Julie put both hands on her face, pulling her round to look into her eyes.
“No, Shereen, stop that! Don’t think like that! Revenge is a dead-end street; the punishment he’s living now, a cell deep underground for the rest of his life, that’s enough, that’s a death sentence for a man like Brian Davis. Don’t be like him; if you let him in, you become like him, and he’s won; don’t give him that! He’s a killer, and he deserves his punishment, but don’t be so ready to take a life; that’s what he did, and now look where he is. Let the system punish him, he’s earned it!”
Shari stared defiantly at Julia, her eyes hard and unforgiving, then suddenly her face crumpled and two big tears ran down her cheeks. Julia pulled her close, holding her against her shoulder as she sobbed silently. I went to take her, but Nicky put his hand on my arm.
“No Bobby, let mum handle it, she knows what she’s doing!”
David had been on the phone while Julia spoke with Shari; now it was his turn to smile grimly.
“I just spoke with Special Agent Mike Walker of the FBI, he’s asked me to bring that document in immediately, and the two witnesses, so Yasmin, Shereen, when you’re ready, if you would please come with me, we’re going to the FBI building. The rest of you, please carry on with your lunch, the ladies and I won’t be too long.”
Shari was looking apprehensive, so pulled her a little closer and hugged her.
“Bobby, it’s the FBI, what if they…”
I cut her off.
“Just tell them the truth, baby-girl, that everything in that affidavit is the truth, that you witnessed dad telling your mother about what he’d done, and you saw him do some of the stuff in there, both of you did. Dr. Nixon thinks they’ll be able to do something, just trust him… I do.”
Nicky leaned across the table and put his hand over hers.
“Listen to Bobby, he’s telling the truth; we got that bastard once, this is the way to make him pay for everything else he’s done to all of us. Go and make your statement, you’ll be OK, Mike Walker’s a nice guy, he helped put Brian Davis away before, maybe this time, with his help, we can find a way to really make him pay for what he did!”
Yaz stood up and held out her hand to Shari, who leaned down and kissed me, then squared her shoulders. Ashley stood up and hugged her, and I heard her whisper “Just tell him everything, Shari, don’t leave anything out; perhaps this time round they’ll make him pay for what he did to all of us. Don’t be frightened, dad will be there, he’ll take care of you!”
As the three of them walked toward the exit, I saw Doctor Nixon slip his arms around the girls’ shoulders in a comforting gesture, the gesture of a father reassuring his daughters. Both girls in return slipped their arms around his waist, holding themselves against him as they walked out to the lobby. Julia grinned as she pointed at the trio with her chin.
“Look, I think we just acquired a couple more kids!”
Conversation now moved on to us, to our lives and what we were doing. I was still unsure how to deal with Nicky’s mother; she had every reason in the world to despise us for what we’d allowed to happen to her son, although she was never less than gracious and friendly. I kept stumbling over what to call her; “Julia” seemed inappropriately familiar, “Mrs. Nixon” seemed cold and formal given her connection to our big brother, and “Nicky’s Mum” just seemed childish. Julia seemed to understand how I was floundering a bit when it came to her, so she decided to give me an out.
“Bobby, it’s okay to call me Julia, I don’t mind, really!”
I mumbled something about how it seemed a little rude and too familiar, making her grin, looking uncannily like Nicky for a split second.
“Alright, then let’s try something else; long ago, Nicky told me all about you, both of you, and then last night he told me how it’s been for you since he left. I understand how things can change, and I know from talking to all of you last night just how much has changed for you; sometimes, when the scales fall from your eyes, the world you see around you really is new, and a new world means new opportunities… and sometimes, second chances.”
She paused to push the hair back from my eyes, something Shari was perpetually doing.
“I know how you were brought up, and I don’t hold it against you, you didn’t know any better, but there was one thing missing from your life that Nicky had in abundance; he had Barbara to be his mother, and she kept him safe and made him who he is, and I will always love her for that. You and Rick, you had no-one like that, and my heart breaks for you; Shari and Yasmin had their mother all their lives, they only lost her a little while ago, poor things, but you never had anyone, so maybe, if you want to, you can share me with Nicky? Your sisters seem to have adopted David, if you want, you can adopt me; I don’t think Nicky and Ashley will mind sharing me!”
