Crossing The Line Chapter 12 by Angharad Copyright© 2022 Angharad

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(title picture Andrea Piacquadio)

It became obvious to Ben, that Gaby was too distressed to interview, so he agreed with Dave that they would attend the police station as soon as she was up to giving a statement.

Harry was in no such difficulty. He was still flying high from his heroics, and the adrenalin buzz caused by them. Ben took him home, to be interviewed with his parents present. While he bathed in the afterglow of physical action, he had enough savvy to leave his bag at the cottage, which Ben hadn’t noticed.

The interview was brief, he told the story as it happened omitting the crossbow. He told one white lie, when he suggested Gaby used a piece of wood to hit the bloke with the gun. In his mind the crossbow was mainly of wood, so it was being economical with the truth rather than deception. The police were seemingly happy with the capture of the two, not to worry, initially at any rate, about the method. That they had been outshone by two teenagers, was a matter of concern to them, and it seemed they weren’t going to labour the point.

Dave went and dressed, it was still only seven thirty, then relieved Jenny who was nursing Drew on her lap. He accepted the transfer to his father, without a murmur, mainly because he had fallen asleep, a not-uncommon phenomenon after an emotional shock. When Jenny returned, Dave was also dozing with Drew on his lap, still asleep. She decided not to interrupt the sleeping pair and went for some breakfast.

Dave awoke a few minutes later, he looked at the somnolent child on his lap. He felt a confusion. Here, sleeping like a baby and looking like a teenage girl, was his son. Despite appearances, this angelic-looking figure had been out hunting, for a known criminal and possible murderer. How she had succeeded, Dave was yet to learn, but his admiration for his younger child was growing, and sadly so was his confusion.

How could someone who appeared to be comfortable acting like a dolly bird, and a very convincing one, go out hunting like a military patrol? Out on a snatch job – to grab a prisoner or two. The incongruity of the two roles made him wonder where this child’s future lay, and which was the real one, the lion heart or the hot chick? He needed to talk with Jenny, then realised she was possessed of both qualities, a lion-hearted beauty. No wonder he was confused. “If Juliette takes up weightlifting, I’m off!” He thought to himself.

Drew stirred, and opening his eyes, realised where he was. “Daddy, what are you doing here?” he said, rubbing sleep and tears from his eyes.

“Keeping you company, why?” said Dave reassuringly.

“Oh!” said Drew, smiled then yawned, then stretched, then wrapping his arms around Dave’s chest, he snuggled down again. “I’m glad you are.”

“Glad I’m what?” asked Dave, not entirely sure how to deal with this behaviour that struck him as childlike or girllike. So he put his arms around Drew and smiled.

“Glad you’re keeping me company,” purred Drew.

“Oh, that’s what dads do,” said Dave. They sat for a moment or two before he said, “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Do I have to?” said Drew, squeezing tightly against his father’s chest.

“You don’t have to, but you will have to talk to the police. I thought it might be easier telling me first.”

“Nothing much to tell, really. I met up with Harry and we went to see how Meadows could see us but we couldn’t see him. We were walking through a farm when we spotted an old air raid shelter. We looked inside it, and he wasn’t there. Then when we were looking at the view of this place from just outside it, he turned up with some bloke with a shotgun. I knew we were in trouble, so I threw pepper in the one bloke’s face and bashed him when he fell down. I grabbed the gun, I think and Meadows snatched it off me, pushing me down in the process. He was laughing at me until Harry clonked him with his baseball bat. Then we called the police.”

“Did you not think it was a little foolhardy to go looking for trouble, especially as we think he might have already killed one teen?”

“I do now,” said Drew, tears rolling down his cheeks, “but I was so cross that he had attacked me twice, had hurt John and tried to kidnap Jules, and was stopping me from going out on my bike.”

Dave sensed the indignation rising in Drew. He thought it was probably the same sort that caused old ladies to see off burglars, who’d had the effrontery to enter their homes, uninvited.

“Are you still cross with me?” said Drew, in a pathetic, almost little girl voice.

Dave hugged his child, “Not really. Had I known what you were up to, I might have been. But no, I’m not angry with you, scared for you maybe…” Dave paused as he mused on this latter statement.

Drew also pondered, “Why was his dad scared, and for him? Dads are supposed to be brave and fearless, not scared. Maybe it was about Meadows’ reputation. Yeah, that had to be it. Anyway, problem solved. Home and back to boy-land soon, it would be good to get back to normal.”

