The Forgotten Sin (Purifiers Book 1) (8 page)

           
"Lord Baddesley is one of England’s richest man... a tough business man and..."
Father Benjamin started to explain.

           
"And he hated poor people... oh, and a complete basta..." Jung interrupted but was
cut off by Father Benjamin who covered Jung’s mouth with his hand.

           
"Not in front of Iliana please."

Jung bit his lower lip as he groaned under his breath.

           
"Lord Baddesley had always had issues with the poorer side, even when his wife
was still alive... Lady Baddesley was the complete opposite. She loved helping people and
giving money... much to Lord Baddesley’s disgust... although he did not stop her." Father
Benjamin explained. "Then one day... with the reluctant acceptance from the Mayor... Lord
Baddesley decided to build new clubs, restaurants, hotels, etcetera on the other side of the
city. Of course a handful of people and plus the Mayor disagreed with it. But no one could
do nothing as he found himself a new and brilliant lawyer... from Jane D’Coye."

           
"Mother!..." Iliana said. "Mother’s boss is Lord Baddesley?"

           
"Yes... your Mother fought for him on all legal grounds, so no one could stop him.
So a group of town people decided to give Lord Baddesley a scare in his own home. One
night Lady Baddesley and their son was out for dinner and Lord Baddesley was at home
alone. The town folks threw large stones through the windows. They also set light to
scrunched up paper bags and threw into the windows too. They graffiti on the walls of his
mansion until suddenly half the house was in flames."

           
 "But when a black Jaguar drove into the driveway and Lord Baddesley came out
from it... hell broke lose!" Jung added.

           
"Wait... I thought you said Lord Baddesley was at home?" Iliana questioned thinking
she might have heard it wrong.

           
"Everyone thought that too... but Lady Baddesley decided to stay home at the last
minute and their son accompanied her. So Lord Baddesley attended the dinner alone."
Father Benjamin explained. "He ran into the burning mansion... then ten minutes later when
the fire brigade arrived he came out dragging his unconscious son and Lady Baddesley who
was already dead."

           
"I had to help with the investigation... and we found out that the people happened to
throw the stones and flaming paper bags into the windows of the library. That’s why the
fire got so out of control. The son was hit unconscious by one of the stones and ended up in
a coma for over a month, and Lord Baddesley well... he went and sued the people involved
for all the money they had before they all went to prison. And three weeks later were
slaughtered in their prison cells after all having suffered major mental issues." Jung
reported. "It was totally the weirdest case I had ever had... and it all happened in less than
two months. After which Lord Baddesley had already started the renovation of the whole
city, making one side of the city filthy rich and other side a ghost town."

           
"Whoa!... What a story... What happened to the son?" Iliana said.

           
"He woke up from his coma, then transferred to the London Academy and hasn’t
returned since." Jung answered.

                      
Whilst sitting in the passengers seat of Jung’s Mini Cooper with him behind
the wheel and Kazuki in the back seat, Iliana’s mind was swimming with the story of Lord
Baddesley and his family. It was when Father Benjamin flashed his lights behind them
before turning into a different road Iliana remembered the man dressed in black. She
wanted to tell Father Benjamin when he questioned her earlier and in fact felt quite guilty
for not, but she needed more information on the ninja like man.

           
It was Jung who decided to give both Iliana and Kazuki a lift back home to Primrose
Bay. The fifteen minute journey seemed longer than usual, Iliana thought. Maybe it was
because no one breathed a word in the car, everyone’s mind was pre-occupied. It was only
when Kazuki opened his door whilst Jung was still driving and all the lights and alarms
went off, luckily he was driving the thirty mile an hour speed limit on that road.

           
"Jeez Kazuki!... What the hell...?" Jung cried out after slamming his foot on the
brakes.

           
"You passed my street!" Kazuki bluntly said undoing his seat belt.

           
"There’s no need to just open the door whilst I’m driving... you nearly gave me a
heart attack!"

           
"You do worry me at times... a man from the police department who is
absentminded when driving!" Kazuki remarked.

Jung pulled down his seat belt so he was able to twist round to look at him.

           
"I am not absentminded!" He snapped.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow.

           
"Every time you give me a lift you always pass my street... Either because you talk
too much or you’re in your own little world... And you know it yourself... you are a dozy
driver!"

Jung pressed his lips tightly together as if he knew Kazuki was right and could not come up
with a good comeback. Shaking his head Kazuki got out the car before slamming the door
shut, and as he walked away from the car at the corner of his mouth there was a small grin.

           
"It annoys me when he’s always right." Jung said sighing as he turned back round
and slumped in his chair.

           
"He annoys me, full stop!" Iliana exclaimed firmly.

Jung laughed out quite loudly.

           
"Yeah... I figured that... But you know... once you get to know him you’ll see his
softer side and you might catch a nice smile."

           
"You are not saying that way down deep, deep, deep inside his dark and cold heart
there is warm light are you?" Iliana joked sarcastically.

Jung again laughed out literally throwing his head back into the headrest of his seat.

           
"You do make me laugh... if I didn’t have my Caitlyn I’d ask you on a date." He
snorted in between his fits of laughter.

Assuming that Caitlyn was Jung’s girlfriend Iliana smiled and watched him as he recovered
from laughing so hard before she added.

