Read Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One for Free Online

head. He handed me an old mobile that felt warm and sticky
in my hand. It worked and after three double rings a soft voice
answered, “Hello.”
    “ Mum?”
    My throat was dry -
my voice was croaky.
    “ Why didn’t you call
me on Wednesday?”
    “ How are you, Mum?
How’s the weather?”
    “ Never mind the
bloody weather. What’s going on? Why didn’t you call?”
    “ I’m
sorry.”
    “ You sound funny. Is
everything okay?”
    “ No Mum, it’s not.
I’m in trouble.”
    “ What
happened?”
    “ How’s Dad? Is he
there?”
    “ No. He’s at
work.”
    “ I’ve been
arrested.”
    “ Arrested! Arrested
for what?”
    “ It doesn’t matter. I
didn’t do it. It’s a scam.”
    “ What were you
arrested for?”
    “ I didn’t do it,
Mum.”
    “ Michael!”
    I paused then the
words finally slipped out. “…For beating and raping an underage
girl.”
    She didn’t speak. I
could still hear her breathing heavily down the phone.
    “ Mum?”
    “ Is this a joke? I
don’t get it - it’s not funny.”
    “ It’s not a joke
Mum.’
    “ You would never do
such a thing. I raised you better than that.”
    “ Of course I didn’t
and you know I never lie.”
    “ Well then, what
happened?”
    Her voice was not her
own - neither was mine. I could sense a high level of anxiety in
her voice and knew it would only get worse if I didn’t explain. So
I told her of how I’d sketched working girls, how one had framed
me, possibly drugged me, and the mess I was in. Then, when I told
her of my decision not to plead guilty and
not pay what amounted to a bribe, she predictably hit the roof.
“You have to pay!”
    “ I have to do what I
feel is right.”
    “ This is not right,
Michael.”
    “ They can only hold
me for twelve days. Then they have to charge me with a crime or let
me go.”
    “ What if they do
charge you?”
    “ The evidence they
have is fabricated.”
    “ I’m calling your
father. He’ll come over and you do what he tells you, you
hear?”
    ‘ Bald Guard’ tapped
on his watch.
    “ I have to go,
Mum.”
    “ Hang in there. Dad’s
coming.”
    ‘ Bald Guard’ snatched
the phone from my hand and hung it up. As I was escorted back to my
cell, I could still hear her worried voice in my head.
    “ Who’d you speak to?” John asked.
    “ My mum.”
    “ How was
she?”
    “ Shocked, upset I
hadn’t taken the deal.”
    “ So your dad will
come and pay you out.”
    “ Probably, but I want
to do the twelve days.”
    “ He won’t let
you.”
    “ I’ll tell him it’s
the right thing to do.”
    “ I’m sure he’s not as
stubborn as you. The police captain framed you and put you in here
- let it go. You can’t beat him. You put yourself through all this,
for what?”
    “ I need to show him
that he can’t get away with it. He can’t continue this
scam.”
    “ Why you?”
    “ I don’t know. It
just feels right.”
    “ I don’t understand
you. Is this a British thing, something about pride?”
    “ It’s a bit of that
and I don’t want anybody back home even thinking I could do such a
thing.”
    “ Surely they wouldn’t
believe it.”
    “ Who knows? I was
sketching prostitutes. If I pleaded guilty, they may believe that I
was.”
    “ It’s your journey
mate.”
    John left me alone. I
allowed my thoughts to run freely and my father popped into my
head. Mum must have called him by now and asked him to come home. I
dreaded to think how he’d react when he’d heard the
news.
     

 
    SEVEN
    STAN TRIGGERED the electric gate by remote then drove up the
impressive U-shaped drive. He parked outside his detached country
house, turned off the engine of his Bentley and climbed out. The
pollen in the air tickled his nostrils as he stepped over to the
house. He entered through the double oak doors and found his wife
in the kitchen, staring into space.
    He took a seat by her
side. “What’s going on?”
    She looked over at
him but didn’t speak.
    “ I can’t help you if
you don’t tell