Dave was thinking, “I’m scared for you, kiddo because whichever way you go when we go home, I can see difficulties of some sort. But whichever way you choose, we’ll all be there with you.” Dave, looked down at his child, and he loved his children, so how could he think any other, but to be with them all the way to wherever they were going?

Drew interrupted his thoughts with a very unladylike burp. “Sorry about that, can we get something to eat, I’m starving.”

Laughing, Dave responded, “I hope you don’t do that in front of your boyfriends, it’ll frighten them to death?” Drew shook his head and laughed as they both went off to the kitchen to get some food. On the way through, Drew noticed Harry’s rucksack, and pushed it behind the sofa, out of harm's way and hopefully avoiding awkward questions.

After some refreshment, Drew excused himself to go and shower and change. Once back in his room, he called Harry. “Hello, it’s Gaby, can I speak to Harry?”

“Gaby Bond, I thought you were a positive influence on him, but now I’m not so sure. For all I know, you could both be charged with assault or grievous bodily harm.”

“Mrs Palmer, he saved my life and helped catch someone who is wanted for the murder of a school kid. I think that outweighs anything negative we did. Harry is the bravest boy I know, you should be very proud of him, I am.” Drew had never realised he could turn on such charm, well he’d never done so as a boy, maybe it was easier as a girl, especially buttering up a son to his mother.

“I am proud of him, young lady, but then I saw these characteristics in him years ago. I suppose it took another woman to help him externalise them, for which I thank you, my dear. Since you’ve been his girlfriend he has grown so much. I hope you’ll keep in touch when you go back to…”

“Warsop,” offered Drew, while thinking, “No way Jose!”

“Exactly, you will promise to keep in touch with him, won’t you, come and visit and things?”

“Of course (not), “ said Drew.

“Hold on, I’ll pass you to Harry.” With that she delivered the phone to her son, who managed to wander off out of earshot.

“I left the bow in the bag at your place. Don’t say anything about it. If they ask you what you hit the bloke with the gun, with, say a piece of wood or something.”

“Yeah, I saw the bag. I’ll hide it better when there’s no one around. Do you think they’d do us for using it?”

“We didn’t actually use it, did we? I mean it went off accidentally when they nearly caught us. But that was one hell of a clonk you gave that bloke, nearly broke his jaw.”

“He was threatening us with a gun,” said Drew defensively.

“Yeah, I know. Anyway, the police say they’re going to be alright, so don’t worry too much. I told the police, I thought they were going to kidnap us and perhaps kill us.”

“They were,” said Drew excitedly, “I mean he’s had two goes at me already.”

“Well then, we acted in self-defence. Keep to our story and we should be laughing."

“But we’re telling the truth, except for the bow.” Drew felt he was at risk of compromising his honesty.

“Course we are, except for the bow. As it wasn’t that important, does it matter?” said Harry.

“Gaby, are you going to be all day in that bathroom?” called Dave up the stairs.

“Gotta go, call ya later.” Drew switched off his phone and then shouted back downstairs, “Be down in ten,” before rushing off to the bathroom and the fastest shower on record.

He dressed as smartly as he could without being over the top, in a broderie anglaise top and blue flowery skirt with sandals. He did a quick light makeup some eyeliner and mascara and lip gloss, when Maddy appeared and offered to help with his hair. He accepted the offer, and she quickly dried it and styled it into a short pageboy, turning the ends under. “Your hair is getting quite long.”

“Yeah, I know. Once we get home I’ll get Sylvie to chop it all off,” said Drew.

“Oh!” said Maddy, “Is that wise?”

“What do you mean? I’m going to recapture my life as a boy, believe it or not.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” said Maddy, crossing her fingers behind her back, “I wondered about if we had to come back here for the inquest or a court case.”

“Oh shit!” exclaimed Drew, I’d forgotten about that. How long do these things go on?”

“Dunno,” said Maddy, “years I think.”

“What! I can’t stay like this for any longer, or I’m gonna forget how to be a boy. Surely, it can’t go on that long, can it?” He said in a voice verging on hysteria. Maddy shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ll ask the police, they might know.”

“Be careful you don’t give the game away,” cautioned Maddy.

