“Elliot?” Jessica said. “Are you okay?”
Her concern was evident, and she tried to pull him towards the door in the corner of the churchyard, but Elliot was transfixed.
Not tonight of all nights. Had it been eleven years already? How dare this man come back into his life? Ben was watching them from the mouth of the alleyway that ran between the old Mitre building and the parade of shops along the west of Turl Street. He looked as though he was enjoying the dismay his reappearance had caused.
Elliot had never visited him, nor opened a single one of the weekly letters he’d written. Instead, he’d spent years in therapy trying to come to terms with the wreckage of Benjamin Elmys. This man might have murdered his parents, and as he’d matured from child into man, Elliot had promised himself he would find the truth one day. He felt years of suppressed anger rise within him and realized today might be that day.
“Elliot?” Jessica asked again.
“Why don’t you go to your room? I’ll meet you there in a few minutes. There’s something I have to do,” he replied, and he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
She looked completely baffled, but he didn’t know how to explain it. The loss of his parents hung over him every day, their ungiven love, their unlived lives haunting him. He still wore his mother’s necklace, a circular silver pendant with an embossed relief of a half-moon and a cluster of stars above the word Beth. When all other memory was faded, he would always recall the feeling of his father’s embrace the night he’d given it to him. If this was an opportunity to avenge his parents, he would not pass it up. He ran along the path towards the fence, and when he glanced over his shoulder, Jessica was watching him in total bemusement.
His mind wasn’t on her anymore. He was fixed on Benjamin Elmys, the man who’d once held himself out as some kind of surrogate father, the man who’d filled Elliot’s head with mad imaginings. Ben simply stared at him, and there was something about the impassive gaze that made Elliot hate him even more. As he clambered over the fence, Elliot saw Ben Elmys turn and head into the alley.
“Hey!” he yelled. “Stop!”
Elliot dropped onto the road. He sprinted down the alley and went through a patch of total darkness before emerging into a service area that contained a few bins. The foul-smelling space was a dead end apart from a fire door that led to one of the neighboring pubs. Elliot tried the door, but it was locked. He kicked it in frustration. Ben must have had his escape route planned. His intention was clear. All he’d wanted to do was show up and give Elliot a sinister message: I’m back in your life.
Evil bastard, Elliot thought. One day you’ll pay.
Frustrated and angry, Elliot walked back up the alley onto Turl Street. He looked at the churchyard and saw it was empty. Jessica had gone. He would find her and try to explain.
He jogged along the street to the main gate and stepped into the lodge. He nodded at Dean, the night porter, who was watching a TV show in the small office. Elliot walked through the post room, which was lined with hundreds of pigeonholes, and when he glanced at his own, he saw something inside it.
He reached for the solitary envelope and pulled it out to see his name typed on the front. He didn’t need to open it to know who it was from.
He went to the porter’s window and gently tapped on the glass. Dean turned the volume down on his iPad.
“Sorry to disturb you, Dean, but did you see the man who delivered this?” Elliot asked.
“No, sir. Must have come before my shift,” Dean replied. “Sorry, Mr. Asha.”
“Thanks.”
Dean closed the window and returned to his TV show, and Elliot stepped away from the counter and opened the envelope. Inside there was a typewritten message.
If you’d read my letters, you’d know it’s time. The past has caught up with you. Your future is fated.
Beneath the message was one of Ben’s poems.
If it’s in your mind, it’s in your heart
You see it, hear it, own it
That dream again, the one where you’re dying
To be reborn, renewed, refreshed
The other side of night
Returning from elsewhere
To what will be, beginnings, endings
Come to us all, a tree from earth, a seed from sky
Rising
Falling
On and on
That dream
Again
Elliot leaned against the ancient stone wall. He felt nauseous and realized his hands were trembling. This man. This evil man, who’d done so much harm, had now targeted him. Elliot’s mind raced and painful memories collided with frightful imaginings.
Elliot staggered out of the lodge and up Turl Street towards his room on Bear Lane. He felt sick, tired, and alone.
He never did go to Jessica’s room.