           
"Anyway... I have actually seen him smile once earlier today."

Jung looked at her surprised.

           
"Really?... Now, that is shocking... things are looking up." He said then added when
he saw Iliana look at him confused. "Don’t worry."

           
"Oh... okay." Iliana said not knowing what he meant. "I will walk from here to my
house."

           
"Eh... don’t be silly... I will drive you if you remind me where your house is... and I
promise I won’t drive pass it." Jung said crossing his middle finger over his index finger.

Iliana pointed to the next road from Kazuki’s.

           
"It is down that road... I actually did not realise that I lived the next block from
Kazuki... how unfortunate am I!" She sarcastically pointed out.

Jung smiled.

           
As Iliana approached the iron gates to her house she turned round and waved at Jung
who was adamant that he would not drive off until he saw her walk into the gates of her
house. Iliana then noticed the gates was open.

           
‘I am sure I closed that before I left... unless...’
Iliana said to herself.

She looked up into the driveway and saw the Jaguar car parked up in front of the house.
Iliana heard Jung drive away as she slipped through the open gates, and as she approached
the house Mother came out from the front door and jumped.

           
"Holy monkeys Iliana!... You nearly scared me to death!... How long have you been
standing there?" Mother gasped slapping her hand over her chest.

           
"Not very long!... Sorry, I did not mean to startle you!" Iliana apologised.

           
"Well... I was not expecting you home so soon... I thought you would stay at your
friend’s house for the night!"

           
"I felt a little tired today so I did not have intentions of staying for long." Iliana
responded hoping Mother would see through her little white lie.

Luckily Mother was only half listening as she made her way down the steps and opened the
boot of the car revealing dozens of shopping bags.

           
"Actually I was going to give this to you in the morning but whilst you are here... I
have something for you." Mother announced scrambling through the bags until she found a
large white box with a purple bow attached to the front that was almost as big as the box
itself.

She gave the box to Iliana who lifted up the lid and pushed back the lilac coloured tissue
paper, revealing a champagne coloured material which was folded neatly inside.

           
"I know... you are probably thinking that you already have loads of dresses that
probably has not even seen daylight in your wardrobe. But my boss of course will be
there... so I want you to look your best... and when I saw this dress, I knew instantly that
you will look like a goddess!" Mother exclaimed proudly.

Not wanting to sound ungrateful as she did
have hundreds of clothes that Mother had
bought her in the past, Iliana smiled and replied.

           
"Thank you Mother... but you have not told me anything about where we are going
or what we are doing."

           
"Oh... of course... it was only announced earlier this evening that my boss’s son has
finally returned home, and that my boss has arranged a big party next weekend... I know it
is short notice but this is such a prestigious and formal gathering." Mother proclaimed
enthusiastically then carrying on almost squealing with excitement. "And we have been
invited!... Oh, and those you have children attending at St. Anthony Preston’s Academy like
yourself... can invite one friend."

           
‘
Mother’s boss’s son?
’ Iliana thought recalling the conversation she just had with
the boys. ‘
He is back
?’

Iliana could not help but smile at the sight of Mother being so bubbly and excited.
Humming to herself cheerfully, Mother grabbed more shopping bags.

           
"I have even bought your Father a new tuxedo!" She said shaking the bags in her
hands. "Anyway, I must not get too excited otherwise I will not be able to go to sleep... and
it is already past one in the morning... Could you be an angel and help me carry those bags
in. Andrew was going to help me when he dropped me off but I ordered him a taxi so he
could go home as it was late."

Then almost skipping up the steps in her stiletto shoes and the shopping bags swinging in
her hands, Mother disappeared into the house.

           
"
Wow!... Never seen Mother this excited before.
" Iliana said to herself.

Then smiling to herself she tucked the big box under her arm and grabbed some bags. It
was when she lifted the bags out when another paper bag fell over inside the boot of the car
and a black material half slipped out. Iliana placed the box and bags that she had in her
hands on the ground so she could put the piece of material back in. Even though it was a
thick material at touch it was soft. And as Iliana held it in her hand she noticed she was
holding the hood of a piece of garment. With curiosity simmering to it’s limit in Iliana’s
state of mind she lifted the cloth out of it’s bag. It was a long black cloak with a large
pointed hood and long wide sleeves. Scarlet coloured trimmings ran along the edges of the
cloak and on one side where it would show on the chest was a crest. It was stitched in red
and black thread and was the same image the man dressed in black had tattooed on his
hand.

           
As Iliana stood staring at the crest on the hooded cloak with her eyes wide and many
questions swimming in her mind, Mother re-appeared from inside the house. And when she
saw what Iliana was holding in her hands, she rushed down and small flight of steps then
snatched the cloak from her before pushing Iliana to the ground. Iliana landed hard on her
bottom.

           
"Never touch this again... you impertinent child!" Mother yelled in a very deep
gravelly voice after shoving the cloak back in it’s bag.

Iliana stared at Mother in shock, her heart pounding in her chest and feeling slightly scared.
Mother had never spoke in such a manner before, not in front of Iliana anyway. But in a
split second after Mother coughed, she looked down at Iliana and frowned.

           
"Iliana!... What on earth are you doing on the ground?" She asked in a soft but
confused tone.