“What about the bow? I won’t.” said Drew not realising what he had said.

“What bow?” asked Maddy, this was news to her.

Drew blushed and looking at his cousin in the mirror, as she stood behind him, he said, “Oh nothing, I was making it up.”

“Gaby Bond, you were not, now spill the beans…” said Maddy sternly.

“Gabs come on,” called Dave from downstairs.

“Sorry, gotta go,” smiled Drew and rushed down the stairs, while Maddy hissed at his back.

Dave and Jenny were waiting for him by the door, “You look very nice,” said Dave, something he’d never have said to Drew. Usually, the only comments he made about Drew’s dress sense, were, “You’re not going out in that, are you? Or, when was that last washed?”

Jenny noticed this interplay of father-daughter stuff and wondered where it would lead. On one hand, she was pleased that Dave had made some sort of quantum leap in coping with a second daughter, but then was that encouraging Drew to remain as a girl? If it was what he wanted, she had no problem with it, but what if it wasn’t? Would Dave have more problems, and what about Juliette? How did she feel about having a brother/sister business? Jenny shuddered, then followed Dave and Drew to the car. Once they had finished at the cop shop, they were going to meet up with Carol and the two girls in Dorchester.

The interview was a formality, the CID sergeant and Ben sat in on it. It was recorded on tape and Drew answered the questions. At one point he relived the confrontation, and re-entered the shock, he began to shake violently and became tearful. The interview was stopped and they all had a cuppa. When he’d calmed down, they resumed but were easier on the fine detail.

When it was finished, the detective sergeant said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do with you. We asked you not to get involved, but you did, then you catch public enemy number one, practically single-handed. I have to take my hat off to you, young lady, you’re not short of guts. But courage alone is not enough, you need to develop some judgment too. I saw some video of you racing, I’m no expert, but you looked pretty damn good to me. I could see you weren’t short of courage then, but you have to use this as well, to win races.” He tapped his temple. “I’m sure your mum knows all about that, races are won in the mind. So promise me, you’ll leave crime fighting to the professionals, or to Batman and Robin.” He patted Drew affectionately on the head. Drew not wanting to stay a moment longer, agreed and started to move towards the door.

“Will she be needed in any subsequent trial?” asked Jenny.

“I don’t know. If they plead guilty, maybe not. We’ll be in touch anyway.”

“When will we know ?” asked Drew, thinking how much longer he’d have to stay in Gaby mode.

“I couldn’t say. We make up a case and send it to the Crown Prosecution Service, they decide everything afterward. But if you are called as a witness you will have to attend.”

“But she’ll be in school, maybe even exams,” protested Jenny.

“Sorry, if she’s a material witness, she should attend.”

“What if I’m racing?” thought Drew, “Oh bummer!”

While the Bonds were at the police station, Harry had sneaked up to the farm with William. The latter was lost in admiration for his friend and wanted to see the site of the famous battle. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to see the tree Gaby had shot the bolt into, and if possible reclaim his property, even though it might be construed as interfering with a crime scene. Instead of going up the path and through the farm yard, they sneaked over the fields and Harry found his missing bolt, which he retrieved and rubbed some dirt into the fresh hole it left in the bark. He set off home feeling somewhat relieved.

The Bond family left the police station and drove up to Dorchester to meet with Carol and the girls. The latter had caught the bus, while Dave drove Carol’s car. They met up in a coffee shop at Napper’s Mite, and had a drink and a snack. Carol reported that the garage had arrived to collect Dave’s car and that he should phone mid-afternoon to check it was ready.

“If I’d had my tool set with me, I’d have done it myself,” bemoaned Dave, “Two hundred quid, they want. It’s bloody robbery. At least Dick Turpin had the courtesy to wear a mask!”

“He got that from a Carry-On film, “ whispered Drew to Maddy, who giggled and then felt embarrassed when Dave fixed her with a stare that said, “I don’t think it’s very funny.” Of course when one succumbs to giggles, being told to stop makes things worse, which was what happened. Giggles are also more infectious than smallpox and Drew caught them next, followed by Jules and eventually even Jenny and Carol, neither of whom, knew about what they were laughing.

At this stage, one of two things was going to happen; Dave was going to go off on one, or he was going to catch the giggles too. Fortunately, he began to laugh and they all laughed again. Passers-by probably thought they had just escaped from an asylum or were drunk, but by this stage, none of them could care. Drew and Maddy had to rush off to the toilet, making it in the nick of time, while the others eventually calmed down, the odd, ripple occurring for a few minutes after, like aftershocks post-earthquake.