I was dumbstruck; I’d never heard such a preposterous, lunatic, unrealistic… and wonderful thing in my life. I looked at Rick, looking for some sort of guidance, something to tell me how to respond. Rick must have got it immediately, because he was grinning and nodding.
“Say yes, Bobby, you need this! I got to share Yaz’s mum for two years, and it was the best time of my life; whatever I am now, she showed me how to get here, so give yourself a chance, big feller, you might even like it!”
Julia took my hand and smiled at my expression.
“It’s alright, Bobby, really, there’s no catch. Maybe you need to call someone ‘mum’; God knows, you never had the chance before. You gave your mother to Nicky, I think it’s only fair he shares his with you, isn’t that right baby?”
Nicky leaned over and slapped me on the shoulder.
“Go with it Bobby; she’s won, you know you want to!”
I drew a deep breath, scared and apprehensive for probably the first time in my life, but Rick and Nicky both smiled and nodded, as did Ashley, so I took the plunge.
“You really don’t mind if I… call you mum, even after what I did?”
Julia (mum!) smiled as she once again swiped that fringe of hair out of my eyes.
“Bobby, you’re my son’s little brother; whatever went on in the past, you’re still his family, so that makes you part of my family too. Besides, Rachel’s all excited because suddenly she’s got two new big brothers; all she did this morning was talk about Bobby, Bobby, Bobby, you may never get her to leave you alone! Judy and Leon had to take her and Barbara to the play center in Rotterdam otherwise she’d be here climbing all over the pair of you, so I think I’ll go with her instincts!”
I didn’t know what to say, I was still almost in shock, but the good kind; Nicky’s mum was being kind to me, and she’d let me into her family, Rick and me; this was how the world changed, a little at a time, but a profound change for me. I had to say something.
“Thank you… mum, I won’t let you down, I promise!”
My new mother grinned at me, and squeezed my arm.
“OK, that’s all settled, now let’s have some lunch!”
*
Doctor Nixon and the girls never made it back for lunch, so the five of us made our way back up to my suite to wait for them. Mum (and I was still trying that word out for size!) looked through the photo album, her eyes brimming as she looked at pictures of the young Nicky the way she should be remembering him, anger sizzling in me that his childhood had been stolen from her. Her attention switched from the pictures of Nicky to those of Barbara, and a copy of the framed picture we had at home. Her eyes flicked from the photo to Rick and me and back again, comparing our features, obviously seeing our mother in us.
“She was beautiful…” she softly observed, and Nicky nodded slowly.
“Yes, she was, she was so beautiful…” he whispered, and my heart broke for him at the raw pain and loss still apparent in his eyes, his voice. Mum caught the look, the tremor in his voice, and pulled him closer.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll fix this; all my boys are here, together they’ll fix this once and for all, just have faith, baby, that’s what your dad’s always telling you, trust the system, it usually works!”
Ashley stood behind his chair and hugged him, her lips level with his ear.
“Mom’s right, baby, let the law take care of that lunatic. He’s already been kennelled, maybe this time we’ve got enough to drag him in front of a judge and drive home that he never got away with anything. You said it once, baby; ‘the mills of God grind slowly’, let them grind him fine and scatter the pieces, and that will be an end to it. Last time was payback, now perhaps we’ll see some real justice.”
*
It was late afternoon before the girls and Nick’s step-father arrived back at the suite. They were cautiously optimistic, especially since one of the FBI’s legal experts had gone over the document, and taken fresh statements from both girls. In his opinion, Barbara’s alleged murder was connected to the crimes my father had already been convicted of, committed in order to prevent her reporting him to the authorities. With new evidence now come to light, and with the Justice Department agreeing that the affidavit amounted to a “Dying Declaration” made by Shari’s mother, the State Department was considering requesting that the UK Home Office either provide a complete forensic report of the investigation into her death and any DNA results obtained from the “suicide” scene, together with the post-mortem examination report, or turn over all remaining physical evidence to the Federal Prosecutor’s office for them to start their own investigation.