of adventure injected into his life. Losing your mother is tough at a young age. You don’t know how a person will react. He’s a sensible kid, though. I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything silly.’

‘He’s a very shy boy, though,’ said Aaron. ‘He wouldn’t say boo to a goose, mun, you know that. There’s always someone going to take advantage of a trusting, gentle nature like that. Now, our Kerry, that’s a different kettle of fish…’

‘And Kerry is why we’re here,’ said Osean, seizing on an opportunity to change the subject. ‘You are here to discuss her progress with her form tutor and teachers.’

‘Is there a problem?’

‘Not really,’ said Osean, his expression hinting at something different. ‘She’s a very popular girl.’

‘You mean with the boys, don’t you?’ said Aaron. ‘It’s difficult, for both of us. She’s growing up and changing, physically and mentally.

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