In the toilets, Maddy grabbed Drew and hissed, “Now what’s this about a bow?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Drew hissed back.

“You better had!” snapped Maddy. Then they returned to the rest of the group.

“Have you got your mobile Dre…Gaby?” asked Dave, blushing as he stumbled over the name.

“Yes, do you want it?” asked the wunderkind.

“Not for the moment, but I’ll need to call the garage later.” Drew nodded his understanding of this last statement. “Right what are we going to do?” asked Dave.

“Shopping!” squealed Maddy and Jules, at which Dave groaned.

“I hope you’ve got some money,” he said back to the girls, they both nodded. “Do you want to go with them?” he asked Drew, who shook his head. “I think I’m going to take a wander around Dorchester, so do you want to come with me?” Drew nodded emphatically. Dave looked at his watch, “See you in two hours?” Everyone agreed, and he and Drew set off to the Roman townhouse.

The Roman townhouse is in the grounds of County Hall, which was built on the site of a large private house. Basically, it is the remains of floors and some walls, showing the floor plan of the building. In recent years, the area has been covered with a Perspex and metal frame to protect it, yet enable viewing of the mosaic floors and remnants of the walls. In some place, the hypocaust is visible, a form of underfloor heating.

“You know, more of this is visible than when I came here during my student days,” said Dave, “I think this structure is very good, don’t you? Contemporary yet blending in with the Roman stuff.”

“Oh yes,” said Drew, “absolutely.” He hadn’t really listened to a word. He could appreciate on a limited scale, ancient bits and pieces, but in his opinion, Dave was too fond of old crap. The older and crappier, the more Dave seemed to like it. But, being here with his father, having some time together, was good. So, if being a little bored with ancient remains, was the sacrifice for this time, he was happy to make it.

“Has work given you time off, or are they making you take your holidays?” asked Drew of his dad. It had suddenly occurred that they were doing things like they did on holiday.

“They told me to take holidays or unpaid leave. It was no contest, we need the money, so this is my holiday.” Dave suddenly put his arm around Drew and gave him a partial hug. Suddenly, his child was growing up, being aware that there were others in this world. “Why did you ask?”

“I just wondered,” said Drew, deciding that he would prefer to be out on his bike, but his dad was making a large sacrifice in losing his holiday, he would try to make it as enjoyable as possible for his dad. “Is there anywhere else you want to go?” He asked as Dave took some more photos of the mosaics.

“Down the road is a bit of the town wall, and we could always pop into the museum. If that’s okay with you?” asked Dave.

“Yeah, course it is,” said Drew, resignedly, so they did. The town wall is a small piece of Romano-British stonework, which is behind metal railings. Unless one is turned on by such things, it is rather unimpressive.

The museum is much better entertainment, and Dave spent a good hour, trying to see all the historical exhibits, of which there are many. Then he dragged Drew off the car park under the Waitrose supermarket, to see the post holes from the remains of an ancient Neolithic henge monument. The diameter would have been over a hundred feet, and the holes found when they excavated the site have been preserved in the concrete base of the car park, by covering them with orange coloured discs, Dave was really interested in this and kept walking back and forth, trying to photograph as many of them as he could. Sadly the cars got in the way, so his attempt was unsuccessful.

On the way to meet up with the shoppers, Dave bought Drew a chocolate bar as a reward for putting up with his archaeologising. While Drew ate it, Dave called the garage, his car was ready. “Thanks, son,” he said giving Drew back the phone, then he blushed and said, “Sorry about that, old habits… you know.”

Drew put his arm around his father’s waist in a proprietorial way, and smiled as he looked up at his father’s red face, “That’s okay, Daddy, it’s what I am really, anyway.“

Dave reciprocated by wrapping his arm around Drew’s shoulder, and they walked like this until they met the others outside Marks & Spencers. Each group waved to the other and smiled. However, Jules wasn’t sure how she felt. Drew got lots of attention with his bike racing, but that was father-son stuff. Now he was also queering her pitch with this father-daughter stuff. She didn’t quite know how she felt, except uncomfortable. She might need to have a talk with Gaby, and lay down some ground rules.